In the round-up: Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says the team will consider after the next race whether to impose team orders on Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.
What they say
Wolff was asked whether he intends to impose ‘number two’ status on Bottas, who is 87 points behind Hamilton with 200 available over the remaining races:
I hate to do that. It’s completley against my racing instinct. We try to be always very neutral to both drivers and we haven’t done it yet and we haven’t discussed it.
Let’s see how Monza pans out and how it goes, and then we will address the question whether we need to put all force behind one driver.
But at the moment it we owe it to the two men and to Formula 1 to not interfere into the race.
Quotes: Dieter Rencken
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
End of the race in the 1st corner. Frustrating.
Never been a fan of the halo but I have to say that I was very happy to have it over my head today !
📷: @f1gregoryheirman / @fotoformulak pic.twitter.com/QILqoVtjVh— Charles Leclerc (@Charles_Leclerc) August 26, 2018
Unbelievable. Alex Zanardi came home fifth in his second DTM race. Hero! @BMWitalia #WeKeepOnPushing #AndiamoAMisano #ForzaAlex @lxznr pic.twitter.com/4RExq14C2a
— BMW Motorsport (@BMWMotorsport) August 26, 2018
They also had wheel guns that ran at some insane rpm, perhaps (can’t exactly remember) 16,000 rpm when ours were doing 6,000 rpm. Plus, their wheelnuts went on with 1.5 turns. The best our designers could do was about 5 turns… money talks, seconds count
— Tom Webb (@TW_UKATX) August 26, 2018
Sirotkin. Head down, pushing on, getting the work done. Recognising the small gains that lead to the big steps. Continually impressive in difficult circumstances. https://t.co/ln3Y3RVBBU
— Will Buxton (@wbuxtonofficial) August 26, 2018
I dont think I have ever been vocal about how I feel about the DRS in formula 1. In my opinion its the worst thing that has happened to racing in the last decade. Not one overtaking is real.
— Oriol Servia (@OriolServia) August 26, 2018
I have to say the #F1 world TV feed is miles better this year, largely thanks to a Chase Carey hire called Dave Hill and F1’s director Dean Locke. Lots of detailed improvements and more accessible
— James Allen (@Jamesallenonf1) August 26, 2018
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
More motor racing links of interest:
The Bend hope to bring F1 back to SA (SBS)
"The Bend has many configurations, with the longest being 7.7km, making it the second-biggest permanent track in the world behind Germany's Nurburgring."
Leclerc feels 'lucky' after seeing halo damage (Autosport)
"If something is deliberate and dangerous than a ban should occur but not in this situation."
DRS issue forced Raikkonen into Belgian GP retirement (Crash)
"The DRS kept opening itself, so there was nothing else we could do."
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Comment of the day
Will we ever see an F1 car ‘let off the leash’ the way Porsche’s 919 Hybrid evo was?
Remember, Porsche did the lap without any racing restrictions, actually gaining huge time over same car in race legal trim, now consider F1 taking all restrictions off, no fuel flow or RPM limits, not even a thought of a race then.
I think what Porsche did was awesome, but doubtful F1 would ever push that envelope.
Bosco Moroz
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Vettelfan, Pemsell, Monosodico and Konstantinos!
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On this day in F1
- 40 years ago today Mario Andretti scored his final F1 win in the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, for Lotus
@HoHum (@hohum)
27th August 2018, 0:45
Have to second LeClerc, it may look ugly but comparisons with Indycar suggest it is a price worth paying.
Strontium (@strontium)
27th August 2018, 0:47
1.5 revolutions at 16,000 rpm is 0.005625 seconds, which twice in a pit stop is 0.01125 seconds. (That seems a tad too fast.)
Even so, by comparison, 5 revolutions at 6000 rpm (still ridiculously fast) is 0.05 seconds, which twice in a pit stop is 0.1 seconds
matiascasali (@matiascasali)
27th August 2018, 0:54
How much it cost to be that little faster? That’s an example of what’s wrong in f1. Teams go down broke, and other spent MILLIONS on 0.1″ worth of time, in a pit stop, not even for a lap!. That’s just as insane as it is unfair. It feels like they’re bathing their dogs with Evian while other teams can’t afford a pair of wrenches..
