FORMULA 1

[MIKA27]

Pirelli confirms Austrian GP compound selections

Pirelli has outlined the tyres it will make available to drivers for the Austrian Grand Prix in June, mirroring the choice for France.

The C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium) and C4 (Soft) will make up the three available compounds, with the Soft nominated as the qualifying tyre.

This has so far been the most popular combination, with Australia, China, this weekend's Azerbaijan GP and France using the same allocation. So far only Bahrain and Spain have the C1 nominated as the Hard tyre and Monaco and Canada making use of the C5.

As per the regulations, one set of Soft tyres must be set aside for use only in Q3 while either the Medium or Hard tyres must be run for at least one stint of the Grand Prix, assuming dry conditions prevail.

Drivers are permitted free choice of compounds for 10 of their allocated 13 sets for the weekend. Those selections must be made 14 weeks in advance for long-haul events and 8 weeks in advance for European rounds.

[MIKA27]

Bottas: Lead cars still "controlling" races despite aero changes

Valtteri Bottas thinks lead cars are still able to "control" races because of the aero turbulence their car causes, despite the change of rules for 2019 aimed at helping overtaking.

The Finn says his experience from China, when wheelspin at the start allowed teammate Lewis Hamilton to jump ahead of him, showed how there are still big consequences when stuck behind another car.

"Even being three or four seconds behind you're sliding more, which overheats the tyres more, and then it's more difficult," he said.

"But that's how F1 has been for a long time. Whoever is in the lead can control it a little bit and always has it easier in a way."

Despite his feelings on the benefits of being in clean air, Bottas does believe that the changes made to the 2019 Formula 1 aerodynamic regulations have made it a bit easier to follow another car.

"I think it's a little bit better," he said. "It's a good thing that the car's not doing anything funny when you're following. It's just a general loss of downforce.

"Last year you could feel a bit more turbulence, a bit more movement in the car. So it is a bit more stable, but you lose a bit of grip and downforce.

"Now the cars have more downforce than they did last year, obviously there's no air to make the wings work, you lose grip, that's how it goes."

Bottas acknowledged that as a car with a high level of downforce the Mercedes W10 may suffer more than rivals when following.

"I haven't been in the other cars so I don't know how it feels, but for sure it feels like we have a good level of downforce because we've been really strong in the corners [in Shanghai].

"And I think it goes hand in hand. The more downforce you have, the more percentage of downforce you lose when you're behind another car, and then there's a bigger lap time penalty."

[MIKA27]

Ricciardo "accepts" judgement on current F1 form

Daniel Ricciardo believes short-term judgements on Formula 1 drivers' form are like questioning the quality of a footballer on a brief goalless streak.

A combination of terrible luck during his final season with Red Bull and his new Renault team's lack of competitiveness means it is almost one year since Ricciardo scored a podium in F1.

The seven-time grand prix winner has also struggled with the transition to Renault and trailed teammate Nico Hulkenberg for pace at the start of the year, but hit back by outqualifying the German in China and finishing seventh in the race.

In China, Ricciardo was asked if judgement is passed too quickly on F1 drivers, in the wake of Sebastian Vettel's comments that when he makes mistakes his rival Lewis Hamilton is the "only one without a short-term memory".

Ricciardo said: "I accept it. For sure, it's short-term, but that's probably in all top sports. You have in, imagine, football, one guy gets a hat-trick and in the next two games doesn't score a goal, it's like 'what's happened?' You know. But maybe one or two weeks ago he was the king of the show.

"When you're at the top level of any sport people always have an expectation you should be at that top every single day. I'm not angry about that. I get it."

Hulkenberg's second retirement in two races because of an MGU-K problem means Ricciardo is now level with the German for 10th in the championship on six points.

Ricciardo said that what matters to him is how comfortable he is with his situation, despite not standing on the podium since winning last year's Monaco Grand Prix in May.

"The main thing is I know what I need to do," said Ricciardo. "People will sometimes get impatient but as long as I know I'm in the right direction then that's cool, and sometimes it might take a bit of patience. It's all good. I haven't done anything to make me forget how to drive.

"I know it's been a long time since I've been on the podium. I still remember what to do. Sometimes just needs a bit of patience."

Ricciardo failed to score points on his first two Renault starts because of a bizarre incident at the start in Australia and a late reliability problem in Bahrain.

While he is willing to be patient for bigger results, he admitted the breakthrough in China was a relief for Renault.

"It feels good," he said. "Feels good, probably just for my guys in the garage. My side, we haven't seen a chequered flag yet. So for them, a couple of high fives going around."

[MIKA27]

Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend schedule

This weekend is the fourth round of the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship, on the streets of Baku. Here is the timetable for the major activities, including the F2 sessions.

For other event information including news, photos and results as they happen – click here.

Friday April 26 (all times local - GMT+4)
11:00 - 11:45 Formula 2 - Practice

13:00 - 14:30 Formula 1 - First Practice

15:00 - 15:30 Formula 2 - Qualifying

17:00 - 18:30 Formula 1 - Second Practice

Saturday April 27
12:00 - 13:05 Formula 2 - Race 1 (29 laps / 60 minutes)

14:00 - 15:00 Formula 1 - Third Practice

17:00 - 18:00 Formula 1 - Qualifying

Sunday April 28
13:10 - 14:00 Formula 2 - Race 2 (21 Laps / 45 Minutes)

14:30 - 15:00 Formula 1 – Drivers’ Parade

15:54 - 15:56 National Anthem

16:10 - 18:10 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix (51 Laps / 120 Minutes)

[MIKA27]

AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX: BOTTAS LEADS MERCEDES STEAMROLLER

Valtteri Bottas powered to victory in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Round 4 of the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship, at Baku City Circuit – heading home his teammate Lewis Hamilton to score a fourth one-two in a row.

Stalemate pretty much sums up the Battle of Baku, Bottas and Hamilton went wheel-to-wheel through the opening lap but Bottas Reloaded edged ahead and thereafter set the pace to claim his fifth F1 win.

It was a very important moment in the power struggle within the team as the Finn flexed his muscles to the point that his teammate lamented not being more aggressive in that battle.

Nevertheless, the facts are that whatever Ferrari threw at the World Champs this weekend they simply absorbed and again stamped their authority on the grand prix. And credit to the Silver Arrows for allowing Hamilton to pressure Bottas all the way to the flag.

Mercedes thus became the first time in history to start an F1 season with four consecutive one-twos.

Race winner Bottas summed up, “It was a tough race even if not much happened at the front. Lewis was putting pressure all the time so I couldn’t do any mistakes. Everything was under control so I was happy to see the chequered flag.”

“It means a lot. It’s incredible as a team the level we are performing at now. For me, it’s only my fifth win so it feels good and it carries on.”

Hamilton added, “Congratulations to Valtteri, he drove a fantastic race and made no mistakes so deserves the win. It was all lost in qualifying so there’s not more I can say. It’s a great result for the team. This is the best start to a season we’ve ever had.”

“It’s a team effort. Everyone back at the factory has been working non-stop, every year they come back more hungry for success and it’s true testament to the strength in depth.”

