In the round-up: Daniil Kvyat says he’s already moved on from the low point of his poor qualifying performance in Germany.
Links
Your daily digest of F1 news, views, features and more from hundreds of sites across the web:
German GP was 'two steps forward' for Kvyat (F1i)
"I don’t need anyone to be sorry for me or anything but I think everyone has these points in life. For sure, (qualifying) was a low point. But already (in the race) I felt like I took not one but two steps forward."
Ferrari: Car progress stopped since Spanish GP (Motorsport)
"If I look at the situation now and I go back, I think we don't have great improvements in terms of downforce since Barcelona. That is the problem."
Niki Lauda: Nico Rosberg's penalty was fair enough (ESPN)
"Honestly I think it's OK. You can interpret it that way, that he went too wide, so I understand it's a fifty-fifty decision so if that's what they decide there's nothing you can do."
Toro Rosso pitstops not good enough - Sainz (Autosport)
"We had improved it, we were maybe a bit better, a bit faster, but mistakes are still there, so it's not good enough."
Toto Wolff: "(Lewis Hamilton) has great talent speed and on a good day, I think he is unbeatable."
2016 German Grand Prix (MotorSport magazine)
"Always a car running more rake than any other, for the last two events the RB12 has been running an outrageous degree of it – beyond even that which was used in the blown exhaust era."
Police rescue mother-in-law of Bernie Ecclestone (FT - registration required)
"'Two men were arrested in a kidnapping in the city of Cotia,' Sao Paulo police said in a brief statement. They indicated they were seeking other suspects. 'The operation is (still) under way.'"
How to be the next Lewis Hamilton: what is the best way into motorsport? (The Telegraph)
"A sim is infinitely cheaper than renting a circuit, which can easily cost £30,000 a day for an F1 team."
Aston Martin’s $3M hypercar Takes F1 Performance to the Road (Wired)
"I keep reading that it’s going to be a usable everyday road car, and it patently isn’t."
Here's my German Grand Prix driver rankings article for Eurosport.
Got a tip for a link to feature in the next F1 Fanatic round-up? Send it in here:
Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
Cars on slicks, traditional Spa downpour, craziness ensues: https://t.co/TpGdDifzlN #Spa24h pic.twitter.com/qYpyxyUEKp
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) August 1, 2016
Also enjoying the @Formula_V8-style rear wing on the Ferrari. #F1 https://t.co/dUiDnidfPz pic.twitter.com/7Xljh0uypY
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) August 1, 2016
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
There’s been a lot of discussion about what next year’s larger tyres will do for lap times, but will there be other consequences too?
How will pit crews deal with such massive tyres? Two points of interest:
1. Slower pit stops due to the sheer bulk
2. Possible physical injury chances may increase, so pit crews need to maintain more muscle/strength
Clones
From the forum
- Ever thought of going to the German Grand Prix? @deepblueed reports back on his experience of attending last weekend’s race
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Daniel, Nefer and Gilles De Wilde!
If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is via the contact form or adding to the list here.
On this day in F1
Nelson Piquet closed on championship leader Carlos Reutemann 35 years ago today by winning the German Grand Prix while his rival dropped out.
Xcm
2nd August 2016, 0:24
Off-road racing teams in the USA regularly deal with 39-42″ tires…
No sympathy for you pit crew guys!
anon
2nd August 2016, 6:48
And how much time do the mechanics need to change the tyres? I am assuming that the mechanics are not expected to change them within a matter of seconds.
Gabriel (@rethla)
2nd August 2016, 8:57
@anon They also arent 3 man changing one tyre.
The difference with the new tyres will be a tenth of a second at most. Its no big deal whatsoever.
Fudge Ahmed (@)
2nd August 2016, 11:36
It’s the same for everyone though? Complete non issue. Teams that are really fussed can put their pit crews through additional strength training.
Wesley (@)
2nd August 2016, 22:09
Exactly, its the same for everyone and a non-issue.
Mark
2nd August 2016, 10:05
They would have multiple lug nuts securing them…..nothing like F1.
Xcm
2nd August 2016, 19:29
@mark yeah but the lug nut design is unlikely to change… Meaning the only differance is wheel weight.
I’ve seen f1 guys lift wheels one handed… Just saying all this hype of pit stops now being a strength competition are over hyped. Sure they’ll be heavier, sure after 20 stops straight you might be a little tired… But nothing like the hype.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
2nd August 2016, 8:35
I’m pleased Aparecida Schunck was rescued.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
2nd August 2016, 10:41
Me too.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
2nd August 2016, 8:48
Ferrari not improved downforce since Spain.
