Williams suspect Norris pitting cost Russell a place in Q3

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In the round-up: Williams believe George Russell would have made it into Q3 had he been able to use the slipstream of Lando Norris at the end of his qualifying lap.

In brief

Russell’s Q3 near-miss down to Norris pitting

Williams’ head of vehicle performance Dave Robson says it’s possible McLaren’s decision to pit Norris at the end of Q2 cost Russell the six-hundredths of a second he needed to make the top 10.

“I think it would have been a great place for everybody if we if we had made it [to Q3] and we were we were obviously very close,” said Robson.

“It was a bit disappointing that Lando decided to pit. We thought we were going to get at least one tow off him at the start of George’s timed lap, which might’ve made the difference.”

Abiteboul confirms he will get ‘honey badger’ tattoo

Cyril Abiteboul, Renault, Nurburgring, 2020
“A bet is a bet”: Abiteboul’s getting ink
Earlier this week Daniel Ricciardo revealed to RaceFans his plans for former team principal Cyril Abiteboul’s tattoo. The ex-Renault boss will have a honey badger-themed design after losing a bet over whether Ricciardo would take a podium finish for the team last year.

Yesterday Abiteboul confirmed to RaceFans he intends to honour the deal. While the former Renault boss said he maintains his right to choose the size and location of the tattoo, he confirmed that he will keep his word to get one as soon as parlours reopen.

“A bet is a bet!” said Abiteboul. “I may just ask for a right to edit the style of the beast.”

Mexico’s grand prix dependent on ‘evolving’ pandemic

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, 2019
Mexico’s F1 track is being used as a hospital
Sergio Perez is hopeful the Mexican Grand Prix will be able to go ahead in October, as his home country countries to bring down its Covid-19 infection rate.

“I don’t know the details, I just think that there is a long way to go,” he said in response to a question from RaceFans. “It will be important to see how the world evolves, how Mexico evolves as well. I really hope we can have the race with fans, as well. That would be amazing.”

Formula E has announced it will not race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez this year, as the venue is currently being used to treat Covid-19 patients. In a recent announcement, the series said racing at the venue was unviable under the pandemic.

“The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship has moved location from the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City which has previously hosted five Formula E races, because the circuit is still a temporary field hospital.”

Unlike Formula E, Formula One does not have an alternative circuit in Mexico as no others in the country are rated as FIA grade one.

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Comment of the day

Stephen Robertson notes that, after Toto Wolff maintained Mercedes are not yet the fastest team again, that reliability is going to be crucial in this year’s title fight. All four Mercedes and Red Bull cars start next to each other in today’s Portuguese Grand Prix:

A tenth here or there is irrelevant in this title fight, it’s going to come down to reliability.

Losing a potential 25 points for a ‘DNF’ is going to be hard to claw back.
@Emu55

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On this day in F1

Author information

Hazel Southwell
Hazel is a motorsport and automotive journalist with a particular interest in hybrid systems, electrification, batteries and new fuel technologies....

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5 comments on “Williams suspect Norris pitting cost Russell a place in Q3”

  1. Yes, a loss of 25 or 26 points could prove costly in a close battle.

    Not necessarily a given Norris staying on track would’ve guaranteed Q3. Maybe, maybe not, we’ll never know for sure.

    Yes, Mexican GP is dependent on evolving COVID situation but too early for proper judgment this far in advance.

  2. Oh my god, just get the tattoo and release us from this non story. Who cares at this point?

    1. Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
      2nd May 2021, 9:59

      @fer-no65

      That is what i was thinking. I laughed that there was a whole article on this tattoo and now a we have a 3rd of an article with an update of more about not yet getting it. It really isn’t news worth knowing, especially in depth.

      1. @thegianthogweed it’s like journalists have a NEED to ask about that tattoo every time they talk to Ricciardo. We get it, it was funny for about a week, but it’s been a year… no one cares except them!

  3. O really would love to see a competitive Perez at RB in a mexican race. I think Will be good to try to win there… But I’m realistic and i really think that Marko and Verstapen will not allow it…

Comments are closed.