Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of the RaceFans round-up.
Comment of the day
Oscar Piastri was right to avoid a first-corner clash with Max Verstappen, says Grapmg:
We can also argue that Piastri is a smart driver. To finish first first you have to finish.
Prost won championships with that attitude, collect points and don’t take unnecessary risks. Also remember Miami where Norris lost out on the first lap while McLaren had the pace to win anyway.
With hindsight it cost him the win but without the V(SC) second would have been good enough and third isn’t that bad. Grapmg
Jack Doohan: 'As you can clearly see, the story circulating above is completely false. It was fabricated by (...) fans attempting to portray me and my family in a negative light. They edited the original content to make it appear as though my father posted it, which is entirely untrue. Please stop harassing my family. I didn't think I would have to get to this point.'
'No one should ever be subjected to abuse - driver, fan, volunteer or official. Our sport must join together in rejection of this behaviour. I thank Yuki Tsunoda and Franco Colapinto for speaking out this weekend against this issue, and share my support and that of the United Against Online Abuse campaign.'
'Upon further review last night and early this morning, IndyCar will be moving cars number two and 12 to the 32nd and 33rd starting positions for this year’s Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. They will start in order based upon their qualifying times from Saturday.'
'In racing you can sometimes have mechanics who make miscalculations and you can sometimes have manufacturing issues that can all lead to honest mistakes. I don’t believe that’s what happened here or last year, which raises questions over the integrity of the decision-making within that team.'
I can’t say if the illegally blended attenuator was on the 2024 #Indy500 race-winning car when it crossed the finish line, but it is on the winning car currently on display in the IMS Museum. pic.twitter.com/he5PQqr1Wx
'I was surprised to see that pole-sitter Oscar Piastri was so timid at the first corner. He has normally been a robust and smart operator in situations like this, against both Norris and Verstappen.'
'Hydrogen-powered racing cars such as the Alpine Alpenglow Hy6 and the Toyota Gazoo Racing Yaris H2 Concept were also on display, with the former of the two taking to the track for demonstration runs.'
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Happy birthday to Ned Flanders, Rui Pinto, TheD4N1EL, Dirk and Andy!
On this day in motorsport
Michael Schumacher had a controversial weekend at Silverstone with Mercedes in 1991
50 today: Ralph Firman, who contested a single season of Formula 1 for Jordan in 2003. He also won Japan’s Formula Nippon, British F3 and the Macau Grand Prix.
25 years ago today David Coulthard put his McLaren on pole position for the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring
35 years ago today Martin Brundle and Alain Ferte won the Silverstone round of the World Sportscar Championship for Jaguar. Michael Schumacher was disqualified for driving without his seat belts attached during qualifying, a charge he disputed, while his car was also disqualified for him receiving outside assistance
What’s with that Telegraph headline LOL! Oscar played smart, the way he’s driving now reminded me of Max last year. He understands he won 4 races already, 3 of them in a row. He’s on a strong charge to win the driver’s championship. He’s got two drivers challenging him for it, three if you also don’t ignore George. He’s gotta stay in the race and keep scoring points to stay ahead of the rest. He’s leading and there’s no need for him to unnecessarily get into battles that could end his races.
Max had an over 50 point lead after Imola last year, if Piastri falls behind Norris again in the next race his lead in the championship will be at risk. It’s too soon to play it safe.
I disagree. Playing to finish a race is always a good strategy, and something Oscar has done in previous championships he has won. Play smart and take wins when you can safely do so, and then fight at the end of the season if needed.
From Imola to Azerbaijan last year (11 races) Oscar outscored Lando, and I think it is fair to say that Lando had a lot more speed than Oscar last year. Oscar and McLaren have made a decent step up this year and I think if he continues this approach it will hold him in good stead.
I don’t wish divers to crash but it isn’t true that Piastri or Norris chances are increasing by being cautious. They’ve lost out the most and Max had the biggest gain from these first laps incidents. Of course you never know how contact will end up, but if both drivers race get compromised it could easily be 2 races compromised for Max, one for Oscar and one for Lando which would actually mean a bigger gaps between the McLaren drivers and Max (and maybe a more cautious Max in the future).
Not supporting the approach but the caution of the McLaren drivers is costing them in relative terms.
Then of course it would benefit Russell and the other teams in WCC.
