In the round-up: Romain Grosjean says a tyre problem limited his running on day one at the Red Bull Ring.
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What they say
It was smooth except that we had a big cut on the medium tyres from the first run in the afternoon and we didn’t get the chance, Pirelli didn’t allow us to run them again in the long run so we don’t have any information about the medium which is a bit of a shame. The softs were having a tough time after 18, 19 laps so it was getting tricky. So a bit of a shame, didn’t go off-track but obviously got a big cut in the tyre. Not so good in that aspect but the car felt better and the boys are working quite nicely. I think we’ve got ideas of what to do for tomorrow.
Quotes: Dieter Rencken
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
OK so second practice for the #AustrianGP has already been way more exciting than the #FrenchGP.
And hardly anyone's done a decent lap time yet… #F1
— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) June 28, 2019
Best media centre view all season. By about as far as you can see pic.twitter.com/OCsgGbfoth
— Andrew Benson (@andrewbensonf1) June 28, 2019
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Links
More motor racing links of interest:
Vettel still has what it takes at Ferrari, says Webber (Reuters)
"I think he needs a couple more lieutenants, he needs to have less responsibility in the team and just more reassurance that the Monday to Friday stuff is going to be dealt with."
De Vries untouchable in Austrian qualifying (F2)
"Nyck De Vries pulled off a qualifying masterclass to seal pole position with time to spare in Spielberg, stretching his Championship lead by four points. He finished ahead of rookie duo Anthoine Hubert and Gunayu Zhou."
Armstrong's domination continues (F3)
"Marcus Armstrong achieved his first pole position of the season in a frantic FIA Formula 3 Qualifying session at the Red Bull Ring. The Prema Racing ace was able to hold on to P1 ahead of Max Fewtrell and Jüri Vips, despite a late red flag interrupting his session."
Additional non-championship race to be held at Assen (W Series)
"It will be a non-championship race, with no W Series championship points awarded, and, in a spirit of experimentation, the starting grid will be in reverse order of the finishing positions of our normal Saturday race the afternoon before."
De Ferran: ‘Alonso is one of the best drivers who’s ever lived’ (Motorsport magazine)
"That guy is incredible. I’ve seen him do things in a racing car… sometimes if you watch it on TV, you can’t appreciate it. And I’m a little bit arrogant, I thought I was good, but (when I watch him) I go ‘Yeah! OK, that was pretty impressive’."
Rich Energy lose court battle with Whyte Bikes; several court orders made (Formula Spy)
"Rich Energy can go to the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal these orders, with any such application or application for a continuation of their three week stay being submitted before the 18th of July. Formal sign-off of these orders by Judge Melissa Clarke is scheduled for this coming Monday."
New 'FIA Motorsport Games' announced (FIA)
"The FIA Motorsport Games will be an annual event, with drivers from a variety of disciplines participating in the same venue on the same weekend under their national flag. The Motorsport Games will initially feature six categories: GT, Touring Car, Formula 4, Drifting, Karting Slalom and Digital Motorsport."
Hamilton sells the £25m candy red private jet he used to fly pet bulldogs around the world (The Sun)
"However, the 34-year-old has sold the jet on as it did not make financial sense while it was also not in keeping with his views on sustainable living."
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Comment of the day
Steve like Grosjean’s idea of bordering asphalt run-offs with grass to enforce track limits:
I agree with Grosjean on this, I’ve always though a two-metre boarder of grass before tarmac would be a good compromise between needing safe run off and actually, you know, having a well defined race tracked.
But why would the tracks do this? Paul Ricard is a test track first and the tarmac run off is a big part of that. And why is it a test track first, because there is no money in hosting an F1 race. This is true of a lot of tracks they’re going to tarmac because its better for track days or lower formula and they do this because that’s how they make a profit. And this is just ridiculous and is all down to the ridiculous hosting fees and limits on advertising.
Surely hosting the pinnacle of motorsport should be the most profitable weekend for these circuits and if it was they would be tripping over themselves to make a circuit suited to providing good racing in F1.
Steve Rogers (@Yossarian)
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Jon Bee
29th June 2019, 1:13
Mark Webber believes Vettel “needs a couple more lieutenants”.
Is lieutenant Aussie slang for carers ?
