In the round-up: Nico Hulkenberg was bemused after Fernando Alonso spun out of the Spa sprint race
In brief
Alonso’s spin was “karma” after he ‘pushed me off’ – Hulkenberg
Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg says that Fernando Alonso’s retirement from the sprint race was “karma” after the Aston Martin driver defended aggressively on his way out of the pits.
Hulkenberg started last on the grid and pitted for intermediates at the start. After Alonso rejoined the track from the pits, he appeared to squeeze the Haas on the left side of the track, earning a warning from the stewards. Alonso later spun out of the race at Pouhon.
“He pushed me off pretty aggressively in turn two and I think karma hit back out at him,” Hulkenberg said.
“[It was] difficult from last. I was one of the guys stopping right on lap one when it was possible. Picked up a few places but then was stuck in 15th, but also didn’t really have pace to come through. Weekend continues to be difficult. Pretty, pretty bad.”
Verschoor disqualified for throttle map
Richard Verschoor lost second place in the Formula 2 sprint race at Spa-Francorchamps after he was disqualified. The stewards ruled the Van Amersfoort driver used a throttle map at the race start which did not comply with the technical regulations.
Theo Pourchaire therefore moves up to second and Dennis Hauger claims the final podium position. Victor Martins, Jack Doohan, Frederik Vesti and Ayumu Iwasa moved up in the points places and Ralph Boschung inherited eighth place and the final point.
Penalty deals points blow to O’Sullivan
Zak O’Sullivan was given a five-second time penalty after the Formula 2 sprint race in Belgium which dropped him from fourth place to 15th. Instead of trimming seven points from Gabriele Bortoleto’s championship lead, the Williams junior remains 43 adrift.
The stewards ruled O’Sullivan left the track through Eau Rouge and Raidillon and “gained a lasting advantage” when he overtook Hugh Barter. The effect of the penalty was amplified because the race finished under Safety Car conditions.
Marti escapes penalty due to marshal
Josep Maria Marti was not penalised for causing a collision when he rejoined the track at Pouhon and collided with Ido Cohen. Marti drove back onto the track following a collision with Gabriele Mini.
After studying footage of the incident the stewards noted Marti followed the instructions of a marshal who “waved his arm to signal the driver to move/re-join the track” before the collision.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
'Telegraph Sport understands that Robert Darbelnet, the former president and chief executive of the powerful American Automobile Association (AAA), resigned his position earlier this month. It is unclear exactly what prompted his departure but it is believed the committee was divided over whether to investigate allegations made against Emirati president Ben Sulayem. In the end it did not do so, despite an official request from one member federation to look into them.'
''I don’t understand the people that are saying it’s bad. It’s just that the others have to wake up or be more talented. When you look at the 100 metres when Usain Bolt was winning everything it was something that was fantastic for the sport. Everybody was witnessing greatness. It’s kind of easier to see in this sport because you see the muscles, you see the face (and) you see the guy sweating.''
Martin Brundle slams Belgian GP stewards for Lewis Hamilton penalty in Sergio Perez clash (Mirror)
''I thought it was a racing incident and thought the penalty was harsh. I'll stand by that, having now watched and analysed it again. Lewis had claimed the corner, there was an error before the corner by Perez and he was on the inside. Yes, the car understeered a bit, but what is racing? If that's not racing and a racing incident then I don't know.''
Dr. Helmut Marko: Erster Motor bald auf dem Prüfstand (Speed Week)
''In the next few weeks, the first complete power unit will be tested on the dynamometer, which includes the internal combustion engine, MGU-K, and battery.''
It’s a New Day for Formula 1 (New York Times)
'His reference to franchises arises from Liberty Media’s shifting toward that model, which is common in U.S. sports, but less familiar in Europe. Under the franchise model, teams would have their values protected, unlike the current system in which they are diluted when Formula 1 adds teams. A franchise model would enhance the value of the existing 10 teams, protecting their exclusive licenses by charging new teams a higher anti-dilution fee of several million dollars, which would be distributed to the current teams.'
The RACER Guest Mailbag with IndyCar president Jay Frye (Racer)
''We are evaluating the camera. Also remember, over the past two years, INDYCAR has had the fastest pole, front row and field in Indy 500 history. Finally, progress is being made on the video game — more to come.''
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 to us via the contact form.
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
P3 in the Sprint Race!!💪🏼
So happy for my team, and it tastes even more special to do it here in Spa for Anthoine. Thanks for all the support, it hasn’t been the easiest start of the season but we keep trying & fighting every single time. pic.twitter.com/Jg59Pjbi6A— PIERRE GASLY 🇫🇷 (@PierreGASLY) July 29, 2023
Strange goings-on at @AlpineF1Team. Not even during some of Flavio Briatore's excesses at Enstone have we seen decisions as seemingly daft as getting rid of @OtmarSzafnauer and Alan Permane, two of #F1's experienced really good guys.
