Sebastian Vettel says it is “wrong” that a small section of the Sochi grid has been resurfaced.
New Tarmac was laid over the first three places on the grid prior to the race weekend. Vettel qualified third (where Giuliano Alesi, above, started today’s GP3 race) and will start on the new section with the two Mercedes drivers. It remains to be seen whether it might confer an advantage on them or the 17 cars starting behind them.But Vettel believes if part of the starting grid needed to be resurfaced then the entire grid should have been as well.
“I think the grip should be a bit higher,” said Vettel. “[But] I think it’s wrong to resurface just a bit, whether that’s positions one/two/three, or four/five/six, eight/nine/ten, it doesn’t matter.
“If you resurface something of the grid you should resurface everything. But it is what it is.”
Pole sitter Valtteri Bottas said the effect of the new surface is “a little bit unknown”.
“Usually new Tarmac tends to have a bit more grip but also it depends on the type of Tarmac. We’ve been only driving around that part of the track in non-grip-limited conditions, so flat-out. We’ll find out tomorrow how it’s going to affect.”
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Jimmi Cynic (@jimmi-cynic)
29th September 2018, 22:10
Gripping storyline as F1 circles round the world’s most expensive vanity circuit – the Valencia of the Black Sea. Oh well…a few more proper circuits left before the circus goes to the world’s most expensive boring circuit for the climatic finish of Bernie’s legacy.
Neil (@neilosjames)
30th September 2018, 1:00
I think this could be a rare example of a prominent, 2018-title-chasing F1 driver criticising something and absolutely no one disagreeing with him.
pastaman (@)
30th September 2018, 2:16
While it may end up making zero difference, it’s a pretty dumb idea to only resurface a portion of the starting grid.
Seann (@canuckfan)
30th September 2018, 3:11
I don’t see Lewis, Bottas, or Kimi complaining, they are on the same patch.. Maybe Seb needs more cheese, with what he is spouting.
Jere (@jerejj)
30th September 2018, 7:10
@canuckfan Kimi isn’t.
JC
30th September 2018, 8:57
Perhaps, knowing his preference for the different asphalt, he should have qualified on the front row then.
NasiBoring (@nasiboring)
30th September 2018, 9:33
Perhaps you should learn to read proper. The article clearly states two times that the new tarmac is on the front row and gridbox 3.
JC
30th September 2018, 11:26
It’s all in the details. Front tyres only for position 3, so not the driven wheels that need the perceived extra grip at the start….
Maybe re-read it yourself?
Adam
30th September 2018, 11:46
The picture at the top clearly shows a car in grid slot 3 with all 4 wheels on the new surface
bosyber (@bosyber)
30th September 2018, 9:55
To those complaining about Vettel in regards to his own starting position, I think this is something that came out of the Thursday press conference, ie. well ahead of any running from Friday onwards, so there’s no direct link. Bottas and Hamilton are non-committal about whether it’s a problem or not, Vettel too, but he then adds that it is a bit strange. And I can certainly see what he means.
PS. The timing of articles on racefans recently has more often lead to such issues, I think, where the article is released at a later time, after later events might have changed the perception of what the quoted bits mean.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
30th September 2018, 12:23
@bosyber
No, the quotes are from Saturday, i.e. the day the article was published.
bosyber (@bosyber)
30th September 2018, 12:46
Really? My mistake then @keithcollantine; I had a very busy few days, thought I read it quietly on Thursday while in the train to the Netherlands; must be I read it shortly after I left by train back to Berlin yesterday then – it felt so long ago!
Still stand by that none of the top drivers knew whether it was good or bad for them personally, but felt it was a bit clumsy to do the resurfacing this way.