FORMULA 1

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MARKO: MAX HAS TO LEARN NOT ALWAYS TO DRIVE FLAT-OUT

Max Verstappen’s list of glaring mistakes and mishaps keeps growing, his own team urging their young superstar to be more patient and tone it down and focus on completing race weekends without incident.

The Dutchman’s escapades during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend are well documented, in a nutshell, an unnecessary mistake led to a shunt in the dying minutes of FP3 which severely compromised a race he could have won. Instead, he started to form the back of the grid and spent the day toiling his way to ninth.

In the sister car, Daniel Ricciardo was faster than everyone including Verstappen in all three practice sessions and qualifying at the principality, before winning the grand prix in style.

Helmut Marko, the man who stunned the Formula 1 world when he demoted Daniil Kvyat and promoted teenager (at the time) Verstappen from the Toro Rosso team, has also weighed in with some much-needed advice for the wayward Dutchman.

Marko, a mentor and always staunch defender of Verstappen, said after the youngster’s Monte-Carlo antics, “He has to learn not always to drive flat out. They are all different incidents but this one for sure is a very unnecessary one.”

“I think he is not patient enough. He wants always to who he is the fastest but the result is only when you cross the line. He needs to be more patient, judge the situations better.”

Asked by BBC if this was now becoming an issue for the team and their driver, Marko replied, “Issue is maybe not the right word. It is always a different situation but they are all because he is impatient.”

Verstappen’s list of incidents during the first six grand prix weekends:

• Australia: Too aggressive at the season opener where he ran wide and damaged his car then followed that up with a spin on his way to sixth;
• Bahrain: Crash in qualifying and too aggressive in the race which ended on lap three after a collision with Hamilton;
• China: A missed chance to win when he miscalculated a move on Hamilton and then clattered into Vettel;
• Azerbaijan: Crashed in practice and in the race collided with his teammate Ricciardo, with both taking the blame;
• Spain: Damaged his front wing lapping Stroll under safety car conditions;
• Monaco: With the best car on the grid for the street venue he pranged heavily in FP3 while fastest of all in the session, started the race from the back to finish ninth.

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HORNER: MAX HAS A VERY GOOD TEACHER IN THE CAR NEXT DOOR

Max Verstappen was fast-tracked into Formula 1 at a very young age as a prodigious talent and although his graph has been upward, for the most part, this year his rate of progress has taken a dip as he has been involved in incidents during all six race weekends – like at the Monaco Grand Prix – some of which have compromised the Dutchman’s title challenge and wound up his critics.

As his Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo proved, Monte-Carlo was theirs for the taking and the big smiling Aussie did just that winning from pole position. His teammate toiled from the back of the grid, after pranging his potential race winning mount in FP3 which compromised the rest of his weekend, and the opportunity of a big result went begging.

Red Bull team chief Christian Horner suggests that their younger driver has to sort himself out and would do himself no harm to follow the example of Ricciardo. whose calm and mature approach is delivering the results including two victories in the first six races.

Horner reflected on a bittersweet race weekend for his team, “Max has an abundance of talent and has had some harsh lessons this year. I think a modified approach will benefit him. He has a very good teacher in the car next door to him.”

Even Verstappen’s staunchest supporter, Red Bull driver consultant Helmut Marko was also not impressed, he told reporters in Monaco that the youngster was too impatient and “had to learn not to drive flat out at all times” to avoid unnecessary and, ultimately, costly incidents.

Horner added, “The only person who can address it and deal with it is Max. This weekend was very painful for him. He’s very aware. We talk weekly. He’ll be in the factory this week.”

“What frustrates him is he’s working harder than ever and it feels like he is just trying a bit too hard at the moment. When you get into a spiral you try harder. He needs to hit the reset button.”

“Max arrived in F1 very quickly and he is doing his learning in a very public arena. Most guys will have gone through this in the lower formulae and he is having to deal with it in a very public arena and I am sure he will emerge on the other side.”

These incidents have all but ruined Verstappen’s championship ambitions while impacting negatively on the constructor’s championship for his team. After six races he has 35 points, half of what Ricciardo has scored so far and the Dutchman is now a whopping 75 points adrift of points leader Lewis Hamilton

The damage that Verstappen’s waywardness is doing to the current campaign has not escaped Horner, who added, “We should be right there with Mercedes and Ferrari. We have given away 65 points or so. We need both drivers performing at their optimum to be able to fight with those two teams.”

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Williams pins Lance Stroll's punctures on overheating rims

Williams has blamed Lance Stroll’s punctures at the Monaco Grand Prix on an overheating wheel rim, caused by the brakes becoming too hot.

Williams suffered another dismal event as both Stroll and team-mate Sergey Sirotkin were hampered by problems that scuppered their slim points aspirations.

Stroll started the race from 17th on the grid but suffered two punctures in the race and eventually came home as the last of the 17 classified runners, two laps down.

Sirotkin, meanwhile, was hindered by a 10-second stop/go penalty that came after Williams failed to fit his tyres prior to the three-minute signal pre-race, and was 16th.

“Lance had a puncture on lap nine due to the brakes becoming too hot, which overheated the rim and caused the failure,” said technical chief Paddy Lowe.

“We failed to control that on the second set of tyres and he suffered another puncture. The issue was managed for the rest of the race, but with so many pitstops and blue flags, Lance was in no position to make any progress.

“On Sergey’s side, we suffered a wheel assembly problem on the grid which meant we fitted the wheels after the three-minute deadline.

“His race was ruined [after the penalty]. He spent the afternoon in that situation suffering constant blue flags. We converted to a two-stop strategy as that is actually the quickest race if you’re not holding a position.

“It was good to see that he could put in some quick laps at the end whilst in free air.”

Stroll expressed his frustration at the outcome of the race, commenting: “It was a pretty terrible day.

“I got a puncture on lap nine and lost a bunch of time, like a lap, just getting to the pits. After that, I was busy letting cars through with blue flags as I was a lap down.

“Then we had temperature problems all race, and I was told to give gaps and let cars by, so there was not much of an opportunity and we just weren't racing.”

