In the round-up: Daniel Ricciardo says it was important for him to apologise to Carlos Sainz Jnr after their lap one clash at Imola and ‘clean the slate’ with the Ferrari driver
In brief
Sainz apology important to ‘clean the slate’ says Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo says it was important for him to apologise to Carlos Sainz Jnr after their lap one clash at Imola and ‘clean the slate’ with the Ferrari driver.The pair collided at the first turn in the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, knocking Sainz out of the race and leaving Ricciardo with diffuser damage that hampered him the entire race. After the race, Ricciardo visited the Ferrari hospitality suite to apologise in person to Sainz for the contact.
Speaking on an appearance on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Ricciardo said it was important for him to make sure there would be no hard feelings between the pair moving forward through the rest of the season.
“I hated every second of the apology!,” Ricciardo told host Trevor Noah. “I guess probably with experience, being in it for so long, I have the maturity, I guess, to know now how much we all put into it. And as competitive as we are, we all have something strongly in common.
“There’s only 20 of us who do it – there’s only 20 F1 drivers. You kind of just respect everyone’s journey. Like the incident – if I hold myself accountable, I feel like I want to just apologise. It’s nothing personal. I don’t think everyone would do it, but for me, I just felt better by doing it. So we kind of just clean the slate for the next one and I know that when we come alongside each other on track next, there’s no intensity. There’ll be an intensity, but nothing heightened, I guess.
McLaren ‘know the strengths and weaknesses of our car now’ – Seidl
McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl says the team have now established what the main strengths and weaknesses of their car are after the opening four races of the 2022 season.
The team enjoyed their first podium finish of the season in Imola after a tough start to the season in Bahrain that saw them finish outside of the top ten. Seidl says that McLaren now have a “clear idea” of where the MCL36’s strengths are.
“Definitely we improved our understanding of the car over the last couple of weekends after we had to play catch up with missing out on all these laps at the test in Bahrain,” said Seidl.
“I guess we have a clear idea on the strengths and weaknesses of our car. I have a clear idea of what we have to address in order to bring more performance to the car. We have a clear plan in place of how we’re going to do at. We have to manage a lot of parameters, like cost cap as well, reduced wind tunnel time, etc, etc, but I’m very happy with what I’m seeing the team is doing and how the team is attacking that challenge.”
Drive to Survive style TV show would be “amazing” for IndyCar – Palou
McLaren SP driver Alex Palou believes that a Drive to Survive style documentary series would help to promote the popularity of IndyCar.
The success of the Netflix-produced show has been credited with the growth of Formula 1’s popularity in recent years. Palou thinks it would be “amazing” to have an equivalent show for IndyCar
“I think everybody saw what the Drive to Survive did to the series, and especially to the drivers and people working there,” said Palou.
“They told a story that maybe for really every motorsports enthusiastic kind of person that are following every session that you know that it’s a bit too dramatic, but it works for normal people and new fans, which that’s what they want and that’s what we want, as well. So yeah, absolutely. I think it would be amazing to have something close to that.”
McLaren “investigating” Hamilton abuse comments on Twitter
McLaren says it is “investigating” abusive comments about Lewis Hamilton allegedly made by an employee of the company on Twitter. “We consider these comments to be completely at odds with our values and culture at McLaren. We take the matter extremely seriously and are investigating it as a priority,” it said in a statement.
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
Robin Frijns is asked for his thoughts on Gen3
after a substantial pause he says "interesting"
— Hazel Southwell (@HSouthwellFE) April 29, 2022
WOAH… an @IndyAChallenge #autonomousracecar equipped w/ @CiscoIoT technology set a new land speed world record of 192.2 MPH at @NASAKennedy!
You can see the car for yourself at @CiscoLive this year!
Learn more about the world record: https://t.co/SfH9mQDKTa #IoT #CiscoLive pic.twitter.com/VyqeUQBdfs
— Amanda Healy (@Amanda_Healy) April 28, 2022
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Possible explosion at Hard Rock Stadium injures two people, authorities say (Miami Herald)
"A critically injured person was flown by helicopter to a hospital after being hurt in a possible explosion at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. Another person was taken to the hospital by ambulance."
