2022 - A Look Ahead

Verstappen puts down a marker ahead of British GP qualifying.
Max Verstappen set the pace during final practice for the British Grand Prix, leading a Red Bull 1-2 from teammate Sergio Perez.
02/07/2022, ‎13‎:‎01
Author RacingNews365 Staff

Max Verstappen put Red Bull at the top of the timesheets in Saturday's third and final free practice session ahead of the British Grand Prix. Verstappen initially worked his way down to a time of 1:28.386, before returning to the track and pumping in a 1:27.901 – putting a clear margin between himself and the rest of the field.

This benchmark was more than a second quicker than Carlos Sainz's pace-setting Friday effort, with the dry track surface gradually gripping up. However, spots of rain were seen in the closing stages of FP3, with wet weather a significant threat for qualifying.

Sergio Perez slotted behind Verstappen in the other Red Bull, albeit four-tenths adrift, as Charles Leclerc led Ferrari's charge in third.

‘Max Marker Down’;

https://racingnews365.com/verstappen...-gp-qualifying


(FP3) Third Practice Results – 2022 British Grand Prix
Silverstone, UK
2nd July 2022
by Emer Hedderman

Results (Classification):
1. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing -1:27.901
2. Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +0.410
3. Charles Leclerc Scuderia Ferrari +0.447
4. George Russell Mercedes +0.525
5. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.587
6. Carlos Sainz Scuderia Ferrari -0.788
7. Lando Norris McLaren +1.201
8. Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo +1.284
9. Mick Schumacher Haas +1.609
10. Fernando Alonso Alpine +1.619

‘British Grand Prix – Here are the complete results from FP3 ahead of qualifying for this weekend’s 2022 F1 World Championship race around Silverstone’;

https://formulaspy.com/f1/fp3-third-...and-prix-79407


British GP: Red Bull to the fore in FP3 as Verstappen goes quickest from Perez
Published: 2 Jul 2022, 13:15
By George Dagless

Red Bull took a one-two in the final practice session for the British Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen going fastest ahead of Sergio Perez. Friday had proven a little difficult for the Bulls with the wet FP1 limiting running and FP2 seeing their fastest time, via Verstappen, only put them fourth.

Indeed, Christian Horner revealed on Saturday morning that Perez in the other RB18 had been struggling with one or two issues, which were fixed overnight, and Helmut Marko had said that they were finding it tough to find the right balance with the car.

Those issues, though, appear to be a thing of the past already with both drivers looking far more settled in the car in the first hour of running today.

‘Red Bull FP3 to the Fore’;

https://www.givemesport.com/88029097...est-from-perez


F1 British GP: Max Verstappen well clear of Sergio Perez in final practice
2 Jul 2022
Lewis Larkam

F1 world champion Max Verstappen set a new benchmark time to beat as he pulled clear of the field in final practice at the British Grand Prix. Verstappen led Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez by a comfortable 0.410s as he became the first and only driver to dip into the 1m27s, posting a 1m27.901s to head into qualifying at as the man to beat.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc ended up 0.447s down on his main title rival, ahead of the two Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in fourth and fifth.

Hamilton had got within two tenths of Verstappen before the Dutchman found significant gains as he unleashed rapid pace from his Red Bull.

‘Max Clearance’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/100702...final-practice


F1- Verstappen quickest in final practice ahead of qualifying for British Grand Prix.
02.07.22
FIA

Max Verstappen topped the timesheet in the final practice session for the 2022 FIA Formula 1 British Grand Prix, beating team-mate Sergio Pérez by four tenths of a second as Ferrari's Charles Leclerc took third place.

Pérez then appeared and the Mexican was quickly into the battle for top spot as he split the Ferrari driver and took P2 with a lap of 1:29.629. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton then rose up the order to push Sainz down to fourth. Pérez then improved to steal P1 from Leclerc but his stay in P1 was brief. Leclerc circled again and retook P1 with a lap of 1:29.021.

With 20 minutes on the clock, Verstappen made his first appearance and the world champion immediately vaulted to the top of the timesheet setting a 1m28.541. He continued to improve, first to a 1m28.498s before lowering the benchmark by a further 0.15.

‘Max Timesheet Topping’;

https://www.fia.com/news/f1-verstapp...ish-grand-prix


British GP: Verstappen & Red Bull up the ante in Practice 3
02 July 2022
Inside Racing

Max Verstappen set an impressive pace as Red Bull finished one-two in final practice at the British Grand Prix.

The reigning champion sent a clear message to his rivals by finishing four-tenths clear of teammate Sergio Perez, with Charles Leclerc fractionally slower in third.

Early on, the session saw Mercedes and Ferrari chip away at their initial best times before Verstappen immediately went half a second faster on his first flying lap.

‘Max Impressive’;

https://www.insideracing.com/index.p...-in-practice-3


Charles Leclerc 'pushed too much' in Q3 but hopes for decent second row start in British GP
02 Jul 2022
Formula 1.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc admits to errors in the final qualifying session for the 2022 Formula 1 British Grand Prix, but feels his P3 grid slot will give him opportunities at Silverstone on Sunday.

‘Pushed Too Much’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...598006612.html

Carlos Sainz shines in Silverstone deluge to take British F1 GP pole.
Silverstone presented the ecstasy of a never-to-be-forgotten moment for Carlos Sainz as he claimed his first pole.
Ferrari driver earns first pole position of career at Silverstone. Verstappen second, Leclerc third, Pérez fourth, Hamilton fifth
Sat 2 Jul 2022 16.26 BST
Last modified on Sat 2 Jul 2022 22.20 BST
Giles Richards at Silverstone

So often the setting for high drama, Silverstone presented the ecstasy of a never-to-be-forgotten moment for Carlos Sainz as he claimed his first pole. Yet alongside it was agony for Lewis Hamilton, who admitted he was gutted at not being able to deliver more for a fervent home crowd at the British Grand Prix. Those fans with a suitably theatrical flourish treated Max Verstappen, who was second, to a round of booing as he emerged from his car.

For Sainz, claiming the first pole of his Formula One career after 151 meetings with a superb lap at Silverstone in extremely tricky conditions was a moment to savour. “Obviously it’s very special, especially to do it in Silverstone in the wet,” he said. “My confidence is high, I can hold on to the lead and do my own race. I have led a few races in F1 and it felt great, the target is to do it again.”

His Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc was third and Sergio Pérez fourth for Red Bull but Mercedes’ hoped-for resurgence remains to quite manifest itself, with their car certainly improved but still six-tenths back from pole. Lewis Hamilton was fifth and his teammate George Russell eighth.

‘Ecstasy of a never-to-be-forgotten moment for Carlos Sainz as he claimed his first pole

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...ish-f1-gp-pole


Sainz snatches pole in thrilling session: 2022 British GP qualifying report.
It was a dark horse who will start first tomorrow, as Carlos Sainz went fastest at the death with a 1min 40.983sec, the first of his career.
July 2nd 2022
Author James Elson

An exciting qualifying session at a wet Silverstone saw Carlos Sainz emerge the pole-sitter for the 2022 British Grand Prix. As his team-mate Charles Leclerc spun and Verstappen went off track on their final efforts, the Spaniard kept his cool to set the fastest time on his 150th grand prix weekend

The Mercedes of Hamilton and Russell looked competitive, but ended up fifth and eighth respectively. Lando Norris managed to take sixth for McLaren whilst Nicholas Latifi equalled his best-ever starting position coming in 10th.

Teams scrambled for intermediate tyres as the heavens opened on Silverstone minutes before qualifying started, and it was the Williams and Haas teams who got to the end of the pitlane first to get a lap in. Cars immediately jockeyed for position on the out-lap, but the Alpines were stranded in the garage as their team raced to get their cars ready.

‘Dark Horse Carlos Sainz’;

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a...ifying-report#


British Grand Prix Free Practice 3 - Results
02/07/2022 at 13:15
Michael Delaney

2022 British Grand Prix - Free Practice 3 results
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:27.901s 18
2 Sergio Pérez Red Bull 1:28.311s + 0.410s 21
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:28.348s + 0.447s 21
4 George Russell Mercedes 1:28.426s + 0.525s 21
5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:28.488s + 0.587s 24
6 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:28.689s + 0.788s 21
7 Lando Norris McLaren 1:29.102s + 1.201s 20
8 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1:29.185s + 1.284s 20
9 Mick Schumacher Haas 1:29.510s + 1.609s 21
10 Fernando Alonso Alpine 1:29.520s + 1.619s 20

‘Full results from Free Practice 3 for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, round 10 of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship’;

https://f1i.com/news/446574-british-...3-results.html


Sainz pips Verstappen to take maiden pole in wet British Grand Prix qualifying
02 July 2022
Formula 1.

A masterful lap in a wet British Grand Prix qualifying saw Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz claim his maiden pole position in Formula 1, as he beat the Red Bull of Max Verstappen, who’d led much of the session.

Rain had begun falling on Silverstone just minutes before qualifying began, with Verstappen comfortably heading both Q1 and Q2. Verstappen was then leading Q3 in the final moments when Sainz unleashed his final lap to stop the clocks at 1m 40.983 and take P1 with an effort he described in disbelief as “terrible”. On the weekend of his 150th Grand Prix start, though, terrible did very nicely indeed.

Sainz was 0.072s ahead of Verstappen, with Leclerc P3, 0.315s off his team mate – both Leclerc and Verstappen having suffered Q3 spins while on promising laps.

‘Carlos Sainz Maiden Pole’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...3yJxpTYEN.html


Ferrari engineer’s brilliant reaction to Sainz taking pole for 2022 British GP
Carlos Sainz's final lap put him on pole ahead of Max Verstappen for the British Grand Prix.
2 July 2022
by Rob Kershaw

Sainz put together a stunning lap to topple Verstappen’s time and claim his maiden pole position in Formula 1 as the reigning champion and Leclerc both failed to improve.

“P1 baby, let’s enjoy,” said Sainz’s engineer over the radio. “Oh ***, I didn’t expect that one,” said a thrilled Spaniard, adding “I felt terrible out there, how did I do p1?!”

“No, you kept it together like a smooth operator!” was the reply. When he got out of the car, the 27-year-old revealed that he did not actually think his lap was that good when he crossed the line.

‘You Kept It Together Baby’;

https://formula1news.co.uk/ferrari-e...22-british-gp/


Carlos Sainz 'feeling at home with the car' after securing maiden pole for British GP
02 Jul 2022
Formula 1.

‘Ferrari's Carlos Sainz bagged his first pole position in Formula 1 after a sensational wet-weather lap in qualifying for the 2022 British Grand Prix at Silverstone’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...528244023.html


British GP: Carlos Sainz thought maiden pole lap was 'nothing special' but targets Ferrari win at Silverstone
Last Updated: 03/07/22 7:14am

Carlos Sainz has revealed he initially thought the lap that secured his maiden F1 pole was "nothing special", but is confident his Ferrari has the pace to win Sunday's British GP.

The Spaniard, driving in the 150th GP of his career, triumphed in a thrilling wet qualifying session as he edged out world championship leader Max Verstappen to seal top spot, with his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc in third.

After struggling in Saturday's final practice session and scraping his way through Q2 with a last-gasp effort as the track got wetter, Sainz found his form at the perfect moment in the closing stages of Q3.

‘Targeting Ferrari Silverstone Win’;

https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12...at-silverstone


Carlos Sainz admits his 'surprise' at his first ever pole position because he wrote his winning British Grand Prix lap off as 'nothing special' - with Ferrari driver just looking to get one 'on the board' in testing conditions
Carlos Sainz said he was 'surprised' at taking pole in the British Grand Prix
Sainz won his first ever pole, beating Max Verstappen in qualifying at Silverstone
The Ferrari man said his lap wasn't 'special' but he feels he can now win the race
Published: 17:19, 2 July 2022
By Faaez Samadi For Mailonline

Carlos Sainz has revealed his surprise at taking his first ever pole at the British Grand Prix after saying he felt his lap was 'nothing special'. A chaotic qualifying run saw the Ferrari man bag the special honour of leading the field on a rain-drenched Silverstone, beating Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 0.072sec to start from the front.

However, speaking after qualifying Sainz said he thought his winning lap being the best of the day was surprising as he wasn't hugely impressed with it himself.

'It was a good lap, but I was struggling a lot with the standing water on the intermediate, there was a lot more standing water, even on the racing line, and it was very easy to get snaps and lose the lap,' Sainz said.

‘First Ever Pole Surprise’;

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...rand-Prix.html

Carlos Sainz secures his first EVER F1 win in chaotic British Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton secures a podium after Max Verstappen's car issues - with race overshadowed by Zhou Guanyu's horror flip.
Carlos Sainz won a pulsating British Grand Prix – after a horrifying 160mph smash caused a long delay to the race.
Published: 13:58, 3 July 2022
By Jonathan McEvoy for the Daily Mail

Ferrari made an absolute mess of their drivers’ title campaign, however, sacrificing their No 1 Charles Leclerc by not bringing him for fresh tyres during a late safety car phase. That allowed Sainz to claim his first ever win.

Lewis Hamilton, who led the race for eight laps, finished third, with Sergio Perez second. Leclerc was fourth. Max Verstappen, who sustained a puncture and body work damage, finished seventh.

But all this unfolded after Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo’s 23-year-old Chinese driver in his 10th Formula One race, was sent careering upside down across the track and the gravel, hit the tyre wall and was sent up into the catch fence until he lay in his car sideways between the two barriers.

‘First EVER F1 Win’;

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/li...ve-Result.html


F1 2022 British Grand Prix - Full Race results from Round 10
3 Jul 2022
Connor McDonagh

2022 F1 British Grand Prix - Race Results

Pos Driver Nat. Team Time

1 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari 52 Laps

2 Sergio PerezMEX Oracle Bull Racing + 3.779s

3 Lewis HamiltonGBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team + 6.225s

4 Charles LeclercMON Scuderia Ferrari + 8.546s

5 Fernando AlonsoESP BWT Alpine F1 Team + 9.571s

6 Lando NorrisGBR McLaren F1 Team + 11.943s

7 Max VerstappenNED Oracle Red Bull Racing + 18.777s

8 Mick Schumacher GER Haas F1 Team + 18.995s

9 Sebastian VettelGER Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team + 22.356s

10 Kevin MagnussenDEN Haas F1 Team + 24.590s

‘Full race results from the British Grand Prix, Round 10 of the 2022 F1 world championship’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/results/100...sults-round-10


Sainz beats Leclerc and Hamilton to unforgettable British GP win
03 July 2022, ‎17‎:‎25
Author Tom Leach

Carlos Sainz has won his maiden Grand Prix after a dramatic and unforgettable race at Silverstone Circuit. The Spaniard, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton all looked at one stage to be heading for victory as the trio fought it out, both on track and in the pit lane.

But Sainz, who at one stage was told to save fuel, benefitted from a late-race Safety Car to hold on to snatch victory. The win ended his 150-race wait to stand on the top step while Sergio Perez and Hamilton joined him on the podium.

Max Verstappen was only able to finish seventh due to car troubles while Mick Schumacher scored his first career points, behind the wheel of his Haas, in eighth.

‘Carlos Sainz’s Unforgettable British Grand Prix Win’;

https://racingnews365.com/sainz-beat...british-gp-win


Sainz wins extraordinary and controversial British Grand Prix
03/07/2022, 17:39
By Josh Suttill

Carlos Sainz earned his maiden Formula 1 victory in a sensational British Grand Prix as championship leader Max Verstappen struggled with a wounded Red Bull to seventh place and Charles Leclerc finished only fourth amid curious Ferrari tactics.

The critical moment of the race proved to be a late safety car period prompted by Esteban Ocon’s stricken Alpine, when Sainz and Lewis Hamilton in second and third place decided to make a stop for softs while race leader Leclerc stayed out on his hard tyres.

Leclerc had been waved through on Sainz earlier in the race but not before a lengthy team order debacle in which an increasingly frustrated Leclerc couldn’t find a way through on Sainz and that allowed Hamilton to enter the lead fight.

‘Extraordinary and Controversial’;

https://the-race.com/formula-1/sainz...sh-grand-prix/


Verstappen misery as Sainz wins British GP thriller, Hamilton on podium
Sunday 3 July 2022 17:23
Ewan Gale

Carlos Sainz clinched his maiden F1 victory at a memorable British Grand Prix that showcased the good and the ugly of the sport. The Ferrari driver overtook team-mate Charles Leclerc after a late safety car period to finish ahead of Sergio Perez, who fought back from early front wing damage to wind-up second.

Lewis Hamilton finished third for the second race in a row after a thrilling late-race battle between five cars for the final podium position. But championship leader Max Verstappen endured a miserable afternoon after picking up early aerodynamic damage, finishing only seventh.

The race began under a grey cloud, however, after a red flag on lap one following a scary multi-car incident at the first corner. Zhou was flipped after contact with George Russell's Mercedes and sent upside-down into the Abbey run-off area before digging into the gravel and launching into the catch-fence.

‘British Grand Prix Thriller’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/86...ton-on-podium/


Sainz converts pole into maiden Grand Prix victory at Silverstone after scintillating race
03 July 2022
Formula 1.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz has claimed his first Formula 1 victory after a breath-taking contest at the British Grand Prix, the Spaniard finishing ahead of the Red Bull of Sergio Perez and the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.

Key to Sainz’s victory was a late Safety Car caused by Esteban Ocon retiring his Alpine – Sainz then attacking team mate Charles Leclerc on fresh tyres at the restart to claim P1 and check out for his first win on his 150th Grand Prix start.

The action was frenetic in the final laps, however, with Perez – who’d dropped to P16 after a pit stop, having had contact at the early race restart following a red-flag stoppage – coming out on top in a thrilling fight with Hamilton and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to take an unlikely P2.

‘Scintillating Silverstone Race’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...hi6rtAzQh.html

Turns out several teams (Ferrari, RBR, etc cough...) were/are running "clever" (I'd say illegal) Flex floors. which gave them a significant advantage so far
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1...edes/10332159/
hmm

F1's Zhou GuanyuTerrifying Crash At British Grand Prix... 'Halo Saved Me'.
Alfa Romeo driver Zhou Guanyu was involved in a massive accident during the first lap of the British Grand Prix on Sunday -- flipping his car and skidding before tumbling over the tire barrier -- but miraculously, he escaped without serious injury.
7/3/2022 12:14 PM PT
TMZ.com

23-year-old Zhou -- F1's first Chinese driver -- was removed from his car and stretchered off the scene ... and received an immediate medical evaluation. Zhou tweeted a positive update on his status shortly after ... thanking the car's halo protective barrier for saving his life.

The crash happened moments into the race ... when Alpha Tauri's Pierre Gasly tried to squeeze between Zhou and Mercedes' George Russell ... making contact with Russel, who then bumped into Zhou.

Russell spun out as a result of the incident ... and as soon as a red flag was declared, he jumped out of his car and ran over to Zhou to see if he could help.

‘Zhou Guanyu: I’m ok, all clear. Halo saved me today. Thanks everyone for your kind messages!’;

https://www.tmz.com/2022/07/03/f1-zh...culously-okay/


Esteban Ocon: Guanyu Zhou's safety 'best news to come out of today'
03 Jul 2022
Formula 1.

Alpine's Esteban Ocon, who was forced to retire from the 2022 Formula 1 British Grand Prix with a fuel pump issue, says that the safety of Alfa Romeo driver Guanyu Zhou following his Lap 1 crash is the "the best news to come out of today."

'Best news to come out of today';

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...324980799.html


Zhou Guanyu crash: George Russell abandoned his car to run and help Alfa Romeo driver
Published: 3 Jul 2022, 17:05
By Angus Sinclair

George Russell got out from his car to rush to the aid of Guanyu Zhou after a collision resulted in a severe crash for the Chinese driver. Zhou has escaped potentially serious injury after violently spinning upside down into a fence at the very first turn of the 2022 British Grand Prix, with the red flag pausing the race after just 21 seconds.

With Zhou skidding across the run off and slamming into the fence, Russell’s compassion for his fellow driver was clear as his first thought was to rush to his aid and remove him from the debris.

Zhou was extracted from the ruined car after a few minutes, and his team, Alfa Romeo, swiftly confirmed the driver’s status: “Following a crash at the start of the British Grand Prix, Zhou Guanyu is conscious and now at the circuit’s medical centre to undergo evaluation.” Meanwhile, Russell sees a fine streak of successive top-five finishes snapped as he retires from a race for the first time since joining constructor champions Mercedes.