Williams remains at the foot of the 10-team Constructors’ Championship, with just four points.

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Daniel Ricciardo reckons he has 'outside chance' of title tilt

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo reckons he has an “outside chance” of competing for this year’s Formula 1 title off the back of his Monaco Grand Prix victory.

Ricciardo dominated the weekend’s action in Monaco as he topped all three practice sessions and led the way through qualifying, before going on to win despite suffering an MGU-K failure.

Ricciardo’s second win of the campaign, after his Chinese Grand Prix success, elevated him to third in the Drivers’ Championship on 72 points, 38 behind reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton.

“I think Lewis still has a pretty good buffer on me, so we’re still on the outside of that,” he said.

“It’s not impossible but not really at the forefront of my mind yet. But, even if it was, I’m not going to change obviously the way that I’m driving or trying to attack.

“I’ll try to get a few more podiums but we’ve got to probably prove on at least one other circuit before the summer break that we can win again. And then maybe we’re a nice little outside chance.”

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner added that Ricciardo’s pair of wins already in 2018 fully demonstrated the inherent pace of its RB14.

“I think it’s important he’s now on the same amount of victories as Lewis and Sebastian [Vettel] six races into the season,” said Horner.

“I think in Bahrain he would have been a genuine contender had he not had a reliability issue and we all know what happened in Baku.

“I think he’s up to third in the championship now, and I think we’ve got a very strong car.

“You’ve seen that all weekend, he’s been the quickest driver. Pole position, race victory and even making up for the disadvantage that we had.”

On contract discussions, with Ricciardo’s future still uncertain, Horner said: “He knows the quality of this team, he can see how well he fits in this team and I’m hopeful we can move these things along in the next couple of months.”

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Excessive tyre wear behind Monaco struggle – Stoffel Vandoorne

McLaren's Stoffel Vandoorne was disappointed with his Monaco Grand Prix after struggling with severe tyre wear throughout the race.

The Belgian's weekend was already hampered by starting in 12th place while team-mate Fernando Alonso was a further six places further up the grid.

Tyre wear was a significant problem for the majority of the field around the streets of Monte Carlo, however, Vandoorne appeared to suffer more than most as he was forced to make a second pit stop with five laps remaining - eventually crossing the line in 14th place.

"This was a disappointing race for me," said the Belgian.

"The first stint was really tough, I’d started on the Ultrasoft and was looking to run longer than the Hypersoft runners, but I had too much degradation and couldn’t manage it. Then I lost a lot of time at my first pit-stop, and that also lost me track position.

"My final stint on the Hypersoft was a bit quicker, and I could take the fight to the cars in front, but obviously Monaco is no place at which to overtake.

"We were expecting more, but I still think we’ve taken a step forward with our qualifying pace. But I think we need to really focus on improving our car performance so we’re better placed to score points.”

Despite having scored in three out of the six races so far, Vandoorne lies 15th in the World Drivers' championship, 24 points behind Alonso. 

Mclaren remains fifth in the Constructors' Championship, just six behind their power unit supplier - Renault.

MIKA: I don't really think Stoffel is F1 material.... IMO

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FIA could scrap F1 drivers' briefing

The FIA is considering scrapping the decades-long tradition of a Friday night Formula 1 drivers’ briefing at grands prix.
If the idea is put into practice, then from the start of 2019 the governing body will instead hold a joint get-together with drivers and team managers on a Thursday before track action gets underway.

At the moment, the team managers meet with the FIA on Thursday afternoons before the start of the race weekend in order to discuss track changes and any issues from the previous race.

The drivers join the team managers for a separate Friday session after the first day of practice, ostensibly so that they can give the FIA feedback on the circuit, and so on.

Sometimes that gathering morphs into a meeting of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) after the team managers leave.

Speaking about the possibility of bringing an end to the drivers’ briefing, F1 race director Charlie Whiting said: “It’s a suggestion only at the moment. It certainly won’t happen this year, unless everyone wants it to happen.

“The main reason that I have suggested this is simply that we discuss things in the team managers’ meeting on the basis that they will pass them onto their drivers, and when we get to the drivers’ meeting, it’s quite evident that sometimes this hasn’t happened, and we have to go through it all again.

“One of the main reasons for having the drivers’ briefing on Friday, after the first day of running, was so that they could tell us what they have seen, like a marshal doing something on the track. But it really isn’t of any value, because whenever they see anything, they tell us anyway.

“There’s a far better communication system now. I just think it would make a lot of sense and save everyone a lot of hassle, really.”

If the Friday meeting is canned, it would potentially free up the drivers for longer engineering debriefs or more media commitments, but it would have an impact on their schedules for the previous day.

An added impetus to change the format comes from the fact so many flyaway races now feature later start times than used to be the case, and that FP2 in Europe now ends at 4.30pm rather than 3.30pm.

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Miami braced for lawsuits from residents over Grand Prix

Miami’s Mayor Francis Suarez admits his city will likely face legal threats over the planned 2019 Formula 1 Grand Prix, but insists everything will be done to avoid causing disruption to the track’s local residents.
Miami is now locked in contract talks with Formula 1 over hosting a street race in October next year. However, during the approval of that first step of the process by the City Commission earlier this month, commissioner Joe Carollo raised the likelihood of legal threats by locals before he gave his approval.

“I was around back in the heyday of the Miami Grand Prix, and we’re going to have major activity that disrupts – either through noise or street closures – that affects the lives of these thousands of residents,” said Carollo. “We’re going to end up being sued and I’m going to tell you that they’re probably going to win suits. 

“As a family [the City Commission], we need to look at this. Having said that, I’m ready to move forward because this is only authorizing the administration to sit down, discuss and negotiate and come back to us for a final ruling.”

In an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com, Mayor Suarez acknowledged those concerns, but said everything will be done to allay the fears of residents who will face some disruption.

“The residents are our bosses,” he said. “And we have to take into account their concerns. 

“The two major homeowner associations in the area have already expressed some concerns, but also said that this may be good for us. I think that’s a positive start. 

