Aston Martin CEO Otmar Szafnauer fumed over new F1 rules he reckons have cost the team up to a second per lap, but there’s no grounds for complaint over how they were introduced.
Dieter Rencken's articles on RaceFans
Dieter Rencken has held full FIA Formula 1 media accreditation since 2000, during which period he has reported from over 300 grands prix, plus other categories such as World Rally Championship, MotoGP, World Endurance Championship, World RallyCross Championship and Formula E for a variety of media outlets. He joined racefans.net as special contributor in 2018. Dieter is recognised as an authority on global motorsport politics and economics. He writes the annual 'What F1 Teams Spend' and F1 earnings guides and his weekly columns provide behind-the-scenes analysis of the sport. In 2012 he first unpicked F1’s previously opaque financial and governance structures, and has been credited with bringing much-needed transparency to F1. He has 'scooped' several of the sport’s biggest news stories, including the Aston Martin/Red Bull Valkyrie project, Haas F1’s formation, Carlos Sainz Jnr's shock move to Toro Rosso, Fernando Alonso’s Daytona and Dakar entries, and, more recently, Canadian Lawrence Stroll’s acquisition of Force India (Racing Point) and his subsequent take-over of Aston Martin.
Ocon: We need to extract the maximum from the car to score points
2021 F1 Season
Posted onEsteban Ocon says the Bahrain Grand Prix showed Alpine must extract the maximum from their car to have a chance of scoring points.
Vettel feeling “not at home in the car yet” after tough weekend
2021 F1 Season
Posted onDespite a torrid first race outing with Aston Martin, Sebastian Vettel believes he has identified the problem areas he must work on before the next grand prix.
“Things may have happened below our radar”: Why the FIA needed new powers to keep F1 teams honest
RacingLines
Posted onWarnings F1 teams may be illegally sharing their data prompted the FIA to grant itself new powers to strip down and inspect cars.
Leclerc thought he might keep Bottas behind after first-lap pass
2021 Bahrain Grand Prix
Posted onCharles Leclerc revealed he thought he had a chance to keep Valtteri Bottas behind him after getting past the Mercedes driver on the first lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Mercedes strategy didn’t catch us by surprise – Red Bull
2021 Bahrain Grand Prix
Posted onRed Bull stood by their race strategy for the Bahrain Grand Prix after their chance of victory fell into the hands of rivals Mercedes.
Turn four kerb changes could solve track limits problem, says Bahrain track boss
2021 Bahrain Grand Prix
Posted onThe track limits row which marred the conclusion of Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix could be avoided in future through alterations to the kerb configuration at turn four.
Smart and small Tsunoda is Japan’s best chance for a champion – Marko
2021 Bahrain Grand Prix
Posted onAlphaTauri rookie Yuki Tsunoda is on his way to becoming Formula 1’s newest star, Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko predicted.
Portuguese and Spanish grands prix expected to be open to fans
2021 F1 season
Posted onF1 fans are expected to return to grandstands at the third round of the world championship in Portugal following the next race behind closed doors at Imola
Binotto “relieved” by Ferrari’s progress at start of season
2021 Bahrain Grand Prix
Posted onFerrari team principal Mattia Binotto says there is “serenity” at the team in 2021 as it has made a clear step forward with its new car.
Horner praises Perez’s “very calm head” after taking fifth place from pit lane start
2021 Bahrain Grand Prix
Posted onRed Bull team principal Christian Horner praised Sergio Perez’s performance in his first race for the team in Bahrain, saying he showed a “very calm head” when his car broke down on the formation lap.
No alarm bells at Aston Martin over Vettel’s troubled debut for team
2021 Bahrain Grand Prix
Posted onAston Martin have backed Sebastian Vettel to bounce back from his troubled first race weekend with the team in Bahrain.
Paddock Diary: Bahrain Grand Prix part two
2021 Bahrain Grand Prix
Posted onOne down, 22 to go: But will F1 hold all its races this year? And why hasn’t Sprint Qualifying been agreed yet? Dieter Rencken brings the inside line from Bahrain.
Sandwich bag ended Alonso’s first race back in Formula 1
2021 Bahrain Grand Prix
Posted onFernando Alonso retired from his first Formula 1 race since 2018 after a sandwich bag entered a rear brake duct, causing terminal overheating.
Wolff says the racing gods favoured Mercedes after narrow win over Red Bull
2021 Bahrain Grand Prix
Posted onMercedes team principal Toto Wolff says Red Bull showed they will be “extremely difficult to beat” during 2021 after Lewis Hamilton’s narrow win in Bahrain.
Track limits policy did not change during race despite Hamilton’s warning, says Masi
2021 Bahrain Grand Prix
Posted onFormula 1 race director Michael Masi insisted there was no change in how track limits were enforced during the Bahrain Grand Prix, following Lewis Hamilton’s claims otherwise.
Giving up track position was key factor in defeat to Mercedes – Verstappen
2021 Bahrain Grand Prix
Posted onMax Verstappen believes giving up “super important” track position to Mercedes was the crucial factor in Red Bull’s Bahrain Grand Prix defeat.
Hamilton and Verstappen unhappy with “very confusing” mid-race changes in track limit rules
2021 Bahrain Grand Prix
Posted onLewis Hamilton said he was confused by race control’s changing policy on enforcing track limits at turn four during the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Perez almost quit when car died on formation lap
2021 Bahrain Grand Prix
Posted onSergio Perez has revealed he nearly gave up hope of starting the Bahrain Grand Prix when his car stopped on the formation lap, before going on to finish fifth.
Tsunoda says passing Alonso in his first F1 race was an “emotional” moment
2021 Bahrain Grand Prix
Posted onYuki Tsunoda says passing Fernando Alonso during his F1 debut was an ’emotional’ moment after watching the two-time champion race at Fuji as a child.
