FORMULA 1

[MIKA27]

WILLIAMS: OUR STRAIGHT-LINE SPEED MADE DEFENDING DIFFICULT

Williams reports from the Italian Grand Prix weekend, Round 14 of the 2018 Formula 1 World Championship, at Monza.

Dave Robson, Senior Race Engineer: “This was another action-packed race, during which our drivers battled with several cars. Robert enjoyed a good opening lap and got up to P13 before falling back as the race progressed. He eventually completed a two-stop race having flat-spotted a tyre whilst defending from Grosjean. George completed a more conventional one-stop race and almost managed to beat Vettel but unfortunately was overtaken on the final lap. Our straight-line speed made defending difficult, but George did a good job to hold on to P14, showing good pace relative to the cars around him.”

“Our attention now turns to the final set of flyaway races, which begins in Singapore in a couple of weeks. The races then come in quick succession as we make our way across the World.”

George Russell: “Our pace was surprising, especially considering Monza is one of the three worst circuits of the year for us with our straight-line speed. We definitely have some positives to take away, it shows that we did a good job with the set-up, with the tyres, with everything else in our control. I think we can be quite pleased with the result.”

Robert Kubica: “It wasn’t easy, overall the weekend was up and down. Generally, the race started pretty well, but then I struggled with the front-left tyre in the corners. We had a few battles and I tried to defend as much as I could, but I struggled to stay in the tow of the other cars. I tried my best and that’s how it is.”

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HAAS: IT WAS A VERY DISAPPOINTING RACE

Rich Energy Haas F1 Team driver Romain Grosjean finished 16th while teammate Kevin Magnussen retired due to a hydraulic issue in Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix, the 14th round of the 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship at Autodromo Nazionale Monza.

Grosjean started 13th on a new set of Pirelli P Zero Red soft tires but quickly lost ground when he was hit from behind and forced down the escape road in turn one on the opening lap and rejoined in 16th. He was back to his original starting position by lap seven as a result of a pair of incidents ahead of him, but then spun in turn 10 on lap 10, requiring a stop to replace his flat-spotted tires.

He took medium tires and resumed in 20th, then pitted a second time during a virtual safety car period on lap 31 for a new set of softs. Grosjean avoided trouble the rest of the way and crossed the finish line 16th.

Magnussen showed early promise of a points-paying finish when he held ground from his 11th place starting position, moving up to 10th by lap four and to eighth by the seventh tour around the 5.793-kilometer (3.6-mile), 11-turn circuit. He was 10th when he pitted on lap 21 to switch from the soft tires on which he started the race for a set of mediums, resuming in 14th.

He advanced to ninth by lap 30 and held that position for five laps until a brief lockup while defending through turn one on lap 35. His tires flat-spotted, he pitted for a set of soft tires and resumed in 15th. Nine laps later, Magnussen was called to the pits after the team detected a hydraulic issue and the car was retired.

With today’s results, Rich Energy Haas F1 Team remained ninth in the constructor’s championship with 26 points, eight behind eighth-place Alfa Romeo and 25 ahead of 10th-place Williams.

Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc scored the victory from the pole for the second consecutive race and the second time in his career in today’s Italian Grand Prix. He took the checkered flag by a margin of .835 of a second, beating the Mercedes duo of runner-up Valtteri Bottas and third-place-finisher Lewis Hamilton.

Seven races remain on the 2019 Formula One schedule. Next up is the Singapore Grand Prix set for Sept. 22 on the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Romain Grosjean, 16th: “It was very complicated today. I was hit from behind into turn one and it picked up the anti-stall. I had to pull the clutch, release the clutch, and by the time I had done all that I was driving through the polystyrene blocks and was dead last through the first corner. I tried to push to come back, then I had a spin at Ascari.

I came into the pits and asked the team to remove a fair bit of aero balance, as the car was very much on the nose. We did it, but the car was still overbalanced. We pitted again and removed one percent of aero balance, and the car was still overbalanced. Definitely something went wrong with the car today. We need to analyze everything, the balance we had today was definitely not what we had during the rest of the weekend. A lot to do.”

Kevin Magnussen, DNF: “I had a hydraulic problem at the end, so we had to retire, unfortunately. Until then, it had been going okay. I was fighting to keep people behind, which is normal for me these days. That said, we had been in a good position and a lot of other people were having problems. It was just bad luck to have our problem at the end. On the positive, we were in the top ten from beginning to end – of our race at least. It wasn’t a true picture but at least we were going for it. It looked like we could do something, but obviously I’m gutted we had to retire at the end.”

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal: “It was a very disappointing race. Kevin (Magnussen) started off running pretty well, but then it all went wrong when he locked up. The car was just difficult to drive. A hydraulic issue then meant we had to retire the car. Romain (Grosjean), it looked like he was hit at turn one, his car was out of balance after that. We’ll need to see what happened, but the car was just slow, there must have been something wrong with it. He couldn’t drive it. He tried to get the balance back on the pit stop, but it was not possible. We were slow. It’s a disappointing weekend for the whole team. We just need to regroup and keep on going until we find a solution to our lack of performance.”

