In the round-up: Lewis Hamilton says he is proud to see more drivers from under-represented backgrounds entering motorsport.
Links
Your daily digest of F1 news, views, features and more from hundreds of sites across the web:
Lewis Hamilton: Breaking racial barriers (Graham Bensinger via YouTube)
Lessons have been learned - exclusive Daniil Kvyat Q&A (F1)
"The warning signs were in the air for a year and a half. But when you have brought your first podium to the team two weeks before, yes, then that comes as a surprise - and you can’t really be happy with the decision they are making."
Sebastian Vettel says Red Bull driver swap decided before Russia (Sky)
"I don't think it has anything to do with what happened in Sochi. As I learned, it has been decided already beforehand."
Grosjean brands Kvyat demotion ‘harsh’ (Crash)
"He was on the podium in China and then the next race, his home grand prix, he got a bit too excited. Messed up the first two turns. It happens. I think it's harsh on him."
Verstappen is Red Bull's future, says Horner (Reuters)
"A Ricciardo-Verstappen line up for me is potentially one of the, if not the, strongest pairing of future years."
Hamilton first to get new MGU-H design (Motorsport)
"Lewis Hamilton will get exclusive use of a revised and improved MGU-H for the Spanish Grand Prix, as Mercedes bids to end his run of reliability troubles."
Hamilton hopes he is wrong about 2017 rules (Autosport)
"I hope I'm wrong and this isn't another case of a bad change, like the qualifying rules."
Button savouring start of European season (F1i)
"Every time we drive this car there are some big improvements."
Hermann Tilke: 'The goal is to show historic and modern Baku to world' (Azer Tac)
"The reason of the choice of this track is to bring the historic and modern view of Baku to the world community."
Sky F1 coverage set to move beyond broadcast with commitment to fibre optic (James Allen on F1)
"It should mean that Sky is better equipped for Over the Top services and can explore other exciting new technologies like Virtual Reality further in the future and on a global scale."
Venezuela Is Falling Apart (The Atlantic)
"While Venezuelans were dying for lack of simple, inexpensive pills, their radical socialist government was spending tens of millions a year to keep a native son, Pastor Maldonado, competing in the Formula 1 global auto-racing circuit."
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
Standing room only. pic.twitter.com/FF96il2kw8
— Alan Baldwin (@alanbaldwinf1) May 12, 2016
A huge Spanish crowd in the pitlane. No prizes for guessing who's garage they're outside chanting for #F1 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/KsEmsSpm23
— John Sertori (@Adorimedia) May 12, 2016
New pointier nose tip for Mercedes, serrated endplates and no turning vanes fitted for scrutineering. pic.twitter.com/F1KOvP7qhb
— Craig Scarborough (@ScarbsTech) May 12, 2016
Fair play to Kvyat, who wants to punch everyone in the face, but he's being truly dignified about it. The kid done good.
— f1bastard (@f1bastard) May 12, 2016
Well done @Dany_Kvyat handling a very difficult press conference with great style and maturity. The right level of confidence and attitude
— Martin Brundle (@MBrundleF1) May 12, 2016
New Formula One™ blockbuster set in mid 60's due to film @SilverstoneUK with female writer/director in 2017 #BRMP261 pic.twitter.com/juLo5Nr9Lr
— Silverstone (@SilverstoneUK) May 12, 2016
Good to see k&n filters in F1 even if just as fuel tank breathers pic.twitter.com/ggI5CR18wO
— Craig Scarborough (@ScarbsTech) May 12, 2016
And the winner of the #SpanishGP press conference is… Fernando Alonso pic.twitter.com/VGzmMyUDkM https://t.co/hKJEubQ6jQ #F1 @alo_oficial
— F1 Fanatic (@f1fanatic_co_uk) May 12, 2016
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
Jay was surprised to read Sergio Marchionne stating that Alfa Romeo need to sell more cars before being represented in F1:
Curious comments by Marchionne. Needing to sell more cars before getting into F1? Isn’t it the other way around?
Or is it the fact that Alfa has completely dropped out of the average person’s imagination? I’d like to think so. When I was growing up in the 80s and 90s, all I ever wanted was a GTV6 and then a 155, also used to love the old Alfettas. They were sexy cars, as they stood out, it had a element of madness in chic sort of way. For all its unreliability, I’d still have one, just for the way they used to look. But over the last decade or so (the 156 was the last Alfa that looked like an Alfa), the sex and madness seems to have been shoved in a back cupboard somewhere while being subject to a Fiat-Chrysler brainwash.
