In the round-up: Mercedes found Lewis Hamilton’s car was not producing as much downforce as it should during qualifying.
Links
Your daily digest of F1 news, views, features and more from hundreds of sites across the web:
Lewis Hamilton only third as Nico Rosberg on Singapore Grand Prix pole position (BBC)
"However, it later emerged that his car may have had a problem - Mercedes' data was showing it was producing less aerodynamic downforce than Rosberg's, which would explain the lack of grip."
Hamilton can't understand why he's off pace (Autosport)
"Honestly, I can't really take you through it because I don't understand it all at the moment."
Bernie Ecclestone on F1's takeover and his future (Sky)
"The only thing I have to do is die and pay my tax. Short of that I don't have to do anything."
"I doubt it because we are busy with our work here at Mercedes. We have contracts, so there is no interest at all."
Verstappen: Front tyre temps wrecked qualifying chances (Motorsport)
"I just couldn't get the front tyres to work for the first sector. And that just snowballs."
Gap to Rosberg reflects Ferrari pace - Raikkonen (F1i)
"The first lap in Q3 was a good lap and I knew I had to try a bit too much to go faster in the second lap and it didn’t pay off."
Bittersweet debut, but sidelined driver confident of return (The Straits Times)
Rio Haryanto: "A lot of people expect that I can win races, but F1 is very different and a huge jump from GP2."
Fernando Alonso Q&A: McLaren must be ready to seize chances (F1)
"You cannot possibly think about a definite Safety Car - that would be reading the crystal ball - but what you can do is to make plans for your reaction when it comes: do you stop or not, which tyres will we put on in what phase of the race."
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
Thunderstorm over Marina Bay tonight. Luckily got back to my hotel just before it started… pic.twitter.com/L7za06iyOA
— Rachel Brookes (@RachelBrookesTV) September 17, 2016
Can confirm it was raining pretty hard tonight. All rubber gone. The first stint might get a bit more interesting. pic.twitter.com/DiPpnBCfLl
— Tobi Grüner (@tgruener) September 17, 2016
I like his helmet 🙊❤️ @ValtteriBottas pic.twitter.com/VvShZSXGLw
— Emilia Bottas (@EmiliaEpi) September 17, 2016
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
I think all the journalists, the teams, drivers and us are probably getting a little excited at the thought of Liberty’s control over F1. Despite your feelings on Bernie Ecclestone, F1 itself isn’t in a tragic state, there are still lots of fans, there are still sponsors, there are still drivers waiting in the support categories, there are still tracks wanting to be part of it.
I think everyone is probably a little excited about the thought of a new owner thinking that they will make wide sweeping changes to the sport. If one thing I’ve learned in all my years of following F1 is, that only minor changes will be implemented, because radical changes only weaken the brand, even if they are for the better, because you will no doubt upset some group of fans/teams/drivers/tracks/sponsors.
I predict few changes, however, I do hope they look to strengthen the financial situation of the sport.
@Dragoll
From the forum
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On this day in F1
Jackie Stewart, who already had the world championship wrapped up, took pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport today in 1971.
Alex W
18th September 2016, 0:05
As much as i oove drivers speaking freely, Fernando sounds bad saying that!!!
marcusbreese (@marcusbreese)
18th September 2016, 11:18
Haha, I thought exactly the same!
GT Racer (@gt-racer)
18th September 2016, 1:08
I’ve a suspicion that there is going to be a lot of tension & probably some issues around the new owners & the teams/fans at some point over the next few years because some of what i’m hearing been suggested behind the scenes would fundamentally change F1.
Expanding to 25 races is already out in the public & there’s been a lot of push back around that idea from teams privately who feel its unworkable & overall probably not in the best interest of the sport as there’s an opinion (Backed up by some fan views i’ve read over the past few days) that adding more races will result in a lot of fans been less likely to watch every race (There’s apparently some data from Nascar that suggests a lot of its fanbase doesn’t watch more than half the season).