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Monday Funny: Mario Kart F1 - Italian Grand Prix

It's so simple, so dumb, and its exactly what we all need on a Monday. More Mario Kart F1 memes, everybody.

[skalls]

Seb looks like he's lost that edge.  There are times when it seems like he's not driving with a purpose or goal.  Wouldn't be surprised if he hung it up after this year.

Qualifying was an absolute joke.  The teams outwitted themselves.

Race was pretty entertaining but not great.  LeClerc drove a great race.  Even if LH got by him the Ferraris had the grunt in their engines to get by them in the straights.

I do think he earned a penalty for not leaving room though.  I like the stewards for letting us watch racing again, but if you squeeze a guy into the grass that's not really a good defend.

[avaldes]

I think Leclerc is the real deal. I also think Seb has been holding on too tight and is trying to do things with that car that he can't do. It's pretty obvious when you look at the past 3 years that whenever he tries to keep up with Hamilton or anyone faster, he makes a mistake. For his driving style he just isn't in the right car, or in the right frame of mind.

As for the pass that wasn't. I think Hamilton has had things his way for a LONG time and hadn't really had a rival who could keep him at bay. These fast tracks are more suited to the Ferrari, so that played into Leclerc's hand. The stewards let Verstappen and Leclerc race for two races where they banged wheels, I don't see why they wouldn't let Leclerc and Hamilton do the same. I still can't believe it is only his second season in F1!

I also see Hamilton being gracious to Leclerc for now. But next year with a championship on the line, things will be different.

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Sebastian Vettel's 'weird' mistakes 'difficult to understand' – Nico Rosberg

Former Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg says he finds it "difficult to understand" why Sebastian Vettel is making so many mistakes following his recent spin during the Italian Grand Prix.

Vettel was in fourth when he spun at the Ascari chicane and then rejoined in an unsafe manner, clipping Lance Stroll and pitching the Racing Point driver into a spin of his own.

That led to Vettel dropping to last and then a drive-through penalty for the contact compounded a poor weekend for the German.

Although Rosberg says he understands why Vettel rejoined in the manner he did, he can't understand the "weird" spin – which was a common error made by Vettel last year, potentially costing him a shot at the title.

"Vettel's spin, my goodness," said Rosberg in his latest debrief video. "In qualifying he was strong, beginning of the race he was strong, but then he just loses the car like that on his own.

"It's weird. It's difficult to understand. A four-time world champion, one of the very best drivers out there, one of the greatest of all time also, but then he just spins the car like that, it's really, really strange. Not understandable, I don't know what's going on there and I don't think he does either.

"Then the crash after with Stroll, that one I can understand actually because you're just stuck there. You have two choices: either you just sit there and wait for the whole train to go by and your race is over, or you take a bit of a risk and just drive out, hope nobody is there because you can't see. He took the risk, I understand that, but of course he shouldn't have because it was damn dangerous."

Rosberg believes Vettel is currently in a "dark" place, particularly after team-mate Charles Leclerc had the absolute opposite race, taking Ferrari's first win at home since 2010, but is confident the four-time champion can bounce back.

"Something is going wrong there with Vettel, a tought time for him, really so dark. Leclerc wins at home in Monza and becomes a national hero, a legend, then Vettel has his worst weekend. Can you imagine how hard that is?

"But F1 is short-lived, you just need to bounce back once and everything is forgotten. The word is, you're only as good as your last race."

MIKA: STFU Nico..... I loved Rosberg in Mercedes when he gave it to Hamilton, but now as a pundit, he really is becoming the new Jacques Villenauve. Annoying.

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Haas F1 Team and Rich Energy officially confirm 'amicable' split

After a number of months where the situation could be, at best, described as fluid, Haas F1 Team and Rich Energy have 'amicably' agreed to terminate their sponsorship deal with immediate effect.

The commercial deal with the start-up energy drinks company was set to be for multiple years, however, after a controversial court case was brought by British cycle manufacturers Whyte Bike for copyright infringement of their logo, things started to deteriorate.

Then, after losing the case in the English High Court, strange social media comments by former CEO William Storey started to appear in the lead up to the British Grand Prix with Storey surprising everyone, including the American team, with his take on the team’s performance and the commercial relationship.

Story then went even further, using the official Rich Energy Twitter accounts, and directly attacked the US team for poor results and then on the dawn of the British Grand Prix “fired” the team.

With the status of the management and shareholding of the energy drinks start-up in doubt and being debated on social media by Story and other Rich Energy shareholders, clearly at odds with his views and proclamations, the farcical situation soon became the summer’s go-to comedy series.

And while the Rich Energy civil war was being played out on social media, the Kannapolis based team stayed quiet and resolute, making none but the most basic statements saying that as things stood, the sponsorship agreement remained in place. The only changes were the court ordered removal of the offending antler horn logos from the black and gold cars.

Since then, however, the deal was thrown into question and it was rumoured that both parties were in discussion during the summer break on how to move forward and extract each other from the deal with minimal consequences.

So it was no real surprise when shortly after 2pm London time, a short statement was released by the team saying that the two companies had agreed to amicably terminate the Rich Energy sponsorship deal with immediate effect.

Haas F1 Team has since confirmed that, while their VF-19 will remain black and gold for the rest of the season, it will be without any Rich Energy branding on the car.

