Romain Grosjean, Haas, Sepang, 2017

Haas still seeking compensation over Sepang drain crash

RaceFans Round-up

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In the round-up: Haas team principal Guenther Steiner says the team is still seeking to recover compensation for the damage caused to one of its chassis when a broken drain cover at the Sepang International Circuit caused a crash last year.

What they say

Steiner was asked about the progress on the compensation claim over Romain Grosjean’s crash during practice for last year’s Malaysian Grand Prix:

Still disputing it. They are making progress but it’s not there yet. One of the guys is on holiday because now that starts.

But it is still ongoing, in progress. It was not given up. I think we are discussing now the amount.

It’s insurance, I have no anticipation [how long it will take]. I think we’ll get it done this year, we need to get it done because we need to get going.

Quotes: Dieter Rencken

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Comment of the day

Aaditya isn’t impressed with the criticism of Lewis Hamilton by Jacques Villeneuve and others:

And then people wonder why the drivers act like PR drones in their interactions with the media.

I admit Hamilton can be a polarising character at times, and might say stuff before thinking about it, but at least he has not shied away from being consistent in his behaviour in spite of being properly aware of the hate he gets as a result.

Over time, his defensive comments in response to criticism have made it clear that he is the kind of person that gets affected by these things, and consequently, it is impressive that he hasn’t yet tried to hide under a facade.

I remember Rosberg, after his retirement, mentioning how he preferred giving mechanical answers to interview questions in order to “protect” himself.
Aaditya (@Neutronstar)

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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27 comments on “Haas still seeking compensation over Sepang drain crash”

  1. It’s not about what Hamilton says. It’s about the fact that many find it dishonest, not genuine. And since we are supposed to be the audience, we feel like he is dishonest with us, in our face, about the way he presents himself to us.

    I couldn’t care less what his faith is and what keeps him going. I don’t care about their private lives, but I do feel his words are often not in sync with the impressions his actions leave.

    Basically most of that #blessed stuff, and all that goes with it, feels like it’s just a part of some ongoing, never-stopping, promo campaign for Hamilton the brand.

    1. COTD!!!

    2. So if it’s not about what he says, then how exactly can ppl find it to be dishonest?

      Let’s stop kidding ourselves, there’s an already in-built hatred for Hamilton & nothing he says or does will be viewed as genuine or honest by ppl who don’t like him.

      1. +1

        This is not a conversation worth having again. Just stop talking about it and enjoy watching his driving skills. Except, you can’t – because you dislike him.

        Young people adored by a massive fanbase and earning millions upon millions of dollars. Actors, musicians, sportsmen and women. These driven people take themselves to the top of their game through years of hard work and determination from a very early age, sacrificing many other aspects of life to attain their goals… but you can’t forgive them some personality quirks because that makes them imperfect or because perhaps they have an agenda? I think that’s daft. All these people are here to maximise their potential, that includes their performances and their earning potential.

      2. That right there is the most telling thing, & is pretty much standard these days among the Hamilton Hate Brigade. “It’s not about what he says”, but he’s a liar? Does that make sense? That someone could actually type such a ridiculous, contradictory statement with the belief that it somehow justifies their irrational hate tells you all you need to know about their ilk.

      3. Let’s stop kidding ourselves, there’s an already in-built hatred for Hamilton & nothing he says or does will be viewed as genuine or honest by ppl who don’t like him

        Exactly. Then there are people on here like Robbie going around either lying or deliberately misquoting him in order to have a go at him. Its ridiculous.

    3. Lewis Hamilton is the Taylor Swift of Formula 1.

      Everything he does is staged/calculated to generate maximum publicity. This has been going on since his debut in 2007 (as confirmed by Marc Priestley in his book, “The Mechanic”), and Hamilton turned it up a notch since winning his 2nd F1 title in 2014.

      All the time when debating why he is so loathed/polarizing, it always gets dragged into the issue of “colour” and “race”. When in fact has nothing to do with that (if not very very little), it’s simply because of the fact that he’s so fake (and very hypocritical).

      Great racing driver, nonetheless.

      1. Agreed!

      2. Bernie's Lizardman Grandpa
        27th July 2018, 2:39

        “Colour” and “race” gets “dragged into it” simply because there are a large number of “people” who single out Hamilton for criticism which can just as easily be applied to any other driver. Why might they be motivated to hold Hamilton to an entirely different standard? It is by definition racism, no matter how loudly they deny it.

