FORMULA 1

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COME ON GENE HAAS GIVE ROBERT A SHOT!

It is no secret that Robert Kubica and his Italian agent Alessandro Alunni Bravo are working overtime to try secure the popular Polish driver a place in Formula 1 for 2019, with Haas emerging as their target for a spot on the 2019 grid that is very scarce of seats.

Why wait a year? Why not give it to him this season?

Diario Motorsport journo Américo Teixeira Junior reports that, although there is no official word from either camp, talks are beyond the “Hello, how are you?” stage.

Kubica is an intriguing subject. Had the world been a fairytale kinda place, after his accident, he would have been racing for Williams this season with a fantastic car.

Instead for the reasons we all know, he watches F1 on TV from the confines of the Williams pit garage. No doubt what he sees makes him thank his lucky stars that it is not he toiling in the car that terrorises Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin every race weekend.

The Williams FW41 has been described as “evil” by team chief Claire Williams, while tech boss Paddy Lowe talks in tongues about hitherto never experienced aerodynamics phenomenon.

But facts are facts, the first car that Lowe built as tech guru at Grove was summed up aptly by one of their former drivers: “It’s a shitbox!”

The reality is that the two youngsters they currently have in the car are hopelessly out of their depth in trying to sort out a rubbish chassis, they simply do not have the experience to kick-start a turnaround or a fix of sorts.

Inevitably the question arises: Would Kubica have done a better job had he been in the car since the beginning of the season when testing kicked off in Barcelona earlier this year?

At the same time, the harsh reality is whether Kubica is an appropriate measure amid current F1 driver standards as he last raced in a previous era. One in which cars and races were very different. Normally aspirated engines, no DRS, other aero rules, different tyres etc. etc. etc.

And of course the elephant in the room: his obvious disability.

Under the circumstances, how qualified is he now, after almost a decade of self-imposed exile from Formula 1, to be considered as a saviour for the beleaguered team?

Even Kubica himself, when embarking on his new journey back to the top flight, warned that he should be treated as a rookie.

Despite only getting occasional outings in free practice and testing so far this season, Kubica’s shares are in a good place yet no team has actually had the chutzpah or guts or balls or whatever to take a chance with the one-time grand prix winner.

Meanwhile, it is no secret that Haas have a serious problem: the VF18 is the fourth best car on the grid – Best of the Rest is where they belong this season, but Romain Grosjean insists on binning it when and wherever he can.

The Frenchman in auto-destruct mode has resulted in his shares dropping so low that you can only applaud the patience shown by the American team’s bosses with regards to their wayward French veteran of 132 grand prix starts. The bills are mounting rapidly…

Step up Kubica and agent Bravo…

All it would take is a call to Guenther Steiner and a proposal: “Please give Robert simulator time throughout the summer break, assess him during this period. If he ticks all the boxes give him a six-race deal to prove himself starting at Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix.”

At the same time, Grosjean takes a much-needed sabbatical to take stock of his career and a proper reality check.

If Robert does the business Haas could say au revoir to the expensive Frenchman, if Robert flops then step-up again Romain but keep it clean.

It would certainly be poetic justice if Haas opened the door to Kubica and gave him that opportunity, after all ten years ago the Pole had inked a deal to race for Ferrari but life was cruel to him and it never happened.

Fast-forward to now, the prospect of Kubica in a Ferrari powered Formula 1 car is still a tangible dream.

So, come on Gene Haas get with the programme and give Robert a shot! What have you got to lose?

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Sebastian Vettel: F1 would be wrong to change Grand Prix format

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel has implored Formula 1 chiefs not to change the format of Grand Prix weekends, amid ongoing research into potential tweaks.

It was revealed last month that leading Formula 1 figures are conducting research into the timetable of a Grand Prix weekend, as part of potential changes enacted by owners Liberty Media.

Formula 1 weekends are currently composed of three practice sessions, a three-part knockout qualifying session and a single race of duration 305-310km (aside from a reduced length in Monaco).

Leading figures are gauging opinions as to whether this should be changed, with several ideas, such as the introduction of a Sprint Race, amended qualifying format, and the duration of practice, all raised for discussion.

Vettel, though, believes officials should stay clear of any alterations.

“The format is fine, it’s wrong to look at changing the format,” he said.

“It’s not my decision, but I wouldn’t be a fan. It has been like that for a long time for a reason, a 300km Grand Prix is a Grand Prix.

“If you make it half then maybe for some people a boring race is only half boring but, you know, that’s not the way I look at it.

“It’s a challenge, a Grand Prix distance, and it’s something: you do your first race and are surprised by how long the race can be.

“It’s a physical and mental challenge for that duration and if it becomes a Sprint Race I think it would be a different sport in a way.

“I wouldn’t mess with the format, we need to find other ways to get the excitement and get the grid together and whatever but not the format.”

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Haas confirms it will skip post-Hungary GP test

Haas has confirmed that it will not participate in the in-season test that is shceduled to take place after the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Haas confirmed to Motorsport Week that the decision to skip the two-day test is not related to the ongoing investigation into young driver Santino Ferrucci, who was recently axed by the Trident Formula 2 team following an incident at the last race in Britain, where the American driver was handed a two-round ban.

