In the round-up: Lance Stroll says Aston Martin’s rivals have out-developed them since the season began and the team needs to hit back over the final 10 races of 2023.
In brief
Aston Martin need “another step” – Stroll
Aston Martin started the season strongly and were still second in the championship six races in. However they have slipped back to third since then and were out-scored by rivals Ferrari and McLaren in each of the last two rounds.
Stroll said they “came out of the box really strong” but admitted “it’s been a bit more challenging the last few events.”
Team principal Mike Krack recently admitted they had realised they hadn’t got the best out of their car in recent races and said they have begun to put that right. But Stroll believes they also need to bring more upgrades for their car.
“A lot of the teams caught up so it’s much tighter now,” he said. “We really just have to keep pushing and try and make another step in the second half of the season to get back to that really competitive car that we had at the beginning of the year.”
Aston Martin “made some little mods to the car which definitely helped,” Stroll added, “but I think we still really have to keep pushing because we’re still not as quick as we want to be.”
De Vries back in the cockpit
Nyck de Vries was back in action over the weekend following his ousting from AlphaTauri last month. He participated in a public demonstration event at the TT Assen circuit to promote a casino, driving a Formula Renault 3.5 car of the type he raced in 2015. Fellow Dutch racer Richard Verschoor was among the others who joined in.Tough NASCAR race for Button and Kobayashi
Jenson Button and Kamui Kobayashi took part in Yestrday’s NASCAR race on the Indianapolis road course, making their third and first starts respectively. Both were involved in separate collisions with Ricky Stenhouse Jnr, who made contact with Kobayashi at turn one and Button at turn 10.
Button finished a lapped 28th, Kobayashi was two laps down in 33rd among the 39-car field. Michael McDowell took victory.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Marko: Verstappen könnte in einem Haas auf Pole fahren (Motorsport-Total - German)
'Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko says Max Verstappen's performance in the rain-hit qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps, where he was quickest by eight-tenths of a second, shows he could put an AlphaTauri or Haas on pole position.'
'Santino's saga was a bit different. He managed to skate through the multi-car accident with minor damage. On his first pit stop on lap 15, a miscommunication resulted in his running over the front tire hose which incurred a stop and go penalty which meant a second pit stop under green. He went a lap down and without another caution period to aid in getting a lap back, he remained a lap down for the race. He finished 23rd.'
Race Report - Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course (Penske)
Newgarden: 'We came with a new package because we have struggled lately on the Indy road course, and we wanted to do everything we could to finish the season strong. It just seemed to be one thing after another for the Hitachi Chevy team, from the 10-minute practice penalty for me being late to weigh-in, to the engine change last night to the first lap incident. Clearly not the finish we needed for the championship but this team knows how to fight.'
Race Notes (Ed Carpenter Racing)
Hunter-Reay: 'I got up into 16th and was making lap time from there. The odd bit was we got passed by one car after that and lost four spots. I didn’t see anyone else all day, no one else passed me, and we finished 20th. I’ll have to go back and look at pit cycles.'
Malukas moves up eleven spots to finish 16th (Dale Coyne Racing)
'It was a really good race for us from a strategy perspective and with the car that we had. I think we managed to gain a lot of positions on drivers that had a better car than us so that was encouraging.'
Extended highlights: Indianapolis Grand Prix (IndyCar via YouTube)
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Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
Did you know an @F1 steering wheel did all this?! 🤯@OscarPiastri talks us through his wheel in 60 seconds. ⏱️#F1 pic.twitter.com/mBfZ7Uc2hc
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) August 13, 2023
Well written from @Cla_Cottingham on my journey so far. #f1 https://t.co/sn2e2svdmB
— Bernie Collins (@bernie_collins1) August 12, 2023
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
Last weekend’s Jeremy Clarkson caption competition yielded a fine crop of entries. We particularly enjoyed those from Roth Man, Michael V12, Cyberaxiom and Richard Hill, but the winner was this from @Tom-L:
“Don’t worry, chaps, I do understand how it feels not to be in Top Gear for yet another season…”
@Tom-L
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to F1George, Dan_The_Mclaren_Fan and Kirill!
On this day in motorsport
- 40 years ago today Teo Fabi scored his breakthrough CART IndyCar victory in the Pocono 500, having shown considerable potential in his Forsythe-run March. He led home Al Unser Jnr, whose father continued to lead the championship despite failing to finish in the top three for the first time that year
Coventry Climax
14th August 2023, 0:18
Fortunately, at Aston, they have a real future champion in Lance, who always knows how to bring in the points for his team. The handful that Alonso manages to bring in are just a bonus really.
Man, even what that guy says is predictable and mediocre.
Todfod (@todfod)
14th August 2023, 10:54
The dude’s as dull as a lamp post …both within the car and outside of it.
Coventry Climax
14th August 2023, 11:41
.. as a lamp post without bulb and power supply, I’d add.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
14th August 2023, 14:27
I feel I have learnt so much from his statement.
Jockey Ewing
14th August 2023, 18:59
Well, yes, “amazing” interview.
Althoguh what he said, is true:
He said that they need to make another step to be amongst the top runners again.
He have not said how big step 😆
From Kimi these types of answers went down much more well.
Gusm.ai
14th August 2023, 1:10
SVG finished 10th
S
14th August 2023, 4:24
Want to back that up with some evidence, Helmut? A lot of people would really like to see that.
The sensible ones among us already know it’s bogus, but please, do it anyway.