The real question is, should they be coming into F1? I’d say no. They should go back to touring cars where the aesthetics of the Alfa can be appreciated. The BTCC 155 of the early nineties is permanently etched in my memory as one of the most beautiful touring cars of all time.
Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
From the forum
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Stephen, Mclarengal and Quinn!
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On this day in F1
David Coulthard won the Austrian Grand Prix on this day 15 years ago. Behind him Rubens Barrichello surrendered second place to Michael Schumacher on Ferrari team orders – a foretaste of what was to follow one year later when Barrichello was leading on the last lap.
pcxmac (@xsavior)
13th May 2016, 0:14
Two walls that still haunt Lewis, IMO, are the press, and the pedaling of certain stereotypes, and his own team, with the ‘reliability’/design issues hes had to contend with in the last two years. When Lewis gets a decent/clean run at a championship and the press stop questioning his commitment/consistency/emotional state/motivation/’brain power’/etc… Then I think he will have done just about as much as one man can do, if he can do that with out selling out to a lie, then he will have accomplished something great. Fingers crossed for Lewis Hamilton.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
13th May 2016, 1:59
Not disagreeing just saying that Rosberg had a throttle pedal failure and 2 cleaning fluid contaminations? Weird reliability for Mercedes.
Jordi Casademunt (@casjo)
13th May 2016, 2:59
A clean run like in 2015?
Sam Crawford
13th May 2016, 8:00
Hahaha #PrayforLewis am I right?
He’s had 2 major failures this season, big deal, he had more than his fair share of luck in the past 2 seasons. I for one don’t like his personality, I think he’s condescending, too quick to blame others when things don’t go right and puts on a false “laid back” persona. I’d rather he be aggressive and calculating in press conferences like he is on the track.
rantingmrp (@rantingmrp)
13th May 2016, 10:03
Presumptuous nonsense.
What evidence do you have that he ‘puts on a false laid back persona’? You are his shrink? Who are you to decide what he should be like on or off the track? Who cares what you’d rather he was like?
JCost (@jcost)
13th May 2016, 11:38
+1.
Mike (@mike)
13th May 2016, 12:17
I am not a Lewis fan really, but I don’t think it’s put on at all. He is just a very complex, sometimes conflicted individual who is very intelligent but sometimes gets undone rationally by emotion. No one ever does or says things for no reason, for every thing he does that makes me cringe, there is another side to that story that none of us, but especially people who don’t know him don’t get to see.
The entirety of what we see is what comes through the media, which, as good as it can be, can never really convey the people we are watching as they really are.
This is why I love when drivers go live on facebook or why watching the press conferences are so interesting. Because sometimes we do actually get to see the real person. And when you do that, it is impossible not to like them all at least a little bit.
Tony Mansell
13th May 2016, 15:41
AHh bless, you don’t like his personality. And you base your comments on the few seconds you see him being interviewed on telly!!! Its almost funny. However I just did make my mind up about someone based on one post so perhaps its possible
dbHenry
13th May 2016, 16:48
There is a third wall for Lewis to break down, win a race in 2016 and remove the monkey from his back.
Lewis has had just as much of a fair run this year as anyone. Compare his luck to Vettel’s luck. There is no such thing as making an F1 car that is bullet proof, it’s part of the game. Plus one must contend with the other drivers on the track. There are far too many things that can go wrong with these engineering masterpieces.
Who is to say that Rosberg hasn’t figured something out with the style in which he drives the car. Maybe his style of driving gets more from the current Merc.
In the end, Rosberg has simply outperformed thus far.
mfreire
13th May 2016, 0:16
Major manufacturers don’t get into motor racing to win. That’s a rather silly reason. They get into racing to test technology to put on their road cars. That is Marichionne’s goal: put Alfa into F1, and their cars will be better engineered. With the exception of Ferrari and maybe Mercedes, all manufacturers enter racing for that reason. Ferrari started out as a racing team in 1929- Enzo Ferrari started making cars in 1947 to fund his racing. Every other manufacturer have the exact opposite approach to the automotive business.
ColdFly F1 (@)
13th May 2016, 6:15
They enter to get brand recognition/association; and you get most of that when winning.
If just testing, then there are many other alternatives where you won’t risk burning your face.
Dr. Jekyll (@dr-jekyll)
13th May 2016, 7:02
@coldfly
nono, we see so many diffusers, wing endplates, F-ducts and coanda exhaust systems on production cars, it’s really really important to test it on F1 first
ColdFly F1 (@)
13th May 2016, 7:58
So Aston Martin is testing the aerodynamic impact of their bonnet logo ;-)
@dr-jekyll
I don’t think we’re really disagreeing.