‘Russell’s compassion for his fellow driver was clear’;

https://www.givemesport.com/88028153...a-romeo-driver


Russell: F1 has to learn from ‘horrible’ position of Zhou’s Alfa
3rd July 2022
By Matt Beer

George Russell says Formula 1 needs to learn what it can from the “horrible” position between the barriers and debris fence that Guanyu Zhou ended up in following the horrific British Grand Prix start crash. Zhou’s Alfa Romeo was pitched upside down by contact with Russell’s Mercedes and the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly before the first corner at Silverstone.

It shot over the run-off on its rollhoop, hit the tyre barrier and flew over it and into the fencing, before dropping back down into a narrow gap between the fence and back of the tyre barrier, where it was then stuck. Rescue crews took some time to extricate Zhou, who was unhurt, from the car. Russell immediately ran from his damaged Mercedes to check on Zhou at the scene.

“Firstly I’m glad to see Zhou’s OK,” said Russell, a director of F1’s Grand Prix Drivers Association. “An incredibly scary incident, not just for him but for everyone in the crowd as well, it’s never nice to see.” Describing what he saw at the accident scene, Russell continued: “It was horrible, in that position he was stuck there, nothing he could have done.”

‘The Need to Learn from Scary Incident’;

https://the-race.com/formula-1/russe...of-zhous-alfa/


Formula One driver GuanYu Zhou 'loves chips and gravy and Sheffield'
Friday 1 July 2022, 8:28pm

He is the first Chinese driver ever to race in Formula One, but Alfa Romeo Orlen star GuanYu Zho credits his time in Sheffield with helping him reach the pinnacle of motorsport. The 23-year-old swapped Shanghai for the steel city as a 12-year-old - moving over with his racing mentor, unable to speak English, in late 2012. He travelled to South Yorkshire to race for Handsworth-based Strawberry Racing and spent three years honing his racecraft before being picked up by Ferrari's Formula One young driver academy.

During his time with Strawberry he won British and European titles and a decade on is fulfilling his dream as a driver in the Alfa Romeo F1 Orlen team alongside Valtteri Bottas. “It (Sheffield) just really helped me move forward, that’s where I improved most my English because I couldn’t say a word," he said. “I learned a lot about racing, driving, competition but more about the lifestyle. It made me more mature because coming here young at school, in a completely new environment and racing, was tough."

When asked what he loved most about his time in South Yorkshire, he said: “I really like chips with gravy, I think that's a Sheffield thing, no? When I came back to the city a few years ago that was the first thing I tried to find... In Sheffield it's much more relaxed and the concentration means you can focus on either your job or your dream." This week he was reunited with his former team via an online chat ahead of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Strawberry Racing's office manager Sue Ellis facilitated his move from Shanghai in 2012. She said: "I can’t say enough about him. We all love him to bits.

‘Love Him to Bits’;

https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/20...-and-sheffield

Williams provide positive Albon update following hospital checks.
Williams have confirmed that Alexander Albon has been released from hospital following his Lap 1 crash at the British Grand Prix.
03/07/2022, ‎21‎:‎00
Author Tom Leach

Speaking following his release from the hospital, Albon said: "I'm very glad that everyone else involved in the first lap incident is okay. Thank you to all the medical staff at the track and at Coventry hospital.

"It's a shame our race ended before it began today but we are already fully focussed on Austria. Bring on the next one."

Zhou Guanyu was also hurt following his own first-lap crash and was taken away from the scene in an ambulance. He has also since been given the all-clear.

‘Alexander Albon Positive Update’;

https://racingnews365.com/williams-p...opsital-checks


Albon released from hospital after Lap 1 crash at Silverstone
03 July 2022
Formula 1.

Williams have confirmed that Alex Albon has been released from hospital following precautionary checks, after the Thai driver was caught up in a Lap 1 crash at the start of the British Grand Prix. There was carnage at the race start at Silverstone, as Zhou Guanyu, George Russell and Pierre Gasly came together, causing Zhou to barrel roll out of the race – while further behind, Albon was caught up in an incident involving Yuki Tsunoda, Sebastian Vettel and Esteban Ocon.

Zhou and Russell were both seen in the medical centre before being declared fit. But Albon was transferred by helicopter to Coventry Hospital for “precautionary checks” – but was later discharged on Sunday evening.

“All ok, the pets are ok,” wrote Albon on Twitter – referring to his custom ‘Albon Pets’ helmet for the race. “But more importantly I’m glad @ZhouGuanyu24 is ok! Thank you to the medical staff and for all the messages. Eyes already on Austria.”

‘ALL OK, Austria Next’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...87P6HTXE4.html


Albon given all-clear, discharged from hospital
20:36 Sun, 03 Jul 2022.
by Phillip Horton

Albon was pitched into a heavy impact with the pit wall at Silverstone after being hit from behind by Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel, as the field checked up following contact between Zhou Guanyu and George Russell.

Albon then speared across the track and swiped into Esteban Ocon and Yuki Tsunoda.

Alexander Albon has been given the all-clear and discharged from hospital after his crash at the start of Formula 1’s British Grand Prix.

‘Albon Given All-Clear’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2022/...from-hospital/


F1 duo Zhou & Albon escape major injuries after British Grand Prix crashes
21:18 Sun, 03 Jul 2022
Charles Crook

F1 drivers Zhou Guanyu and Alex Albon have escaped without major injuries after each were involved in a huge crash at the start of the British Grand Prix. The two drivers were involved in a big crash before the cars had even reached the first corner of the 52-lap-race at Silverstone, leading to a near hour-long stoppage of the race.

The first crash involved Zhou, who was hit by the Mercedes of George Russell after he had been tapped on the rear by the faster starting Alpha Tauri of Pierre Gasly. Zhou’s Alfa Romeo car was flipped upside down by the contact, scraping the ground and flying upside down into the tyre barrier before going over the tyres, striking a catchment fence and getting stuck between the two obstacles between the track and stands.

Zhou was conscious and escaped fractures, but he had to be extracted by the stewards and medical team before being taken out of his car on a stretcher. After further checks by on-site medical staff at Silverstone, the Chinese driver was cleared to return to the paddock and was seen with his team after the race finished.

‘Escaping Major Injuries’;

https://citiblog.co.uk/2022/07/03/f1...-prix-crashes/


Alfa Romeo said they were expecting crash for Zhou ahead of British GP
3 July 2022
by James Clifford

Both Albon and Zhou took quite the whack as their cars came to a stop, but Zhou clambered out of his car and walked into the ambulance to be taken to the hospital. He was checked out and is all okay, while Albon was taken to the medical centre for some further precautionary checks.

The fact that they both walked away was testament to the safety advancements over the decades in the pinnacle of motorsport. The non-finish was the fourth of the year for the 23-year-old, whose Sauber team manager Beat Zehnder said ahead of the weekend that a crash was inevitable at some stage.

“Normally with rookies, you always have to reckon with one or two crashes but Zhou makes practically no mistakes,” he conceded. “Experience tells us that there has to be a crash at some point, but that’s also part of the learning process.”

‘Walked away, testament to the safety advancements’;

https://formula1news.co.uk/alfa-rome...of-british-gp/

MATTIA BINOTTO WAGS HIS FINGER AT CHARLES LECLERC AT THE BRITISH GP.
Sky showed Binotto and Leclerc talking, with the Ferrari Team Principle pointing his finger at Leclerc.
18:43 Sun, 03 Jul 2022.
Catherine Micallef

The British Grand Prix proved to be another dramatic race with Mattia Binotto looking to have a firm word with Charles Leclerc at the end. The Monagesque was leading the race when Esteban Ocon’s Alpine lost power at the finish line and forced a safety car. Both Ferraris were running on hard compound tyres but only Carlos Sainz was brought in to change for softs.

Carlos Sainz eventually overtook his teammate and Leclerc found himself in a certain difficulty while being hunted down by the Mercedes and Red Bull. This left Charles Leclerc unhappy and somewhat angry at his team.

Once the race finished and everyone was cooling down and congratulating Sainz for the win, Binotto and Leclerc seemed to be having a word. Sky Sports commentator David Croft explained the scene, “That’s Binotto saying, “Whatever you do, do not criticise the team.” Sky showed Binotto and Leclerc talking, with the Ferrari Team Principle pointing his finger at Leclerc. Co-commentator Martin Brundle added, “That was definitely a finger-wagging, wasn’t it.”

‘Finger-Wagging: ‘Whatever you do, do not criticise the team.’ ’;

https://www.formulanerds.com/news/ma.../?nowprocket=1


Double stacking fears behind call not to pit Leclerc, says Binotto.
“Why did we decide to stop Carlos? Because Charles got track position – he was leading, so he would have remained the leader of the race,” said Binotto.
2022 British Grand Prix
Posted on 3rd July 2022, 19:25
Written by Will Wood

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto says fears of losing time double stacking in the pits led them to tell Charles Leclerc to stay out under Safety Car in the British Grand Prix.

Carlos Sainz Jnr won the race at Silverstone after Charles Leclerc was told to stay out under a late Safety Car while leading, which left him vulnerable to his team mate who pitted for fresh soft tyres. Sainz overtook his team mate when the race restarted and went on to win, while Leclerc dropped to fourth by the chequered flag.

Leclerc and Binotto were seen having an intense conversation about the call in parc ferme after the race. Binotto explained Ferrari were unhappy that Alpine did not tell Esteban Ocon to stop his car earlier on the circuit before he pulled off at Copse corner, prompting the Safety Car. “It’s obviously disappointing for Charles, the Safety Car at the end with Ocon stopping in the middle of the track – I think he could have stopped somewhere else, because there was time to stop somewhere else,” said Binotto.

‘Double Stacking Fears’;

https://www.racefans.net/2022/07/03/...-says-binotto/


Leclerc explains what happened in post-race chat with Binotto
19:13 Sun, 03 Jul 2022.
Author Robyn Schmidt
Co-author Dieter Rencken

Charles Leclerc was left unhappy at the end of the British Grand Prix as he fell back to fourth place after a late Safety Car, but team boss Mattia Binotto attempted to cheer him up. After the race ended, Leclerc was seen talking to team boss Mattia Binotto ahead of a race debrief where he is hoping to see the full picture as to why he went from first to fourth.

"He wanted to cheer me up," Leclerc explained when he was questioned by Sky Sports F1 about what had happened between them. "We will have to look at the global picture. On my side, I only have my picture for my race, and obviously in the car sometimes you don't have the full picture.

"From my side, I felt like I lost a bit too much time in the first stint, and especially in the first part of the second stint. But this is only my view and it might change once I see the full picture."

‘Mattia Binotto attempted to cheer up Charles Leclerc’;

https://racingnews365.com/leclerc-ex...post-race-chat


Button casts doubt on Leclerc’s answer over Binotto chat
Date published: July 3 2022
Sam Cooper

Charles Leclerc said a finger-wagging meeting between he and team boss Mattia Binotto was all good-natured – but Jenson Button was not so sure.

After the race, Leclerc looked as if he had received a telling-off from Ferrari team boss Binotto but later played down the incident, claiming Binotto was trying to “cheer me up and that’s it. I had the old hard tyres and obviously everybody around was on softs, so I was struggling massively,” he told reporters.

Speaking on Sky Sports F1 after hearing Leclerc’s interview, Button doubted how truthful his answer was, joking that “I always cheer my friends up with a good finger wag. It’s a tough race for him,” Button said. “He broke his wing on the first lap of the race in turn four with Checo, but he had good pace still.”

‘Jenson Button: “I always cheer my friends up with a good finger wag”.’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/jenson...eclerc-answer/


Defiant Ferrari’s firm defence for how it handled British GP
20:21 Sun, 03 Jul 2022.
By Matt Beer

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto mounted a stern defence of his squad’s strategy in the wake of a British Grand Prix in which Ferrari’s title hope Charles Leclerc went from a likely win to fourth place while team-mate Carlos Sainz won.

When asked what he would say in Ferrari’s defence to anyone who suggested it had thrown away a chance to get Leclerc much closer to Verstappen in the championship, Binotto had a blunt immediate response.

“What would they have done then?” he replied. “I think the decision we took was the right one and the proper one at each single time. “Should we have stopped Charles at the safety car is maybe the only one we could be questioning, I think.”

‘Ferrari’s Stern Defence and Blunt Immediate Response’;

https://the-race.com/formula-1/defia...ed-british-gp/

Sainz hopes British GP is a breakthrough after 'special' first F1 win.
Carlos Sainz hopes his first Formula 1 win at the British Grand Prix can be a breakthrough moment.
04 July 2022


Carlos Sainz hopes his first Formula 1 win at the British Grand Prix can be a breakthrough moment. The Spaniard capitalised on Ferrari only pitting him for soft tyres during a Safety Car period and would overtake teammate Charles Leclerc to take the victory.

Beforehand, however, it had been a somewhat underwhelming race for Sainz, as his error had handed Max Verstappen the lead early on before the Dutchman ran into trouble. Then it had been Leclerc who was the faster of the two red cars until the Safety Car intervened.

"It was not easy," Sainz admitted post-race. "I struggled quite a bit with the balance, especially on the Medium tyres. Max was forcing us to push a lot through the high-speed corners. Throughout I kept believing and I tried to stay in the race, and then the Safety Car gave me the opportunity to get back on it.

‘Breakthrough Moment’;

https://www.insideracing.com/index.p...l-first-f1-win


Sainz defends decision to overrule Ferrari order.
Carlos Sainz says Ferrari "perfectly" executed its team strategy in the British Grand Prix despite his rejection at one crucial point of the race of a specific instruction from the Scuderia pitwall.
04/07/2022 at 12:37
Phillip van Osten

Sainz scored his maiden F1 win at Silverstone after a flawless drive that concluded with a frantic four-way battle between himself, Red Bull's Sergio Perez, Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc.

As proceedings were neutralized, Ferrari feared it would lose out - like in Monaco - if it double-stacked its drivers. It therefore opted to bring in only Sainz for a fresh set of softs while Leclerc, running on a slower set of hards, remained in the lead.

As the safety car prepared to pull off, Ferrari advised Sainz to fall back and leave ten car lengths between himself and Leclerc up ahead. But the Spaniard swiftly dismissed the instruction, insisting that dropping back would make him vulnerable to third-placed man Lewis Hamilton who was also running at that point on a set of fresh soft tyres.

‘Carlos Sainz dismissed the instruction’;

https://f1i.com/news/447041-sainz-de...ari-order.html


‘Leave it with me’ – Why Sainz overruled Ferrari’s instructions
22:33 Sun, 03 Jul 2022.
By Josh Suttill

Carlos Sainz believes the Ferrari Formula 1 team executed the British Grand Prix “perfectly” and defended his decision to overrule his employer at the final safety car restart.

There was a lengthy team orders debate at Ferrari throughout the Silverstone race as Leclerc pressured his team to instruct Sainz to let him through, with Ferrari denying his request and instead, giving Sainz target lap times.

An early pitstop for Sainz who was struggling with his tyres briefly remedied the initial dilemma, but the same problem arose later when Leclerc made his pitstop and came out behind Sainz.

‘Leave It With Me’;

https://the-race.com/formula-1/leave...-instructions/


Mark Hughes: Sainz showed the weapon he has against Leclerc
04/07/2022, 06:31
By Mark Hughes

Carlos Sainz’s first grand prix victory was only put in place by a safety car 14 laps from the end. Without that, he’d have finished the race in fuel-saving mode trying to defend his second place from an attacking Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes that was every bit as quick as the Ferrari once it had got its tyres up to temperature.

Charles Leclerc, leading, was probably set to win the British Grand Prix – though he may have faced a challenge from Hamilton if the latter had dealt quickly with Sainz.

But Esteban Ocon’s broken-down Alpine adjacent to the old pits put paid to that. Ferrari – running 1-2 and with Leclerc just rounding Stowe as the safety car was declared – had the trickiest decision to make in this moment.

‘Carlos Sainz showed the weapon’;

https://the-race.com/formula-1/mark-...ainst-leclerc/


Defiant Ferrari doubles down on Silverstone strategy calls
07/04/2022, 13:52
by Fergal Walsh

Ferrari was on course for a 1-2 finish at the British Grand Prix, before a late Safety Car enabled Carlos Sainz to swoop ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc on fresh tyres for the win.
Leclerc was shuffled off the podium, leaving Ferrari with the jubilation of a grand prix win but also the sourness of missing out on an even better team result, with Leclerc’s own title aspirations taking another blow.
There were several moments in which Ferrari’s decision-making was understandably queried by observers. Although it did so marginally, Ferrari gained on Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship – but on a weekend where things didn’t quite go right for the standings leaders, Ferrari will be disappointed it failed to maximise its result.

‘Doubling Down and Failing to Maximise’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2022/...trategy-calls/


‘Selfish’ Sainz shut down questionable strategic call by Ferrari to leave Leclerc a sitting duck
Carlos Sainz won the British Grand Prix for Ferrari as team-mate Charles Leclerc finished fourth.
4 July 2022
by James Clifford

Bizarrely, the Maranello-based team chose not to bring Leclerc into the pits as they pitted Sainz, so the Spaniard was on much fresher tyres for the final few laps. In a bid to try and protect the 24-year-old, Ferrari asked Sainz to fall 10 car lengths back from his team-mate, something that he was not entirely pleased about.

“But guys, I’m under pressure from Hamilton, please. Don’t ask these things. Please, please, stop inventing, stop inventing. I’m under pressure also,” he replied.

As it was, Sainz passed Leclerc on the restart and went on to win as Leclerc engaged in a wonderful battle with Hamilton and Perez, with the Mexican going on to take second before the seven-time champion beat Leclerc to third.

‘Leaving Leclerc a Sitting Duck’;

https://formula1news.co.uk/selfish-s...-sitting-duck/

Horner Praises ‘Phenomenal Performance’ and Recovery Drive from Pérez at Silverstone.
Christian Horner says the way Sergio Pérez drove during Sunday’s British Grand Prix was ‘phenomenal’, with the Mexican climbing from the back of the pack to finish second after being forced to pit early with a broken front wing.
July 4, 2022
By Paul Hensby

Pérez was hit on the opening lap after the restart by Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, an incident that broke the front wing and necessitated an early pit stop for repairs. He fell to the back of the pack but fought back superbly to get himself into the points, and then benefitted from Esteban Ocon’s on-track stoppage and the subsequent safety car to pit for fresh tyres.

The Mexican was then able to fight passed both Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc to claim second place and score a good number of points on a day where it looked like it was not going to be possible. “It was a phenomenal performance today from Checo after the damage he sustained to the front wing end-plate on the first lap, we had to change the nose and his drive back through the field was just sensational,” said Horner, the Team Principal at Oracle Red Bull Racing.

“He benefitted from the safety car which enabled us to put on a fresh set of tyres, but his pace and race-craft was just exceptional.”

‘Exceptional Race-Craft’;

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2...t-silverstone/


Perez thrilled with ‘great comeback’ from last to P2
Date published: July 3 2022
Henry Valantine

Sergio Perez spoke of his pride at making his way back through the field, recovering from first-lap damage to take second place at the British Grand Prix.
After suffering wing damage on the first lap, Perez ‘pitted’ and dropped to the back of the field in the process, but slowly picked off cars in front to make his way back into the top six – before the Safety Car came out after Esteban Ocon had suffered a fuel pump failure.
This bunched the field back up again and with Perez running fourth, he stopped for soft tyres and managed to battle past Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to take an unlikely second place in a thrilling British Grand Prix at Silverstone. “Yeah, it was a great comeback,” Perez said after the race. “We didn’t give up and we kept pushing, then the opportunity came at the end and we just stood for it.”

‘Back of the field to P2’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/sergio...h-gp-comeback/


Perez: A good day for us after such a messy weekend
3 July, 2022
Jad Mallak

Sergio Perez hailed his Sunday at the 2022 British Grand Prix, as a great day after what he dubbed a messy weekend where he physically struggled.

The Mexican was off the pace in qualifying, with fourth being the best his could achieve, and the start of the race was not ideal as he clashed with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on the race restart after Zhou Guanyu’s horrible crash, losing a from wing endplate, and pitting for a new wing which sent him to the back of the grid.

However, after keeping a low profile for most of the race, the Perez came into the spotlight as a Safety Car was declared following Esteban Ocon’s stoppage on track. Red Bull pitted Perez for fresh Soft tyres, and he did great use of them in a final cracking multi car tussle, finishing second behind race winner Carlos Sainz.

‘Great Day’;

https://www.grandprix247.com/2022/07...messy-weekend/


Sergio Pérez: “It was a race where it was important not to give up”
July 4, 2022
By Paul Hensby

“It is a good day for us and the Team after such a messy weekend for us,” said Pérez. “Physically I wasn’t one hundred percent this week and after lap one I was last, so to come away with second place is a great result.”

“I was so unlucky on the first lap making contact with Charles, I broke my front wing and had to drop to the back. So we had to fight for it and it feels good to have a result like this. I am also very happy for Carlos and to share his first win with him is a nice moment for him and his family.”