— Maurice Hamilton (@MauriceHamilton) July 29, 2023
F1’s greed in pushing the schedule later and later – presumably to increase the window for sales of merchandise and food and drink so they can charge promoters more – means the sprint in Belgium will start at a ludicrous 5.05pm after delayed qualifying.
— Jonathan McEvoy (@JonathanMcEvoy7) July 29, 2023
There's a trademark mild groan that regularly spreads around F1 venues at the end of qualifying sessions this year, when we're about to have a surprise polesitter and then Verstappen beats them all on the final lap… :) #BelgianGP
— Sean Kelly (@virtualstatman) July 29, 2023
🤬 'I TRIED TO DO THE RIGHT THING FOR THE TEAM!'@NickCassidy_ was not happy following an incident with teammate Sébastien Buemi.@Hankook_Sport #LondonEPrix pic.twitter.com/bevcwnP8yA
— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) July 29, 2023
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
After the Formula E world championship was won by Jake Dennis in large part due to a collision between Envision drivers Nick Cassidy and Sebastien Buemi, @f1hornet is left baffled by the Envision tactics…
The management from Envision and the driving from Buemi was some of the dumbest I’ve ever seen. Why the team didn’t tell him to get out the way, and why Buemi was defending so hard against his teammate fighting for a championship, I have no idea. It’s dumb to take out your teammate any time, but in these circumstances doubly so.
Martin
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Cyanide, George Tunnicliffe, Nick Kyriakakos and Pier-Antoine Giguere!
On this day in motorsport
- On this day in 1978 Mario Andretti won at the Hockenheimreing while Nelson Piquet made his F1 debut
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t3x
30th July 2023, 2:56
Brundle is acting very strange, Lewis lost control of his car for a split second and slid into Perez breaking his sidepod causing him to retire. Brundle says it’s all ok… what a strange comment.
Yellow Baron
30th July 2023, 13:27
Perez with less momentum acted as if he was taking the corner first, left Lewis tight on the entry which pushed him on to the kerb causing the understeer. Not Perez fault but racing incident. Perez turned in just after gasly did who was further ahead and on the optimal line. Had Lewis managed to stay off the kerb there would have been no contact. It’s just one of those situations again where the defending car put everything on the line to keep a position that was slipping from it and again lost out due to contact.
Jere (@jerejj)
30th July 2023, 5:37
Unfortunately, that incident never got shown on the world feed (& neither did Tsunoda’s error at the final corners when the sprint was about to restart), but karma is perhaps a slight exaggeration.
Brundle couldn’t be more right.
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
30th July 2023, 8:56
Neither did the 1st corner of the sprint race. I can never once remember a race were T1 of the 1st racing lap was not broadcast.
asz
30th July 2023, 10:43
Yeah, after the start the broadcast director completely forgot about the fact that there is a race going on, and not just in the pits but out on the track as well.
That was some way below even Monaco standards.
Diez Cilindros (@diezcilindros)
30th July 2023, 7:30
Six years later Palmer got his revenge…
SpaFrancorchamps (@spafrancorchamps)
30th July 2023, 8:56
It’s a yoke.
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
30th July 2023, 8:57
Usain Bolt had a likeable personality that transcended rivalries or nationalism.
Yellow Baron
30th July 2023, 13:30
Usain bolt also isn’t a car or an F1 team if I’m not mistaken. Or a super running shoe. I don’t think people would be complaining as much, if there was more regular competition even through the dominance like there was during the mercedes era
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
30th July 2023, 9:09
Shame the sprint race didn’t just start at its scheduled time, then it would have finished before the rain and all this would have been a non argument again.
PT (@pt)
30th July 2023, 9:42
Fireworks between Cassidy and Buemi! That team radio video makes me want to watch Formula E again.
MichaelN
30th July 2023, 11:46
So the Telegraph Sport claims to “understand” the reasons for some resignation from a committee is due to the request of one (!) Member Organization not being followed up. Mind you, the FIA has over 240 such members. And this is the same Telegraph Sport that printed tons of articles about the supposed “bad deeds” of the FIA president earlier this year. And by total coincidence, that is what they “understand” is the reason for this one member, from one committee, deciding to do something else with his time. Never mind that Robert Darbelnet has already resigned from much of his positions in the early 2010s, and is probably just retiring.
Maurice Hamilton’s claim that Alpine’s decision is “daft” is a bit odd. Szafnauer was perhaps a bit early in his stint at the team, but Permane has been there for ages. Hamilton (not that one) may claim they’re “really good guys”, but there are no “really good results” to match that. And that’s what it’s ultimately all about.
As for the COTD; not the best weeks of racing for Buemi after the shenanigans at Monza in the WEC earlier.
Yellow Baron
30th July 2023, 13:39
Not to mention previous reporting.. skewing figures to create a false narrative. Journalism is frought with slimy figures that will happily distort reality in subtle ways to gain the upper hand. It’s a shame the majority of people allow it but it works because once an idea is set it becomes regular and spreads through the echo chambers. The media is a weapon used with absolute lack of responsibility, perhaps because they don’t comprehend the unavoidable reality of absolute retribution.