Sonics (@sonicslv)
27th August 2018, 4:56
No, on the contrary it’s everything right for F1. F1 should all be about chasing every performance they can. That’s the whole point of pinnacle of motorsport. Is it insane? Definitely. I agree with the new tagline of engineered insanity. What’s wrong with F1 is teams can’t budget properly of what they have. Haas, Force India before VM legal troubles, and Sauber under Peter Sauber is an example of most midfield teams should operate. What’s wrong with F1 is when they start making rules to try make things “equal” which only exaggerates the gap because other creative solutions is declared illegal.
socksolid (@socksolid)
27th August 2018, 1:43
The 16krpm is is a peak number. Or even a theoretical maximum. Not continuous speed at which the nuts go in or come off. I did google this quickly and one source claims typical wheelguns made by paoli can reach 9000rpm so 6000rpm is pretty slow by f1 standards.
stefano (@alfa145)
27th August 2018, 7:28
16000 rpm is the little engine of the gun. It doesn’t translate 1:1 on rotations of the wheel nut. Just like you have an F1 engine going 12000rpm but your wheels aren’t necesssarily rotating at that same rpm.
matiascasali (@matiascasali)
27th August 2018, 0:49
About the COTD, Honda did something like that at Bonneville in 2006, and they hit the 400km/h mark when in monza they’ve reached 340 or so. I can’t imagine what can do with these cars, but it should be mind blowing, that’s for sure (just look at the difference between race and qualy times nowadays, with PU that must last for 7 weekends. If they can use it like there’s no tomorrow, i guess they’ll be going at least 3 full seconds faster per lap, being conservative…)
MtlRacer (@mtlracer)
27th August 2018, 1:24
397 kph is the record they set. Write up from November 2017: F1.com
matiascasali (@matiascasali)
27th August 2018, 2:42
That’s average speed in two runs in the opposite direction as it is standard in speed records. The peak speed was over 400km/h
stefano (@alfa145)
27th August 2018, 7:29
Correct. Then why did you write 340 in the first comment? @matiascasali
Warheart (@warheart)
27th August 2018, 10:17
“…when in Monza…”
Drop Sochi
27th August 2018, 5:26
No, that car was still to race compliant rules.
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
27th August 2018, 6:46
Had no rear wing, so no
ColdFly (@)
27th August 2018, 8:06
Ricciardo had no rear wing ;)
Strontium (@strontium)
27th August 2018, 0:52
DRS completely killed this race. It was already quite dull but those drs passes were by far the worst thing about it. Next year it should be completely banned for this race
Give
27th August 2018, 3:50
Vettel’s pass for the lead was non DRS and then the only hope of a Mercedes pass to take the lead was undercut + slipstream + DRS. I can’t see that it’s worse than a procession.
Unicron (@unicron2002)
27th August 2018, 7:35
Totally. In fact I’d forgotten how much I hate DRS until yesterday. First race in 26 years where I have found myself doing household chores during it because I had no interest in Bottas or whoever breezing past other cars on Kemmel Straight. Emptying the dishwasher was more exciting for me.
frood19 (@frood19)
27th August 2018, 10:08
same. I watched on catchup and skipped several moments, started reading the news, didn’t care if I accidentally found out the result before the end. really poor advert for F1 on its best circuit.
ColdFly (@)
27th August 2018, 8:10
Lap 1 showed it can be done without DRS, Vettel, Verstappen, even Icon and Perez had a look.
Jere (@jerejj)
27th August 2018, 10:24
@strontium I didn’t find that to be the case, so, therefore, I disagree with you on that to a certain extent. Yes, there were a few passes that were completed before the braking zone for Les Combes that included the use of DRS from the driver behind, but by the same logic, Vettel’s pass on Hamilton that ultimately proved decisive for the race win should then also be regarded as ‘artificial’ since it was equally completed long before the braking zone as well, and the fact it was done without DRS means that it’s possible to pass someone long before the braking zone at that part of the circuit either way, so, therefore, it’s got more to do with the slipstream/tow effect than DRS alone. People are always a bit too eager to blame DRS solely for almost everything.
Jere (@jerejj)
27th August 2018, 10:25
@strontium I forgot to add: Things aren’t always black and white.
ColdFly (@)
27th August 2018, 10:50
Nothing wrong with passing before the breaking zone, @jerejj.
Everything wrong with an artificial aid only available to the chasing car, i.e. DRS.
Toxic
27th August 2018, 1:21
The bend and F1? Impossible. This track is just amazing which means that F1 wont race on it. Why is it amazing? No concrete playgrounds off the track. You put a wheel off the track, you’re on the grass.
