In the round-up: Sebastian Vettel says he could be interested in taking on the Nurburgring 24 Hours after his F1 career.
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What they say
Vettel’s brother Fabian contested the 2019 24 Hours of Nurburgring in a Mercedes GT3. The four-times champion said he hopes he would pick a year when the weather is good:
As some say I’m close to the end of my career, maybe it’s something to think about. But I’m sure I will be busy next year and the year after. So I don’t know.
I’ve always liked to follow other categories and other races. I think the 24 hour race here is a race that everyone knows and everybody looks up to, in a way, I think it’s one of the biggest challenges in the motorsport world.
So who knows? Maybe yes. Hopefully I pick a good year because it can be quite a big challenge with the weather as well. So but yeah, I think I don’t know. It’s probably a question more for later days.
Quotes: Dieter Rencken
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
Sound on 🔉
Great moment, lovely touch from Seb 👏 #EifelGP 🇩🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/o4LZ7OF02d
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 9, 2020
FP sessions cancelled so sun arrives @NurburgringLive Still only 10C tho #EifelGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/aEpHd9SG6L
— Fritz-Dieter Rencken (@RacingLines) October 9, 2020
Then once with GT Open when half the Saturday was lost to freezing fog. Insane timetable congestion followed. When the sun came out it looked lovely but as actually 2 degrees C, so no heat in tyres whatsoever and cars spinning everywhere
— Ben Evans (@bencommentator) October 9, 2020
Everyone : what is Charles doing ?
Me : pic.twitter.com/Xq1srtL3yQ— Charles Leclerc (@Charles_Leclerc) October 9, 2020
Can confirm this is actually happening … pic.twitter.com/vaytzcnY2J
— Charlie (@mynamesnotcr8if) October 9, 2020
Please wake me up when it’s time to drive. Thanks 🌧 pic.twitter.com/GllH0OBZqd
— George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) October 9, 2020
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
More motor racing links of interest:
"Circuit Spa has presented a ten-year investment plan of more than €80 million, the first phase of which will see changes made to bring endurance motorcycle racing back to the circuit."
Eifel Grand Prix 2020 - Free Practice (Scuderia AlphaTauri)
"We have our beliefs on how the tyres will behave, based on science and engineering, but we needed to put those into practice to confirm. Given the conditions, this has not been possible, so we will head into tomorrow with many unknowns, which should make for an interesting event."
Hamilton reveals he spent rained off sessions watching old onboard videos (F1.com)
"Asked how he’d been keeping himself busy on what was an unusually quiet day for the drivers, the Mercedes star replied: 'I’ve got Roscoe (his dog) here with me, so a bit of messing around with him, but otherwise I’ve been looking at onboard footage of other years we’ve been here in the rain.'"
Friday recap: Eifel Grand Prix (Haas)
"I would have loved to have been able to go out and do some laps of course, but unfortunately the weather set against that. Hopefully I can get another opportunity before the end of the year, but if this is the only one then it’s been an experience."
The mist sessions (Alfa Romeo)
"Mick Schumacher, who was poised to make his debut in an official race weekend session, couldn’t make it out of the garage as the pitlane lights remained red. Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi – who last drove on this track in 2013 and 2015, respectively – will need to wait one more day to reacquaint themselves with the circuit. The engineers will have no data to crunch, albeit their evening will be a busy one as they rearrange the FP3 programme to make up for lost time. Everyone up and down the paddock remains in this fine balance between expectation and disappointment."
24 hours of Spa presents 56 car entry list for upcoming autumn edition (GT World Challenge Europe)
"A highly competitive field of 56 cars representing 11 world-leading automotive brands will chase glory at this year's 24 Hours of Spa (22-25 October). The 72nd edition of the twice-around-the-clock classic will be the first to take place during the autumn months, adding a new dimension to the familiar challenge posed by the undulating 7km Spa-Francorchamps layout. Indeed, competitors will need to contend with considerably cooler temperatures and significantly more night running at GT3 racing's gold standard event."
