In the round-up: Sergio Perez is confident his Red Bull seat is not at threat despite his ongoing slump in form.
In brief
Perez “not worried” about being dropped by Red Bull
Perez qualified 15th for last weekend’s British Grand Prix, marking a fifth successive failure to reach Q3, during which time team mate Max Verstappen has claimed five poles in a row. He recovered to finish sixth, while Verstappen took his eighth win of the season, but Perez said he wasn’t bothered by rumours over his future at the team.
“I couldn’t care less if I’m honest,” he told media including RaceFans on Sunday. “Being in Formula 1 13 years, I’ve seen it all, but I’m not worried about any of that. I’m mainly focussed on getting my season on-track and making sure I keep enjoying this.”
Perez insisted he has “full support” from team principal Christian Horner and Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko. “The whole team is fully backing me and they know what I can do, they know my potential and they’re fully behind me.”
Marko put public pressure on Nyck de Vries before sacking him from Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri yesterday, and replacing him with Red Bull’s reserve driver Daniel Ricciardo who received the news while testing for the team.
Pirelli’s prototype 2024 tyres get more testing
Several Formula 1 teams were in action at Silverstone on Tuesday for the first part of a two-day test evaluating tyres from Pirelli that are designed to be used without needing tyre blankets. A vote will take place this month on whether F1 should ban the use of blankets for 2024, and there have already been several tests of the rubber this year.In addition to Red Bull’s Ricciardo, who went fastest with a 1’27.415 and completed 109 laps, Haas duo Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen were present – with the former driving in the morning and the latter doing the afternoon work – as well as Williams’ Alex Albon. Pietro Fittipaldi will drive for Haas on Wednesday, and Logan Sargeant will be in at Williams.
Retired four-times F1 champion Sebastian Vettel also appeared at the test, and was spotted in the garage of his former team Red Bull, ahead of his appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend.
Andretti calls Alonso “the complete driver”
Andretti Autosport boss Michael Andretti has called Aston Martin F1 driver Fernando Alonso “the complete driver”.
“He’s not only fast, but he’s very smart. He approaches things from a 50,000-foot level. I know when he drove for us at Indianapolis, I was very impressed with him,” said Andretti.
“He already felt confident in driving the car and the [engineering the] car part. But he was looking at all the other things that could catch you out, like how do you do the restart? What do you do on pit stops? All those little, little details he was really on top of. And I was really impressed with that. In terms of a driver, I think he’s as complete a driver as you could ever ask for.”
Andretti is convinced the 41-year-old is capable of winning the third title he has been seeking since 2007. “I think if he was in the right car he can,” said Andretti. “The age doesn’t mean a whole lot. It’s all still here, like how much you really want it in your heart. And you can see that for Fernando he’s still young at heart, I think he still has a few really good years of being competitive.”
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Toronto closing in on IndyCar contract extension (Racer)
'Green Savoree Race Promotions, which operates four of the 17 IndyCar races, is close to formalising a new agreement that will keep its marquee Toronto street race on the calendar. This week’s Honda Indy Toronto is the final race under GSRP’s current contract with Penske Entertainment, but the event president says fans can look forward to making more visits to the track.'
Martins hopes he’s ‘opened the box’ with maiden F2 win (Formula Scout)
'Victor Martins’ hard work and analysis finally paid off when the ART Grand Prix driver claimed his maiden Formula 2 win in the feature race at Silverstone.'
Howard Hughes Parkway extension near Strip could be dicey situation (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
'Although it would be a relatively short extension, it would open up a new access point for multiple points of interest that are in varying stages of development. F1's paddock building, the MSG Sphere and the Oakland Athletics’ planned 30,000-seat ballpark at the Tropicana would all be in the vicinity of various stretches of Howard Hughes Parkway.'
The best in the world; Thank you to UK motorsport’s volunteer community (Motorsport UK)
'We are incredibly proud to extend our thanks and gratitude to our volunteer community for their commitment and dedication in delivering the 2023 British Grand Prix. The volunteer community in British motorsport sets the benchmark on the F1 calendar. Highly regarded internationally, every member of the 960 strong team this year epitomised the highest standards expected in support of the world’s best drivers.'
