F1 2021

[1%er]

McLaren not ruling out joining Mercedes in flexi-wing protest​

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl has confirmed the team will wait to conclude its dialogue with the FIA before deciding on its next course of action in the flexi-wing saga. At the Spanish Grand Prix, Max Verstappen's rear wing was seen to be flexing in a manner that allowed Red Bull to run a higher downforce set up without the trade-off of lower top speed. While the wing had previously passed the FIA load tests, after the footage emerged a technical directive was issued detailing more stringent tests would be introduced from the French GP onwards.

The delay in the application, however, has caused a furore, with Mercedes indicating a potential legal challenge if the matter is not dealt with more swiftly. Asked if McLaren would join this action, Seidl said: “Obviously, we are independent of what Mercedes is doing. We have a dialogue on this matter with the FIA. As we have said, we are absolutely not happy that our competitors can keep running these cars that from our point of view are clearly not within the regulations. That is why we have this dialogue with the FIA at the moment and then we have to take it from there."

Seidl maintains that "in principle", he is "not a big fan of protesting other teams", although has not ruled out the possibility. He added: "As I say, we are in dialogue with the FIA to understand what they will put in place in order to make sure that teams that have designed devices, or parts, that allow things that we have seen in Barcelona simply can’t use these devices or parts anymore from now onwards. Then we will take it from there.”

Ferrari and Red Bull to gain an advantage in Baku?
Given the long straight at the Baku circuit that stages the next race in Azerbaijan, Seidl shares Mercedes' concern that rival teams, including Ferrari, could have an unfair advantage if the FIA fail to introduce its test for the weekend. McLaren is currently embroiled in a fight with Ferrari for third in the constructors' standings, with every point quite naturally crucial. “In the end, you simply can run a lot more downforce and still have the top speed, which is why this topic keeps coming back every now and then," explained Seidl. “But again, there are regulations in place and every car has to comply with the regulations. It is as simple as that.”

 

[Limejuice]

Here’s hoping lessons are learned for the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix…

After that dull mess, I wouldn't be upset in the least if Monaco 2022 didn't happen at all.

Frankly, it's an anachronism. Bernie let Monaco stage the race for free - no twenty-odd million dollar costs. He let them keep control of the TV presentation, which happens nowhere else. I bet Liberty can't wait to jettison the whole shambles.

I get the whole nostalgia argument. But the point of preserving old traditions is to enjoy the best of history, and to preserve its meaning and importance. In Monaco's case, that's the glamour. Well, the drivers aren't allowed to wander round after the race, swigging from a bottle of fizz, puffing on a cigarette, with each arm draped round a dolly-bird, even if that were culturally okay these days.

What remains of glamour are the yachts and the harbour, not the 'track', the only bit of which that lets drivers put their foot down is through a hideously ugly tunnel underneath a brutalist, Albanian-style office block.

Frankly, the Monaco circuit is as much use for racing as the Whitley Bay one-way system. It's like Tynemouth with sun.

Cancel Monaco; no more shit-show slow parades round the parish; no more telly problems. Just add an extra race, say at the Nurburgring Nordschleife, the full remaining 13 mile section. Not much chance of killing the race at the first corner there.

 

[Ax^]

just killing most of the drivers half way round the course at the Nurburgring Nordschleife

 

[a_chap]

just killing most of the drivers half way round the course at the Nurburgring Nordschleife

Are they???

That's a bit extreme even if it does boost ratings...

 

[Ax^]

Saying that if you want to see onboard an F1 car on the nordschliefe

 

[Limejuice]

Saying that if you want to see onboard an F1 car on the nordschliefe

I do! I do!

(Mind you, that driver missed a load of apices...)

 

[weltweit]

(Mind you, that driver missed a load of apices...)

I didn't think it was a very persuasive lap, lots of places they could have maxed acceleration but didn't .. doubt the time was that great.

 

[Limejuice]

I didn't think it was a very persuasive lap, lots of places they could have maxed acceleration but didn't .. doubt the time was that great.

Agreed. Maybe it was Mazipin's slower kid brother driving.

But I think it showed possible overtaking spots covering 12.5 of the 13 miles, and that would be a vast improvement on bloody Monaco!

I commend this track to the House.

 

[Ax^]

can we do it just to annoy jackie


*looks at liberty media

 

[weltweit]

Oh I would love to see an F1 race at the full circuit..