The short statement from Haas F1 Team read: "Haas F1Team and Rich Energy have amicably agreed to end their partnership in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship with immediate effect. While enjoying substantial brand recognition and significant exposure through its title sponsorship of Haas F1 Team in 2019, a corporate restructuring process at Rich Energy will see the need for a revised global strategy. Subsequently, Haas F1 Team and Rich Energy concluded a termination of the existing partnership was the best way forward for both parties. Haas F1 Team would like to express its thanks and best wishes to the stakeholders at Rich Energy."

As to whether the financial terms and break costs were also agreed and paid, is something that the team did not comment on. We can only watch the rolls for the High Court in coming months to see if there is any more to this strange but amusing summer story…

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Le Parisien claims Schumacher receiving secret treatment in Paris

French daily newspaper Le Parisien is reporting that seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher is currently receiving treatment in a Paris hospital from a renowned heart surgeon who specialises in stem cell treatments.

In an exclusive report that does not name its sources, Le Parisien reports that Schumacher arrived at the Georges-Pompidou European Hospital on Monday afternoon, and claims that he has made previous visits to hospitals in Paris. It names Professor Philippe Menasche as leading the medical team, a cardiac surgeon who has pioneered stem cell therapy to treat heart failure.

Schumacher suffered serious head injuries in a skiing accident at the Meribel resort in 2013, and his medical condition has since been a closely-guarded secret.

The Schumacher family, which has so far not responded to this new report, last made a statement on Michael’s condition on the eve of his 50th birthday earlier this year.

It read: “You can be sure that he is in the very best of hands and that we are doing everything humanly possible to help him. Please understand if we are following Michael’s wishes and keeping such a sensitive subject as health, as it has always been, in privacy.”

The paper also claims that Schumacher’s longtime medical advisor and family friend Professor Gerard Saillant is present at the hospital.

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Why Vettel is closer to an F1 ban than you may think

The Italian Grand Prix could hardly have been worse for Sebastian Vettel, and the Formula 1 stewards provided a sting in the tail that might have dramatic repercussions.

As if being slapped with the harshest in-race penalty the F1 stewards can bestow and finishing a lapped 13th wasn't bad enough, he also received three penalty points on his licence for rejoining into the path of Lance Stroll after his early spin.

That takes Vettel's tally to nine in a 12-month period – and incurring three more over the next three races would make the four-time world champion the first driver to get a race ban under the current system.

In this video, Stuart Codling explains how Vettel found himself in this dicey position, and the driver shuffle that could potentially result if Ferrari does need a stand-in.

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Tyre mistake capped "sh** weekend" for Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen says he had a "sh** weekend" in Monza after a mistake by his Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team earned him a stop-and-go penalty in the race.
After crashing at Parabolica in FP1 on Friday, Raikkonen made the top 10 in Q2, only to have a second accident at the same corner.

The team was forced to change the gearbox, earning him a five-place grid penalty, and also took the opportunity to upgrade him to the latest Ferrari Spec 3 engine.

Because that decision entailed a change of specification from the Spec 2 he had used in qualifying, he was relegated to a pitlane start.

Alfa Romeo mistakenly thought that a pitlane start forfeits the obligation for drivers who make Q3 to start with their Q2 fastest lap tyres, switching him from his set of used softs to a new set of mediums with the intent of gaining a strategic advantage.

However, the Q2 tyre rule still applies to a pitlane start – unless the chassis has been changed, which wasn't the case on this occasion.

The offence was quickly reported to the stewards, who were obliged to give the mandatory penalty of a 10 second stop-and-go. Raikkonen eventually finished 15th.

"Well, that was a sh** weekend," he said. "First my mistake in qualifying which unfortunately meant that we had to change gearbox.

"Then we decided to also change engine and start from the pitlane, but we had the wrong tyres on and with the penalty my race was more or less over.

"Looking forward to Singapore, as it can't get worse."

Alfa Romeo team boss Fred Vasseur said the team accepted that Raikkonen had to push to the limit in qualifying.

"Sometimes a small mistake at the beginning can create a huge mess," he told Motorsport.com. We have to stay calm on this. He did a great job from the beginning of the season.

"We know perfectly if we want to do a P6 pr P7 in qualy we have to take a lot of risks, and we have to accept doing some risks that you can do some mistakes."

Regarding the tyre choice error, he said: "I don't know what happened, I need to investigate a little bit."

 

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Mercedes did not have right package for Spa/Monza - Wolff

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says Mercedes always knew that it had the wrong car package for the high-speed Spa and Monza circuits.

Charles Leclerc pulled off his second successive victory in the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday after once again facing race-long pressure from Mercedes, which kept him on his toes.

But while Mercedes was slightly disappointed to have just missed out on the win again, with Lewis Hamilton having come close to getting past Leclerc at one point before being forced wide, Wolff conceded that there was only ever a slim chance of his men coming out on top.

"I think we knew that we didn't have the right package for Spa and Monza," admitted Wolff.

"Actually second and third was an optimum result for us on the grid, and I said before if we would finish the race in these positions, we'd probably take it.

