Pato O'Ward, IndyCar, 2019

Perez hopes O’Ward gets F1 chance

RaceFans Round-up

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In the round-up: Sergio Perez hopes his fellow Mexican and Red Bull Junior Team driver Pato O’Ward gets a chance to drive in Formula 1.

What they say

Perez was asked if O’Ward could make it into F1:

I think he’s been doing very good in IndyCar. Since his debut he’s surprised a lot of people. I know him [well], he’s a great guy with a lot of future ahead of him.

I think so and I hope so. I think for him it would be great to come into Formula 1. I would be very happy.

Quotes: Dieter Rencken

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Snapshot

Ferrari flags at half mast for Niki Lauda, 2019
Ferrari flags at half mast for Niki Lauda, 2019

Flags flew at half mast at Ferrari in honour of Niki Lauda, who won two of his world championships with the team.

Social media

Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:

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Comment of the day

This week’s Caption Competition winner is @hugh11:

Cesaro, Toro Rosso, Circuit de Catalunya, 2019

For some reason, Franz Tost decided against demoting this one.
Hugh (@hugh11)

Thanks to everyone who joined in this week, especially Lucien_Todutz, Derek Edwards, Coldfly and Euro Brun.

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Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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45 comments on “Perez hopes O’Ward gets F1 chance”

  1. Watson is full of it. This reminds me of when Lewis skipped the Autosport awards and had people like Watson bloviating about it only for it to turn out that Lewis was at Aki Hintsa’s funeral.

    1. RP (@slotopen)
      23rd May 2019, 3:03

      @trublu

      A medical professional explained to me – don’t claim you understand someone’s grief. Listen and give them whatever support is most useful.

      As with Schumacher, curious as we are, it is up to them if they want to share.

      This seems like a good time give him some privacy. Couldn’t it be as simple as he doesn’t want to risk breaking down in front of crowd.

      1. Very well said and as @trublu said “Watson is full of it”. Give Lewis the right to grieve in his own way, we all react differently to grief and that should be respected, not criticised.

    2. I agree. We don’t really know what Lewis was going through. People deal with grief in different ways. If Lewis didn’t want to face the cameras, then that’s his choice. He paid his respects on Niki’s death on Instagram, and most probably will be paying his respects to him after he wins or appears on the podium in Monaco anyways.

      What I find needless is Watson’s focus for a comment on Lewis throughout this ordeal. Why doesn’t he just remain in the background as he has been all this while.

    3. I wonder if Watson was so outspoken when the Ferrari drivers were excused media when Marchionne died?

      At least we now know how much Watson respected Lauda. He used his passing as an excuse to continue his regular attacks on Hamilton. So not at all.

      1. You really need to do a little research before your embarrass yourself any further.

    4. You are full of it.

      Reminds me when Lewis missed the London fan event and deluded fans made pathetic excuses for him.

      Bottom line, he is a drama queen who is far more interested in himself than anything that happens around him.

      1. He is a drama queen, a snob and a self-centered spoilt brat who really doesn’t care for other people, including his own loyal fans, London event proved this, in general, but on this particular case he has the right to express his grief the way he feels. The same thing applies when someone wants to express his/her happiness. He/she decides the way to do it and everyone should respect this. You cannot be the judge of it according to your own standards. As much as I admire Watson for being the master of comebacks in the history of F1, he is too harsh on his comments about Hamilton for this. Mike Riley would have called it a penalty with a potential red card!

  2. While I’m happy Pato O’Ward may get a shot at a potential F1 drive, it’s almost insulting that American drivers are routinely passed over the same opportunity or at least a singular test drive. If F1 want to gain fans in the USA, put an American driver there; a UK-based American F1 team is simply not enough. With the present state of single team/driver domination, I’m almost ready to move on past F1 as a favorite sport

    1. @photogcw, You don’t believe in a meritocracy, perhaps you believe in American superiority? Any time an American driver exhibits the qualities of Max V. or Lewis H. F1 teams will be clamouring to sign them up as in the past (google it). Currently American drivers are having trouble winning in their own series let alone world ( including countries other than the USA) championships but hope springs eternal, one day, hopefully, an undersized American will demonstrate the skill and dedication necessary to succeed in F1, and if F1 is to be taken seriously the USA will have to wait until that time.

      1. Colton’s not half bad. But I’d much prefer an Irish duck in there.

        1. Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
          23rd May 2019, 9:39

          Alex Rossi has been absolutely superb since leaving F1, but it would be hard to see him coming back to F1 for a midfield drive when he’s looking a sure bet for an Indy title in the next few years, if not this one.
          Don’t know about you, but I’m claiming Pat O’Ward as Irish @faulty :)

      2. @hohum It’s not about American superiority. It’s about attracting new fans in the USA and raising the sport’s profile about its present niche standing. I want to see full grandstands at the USGP. The image and attraction of this sport in America would change dramatically if there were an American driver. I was there for Rossi’s last appearance at the USGP and he brought out race fans from other series. His branded baseball cap sold out. Foreign drivers succeeding in Indycars speaks more for the teams they drive for than American drivers lacking the talent(taking nothing away from Scott Dixon, Will Power or Simon Pagenaud-all imminently skilled drivers). Speaking of meritocracy, name the last team to win a F1 race that was not RedBull, Ferrari or Mercedes.

        1. Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
          23rd May 2019, 15:28

          Lotus?

