In the round-up: Daniel Ricciardo believes Formula 1 drivers could use mind games on their rivals more than they do.
In brief
Ricciardo enjoys F1 mind games
RB driver Ricciardo said “I wish there was a bit more mind games” between F1 drivers.
“For a very high-intensity sport it’s still a very, kind of, respectful sport,” he said in an interview for Nova. “Obviously I like the respect element.
“But there’s a few little things here and there you might say a little something to someone to just disrupt their rhythm a little bit. But it’s not happening all the time.”
Verstappen “hates” participating in Drive to Survive
Max Verstappen may have ended his boycott of Drive to Survive but he admitted he dislikes taking part in filming for the Netflix series.“You don’t really see a lot of me on Drive to Survive because I don’t like doing it,” he told The Project. “You probably don’t get the right side of me because it’s just an interview.
“I’m just sitting down in a dark room, and I hate that. There’s always questions about just F1-related stuff, which I anyway don’t like to talk about.”
The series owes its popularity to the revealing glimpses of paddock life it provides, but Verstappen doesn’t want to be part of that. “Some things are just private,” he said. “People don’t need to know what we are doing or what we are saying.”
Memorial service for Moss in May
Westminster Abbey in London will hold a memorial service in May for Stirling Moss, who passed away four years ago. No public service was held when Moss died in April 2020 due to the restrictions in place for the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tickets are available free of charge for the event on the morning of Wednesday 8th May. Moss’s family invited people to “celebrate the life of Sir Stirling Moss OBE; remembering the friend, the father, the racer, the gentleman, the joker, and the world-renowned hero who was adored by so many.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
First trailer for Golden Lap management game revealed
A grand prix-themed management game set in the seventies is in development by the team behind Art of Rally and Absolute Drift. Golden Lap will put players in charge of handling their team’s drivers, staff, cars and sponsors, then compete around a selection of F1-like circuits.
“We wanted to try something different while staying true to our passion for racing,” said Dune Casu, founder of game creators Funselektor “We’re taking that opportunity with Golden Lap, which serves as a throwback to one of the most iconic eras of motorsport when it was exciting and dangerous in equal measure, teams were experimenting with designs, and drivers were notorious both on and off the track.”
F1 Exhibition heads to Toronto
Toronto in Canada has been confirmed as the next destination for the official F1 Exhibition. It was originally shown in Madrid, Spain last year before moving to Vienna, Austria in February. It will open at Toronto’s Lighthouse ArtSpace on May 3rd.
Formula 2 drivers get Formula E tests
Andretti has confirmed Zane Maloney and Jak Crawford will participate for it in the rookie practice session at the Misano EPrix and the Berlin rookie test. Maloney will drive in both while Crawford will make his FE debut in Berlin.
Mazepin hails court victory
Former Formula 1 driver Nikita Mazepin acknowledged his court case victory yesterday which means he is no longer under the sanctions imposed on him following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “742 days of life under sanctions,” he wrote on social media, “we are finally back.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Manuel Avino, FIA vice-president and president of the Royal Spanish Automobile Federation: 'The promoter of Formula 1 is becoming a billionaire at the expense of a product that belongs to the FIA. 80% of the FIA budget comes from F1, and now we do not find it fair that from all that wealth that is generated with the premier category, nothing is shared with the FIA.'
Red Bull tries to project harmony but Horner F1 saga will not go away (The Guardian)
'F1 and the FIA are understood to want to be privy to the details of the investigation, which they are unable to obtain because of confidentiality agreements with the parties involved, but the FIA at the very least appears now to have been drawn into having to actively take part if it is to investigate complaints to its own ethics committee. The affair is if anything not receding but escalating.'
Aussie star Piastri 'in the Schumacher bracket' as high praise given (Nine)
'It doesn't interest (Piastri). He's only interested in driving and talking about the car and about the strategy – that's all he cares about,' Brabham, who spent two years in F1 in 1990 and 1994, said. 'He's not into all the other fluff. Some drivers love the fluff – Daniel, I think, loves the fluff.'
Clark County Commission requests plan to alleviate F1 race’s local impact (Las Vegas Sun)
'I’m hoping that the city and F1 come up with a better solution this year for the workers of Las Vegas. F1 claimed that it was a success, but for the residents and the workers, it was not.'
Trophy makers - The secret story behind the Australian F1 trophy (Australian Grand Prix via YouTube)
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.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
The @FIA conducted extra checks on @Max33Verstappen's car after his #SaudiArabianGP win.
Its front and rear suspension dampers, engine air intake, oil and coolant system and charge air cooling, plus all sensors associated with these were found to comply with the rules.#F1 pic.twitter.com/3Z98F6jzkc
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) March 20, 2024
Representing the star-spangled banner: the VF-24 🇺🇸 Unlock the new livery in F1 23 by pre-ordering F1 24 Champions Edition before April 24 ⚫⚪ Pick up your copy 👉 https://t.co/LdTxePaQox pic.twitter.com/3fQbG8XZol
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) March 20, 2024
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
If Red Bull is forced to choose between Max Verstappen and Christian Horner, which is most indispensable?
Herbert also seems to assume that in a straight choice between Verstappen and Horner, you’d choose Verstappen, which I think is doubtful. As much as I credit Verstappen’s driving for Red Bull’s current run of dominance (much more than some others do), Horner is responsible for creating the environment where it can happen, and has every chance of doing so again even if the star driver does leave.
@Red-andy
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Gary Richardson, Gaz, Thomahawk_93, Thomas Martin and Alec Glen!