“I enjoyed the racing today a lot, we were fighting hard and fair and it felt like my karting days. Everyone was pushing really hard and going wheel to wheel, my heartrate was pretty high on those last laps. It was a race where it was important not to give up.”

‘Don’t Give Up’;

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2...ot-to-give-up/


Perez enjoys ‘epic’ final laps at Silverstone after recovering from last to P2
03 July 2022
Formula 1.

Sergio Perez said the “epic” final laps of the British Grand Prix reminded him of his junior formula career, after the Mexican worked his way up to P2 following a great scrap with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton – having been last at one point.

“It was getting difficult towards the end of the stint, keeping that pace, trying to open a bit of a window to... Fernando [Alonso] and Lando [Norris], trying to get the window on them and then when the Safety Car came out, it meant we were in P4 so it was a good chance. Then it was an epic final laps. Those laps really reminded me of the junior series, where we're all racing and having a lot of fun.”

“Those final laps were a great fight with Lewis – it has been so long since we had a good fight so it was great to have him back and also with Charles, he was very aggressive but fair and I'm sure the fans enjoyed it.”

‘Epic Final Laps’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...x80y43Plg.html


DRIVER OF THE DAY: Fighting drive from Perez gets your vote from Silverstone
03 July 2022
Formula 1.

On a tough afternoon for his Red Bull team, Sergio Perez defied the odds to fight back from the rear of the pack to finish a superb second at Silverstone. It came after the Mexican was forced to pit with damage after contact with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. You were rightly impressed with his recovery - here’s how the voting broke down…

Sergio Perez - 20.7%

Lewis Hamilton - 20%

Carlos Sainz - 11.1%

Charles Leclerc - 9%

Mick Schumacher - 7.1%

‘Sergio Perez defying the odds’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...2eODjYEUW.html

Wolff: ‘Without the Safety Car, Hamilton would have won’.
Toto Wolff believes that without a late Safety Car, Lewis Hamilton would have gone on to win his first race of the season at the British Grand Prix.
Date published: July 3 2022
Sam Cooper

As the Ferrari boys argued over the team radio for track position, Hamilton closed the gap between himself and the front-runners until he was right behind the duo. Ferrari opted to pit Carlos Sainz and soon did similar with Charles Leclerc which meant Hamilton led the race, much to the delight of the home crowd.

Despite being on older tyres, Hamilton had looked as if he was making them last and when he finally pitted, he was then undone by a Safety Car deployment caused by Esteban Ocon. As the front-runners pitted for soft tyres, Hamilton found he did not quite have the pace to beat eventual winner Sainz as well as Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.

Speaking afterwards, Mercedes team boss Wolff argued had it not been for that Safety Car, Hamilton was on for the race win in what would have been a ninth victory at the Silverstone circuit.

‘Toto Wolff: Without the Safety Car, Hamilton would have won’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/toto-w...-hamilton-win/


Hamilton victory chances wrecked by safety car - Wolff
Sunday 3 July 2022 19:58
Sam Hall

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is confident that Lewis Hamilton would have won the British Grand Prix had it not been for a late safety car intervention.

"The car has had some performance today and we were in there to win the race and that is very encouraging," Wolff told Sky Sports F1. "I think without the safety car he would have probably won the race and then at the end, Perez was just there and Sainz just went.”

"The most encouraging thing, like I said before, is that we had a car that was able to race. We were that close from winning it and it would have been so fantastic for him.”

‘Toto Wolff: Victory chances wrecked by safety car’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/86...ed-safety-car/


Wolff believes Safety Car robbed Hamilton of British GP victory
‎03‎ ‎July‎ ‎19‎:‎30
Author Tom Leach

Toto Wolff believes Lewis Hamilton would have won a ninth British Grand Prix crown were it not for the late-race Safety Car that allowed Carlos Sainz to pit for new tyres. Hamilton fought from fifth on the grid to cause the Ferrari cars big problems as the race headed for a dramatic climax, thanks to some clever team strategy.

The seven-time World Champion was in third and closing in on race-leader Carlos Sainz on fresher Hard tyres when a problem for Esteban Ocon brought out the Safety Car. That allowed Sainz to pit for new tyres and protect his advantage at the front.

"The car had the performance today and we were in the fight to win the race, which is very encouraging," said Wolff, speaking to Sky Sports F1. “We had almost no bouncing and the pace was good on the Medium tyres. Without the Safety Car, he would have probably won the race."

‘Victory Robbed by Safety Car’;

https://racingnews365.com/wolff-beli...ish-gp-victory


Wolff says Mercedes are facing 'extra terrestrial' mystery
‎03‎ ‎July‎ ‎11‎:‎05
Author Luke Murphy
Co-author Dieter Rencken

Wolff: We can't find the correlation for the bouncing. Wolff explained that even something as simple as a new set of tyres seemed to trigger the car's bouncing problems. "It's still a mystery, although we have more data points that will allow us in the future to dissect it, but at the moment, it's still not where we wanted to be.

"[Russell] had no bouncing on the first set of tyres, but 20 minutes later on the second set of tyres he had bouncing." Wolff quipped that the problem could be down to an additional phenomenon outside of their control.

"I don't know, we haven't looked [at] the change of gravity or things like this that might affect us... some extra-terrestrial influence?" he joked. "We can't correlate it. It changes so much between one session to the other, one tyre set to the other. There is no indication about set-up, like; wind, ambient, general track conditions, none of that."


‘Toto Wolff: “Some extra-terrestrial influence?" ’;

https://racingnews365.com/wolff-says...strial-mystery


Mercedes 'beginning to flirt' with W13 - Wolff
Tuesday 5 July 2022
Sam Hall

Toto Wolff feels Mercedes is 'starting to flirt' with the W13 after battling for a race win for the first time this season.

Asked as to whether a love affair was now beginning with the W13, speaking to Sky Sports F1, Wolff replied: “Well, it’s not a love affair yet. We have just started, for the first time, to flirt a bit with the car.”

“We just want to win races on our own. That would be great, to be there and fight with them, that would be a target so we have a car we can develop for next year also.”

‘Toto Wolff: Flirting, but Not Love Affair’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/86...des-w13-flirt/


FIA clampdown on floor stiffness “a surprise to say the least” for Wolff
2022 British Grand Prix
Posted on 3rd July 2022, 11:34
Written by Keith Collantine and Claire Cottingham

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says he was surprised to learn the FIA plans to toughen up the policing of floor stiffness from the French Grand Prix. After issuing a technical directive on the subject of cars porpoising at the previous race, the FIA put out a revised version ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix.

Wolff said the directive had clarified an area of the regulations relating to the cars’ bibs and floors, which will come into force in two races’ time. “I believe that some teams have been stretching that maybe too much and that’s going to change before Paul Ricard,” he said.

The FIA’s clarification came as a surprise, said Wolff, who believes the regulations regarding floors had been unambiguous.

‘FIA Surprises’;

https://www.racefans.net/2022/07/03/...ast-for-wolff/

Alpine’s Otmar Szafnauer pleased with “strong haul” of points after eventful race in Silverstone.
It was a bittersweet weekend for BWT Alpine F1 Team at the British Grand Prix, as Fernando Alonso earned a season-best finish of fifth place, while Esteban Ocon had to retire due to a mid-race fuel pump issue.
July 4, 2022
By Ashley Cline

Alpine Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer was happy to see all the drivers involved in the first-lap incident make it out okay, considering the magnitude of the crash that ensued– adding that this outcome was made possible due to Formula 1’s safety standards. “First of all, it’s good news that the drivers involved in the incident at the beginning of the race are OK. It’s testament to the extraordinary safety standards and implementation in Formula 1 that everyone was OK after a quite frightening incident.”

Szafnauer was pleased with Alonso’s result after the “brilliant” race, which saw him implement a successful strategy and allowed him to engage in a dynamic battle with the frontrunners for the final podium places.

“From there, this afternoon, we’ve witnessed a quite brilliant Grand Prix, which, for Formula 1, is a great advert for the exceptional entertainment of this sport. We’re very pleased with Fernando’s fifth place. He drove a well measured race and credit to the team for the pit-stop under the Safety Car, which allowed him to importantly jump Lando [Norris] and fight at the front towards the end.”

‘EL PLAN: Strong Points Haul’;

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2...n-silverstone/


Hill: ‘You can’t keep Alpine and McLaren apart, it’s like a pub brawl’
Date published: July 5 2022
Sam Cooper

Damon Hill has said McLaren and Alpine’s fight is “like a pub brawl” and that the two teams just can not be kept apart. Being two of the older teams in the sport, McLaren and Alpine (formerly known as Renault) have had plenty of battles down the years.

Both are multiple Constructor Championship winners with McLaren having won eight and Renault two in 2005 and 2006. The two teams were seen battling it out once again at Silverstone when Lando Norris fought with Fernando Alonso for a spot on the podium.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Hill said the final moments of the race were “thrilling” and described how Alonso played his part in that. “Absolutely brilliant wasn’t it?” the 1996 World Champion said. “After the Safety Car, my mind was set on who was going to win this race from the front and you kind of took your eye off the ball, because there was Sergio [Perez] as well lurking and then Fernando Alonso lurking as well.

‘Alpine, McLaren Pub Brawl’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/damon-...e-a-pub-brawl/


Alonso admits he was eyeing podium finish as leaders battled in front of him around Silverstone
04 July 2022
Formula 1.

Fernando Alonso reckons his run to fifth place in the British Grand Prix was Alpine’s best race of the year – but says he was even eyeing a podium as the cars in front of him engaged in some dramatic wheel-to-wheel racing in the final laps.

The veteran Spaniard qualified seventh and had a great start to get up to P5 on the opening lap, before the red flag came out for Zhou Guanyu’s crash, putting him back to P7 for the restart.

But thereafter he had a textbook Alonso race, climbing to fifth when he was able to pit under the Safety Car and jump Lando Norris ahead of him. But with Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez fighting it out with some hard racing just ahead of him on the track in the closing laps, Alonso was ready to pounce if any of them made an error.

‘EL PLAN: Eying Podium Finish’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...r9DRfvjr9.html


Fernando Alonso: “I felt more competitive than in any other races so far this season”
July 4, 2022
By Ashley Cline

BWT Alpine F1 Team’s Fernando Alonso earned a season-best result at the eventful British Grand Prix with a fifth place finish, after taking part in an exhilarating battle for the podium positions. Alonso was happy with the performance of the A522, and felt he was at his most competitive so far this season– a momentum he hopes to ride for the races to come.

“Looking back at the weekend as a whole, I think the car was very good and I felt more competitive than in any other races so far this season. We executed our race very well and showed consistent pace. I’m expecting us to keep this up and hopefully maintain our competitiveness again over the next few races.”

“I must say congratulations to Carlos [Sainz] on his first win and, also, I’m glad Zhou is OK after his incident at the start. It shows how far safety has come in modern Formula 1 racing.”

‘EL PLAN: A522 Very Good and Competitive’;

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2...r-this-season/


Fernando Alonso makes joke about Charles Leclerc penalty after Ferrari nightmare
Alpine driver Fernando Alonso ended the British Grand Prix in P5 after a thrilling race in Silverstone.
5 July 2022
by James Clifford

Fernando Alonso quipped after the British Grand Prix that Charles Leclerc should get 15 seconds’ worth of penalties for weaving at Silverstone.

“So, definitely our package is working well and this P5 feels good, even though I have to say that I expect it’s P4, because Charles was moving three or four times in front of Hamilton on the back straight. I moved once in Canada and I had five seconds penalty so I think by moving three times it will be 15 seconds penalty for Charles unfortunately!”

Alonso ended the race sixth having made a great start initially to move up to fifth, but he was forced to do it all again after the red flag caused by the massive crash at the start. He jumped Lando Norris at the end of the pitstop phase as he finished ahead of the Briton, bringing the gap between McLaren and Alpine down to six points in the battle for fourth in the Constructors’ Championship.

‘Fernando Alonso quipped: “Moving three times it will be 15 seconds penalty”.’;

https://formula1news.co.uk/fernando-...ari-nightmare/


Alonso expected penalty for Leclerc and promotion to fourth place
2022 British Grand Prix
Posted on 4th July 2022, 11:03
Written by Keith Collantine and Claire Cottingham

Fernando Alonso expected to be promoted to fourth place in the classification for the British Grand Prix because he thought Charles Leclerc would be given a penalty. Leclerc was involved in a dramatic three-way scrap with Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez in the closing stages of the British Grand Prix. Alonso, who was given a five-second time penalty for weaving in the previous race at Montreal, claimed Leclerc broke the same rule he was penalised for two weeks ago.

“P5 is mega,” he told media including RaceFans after the race, “even though I have to say that I guess it’s going to be P4 because I saw Charles moving three changes of direction on the back straight defending from Lewis. I did once in Canada and I had five seconds [penalty] on the last lap. So I guess three movements are not allowed.”

The stewards also noted a possible infringement involving Sergio Perez, who finished ahead of Alonso. The Alpine driver expected he would end up “for sure fourth, maybe third. After the race, there is always action. I guess today I am not in the stewards, so I will have fun from the outside I hope.”

‘EL PLAN: P4 or maybe P3!’;

https://www.racefans.net/2022/07/04/...-fourth-place/


Fernando Alonso Smashed Insane F1 Record At British GP, Wants to Get Closer to the Moon
5 Jul 2022, 07:39 UTC ·
by Monica Coman

Two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso, who is currently driving for Alpine, bagged a very important record at the British Grand Prix: longest distance driven in Formula One!

After the completion of the British Grand Prix, Alonso drove 92,643 km (57,566 mi), which is another big record in his illustrious career. The official F1 social media account shared a post to congratulate Fernando Alonso for the record, with a picture displaying the calculation of the distance the racing driver covered on an F1 track, with several other quirky measurements, which also included “Quarter of the Way to the Moon” and “2.3 times around the Earth.”

Alonso re-tweeted the post, adding: “Let’s make it (at least) half way to the moon,” which means he would like to add 100,000 km (62,137 mi) on the track.

‘EL PLAN: The Moon’;

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/f...on-192786.html

Alpine’s computers haven’t pinpointed why Alonso was so fast in Canada.
Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer has said the team’s computers are yet to figure out how Fernando Alonso was so fast during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend.
Date published: June 25 2022
Editor

Indeed, so quick had Alonso been, that Alpine were left confused by the situation. Having placed his Alpine in second place on the grid, seemingly way above the car’s potential, Szafnauer said the data had to be examined closely.

“It’s a very good question,” Szafnauer told AS.com, when asked about where Alonso had plucked the lap time from. “With all the computers we have, and there are many, we are still trying to understand the differences.”

“Part of the reason is that he was great in the rain, but he had already been quick on Friday. It wasn’t just Saturday. Another part is the circumstances, the track is drying up and there are many variables.”

‘EL PLAN: Fernando Alonso Defies Computers, Computer Programmers and Programming!’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/alpine...-canada-speed/


Alpine will decide on Alonso’s 2023 F1 seat after the summer break.
A decision on Fernando Alonso’s future with Alpine could come after the triple-header later this year.
Published: 05 Jul 2022
Joe Holding

Alpine will likely make a call on Fernando Alonso’s future with the team after the triple-header of F1 races at Spa, Zandvoort and Monza later this summer, says team principal Otmar Szafnauer.

A couple of months ago it had been reported that Alpine would choose between the two-time world champion and the highly-rated reserve driver Oscar Piastri around the time of the British Grand Prix. However, Szafnauer now says that the timeframe for making that decision is still a little while away.

“If I said we’d make the Alonso decision around this time, I misspoke,” Szafnauer told TG prior to qualifying at Silverstone. “What I meant to say was we’re going to start thinking about that decision about this time, and usually those decisions are made after the [summer] break.”

‘EL PLAN: Alonso’s 2023 F1 seat’;

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/for...r-summer-break


British GP: Alpine felt more competitive than ever - Fernando Alonso
Published: 4 Jul 2022, 10:11
By George Dagless

Fernando Alonso said that he felt that the Alpine car was as competitive as it has ever been during the British Grand Prix on Sunday. The Spaniard had a fine race with him starting P7 and ending up with good points, with a double points finish potentially on for the team before Esteban Ocon’s retirement.

Even so, Alonso can be happy with a really strong result and speaking to the gathered press at Silverstone after the race, he felt as though the car was about as competitive as it has been all season, whilst also saying he’s hopeful for more strong results in the weeks ahead:

“We were P5 and I was hoping two cars might touch each other and we’d be on the podium but in the end they raced really hard with a lot of respect and it was fun to watch from behind.”

‘EL PLAN: Strong Results Ahead Predicted’;

https://www.givemesport.com/88029542...ernando-alonso


Alonso hints career is far from over after setting remarkable F1 record
05/07/2022, ‎14‎:‎30
Author Robyn Schmidt

After reaching a unique F1 milestone over the weekend, Fernando Alonso has hinted that his career at the pinnacle of motorsport is far from over.

By reaching Lap 45 of the British Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso set a new record in Formula 1 and has now driven further than any driver in the sport's history. The record was previously held by Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen, who completed a total of 92,636km during his two stints in F1 between 2001 and 2021.

Posts on Twitter claim this new milestone means Alonso has raced a total of 2,195 marathons, 2.3 times around the earth, 54.2 million Alonsos laid out head to foot, and a quarter of the way to the moon. Alonso's response was simple: "Let’s make it (at least) halfway to the moon," indicating that he plans on sticking around for quite some time yet.

‘EL PLAN: 54.2 million Alonsos laid out head to foot, indicating F1 Career Continues!’;

https://racingnews365.com/alonso-hin...able-f1-record

'It should have been P5’ says Norris after losing out to Alonso during final pit stops at Silverstone.
Lando Norris was pleased to finish with a decent points haul in his home race at Silverstone – but was left frustrated as he felt his strategy had cost him an even better result.
04 July 2022
Formula 1.

The McLaren man qualified sixth for the British Grand Prix – and finished the race in the same position, but said he could have had fifth, but for the timing of his last pit stop.

Norris was ahead of Fernando Alonso when he made his last stop on Lap 34, but just five laps later the Safety Car was deployed to allow marshals to clear Esteban Ocon’s stranded car, and Alonso was able to dive into the pits for a quicker stop that brought him out in front of Norris.

“I’m happy because P6 is a good result for us, but it should have been P5 today,” Norris said after the race. “The second start to the race was very strong and the pace was good – I held Fernando behind and then we just made the wrong call with the pit stop, with the strategy, and lost the position.”

‘P6, instead of P5’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...BgzQhWKqp.html


Lando Norris felt P5 was possible at British Grand Prix
Published: 4 Jul 2022, 10:41
By George Dagless

McLaren driver Lando Norris revealed after the race that he felt as though a fifth place finish was possible at Silverstone. The British driver was obviously looking to secure a good result in front of a home crowd and started the race from sixth place.

That is where he would finish though, too, with the Alpine of Fernando Alonso able to get past him over the course of the race to take fifth, whilst the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez were obviously too fast to catch.

Norris, felt, though, that P5 was possible with him saying to the press post race: “It was a long one, the first stint was tough and we just made the wrong call with the pit-stop. P5 was where we should have been.”

‘P5 Was Possible’;

https://www.givemesport.com/88029477...ish-grand-prix


Positives for ‘More Competitive’ McLaren to Take Away from Silverstone – Andreas Seidl
July 4, 2022
By Paul Hensby

Andreas Seidl says the McLaren F1 Team can take a lot of positives away from Sunday’s British Grand Prix, with Lando Norris returning to the points with a strong drive to sixth place at Silverstone.

Seidl says the MCL36 appeared to have more pace at Silverstone than in the previous two rounds in Azerbaijan and Canada, at least on Norris’ side of the garage, with the Briton scoring sixth place, although he acknowledges that it could and should have been fifth but for a delay in pitting him behind the safety car that allowed Fernando Alonso to jump ahead.

With the positives from Silverstone, Seidl says McLaren can go to the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring aiming high, particularly with Norris having been on the podium there in the past. “So, some positive signs and, as always, a lot to learn before we get going again five days from now in Austria, on a circuit where we’ve had tremendous results in recent years,” he said.

‘McLaren More Competitive Positives’;

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2...andreas-seidl/


Norris calls for change after horror crash: Something needs to be done
‎04‎ ‎July‎ ‎13‎:‎40
Author Anna Francis
Co-author Dieter Rencken

A frightening collision (happened) in the Formula 2 Feature Race between Roy Nissany and Dennis Hauger. Hauger was forced off track by Nissany at Vale and flew over the sausage kerbs, prompting his car to land on top of Nissany's.

