In the round-up: George Russell says a year in an uncompetitive car has made him a stronger driver.
What they say
Russell was asked whether he hit the targets he set for himself at the beginning of the season:
My goals were quite vague in the sense of just go out there and learn as much as possible and try and maximise every single lap on-track. There’s been sessions or qualifying sessions that I’ve felt like they’ve gone very well, others that haven’t gone as well, and likewise for the race.
So I probably wouldn’t change any of it, really, because from the tougher experiences I’ve learnt more from that and it’s definitely helped me become a stronger driver.
Quotes: Dieter Rencken
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
More motor racing links of interest:
Leclerc has 'still got a lot to learn' from Vettel (Autosport)
"Sometimes I'm just here listening for one hour what he has to say about the session. He's just very, very interesting."
Ferrari 2020 buona alla prima: superati i crash test (Motorsport - Italian)
Ferrari's new car has passed its crash tests.
MP Motorsport hires Daniele Rossi to bolster F2 engineering team (Formula Scout)
"MP Motorsport has pinched veteran Formula 2 engineer Daniele Rossi from rival team Carlin ahead of the 2020 season."
F1 helping dementia cure race - Stewart (BBC)
"Our PhDs go to Red Bull and McLaren and see how things are done more quickly."
Richard Moore: Formula One could go the same way as cigarette advertising (The Scotsman)
"In 30, 40, 50 years will we be watching these old races and scratching our heads, or wincing, wondering why we thought it was a good idea to be so reckless with the planet’s resources in the name of sport?"
Four Hours of The Bend (Asian Le Mans Series via YouTube)
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Comment of the day
Our first Caption Competition of the year produced lots of great suggestions but the best was this one from David:
“Show me on the doll where Charles hurt you”
David
Thanks to everyone who joined in this week, especially Robbie, Sham, Pat Ruadh and RocketTankski.
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Ace, Kei and Diego!
If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is via the contact form or adding to the list here.
On this day in F1
- 40 years ago today a new F1 season began at Buenos Aires. Alan Jones won for Williams, while Alain Prost scored the final point for sixth place on his debut
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
13th January 2020, 0:28
nice caption. Lewis -“Seb, you should’ve asked Ferrari for one of these, it’s a Bottas”.
bob (@riptide)
13th January 2020, 10:47
He did. Turns out their Bottas walked all over Seb.
RP (@slotopen)
13th January 2020, 11:40
Yes, a very funny caption competition.
Who is the doll? I’m pretty sure it is a Mercedes driver, but is it Rosberg? Schumacher?
Robbie (@robbie)
13th January 2020, 1:42
That FW07! Just wow.
GeeMac (@geemac)
13th January 2020, 10:19
Indeed. It is such a clean, simple design and the livery was ace. Helps that it was devastatingly quick too.
mmertens (@mmertens)
14th January 2020, 1:30
Agreed! And the Buenos Aires circuit layout was very good too! Great combination!
Phylyp (@phylyp)
13th January 2020, 2:35
Great captions there @robbie, @sham, David, @fullcoursecaution, RocketTankski – every one of these is a winner to me.
Joao (@johnmilk)
13th January 2020, 3:09
Also yesterday, my country’s motorsport became poorer as we lost Paulo Gonçalves in the DAKAR stage.
I know it is a bit off topic, but thought of mention it regardless
The man is quite the legend
Joao (@johnmilk)
13th January 2020, 3:09
Also yesterday, my country’s motorsport became poorer as we lost Paulo Gonçalves in the DAKAR stage.
I know it is a bit off topic, but thought of mention it regardless
The man is quite the legend
Adrian Hancox (@ahxshades)
13th January 2020, 13:09
A sad loss indeed @johnmilk – I have always had a huge respect for the two wheeled competitors on the Dakar, I was saddened by his loss also.
Joao (@johnmilk)
13th January 2020, 14:41
@ahxshades indeed, it is a tremendous task, I couldn’t do it in a truck as a co-drive, I can only imagine, and I fail to do so, what it is to croos the desert and all those stages in a bike
Everybody is struggling to accept it, if this was going to happen, surely it wasn’t going to be with Speedy. Unfortunately life had other plans
We will remember him, that I’m sure
José Lopes da Silva
13th January 2020, 14:10
Hats off to Paulo.
Jere (@jerejj)
13th January 2020, 5:34
LOL to the Caption Competition-image, and Richard Moore’s point even if there is (or might be) some validity to it.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
13th January 2020, 6:56
Congratulations to Valtteri for winning such a prestigious award. Well deserved.