Backward compatibility: PlayStation 4 games playable on PlayStation 5 (Playstation)
"While the majority of PS4 games are playable on PS5 consoles, below is a list of PS4 games that are playable on PS4 only. On PlayStation Store, PS4 games that are not playable on the PS5 console will be marked with ‘Playable on: PS4 only’, including TT Isle of Man - Ride on the Edge 2."
Leading drivers onboard for virtual Jersey Rally (source)
"The 12-stage virtual race, which is taking place on the Dirt Rally 2.0 platform, features four classes, including a Metro 6R4 class in memory of life-long Jersey Rally fan Mark Lowe who died from coronavirus earlier this year."
What sets Lewis Hamilton apart from Schumacher is personal development (The Guardian)
"Schumacher went to Ferrari in 1996, with a brief to rebuild the team into a championship winning force again. It took four years but he did so. Hamilton left a successful and race-wining team in McLaren to join the still unproven Mercedes."
We always endeavour to credit original sources. If you have a tip for a link to feature in the next RaceFans round-up please send it in via the contact form.
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Comment of the day
Look Ahead thinks that F1’s pursuit of OEMs and road relevance distracts from the purer business of racing – which fans like, regardless of teams’ provenance from factory or family:
F1 should not be overly enamoured with the road car manufacturers participating in the series. Other than Ferrari, they come and go as they please. Pandering to their demands will just lead F1 to being held to ransom. When independent racing teams were winning numerous titles with the Ford DFV, the prestige of F1 wasn’t diminished at all just because it wasn’t won by road car manufacturers. There was no shortage of fans attracted to the independent racing teams. So I say just let F1 be all about racing, with an ample grid of the fastest cars racing on the best circuits and driven by the best drivers. Forget about using F1 to advance road car technology. The biggest performance differentiator in F1 is aerodynamics. The teams spend incredible amounts of money on that, but whatever learned there has no road relevance to the cars sold to the public. I believe even supercar manufacturers have little use for the knowledge gained in making super intricate F1 wings, barge boards and floors. So let’s go back to a Ford DFV powerplant model, but of course using current ICE technology.
Look Ahead
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goofy (@goofy)
10th October 2020, 3:24
Racefans says: “Vettel interested in tackling Nurburgring 24 Hours”
Vettel says: “So I don’t know”
If you want to attract 3000 new subscibers. Stop that.
Eoin (@eoin16)
10th October 2020, 3:32
“So who knows? Maybe yes. Hopefully I pick a good year…”
He seems pretty interested to me.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
10th October 2020, 9:20
I hope he does all kinds of racing, I hope other drivers go and do that aswell.
Tommy C (@tommy-c)
10th October 2020, 4:23
In this day and age of people actually caring about and understanding the impact we have on the environment, the COTD seems like wishful thinking. F1 is in in the crucial phase of adapt or die. Image is everything and continuing to burn fossil fuels for fun is not likely to be an attractive prospect for just about any potential sponsors.
S
10th October 2020, 8:59
Right – so the number one thing that needs to change is the type of fuel.
Move to a carbon-neutral fuel and F1 can be and use whatever it likes.
Hazel Southwell (@hazelsouthwell)
10th October 2020, 10:01
I’ve noticed people referencing “carbon neutral fuels” really frequently over the past couple of days, which fuels are you referring to?
S
10th October 2020, 13:04
Not sure exactly what others are referring to – but I think we could include hydrogen (produced from solar, wind or hydro energy) or plant-based biofuels (which capture carbon from the atmosphere).
No sufficiently (energy) dense combustible fuel is going to be 100% carbon-neutral from start to finish – processing included – but for the sake of this context, anything that results in a near-net zero carbon footprint would suffice.
I think most of us can apply common sense to what ‘carbon-neutral’ might refer to. We don’t need to get all ‘F1’ about it and specify exactly how neutral neutral actually is with a new technical directive, or by painting a line on the ground…
Hazel Southwell (@hazelsouthwell)
11th October 2020, 11:37
Unfortunately, even in a fuel cell (which is much more efficient than combustion and doesn’t generate nitrous oxide) hydrogen generates less electricity than is required to make it, unless you use major industrial processes that leave you the problem of having a ton of extremely unstable hydrogen lying around.