Mark Zastrow (@markzastrow)
14th August 2023, 7:22
The excerpt is missing a crucial clause — “In those conditions” — from Marko’s original quote:
“Wenn solche Verhältnisse sind, stellt er einen AlphaTauri oder Haas, der ein Qualifyingauto ist, auf Pole.”
If Kevin Magnussen can put a Haas on pole on a wet track, I would expect Verstappen could, too.
S
14th August 2023, 9:55
Sure, but then so could anyone else if they were in the right place at the right time and the other competitors suffered some kind of misfortune instead (such as increasing rain during a red flag period)…..
Coventry Climax
14th August 2023, 11:35
But apparently it is no longer the bogus you said the sensible knew it was, which leaves me in doubt of your state of sensibility.
S
14th August 2023, 12:40
My initial comment is still fine with me, because it refers only to the quote shown.
When the information I receive changes, so does my comment on it.
That sounds pretty sensible, doesn’t it?
Coventry Climax
14th August 2023, 22:45
Not really. Premature is more accurate.
Todfod (@todfod)
14th August 2023, 10:56
Russell almost did it with a Willams 2 years ago. Norris could have. Alonso could have.
There’s nothing spectularly extrordinary that only Max could have pulled off. I get that Helmut wants to praise Max to the skies.. but the guy needs to just zip it once in a whule.
S
14th August 2023, 12:51
Lance Stroll did it in Turkey a few years ago too, taking pole position entirely on merit.
No doubt some people here would put that entirely down to luck…
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
14th August 2023, 13:57
Yes, depending on the conditions some cars perform better: hamilton has always been good in the wet, but that qualifying session merc just didn’t have the grip, he still beat bottas handily but didn’t make it further than the 3rd row; verstappen had looked dominant throughout the qualifying session (which was a rare case where they used full wets majority of the time), but when he switched to inters they just weren’t as fast as the force indias, or maybe he’d have needed another lap, since force indias were faster at making the gamble.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
14th August 2023, 13:58
Was definitely a good quali session and then race for stroll, where he led the race most of the time, until he couldn’t find grip on the new set, and many people only remember that last part.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
14th August 2023, 13:49
@markzastrow It isn’t missing it, it’s in the section quoted in the reply you responded to.
Mark Zastrow (@markzastrow)
14th August 2023, 16:14
@keithcollantine With respect, the way it reads to me, “rain-hit” is only describing that particular session, not restricting Marko’s assertion. Yes, it would be somewhat odd for Marko would claim that performance in the wet would translate to performance in the dry, but I’ll admit I made the same initial assumption as S.
Lancer033 (@lancer033)
14th August 2023, 14:03
It’s not a bad idea really, it’s not like he’s risking his lead in the championship in any way. Maybe rotate the 2 AT drivers up to the RB team for 1 race each and see how they do with the team and put on a show for the crowd while seeing what max can do with a less capable car. It would also give AT a chance with a great driver at the top of his game to help with their car and maybe get a few extra points along the way.
Jere (@jerejj)
14th August 2023, 7:04
Max realistically couldn’t, though, because regardless of how good a driver is, no one can outperform lower midfield to bottom-level cars to such an extent in F1.
MacLeod (@macleod)
14th August 2023, 8:00
But in the rain he could .. “In those conditions” from Marko’s original quote was left out of the translation by accident or on purpose.
In the rain the aero is almost gone then the grip of the tyres will be important and the skill of the driver.
drmouse (@drmouse)
14th August 2023, 11:13
In wet, and especially mixed, conditions luck plays a massive part, too. Literally anyone has a shot at pole in changeable conditions, if they manage to hook up the right lap at the right time. In wet and mixed conditions we often see surprise results.
That said, there are certain drivers who would be more likely to get the best out of a bad car in wet conditions. Max, Lewis and Fernando I’d definitely expect to, maybe Lando, possibly Charles…
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
14th August 2023, 15:16
@drmouse always a bit of luck but like in a go-kart wet race it is still talent who prevails. There are always those people with supernatural ability that you’re just unable to match and this is no luck but raw talent.
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
14th August 2023, 15:19
Luck is once in a while, like Magnussen’s sprint pole, rest of the time I feel it’s more often than not the most talented who comes out on top.
MacLeod (@macleod)
14th August 2023, 8:01
I think Lando, Lewis are drivers who could do that either.
Diez Cilindros (@diezcilindros)
14th August 2023, 8:00
Since Teo Fabi is mentioned in OTDIM feature, I would like to remember a crazy statistic from him that some may not know: in F1, he scored three pole posiitons… but he never led a lap! Even in Austria 1986, where Fabi was on pole but lost the lead off the line, he overtook Berger for the lead a few laps later… only for his engine to blow seconds after that.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
14th August 2023, 8:46
@diezcilindros I knew this, but it always brings a smile to my face to be reminded of it. It must have been fun / scary to drive those BMW massive power / fire! run! cars.
That he never led a lap is another fun stat from such a crazy period.
Dex
14th August 2023, 11:39
You should always mention which Stroll.
Edvaldo
14th August 2023, 15:38
Still didn’t forget Marko screaming the hell out of his lungs at Alguesuari for getting in Vettel’s way for a few seconds in a worthless friday practice back in Korea 2011.
Wouldn’t doubt this guy would get into a fist fight with a young hooligan just to protect Max’s honor.
Coventry Climax
14th August 2023, 22:49
That’s not hard to do: Young hooligans pick fights with anyone anyway, no reason needed.
Electroball76
19th August 2023, 11:14
Ricky Bobby Jr has beef with all them Formula drivers showing up in NASCAR. Shake n’ bake!