Proper race that would be.

 

[Limejuice]

can we do it just to annoy jackie


*looks at liberty media

Signs petition now

 

[Limejuice]

Oh I would love to see an F1 race at the full circuit..

Proper race that would be.

Yup, moi aussi!

 

[weltweit]

They won't do it of course. No runoff areas, not enough armco, not enough spectator areas and not enough commercialisation possibilities, and probably just too dangerous.

A little like why the Motorbike racing fraternity WSB etc don't go to the Isle of Man.

 

[Ax^]

the tt course on the isle of man is even worse but its not permanent..

the villages walls are just nuts to go by at speed

 

[MrCurry]

For anyone who wants the full, gory details of how Lewis’s race unwound, this analysis with lots of team radio transcript is really good. I hadn’t appreciated until I read this that what seemed like a mistake from merc (pitting him too soon), might actually have been the best of a bad bunch of options.

 

[spitfire]

A reminder from Moto GP of the dangers drivers and riders face. He was only 19.

 

[Limejuice]

Salam!

Well, here's an interesting pickle. I have two distinct sets of timings for the Azerbaijan GP from three different sources.



You'd think Sky would know when it's broadcasting - but their listing has been wrong before. Then again, Formula1 dot com agrees with Rupert's Evil Empire...

So, on the grounds it's better to be a tad early to an F1 party than late, I'm going with the Sky timings. These, then, are this weekend's timings, fingers crossed:

Fri 4 Jun
FP1 - 09:30
FP2 - 13:00

Sat 5 Jun
FP3 - 10:00
Qual - 13:00

Sun 6 Jun
Race - 13:00

Let's hope there'll be more overtaking than Monaco. There are a couple of long, straight bits.

 

[1%er]

Red Bull chief hints Max Verstappen could have new team-mate in Lewis Hamilton battle​

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has suggested that Max Verstappen could have a new team-mate for his fascinating battle with Lewis Hamilton in 2022. But the driver chief admitted that no call would be made until F1’s summer break. Sergio Perez was installed as Verstappen’s team-mate for the 2021 campaign and the Mexican most recently delivered a solid p4 at the Monaco Grand Prix. Perez, nicknamed ‘Checo’, has helped Red Bull take a narrow lead over Mercedes in the F1 Constructors Standings as the title battle between Verstappen and Hamilton intensifies. But while Perez has proven himself as a race-day specialist, there are concerns over his form in qualifying and whether he is the ideal partner for Verstappen.

“Let’s start with the positive, that’s his performance in the race," ” Marko told reporters "They are very good, sometimes he is at the level of Max [Verstappen]. He proved that in Monte Carlo when we opted for the overcut. There were then three or four laps in which he drove the fastest laps of everyone on very old tyres. So the race pace is there." Perez’s long-term future remains a doubt as Red Bull continue their search for the perfect driver after giving opportunities to Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon. The 31-year-old, who sealed his maiden F1 race victory with Racing Point at the Sakhir Grand Prix last December, still has to prove his worth in the team. But Marko confirmed that a decision won’t be made on Red Bull’s 2022 driver just yet.

 

[1%er]

Mark Hughes: Why F1 may have another shock contender in Baku​

This is nothing more than an informed hunch: but keep a particular eye on McLaren this Baku weekend. As each track of the ’21 calendar is visited and the jigsaw of car performance builds, we now have a much better idea of the relative strengths and weaknesses of each car than we did after the first race of Bahrain even if the picture is not yet complete. The variations in car performance and in how their laptimes are derived through various corner combinations have been quite revealing. The sensational form of Ferrari through Monaco’s slow corners was a great example of this. It was clear already that it shone in slow corners, but who knew it was quite that good?

Now that we are heading to Baku, a track right up there with Monaco and Monza in the extremities of its demands, what might we see? Looking at the traits we’ve seen from each car so far, there is one which on paper is a very intriguing prospect at this venue: the McLaren. Baku’s circuit demands big downforce for the slow Monaco-like middle sector through the old town but supreme aerodynamic efficiency down that long, long Caspian straight. Two totally conflicting demands: a mix of Monaco and Monza. We know already that the McLaren is very impressive down the straights, with a great combination of Mercedes power and low drag for a given level of downforce. We know it can generate a lot of downforce relative to its opposition through high-speed corners. In both these areas, it’s shown itself to be comfortably better than the Ferrari, Alpine or AlphaTauri with which it usually competes.

