In the round-up: Marcus Ericsson is worried he may lose his seat at Sauber if Ferrari decide to place two of their young drivers at the team.
Predictions Championship
Remember to make your Predictions Championship entry for the this weekend’s grand prix before qualifying. Among the prizes you can win this year are a motorsport painting of your choice by Rob Ijbema like the one above.
Links
Your daily digest of F1 news, views, features and more from hundreds of sites across the web:
Sauber's Ericsson nervous over F1 future (ESPN)
"I think I'm quite hopeful or quite confident I will be one of the drivers, unless Ferrari gets two drivers obviously."
Hobbs preparing for broadcasting farewell (Racer)
"It's meant to be a generic (broadcast) team from across the ocean. That is irritating, that we're being ousted by what will be an inferior show. To be pushed out by a pathetic deal, including for the viewer, is sad."
Bringing F1 home: Pay TV, internet options highlight Formula 1's future (Autoweek)
"We have just signed a new pay-TV deal with Canal+ for considerably more money than we were previously getting. We have also done a deal with free-to-air TF1 to have a number of races, including the French Grand Prix. And we will also have our OTT service in the French market as well, although we don’t know how that will work."
Raikkonen: 2017 F1 season 'far from what I wanted' (Motorsport)
"We need to be faster, more often, and put ourselves in a position and then hopefully some things will go a bit in our direction. We try this weekend and next year again."
Porsche keeps new LMP1 engine program active... for F1? (F1i)
"Enzinger added that F1 was not at the forefront of the team's agenda. We have no such mandate, you cannot say more about that for now."
Sirotkin: Williams test could be biggest of career (Autosport)
"First and foremost, this is a tyre test. There won't be so much time during the two days, so I must make the most of it."
Alonso launches his own eSport team (Reuters)
"I am a team principal, finally,” the Spaniard told reporters. “It is very exciting and it is a completely new thing to discover."
What's it like driving a retro F1 Car (Driver61 via YouTube)
Autumn Budget 2017: Philip Hammond's speech (Gov UK)
In his speech outlining the UK's autumn budget the chancellor of the exchequer Phillip Hammond made a joke referring to Lewis Hamilton's tax arrangements.
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
On a personal note, on what will be a distinctly significant race weekend, I give my many, many thanks for a working life encamped within the industry of Formula 1. Every single day throughout the last thirty years F1 has been bonded to me. It's been a truly wonderful experience.
— Steve Matchett (@MrSteveMatchett) November 23, 2017
There's always that 1 guy trying to get the longest question ever in the F1 press conferences😂
— Midushan (@MT_MU) November 23, 2017
May I introduce you to the legendary Walter Koster, who again today at Abu Dhabi asked the longest but most entertaining question in the FIA press conference. pic.twitter.com/ClKllQqqkZ
— Tobi Grüner 🏁 (@tgruener) November 23, 2017
Teams have been practicing pit stops with Halo attached. The critical gantry lights and other aspects are blocked from view. Work to do. pic.twitter.com/xY7FN1oJcg
— Martin Brundle (@MBrundleF1) November 23, 2017
Unlikely, but this could be the last F1 race I watch this weekend. The halo is an absolute disgrace to the sport and I absolutely despise it
— James #Kimi7 🇮🇪 (@JOC__1991) November 23, 2017
I love these people who say "I'm never watching #F1 again because of halo…" Come on, get over yourselves.
— Uncle Grandpa (@LesRosbifs) November 23, 2017
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
Pirelli’s range of seven dry-weather tyres for 2018 doesn’t go far enough for some:
Do you know what we’re missing? The Super Medium.
I demand a Super Medium tyre.
Robert McKay
From the forum
- How will McLaren’s young hot shot Lando Norris fare in his Formula Two debut at Yas Marina this weekend?
Happy birthday!
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pastaman (@)
24th November 2017, 2:16
Preach, Uncle Grandpa.