Revealed: the 186 drivers set to compete in the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans (24 Hours Le Mans)
"The list includes six women – Lilou Wadoux, Sophia Floersch, Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatling, Sarah Bovy and Katherine Legge – eight-time world rally champion Sébastien Ogier, famous actor Michael Fassbender, several former Le Mans 24 Hours winners, including Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Romain Dumas, Nick Tandy, and ex-Formula One drivers Giancarlo Fisichella, Esteban Gutierrez, Robert Kubica and Sébastien Bourdais."
There’s no stopping Toto Wolff, the F1 CEO with an unwavering will to win (LinkedIn)
"I'm running people that run race cars and our sport is very intense. We're racing 23 times a year on the weekends. I think that attracts a certain species of people, very competitive and ambitious, highly educated. And so my job is actually to provide these people a framework where they can operate the best — and I enjoy it."
Catherine Bond Muir Is Ready To Ride The W Series Wave Into America (Jalopnik)
"I think unquestionably America is going to be at some point in the future our largest audience. There’s so much interest. I think America is very, very good at supporting women’s sport."
Sebastian joins 'Keep the Bees Humming' project to promote biodiversity (Aston Martin)
"Taking responsibility for the future doesn't mean you have to sacrifice your quality of life – it's about finding sustainable ways to have fun. That way, you can enjoy life with a clear conscience and protect the environment at the same time."
Alfa Romeo angrily accuses rival F1 teams of ‘playing games’ over big issue hampering speed (Metro)
"Honestly, I don’t understand all the comments (about raising the weight limit again) because that I think it’s the target for everybody that when you are designing a racing car the weight is always the target number one."
Fittipaldi’s Guest Column: I was happy to show our real pace (Formula 2)
" It was simply amazing! We were able to show our pace on track. We were fast all weekend, so I was very happy to show our real pace on Sunday, with great overtakes along the way."
The gang of self-titled pirates saving single-seater hopefuls’ careers (Formula Scout)
So many of Oregon’s single-seater refugees, most of whom are now hot property with a roof over their head, have spoken so glowingly of the team that it only made sense to find out what the fuss was about. And it certainly wasn’t what we expected.
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.
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Comment of the day
After Pierre Gasly exclusively told RaceFans that he feels he deserves to be racing alongside the likes of Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, @geemac says it’s never a case of drivers getting opportunities because they deserve them…
Gasly is a top quality Grand Prix driver and my respect for him went through the roof when I read his great article in the Player’s Tribune. He is still in F1 and has a decent car at his disposal. He is a Grand Prix winner. Even if his career ended tomorrow he would go down as a far better driver than the overwhelming majority of those who have started a world championship Grand Prix. But he does not “deserve” anything. He needs to continue to claw away and fight for everything he can get. If the cards fall his way, he has everything he needs to grab any opportunity with both hands.
@geemac
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Ccolanto, Mike Weilding, Oliver and Jake Kilshaw!
April on RaceFans
A selection of RaceFans’s top reads from last month which you might have missed:
- ‘I belong with Verstappen, Leclerc, Russell and Norris’ – Pierre Gasly exclusive interview
- Verstappen takes maximum advantage as Leclerc makes first major error of title fight
- “He died and we didn’t even know”: How one fan witnessed the 1994 San Marino GP
- Leclerc emulates Schumacher with Melbourne grand slam as Verstappen lucks out again
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SteveR
30th April 2022, 1:13
The autonomous race car stuff is interesting, but nowhere do I find exactly what it is and what the cars have to do. I went to their website and looked at all the ‘rules’ links but have no clue what the actual event parameters are. Does the car have to drive a set course, turn, and drive back? Are the cars supposed to drive Indy by themselves? A straight explanation of the requirements would be… useful; the corporate speak gets really old quickly.
juan fanger (@juan-fanger)
30th April 2022, 1:20
Have not seen them – were the mclaren employee’s comments about Lewis actually bad (e.g. racist) or were they more an opinion of his character (e.g. Lewis is an entitled dummy-spitting prat)?
Racism is not good and should not be tolerated, but a company sacking someone because of statements like the latter could back the organisation into a corner. Imagine if one of the drivers says something similar in the heat of a moment. Do they then have to sack the driver?
Andy
30th April 2022, 4:44
1. Drivers are talking to their team when using the radio. It’s FOM that decides to repeat them to everyone not the driver. 2. If someone tweets in the ‘heat of the moment’ then perhaps they should not be on twitter and find a calmer pastime.
jff
30th April 2022, 6:15
I’m using the keyboard on my private phone; Twitter decides to block or repeat it to the world (and a Twitter algorithm determines who sees it).
