In the round-up: Fernando Alonso’s rivals are surprised he’s even allowed to miss the Monaco Grand Prix to race at Indianapolis.
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Monaco comes first for Alonso's F1 rivals (Reuters)
"I'm surprised he can skip a race and say, 'I'm going to do another race'. It's great for motorsport having a driver from Formula One going to Indianapolis, but you can do that when you've finished."
F1 drivers mixed about Alonso's 500 move (Racer)
"I mean he's changing a race in Formula 1 to do a race in another category is definitely a big surprise for everybody."
Wehrlein says critics 'don't know my situation' (Motorsport)
"If you don't know which injury someone had, you shouldn't criticise him. It's quite simple, you know."
Fun to be had, even with little title hope - Daniel Ricciardo Q&A (F1)
"We lack downforce. We don’t have the grip like Mercedes or Ferrari. They can brake later and carry more speed. Yes, their power unit is stronger, but in reality I don’t think that less horsepower is our biggest shortcoming - it’s the lack of downforce."
Sainz: Mercedes engine mode elevating Williams (Autosport)
"They (Williams) obviously turn it up also. But I think in the race we can still play a bit with them even if they are a tiny bit faster."
Bottas eager to join rivals in title fight (F1i)
"I think it's way too early to say if there are only two drivers in the championship battle."
Max Verstappen: Confident, talented, ruthless and with F1's throne in his sights (BBC)
"Some people say: 'Feel your way into it, build it up.' No, my dad would say: 'Straight away you have to be there.'"
My Bahrain Grand Prix preview for Unibet.
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
I hope nobody in Bahrain wanted to speak to either of Ferrari's drivers today. Neither are speaking to the media on…media day.
— Ben Hunt (@benjhunt) April 13, 2017
McLaren have confirmed @svandoorne was joking about skipping the #HungarianGP for the #Spa24Hours! Loved that deadpan reply… #F1
— F1 Fanatic (@f1fanatic_co_uk) April 13, 2017
After attending the meeting for media personel for the @FIAWEC race at Silverstone I finally understand why motorsport is struggling!
— Felix Rosenqvist (@FRosenqvist) April 13, 2017
I'd just say something stupid – it was sad to see how they treat the media like they don't need it instead of welcoming it with open arms…
— Felix Rosenqvist (@FRosenqvist) April 13, 2017
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
Is there any realistic alternative to McLaren bringing Button back for the Monaco Grand Prix?
He’s generally been pretty good at Monaco, and if anyone’s going to keep the car out of the wall it’s him. If I were McLaren I’d put him in the car with no hesitation.
If it was another track I’d be happy to see a rookie take the seat, but as mentioned above, at Monaco all it would likely do is ruin their career.
@George
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On this day in F1
Felipe Massa put his Ferrari on pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix today in 2007.
George (@george)
14th April 2017, 0:06
Thanks Keith, he’ll probably crash now!
Dom (@3dom)
14th April 2017, 0:18
if not, perhaps a drain cover will try to wreck his race
Strontium (@strontium)
14th April 2017, 3:39
@george I was thinking the same! I did touch some wood when I read it
@F1-liners (@f1-liners)
14th April 2017, 9:06
Unless Keith makes this COTD tomorrow ;)
@george
Matthijs (@matthijs)
14th April 2017, 9:15
Don’t believe in superstition, it only brings bad luck! ;)
Mr. T (@mr-t)
14th April 2017, 0:30
There’s a mistake in the Bahrain 2017 betting preview
“Only one driver in the history of Formula One has set more pole positions than Kimi Raikkonen”
NinjaBadger (@ninjabadger)
14th April 2017, 0:30
I’d also prefer Button than a rookie. But in the sense of getting someone-else’s opinion on the McLaren. Button is more likely to give a blunt response, while a rookie would be happy just being there.
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
14th April 2017, 11:37
McLaren have 3 jr drivers of which only 1 has a superlicense, Nyck de Vries.
However, De Vries took three years to win a title in Formula Renault 2.0. He then did finish 3rd in his rookie in Formula Renault 3.5 WSR but then made a weird transition to GP3 instead of staying or moving to GP2.
To make things worse, he was only 6th in GP3… This year he races in Formula 2 (GP2) for team Rapax. That team has won the 2010 championship in their maiden year with Pastor Maldonado but since then have been a midfield team.
To me De Vries has to outperform his car during the first 4 races in Bahrain and Spain to show he’s actually an F1 talent on merit.