'Neon has acquired distribution rights to Ferrari, the Michael Mann-directed epic film starring Adam Driver and Penélope Cruz. It will get a Christmas Day 2023 theatrical release. The movie is expected to make its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. It is one of the most eagerly awaited films of the movie-awards season, and Neon will be a strong driver for the picture.'
Planned $89 million renovation 'a complete reimagination' of IMS Museum experience (IndyStar)
'For the first time in four decades, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, the home of the Racing Capital of the World’s 114 years of history, will close its doors for nearly 18 months as it undergoes an $89 million transformational renovation. When it reopens in April 2025, visitors will be greeted with a brand-new elevated mezzanine space overlooking its gallery of winning cars and experience a brand-new STEM learning centre featuring a racing simulator and tools equipped to put fans through a pitstop competition.'
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
There's a new driver line-up at @alphataurif1 from the #HungarianGP…#F1 pic.twitter.com/1JbftVrJeN
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) July 11, 2023
A couple of hours of running already in the bag for Nico as we analyze some of the 2024 @pirellisport tires at Silverstone.#HaasF1 pic.twitter.com/Myf51Bg2px
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) July 11, 2023
Back for more 💪@alex_albon returns to the FW45 today as we conduct our @pirellisport tyre test! 🙌#WeAreWilliams pic.twitter.com/VD4cOWmfsV
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) July 11, 2023
The look on Daniel's face… 😃 #F1 pic.twitter.com/Bo2C6hoJlq
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) July 11, 2023
Nice to see @alex_albon keeping it real 🚌 #F1 pic.twitter.com/kW94eazYh8
— Claire Cottingham (@Cla_Cottingham) July 11, 2023
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
The sacking of Nyck de Vries and hiring of Ricciardo at AlphaTauri was yesterday’s big story, and there was plenty of reaction to the news that de Vries’ time in F1 had come to an end after just 11 races.
Understandable, I think this was the worst rookie debut in years. It just wasn’t going anywhere but downwards.
I’m sure there will be plenty of “oh Red Bull is so unfair” posts coming, but I don’t think that’s true. This is F1, you either perform or you’re out. Nyck did a two-out-of-ten job at the best of times, even with the most orange-tinted glasses I don’t see how you could justify him keeping that seat in hope of getting better. Why not change to Ricciardo and prepare him optimally for a Perez replacement next year? Makes perfect sense for the team.
SjaakFoo
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Abishek, Sohan and Speeder_76!
On this day in motorsport
- 25 years ago today Michael Schumacher won the British Grand Prix for Ferrari despite serving a drive-through penalty on the final lap
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
12th July 2023, 0:36
True, he’s seen it all, he had never been at a top team, now he got a chance, and on his day he can be close to verstappen, but doesn’t seem to be able to handle the championship presssure, was doing well before and now he’s doing relaltively worse than he was in midfield cars.
Nick T.
13th July 2023, 13:06
Of course he cares, but this is the right answer. I agree he might be over it in terms of talking about it with the press, but he cares. Anyone would.
Marty
13th July 2023, 21:00
Perez drove for Mc Laren in 2013. I would still consider that a top team in 2013.
David BR (@david-br)
12th July 2023, 2:04
Sounds reasonable until you remember he’s in one of the finest Formula 1 cars ever built and should be competing for the championship, not getting his season on-track after failing to qualify in the top 10, 5 race weekends in a row, in easily the fastest car.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
12th July 2023, 2:31
I think the pressure got to him, can’t forget he was almost as fast as verstappen early season, as soon as he started thinking about the championship he’s no longer driving as well as he should, which makes me think it’s a psychological problem. IMO if he decides he’s ok getting the odd win when something happens to verstappen and lots of 2nd places he’d qualify a lot better.