Just not agreeing with the comment this is maximising their chances, and McLaren is gifting a bit RedBull.
Glad they keep it on track though, and hoping the championship lives through the season.
‘I was surprised to see that pole-sitter Oscar Piastri was so timid at the first corner. He has normally been a robust and smart operator in situations like this, against both Norris and Verstappen.’
Maybe because Oscar was preventing George who was second on that moment while Max was third he was surprised Max took the racing line entering the corner with more speed then Oscar and befor oscar could react Max was already next to him.
So he was NOT timid as he did what was good (for him) but was surprised by Max.
So they made an illegal modification to the car that is visible. Won the Indy 500 with it, then put it in a museum so everyone can see said bit and walk around it? Why didn’t they swap it out for legal part before putting it on display? In words of Spinal Tap; “It’s such a fine line between stupid, and clever”.
It appears to be an odd situation, and why did Scott McLaughlin’s car pass? It seems to indicate they didn’t think it was illegal. Usually something that obvious would be picked up by other teams. If you did that in F1 every other team would notice, and be off to lodge a protest ASAP.
@bernasaurus Pruett does also state that, whilst the car in the museum has the modified part, he doesn’t know when exactly that modification was made (i.e. it’s not clear if it did actually race with that modification, or if the modified part was added later when the car was turned into a museum exhibit).
Mooa42, in the case of Scott McLaughlin, the article states that the attenuator fitted to his car hadn’t been modified in the same way that those on the other cars had and was therefore legal.
Pruett has since found a photo that appears to show the blended part on the race winning car. It would be bizarre to swap the part for an illegal one to place in the museum. Agree with the comment above that the blaze approach seems to indicate they didn’t think it was illegal.
I hereby formally retract my COTD from a year ago:
“That push to pass telemetry isn’t just being sent to ‘several parties’, it’s freely broadcasted to anyone with the Indycar app on their phone. Admittedly, it’s not real time, and is only updated once per lap, but I *think* there would have been enough there for literally anyone to notice the discrepancy.
Whilst obviously they deserve the disqualifications, I am now inclined to believe that it really was an honest mistake by all parties, mainly because Penske are far too professional to have cheated in such an amateurish and easily spotted way. They’d cheat in a much more professional way than this.”
It now would appear that Penske are indeed amateurs at cheating…
So disappointed once more. Penstemon and their drivers don’t need any of this. To get involved in blatany cheating two years in a row warrants a much more severe penalty than a meagre fine and losing a grid position.
It is fascinating that the media keep pushing the narrative that the championship rivalry will come down to Lando and Max. Currently, that is nowhere near the case. Oscar played it safe against a driver that is well behind him in the championship. That’s a smart move.
Good on Doohan to actually call out the perpetrators. Team press releases, like Alpine’s, sound like school teachers being politically correct and frankly, no one has the time to read between the lines. If fans from a particular country are misbehaving they need to be identified and dealt with head on. That sort of abuse is not acceptable in any form.
XM (@xmf1)
20th May 2025, 1:29
What’s with that Telegraph headline LOL! Oscar played smart, the way he’s driving now reminded me of Max last year. He understands he won 4 races already, 3 of them in a row. He’s on a strong charge to win the driver’s championship. He’s got two drivers challenging him for it, three if you also don’t ignore George. He’s gotta stay in the race and keep scoring points to stay ahead of the rest. He’s leading and there’s no need for him to unnecessarily get into battles that could end his races.
MarkWebber (@markwebber)
20th May 2025, 4:02
Max had an over 50 point lead after Imola last year, if Piastri falls behind Norris again in the next race his lead in the championship will be at risk. It’s too soon to play it safe.
Mooa42
20th May 2025, 6:29
I disagree. Playing to finish a race is always a good strategy, and something Oscar has done in previous championships he has won. Play smart and take wins when you can safely do so, and then fight at the end of the season if needed.
From Imola to Azerbaijan last year (11 races) Oscar outscored Lando, and I think it is fair to say that Lando had a lot more speed than Oscar last year. Oscar and McLaren have made a decent step up this year and I think if he continues this approach it will hold him in good stead.