"As racers now, at the end, obviously there's the feeling of - not entire happiness. You're trying to follow a car, DRS wide open, a long straight, and you're not able to come anywhere close. That is obviously you feeling like not fighting with the right weapons here.

"But I don't want to take anything away from Ferrari and from Charles. They had the strongest package and an upcoming great, hard-driving young man. You've got to give them the credit."

While Mercedes opted for a different tyre strategy to Ferrari, having gone for the medium at their stop rather than the hard, Wolff does not think that choice played a factor in it losing out to Leclerc.

"We talked about the hard in the morning but we only saw it on Charles, and that tyre was really offset in the long runs on Friday," explained Wolff.

"Race day was warmer, so the tyre was good, but I think honestly our pace on the medium would have been much faster.

"I don't know by how much but considerably faster than Charles. If you can follow somebody on the gearbox like Lewis did, over multiple laps, just not being able to do the move because you're lacking the straightline speed, then you can see that the medium was the better tyre."

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Grosjean baffled after Haas lack pace in Italy

The Italian Grand Prix was a weekend to forget for Haas, with Romain Grosjean unable to explain his lack of pace and team mate Kevin Magnussen retiring near the end of the race. Both drivers sounded exasperated as they unpacked the events at Monza.

Grosjean, who started in 13th after grid penalties for other drivers boosted his P16 qualifying spot, was bumped by Pierre Gasly at the start of the race at Turn 1, forcing the Frenchman through the labyrinthine run-off area. It caused more issues than that, as he later explained.

“It was very complicated," he said. "I was hit from behind into Turn 1 and it [triggered] the anti-stall. I had to pull the clutch, release the clutch, and by the time I had done all that I was driving through the polystyrene blocks and was dead last through the first corner, so it was not easy.

“I tried to push to come back, then I had a spin at Ascari corners,” he continued, having lost the rear of the car on the exit of the same chicane that cost Sebastian Vettel a shot at the podium.

“I came into the pits and asked the team to remove a fair bit of aero balance, as the car was very much on the nose. We did it, and the car was still over-balanced. So we pitted again and removed one percent of aero balance, and the car was still over-balanced. Definitely something went wrong on the car today.

“We just need to analyse everything, because the balance we had today was definitely not what we had during the rest of the weekend. A lot to analyse.”

As for Magnussen, he retired with a hydraulic problem and concurred that the VF-19’s race pace was lacking compared to that of Haas’s rivals.

“I was fighting to keep people behind, which is normal for me these days,” he said. “That said, we had been in a good position and a lot of other people were having problems. It was just bad luck to have our problem at the end.

“On the positive, we were in the top 10 from beginning to end – of our race at least. It wasn’t a true picture but at least we were going for it. It looked like we could do something, but obviously I’m gutted we had to retire at the end.”

Team Principal Guenther Steiner backed his drivers up, adding that the car “was just difficult to drive".

“We were slow," he said. "It’s a disappointing weekend for the whole team. We just need to regroup and keep on going until we find a solution to our lack of performance.”

The team will revert back to their previous package for the Singapore Grand Prix having used the low-downforce Haas for Belgium and Italy. Grosjean affectionately called it the “old lady” in Belgium, and explained that he hasn’t seen the back of the Australia-spec car just yet. It could return at Singapore, but “most likely” in Russia.

Haas, having just parted ways with their title sponsor, now need to overcome an eight-point deficit if they are to overtake Alfa Romeo for P8 in the constructors’ standings.

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Alfa’s Giovinazzi delighted after points finish at home

The only Italian driver at the Italian Grand Prix, Antonio Giovinazzi called it an “unbelievable” weekend after securing his second points finish of the season, with P9 in front of his home fans. Team mate Kimi Raikkonen, on the other hand, was far less enthused after trailing home 15th.

“I think it was a great day, I think for Italy in general, with the Ferrari victory and my ninth place,” said Giovinazzi after the race.

The Alfa Romeo driver took his best career finish in Italy, starting in the top 10 on the grid for only the third time as a number of drivers took grid penalties at Monza. It was a performance easily overlooked, but Giovinazzi had plenty of support at the track.

“I have to say thanks to them because I had full support from Wednesday [at Ferrari's 90th anniversary celebrations] in Milan until today, a lot of my friends and family were here. A great weekend and we have to keep working as the car is doing a fantastic job and still achieve a good result.”

In the sister C38, Raikkonen’s race was a stark contrast to Giovinazzi’s, the Finn starting last after his qualifying crash and then taking a 10-second stop/go penalty for commencing the Grand Prix on the wrong tyres. He offered an inimitably terse summary of events.

“Well that was a sh** weekend,” said the Iceman. “First my mistake in qualifying, which unfortunately meant that we had to change gearbox. Then we decided to also change engine and start from the pit lane, but we had the wrong tyres on and with the penalty my race was more or less over. Looking forward to Singapore, as it can’t get worse.”

Giovinazzi was also enthusiastic about the next round, saying his car was “not too bad on high-downforce levels, so I’m positive also that we can have a good result in Singapore.”

So with those two points keeping Alfa Romeo ahead of Haas in the standings, has the Italian done enough to keep his seat for 2020?