Team boss Guenther Steiner explained that the team felt its time was better spent analysing data collected during the triple-header weekend, as well as the next two races in Germany and Hungary, which has seen teams completing a record five race weekends across six weeks.

"Instead of participating in the test in Hungary, Haas F1 Team is using the time to analyse the data it received from its recent Pirelli tyre test at Silverstone, from past grands prix and from our simulator work," confirmed Steiner.

"Between the data our drivers have been able to gather that is directly applicable to their driving styles in our cars, and this current run of five races in six weeks, we determined our time was best spent at the factory."

Haas have yet to rule on what action they'll take with Ferrucci, insisting it needs to gather more evidence and hear from all sides before making a decision.

Ferrucci was Haas' designated young driver during testing in 2016 and 2017, with Formula 1 teams obligated to run drivers with fewer than two Grand Prix starts for two of the four in-season test days.

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'No rush' for Charles Leclerc to join Ferrari - Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel says there is “no rush” for Charles Leclerc to feel he should be competing for Ferrari in Formula 1 next year.

Ferrari-backed Leclerc rose to Formula 1 after taking back-to-back titles in GP3 and Formula 2 and recovered from an indifferent start to his career to take several eye-catching results.

Leclerc has appeared in Q2 across seven straight events, twice building on those to make Q3, and has scored points in five of those, a run that would have been extended but for a botched pit stop in Britain.

Leclerc’s form has fuelled speculation that Ferrari could replace Kimi Raikkonen with the current Sauber driver for next season.

Vettel, speaking ahead of the German Grand Prix, backed the credentials of both Leclerc and Raikkonen, but reckons the youngster should not feel rushed to make the step.

When asked if he had a preference for Raikkonen to stay, Vettel replied: “I’d be happy to continue like that but it’s not for me to decide.

“I think Charles, one way or the other, will have a great career, he’s a great guy, he’s fast, he’s got everything.

“I mean he has no rush, he’s young but if you’re younger you’re always in a rush with everything.

“I don’t know when, what and ultimately who [will be at Ferrari].

“But it doesn’t really matter to me, I think it’s clear where I am next year, both of them would suit [being] at the team.”

Vettel had earlier commented that he and Raikkonen “get along, we never had any issues.

“Sometimes on track I remember I drove into him and crashed into him but I think the way we handle things is very similar, very straightforward, it’s great to work with him, great for the team/

“But it’s not my decision so we’ll see what happens.”

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Five of the best: Rainer Schlegelmilch on legends of F1

Legendary Formula 1 photographer Rainer W. Schlegelmilch gives his views on five all-time greats that he’s watched from the pitlane and trackside during his stellar 55-year motorsport career.

Schlegelmilch, whose fabulous archives were acquired by Motorsport Network last year, was able to get up close and personal to these motorsport heroes to snap his breathtaking photos. 

Here, he gives his personal appreciation of the characters behind the helmets, along with examples of his photography of each subject. And you can browse more of his iconic photos on the Motorsport Images website.

Ayrton Senna

"Senna was a very, very serious driver. He was always thinking of God, and I remember in his last year [at McLaren in 1993] fighting with Ron Dennis. He wanted always to win. And he showed me his character, from the good side, when he gave one victory to his best friend in Formula 1: Gerhard Berger. That was a surprise to me. One ego like Senna, and another like Berger, were able to share that [moment] – it was very, very rare in Formula 1. Most drivers had enemies: that was their team partner."

Jochen Rindt

"He was a crazy German living in Austria, having a licence from Austria, and he was a wild young dog when he came in, and he was so focused, just driving, winning. I have even pictures from '63, I was so impressed by this guy and somebody told me 'that's an Austrian and he will become a great driver one day', and it happened. And towards the end of his career, from '68 on, he was always a playboy. He was a modern thinking driver you know, with a big show, with beautiful women. So that was the beginning of another kind of driver."

Jackie Stewart 

"To me, he was always very open. I was a German, you know, I was always away from the English colleagues because Formula 1 was British at that time. Only through my contacts with journalists, with British journalists, I came closer to these guys and I was introduced to Jackie and I spoke with [his wife] Helen. And that was really nice, a very familiar friendship and we still have it today. I remember a few years ago he said 'Rainer, when you are on the way to Silverstone come to my house, have lunch with us,' and it was unbelievable for me. No other driver ever has said this – maybe Jacky Ickx. Very friendly, very good connection and we respect each other very much, we like each other and we are very close. And, of course, one of the reasons was that we aged together."

Jim Clark 

"For me, Jim Clark was the hero of my black and white time. I remember when he was killed at Hockenheim, it was one of the darkest days of my life because Clark was a superhuman and nobody could believe that he could have an accident. He was the best driver, he was always winning and he was always open and very happy. He was so normal when he was on the podium. The day was so bad when he was killed, and I couldn't understand that I loved a sport which killed its best people. This was very strange. Every other sport, you know, all athletics, are not so dangerous. But a sport that kills its best people, that was... I had a long time to get over that."

Michael Schumacher 

"He was, at the beginning, fantastic for Germany, of course. The Germans needed somebody who was familiar and you see that with how many people watched TV at his time. Michael was great and also he went out on a limb. Even to me, it was very difficult to get in touch with him when he was on the top of his career. That is the time, that is the money, this is a real change – the difference between the best pilots and the ordinary photographer."

