In the round-up: Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has been accused of “arrogance” and a “lack of professionalism” for failing to respond to questions over human rights abuses in Bahrain, scene of this year’s opening round.
In brief
Domenicali criticised over human rights
Domenicali has previously said F1 can bring about positive change in repressive regimes and would be prepared to cancel races in countries “if we see something that is not going to the right direction”.
However Lord Scriven, who is the vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Democracy and Human Rights in the Gulf, told the House of Lords yesterday he had repeatedly written to and emailled Domenicali and received no reply.
“It is Mr Domenicali’s arrogance, lack of professionalism and engagement that has left me with no alternative than to seek this debate and to seek further regulation of F1 and such other sporting bodies based in the UK when it comes to their practices,” he told the chamber, according to The Guardian. “His leadership of F1 is damaging the reputation of his sport as he refuses to engage with the issues around F1 and human rights.”
In a recent letter to Domenicali he added: “Your choice not to engage with me makes it clear you do not have robust evidence of F1’s positive impact on human rights and a lack of due diligence on mitigating risks has been carried out if at all.”
F1 issued the following statement in response: “For decades Formula 1 has worked hard to be a positive force everywhere it races, including economic, social, and cultural benefits. Sports like F1 are uniquely positioned to cross borders and cultures to bring countries and communities together to share the passion and excitement of incredible competition and achievement. We take our responsibilities very seriously and have made our position on human rights and other issues clear to all our partners and host countries who commit to respect human rights in the way their events are hosted and delivered.”
Lord Scriven made a similar criticism of FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem last year.
Aston Martin still fifth-fastest – Krack
Krack believes his team are still the fifth-fastest on the 2024 grid despite Fernando Alonso beating both Mercedes, a Ferrari and a McLaren at the last round in Jeddah.The team finished fifth in the constructors’ championship last season and has been fifth after both of the opening rounds of the season so far.
“We’re fifth fastest in race trim and a little faster in qualifying,” Krack said. “In Bahrain, we achieved the maximum result given the pace of the car. In Saudi Arabia, we overachieved a little with Fernando’s fantastic drive to secure a top-five finish.
“Our goal is to close the gap to the front. We are making progress, and we have some small updates for Melbourne, which are part of our continuous development plan throughout the season.”
Magnussen’s first podium “a lifetime ago”
“It feels like a lifetime ago,” he admitted. “A lot has happened since. It’s a nice thing. I’m proud of having gotten on the podium in my first race, but at the same time, it’s very frustrating to have done ten years and not get back on the podium.
“Every time I come here I get sort of that feeling back. And in itself, doing your first race in Formula 1 is special, no matter where you finish and then to get on the podium was just insane on that weekend. So a lot of memories, for sure.”
Doohan deserves F1 shot – Ocon
Alpine driver Esteban Ocon believes the team’s junior driver, Jack Doohan, deserves an opportunity to race in Formula 1.
Doohan finished third in last year’s F2 championship and is not racing this season. Ocon sympathises with his team’s reserve driver.
“No doubt that Jack deserves to drive more in Formula 1, deserves to have a shot at least in F1 in one race,” Ocon said.
“He’s obviously helping a lot with the simulator work that he’s doing with the team and he’s a great asset to us and a great character and team player as well. And he’s done some really good work when he stepped in in FP1s in Mexico and Abu Dhabi in the last two years and it’s a shame not to see him racing definitely and I wish him the best for the future.”
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Audi sees high Formula One costs as parent VW seeks efficiencies (Automotive News Europe)
Audi chief financial officer Juergen Rittersberger: 'With the introduction of cost caps, specifically with it comes to the development of the chassis and motors, F1 is significantly more 'plan-able'. In comparison to previous years, it’s more affordable.'
My first time in an F1 simulation: ‘I spectacularly skid off the track and crash’ (The Guardian)
'My problem is not speed but sharp turns. Probably anyone with a lead foot can floor the accelerator and go at 250km/h on the straight, which is what I do. The pedal’s revs become loud vrooms as the minimalist scenery on screen whizzes by. But even with pre-emptive braking in the lead-up to corners, I spectacularly skid off the track and into gravel, crashing into safety barriers. At one sharp bend, I turn the steering wheel with such force that, when I hit a wall, it begins to spin quickly by itself in protest.'
Bernie Ecclestone: Formula E ''level'' with Formula 1 (Formula E)
''I thought it wouldn’t last. I thought the first race would be the last. So I am very pleased to see that technically it has become very good. Technically, it’s Formula 1 level.''
Thermal could be key to Ilott's 2025 IndyCar hopes (Racer)
''I’m looking forward to Thermal with a road course where there’s more room to push and feel the car out. That was important for me at the Barber test, to get an idea of what the car can take in a more unrestricted environment, because they will have little differences in how they behave. But I view this as, 'you’re coming here to do a job', which is fill in and do the best job you can in that environment in a short space of time. I’m pretty excited more than feeling pressured.''