David BR (@david-br)
12th July 2023, 4:19
@esploratore1 I’m sure you’re right about the psychological pressure, especially in terms of qualifying mistakes and miscalculations. The car at the start of the season was supposedly ‘neutral’ in terms of catering for the different driving styles of Verstappen and Pérez, and Verstappen took a few races until he got the car more how he likes it. That maybe explains some of the initial parity. Also doesn’t help that Verstappen has matured, is much more cautious, can conserve the tyres as well as (maybe better than) Pérez and also, like Schumacher, has no qualms in being a relentless point scoring machine set on obliterating his rivals and enjoying it.
mooa42
12th July 2023, 2:36
It might have been exaggerated because of traffic, but if you look at the lap times from Silverstone, Max and the 2 Mclarens had faster lap times than Perez for the whole race and they achieved it largely without DRS.
Mayrton
15th July 2023, 7:44
I guess he is well aware he shouldn’t be around at all anymore and lucked into the Ricciardo leaving situation. Otherwise he would by now be long forgotten. So all is extra and he has got nothing to lose. As to his performance, this is absolutely to be expected since all teams said farewell to him before.
Mooa42
12th July 2023, 2:32
I feel like they waited to see if Dan’s times on track aligned with what they saw in the sim. As soon as they were happy with Dan’s times they made the announcement.
I wonder if Danny had any forewarning that this might happen or if they just dropped it on him, (Alpine style)? He might still want his year off and not want to go to the ultimate back marker team?
To continue the conspiracy theories, maybe Alpha Tauri need someone to beat Tsunoda so they can justify letting him go at the end of the season too?
I am excited to see how this all plays out!
notagrumpyfan
12th July 2023, 7:04
I don’t think he’s going to a backpacker team, but rather testing for a front running team who’s second driver “doesn’t care less”.
Andy (@andyfromsandy)
12th July 2023, 16:28
How that is going to relate to the terrible AT04 remains to be seen. If the car is similar to the McLaren will he be able to get to grips with it? Yuki is unable to get much out of it at present.
Perez must believe he is fire proof to make comments publicly like he has.
Jere (@jerejj)
12th July 2023, 5:58
I quickly recognized the Racefans tweet image from a video filmed before the Miami GP weekend in which they race boats & Daniel eventually drags Yuki into the water with him.
That image featuring Seb & Danny would be a good choice for a Caption Competition post.
I wonder if anyone easily or at all recognized Alex after that livery presentation.
I wholly share the COTD’s view.
Simon
12th July 2023, 15:06
“I wonder if anyone easily or at all recognized Alex after that livery presentation”. I did 🙄
“I wholly share the COTD’s view”. Well of course, wouldn’t expect anything else 😐
SjaakFoo (@sjaakfoo)
12th July 2023, 6:37
It’s hard to believe he “couldn’t care less” when he’s croaked under pressure so consistently for the past two months honestly. That doesn’t look to me as someone that’s complete unfazed by the pressure put on him.
Todfod (@todfod)
12th July 2023, 7:15
@sjaakfoo
It’s funny…. there have been a few drivers to use the exact same words as Perez regarding his Red Bull seat. Those drivers are –
1) Felipe Massa – Ferrari (2013)
2) Valterri Bottas – Mercedes (2021)
3) Kimi Raikonnen – Ferrari (2018)
Perez already knows he’s done with.. I think we’ll see him drive with nothing to lose for the remainder of the season. Which means that he’ll be crashing in qualifying a whole lot more often.
Pete
12th July 2023, 10:29
I can’t work it out with Perez…. I’m not convinced it’s a case of the pressure getting to him, personally. I think now that he’s out of contention for the Championship, he’s just taken his eye off the ball. It only takes a slight reduction in motivation or focus to have a huge effect on performance.
When you drive for a midfield team, every point is important and that keeps you focussed and gives you something to aim for. Now he’s driving for a team where he’s not really needed…. Max seems to have the drivers and constructors title covered and he doesn’t need Checo’s help in terms of strategy.
Either way, the pressure on him has suddenly been ramped up a lot. He’s fighting for his F1 career now so we’ll see how it affects his performances going forward. Does he suddenly look back on the pace or does he fall apart even more than he already has? It’ll be interesting to follow over the next few races.