My point is that manufacturers only want to put their name to it when there are successes. Otherwise they would test anonymously (provide technical support to a team) or secretly (outside of a competition).
G
13th May 2016, 10:52
who was it that once said… “win on Sunday, Sell on Monday”?
“vincere la Domenica , vendi il Lunedi” :)
Robbie (@robbie)
13th May 2016, 12:30
I’ve always associated that phrase with NASCAR.
anon
13th May 2016, 23:18
@robbie, the phrase certainly seems to have been much more commonly used in the US stock car racing scene, even if, pretty much throughout the history of that series, the cars were “stock cars” in name only.
hoshino (@hoshino)
13th May 2016, 0:27
It would be great if the Tilke’s goal was, at least once, to make a good racing circuit.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
13th May 2016, 0:37
That was pretty much exactly what I thought.
Todfod (@todfod)
13th May 2016, 5:12
That’s exactly what I thought as well. It’s almost like Tilke hasn’t been briefed on the objectives before he designs a circuit.
verstappen (@verstappen)
13th May 2016, 6:28
Yep
BasCB (@bascb)
13th May 2016, 6:43
indeed @hoshino. It clearly points to the fault in design being in the basic concept they start from, a great racing track just is not a priority factor in the overall design.
Mike (@mike)
13th May 2016, 12:24
I wonder what he would do, if he had no rules to limit him. What would he build and where?
We shall probably never know.
Atticus (@atticus-2)
13th May 2016, 0:39
I’m so sad for Kvyat.
He seems like the kind of guy who, going by some flashes of brilliance such as Spa 2015 and his Shanghai start this year, does have “it” somewhere deep inside him, but who is clearly unable to produce the goods as consistently as, say, Ricciardo, probably due to feeling the pressure more. (And please don’t start on a Kvyat>Ricciardo debate cause we’re kind of past that one.)
But at the same time it’s still ringing in my ears how he, after his umpteenth great overtake in Spa drew a compliment from the team on the radio, enthusiastically replied “thanks guys” and his voice just seemed to relieved that he’s doing well and proud that he could deliver for his team… And being axed by your team, for a guy like this, it must be a truly horrible feeling – to know that you were so dedicated yet it didn’t work out…
In fact it did seem from a few shots today that he hasn’t had much sleep and/or cried quite a bit in the past few days, so baggy and red his eyes were…
Atticus (@atticus-2)
13th May 2016, 0:40
*seemed so relieved
Todfod (@todfod)
13th May 2016, 5:20
I thought he did a great job last year. I had predicted he’d be a good match for Ricciardo, and he was. I didn’t think he was better than Ricciardo, but he was much closer than people on this site make him out to be. I just don’t think Kvyat played the inter team politics or Red Bull media friendly game well enough. That could be the reason about him talking about what goes on off the track and behind the curtain.
I’m sure he’s even more gutted to lose the seat to Verstappen, who hasn’t really proved himself capable of driving for a top team yet. Nonetheless, I expect Kvyat to bounce back from this, and land a good drive for himself out of the Red Bull stable next year. He’s definitely more worthy of being on the grid than a lot of drivers out there.
Johannes (@johanness)
13th May 2016, 7:06
He’s likely to cause even more trouble mid-pack with his torpedo style.
Todfod (@todfod)
13th May 2016, 9:11
Dude, it was one race. I’ve seen all the current WDCs on the grid with worst moments than that
GeeMac (@geemac)
13th May 2016, 12:08
Exactly, it was one race and the “torpedo” comment came after a move that resulted in zero contact between himself and the guy he passed.
We aren’t still calling Vettel the “crash kid” so lets move on…
Mike (@mike)
13th May 2016, 12:25
@geemac
I remember that….
Ah good times.
Mick Harrold (@mickharrold)
13th May 2016, 14:30
I agree. Sad for Kvyat. RB have push their drivers hard and he has been burnt here. It’s like a brake pad that didn’t last 50 laps. Replaced by something else. The difference with a brake pad and a driver is that a brake pad is what it is. A driver may get better in the future.
TBH, I support RB promoting Verstappen. Kvyat did not deliver. The pressure got to him and Ricciardo owned him mentally. However, I watched the Thursday Press conference and I can’t think of another time in the whole of my time watching F1 where someone has been so totally demoralised and forced to face the cameras. If he had cried, I probably would have too. I think he was close at one point. I was.