Hamilton started the day six points ahead in the championship but Bottas is now back on top by a point. They’ve both have two wins and two second-place finishes but the Finn has an extra point for fastest lap in Melbourne.

Sebastian Vettel salvaged third for Ferrari at a race where the Reds arrived as favourites only to depart with their tales between their legs. Underachieving again, they leave Baku 74 points behind Mercedes in the constructors’ championship standings.

Vettel said of his afternoon, “The first stint was really poor. I really struggled to initially get the tyres to work. I think they were too cold and I damaged them and by the time they were hot they were damaged.

“I was really uncomfortable, inconsistent and couldn’t get a feel or confidence in the car. After that, I was already looking forward to a difficult stint on the medium tyres but had no problem switching them on.

“I think we had some pace to at least go with Mercedes and sometimes put some pressure on. It was crucial to keep third, crucial for Charles to get the fastest lap and snatch it away from the Mercedes boys. Still, plenty of work for us to do but we need to maximise what we can.”

Next up was Max Verstappen, fourth in the Red Bull and looking bullish for a podium until the VSC intervened, when the track went green grip on the RB15 went AWOL and the Dutchman sensibly brought the car home with little fuss

That’s how the top four started and that’s how they crossed the finish line a couple of hours later. A stalemate at the top.

Verstappen said afterwards, “I lost a bit of time behind Perez but you don’t want to risk it in lap one. Afterwards, the pace we showed on the medium tyre was good because up until the VSC we were catching like seven or eight seconds.”

“But after the VSC we just didn’t have the grip or tyre temperature and that’s key around here. I couldn’t push anymore so decided to bring it home.”

Charles Leclerc was the joker in the pack, starting with the harder tyre from eighth on the grid to finish fifth.

Although he led at some point when the majority pitted for tyres Ferrari kept him out far too long, fed him out behind Pierre Gasly (in the much slower Red Bull) and again messed up a possible podium for the Monaco Kid. And not for the first time this season.

Later in the race they pitted him late for a stab at fastest lap which he took. But another afternoon for him that was muddled by strange pitwall calls by his team. Nevertheless, he was voted Driver of the Day for his efforts.

Later Leclerc told reporters, “To be honest I believe there is a reason we stayed out so long I need to look at the data before I make any comments, overall I felt we lost a bit of time. I actually asked is there any possibility to come back – they told me no – so from that point onwards it wasn’t to push it was to save the tyres and get the fastest lap when the opportunity came. We had no chance to come back in front.”

“I think that on the mediums we were very strong and basically if you look at the leaders they did the longest stint on the mediums. It could’ve been a positive race for us. There is nothing wrong with the team, it’s just my mistake yesterday which I have put myself down enough for… I will come back stronger.”

Sergio Perez delivered another solid weekend for Racing Point to finish Best of the Rest in a comfortable sixth place followed by McLaren duo of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris in seventh and eight respectively. A strong weekend for the Woking outfit.

Lance Stroll did well to turn around a disappointing couple of days to finish ninth, again showing his prowess in races of attrition.

The final point went to Kimi Raikkonen who started from the pitlane to finish tenth for Sauber.

Surprisingly, despite the notorious layout of Baku Street Circuit, the early laps were bent metal free.

The first incident happened when Daniel Ricciardo out-braked himself when trying to overtake Daniil Kvyat, the Renault went straight and Kvyat had no option but to turn late to avoid contact.

The Toro Rosso could not turn back onto the track while the Renault driver, unsighted, reversed and clattered into Kvyat. The pair DNF-ed a little later. The FIA stewards handed the Australian a three-place grid penalty which he will serve in the next race.

A virtual safety car was deployed late in the race when Pierre Gasly coasted to a halt with a technical issue. Around the same time, Romain Grosjean parked the Haas with brake issues.

FIA Blow-By-Blow Report

When the lights went out at the start, pole sitter Bottas was immediately put under pressure by Hamilton who made an excellent start. The Finn defended well through the first few corners, however, and managed to hold his lead as the field swept up towards the Baku’s Old Town.

Vettel held his starting third place, but behind him fourth-on-the-grid Verstappen was jumped at the start by Pérez. Verstappen quickly responded and within a few laps he had closed up behind the racing Point’s gearbox. On the long pit straight, and under DRS, he blasted past the Mexican on entry to Turn 1 to reclaim fourth place.

Behind them Leclerc was on a march. At the start, on medium tyres, he had dropped back to P11 but by lap seven he had worked his way back up the order to sit in P5, two seconds behind Verstappen. And on lap 10, the Ferrari driver took advantage of DRS and his now better-performing medium tyres to pass Max on the pit straight.

Like Leclerc, Gasly had also started on medium compound tyres, though from the pit lane, due to penalties from earlier in the weekend. As soft-shod rivals around him pitted, the Frenchman was boosted up the order. He also maximised the opportunity the mediums gave in terms of performance and by lap 13 he had climbed to sixth place.

Vettel was the first of the frontrunners to make a pit stop, on lap 11, and the German’s move triggered a response from the other soft tyre starters at the front of the pack.

Verstappen was among those who dived into the pit lane, the Dutchman emerging in P6 behind his team-mate. He quickly closed on Gasly, and with the drivers on different strategies, the Frenchman sensibly moved across to put Verstappen in P5 once more.

At the halfway point of the 51-lap race, Leclerc, who had yet to stop, now led Bottas by just three seconds. Hamilton was a further 3.5s second back with Vettel three seconds behind the champion.

By lap 31, Bottas was just 1.1s behind leader Leclerc who was now holding the Mercedes up before his stop. That allowed Vettel to stay in touch with Hamilton and the German sat three seconds behind the champion.

Bottas finally made his way past Leclerc on lap 32, and was swiftly followed by Hamilton and Vettel. That was the cue for Ferrari to pit the Monegasque driver. He dived into the pit lane on lap 34 to take on soft tyres.

He rejoined in P6, behind Gasly. The Red Bull driver defended well for a couple of laps but on his ageing medium tyres there was little he could do against the Ferrari man and on lap 36 Leclerc, armed with fresh tyres and DRS got past.

Gasly was sixth again but with 30 seconds in hand over Pérez, looked safe for another solid points haul. It wasn’t to be however. On lap 39, he suddenly slowed dramatically and coasted off into a run-off area, his race ended by a mechanical issue.

The Virtual Safety Car was deployed and when the track went green again, Bottas was firmly in control, three seconds clear of Hamilton, who was in turn 2.3 ahead of Vettel. Hamilton closed but with two laps to go he made a mistake and ran wide, handing Bottas his second win of the season.

Max took his third fourth place finish in a row ahead of Leclerc who grabbed the point for fastest lap after pitting for a new set of soft tyres in the closing stages.

Perez took sixth place for Racing Point, while McLaren saw both Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris in the points in P7 and P8 respectively.

Racing Point also saw both its drivers score with Lance Stroll in P9. Kimi Räikkönen took the final point, having started from the pit lane.

[MIKA27]

ELKANN: BUT FERRARI DID THE FASTEST LAP…

Maybe it is best that Ferrari president John Elkann stays out of the limelight or at least not speak to the media after races if his feedback, after watching his team get soundly trounced at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, is anything to go by.