Brunch and F1 debut chat with Ollie Bearman (Oliver Bearman via YouTube)
F1's most recent rookie recaps his unexpected grand prix debut weekend.
The WORST F1 Team Logos you've ever seen (Mr V's Garage via YouTube)
A look at the very best - and very worst - F1 team logos in the sport's history.
Ranking Geoff Crammond and Papyrus sims from Best to Worst (Ted Meat via YouTube)
Finnish hardcore simracing enthusiast Ted Meat attempts to determine the ultimate old-school PC racing sim.
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 X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
What it's all about. 🧡#AusGP 🇦🇺 @OscarPiastri pic.twitter.com/NH2ULdXjNW
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) March 21, 2024
THIS IS SPEICAL. 💇🏼♂️🐨🧋🦘🏎️🇦🇺#AusGP #TeamZHOU pic.twitter.com/n76MbCJ9hc
— 周冠宇 | Zhou Guanyu 🇨🇳 (@ZhouGuanyu24) March 21, 2024
A common @Charles_Leclerc tradition: Check in with all the team on arrival 😁✅ pic.twitter.com/lLvLjLTJii
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) March 21, 2024
Surf's up 🌊🏄 @LewisHamilton pic.twitter.com/3SHlp1hQUu
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) March 21, 2024
https://x.com/ecapener/status/1770706664603193449
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
With Max Verstappen insisting he is happy to remain at Red Bull, Nulla Pax would love to see the world champion branch out…
I can understand why people would stay where they are safe because they are at the top of the game. It’s a steady income and you get to be treated like a hero within that environment. For me, personally, that would quickly get boring.
I would rather try to be a champion in two or three different categories than be a ten time champ in one category.
Max is one of the finest genuine racers that I have ever seen, and he is still young enough to jump into a new form of motorsport and still have every chance of taking the crown there.
I think the world of motorsport is truly his oyster, and I would love to see him be bold and set some brand-new records instead of just modifying the F1 stats list.
Nulla Pax
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Hamilton WC 09, Juan Pablo Heidfeld, Shaneb457, Chris and Mike Shefford!
Jay
22nd March 2024, 0:36
Does COTD also apply that logic to Hamilton? Pretty boring for him to be 7 times world champion, and the fans. He should be champ in 2 or 3 categories!
All sarcasm aside, I think the COTD is way off point, and possibly hypocritical.
An Sionnach
22nd March 2024, 2:03
I suppose the difficulty is that there is no team that might inspire Max or anyone else to go through hard years of failure for. That said, I couldn’t believe it when Schumacher went to Ferrari as the team was hopeless at the time. Still, no team can dedicate the same level of resources to their F1 project with the budget cap. If a team wants Max, they’re going to have to get the right team on board and have a good engine.
If I was Max I’d stay where I am and think about moving if the Ford engine isn’t good enough. If this happens, Red Bull should still be a team with the right attitude and dedication to succeed, but it would be pretty hard to overcome problems with the engine. That might make Mercedes, Ferrari or even Aston Martin more worth putting the hard years in for (if Honda is committed in the latter case). I wonder what will happen with Lance when Aston gets the Honda engine. Honda has a history of backing their man (Piquet, Senna, Tsunoda…). If I was them I’d want Max.
ludewig
22nd March 2024, 9:20
There is no Ford engine. Red Bull will make the new engines and Ford will merely assist them.
Mayrton
22nd March 2024, 10:22
Don’t understand why the COTD is hypocritical. It seems to make a fair point that someone as talented as Max could opt to win in several categories. He has already proven himself online as well. Chances are he will do great whatever category he chooses. And F1 is becoming less sport and more circus every year. So to me it totally makes sense and moreover I would like to see that happening. Applying the same logic to Hamilton is comparing two different things. I think Lewis is a fast driver but far behind Max in terms of talent and ability to adapt to different cars.
An Sionnach
22nd March 2024, 2:20
Interesting video on the old sims. I played Indianapolis 500 and Grand Prix 2 a lot and didn’t have the PC for most of the others. I was never very good, but did enjoy the challenge of the ten crazy laps you had to ram all the other cars off the track on easy mode in Indy 500. In that mode you were invincible. The replays, with bits of cars flying everywhere, were great! It was hard to get the other cars within the ten laps, though. “They are totally braindead idiots. They just wreck you every chance they get.” An authentic sim of Indy Car, then?
In Grand Prix 2 I had a lot of the driver aids on and it felt like the car was on rails. I get a similar feel watching the footage of this guy driving in full realism mode. Might give GP2 another spin and see what it’s like now.
I’m a big fan of Assetto Corsa. The driving feels great, particularly in the F2004, which is much more fun to drive than “these heavy cars”. Some things that don’t work are the damage modelling, which lets you hit a wall hard without any damage to the tyres or wheels. In 1989’s Indianapolis 500 the tyre blows if you touch the wall and that seemed more realistic. Back to Assetto Corsa and the engine always seems to be at the front of the car because if you hit a wall hard it blows (and the damage display shows it in the front). While driving F1 cars is fun and possibly quite realistic in Assetto Corsa, it might be the case that it’s just a decent stab at simulating an F1 car in a game that’s primarily designed to simulate non-open wheel racing (even though it comes with several such cars)?