But as I mentioned when the deal was 1st been discussed, There are somethings coming out suggesting that the new owners are very keen on going in a more entertainment oriented route & would not be against using gimmicks such as 2-3 shorter races and reverse grids to create that entertainment.
Something I was told on Friday was that representatives of the new owners have already discussed using a success penalty system to prevent the same teams/drivers winning because they want more competition/unpredictability/different winners “at any cost”.
I’ve also been told to expect to start seeing F1 marketed as an ‘Entertainment franchise’ rather than a sport going forward which will be a big signal regarding the direction they want to take things.
With regards to online media, Live streaming of the world feed is unlikely due to existing broadcast contracts & there exclusivity clauses. However I have been told that streaming the additional content feeds (In-car cameras, pits, data, timing, tracking, rolling highlights) may be possible under existing deals & that discussions are going to be held with broadcasters to discuss FOM been able to produce & upload official highlight programs in the week after a race.
jimmi cynic
18th September 2016, 3:05
Some scary possibilities for F1, however, without a solid agreement after 2020 with most of the teams…the ‘racing’ teams may leave the sport, er, entertainment franchise to pursue other ‘championships’. If they implement reverse grids and sprint kart races, I know I will.
lockup (@)
18th September 2016, 9:16
Interesting @gt-racer. I don’t mind if they focus on the entertainment aspect, personally, as long as they get it right. I don’t see them getting any kind of success ballast past the teams, I think the differences between American audiences and European/global audiences will be explained to them very assertively! They have said they’re not going to americanise it so I think they will be open to persuasion.
Meanwhile if we get onboards and proper tracking etc, gps even, that will be real progress.
Networkburger
18th September 2016, 10:46
I can’t shake the feeling that we’re overlooking the fact Liberty Media is cut from the same cloth as Sky and Comcast. I’m not excited about the aquisition at all. On the one hand we’ll get drivers allowed to put photos on instagram (woop dee doo) but on the other, more deals like the Sky exclusivity thing in UK. I bet we also see a Nascar-ification effort…”Get ready for the Gillette Best a Man Can Get Quali round 3 folks”, sprint cups, safety cars every time the advertisers (who paid for a spectacle, damnit) feel the action needs spicing up. Let’s hope the baby doesn’t go out with the bathwater. Or, actually, who cares, since plenty of us can’t/won’t watch past 2018 anyway.
I hope I’m worried over nothing.
Neiana
18th September 2016, 11:54
Is sponsoring a qualifying period an acceptable negative if it means all the teams get a more equal share of the revenue?
dragoll (@dragoll)
18th September 2016, 1:23
Thanks for COTD @keithcollantine
NewDust
18th September 2016, 2:23
Usually getting close to a car in front of you is detrimental to your tire/brake temps because you drive in the hot air of the front runner, so I wonder If Verstappen could have stayed longer behind the Merc in run 2 of Q3 to get the front tire temperature up.
ColdFly F1 (@)
18th September 2016, 8:21
I thought the tyre bit was due to loss of down-force when closely following; you start slipping ‘n sliding which increases tyres temps. @NewDust
I’m not sure if outlap speeds are high enough to get the desired effect, and heating your tyres through ‘slippery friction’ rather than ‘downforce friction’ is likely to deteriorate the surface faster.
(try it yourself: push a tennis ball on the ground and start rolling it, vs rubbing it on a rough surface. Both will heat up the ball, but the 2nd will ruin the surface of the ball as well).
Chris (@tophercheese21)
18th September 2016, 2:33
Oh I bet she likes his helmet…
Sorry I couldn’t resist, lol.
Jason
18th September 2016, 3:06
A, ohhhhh lol good one
Andy (@andybantam)
18th September 2016, 8:41
Beat me to it!
UNeedAFinn2Win (@uneedafinn2win)
18th September 2016, 9:33
Ay,ay, nudge nudge
Jimmy Price
18th September 2016, 4:13
COTD couldnt be more wrong. Simple as that. Nobody interested in buying F1 was interested in keeping it the same.
I’ve been saying for years, Bernie and CVC intentionally held back investment in online digital content distribution and social media investments.
