In the round-up: Kimi Raikkonen says he is focusing on trying to fine-tune his Alfa Romeo for the very different demands of the Albert Park street circuit.
What they say
I think when we got the car it’s been working well and it’s been pretty nicely balanced. Last week we didn’t really do a lot of set-up work but we tried a lot of things today just to see what happens when you change things. So far OK. I don’t know where we are. It’s guessing from our side, we only know what we do.
There’s always a lot of things and we always run out of time every year, but that’s the same as everybody. We’re just trying to put things the way we think is the best now and do our programme and then see where we can be in Australia.
We have to be ready because obviously every circuit is different, especially Australia it’s a bit different circuit, street circuit, so we need to kind of have an idea if the set-up is not where we want, what are we going to do. That’s what really today [we] try to figure out.
Quotes: Dieter Rencken
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
Our car has been broken in again. Nothing stolen of course, as we never leave stuff inside. Our windows have already been smashed last year during the Grand Prix. It's not funny anymore. #AMuS pic.twitter.com/gtsA0LUZuu
— Tobi Grüner 🏁 (@tgruener) February 27, 2019
Sensationalist headlines all over one particular news outlet this past week about @MercedesAMGF1’s testing performance. Sandbags or not, the car hasn’t exactly been slow, and yesterday’s upgrades were not just a reaction to last week! Keep a lid on it…
— Will Tyson (@theWPTformula) February 27, 2019
I do wonder why @rich_energy can has (half) a union flag on front of can, when it’s made in Austria…indeed, I wonder why it’s made in the home of @redbull in the first place? pic.twitter.com/2WLTTZ3JT3
— Fritz-Dieter Rencken (@RacingLines) February 27, 2019
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
More motor racing links of interest:
176 laps completed on Wednesday in Barcelona (Mercedes)
"We got a lot of laps today which is a good thing, but we’ve come across a few little hurdles, so we’re just working our way through them, trying to be as diligent as possible trying to understand the causes – which is exactly what testing is for."
LED display panels are back and better than ever for 2019 season (IndyCar)
"The previous-generation matrix LED (light-emitting diode) system was discontinued midway through the 2018 season due to performance inconsistency on the cars."
Second test: Day two (Red Bull)
"In the afternoon, we went into a scheduled race simulation. We managed two-thirds of that but after Max had a brief off, we pitted for some routine checks with the gearbox. It’s not the easiest element of the car to get deep into, so it kept us in the garage for a while."
Barcelona test two: Day two (McLaren)
"I’d love to declare that this was an issue-free day, however we’re still contending with some small challenges."
Thank you Australia for bringing me home – but my fight is not over (The Guardian)
Hakeem al-Araibi: "Fans of Formula One racing need to help Najah. Formula One needs to be told that human rights abuses cannot be tolerated. I urge you to boycott this year’s Bahrain Grand Prix if Najah does not walk free before the Bahrain Grand Prix in March."
F1 driver Hamilton wants $57m for condo he never lived in (New York Post)
"The star Formula One race car driver has listed his sprawling 8,900-square-foot penthouse there for $57 million. Hamilton bought the unit for $43.99 million in 2017 and never lived there."
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Comment of the day
What are the realistic chances of Alonso making a return to F1?
It must be difficult when stuck in a rut trying to decide whether to cut your losses and leave. Alonso “sort of” did that last year and I’m not totally surprised to see him lingering around the team already.
The McLaren certainly seems to have made a step up, but it’s impossible to tell until Melbourne. I hope it’s a good year for the team.
I could see Alonso trying to get back in… surely McLaren won’t allow that in 2019 even if they surprise everyone by fighting for wins, but perhaps in 2020. It’s too harsh on Norris and Sainz to change plans this year, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Alonso in the car racing in 2020 if this season is promising (and maybe if he wins the Indy 500).
Ben Needham (@ben-n)
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Jon
28th February 2019, 0:50
Regarding the COTD, like many folks the first thing I thought of when I saw McLaren at the top of the timesheets was Alonso returning.
Certainly would not surprise me to see Alonso back driving a McLaren by the 2019 Spanish GP if the car really is competative. When it comes to F1, anything can happen, and it usually does. : )
ColdFly (@)
28th February 2019, 7:26
And it’s pretty likely that Sainz and/or Norris will make a mistake which gives McLaren the excuse to demote one of them.
I do think McLaren has a good package and can be close to the top in Melbourne. They might even claim: ‘now we can fight (again)’.
But I’m not convinced that they have re-learned how to develop during the season. And a good finishing position in Melbourne might well be their highlight of the season.
tonyyeb (@tonyyeb)
28th February 2019, 8:49
Whilst I think it is a bit cynical to think McLaren will look for ways to excuse putting Alonso back in the car, who on earth would rather have a rookie or Sainz in the car over Alonso?
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
28th February 2019, 8:53
I don’t see Alonso returning unless Norris is an absolute failure, which he won’t be. Yes, Alonso has more experience, but he doesn’t have much longevity. Norris, on the other hand has less experience but lots of longevity. With practice and experience Norris will get better. On the other hand, practice and experience won’t make Alonso younger. Maybe Alonso will do well in another racing series, but that doesn’t mean he will do well returning to F1. Presumably he left because he saw there was no future for him in F1, if so then he shouldn’t be surprised if his replacement did as well as he could have done when younger.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th February 2019, 10:12
You make a good point – there’s a chance that McLaren might put Alonso in Lando’s car for the Spanish GP alone, just to win some fan affection there.