So maybe it’s not that different after all. We all (F1 drivers and Tweeps) know the terms of use, and we should behave accordingly and bear the consequences.
PS finding out the original Tweet is like looking up Barbara Streisand’s home.
Moi
30th April 2022, 12:03
It also depends on whether the employee in question was using a private account, or a professional one. By which I mean whether the Twitter account identifies him as ‘Jack a father of three’ or ‘Wheelnut manager at McLaren F1’.
If the former, and not in a public leadership position, then he should be able to make the comments he wants (within the normal bounds of the law of course). If the latter, the company would be right to censure him, as it affects their image.
anon
30th April 2022, 12:36
@juan-fanger whilst the focus might be on Hamilton in this article, the person in question appears to have been sending a stream of abusive messages to other drivers, employees of Mercedes and the Formula 1 group and even at random fans since at least September last year.
This wasn’t just a single off the cuff remark – the lady in question is accused of engaging in a campaign of sustained abuse and harassment against multiple individuals over a period of at least six months.
ThreePurpleSectors (@)
30th April 2022, 1:29
@juan-fanger, yes they were bad worthy to brining to McL attention. No one has been fired yet so don’t jump to conclusions. Anything else you’d like to know before more whataboutism and false equivalences?
Jack (@jackisthestig)
30th April 2022, 14:34
@threepurplesectors Whataboutism? I think it’s entirely fair to question the hypocrisy of a team investigating (and citing their comments as at odds with the team’s culture before the investigation has been conducted) an employee for using the sort of language that is littered through Drive to Survive and seemingly every time you hear a driver speak on team radio.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
30th April 2022, 3:17
Ric isn’t solely to blame for the clash. It takes 2 to tango. 75%-25% split.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
30th April 2022, 10:44
But it is! McLaren has no business fighting Ferrari or RBR, so he destroyed not only his race, but altered the WCC fight a little bit too… to say the least.
Aucra (@craigs)
30th April 2022, 12:10
I’m mostly disinclined to treat this comment with any respect, but can’t help myself.
McLaren and its drivers have every business to be fighting anyone on the grid, as does every other team, especially on the first lap, and especially when DR had every right to go for the corner, even if the clash was predominantly due to him, although in my opinion agree it was a racing incident.
The only time a team shouldn’t fight is something like Ocon/Verstappen in Brazil a few years ago. That was dumb. Teams may choose not to fight for strategy reasons, but to suggest that a team should ‘know its place’ is naive and wrong. Otherwise everything would be processional, and it wouldn’t be a competition.
pastaman
30th April 2022, 17:46
How was this Sainz’s fault in any way? He left plenty of room through the corner
Nitzo (@webtel)
30th April 2022, 5:26
Just a random thought that has been discussed earlier…did the onset of the Netflix series Drive To Survive coincide with Daniel’s fall in form and performance ? When going out to the track, is he conscious of the fact that he is now part/the hero of a drama that millions will watch on screen? He is the face of the series and would be a shame [if it isn’t already] if he continues to struggle.
When this season began, i wondered if Mclaren will replace Daniel with Herta come 2024, but he’s got to break into the top 8 more frequently to retain his seat even for next year !! Mclaren terminating his contract would be a shock although not impossible.
Nobody wants DTS to become a series documenting the downfall of a driver !
ThreePurpleSectors (@)
30th April 2022, 6:16
@webtel, DR downfall began at the tail end of his RB career with Max. He was competitive and had his moments but he wasn’t destroying Max. At that time his stock was super high, the media loved him because he was always good for a laugh and an interview. He made their jobs easier. He was the happy go lucky chap always smiling. This trait has always made him sus to me. That personality has never matched up with any serious top tier competetive athlete. No question he is an F1 caliber driver. No question Red Bull were not treating him fair but that was also the best place for him to be. Once he left, I knew he was going to turn into a journeyman. The newey chassis really flattered him and he had great marketing the smiling, shoey, send it etc. But once he left RB, he was done. People are gentle with him because he is so likeable. Performance wise he’s been mediocre for sometime. Especially at Renault.
Andrey Baydin (@minilemm)
30th April 2022, 8:29
Idk how you assessed him being mediocre at Renault, didn’t he win intra team battles against Sainz and Hulkenberg before leaving? Took him a but to adjust to the new brakes, but his stocks were still pretty high in Renault as far as I understand.