“Often residents can start off in opposition, but the fact they’re open to working with promoters and other stakeholders, for me that’s a big positive.

“From what I’ve seen from the promoters, they are very conscientious that this is a race that does impact residents and businesses, and everything I’ve seen from them indicates that they’re going to listen and work hard to make everybody happy.”

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The tech tweaks that made Red Bull unbeatable in Monaco

Red Bull knew when it arrived in Monaco that it would have perhaps its best chance so far this season of a strong performance – with the tight street circuit perfectly suited to its chassis/engine package.

One important factor boosting its confidence levels is the fact that the RB14 is estimated to be at least 20cm shorter than Mercedes, which would make it more agile and better suited to the tight and twisty street circuit.

On the back of a major update that arrived at the Spanish Grand Prix, the Milton Keynes-based went even more aggressive with its downforce push for Monte Carlo.

The changes included utilising a deep and highly angled rear wing, complete with four open-end style louvres, but also a T-wing and monkey seat winglet.

Monaco marked the first time we’ve seen Red Bull use a T-wing this year, with the team having entered the party late last year when there was more freedom in terms of their placement.

In order to get the best from it amid F1’s 2018 restrictions, the winglet’s inboard end is angled differently to the main profile, which creates an increase in downforce in its own right.

The monkey seat winglet has to abide by the new-for-2018 regulations which means such appendages can only lie ahead of the exhaust’s tip. This is in order that it cannot be influenced by exhaust blowing.

The Red Bull winglet is relatively simple and doesn’t feature an aggressive camber angle, although it does feature endplates. These alter the winglet’s aspect ratio and increase its effect on the exhaust plume - improving its relationship with the rear wing.

These changes, allied to the large-scale update at the last race in Spain which included front wing, bargeboards, floor, sidepods and airbox, resulted in Red Bull being dominant in Monaco.

Daniel Ricciardo was quickest in every session and won the race, despite lacking around 160hp when his MGU-K failed early on.

That he was able to hold on was testament to the strengths of the Red Bull chassis, which has clearly shown some impressive progress in recent weeks.

The team has long had some very different concepts to other teams, which includes its approach to sidepods, as is clearly shown in the video above.

 

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Strategy Report: Why Ricciardo’s pursuers played it ‘ultra’ safe

James Allen analyses the Monaco Grand Prix, as Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo pulled off an amazing victory, but what could Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton have done differently to beat him?
Normally when the leader of a Grand Prix has a problem on the power unit that costs him 160hp, over two seconds a lap of pure performance, the pursuing drivers will find a way past.

Had Daniel Ricciardo’s problem occurred anywhere other than Monaco, they would have done. And had it occurred before the only round of pit stops in the race, then he might have been vulnerable to a strategy move, like an undercut, from Sebastian Vettel or Lewis Hamilton.

But Ricciardo had made his only stop of the afternoon before his MGU-K failed. Although he had to play with the controls of the car, shifting the brake bias forward, for example, to help the rear brake temperatures, his car’s gentler treatment of the softest tyres in the Pirelli range was superior to Ferrari and Mercedes. And that proved to be enough to keep him in position on this most difficult of tracks on which to overtake.

Because it’s Monaco; track position is everything, as Lewis Hamilton learned to his cost in 2015 when he tried to make the extra stop under a Safety Car and lost the race. 

That’s why both he and Vettel were reluctant to try something at the end of the race, a dramatic second stop and final attack phase. Despite toiling with the tyres they had, track position was considered king.

Pre-race considerations

The debut of Pirelli’s hypersoft tyre made for some very fast lap times in qualifying, with Ricciardo’s pole time of 70 seconds the fastest-ever lap of the Principality.

But the teams were aware from practice that the problem in the race was front tyre graining and that would be the limitation for the race. 

Monaco is always a one-stop race, to prioritise track position, but this year it was rather like races on the Pirelli tyres of four or five years ago, where the key was to manage the tyres to a stage where it was safe to stop and be able to reach the finish on the second set. 

The worst thing would be to have to stop earlier than ideal and then also take the punishment of having too long a second stint.

Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB14, leads Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF71H, & Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 W09

The race at the front

Hamilton was the first to make his stop, on Lap 12, from third place. This led to a reaction from Ferrari and then Red Bull a few laps later, to avoid the undercut. There wasn’t much threat of it; the ultrasoft tyres did not warm up quickly and thus were not particularly fast when new. 

The intriguing aspect of Hamilton’s early move was that he did not have enough of a gap to clear Esteban Ocon in the Force India. So, he would have to pass him on the track.

To maximise his chances, Mercedes fitted the ultrasoft tyres, expecting performance. As it turned out Ocon made it very easy for Hamilton to come through. He was not in the same race as him, but we’ve seen much slower cars hold up potential race winners in Monaco when the battle is for position. 

Ocon is a Mercedes junior driver and understands how the team operates; that it is all about trying to win the race and score maximum possible points with both cars. No doubt hoping one day soon to be one of the Silver Arrows drivers benefitting from that approach, he wisely moved aside. 

Had Mercedes been counting on that attitude from Ocon, they would have fitted a set of supersofts on Hamilton’s car, as they did five laps later with Bottas, who was some way off Hamilton’s pace all weekend. He was somewhat obliged to go this route as he didn’t have a new set of ultrasofts. 

Bottas had been out of contention until the supersofts started to perform, which prompted others to look at that approach, as the ultrasofts were not performing. Sauber did the same thing with Ericsson. Some teams split the strategies, to hedge their bets, with one car on each tyre. 

With Ricciardo in trouble, there was the question of whether Vettel would pit again and try to attack for the win and whether Hamilton would pit again to try to find more pace. 

The gap was there for Vettel potentially to do it at the Virtual Safety Car with five laps to go, Vettel had 11 seconds margin over Hamilton, which would have been just enough, but it would have been extraordinarily brave. Especially as the leaders just missed the initial opportunity; the VSC was deployed just after they passed the pit entry. 

So, with the risk that the track could go green at any point, and mindful of how Hamilton was caught out in 2015, discretion was the better part of valour.