1) CVC was trying to get money out, not make a major investment and have to wait around another 5-10yrs to see recoup.
2) By intentionally holding back investment, they actually increased the value of F1 because new owners would be salivating at the idea that all F1 needed was an upfront investment to reap rewards 5-10 years down the road. CVC had already made BILLIONS, no further investment was needed from their standpoint. I suspect by not investing in F1’s future CVC added another 1 Billion to the sale price – Always remember Bernie is still smarter than you ;-)
Expect Liberty to make sweeping changes.
kpcart
18th September 2016, 5:06
Some would say if your going around a race track at 0.7 seconds slower then your teammate, then you will have less down force being produced.
Bernie
18th September 2016, 6:09
Dear Aunty.
He’s a big boy now and can take responsibilty for himself. You don’t have to keep making excuses for him. I know your intentions are good but it’s time he learns to stand on his own two feet. He will love and respect you more for it in the long run.
Yours affectionately,
Bernie
DamonW
18th September 2016, 6:40
Definitely something not right with Hamilton’s car, no way in hell could they mess the set-up that bad and no way in hell he’s forgot to drive overnight….
ColdFly F1 (@)
18th September 2016, 8:25
@keithcollantine, you forgot to link-in the article referring to ‘Mystery loss of downforce’.
Many conspiracy theorists will be looking for that article ;-)
DamonW
18th September 2016, 9:53
If you believe Hamilton is all of a sudden 7 tenths slower then you’re just as bad as the conspiracy theorists….
ColdFly F1 (@)
18th September 2016, 11:00
2nd article explains the 0.7. Still no ‘mystery’.
DamonW
18th September 2016, 11:36
There’s no explanation, apparently he’s lacking downforce. How the hell does that happen this day and age with all the telemetry…..
Patrick (@paeschli)
18th September 2016, 11:53
Why wouldn’t it possible? After all Rosberg was 7 tenths slower than Hamilton in Monza.
Drg
18th September 2016, 12:26
Right…
After all Rosberg is always 7tenths or more faster than Hamilton when he get pole!
Particularly at Monza
And always round this circuit because he always beats Hamilton here…
Err hold on a minute?
Honestly some people.
Anthony Blears
18th September 2016, 10:28
Nope, it’s part of the first article linked.
ColdFly F1 (@)
18th September 2016, 10:57
No it is not.
The article merely quotes that HAM does not understand it yet. Hardly a ‘mystery’.
Philip (@philipgb)
18th September 2016, 12:15
@coldfly
It is in the first article if you read further down.
“However, it later emerged that his car may have had a problem – Mercedes’ data was showing it was producing less aerodynamic downforce than Rosberg’s, which would explain the lack of grip.”
ColdFly F1 (@)
18th September 2016, 12:48
still not a ‘mystery’,@philipgb, and it was merely a journo guessing (no quotes).
The 2nd article makes it crystal clear full of Toto quotes: less track time, did not find the right set-up!
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
18th September 2016, 11:09
@Dragoll I largely agree, albeit I would advise a broader dose of caution. Liberty Media has bought F1 for the same reason CVC bought F1; not out of sporting philanthropy, but to make money. What will ultimately distinguish Liberty from CVC is the time-frame they intend to make their money over.
For CVC, F1 was a short-term project anticipated to last eight years (it ultimately took ten) whereby the value of the purchase was exploited through aggressive short-term tactics which paid little attention to ultimate health of the sport. Experimental races in India and Korea as well as new markets like Russia and Azerbaijan, on top of pay TV deals all did wonders for the sale value of F1’s commercial platform, but has simultaneously seen audiences drop by a third since 2008. Reconciling F1 with lost fans, learning the lessons of F1’s immediate rivals like MotoGP and WEC and dismantling CVC/Bernie’s commercial cartel would be all be very sound tactics if Liberty wanted to reap the rewards of a long-term engagement, but CVC “vulture” tactics might be more appropriate if Liberty wants to walk away anytime soon.