Not only were Ferrari no match for Mercedes in qualifying, three-tenths of a second shy to be precise, on Sunday the Silver Arrows simply ran away with the race while Ferrari had to settle for third place with Vettel powerless to challenge or attack.

While Leclerc fought back from his qualifying shunt to lead the race at one point, somehow the Red pitwall messed up his strategy and what might have been a podium, ended with fifth place.

As a consolation, with a big cushion to sixth place, the team pitted him late for a stab at fastest lap which the 21-year-old claimed late in the race.

Present throughout the weekend was Agnelli heir Elkann, the Ferrari big boss intently watching the action from the confines of the team’s pit garage in Baku.

After the race, he was seen enthusiastically making his way across the pitlane to congratulate Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton who had finished second on the day.

Credit to his belief in the team (or is it naivety?) that after watching Mercedes wrap up their fourth consecutive one-two finishes in Baku, Elkann declared, “Mercedes is stronger and more fortunate but we did the fastest lap.”

“The spirit inside Ferrari is very good. There is a great desire to win and the championship is still very long. Forza Ferrari.”

Meanwhile, the Italian media are seething at the prospect of another defeat for the beloved Scuderia is a very likely prospect and the season is only four races old.

Here is what the big guns had to say on Monday:

Gazzetta dello Sport: “Ferrari-Flop: On the one hand the Mercedes man-eaters who don’t make a single mistake. On the other hand Ferrari, a team with a lot of potential but no results.”

Corriere dello Sport: “Bottas, king of Formula 1. Mercedes puts Ferrari under tireless pressure, the German anthem also plays in Baku. Ferrari show signs of reliability but the gap to the Silver Arrows widens.”

Corriere della Sera: “The merciless wind that sweeps over the racetrack in Baku carried Mercedes to victory. Ferrari’s President John Elkann finds no excuses for his team. But the season is still long, there may still be surprises.”

La Repubblica: “Vettel follows the ant philosophy: It’s better to bring home a few points than to take risks. Bottas is no longer Hamilton’s servant. He has changed radically, the duel with Hamilton has revived Mercedes.”

La Stampa: “Bottas, Hamilton’s servant, becomes a prince, and Mercedes is omnipotent again. Ferrari wastes one opportunity after another. Vettel’s third and Leclerc’s fifth-place don’t warm the hearts of Ferrari fans who have to make do with a ‘family’ duel between the two drivers.”

But, let’s not forget they got that point for the fastest lap, maybe there is something in there that the Ferrari boss knows that we don’t.

[MIKA27]

VETTEL: WE NEED STRONGER PACE IT IS AS SIMPLE AS THAT

Ferrari departed Baku after being well and truly beaten in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix no doubt scratching their heads as they contemplate the gap to Mercedes and figure a way to take the fight to the pacesetters before it is too late.

Increasingly it appears that the SF90 is finicky getting the Pirelli tyres up to speed and in the optimum operating window which puts their drivers on the back foot when attacking for a hot lap and also vulnerable early on in the race and after pitstops.

In Baku, the Reds simply did not get a look in after Charles Leclerc pranged in qualifying. In race mode, Vettel could chase but not challenge the two silver cars ahead, while he had enough to contain Max Verstappen behind him. It was a top four stalemate on the day, they finished as they qualified.

Speaking in the TV media pen after the race in Baku, Vettel told reporters, “It [the upgrade] was a step forward with our car, but I think more of a dominating factor is just the way we seem to be able to get on top of or into these tyres. I think there’s a lot of performance in that.

“The struggle we had here in those low-speed corners is less of an aero problem, more of a mechanical grip issue. So a lot of homework for us, obviously, in the last couple of weeks, but I’m sure that once we get everything together the car is strong, and then we will be much more in the fight.”

“At this stage, obviously, averaging the first four races we were just not quick enough.

“We need stronger pace, it is as simple as that. We need to be faster. I’m convinced we’ve been, partly this weekend, looking very strong but overall not strong enough. So, it seems that for us it’s more of a conscious effort to get the car in the right window, whereas maybe for them [Mercedes] it seems to click a little bit easier.”

Until Leclerc’s prang, there was a sense that the team’s 21-year-old driver could deliver pole, he had the pace throughout practice but a tad late on the brakes into the tight castle section put an end to all dreams of grandeur.

But Vettel never looked likely to dethrone the Silver Arrows on his own.

The facts are that Ferrari drivers are having to drive too hard to try and match the Mercedes duo, hence mistakes happen as Vettel explained, “Especially a place like around here, you need the confidence in the car. I’m not yet there. I can feel that I’m not driving at my best because simply the car does not answer or does not respond the way I like. And then I think it’s unnatural. I think everybody’s been there.”

“All drivers know that sort of feeling: when it’s not there, then your judgement is normally right, to not go there because you end up losing the car. So, yeah, I seem to be more sensitive at the first races than at the test.”

Not long ago, after pre-season testing and ahead of the season opener, Ferrari were bullish heading to Melbourne but since then they have been comprehensively trounced by Mercedes, four one-twos is an incredible achievement by their rivals, but a damning record that will be hard to swallow at Maranello.

Vettel acknowledged, “The test was really good but that’s a long time ago now. We need to look forward and improve the way we handle things, the way we work to just get faster. That’s it.”

“Obviously the last four races, on average, we were not quite there, so I think we are not the favourites going to Barcelona, but the team is in good spirits. We have another couple of bits getting on the car, so we need to chase them down.”

“We are looking to hopefully a smooth weekend. Our first four weekends haven’t been that smooth. But it will be crucial to catch them and turn things around,” added Vettel.

He now heads to the next round in Spain trailing in the F1 drivers’ championship by 35 points to leader Valtteri Bottas, furthermore, the German has not won a Grand Prix since he triumphed at Spa-Francorchamps in August last year.

[MIKA27]

WOLFF: BOTTAS AND HAMILTON HAVE A VERY GOOD RELATIONSHIP

Mercedes may feel a sense of deja vu with Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton locked in an increasingly exclusive battle for the Formula 1 World Championship title but team boss Toto Wolff says it is different to what went before.

A full-blown, gloves-off, intra-team rivalry — such as Mercedes had to manage with Hamilton and retired champion Nico Rosberg — remains a long way off.

“I think we are lucky that they have a very good relationship, they get on with each other, there is not a lot of games in the background and I’m very happy about that,” said Wolff after Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

“But … we have seen relationships deteriorate. We want them to be feisty, lions in the car. But, equally, the respect needs to stay in there.”

Bottas and Hamilton are separated by just one point at the top of the standings after two wins and two second places each, with the Finn ahead because he set the fastest lap in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, third in the standings, is already 35 points adrift of Bottas after four races.

Hamilton and Rosberg engaged in a tense rivalry for the title from 2014 to 2016, at the height of Mercedes’ dominance when the Brackley-based team had no challengers.

Boyhood friends who shared hotel rooms and travelled to races together as team-mates in karting, what started out as a friendly rivalry between them swiftly disintegrated into all out acrimony, including on-track contact on more than one occasion.

