Welcome to Monday’s edition of the RaceFans round-up.
Social media and links
'It was a threatening call' – Red Bull’s controversial driver swaps explained by ex-F1 star who calls for old team boss to be punished (TalkSport)
Jaime Alguersuari: 'Formula 1 has changed, but I think Helmut Marko hasn't changed and he won't change. He has no interest in changing. I think things have worked for Red Bull so far and for Helmut, but I'm not sure if it'll work for the next ten years in terms of having this method or this mindset with drivers.'
Jochen Mass Official (Facebook)
'The family of Jochen Mass, wishes to share that he is currently recovering from a recent medical emergency. While Jochen's condition is stable, he will be stepping back from all public appearances and engagements for the foreseeable future as he focuses on his recovery. We as a family are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support and kindly request privacy during this time. We are wishing Jochen a speedy recovery.'
I was in a helicopter with Hamilton as it was forced to make an emergency landing – but he didn’t even notice (The Sun)
David Coulthard: 'We hit fog on the way to the airfield, and we basically had to put down in a field, in a cornfield, because they knew there was big wind generators between Battersea and getting to the airfield. And we sat there probably for a good 45 minutes. The whole time Lewis is asleep!'
Speed reflects on F1’s US boom without US drivers (Racer)
Scott Speed: 'Oh, man, I am unbelievably grateful that I grew up in an era of F1 without social media. I value my privacy so much. It’s an unbelievably huge challenge for these guys that I think goes unappreciated. It’s a real challenge having so many people having access to you, and the lack of privacy that comes with that, and the openness and dealing with the judgment on social media.'
How a fresh start with Coyne put the spring back in VeeKay’s step (Racer)
'I was very upset first of all because I didn’t see it coming, and also because of the timing — after last season was over. It was very challenging to have to start the process of finding a drive for 2025. Understand, I am really happy to be with Dale, but if there had been some warning from ECR, I’m sure Dale Coyne Racing would have been one of a few options.'
Max Verstappen's special helmet for the Japanese Grand Prix.
#F1 #JapaneseGP #RaceFans
[image or embed]
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet.bsky.social) 28 March 2025 at 10:34
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Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Yuri Kofman and Shortstick1!
On this day in motorsport
- Born on this day in 1956: Kevin Cogan, a winner in IndyCar racing who made two unsuccessful attempts to qualify in F1 with RAM and Tyrrell in the early eighties
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El Pollo Loco
31st March 2025, 4:21
Algo’s criticizing Red Bull’s driver management program? What a surprise. They’ve blown the management of RBR’s #2 seat in recent years, but they didn’t make any mistakes in regard to him or any of the others they dropped in that time period. They found the perfect replacement for Webber in fact and then a perfect replacement for Seb (after a short interlude w/The Torpedo).
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
31st March 2025, 6:10
i think most of the problem, not related to RBR, is that Max the brand was a vehicle back on to the top of the podium. due to mercedes intentional ineptitude, changes in regs, etc. the guys who run f1 arent car experts or technically minded. these people are schooled in business, marketing, propaganda and social engineering. #NarrativeControl as biasing mechanism consumer habits and perception management (expectations).
so its not surprising RBR are desparate for Max the brand to win, because its far more interesting to far more parties involved.
MacLeod (@macleod)
31st March 2025, 7:55
@pcxmac what is the brand? or is this a childish naming thingie?
mc4ren (@mc4ren)
31st March 2025, 6:02
Just to let you know, keith, in Spain racefans.net stops working when LaLiga decides to attack Cloudfare. Even now, at 7 AM, that AFAIK there is no any football match, the attack remains. The only way to access racefans.net is through a VPN.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
31st March 2025, 11:09
Thanks for the heads-up, I’ll look into this.
MichaelN
31st March 2025, 11:36
It was good to see Van Kalmthout found a drive at DCR. His hype has perhaps quieted down a bit, but he still has some solid races in him. Dropping him that late was indeed not a great move by Ed Carpenter. Shenanigans like that could easily derail a guy’s career by having him miss a season.
Edvaldo
31st March 2025, 14:41
Well, i doubt Marko will be there in 10 years anyway, so no reason to worry about that.
And Alguesuari knows well what happens when you get in the path of the chosen one, that video of Marko berating him for holding Vettel for a couple of corners on a mere practice session in Korea 2011 made some noise at the time.