Bolide (@mim5)
14th April 2017, 0:34
I understand why Kimi is a bit hesitant in making moves during the race, the last time he tried it was in Russia a few years ago, I remember his race engineer telling him ‘all or nothing’ he went for the move, Bottas closed the door and the rest is history. Another thing is that his car had problems in Australia which were not sufficiently solved in China. He doesn’t help himself by not being as fast as his teammate but sometimes the team simply forget about him and in any case who is the strategist on Kimis side, the guy needs to wake up during the race and his race engineer needs to listen to Kimi.
erikje
14th April 2017, 8:10
The fact is that when rain is involved kimi buckles big time.. i.e. Monaco last year, Brazil, and now China.
Kimi los this rain ability’s it seems.
MG421982 (@)
14th April 2017, 8:47
Or never had it…!! He lost it at the 2008 Spa too… and then was in his prime.
beneboy (@beneboy)
14th April 2017, 0:43
If Alonso raced at Monaco he’d be relying on luck, weather, and/or other people’s misfortune to get a decent result. And by decent, we’d still only be talking about a few points.
If he races at the 500 he, the team, Honda, the race, and everyone else involved with it will attract lots more media attention during the build up, and even if he crashes out or finishes near the back most people will understand that these things happen the first time you race there, if he scores points it would be a good result for a first race, a podium would be massive, and a win would be the biggest story in world motorsport and set him up for the Triple.
He’s got little to lose, and a lot to gain, and just by entering he’s generated a lot of good press for everyone involved, I think I’ve seen more articles about the 500 in the non-racing UK media this week than it normally would get in a couple of years.
Don
14th April 2017, 1:37
Agreed.
The amount of discussion and publicity this has received is amazing! I believe it is fantastic for Alonso, F1, and IndyCar. Really, racing in general. It’s like a jolt to the whole racing world. May can’t come soon enough.
Strontium (@strontium)
14th April 2017, 3:41
+1
Retired (@jeff1s)
14th April 2017, 7:03
If Alonso takes the Indy 500 start he’ll automatically score 11 points. Everyone has points in IndyCar.
@F1-liners (@f1-liners)
14th April 2017, 9:10
I like these socialist racing series ;)
@jeff1s
SaraJ (@sjzelli)
14th April 2017, 7:19
He’s setting a bad precedent. If you want to race in another series – then quit. He’s such a primadonna though he probably held his breath until the team let him.
It dilutes the pool and shows he’s just going through the motions in F1. Quit already
Victor_RO
14th April 2017, 7:53
So Clay Regazzoni, Mario Andretti, JIM CLARK, they were primadonnas for skipping Monaco to race at Indianapolis back in the ’60s-’70s?
anon
14th April 2017, 8:02
@sjzelli, not really – it used to be very common for drivers in F1 to race in other series and to skip the Monaco GP to race in the Indy 500 (Graham Hill, Stewart and Clark to name a few). In the past, some outfits even expected their drivers to make themselves available to race in other series – Ferrari would routinely run their drivers in sportscar races when they were still participating in sportscar racing, with the likes of Surtees and Amon racing for them, and in the early 1970’s Ferrari even intentionally pulled out of several races in order to focus on their sportscar races instead of F1. It might now be very rare in the modern era, but in the past it was almost second nature for drivers to drop in and out of the occasional race to participate in races elsewhere.
SaraJ (@sjzelli)
14th April 2017, 16:18
We’re in the modern era and I’m not concerned with what drivers did 40 years ago. Fernando’s turning his back on his duties to go race in another series. Shouldn’t be surprised though. Greedy move by yet another soulless American company. F1 will be cheapened to the point of no return and become a peasant sport like Nascar. I miss Bernie already.
Wesley (@)
14th April 2017, 22:18
@SaraJ Ok then. You watch the Monaco parade and us peasants will watch cars race each other at Indy.
SaraJ (@sjzelli)
15th April 2017, 1:56
Yeah so what’s your point?
Wesley (@)
15th April 2017, 21:53
That people like you would rather look down their nose at others and watch a procession rather than cars actually racing each other because it its not ‘elite ‘ enough for you.
I thought it was pretty clear in my comment.
Rambler
14th April 2017, 8:06
Seems to me Formula 1 and especially Alonso needs the attention far more than the Indy 500 does.
Fran
14th April 2017, 8:45
l would say Honda need good press more than anyone else and a new American boss wouldn’t mind a bit of it either.
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
14th April 2017, 12:24
Bingo!
This has Honda written all over it.
beneboy (@beneboy)
14th April 2017, 10:45
Someone posted the stats on here the other day and Fernando has more Twitter followers than about half of the 500 Grid combined, so I think it’s more of a mutually beneficial situation. F1 will get a big boost in the USA, while the 500 will get a big boost around the rest of the world outside of the USA.