Pierre Gasly, Scuderia Toro Rosso STR13

Gasly and Ocon shine in midfield battle

If the finishing order of the top five was the same as on the grid, behind them as always, was a good battle in midfield. 

At the end of the first stint Ocon, Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez and Pierre Gasly were all still in grid order, but Gasly managed to overcut his way up the order, getting 37 laps out of a set of the hypersoft tyres. On paper this was nigh on impossible, but Toro Rosso had a flexible strategy, reacting to the moves of others and when Renault pulled the trigger with Sainz on an early stop, the decision was made to do the opposite. 

Gasly pulled it off with aplomb, in another drive that has got him recognised after his breakthrough fourth place in Bahrain.

Once the track became clear after the cars ahead pitted – Perez losing eight places with a stuck wheel at his stop – Gasly was able to find pace and ran in sixth place before his stop. He rejoined behind Alonso, but the Spaniard hit trouble with 35 laps to go and retired, leaving Gasly in seventh place behind Ocon, where he finished. 

Sainz had been compromised by that early stop; the team had been concerned about Force India trying the undercut with Perez. So, he lost track position to Gasly. 

He was further compromised by being on the ultrasoft tyres, so later in the race he found it hard to defend from Verstappen on fresh tyres behind him, the Dutchman having made a late stop after starting on the ultrasofts from the back of the grid. 

Sainz also had to let his teammate Hulkenberg through; the German had also started on the ultrasofts from 11th on the grid and so he represented Renault’s best chance of racing Gasly for seventh place. 

The UBS Race Strategy Report is written by James Allen with input and data from several F1 team strategists and from Pirelli.

Race History Chart

The number of laps is on the horizontal axis; the gap behind the leader is on the vertical axis. A positive sign is an upward curve as the fuel load burns off. A negative sign is the slope declining as the tyre degradation kicks in.

Look at the phenomenal pace of Verstappen following his Lap 47 stop, after he clears the Renaults. On new hypersofts, his performance curve upwards is the steepest of any driver on the day, underlining what a missed opportunity this was for the Dutchman to win the Monaco GP, due to an unforced error in practice.

Tyre Usage Chart

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WILLIAMS DITCH CHIEF DESIGNER DE BEER

Williams have replaced their head of aerodynamics Dirk De Beer after a troubled start to the Formula 1 season that has left the former world champions languishing in last place with only four points from six races.

The team, who have the same engines as championship leaders Mercedes, said in a statement the South African had stepped down with immediate effect.

Dave Wheater has been handed De Beer’s title, while chief engineer Doug McKiernan assumes responsibility over the aerodynamic and design direction of the car.

De Beer’s departure followed that of chief designer Ed Wood, who left earlier in May for personal reasons.

This year’s FW41 car has disappointed in the hands of Canadian teenager Lance Stroll and Russian rookie Sergey Sirotkin.

The car had been presented in February with technical head Paddy Lowe saying the team had “pursued a very different aerodynamic concept which has allowed us some significant progress in aerodynamic performance”.

However Williams failed to score a point until Stroll finished eighth in Azerbaijan at the end of April, and that remains the only race in which they have finished in the top ten scoring positions.

Stroll finished two laps down and last of those classified in Monaco at the weekend, while Sirotkin was one place ahead of the Canadian in 16th.

De Beer joined the Grove outfit from Ferrari last year and was previously at Sauber, Renault and Lotus.

McKiernan joined from McLaren, where he was head of aerodynamics, earlier this year.

Williams were the only team other than Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull to have a driver on the podium last year, with Stroll third in Azerbaijan, but have not won a race since 2012.

MIKA: I think the entire outfit from top to bottom need to be evaluated IMO. Ditching a couple people does not represent the entire design team.

Partly management of the team also should be held accountable. Williams are definitely the bottom of the pile.

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HAMILTON: FERRARI DROPPED THE BALL BUT ARE STILL STRONGEST

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes knew they would be on the back foot at Monaco with their car better suited to flat-out venues as opposed to the tight confines of the Monte-Carlo streets, this past edition of the race was a case of damage control for the world champion who believes that Ferrari still have the upper hand.

After finishing third at Monaco on Sunday, behind race winner Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel, Hamilton told RaceFans, “Ferrari I think still are the strongest. Their car was quick, their car was working well through the whole season so far.

“They have dropped the ball a few times and we’ve capitalised on that so we’re further ahead than we would be if everyone had done the same job, but I still feel Ferrari are still the strongest and Sebastian’s been doing the strongest job.”

Hamilton is also wary of the potential threat that Red Bull might pose as Renault roll-0ut version two of their 2018 power unit in Montreal, “Red Bull have potentially got an upgrade coming at some stage engine-wise at the next race so it will be interesting to see their performance.”

“They will continue to get stronger through the year. Hopefully, while the race was not the most exciting hopefully it’s great for the fans to see this battle we’re having.”

Hamilton, who along with Vettel and Ricciardo are all on two wins apiece after six rounds, added, “We’re doing everything we can to win the race. The Red Bulls win, then Ferrari win, we win, it’s great to have that.”

“I personally love it and it’s challenging me more than I can express. It’s the biggest challenge I’ve had with my boys,” admitted Hamilton who has 110 points ahead of the round seven in Canada, 14 more than Vettel and 38 points up on Ricciardo.

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RAIKKONEN ALLEGES BLACKMAIL AFTER SEXUAL ASSAULT CLAIMS

Ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, Kimi Raikkonen has filed a complaint with Montreal police alleging extortion and harassment by a woman who is claiming damages for an alleged sexual assault at a city bar in 2016.

The allegations against the Ferrari driver are detailed in a blog post written by the woman, who doesn’t name Raikkonen explicitly.

The woman alleges that “Raikkonen grabbed her breast in a Montreal bar while one of his companions touched her genitals” as she tried to get them to settle a bar tab at the Velvet Speakeasy bar in Montreal,  where she worked as a barmaid during the 2016 Canadian Grand Prix weekend.

Since then, through her legal representatives, she has demanded “an amount in the seven figures” to buy her silence after the incident.