Some drivers have previously voiced concerns about the usage of sausage kerbs. Following the incidents at Silverstone, Norris was asked whether they should be banned, to which he told media, including RacingNews365.com: "Yep.”

"I think we've mentioned it several times. Every now and then, you maybe have a year where you get away with it and nothing happens, and everyone's like, 'Oh, it's okay'. But you have freak accidents. What you saw in the last corner in F2, it can happen, even when you least expect it.”

‘Ban Sausage Kerbs’;

https://racingnews365.com/norris-cal...eds-to-be-done


Norris: Social media abusers ‘wasting their lives’
06/07/2022, 12:01
by Fergal Walsh

Lando Norris has hit out at those who use social media to spread hate messages, insisting that they are wasting their lives in doing so. On the build-up to the British Grand Prix last week, Norris gave an interview to The Sun, in which he highlighted the abuse that he and his girlfriend have received online.

“I’ve grown up on these platforms, and Instagram, Twitter, Twitch, whatever,” said the McLaren driver. So, it’s just something I love being kind of part of, and I’m very involved in – but of course, me and I’m sure, pretty much every other driver gets a lot of hate and abuse and things like that.”

“And I guess from a mental state of it, it’s never an easy thing to continue to go through. There’s just no need for it, whatsoever. The point of it literally just coming from a person who’s sitting behind their phone, or a computer, whatever it is, I just find it odd that someone’s wasting their life doing something like this, you know?”

‘Wasting Their Life’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2022/...g-their-lives/


Norris: Critics of long-term McLaren deal 'are clueless'
06/07/2022 at 15:53
Michael Delaney

In February, Norris extended his allegiance to McLaren until the end of 2019. However, given the young charger's highly rated profile, many were surprised that Norris committed to such a long-term contract.

"They're clueless!" the Briton told Sky Sports F1. "I don't know why... everyone thinks they know, he definitely could have gone here, he could have done that," he added. "But most of the time they know absolutely nothing, all these people coming up with these conclusions."

Norris admitted the skepticism has "come from people that I have a lot of respect for and of course I respect their opinions. But at the same time, I have a good team around me so we know where I want to be and when, what the team can offer me going into the future. I still believe it's the best place for me because it's where I've grown up, I know what we have coming."

‘Clueless Critics Know Absolutely Nothing’;

https://f1i.com/news/447194-norris-c...-clueless.html

Daniel Ricciardo completely ‘off the radar’ in McLaren ‘pub brawl’.
Daniel Ricciardo is at a loss for answers as the Formula One season quickly slips away from him following another poor result.
July 6th, 2022 10:46 am
Matthew Sullivan from News.com.au

The Australian finished 13th in the British Grand Prix on Monday morning (AEST) – as only 14 cars finished the race. Ricciardo endured another frustrating day as his McLaren teammate Lando Norris finished sixth behind breakthrough race winner Carlos Sainz.

After starting in 14th position on the grid, the Aussie did well to avoid the carnage created by Zhou Guanyu’s terrifying crash on the first lap. He worked his way up to ninth at one point but – as has been the case often this season – was then plagued by issues outside of his control.

A DRS failure and an extra pit stop cruelled his chances of finishing in the points – something he’s managed to do just twice in 10 races this season. Ricciardo said his race was “a pretty sad one” and said he struggled with grip on his tyres throughout the entire Grand Prix.

‘A Pretty Sad One’;

https://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsp...46905a94a4a816


Ricciardo confused by 'zero pace' McLaren at Silverstone
05/07/2022 at 10:43
Michael Delaney

"Zero pace," a frustrated Ricciardo told the media at the end of the day. "A little bit like Barcelona where I didn’t seem to operate at the same level of grip as the cars around me. "I could just feel it through the tyres as well, trying to carry speed.”

"Obviously a little bit confused by that at the moment. It’s clear what I felt, but the reasons why I’m obviously not sure. It was just a bit odd, so we have a bit of investigating to do." Ricciardo also revealed admitted that a DRS failure that materialized on lap 31 also weighed on his efforts.

"Something honestly felt a bit off. I remember turning or braking into Turn 6, and the car was all over the place," he explained. "I thought I had a puncture, so when I went to look at the rear tyre, I saw the DRS was open.”

‘DRS Failure’;

https://f1i.com/news/447120-ricciard...lverstone.html


McLaren perplexed by Ricciardo's lack of Silverstone pace
05/07/2022
NEWS STORY

"We need to understand," says McLaren's Andreas Seidl, as lack of pace and DRS issue left Daniel Ricciardo struggling at the back of the field on Sunday.

So anonymous was Ricciardo's British Grand Prix, that there must have been times fans were wondering if he'd parked up and begun work on the script for his forthcoming TV series for Hula.

"We need to understand why, during the race, we just didn't have any pace for a chance to actually do anything," said Seidl.

‘Perplexion Pace!’;

https://www.pitpass.com/73001/McLare...lverstone-pace


Ricciardo mystified by ‘odd’ lack of Silverstone pace
Date published: July 4 2022
Jon Wilde

A downbeat Daniel Ricciardo thought it was a “bit odd” that he had “zero pace” during the British Grand Prix. Two days after his 33rd birthday, the Australian found himself in the ignominious position of being among two drivers, the other one Yuki Tsunoda, allowed to unlap themselves during the Safety Car period just after the three-quarter mark at Silverstone.

The McLaren driver caught up with the pack but could not improve his position, crossing the line 13th whereas his team-mate, Lando Norris, had an outside sniff of a podium finish amid a fierce battle for the positions behind winner Carlos Sainz before eventually having to settle for sixth.

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl kept things diplomatic regarding Ricciardo’s performance, saying: “Daniel’s weekend didn’t go to plan, which will need careful analysis over the next few days. “He wasn’t in a position to deliver competitive lap times yesterday and today.” In the Drivers’ World Championship, Ricciardo now finds himself in 14th position with 15 points, 43 fewer than Norris who sits seventh.

‘Mystified Pace’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/daniel...verstone-pace/


'It was a bit of a lonely afternoon' – Ricciardo rues lack of pace at Silverstone after P13 finish
05 July 2022
Formula 1.

Daniel Ricciardo finished the British Grand Prix 13th and explained some of the issues that affected him during the race – explaining his hopes of finding a solution ahead of the Austrian GP.

Ricciardo qualified 14th for the race and made it as high as P10. After the late Safety Car brought by Esteban Ocon's stoppage, Ricciardo pitted for softs but failed to make an impression on the Canadian duo of Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi ahead.

“So, hopefully we find some answers because obviously it’s a quick turnaround until Austria. Then we had an issue with DRS, which meant I couldn’t use it after lap 31 which was also a bit of a shame. Obviously, it’s tough to overtake with that as well – but simply we weren’t really quick enough anyway today. It was a bit of a lonely afternoon.”

‘Lonely Pace’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...3ZqqAwjK9.html


Ricciardo: We’ve got some work to do before this weekend
6 July, 2022
Editor

Daniel Ricciardo revealed he and McLaren have some work to do ahead of Formula 1‘s weekend in Austria , after a disappointing British Grand Prix.

After starting to show some glimpses of hope that he may be on his way to recovery from his performance slump, Daniel Ricciardo was nowhere to be seen at Silverstone, qualifying 14th, and racing to 13th, compared to a sixth and sixth for Lando Norris respectively.

Ricciardo will again be hoping to have a batter weekend in Austria, but is wary of the challenge ahead. He said in his team preview of the race: “The Austrian Grand Prix is always a fun one. “It’s a great track in a beautiful location and it’s always an exciting race,” he went on. “The past few Sprint races have proven anything is possible so I’m ready to pounce on any opportunities that come my way, as well as creating a few of my own.”

‘Work to Do’;

https://www.grandprix247.com/2022/07...-this-weekend/

FERRARI CIVIL WAR? STAFF REFUSED TO ATTEND SAINZ’S PODIUM CEREMONY.
A group of Scuderia Ferrari staff initially refused to celebrate Carlos Sainz’s first-ever career win at Silverstone as fears of a rift between the engineers in Scuderia’s garage grow.
6th July 2022, 13:20
Jay Winter

Multiple debatable decisions from Ferrari’s pit wall saw Leclerc’s race lead slip through his fingers. After prohibiting their Monagasquen driver from overtaking Sainz early on in the race, Ferrari engineers twice failed to bring Leclerc into the pits under a safety car, leaving him as a sitting duck for the pack behind him on fresh soft tires.

Former Ferrari press officer Alberto Antonini now believes there may be alarming signs in the Scuderia garage. According to a source that Antonini trusts, the former employee believes an unpleasant scene unfolded after Sainz’s victory. “I have been told – and I trust the source – of an unedifying episode that occurred in the immediate aftermath of the Silverstone race at the winners’ pit,” wrote Antonini on formulapassion.it.

Since the drama in Silverstone, Leclerc was captured in Monaco on Tuesday night, having dinner with Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto. Whilst Ferrari were able to finish the race with a driver on the podium, their tactics were severely criticised by Tifosi. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s claims of Ferrari “dropping the ball” appear to carry some weight as Ferrari failed to capitalise on Max Verstappen finishing seventh in Britain.

‘FERRARI CIVIL WAR?’;

https://www.formulanerds.com/news/f1.../?nowprocket=1


Some Ferrari staff refused to attend Silverstone podium – report.
A portion of the Ferrari staff initially refused to attend the Silverstone podium following Carlos Sainz’s victory on Sunday, according to a former Scuderia team member.
Date published: July 6 2022
Sam Cooper

Now a report has emerged that a section of the Ferrari garage initially refused to attend the podium ceremony and the following photo shoot. According to former Ferrari press officer Alberto Antonini, a source told him that the staff initially did not want to celebrate the race win.

“I have been told – and I trust the source – an ugly episode that occurred in the immediate aftermath of the Silverstone race,” Antonini wrote on formulapassion.it. “Part of the Ferrari staff allegedly refused, at least initially, to attend the podium ceremony and photo op. If true, as I fear, this is not a good sign.”

“A little healthy rivalry inside the garage is fine, it is fine for each mechanic and each technician to cheer for ‘his’ driver, but the common interest must be to aim to win.”

‘Ferrari Staff Refused to Attend Silverstone Podium’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/ferrar...podium-report/


Ferrari chaos as staff 'refuse to attend podium ceremony' in Charles Leclerc anger
CARLOS SAINZ won his first F1 race at the British Grand Prix as Charles Leclerc slipped to fourth.
09:25, Wed, Jul 6, 2022
By LUKE CHILLINGSWORTH

Ferrari staff refused to celebrate Carlos Sainz’s win at the British Grand Prix as fears rise the Scuderia is imploding. Former Ferrari press officer Alberto Antonini said a source had told him some members of the team did want to celebrate with the Spaniard at the podium.

He claimed "this is not a good sign” for the team as the common interest should still be for one of their drivers to win. Antonini told formulapassion.it: “I have been told – and I trust the source – an ugly episode that occurred in the immediate aftermath of the Silverstone race.”

Leclerc appeared to criticise the team over his radio in the moments after the chequered flag, adding: “The amount of race time we have lost in this race is…oh my God. The only good thing about today is Carlos won but frickin’ hell, guys! Anyway, enjoy the victory.”

‘Ferrari Frickin’ Hell’;

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...f1-news-latest


Carlos Sainz victory at Silverstone led to Ferrari camp split, claims ex-employee
The Spanish driver had to bite back at a directive to protect his teammate’s lead in the closing stages of the race
07/06/2022, 11:34
Karl Matchett

Each driver has their team behind the scenes and the suggestion is that Leclerc’s were so unhappy at the way the race finale panned out that they baulked at having to partake in the overall team celebrations after the chequered flag.

The potential Ferrari division may also have arisen due to an initial call over the radio that Sainz should help to protect Leclerc’s lead, with Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez - both of whom went on to claim podium spots - looking to overtake.

“I have been told – and I trust the source – an ugly episode that occurred in the immediate aftermath of the Silverstone race,” wrote Alberto Antonini, noted as Ferrari’s former press officer, in a column for formulapassion.it.

‘Ferrari Camp Split’;

https://www.independent.co.uk/f1/car...-b2116896.html


Claims of Ferrari mutiny surface as team members 'refuse' to celebrate Carlos Sainz win.
Charles Leclerc was left unhappy with Ferrari's strategy during the British Grand Prix and was left out on hard tyres following the late safety car as teammate Carlos Sainz took victory
09:43, 6 JUL 2022
BY Mark Whiley

In the view of many, the wrong red car won after Charles Leclerc was handicapped by the team’s decision not to change his hard tyres following the late-race safety car. Sainz, Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton all pitted for fresh rubber and ended up filling the podium positions as a frustrated Leclerc came home fourth.

“Part of the Ferrari staff allegedly refused, at least initially, to attend the podium ceremony and photo op. If true, as I fear, this is not a good sign. A little healthy rivalry inside the garage is fine, it is fine for each mechanic and each technician to cheer for ‘his’ driver, but the common interest must be to aim to win.”

Following his complaints over the radio, Leclerc was given a stern talking to after the race by team boss Mattia Binotto after the race and the Monegasque was diplomatic in his post-race interviews.

‘Mutiny on the Ferrari’;

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/f1...notto-27408887


Ferrari warned ‘the Leclerc situation is exploding’.
La Gazzetta dello Sport in Italy has criticised Ferrari after Charles Leclerc had another win cruelly taken from his grasp at the British Grand Prix.
5 July 2022
by James Clifford

Leclerc had already been adversely by a strategy call in Monaco, where he lost the win having started on pole, and the Italian publication attacked team principal Mattia Binotto, who appeared to tell Leclerc to keep his cool after the completion of the race. “Leclerc is punished by the people at the pit wall,” they wrote.

“How can you ask Leclerc to stay calm? He could win for the first time since Australia, but just like in Monaco Ferrari went wrong with their tactics, so Ferrari are missing out on points and barely benefiting from Max Verstappen’s problems. It is totally unclear whether Ferrari is focusing on one driver or still betting on two horses.”

“Leclerc might not want Ferrari’s decision-making to be a headline, but there is no way that it cannot be after what happened at Silverstone, where they made a series of calls that caused more than one observer to remark that it looked like they were actively trying to lose Leclerc the race and the championship,” they stated.

‘Ferrari Exploding’;

https://formula1news.co.uk/ferrari-w...-is-exploding/


Ferrari’s Worst Enemy Is Itself
2:34 PM EDT on Jul 5, 2022
Kathryn Xu

Ferrari chose to only pit Sainz for new soft tires as Mercedes also pit Hamilton, dooming Leclerc on older, harder tires and likely dooming Sainz, too, if he’d listened to Ferrari’s instructions to put 10 car lengths between him and Leclerc when the safety car came back in. But Sainz, with Hamilton and Pérez breathing down his neck, ignored the suggestion, which is valid for self-preservation alone and—once the safety car withdrew after lap 41—successfully overtook Leclerc, probably singing happy songs to himself as he all but waltzed to his first ever race win.

What we got was arguably better—perhaps not for discourse, though Ferrari strategy drama will always last a decent media cycle, but for watching. I mean, the racing! Hamilton’s first stint on the medium tires! The four-way battle after the safety car! Ferrari trying to screw themselves the entire way to the finish line and only managing halfway with Sainz’s first race win!

Sainz wasn’t the fastest car on track for most of the race and suffered a plethora of miseries during: failing to meet his target times, dealing with Ferrari’s sloppy communication, obeying team orders to let his teammate pass. It took Carlos Sainz Jr. 150 races to get his first win, a number only surpassed by Pérez’s 190. Fortune is a fickle mistress, and Sainz got both ends. Funny how those things happen—41 laps, 150 races, and then you get all you could ask for, all at once.

‘Ferrari Enemy No1, is Ferrari!’;

https://defector.com/ferraris-worst-enemy-is-itself/

Haas’ Guenther Steiner: “I’m very happy for the whole team to have scored double-points”.
Guenther Steiner was delighted for the whole Haas F1 Team as they scored their first two-car points finish since the 2019 German Grand Prix in Sunday’s British Grand Prix.
July 5, 2022
By Paul Hensby

Despite having started well outside the top ten after falling short in Saturday’s Qualifying session at Silverstone, both Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen drove strongly to bring home points, with the former finally breaking into the top ten after several near misses.

Steiner, the Team Principal at Haas, says it was not luck that brough them points at Silverstone as they were able to show they had a fast car all race long, and should they be able to qualify higher then scoring points would become a more regular occurrence.

“I’m very happy for the whole team to have scored double-points today,” said Steiner. “We deserved it – it wasn’t by luck – starting from P17 and P19 and ending eighth and tenth, we couldn’t have wished for more.”

‘Very Happy Haas Team’;

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2...double-points/


Mick Schumacher's touching radio message about dad Michael after first ever F1 points
MICK SCHUMACHER finished in the points for the first time in his career at Silverstone.
15:55, Tue, Jul 5, 2022
By CHARLIE GORDON

Mick was able to pay tribute to his father with a heartfelt radio message after picking up an impressive P8 finish at Silverstone. "I said it, hell, it's been brilliant," he stated. "They've been brilliant guys, unbelievably brilliant. Prove them wrong and believe in yourself, that's what I told dad."

His team and the wider F1 community were also overjoyed to see the youngster put his first points on the board, with his barren run ending after 31 Grand Prix. "You've done it, you've done it, awesome! Well done, absolutely brilliant. Slow mode now please slow mode," he was congratuled over the team radio. "Great job, great run, Mick."

Team principal Guenther Steiner then jumped in and said: "Mick, fantastic job, thanks for your driving, it finally happened, impressive driving, thank you." Schumacher's four-point haul capped off a solid day for Haas with Kevin Magnussen also finishing in the points, two back in P10.

‘Prove them wrong and believe in yourself, that's what I told Dad’;

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...macher-f1-news


Schumacher relief at finally silencing F1 media.
Monday 4 July 2022 14:30
Ian Parkes

Mick Schumacher expressed relief at finally being able to get a monkey off his back in scoring his first points in F1 which has also silenced the sport's media.

With Haas developing a strong car for F1's new aerodynamic era, and after team-mate Kevin Magnussen scored points in three of the first four races, the pressure on Schumacher grew as he continued to miss out on a top-10 finish.

"It’s great to be able to score points in a double-points finish, something we’ve been aiming for, for a while now," said Schumacher. "It’s obviously very helpful in the constructors’, but for me, it’s great to just get those questions from the media away and focus on what’s really important and that’s the racing and the driving itself.”

‘Mick Schumacher Relief’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/86...sh-grand-prix/


Vettel screamed ‘go Mick’ in car during British GP climax.
A few seconds behind his compatriot on track, Sebastian Vettel has revealed he was a cheerleader for Mick Schumacher at the end of the British Grand Prix.
Date published: July 5 2022
Jon Wilde

With a ringside seat for that tussle as he was just behind in ninth, Vettel found himself joining many of the spectators in the crowd who were urging on Schumacher – the British fans having cast Verstappen in something of a pantomime villain role due to his rivalry with home hero Lewis Hamilton.

“I was very happy for him,” said Vettel, quoted by ESPN, of Schumacher, whose father he had idolised himself when growing up. “I saw what happened and I saw he was closing the gap and I was actually screaming inside the car like ‘go Mick, go Mick!’”

The German duo are often seen together in the paddock and they conducted interviews in close proximity after the British Grand Prix. “I think it’s been a long time since he deserves the result and it’s great to get it,” said the four-time former World Champion, speaking on his own 35th birthday.

‘Go Mick’, ‘Go Mick’, ‘Go Mick’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/sebast...go-british-gp/


K-Mag never doubted Mick’s points-scoring potential
Date published: July 4 2022
Jon Wilde

Kevin Magnussen has insisted he always had faith in Mick Schumacher scoring his first F1 points – simply because his Haas team-mate has “got it”. What the Dane is referring to is Schumacher’s talent, which should never really have been in doubt having won both the Formula 3 and 2 Championships a couple of years apart in 2018 and 2020 respectively.

“For the team, it will be great,” Magnussen told Formula 1. “They know the car has been good and everyone has been a little down about the last couple of races, but there have also been some things that just didn’t go our way and that’s how things go sometimes.

“But for Mick it will be a confidence boost, I’m sure. He’s had a bit of a tough start to the year. I’ve certainly been able to see, from the data I compare with, that he’s got it. I told everyone it would be fine, that he would get there, and today he showed it.”

‘Never Doubted’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/kevin-...macher-points/


Mick Schumacher: “It’s great for the team, a double-finish in the points”
July 4, 2022
By Paul Hensby

Mick Schumacher can finally celebrate his first points in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, after the German impressed to finish eighth in Sunday’s British Grand Prix, despite having started down in nineteenth.

