In the round-up: Kimi Raikkonen says he had to take risks on the first lap as Alfa Romeo were not competitive at the Circuit de Catalunya.
What they say
We had to try to do something on the first lap to get places otherwise it’s not going to really happen. It’s a bit slippery there. B
But nevertheless I don’t think we had enough speed today. In the end we could do the same speed as the cars in front but that wasn’t enough. It was a difficult weekend overall. Luckily there’s testing next week so hopefully we can figure out what’s going on.
Quotes: Dieter Rencken
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
I owe you a Safety car. 😂😂 https://t.co/yFSVanAqIM
— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) May 12, 2019
Hey man the top 5 were only separated by 45 seconds before the safety car… so it was close.
— Alexander Rossi (@AlexanderRossi) May 12, 2019
Three drivers did their three best sector times on the same lap in qualifying:@ValtteriBottas @alex_albon @GeorgeRussell63 #F1 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/yLBdRxH4wc
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) May 11, 2019
As Ferrari fade, Mercedes are now further ahead of the @F1 competition than at any time since mid-2016.
Details: https://t.co/JL1IVII8Tw #F1 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/P9GztU5aXi
— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) May 11, 2019
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
More motor racing links of interest:
Robert Kubica: "I... lost a position to George but regained it in turn four. My first stint wasn’t looking too bad but, before he overtook me, I got called to change a few things on the steering wheel and I wasn’t expecting him to be so close. I wasn’t practically ready to defend and by the time I saw him in the mirror, it was too late."
Cyril Abiteboul: "We are not in line with the targets we have set ourselves."
A weekend to forget in Barcelona (Racing Point)
Otmar Szafnauer: "Lance was taken out of the race following an over-optimistic move by (Lando) Norris. Sergio was able to unlap himself under the safety car, but we simply didn’t have the pace to challenge for points in the closing stages. We will take this one on the chin and focus on learning more about the car in the test next week so that we can come back stronger for Monaco and beyond."
Lewis claims third consecutive win in Spain (Mercedes)
"To walk away with another one-two from Barcelona is amazing, especially when we consider how bleak our chances looked when we were here in winter testing."
Vergne Savors 'Controlled' Monaco Victory (e-racing365)
"We need to be full alert, maximum attack until the very end as we now have a chance and the other guys are so good and so competitive."
Rich List 2019: profiles 53-100, featuring Mike Ashley and Bernie Ecclestone (The Times)
Ecclestone is valued at £2.5 billion.
Early technical issues hold Louis back during F2 races in Spain (Louis Deletraz)
"One of the electronic boxes that is vital for the car broke and it couldn’t be fixed. That meant I only did one lap during practice and I went into qualifying without being able to do any set-up-work or race sims. Losing one of our four sessions handicapped the whole weekend."
We always endeavour to credit original sources. If you have a tip for a link to feature in the next RaceFans round-up please send it in via the contact form.
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Comment of the day
Are Ferrari failing to learn from their mistakes?
So Ferrari are happy with their strategies, but I doubt if their fans are. The fact that they unwilling to acknowledge they could have done better probably means not much learning is taking place and so we can look forward to a season’s worth of botched ‘team orders’.
F1 Codger
From the forum
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On this day in F1
- 40 years ago today Jody Scheckter won the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder for Ferrari. Meanwhile Alfa Romeo entered their first race since 1951.
Tristan (@skipgamer)
13th May 2019, 0:23
That’s nice from Cyril but I can’t wait to see an honest and open interview where what he is saying actually makes sense not just magically “we aim to be fighting for podiums next year!” it doesn’t matter how much time you spend working on car development if your team doesn’t have the ability to develop the car… If he can’t recognize that then he has to go.
Ross
13th May 2019, 1:09
IMO. They should’ve dropped Cyril instead of Fred. There is something definitely amiss in the Renault operation, it’s about time the leader of it bore the blame.
BaKano (@bakano)
13th May 2019, 6:53
It’s like Ross said. There is a reason that in many sports the manager leaves/is sent off when things go bad. You cannot replace a full team but if it continues to under-peform than leadership is at fault. In particular when the talk is the same for many seasons and results continue to fall short. First it was the engine as the team was progressing but now they needed to progress on the 2 fronts and they are falling back … drastically.
They expected a big jump in Spain but they were worse than previous races. The car was competitive in previous ones, during race, even if they failed to finish due to issues and driver errors but here in Spain they went backwards even if reliability improved. Considering not all opponents got full upgrades yet (Ferrari engine for instance) Renault will only find it harder to score so they’re screwed
bull mello (@bullmello)
13th May 2019, 1:14
Re: COTD, Ferrari are so busy tripping over their past they are blowing up their own future. It appears the 2019 team leadership is not an improvement over 2018, so far.
