In the round-up: Robert Kubica says it’s unfortunate he returned to Formula 1 just as Fernando Alonso is leaving.
What they say
Kubica was asked for his response to Alonso and Lewis Hamilton’s positive reaction to his return.
It’s always good to have respect and I have respect for them. We know each other for a very long time, we have been racing in the past.
It’s a pity Fernando is leaving, we have a very good relationship on-track, off-track.
But that’s life. It will be an honour for me to race in Formula 1 again and I try to do my best.
Quotes: Dieter Rencken
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
Kimi Raikkonen enjoying himself at the @FIA Gala:#F1 pic.twitter.com/Lnra296Oqg
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) December 7, 2018
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
More motor racing links of interest:
Bloodhound supersonic car project axed (BBC)
"Despite overwhelming public support, and engagement with a wide range of potential and credible investors, it has not been possible to secure a purchaser for the business and assets."
Why F1 teams are worried by Brexit (Autosport)
"It would cost us more time and be more difficult to recruit, so we would not like to see friction in being able to recruit talent."
Meeting with President of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile Jean Todt (Kremlin)
Vladimir Putin: "I do not know what to say. I do not have a souvenir for you. I feel rather uneasy. Thank you again."
There's no guarantee Ricciardo will be number one at Renault (Motorsport magazine)
"It was telling, for example, not long after Sainz first joined Renault at the tail end of 2017 that Hülkenberg, having had a chance to study the telemetry, was saying privately that he was confident he would prevail over Sainz because the Spaniard’s driving style, which was very different to his own, would not be suited to the traits of the cars that Enstone was producing and developing."
Rachel Brookes' diary: Formula 1's finishing line for 2018 (Sky)
"I remember talking to him at the Williams season launch at the start of this year and asking him how he would feel walking into the paddock in Australia. He gave a really telling response about how emotional it would be, but also how difficult as he would only be the reserve driver. I can't imagine the emotions he is going to feel when he arrives at Albert Park in 2019."
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Comment of the day
Toto Wolff says teams have been able to recreate the ‘outwashing’ effect from F1’s front wings- but should we take his words at face value?
This smells of bluffing to put pressure on other teams and mis-direct them in a wrong direction.
Mike
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Joao (@johnmilk)
8th December 2018, 0:40
Kimi running into the stage after Nige Mansell is the best thing on the internet right now
Tarheelpup
8th December 2018, 1:33
Kimi looks…relaxed. And comfortable. I’ll assume it’s either losing the Ferrari stress or gaining access to the open bar backstage.
ColdFly (@)
8th December 2018, 9:28
So Todt doesn’t just visit Schumacher to check in on him and watch some F1.
Todt wants some signatures on helmets to give to his benefactors.
Feels wrong.
BasCB (@bascb)
8th December 2018, 18:41
To me he looked that but with a solid plunge of drink into the coctail
Aldoid
8th December 2018, 1:54
Kimi looks drunk as hell. LOL!
stefano (@alfa145)
8th December 2018, 1:58
Kimi is delivering gold over gold this year, truly unforgettable. I’m madly in love
NS Biker (@rekibsn)
8th December 2018, 2:57
COTD … I would suspect YES.!
There are far more really clever folks spending much more time, trying to achieve it than were involved in setting up the regulations.
The last time they narrowed the front wing, one A. Newey, commented that it was going to be challenging to make the (then) new wing match the anti-squirt and front wheel aero effects they were used to. Didn’t take long.
While there are controls on many of the wing features, they are wider (longer if you like) which opens up some new and old options.
Keith C. should have a contest for who can accurately guess the date of the first FIA request for clarification on a competitors wing element detail. Put me down for the third day of testing.
@HoHum (@hohum)
8th December 2018, 4:49
Did SV grow the mo so he can get served at the pub?
Todfod (@todfod)
8th December 2018, 4:51
Kimi is awesome! I’m sure he couldn’t handle that FIA ceremony sober.. So he knocked back some great Russian vodka and made the most of the night. I can completely relate to that.
Vettel looks like the sober teetotaling friend who is embarrassed by the drunk friend…lmao
kpcart
8th December 2018, 7:40
Kubicas beyond the grid interview for official f1 youtube site is one for everyone to listen to. Unforntunantly he wasn’t asked about his relationship with alonso, but when asked about Hamilton, he said they were great friends in junior formulae. Sky sports put up this great photo today https://twitter.com/SkySportsF1/status/1071011503728418821/photo/1 you don’t always see what’s going on in f1.
Dobb
8th December 2018, 22:13
Pretty certain Kubica would have put a stop to Hams easy titles if he’d been in that Ferrari!
kpcart
9th December 2018, 6:00
i dont think so, because hamilton is driving a mercedes, but Kubica might have got the chance to be the driver at Mercedes before Hamilton… and Toto Wolff was good friends with Kubica and Toto speaks polish.
Jere (@jerejj)
8th December 2018, 7:42
Very interesting the Motosport Magazine-article: An informative and insightful.
– I agree with the COTD.