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
22nd March 2024, 4:05
Just start by cancelling races in countries that support genocide in Palestine.
Mohammad Reza (@reza-pratama24)
22nd March 2024, 6:49
Now that is a sound argument !
David BR (@david-br)
22nd March 2024, 11:41
@ruliemaulana Fair point.
GeeMac (@geemac)
22nd March 2024, 4:41
I wonder what the Good Lord’s position is on the UK government’s current war in Yemen, a conflict which the UK very quietly got involved in after having spent years criticising Saudi Arabia for getting involved, while simultaneously supplying weapons to Saudi Arabia and giving aid to Yemen.
Yellow Baron
22nd March 2024, 4:52
#1 for round #12 on the 2024 calender.
frood19 (@frood19)
22nd March 2024, 6:12
I did a quick Google and lord scriven is a liberal democrat – I think he is firmly against the war in Yemen. He has also been outspoken in the house of lords about human rights abuses by Saudi Arabia in relation to LGBTQ rights.
BasCB (@bascb)
22nd March 2024, 8:32
Yeah, Scriven has been pretty consistent in this matter, you can hardly criticize him for Tory policies of the last decade or so when he has been critical of those for a long time, @geemac.
GeeMac (@geemac)
22nd March 2024, 14:22
@frood19 @bascb Fair enough, I wasn’t aware of his personal views. However, he is a member of the UK Legislature as a member of the (unelected) House of Lords, so I still find it incredibly hard to take his criticism seriously. Maybe I would if he spent more time using his privilege to try stop the war he says he is against which his government is secretly waging rather than grandstanding and demanding replies from a private company on matters that don’t concern him…
Yellow Baron
22nd March 2024, 4:49
What’s a repressive regime??
Isn’t Australia the place that arrested a pregnant woman over a Facebook post? To name only a specific incident..
It’s only human rights when it’s the middle east I suppose. Tis the new trend since 2020.
Hypocrites.
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage (@davedai)
22nd March 2024, 9:06
What’s a repressive regime?
Well according to the CIA website of countries worldwide Australia is a
federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
But if repressive regime suits you why not.
No it isn’t the place.
I’ll let you flesh out the Facebook post bit
yourself, to give context.
Yellow Baron
22nd March 2024, 12:06
You missed the entire point by focusing on “Australia” and a “Facebook post”.
Do better.
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage (@davedai)
22nd March 2024, 12:40
No I didn’t miss the point at all.
But I am waiting for you to post the jurisdiction in which the arrest took place and the reasons for it.
floodo1 (@floodo1)
22nd March 2024, 13:53
imagine trusting the CIA :clueless:
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage (@davedai)
22nd March 2024, 14:04
Hilarious
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage (@davedai)
22nd March 2024, 14:06
Still nothing on the jurisdiction not Facebook posts?
someone or something
22nd March 2024, 9:26
That has to be the weakest whataboutism in the history of isms.
Yellow Baron
22nd March 2024, 12:06
Shallow thinking as usual. Not surprising though
Mayrton
22nd March 2024, 6:50
Arrogance is not the right word. Greed is. The motive is money. Anything to boost shareholder value and get rewarded by Liberty for it. All other societal (or sports for that matter) problems are secondary and really not that important.
MichaelN
22nd March 2024, 9:02
The unelected UK House of Lords has a “Group on Democracy”? That’s amusing.
F1 doesn’t owe any explanation to a random parliamentarian. So long as the UK does not ban companies based there from operating in a host country, F1 can do as they please.
AllTheCoolNamesWereTaken
22nd March 2024, 10:39
Re. COTD:
The thing is, Max is still only 26 years old. He could stay in F1 for another ten years if he wants to, and still have plenty of time to make a mark in the WEC, IndyCar, and/or whatever else he wants to have a go at. After all, Tom Kristensen was 45 going on 46 when he took his final Le Mans win. Hélio Castroneves was 46 when he took his last win in the Indy 500. And earlier this year, Carlos Sainz Sr. won the Dakar Rally at the tender age of 61.
Right now, Max has the privilege of being in by far the best car on the grid – something which most drivers (even some incredibly gifted ones) go their entire career without ever experiencing. He has the chance to completely rewrite the record books in what is commonly regarded as the pinnacle of motorsport – and even though he has previously stated that that isn’t a goal of his, I certainly don’t think he would turn down the opportunity.
Of course, this era of dominance will end eventually. Max is almost certainly aware of this himself. When we do finally get the next shuffling of the pecking order, maybe that will be the point when he decides to branch out and try other things. In the meantime, I can’t blame him for wanting to make hay while the sun shines.
JMDan
22nd March 2024, 16:25
Domenicali has previously said F1 can bring about positive change in repressive regimes and would be prepared to cancel races in countries “if we see something that is not going to the right direction”.
These people are so delusional, it’s painful.