That prompted Mercedes to impose ‘rules of engagement’ to rein them in but Bottas and Hamilton have enjoyed a far more harmonious relationship.

The 29-year-old Bottas, who replaced Rosberg at the start of the 2017 season, has not posed a serious threat to Hamilton in his two seasons with the team.

Until now.

The respect between the Briton and the Finn, a very different personality to Rosberg, seems intact with the pair racing each other firmly but fairly in Baku.

Hamilton expects that to remain the case so long as both drivers obey the rules set out by the team.

“I think Valtteri and I have always had a lot of respect for each other, and we continue to do so,” said the 34-year-old. “Drivers in the past didn’t stick to the rules of engagement that we have as a team, and Valtteri does.”

Wolff made clear he is prepared to deal with the situation if it gets out of hand.

“We are very strong as a team and we wouldn’t allow the relationship between drivers to deteriorate to a point that it has a negative effect on the team,” said the Austrian.

“If that would ever be the case again after Nico and Lewis, we will issue yellow and red cards. But we are far away (from that).”

[MIKA27]

HAMILTON: FERRARI NEED TO START PUMPING ON ALL CYLINDERS

Ferrari need to get their act together, and fast, to prevent the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship becoming even more of a private Mercedes battle than it already appears.

The sport’s oldest, most successful and glamorous team flattered to deceive again in Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, while Mercedes celebrated their fourth successive one-two finish. No season has ever started with such a run.

“We thought it would be a lot closer… but we are delivering on a very, very high percentage,” said five-times F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who finished second to Finnish teammate Valtteri Bottas in Baku.

“Valtteri and I are both delivering on the laps and the team are pumping on all cylinders and they [Ferrari] are not,” he added.

“When, if, they start pumping on all cylinders and start delivering, then we’ll have much more of a fight.”

Ferrari are 74 points adrift of Mercedes in the constructors’ standings while Sebastian Vettel, third in the championship, is 35 behind Bottas.

Up until the second phase of Saturday qualifying, it seemed Ferrari were on it. Charles Leclerc led every practice session and seemed destined for his second pole position in four races.

And then, switching from soft to medium tyres, the Monegasque hit the wall and it all went wrong.

Bottas seized pole instead and led Hamilton to the flag in a race short on drama, with Vettel third and Leclerc fifth, taking the fastest lap as a consolation.

That continued a trend: At the Australia season-opener, Ferrari arrived as favourites after lighting up the timing screens in testing. Neither driver ended up on the podium.

In Bahrain, there was more disappointment when Leclerc led from pole before his engine lost power and he finished third, with fastest lap, and Vettel fifth.

China, where Ferrari had looked sure to use their straight-line speed advantage to telling effect, proved a similar letdown.

“They (Ferrari) are very good at proving they’ve got the pace when it doesn’t count. That’s the problem,” commented 1996 world champion Damon Hill on Sky Sports television.

“Mercedes are so mature now, they don’t need to show what they can do. They just know where they really stand and how to use the cards in their hand.”

Hamilton, with two wins and two second places but a point behind Bottas because of the Finn’s fastest lap in Australia, suggested his performance had been below his best.

“I just struggle here,” said the Briton. “This is not our strongest race of the season. This has always been a bit of a difficult race for me.

“If both (their) cars delivered as we delivered, and their drivers delivered as we delivered, I think it would have been a lot closer.”

Vettel, despite having won four titles in a row with a dominant Red Bull between 2010-13, said it had all become a bit boring.

“So boring. It’s not just four races. It has been four years, more or less,” the German told reporters.

“We are pushing as hard as we can. But you need to respect that they are doing phenomenally well and getting their cars most of the time in the right place.

“But I’m confident. I believe in this team and I know we can improve. I think we have a good car. We just haven’t managed yet to put it always where it belongs.”

[MIKA27]

BINOTTO: I THINK THAT THE GAP IS NOT SO BIG

Ferrari are still hunting for their first win of the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship season after rivals Mercedes chalked up four straight one-two finishes, but team boss Mattia Binotto was adamant things are not as bad as they look.

The Italian team started the year as favourites on the back of strong testing form yet all they have to show for their speed so far is a pole position, two fastest laps and three third-place finishes.

“I think that obviously four races into the season, no win for Ferrari, four wins for Mercedes, no doubt they are very strong,” Binotto told reporters after Sunday´s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

“Certainly they (Mercedes) have got a slightly better car, but I think that the gap is not so big and the points of the result are not reflecting the true potential of the cars,” added the Swiss-born Italian.

Ferrari, F1’s most successful team, last won a title in 2008 while Mercedes have won every championship for the past five years and on Sunday celebrated the best start to a campaign by anyone in the two-car team era.

The Italians are already 74 points behind a well-drilled Mercedes team that looks as dominant as ever with 17 races remaining.

Mysteriously off the pace in the season-opener in Australia, Ferrari were dominant in Bahrain only for engine trouble to deny Charles Leclerc a maiden win.

In China, they were off the pace again, whereas in Baku a qualifying crash for pole favourite Leclerc put paid to their chances, despite the team having dominated every representative running of the practice.

“They’re very good at proving they have the pace when it doesn’t count,” former world champion Damon Hill commented on Sky Sports television.

Binotto said, however, that Ferrari had the pace, “Yesterday, as we just said with Charles, we´ve got the potential for pole, and if you´ve got a car fast enough to score potentially the pole, you´ve got a good car overall.”

“In the race today, yes, we weren´t as fast as them, but we didn´t finish 20 seconds behind.”

Four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel, who finished third in Baku with Leclerc fifth, likened unlocking Ferrari´s potential to solving a Rubik´s cube.

“We have a lot of clever people in the team who could solve that puzzle in less than two minutes,” said Vettel. “But in this case the cube is a bit bigger.”

[MIKA27]

MISERABLE SEASON HITS NEW LOW FOR WILLIAMS IN BAKU

A drain cover, a crash, last place. This isn’t the way it was meant to be for Williams as their season simply goes from bad to worse.

One of Formula 1’s most-storied teams – with nine constructors’ championships – Williams has been struggling for speed and money for years, but the Azerbaijan Grand Prix hit a new low.

First came the loose drain cover which wrecked George Russell’s car in Friday practice, a costly blow for Williams’ small budget. To add insult to injury, the truck carrying his car hit a bridge, damaging the crane, which then smeared Russell’s Williams with hydraulic fluid.

Russell is the reigning Formula Two champion, but Williams’ uncompetitive car means that, instead of making waves in his rookie season, he’s currently better known for his unplanned encounter with Azerbaijani drain covers.

Then it was the turn of Robert Kubica, whose welcome return to Formula One this season after a serious injury has been short on inspirational moments.

The Pole has been the last-place finisher at all four races so far, and crashed in Saturday qualifying. Kubica’s weekend somehow got worse from there.

The disadvantage of starting from the pit lane was amplified when the stewards ruled a breach of the rules for the procedure and handed Kubica a drive-through penalty during the race.