Rockie (@rockie)
14th April 2017, 11:28
Considering the twitter followers have not benefited F1 till now I wonder how it is relevant here!
petebaldwin (@)
14th April 2017, 11:32
Take a guess at McLaren’s biggest market for selling cars….. And they’ve now got the title sponsorship (McLaren Andretti Autosport) of the car everyone will be talking about.
petebaldwin (@)
14th April 2017, 11:29
@beneboy As I said yesterday, this is the first time anyone has had anything positive to say about McLaren for 3 years! It’s already great PR for them and the race is still a way off!
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
14th April 2017, 1:25
The big difference with everyone else is that Alonso haa raced at Monaco more times than anyone on the grid bar Felipe. And he’s won it twice. He’s a world champion who can only dream about scoring points at the moment, so he probably doesn’t NEED to race at Monaco again.
He’d definetly do it if the dates didn’t clash but they do, so why not? It’s a good marketing move too, for him and the team.
The others have a lot more to prove than him, so it’s a good challenge if oval racing is something he’s interested with. I bet a lot of the drivers don’t like the idea of oval racing in open wheelers, even Rubens hesitated about speedways when he moved to Indycars.
Luis de la garza
14th April 2017, 14:07
Exactly!
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
14th April 2017, 1:28
I feel for Ricciardo and Verstappen. Knowing from the first couple of test days that your car is so far off the pace and yet another wasted year. Ricciardo in particular is trying to put a brave face on but doesn’t seem all that happy at the moment.
Here’s hoping that RBR can close up the gap but 1.3 seconds is massive in F1.
I suspect they will spend more than me this year fending off challenges from behind.
I suppose it could be far worse… They could be Alonso or Vandoorne.
Patrick (@paeschli)
14th April 2017, 20:58
@dbradock I really do feel bad for Vandoorne. He should have been in F1 three years ago, and now that he finally makes his F1 debut, he’s up against one of the best drivers on the grid in a car that is litterally shaking itself to death.
I don’t really feel bad for Alonso, he could have left McLaren by now but the 35 million salary he’s receiving is keeping him there.
And Verstappen got in a top team so early, I think it only makes sense that he has to wait a couple of years before getting a WDC winning car.
Gabriel (@rethla)
14th April 2017, 1:39
What exactly is Wherleins point. He dont tell what his injury is so everyone has to speculate and then he just cancels a Grand Prix the day before qualifying and saying he aint “fit enough”.
Hey Wherlein you are right we dont know what your condition is but our comments are based on what you said and did about it. If lacking 2 weeks of fittnesstraining is cause enough for you to abandon an GP weekend half way through its not surprising you get those type of comments.
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
14th April 2017, 3:28
I guess Pascal just didn’t want to feed the like yourself.
@F1-liners (@f1-liners)
14th April 2017, 9:29
I trust him and his team: If he says he can’t race; he can’t race.
But I guess some people have the right to know every intrinsic detail and can speculate freely about alternative facts :p
Gabriel (@rethla)
14th April 2017, 9:35
@f1-liners
You call the official statement from Pascal alternate facts?
Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
14th April 2017, 9:55
@rethla He did tell. He had three fractured vertebrae in the neck.
Gabriel (@rethla)
14th April 2017, 12:33
@mike-dee
Yes?
If he say “I cant compete because i need to rehabilitate my musculature in the back after crushing three vertebrae” its no problem. If he sais “I cant compete because i missed some wintertraining and aint fit enough” Everyone is gonna call him out on that because everyone can see that no a serious statement.
James Coulee
14th April 2017, 1:57
That’s just corporate talk from those drivers, they are just saying what their teams and sponsors would like them to say.
At the same time, they aren’t in the same position as Alonso. Alonso is a highly regarded driver, with nothing to prove, and Mcladen owes him a lot. …and probably is desperately trying to keep him happy. Most other drivers are just glad they had a steep, and would give their pinky for the car Alonso despises.
James Coulee
14th April 2017, 1:58
*just glad they have a seat
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
14th April 2017, 8:20
McLaden initially made me think about McLada … But it’s a bit unfair because at least Ladas are reliable chassis-wise and engine-wise.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
14th April 2017, 8:20
Not sure many drivers as capable as Alonso would be happy with a seat so uncapable as his.
Strontium (@strontium)
14th April 2017, 3:47
I’m very surprised that Red Bull’s aerodynamics are so far off, considering they were the ones pushing hardest for these regulation changes, and considering that they have been the best with aero for many years now.