David
12th July 2023, 18:06
i hope he crashes into verstappen. verstappen, while good, is a dink on track, which is part of why he is good. plus it’d be good entertainment for us peasants
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
12th July 2023, 7:30
I think when it comes to Sergio, I often remind myself that for a very long time in F1 there was an argument that ‘the driver doesn’t make enough of a difference, it’s all car, car, car. No driver could win a WC without the best car’.
I struggle to envisage 2023 Max failing to get the end of qualifying five times in a row. After the first couple of laps Sergio and Max are seldom on the same bit of race track. In that sense it’s a slightly different type of dominance to what Michael, Lewis or Seb enjoyed.
MichaelN
12th July 2023, 8:34
That argument is mostly the other way around though, the car is the ceiling not the floor.
It’s impossible for Verstappen to win in this year’s Sauber, but it’s apparently quite easy for Pérez to go out in Q2 in this year’s Red Bull.
SteveP
12th July 2023, 19:38
Lauda repeatedly said it was the whole package, including the nut behind the wheel.
I’d guarantee Max would be nowhere in the Alpha Tauri, better than Tsunoda, but still nowhere.
f12007v (@f1fan-2000)
12th July 2023, 8:45
Yeah perez remind us that “anyone can win in that car” is a myth
SteveP
12th July 2023, 19:34
Ah, but Perez is not Verstappens granny.
Like when a supplier tells us an application is impossible to break – we just let the director test it. Her depth of “talent” cannot be plumbed.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
12th July 2023, 8:53
I suspect the Red Bull decision was all quite sudden. As soon as they saw Daniel was doing pretty well in a real car the decision was made.
Come to think of it, Daniel’s potential story of losing a drive in a top F1 team through bad decisions and misjudgements, being offered a chance of redemption and eventually getting back to where he started (in 2024?), might make a good plot for a film??
S
12th July 2023, 8:57
Please don’t. Just pass it, introduce the new tyres and ban tyre warmers forever.
The teams don’t want the challenge – they want their existing data to still be useful.
MichaelN
12th July 2023, 17:21
Pirelli says the tyres perform the same halfway through the lap anyway with their new compounds. It’s a total non-issue, just like it is in every other series. Drivers who claim it’s a problem are either not paying attention to that second part (new compounds), or intentionally obfuscating the issue. The new compounds won’t be made to only work within a very narrow temperature window, so they’ll actually be an improvement over the current “divas” – to borrow Mercedes’ term.
Facts&Stats
12th July 2023, 11:16
Interestingly in (race) qualifying Perez performed worse versus Verstappen, than De Vries against Tsunoda.
The median (not mean) difference is:
– De Vries slower than Tsunoda by 0.3-0.4%;
– Perez slower than Verstappen by 0.6-0.8%.
And I’m sure there will be others where the gap is bigger than between De Vries and his teammate.
Coventry Climax
12th July 2023, 17:24
It would be nice if you would explain how you got to these ‘facts and stats’ and where your data came from.
Can’t even check your claim about ‘median, not mean’, which makes it rather pointless.
Facts&Stats
12th July 2023, 22:52
Not sure what’s unclear, but I’ll try anyway:
– I took all quali results from the last session (Q1,Q2,Q3) both teammates participated in.
– I calculated the difference in quali time as percentage of the total lap time.
– I ranked these percentage differences and took the middle (median) ones (rather than the’ average’). This makes sure that extreme results don’t skew the result.
Note: as there were 10 sessions I presented the ranked 5th and 6th results.
Nick T.
13th July 2023, 13:13
That’s actually a pretty interest stat based on that method.
Alefosi
12th July 2023, 12:06
Checo will bounce back i am sure of it, guys got pedigree and fighting spirit… he let the championship get the better of him. No way RIC is gonna’ replace him.
Remember he was punching above the weight of Force India / Racing Point / Sauber at the time.
And lest we not forget season 2021 / 2022.
Don’t write him off so soon…