When Ferrari were approached for comment a team spokesperson told The Canadian Press that Raikkonen denies the allegations and claims to not know the woman.

No criminal complaint has been filed and the representative described the amount of damages being sought by the woman as extremely high.

Additional reporting by La Presse revealed that according to their information the Ferrari driver claims the 20-something-year-old woman “was blackmailing him by threatening to make public allegations of inappropriate sexual advances” which he fervently denies.

She added that she was in shock and decided not to complain at the time, but has since written on a blog post: “I did not do anything wrong. I made it clear that I was not interested in your proposal. Yet you and your friends planned a concerted attack that was degrading to me.”

In a new entry on the blog, published last February with a title bearing #metoo, she added: “I knowingly failed to mention your name on my blog before publishing it. I thought that with a name like yours, it would alert the media. I did not want to cause you a problem.”

But then threatened quite the opposite in the conclusion of the same post: “I have finished protecting you. I did not do anything wrong that night, it was you who acted badly. And now I’m going to get you. I will use my power and you will suffer the consequences of your actions. Your team has been notified. I will make you fall and the whole world will witness it.”

Raikkonen’s Canadian legal team received a formal notice from the alleged victim’s lawyer to which they replied: “Our client denies everything that is alleged and considers it to be illegal. Our client finds all this absurd. For him, it is important that the spotlight is cast on this case.”

The woman’s lawyer reacted: “Faced with allegations of this nature, we’re obviously shocked and disturbed that this is the response.”

As for the claims the woman requested money from Raikkonen to drop the case, her lawyer insisted that it was “a little more graceful” than that.

“What we were looking for was an opportunity to sit down and come to terms with what happened to my client,” insisted the lawyer.

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BRAWN: NAÏVE TO EXPECT LOTS OF DUELS AND PASSING IN MONACO!

Every year that Monte-Carlo fails to produce a cracker of a race, detractors are quick to question the appropriateness of the venue for Formula 1 and it was the same story this year after a dull afternoon at the principality, prompting F1 motorsport chief Ross Brawn to ask: What do you expect at Monaco?

This time around the likes Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso led the chorus of critics in the wake of a mundane Monaco Grand Prix, the Spaniard labelled it the most boring race ever while the Briton claimed that drivers were in cruise control all afternoon at the principality.

Brawn said in a press release after the race, “I’ve heard and read a number of comments from drivers and F1 people saying the race was boring and it’s true that it wasn’t action-packed, all the more so as the tyres were the key factor. However, it’s a bit naïve to expect lots of duels and passing moves in Monaco!”

“That’s in contrast to the unique spectacle of Saturday’s qualifying, as this is the only place one can get so close to the action as the 20 drivers brush the barriers (sometimes clipping them) at speeds that are just unthinkable for mere mortals: maybe we don’t give enough credit to these guys who can lap the 3,337 metre track in around 71 seconds.”

“Monaco is such a special race that it should not be judged by the same criteria as the others. The atmosphere in the paddock and the town, the glamour that surrounds the event makes it unique.”

“Having said that, one of the aims we have set ourselves for the Formula 1 of the future is to work together with the promoters and all stakeholders to ensure the new circuits provide more overtaking opportunities and that current ones are improved.”

“Naturally, the opinion of the drivers is welcome and our door is always open. However, in Monaco, you’d need to reclaim land from the sea to do something and that’s definitely not up to us!” added Brawn.

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RICCIARDO: MONTREAL WILL BE INTERESTING

The Canadian Grand Prix will see Renault roll-out the second edition of their 2018 Formula 1 power unit and with his future undecided Daniel Ricciardo is looking forward to sampling what the French manufacturer has unleashed from their engine relative to their rivals.

Much hinges on the outcome of the weekend in Montreal not least of which is whether he can seriously challenge for the title this year, while Red Bull’s engine future lies in the balance. The energy drinks outfit on the cusp of deciding whether they remain Renault powered or join their junior Toro Rosso team and opt to use Honda engines from 2019 and beyond.

At Monaco Grand Prix winner Ricciardo took advantage of a car that was the choice of the field on the demanding streets of Monte-Carlo, a venue where outright power is not important for success but is an anomaly among traditional race tracks.

In other words, can the combo also deliver at the same circuits which are more power dependent and traditionally suit Mercedes and Ferrari?

We will know in Canada if Renault have managed to close the gap on the pace-setters in terms of top end which their works and customer teams severely lack, but this may change with the next edition engine that will break cover next time out in Canada.

Ricciardo acknowledged, “Yeah, Montreal will be interesting, we’ll try to get a few more podiums, but yeah, we’ve got to probably prove on at least one other circuit before the summer break that we can win again. And then maybe we’re a nice little outside chance.”

Hungary is likely to suit the RB14 as did Monaco, and with a little luck Ricciardo does not rule out being a title contender, “I think it’s a natural question after a victory. I think I got asked after China if it means we’re in the title hunt.”

“Lewis still has a pretty good buffer on me, so we’re still on the outside of that. It’s not impossible but not really at the forefront of my mind yet. But, even if it was, I’m not going to change obviously the way that I’m driving or trying to attack,” added Ricciardo.

With two victories in the first six races, the Australian has now matched title favourites Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel who also have a win apiece heading to Canada. The Mercedes driver leads the championship at this stage, with Vettel second and Ricciardo 38 points adrift in third.

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Christian Horner urges Max Verstappen to modify approach in F1

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner believes Max Verstappen needs to adopt a “modified approach” in Formula 1, in the wake of a further setback in Monaco.

Red Bull emerged as the quickest team in Monaco, with Daniel Ricciardo leading Verstappen for a 1-2 in each practice session.

But Verstappen crashed during the closing stages of the final session and an oil leak in the gearbox rendered repairs prior to Q1 impossible, and he missed qualifying.

Verstappen rose from the rear of the 20-car grid to place ninth, but Horner reckons the sight of a victorious Ricciardo will resonate with the Dutch youngster.

“Ninth was a good drive from him and he needs to go away from this race and reflect on what should have been and apply that for the future,” said Horner.