Despite Williams’ proud history and current poor form, it’s not tempted to look for a new owner. Williams fiercely guards its independence and is proud of still having founder Frank Williams listed as team principal, even if his daughter Claire Williams now handles day-to-day operations.

“This is what we do. We don’t have anything else to do. So it is not on the market,” Claire Williams said Friday.

“I want to go out and prove that we can do what we are in this sport to do, and that’s to get back on the podium and to win races again. That may take us a long time, but it took Frank more than 10 years to do it when he first started in this sport.”

The immediate goal, however, is to avoid finishing the season with no points for the first time since 1977.

[MIKA27]

RICCIARDO: KIND OF CRAPPY ON MY PART

Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo will have a three-place grid drop at next month’s Spanish Grand Prix as punishment for what the Australian described as a moment of panic in Azerbaijan on Sunday.

Ricciardo provided the bizarre incident of the day in Baku when he reversed into Daniil Kvyat’s Toro Rosso after trying to overtake the Russian and then going down the run-off area on lap 31.

Unaware that the Russian had also failed to negotiate turn three and had stopped right behind, Ricciardo put the undamaged Renault into reverse and crunched straight into the side of his rival’s car.

Both drivers subsequently retired and stewards blamed Ricciardo, handing him the grid drop as well as two penalty points — his first in the 12 month period.

The Australian apologised to Kvyat, a former Red Bull team mate, and accepted full responsibility, “I obviously don’t feel good about what just happened.”

“As soon as I went down the escape road I guess it was just a sense of urgency and a bit of panic, if you will. Just trying to minimise damage and lose as little time as possible.

“I found reverse and started going and to be honest I had no idea he was there. I guess the urgency stopped me from looking,” he added. “I just thought he would have cut back and stayed on track.

“Kind of crappy on my part and I certainly feel bad for the team and for Dani… I feel pretty small at the moment.”

Ricciardo has had a difficult time since he left Red Bull at the end of last season as a race winner and joined the French manufacturer.

A winner in Baku in 2017, the Australian has scored points in only one of four races this season as has team mate Nico Hulkenberg.

“It was looking quite good for us, we had started to pick up the pace and closing on Dani, I saw a gap so I thought I’d have a go,” he said.

Kvyat accepted the apology in good spirit.

“These things happen, it’s racing like I always said when I make a mistake,” said the Russian, who has been in a few high-profile collisions in his time.

“I was a bit disappointed right in the moment but now what can you do about it? There was potential for maybe a point or two today.”

[MIKA27]

RED BULL: WE’VE TAKEN A STEP CLOSER TO MERCEDES AND FERRARI

Red Bull report from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Round 4 of the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship, at Baku City Circuit.

Max Verstappen, 4th: “In general we had a good race. I always had the Mercedes and Ferrari in sight and I was just trying to close the gap. At the start I was blocked and couldn’t really brake deep into the corner, which allowed Perez to get past me. Of course, that lost me a bit of ground but you don’t want to risk everything on Lap 1.”

“Once I got back past, we went a little bit longer than the others on the soft tyre and I had a good feeling with the car. We had good pace, especially on the medium tyre in the second stint where I closed the gap by seven or eight seconds.”

“With the Virtual Safety Car, I think I lost too much tyre temperature and I couldn’t get it back as quickly as the others. Around here, tyre temperature is key and you end up sliding a lot more with low temperatures so it wasn’t worth risking the position in the final laps.”

“The performance in Barcelona will of course depend on the upgrades that everyone is bringing but hopefully we can be even more competitive and close the gap even further.”

Pierre Gasly, DNF: “This weekend has been a lot better than the first three races. I felt better with the car and I’ve been able to drive more the way I want to. In qualifying I managed to show some good performance with a good lap in Q1.”

“In the race, starting from the pit lane, we knew it would be tricky to fight at the front but we had a car fast enough to come back and score good points. Things in the race went pretty well and we got to P6 but unfortunately we didn’t make it to the end as I had a driveshaft failure.”

“Overall, I’m adapting myself and we’re going in the right direction. I think the car’s a bit more predictable and I’ve changed my approach in the car too. I still need to work on some things but each weekend it’s improving and together with the Team, we’re going in the right direction.”

Christian Horner, Team Principal: “Max drove a strong race today. Unfortunately, after losing a position at the start to Perez, by the time he managed to get back past, he’d lost touch with the lead group. He then drove a very strong middle stint and caught the lead group by 10 seconds.”

“He was within three seconds of Sebastian before the Virtual Safety Car, ironically caused by Pierre, which took too much temperature out of his tyres and he just didn’t have the same pace after that. Not knowing fully what had happened with Pierre’s car, we decided to make sure that we got Max to the finish and he drove a conservative final few laps.”

“For Pierre, whilst it’s been frustrating for him results wise, this has actually been his strongest race weekend of the year to date. He drove a very strong race today and when you compare his pace to Charles Leclerc, who started the race on the same tyre, for fifty percent of his first stint he was faster than Charles.”

“Unfortunately, a driveshaft issue caused his retirement fifteen laps before what would have been an easy sixth place. Pierre can take an awful lot of positives out of the weekend for a very strong performance and it’s positive that we’ve taken a step closer to Mercedes and Ferrari.”

[MIKA27]

HAAS: IT’S A VERY DISAPPOINTING RESULT

Rich Energy Haas F1 Team driver Kevin Magnussen soldiered to a 13th-place finish Sunday in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the fourth round of the 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Teammate Romain Grosjean saw an early end to his day when he retired 13 laps from the end of today’s 51-lap race with brake issues.

Magnussen started from the 12th grid position on a set of Pirelli P Zero Red soft tires as did most of the rest of the field. He dropped a position before pitting on lap eight for a set of Yellow medium tires. He resumed in 18th but steadily made his way back toward his start position, reaching 12th by lap 14.

He held that relative position before dropping a couple of spots on lap 32. He pitted a second time for a new set of Red soft tires during a brief virtual safety car period for an incident on lap 40 and resumed in 13th, where he stayed until the finish.

Grosjean was one of five drivers to start the race on Yellow mediums from his 14th position on the grid, and after dropping two positions during the opening laps, he advanced as high as seventh on lap 13 as most of the field cycled through for their initial pit stops.

He climbed back to 11th before a brake lockup, while negotiating turn 15 on lap 25, sent him briefly down a safety road. He resumed in 17th and held station before finally pitting from 16th for a set of Red soft tires on lap 36. Three laps later, he was called into the pits to investigate his VF-19’s brake issue and subsequently retired.

Today’s results dropped the Rich Energy Haas F1 Team two positions to eighth in the constructors’ standings, four points behind seventh-place Renault and four points ahead of ninth-place Toro Rosso.

Romain Grosjean, DNF: “My brake pedal was going to the floor, so for safety reasons we had to retire my car. Before that it was going as well as we could have hoped for. The first few laps on the medium tire were very difficult, then the softs grained, but we came back a little in the fight.”

“I was really pushing the car to its limits. I had a lock up in turn 15, I went straight and had to go a little bit on the escape road, which wasn’t great. I then tried to hang in there, but the pace wasn’t there. We need to sit down now and really analyze everything we can. We need to react to be able to fight for a good constructors’ championship place.”