– Kimi’s entrance to the FIA prize-giving gala stage, though.
kpcart
8th December 2018, 7:59
Kimi drunk is when he is open and happy… Is this a typical Finnish personality or just Kimi?even vettel seemed a bit taken a back. I don’t think Kimi can hold his drink lol
pH
8th December 2018, 9:06
With the low broadcast quality it actually took me almost the whole minute to realize that the guy with a moustache is actually Vettel :-).
kpcart
9th December 2018, 6:02
some short f1 drivers like Hamilton and Vettel will always look like “boys” and not men, hamilton with his tatoos and vettel with his mustache cannot fake it, they are both very “boyish” even their voices sound like teenage boys
Big Joe
11th December 2018, 1:27
Hamilton looked as old as his Dad when he originally went bald.
Aaditya (@neutronstar)
8th December 2018, 10:36
Mark Hughes’ article on Ricciardo Vs Hulkenberg has soured my impression of Hulk’s performance this year. If he was really confident in 2017 that he would be able to beat Sainz and that his driving style would suit the RS18 better, he should have done it more regularly and outscored him more comfortably than he ultimately did by the end of this season. Had he been teammates with Perez instead, the number of mistakes he made this season would have ensured that he finished second to him yet again.
Now, I really hope that Renault is building a car that Ricciardo won’t have much trouble adapting to, so that he can immediately be faster than Hulkenberg and put him out of his comfort zone, hopefully setting a high target for him straightaway that pushes him to bring out the absolute best he has to offer. Ricciardo is even less error prone than Sainz and Perez, and potentially faster as well…if Hulk doesn’t improve his game, he will be comfortably outscored by his teammate next season.
bosyber (@bosyber)
8th December 2018, 12:09
Yeah @neutronstar, I feel some of that too. Since I think that one thing the really top drivers have in common is that they can adapt their style (to some extent) to the car they are driving (which means Kimi, Button, and maybe Vettel wouldn’t be quite there, hmm), it will be interesting to see Ricciardo adapt to how to get the best out of that Renault; I hope that it drives Hulkenberg to cut out being careless/sloppy/overconfident, so it might also be his own best season.
Aaditya (@neutronstar)
8th December 2018, 13:16
@bosyber yeah, and to be honest, you shouldn’t need external motivation to give your best in the first place. Now I know I’m just in my armchair here, but if Nico has not been performing at his highest level, “waiting” for a teammate like Ricciardo, then he is doing it wrong.
Actually, check out this article
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/140549/hulkenberg-may-need-another-gear-vs-ricciardo
He says he “might have to find another gear”…but if it is there, why hasn’t he found or made the effort to find it yet, in a career already eight years old?
I think Rosberg mentioned a few years ago that there’s something about Hulkenberg’s personality that keeps the top teams away from him (he wasn’t Renault’s first choice either). He has a carefree demeanor and sometimes seems to lack focus on track (Spa 2018, Baku 2017, Sochi 2015 and so on; very weird and ‘uncharacteristic’ mistakes). Also, his relationship with Sainz and Perez(especially Sainz) seemed far too friendly and jovial to me. I remember there was a photo of him celebrating with Perez (showering him with champagne) after the latter’s podium in Baku 2016. And when he was interviewed next year in Baku, he said “I had a good race last year, starting outside top 10 and making it into the points”. It’s like Perez and his results
against him don’t even exist in his mind. Where’s that competitive edge?
I don’t think he took either Perez or Sainz seriously enough as his rivals, which is very, very disappointing. If you read the article that I’ve linked, he says that for him, the team’s progress is more important than the battle with his teammate (which is nice and all), but his stock as a driver would have taken another beating had Sainz managed to get completely on top of his troubles with the car and beat him, even if Renault knew the internal details of their performances against each other. It’s no excuse to not bother finding that ‘extra gear’, if he knows he can find it.
Aaditya (@neutronstar)
8th December 2018, 13:18
Oh, damn 😅 edit button please, Keith 😞
bosyber (@bosyber)
8th December 2018, 13:35
Oops @neutronstar; I wonder if perhaps he has given up on the dream of a WDC, accepted that he’s now a midfield f1 driver, and so the best he can do is beat his teammate and help the team progress; no need to put in more effort? Hm, that’s a bit sad (though less frustrating than thinking you should be battling Hamilton/Verstappen/Ferrari ?)
Aaditya (@neutronstar)
8th December 2018, 16:46
@bosyber I hope that he’s not given up on the WDC dream, man.
The more I read my previous comment, the worse I feel. I’m sometimes too harsh on him…maybe he’s just a different kind of a competitor, and that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll not be able to achieve his dreams. Regardless of the reasons behind his weird on-track mistakes at crucial moments, I hope he stops making them next season onwards. He’s got the pace to match Ricciardo in my opinion and as a fan, I’d love nothing more than finally seeing him on the podium someday.
erikje
8th December 2018, 13:44
Interesting the visit from todt and putin.
Todt is the only one who meets Michael Schumacher on a regular basis.
Wat to think of these remarks about the gift for putin
kpcart
9th December 2018, 6:03
i doubt michael signed it, was it mick?