The Haas F1 Team driver, who has come close before to the top ten only to fall short, pitted for fresh tyres under the late race safety car for Esteban Ocon’s on-track stoppage, and he was able to convert his pace into eighth place. Schumacher was also able to put a lot of pressure onto World Champion Max Verstappen across the final laps, although he was unable to find a way passed the ailing Oracle Red Bull Racing driver.

“We’re really happy,” said Schumacher. “Coming back from P19, I said we have the speed to go forwards and we definitely showed it today. It’s great for the team, a double-finish in the points, so that’s obviously very helpful in the constructors. For me, I’m happy now to focus on what’s really important and that’s the racing and the driving.”

‘Double Points Great for the Team’;

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2...in-the-points/


Montoya on Mick’s challenge against ‘wash-out’ K-Mag
Date published: July 5 2022
Michelle Foster

Sebastian Vettel, Schumacher’s mentor, urged the media to back off after his Monaco crash, saying they are putting undue pressure on the youngster. Former F1 driver Montoya disagrees especially as Schumacher is losing his “wash-out” team-mate Kevin Magnussen.

“Does he need more time?” he said to vegasinsider.com. “Yes, he needs more time! The media needs to lay off? It’s difficult because, so when Magnussen comes in being out of a car for a year and straight to the first race and beats him, how do you expect the media to back off?”

“You can’t. It’s Mick, you know, it’s the son of seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher. You know, he won every younger series, won F3, won F2, you know what I mean. And then you got this guy Magnussen that is supposed to be a wash-out and he’s beating him every week.”

‘Mick’s challenge against ‘wash-out’ K-Mag’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/juan-p...out-magnussen/

Vettel talks nonsense in F1 paddock says Stuck.
"He still drives well," said Stuck, "but otherwise he just talks nonsense.
JULY 6, 2022
GrandPrix.com

Sebastian Vettel should stay in Formula 1 but stop talking "nonsense" in the paddock when not driving the car. That is the forthright view of Hans-Joachim Stuck, as the quadruple world champion is still yet to commit to Aston Martin for a further contractual term beyond 2022.

"He can drive a car and he belongs in Formula 1, there's no discussion about that," said 71-year-old fellow German Stuck, a former Formula 1 driver. "And when he's in the car, he can't talk either."

Indeed, 35-year-old Vettel is coming under increasing fire for his outspokenness and activism on social, cultural and environmental issues. I don't know what he's doing because he's an intelligent young man, a good racing driver, but I don't understand why he keeps up with these themes."

‘Vettel Nonsense!’;

https://www.grandprix.com/news/vette...ays-stuck.html


Sebastian Vettel clueless why Aston Martin are so slow despite British GP upgradesQualifying for the British Grand Prix was a disaster for Vettel and Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll, as they could only set the 18th and 20th fastest times in a rain-soaked session
• 14:12, 3 Jul 2022
By Daniel MoxonF1 Writer

Aston Martin have struggled for performance all season, which has been frustrating for the German. As a four-time world champion and winner of 53 races in Formula 1, Vettel is not used to being so uncompetitive on a Grand Prix weekend.

Despite bringing a new car upgrade for this race, Aston Martin suffered from a lack of pace as the rain pounded the Silverstone track during qualifying. "We just didn't seem to be quick enough," said Vettel. "We lost a lot of time. And I guess everywhere around the lap, I mean, balance-wise, I had a lot understeer in the car, and was waiting for the car to rotate.”

"But I don't think that's the main issue. For some reason, we weren't able to generate the grip that we should have had, I guess. And then you don't rotate the car, and then your outlook on traction isn't great. So everything sort of happens delayed. And one thing adds to another, so not great."

‘Lot of Understeer’;

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...ettel-27386889


Vettel in state of confusion over Aston Martin pace
Date published: July 4 2022
Michelle Foster

Baffled as to why he was out of qualifying in Q1 only to race his way into the points at Silverstone, Sebastian Vettel admits Aston Martin’s performance is a “bit confusing”.

Qualifying down in 18th place in the wet at the British Grand Prix, Vettel acknowledged his AMR22 “just didn’t seem to be quick enough”. He and the team were mystified as to why, with Lance Stroll also out in Q1, the Canadian slowest of all in 20th place.

Fast forward a day and Vettel and Stroll were both fighting for the points in Sunday’s 52-lap grand prix, Vettel finishing ninth while his team-mate fell 1.5s short in 11th place.

‘Confusion’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/sebast...ace-confusion/


INSIDER: United by passion at the British GP
06.07.2022
Aston Martin

Throughout the British Grand Prix, we brought you with us on our journey and celebrated what we all have in common – a passion for F1.

Now, we're taking you behind the scenes in our latest episode of INSIDER to give you an even closer look at our Silverstone weekend.

Join us as we welcomed fans to our Silverstone HQ to get up close and personal with the AMR22 show car, take on a pitstop challenge and meet AMF1 reserve driver Nico Hülkenberg.

‘Aston Martin United’;

https://www.astonmartinf1.com/en-GB/...the-british-gp


Aston Martin comment on Vettel’s future as Saudi sponsor opposed to his activism
Sebastian Vettel is yet to sign a new deal with Aston Martin, with Aramco unhappy with the four-time World Champion.
4 July 2022
by Nick Golding

Four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel did brilliantly to salvage a points finish at the British Grand Prix, despite having started in 18th place.

The German was initially involved in a collision with Alex Albon on the opening lap, due to the Williams Racing driver slowing down to avoid Guanyu Zhou’s horrific crash. Vettel went up the gearbox of Albon, sending him into the wall at Turn 1.

In the German’s defence, he had no where to go; thankfully, the German’s AMR22 could be repaired during the red-flag interval. Vettel’s 9th place finish saw him score vital points for the Constructors’ Championship, especially with both Haas F1 Team drivers finishing in the points.

‘Aramco Oppose Vettel’s Activism’;

https://formula1news.co.uk/aston-mar...-his-activism/

Williams ‘able to repair’ Albon’s upgraded FW44 for Austria.
Alex Albon will have a second shot at scoring points in Williams’ revised FW44, the team revealing the new parts have all been repaired or replaced in time for Austria.
Date published: July 7 2022
Michelle Foster

Debuting Williams’ upgraded car at the British Grand Prix, Albon’s hopes of coming from the back of the grid to score points were undone on the very first lap. As a multi-car crash played out involving Zhou Guanyu, George Russell and Pierre Gasly, those behind hit the brakes with Sebastian Vettel tagging Albon.

The angle of the impact sent him 90° into the concrete wall along the pit straight, Albon airlifted to hospital for precautionary checks. But while the driver was okay, released later that same night, the car took a heavy whack with Williams uncertain as to whether they’d have the time to fix it before heading to Austria for part two of the back-to-back.

They have managed to do so, Williams’ head of vehicle engineering Dave Robson confirming Albon will be behind the wheel of the revised car at the Red Bull Ring. “Having damaged Alex’s car at the race start last weekend, coming straight into a sprint event is logistically difficult,” Robson said. “However, we have been able to repair or replace much of Alex’s car such that we can continue to understand the updates during FP1 on Friday.”

‘Alex Albons’ Car Repaired’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/willia...-fw44-austria/


Williams’ Dave Robson: Latifi “raced hard until the end and put up a strong fight against faster cars”
July 5, 2022
By Ashley Cline

Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi finished twelfth place at the British Grand Prix, while Alex Albon retired after an intense multi-car crash on the first lap. Robson praised Latifi’s efforts to bring home points after his season-best qualifying result of tenth place, but said that the car lacked the pace to secure a top ten– due in part to the damage done to the floor mid-race.

“However, Nicholas backed-up his strong drive yesterday with a very good race today. He showed good pace and took advantage of opportunities that came his way, including the late safety car.”

“Unfortunately, he didn’t quite have the pace at the end to challenge for the final points position, but he raced hard until the end and put up a strong fight against faster cars. When he ran wide at T9, he did some damage to the floor, which harmed his pace in the crucial period after his first pit stop.”

‘Nicholas Latifi Raced Hard’;

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2...t-faster-cars/


Nicholas Latifi: “It felt really nice to be properly racing in the pack”
July 5, 2022
By Ashley Cline

Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi finished the British Grand Prix in twelfth place, missing out on the chance to convert his tenth place grid position to a points finish on race day. He enjoyed being able to compete in the midfield on race day rather than filling a backmarker position, and said that he was surprised by his ability to keep up with the pack at the start of the race.

“From lap one we were always fighting an uphill battle. At the beginning I was surprised at how much I could stay with the cars ahead but in reality, there was a little DRS train that was keeping me there because the cars behind were much quicker. It felt really nice to be properly racing in the pack.”

“Unfortunately, we didn’t have the basic pace in the end alongside managing the car towards the end of the race. The car’s lacking downforce compared to the others with us missing pace in the high-speed corners, which wasn’t helped by some floor damage today. We put up a good fight, but it wasn’t meant to be today. Frustrating in the end but overall a positive weekend.”

‘Racing in the Pack’;

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2...g-in-the-pack/


Williams confirm new-spec car repaired for Austria
07/07/2022 at 09:51
Phillip van Osten

Both Alex Albon and Williams' new-spec FW44 are fit and well for this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix following the Anglo-Thai's big crash at the start of last Sunday's British Grand Prix.

Wet sessions at Silverstone, zero race distance on Sunday and only one practice session in Austria will leave Williams well short on mileage and data for its updated car ahead of Friday's sprint qualifying, but Albon is determined to make the most of the allocated time.

"It’s obviously disappointing we didn’t get to properly test the new upgrade last week, however looking forward to Austria, I know the team has been working hard to make the repairs, so we’ll be ready to test it further and gather more data," commented Albon.

‘Williams Ready for Austria’;

https://f1i.com/news/447222-williams...r-austria.html


Albon not yet feeling 100% after Silverstone crash that left him in hospital
07/07/2022, ‎14‎:‎55
Author Tom Leach
Co-author Dieter Rencken

Revealing what he remembers of the crash, Albon said: "Not much to be honest. It all happened very quickly. "Obviously, I was hitting the wall and then at that point it was kind of like a pinball reaction and I was just going wherever the cars were hitting me.”

"I was a little bit sore on Monday and then each day so far it's just been getting better and better, so I'm sure by tomorrow we'll be back to 100% [for Friday]," he told media, including RacingNews365.com. "It's a little bit sore and all that kind of thing but yeah, I'm all okay."

‘100% for Friday’;

https://racingnews365.com/albon-not-...im-in-hospital

‘I DIDN’T REALISE I WAS BETWEEN THE BARRIERS’ – ZHOU RECOUNTS HORROR F1 CRASH.
Alfa Romeo rookie Guanyu Zhou says he “didn’t realise” that his horrific crash at turn one in Silverstone left him stuck between the barriers.
07 July 2022, 17:17
Jay Winter

The 23-year-old managed to escape the brutal incident unscathed thanks to his halo, and his quick thinking. “Obviously when the flip happened, the first thing I was trying to do was trying to release my hand off the steering wheel,” he explained.

“Because you never know, you can break your wrist very easily with a crash like that. The next thing I tried to do, while I was just rolling on the ground, I knew I’ll be facing a massive impact coming up, because the car wasn’t stopping. And then I tried to lock myself in a position that is the safest possible, just waiting for that last impact.”

“It’s not like I was just holding the hand backwards, but keeping it reasonably in tension, so it doesn’t get flying around when you have that last impact. Basically, I was just waiting for the last stop hit. And once I was basically stopped, I didn’t know where I was, because I was upside down.”

‘Last Impact’;

https://www.formulanerds.com/news/f1.../?nowprocket=1


Zhou: I knew if the fire starts, it would be difficult to get out.
Zhou Guanyu revealed that he feared a fire would ignite in his Alfa Romeo after his life-threatening crash at the 2022 British Grand Prix, last weekend. He repeated that the halo head protection system, a titanium ring around the cockpit, had saved his life.
7 July, 2022
Reuters


“(I’m) happy to have back-to-back races because if you had a summer break after (such a crash) that would be terrible, because you would be thinking about it and repeating the crash in your mind again and again,” he said. “Good to be back as soon as I could.”

Zhou issued a picture on Twitter of him with FIA medical staff at the Red Bull Ring: “Finished the final medical check, all good to go,” he said. Reliving the crash, Zhou said his instinct after the car took off and flipped upside down at speed along the asphalt in a shower of sparks was to remove his hands from the steering wheel.

“Once I was basically stopped, I didn’t know where I was, because I was upside down. There was (something) leaking. I wasn’t sure if it was from my body or is this from the car? So I just tried to switch (off) the engine… I knew if the fire starts, it would be difficult to get out.”

‘Feared Fire & Ignition of the Alfa Romeo’;

https://www.grandprix247.com/2022/07...lt-to-get-out/


Zhou Guanyu opens up on horrifying British GP crash: 'I don't know how I survived'
Last Updated: 08/07/22 6:12am
By Matt Morlidge

Zhou Guanyu speaks to the media at the Austrian GP, where he will be back in the car just five days after his scary Silverstone crash. Alfa Romeo driver Zhou Guanyu has detailed his horrifying upside-down crash at the British GP, admitting he had no idea where he had landed, feared his car was going to catch fire, and feels lucky to be alive

"I was thinking I was next to the barriers," he stated. "I don't know how I survived. But looking back, obviously the halo saved me there." Zhou also spoke about feeling a "liquid" and fearing it was blood. He now believes it was down to numbness.

"It did not hurt but it was very cold on my left-hand side so I didn't know if it was blood or if I had no feeling on my left-hand side," he said. "I was more worried about if the engine caught on fire because in that position you're really stuck."

‘Zhou Guanyu: 'I don't know how I survived'.’;

https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12...how-i-survived


‘I didn’t know where I was’ says Zhou, as he relives scary Silverstone start crash ahead of Austrian GP
07 July 2022
Formula 1.

Zhou Guanyu has spoken about the high-speed crash he walked away from at the start of last weekend’s British Grand Prix, the Alfa Romeo driver recounting in vivid detail how it felt flying across the gravel at Turn 1.

The Chinese driver also revealed that, despite the violence of the impact – with Zhou examined in the Silverstone medical centre before being given the all-clear – the first thing he thought of was returning to the wheel of his Alfa Romeo to compete in this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix and Sprint.

“Honestly, Sunday night I was texting my engineers asking ‘is my seat okay?’… as obviously the engine takes a bit of time but for the drivers, the seats are very important, very comfortable, and so far so I don’t want to change something.

‘Checking Seat Damage’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...Ku0UkmL2f.html


Formula One: Guanyu Zhou ‘good to go’
The rookie driver's car was involved in an accident in the British Grand Prix
Published 08.07.22, 02:42 AM
Reuters | Spielberg

Chinese Formula One rookie Guanyu Zhou was looking forward to a quick return to racing in Austria this weekend after a huge crash last Sunday in which he feared his car would catch fire with him trapped inside.

“(I’m) happy to have back-to-back races because if you had a summer break after (such a crash) that would be terrible, because you would be thinking about it and repeating the crash in your mind again and again,” he said. “Good to be back as soon as I could.”

‘Good to Go’;

https://www.telegraphindia.com/sport...go/cid/1873664


Austrian GP: Zhou Guanyu itching to get back racing after Silverstone smash
• Published: 7 Jul 2022, 13:03
• By George Dagless

Formula 1 drivers are a rare breed and Zhou Guanyu is set to underline that this weekend by getting straight back into his Alfa Romeo after the British Grand Prix.

It was a horrible accident, but Zhou got away pretty much unscathed and has passed all the medical checks in the time since to clear him to race this weekend in Austria.

Indeed, he’s been looking forward to doing that ever since leaving the track last weekend, too, with him eager to put it all behind him: “The moment I left Silverstone last Sunday, I was already looking forward to getting back into the car.”

‘Get Back Racing’;

https://www.givemesport.com/88031225...verstone-smash


Zhou: Alfa Romeo roll hoop impact exceeded FIA requirements
Jul 7, 2022, 2:53 PM
Motorsport.com

Zhou Guanyu says that the impact that caused the roll hoop of his Alfa Romeo Formula 1 car to fail at Silverstone was greater than that specified in the FIA’s safety tests.


The C42’s roll hoop was lost early in the Chinese driver’s spectacular accident seconds after the start of the British GP when his car was flipped over after contact with the Mercedes of George Russell.

However, he was protected by the Halo, which remained intact as he skated along the track and into the gravel trap before bouncing over the barriers and coming to a halt.

‘Roll Hoop impact exceeded FIA requirements’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/z...ents/10334311/


Natural instinct drove Russell to check on Zhou after F1 crash
July 7, 20224:22 PM GMT+1
Reuters

July 7 (Reuters) - Briton George Russell said natural instinct drove him to jump out of his Mercedes to check on Chinese racer Guanyu Zhou after a crash on the opening lap of last week's British Grand Prix left the Formula One rookie trapped upside down in his Alfa Romeo.

Sunday's race was not the first time that Russell, who urged Formula One to learn lessons from the crash, had rushed to the aid of a fellow competitor. IndyCar racer Callum Ilott, in a tweet on Sunday, recalled the time Russell had lifted his go-kart off him after the Briton ended up upside down.

Russell said he himself had received help from a fellow competitor when he rolled his go-kart in 2008.

‘Natural Instinct’;

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sp...7-07/?rpc=401&


Russell: It was just sort of a natural reaction
7 July, 2022
Reuters

Briton George Russell said natural instinct drove him to jump out of his Mercedes to check on Chinese racer Zhou Guanyu after a crash on the opening lap of last week’s British Grand Prix left the Formula 1 rookie trapped upside down in his Alfa Romeo.

The race was immediately halted and Russell jumped out to check on Zhou. “It was just a horrifying accident and I saw it was a red flag,” Russell told reporters on Thursday at the Austrian Grand Prix. I thought my car was broken so for me it was just sort of a natural reaction,” added the 24-year-old, who is a director of the drivers’ union GPDA.

Russell said he himself had received help from a fellow competitor when he rolled his go-kart in 2008. “To be honest this hasn’t gone through my thought process whatsoever during any of these incidents, I’m just actually thinking about it now. I rolled in 2008 and I was trapped under the kart and I was actually burning my arm because the exhaust was stuck on top of me and this other driver stopped to lift the kart off me,” he revealed.

‘Natural Reaction’;

https://www.grandprix247.com/2022/07...ural-reaction/

Austria FP1: Advantage Verstappen, Leclerc chasing.
Max Verstappen hit the ground running in Spielberg, and went fastest at the end of FP1 for the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
8 July, 2022
Jad Mallak

Verstappen could have gone faster towards the end of the session had he not been hampered by traffic several times, but in the end his lap time of 1:06.302 was good enough to claim top spot.

Charles Leclerc was second for Ferrari, 0.255s off the top, as George Russell was third fastest for the Silver Arrows, 0.400 slower than Verstappen.

Sergio Perez did not seem comfortable with his RB18 during the session, and was only good for fourth, 0.537s down on his teammate.

‘Max Advantage’;

https://www.grandprix247.com/2022/07...clerc-chasing/


F1 2022 Austrian Grand Prix - Free Practice Results (1)
8 Jul 2022
Connor McDonagh


2022 F1 Austrian Grand Prix - FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (1)
Pos Driver Nat. Team Time
1 Max Verstappen NED Oracle Red Bull Racing 1m06.302s

2 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari 1m06.447s

3 George Russell GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m06.702s

4 Sergio Perez MEX Oracle Red Bull Racing 1m06.839s

5 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m06.909s

6 Kevin Magnussen DEN Haas F1 Team 1m06.965s

7 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari 1m07.039s

8 Fernando Alonso ESP BWT Alpine F1 Team 1m07.100s

9 Mick Schumacher GER Haas F1 Team 1m07.246s

10 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri 1m07.296s

‘Results from the first practice session at the F1 Austrian Grand Prix, Round 11 of the 2022 Formula 1 world championship’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/results/100...tice-results-1


Lando Norris' car catches fire during Austrian Grand Prix practice
LANDO NORRIS has struggled this season with the McLaren star only securing one podium so far this season.
13:03, Fri, Jul 8, 2022
By Luke Chillingsworth

Lando Norris has been forced out of practice just hours before qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix as his car caught fire. Norris came to a rest just before turn six, complaining his car was on fire over team radio.

The McLaren driver said his car was in limp mode during the opening part of the session, suggesting there was an error. Usually, his engineers would be keen for Norris to get the car back to the garage but the Briton made it clear wanted to stop urgently after claiming his seat was “smoking”.

He explained: “I'm on fire, I need to stop. Race engineer Will Joseph added: “If you’re on fire and need to stop do it." Norris responded: “It's smoking from underneath my seat mate so I'd rather get out alright."