“I believe we’ve got the car for it, it’s just very annoying to have this underlying issue, which we believe is tire related. Hopefully for Barcelona we can be in a better place.”

Kevin Magnussen, 13th: “It was a tough day today. It’s obviously not the result we were hoping for. We’ll work hard for Barcelona and move on, at least we have some data from there in terms of where the car was working in testing, although temperatures will be a lot different.”

“We didn’t expect this kind of start to the season, but all we can do is keep working to resolve our issues – keep looking for a solution.”

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal: “It’s a very disappointing result. We just need to get better in understanding the tires. We’ve been struggling with the introduction of these new tires since the beginning of the year.”

“We need to get a grip of it. It’s quite disappointing that everything is in if you get the tire to work or not. Everybody else seems to be figuring it out, so we need to work hard on that.”

[MIKA27]

TORO ROSSO: POINTS WERE A MISSED OPPORTUNITY

Toro Rosso report from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Round 4 of the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship, at Baku City Circuit.

Alexander Albon, 11th: “Finishing just outside of the points isn’t what I wanted. I had an OK start, I got a bit boxed in and went in the wrong gaps and at the wrong time, then I touched the wall on the exit of Turn 1 so I was a bit cautious into the next couple of corners.”

“After that, our pace was decent but I think we stayed out too long and lost some time. We fell behind the whole pack after we pitted, and the problem is that everyone is so close in the midfield that we needed a bigger pace advantage than we had to make up some ground. At the end, I was able to make a few overtakes and I had some fun out there, that’s the main thing!”

Daniil Kvyat, DNF: “It wasn’t the best of days as we had to retire the car through no fault of our own, but these things happen in racing. I have no issue with Daniel, he recognised his mistake and we now turn the page. Of course, I was a bit disappointed in the moment as I thought we could have scored a point, but there’s not much you can do about it.”

“Yesterday, our car was great in Qualifying, but we struggled with some tyre management today, so we’ll investigate to understand why and just move on to the next race. We have a strong package and I’m sure our time will come.”

Jody Egginton, Technical Director: “Today’s race has not been particularly good for us and we leave Baku feeling points were a missed opportunity.”

“Dany’s race-start tyre set dropped off unexpectedly early which forced an early stop and put him out of position. Although Dany was running in the points after his pit stop, the incident with Ricciardo meant a further time loss and an eventual retirement due to the damage sustained.”

“Alex had a reasonable race and just fell short of scoring one point, but we have to be honest as a team and say we probably could have done a bit more to help ourselves with our pitstop strategy today.”

“These things happen, so we will go away, review the numbers, and ensure we do not fall into a similar trap in the future. We now shift our focus to the next race, where we expect to see again a very intense battle for points in the midfield.”

Franz Tost, Team Principal: “After the good pace shown in Qualifying we were in a good position and quite optimistic for the race. Unfortunately, the outcome was completely different from what we expected. Both drivers lost a position on the first lap, and very soon they both started to complain about graining.”

“The first one to come in for his pitstop was Daniil who switched to Prime tyres. He showed a strong performance on this set and caught up to the pack to fight for 10th position until he had an incident with Ricciardo, who outbroke himself, causing both drivers to go off track.”

“When Ricciardo tried to re-join the track, he reversed into Daniil and heavily damaged his floor, which lost around 60 points of downforce. This made it impossible for Daniil to continue and we had to retire the car. As for Alex, we pitted him too late but he was able to recover in his second stint.”

“Nevertheless, he could only manage to finish in 11th. We have to analyse what went wrong today to come back stronger in Spain.”

Toyoharu Tanabe, Honda F1 Technical Director: “Our primary aim today was to get all four of our cars to the finish with our new Spec 2 ICE, therefore it was a shame that two of them had to retire. Daniil was very unlucky to retire because of an accident that was not his fault and it’s a shame that Alex finished where he started, as it is just one place outside the points.”

“On the positive side, our Spec 2 ICE ran trouble free on its first race weekend, which is a good sign. We will now analyse all the data and work closely with our teams as we prepare for the next race, the Spanish Grand Prix.”

[MIKA27]

RENAULT: VERY CLEARLY IT’S BEEN A BAD WEEKEND

Renault F1 Team missed out on scoring points at the 2019 Formula 1 SOCAR Azerbaijan Grand Prix with Nico Hülkenberg fourteenth and Daniel Ricciardo retiring at the Baku City Circuit on Sunday.

Daniel, from tenth on the grid, made a bright opening to the race before an incident on lap 31 led to the Australian picking up damage to the rear of his car. He consequently retired from the race after pulling in to the pits.

Nico also made a clean getaway from fifteenth on the grid, but struggled to make any headway from thereon, finishing outside the points in fourteenth.

Nico started from P15 on Pirelli’s new Soft (red) tyres, pitting on lap 8 for new Medium (yellow) tyres and again on lap 34 for new Softs.

Daniel started from P10 on new Soft tyres, pitting on lap 10 for new Medium tyres before retiring on lap 31.

Nico Hülkenberg, 14th: “It’s been a tough weekend. Today I had no response or anything to offer. I was pushing really hard, I felt like I was driving as best as I could but couldn’t extract the maximum from the car today.”

“We have a lot to investigate going forward, but maybe it’s one of those mysterious weekends, which happen. It’s been difficult from lap one on Friday and we’ve consistently struggled. It’s a bitter one for me and the team, but we’ll move on from this and be as best prepared for the next one.”

Daniel Ricciardo, DNF: “It was a strange incident which forced the retirement, but it was my mistake and I’m sorry to the team and to Daniil [Kvyat]. It was a bit of urgency on my behalf and I didn’t think straight for a few seconds, so I have to take that one on the chin.”

“The team certainly deserved more today. We were bringing on a nice rhythm there and had some good pace on the Medium to continue on and we probably could have scored points.”

Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal: “Very clearly it’s been a bad weekend. From FP1 onwards we never found our pace despite big changes to the car overnight. We finally managed to recover an acceptable competitiveness level during the race for Daniel but it would never be the case for Nico.”

“Overall, the first stint of the season has been disappointing, but if we manage to get all things in order we can have a decent competitiveness level as demonstrated on several occasions. We must absolutely see the start of the European season as an opportunity to reset.”

[MIKA27]

MCLAREN: BOTH CARS IN THE POINTS EQUALS A GOOD DAY AT THE OFFICE

McLaren report from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Round 4 of the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship, at Baku City Circuit.

Carlos Sainz: “Happy to score good points today after yesterday’s setback with that yellow flag. I knew it was just a matter of time and having a clean race. Today we showed solid pace throughout the whole race.”

“Congratulations to everyone in the team for our first double-points finish of the year. Great effort from everyone. We need to keep pushing though, we have to be ambitious and aim higher! It’s a nice boost ahead of my home grand prix.”

Lando Norris: “Overall, it’s a good race for us as a team. A double-points finish, the first one of the year, which is a good thing. The whole race was pretty good. My start was probably the best I’ve done all year and I made no mistakes. I lost the tyres a little early in the first stint so boxed onto the Mediums, had a good middle stint and we took the decision to try the Softs after the VSC.

