Sergey Sirotkin, Williams, Singapore, 2018

Contact with Perez left car almost undriveable – Sirotkin

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In the round-up: Sergey Sirotkin said the contact from Sergio Perez during the Singapore Grand Prix left his car almost undriveable.

What they say

Perez was given a drive-through penalty for the collision. Sirotkin explained how it damaged his car:

Unfortunately I had contact with Checo so that I had quite big damage from it. If you look at the right part of my car it’s completely gone so after that it was just survival. Also the aero parts were moving up and down so every corner the car was doing different things.

So since then it was just trying to bring the car to the end of the race, trying to fight to protect my position. Obviously I had no pace, it was kind of undriveable to be able to properly fight. It’s been a tough race but at the same time it passed very quickly because I had a lot of things to control and a lot of things to look after.

Quotes: Dieter Rencken

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Comment of the day

The question of whether Lewis Hamilton’s extra-curricular activities are a distraction from his F1 performance is history, ays Wobs:

Hamilton is one of the greatest drivers F1 has ever seen, in the same league as Senna and Schumacher.

He is a global megastar, much more famous than any other F1 driver, his lifestyle reflects that. We should appreciate being able to watch a special talent like Hamilton week in week out, in a few more years he will be finished.

Less of the lifestyle talk, more appreciation for the amazing performances that man gives in a car. That qualifying lap, truly incredible.
Wobs

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On this day in F1

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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65 comments on “Contact with Perez left car almost undriveable – Sirotkin”

  1. Todd (@braketurnaccelerate)
    18th September 2018, 0:20

    $65M/£49.5M seems excessive compared to other venues.

  2. I keep reading ‘Perez contact left car a Williams’- oh well…

    1. synonym
      noun
      plural noun: synonyms
      a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the same language, for example shut is a synonym of close.
      “‘the East’ was a synonym for the Soviet empire”
      a person or thing so closely associated with a particular quality or idea that the mention of their name calls it to mind.
      “the Victorian age is a synonym for sexual puritanism”
      Formula 1
      a taxonomic name which has the same application as another, especially one which has been superseded and is no longer valid. For example dog of a car is the same as Williams (not to confuse with McLaren)
      “My Williams is always in the repair shop”

  3. Regarding Mansell’s anti-tailgating campaign… this is an area where F1 aero technology needs to be applied to road cars. Make it impossible to follow any closer than 1.5-2 seconds.
    ;-)

    1. Hahahahaha. Excellent :D

    2. Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
      18th September 2018, 7:11

      😂 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

    3. Love that! Bit of ‘road relevance’…

    4. unfortunately Audi and BMW aren’t in F1 to make that bridge

    5. Fudge Kobayashi (@)
      18th September 2018, 11:34

      COTD 😂

  4. Re COTD, Wobs is right, but in fact Hamilton’s form this year, including at Singapore, is being noticed. The veteran Brazilian racing journalist Reginaldo Leme had this to say (my translation):

    It’s at least the third time this year Hamilton has begun a weekend without counting on victory – as happened in Monza, Hockenheim and how it’s happening here in Singapore. He had a quick car but didn’t count on victory. He did that sensational lap (for pole) and is setting out now for his seventh victory of the year and 69th of his career, and he already has 79 poles. Look at the history this driver is writing. Without doubt one of the best. But look, I’d risk saying that he’s writing history to be the best. And in saying that I’m taking into account the characteristics of each driver, those of Emerson, Jackie Stewart, Piquet – the exceptional characteristics of Piquet – Senna, his natural talent, and even Piquet himself said that as natural talent went, Senna was the best of them. I take into account, obviously, Alonso, I take into account Schumacher, but look, even against Schumacher, I think Hamilton is writing the path to be the best driver in Formula 1’s history.

    That’s some praise.

    1. I don’t think anyone was close to Senna in talent, Hamilton needed 100 races more than Senna to score the same number of poles.

      1. Senna, in my opinion, is the greatest F1 driver. However, your stating that Hamilton needed 100 more races to equal the number of poles achieved by Senna is wrong and misleading. Senna achieved 65 poles in 161 races. Hamilton equaled Schumacher’s record of 68 poles at the 2017 Grand Prix of Belgium, which was his 200th race (which he also won).
        So he needed approximately 35 more races than Senna to achieve 65 poles.
        Whether you like Hamilton or not does not entitle you to stating your own facts.
        No one, and it is purely subjective, is close to Senna.