‘Smoking Seat’;

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...ian-grand-prix


Everything that happened in first Austrian GP F1 practice
8th July 2022, 13:48
By Jack Cozens

Max Verstappen headed 2022 Formula 1 title rival Charles Leclerc in the sole practice session before Austrian Grand Prix qualifying at the Red Bull Ring.

Key moments:

> Verstappen leads FP1 throughout

> Two red flags in only pre-qualifying practice session

> Norris causes first by stopping on track

> McLaren team-mate Ricciardo experiments with and without Gurney flap

‘Everything FP1’;

https://the-race.com/formula-1/every...p-f1-practice/


FIA’s new porpoising restrictions delayed by a month
2022 Austrian Grand Prix
Posted on 8th July 2022, 13:238th July 2022, 13:37
Written by Keith Collantine

The FIA has agreed to delay the introduction of new limits on Formula 1 cars ‘porpoising’ until the Belgian Grand Prix.

Following a meeting of the F1 Commission today the sport’s governing body confirmed it will postpone the enforcement of its new metric governing the allowed vertical movement by cars. It was originally due to be imposed from the French Grand Prix, but has now been pushed back to the Belgian round following the summer break.

Some teams had raised concerns over the FIA’s plans to limit porpoising. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner described it as a “dangerous avenue” to pursue as the directive raised the possibility of the FIA instructing teams to alter their set-ups. Williams CEO Jost Capito described the proposed restriction as “much too complicated.”

‘FIA Porpoising Delay’;

https://www.racefans.net/2022/07/08/...ed-by-a-month/


Deal struck on budget cap break for F1 teams due to soaring inflation
2022 Austrian Grand Prix
Posted on 8th July 2022, 13:52
Written by Keith Collantine

A deal has been agreed to relax Formula 1’s budget cap due to soaring inflation levels, though not all teams were in favour of the move.

The budget cap was introduced last year and set at a level of $145 million (£120.9m), with several exceptions including the salaries of top team staff and drivers. It fell to $140m this year as planned, however a sharp rise in inflation since the beginning of the season left several teams concerned they would be unable to avoid exceeding the spending limit.

“The proposal recognises the unexpected increase of costs incurred by teams in 2022 thereby permitting indexation at a limited rate of 3.1% (which takes into account the original 3% inflation threshold already set out in the regulations) and permitting compounding of this rate as from 2023. This will preserve the long-term integrity of the Financial Regulations.”

‘Soaring Inflation. Budget Cap Break’;

https://www.racefans.net/2022/07/08/...ing-inflation/

Verstappen tops Austrian GP F1 qualifying as both Mercedes crash.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen narrowly saw off the two Ferraris in Friday qualifying of Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix sprint weekend.
8th July 2022, 17:42
By Valentin Khorounzhiy

Verstappen beat Leclerc by just 0.029s, after a Q3 session that was twice interrupted by crashes for Mercedes drivers.

The Monegasque trailed Verstappen’s time by two tenths after the first two sectors, but jumped out ahead by a tenth – with Carlos Sainz briefly backing up a provisional Ferrari 1-2, only for Verstappen to respond with a 1m04.984s.

Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez was a distant fourth, and there was considerable controversy over his participation in Q3 as he was placed under investigation for potentially cutting Turn 8.

‘Max P1 Response’;

https://the-race.com/formula-1/verst...ercedes-crash/


2022 Austrian Grand Prix - Qualifying results
08/07/2022 at 17:24
Andrew Lewin

Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:05.852s 1:05.374s 1:04.984s
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:05.419s 1:05.287s 1:05.013s
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:05.660s 1:05.576s 1:05.066s
4 Sergio Pérez Red Bull 1:06.143s 1:05.805s 1:05.404s
5 George Russell Mercedes 1:06.235s 1:05.697s 1:05.431s
6 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:06.468s 1:05.993s 1:05.726s
7 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:06.366s 1:05.894s 1:05.879s
8 Mick Schumacher Haas 1:06.405s 1:06.151s 1:06.011s
9 Fernando Alonso Alpine 1:06.016s 1:06.082s 1:06.103s
10 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:06.079s 1:05.475s 1:13.151s

‘Full results from qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix at Spielberg, round 11 of the 2022 Formula 1 season’;

https://f1i.com/news/447396-2022-aus...g-results.html


Austrian GP: Max Verstappen goes fastest from Charles Leclerc in incredibly tight qualifying
Published: 8 Jul 2022, 17:38
By George Dagless

Max Verstappen will start the Austrian Sprint tomorrow afternoon from P1 after recording the fastest time in a very tight Friday night qualifying shootout, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz within a tenth of a second of the Dutchman.

Verstappen has a superb record around the Red Bull Ring and he is looking good to maintain that, after delivering in front of the packed, orange-clad stands in Spielberg. Indeed, it’s Red Bull’s home race but it could easily be Max’s, such is the amount of Dutch support in the grandstands, with him delivering to their delight in front of the Ferraris.

Certainly, the finest of margins decided pole in Austria with Leclerc taking provisional pole ahead of Sainz, before Verstappen became the only man in Q3 to dip into the 1:04.000 mark, with a fine lap just before the chequered flag.

‘Finest of Margins’;

https://www.givemesport.com/88031956...ght-qualifying


Verstappen confident for Austria races after taking pole in “very tight qualifying”
2022 Austrian Grand Prix
Posted on 8th July 2022, 17:53
Written by Will Wood

Max Verstappen is confident that Red Bull have a car capable of winning in this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix after taking pole position for Saturday’s opening sprint race.

The championship leader beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to pole position for Saturday’s sprint race by just under three-hundredths of a second in an eventual qualifying session at the Red Bull Ring which saw Q3 interrupted twice due to crashes for both Mercedes drivers.

Despite the delays, Verstappen managed to improve on his personal best time in the final sector, having been slower than his previous effort across the opening two sectors to beat both Ferraris of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jnr by less than a tenth of a second.

‘Max Confidence’;

https://www.racefans.net/2022/07/08/...ht-qualifying/


2022 Austrian GP Qualifying: Russell becomes second Mercedes to hit the wall in Q3
08 Jul 2022
Formula 1.

Qualifying had only just been restarted following Lewis Hamilton’s crash when fellow Mercedes driver George Russell also hit the tyre barrier after losing the car at the final corner, triggering the red flags again.

‘Mercedes Crashes Concern’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...175429343.html


Toto Wolff's fiery response after Dutch fans cheer Lewis Hamilton crash at Austrian GP
LEWIS HAMILTON crashed out in the final minutes of qualifying at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
17:57, Fri, Jul 8, 2022
By Archie Griggs

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff insisted that some fans need to be educated after a number of supporters were heard cheering when Lewis Hamilton crashed out in qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix on Friday.

"We just need to speak more to the fans cheering when a car is in the wall or booing a driver who gives an interview," the Mercedes team principal told Sky Sports F1.

"It's not what we would do with our competitors and enemies even though you would think there is some animosity out there. Nobody should actually do it, we need to work collectively with F1 and you guys to educate people."

‘Fiery Response’;

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...ian-GP-F1-news


Daniel Ricciardo's miserable season continues after McLaren driver is DUMPED out of Q1 ahead of the sprint at the Austrian Grand Prix
• Daniel Ricciardo's misery continued after he was dumped out of Q1 in Austria
• The Australian is under pressure having endured a poor season with McLaren
• Ricciardo failed to advance to Q2 and will start in P16 for tomorrow's sprint
Published: 16:51, 8 July 2022
By Ollie Lewis For Daily Mail Australia

Things went from bad to worse for Daniel Ricciardo as the McLaren driver was dumped out of qualifying at the first opportunity in Austria.

With all 20 drivers jostling for a good position for Saturday's sprint race, Ricciardo was unable to finish 15th or above to advance to Q2 and was forced to settle with P16.

Meanwhile, Ricciardo's teammate Lando Norris made it to the next qualifying session after clocking in the eighth-fastest time, but was swiftly booted from Q2 and finished in P15.

‘Miserable Season Continues!’;

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...DUMPED-Q1.html

Sainz heads Ferrari 1-2 in final Austrian GP practice.
Carlos Sainz fronted a Ferrari 1-2 during Saturday practice for Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix.
8th July 2022, 12:33
by Phillip Horton

As per previous Sprint weekends the best lap was off the ultimate pace, with teams focusing on longer runs, due to having no reason to chase one-lap potential. Sainz’s best time, a 1:08.610s, was almost four seconds off Max Verstappen’s pole lap.

Charles Leclerc classified second, within a tenth of his Ferrari team-mate, while Verstappen finished third. Alpine wound up fourth and fifth, with Fernando Alonso ahead of Esteban Ocon, while Sergio Perez was sixth for Red Bull.

Mercedes was able to return both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton to the circuit during the session after their respective qualifying accidents. Team boss Toto Wolff quipped earlier on Saturday that Mercedes’ garage looked as if a Lego car had been dropped such was the damage and range of components littering the floor.

‘Sainz heads Ferrari 1-2’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2022/...n-gp-practice/


(FP2) Second Practice Results – 2022 Austrian Grand Prix
9th July 2022
by Emer Hedderman

1. Carlos Sainz Scuderia Ferrari -1:08.610
2. Charles Leclerc Scuderia Ferrari +0.050
3. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.168
4. Fernando Alonso Alpine +0.222
5. Esteban Ocon Alpine +0.238
6. Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +0.569
7. George Russell Mercedes +0.630
8. Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo +0.641
9. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.740
10. Lando Norris McLaren +0.909

‘Austrian Grand Prix – Here are the complete results from FP2 ahead of the Sprint for the 2022 F1 World Championship race at the Red Bull Ring’;

https://formulaspy.com/f1/fp2-second...and-prix-79469


Hamilton loses most of Austrian GP FP2, Sainz quickest
9th July 2022, 12:42
By Jack Cozens

Carlos Sainz topped a second Austrian Grand Prix practice session that Lewis Hamilton missed the majority of following his crash in the final part of qualifying on Friday.

Key moments:

> Mercedes repairs cost Hamilton three quarters of FP2

> Ferraris 1-2 from Verstappen

> Alpines, fourth and fifth, chose to sit out first 25 minutes

‘The Race Analysis’;

https://the-race.com/formula-1/hamil...ainz-quickest/


Lewis Hamilton forced to replace 'destroyed' Mercedes car part after Austrian GP crash
LEWIS HAMILTON will line up ninth for this afternoon's sprint race after a crash in qualifying.
11:45, Sat, Jul 9, 2022
By Luke Chillingsworth

Lewis Hamilton will need new parts ahead of today’s sprint race after suffering a heavy crash during Austrian Grand Prix qualifying. Hamilton will need a new chassis after his Mercedes side impact structure was damaged in the collision during Q3.

Andreas Haupt, a reporter for Auto Motor Und Sport, revealed the extent of Hamilton’s damage this morning. Posting on Twitter, he said: “Hamilton needs a new chassis for Austrian GP. The side-impact crash structure was destroyed yesterday after hitting tire barriers in Turn seven.”

The seven-time champion lost control of his car at turn seven after a gust of wind forced him off track. In his attempt to correct the slide, Hamilton was pushed onto the gravel trap which pulled him towards the barriers.

‘Destroyed Mercedes Car Part Replacement’;

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...and-prix-crash


Revised starting grid for the 2022 F1 Austrian GP Sprint after late penalty
09/07/2022, ‎11‎:‎20
Author RacingNews365 Staff

Max Verstappen will lead the field away for the second F1 Sprint race of the season in Austria on Saturday.

Red Bull driver Verstappen edged out the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz during qualifying at the Red Bull Ring to seal top spot.

Sergio Perez had been due to start fourth in the other Red Bull, but drops back to 13th after losing his Q3 times and best Q2 effort over track limits.

STARTING GRID: 2022 F1 AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX SPRINT
Position Driver Team
1. Verstappen Red Bull
2. Leclerc Ferrari
3. Sainz Ferrari
4. Russell Mercedes
5. Ocon Alpine
6. Magnussen Haas
7. Schumacher Haas
8. Alonso Alpine
9. Hamilton Mercedes
10. Gasly AlphaTauri

‘The starting grid below is provisional until confirmed by F1's governing body, the FIA’;

https://racingnews365.com/revised-st...r-late-penalty


Austrian GP: Christian Horner bemoans 'very harsh' qualifying penalty for Sergio Perez
Published: 9 Jul 2022, 09:15
By George Dagless

Christian Horner has labelled the penalty Sergio Perez received in qualifying as ‘very harsh’ with the Red Bull man dropping from P4 to P13 for today’s Sprint.

The Mexican is looking to make inroads into Max Verstappen’s lead in the world championship, and took some points back last time out at the British Grand Prix with him finishing second to Max’s seventh.

However, there’s every chance that that gain could be reversed totally this weekend, with extra points on offer thanks to the return of the Sprint format, and due to the fact that Verstappen is sitting in P1 for lights out this afternoon.

‘P13 Very Harsh’;

https://www.givemesport.com/88032038...r-sergio-perez


Haas F1 drivers surprised undeveloped car is still Q3-worthy
5 hours ago
By Scott Mitchell

Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher are surprised that their undeveloped Formula 1 car is still capable of qualifying in the top 10. Magnussen and Schumacher qualified seventh and eighth at the Austrian Grand Prix and will each start the sprint race at the Red Bull Ring one place higher following a penalty for Sergio Perez.

After the pair produced another top 10 result in qualifying in Austria, Magnussen admitted it was better than expected at round 10 of the season. “It’s a good car this year and it’s looked strong ever since the beginning really,” he said.

Asked by The Race if he shared that feeling, Schumacher said: “Yeah, I think we were all a bit surprised, but happily surprised. I’m quite optimistic that even with the update that we will get we’ll do another step forwards.”

‘Haas Car Looking Strong’;

https://the-race.com/formula-1/haas-...ill-q3-worthy/


Impact on Zhou’s roll hoop was double the force of FIA crash tests – Vasseur
2022 Austrian Grand Prix
Posted on 9th July 2022, 11:52
Written by Will Wood and Claire Cottingham

The roll hoop on Zhou Guanyu’s car suffered an impact over twice the magnitude of the maximum load in FIA safety tests during his Silverstone crash, Frederic Vasseur revealed. The Alfa Romeo driver suffered a violent accident at the start of the British Grand Prix last weekend after being flipped over following contact between Pierre Gasly and George Russell.

The roll hoop on Zhou’s car broke in the impact, sending Zhou skidding along the asphalt with only his halo protecting his helmet from contact with the ground. Alfa Romeo team principal Vasseur says that the team’s initial investigations have shown the force exerted on the roll hoop was over twice the maximum they are subjected to during FIA’s safety tests.

“It’s still under investigation,” explained Vasseur. “We showed the information about the crash with the FIA, we are already into the process of this. The first concept is that the crash was something like two times more than the load of the crash test. I don’t know if you had a look at the Tarmac, but we dug a groove into the tarmac, something like four or five centimetres deep. At some stage, it doesn’t matter the level of the crash test – you can always find something a bit bigger.”

‘Double Force Impact!’;

https://www.racefans.net/2022/07/09/...tests-vasseur/

Austrian GP: Verstappen controls the Sprint, Perez recovers to P5.
Max Verstappen was largely untroubled as he claimed a lights-to-flag victory in the Austrian Grand Prix Sprint.
09 July 2022


The Red Bull driver repelled Charles Leclerc on the run to Turn 1 and eased away, leaving the two Ferraris to battle for second. Despite a few wheel-to-wheel moments, it was Leclerc that stayed ahead as Carlos Sainz had to settle for third.

As Verstappen pulled away in the lead, the two Ferraris went to war as Leclerc rebuffed Sainz strongly in the fight for second. Sebastian Vettel was spun into the gravel by Alex Albon at Turn 6, the Williams driver already had a five-second penalty for pushing Lando Norris wide at Turn 3.

Perez continued his charge, passing the Haas' and Esteban Ocon to run fifth. Hamilton tried to follow the Red Bull through but became stuck behind the gearbox of Mick Schumacher in ninth.

‘Max Control, Carlos Perez P5 Recovery’;

https://www.insideracing.com/index.p...recovers-to-p5


Sprint Results – 2022 Austrian Grand Prix
Spielberg, Austria
9th July 2022
by Emer Hedderman

Results (Classification):
1. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing – 23 laps
2. Charles Leclerc Scuderia Ferrari +1.675
3. Carlos Sainz Scuderia Ferrari +5.644
4. George Russell Mercedes +13.429
5. Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +18.302
6. Esteban Ocon Alpine +31.032
7. Kevin Magnussen Haas +34.539
8. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +35.447
9. Mick Schumacher Haas +37.163
10. Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo +37.163

‘Austrian Grand Prix – Here are the complete results from today’s Sprint to set the grid for tomorrow’s 2022 F1 World Championship race at the Red Bull Ring’;

https://formulaspy.com/f1/sprint-res...and-prix-79477


HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the action from the Sprint in Austria, as Verstappen beats duelling Ferraris
09 July 2022
Formula 1.

Max Verstappen led from start to finish at Saturday afternoon's Sprint in Austria, sealing his second Sprint victory of the season, and a P1 start for tomorrow’s Grand Prix.

Verstappen fought off the challenges from both Ferrari drivers at the beginning of the Sprint before taking off and crossing the line nearly two seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc in second. After battling with his team mate earlier in the Sprint, Carlos Sainz was made to settle for third place, ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell in fourth.

Sergio Perez battled his way from 13th to fifth, ahead of Esteban Ocon in sixth. Kevin Magnussen finished in seventh, in front of the recovering Lewis Hamilton, who took the final point in the Sprint, after a long battle with Mick Schumacher in Haas – who finished ninth.

‘Sprint Highlights’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...w4InmZGNr.html


Leclerc: “We can’t afford to do tomorrow what we did today”
2022 Austrian Grand Prix
Posted on 9th July 2022, 17:27
Written by Keith Collantine and Claire Cottingham

Charles Leclerc says the fight between him and his team mate in the Austrian Grand Prix sprint race compromised his attempts to fight for the lead. The two Ferrari drivers exchanged positions twice on the opening lap, Leclerc regaining second place behind Max Verstappen. Sainz then attacked Leclerc further into the race, and the pair dropped further behind the Red Bull driver.

Leclerc suggested the reason Sainz was able to attack him in the early laps was because he was managing his tyres more in order to be able to catch Verstappen later in the race. “I think it was pretty close between us three, to be honest, in terms of pace,” he said in the FIA press conference after the sprint race. “I was probably the one managing the most at the beginning and the one pushing the most at the end. So I just tried something different but it didn’t work out.”

“Tomorrow’s going to be a long race and tyre management will be quite a bit more important compared to today,” he said. “So probably tomorrow we cannot afford to do what we did today, no.” It will be up to team principal Mattia Binotto to determine how hard they can fight each other, he added. “For the rules of engagement, obviously we are not the one to decide,” he said. “It will be more Mattia.”

‘Cannot afford to do what we did today, no!’;

https://www.racefans.net/2022/07/09/...-we-did-today/


Alonso's F1 car in "full blackout" on Austrian GP sprint grid
Fernando Alonso says his Alpine Formula 1 car suffered a "full blackout" on the grid for the Austrian Grand Prix's sprint, which he failed to start.
Jul 9, 2022, 4:33 PM
By: Filip Cleeren
Co-author: Luke Smith

As the grid was vacated before the start, Alonso's car was left on the grid on its jacks with the tyre blankets still attached, as the team was frantically trying to solve a technical issue on the car. But as the grid was led around for another formation lap due to Zhou Guanyu's engine shut-off, buying Alpine more time, Alonso didn't manage to start from the pitlane because his car failed to fire up.

A frustrated Alonso explained his car went into a full shutdown on the grid, the underlying reason for which is yet to be diagnosed. "Five minutes before the start we had full blackout in the car and we could not switch on the car," Alonso said when asked about the issue by Motorsport.com.

"We tried to fire up with an external battery, but it didn't work either, so there is something bigger going on there and let's try to fix it for tomorrow.”

‘El PLAN: Tomorrow’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/a...grid/10335660/


Schumacher puzzled by how Haas handled Austrian GP sprint
09/07/2022, 17:24
By Scott Mitchell and Valentin Khorounzhiy

A somewhat flustered Schumacher described the battle with Hamilton as “fun” but one that “shouldn’t have happened in the first place. I think that in some ways it probably wasn’t quite necessary, because I think I had more pace to be in front,” he reiterated.

“So, something to have a look at it, maybe for my understanding, why we didn’t switch the positions. Because I felt like I probably could’ve attacked Esteban [Ocon] ahead [for sixth place].”