They easily had more pace than RBR then. But now they clearly dont. Good job RBR. All this reforming at Ferrari is simply not suited to todays F1.
RBR buckled down same time last year and look at them now.
Ferrari changed everything and look at then now.
AceAce
2nd August 2016, 23:23
Atleast they were brave enough in there attempt to beat Mercedes before 2017 reg’s come into play it didn’t work out, but “He who dares wins” as Del Boy would say. Also their top guy was missing for several races before he returned to England for obvious reasons.
F1 in Figures (@f1infigures)
2nd August 2016, 9:05
The Toro Rosso pitstops have been painfully slow for quite a while. Like Alonso, Sainz should probably say something like: “Don’t worry, I will lose another position in the next stop and I will recover it on later on.”
x303 (@x303)
2nd August 2016, 10:36
“I don’t need anyone to be sorry for me or anything but I think everyone has these points in life. For sure, (qualifying) was a low point. But already (in the race) I felt like I took not one but two steps forward.”
That’s the spirit Daniil!
sethje (@seth-space)
2nd August 2016, 11:31
Kvyat had the idea his performance was better this race.. But looking at the reality.. he ended just a coupe of seconds behind his teammate who had a very bad pitstop in the early stages, losing a lot of places ( fell back to 19e th!) fought his way back and ended 12e a place before Kvyat.. So not such a great performance after all for Kvyat.
Fudge Ahmed (@)
2nd August 2016, 11:38
Kvyat will be in Formula E next year and Pierre Gasley will have his seat. You heard it here first…
Mark
2nd August 2016, 13:02
Barring a miracle i’d say you’re spot on.
Tango (@tango)
2nd August 2016, 14:40
Not first at all. It’s quite expected
Black n Blue
2nd August 2016, 12:00
What can you say about Kvyat? The guy’s got the best job in the world and he’s there moping around. You know when people say they don’t want others to feel sorry for them, that what the really want is a hug. Marko’s treatment was harsh, but remember this is the same guy that dropped both Buemi and Alguersuari like a couple of stones off a cliff-face. https://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2012/01/alguersuari-and-buemi-not-winners-says-red-bulls-helmut-marko/
This is just a bit of conjecture, but it looks like Kvyat may have already been told by Marko that he’ll be be gone by the end of the year, which is why we saw such a defeated shell of a person at Hockenheim.
My advice to Kvyat would be to try some karting over the break, or maybe attend kart races and see how much the kids put into it, and how much it means to them. Stand up straight and love what you’ve been doing for a change Daniil, many have it worse
Evil Homer (@)
2nd August 2016, 14:24
Daniil is a broken man, and that’s sad to see. I saw him in Melbourne and got a great photo of him with my son and he was in great spirits. I took that photo to get signed in Spain mid season testing (he had no RBR uniform on so I thought that was no worries) and he was more than happy to sign it and I with few others had a brief chat to him and you could tell he was still in shock and also Max had won, he was down, a bit angry but thought he would come back.
In Germany in that interview he was so much worse and I felt that hard to watch to be honest. Yes a product of RBR and the JR program, and no worse for him that the previous (but they all take it differently of course) but how many have they spat out??
I see no reason JEV should have not have continued in F1, hell he and Dan (and Kimi) were all looking at Marks seat for some time, Dan beat him to it………… then he’s gone!
Its F1 and harsh, I hope Daniil gets a seat next year, I think he can do a bit better to some of the others but he needs to get his confidence back first, and I hope he does!
John H (@john-h)
2nd August 2016, 16:02
I wouldn’t underestimate the mental side of climbing all your life and then essentially falling off a cliff. It doesn’t matter whether you drive an F1 car, run a plastic hockey stick manufacturing business that turns sour or are involved in carbon nanotube research… it’s still going to affect you relative to the rest of your life. The kids you mention are still climbing which is much easier mentally than reaching your goal and then losing it with no sight of getting it back.
Sure, get back on the horse at some point Kvyat but let the guy mope a little bit will you first.
Simon (@weeniebeenie)
2nd August 2016, 18:13
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a factor worker or an F1 driver, performance based demotion is hard to take.
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
2nd August 2016, 12:51
I’m wondering whether Ferraris woes are in part because Kimi seems to demand an almost unique setup in comparison to other drivers. If he and Vettel require differing “feel” by large differences, it makes it just that much harder for the aero designers to deliver new parts.
Whatever the reason, they’ll overreact as usual and change everything to give them an even worse result.