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Stroll linked with Force India move

Lance Stroll has been strongly linked with a move to Force India next season, with the Canadian admitting his Formula 1 future may not be with Williams.
On the back of his current team’s struggles in 2018, Stroll is known to have been evaluating his options in a bid to land himself the most competitive seat possible.

Sources have now suggested that Force India has emerged as the leading contender should the Canadian decide that his F1 future is better served away from Williams.

A move to the Silverstone-based team should give him a more competitive seat than he has had this year, plus Force India could benefit from any potential financial injection that the Strolls can bring.

A cash boost could come alongside a move by Force India to try to firm up closer ties with Mercedes, in a similar way to what Sauber is doing with Ferrari, both on the technical front and in terms of running junior drivers.

Speaking ahead of the German Grand Prix, Stroll said that his future was currently uncertain, but there was a clear hint that his place at Williams was pretty much dependent on the Grove-based outfit making a recovery soon.

“I would like to see us improve and get to where we want to get to as a team,” he said, when asked if he wanted to stay at Williams next year.

“I also want to do what’s best for me as a driver, so we will come to all the conclusions at the right time and figure out what’s best for the future.”

He added: “I don’t know yet what I’m doing or where my future is going. I’m still focused on where I am right now, what I’m doing today and we’ll see what the future holds.”

Although there have been suggestions that a deal with Force India could be completed in a matter of weeks, Stroll said that for now his focus was on sorting Williams.

“I’m not going to comment in detail on all that kind of stuff, I’m really just focussing on every weekend - where I am right now, the racing. There is plenty going on.

“Right now, I think there is a lot of unfinished business in Formula 1. I got to experience some amazing highlights as a rookie last year and some difficult times as well, which I expected coming into my rookie year but all in all a great rookie season.

“And this year, I think we are all quite surprised, shocked by the performance of the package and where we are. So I don’t think it’s time to end it on this kind of note.”

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Williams introduces new front wing design

Williams has introduced a new front wing design for the German Grand Prix as part of an update package that it hopes will make its car more predictable.
Just a fortnight on from a disastrous British Grand Prix, where both its cars had to start from the pitlane in the wake of a floor stall issue that wrecked qualifying, the team is hoping for a breakthrough with its new parts.

For rather than the wing bringing more downforce, the idea behind the concept change is that it will make the car better balanced – so that drivers Sergey Sirotkin and Lance Stroll feel more confident in it.

Speaking about the wing changes, Sirotkin said: "It doesn't give us any more lap time on paper. But what we really expect from all of these bits to do in the end of the day is to give us a stable platform.

"As a consequence, it will give the drivers more confidence, but it all starts with getting the airflow stable to any other external situations."

Sirotkin believed that the potential for a breakthrough at Williams meant that the Hockenheim weekend was a crucial one for the team's season.

"It is quite important, because we've been working on these bits for quite a long time," he said.

"We do really hope that it will do this [be more predictable] and if not, it will mean that we have some deeper correlation problem which will take more time to solve – and which are obviously more painful for the team."

The key wing changes

The new Williams wing sees numerous design facets altered in order to change the behaviour of the airflow across it and over the rest of the car.

The hope will be that this will result in an overall better balance and performance - which should improve laptime.

As can be seen in Giorgio Piola's exclusive photograph, the mainplane's leading edge has been significantly altered (highlighted in green), as the surface is upturned in order to encourage more airflow to travel under the wing.

This tweak will also change the wing's pitch sensitivity, which is its relationship with the ground as the car brakes and accelerates. This should help make it more predictable than the older version.

Allied to this alteration is the connecting point with the neutral central section of the wing (blue arrow). This also has an impact on the generation and vorticity of the Y250 vortex that forms here.

The shape and characteristics of the first flap above it has also been revamped in order to co-ordinate with the previously mentioned changes.

The r-shaped cascade (red arrow) now features a scrolled upper edge, in order to shape the vortex that is inevitably shed from its trailing edge.

The outboard flap geometry has also changed, with a more pronounced arch appearing in order to control how the airflow is distributed ahead of the front tyre, improving the outwash effect.

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Magnussen likens Alonso's complaints to Neymar antics

Kevin Magnussen has likened Formula 1 rival Fernando Alonso's complaints on the radio to football star Neymar's perceived play-acting of injuries in the recent World Cup.
Haas driver Magnussen has drawn the ire of Alonso on several occasions in his F1 career, and the Spaniard was incensed with the Dane's driving in two separate sessions of the British Grand Prix weekend.

He admonished Magnussen for "very dangerous driving" after a run-in FP1 and accused the Haas man of forcing him off the track in the race, telling his team: "What I see from Magnussen I never saw in my life."

Asked ahead of the German Grand Prix whether he felt Alonso had a personal issue with him, Magnussen insisted he had "no idea" - and said that there had been "no problem" dealing with Alonso off-track.

He did, however, liken Alonso to Brazil forward Neymar, who was widely accused of 'diving' and feigning injury during football's recently-concluded World Cup tournament.

"He does complain a lot on the radio," Magnussen said of Alonso, "but, I mean, we see it other sports as well.

"Even great athletes like Neymar and stuff, they exaggerate a bit."