“It’s quite incredible to be fighting with Mercedes and a Red Bull. Again, I think there was more in it. Schumacher believes a swap with Magnussen would’ve been “doable without losing any time”, and says he requested to swap “a few times” but was turned down.

‘Mick Puzzled’;

https://the-race.com/formula-1/schum...ian-gp-sprint/


Wolff: ‘Draggy’ W13 cost Hamilton in fight with Haas
Date published: July 9 2022
Jamie Woodhouse

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff offered a downbeat summary of the Austrian Grand Prix sprint as Lewis Hamilton struggled to pass the two Haas cars. Hamilton lined up P9 for the second sprint of the 2022 season, a crash during Q3 on Friday having ended the Briton’s session early when he had been looking like a contender to challenge for the top positions.

Put to Wolff by Sky Sports F1 that Mick had shown real fighting spirit, comparable to that of his father, ex-Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher, Wolff replied: “It’s a fight for position and they have an advantage because we are so draggy. And maybe also a bit of performance here, so overall, yeah, you need to do that.”

George Russell was able to claim P4 on the grid in the other Mercedes, staying out of the reach of Sergio Perez who came storming through the pack in the Red Bull. Nonetheless, Wolff could not take too much satisfaction, saying the pace Mercedes had been hoping for never materalised.

‘Draggy W13 Pace’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/toto-w...ustria-sprint/


Vettel summoned to stewards over his ‘behaviour at a drivers’ meeting’
2022 Austrian Grand Prix
Posted on 9th July 2022, 16:54
Written by Keith Collantine

The stewards of the Austrian Grand Prix have summoned Sebastian Vettel to a hearing related to a drivers’ meeting which took place yesterday. A statement issued by the FIA said Vettel had been called to answer questions over an “alleged breach of Article 12.2.1 f) of the International Sporting Code and Article 20.1 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations – Behaviour at the Drivers’ Meeting at 19:30.”

Two drivers’ meetings are held during sprint race weekends. The incident in which the alleged infringement involving Vettel took place occured after yesterday’s qualifying session.

The article of the International Sporting Code which Vettel is alleged to have violation forbids “any words, deeds or writings that have caused moral injury or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers, and more generally on the interest of motor sport and on the values defended by the FIA.”

‘Moral injury or Loss to the FIA’;

https://www.racefans.net/2022/07/09/...ivers-meeting/

'Good race and recovery' puts Perez back to P5 for Sunday.
A solid performance for the Red Bull driver in the sprint saw him recover almost all of that lost ground, allowing his driving to do the talking for him as he battled his way confidently back up to P5 at the chequered flag.
09/07/2022 at 19:07
Andrew Lewin

At the end of yesterday's [Saturday] qualifying session, Sergio Perez believed he'd done enough to secure a spot on the second row of the grid for the sprint race at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. But a post-session visit to the stewards office saw him stripped of his final times for exceeding track limits at the end of Q2, dropping him from fourth to P13 on the grid instead.

“It was a good race and recovery," he confirmed after the end of today's 23-lap sprint. "We got the most we could out of the sprint and I feel it is a strong result from us.

"I had a good start and kept out of trouble. It was tricky with Lewis and a lot of people going side by side into turn three," he continued. "Once I got past everybody, George Russell was a bit far for me to catch up with. I wish I had got back up to P4, but I can fight from fifth.”

‘Fight From P5’;

https://f1i.com/news/447735-good-rac...or-sunday.html


Sergio Perez aiming for 'at least the podium' on Sunday
Sat. 09 July 2022, 16:44
SKY

‘Sergio Perez sets out his ambitions for the Austrian Grand Prix’;

https://www.skysports.com/watch/vide...odium-tomorrow


Pérez targeting podium in Austrian Grand Prix after fighting his way up to P5 in the Sprint
09 Jul 2022
Formula 1.

Sergio Pérez lost his P4 grid slot on Friday night and was dropped down to P13 for track limits infringements, but fought his way up to fifth in the Sprint – and is now eyeing a podium in Sunday’s Grand Prix.

‘Targeting a Podium Finish’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...988055656.html


Perez frustrated to have ‘paid the price for FIA not policing track limits better’
RaceFans Round-up
Posted on 10th July 2022, 0:01
Written by Will Wood

In the round-up: Sergio Perez says he “paid the price” for the FIA failing to delete his illegal lap time after he breached track limits in Friday’s qualifying. In brief: Perez frustrated to have ‘paid the price for FIA not policing track limits better’.

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez says his Austrian Grand Prix weekend been compromised by the FIA stewards failing to delete his illegal lap time from the end of Q2 during qualifying. Perez exceeded track limits at turn eight during his final and quickest lap in Q2 during Friday’s qualifying session. He was originally advanced into Q3 and competed in the session, before the stewards retroactively deleted his best Q2 time and all times set in Q3, dropping him from fourth on the sprint race grid to 13th.

After he climbed back up to claim fifth on the grid during the sprint race, Perez said he feels his penalty was made more severe due to the unnecessary running he completed in Q3. “I think I definitely did something wrong, but also I think I paid the price from the FIA not being able to police it better,” Perez said. “I got a harsher penalty than I should because I wasted all my tyres in Q3, risking it all. But anyway, it’s all in the past. We’re seeing a bit of inconsistency throughout, so hopefully we’re able to get back some rhythm and work together with the FIA.”

‘It’s all in the past now!’;

https://www.racefans.net/2022/07/10/...nd-up-10-07-5/


Horner brands Perez’s grid drop as ‘very harsh’
Date published: July 9 2022
Michelle Foster

Sergio Perez’s penalty for exceeding track limits in Q2 at the Red Bull Ring was “very harsh”, that’s the opinion of Christian Horner. Perez qualified fourth for Saturday’s sprint race at the Austrian Grand Prix weekend only to be informed that he was under investigation for a track limits violation in Q3.

The stewards ruled that the “video was clear and there is no doubt of the breach, which the team admitted”. But because it had taken place in Q2, the driver making it through to the final segment, they faced an unexpected situation of what punishment to hand out.

“We feel the penalty for Checo was very harsh and should have been dealt with before Q3 to enable us to improve subsequent performance,” the Red Bull team boss said as per GPFans. “He will do his best from P13 and try and put us in a better position for Sunday’s race.” Perez’s penalty does set a precedent now for future infringements which aren’t noted at the time.

‘Very Harsh Precedent Set’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/red-bu...op-very-harsh/

Civil war set to erupt between Ferrari drivers in Austria.
Decisions that do Ferrari no favours and are a disservice to all those at Maranello who with sweat, blood and tears build those two cars for two spoilt brats to put their own egos and ambitions ahead of all those behind the greatest team in our sport.
9 July, 2022
Paul Velasco

Talk about no communication. Mattia needs to put out the fire tonight because it does not take a Nostradamus to work out that all hell could break loose between the pair at Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday and/or France and/or Hungary. Whenever. But it will happen sooner or later unless Binotto cracks the whip and gets his drivers in order. ASAP. Or else Tifosi should brace themselves for civil war and bye-bye 2022 F1 titles, 2023, 2024 and so on. until one of the Charlies goes.

In closing final words to Mattia Binotto: “By maximising the points for the team, we are also doing the same for the drivers’ chances by taking points away from their opponents. The fastest car on the track is the one that gets priority.” So why did Sainz attack?

“If one of the drivers has better chances later in the championship, then we will certainly try to give him full priority, but at the moment that is not the situation.” Seriously? Leclerc was 24 points ahead of Sainz before the Silverstone fiasco. And is still 12 points ahead of Sainz, in a season that will now be decided by the finest of margins it is clear who to push for the title tilt.

‘Civil War: Pulling No Punches!’;

https://www.grandprix247.com/2022/07...t-austrian-gp/


Leclerc makes Ferrari demand after Sainz sprint fight.
Saturday 9 July 2022 18:35
Ewan Gale

Charles Leclerc has called on Ferrari to work together to defeat Max Verstappen at the Austrian Grand Prix after an intra-team battle let the Red Bull driver off the hook in the sprint.

Carlos Sainz was racy at the start and attacked Verstappen into turn three but after running wide, team-mate Leclerc overtook the latest grand prix winner into turn four. Reigning F1 champion Verstappen was afforded breathing room up front as Leclerc and Sainz continued to battle in the opening phase of the 23-lap event.

On whether the Ferraris could work together to take the fight to Verstappen in the grand prix proper, Leclerc replied: "I hope so." Taking team strategy aside, the no holds barred battle between Sainz and Leclerc made for fantastic viewing.

‘Ferrari Working Together!’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/86...d-prix-sprint/


Martin Brundle rips into Ferrari for failing Charles Leclerc in Max Verstappen title fight.
Sky F1 commentator Martin Brundle has accused Ferrari of derailing Charles Leclerc’s title bid after a string of errors.
10:37, Fri, Jul 8, 2022
By Andrew Gamble

CHARLES LECLERC has lost ground on Max Verstappen in the Formula 1 world title battle due to a number of questionable decisions by Ferrari. The Monegasque star was not called in to pit to change his tyres when the Safety Car was deployed late in the race as each of his rivals were given fresh new tyres. While the decision meant Leclerc held the lead as racing resumed, he was a sitting duck on old, hard tyres compared to the fresh, soft tyres of his colleagues.

As a result, Sainz passed his teammate with ease to secure his maiden F1 Grand Prix victory. Leclerc appeared to be clearly frustrated as he exited his car and returned to the Italians’ garage, and Brundle believes Ferrari must do more to help Leclerc in his title tilt against Verstappen. “Well they've got the pace, particularly Charles Leclerc who is flying along,” Brundle said. “Carlos Sainz is more tenacious in the race I would say.”

“How Leclerc went so fast at Silverstone with a broken wing I'll never know. But he's been on pole six times and they keep losing races through strategy, through unreliability. Why they didn't pit him for fresh tyres in Silverstone... they had plenty of thinking time to do that. They made a mistake again. They're going to have to really get their act together if they want to beat Red Bull this season.”

‘Ferrari Ripped!’;

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...rstappen-title


Formula 1: Motorsport icon counts Ferrari boss Binotto
JUL 5, 2022
Bytaketonews

Formula 1 racing team Ferrari is in the pillory after another strategy chaos. After the British Grand Prix, team boss Mattia Binotto has to defend himself against harsh criticism. Team boss Mattia Binotto only brought in Carlos Sainz, who was in the lead. The fact that Ferrari did not also call Leclerc into the pits for a double stop even amazed the competition from Red Bull. Team boss Christian Horner spoke of a “strange decision”.

Binotto is now receiving criticism from former Formula 1 driver Hans-Joachim Stuck. “I wonder how long Mattia Binotto will survive at Ferrari. After all, he is the boss of the race and has to be responsible for these decisions,” said the German motorsport icon at “Eurosport“. The Scuderia had already made a tactical mistake at the Monaco Grand Prix when they gambled away at Leclerc’s pit stops.

According to Stuck, who knows Formula 1 very well from his active time from 1974 to 1979, Ferrari “always had phases” in the past in which “wrong decisions” were made. “But this year it’s been tough.” While Sainz was able to win a race in the premier class for the first time, his teammate was served. “Charles Leclerc really has to throw up. He’s really a poor pig. But that’s Ferrari,” said Hans-Joachim Stuck.

‘That’s Ferrari!’;

https://taketonews.com/formula-1-mot...-boss-binotto/


Brundle: Leclerc has ‘had enough’ of Ferrari misfortune.
Date published: July 9 2022
Jon Wilde

Martin Brundle thinks Charles Leclerc is struggling to cope with the misfortune he has endured at Ferrari over the past five races. The problems have clearly been getting to the 24-year-old, as evidenced by some tetchy team radio messages and a conversation after the British Grand Prix with team principal Mattia Binotto, who was seen wagging his finger at the Monegasque.

The duo have subsequently cleared the air when Binotto travelled to Leclerc’s home Principality in the build-up to the Austrian Grand Prix. However, Brundle, speaking on Sky F1, believes there are palpable signs of Leclerc’s increasing frustration as so many chances to add to the four career F1 victories he has achieved go begging.

Speaking in response to footage of Binotto wagging his finger at Leclerc, Brundle said: “We all live life, we are all human beings and that’s not a Formula 1 story is it? We all know what the finger-wagging means. Charles could be here today, I think, comfortably leading the World Championship actually. They (Ferrari) have messed up on strategy, they have messed up on reliability, he’s been on pole position six times, he’s so unbelievably fast.”

‘Ferrari Mess Up’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/martin...-leclerc-luck/


Ferrari broken by experts: “Leclerc really is a poor pig”
World Stories11:00 am

Stuck accounts for Binotto: Despite Carlos Sainz’s first victory in a Formula 1 game, Ferrari has been sharply criticized. Despite the best options, Charles Leclerc finished fourth. Former race car driver Hans Joachim Stuck wonders about “Eurosport“,” Mattia Binotto will live for how long in Ferrari. After all, he is the race boss and he must be responsible for these decisions. “And:” Charles Leclerc really has to give up. He really is a poor young man. But that ‘s a Ferrari.”

Short, compact, clear Danner sees several Ferrari wrong decisions: RTL Specialist Christian Danner makes a similar statement. The fact that Leclerc was not allowed to pass Sainz was a serious mistake. Leclerc is “the fastest and best driver” and “the only world champion candidate Ferrari has,” he insists in “sports1”.

“Ferrari broken by expert!’;

https://sasatimes.com/ferrari-broken...is-a-poor-pig/


Charles Leclerc explains 'Ferrari engineer revolt' and Mattia Binotto dressing down
CHARLES LECLERC has thrown away Ferrari's early season advantage as tensions rise at the Italian marquee.
06:31, Fri, Jul 8, 2022
By Luke Chillingsworth

Sky Sports host Ted Kravitz asked what the reality was inside the team after fans spotted Binotto’s finger-wagging last weekend. He also asked why Leclerc's mechanics reportedly did not want to celebrate with Carlos Sainz after the Spaniard’s win last week.

However, Leclerc appeared to squash rumours of an interior split at Ferrari, suggesting the stories were untrue. The Monegasque explained: “It is a shame to see all of this type of things because it is definitely not what is happening inside the team.

“Of course were we disappointed after last weekend? I think we were. We were one-two, we finished one-four, so some part of the team were disappointed. But this was definitely not the reason or whatsoever for everybody not being on the picture. I think half of the team that stayed on the picture missed the plane to go back home, it was quite tricky. We wanted to do a first picture but Carlos was not here so we had to delay everything, But, there’s no hard feelings whatsoever.”

‘Nothing to See Here’;

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...inotto-f1-news

Binotto denies reports of a divided Ferrari garage.
Mattia Binotto has played down claims the Ferrari garage was divided following Carlos Sainz’s win at Silverstone.
Date published: July 9 2022
Sam Cooper


In what should have been a day of celebration, a report emerged from a former Ferrari insider that all was not well inside the paddock. The insider claimed Charles Leclerc’s side of the garage had refused to attend the podium ceremony and missed the following photoshoot after being angry with the way the team had handled him during the race.

In response to the report, Binotto said he was “surprised” and that it was something he had personally checked on to see how true the statements were. “That was not true,” Binotto told Autosport.

“When I heard or I read it, [I was] surprised. What I did was to check because, you never know, maybe there is something I missed. But I checked and that was not the case at all. [I’m] surprised and again disappointed to read that sometimes there are things written which do not correctly say what was happening.”

‘Ferrari Division Denied’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/mattia...errari-garage/


BINOTTO: “NOT THE SITUATION FOR TEAM ORDERS NOW”
14:53 Sat, 09 Jul 2022.
Dalila Zanardo

Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto answered critics regarding Maranello’s choice during the British Grand Prix not to favour Charles Leclerc and admitted the team wouldn’t use team orders in the near future, as its drivers are “free to fight”.

Polemics surround once again Mattia Binotto’s management and especially the choice not to explicitly prioritise Charles Leclerc, who is obviously already considered the leading driver at least by the fans. The Italian team principal expressed in the FIA Press Conference the will to think race by race:

“At first what we are trying to do every single race is to maximise the team points. There are two championships, and by maximizing the team points, I am pretty sure we are maximizing the drivers’ opportunities by taking points from the opponents.”

‘Ferrari Polemics’;

https://www.formulanerds.com/news/bi.../?nowprocket=1


Mattia Binotto: Ferrari will prioritise leading driver
11:28 Sat, 09 Jul
Sky Sports

Ferrari’s team principal Mattia Binotto says if Charles Leclerc continues to prove himself as the leading driver, they will prioritise him over Carlos Sainz.

https://www.skysports.com/watch/vide...ritise-leclerc


Leclerc and Binotto laugh off fake Italian media reports
Saturday 9 July 2022 13:15
Ewan Gale

The Italian media were scathing in their reviews of the Scuderia's British Grand Prix strategy after Carlos Sainz's maiden win, with more focus placed on Leclerc's freefall from first to fourth in the closing stages after being left on ageing hard tyres. Reports suggested a rift between the two sides of the garage, with Binotto flying in to meet Leclerc at his home in Monaco.

But a dismissive Binotto explained: "I meet the drivers after each race and have a discussion to review the race situation. "Charles was in Monaco and in the back-to-back [races], it was the best opportunity for me to meet him, simply to go there.”

"We had dinner, we were laughing together reading the newspapers because we knew that [what was being written] was completely wrong. He was very happy to meet and discuss, move forward and be constructive on some of the scenarios and the best chance for us to be strong in the following races."

‘Laughing at Italian Media’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/86...italian-media/


Leclerc wanted to ‘disconnect’ from F1 after recent poor run
19:58 Thu, 07 Jul 2022.
Hamilton Lyndon-Griffiths

Charles Leclerc says he felt the need to “disconnect” from Formula 1 after a chat with Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto earlier this week, but denies there is a divide within the team.

Leclerc has seen his title aspirations take a big hit in recent races through a combination of poor reliability and strategy errors, falling to a 43-point deficit in the drivers’ standings after being 41 points ahead before Imola.

Asked what Binotto had said in his exchange in the pits at Silverstone, and later in Monaco, Leclerc said: “Well, obviously there’s been quite a lot of talks about the two events in the last few days. He was first quite angry with me after Silverstone, because he saw me extremely down, which obviously he understood. But he just wanted to make sure that I was okay, and that I realised that I had done also an amazing job considering the situation I found myself in after the safety car.”

‘Monaco ‘cheer-up’ Chat’;

https://readmotorsport.com/2022/07/0...cent-poor-run/

Leclerc wins the 2022 Austrian GP but hopes of a 1-2 go up in flames — as it happened.
Ferrari told Leclerc that his throttle was sticking and that he needed to lift off earlier, as Verstappen slowly closed the gap to 3sec by lap 69. But there would be no late drama for Leclerc, who crossed the line to win.
July 10th 2022
Author: Dominic Tobin

Charles Leclerc won his first grand prix in eight races at the Red Bull Ring, as Ferrari out-raced its title rivals on home turf. But for the second race in a row, Ferrari was left rueing a missed opportunity after Carlos Sainz’s car was engulfed in flames, costing him what seemed a surefire second place at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc was rarely more than a second behind the Dutchman before making his move on lap 10 and pulling away from Verstappen. The Red Bull pitted soon afterwards. Ferrari left it another 12 laps before pitting, giving both of its cars a significant tyre advantage through the middle stage of the race, and they breezed past Verstappen after dropping behind during their first stops.

When the cars stopped for a second time, the race looked set for a repeat; Verstappen changing tyres well before Leclerc and Sainz who fell behind but again quickly caught him as the grand prix came to a close. Leclerc took the lead and Sainz looked set to make it a 1-2 until he suddenly slowed and smoke poured out of the back of his car. Flames then emerged from the rear vents and then engulfed the back of the car.

‘Ferrari Flaming’;

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a...s-it-happened#


Race Results – 2022 Austrian Grand Prix
Spielberg, Austria
10th July 2022
by Emer Hedderman

Results (Classification):
1. Charles Leclerc Scuderia Ferrari -71 laps
2. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +1.532
3. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +41.217
4. George Russell Mercedes +58.972
5. Esteban Ocon Alpine +68.436
6. Mick Schumacher Haas +1 lap
7. Lando Norris McLaren +1 lap
8. Kevin Magnussen Haas +1 lap
9. Daniel Ricciardo McLaren +1 lap
10. Fernando Alonso Alpine +1 lap

‘Austrian Grand Prix – Here are the complete results from today’s 2022 F1 World Championship race from the Red Bull Ring’;

https://formulaspy.com/f1/race-resul...and-prix-79500


Leclerc fights car woes to take well earned Austrian GP win
10 Jul 2022, 16:34
By Steven De Groote

Charles Leclerc showed superior pace throughout the entire Austrian Grand Prix and near the end had to fight car issues, but the Monegasque did win the Austrian Grand Prix. Championship leader Verstappen finished a close second as Hamilton completed the podium.