On this day in motorsport
- 20 years ago today Michael Schumacher won the Malaysian Grand Prix ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya while Jenson Button scored his first podium finish
Moi
21st March 2024, 3:01
And I am getting more and more eager for less Ricciardo in F1
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
21st March 2024, 9:44
Look I love our hometown boy, but I really wish that he’d focus entirely on doing his talking on the track.
Right now it’s make or break. Either show us the driver that used to wow us by out qualifying pretty much all of his team mates by a mile and then would execute those amazing late brake passes or strongly consider retiring.
Please don’t force another team to discard you Dan. Show us the fight you used to have, but show it on the track, not somewhere near a microphone.
notagrumpyfan
21st March 2024, 11:22
He seems to be in a conversation with Stroll ;)
True Grit
21st March 2024, 12:39
I think if his results don’t improve he’ll be shown the door post mid season break. I like Danny, support him as an Australian but if you can’t beat your team mate then he’s just taking up a seat Lawson could be in.
Danny will look back on his career in the years to come and rue the day he walked away from RBR.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
21st March 2024, 13:18
Probably, I said it immediately it was a bad idea to leave red bull, because realistically renault couldn’t do what mercedes did, hamilton’s move was inspired, ricciardo’s wasn’t, but maybe he also realised he couldn’t beat ricciardo any more and decided to try something different, no matter how uninspired it was.
Otherwise if he wanted to just keep winning races, he definitely threw away a big opportunity.
Yellow Baron
21st March 2024, 19:27
For his career maybe not but for his integrity and his self, it was good. Why stick around somewhere they favour your teammate even after a mistake who h caused you and indeed your teammate to crash out the race.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
21st March 2024, 13:19
Couldn’t beat verstappen any more*
montreal95 (@montreal95)
21st March 2024, 8:23
In 30 years of listening to Johnny Herbert first as a driver and then as a pundit he never struck me as someone very intelligent. Then again I remember him and a certain Jos That Was Never The Boss being friends all the way from their Benetton days. So the motive is clear. And if I can remember that, I’m sure some journos wouldn’t have forgotten either.
In a straight choice between Horner and MV(provided nothing can be proved against Horner in the inappropriate conduct case) of course Horner is more important. Drivers come and go but Horner has built the RBR f1 empire from scratch including the incredibly complex task of becoming an engine manufacturer via RBPT. He’s one of the most successful team principals in F1 history while Max, although a driving genius, constantly complains that he doesn’t really like being in f1, the direction it’s taking and threatens to quit the sport even before the end of his contract if he(as he predicts himself) hates the 2026 regulations cars. Finally, and most importantly, even if Max is the best driver currently there are at least 5 other current drivers who’d win the championship easily with the current RBR car because the car is more important than the driver.
In fact, Max’s comments on DTS make me wonder not just about his value to RBR but to F1 in general. Now, I don’t really like any docu/reality shows of that sort much at all, but the thing is, a great many do. And it’s these great many that provide the funds for Max to have his multimillion salary and his dominant car. Without a great quantity of fans there would be no F1in its current form, no sponsors, no lucrative commercial deals of any kind so who would pay for all that?
But evidently, also from his Las Vegas comments last year, Max, raised by Jos to single mindedly focus on the driving to the exclusion of everything else doesn’t care about the big picture or the need to give back to the hand that feeds him. Oh so you don’t like giving back to the fans or enjoy all the stuff that surrounds F1? Off you go then to play your video games you spoiled brat. Enjoy the many millions earned from the same fans that you so dislike engaging with or giving back to.
SteveP
21st March 2024, 10:13
So, it isn’t a choice between ditching Horner or Verstappen.
Simply ditch both and let the car design team continue with another driver selected from the five you mention.
montreal95 (@montreal95)
21st March 2024, 10:51
I wouldn’t mind that, as I have no particular liking of either party. But you see, the Thai owners of the RB brand, quite logically conclude that all that I mentioned above about Horner building the empire from scratch up to and including the engine department, is super important to the continuous success of RBR way after the current generation rules package in which its design team produced a dominating car, is ancient history. So, unless the allegations against Horner can be proven, I think there’s a bigger chance the Marko-Verstappen axis will be kicked out, not Horner.
Mayrton
21st March 2024, 12:35
I disagree with Ricciardo. Mind games are (from my perspective and imho) always a sign of weakness. If your athletic performance is good enough, you don’t need them. It’s that simple. I agree with Max on all the off track stuff being totally irrelevant and also hardly interesting. I do agree with COTD. You always go for structure, not for the flavour of the week.
MichaelN
21st March 2024, 13:55
Mind games are part of any sport, some are just more subtle about it. It can also come from behaviour rather than its perhaps most basic form; the jabs and talking.
For example, when a driver exoects his opponent isn’t going to give way or be bullied, if changes the whole approach. Verstappen knows he can just run Leclerc off, so he has done this numerous times. By contrast, once Rosberg started biting back Hamilton suddenly had far fewer ‘surprise understeer’ moments. Probably not a coincidence.
isthatglock21
21st March 2024, 21:25
Oh please, if there were anymore mind games Ricciardo would be in tears. Bloke is literally on the verge of tears these days in interviews, acting like he’s got stomach for mind games lol. He lost all his edge the second he ran away from Redbull cause of Max.
manuel j martinez (@mr-moto)
21st March 2024, 23:20
Advice to Ricciardo: Be careful what you wish for!
Mayrton
22nd March 2024, 10:35
I am afraid that is the truth. He should have stayed and face Max. He was done the minute he walked out. Likability kept him around but soon the book needs to be closed.