Jeanrien (@jeanrien)
20th May 2025, 10:03
I don’t wish divers to crash but it isn’t true that Piastri or Norris chances are increasing by being cautious. They’ve lost out the most and Max had the biggest gain from these first laps incidents. Of course you never know how contact will end up, but if both drivers race get compromised it could easily be 2 races compromised for Max, one for Oscar and one for Lando which would actually mean a bigger gaps between the McLaren drivers and Max (and maybe a more cautious Max in the future).
Not supporting the approach but the caution of the McLaren drivers is costing them in relative terms.
Then of course it would benefit Russell and the other teams in WCC.
Just not agreeing with the comment this is maximising their chances, and McLaren is gifting a bit RedBull.
Glad they keep it on track though, and hoping the championship lives through the season.
MacLeod (@macleod)
20th May 2025, 7:53
Maybe because Oscar was preventing George who was second on that moment while Max was third he was surprised Max took the racing line entering the corner with more speed then Oscar and befor oscar could react Max was already next to him.
So he was NOT timid as he did what was good (for him) but was surprised by Max.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
20th May 2025, 5:18
So they made an illegal modification to the car that is visible. Won the Indy 500 with it, then put it in a museum so everyone can see said bit and walk around it? Why didn’t they swap it out for legal part before putting it on display? In words of Spinal Tap; “It’s such a fine line between stupid, and clever”.
Mooa42
20th May 2025, 6:34
It appears to be an odd situation, and why did Scott McLaughlin’s car pass? It seems to indicate they didn’t think it was illegal. Usually something that obvious would be picked up by other teams. If you did that in F1 every other team would notice, and be off to lodge a protest ASAP.
anon
20th May 2025, 7:56
@bernasaurus Pruett does also state that, whilst the car in the museum has the modified part, he doesn’t know when exactly that modification was made (i.e. it’s not clear if it did actually race with that modification, or if the modified part was added later when the car was turned into a museum exhibit).
Mooa42, in the case of Scott McLaughlin, the article states that the attenuator fitted to his car hadn’t been modified in the same way that those on the other cars had and was therefore legal.
Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
20th May 2025, 8:07
Pruett has since found a photo that appears to show the blended part on the race winning car. It would be bizarre to swap the part for an illegal one to place in the museum. Agree with the comment above that the blaze approach seems to indicate they didn’t think it was illegal.
Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
20th May 2025, 8:08
*blasé autocorrect got me
Alesici
20th May 2025, 16:19
I hereby formally retract my COTD from a year ago:
“That push to pass telemetry isn’t just being sent to ‘several parties’, it’s freely broadcasted to anyone with the Indycar app on their phone. Admittedly, it’s not real time, and is only updated once per lap, but I *think* there would have been enough there for literally anyone to notice the discrepancy.
Whilst obviously they deserve the disqualifications, I am now inclined to believe that it really was an honest mistake by all parties, mainly because Penske are far too professional to have cheated in such an amateurish and easily spotted way. They’d cheat in a much more professional way than this.”
It now would appear that Penske are indeed amateurs at cheating…
Don
20th May 2025, 15:22
I think more questions need to be asked about last years winning car. If this somehow got through inspection, how did the other teams not notice?
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
20th May 2025, 6:31
I love Marshall Pruett. Such a great reporter!
MichaelN
20th May 2025, 7:06
So disappointed once more. Penstemon and their drivers don’t need any of this. To get involved in blatany cheating two years in a row warrants a much more severe penalty than a meagre fine and losing a grid position.
MichaelN
20th May 2025, 7:08
Penske and, that is. Although these autocorrect shenanigans did teach me what a penstemon is, quite the fancy flower.
baasbas
20th May 2025, 8:07
MichaelN:
Penstemon in dutch would translate to english as snake head, or snakes head.
You might be on to something
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
20th May 2025, 10:01
It also sounds like anpest infected Pokémon
colin
20th May 2025, 13:51
It is fascinating that the media keep pushing the narrative that the championship rivalry will come down to Lando and Max. Currently, that is nowhere near the case. Oscar played it safe against a driver that is well behind him in the championship. That’s a smart move.
Urvaksh (@thedoctor03)
20th May 2025, 14:53
Good on Doohan to actually call out the perpetrators. Team press releases, like Alpine’s, sound like school teachers being politically correct and frankly, no one has the time to read between the lines. If fans from a particular country are misbehaving they need to be identified and dealt with head on. That sort of abuse is not acceptable in any form.