“You know, I don’t want to focus too much,” he said. “I think if I am doing well, nobody can take my seat. I think what happened in Spa, until the last lap I was P9, now yet again P9, we need to just be on the points in every race. Singapore will be a completely different, high-downforce street track, so we need to see how the car will perform there but I’m sure we can also have a good result there."

The team formerly known as Sauber have scored points on a number of occasions in Singapore, most recently through Italian GP winner Charles Leclerc’s drive to P9 in 2018.

For Giovinazzi, this will be a journey into the unknown for his first race on the island, and Raikkonen has had mixed results here. He crashed out spectacularly in 2017 and finished fifth in 2018.

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Alexander Albon felt Monza time penalty 'a bit harsh'

Red Bull’s Alexander Albon says he “wasn’t trying to do anything crazy” at the Italian Grand Prix, reckoning his in-race time penalty was excessive.

Albon lost ground at the start and subsequently went through the gravel exiting Lesmo while battling against Carlos Sainz Jr.

That cost Albon a few positions and while scrapping with Kevin Magnussen he received a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage.

Albon served the sanction at his pit stop and ultimately came home sixth, within sight of Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg.

“I think it was a bit harsh,” said Albon. “I did the move down the straight, I was ahead at the time, he went for it again, which is fair enough for him, and if I had turned in we would have crashed, so I had to go straight.

“For me, you can say he made a move, but – I’m not going to call it like a dive bomb – but it didn’t leave me with anywhere to go and I had to go straight.

“Because he came in so deep, he was also passed by Daniil [Kvyat], so I thought I wasn’t going to give two positions back and I would just try to keep going.

“I understand why they gave it to me, I just thought I couldn’t go anywhere

“It was a bit of a messy race. Saying that, I felt that he moves I tried were justified, I wasn’t trying to do anything crazy.

“We finished in P6, obviously without that time penalty it would have been P5, but, as a whole, I’m actually happier with my pace than I was in Spa.”

Monza marked Albon’s second event competing for the senior Red Bull team in the wake of his seat swap with Pierre Gasly during Formula 1’s summer break.

“I’m getting to know the car a bit better, in the race I felt I was getting a bit more comfortable but I’m still trying things in the races, seeing how the car behaves with switches and everything,” said Albon.

“It’s still all quite new to me but I feel it’s getting better and my pace was better than Spa. It’s going in a good way.”

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Williams reports big loss after dreadful 2018 season

The Williams Formula 1 team has posted a big loss following a difficult 2018 season, which saw it finish last with just seven championship points.

The team saw its revenues drop by more than 20 per cent from £60.7m to £46.3m for the first six months of 2019, compared to the same period last year.

This dip saw losses accelerate to £16.8m compared to a £200,000 profit in 2018, which Williams Grand Prix Holdings Group Chief Executive Officer Mike O'Driscoll blamed on their performance and a reduction in "partnership income".

"The Formula 1 financial results primarily reflect our finishing position in last year’s Constructors’ Championship and the consequent reduction in prize money," he said.

"There was also an overall reduction in partnership income compared to the first half of 2018, although we secured major new partnerships with ROKiT and Orlen."

Whilst the team once again looks set to finish last in 2019, with just one point scored so far, O'Driscoll believes their financial situation could improve.

"Although we are enduring another tough season on track, we have seen some recent signs of improvement, and we continue to attract interest from potential partners as one of the longest standing Formula 1 teams.

"This is best demonstrated by the recent two-year extension to our title partnership deal with ROKiT who will now continue with us until at least 2023.

"Negotiations with Formula 1 management and Liberty Media regarding the future of the sport from 2021 have been productive and we believe, when finalised, will represent a much-needed opportunity for Williams to benefit from a more level financial playing field, as well as new technical regulations."

Overall WGPH reported a loss of £18.8m when factoring in the entire business, including Williams Advanced Engineering, which saw profits rise to £2.5m from £2.2m last year.

Other costs, such as Williams Heritage, Williams Conference Centre, group costs, and other projects delivered outside of F1 and Williams Advanced Engineering contributed a £4.5m loss.

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'Everything was against us in Monza' - Max Verstappen

'Everything was against us' was how Max Verstappen described his and Red Bull Racing's Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

After a clumsy opening lap tangle with the Racing Point of Sergio Perez, the Dutchman was forced to make an early pit stop for a front wing change.

Once he made his way back through the field, he was able to catch up with Perez, but his progress was halted due to the pace of the Mexican in the efficient, low-drag Racing Point.

Describing his opening lap incident, Verstappen said: "It was not even late braking, I was just following, following, and suddenly everything almost stood still, I tried to avoid it but I still clipped I think Sergio on the rear wheel. I think the front wing was a bit down, so we boxed.

"The race was still on. I think we had good pace. I got through quite a lot of cars, but then again I got stuck behind Sergio, they have such a high top speed, I had no chance to get by.

"I think the car performed good. Again, unlucky with the Virtual Safety Car again, two or three cars overtook me in the pit stop because of that.

"The whole race, everything was just against us."

Verstappen felt despite his starting position, he had the ability to run with front-running pace in clear air.

"I could have fought with the guys in the front," he added.

"I could see them on the screen. I was following my progression. Of course, I knew their lap times, but I was not losing. Of course, when you get in traffic you lose time, but all the time I was in free air, they were not faster.