 “I think he has a very good teacher in the car next door to him. Max has an abundance of talent and had some harsh lessons this year and I think a modified approach will benefit him.

“What frustrates him is that he’s working harder than ever, feels fitter than ever and it feels like he’s just trying a bit too hard at the moment.

“Of course, when you get into a spiral and try harder I think you just need to hit the reset button.”

Verstappen was thrust into Formula 1 aged only 17 in 2015, and with just one year under his belt in junior formula – in Formula 3.

Horner reckons Verstappen’s rapid ascent, in which he skipped the introductory single-seater divisions and F1’s main feeder series F2 (then GP2) means the usual mistakes youngsters make are magnified.

“Look Max arrived in F1 very quickly so he is doing his learning in a very public arena and is in a front running car very quickly,” said Horner.

“Most guys would have gone through some of this in the lower formulas that you wouldn’t have even seen, whereas he is having to deal with it in a very public arena.

“I’m sure he will emerge from it on the other side.”

Verstappen’s 2018 season

Verstappen has had a scrappy opening third to his 2018 campaign, restricting him to just 35 points, half that of Ricciardo and already with his title prospects slim-to-none.

In Australia Verstappen was passed by Kevin Magnussen at Turn 1 and spun through the same corner a few laps later in pursuit of the Haas driver, trailing home sixth.

Red Bull displayed strong pace in Bahrain but Verstappen crashed out in Q1, with a story emanating that a power surge was the culprit, and a blinding first lap was squandered when he clashed with Lewis Hamilton, the contact causing terminal damage to his RB14.

Red Bull lacked the ultimate speed in China but a strategic opportunity presented itself to both Verstappen and Ricciardo, but the youngster went wide while trying to boldly pass Hamilton and later clattered into Sebastian Vettel, taking only fifth while Ricciardo won.

The two Red Bull drivers battled hard in Azerbaijan and came together at Turn 1 in a dramatic accident that eliminated both; neither were deemed wholly responsible by stewards, though the inference aimed at Verstappen meant it was not a 50-50 situation.

Verstappen sagely took a deserved podium finish in Spain – though even that result came with minor drama, when he clipped Williams’ Lance Stroll at the post-VSC restart, causing front-wing endplate damage.

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Valtteri Bottas, George Russell complete wet F1 tyre test at Paul Ricard

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas and reserve George Russell have completed Pirelli’s two-day wet-weather tyre testing programme at returning French Grand Prix venue Paul Ricard.

F2 racer and Mercedes junior Russell completed 123 laps on an artificially watered circuit on Tuesday, before Bottas took over duties on Wednesday, adding 130 laps.

The pair trialled both the Intermediate and Full Wet tyres as Pirelli continues to hone its products for future use.

Under current regulations, Pirelli is permitted to undertake up to 25 days of private running, with all 10 teams in action through the course of the season, supplying current-year cars.

Data gathered at the various tests is shared between all teams to ensure that no-one gains any advantage, while Pirelli operates the run plan each day.

Teams are also barred from running aerodynamic updates at the tests.

Pirelli will next be in action at Vallelunga next month with Toro Rosso.

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Marko warns Ricciardo against Ferrari, Merc swap

Unless Daniel Ricciardo is willing to be a number two driver, Helmut Marko has urged him to re-sign with Red Bull where he will have “equal opportunities” with Max Verstappen.

Racing to the victory in Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix, Ricciardo once again displayed his credentials and at a time when he is considering his future.

The Aussie, who is out of contract with Red Bull at the end of this year, has been linked to Ferrari and Mercedes.

However, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has warned him that if he does it, he’ll be playing number two to either Sebastian Vettel or Lewis Hamilton.

Marko told Auto Bild: “Nothing changes for us. We want to keep him and Daniel knows that too.

“What should he do at Mercedes or Ferrari? Play the number two role?

“Because Raikkonen next to Vettel and Bottas at Mercedes next to Hamilton are clear number two drivers. You can see that.

“With us, Daniel would have equal opportunities. With the same material. No team order.

“I think he knows this too.”

As such Marko is hoping that it is just a matter of time before the seven-time grand prix winner re-signs with Red Bull.

He wants to finalise the contract extension “as soon as possible.”

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Ricciardo set to avoid Canada penalty

Daniel Ricciardo is set to head into the Canadian Grand Prix unscathed after Renault reported his faulty MGU-K was salvageable.

According to Auto Motor und Sport, the cause of the power loss was related to the assembly of the power unit and that the MGU-K element of the engine is actually undamaged.

Ricciardo had to nurse his RB14 for over 50 laps in Monte Carlo, taking a second victory of the season with a 20 per cent power loss.

The Aussie was facing a 10-place grid penalty in Canada as a new MGU-K element would have taken him to three for the season.

The stricter 2018 regulations state that each car is only allowed to use two MGU-K, energy stores and control electronics.

Ricciardo moved onto his second and current MGU-K after his first one was damaged at the Chinese Grand Prix during FP3.

Red Bull did opt to give team-mate Max Verstappen a third MGU-K element in Monaco, but his penalty was offset by the fact that he missed qualifying and started P20 anyway.

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FIA to boost Ferrari ERS monitoring in Canada

Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting is confident that new software will make make it easier to for the governing body to monitor Ferrari's ERS system, which has been questioned by rival teams.

The FIA has been looking at the Ferrari ERS and unique twin-battery arrangement since the Azerbaijan GP, and Whiting confirmed after Thursday's running in Monaco that he was now satisfied with it.

Contrary to earlier reports, Whiting says no extra sensors were fitted to the Ferraris in Monaco, and instead the FIA had to pursue a more complicated process to check how the system was operating.

The new software, which will be used from the Canadian GP onwards, will streamline that process and allow the FIA to continue to keep a close watch.

"Via a complex routine we were able to be satisfied that the Ferrari was OK," said Whiting. "But we don't want to have to go through that all the time in order to make sure, so we would rather additional measurements are made.

"What we will have for Canada will be a better system which will help us get things done much, much quicker, because it's taken us a couple of races to get to the bottom of it.

