In the round-up: Esteban Ocon says the compressed of 2020 F1 calendar made working with a new team on his F1 return harder.
What they say
Ocon moved to Renault this season, after a year without a race seat, as the Mercedes reserve driver. He has been out-qualified by team mate Daniel Ricciardo 13 times this year, finishing Saturday ahead just once, at the Styrian Grand Prix:He’s been quicker, clearly. After my year out I thought coming back it would take a little time for myself to to get back into it, to get obviously integrated properly into the team and try and work the way I did at Force India. But it took a little bit more time than I thought.
The way the season has condensed, as well, you don’t have much time to reflect on a race. You go straight away to another one. That’s how it’s been with the triple header. So we didn’t have time to properly analyse everything and come back and make it apply, we had only two days to get to it and straightaway go back to the fight.
So I think recently my performance has been better in qualifying, I think I’m closer to where I need to be. There’s still a bit of things that we can do better but overall I’m happier now, at the end of the season, than I was earlier. So it’s a better step.
Quotes: Dieter Rencken
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
Bro @lewishamilton once again congratulations on your 7th World Championship!
It was a great honor to share it with you!
It’s complicated, with the emotion of the moment, to analyze things, but after a few days you realize what this achievement means for our sport! #legend #f1 pic.twitter.com/Gd7ZpYqKqm— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) November 17, 2020
Not that i don't like Zolder (i had pole in F3 back in 2007) but surely Laguna Seca is more sexy 🤣 https://t.co/8Gshjn9PIb
— Romain Grosjean (@RGrosjean) November 17, 2020
To all my fans… if you want fun racing tonight vote for ‘Motegi’ please! It won’t disappoint 😎🔥 https://t.co/W9OD0XdFP9
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) November 18, 2020
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
More motor racing links of interest:
"Ford versus Ferrari, I think they did such a great job, two great, incredible actors. So I personally loved that. It almost encouraged me to potentially go and drive some of those cars, but I'm not going to do Le Mans."
The Run In: Assessing Guanyu Zhou's chances (Formula 2)
"2020 hasn’t been an awful campaign for Zhou, given he is technically still in title contention and has the same number of podiums at this stage of the season, as he did last year. It’s just that he hasn’t hit the lofty heights that were expected of him. His strength in 2019 was arguably his consistency, scoring points in all bar four races. That tally has already been eclipsed in 2020, with six pointless finishes to his name. If he is to stand any chance of breaking into the top five, or even making a late assault on the title, then he has to ensure that number doesn’t increase. Sitting just over 20 points off fifth place, and less than 30 off third, it’s most definitely doable."
Jochen Rindt: The F1 champion crowned beyond the grave (BBC)
"With the Austrian's bloodied equipment in his hands, Ecclestone ran back to the pit lane to try to find out where his friend had been taken. 'I found him in what they said was an ambulance but was more like a pick-up truck, basically. They told me the hospital he was going to so I went there, but although he'd gone before me I got there first. They'd taken him to the wrong hospital.'"
DragonSpeed to submit 2021 WEC entry with Montoya (FIA WEC)
"The 10Star DragonSpeed LMP2 race team will submit a single car entry into next year’s FIA World Endurance Championship. Included in the team’s line-up will be racing legend, Juan Pablo Montoya. Ex Formula 1 driver and two-time Indy500 winner, Montoya also claimed the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar title as well as competing at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans with DragonSpeed. The hugely-successful Colombian driver will be joined by team stalwart Henrik Hedman and sportscar ace, Ben Hanley."
New FIA RX2e Championship car revealed (FIA)
"Jointly developed by Spanish electro-mobility specialist QEV Technologies and Swedish rallycross team Olsbergs MSE, the RX2e car can now be presented – virtually – in its definitive body shape, featuring an aggressive aero package, futuristic front end incorporating a discreet cooling system and rear diffuser."
2020 F1 Esports Pro Series Event 3 Preview (F1 Esports)
"It was a breakthrough event for Kiefer in 2019, taking his maiden series victory, whilst driving for BWT Racing Point F1 Esports Team. Now with Red Bull, he’ll be looking to repeat the feat. And if he can match his 2019 position, Rasmussen would make it a one-two, having also been on the podium last year. Dani Bereznay completed the rostrum, and will need to do the same again this year if he is to recover from a misfiring second event."