@HoHum (@hohum)
29th June 2019, 2:41
No ! it’s a military analogy, I’m sure you can work it out.
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
29th June 2019, 4:13
I think it’s clear in the article that Webber talking about religion.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
29th June 2019, 2:52
I’d be curious to know what extra workload he’s shouldering, according to Webber. It’s something I’ve heard in the past as well (i.e. under Arrivabene) that Vettel was having to do more than just a driver at Ferrari. If this is continuing to be the case, I’m surprised that Binotto isn’t taking steps to let Vettel focus on his driving responsibilities.
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
29th June 2019, 4:16
What is it? Technical or marketing duties? @phylyp
Phylyp (@phylyp)
29th June 2019, 4:21
@ruliemaulana – no, I meant I’ve heard this reason being given in past years as well, for Vettel at Ferrari – that he’s having to stretch and do more than other drivers, stemming from a lack of trust/confidence in the team. It could be technical or strategic related stuff, but I’d like Webber or someone else who keeps claiming this to provide a little more detail.
I wouldn’t count marketing as an unfair burden, however, because F1 drivers drive for free and are paid to fulfil marketing & press obligations. ;)
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
29th June 2019, 4:26
It’s frustrating when we had news but it didn’t tell us what the is it about. RaceFans should follow up this.
Jason Miller (@flatdarkmars)
29th June 2019, 5:09
I would guess that it’s technical stuff, as Vettel is reputed to be one of the more technically-minded drivers. In 2010 he was the only driver to visit Pirelli to gather information about the tires in advance of the 2011 season. But that’s just a guess based on my knowledge of his past predilections.
Neil Salton (@neilsalton)
29th June 2019, 4:28
@phylyp My guess is that Webber is describing an off-track workload that Vettel takes on and is not one expected of him. If he feels that things aren’t running correctly, then he’ll try to do something, which in turn distracts from his driving. To me, it could point to a dysfunctional organisational culture
Phylyp (@phylyp)
29th June 2019, 4:37
@neilsalton – true, that makes sense. And I think that’s where a mentor like Lauda or Marko help – they can help focus the driver on the driving, and ensure that their driving doesn’t suffer while they stretch to cover the mistakes of other departments.
Niefer (@niefer)
29th June 2019, 5:23
@phylyp — That’s where I believe Schumacher would be, had him in condition.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
29th June 2019, 10:24
@niefer – what might have been, eh? :(
Jason Miller (@flatdarkmars)
29th June 2019, 5:12
I’m not sure of the original source, but Alain Prost is reported to have said of Ferrari “from the outside, you wonder how they ever lose. From the inside, you wonder how they ever win.”
F1oSaurus (@)
29th June 2019, 13:21
@flatdarkmars Probably depends where you look at it from the inside. The people who design and build the drive train and car do a pretty amazing job.
The strategy people and drivers indeed manage to lose over and over with a car that is more than capable of winning. Indeed one wonders how they will ever manage to win.
Nikki (@nikkit)
29th June 2019, 5:23
Okay, hands up everyone who totally expected that the Rich Energy/Whyte Bikes court case would result in a loss for Rich Energy?
Hmmmmm…..that’s everyone then.
I’ve only ever seen the stuff on Amazon and reading the reviews – the actual real ones, not the obvious shill ones that post five star ‘Best energy drink ever’ reviews on every page for a Rich Energy product, it tastes really bad.
Adrian Hancox (@ahxshades)
29th June 2019, 9:18
@nikkit – I actually bought 3 cans on Amazon just to try it – and it tastes just like the majority of other energy drinks (surprise surprise) , marginally more palatable than Red Bull, but less so than Monster.
Jere (@jerejj)
29th June 2019, 9:00
Regarding the COTD: Grass has its problems in the form of maintaining it after it has been run over by vehicles, so there are downsides to that as well. Overall, there’s a valid reason for this excessive use of tarmac run-off areas at present, and that’s to suit everyone since a lot of the circuits in F1 are used by other categories as well, not only four-wheeled vehicles but also two-wheelers, so everyone’s needs need to be taken into account, not only F1’s. It is what it is, and probably is going to stay that way since above all tarmac slows the cars down significantly more effectively than grass or gravel. I, in general, don’t have a problem with this exercise of tarmac run-off areas even if they might be more inviting for off-track excursions.