In the round-up: McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says his driver Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz Jnr can both learn from the collision which ruined their races in Spa.
In brief
The stewards did not investigate the first corner collision which left Piastri and Sainz with race-ending damage. “We trust their operations, we trust their judgement,” said Stella in response to a question from RaceFans. “It doesn’t change the outcome. Carlos got his damage as well, he needed to retire, so there’s a bit of learning for everyone and we move on.
Piastri retired because the collision left him with broken steering. “There was no way to continue,” Stella confirmed.
“I briefly took a look with Oscar at the incident and it looks like, to be honest, Carlos kind of either he didn’t know that Oscar was there, or because he needed to avoid the car ahead just drove onto Oscar and there was a wall delimiting the space available, so a big shame.”
Williams’ speed vexes rivals
Williams failed to score at Spa but the straight-line speed of their FW45 drew jealous remarks from rivals. “I’m going to probably have nightmares of that Williams rear wing because these guys, it seems like a different category in the straights,” said Pierre Gasly, who put a superb pass on Alexander Albon in the middle of the lap.Zhou Guanyu scrapped with the other Williams. “I tried to get past Sargeant,” he said. “The Williams, they’re so quick on the straight. At old Monza they would be winning.”
Pourchaire staying humble after regaining lead
Theo Pourchaire moved 12 points clear at the top of the Formula 2 championship after a double podium weekend in Belgium. Former leader Frederik Vesti failed to start the feature race after crashing on the reconnaissance lap.
But with six races left, Pourchaire is aware “we have to be consistent” to stand a chance of delivering the title. “I try to stay humble, I try to stay focused on myself, you never know what can happen,” he said.
“I need to take it race after race, push, and the championship, that’s for sure a dream. That’s my goal. But we never know what can happen. So I’m just focused on race after race and doing my best.”
Goethe and Gray get grid penalties
Oliver Goethe has been given a 10-place grid penalty for the next race he competes in, after his Trident team personnel remained on the grid after the 15-second signal before the start of yesterday’s feature race. He was initially given a 10-second stop-and-go penalty, but because that was converted to a grid drop after he retired from the race.
Oliver Gray was given a five-place grid penalty for the next race he competes in after causing a collision with Hugh Barter at Spa. The Carlin driver locked up at turn 18 and hit his rival who was trying to pass him.
Race control deemed Gray “predominantly responsible” for the collision in view of the mixed conditions. Gray was initially given a 10-second time penalty which was later converted due to him not finishing the race. Two penalty points were also been added to his licence.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Brad Pitt pulls the plug on Formula 1 blockbuster in solidarity with strikes (The Sun)
'Postponing the production was a massive call, especially financially, but Brad has listened to the concerns of the people he works with and wants to show his support.'
Red Bull: Welcher Fahrer kommt, falls Sergio Perez rausfliegen sollte? (Motorsport-Total - German)
'He has now woken up from his world championship dream. Maybe that will help him to focus again on delivering the best possible performance.'
FIA joins forces with FIM in coalition against online abuse (FIA)
Mohammed Ben Sulayem: 'Sustained toxicity has reached deplorable levels and we must take collaborative action. Only through collaborative action, can we bring about behavioural and regulatory change.'
Russell: ‘Mercedes are so used to winning... it is demoralising sometimes’ (The Guardian)
'I have joked with Lewis that him staying in the sport has almost saved my career because had he left after the 2021 season people would have been pointing the finger at me for this poor performing car. Him staying on has proven otherwise.'
High degradation sees us outside the points in Spa (Williams)
Dave Robson: 'Logan’s pace and tyre management compared very well to Alex’s but he wasn’t quite able to make the same progress on track in the opening stint, which made the subsequent stints more difficult.'
Guenther Steiner: 'We know our deficit, we’re working on it and hopefully we can resolve it fast but all in all, the team did a good job. For Nico to change his car around, it was all executed very well.'
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:
The seldom-seen black flag is being waved in the #F2 race.
It's for @hauger_dennis, who was given a push-start by the marshals following a spin on the first lap.
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) July 30, 2023
WORLD @FIAFormulaE CHAMPIONS! Could not be more proud of @JakeDennis19 @AndrettiFE and @FollowAndretti !!
Also big thank you to @PorscheFormulaE for giving us a great power train! @avax #AllAndretti— Michael Andretti (@michaelandretti) July 29, 2023
We were told by FIA Safety delegates that we could continue to race. I nursed the car home after overtaking 16 cars to finish P2 today and a result is taken away unfairly. We saw cars restarting with no front wings and half broken, and they were cleared to race also. Unfair today
— Antonio Felix da Costa (@afelixdacosta) July 29, 2023
Unfortunately, due to track conditions and visibility, GB3 race three at Silverstone has been cancelled. pic.twitter.com/Xdv6n0Q6W1
— GB3 Championship (@GB3Championship) July 30, 2023
Alonso complaining about Hamilton: "On the penultimate lap, Hamilton was flashing the light. Charging, obviously, for the last lap, but I think we are only allowed to use race, no? Not 'cool' or not 'out'."