“The thinking was that the other tyres, the Medium, while not worn, had done a lot and wouldn’t be able to turn on as well. It looked like they did, so it was the wrong decision. It could have worked, maybe if it had been a bit colder, but it didn’t and that’s just something we have to look back on. It always happens in racing! A good weekend altogether.”

Gil de Ferran, Sporting Director: “Both cars in the points equals a good day at the office. Although perhaps from the outside it may have looked like a straightforward race, it was, in reality, anything but. Our cars had good pace, nevertheless, we had to be extremely careful with our tyre management throughout.

“Given that we had a ‘free’ pit-stop, we elected to take both a conservative and aggressive strategy at the same time by pitting Lando during the Virtual Safety Car. In this manner, as a team we had every strategic eventuality covered.

“Congratulations to both Lando and Carlos, who drove flawless and perfectly managed races. Congratulations to our strategy team, who executed the complex race to perfection. Congratulations to our pit-crew who, once again, excelled.

“And finally, congratulations to everyone at McLaren who has continually put in a tremendous effort at every grand prix that we go to. We leave here with a good taste in our mouth, but still, as always, calmly determined to continue to step forward.”

[MIKA27]

RACING POINT: WE’RE BEGINNING TO SEE THE POTENTIAL OF THE RP19

Racing Point report from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Round 4 of the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship, at Baku City Circuit.

Sergio Perez, 6th: “It has been a fantastic day. It was looking good at the start when I passed Verstappen, but we didn’t have the pace to fight against the Red Bulls over the race distance. I was actually focussed on keeping the McLarens at bay. It was not easy to keep them behind and I had to drive carefully for the whole of the race.”

“After the VSC I was able to get good temperature in the tyres and this helped me stay in P6. I am happy we succeeded in keeping our position, now we can celebrate a good day for the team with both cars in the points. We have an upgrade coming in Barcelona and I am looking forward to our performance there.”

Lance Stroll, 9th: “It feels good to be back in the points because it was a very challenging race from start to finish. This is a track that has no margin for error, keeping concentration was a key factor and that is what we did today.”

“It was fun; we overtook cars on track and brought the car home in P9. We were fortunate with the contact between Kvyat and Ricciardo because we picked up a couple of places there, then we overtook a few more cars on track, but the car felt good throughout the race.”

“I am really happy with where we are right now, fighting for points at every race but there’s no doubt that it’s very tight in the midfield and we are going to have to keep pushing.”

Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal: “We can leave Baku feeling pleased with a job well done. It’s our first double points finish of the season and our strongest performance so far. Baku has traditionally been a competitive track for us and it was important we took advantage this weekend.”

“Sergio’s strong qualifying and great opening lap laid the groundwork for a clean one-stop race with few dramas. He delivered great pace, raced intelligently, and brought the car home for sixth place.”

“Lance too drove incredibly well and was involved in some great battles in the midfield. His strong start brought him right into contention straight away – up inside the top ten – where he raced for the most of the afternoon to pick up a couple of points.”

“I think we are beginning to see the potential of the RP19 be released, which is encouraging. This was certainly one of our more competitive tracks, but the car has been well balanced for most of the weekend and that should be a good sign for the races to come.”

[MIKA27]

ALFA ROMEO: TO BE HONEST IT COULD HAVE BEEN MORE

Alfa Romeo report from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Round 4 of the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship, at Baku City Circuit.

Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal: “As happy we’ve been after yesterday’s qualifying, the more disappointed we are after the race. One point I call damage limitation, but to be honest it could have been more. The bad news came this morning regarding Kimi’s front wing.”

“It was a marginal error with the deflection – on Antonio’s car the same front wing with the same specification was fine – but the consequence was that we had to change the specification and Kimi had to start from the pit lane. And as surprisingly there was no safety car this time, we were stuck in traffic with both cars, and whilst both Kimi and Antonio did a got job, our race was compromised.”

Kimi Räikkönen, 10th: “Not an easy weekend for us. Wasn’t the plan to start from the pit lane but it is what it is, so one point is kind of the maximum we could achieve today. We pitted earlier to get out of the traffic but then I struggled for the whole race with switching the tyres on. Bit disappointed as I was expecting a lot more but I have the feeling that the next race will be easier for us.”

Antonio Giovinazzi, 12th: “It was a challenging race. We started from P17 on the grid due to my 10-place penalty. I lost too much time to stay out in the first stint and got stuck in traffic. It’s a shame because I had a good pace but unfortunately there was no safety car and I couldn’t challenge for a place in Top Ten. Now I have to stay focused and keep working for the next race in Barcelona.”

[MIKA27]

Claire Williams: I have no intention of selling team

Claire Williams insists she has no intention of selling the Formula 1 team that bears her family name, following speculation that billionaire Dmitry Mazepin has shown an interest.

Mazepin, father of Formula 2 racer Nikita Mazepin, made a bid for Force India last year but lost out to Lawrence Stroll and has now been linked to Williams.

Whilst the team isn't in desperate need of financial assistance – though it operates on one of the smaller budgets – it is in a dire situation performance wise, with the team's FW42 well off the pace and firmly bringing up the rear of the grid, therefore a major cash boost could aid their turnaround.

Deputy team principal Williams insists there have been no conversations with Mazepin about selling the team and made it clear that it isn't for sale in its current situation.

"I saw those stories; I paid little attention to them," she said. "I haven’t met Mr Mazepin to talk about that. We had a brief conversation in the mid-part of last year, but subsequent to that there have been no conversations.

"I’d just like to be really categorical about it: Williams is not for sale. I have no intention of putting Williams up for sale. I don’t see why we would.

"I think certainly in times like this, that the team is going through at the moment, these rumours always come up, but with a business head on, when you’re team isn’t doing well selling at this juncture wouldn’t be the right time to do so. I think you would only investigate that opportunity if you are doing well. That’s the right time to sell.

"But Williams is in this sport and has been for more than four decades and we’ve never wanted to sell. This is what we do; we don’t have anything else to do. So, it is not on the market. I don’t want to sell it to everybody. I want to go out and prove that we can do what we are in this sport to do – and that’s to get back on the podium and to win races again."

[MIKA27]

Explained: The tiny margin that cost Raikkonen his grid position

Kimi Raikkonen was excluded from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying result on race day, when his Alfa Romeo Formula 1 car failed a test designed to prevent excessive front-wing flexing.
Raikkonen was due to start Sunday's race eighth, but was forced to take a pitlane start as Alfa Romeo changed the specification of the front wing flap adjuster after FIA stewards declared the wing had "deflected more than 5mm under a load of 60N"

Jake Boxall-Legge joins Glenn Freeman to explain how the front wing failed, and the confusing chain of events before and after that test took place.

While the story behind the decision does not make total sense, the outcome could serve as a warning shot to all teams as F1 adapts to a new era following the sad death of the FIA's Charlie Whiting on the eve of the 2019 season.