"It's very promising on a track where you are normally not that competitive."

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Leading F1 teams differ on Singapore tyre choices

Formula 1’s leading teams have all adopted slightly different approaches regarding tyre compound choices for next weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix.

Pirelli has nominated its three softest compounds – the C3s, C4s and C5s – in order to deal with the 23-turn Marina Bay Street Circuit, where tyre wear is often high across the 61-lap event.

As per usual Pirelli mandates a set of each compound for every driver, after which they are allowed free choice for their remaining 10 batches.

Mercedes has adopted the most conservative approach, with eight sets of Softs, three Mediums, and two Hards.

Ferrari will have nine sets of Softs, three Mediums, and just one batch of Hards, while Red Bull’s duo will be in receipt of 10 sets of the red-banded rubber.

Renault and Racing Point have joined Red Bull in selecting 10 sets of Soft tyres while at the other end of the spectrum Williams has chosen only seven batches of the softest compound.

Robert Kubica will have five sets of Medium tyres available, compared to the one set of yellow-banded rubber that five of his rivals will have in their locker for the course of the weekend.

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Imola, Mugello weighing up bids for F1 race

Imola and Mugello are weighing up potential bids to host Formula 1 in the future, following Monza’s new multi-year deal securing the future of the Italian Grand Prix.
Former San Marino GP host Imola has the FIA Grade 1 status it needs to host F1 again after undergoing development work, which included cutting the final chicane, since holding the last of its 26 F1 races in 2006.

MotoGP venue Mugello has never held an F1 race but testing has taken place there, most recently in 2012.

While F1 recently penned a new five-year deal to keep the Italian GP at Monza, which will include the circuit’s centenary year in 2022, Imola and Mugello have now expressed interest in an F1 race of their own.

F1 is open to expanding its calendar and is not short of candidates, so an extra Italian race could in theory feature as an additional event, as was the case when the San Marino GP existed.

Imola bosses have tasked track design company Dromo with revamping its paddock hospitality offerings and a statement from the track said it is “ready to accept the challenge” of trying to bring F1 back to the circuit.

"The great work done by ACI president Angelo Sticchi Damiani in maintaining Formula 1 in Italy could reopen the possibility, even at our historic racetrack, to see the red cars [Ferrari] and the whole circus return,” said circuit president Uberto Selvatico Estense.

“To achieve such a result it is essential to have the full support of regional and metropolitan institutions, as is happening for Monza and Mugello.”

Imola’s statement referenced Mugello’s alleged “candidacy” for an F1 race in the future, although this is not of interest to the Tuscany track in the short-term.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mugello announced the result of an economic impact study that claimed activity at the track contributes almost €130million to the local and regional economy.

The study relates to 2017, and claims the circuit’s events created more than 1,000 jobs across Mugello, the wider metropolitan area and Tuscany.

That report made no mention of F1, but according to Italian news agency Ansa, Mugello circuit director Paolo Poli has said that the championship is a potential option in the long-term.

"The first objective will be to renew the agreement with the MotoGP,” said Poli. “Then in five years we will also think about applying to bring Formula 1 to Tuscany.

“Partnerships will be necessary at national level, as Monza did by signing the agreement with F1 for the next few years.

“It should be remembered that unlike other Italian circuits, Mugello is not state-run. From 2006 to 2016 Ferrari has made huge investments to raise the quality of the infrastructure and the professionalism of those who work here, so as to present themselves to customers all over the world with an increasingly higher level.”

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Leclerc says he was intentionally "on the limit" at Monza

Ferrari Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc says he knew he was on the limit of what is “acceptable” when defending his lead from Lewis Hamilton at Monza.
Leclerc was deemed to have moved in the braking area when Hamilton attempted to pass him on the outside heading into the second chicane.

He became the second driver to receive the unsportsmanlike conduct flag since its reintroduction by race director Michael Masi, following the warning to Pierre Gasly at Spa.

However, Leclerc insisted that the warning was not in his mind for the rest of the race.

“No, I knew it was on the limit,” said Leclerc. “But at the end I wanted to give absolutely everything to have this win.

“It was not in the back of my mind. I tried to be at the limit of what’s acceptable, and that’s what I have done, so very happy to take the win home.”

Leclerc acknowledged that his second victory in two races had answered any critics of Ferrari’s decision a year ago to promote him after a single season of apprenticeship with Sauber in 2018.

“Obviously it feels good. It’s not been an easy start to the season, I’ve done a few mistakes, and in that I think you can consider a little bit the youth. But it’s not an excuse either. I think I’ve grown a lot since the beginning of the season.

“I understood the critics of me last year, obviously me being too young, second year in F1 and already in Ferrari, it was early for sure. I can only thank Ferrari for believing in me. They had a lot of data, and I believe they analysed. It was not an easy decision.

“At the end I’m very happy to have these kinds of result, which show that I was maybe more ready than what some people thought.”

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Masi not planning kerb rethink after Peroni's "freak" crash

Formula 1 is not considering a radical overhaul of its use of sausage kerbs, despite the spectacular F3 crash that was triggered by one at Monza last weekend.
F3 driver Alex Peroni’s car was launched in to a terrifying series of barrel rolls after he struck a sausage kerb that was situated in the asphalt run-off area at Parabolica. The kerb was later removed for the remainder of the meeting.