Demotion deserved? Possibly. Harsh Yes! But that is F1. The thing that makes it so harsh is that other teams keep drivers who they shouldn’t keep. Yet RB discard OK drivers like licked lollypops. It puts this decision in the spotlight, but I do kind of think that more teams should be a bit more ruthless. I can think of another 5+ drivers who are more worthy of being turfed than Kvyat. But that doesn’t make RB the bad guys, it makes them the smart ones.
The others need to lift there game and get rid of the dead wood too. For instance, why does Ferrari pay Kimi massive dollars to under deliver each year when they can pay nothing for another young driver who may also under deliver but may also be the next big thing? Kimi is never going to be the next big thing. I like Kimi, but paying him big dollars is just plain stupid. RB would never do something like that.
EF1
13th May 2016, 0:42
What, no conspiracy theories over HAM getting a new design of MGU and Rosberg having to use the old unreliable unit? If that was LuLu his ‘fans’ would be crying foul all over again! Love the hypocrisy.
Scepter (@scepter)
13th May 2016, 1:32
When Rosberg, or one of the other 7 Merc engine equip cars has a engine issue, then you can claim the unit is unreliable.
KhanistanF1 (@khanistanf1)
13th May 2016, 2:14
Yeah even if HAM beats ROS this weekend it seems that his engine is a new and improved one.
Mercede are pandering to him because his fans who believe in such conspiracy theories are nutcases. Cannot believe that they are so easily influenced. Rather than fix the problem an keep the unit they seemed to have decided to give a brand new upgraded version.
bosyber (@bosyber)
13th May 2016, 4:34
Actually, reading about it, they are sort of hoping that a slightly different design, very carefully assembled, won’t break @khanistanF1; I’d also guess that with HAM only having two ‘free’ units left, the team gave him an improved version they were going to introduce in a few races after more testing, so that if it doesn’t break, he won’t automatically needs to take a penalty later on. If it does break, at least the new unit gave on track data… Not really pandering, that.
KhanistanF1 (@khanistanf1)
13th May 2016, 8:18
Ok that’s a fair point actually giving him the new unit early has pros and cons. Fair enough.
rantingmrp (@rantingmrp)
13th May 2016, 10:05
You must be a senior engineer at Mercedes F1 to have the facts to support such a penetrating insight.
Mike (@mike)
13th May 2016, 12:26
Pretty much what I was thinking.
I don’t know what or how they do things, but given they have delivered the last two championships to the team, I trust them on this one.
JCost (@jcost)
13th May 2016, 11:40
Such nonsense… what would you say if ROS beats him?
sunny stivala
13th May 2016, 6:48
there is something just not right with what is being said/reported re the merecedes car 44 MGU-H, If Mercedes only replaces car 44 MGU-H with a new MGU-H design they will be running/using 2 different MGU-H specifications. Mercedes seems to be unsure that the fault is with the MGU-H itself, to the extant of a new design being needed to solve the problem, if a new design was needed to solve the problem they would not risk not changing MGU-H on both cars.
bogaaaa (@nosehair)
13th May 2016, 1:49
l personally would love to see more talent coming up from other backgrounds, nationalities, and from developing countries, it would be great for F1 and the fans world wide….Shame due the nature of F1, talent cant be seen on soccer grounds in Africa.
Nationalism and F1 have played a part with teams and drivers. and because of F1 culture, most teams have been based in Briton, and there was always a advantage of being a Brit driver getting into F1 until recent times….a good example is when Frank Williams cars where dominate in 90s and early 2000s, Frank gave the likes of Hill, Button and DC all their first F1 races in the best car on the grid… l wonder if these drivers had of started at the back of the grid how many seasons they would of stayed in F1….Now if we can only get rid of the talentless rich kid drivers coming into F1
anon
13th May 2016, 6:14
That same Williams team also gave a seat to figures such as Villeneuve, Frentzen, Patrese and Ralf Schumacher in a similar time frame, so it wasn’t as if Williams were being that biased towards British drivers (Button was the last British driver to drive for them back in 2000).
If anything, you were far more likely to come across a French or Italian driver in the early 1990’s than a British one – remember figures like Grouillard, Alliot or Comas being given drives, or perhaps Larini, Capelli and Morbidelli? It wasn’t as if those drivers were always good either – for example, Alliot was so accident prone that Hunt called him one of the worst drivers ever to have taken part in F1.
sonia luff (@sonia54)
13th May 2016, 20:06
You forgot Hamilton in the Mclaren. He didn’t start at the back of the grid either did he ?
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
13th May 2016, 2:03
I’m glad to hear so many opinions about Red Bull’s decision. It’s not their business but it’s good to hear that they also think Red Bull should give more time to their drivers.