"Forgive me if I struggle to get worked up over the question of whether Hamilton would have won without that great car or whether Mercedes would have won without Hamilton, for I feel that it misses the bigger picture. For the more I look at the success of the past eight years, the more difficult I find it to glimpse where Hamilton ends and where Mercedes begins.t"
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Comment of the day
Does Lewis Hamilton’s claim that he never had a timely opportunity to join Ferrari stack up?
There were two recent windows where Ferrari seemed to be in a rush to not sign Hamilton: re-signing Vettel a couple of years or so ago and signing Sainz this year. Both times, Hamilton’s Mercedes contract was running out.
That seems to indicate Ferrari are the less interested party. On the other hand, maybe it’s just a lack of intermediaries and communication. Ecclestone was famously the one to help engineer these switches.
David BR
Happy birthday!
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Ki Chi (@kichi-leung)
19th November 2020, 0:18
The most important detail is missing here! 😂
Mike Davies (@nanotech)
19th November 2020, 0:45
LOL!
It was Ralf Schumacher, to save others the Google-ing :)
#ashtag
19th November 2020, 8:46
Today is always ahead of yesterday and guaranteed to win if yesterday fails to finish.
Tristan (@skipgamer)
19th November 2020, 0:32
Interesting take on the Hamilton Ferrari article. Timing being the major reason is not how I read his comments at all. Sure he said timing matters, but also:
and
Says a lot more than just timing to me…
JohnH (@johnrkh)
19th November 2020, 4:58
@skipgamer Yep one of the reasons Hamilton gave for leaving MaLaren where the restrictions place on him away from the track. Also I think it’s obvious part of the success of the Merc/Hamilton combination is the working atmosphere inside the team.
David BR (@david-br)
19th November 2020, 15:54
@skipgamer Yes, that’s what I thought, there’s a bit more depth to his question than just timing. At the same time, I can remember – as a long-term fan of the idea of Hamilton moving to Ferrari – these two occasions when Ferrari contracts were up for renewal and Hamilton had yet to settle again with Mercedes. So there seemed to be space for negotiations to take place, yet both times Ferrari were quick to announce a new signing (Leclerc 2018, Sainz 2020: @tifoso1989 kindly corrected me on that one). So any ‘Hamilton to Ferrari?’ stories were rapidly quashed. Of course that reluctance may come from either side or both. My guess is that Hamilton feels that Ferrari haven’t really gone out of their way to persuade him to sign, indicating that he was vital to their immediate future development – and presumably he has the Mercedes experience as a parameter. In a sense they’re the two biggest commodities (brands) in Formula 1 right now, Hamilton and Ferrari, so a clash may be inevitable, neither wanting to be swamped by the demands of the other.
(btw thanks Hazel and Keith for COTD)
joac21 (@joac21)
19th November 2020, 1:30
Ocon Is such a sore looser.
Ronald (@mosquito)
19th November 2020, 13:31
I don’t think he is. Just like most other drivers on the grid Ocon thinks he is special. Which obviously he is to some extend, otherwise he would not have made F1 on merit. He is just not one of those special talents. I still rate him in the top half of the current field, but well below the likes of Hamilton, Leclerc and Verstappen.
I think any small chance he might have had to get a seat in the Mercedes team has vanished after this season. He didn’t outperform Perez, he is clearly outperformed by Ricciardo, that means you are a good driver for a midfield team, but not for the top.
Chris Lloyd (@chrisr1718)
19th November 2020, 14:18
I think he’d do well at RBR as he and Max get along so well.
socksolid (@socksolid)
19th November 2020, 8:42
I think when it comes to a potential recent hamilton-ferrari move I’m not so sure hamilton is really that interested. At merc he has all that he wants. A dominating car, freedom to pursue his interests on his own time, excellent salary, a known environment that is both mentally good for him and free of dramas and last but not least he has a deep connection with the big wigs at mercedes. He knows what is happening and when it is happening and what is in the future. He understands that information and what it means. And the factory is in england. He knows the place and speaks the language. The mercedes team is a perfect puzzle where every piece fits for not just him but everybody else in that team.
