In the round-up: Thursday practice pace-setter Daniel Ricciardo is in good shape for the Monaco Grand Prix according to Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button.
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Your daily digest of F1 news, views, features and more from hundreds of sites across the web:
Nico Rosberg unsure if Mercedes can overhaul Red Bull's Thursday advantage (ESPN)
"Am I confident (I can take pole)? No, because Red Bull is quicker."
"Asked where he would bet his last fiver Button said: 'I would say, Daniel Ricciardo. The Merc is a very good car but the Red Bull can match it and this circuit isn’t so dependent on outright power.'"
McLaren at 50 - exclusive Ron Dennis interview (F1)
"In the end it did not work out because his management insisted on controlling his image rights – they basically wanted to retain them all, plus get paid a lot of money of course."
Monaco GP drain covers strengthened (Autosport)
"All the vulnerable covers were inspected and welded down around a larger part of their circumference ahead of support race running on Friday."
Introducing F1 2016 (Codemasters)
"F1 2016’s new career mode spans 10 seasons and will take you deeper into the world’s most glamorous, exciting and prestigious motorsport, both on and off the track."
Monaco GP: No rest for Mercedes after Red Bull surprise in practice (Sky)
"Friday is going to be an intense engineering day, much more intense than a usual weekend."
Time to think about life after Red Bull (F1i)
Daniil Kvyat: "I always felt like I wouldn’t say there was 120% support if you want, which I think it should be like if you want to build a successful team."
F1 drivers allowed one helmet design change per season (Motorsport)
"We have given each driver one 'joker' which will allow them to use a different helmet design at one race, e.g. his home race."
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Comment of the day
Not everyone thinks Red Bull can take the fight to Mercedes today:
Mercedes toys with us every race weekend. They make it look like they have strong competition to generate self-indulgent PR before they turn up the engine mode, drain the fuel tank and then proceed to knock it out of the park on Saturday afternoon.
Black n Blue
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On this day in F1
With title rival Michael Schumacher sent to the back of the grid for his qualifying misdemeanour, Fernando Alonso claimed victory in Monaco.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
28th May 2016, 0:06
It’s becoming increasingly obvious how clever Ferrari were blocking the engine supply to Red Bull… They’d have been put to shame, regardless of what happens in Monaco. That chassis is so good!
Philip (@philipgb)
28th May 2016, 0:16
Same for giving a current engine to Torro Rosso. Realistically Ferrari have the fourth best chassis, or fifth if McLaren are to be believed… so fourth.
Faulty
28th May 2016, 2:45
LULZ
Tyler (@tdog)
28th May 2016, 2:26
I actually think the opposite @fer-no65 – they are going to be overhauled this season by Red Bull anyway, now that Renault seem to have gotten their act together.
However, they have lost the opportunity to have Red Bull in their camp for the many battles over the next few years. F1 is intensely political, and the more allies you have the better. Had they been Red Bull’s PU supplier, they could have relied on Red Bull’s votes at crucial Strategy Group and F1 Commission meetings.
I think they have won the battle and lost the war.
@HoHum (@hohum)
28th May 2016, 3:48
@tdog,@fer-no65, Yes I agree, there is not a lot of shame in being beaten by a car that is using your own engine to do it, and if it takes a Red Bull-Ferrari to beat the might of Mercedes Benz then that must be preferable, in marketing potential, to a Mercedes clean sweep and infinitely preferable to being beaten not only by Mercedes but also by Renault (Tag who ?).
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
28th May 2016, 3:26
@fer-no65 Ferrari? What about Mercedes, RB tried to purchase Merc engines as early as 2010.
Armchair Expert (@foreverred)
28th May 2016, 10:51
@peartree Why are the team that is currently winning gonna supply anyone that can challenge them? It would have been better for Ferrari to supply the whiners. No top customer team will get Mercedes engines ever again until Mercedes pull out and/if they decide to become a supplier solely.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
28th May 2016, 11:29
@foreverred … Fer blamed Ferrari for what has always been a Merc RB quarrel.
lockup (@)
28th May 2016, 9:23
It’s become obvious too that Niki Lauda was insane to offer a Mercedes engine to Dietrich! What a loose cannon that guy is. Great fun, but…
Solo (@solo)
20th July 2016, 12:48
He offered him an engine because Lauda is actually a Red Bull fanboy and a Vettel fanboy and even though Vettel left he still likes Red Bull.
Toto has more sensible approach and stop his craziness.
OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
28th May 2016, 0:36
A joker / wildcard helmet per season? Nah. I liked sombody else’s idea here on the blog, but it would really require every driver. So all of them defy the rule at once, and what would FIA do? Ban them all? Make them drop 5 places, which would be useless if everybody agreed to change helmets? Maybe a fine, just a drop in the ocean of money these guys handle.
ColdFly F1 (@)
28th May 2016, 0:41
Ricciardo waving at Kimi and calling him a kuntovabloke.
https://pedestrian.tv/news/sport/watch-daniel-ricciardo-flips-off-kimi-raikkonen-ca/40a76005-53e3-4264-937f-39701f96208b.htm
Dmitry (@)
28th May 2016, 7:01
Ahah, tears of joy in my eyes after watching this:D
Greg-c
29th May 2016, 2:11
Been far to long since an Aussie in a Red Bull flipped the bird :)
Chris (@tophercheese21)
28th May 2016, 2:21
COTD is bang on.
Happens everyw week. What’s more surprising is that we all keep falling for it.
Fletch (@fletchuk)
28th May 2016, 2:34
“We have given each driver one ‘joker’ which will allow them to use a different helmet design at one race, e.g. his home race.”
Why does the FIA insist on regulating so many things that don’t even need to be regulated!
Ashwin (@redbullf1)
28th May 2016, 4:42
Just like everything else in F1 they are trying to make [artificial] iconic helmets [/artificial]
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
28th May 2016, 7:49
Will they extend the joker system to other rules now – Leaving the track and gaining an advantage? Delta times under the Virtual Safety car (see Friday’s GP2 feature race)? The car must have four wheels?
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
28th May 2016, 3:36
I had no idea Ron almost signed him. I don’t like Ron but that’s always been because he’s good at his job.
MattB (@mattb)
28th May 2016, 3:40
It’s ok, Nico, you can out qualify the Red Bulls. All you have to do is stop on the circuit just before their hot laps…
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
28th May 2016, 7:53
There are going to be a lot of ‘Red Bull caught Mercedes’ stories this afternoon when (and if) Riciardo sets his car on for pole. However it is Monaco and this track is as unique as can be, except for the middle section it does not really require all that an F1 car can be. Red Bull can win the Monaco GP, however Mercedes will run away with all the other wins even if the Renault engine is better…
Kingshark (@kingshark)
28th May 2016, 8:06
Red Bull is the only team I can feasibly see beating Mercedes in the long run (read: next year). That is, if the rumors that apparently the new Renault engine is 0.5 sec/lap quicker around a normal circuit are to be believed. I simply don’t have faith in either Ferrari or McLaren anymore, 2008 feels like centuries ago.
greg-c (@greg-c)
29th May 2016, 2:17
@MattB
Nico’s incident was certainly an
accident/planned manoeuvre
I can’t see it happening
Ever Again / to anyone except Lewis :)