In the round-up: Williams team principal James Vowles explains why he was so eager to sign Carlos Sainz Jnr as Alexander Albon’s team mate for next year.
In brief
Sainz improves his teams – Vowles
Vowles expects Sainz to use his 10 years of experience in Formula 1 to help lead Williams back to the front when he joins next year.
“I needed a leader, not just someone who is quick in the car,” he told the official F1 channel. “I wanted everything around them to be just right in order to create performance. Carlos has that.”
Sainz will join the team from Ferrari, having previously also driven for McLaren, Renault (now Alpine) and Toro Rosso (now RB). “If you look at every team he’s gone to – look at where they started and where they finished,” said Vowles. “You’ll see he has a history of ending in a much better place in the team than when he started.”
Vowles first met Sainz’s family in secret at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year, before the news broke that Lewis Hamilton would replace him at Ferrari.
“What I [was] doing is making sure they are aware we’re serious about moving back towards the front and here we are – and get to know me,” Vowles explained. “Then the news struck with Lewis, which caught me off-guard, and caught Carlos off-guard at the same time. So, I started the normal negotiation procedure.”
Vandoorne and Hughes join Maserati
Maserati has confirmed an all-new driver line-up for the 2024-25 Formula E season. Stoffel Vandoorne will join the team from DS Penske alongside Jake Hughes, who arrives from McLaren.The teams said it “extends its sincere thanks to Maximilian Guenther and Jehan Daruvala for their incredible contribution to the team” this year.
F1 forms closer ties to Las Vegas
Formula 1 has entered into a partnership deal with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which it worked with to set up the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The LVCVA will use F1 to promote tourism to the Las Vegas area.
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Links
Many functions of steering wheels keep drivers in control (IndyCar)
Felix Rosenqvist: 'I've had times in my career where I took the data off the wheel because I would look at it too much. I actually figured that out in the simulator where they had a camera on you, and I realised that I'm like looking more at my steering wheel than on the road.'
Indian F4 revives plan to host night race on streets of Chennai (Formula Scout)
'At an announcement event in Chennai this morning, it was revealed that the Indian Racing Festival (which contains the open-wheel Indian Racing League sportscar series and Indian F4) will be visiting the city on August 30th - September 1st for the country’s first ever night races on a street circuit. That means it will be round two of the F4 season.'
'I remember sitting in early debriefs with my team-mate Mika Hakkinen at McLaren in 1994 and he kept referring to a chicken when talking about the car handling. Eventually we had to ask him what he meant about this chicken, but of course in his Finnish English he was saying chicane. And I've witnessed very few who could navigate a 'chicken' faster than he did.'
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Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
With @Carlossainz55 and @alex_albon in their cars next year, @WilliamsRacing won't have to worry about either of their drivers missing races to have their appendixes out.#F1 #RaceFans pic.twitter.com/7wIQCD5JPT
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) July 29, 2024
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Comment of the day
Sainz shouldn’t have passed up the chance to join F1’s next new manufacturer team, Dane reckons:
It’s a strong line-up for Williams but I have to say I’m surprised he went there over Audi.
The last time a manufacturer sunk money into Sauber they won (when they were BMW). I can’t see Williams getting better any time soon, but in the short term they might be the better bet.
Dane
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Cyanide, George Tunnicliffe, Nick Kyriakakos and Pier-Antoine Giguere!
On this day in motorsport
- 35 years ago today Ayrton Senna won at the Hockenheimring as both McLaren drivers suffered slow pit stops and a gearbox glitch cost Alain Prost the lead
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bull mello (@bullmello)
30th July 2024, 2:00
Brundle + Hakkinen = Funny!
Nick T.
30th July 2024, 2:47
They’d be amazing duo as commentators.
Anyway, Vowles’ comment in funny w/the context that Ocon was on his short list.
Jere (@jerejj)
30th July 2024, 7:07
Nick T. But by no means, a first or even second preference at any point, but more like a long-shot option.
D
30th July 2024, 7:00
RE: COTD
Yeah, BMW Sauber tie up was a colossal success that lasted for full 4 seasons.
One win, a handful of podiums and “auf wiedersehen” at the first sign of trouble.
Just because Sauber will become works team, it doesn’t mean it will automatically win races and fight for championships. It is only a possibility.
MichaelN
30th July 2024, 20:31
The new BMW board axed the F1 program in the summer of 2009 because it didn’t fit their long-term strategy. Not because the results were bad. And, as Mario Theissen himself admitted, they were honest about that; they carried out their program over the following years and F1 had no part in that. It also wasn’t like they just gave up; they brought an all new gearbox for the last four races. But after that, it was done.
No doubt the poor way the FIA under Mosley handled the double diffuser shenanigans soured some people on F1, especially given the investments made for 2009. But being a marketing gimmick, the manufacturer teams are always hanging by a thread, one board decision away from losing their funding.
Sumedh
30th July 2024, 2:49
Just read somewhere, that Carlos will now be the 3rd driver in F1 history to drive for all the 3 historic teams – Ferrari, McLaren and Williams.
Other 2 were Prost and Mansell. Mansell did only 2 races with McLaren, so barely makes the list.
An Sionnach
30th July 2024, 3:14
Cool. Prost won the title with two of them and came so close with a Ferrari that had no business winning it. Of course, barring unfair play, he would have done it.
kuvemar
30th July 2024, 6:20
Is it unfair play if it’s merely an answer to a previous unfair play in a corrupt sport? Revenge that day wasn’t even sweet but a necessary answer.
An Sionnach
30th July 2024, 20:04
No. Watch the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix in full. Since it was so long since I’d seen it, I re-watched it a few months ago and it’s even more crystal clear that Senna was to blame in 1989. The film about Senna and the discourse online from commenters and journalists that blames Prost for the 1989 incident all describe a version of events that never took place.
MichaelN
30th July 2024, 20:33
Yes, it is.
Senna’s antics and the lacklustre response from officials have had very negative and lasting consequences across motorsport. It should have been nipped in the bud right there and then, even if it meant banning a popular driver from F1.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
31st July 2024, 9:39
Interesting stat indeed, I was able to scroll up without seeing the names and guess prost, since his rivalry with senna at mclaren is well known and so is his fight with him at ferrari and his return with a very strong williams, then I thought about older drivers, but couldn’t come up with anything: lauda never drove for williams, fangio and clark were racing before williams and mclaren came in f1, so it had to be a not too old driver, I didn’t think about drivers that raced in the same era as prost; if I had, mansell would’ve been guess-able, as I remember bad seasons at ferrari\mclaren for him and very good williams cars, in 1986, 1987 and 1992, arguably he should’ve won more than 1 title.
So something good came out of sainz unfairly losing his ferrari drive, and hopefully he will deal with a williams car that’s more representative of its history, not just in name like nowadays.
Jere (@jerejj)
30th July 2024, 7:06
”I’m like looking more at my steering wheel than on the road.”
– A risky thing in the long-term.
Racefans.net tweet: I was prepared that someone would make a reference at some point, but still an unworthy joke or light-hearted making of a matter.
COTD: My view has pretty much been the same this whole time.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
30th July 2024, 9:20
If anyone can design a car specifically suited to drivers with no appendix then it’s Adrian Newey!
Come on Vowles – get that cheque book open ;)
hunocsi (@hunocsi)
30th July 2024, 11:06
That must sting a bit for Albon…
Nick T.
2nd August 2024, 11:39
Look how cool that McLaren livery is. Teams today…