Joao (@johnmilk)
28th February 2019, 10:58
why can’t they just get rid of Sainz all together?
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th February 2019, 11:19
@johnmilk – for that race alone – running 2 Spaniards for the PR buzz. Longer term, would make sense to invest in Lando, I agree.
Joao (@johnmilk)
28th February 2019, 11:21
@phylyp the race is in a part of Spain that doesn’t even consider itself to be Spain and probably will boo the Spanish Anthem. Better put Lando alone if you ask me
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th February 2019, 11:23
@johnmilk – ah yes, the Spainish GP.
Tristan (@skipgamer)
28th February 2019, 1:06
Alonso has been very clear that he will come back if he can fight for wins and McLaren have said they would welcome him back if he wants to return. So the questions remains: What are the realistic chances of McLaren fighting for wins? None.
The al-Araibi case is a scary example of the powers refugees flee and it happens all too often. Unfortunately unrealistic to expect a Barhain F1 boycott at least from a sporting perspective. It’s always brought up by a couple of outlets around this time but always gets pushed aside.
It would actually be great to see an international code stand for what is right just for once though :(
ColdFly (@)
28th February 2019, 7:31
I’m also struggling with what to boycott due to human right issue. The problem is that when starting with one or is a smaller stop to find an issue in the next country, and before you know it we can only race with a conscience in Belgium ;)
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
28th February 2019, 8:43
@coldfly if you think about it that is absolutely horrifying what you just said….
JCost (@jcost)
28th February 2019, 8:25
Alonso left Ferrari and they improved their performance the next day, same is happening with McLaren, seems that his patience runs out right at the end of bad days…
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
28th February 2019, 8:39
or Maybe, just Maybe, he is not exactly helping his teams
Joao (@johnmilk)
28th February 2019, 11:04
don’t be ridiculous, how dare you speak ill of the gods
thesud (@thesud)
28th February 2019, 9:22
In five years, Alonso twice managed to take the fight for the WDC to the final round, narrowly missing out both times. Vettel hasn’t managed that once in four years…
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th February 2019, 2:25
The biggest news for me today is that Dieter got his hands on a can of Rich Energy!
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
28th February 2019, 8:46
the made in Austria has me Thinking-
Maybe they Let the same Company produce their “beverage” as Red Bull does and Simply mailed them a pdf of how to print the can ?
Adrian Hancox (@ahxshades)
28th February 2019, 9:02
Thanks @phylyp – I thought it was just me. I travel a lot in the UK for work and everywhere I go I have looked for the stuff from small shops to supermarkets . . . nothing. I guess it will be for sale or given away at the tracks this year though.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th February 2019, 10:31
@mrboerns – that’s an interesting thought. It is likely if the factories are generic factories that are sub-contracted. That said, for the scale of Red Bull’s operations, I’d think they would own their own facilities, simply because the vertical integration will be cheaper in the long run. For instance, Coke own and operate all their factories in my country. Besides, Rich Energy claim to have a 50 million euro (or GBP?) plant up and running!
@ahxshades – I’m now waiting for Craig’s technical article about a comparison between Rich Energy and Red Bull ;-)
Rick D. (@partsguy20)
28th February 2019, 13:51
Rich Energy claims to have a 50 million Euro (or GBP?) plant up and running, but they didn’t say who actually owned the plant as far as I can recall. They might very well be having someone produce it for them under contract, much like some smaller beverage companies in the U.S. will have their production and bottling done by Coke (even if they’re competitors in the same market).
I still have a bad feeling about the whole Rich Energy thing… I want to trust that Gene Haas did his homework but my gut says something’s not right and the team will suffer for it somewhere down the road. I hope I’m wrong.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th February 2019, 14:25
@partsguy20 – ah, I didn’t know that was a thing. And yes, I – like you and others – have the same concerns that you’ve articulated.
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
28th February 2019, 15:35
@phylyp Red Bull is produced and distributed by Rauch afaik
Rauch also used to be on the rbr rearview mirrors, not sure if the brand is still on the car though
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th February 2019, 17:02
@mrboerns – thank you, good to know!
Joao (@johnmilk)
28th February 2019, 10:54
It’s funny because I always thought that re-branded cans of RedBull are called ToroRosso
CHIKANO (@chikano)
28th February 2019, 11:58
@johnmilk
LoL
Brilliant !!!
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
28th February 2019, 15:14
I think it’s online-only, and I’m guessing Rich Energy has a separate production facility (likely subcontracted) in the UK to ease Brexit. This would enable them to market themselves as British… …even though said facility probably won’t even activate until March 30, because if they do have their own Austrian facility (or even a larger-scale rental arrangement from Red Bull), Austria’s probably a cheaper production location in the interim.
Jere (@jerejj)
28th February 2019, 9:49
Regarding the COTD: I share the same views on it as @drycrust