It’s been not quite as impressive through the slow turns, where a slightly lazy front end has tended to see it struggle relative to Ferrari and Red Bull. In its performance patterns, it’s not dissimilar to the Mercedes. It doesn’t rotate quite so well as the Ferrari and Red Bull into the turns, meaning it takes a little longer to get from straight-ahead to pointing directly at the apex. Consequently, the McLaren typically requiring a little more steering lock to do so. The tougher, heavier ’21 tyres have tended to expose any weakness in this area in that the fronts are a little less responsive.

But Lando Norris showed at Monaco that he has a way of making this trait less debilitating than it might otherwise be. His natural feel for trail-braking and of how much pedal pressure to use for how long and the way he automatically adapts this according to the varying grip of the track and tyres is superb – and the principal area in which Daniel Ricciardo has been struggling to match him.
So although the McLaren has a longer wheelbase, slightly lazier car than the Red Bull or Ferrari and is not at its best in slow corners, it responds very well to a driving technique that gets around the worst effects of that. Norris can somehow conjure reasonably quick rotation without it spilling over into rear instability – the usual slow corner limitation. At Monaco, with a car unsuited to almost every corner of the track, he trail-braked his way to a qualifying time within 0.274s of pole and within a couple of hundredths of the best Mercedes time.

If he can do something similar through the middle sector of Baku, the McLaren – with its great straightline performance – will surely do much of the rest. Depending upon how the whole Red Bull flexi-wing saga plays out and the usual Baku disclaimers about how much of a tow (hugely valuable here) everyone manages to find, McLaren is set to impress at worst. At best, it may even shock.

 

[1%er]

Pirelli hope for strategy variance with Baku tyre choices​

Pirelli has confirmed they will be bringing their three softest compounds to Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, in the hope of mixing up strategy options. Having had a one-stop race in Monaco that provided little in the way of strategic variation, F1’s tyre supplier will be bringing the C3, C4 and C5 compounds to the capital of Azerbaijan for the weekend’s race. The manufacturer has previously brought harder compounds to Baku with their hardest compound not used at all in the previous Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but they have changed tack to try and create a less predictable affair on Sunday.

Amid controversy surrounding whether or not the flexibility of Red Bull’s rear wing will be protested in Baku, team advisor Helmut Marko believes tyres will be a bigger factor on where the World Championship goes at the end of the season. Sergio Perez was able to execute an overcut on Lewis Hamilton in Monaco that promoted the Mexican up the order, but the continuing use of Pirelli’s softest compounds in Baku will be a different proposition altogether.

“From one unique circuit to another: Baku provides a very different test to Monaco, but the precision needed to stay out of trouble is similar,”Pirelli boss Isola said. “For the first time we bring the very softest tyres in the range to Azerbaijan, as also seen in Monte Carlo. “The reason for this nomination is that the hard wasn’t used at all in the Baku race in 2019, whereas the medium was used extensively. By re-aligning the nominations, we hope to see all three compounds playing an important role and leading to some different strategies. In Formula 2, there’s a step between the compounds, just as was the case at the opening round in Bahrain. This creates a bigger differential between the tyres, and again leads to some entertaining racing and tactics, on a challenging circuit that’s renowned for being a place where anything can happen.”

 

[spitfire]

He's not getting a good press.

Nikita Mazepin may be Russian but he is the perfect American anti-hero

The Haas driver is a stupendously rich coaster who consistently fails upwards. In other words, a perfect embodiment of so much that is wrong with America

www.theguardian.com

 

[1%er]

Carlos Reutemann re-admitted to intensive care
Less than two weeks after being discharged from hospital, ex-Formula 1 driver Carlos Reutemann is back in intensive care. The Argentine, who won 12 Formula 1 races, had spent more than a fortnight in a Rosario hospital last month following a digestive haemorrhage. He went home to “continue his recovery in [his home] city of Santa Fe”, but unfortunately the 79-year-old’s health has taken another turn for the worse. On Monday, according to reports in Argentina, Reutemann had presented at a hospital in Santa Fe with symptoms of dehydration. The following afternoon, he was admitted to intensive care with a “feverish condition”.