Alonso called for stewards to intervene and penalise Magnussen during the Silverstone race – but, having been cleared of wrongdoing in the FP1 run-in, the Haas driver received no sanction for the second incident either.

"I think that the stewards didn't react, or the race director didn't react at all, so I don't need to comment on that one," Magnussen's team boss Gunther Steiner said.

  

"For sure Fernando is doing his job, he is one of the best drivers and he is very good in all aspects.

"He has been doing it a long time, he knows which button to push, so he tried.

"For sure he is trying to get the most for himself and it didn't work two weekends ago."

Magnussen's British GP had been compromised by an opening-lap collision with fellow Haas driver Romain Grosjean, who had locked up and hit his teammate's VF-18.

Asked how he apportioned blame for the incident, Magnussen said: "I'm not going to sit here and do the blame game, I don't think there's any reason for that.

"I think we move on and the situation is pretty clear, we have a good car, we don't want to waste points so what happened is not to be repeated hopefully.

"We are very open in the team, and close with each other, so we were able to move on pretty quickly. Of course no one is happy about what happened, but it is what it is.

"I still managed to score a few points [in ninth place], but should've scored a lot more. But we just need to be scoring points more regularly with both cars."

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Renault reveals new front wing concept

Renault has revealed the new front wing concept that it hopes can help deliver a performance step from this weekend's German Grand Prix.
Although the French car manufacturer is currently fourth in the constructors' championship, it knows it faces a tough fight if it is to hold off the threat posed by other teams – especially the fast-recovering Haas.

That is why it has been eager to introduce the new front wing, which the team hopes will deliver a better platform for it drivers in terms of aerodynamic balance.

Technical director Nick Chester said: "It's just got a slightly different characteristic, so it will change the bias a little bit between corner entry and in the medium-speed versus high-speed corners."

The wing features a new approach, with the adjustable section of the wing made much shorter near the inboard end.

This means that only a very small area of the wing is affected by flap adjustment, allowing the airflow guided by the outer section of the wing to be less affected by changes.

The latter part of the endplate has also been split into multiple sections in order that the airflow being outwashed is worked harder. 

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F1 2018 German GP - Thursday (Drivers) Press Conference

 

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GERMAN GRAND PRIX: VETTEL GAFFE GIFTS HAMILTON VICTORY

Lewis Hamilton took an unexpected victory at the expense of his teammate Valtteri Bottas as Mercedes capitalised when Sebastian Vettel made mistake and slithered off the track into the barriers and out of the race – victory was thrown away by the four times Formula 1 World Champion.

A stalemate of a race burst into life when about 20 laps from the end rain started spitting down over Hockenheim, rendering some sections of the track wet. The rain lifted but then returned during the final stages of the race shattering Vettel’s dreams of victory on home soil with the finish in sight.

He simply miscalculated how slippery the track was when he hit the brakes, the car sliding unto the gravel and tapping the wall. His race was run.

Nevertheless, Hamilton was made to work hard all afternoon after starting from 14th on the grid – he has never won from so low on the grid before in his F1 career. His first stint was impressively long and aided by Mercedes works power was able to scythe through the field.

When the dice fell he found himself following his teammate who was leading the race, then the call came and Hamilton was handed his 66th grand prix victory. He now leads the championship by 17 points with 11 rounds run.

The Briton said afterwards, “It’s obviously very difficult from that position but you’ve always got to believe. I just wanted to stay calm and collected. I’m so grateful, I kept pushing and kept believing and it happened. I really manifested my dream today For those who don’t know me – now you do.”

A couple of hours after the race Hamilton was reprimanded after a visit to the FIA race stewards’ for an incident where he cut across the grass, from pitlane to main track, when aborting a pit stop late in the race.

Bottas was second, but could have won the race had he not been ordered by his team to hold station when attacking Hamilton after the safety car period late in the race. Bottas, quicker at that point, obliged and Hamilton was left unchallenged.

The Finn summed up: “When Seb went off I thought now was a good chance. We had a bit of a battle on Lap One after the Safety Car and I didn’t get past there, and then they told me to minimise the risk which I understand.”

Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff Explained the thining behind the team orders, “We didn’t have the quickest car here and we just need to progress for the next races. It was still raining at the time and the fight was so intense – it was all to lose with the bad luck we have had in the last few races. We wanted to keep it calm at that stage.”

Kimi Raikkonen provided some consolation for Ferrari with third place, at one point he was leading but too was a victim of a call by his team to allow Vettel past when the pair were running nose-to-tail and battling for position on track.

At first, Raikkonen feigned misunderstanding until he told his engineer to tell him exactly what he wants, and was told: “Seb is capable of going quicker.”

Verstappen stayed out of the limelight for most of the race but simply did not have the firepower to match the top two teams. Fourth place was probably better than they expected.

Nico Hulkenberg’s experience told in a challenging race in which small mistakes were punished, the Renault driver endured to finish fifth, his best result of the season.

Haas showed good pace all weekend and both capable of finishing in the points, this time Romain Grosjean brought home the points with sixth place. Teammate Kevin Magnussen was 11th.

Sergio Perez survived some moments early on in the race, including a spin, to finish seventh, ahead of Force India teammate Esteban Ocon in eighth.

