Sergio Perez was left fuming after what he believed was an error with the FIA’s Virtual Safety Car system led to him losing the final place on the podium at the French Grand Prix.
Claire Cottingham's articles on RaceFans
Claire has worked in motorsport for much of her career, covering a broad mix of championships including Formula One, Formula E, the BTCC, British GT and W Series. In doing so, she has worked for an extensive list of companies including the BBC, Channel 4, Formula One, 5 Live, Eurosport, BT Sport and ITV in a variety of roles - including lead presenter, writer, pitlane reporter and a historic role as the first female motorsport commentator on terrestrial TV. Claire’s extensive experience goes far beyond motorsport however, and has seen her cover a wide and varied selection of sports on a local, national and international level - ranging from reporting on county cricket matches through to being part of the Olympic Broadcast Services team for both the Olympic and Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.
Verstappen says his points lead over Leclerc is “bigger than it should be”
2022 French Grand Prix
Posted onMax Verstappen says his lead at the top of the drivers’ championship standings is greater than it should be following his latest victory in France.
No link between Leclerc’s crash and Austrian GP throttle problem – Ferrari
2022 French Grand Prix
Posted onCharles Leclerc’s crash while he was leading the French Grand Prix was not caused by a repeat of the throttle problem he experienced during the previous race, says team principal Mattia Binotto.
“Totally wrong” Virtual Safety Car message cost me third place – Perez
2022 French Grand Prix
Posted onSergio Perez says he lost third place to George Russell when the French Grand Prix restarted because he was given incorrect information about the Virtual Safety Car period ending.
“I need to not put cars in the wall” says Leclerc after race-losing crash
2022 French Grand Prix
Posted onCharles Leclerc took responsibility for the crash which put him out of the French Grand Prix while he was leading.
Race directors’ talk was “very useful” for drivers to understand penalties – Sainz
2022 French Grand Prix
Posted onFormula 1 drivers praised the steps taken by the series’ race directors to explain recent penalty decisions in a meeting on Friday.
Ocon suspects his car has a “fundamental” problem after “terrible qualifying”
2022 French Grand Prix
Posted onEsteban Ocon says it is “impossible” he went from fifth in the race to last in practice over consecutive weekends and called his qualifying result “terrible”.
F1 “slow” to adopt sustainable fuel says Vettel after latest demo run
2022 French Grand Prix
Posted onSebastian Vettel believes his demonstration runs in cars using sustainable fuel show Formula 1 is being too slow to adopt a technology which is ready for introduction.
Gasly “extremely disappointed” after setting Q3 target but dropping out in Q1
2022 French Grand Prix
Posted onPierre Gasly was frustrated and bemused to drop out in the first round of qualifying for the French Grand Prix after aiming to reach Q3.
Alonso worried by half-second gap to Norris’s “unreachable” McLaren
2022 French Grand Prix
Posted onFernando Alonso admitted he was concerned to find himself so far behind Lando Norris’s McLaren after qualifying for the French Grand Prix.
Mercedes’ lack of performance at Paul Ricard “a slap in the face” – Wolff
2022 French Grand Prix
Posted onMercedes team principal Toto Wolff didn’t think it was possible they would end qualifying for the French Grand Prix so far behind Ferrari and Red Bull.
Successful tow tactics answer ‘unfair criticism’ of Ferrari’s strategies – Sainz
2022 French Grand Prix
Posted onCarlos Sainz Jnr says Ferrari’s successful slipstream strategy in qualifying shows they deserve more credit for their team tactics.
Hamilton: ‘I hoped we’d be three-tenths off them and it’s a second’
2022 French Grand Prix
Posted onLewis Hamilton admitted Mercedes are much further away from the pace of their main rivals than he expected at the French Grand Prix.
Schumacher plans talk with stewards over Q1 elimination due to track limits error
2022 French Grand Prix
Posted onMick Schumacher says he plans to have discussions with FIA officials over the track limits violation which put him out in the first round of qualifying for the French Grand Prix.
Sargeant “deserves” Williams practice run, Piastri loan an option for 2023 – Capito
2022 French Grand Prix
Posted onAmerican Formula 2 racer and Logan Sargeant deserves a chance to drive in a Formula 1 practice session, says Williams CEO Jost Capito, who is also considering Oscar Piastri as a future hire.
No big changes to Mercedes this year “but I’d be surprised if next year’s car looks the same”
2022 French Grand Prix
Posted onMercedes aren’t committed to keeping their radical sidepod design but are unlikely to make major changes to their W13 over the second half of the season.
FIA’s floor change is needed to prevent cars bottoming out and crashing – Mercedes
2022 French Grand Prix
Posted onMercedes say there is a genuine safety concern behind the FIA’s move to change the design of cars’ floors for the 2023 Formula 1 season, which some teams oppose.
Verstappen concerned rise in Covid cases could lead to drivers missing races
2022 French Grand Prix
Posted onMax Verstappen says people should not forget Covid-19 is still around and he hopes it does not lead to any drivers missing races in the second half of the 2022 season.
Gasly praises AlphaTauri’s upgrade and declares he’s ‘going for Q3, 100 percent’
2022 French Grand Prix
Posted onPierre Gasly says he is aiming for a place in Q3 today in his upgraded AlphaTauri after being impressed by its performance in practice yesterday.
FIA must not “give way” to teams opposing 2023 porpoising rules changes – Seidl
2022 French Grand Prix
Posted onThe FIA must not back down in its efforts to reduce ‘porpoising’ by cars in 2023 following opposition from some Formula 1 teams, says McLaren’s Andreas Seidl.