One idea behind the regulation changes was to reduce, or rebalance, the importance of the engine by increasing the importance of the aerodynamics. In reality, what I believe has happened is that you now need both to be the best if you wish to not be far off the pace. The engines can create as much speed deficit as before, but additionally so can the aerodynamics, meaning that these regulations only favour the teams that have got both bang on, if that makes sense.
bosyber (@bosyber)
14th April 2017, 5:31
Let’s therefore be very grateful that for now two teams seem to be about bang on, maybe one slightly ahead on engine, the other on aero, but very equal on balance @strontium, it could have easily been as one sided as last three years.
Strontium (@strontium)
14th April 2017, 12:12
@bosyber you’re absolutely right. I am very thankful, and more than anything, relived, that it has turned out this way
Mark
14th April 2017, 5:58
Red bull had the best engine mapping and most advanced blown diffuser for 3 years then they conned their way into being able to still blow the diffuser for “reliability reasons. The red bull is great at aero myth is slowly but surely dying as we speak.
Last year their great aeto boiled down to a trick suspension that lowered the rear of the car on straights… great aero?? I think not. Its time this myth about red bull dies.
HRT (@vvans)
14th April 2017, 7:15
Saying that they were not good at aerodynamics because they just had a good blown diffuser is contradictory. Granted the Renault engine mapping surely helped but they were hardly the only team using the Renault engine (one of the others being Renault itself). There are several videos out there where the flows around the car are visiblessed, and it is clear that the flows of the red bull are incredibly stable both in corners and straights.
I have the feeling that given then comments of the red bull drivers about the difficulties setting up the car (small changes leading to huge differences) means there is currently something severely wrong with their car. I think as soon as theyou find out what that is they will make a significant jump in performance. That coupled with some gains on the engine side I thing they could well be in the run for the championship.
SaraJ (@sjzelli)
14th April 2017, 7:22
Yeah there’s something wrong – their aero sucks.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
14th April 2017, 8:23
They can improve half a second, but they are not on or within frontrunner level.
Fran
14th April 2017, 8:41
It seems to me they have tried to make their car slippery in a straight line to combat the new rules and engine performance which is the opposite to their usual ethos.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
14th April 2017, 3:49
The only problem with having Button do the Monaco GP is the same as Massa still driving in f1, it breaks the illusion that they chose to retire.
John H (@john-h)
14th April 2017, 9:05
True, but we already know Jenson didn’t choose to retire anyway, else he wouldn’t be contracted as a reserve driver.
Bob
14th April 2017, 10:14
Button took a sabbatical, he is still contracted to McLaren as an ambassador and reserve driver.
This is the exact situation where you would use your reserve driver
Sravan Krishnan (@sravan-pe)
14th April 2017, 4:52
I’ll just put this here:
The defending champion lives in Monaco.
anon
14th April 2017, 5:28
…and Alonso is scared
John
14th April 2017, 6:59
Rosberg in the car?
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
14th April 2017, 8:19
Button, easy. It is the lowest G-force track, so he should be fit enough… Being JB that he is.
But also a track that requires most mental composure. It should be fun. And he is under contract right?
Gigi
14th April 2017, 8:19
Button should not be given the Monaco drive. His performance the last couple of years shows he made the correct choice to retire.
Fran
14th April 2017, 8:42
We’re you watching F1 on your radio?
Gigi
14th April 2017, 8:56
I watch on television . Button won 1 championship in a very strange car. It’s very odd for a one off new team to win championship . Button was always a middle of the pack driver his whole career. He always blames car not his performance in race; “too much understeer, oversteer, bad tyres etc.
John H (@john-h)
14th April 2017, 9:08
I think his 3 years after winning the world championship deserve a little more attention.
@F1-liners (@f1-liners)
14th April 2017, 9:36
IMO he drove better in those years (overall) than in 2009.
Fran
14th April 2017, 19:33
Was your TV switched on Gigi?
Manox (@marussi)
14th April 2017, 8:28
If The contract would let’em and The car they droved was this mclaren, i bet they would try indy500 or lemans
Andy
14th April 2017, 9:15
I guess Adrian Newey had finally lost his mojo? Lack of downforce in a year when new aero regs were introduced? I am surprised.
@F1-liners (@f1-liners)
14th April 2017, 9:54
Sounds Wrong but Feels Right.
Patrick (@paeschli)
14th April 2017, 21:11
– Gilles Villeneuve
Ads
14th April 2017, 10:57
Yeah i cant believe alonso is missing the monaco gp (the most overrated race) to go do the indy 500. Can we stop building up the monaco gp like its something special cos its not.
Kgn11
14th April 2017, 11:05
This is just another example of Alonso’ selfishness. Anyone thinks this somehow benefits McLaren or F1, are kidding themselves.
StephenH
14th April 2017, 14:45
I wonder if this is going be what Alonso’s IndyCar will look like …