Marcus Ericcson finished ninth in the Sauber and Brendon Hartley claiming the final point for Toro Rosso.

FIA Blow-By-Blow Report

At the start Vettel made a slower getaway than Bottas but the German took up a good defensive position into the first corner and held his lead. Behind them Verstappen attacked Räikkönen, but again, the Ferrari driver held his never and third place as the field swept across the line to begin the second lap. Further back Hulkenberg passed Grosjean to steal sixth place.

Hamilton, meanwhile, was beginning to charge and by lap six he was up to tenth place and into the points. That became P8 by the start of lap nine as he worked his way past Sainz and Grosjean who was struggling with his rear tyres.

At the back Ricciardo, the only man to start on medium tyres, was also scything his way through the pack and by lap 11 the Australian had climbed to 13th place. He now sat half a second off Alonso.

Hamilton’s drive forward continued, and after 14 laps he was in fifth place. Räikkönen then made his first stop, taking on soft tyres. The Finn emerged in fourth place, directly ahead of the Mercedes man. Räikkönen was in control, however, and within a few laps he had pulled out a 3.5s gap over the Briton.

At the front, Vettel was controlling the race perfectly and on lap 19 the home favourite was 4.6s ahead of Bottas with Verstappen a further 5.8s back.

Hamilton was now locked in fourth place behind Räikkönen. Ricciardo, however, was still on the move and by lap 20 he was up to 10th place having powered past Alonso and Sauber’s Charles Leclerc.

Vettel made his first stop from the lead on lap 25 and took on soft tyres. He re-joined the action in fourth place, just ahead of Hamilton, who had yet to make his pit stop. There was no threat though and Hamilton, on 27 lap-old starting softs, could not keep pace with the German and he had soon eked out a 3.0s gap to the Mercedes driver.

On lap 28 Ricciardo, who had enjoyed a productive run to sixth place suddenly as he went through Turns 9 and 10. “Losing power, something’s wrong,” he said before pulling over and stopping at Turn 11.

Verstappen then pitted to take on soft tyres and after 31 laps the order had Räikkönen in the lead, 1.3s clear of Vettel with Hamilton, who had yet to stop, in third ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas. Verstappen was fifth ahead of Magnussen, Hulkenberg and Grosjean, with Perez now ninth ahead of Sainz.

Vettel soon began to complain that Räikkönen was holding him up and that he was not only losing time but also destroying his tyres. After a lengthy conversation with Ferrari chief engineer Jock Clear the Fin moved aside and Vettel resumed in the lead.

Hamilton made his pit stop on lap 42 and took on ultrasoft tyres for his final stint, hoping that added performance would allow him to close on the leaders.

The race then took a hugely dramatic turn as rain began to fall at the hairpin. It grew in intensity but with forecasts predicting a rapid end to the shower the leaders chose to stay on slick tyres – and it cost Vettel dearly.

The German lost control in the stadium section and slid off track and into the barriers. What had seemed like a comfortable march to a sizeable points lead over Hamilton had gone disastrously wrong.

The SC was immediately deployed and under the caution, Mercedes pitted Bottas. The crew weren’t ready, however, and the Finn was left sitting on his marks for almost 16 seconds as the team found a set of ultrasofts for him.

Räikkönen, too, pitted and like Bottas he fitted a new set of ultrasoft tyres for a final blast, if conditions allowed.

The SC left the track at the end of lap 57 and despite a strong attack from his team-mate Hamilton held the lead ahead of Bottas and Räikkönen. Bottas was then told to hold position and 10 laps later Hamilton crossed the line to take his 66th career win ahead of his team-mate and Räikkönen.

Verstappen then took fourth place ahead of Hulkenberg, Grosjean, Perez and Ocon. Ericsson was ninth and the final point went to Hartley.

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HAMILTON REPRIMANDED BUT KEEPS HOCKENHEIM VICTORY

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was reprimanded by FIA race stewards after celebrating victory at the German Grand Prix, after investigating a late-race incident in which he drove his Mercedes off track to abort a pit stop late in the race.

Thus Hamilton’s victory, which until then was threatened, remains because the sanction imposed did not include any penalty that would have demoted him down the order.

The stewards who include former F1 driver Mika Salo summoned Hamilton after the post-race press conference for “Alleged breach of Appendix L Chapter IV Article 4 (d) of the FIA International Sporting Code, car 44 crossed the line separating the pit entry and the track.”

The incident happened on lap 53, under safety car conditions, Hamilton was called into the pits by his race engineer Pete Bonnington, but as he peeled in he spotted that Raikkonen had not pitted and the Mercedes driver followed suit by cutting across the grass between pit lane entry and race track.

With team trucks heading out the gates at Hockenheim on Sunday evening stewards delivered their verdict:

“The Stewards reviewed video and audio evidence, heard from the driver of car 44 (Lewis Hamilton) and the team representative. It was clear that there was an infringement of the above mentioned rule – the driver clearly crossed the line separating the pit entry from the track.”

“In deciding on the penalty for the infringement, we took into account the following mitigating factors:

• (i) the driver and the team candidly admitted the mistake and the fact that there was confusion within the team as to whether to stay out or to enter the pits and that led to the infringement.
• (ii) The fact that the infringement took place during a Safety Car period.
• (iii) At no time was there any danger to any other competitor and the change in direction was executed in a safe way.