Just leave it to the proper racing series with no gimmicks as it’s perfect as it is and F1 requirements tend to ruin the tracks for other series.
us-brian (@us-brian)
27th August 2018, 2:11
Havent seen it posted about Moto GP being cancelled with them blaming new track surface and water not draining. Why are these tracks keep resurfacing with a newer type of tarmac and then it causes issues. Why not using similar tarmac.
Also hope that Tito Rapat recovers quick after that aweful accident.
Joao (@johnmilk)
27th August 2018, 11:23
the Moto GP guys will find any excuse they can not to race in the UK. This was the perfect opportunity to blame the circuit, which after they resurfaced it they said it was fine.
If they could race only in Spain and Italy they would be the happiest kids around
lunaslide (@lunaslide)
27th August 2018, 2:51
Sadly, Kimi called it exactly right yesterday. Ferrari really screwed up his qualifying with the fuel issue, and he said afterword that he was worried about starting back in the pack because turn one at Spa is notoriously treacherous and it’s tough to get through unscathed. Et voila. I’m not in the camp that thinks the team thwarts him deliberately at every turn, and given the confusion on the radio with Seb, sounds like they almost blew it for him too. They just don’t react to changing conditions as well as Mercedes, and neither of them seem able to match RBR on that score. Hope they don’t throw it away this year, because that’s not an exciting way for a championship to be decided. I want to see all of them out there at the very top of their games, and Ferrari really need to sort this Achille’s heel.
ColdFly (@)
27th August 2018, 8:16
It’s actually quite the opposite.
Raikkonen and Red Bull had their cars fuelled for multiple laps when they first went out. The others had to refuel when changing to inters even though at that time they all thought going out quickly was the best.
Then the rain stopped and cars which were refueled could stay out and do a late run.
More luck than wisdom in this case.
lunaslide (@lunaslide)
27th August 2018, 21:30
I think not, it’s the other way around. If you mean RBR got it wrong this time, though, I agree. I also may be being too harsh on both Ferrari and RBR on this, it was pretty difficult to anticipate what happened and that rain burst apparently caught everyone by surprise. Life in the Ardennes! From Mark Hughes’ race report, emphasis mine:
“Just like on race day in Germany and qualifying in Hungary, the wet track neutralised the Ferrari’s small advantage. But it fell in a way that was impossible to anticipate and with such a long lap it caught more than a few people out – and opened up a window of opportunity for others. The expectation as the cars queued up at the end of the pitlane for Q3 was that there’d be time to do a single slick-tyred lap, two at a push. Some, Räikkönen’s Ferrari and the two Red Bulls, were fuelled accordingly. Ferrari split its strategy, putting Vettel on a multiple lap (ie rain) fuel load.
“But the black cloud broke even before the green light went on, dropping much of its load in the valley comprising sector two and its fast downhill bends. Everyone, apart from the two Force Indias, was straight back in for inters. The rain stayed constant for a couple of laps, at which point Vettel was fastest from Räikkönen, Verstappen and Hamilton, the latter having been off the road at turn 12. But thereafter the rain eased, the track became quicker and Räikkönen and the Red Bulls had to pit to prevent running dry on track – but with not enough time to refuel and get back out to the start/finish line before the flag. So those fuelled a little longer were the ones able to take advantage of the drier track.”
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/reports/f1/2018-belgian-grand-prix-report
Niefer (@niefer)
27th August 2018, 2:53
Yeah, it’s against his instinct… of lying. What he (and Maurizio) did at Germany was utterly ridiculous. And now he has the guts to come with that easy talk. Man, it’s outrageous!
As for COTD, I doubt F1 will ever do that, and to be frank, I really don’t know why they are like that. If Liberty truly cared about fans, show and stuff, it should drop silly discussions and respond properly to any daring move regarding excellence at motorsport. What Porsche did was something any fan of any series felt amazing. Well, Formula 1 is amazing. It should act like it for once.
Ed
27th August 2018, 3:15
Bottas is almost 100 points off the lead. Has won zero races to Hamilton and Vettel’s five.
This is something one doesn’t even need to say, really. It’s obvious.
Ferrari will do the same thing. And it’s completely acceptable given how close things are.
ColdFly (@)
27th August 2018, 7:43
It’s been obvious since Hockenheim :P
javier javier (@j3d89)
27th August 2018, 15:48
Since hockenheim? Lol you didn’t watch Silverstone?
