Welcome to Friday’s edition of the RaceFans round-up.
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Russell: ‘F1 is riding a wave – but it won’t take much for it to come crashing down’ (The Independent)
'What’s changed? It’s been an evolution... I was just driving at 110 per cent too often in the past. I was looking for those big wins and I didn’t care if it came at the expense of the odd mistake.'
Ferrari have a fundamental issue and the solution is not in sight (The Telegraph)
'The rumour mill suggests a fundamental issue with the rear suspension design is not allowing them to run the car in the optimum ride height window and it could take until Silverstone to resolve that. A double disqualification, amazingly for two different issues, in China was the nadir. It came just 24 hours after the high point of the year so far with Hamilton’s dominant win in the sprint race.'
No changes to 2024 Indy results - Boles (Racer)
'Asked if IndyCar planned to launch an investigation into the number two Chevy’s legality as it was used it to beat Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward to the finish line by 0.3417s, Boles reiterated his stance on the matter being closed. 'No, sir, it won the Indianapolis 500,' he added.'
Penske focused on moving forward after shock firings following Indy 500 cheating scandal (Associated Press)
'It was just the pressure from outside. I guess Roger had to make a tough decision, but I can tell you these were very credible people. They really were. As you know, the infraction was very minor. It wasn’t a performance gain.'
Pagenaud teaching Indy secrets to eager pupil McLaughlin (IndyCar)
'It’s obviously quite different. I'm more stressed watching than I was driving. It’s tough to send your friend to battle like that and take the responsibility that you might tell him something that could put him in danger.'
Bernie Collins and Andy Stevenson join the Grand Prix Trust (Grand Prix Trust)
'They are two highly regarded F1 industry professionals with considerable experience, and who also have a passion and respect for our 75-year-old sport. As we increase the reach and achievements of the Trust, they will play an important role.'
All #F1 driver penalties and investigations so far this year, updated ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix:
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— RaceFans (@racefans.net) 22 May 2025 at 10:40
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Jere (@jerejj)
23rd May 2025, 7:06
I was unaware of FE having such a red flag rule, & while it works in practice, I still feel that doing the same in F1 would be excessive.
Not counting tyre changes for a different compound as fulfilling the minimum two-compound requirement (if only one has been used up to that point) would be fully reasonable.
I like the wall images near the press conference room.
I noticed that a certain image of Yuki I’ve seen before on the Internet is there & how Max jokes about him in that image.
A Lewis image I’ve seen before is also there, although I haven’t seen the Charles image before, & I struggle to make out the Franco image.
Yes (@come-on-kubica)
23rd May 2025, 9:22
With frequency of the Red Flag usage when previously this wasn’t the case – the rule should be you keep the same tyres and if there is an issue you have a choice to pit on the formation lap after the red flag or risk it.
MichaelN
23rd May 2025, 9:41
Penske cleaning out the leadership is a decent step, but at the same time the bare minimum. It seems long overdue to put an end to this situation where Penske owns the series, Penske owns the premier event and track, Penske owns the biggest team, and Penske’s team keeps getting caught breaking the rules.
At least this year the drivers aren’t as implicated as last year, with the bogus excuses by Newgarden about his use of the P2P sounding especially hollow. Shame, he seemed like a pleasant enough character.
David BR (@david-br)
23rd May 2025, 10:28
COTD (any cars requiring repairs or tyre changes under a red flag start at the back of the grid) is too insanely simple, sensible and common sense for Formula 1.
Roger Ayles (@roger-ayles)
23rd May 2025, 14:01
The thing with Red flags and SC/VSC’s and allowing or banning car changes is that whichever way you do it it’s still going to create an unfairness for some more than others.
As it is now obviously if you pit under green and then a SC/VSC or Red flag comes out then those yet to pit get an advantage.
However if you ban tyre changes during red flags or SC/VSC then your swinging it the other way where it’s those who were yet to pit who get disadvantaged and in the case of a red flag or SC they will arguably end up getting hurt far more as with the field more bunched on the restart they lose far more time when they pit.
Pitting early is just as much of a gamble as staying out and running longer so I just never really understood why some seem to take the view that staying out and running long means you have taken a bigger risk and therefore been disadvantaged more by a SC/Red Flag is a fairer outcome than it is for those who stop early getting disadvantaged.
But then maybe peoples view on these things nowadays purely comes down to how they feel it affected the entertainment of the race rather than looking at it from more of a sporting perspective.
Jeanrien (@jeanrien)
23rd May 2025, 17:01
With the technology in F1, the fairest way is still to apply a track specific delta time if cars pit under red flag, to be applied at the last ranking prior to race neutralisation (in case VSC/SC comes before the red flag).
It is still an advantage for teams as they take the decision with full insight, but with limited impact on the race.
It might be a bit too complicated for some fans but I think most would manage.