"We want them to put extra monitoring on, but at the moment we're having to do it in a painstaking way. It takes a little longer than we would like. We'll arrive at the same conclusion, I would imagine. In Canada they will be providing a change of software.

"What we're trying to do is to monitor exactly what the differences between the two halves of the battery are. That's the crux of the matter.

"Other systems treat their battery as one. Ferrari, it's one battery, but they treat it as two. That's the fundamental difference, I don't think it's a secret I'm giving away there."

Whiting says it would not be easy to fit sensors.

"It's not simple, because these things, not only are they sealed, because they only have two if them for the season, it's not just a straight matter of plucking a sensor off the shelf, and putting it on. It needs better integration for that.

  

"I'm not sure when any more additional sensors can be fitted. Probably not until next year, if the truth be known."

He admitted that it had been a complex problem for the FIA to address.

"We really have been trying to get to the point where we are entirely satisfied that the power being delivered to the MGU-K is correct.

"It was difficult to explain exactly what we were seeing, that's what we kept going through with Ferrari, because it's a very complex and totally different system to anybody else's.

"And in much the same way as we do with other bits of the car, we have to understand these things, it just took us a bit longer to understand what was going on.

"Their duty is to satisfy us that the car complies, as you know, but they were finding it hard to satisfy us.

"I think it's wrong to say that Ferrari didn't communicate, because they've been very helpful the whole way.

"It's just been very painstaking and detailed work to try to get to the bottom of how their system works, and hence give us the comfort that we need."

 

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Sauber introduces its biggest update yet

The Monaco Grand Prix marked the latest step in Sauber's Formula 1 recovery, as it introduced perhaps it biggest update package so far this season.
The changes show how much better the Swiss outfit is working in its bid to move up the grid – with a combination of performance and Monaco-specific tweaks making their way onto the car.

Cooling push

As the average speed around Monaco is the lowest of the season, cooling can be an issue. The ambient temperature may not be the highest, but some teams will have had to open up their cooling ducts just to cope with the low-speed corners where the temperatures can climb out of control.

Sauber revised the shape of the slat above the sidepod, where it joins the chassis (new section highlighted in yellow), in order to improve flow into the upper inlet.

This is due to the fact that it's actually one of the most difficult areas to get decent airflow through the radiator. This is because section gets a bit blanked off with the top of the side impact structures and also because it is very far forward in the radiator duct itself.

Interestingly, it is not too far adrift from what Ferrari is doing with its top cooling duct, which is perhaps to be expected given the pair share a set of power unit and ancillary commonalities.

Blown axle

Monaco was also the site of numerous other interesting developments for Sauber, as it chose the street track to introduce its blown axle. It's a solution that already graces both the Ferrari works team and Haas, who are supplied an extensive list of items by the Italian outfit.

Sauber's design certainly appears to have inherited some of that same DNA, but it does feature some of its own thinking too – like the inner brake duct fence and inlet, all of which was tested in Spain ahead of its race debut.

The blown axle is the perfect accompaniment for a street track location as it emboldens the aerodynamic effort made by the front wing to turn airflow out around the tyre and reduce the turbulence it creates.

Boomerang

The team also introduced a chassis 'boomerang' in Monaco, using it as a flow diverter to improve the movement of air around and through the sidepods.

You'll note from this top view that the teams must cut slots in these appendages, so as to mirror those in the bargeboards and footplates below, otherwise they'd fall foul of article 3.7.1 of the technical regulations.

The C37's diffuser was also treated to some revisions in Monaco, as the design team decided to declutter the immensely complex outer section which had accrued numerous stacked winglets (inset), as the designers try and draw more airflow through the diffuser.

The more simplified version still has the same objective but works the entire corner of the diffuser, as it curves upward from the footplate that it forms.

With six races now under its belt, the team is clearly coming to terms with the relative strengths and weaknesses of the C37 and is adjusting its package accordingly.

It will be fascinating to see how that plays out, especially given the impending changes for 2019 and how that can affect the budget and development glide path of one car on another.

 

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Red Bull wants to sort engine deal before Ricciardo contract

Red Bull's decision on which Formula 1 engine it will use in 2019 will take priority over trying to commit Daniel Ricciardo to a new contract.
Ricciardo is weighing up whether to stay with Red Bull, which has backed him through his F1 career, at the same time his team is picking between ditching long-time engine supplier Renault for Honda.

The Australian claimed his seventh GP victory last weekend in Monaco, while teammate Max Verstappen – who signed a lucrative new Red Bull deal late last year – started last after a practice crash.

"You could say that [winning] made Daniel more expensive, it has put his value up, or it's put the team in a stronger position in terms of valuable potential to him," said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

"The reality is finding a solution to conclude a deal with Daniel in the next couple of months.

"First thing is get the engine sorted and then very much follow on from there with [the] driver."

Horner acknowledged that Ricciardo is "continually raising his game" as the Australian reiterated his value as one of F1's leading drivers by matching Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel for two wins after six races this year.

However, Red Bull's crucial engine call could define its short-term prospects and is not as simple as staying as a customer or becoming a works team.

While Renault has frustrated Red Bull with its inability to catch Mercedes and Ferrari during F1's era of V6 turbo-hybrids, Honda had three dismal years with McLaren after returning to F1 in 2015.

Honda is currently in a rebuilding year with Toro Rosso and is poised to introduce the first performance upgrade of the season in Canada, where Renault will also bring a second specification of engine.

Renault has made it clear that it is unhappy Red Bull has delayed a decision but Horner reiterated the chance to compare the two manufacturers' progress was important.

He thinks the final call "should be, hopefully, fairly obvious".

"It will all depend on the data," said Horner. "We're about a month or so away. End of June, beginning of July is the timescale we've always talked about.

"We're waiting with great interest to see the relative performance of the engines in Montreal in two weeks' time."

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MALLYA RESIGNS AS FORCE INDIA DIRECTOR REMAINS TEAM CHIEF

Embattled business tycoon Vijay Mallya has stood down from his role as director of Force India but will remain a shareholder and (absentee) team principal of the Formula 1 team.