On the subject of Ferrari — Question:
When is the next non-Tobacco advertising race on the calendar?
It is sickening to have to look at the no less than 21 Mission Winnow slogans and Marlboro logos plastered all over and trashing out the Ferrari chassis that is otherwise rather pleasing to the eye. This does not even count the number of the MW slogans/logos on the driver uniforms, helmets, on crew members and also plastered over every available surface of anything Ferrari F1. PM has won the F1 tobacco war and apparently taken Ferrari hostage lock, stock and barrel. Such blatant, flagrant excess.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
13th May 2019, 15:20
I believe Canada has some tobacco restrictions, though I am unsure if these will affect ecig advertising.
Otherwise, France is the next non-tobacco race.
bull mello (@bullmello)
13th May 2019, 23:54
Amazing how clean the Ferrari looks without all that winnowed chaff all over it. What other team has 21 labels of the same sponsor plastered all over each of their cars? It is sick.
Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
13th May 2019, 1:45
So take away from the weekend is that F1 is now an official 3 tier championship.
Mercedes race in F1, Ferrari and RB in F1.75 and the rest in F1.5.
Nice.
Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
13th May 2019, 3:07
Sorry Typo 1.75 = 1.25
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
13th May 2019, 15:21
@jaymenon10 Don’t forget Williams in F1.75. A four-tier championship with ten teams is quite an achievement.
David BR (@david-br)
13th May 2019, 3:05
@jaymenon10 4 tier: Mercedes. Max Verstappen. Ferraris. Everyone else.
Spencer (@spencer)
13th May 2019, 4:47
Truer words have never been spoken
Ross
13th May 2019, 5:34
Maybe it’s Merc, Red Bull, Ferrari, everyone else & Gasly.
ADUB SMALLBLOCK (@waptraveler)
13th May 2019, 5:24
Kubica: “By the time I saw him (Russell) in my mirror, it was too late”. Come on, Kubica, how hard can it be? He is the ONLY car you see in your mirror, and you don’t see him for long!
Phylyp (@phylyp)
13th May 2019, 7:46
@waptraveler – I admire and appreciate his return to F1, but there’s a tiny nagging voice at the back of my head asking me: “At what point do Kubica’s reasons turn into excuses?”
Joao (@johnmilk)
13th May 2019, 14:20
@phylyp Kubica and Williams is a Romeo/Juliet love story, so sad both die at the end
Phylyp (@phylyp)
13th May 2019, 16:14
@johnmilk – oh man, that is poetic :)
And tragic. Now you’ve got me crying :(
ColdFly (@)
13th May 2019, 9:04
Dare I say it; of all the team mate battles this one seems the most one-sided.
erikje
13th May 2019, 9:38
We just wait for team orders at Williams fighting for place 19.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
13th May 2019, 14:24
Cruel, very cruel, and very funny. Thank you :)
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
13th May 2019, 15:22
In fairness, the Williamses probably see a lot of other cars when they are being lapped…
Joao (@johnmilk)
13th May 2019, 12:01
I expect pot shots from fans, but from actual drivers? I bet anything that if any F1 team goes there as tells any of them if they want to be their driver, they won’t even blink.
This criticism of other series “mine is better than yours” is one of the stupidest things I witness on social media. Watch whatever you want, watch all of them, watch none of them, who cares?
Jere (@jerejj)
13th May 2019, 14:04
@johnmilk I couldn’t have put it any better. I thoroughly agree with you.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
13th May 2019, 15:23
@johnmilk Alexander’s already driven in F1. I’m not sure he’s interested in any F1 teams, nor do I think he takes their ability to do Indycars seriously.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
13th May 2019, 16:15
@johnmilk – good call. Yeah, it’s like the opposite of “the grass is greener”, this is more of “mine’s better than yours”.
Jere (@jerejj)
13th May 2019, 14:06
I couldn’t agree more with the COTD. As I pointed out in the post-race review articles, Ferrari should’ve made the swaps earlier than they did. They just took way too long with them, and this isn’t the first time that it’s happened. They just consistently shoot themselves in the foot in general, but especially on this front.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
13th May 2019, 19:54
I love Lando and Carlos’ tweets – hilarious and cheeky. Combined with their uptick in performance, they’re becoming a team I – gasp – like.
Joao (@johnmilk)
13th May 2019, 22:38
You do like an underachiever don’t you @phylyp