Rhys Lloyd (@justrhysism)
27th August 2018, 5:35
Would be amazing if F1 went to “The Bend” but I really can’t see it happening.
But I would be very quick to buy tickets if it did happen as the track is only an hour from home. Would pack the swag and a BBQ and spend the weekend there. Amazing.
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
27th August 2018, 6:53
for a few seconds I thought F1 would return to ZA
anon
27th August 2018, 6:57
Mercedes have been using team orders to help Hammy since early last year.
Made a song and dance about not favouring one driver over the other before Hockenheim, then favoured Hamilton over Bottas by forbidding Bottas from passing the Hamster.
ColdFly (@)
27th August 2018, 7:51
Great to see that Leclerc is happy with the Halo.
Surely people will say that he wouldn’t have been injured without the Halo. But those discussions are less frustrating than the ‘would have survived with Halo’ discussions of yesteryear.
kanan
27th August 2018, 9:46
LOL Are they pretending they haven’t been using team orders already…
Jere (@jerejj)
27th August 2018, 10:40
I disagree with Oriol Servia especially with the claim ”Not one overtaking is real.” That’s far from the truth. Not all of the overtaking moves that feature the use of DRS are completed before the braking zone for the upcoming corner, actually those type of moves are in the minority, and furthermore, those type of moves are possible even without DRS, so by the same logic, every passing move that is completed long before the braking zone should be labelled as ‘unreal’ regardless of whether DRS is activated or not. If anything a move completed long before the braking zone without DRS is rather more artificial than a DRS-assisted one completed only in the braking zone or at the following corner.
Regarding James Allen’s tweet: Yes, I agree to the most part, but sometimes, I feel that replays of something that has happened on the opening lap of a race or early into a given race, in general, more than halfway into the race are a bit unnecessarily redundant like yesterday. The same things don’t need to be shown over and over again.
Regarding the COTD: I also doubt F1 would push the envelope the same way Porsche has been doing in recent past.
And finally: I doubt F1 would go to the Bend (which I had never even been aware of before).
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
27th August 2018, 11:04
I think I understand your point about DRS which in a nutshell, is that it’s effects are being exaggerated. However, this is not really the point is it.
The point people are making, perhaps clumsily, is that DRS is just not necessary in a lot of the places it is being made available. So you can be pedantic about the way this is expressed but you are missing the main argument.
I am not sure if DRS should be banned, especially not with the current design of cars. I think it’s use should certainly be restricted and more carefully applied though. This is not where the FIA are going!
Robbie (@robbie)
27th August 2018, 14:03
@jerejj You have decided that the criteria to examine wrt drs is whether or not a pass took place before or during the braking zone. I disagree. It is irrelevant. That the rearward driver had an unfair advantage of his wing open is the point. Doesn’t matter whether the added momentum sees him make the pass sooner than later, it was still from assistance from a gadget.
Thomas Bennett (@felipemassadobrasil)
27th August 2018, 11:07
Re Will Buxton
congrats to Sirotkin. I like the bloke in a way and he does give the Williams a go. A part of me hopes he will stay for 2019
Mike (@mrvco)
27th August 2018, 11:36
Team orders for Valtteri this season seem to be “Start from the back and do your best!”.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
27th August 2018, 12:33
Nice comments from Ericsson about the STR/Honda: https://www.crash.net/f1/news/904338/1/ericsson-honda-deserves-more-credit-f1-engine-progress
MG1982 (@mg1982)
27th August 2018, 13:18
Thought about that: that highly-praised Ferrari engine didn’t look that well against TR’s Honda engine yesterday.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
27th August 2018, 15:04
Or its just that James Key and his team’s aero is better than what’s on the Sauber, and the Sauber has been punching above its weight in recent races in big part due to the Ferrari engine.
Hard to say one way or the other, to be honest, as I’m not that experienced in seeing and interpreting car nuances.
Also, this was Ericsson vs. Gasly, maybe with Leclerc it would have been different; and Ericsson vs. Hartley might have been a fairer comparison ;-)
javier javier (@j3d89)
27th August 2018, 15:51
Ericsson won the battle with Hartley… Yea Leclerc would be better against gasley that had more pace than Marcus and Hartley
ADUB SMALLBLOCK (@waptraveler)
28th August 2018, 0:22
Not sure if it is because I stream my TV thru SLING, but again (not always) I had to watch the race recorded on ESPN 2 (I’m in the USA) as it was not on live on ESPN. Anyone else in the USA have this experience, or is it because I use SLING?