While the nature of the crash prompted a host of drivers to call for a move away from the use of sausage kerbs to define track limits, F1 race director Michael Masi insists there is no plan for an urgent rethink about how they are used.

Asked if the FIA would respond by changing its use of the kerbs, Masi said: “No, I don’t think you can generalise in that regard at all to be quite honest. It was a freak incident, is the best way to put it, even when you look at it now.

“From our end we will continue looking at everything, various solutions, what they are. And we will evolve when we find other better things in different areas, different circumstances, and different corners obviously - and if there are different profiles of corners and different speeds.

“From my understanding that [kerb] has been there at least two or three years. It is one of those freak ones; we will look at them generally and go from there.”

The FIA’s investigation has already begun, with Masi making it clear that there will be a ‘forensic’ analysis of all the details of the crash.

He has suggested, however, that preliminary evidence suggested that the kerb which Peroni struck was not broken nor loose prior to the accident.

“Not to my knowledge and from everything I have seen,” he said. “But we will look at everything in forensic detail during the week rather than over the course of the weekend.”

While the analysis of the accident may deliver some lessons to help avoid a repeat accident in the future, Masi says that in the short term his approach to safety at the next few races will be unchanged.

“I think the current approach we have is as it is,” he said. “We will look at how that incident occurred, what happened, the reasons, input, why, and go from there.

“Everything for Singapore, and I was there prior to Belgium, looks to be coming along quite well, so I think we will look at each case on its merits, have a look at it, see what various simulations we come back with and go from there .

“Let’s remember that all of these circuits have an FIA grade one licence that are all homologated in the manner in which they are, with all the inherent safety installations, like kerbs, installation behind kerbs and what it may be. They are all inspected in accordance with our rigorous regime.

“It would be naive to say there is a knee jerk to anything like that [crash].”

Alexander Peroni, Campos Racing, crashes

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Monza result takes pressure off Renault - Prost

Renault F1 team advisor and board member Alain Prost says that the Enstone outfit deserved its strong result in Spa after feeling the pressure of recent poor scoring form.
Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg finished fifth and sixth at Monza, scoring 22 points between them and closing the gap to McLaren in the battle for fourth place in the world championship.

The team had scored just 15 points in the six races that followed Montreal, where the yellow cars finished sixth and seventh.

Monza was also the first race appearance of the latest Spec C engine, which has shown some promise.

"We had a few races where we missed big points, big opportunities," four-time world champion Prost told Motorsport.com.

"There was Monaco, and Spa also, because the pace was good but we lost everything at the start. When you have these kinds of races and problems you get some more pressure.

"Obviously it's not easy, so we had to get some good points, and fourth and fifth is fantastic. We can't do better, anyway. It's very good team, because there's a lot of work, a lot of pressure, and they deserved this result.

"The pressure is also because we have to be honest, the power was not at the level that we thought we could be this year. We knew that we could not catch the top three anyway. At the moment we are a little but like this, like today we are where we should be, trying to understand step-by-step.

"You have an objective and if you're not close to the objective, you put yourself more pressure, which is not very good, because at the end of the day we are still trying to build the team."

Prost paid tribute to the efforts of the Renault engine department in France after the latest spec proved to be a useful step.

"On the engine side we proved that it was much, much better, a big improvement, on the chassis side we still need to work hard. Especially when you have a certain philosophy of car it's very difficult to change big things in the year. That's the still the main point we have to focus on.

"The Viry people have done an unbelievable job this year, if you remember where we are, and we never hid that we were behind, getting the performance and reliability at the same time is really exceptional."

Regarding form in the remaining seven events, he said: "There are some races that are better for us – low downforce is better for us, for sure, when the engine is important is also good for us, which wasn't the case in the past.

"We don't know about races like Singapore and Russia, we'll see where we are. Let's see what we can do, we'll bring a few other things, so maybe better than we expect."

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Car wake hurts Bottas more, says Wolff

Valtteri Bottas's failure to heap more pressure on Charles Leclerc has highlighted a weakness he has in getting the most out of his car when closely following a rival, says Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.

The Finnish driver had hauled himself on to the tail of Leclerc in the closing stages of the Italian Grand Prix, but was unable to mount a proper attempt at a pass as he could not get quite close enough.

In the end, his hopes of a win were dashed when he misjudged his braking point slightly at the first corner and ran deep in to the chicane, costing himself valuable time.

Wolff says that the way Bottas could not threaten Leclerc as much as Hamilton did earlier in the race highlights an aspect of his driving that needs improving.

"It looks like he struggles a little bit when he gets in the wake of the car, to extract the maximum," explained Wolff.

"Lewis somehow in that position is able to somehow get closer and put himself in a position to go for a move.

"It's something he's got to work on. But on the positive side, his racing was great. He was really fast. Probably in pure race time, the fastest car."

Despite running on fresher tyres in the closing stages of the race, Bottas says his rubber was past his best as he got closer to Leclerc – and says he was lacking 0.5s of pace per lap to have a proper chance of getting past.