        2. @photogcw, Glad you have superior motives that I support but I still stand by my post. Do you remember that series ( Formula A ?) that thought having national teams and drivers would make them more popular than F1 ? No, me either. It must be based on merit unless you want a motorsport version of Eurovision. I’m thinking the last non RB, SF, MB winner was Williams, and I see the irony of it being a nationally sponsored driver but not even Bernie went for a Venezuelan GP.

    2. My favorite part of this thread is that Pato is Mexican, not American. That’s why Perez cares. lol

      Although the name O’Ward does sound Irish to be fair.
      More so than that former Irish F1 driver Tim O’Glock

      1. Don’t forget the Nicks: O’Rosberg and O’Hulkenburg

        1. @eurobrun @nvherman – thanks for the laugh with those names!

    3. Don frika del prima
      23rd May 2019, 8:21

      Scott speed says hi.

  3. I really wish this site didn’t share trash from the Daily Mail

    A man is dead, and is being mourned by good friends who rightfully won’t want to deal with a callous media looking for a cheap headline hounding them in the press events

    1. ColdFly (@)
      23rd May 2019, 7:52

      At least we know what motorcycle he rode to the track; maybe that should’ve made it to the round-up ;)

    2. I’m on board with the idea of ignoring the daily mail. wikipedia doesn’t even allow it as a source any more, such is the lack of trust in it publishing truths. i wouldn’t be at all surprised if Watson was quoted totally out of context.

      1. @frood19 Self-respecting and well educated people do not consider “wikipedia” as credible source also.

        1. @ioannisk While direct quotations from Wikipedia are frowned upon in formal situations (and therefore not appropriate for a round-up like this), there are rules about what secondary sources can be cited in support of what is written there. (Note: statements can be written completely unsupported, but the lack of citation marker at the statement itself should make these obvious).

          Given that Wikipedia accepts all sources by default, and only excludes sources if they are routinely inaccurate. As such, its refusal to accept the Daily Mail means that paper is considered to not only be a less credible source than Wikipedia, but also less credible than most potential sources of perceived-factual information.

          1. @alianora-la-canta No reason to argue here buddy, you are correct! I was just saying, because there are tons of people out there whose perception and knowledge narrows down to what they read there. Just saying!

    3. I really wish this site didn’t share trash from the Daily Mail

      I’m on board with the idea of ignoring the daily mail.

      I’m not in the UK, but having read some of their “news” and the tasteless/sensationalist manner it is often presented, I’m with this. Let’s not send any more traffic/eyeballs their way, since that’s what they crave.

  4. Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
    23rd May 2019, 8:32

    The “beep beep beep beeeeep” YouTube intro is neat I like it

    1. race-fans-dot-NEEEHT!

  5. BlackJackFan
    23rd May 2019, 9:35

    John Watson was always pathetic, as is his current disrespectful comment.

    1. Of course, calling John Watson pathetic for merely sharing his opinion (which is completely natural) isn’t disrespectful in any way….

      1. What’s wrong with being disrespectful to someone not deserving of respect?

      2. BlackJackFan
        23rd May 2019, 17:53

        Hi rob91 – very funny response – thank you. I merely used the same term as your hero did. Sorry to have upset you. Does the ’91’ refer to your birth year…? Because the way you express yourself makes you seem much younger…

    2. Have you seen him commentating on sportscar racing …. now there is pathetic.

  6. Who was the journalist who boo’ed when it was announced Hamilton had been excused at the press conference, I saw the clip in passing but it didn’t elaborate further?

    1. @hawkii – seriously? That’s incredibly unprofessional behaviour. And counterproductive – it just strengthens the case for excluding drivers from PC duties in circumstances like this.

      1. It was on Sky Sports News, they said Hamilton had been excused from the press conference due to Niki’s passing while showing a clip of it being announced at the official press conference, and then you hear a lone boo in the background. According to Sky it was a “British journalist”.

        1. @hawkii – thank you

    2. @hawkii I wondered the same when I saw it live.

  7. Weird to hear a driver not enjoying Monaco unless he just meant the place, not the driving itself.

    1. Fully understand Kimi’s feelings. We’re going there only because of the lame excuse of “tradition” and the fact that some well-healed individuals have made their home there. Even for TV fans, the races are processional and boring, unless there is some accident somewhere.

    2. @jerejj Kimi prefers fast tracks with long and complex flows, with lots of variation and a minimum of hairpins and slow chicances. Monaco is slow with very little scope for building that sort of flow (there is a flow but it’s a different type), with relatively little variation. It is more or less built from hairpins and slow chicanes.

      In short, this is the exact opposite of what Kimi Raikkonen enjoys in a racing experience. Lucky for him that it’s the shortest race on the calendar…

      1. @alianora-la-canta The shortest race in terms of overall distance, yes, but the shortest in terms of race winner’s total time, no.

        1. @jerejj Sorry for taking so long to reply (my notifications glitched out), but I thought it was worth replying to say you are right, and thank you for saying this :)

  8. I like Grid and the new Grid looks like Grid so that’s good. But calling it anything else than pure arcade is kind of a joke. Project Cars and Assetto Corsa kind of ride the sim/arcade line. Not to say arcade games can’t be fun, just don’t see why they feel the need to say it’s trying to appeal to sim racers as well.

    No mention of touge makes me kinda sad, best feature of Grid 2.

  9. I hope Pato O’Ward really gets to F1, though I wonder if he’s done enough to justify it. But I understand that you don’t become a part of the Red Bull junior team if you aren’t fast enough. If he was driving for one of the top teams in IndyCar, I guess he’d be able to show his talent more.

Comments are closed.