Argentine media outlet Infobae report a statement from Sebastian del Pazo, co-ordinator of the Sanatorio Santa Fe Clinical Department, as saying: “Yesterday afternoon [Tuesday], Senator Carlos Reutemann presented a feverish situation with repercussions on his general condition. “Faced with this new complication, it was decided to transfer him to the Intensive Care Unit of this institution. His prognosis is reserved and diagnostic studies continue to be carried out.”

Reutemann is referred to as Senator because following his retirement from Formula 1 in 1982, he entered politics and was even regarded at one time as a contender for his country’s presidency although he never actually declared his candidacy to run for that office. It was also reported by Infobae that in 2017, Reutemann underwent surgery in New York for liver cancer and has subsequently not been in the best of health. During his recovery from his recent illness, a picture of the former Brabham, Ferrari, Lotus and Williams driver was posted by his daughter Maria of him sitting up in bed reading a newspaper.

Reutemann’s F1 career encompassed 11 seasons in the 1970s and 80s. In his last full campaign, 1981, he finished second to Nelson Piquet in the World Championship by just one point having been on the podium in all of the first five races, winning the Brazilian and Belgian Grands Prix. The victory at Zolder was Reutemann’s last in the sport before retiring after only the first two races of the following campaign, a few weeks before his 40th birthday, with his exit from the Williams team rumoured to have been a consequence of the Falklands War that was happening at the time between the UK and Argentina.

​

 

[MrCurry]

FP1 about to start. Bit earlier than recent races - don’t miss it.

 

[MrCurry]

Tsunoda attempting a 12 point turn

 

[Limejuice]

Quite a few cars heading down the run-offs.

I guess that's normal in FP1.

 

[Limejuice]

Marzipan blocks Max on a fast lap.

Zero surprise.

 

[1%er]

Azerbaijan Grand Prix Free Practice 1 results​

Red Bull's Max Verstappen set the pace at the first practice session in Baku, ahead of Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Verstappen, who leads the Drivers' Championship for the first time in his Formula 1 career, went to the top of the timesheets with 10 minutes to go on the soft tyre and was 0.043 seconds faster than Leclerc. Sergio Perez was fourth, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Pierre Gasly whilst Lewis Hamilton finished the session in seventh.

Results​

Pos.	No.	Driver	Car	Time	Gap	Laps
1	33	Max Verstappen	RED BULL RACING HONDA	1:43.184	19
2	16	Charles Leclerc	FERRARI	1:43.227	+0.043s	20
3	55	Carlos Sainz	FERRARI	1:43.521	+0.337s	20
4	11	Sergio Perez	RED BULL RACING HONDA	1:43.630	+0.446s	17
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	MCLAREN MERCEDES	1:43.732	+0.548s	25
6	10	Pierre Gasly	ALPHATAURI HONDA	1:43.757	+0.573s	23
7	44	Lewis Hamilton	MERCEDES	1:43.893	+0.709s	20
8	4	Lando Norris	MCLAREN MERCEDES	1:43.996	+0.812s	20
9	14	Fernando Alonso	ALPINE RENAULT	1:44.777	+1.593s	25
10	77	Valtteri Bottas	MERCEDES	1:44.891	+1.707s	20
11	7	Kimi Räikkönen	ALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI	1:44.943	+1.759s	18
12	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	ALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI	1:45.092	+1.908s	20
13	18	Lance Stroll	ASTON MARTIN MERCEDES	1:45.234	+2.050s	23
14	22	Yuki Tsunoda	ALPHATAURI HONDA	1:45.384	+2.200s	25
15	5	Sebastian Vettel	ASTON MARTIN MERCEDES	1:45.415	+2.231s	24
16	31	Esteban Ocon	ALPINE RENAULT	1:45.446	+2.262s	23
17	63	George Russell	WILLIAMS MERCEDES	1:45.452	+2.268s	24
18	6	Nicholas Latifi	WILLIAMS MERCEDES	1:45.774	+2.590s	22
19	47	Mick Schumacher	HAAS FERRARI	1:46.899	+3.715s	20
20	9	Nikita Mazepin	HAAS FERRARI	1:46.945	+3.761s	18

 

[1%er]

FIA adds stickers to all F1 cars to check wing flexing in Baku​

The FIA is ramping up its flexi-wing policing amid the threat of a protest over Formula 1’s ongoing saga. With new flexi-wing tests not set to be introduced until the French Grand Prix later this month, there is a chance that Mercedes could lodge a protest against its chief rival Red Bull. Both Mercedes and McLaren are unhappy with the timing of the FIA’s new stricter load tests, believing the technical directive should have been introduced earlier having been informed of the decision ahead of the last round in Monaco.