ThreePurpleSectors (@)
30th April 2022, 9:03
@minilemm, you mention Sainz and Hulkenberg. Two drivers that have failed to deliver yet people rave about them. Hulk couldn’t get a podium to save his career and Sainz is another driver RB dropped in favor of Max. He is in his 8th season and and yet to win a race. I’m sure he will eventually this year given how strong the Ferrari is but he is already being dropped in the title fight. Its not really a feather in DR cap to have beaten those two drivers.
anon
30th April 2022, 12:05
@threepurplesectors Sainz wasn’t dropped from Red Bull’s driver programme – Red Bull themselves have confirmed that Sainz chose to leave them because he wanted more control over his career and to follow up on better offers he was receiving from other teams.
Jere (@jerejj)
30th April 2022, 7:59
@webtel Not really & zero correlation anyway.
@threepurplesectors Indeed.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
1st May 2022, 9:57
@webtel It started at the same time as Drive To Survive began recording, and he would have been the first driver to get a “special emphasis” episode recorded. However, I don’t think DtS (directly or indirectly) is the cause of Daniel’s troubles, else he’d have stopped working with them (like Max has). Besides, the hero of the series pretty quickly moved to Guenther Steiner and whoever is driving for Haas at the time of a given series’ recording.
Nitzo (@webtel)
2nd May 2022, 6:29
@threepurplesectors @jerejj @alianora-la-canta
Thanks for clearing that up.
@threepurplesectors I wouldn’t be so sure of your last statement–DR being mediocre at Renault. In his second season, he sort of out-drove a mediocre car. The results were mediocre from a championship standpoint and from a driver v driver standpoint as beating Carlos or Nico H isn’t that big a feat; i will agree with that.
Diez Cilindros (@diezcilindros)
30th April 2022, 7:44
Maybe this is not the right place, but… does anyone know if the prediction championship is working? There is no feedback from the website, nor standings page, at least I cannot see them, so I am not sure if I am doing it fine or not.
He Man
30th April 2022, 7:45
Nah, Sainz left plenty of room on the inside. It was Riccardo who lost control – 100% his fault. Can’t blame Sainz for being on the race track.
Mooa42
2nd May 2022, 1:09
It’s interesting to slow down the drone footage of the incident from the F1 website and watch how their team mates dealt with the same corner. Norris more aggressive on the brakes and took the inside line and Charles backed out and followed him through.
It looks like Ricciardo could have been more a lot more aggressive on the brakes and the corner would have been his.
Jere (@jerejj)
30th April 2022, 7:53
DTS-style series for IndyCar? What’s next, a WRC equivalent?
Abusive comments & remarks on Twitter & possibly by a team employee, no one should sink this low.
A nice IndyCar livery.
Fred Vasseur is spot-on.
The late shift from 795 to 798 was already penalizing since they were the only ones to get that right.
I fully share COTD’s view.
Qeki (@qeki)
30th April 2022, 8:42
@jerejj I would totally watch WRC DTS. Becs Williams: “Here we have the latest winner and our new toptier driver tell me how you did it.
“With Black round Pirelli”
Red Andy (@red-andy)
30th April 2022, 8:55
Any kind of coverage for WRC would be a bonus at this stage.
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
1st May 2022, 2:44
At least WRC still have their dignity.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
30th April 2022, 8:56
Yeah totally agree with COTD @geemac There are plenty of great drivers who clawed away and never got to be in the right place at the right time, and I guess every driver knows there is always a risk of that in their career. Gasly has certainly shown he is capable, but being capable doesn’t give you a free pass to the fastest car. He got a very fast one and drowned in it, then got a slower one and won in it. Most drivers never get to live either experience.
Ruben
30th April 2022, 9:57
Sorry to bang on about this/bringing it up, but for illustration matters: if this was Verstappen’s article the headline probably would’ve been “I hated every second of the apology”.
Having said that: have fun arguing whether the Verstappen of 2022 would’ve a) made that move at that moment under those circumstances and b) if he would’ve apologised in the first place ☺️
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
1st May 2022, 9:59
He wouldn’t have apologised. The accident would have been possible as there was a lot going on at the time (the error was understandable but still quite clear).
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
1st May 2022, 10:01
(By “possible”, I mean “it could have happened but it would not have been a skill deficit or overambition had it happened, but processing the wrong piece of a very complicated scene the wrong way – which can happen to anybody).
