Tsunoda sorry for spoiling team mate’s Q2 run

In brief

Tsunoda sorry for spoiling team mate Gasly’s Q2 run

Tsunoda made a mistake at turn 11, running wide onto the gravel and bringing out a brief yellow flag. Gasly came across the scene on his hot lap and had to take avoiding action, ultimately abandoning his run.

“Fucking hell, Yuki,” Gasly exclaimed in reaction on the radio before beginning his final run. He and Tsunoda failed to make the cut for Q3.

“Between Q1 and Q2 I lost complete performance from the car,” Tsunoda explained. “Just completely different and we struggled to adapt it and went outside.

“I’m sorry for Pierre, but also the same time, I just also struggled a lot to control the car.”

Sainz wary of Ferrari’s ‘lack of experience’ in fighting for titles

Carlos Sainz Jnr says he is conscious that Ferrari are lacking in experience of fighting for titles in recent years.

Ferrari currently lead the constructors’ championship after two rounds, with Sainz’s team mate Charles Leclerc on top of the drivers’ standings and starting on pole for today’s Australian Grand Prix. Sainz says that he is remaining cautious about the team’s prospects for the season despite their strong start.

“We keep saying that Red Bull and Mercedes are the favourites, because we haven’t been in a title fight in the last few years,” said Sainz.

“In the previous years, these teams have out-developed Ferrari, so we are still super cautious, because we know we have a great car and we have put together on track a great car – but these two teams have been in the title fight for the last two or three years, they know how much you need to improve, they know exactly what they need to do. And we maybe, are lacking that bit of experience. I think we have great people, and we are prepared – but we don’t know. So, we are still cautious and are expecting a bit to see what happens.”

Dennis unimpressed with inconsistent Formula E penalties

Andretti Formula E driver Jake Dennis, who received a five-second time penalty for contact with Antonio Felix da Costa during the first Rome race, said driving standards are being inconsistently enforced in Formula E.

“There’s just so much contact in the race and it seems like you can get away with almost anything unless you make the position,” explained Dennis. “You can smash into people and if you both come out the corner in the same position then they don’t do anything, but if one of you gains a position or loses a position then you get a penalty.

Dennis was particularly critical of several drivers he considered repeat offenders. “You’ve got people moving into braking five or six times in the super difficult bump at turn seven and it takes so much skill from the driver behind not to just rear-end the guy in front. But if he did, if the car behind did hit him and knocked him off, he would get the penalty, which is just stupid.”

Quotes: Hazel Southwell

De Vries was just “trying to hang on” during slide down the order in Rome

Mercedes Formula E driver Nyck de Vries says he was simply “trying to hang on” as he fell from as high as second in the first Rome EPrix down to ninth before retiring.

De Vries started from third on the grid and was competitive in the early stages, battling with team mate Stoffel Vandoorne and the other cars around him. However, from mid-race De Vries slipped down the order, ultimately retiring in the final minutes with bent steering

“Ultimately, when you don’t have the pace, you’re trying to hang on,” De Vries said. “Then the real effect is only visible from kind of mid-race onwards because then the energy [saving] starts to hurt you, the tyre temperature starts to hurt you and everything is just magnified a little bit more,

“We were not quick enough and we were trying to hang on, but ultimately that was not enough, that is a kind of short summary of our day.”

Quotes: Hazel Southwell

Social media

Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:

🥺🥺🥺 https://t.co/rBoT1Tocd2

— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) April 9, 2022

I’m sorry, but we’re working our asses off to give our drivers a bloody good car. We’ll keep on doing so too despite negative comments. https://t.co/rsSwndobIp

— Mark Lane (@MarkLaneF1) April 9, 2022

The two top-performing Aston Martin drivers around Albert Park this morning. #F1 #AustralianGP pic.twitter.com/abclNhsUkd

— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) April 9, 2022

Getting ridiculous the lighting at the #AusGP – just run it at a proper time locally. If you’re getting up early for the #F1 in Europe you’ll get up an hour earlier anyway

— Will Esler (@WillEsler) April 9, 2022

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcIuh4mMyPx/

• Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory

Links

Motor racing links of interest:

Hamilton ‘uncomfortable’ as FIA members fail to wear masks at briefing (Independent)

"No-one in the drivers’ briefing were wearing masks. Some of the drivers were but most of the FIA were not, which for me was uncomfortable."

Penske not feeling threatened by F1's American expansion (Racer)

"I think it will bring more race fans. But we’ll have to compete. We have the diversity in IndyCar. We have high-speed ovals; there’s no Formula 1 race where they qualify at 230 miles an hour for 10 miles like we do at Indianapolis, so that’s point number one. Number two, we’ve got street circuits, we’ve got road courses, and we’ve got short ovals and medium-size ovals. So I think the differentiation, the diversity of IndyCar, is what makes us a different product."

‘Better than some drivers racing F1’: Alpine boss hails Piastri as future world champion (The Age)

"Melbourne youngster Oscar Piastri has what it takes to be a future Formula One world champion, says his team boss Laurent Rossi."

Automobilista 2 V1.3.5.1 released (Automobilista 2 via Steam)

The latest updates for Autombilista 2 introduces the 'Formula Ultimate Gen 2' vehicle, modelled after the 2022 Formula 1 regulations.

PURE SOUND | V10 Era F1 cars scream round Goodwood (Goodwood via YouTube)

"F1 cars from the 1980s and 1990s screamed around Goodwood with their high-revving V10 and V8 engines making incredible Formula 1 music as they went. Included in this awesome display was the sight of Bruno Senna, back in his uncle Ayrton's McLaren MP4/5."

Formula 1 Steering Wheel Explained (Romain Grosjean via YouTube)

"Here is everything you need to know about Romain's Formula 1 steering wheel. From full power to brake temperatures, everything is controlled by the steering wheel and Romain is here to break it down for you."

We always endeavour to credit original sources. If you have a tip for a link relating to single-seater motorsport to feature in the next RaceFans round-up please send it in via the contact form.

Comment of the day

After the FIA removed the fourth DRS zone from the Albert Park circuit on “safety grounds”, @pja questions why they even felt the need to add one in the first place…

It is too soon to judge the new rules so why are they adding DRS zones to circuits already, it seems like an admission of failure to me.

I could understand F1 deciding to keep DRS the same as previous seasons so they can judge what impact the new car designs have on the racing.

If the evidence said the new rules worked and racing did improve they could reduce the number of DRS zones or even get rid of DRS completely.

So I don’t understand why at only the third race of the season they are adding another DRS zone to a circuit.

I accept the reasons why DRS was originally introduced, in my opinion it was a necessary evil in F1, but for me overtaking in general is just not as exciting or impressive since DRS was introduced.

On paper I should have thoroughly enjoyed the last race in Saudi Arabia with the battle between Verstappen and Leclerc, but I didn’t and my thoughts when watching was that DRS is still king.

I fear Formula 1 is now addicted to DRS and they won’t get rid of it no matter what.
@Pja

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Roberttty and Browny!

On this day in motorsport

• Born today in 1929: Mike Hawthorn, who won the world championship in 1958, retired immediately, but was killed in a road car crash the following year