Speaking about that stage of the race, Bottas said: "Ideally I would have done more tyre management, but if I wanted to have a shot of winning the race I needed to push to catch them, and that was at a cost of some tyre drop-off.

"I felt the last four laps I had a big drop-off with the medium tyre, so that made it more tricky. When I got close enough I was having some front locking under braking. Lewis had a similar issue as well, he went straight when I got him.

"From all calculations, to have a proper chance to overtake you need one second pace difference and I had a maximum of five tenths by the time I got close to Charles. It was tricky, I tried everything I could, but it was a bit out of reach today."

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New Australian GP chairman named

Paul Little has been named as the incoming chairman of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation.
The Victorian businessman will replace John Harnden, who is leaving the role to become the chief executive of the Melbourne and Olympic Parks Trust.

It's the second time Little has been considered for the role, having put his hand up back in 2015 when Ron Walker announced he was standing down.

With Harnden ending up with the AGPC job, Little, a former Supercars team owner, was named chair of Visit Victoria in 2017.

His tenure saw a 22 per cent increase in total visitor expenditure to $30 billion, as well as the creation of 13,000 jobs in Victoria’s tourism industry.

“Paul Little is a proud Victorian and well placed to steer the future direction of the Grand Prix Corporation," said Victorian premier Daniel Andrews.

“I’m delighted that Mr Little has agreed to take on this important role – as we saw under his stewardship of Visit Victoria his drive and experience will help ensure that the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix remains one of the great events anywhere in the world.”

Little added: “I am looking forward to helping shape the best motor racing events in the world – events that project the success and energy of Melbourne and Victoria around the globe.” 

Having made his name as the founder of logistics giant Toll Holdings, Little ran a privateer Holden Supercars team up until the end of 2005.

He was the chairman of the Essendon Football Club between 2013 and 2015, and is still the chairman of the Little Group which has interests in a wide range of industries.

In 2010 he was awarded an Order of Australia for his work in Australia’s transport and logistics industry and his support for sporting and medical research organisations.

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McLaren won't sacrifice 2020 hopes for P4 Renault battle

McLaren has stressed that 2020 improvements, rather than fourth place, remains its goal, amid Renault’s resurgent Formula 1 results.

McLaren entered the summer break with a substantial advantage over its midfield opponents, but a sequence of mistakes and setbacks left it taking only one point from events in Belgium and Italy.

Renault, meanwhile, enjoyed its first double top five result in a decade to move into fifth in the standings, reducing its deficit to customer team McLaren to only 18 points.

“Of course we want to fight for this P4 as long as possible but at the same time for me it’s a lot more important to make the next step with next year’s car,” said team boss Andreas Seidl.

“So I don’t want to compromise next year by suddenly switching the focus on this year again.

“We have a plan in place for what we want to do this year, we have a plan in place for how we approach next year, and this is how we approach it.

“We plan to bring parts – not huge updates but just continuously bringing small things – for the next two or three races at least.

“We just have to see when we fully switch then to next year’s car and the development side. It’s still something which is open.”

McLaren was on course for fifth in Belgium, until Lando Norris’ late retirement, while a loose wheel during Carlos Sainz Jr.’s stop in Italy meant a strong result slipped through its grasp.

“I think with Carlos’ race it went as expected so we were set for a P6 which would have been damage limitation, because we have seen in Spa and Monza we were struggling with the low downforce package in terms of keeping up with Renault," said Seidl.

“So it’s obviously disappointing that we go away with only one point and with Renault scoring so many points.

“It’s important now as a team to regroup, reset, analyse what happened in detail on the pit stop side and then hopefully with putting more downforce on we are back to where we were before the shutdown in terms of being competitive.”

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Toto Wolff thinks warning flags will lead to more collisions

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes the increased use of the black-and-white driving standards warning in Formula 1 will lead to more collisions.

Under instruction from Formula 1 Race Director Michael Masi, who replaced the late Charlie Whiting for 2019, the black-and-white flag has been used at the last two events.

In Italy it was shown to Charles Leclerc following his close-call with Lewis Hamilton as they battled for the lead into the second chicane on lap 23.

Masi referred to the use of the black-and-white flag as a “professional foul” and a “warning” to a driver, with a second infraction set to result in a time penalty.

But Wolff reckons the leeway now given to drivers will result in more clashes and doubts that the current stance will be maintained long-term.

“I think more cars will be touching and it will be more of a common practice,” he said.

“My opinion is that it will end up in a collision, then we will bail out of it or crawl back, this is the modus operandi. Until then we will let them race.

“I think that drivers will always have a sense of self-preservation and not try to throw away a race.

“We’ve seen that in the last years the young ones that come into Formula 1 they are a little bit more aggressive, these moves can end up in the wall if not one of them gives up.

“The drivers that are going for the Drivers’ world championship bail out of it so it saves Charles.

“In another instance, Lewis perfectly knew what he was doing he saved it and didn’t lose any bits or any parts in the incident but he could have equally decided I am not going to let this happen and put the two cars out.

“These things need to happen, it is a reoccurring thing, until it ends up in a situation that is dire for the one that is aggressive. We aren’t there yet. The interesting decision would have been if it ended up in Lewis losing a front wing or both cars being in the wall.”