Egonovi
24th November 2017, 8:54
I still vividly recall the Twitter outrage, tirades on this site, and flocks of fans leaving the sport when the roll bar was introduced in the 60’s.
Baron (@baron)
24th November 2017, 10:25
What a memory Egonovi! Do you eat a lot of fish?
zimkazimka (@zimkazimka)
24th November 2017, 2:26
Ugh. Just make it full canopy already.
BasCB (@bascb)
24th November 2017, 8:12
Ugh, go read up on the gazillion issues there are to making a full canopy work on something as tight as an F1 car @zimkazimka. It would certainly not look anything like as sleek as any of the fancy “closed cockpit” future vision drawings we’ve seen. Probably closer to the closed cockpit Deltaracing car. Talking about “Ugh”.
FlatSix (@)
24th November 2017, 8:27
I think that’s what bothers me most. Somewhere they knew they’re leaving the ‘heritage’ of open cockpit but still wanted the safety aspect improved. So instead of going all-in on the monocoque route they have chosen an ugly and flawed solution.
I would have had much more respect for a firm decision saying ‘Look, open cockpit is no longer safe, so we’re going to same route as a P1’ rather than ‘Look, we want to improve safety but don’t really know how, so we’re going to put some ugly bars on top of the car which won’t even prevent small projectiles’.
Baron (@baron)
24th November 2017, 10:28
Ok, I’ll play. Why is it a “flawed” solution @flatsix?
BasCB (@bascb)
24th November 2017, 11:39
Ehm, right.
Here’s the point though @flatsix, the FIA set out several years ago – partially at the request of the drivers – to develop better protection against LARGE and HEAVY parts flying around. Complete cars, wheels, that kind of stuff that can easily kill a driver if it hits them. That is what the Halo does. It also offers some level of protection agains smaller objects as well, but that was never the target (rememer they improved the helmets/visors after Massa’s 2009 incident).
grat
24th November 2017, 21:19
Massa’s accident is what concerns me, though… A small deflection, and that spring that nearly killed Massa, would have.
I also realize it’s highly unlikely, but if that halo catches a t-tray just right, we’ll potentially lose another driver.
It’s a partial solution that has the potential to make driver safety worse, the car’s heavier, the visibility poorer and only covers what should be considered freak accidents– flying wheels and large portions of cars.
I’m not sure what will happen to the sport if a device introduced as a safety feature is found to be a contributing factor in a driver’s death, but I wouldn’t want to be in the FIA’s position.
Robbie (@robbie)
24th November 2017, 11:44
Small projectiles are not what has killed drivers…large pcs have…hence the halo. Full canopies are not feasible without completely changing the face of F1 at huge costs.
markp
24th November 2017, 12:49
Can’t remember a driver dying from a large object hitting their head in F1 for a long time. Current rules cover this. Closest we came is Massa but that was a small object. The 2 recent deaths were cars hitting a digger and a lorry which no design would save a driver from. Halo does however give better camera options and more sponsor space. They may not look that bad we should wait and see plus maybe next year for the 1st time in living memory a large part from another car heads towards a drivers head and is deflected.
formevic (@formevic)
24th November 2017, 12:50
Senna dyed as a small object (suspension broken arm) hit his head through the helmet visor, so
Robbie (@robbie)
24th November 2017, 13:07
I think it is debatable whether in Senna’s case that was a large or small object but that’s not the point anyway. It is about the likes of Justin Wilson in Indycar being killed by another car’s large pc of bodywork. There’s a concern about tires too, although tethers have tackled that fairly well. Also one car climbing on top of another. The halo was never meant to be the final answer to never ever having another fatality. They’d simply have to stop racing to guarantee that. But it will help in some circumstances to save a life. It would have saved Justin’s. I would think the Wilson family wished his car had a halo.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
24th November 2017, 3:31
I didn’t know until last GP but apparently Sauber was overweight and by some margin, which means that all the time Pascal looked a good step above Ericsson, particularly from Bahrain, Ericsson was dealing with an weight handicap(10kg,~0.4), and recently the team has been able to cut the weight gain some performance and Ericsson started beating Pascal regularly, meaning that Pascal has no chance for next season.