“Taking all of the above into account, including considering previous infringements of the above rule, we are of the opinion that a reprimand would be the appropriate penalty for the said infringement on this occasion.”

Hamilton described the incident in the post-race press conference: “I started turning in, then they asked me to box and then I said ‘Kimi is pitting’ and then they said ‘Stay out’ and I was already in the lane! So I started turning out and trying to go over the grass and then they said ‘no, stay in!’ and I was already back on track!”

“The reason I was mentioning it was because there were times when you do the opposite to the car in front and I really felt that this was a chance to do the opposite to Kimi and gain ground on the road. So that’s why I questioned it an ultimately it turned out to be the right thing.”

FIA race director Charlie Whiting, who does not sit on the stewards’ panel, explained the delay in investigating the incident, “It just takes a little bit of time to make sure that if you’re going to call a team that you have a good reason for calling them.”

“Obviously we wanted to wait until after the race to have a look at it because we were getting quite close to the end of it and then with all the rain and the thunderstorms and everything like that, by the time everything had calmed down, had a good look at it and the stewards decided that they should, in fact, discuss it with the team,” added Whiting.

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ROSBERG: UNBELIEVABLE, VETTEL THREW IT AWAY!

Sebastian Vettel tried hard to play down the disappointment of throwing away a sure German Grand Prix victory when he lost control of his Ferrari under slippery conditions and crashed out of his home race, ultimately gifting victory to his arch-rival Lewis million and his Mercedes team.

Nico Rosberg, whose presence as an enthusiastic and knowledgeable pundit is always a treat, did not mince his words when looking back on a dramatic race and Vettel’s mistake, “Such a big one – unbelievable! He threw it away!”

“Yes, the conditions were difficult, we know that, and they are horrible as a driver because it’s so tough. But he still had a gap to the guys behind, he could have just taken out a little bit more, gone a little bit slower and taken it a bit easier, and he just chucked it into the wall. It’s so bad.”

Rosberg suggested there was no excuse for a driver of Vettel’s experience and knowledge of Hockenheim, “You know the Sachskurve, that’s the one corner where there is no margin for error. So in that corner, you’re going to leave even more in reserve, and he didn’t. He went over the edge.”

Vettel was cruising to victory before the incident on lap 52, enjoying a ten seconds lead over Raikkonen at that point which coincided with a rain shower that affected parts of the track including Turn 12 where the incident happened.

One could argue that Mercedes had found some late race pace and were chasing hard, but Rosberg does not buy that theory, “We didn’t hear a radio conversation with Sebastian about that during the race, so I don’t think he was aware of that.

“He was just doing his own race and he messed it up, totally, which is unbelievable for him. That doesn’t happen too often for him,” added Rosberg.

Vettel appeared a tad too cool about the self-inflicted gap, but did concede afterwards, “I was in the barrier, and I realise I don’t get out from there, so how do you process that? I don’t think it was a huge mistake, it was a huge impact on the race because we retired.”

“But it’s not like tonight I will have difficulties to fall asleep because of what I’ve done wrong. It’s disappointing because up to that point everything was sweet. We didn’t need the rain.”

As for the positives, Vettel pointed out, “We have a strong car, so we can be as confident, more confident than anybody else. It was a very positive weekend, just one of those moments, and my mistake.”

“Apologies to the team, they did everything right and I had it in my hands. Small mistake, big disappointment,” added Vettel who now trails Hockenheim winner Lewis Hamilton in the championship standings by 17 points with the 12th round of the championship up next weekend in Hungary.

[MIKA27]

F1 2018 German GP - Post Race Press Conference

MIKA: Don't thank god for the win Lewis, thank Bottas for allowing you by.

[MIKA27]

F1 German GP 2018: Post Race Lewis Hamilton Interview

F1 German GP 2018: Post Race Valtteri Bottas Interview 

German GP 2018: Post Race Toto Wolff Interview

F1 German GP 2018: Post Race Kimi Raikkonen Interview

"Sebastian is faster than you..." With a twist

 

[MIKA27]

MARCHIONNE IN DEEP COMA CLOUDS HOCKENHEIM RACE DAY

Sergio Marchionne is one of those high-profile businessmen who are either despised or respected with few in the middle ground, however news of his critical health with reports of him being in a deep come have shocked and clouded the Formula 1 paddock at Hockenheim ahead of the German Grand Prix.

Under the leadership of 42-year-old  industrialist, John Elkann has swiftly acted to replace gravely ill Marchionne, with the Agnelli heir taking over the role as chairman and another Marlboro Man – Marchionne is on the board of Philip Morris and Maurizio Arrivabene was their marketing man for decades.

The reasoning for Saturday’s reshuffle was obvious but the exact extent and orecise nature of Marchionne’s condition was not established at the time, however there have been developments overnight.

Affaritaliani.it were the first to sniff that all was not well with the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles when they reported: “Instead of a simple shoulder operation, it was more complex and required complex clinical procedure. An invasive disease emanating from the prostate had already spread in a devastating manner, but only discovered a short time ago.”

“An evil that could require further medical investigations and more complex surgical interventions. From here the Marchionne family have drastic decisions to make.”