[MIKA27]

FIA opens F1 tender for brake systems, wheel rims

The FIA has opened tenders for standard brake systems and wheel rims in Formula 1 from 2021 as part of its ongoing push to drive down costs for teams.

With F1 preparing for a new generation of cars and a wider overhaul of the sport in two years' time, there is a desire to rein in areas where teams spend a lot of money doing their own things for minimal performance gains.

Earlier this year, a tender for standard gearboxes was launched, and now two separate invites have been opened for parties interested in supplying brake parts and wheel rims.

The tenders run from 2021 until 2024, but depending on the outcome of commercial negotiations with teams it is possible they could be extended until 2025.

The brake tender is split into two parts – one involves brake pads and friction discs, while the other involves a brake hydraulics systems that comprises the front and rear brake calipers, a master cylinder and brake by wire components.

The wheel rim tender is for 18-inch rims, with scope for the wheel width to change slightly for 2021. The idea is that each team will be supplied with a minimum of 60 sets for the year.

All the tenders demands that the parts live up to the performance currently expected in F1, and that all teams be provided with equal specifications.

The submission date for all the tenders is May 22, with the decision of the FIA set to be made on June 14.

F1 managing director Ross Brawn has suggested that the scope for standard parts will extend much further than what has currently been put out for tender.

Speaking to the official F1 website earlier this year he said: "For example, we want every team to have the same pit equipment,"

"There is a lot of stuff we have common ground on. There is some stuff we all agree shouldn't change and there's stuff in the middle being argued about. Everyone makes their own fire extinguishers. It's a nice technical challenge, but it doesn't add performance. We can standardise those and help reduce the costs."

In theory, the FIA has until the end of June to finalise the 2021 technical regulations, although there is some discussion among teams about potentially delaying this move until later in the year.

[MIKA27]

Grosjean: Haas struggles "unsurprising but f***ing annoying"

Romain Grosjean has described the repeat of Haas Formula 1 team's tyre struggles in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as "not too surprising" but "f***ing annoying".
Haas started the season with the fourth-fastest car but has not scored points since Kevin Magnussen finished sixth in the opening race in Australia, as it failed to convert strong one-lap pace into race performance in Bahrain and China.

In Azerbaijan, neither car made it into the top-10 shootout in qualifying, Magnussen finished a distant 13th and Grosjean fell out of the points before retiring with a brake problem.

Asked if it was not surprising to struggle in Baku, where Haas had predicted a difficult time, Grosjean said: "Yeah, but f***ing annoying. Somehow not too surprising, but we need to sit down, really have a strong think about what we can do.

"Barcelona may be warm so that should be fine, but then we have Canada and Monaco and again, if we want to fight for fourth or fifth in the constructors' championship we've got to be able to be good in all circumstances.

"That's really something we need to look into, understand and solve – as well as these small issues we had in my side of the garage, which has been quite a fair bit."

Grosjean was running quite competitively before he locked up and ran down an escape road, which cost him several positions.

The Frenchman, who is one of four drivers yet to score a point in 2019, said he "couldn't really trust the front tyres" during the grand prix.

"The pace on the medium was a bit better than maybe what we thought, and I could play a little bit with the guys around," Grosjean said. "But then I locked up in Turn 15, went straight and came back, but I had to do a pitstop."

Grosjean eventually retired because he "completely lost the brake pedal", but his team boss Gunther Steiner said he had "no confidence" in the car before that.

"He said, 'I'm not going to do anything stupid because it doesn't help me if I overdrive it then crash it'," Steiner explained. "We learned that one last year, that doesn't help. Sometimes it's better if you know it isn't working and you live with it. Is it great? No. But would it be great to be slow and have two destroyed cars? No."

MIKA: Ok sure... Struggles are annoying but are they as annoying as HAAS putting up with constant crashes, DNF's on his part? 

I'm surprised HAAS gave this guy another season. Just saying.

[MIKA27]

Patrese reunited with Williams FW14 for Minardi Day at Imola

Italian Formula 1 star Riccardo Patrese was reunited with the Williams FW14, in which he finished third in the 1991 World Championship behind Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell, at Imola’s Historic Minardi Day last weekend.
Patrese won the Mexican and Portuguese Grands Prix in 1991 in the Renault V10-powered car, and retired from the lead of two other races that year as the semi-automatic transmission proved problematic. He retired from F1 at the end of the 1993 season, having won six grands prix.

The Williams – which happened to be in Mansell's 'red five' livery, rather than Patrese's number six – was one of 31 F1 cars that took to the track across the weekend at Imola.

“It was an incredible feeling getting back behind the wheel of the car that gave me incredible results, one of which was the front row of the grid beside Ayrton Senna right here in Imola in the 1991 grand prix,” said Patrese. “The warmth of the fans was wonderful and I must congratulate Giancarlo Minardi for having given life to this perfectly successful event with incredible machines.

“These events are even more beautiful than an F1 grand prix because they give all the fans the chance to come in touch with the cars and drivers.”

Also on track, Pierluigi Martini drove the Minardi M189, while Alex Caffi piloted an Ensign N176. Other racing stars present included Emanuele Pirro, Alessandro Nannini, Luca Badoer, Fabrizio Barbazza, Roberto Moreno, Andrea Montermini, Luis Perez Sala, Paolo Barilla, Giovanni Lavaggi, Bruno Giacomelli, Howden Ganley, Richard Attwood, Derek Daly, Hans Herrmann, Teddy Pilette, David Piper, Jo Ramirez, Marc Surer, Patrick Tambay and Mike Wilds.

The fourth edition of the event attracted a record crowd of 15,000.

Minardi founder Giancarlo Minardi said of the weekend: “I must congratulate all the fans because it is not easy to find a polite public that respects the spaces and is aware they are walking in the presence of fantastic cars.

"It was great to see Riccardo Patrese at the wheel of the Williams. He got back into the game with the best times.”

[MIKA27]

Norris escaped “big hit” during closing stages in Baku

McLaren’s Lando Norris admits he was “nervous” about potentially losing his top-10 finish after hitting the wall in the late stages of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The Englishman survived the contact and brought his McLaren-Renault safely home in eighth place, behind team mate Carlos Sainz. It was the rookie’s second score in his first four starts, following his sixth place in Bahrain.

“I had a few wall hits,” Norris told Motorsport.com. “I had one three or four laps from the end, which I got pretty nervous about, because it was quite a big hit. But I managed to hang on, the car was all fine, thankfully.

“It’s not an easy track to not ever make a big mistake that costs us in a big way. I have made some here and there, but nothing which cost us position or points.”

Norris spent the first part of the race chasing Racing Point’s Sergio Perez, while holding off Sainz. However late in the race he made a second tyre stop which cost him only one spot, to his team mate, and thus did not impact the team’s score.

“It was not an easy race,” he said. “I was obviously stuck behind Checo for most of it, apart from the end. I just didn't really have the straightline speed to attempt to pass him at all. A bit frustrating as we had the overall pace to do a little bit better, but from a team perspective, a double points finish, I'm happy.

“As you could tell, it was still not easy for anyone to pass, even though Carlos had even better pace, he couldn't pass Checo either. It was a tough one, but I'll take what we got.”