In the round-up: Esteban Ocon says he was pleased to see the positive response in his home country to the breakthrough win by fellow French driver Pierre Gasly.
What they say
Gasly had run behind Ocon prior to his unexpected win at Monza earlier this month:
It’s awesome to see how the community of France have reacted to that. It’s great. Of course, there hasn’t been a French winner for so long so we are really pleased that Pierre has done that.
Of course, I would have preferred for it to be me, but well done to him. It was not easy and of course he did a fantastic job. I did send him a text on Tuesday saying ‘congratulations, you did a great job’. So let’s let’s hope we have a few more of those in the short future.
Quotes: Dieter Rencken
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Links
More motor racing links of interest:
With Colton Herta (The Marshall Pruett Podcast)
"I think some stuff in the past with Santino (Ferrucci) a lot of people are like 'you should wait for the comeback that Santino's going to have for you'. But he's done some stuff in the past to me that I didn't like and I think it kind of bit him. But I don't try to race dirty like that. I was loose anyway so I was trying to carry the speed and keep the car under me on the cold tyres. It's different with different people - I don't think Dixon or Hunter-Reay would put himself in that kind of position at all."
Achieving net zero carbon footprint (Formula E)
"The Formula E championship has become the first global sport to be certified with a net zero carbon footprint from inception, investing in certified climate-protecting projects in all race markets to offset emissions from all six seasons of electric racing."
Racing Point appoints Jefferson Slack as commercial managing director (Racing Point)
"We are looking to build an iconic new sports brand in Aston Martin F1 Team, and in the process we believe we will create a unique global marketing platform for other brands and partners."
Extreme E in talks with Netflix to stream documentary series (The Telegraph - subscription required)
"Electric off-road racing series Extreme E is in talks with America’s streaming giants to create a documentary series akin to Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive to Survive."
Le Mans Post-Race Notebook (Sportscar 365)
"Porsche has moved a step closer to confirming an LMDh program."
A Message from NHRA President Glen Cromwell (NHRA)
"Today, in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, we filed a lawsuit against The Coca-Cola Company. We have never filed a lawsuit like this in our history, and we never expected to be forced to take action against such a longstanding partner."
F1 Driver Robert Kubica in BMW M4 on the Nürburgring (Misha Charoudin via YouTube)
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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
Comment of the day
Does Lance Stroll get more criticism than he deserves?
Stroll seems to grey a lot of flak for the fact that daddy bought him an F1 team, in my mind though this isn’t really any different to many other pay drivers who get funding from their family or other big business to but their way into the sport. Perez for instance is loved by fans but also by teams because of the amount of sponsorship money he brings with him. Strolls situation is just more obvious and up front because of the family connection.
I can understand a general dislike of drivers effectively being able to buy themselves into the sport rather than being about the best drivers but lets be realistic, motorsport costs a lot of money so one way or another you need that money to get into the upper levels, irrespective or where or who it comes from.
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JohnH (@johnrkh)
22nd September 2020, 3:50
Re COTD F1 has always been a place were the rich can buy their way in. Yachting, Polo, Offshore Powerboat racing, Horse racing have always been considered a rich mens sports. But money doesn’t necessarily buy success, you still need at least some talent. Stroll may not be the next Hamilton but he’s shown that he can be a midfield competitor in the right car, so maybe people should just get off his back.
BasCB (@bascb)
22nd September 2020, 7:36
I think the difference between Perez now, and Stroll right now is that Perez has gone from “mexican pay driver” to the guy who proved himself with countless instances of getting a car to the finish on tyres others would have already had to ditch for a new set @john-h. And getting a Sauber to the podium only narrowly missing out on a race win. And getting FI/RP a lot of podiums against the odds.
So yeah, I am sure that with Strolls talent there is all the chance that we will be looking at him in a similar way in 4 or 6 years from now. A guy who had the talent to bring the goods home, even if not quite championship or regular race winner material.
rpiian (@rpiian)
22nd September 2020, 10:55
I agree except for one thing, the Ferrari Driver Academy. I’m going to assume one is enrolled/inducted on merit, I don’t that one can buy their way in. The fact that Perez was a part of it for a bit makes him more prestigious, in my eyes. But Checo’s crowning achievements are most definitely his scrappy podiums! Those races were David vs Goliath in a lot of cases.
Paul
22nd September 2020, 11:09
@rpiian except that Lance was also in the Ferrari Driver Academy between 2010 and 2015
Jere (@jerejj)
22nd September 2020, 7:34
I couldn’t agree more with the COTD. He most certainly isn’t the only one who’s come in with considerable financial backing supporting his career. Him, his current teammate, Latifi, Gutierrez, Nasr, and Maldonado come to my mind as a few examples of drivers labeled as ‘pay-drivers’ to any extent, although even the most successful ones had to have some backing behind them to get up the latter.
Jordi Casademunt (@casjo)
22nd September 2020, 10:38
Yeah, and where are they? Gutierrez is out of F1 after 3 bad seasons, Maldonado was out of a drive despite being a race winner, and Nasr was kicked out of Sauber despite beating Ericsson two years in a row.
Stroll might be “delivering the goods” now, but lets not forget he was 7 tenths off Massa’s pace in 2017 (who was generally slower than Bottas), and was outqualified (and didn’t do that much better in the races) by Sirotkin, a rookie who wasn’t even given a second season.
How many drivers can be so wildly off-the-pace in their first season, barely beat a rookie who didn’t get a second chance in their second season, and somehow manage to land a drive in a better car? Most drivers need to prove themselves to get better drives, even if they are pay drivers. Stroll somehow went from the worst team to the best midfielder.
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
22nd September 2020, 15:32
If you turn on the YouTube close caption, the auto generated text tells you that M4 engine sound is music.
Dave
23rd September 2020, 8:00
Wait, Ocon came too?