Kgn11
2nd August 2016, 21:57
No two driver have the same driving style, worse teammates. To assume it’s Kimi’s requirements that’s behind Ferrari’s problem is just ridiculous. Why could it not be Seb?
Marc Thielke (@motor)
2nd August 2016, 13:05
I too was intrigued by the COTD and looked up some tire weights on a popular american online tire seller. Increasing widths on the same tire and same overall diameter by 60 to 80mm increased weights by 1 to 1.5kg. I am sure the crews will have to put in extra effort and the clearance of the wider wheels coming off the hubs might slow things down.
Not to dismiss the OP’s point, for me the really interesting factor is the change in suspension component weight to deal with not only the increased tire weight but also the increased distance of that weight from the centreline as the cars are 2metres wide for 2017.
I will look this up soon, but I hope the 2017 minimum car weights increase enough so Hulkenburg won’t have to lose any more weight over xmas. The crews can bulk up all they need to but the drivers are looking emaciated :o
Miki
2nd August 2016, 13:17
[“If I look at the situation now and I go back, I think we don’t have great improvements in terms of downforce since Barcelona. That is the problem.”]
well mr.Maurizio can you please tell us what parts you brought since Spanish Grand prix which might give you more downforce. The car looks same as it was in Australia to lot of people and it was the same case since 2009 for you guys.
Pinak Ghosh (@pinakghosh)
2nd August 2016, 14:55
“You have two types of downforce, I don’t have to teach you,” he said. “One is the aerodynamic downforce and the other is mechanical downforce [grip]. “We have to work in both areas because they have to talk together because sometimes they talk different languages at the moment.”
When engine development starts to reach a plateau, aerodynamic development is the only answer to gain speed unless the formula radically changes. Maurizio Arrivabene is stating the obvious concerns for Ferrari. RBR has a stronger aero team and they have built probably the best chasis on the grid (no wonder factory teams were wary of supplying them with more powerful engine). The difference between Renault factory team chasis and RBR chasis makes the importance of aerodynamics more evident.
While RBR’s hard work seems to be paying off with a bit of help from Renault, Ferrari’s Achilles heel has always been downforce. With most changes focussed on the aero front in the coming year, Team Scuderia have their work cut out again to build a car that can pose a challenge for the lead. Time to dip into the resources, do some poaching and think radical rather than be conservative.
Mike (@grippgoat)
2nd August 2016, 18:58
Whoever wrote the Wired article didn’t get the memo about turbo V6s.
Gabriel (@rethla)
2nd August 2016, 19:51
Or he is just generally talking about F1 cars and not specificly the latest formula. That Aston Martin clearly aint inspired by the V6 “hybrids” so what he writes makes sense.
Gigantor (@kbdavies)
2nd August 2016, 22:57
“RBR has a stronger aero team and they have built probably the best chasis on the grid”
Why do people keep trotting out this untruth? Where exactly is the evidence of RBR having the best chassis in this new engine formula?. This year, RBR is yet to better Mercedes on any twisty circuit, or beat them on any track sector that requires high downforce. People go on about Monaco, but Lewis beat both Bulls convincingly – and whilst managing the pace as well. If anything, Mercedes have proven their chassis is the class of the field, with RBR coming a very close second. There’s probably a whisker between them, but saying RBR has a better chassis is a patent distortion of the facts.
Armchair Expert (@foreverred)
3rd August 2016, 0:02
@kbdavies
I agree +1.
I think it was paddy lowe saying the problem with Mercedes in Monaco was that they couldn’t get the tires to work.
The distances Mercedes are pulling out in races is not because of the engine alone, if that was the case Ferrari would be challenging every race.`
Selbbin (@selbbin)
3rd August 2016, 2:33
Same, also agree. The fact that no other Mercedes powered car has won a race in the turbo era, yet 2 of the 3 other engines have, and very few have had podiums, shows that the Mercedes engine and chassis combination is what is dominating the field. Their aero is superb. They actively and deliberately spent the first few years post-Brawn developing their car, team and style, pouring in huge amounts of resources and building them up to this standard. Schumacher was there to help develop this winning package, not for some trivial retro fun. Part of Hamilton’s decision to move to Mercedes was their long term plan focused on team and car development, which has paid off.
clones
3rd August 2016, 4:01
Hi Keith
Thank you for the COTD!
To those who shared their views on the tyres, thank you. I am aware that the tyres will be the same for all teams ; it is not an issue of unfair competition. I was raising it as a point which might not have been considered in as much compared to other metrics in the pursuit of pure performance.