Nowadays specially these guys are rushed into F1 and then, in Kvyat’s case, rushed into a top team way too quickly. Hamilton had years of eating miles and miles testing McLaren cars, so did Alonso and Massa with Renault and Ferrari. Even after their F1 debuts!
I understand Red Bull’s move concerning Verstappen: they want him at their camp. But this way of “developing” drivers must be hugely costly for them…
Jordi Casademunt (@casjo)
13th May 2016, 3:14
This is Kvyat’s third year in F1.
In his first year, he was thrown into an unreliable midfield car against a rated experienced driver. Then, for his second year, he gets thrown into an underperforming top team against a “champion-killer” teammate.
Yes, geniuses like Verstappen might be able to handle the rushing (and we’ll have to see how he deals with the pressure this year, because until now his only measuring stick was another unknown quantity, now he has to deal with a proven driver), but some drivers take some nurturing to start shining. Kvyat’s only chance might be the fact Red Bull’s junior program looks a bit underwhelming right now, so unless Pierre Gasly starts performing he might get a 3rd year at Toro Rosso.
Also, Horner’s comments should serve as a warning to Sainz Jr. He doesn’t have room at Red Bull (unless Ricciardo gets demolished by Verstappen, which is unlikely). He should start looking for another seat (and sponsors, that should help).
x303 (@x303)
13th May 2016, 17:16
I feel the same about Sainz @casjo. I don’t see him going to RB. And if he is such a disturbance to Toro Rosso, other teams will think twice before hiring him.
Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
13th May 2016, 5:31
Thanks for CotD @keithcollantine!
BasCB (@bascb)
13th May 2016, 6:49
A good one too @jaymenon10. While I am not sure touring cars has the fan base currently to build up a brand I am convinced that your point about first having to get anyone to actually know the brand is on the map and having an exciting line of cars to sell before moving on to promote those with motorsports is spot on.
When DTM was at its high, I used to watch those alfa’s dominate :-)
Alfa did make some exciting cars, but currently i don’t even know what markets they are actually in and what cars they sell.
ColdFly F1 (@)
13th May 2016, 6:11
I just learned that the Netherlands will swap songs with Russia at Eurovision Song Contest.
BasCB (@bascb)
13th May 2016, 6:45
lol
BasCB (@bascb)
13th May 2016, 7:02
Thanks for the story about Venezuela @keithcollantine, a really sad story about a political experiment that went horribly bad for the people of the country.
On one hand I think it’s a shame that Maldonado never got that breakthrough that might have made him a great driver. On the other hand we can only be glad that his government is not wasting any more money supporting his F1 career. Especially when the money will have contributed to his failure to learn from mistakes (as money solves every problem, right)
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
13th May 2016, 8:24
Actually @willwood tipped me off on that one.
BasCB (@bascb)
13th May 2016, 8:40
Well, thanks for including it. And thanks Will for the tip!
Mike (@mike)
13th May 2016, 12:44
Reading that makes me understand how lucky I am to be able to sit in front of a pc chatting about a race I’ll watch on the weekend.
I’ll be getting pizza. That makes me lucky and I understand that.
Colin Hope
13th May 2016, 7:32
The front wing picture shows why F1 costs are so high. Make it simple and less vulnerable.
ColdFly F1 (@)
13th May 2016, 7:45
That’s a really insightful comment, @bascb.
Some people might assess his talent differently when taking that into account.
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
13th May 2016, 8:13
@jaymenon10 A GT3 project might be an even better, especially in relation to Marchionne’s own ambition to establish Alfa as a sporting brand. It is rumoured that a replacement for the 8c Competizione is the pipeline, which would be perfect for GT3 conversion. It’s just a lower platform that could eventually lead to F1, but as I have discussed, GT racing is doing well enough at the moment anyway: https://opinionatedmotorsportfan.com/2016/05/11/opinion-why-gt-racing-has-stolen-the-show-so-far-in-2016/
Night Fury (@toothless)
13th May 2016, 9:10
I hope LH doesn’t say that when racing in Monaco or Singapore.
Robbie (@robbie)
13th May 2016, 12:36
Ha ha!
Tony Mansell
13th May 2016, 15:35
As an Alfa Romeo Brera owner I wholeheartedly disagree with the COTD. Its probably more to do with him getting older . Certainly I covet less cars than I did when I were a teen and earlier. I used to sit in my dads Saab Turbo for hours..whilst it was parked in the garage, pretending to drive. Now I cant wait to get out of it !
#whatabouttheAlfa2C