To help provide a reference point for the FIA to monitor how much the wings are moving, 12 dotted stickers have been placed on the rear wings of all the cars at this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The FIA is set to use video footage to help with the policing of Article 3.8 which governs car parts with aerodynamic influence prior to the enhanced load tests coming into force at Paul Ricard.
"It's good to see that these stickers have been introduced for this weekend, which gives the FIA a better possibility to measure what's going on,” said McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl. "To my understanding, these dots simply help to measure what's happening because when we look at the videos from Barcelona, it's difficult to get detailed numbers in terms of what is flexing and how exactly.” Seidl refused to confirm whether McLaren would protest teams who decide to use flexi-wings in Baku, but indicated that any protest would be unlikely to happen until after qualifying or the race. “I don’t want to go into discussion of a protest at the moment,” Seidl added. “In general, it doesn’t make sense to do anything before the event, because you can change your event on Saturday morning. There’s no point in doing anything on a Friday night.”

 

[1%er]

New engines fitted to all 14 Mercedes and Ferrari-powered cars​

Formula 1’s engine manufacturers are pursuing different paths with the introduction of new hardware for this weekend’s race. All 14 drivers powered by Mercedes and Ferrari power units will have new engines for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. None of the drivers have exceeded their maximum allocations and therefore will not receive any penalties. Their six Honda and Renault-powered rivals have not yet chosen to fit new engines for the race at one of the most demanding tracks on the calendar for power unit performance. However they may still do so tomorrow without incurring a penalty.

Yuki Tsunoda was previously the only driver to have taken a new engine this year, following his crash in qualifying for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. The drivers for Mercedes, McLaren, Aston Martin, Williams, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and Haas are all running new engines, MGU-Hs and exhausts. The eight Mercedes-powered drivers plus Ferrari’s two works cars will also have new MGU-Ks, though the two Ferrari customer teams do not.

Engine components used so far

No.	Car	Engine	Driver	ICE	TC	MGU-H	MGU-K	ES	CE	EX
14	Alpine	Renault	Fernando Alonso	1	1	1	1	1	1	5
31	Alpine	Renault	Esteban Ocon	1	1	1	1	1	1	4
22	AlphaTauri	Honda	Yuki Tsunoda	2	2	2	2	3	3	3
55	Ferrari	Ferrari	Carlos Sainz Jnr	2	2	2	2	1	1	3
16	Ferrari	Ferrari	Charles Leclerc	2	2	2	2	1	1	3
9	Haas	Ferrari	Nikita Mazepin	2	2	2	1	1	2	3
7	Alfa Romeo	Ferrari	Kimi Raikkonen	2	2	2	1	1	1	3
47	Haas	Ferrari	Mick Schumacher	2	2	2	1	1	1	3
99	Alfa Romeo	Ferrari	Antonio Giovinazzi	2	2	2	1	1	1	3
63	Williams	Mercedes	George Russell	2	2	2	2	1	1	2
4	McLaren	Mercedes	Lando Norris	2	2	2	2	1	1	2
3	McLaren	Mercedes	Daniel Ricciardo	2	2	2	2	1	1	2
31	Williams	Mercedes	Nicholas Latifi	2	2	2	2	1	1	2
77	Mercedes	Mercedes	Valtteri Bottas	2	2	2	2	1	1	2
44	Mercedes	Mercedes	Lewis Hamilton	2	2	2	2	1	1	2
5	Aston Martin	Mercedes	Sebastian Vettel	2	2	2	2	1	1	2
18	Aston Martin	Mercedes	Lance Stroll	2	2	2	2	1	1	2
10	AlphaTauri	Honda	Pierre Gasly	1	1	1	1	2	2	2
11	Red Bull	Honda	Sergio Perez	1	1	1	1	2	2	2
33	Red Bull	Honda	Max Verstappen	1	1	1	1	1	1	2

 

[Ax^]

does Mick car not have a new everything after he totalled the Hass last weekend