Does Ericsson deserve it?
schudha
24th November 2017, 5:02
What’s the source? It can’t be that simple. Why would Ericson not try to lose at least 1kg of the ‘10kg’?
BasCB (@bascb)
24th November 2017, 8:02
Ehm, maybe you should read up on things a bit more though @peartree, because the last time I heard about that was that WEHRLEIN only got a car that was not massively overweight, but “just overweight” was last race, while Marcus had gotten that ligher chassis a couple of races earlier …
Honestly, Ercissons fears are my hope. I would be so thrilled to get both Leclerc AND Giovanazzi in the Saubers. Markus has had quite a few years of mediocre performance. I think he showed some imporvement in his second year, but since then he just hasn’t made much progress it seems, so let him just go on to sportscars, FE or whatever.
nase
24th November 2017, 13:04
@bascb
Where did you hear that?
I almost desperately want to know more about the situation at Sauber, but it’s about as difficult to get any reliable information about them as it is with North Korea …
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
25th November 2017, 5:18
@bascb I read more about? I heard Ericsson speak to sky about this subject and I inferred what I eventually wrote, like @alianora-la-canta explains, above the weight limit any weight makes a massive difference and apparently enough to change our perspective on Pascal’s talents. I’m not a fan of Ericsson, don’t think he stay in f1, though I believe that it is Ericsson that ends Pascal’s career.
markp
24th November 2017, 12:53
I don’t get it, if the car is lighter Erikssen is still 10 kg more and 10 kg on a lighter car is a greater disadvantage as a percentage of overall weight?
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
24th November 2017, 18:40
Only if the lighter car is still above the weight limit. Otherwise, the car gets brough back up to the weight limit with ballast, which reduces the advantage of being light.
TEDBELL
24th November 2017, 4:34
A word of thanks to the f1guys at MSNBC for the quality of their coverage over the years. Will Buxton certainly the gem in the group and his particular style of race talk was and is and will be highly recommended to ESPN group.
RP (@slotopen)
24th November 2017, 5:07
Yes, will miss them.
These are dangerous times for F1 in USA. Liberty must somehow grow the brand, but losing the NBC team seems like a poor start.
If the next step isn’t more or cheaper pay options then what? Even then, how will they gain viewers with a generic global feed.
We Americans are under the impression we are the most important country in the world. Making NASCAR fans watch a world feed like other generic countries will not pay.
anon
24th November 2017, 7:39
@slotopen, that’s because Liberty Media want to offer their own service on top, cutting out the middle men – however, it is a strategy that depends on people being interested enough in the first place in F1 and then being prepared to pay more for additional access, which may not be an easy sell.
BasCB (@bascb)
24th November 2017, 8:20
As anon mentions @slotopen, the reason ESPN got the deal was that NBC stepped away from a new deal after they learned that Liberty were planning their OWN direct coverage (as an OTT produced by Liberty itself you could then buy).
So while i get “the team” is gutted because they certainly seemed to do a solid enough job, compared to the level the coverage was before the NBC deal, I think actually the fans should be stoked to hopefully get a good deal with far more options for the future.
In the UK with Sky locked down for another few years, such footage will not be available, you might well be amongst the first where it launches. Let’s just try to push Liberty to make it a good offer (high quality footage, solid support show, great options for details, choise in in car footage and radio and more data availble all for a decent price).
Jere (@jerejj)
24th November 2017, 7:29
Is it just a coincidence or not that all three questions from Walter Koster that I’ve heard have been asked in a press conference for this one particular race (the Abu Dhabi GP). I haven’t heard/read a question from him on any other GP venue.
JC
24th November 2017, 7:38
Oh please…
“It’s meant to be a generic [broadcast] team from across the ocean. That is irritating, that we’re being ousted by what will be an inferior show. To be pushed out by a pathetic deal, including for the viewer, is sad.”