    2. Am I alone in thinking that the pole lap was probably good but not great? or at least it appears great because of extenuating circumstances. we know verstappen’s final run was compromised (and his first run to a lesser extent) and vettel is adamant that he could have beaten that time. so if hamilton had ended up 3rd would he himself have been waxing lyrical about that lap? i think not. therefore it seems unlikely the media coverage would have been quite so fawning as it has been (great lap though it was). i expect we would have treated it like some of alonso’s quali laps in the mclaren, which according to him have been some of the all time best ever laps by any driver in the history of the sport, but which merit only a passing mention because (a) it’s him saying it and (b) he only qualified 14th or wherever.

      1. I think @frood19 we would be wondering what on earth happened to Bottas

      2. @frood19, as a counterpoint, did you actually watch the lap? It is really quite special, great car placement, no errors, a supremely good lap (of course, he had a car that allows him to do that); Verstappen’s lap is quite different, he looks like he’s dragging the car along to get out of it what he knows should be possible, but only if he can tame it; a great lap then too, but not as impressive in the same way. Look, you might not believe Mercedes, but they said they didn’t think these sector times could be in that car (while we know Red Bull is strong with traction and high-downforce corners, even if it loses on straights).

        1. @bosyber yes, what mercedes said is worth taking into account (i don’t think they’d lie about their predicted lap times to big up hamilton’s ego…you never know, but he hardly needs bigging up these days). and the lap itself was of course great to watch (i remain impressed by the speed of these wide cars). but my point is that I doubt we’d even be discussing this if the lap was only good enough for 3rd. and if the other teams were properly sorted out (something mercedes should be lauded for) then that seems like that would have been a distinct possibility.

      3. @frood19 Not alone but certainly wrong. If you look at the inboard, there’s virtually no errors, I couldn’t spot any. There’s no correction of the wheel direction (compare Vettel’s 2017 lap for the difference), likewise Hamilton applies the throttle perfectly every time, revving under braking then smooth application as he rounds the corner (again Vettel’s acceleration is often jerky). The lines are perfect, nailing every corner. It’s just a brilliant lap. And at a critical moment of the season in a 2-way championship battle (i.e. huge pressure).

        But anyhow, the assessment is for the entire year as its progressing (and Hamilton’s overall career) not just Singapore. Even the Andrew Frankel article, which is otherwise a disappointingly personal and irrelevant take on Hamilton’s ‘lifestyle,’ makes the point that Hamilton combines speed, racing talent, virtually error-free driving in races (including positioning and braking) with perhaps the best risk calculation going, and exceptional performance under pressure, including qualifying. It’s virtually impossible to name another driver with all those qualities.

  5. So looking at how this season has gone thus far, is it case of Hamilton being supreme or Vettel not being as good as we thought he was?

    Bit of a mix I feel. We have to remember that in all the years that Vettel won his championships, he was in a car and team that were comfortably ahead of the rest of the field by quite some margin. Also, he was hardly under any external pressure. In 2010, nobody expected him to win, it was a set of circumstances of Swiss cheese proportions that left him world champion. 2011 and 2013 were effectively clean sweeps, nobody could hold a candle to the RBs pace. 2012 was probably the most pressure he’s been under, but he was still in the quickest car.

    It does surprise me, because Seb has been touted as a driver with supreme mental strength, however, the events of this season seems to suggest otherwise. Has Seb been found out a little perhaps? Is it just too simplistic to suggest that the Ferrari in the hands of an Alonso or Schumacher-esque driver would be certainly leading the championship?

    Its no secret that Ferrari have had a bot of edge over Merc, but too many mistakes have been made by driver and team. Ferrari and Vettel have only themselves to blame.

    1. Agreed. I never rated Vettel as a driver over the likes of Schumacher, Alonso, or Senna. It’s hard to watch as a Ferrari fan, but credit where credit’s due – Hamilton has made the leap to join that group this year.

    2. It seems to me that Hamilton needs pressure to perform, while it is the opposite for Vettel.

  6. They should be campaigning against slow drivers in the passing lane. Much more dangerous.

    1. @pastaman: Agree.

      And again, F1 technology could help road cars. Deploy millions of blue flag waving FIA officials across Britain’s motorways. Under the control of Charlie’s paranormal vision into human motivation. Not that it would be needed – because no one intentionally tailgates.

      1. Oh man, you live up to your surname 😁 @jimmi-cynic

        1. @phylyp: Thanks. Others say it’s living down to it.

      2. Love it :) Let’s flash some messages on the steering wheels while we’re at it

  7. Tailgating tip: just gradually drive slower and slower.

    An alternative is to have an LED ticker tape strip thing across your back window questioning the offending driver’s ‘manliness’ being that close to another man’s ‘behind’ (I’m assuming it’s only super-macho men with small appendages that tailgate).