MG1982 (@mg1982)
30th April 2022, 10:42
Overall it’s good that he acknowledged it was his fault, he saved his face by apologizing… but that won’t help SAI or Ferrari. I think these ”non-championships battle” teams should be a lot more careful when around these cars battling for the champs. Plus, they will be consecvent in following one of the unwritten rules of modern F1: “if the car behind is much faster, let it pass ’cause it’s not our fight!”
Aucra (@craigs)
30th April 2022, 12:16
As per my response above, this is a bad take. It doesn’t matter if your team is not likely to win the championship. That’s macro level thinking. At the micro level, if you’re in a race, next to someone and you’re both going for a corner, then you have every right to attack or defend as you see fit (not in a lapping/unlapping situation).
How good a driver would anyone from any team be if they saw a car from another team and think “Oh no, I should back out in case I harm their chances”? Not only does that not make any sense, paying deference, and being an effective subordinate to an opposition team, but it also then makes them easy prey for other following drivers who will see the backing off and pounce.
Whilst DR was possibly predominantly to blame, Sainz was also the author of his own misfortune by being slow off the line. If he’d done his job properly, in a car you obviously believe is superior, then DR wouldn’t have been near him.
Carbonized
30th April 2022, 12:58
I would add, That, considering where Mc Laren was three races ago and where they are today, who is to say they won’t be championship material by mid season?
Mr Squiggle
30th April 2022, 14:28
I’m also a little concerned by the way RIC defaulted straight to the Í’m to blame, I will apologise’ mind set
Lets remember, the stewards actually called it a racing incident. There was no penalty against either driver
For my money, Carlos should have left more room. Daniel’s slide off the kerb was not very far, it was very wet and Carlos had room to his outside for much of the corner.
the aftermath of this incident tells us the mindset of each driver, and I’m not sure its a good look for either driver long term
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
1st May 2022, 10:04
@mg1982 On lap 1, being more careful can increase the chance of an accident. I also don’t think the championship situation should affect how one considers moves that lead to proximity; barring team-mates (who should have more information than is usual about how close they can get under certain circumstances) and cars that are much faster/slower at that specific moment (unlikely on to be encountered lap 1 unless someone’s car is damaged or one is starting well out of position on the grid), the correct way to race around a backmarker is the same as the championship leader. The general idea is not to hit anyone, and Daniel’s move would have backfired just as badly on a Williams or Aston Martin fighting for a distant dream of a single point as it is for a Ferrari or Red Bull fighting for a championship.
frood19 (@frood19)
30th April 2022, 15:41
I kind of expected a mention of Roland Ratzenberger today. Obviously I realise it’s not news, as such, but it’s a day to remember (for terrible reason) for followers of the sport. I always feel uncomfortable when people remember Senna (as I’m certain we all will tomorrow) without speaking of Ratzenberger too.
MacLeod (@macleod)
2nd May 2022, 8:34
+1 It was an terrible weekend with Barrichello getting hurt earlier in the pratices. The death of Roland Ratzenberger was the first and when we still were processing that Senna hapens very sad indeed.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
30th April 2022, 21:42
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6o-aCZSyi8 @frood19
Silly as it is, I used to have a toy of Roland Rat and Kevin the Gerbill when I was a kid. *I wasn’t quite born when this video was made so I don’t know where they came from.
Ayrton obviously has more ‘gravitas’, but I like to think Roland is remembered as an equal, certainly to those who care about the sport and those that compete in it.
frood19 (@frood19)
1st May 2022, 10:19
@bernasaurus yes, I like to think he would be viewed the same as Senna – in many ways their lives were very similar and in death they are equals. TV in 1985 eh? It’s changed about as much as F1!
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
1st May 2022, 10:22
The problem for Pierre is not so much if he could be good enough for a top team, but which top team he would be in a position to race for. We saw that Red Bull’s approach and his are incompatible, so trying again there would be a bad idea (I suspect the powers-that-be at Red Bull know this). Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes have already found their hot shots for this generation. It’s hard to envisage any other team being significantly better than AlphaTauri before the next set of major rule changes in 2026, and it’s way too early to be setting one’s stall for a 2026 “hot-shot spot”.
Tough as it is, I think Pierre’s best chance of joining the top table is to stay put and make the most of being AlphaTauri’s undisputed lead driver.