Lettera43 editor Paolo Madron wrote on Twitter: “Things that you would never want to say, but unfortunately the duty of news requires us to do so: Marchionne is in a deep coma.”

[MIKA27]

Vettel: I won't lose sleep over German GP crash

Sebastian Vettel says he won’t have trouble sleeping following the error that caused him to crash out of the lead of the German Grand Prix.
The Ferrari Formula 1 driver appeared on course to extend his championship lead over Lewis Hamilton with a victory on home soil at Hockenheim, but he slid off the road and collided with the barriers in the stadium section at the end of lap 52 when a brief rain shower hit.

Asked by TV crews how he could process such a disastrous outcome, Vettel said: “I was in the barrier, and I realise I don’t get out from there, so how do you process that?

“I don’t think it was a huge mistake, it was a huge impact on the race because we retired.

“But it’s not like tonight I will have difficulties to fall asleep because of what I’ve done wrong.

“It’s disappointing because up to that point everything was sweet. We didn’t need the rain.”

Vettel said he would go away from the weekend looking at the positives about Ferrari’s performance, having taken pole position and led the race.

“We have a strong car, so we can be as confident, more confident than anybody else,” he said.

“It was a very positive weekend, just one of those moments, and my mistake.

“Apologies to the team, they did everything right and I had it in my hands. Small mistake, big disappointment.”

Vettel now trails Hamilton – who won the race from 14th on the grid – by 17 points in the championship.

[MIKA27]

Sauber owners target fourth place in 2019

Sauber Formula 1 team chairman Pascal Picci says that the Swiss outfit can target fourth place in the constructors' championship next year.
The Swiss outfit has made huge progress this season under team principal Fred Vasseur, helped by upgrades to its current-spec Ferrari power unit, and has regularly made the points in recent races.

However, it still lies only ninth in the constructors’ table, on 16 points to the 70 of the current fourth-placed team, Renault.

Picci, who also heads the Islero Investment company that owns Sauber, says that the 2018 car was the first to be produced entirely under the current ownership, and that the team will make further steps next year with new technical director Simone Resta.

“This is the first car that we were able to produce," he told Motorsport.com. "The concept was fantastic, and you will be seeing that there will be improvements more and more frequently, regularly.

"It is our ambition next year to be the fourth team. This is our ambition. I know I exaggerate, Fred is telling me that I am! But if you don’t have dreams, then you don’t succeed very often.

“We are really at our own pace, which was our view from the start. We are totally committed to success, and we will do anything for this.”

Picci believes that this year’s progress should not be a surprise, and that using year-old Ferrari engines – at the behest of then team principal Monisha Kaltenborn – in 2017 was a "terrible mistake".

“People keep forgetting that last year we couldn’t develop anything at all, because time was very short," he added. "Of course, people made the wrong opinion with what they were seeing last year. It is a big difference.

“Was it a good decision to have the old engine last season? I am very clear today with my experience, it was a terrible mistake we did.

"All of a sudden we have a better performing engine. Haas is doing a much better job than us in terms of results, but we keep pushing to be there.”

Picci insists that the team will remain in its current ownership, despite suggestions that Ferrari and Alfa Romeo could become more deeply involved.

“The potential is absolutely huge, but we are an independent team with our own business model, and not one single share is controlled or influenced by our Italian friends," he said.

"We simply have a lot of convergent interests. We are committed to this team for the long term.”

[MIKA27]

Alonso last in Germany after ‘wrong bet’

Fernando Alonso was classified in P16, the last of the runners, at Sunday’s German Grand Prix, after a failed tyre gamble.

The Spaniard brought the car into the pits just before the finish to retire his McLaren.

Alonso gambled on the rain sticking around, and put on the intermediate tyres, before the rain stopped and the two-time World Champion lost time.

“We bet on the rain and at the first drops we pitted for intermediate tyres, expecting that it would rain hard in the following few minutes,” Alonso said.

“But, it didn’t, and we were out there on a dry track with wet tyres, so we killed them and then we had to stop again to get back onto dry tyres.

“At that point, our race was compromised.”

The rain came with twenty laps to go, and Alonso was not the only one to pit. Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen also came in for the inters.

The latter was able to recover, but the first three all failed to get into the top ten. Alonso said that it was more of a rescue mission at that point.

“It was difficult conditions out there, but we weren’t in the points so we had to try something,” the Spaniard said. 

“Disappointingly, the bet today was the wrong one. At the end of the race, the team told me to retire the car, as they probably saw something on the data.”

[MIKA27]

Another Danny Ric DNF: ‘I’m in here too often’

Daniel Ricciardo had another mechanical retirement during the German Grand Prix, saying after the race that he was in the interview pen “too often” while races were still going on.

The Australian retired from the race on Lap 28, having moved through the field from P19 to P6 by that point.

Parts of the Renault engine in the back of his RB14 were brand new, but it still gave way on him as he accelerated out of the hairpin.

“I felt it braking for Turn 6 when I was downshifting. I heard something was funny, basically. Well, not funny, sick,” Ricciardo said.

“Then when I accelerated, I expected something when I got on the power and yeah, it was underpowered. Then I could hear some noises and it didn’t sound healthy.”

The issues came after the Red Bull man had battled his way through the pack, having started on the back row of the grid at the Hockenheimring.