    Try not to slam on your brakes, as tempting as it is…

    1. Or just move back to the slow lane.

      I dislike tailgaters as much as the next person.
      But it is as annoying to see cars overtaking when hardly driving faster; staying in the fast lane even if the next truck is miles away, or seemingly wanting to teach the car behind the speed limit.

      1. Tailgating happens on two lane roads as well, there is no “moving back to the slow lane” there. I have two very different cars. In one of them I get tailgated far more than the other. My driving style is identical. I don’t do any of the things you mention. What conclusion do you draw from that?

        1. As I wrote, “I dislike tailgaters as much as the next person”.
          You are the ‘next person’; ergo my conclusion is that I agree ;)

          1. I think Andy is pointing out that tailgating doesn’t only happen in the fast lane on a motorway, not questioning your hatred of tailgaters.

        2. @Andy What’s the difference between the two cars If I may ask? Why/how does one of them trigger more tailgating from other road-users than the other, LOL?

          1. Must be the “if you read this then you are too close” sticker ;)
            @jerejj

          2. One of them is the car tailgating :P

      2. Tailgating also happens in the slow lane.

      3. There are no ‘slow or ‘fast’ lanes on a motorway. In the UK, if you are doing 100 MPH and not overtaking anything, you should be in the left lane.

        1. Actually yes, absolutely.

          The Netherlands is the only place I have seen this happen. Definitely not on the M8 between Glasgow and Edinburgh in the morning. 1 car for every 10 in the inside lane.

    2. Recently I was driving along behind a bus, keeping back a bit, but at the same speed as the bus so I didn’t get all the noxious fumes in my car. The car behind kept flashing their headlights telling me to speed up. In the end I pull over, and in a classic case of “Win – win”, he won the race to the rear of the bus … and I won the pure air contest.

  8. “Boredom the winner in Singapore” was plenty factually accurate, notwithstanding it not being the best look for a corporate media post.

  9. That article by Frankel was pure trash and only exposes his subconscious racism.

    1. Fudge Kobayashi (@)
      18th September 2018, 11:57

      An excellent response in the comments though.

      Valterrubens Bottichello • 18 hours ago
      It seems to be a matter of perspective. I find many of the widespread criticisms of Hamilton rather overblown and bereft of validity, in that he really doesn’t necessarily possess more vices or lack more virtues than we could find in his counterparts, if we scrutinised them closely enough with the same judgementalism. He is not a naturally performative person in the same mould as Button. He indulges himself honestly, and almost always harmlessly, in order to control his own head, and maximise his effectiveness for his team. Whether those actions conform to the sort of traditional Anglo-Saxon paradigms of correctness the wider F1 circus values above all else is really a matter for them. His style isn’t going to be advisable for every driver, but there’s no doubt that it works for him.

      He’s someone who will race anybody in the same car on equal terms, constantly shield young drivers from criticism, quickly forgive road raging rivals who know far better than to use their car as a weapon against him, and cede position to a teammate while behind on points in a marginally close championship. Those actions are the definition of substance for me, and if the odd erratic move or unfortunate remark occurs in the meantime, neither I nor history are going to care. Others may throw great effort into off-track affectations, but far more severe hypocrisies than Hamilton’s lie just under the surface.

      He’s also one of very few drivers whom anyone can freely praise or abuse via his Instagram page and feel confident he’s personally read over anything you have to say to him.

      👌🏽

      1. The article was trash and I feel Frankel fails to see the person we see in the paddock, on the grid and on the podium … excellent reply to a rubbish article.

      2. Can we make another website’s comment comment of the day ?

        1. Fudge Kobayashi (@)
          18th September 2018, 14:13

          Can we make another website’s comment comment of the day ?

          Err, @keithcollantine ? Valterrubens has my vote!

    2. I agree. I’m so bored of hearing people criticise Hamilton in this way. It’s pathetic. Hamilton is an incredible racing talent. The greatest ever British F1 driver, I would say by quite some margin, who is capable of delivering staggering, transcendent performances on the track. When he hit F1 he left everyone shellshocked by how quick he was, and how he was able to immediately challenge arguably the other great driver of the age. And unlike many other of the all time greats, his success has often come during periods of intense competition from other teams and drivers.

      I genuinely think that the criticism comes down to two things – the fact he’s probably the first true millennial champion, and the fact that he identifies as black. Two things that middle-aged white F1 fans and commenters really struggle to identify with. I get the argument that you don’t think that Hamilton is someone you’d like to hang out with away from the track, but who cares? Personally, if you ask me James Hunt isn’t someone who should be in any way idolised or imitated. But his on-track performance was brilliant.

      Let’s celebrate the fact we’re able to witness a new legend in the making. One who, when he finally hangs up his helmet, may even have topped Schumacher’s record which many believed could never be bettered.