Plant-based biofuels have some potential but the only one currently producible without producing more carbon is using composting plant matter for biomass gas. Ultimately, the intensive farming required to produce consistent crops would result in further, disastrous, de-wilding of the earth and enhance the current climate crisis.
Regrettably, there is no such thing as a carbon neutral fuel unless production methods were to radically change and the investment in green energies and carbon capture would be a more direct solution, in the current crisis. That said, there are plenty of processes where we release gases and by-products that might turn out to be useful – there’s a horrible runoff from paper production that’s massively toxic but if you heat treat it can be a cathode for a battery, so it’s a case of looking at what we have and trying to work out if it’s usable.
Nothing would be of racing-grade efficiency standard, however.
S
11th October 2020, 15:37
@hazelsouthwell
Yeah sure, they aren’t perfect. That’s why they need to be introduced – F1 pushes development in areas that it relies on. Those techs could develop faster in F1 than out of it.
Not particularly interested in F1 cars being completely carbon neutral, personally – but changing fuels is a definite improvement over the current oil-derived fuel, wouldn’t you agree?
You seem to be looking at the destination without considering the journey to get there – 100% carbon-neutral car racing is many, many years away regardless (electric included). In the meantime, F1 still needs to make money and appeal to viewers and sponsors. Being entertaining ultimately pays the bills.
Formula E does electric, and good on them. F1 can’t and shouldn’t do that – it needs to be different.
Remember, too – that if F1 were to use plant-based fuels, they only need to produce enough to satisfy the F1 cars right now. F1 cars sip tiny amounts of fuel compared to the wider F1 business as a whole – and indeed the world as a whole.
As time passes, the methods for producing those fuels gets ever better and more environmentally friendly too. Every step is a step in the right direction. Poo-pooing the idea just because it doesn’t work perfectly today is a very shortsighted approach.
There are racing series running on primarily plant-based fuels (see Aussie Supercars, for instance, who have been running on far cleaner and more sustainable E85 since 2009, using ethanol derived purely from excess non-food product which would otherwise be waste) – it is purely a commercial consideration that is holding F1 back from such a move.
Neel Jani (@neelv27)
10th October 2020, 7:43
The Guardian article on Hamilton and Schumacher is so vague. To counter against that comparison, even Schumacher left a successful and race-wining team in Benetton to join the still struggling Ferrari.
Markus
10th October 2020, 9:35
True. Mercedes were race winners the year before Hamilton joined. Ferrari won a race before Schumacher joined. Both teams won titles in years previous, Mercedes as Brawn did so 4 years prior while Ferrari had a 15 or 16 year dry spell.
Tommy Scragend
10th October 2020, 9:00
In other words, “The work will therefore mainly relate to widening the clearances and installing gravel traps in 5 bends: La Source, le Raidillon, Blanchimont, Les Combes and finally Stavelot.”
Firstly, good news! Secondly, how does that square with the usual line that circuits come out with of “we have to have tarmac runoffs for the motorbikes”?
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
10th October 2020, 9:23
Best news today.
Spa will be more like Spa again.
Jamie B
10th October 2020, 20:34
I’m very pleased with this news.
That was the case for a while but motorcycle racing reverted back to preferring gravel (particularly where space is limited) after a number of incidents where tarmac didn’t stop riders sliding. You may have noticed, for example, that Silverstone has added a few gravel traps for this season
TFLB (@tflb)
10th October 2020, 10:15
Also today- a very happy 97th birthday to the one and only Murray Walker.
MBr
10th October 2020, 14:19
F1’s pandering to OEM’s led to only one joining (Honda) and the most expensive and least competitive era of F1.
We had 5 straight seasons of privateers winning championships and F1 wasn’t any less for it.