    4. I agree with your comment.

      However I would also say, that a ‘fake-Hamilton’ is still 10 times more valuable to F1 than a ‘real-Bottas’ or pretty much ‘real-anyone’. He transcends F1 as has built an incredible brand. I’m not much of a fan, but I say good on him and I wouldn’t necessarily want him to change.

    5. Agreed

  2. Hammy in 2007 was this little bloke that came from a council flat in Stevenage, had his Dad cheering him on in the pit garage at one point.

    It’s hard to believe the 2018 version of Hammy is the same person.

    I doubt he’ll ever be knighted. Even if he wins 8 championships.

    1. He will be knighted but might have to buy a team first.
      According to Perez there might be a team coming on the market! Force Hammi?

      Sir Henry Segrave (1929, Knight Bachelor,[32] 1896-1930)
      Sir Malcolm Campbell (1931, Knight Bachelor,[33] 1885-1948)
      Sir Jack Brabham (1978, Knight Bachelor,[34] 1926-2014)
      Sir Frank Williams (1999, Knight Bachelor,[35] born 1942)
      Sir Stirling Moss (2000, Knight Bachelor,[36] born 1929)
      Sir Jackie Stewart (2001, Knight Bachelor,[37] born 1939)
      Sir Patrick Head (2015, Knight Bachelor,[38] born 1946)

    2. If they didn’t give a Knighthood to John Surtees (which was very much deserved) then what chance does Lewis have of getting one?

      1. @sjm I just assumed they had knighted surtees, but it seems not. how odd, given his incredible achievements.

  3. With the Ferrari engine upgrade, either Magnussen or Leclerc is going to be on pole in Hungary…

    1. If the 40hp increase is real… then I guess it’s game over in the championship. There is no way that Mercedes can make up for that kind of deficit in their next engine upgrade.

      1. @todfod
        Agreed. I genuinely believe (not saying this as a blind fan:-P) Ferrari are winning the Constructor’s title by quite some margin. Unless we see amateur goof ups and mistakes.

  4. Why can’t people just be happy for Hamilton he has given us so many years of great driving, who cares about his antics?

  5. I wasn’t expecting the progress over the compensation on the drain cover incident in Malaysia last season still be ongoing ten months after the race. BTW, The COTD has an interesting point.

  6. I disagree with the notion it is fake. The #Blessed attitude is completely consistent with thinking within several Christian denominations. I’ve known people who think this way.

    It isn’t normally arrogant either. It is partially motivated by the desire to reconcile success with all the worlds problems. He probably understands his success is partially his hard work and partially a special talent. A “blessing”

    I’m also not inclined to doubt his sincerity based on lifestyle choses. Plenty (most!) people live with real dissonance between their religious beliefs and lifestyle.

    It seems corny to me, but it doesn’t seem ugly or fake.

    1. @slotopen – Well said. Must be especially difficult for Lewis with his working class background thrust into wealth beyond avarice. And fame beyond most could endure without resorting to ‘higher-powered’ coping strategies.

  7. according to Steiner Ferrari “got the four-wheel dyno.”
    And I always thought dyno’s where just the PU by itself on a rig.

    1. or (light bulb moment), did he mean that Ferrari can use the real car (just checked, it has four wheels) to test the new PU.
      He might even mean that Ferrari can use the four wheels of the Haas and Sauber cars to test the engine.

  8. Daniel (@collettdumbletonhall)
    27th July 2018, 11:42

    Got to say that I am surprised Danny Ric said that if he could do it all again he wouldn’t be an F1 driver.
    I will happily trade places Dan

  9. Blown wings aren’t forbidden by the rules, it is only limited to waste gases, which wasn’t the case when RB used it, so it is normal that Ferrari is taking the advantages of it, as is Renault with their rear wing.

    However the Autosport article does suggest some sort of engine mapping, even though the gases come from the waste pipes, and that would be against the rules. My question is engine mapping is forbidden, but what about the turbo? Could have they found a way to use it?

    Regardless it is pretty clever stuff if they are using the waste flow from the waste pipes in order to influence the flow of the main pipe, proper F1

Comments are closed.