    3. Agreed. There’s a huge underlying sense of ‘white entitlement’ to the article, “Hamilton was great when he acted like one of us lads at the kart track (and we felt good about letting a black kid into our sport) but when he began doing stuff we couldn’t identify with culturally, he started to suck. Especially as he was so successful. Where’s the gratitude?”

      1. “Lewis Hamilton the person seemed, at least to me, to have forgotten how lucky he was to have been born with a talent so sublime as to have afforded him a life of which the rest of us could not possibly dream.”

        The moment i got to this part of the article, i stopped reading. Because it came across in that old fashion way of, “hey boy, you might be successful, but remember your place”

      2. @mazdachris: +1

        Lewis is a generational talent. We’re the lucky ones to witness his fantastic drive into the history books.

        His Singapore qualy lap was sublime. Thanks, Lewis, for ‘getting in there’!

  10. Lenny (@leonardodicappucino)
    18th September 2018, 8:57

    Personally I don’t really like Hamilton, nor do I like Vettel nor Alonso, as I feel all three of them whine too much over the radio, and also especially dislike Hamilton’s and Vettel’s post-race radios after they’ve won, it seems that it no longer is that special to them, they don’t seem to appreciate it anymore as much as they used to. I’m fine with muted celebration, it’s one of the things I really like about Kimi, how he just doesn’t care, but for Vettel and Hamilton they used to be jubilant, but recently just seem pre-recorded messages thanking the team, followed by a “well-managed” comment from their race engineer. However, I do appreciate all three of these drivers as having enormous skills and being the best drivers since Schumi, Senna, and Prost.

    1. I’m fine with muted celebration, it’s one of the things I really like about Kimi

      His celebrations have indeed been very muted since 2013 :P

  11. Yep. I read it as “this boy should always be reminded how out of his natural place in society he is”.

    1. Was meant to be an answer to KGN11s take on the troubling motorsport’s article

    2. Spot on. Numerous articles and posts can be summed up with ‘Hamilton should know his place.’

    3. Thanks @tango, guess that saves me the trouble of having to read that article.

      1. @bosyber , as you can see it further up, I’m not the only one to have read it that way

        1. @tango Yes, and I am still grateful for not having any need to open that article and giving the site a click; the discussion here has been good though. Not sure if you thought I was flippant, but that was a honest remark by me.

          1. Not at all @bosyber , I wanted to highlight the better comments which were above mine :)

  12. The right side of Sirotkin’s car didn’t look that bad, though. I didn’t really notice any physical exterior damage there.
    – Regarding the BBC-article: Good thing. Tailgating is one of my most disliked things on the road (with red-light running being, by far, the most disliked one) especially at higher speeds when it’s a more significant safety risk. I just don’t understand, why do some people find it so great to play with their own lives. It just isn’t worth it. Yes, I can also admit that on a few rare occasions I’ve teased a tailgater a bit by flashing the brake lights by slightly applying the brakes, but would never actually slam the pedal merely to prove a point.
    – I entirely agree with the COTD.

    1. @jerejj I don’t understand this, about the damage. They kept saying on the C4 commentary about how he was lucky that his car was pretty much undamaged and it just took the letters off his tyre. But I thought it was really obvious that the car was severely damaged. You could see in the impact a huge chunk of the floor come flying off. The entire bargeboard area and leading edge of the floor was completely gone, with just one broken turning vane lodged in the mirror. You could also see how much he was suddenly struggling with pace and particularly braking as the car had lost so much downforce.

    2. Obviously I had no pace, it was kind of undriveable to be able to properly fight

      I feel like Sirotkin’s could have said this about his car at any point in the last 6 months and it still would have been true, not just after contact with Perez.

      Hey maybe Perez was so sick of how slow Sirotkin was that he decided to help him out by removing some of the terrible aero parts the car has on his way past?

  13. One of the things that interests me is the way the pressure affects the drivers. This year Vetel seems to be crumbling under pressure. A few years ago it could be argued that Hamilton cracked enough under pressure to allow Rosberg to win the championship. When Rosberg did his shock retirement after winning the WDC one of the things he said was that he would not put himself and his family under that level of pressure again. There is not the same gamesmanship between Vettel and Hamilton that there was with Rosberg.

  14. I half expected Sirotkin to say contact by Perez on his undrivable Williams, left it improved.

  15. One of things that interests me is the effect of pressure on the drivers. This year Vettel has visibly cracked under pressure. In a previous year it could be argued that Hamilton cracked enough under pressure to allow Rosberg to win the WDC. There was much more gamesmanship between Rosberg and Hamilton.

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