Despite having the third-best car on the grid, the Aussie said that it was not as easy as you might have expected for him to climb the leaderboard.

“To be honest, the first ten, fifteen laps was really hard with the medium. I don’t think, in hindsight, it was a very good tyre. I was really struggling in the traffic and even off the start, I just had no grip,” he added.

“But then, once I got clear air, we were able to do some low 1:18s which seemed competitive at the time but yeah, it was looking alright.”

The seven-time race winner is yet to sign a contract with Red Bull for next year, though rumours are he is close to doing so.

However, this is another retirement for the Australian, and he recognised his bad luck.

“We struggled for that first part but then once we got a good run, I think the race probably would have come to us,” the Red Bull man continued.

“But yeah, would’ve, could’ve.. Thats racing. You know it too well. I’m in here too often actually so it hurts, it always does but what do you do.”

[MIKA27]

Hulkenberg: ‘I couldn’t ask for much more’

In his home grand prix, Nico Hulkenberg achieved his best result of the season, saying he could not have asked for much more on Sunday.

The German finished in P5 at the Hockenheimring, finishing as the ‘best of the rest’ behind the top four.

“Yeah, very happy. First half, obviously, was standard, a little bit boring race but then once the rain hit us, it unfolded nicely,” Hulkenberg said after the race.

“It was getting pretty tricky out there, trying to keep it on the road but that is where we made some gains. I am very happy with the outcome.

“Good points, I think the best finish of the season and at the home race, I couldn’t ask for much more. A little bit more crazy conditions would have been nice but I will take this too.”

The Renault man said that the rain kept changing during the race, making it trickier to try and work out.

“Yeah it is dynamic. It reminded me a lot of Brazil 2012 where it was a similar thing where you were sort of, ‘yeah I am pitting, no wait I am staying out’,” he added.

“It was that that kind of reminded me a lot about this. We made the right decisions and that is why we deserved the P5 today.”

[MIKA27]

Max on inters gamble: ‘This time it didn’t work’

Max Verstappen took a punt on the intermediate tyres during the German Grand Prix, but it did not pay off this time.

The Dutchman was the only man in the top four to gamble for the intermediate tyres when the rain started coming down at the Hockenheimring, but it did not work for the Red Bull driver.

The rain started coming down with twenty laps to go, prompting Verstappen to pit, but the rain subsided, meaning he had to come back in for slicks.

Luckily for him, the Safety Car after Sebastian Vettel’s crash brought him back into play. Despite that, he was only able to finish in P4, the same position he started in.

“Luckily it didn’t make a difference because anyway, everybody should have come in after the Safety Car for new tyres,” Verstappen said.

“I tried, and you know, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. This time it didn’t work. I just wish the race had started a little bit later,” he continued, as the rain teemed down in the interview pen after the race.

Max Verstappen was the only Red Bull driver to finish the grand prix, as Daniel Ricciardo retired from the race with a technical issue in the RB14’s Renault engine.

After finishing in the top four on Sunday afternoon, the Dutchman said that he was looking forward to next week’s outing in Hungary.

The Hungaroring is famously a track that the Red Bull team favour, and Verstappen said that this year is no different.

“Yeah absolutely, I think even today we were not too bad, even though we lose a lot on the straights. Definitely looking forward to Hungary,” he added.

[MIKA27]

Hope fades as Williams suffer double DNF

The brief glimmer of hope that Williams saw when Sergey Sirotkin qualified 12th for the German GP, faded to nothing as both drivers retired from the grand prix.

Sirotkin was hopeful of his chances at the Hockenheimring on Sunday after making it into Q2 in qualifying.

He was having a good race, involved in the battle just outside the top ten.

However, an engine oil leak brought his grand prix to an premature end.

“It was a good race and I had to fight quite a lot at the start,” he said.

“I had some good fights which I won and others which I unfortunately lost as I was not in position to do so. But once the race settled down it was a good race and we managed the tyre well.

“The pace was reasonable and when the rain started, I was very confident and closed the gap between cars ahead of me quite quickly.

“When the safety car was deployed I felt it was our chance but unfortunately, I had a call to stop the car immediately.”

As for Lance Stroll, a brake issue meant he retired a few laps after his team-mate.

“I had to retire as I lost brakes,” he explained. “Qualifying looked strong yesterday, but today the pace wasn’t great. But I was happy with my race.

“At one stage we looked like we were in a pretty promising position, but then the rain started to come in.

“Looking at the results, Hartley scored a point and we were in front of him before we stopped for the inters and then obviously we had to retire with the brake failure.

“However, at a certain stage we were looking pretty good. It is a shame we could not be there at the end to capitalise on some of the mixed conditions.”

[skalls]

That was an interesting race.  Absolutely floored that Hamilton won it.  Ballsy on the teams to not switch to inters because it looked like they needed them for 4-5 laps.  But you really only need them for those laps and that was it.  

Bottas can't catch a break though.  Man that pit stop at hte end was awful.  Surprised Hamilton didn't get a time penalty for the leaving hte pit road.

[avaldes]

I have to wonder how much the loss of part of Vettel's front wing contributed to his loss of steering in his skid? I haven't felt shocked like that since Schumacher slid into the armco from the lead in Monaco many years ago.