AM: "Yeah, he might have been doing it with K0, but we'll have a look."
— RaceFans Live (@racefanslive) July 30, 2023
|@schecoperez explained why Christian Horner said "you’ll talk to me now" after he qualified third on Friday.
"It was a joke. He came before qualifying and said ‘if you're not in the top three, I will not talk to you the rest of the weekend’."#F1 #BelgianGP #RaceFans pic.twitter.com/z1hXRnQvEj
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) July 30, 2023
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
Would Daniel Ricciardo be the best choice for Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen?
If there is a driver change at Red Bull, I just wish it is not back to Ricciardo. He was able to challenge Verstappen´s position within the team and for that he had to leave. I do not trust him that he would make that challenge once more. He will be glad for another opportunity and happy to pick up the pieces when Verstappen has a day off.
There is Norris, there is Leclerc, there is Russell. Each of them has showed his merit and would be eager to try to topple Verstappen. Red Bull has buffer against other teams, the regulations are stable. There will be no better time to make such change.
Mercedes has allowed that in 2014-2016, it would be popular with the viewers to have that if we have to endure years of Red Bull dominance to come.
Kotrba
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Egc and Osvaldas31!
On this day in motorsport
- 40 years ago today Mario Andretti won the CART IndyCar race at Road America
Roger Ayles (@roger-ayles)
31st July 2023, 2:12
Given how Ricciardo’s pace fell away in 2017/18 as the red bull started to develop more towards Max’s driving style i don’t see why it’s expected that he’ll be able to jump into a RBR now and match Max.
Especially given how the car has had several years of been developed largely around Max.
Same issue Perez is likely having, He just doesn’t like a car that works the way Max is able to get the pace out of it.
Was it last year they basically admitted that the car balance had been shifted towards something more to Max’s liking as it developed as they felt that gave more peak performance even though it didn’t suit Sergio’s driving style or setup preferences.
Michael Ward
31st July 2023, 6:01
F1 has to ditch this idea that you’re not “alongside” another driver unless your front wheels are alongside their front wheels.
Sure, Carlos “had the corner” in the rules, but turning in as if Piastri wasn’t there cost him his race too.
Lewis has done this to Max in the past, and again, in the rules that is ok, but in the race it ruins your race too.
Jere (@jerejj)
31st July 2023, 6:27
I agree with Stella in principle, as the collision was a racing incident per se.
Nevertheless, I still put slightly more responsibility on Sainz because he didn’t need to take nearly all space away from Piastri, as Hamilton’s positioning allowed staying more on the left.
Interesting complaining by Alonso, not to mention, how could his race engineer realistically know that Mercedes uses a K0 code term anyway?
I’ve never heard such from either race engineer, so I don’t think they do.
While the COTD is valid overall, I think Ricciardo could still provide enough challenge, & depending on how the remaining season goes, even Tsunoda might get a promotion unless Perez’s performance level drops again.
melanos
31st July 2023, 7:47
I do not quite get the point of Alonso’s complaint. Are not drivers allowed to charge whenever they see it fit? What are the limitations then, if any? And what is K0?
Honestly, I ask because of ignorance, not malice.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
31st July 2023, 8:04
Same here, I don’t understand it either.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
31st July 2023, 11:10
I also don’t know enough specifics to figure out what caught Alonso’s attention. I think he is wondering whether Hamilton was using a charging mode which isn’t allowed during the race. We see the red flashing light indicating that a car is charging quite often, but maybe he saw it in a place on track he wouldn’t expect, or maybe he saw it for the entire lap, which by his thinking was an illegal engine mode (since the restrictions on engine modes were brought in a few years ago).
@jerejj The K0 thing might be Aston Martin’s equivalent of whatever engine mode Alonso is referring to, not necessarily the same code that Mercedes use.
MattDS (@mattds)
31st July 2023, 11:08
@jerejj
Well, I imagine there is quite some technical documentation coming with the PU that is passed on from PU manufacturer to customer. Lots of info therein would never reach us viewers, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. K0 is probably the internal technical term for a certain engine setting. The driver would then dial that in using one of their many knobs/dials/switches positions that each team label for themselves.
MattDS (@mattds)
31st July 2023, 10:57
The entire premise of the COTD is false. Ricciardo did not “have to leave because he could challenge Max”.
Ricciardo has given several insights over the years as to why he left and the above is not one of those. Red Bull very much wanted to keep Ricciardo onboard – as proof of that, Ricciardo has gone on record saying their financial offer was competitive with Renault’s (even though the gospel is that he left for financial reasons – again, not the case).
Martin (@f1hornet)
31st July 2023, 11:56
I feel for Felix da Costa. It was an epic drive, and for him to be given a penalty for a slow puncture (if that’s what it was) when there were other cars trying to deliberately drive into curbs in order to knock of front wings that were dangling loose, then as a spectator it does feel wrong.