PDG147
13th January 2020, 23:07
🤣🤣
W-K (@w-k)
13th January 2020, 7:00
What is F1’s total carbon footprint for 4 years compared to that for the Football World Cup or the Olympics?
This has to cover the carbon footprint of all competitors, spectators and officials plus the building of new venues. (concrete is one of the biggest global warming problems)
one example
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/world-striving-cut-carbon-emissions-do-olympics-make-sense-180968181/
frood19 (@frood19)
13th January 2020, 9:55
I hate to think how much concrete is used in construction of a formula 1 circuit.
Aapje (@aapje)
13th January 2020, 20:32
Sure, but at least the permanent circuits are used year round. Many of the Qatar 2022 stadiums will be used for just one tournament. Quite a few buildings for the Olympics are also only used for the tournament.
Frasier (@frasier)
13th January 2020, 13:47
Tell me this.. If CO2 is the worlds thermostat as alarmists claim, then why does the signal of the huge increase in concentration over the past 70 years not show up in coastal sea level rise acceleration from land based ice melting eg
http://sealevel.info/MSL_graph.php?id=8518750
2nd or 3rd order warming effect at best, it’s invisible in this or any other coastal sea level gauge, see also
https://www.psmsl.org/data/ for worldwide comparisons. Fill your boots.
allstargp
13th January 2020, 14:19
I think you can google the answer to this…
grat
13th January 2020, 18:54
And what’s the carbon footprint of the global economy? All those goods produced in China, to questionable emissions standards, and shipped around the world in massive container ships that burn massive quantities of low grade fuel and produce tons of emissions?
Someone’s really got the nerve to compare *THAT* with Formula 1, which is at least running highly efficient hybrid engines?
What people will wonder about in decades to come is why we were so stupid that we focused on tiny issues instead of trying to come up with a global solution.
Assuming there are any people left to wonder, that is.
Jon Bee
13th January 2020, 11:28
George Russell needs to work on his starts. He might have out qualified Kubica in every race, but he was beaten at the start in nearly every race. If he can’t sort that out, it might cost him when the big teams start looking for drivers.
Charles
13th January 2020, 11:56
I think those starts were more a reflection of the superior skills that Robert has. He used to be known for his amazing starts and ability to find space.
Balue (@balue)
13th January 2020, 11:59
Could be nerves, could be being careful and making sure he gets those race laps (practice laps as that’s what they really were).
Either way, the way the team is praising him is more than the usual pat-on-the-back team stuff, but just the way he’s on the radio in races gives an idea. I have a feeling about him.
Surely destined to go to Mercedes alongside Verstappen (if Mercedes is still in the game). Very much looking forward to seeing what he’s got there.
MEGATRON M12 (@megatron)
15th January 2020, 0:07
Many of Russell’s starts were better than Kubica, but he was held up by a driver ahead and that allowed Kubica to get by. Oh course he is young and still needs to improve in every facet, but I think he was probably better on the starts than kubica too.
Robbie (@robbie)
13th January 2020, 19:30
Just wanted to say how interesting, but perhaps not surprising it is that here we have an article about CL learning from Seb, in great detail it would seem, and yet the minute there is an article or a reference about Seb’s performances, or his status on the team, or even his salary vs. CL’s, it’s all about how bad Seb is and doesn’t belong in F1, or on the team, or certainly not as number 1 on the team, and CL is the next greatest thing since sliced bread. Seb’s days are numbered, he’ll be retiring soon, etc etc.
Perhaps we can take a moment to pause and appreciate that in spite of some down times for Seb lately with some errors and some strife on the team, some that CL had a hand in too, he is a 4 time WDC and that is a big deal in the history of F1, and he should be given honour and respect for that.
Not saying it is wrong to promote CL for what he has done so far, but before some around here completely write Seb off as a nothing vs CL on the team, let’s perhaps appreciate that Seb is teaching CL at the same time. So you have Seb to thank for some of CL’s work. Hey when Charles has even 1 WDC let alone 4, then we can say he has proven something. Until then, he still has big shoes to fill and much to prove about handling the pressure when it is at it’s greatest, of which we have not seen him in that position yet. And when he does finally hoist a WDC trophy, I’m sure he’ll be thanking Seb, and would be reviled by the venom spewed about him sometimes.
Kasim
14th January 2020, 23:52
Very much agree!
MEGATRON M12 (@megatron)
15th January 2020, 0:11
Vettel’s wdc’s are hollow empty weight as he struggles to stay afloat. He is a fraud who has been exposed.
F1oSaurus (@)
14th January 2020, 20:44
It’s sad that Russel is in such a poor car. I would say he’s actually a better driver than the other new guys (Leclerc and Norris).