At ferrari he would not have any of that. Struggling team with poor car, poor engine, fewer personal freedoms, all new faces with whom he has no shared history, culturally a step backwards for him, dramas unknown to him and no connection with the top wigs at ferrari.
A switch to ferrari could make sense if there was potential in it. As I see it there is none. It is not that ferrari can not improve a lot even in short term. It is that they must just to make it back to being 2nd. Ferrari is in survival mode. Their engine program has huge issues and they are playing catch up. Their chassis is not up to par. Their technical teams are struggling. Ferrari is not the team to be in when results are bad.
Move to ferrari would only make sense for hamilton if he was 7 years younger and could get the technical leaders at mercedes to go with him. And even then he would be sacrificing 3 years minimum before he could be winning at ferrari. That 3 years is 3 lost championships at mercedes. And that is the best case scenario. How many years does he have left anyways? Ferrari knows hamilton knows all this too.
BasCB (@bascb)
19th November 2020, 8:53
Well argued, hard not to agree there @socksolid.
David BR (@david-br)
19th November 2020, 16:01
@socksolid That does make sense. I can only see Hamilton switching to Ferrari if they’re already the top team or committed to a 4-5 year plan to be the top team with him at the centre (as in the Schumacher, Alonso, Vettel and now, maybe, Leclerc cases). A factor I hadn’t remembered was that in 2018 there were probably already rumours about Ferrari’s engine being ‘questionable’, which materialized in 2019 when Red Bull appealed. So that may have caused Hamilton to back off too. I kind of feel that if Mercedes and Ferrari were on a par, he’d make the switch, if all the conditions were right, but that prospect has now vanished, at least until 2022.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
19th November 2020, 9:53
Merc deserve the credit, as they would have won it regardless. Ham deserves the credit for not making mistakes and being quick enough.
Would Heikki have won it in 08? No, therefore McLaren does not deserve the bulk of credit, Ham does, It is simple, stop this non journalism.
F1oSaurus (@)
19th November 2020, 11:16
@peartree As brought up plenty times by Mercedes, it’s unlikely that Mercedes could have developed their car to this level without Hamilton helping them improve it.
S
19th November 2020, 12:21
They are hardly going to say otherwise to the media, are they…
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
2nd December 2020, 23:35
@f1osaurus sure, he clearly knows what he is doing.
Darren Moore
19th November 2020, 10:31
It’s 81 or 82 front row lock outs to Merc since 2014.
Between 2000-04 Ferrari had 15.
McLaren had 8 in 1998.
You’d have to say it’s the car.
F1oSaurus (@)
19th November 2020, 11:18
That only shows that Mercedes is not a #1 driver team. They have two good drivers and give them equal opportunities to perform.
Plus looking at quali results during the “no refueling between Q3 and the race” era is just ridiculous.
anon
19th November 2020, 12:36
@f1osaurus the poster in question does not care for that though – Darren, being the latest fake name for the same troll that has cursed this site, has a rather blatantly clear political agenda to spam anti-Hamilton and pro-Verstappen posts. Fact, according to him, is a quality that can be ignored so this zealot can promote his ideological convictions.
rsp123 (@rsp123)
19th November 2020, 17:55
The idea of racing in Saudi looks worse by the day – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/19/saudi-accounts-emerge-of-ritz-carlton-night-of-the-beating
dgzalnd
19th November 2020, 22:57
We will soon get an article extolling the virtues of racing in Saudi……….doh! we already had that.
erikje
19th November 2020, 19:05
Both needed each other.. They only achieved these results in cooperation.
Yes, merc would have become WC as they have the fastest car by far in several years. But they needed HAM to wite history.
Ham needs Merc to achieve his titels and without a merc he never would have done this for a total of 7. But still depending of the car he would have won several titels.
So, they still are partners for the future ( or as long as Lewis will go on) The merc with VER or LEC would have won several titels, but probably not the same amount.