Mallya was part of a consortium that bought the Spyker team in 2007 and subsequently renamed it to Force India.

Since then, the team have gone from strength to strength, peaking with fourth place in the Formula 1 constructors’ world championship in the last two seasons.

On Thursday, it emerged in a UK Companies House Termination of Director Appointment document that Mallya stepped down from his role on the board but remains at the helm of the team and co-owner, along with Subrata Roy and the Mol family.

After six rounds this season, Force India lie sixth in the F1 constructors’ championship on 26 points, with Sergio Perez podium in Azerbaijan the team’s 2018 highlight so far.

Their second driver Esteban Ocon is the team’s younger driver who is closely associated to Mercedes who supply power units to the Silverstone based team.

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DISENCHANTED ALONSO PAVING WAY FOR INDYCAR SWITCH

It is becoming increasingly evident that Fernando Alonso is fast running out of patience with Formula 1 and is starting to look out for opportunities elsewhere which could result in the Spaniard walking away from the pinnacle of the sport at the end of this season.

Alonso’s plight is well known; one of the top three drivers of the current era has been toiling at the wrong end of the grid for too long with no real sign that his McLaren team will become a serious championship contender any time soon.

Ditching Honda for Renault did not provide the ‘magic button’ to propel them to front of the grid competitiveness that the team naively predicted at the time of announcing the deal for their new era.

For Alonso, options to remain in Formula 1 with a top team are virtually non-existent: Red Bull will not take him, Mercedes don’t want him and the bridge to Maranello has been burnt despite efforts by longtime mentor Flavio Briatore to rebuild it.

A miserable weekend in Monaco added to Alonso’s frustrations which bubbled over when he dubbed this edition of the Monaco Grand Prix “the most boring ever” and then went on to watch the Indy 500 on TV which he referred to as “a REAL race” in a tweet on Sunday night.

Meanwhile, McLaren chief Zak Brown has admitted that his team are considering alternative race programmes and Indycar is a big attraction for the team who have won the Indianapolis on three occasions in the seventies.

Various sources in Spain have reported that Brown and Alonso’s manager Luis Garcia Abad are heading to Detroit Grand Prix this weekend with the view of setting up a partnership with a team to run Alonso in a McLaren Indycar entry next year.

They will be accompanied by Gil de Ferran, double IndyCar champion, winner of the Indy 500 and Alonso’s coach when he tackled the race at the Brickyard last year.

The Brazilian recently joined McLaren as an adviser which allows them to tap into his expertise regarding their Indycar project. In addition, De Ferrán was also .

In terms of budgets, Indycar is small change compared to Formula 1. A big-budget Stateside is around $15-million for a year with a top team, in Formula 1 add a zero to that and double it to have a chance to be in among the top three teams.

Andretti Autosport – with whom McLaren combined with Honda to provide Alonso with his Indy 500 ride last May –  is likely to be their preferred partner, but another option is reportedly also on the table for Brown and his team to consider.

We have previously reported Alonso’s increasing disenchantment with Formula 1, but more recently Sky pundit Martin Brundle interviewed the Spaniard ahead of the recent Monaco Grand Prix and observed later, “I had a long sit down interview with Fernando pre-race and he gave me a distinct impression that he likely wouldn’t be on the F1 grid next year.”

“That wouldn’t have been helped by his retirement in the race, and post-race he publicly criticised Monaco and applauded the Indy 500. You never know with him, he could retire then un-retire very quickly, but I think even his relentless energy and motivation is fading,” added Brundle.

Apart from his ‘full-time’ job as McLaren’s number one F1 driver, Alonso has also signed to race with Toyota Gazoo Racing with whom he won his debut WEC race at the Spa 6-Hours. His contract runs with the Japanese manufacturer until the end of the super season next year.

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Pirelli again skips Supersoft step in Singapore GP selection

Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli has opted to skip the Supersoft step in its compound selections for the Singapore Grand Prix.

Pirelli missed out the red-banded rubber in China and drivers backed the move, with the approach leading to a variety of strategies, calling for the company to make more non-linear compound choices at future Grands Prix.

Such a tactic has been employed for upcoming events in Germany and Hungary, and Pirelli confirmed on Thursday that it will again miss a step in Singapore.

The Hypersoft – which made its Grand Prix weekend debut in Monaco last weekend  – Ultrasoft and Soft tyres will be available for Formula 1’s night race.

It marks the third successive non-linear compound choices made by Pirelli – though it has yet to select rubber for Grands Prix in Belgium and Italy, due to different time constraints for European rounds.

As per usual, drivers will have 13 sets of tyres available for the Grand Prix weekend, from which they are allowed free choice of the three nominated compounds for 10 of their sets.

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Haas outlines 'first major update' for Canadian GP

The Haas Formula 1 team will bring its first major update of the 2018 season to next weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, with several revisions to the VF-18 expected.

Haas has typically been towards the front end of the midfield group 2018, as it built on eye-catching pre-season form through the opening Grands Prix of the year.

Haas, though, holds only seventh position in the Constructors’ Championship after several opportunities slipped through its grasp.

It lost a haul of points in Australia through an issue with cross-threaded wheel nuts, while Romain Grosjean’s errors in Azerbaijan and Spain also proved costly, with the Frenchman yet to score this year.

Having comfortably spearheaded the midfield group in Spain, courtesy of Kevin Magnussen, Haas struggled for pace last weekend in Monaco.

Magnussen was slowest of the 19 competitors in Q1 while Grosjean finished at the foot of the pack in Q2, as neither driver contended for points around the streets of the Principality.

Haas’ VF-18 is set to feature a new front wing and floor, along with a revised bargeboard area, as the team strives to keep pace with the development in Formula 1’s highly-competitive midfield.

“Obviously, their aim is to go faster, to gain us speed,” said Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner.

“A lot of people brought their upgrades to Spain. We decided to bring them to Canada to have a little bit more time, because we’re still a small team and cannot react as quickly as the big ones.”

Haas is currently tied on points with Toro Rosso in the standings, and faces a seven-point deficit to primary rival Force India.