The guy is delusional. I’ve watched F1 coverage in the states and it has been appalling. Terrible. It seems ESPN will be showing the Sky F1 coverage which, although not up to the BBC of old (think 2009), it’s leagues above what the US have been getting until now. There is nothing generic about knowledgeable ex drivers from the sport.
Forced retirement or not, this will be a good thing for the US viewer. It’ll also be way easier to catch F1 on hotel tv because they pretty much all carry ESPN.
Robbie (@robbie)
24th November 2017, 11:58
@JC I agree completely. Here in Canada we have also had access to the US coverage. When it was covered by Speed TV, which then became Speed, it was Hobbs and Matchett, and, while they’re knowledgeable enough about racing, they sounded like they were covering golf, not an exciting action packed event. They were simply watching the same shots as us, and then reacting in a ho hum manner. When I would give it a chance I’d be watching the live timing at the same time and I’d be yelling at the TV…he’s in the pits he’s in the pits, or…he just passed so and so…etc etc and half a minute later they’d make a droll comment once they saw it on TV for themselves.
It’s not like the coverage they have had in the US has grown the audience, so I think change is good for them. If they are getting the Sky feed that we’ve been getting in Canada, I think US fans are in for a treat.
Ju88sy (@)
24th November 2017, 12:30
I would contest the point on Sky coverage vs BBC (which I didn’t like thanks to Jake and EJ) – Sky offer more detail, richer insight and better access than the BBC used to.
Robbie (@robbie)
24th November 2017, 12:58
When it was Murray Walker heading the show I used to say to my buddy who didn’t mind Hobbs and Matchett, it’s like from Murray there’s nothing more important going on in the world than that race that day. With the US guys it’s like there’s something else they’d rather be doing. For him to say what Americans will now be getting will be inferior is so far from the truth that all he has done is made himself look bitter and foolish.
Chris B (@kanundra)
26th November 2017, 4:00
I disagree.
NBC’s commentators are far better than the Sky feed, with the only downside being commercials.
Gary
24th November 2017, 8:28
And F1 fans are concerned Ferrari juniors wont force Erricson out of Sauber
Christopher Rehn (@chrischrill)
24th November 2017, 8:41
Ericsson has been beating Wehrlein on a regular basis lately, and over the course of the season has matched him, still Wehrlein was merely 12 months ago touted as the world champion’s replacement at the constructors champion team. Now this either tells me Ericsson deserves to be in F1 or that Wehrlein does not. I don’t know which of those is true, but I think Ericsson has proven his worth in F1 these last two years.
nase
24th November 2017, 13:01
@chrischrill
Yeah, no.
frood19 (@frood19)
24th November 2017, 10:04
I have a feeling we will get used to the halo pretty quickly. I’ve never been that concerned about the look of the cars so it’s not that big a deal for me, but the way it looks in that picture brundle tweeted makes me think it won’t be that intrusive on the eye.
maybe it’s just me – i was surprised when i learned that people thought the 1979 ferrari was one of the ‘beautiful’ cars from f1’s history: it looks weird to me! on the other hand i think we can all agree that dan gurney’s Eagle weslake (1967 mainly) was a stunner
pic
Neil (@neilosjames)
24th November 2017, 12:28
Given the ownership structure of Sauber, and their relationship to Ericsson, I can’t honestly make any kind of positive assessment of him relative to Wehrlein because of the high probability that he’s their preferred driver.
Even if Wehrlein is diplomatic about it… http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/10923290/pascal-wehrlein-refuses-to-deny-claim-sauber-favour-marcus-ericsson
Perhaps no one on the outside knows for sure, but it seems a strong enough possibility to make all comparisons between the two somewhat unreliable and tainted.
CateredHam
24th November 2017, 15:15
May Ericsson should have listened to this advice:
https://www.timewerke.com/?p=6213
CateredHam
24th November 2017, 15:15
Maybe*