With 5 laps to go, Leclerc's throttle pedal didn't reduce beyond 20% while the gap to Verstappen further reduced. To make things worse, the continuously open throttle also created trouble for downshifting. The Monegasque was clearly worried, and admitted afterwards as well, but it turned out to be a very well-earned victory for Leclerc.

Verstappen finished second at 1.5s, ahead of Hamilton and Russell. Mick Schumacher added another big haul of points to his tally while Fernando Alonso secured 10th and the final point in the penultimate lap by passing Valtteri Bottas.

‘Charles Leclerc Superior Pace’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/23775


"Scared" Leclerc's throttle was stuck open up to 30% in Austrian GP
A "scared" Charles Leclerc said his throttle was stuck to up to 30% as he battled to safeguard a "very tricky" victory in Formula 1's Austrian Grand Prix.
Jul 10, 2022, 4:03 PM
By: Filip Cleeren

Leclerc and teammate Carlos Sainz seemed to clearly have the upper hand on Red Bull's Max Verstappen on race pace. On offset strategies, Leclerc passed polesitter Verstappen three times on his way to a first win in nine races.

"And the end it was incredibly difficult. I had this problem with the throttle, and it would get stuck at 20 or 30% throttle in the low speed. It was very tricky but we managed to make it stick until the end. And I'm so, so happy."

When asked if the alarm bells started ringing after seeing Sainz' car go up in smoke, Leclerc admitted Ferrari's reliability record was on his mind.

‘Scared Charles Leclerc, So Happy’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/s...n-gp/10336286/

Verstappen: Too much tyre degradation wrecked Austrian GP victory hopes Motorsport.com16:10


Verstappen: Too much tyre degradation wrecked Austrian GP victory hopes
Max Verstappen says he suffered too much tyre degradation to be able to fight Charles Leclerc for victory in Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix.
Jul 10, 2022, 4:02 PM
By: Jonathan Noble

Welcoming the fact that he managed to salvage second on a day when Ferrari had a pace advantage, Verstappen said tyres played a critical role in the outcome.

“It was a tricky day,” said Verstappen. “Immediately it seemed like we were struggling quite a bit with the tyres, and basically that continued on every single compound. Too much degradation to really attack Charles especially. But nevertheless still second place is a good result for us on a difficult day.”

Verstappen eventually finished ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who recovered from starting eighth on the grid to finish third.

‘Tyre Degradation Wrecked Austrian GP Victory Hopes’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/v...opes/10336292/


Hamilton taken aback by podium after 'rough weekend'
10th July 2022, ‎16‎:‎15
Author Luke Murphy

After taking third at the Austrian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton paid tribute to Mercedes' efforts to rebuild his car following his qualifying crash. Lewis Hamilton has thanked his Mercedes mechanics after they rebuilt his car ahead of a podium finish in Austria.

Starting eighth - having only gained one place from his qualifying slot in the Sprint event - Hamilton fought his way to fourth. A fiery car failure for Ferrari's Carlos Sainz then promoted Hamilton onto the final podium position, his third in three races. Speaking after the race, the Briton conceded that he didn't anticipate being on the Austrian Grand Prix rostrum, especially after a difficult qualifying and Sprint.

"I definitely wasn't expecting that," Hamilton commented. "Of course, yesterday was a bit of a difficult day. It's been a bit of a rough weekend, but I'm really grateful. As a team, we got a third and fourth. That's great points, and we move forward from here."

‘Mercedes Car Rebuilt to P3 Finish!’;

https://racingnews365.com/hamilton-t...-rough-weekend


Austrian GP: Carlos Sainz struggles to get out of burning Ferrari
Published: 10 Jul 2022, 15:40
By James Evans

Carlos Sainz was forced to retire from the Austrian Grand Prix due to an engine failure, but that was just the start of his troubles as his car quickly burst into flames, with the Spaniard struggling to escape.

Marshals were a tad slow to get to the scene, but thankfully, Sainz was able to just get himself out of the car safely. Thankfully, he was uninjured and he gave a quick thumbs up to the fans watching in the crowd as his race came to a dramatic stop.

‘Burning Ferrari Escape Struggles!’;

https://www.givemesport.com/88032409...urning-ferrari


SIDE-BY-SIDE: Austria Turn 4 clashes between Hamilton and Albon in 2020 and Russell and Pérez in 2022
10 Jul 2022
Formula 1.

In 2020 Alex Albon was spun off the Red Bull Ring at Turn 4 after clashing with Lewis Hamilton, and in this year's race the same thing happened to Red Bull's Sergio Pérez after making contact with George Russell.

‘2020 and 2022 Comparison’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...095248000.html


Horner: ‘Don’t think Mercedes like us on outside of Turn 4’
Date published: July 10 2022
Sam Cooper

Christian Horner joked that Mercedes do not like Red Bulls overtaking at Turn 4 after Sergio Perez and George Russell collided in the Austrian Grand Prix. The incident bore a striking resemblance to two years ago when at the same corner, Lewis Hamilton touched Alex Albon and sent him spinning at a time when he looked to be on for the first podium of his career.

‘Turn 4 Hoodoo’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/christ...ide-of-turn-4/


Perez surprised Russell “couldn’t control” his car better in collision
2022 Austrian Grand Prix
Posted on 10th July 2022, 16:36
Written by Keith Collantine and Claire Cottingham

George Russell and Pierre Gasly have each been given two penalty points on their superlicences for collisions at turn four during the Austrian Grand Prix. In both incidents the driver on the inside was penalised after a clash which sent the driver on the outside into the gravel trap.

‘Superlicence Penalties’;

https://www.racefans.net/2022/07/10/...-in-collision/

FIA delete staggering 43 lap times at Austrian Grand Prix.
The FIA deleted a staggering 43 lap times during the Austrian Grand Prix as all but four drivers were found guilty of exceeding track limits.
Date published: July 10 2022 - Sam Cooper

16 of the drivers competing at the Red Bull Ring were in violation of FIA Sporting Regulation Article 33.3 which states the driver must stay in the track at all times.

Pierre Gasly, Lando Norris, Sebastian Vettel and Zhou Guanyu, were the biggest guilty offenders, leaving the track on four occasions, while Valtteri Bottas, George Russell, Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon were the only drivers not to have a lap deleted.
Gasly, Norris, Vettel and Zhou all received a five-second time penalty as well as one penalty point.

‘43 Laps Deleted’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/fia-de...an-grand-prix/


Hamilton, Verstappen and Leclerc handed suspended fines for Austrian GP parc fermé breach
Sunday 10 July 2022 18:19
Ian Parkes

Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc have been handed suspended fines of €10,000 [£8,500; $10,200] for a breach of parc fermé instructions after the Austrian Grand Prix.

The summons letter stated the trio had allegedly breached Article 12.2.1.i) of the International Sporting Code, which reads: "Failure to follow the instructions of the relevant officials for the safe and orderly conduct of the event."

The breach related to the post-race procedure notes issued beforehand that state: "Driver physios must wait outside the cool down room behind the podium until the podium ceremony has concluded."

‘Suspended Fines’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/86...-ferme-breach/


All three Austrian GP podium finishers handed suspended fines
18:42 Sun, 10 Jul 2022.
The Race
By Jack Cozens

Austrian Grand Prix podium finishers Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have all been handed suspended €10,000 fines for a breach of parc ferme instructions relating to physios interacting with their drivers.

Representatives from their respective Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes teams were summoned by the Austrian GP stewards after each driver was attended to by their respective physios while in parc ferme and before they had been weighed.

The FIA said it received a report from the media delegate, “which was subsequently confirmed by video evidence”, stating that the physios had “entered parc ferme without permission and in violation of the procedure that was published prior to the race ‘for the orderly conduct of the event'”.

‘€10,000 Fines for Breaching Parc Ferme Instructions’;

https://the-race.com/formula-1/all-t...spended-fines/


Binotto stopped watching Austrian GP amid Leclerc's problems
Yesterday, ‎17‎:‎20
Author Luke Murphy

Mattia Binotto says he could not watch the end of the Austrian Grand Prix as Charles Leclerc battled technical problems. In the closing laps of the race, Leclerc's car developed a throttle-related issue which, at the very least, disrupted his consistency.

Leclerc took the win by less than two seconds ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, after the Dutchman edged closer as the race drew to a close. When asked by Sky Sports F1 about the Ferrari's issue, Team Principal Binotto conceded that he had to take his eyes off the action.

"Honestly, I don't know," Binotto said of the drama, which followed Carlos Sainz's engine failure. "I heard about it, we looked at the data, but we need to wait for the car to come back and see if it was a mechanical problem or not. I stopped watching the race at that point."

‘Mattia Binotto Stopped Watching Drama!’;

https://racingnews365.com/binotto-st...lercs-problems


Nervous Binotto ‘stopped watching’ Austrian Grand Prix
Date published: July 10 2022
Sam Cooper

Mattia Binotto said he could not even bear to watch the race as it looked like a car problem may once again cost Ferrari. Moments after Carlos Sainz’s power unit had exploded, sending him out of the race, it looked as if the team’s misery may be further compounded as race leader Charles Leclerc complained that his throttle pedal was not working properly.

With Max Verstappen cutting the gap, there was a real worry within the garage that another issue with the car was going to cost Ferrari. Such was the tension, team boss Binotto admitted he could not even bear to watch as the dramatic final laps unfolded and said he was not even looking at the timing screens.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” he replied when asked on Sky Sports F1 what was wrong with the throttle pedal. “I heard about it. We looked at the data but we need to wait for the car. Try to work what was it, was it mechanical? Myself? I stopped watching the race at that time. I was not [even looking at the timing screens]. [I was] looking around.”

‘Nervous Binotto ‘stopped watching’!’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/mattia...g-austrian-gp/


Verstappen: P2 in Austrian Grand Prix ‘better than I expected at one point’
10 Jul 2022
Formula 1.

Max Verstappen has a formidable record around the Red Bull Ring but had to settle for second place this time – though he said he didn’t even expect to do that well, until Carlos Sainz retired with a blown engine.

‘Max P2’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...191055014.html


‘It’s the story of my season’ – Sainz frustrated as ‘easy 1-2’ goes up in flames at the Red Bull Ring
10 July 2022
Formula 1.

Carlos Sainz made a dramatic exit from the Austrian Grand Prix, pulling off at Turn 4 with flames licking out the side of his F1-75 – with the Silverstone winner angry after seeing an “easy one-two” go up in smoke.

Sainz appeared to lack the pace of his race-winning team mate Charles Leclerc on Sunday at the Red Bull Ring, but was nonetheless lining up what looked set to be a comfortable pass on Max Verstappen’s Red Bull for P2 on Lap 56 of 71 when smoke was seen coming from the back of his Ferrari.

Sainz was forced to park up at the exit of Turn 4, the awkward gradient then making it hard for the Spaniard to jump clear of the car – as he explained after returning to the paddock. “Yes, it was a very tricky situation because I wanted to jump out, but the car was rolling backwards and I didn’t want the car to roll back forever and I knew I was catching a bit of fire and I was waiting for the marshals to come. They never came until quite late, so it was a bit of a moment, but nothing happened.”

‘Carlos Sainz: It’s the story of my season’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...ysBOhNltm.html

Binotto: Leclerc drove like a lion, Sainz fantastic.
Whatever Mattia Binotto told Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz after their 2022 Austrian Grand Prix Sprint Race shenanigans worked! The pair might’ve finished one-two at Red Bull Ring on Sunday had fate not intervened.
11 July, 2022
Paul Velasco

The Ferrari drivers needed a talking too as they bickered on track, during Saturday’s Sprint Race, to allow Max Verstappen to canter away into the lead and win the curtain-raiser as he did on Saturday. Much of the same would have happened had the Men in Red did not work as proper teammates. A talking to was required urgently.

Hence, sensibly Leclerc was allowed to use his pace to chase pole man and early leader Verstappen while Sainz stalked. The pressure paid off as Sainz closed in on Verstappen to snatch second place, with Leclerc up ahead. One-two, slam dunk until the PU on the #55 Ferrari decided not to play along with the fairytale. Nevertheless, in terms of championship, its the first time in a while Leclerc has taken points off Verstappen and that in itself is important.

On a bittersweet day for his team, Binotto summed up after the race on Sky F1: “It is two wins in a row and it is was important to come back after a few races where we showed potential but did not get the victory. It is tinged with disappointment because it could have been even better with Carlos. The drivers did really well, they managed the tyres and kept the pressure on Max Verstappen.”

‘Drove Like a Lion’;

https://www.grandprix247.com/2022/07...eport-ferrari/


Ferrari’s Mattia Binotto optimistic after second consecutive win: “There are a lot of positives we can take home from today’s race”
July 11, 2022
By Ashley Cline

The Austrian Grand Prix put a spotlight on Scuderia Ferrari’s on-track strengths as well as their weaknesses, as Charles Leclerc took home the victory at the Red Bull Ring while Carlos Sainz saw a podium finish slip away due to a reliability issue.

Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto said that the team did a great job throughout the race, from the “quick” pit stops to an aggressive strategy that gave the team the upper hand against Max Verstappen.

“There are a lot of positives we can take home from today’s race. We have secured our second consecutive Grand Prix win, which confirms that we are doing a good job with a car that is proving to be competitive at every track.”

‘Mattia Binotto: Lot of Positives’;

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2...m-todays-race/


Ferrari reveal high-pressure secret to Leclerc victory
Sunday 10 July 2022 20:35
Will Gray

Mattia Binotto has revealed Ferrari chose a high-pressure strategy to overcome pole-sitter Max Verstappen and force the Red Bull driver out of the reckoning for the win in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.

Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz started from second and third on the grid respectively after Verstappen had taken a controlled victory in Saturday’s grid-deciding sprint.

The trio held station at the start but Ferrari pushed hard and Leclerc took the lead when championship leader Verstappen had to pit early with worn tyres on lap 12, putting him on the back foot for the rest of the race.

‘High-Pressure Ferrari Secret’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/86...-prix-victory/


Binotto stopped watching Austrian GP amid Leclerc drama
11/07/2022 at 11:38
Phillip van Osten

Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto says he turned away from the TV screens on the Scuderia pitwall in the final laps of the Austrian Grand Prix as throttle issues jeopardized Charles Leclerc's win. The Monegasque was managing his lead over Red Bull's Max Verstappen in the closing stages of the race when a stuck throttle pedal put Ferrari's crews on high alert.

Leclerc reported that the "the throttle pedal feels a bit strange" when the race resumed after a late virtual safety car period. But as he reeled off the laps with Verstappen just a handful of second behind, the problem appeared to worsen, with Ferrari's telemetry indicating a partially opened throttle in the corners, which ignited Leclerc's worries.

But on the Ferrari pitwall, the drama in the final laps, which occurred after Carlos Sainz's spectacular demise due to an engien issue, was just too much for Binotto. "I have to admit I was very nervous," said the Scuderia chief.

‘Nervous? Very Nervous!’;

https://f1i.com/news/448025-binotto-...erc-drama.html


International media react: Is Ferrari's title challenge back on?
11th July 2022, ‎18‎:‎40.
Author RacingNews365 Staff

Various international media outlets have given their take on the Austrian Grand Prix, with much focus on Ferrari's prospects going forward after Charles Leclerc finally got the better of Max Verstappen and Red Bull. After a series of unlucky races, Leclerc's first win since Australia drew much praise from across the globe.

Leclerc's late struggles with a sticking throttle were referenced by L'Equipe. "Charles Leclerc finally regained victory after a Grand Prix marked by his overtakes on Max Verstappen," wrote the French newspaper. "A perfectly mastered race for the Ferrari driver who experienced a great scare in the closing laps."

And with Ferrari having scored back-to-back wins, there was a sense of optimism in Italy's Gazzetta Dello Sport. "The 38 points behind Max Verstappen are an easily scalable mountain for Ferrari – more powerful, stable, faster and gentler on its tyres than Max Verstappen's Red Bull," wrote the Gazzetta. "Two victories, first at Silverstone, then in Austria, are worth more than the 12 points recovered by Charles Leclerc to the championship leader."

‘Ferrari's Title Challenge’;

https://racingnews365.com/internatio...llenge-back-on


Charles Leclerc: “Every win is special, but this one feels just amazing”
July 11, 2022
By Ashley Cline

Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took victory at the Austrian Grand Prix, coming out on top after an intense battle with Max Verstappen throughout the race.
His first race win since Australia, he was able to overcome an issue with the car’s throttle pedal and withstand pressure from behind in the race’s final laps to ultimately cross the line first. With Austria marking the halfway point of the season, Leclerc is second in the drivers’ standings, 38 points behind the current leader, Verstappen.

“Every win is special, but this one feels just amazing. The last 15 laps were on the limit with the issue we had, but we brought it home. Today, we had a really strong pace and some great battles. I worked hard last night to find where I could still improve and it made the difference today. I’m very happy!”

‘Special Amazing Win’;

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2...-just-amazing/


Reliability ‘a concern' says Leclerc after Sainz DNF, as he reveals how homework helped him defeat Verstappen in Austria
11 July 2022
Formula 1.

Asked whether Sainz’s retirement took the shine off his win, Leclerc replied: “Of course, it does. Obviously as a team, it is a concern with the reliability, and today shows even more that it is a concern. And we really need to look into that to make sure that it does not happen again during the season.”

Meanwhile, Leclerc went on reveal how some Saturday evening homework, following his defeat by Verstappen in the Sprint, helped him secure victory on Sunday – with Leclerc not suffering from heavy degradation issues on his tyres, as his rival did. “I worked quite a bit on my driving yesterday night and I knew where to improve, especially on that medium stint to have the pace but also the good management,” said Leclerc.

“And I think we’ve shown that perfectly today, which was great. That’s where we did the big difference in the race. Then on the hard, we were quick but there was no degradation, so everybody was quite a bit closer. So yeah, I’m very happy that the hard work of yesterday night paid off today.”

‘Hard Homework Paid Off’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...RjZfrngsx.html

Verstappen admits he underestimated Ferrari in Austria.
Max Verstappen always expected Ferrari to offer stern competition during the Austrian Grand Prix – but not quite to the level they produced.
Date published: July 11 2022 - Jamie Woodhouse

Max Verstappen had comfortably taken sprint qualifying victory at the Red Bull Ring, which meant he was favourite to reach the chequered flag first once more in the grand prix. His quest started well as he kept the lead at the start, but his early advantage was soon whittled away as the Ferrari F1-75 was established as superior to the Red Bull RB18 on the day.

Verstappen was powerless to stop eventual winner Charles Leclerc and was increasingly coming under pressure from Carlos Sainz, a latest Ferrari power unit failure then relieving Verstappen of that pressure.

By virtue of his P2 finish, Verstappen’s lead in the Drivers’ Championship remains a healthy one, the Dutchman 38 points ahead of Leclerc. However, Leclerc is seemingly now right back in the conversation given the pace he displayed in the Ferrari, with even Verstappen a little taken aback.

‘Max Surprise’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/ferrar...appen-austria/


Max Verstappen admits Ferrari shock as Red Bull reveal if they’re ‘worried’
Charles Leclerc stunned the Red Bull fans by claiming victory at the Austrian Grand Prix.
12 July 2022
by Nick Golding

Charles Leclerc not only shocked Red Bull Racing, but also the 105,000 fans in attendance at the Austrian Grand Prix, after taking an emphatic victory at the Red Bull Ring.

Leclerc overtook Max Verstappen a staggering three times on his way to his first victory since Australia, as he reminded the reigning World Champion that he’s still in the fight for the 2022 crown.

Ferrari have shown race-winning pace for a number of rounds now; however, have failed to put all the pieces together for Leclerc. At long last they finally managed it, something which Leclerc was delighted with.

‘Max Shock at Red Bull Ring’;

https://formula1news.co.uk/max-verst...heyre-worried/


Horner says Red Bull must understand Austria tyre deg issues despite ‘healthy’ championship lead over Ferrari
12 July 2022
Formula 1.

After failing to win in Austria for the first time in three tries, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner was left dissatisfied by the way in which Max Verstappen’s race played out, insisting his team must understand the tyre degradation issues that the Dutch driver suffered in the race – as he also shared his disappointment at Sergio Perez’s retirement.

Max Verstappen started the race from P1 but complained of heavy tyre degradation for much of the race and struggled to match the pace of Charles Leclerc in particular, who overtook the Red Bull driver three times on track. And after Verstappen came home in second behind Leclerc, Horner admitted that Red Bull would be hard at work trying to understand what cost the Dutch driver performance on Sunday.

“Very important points today and Ferrari – congratulations to them today,” said Horner on Sunday evening . “They had a quicker car for the majority of the race and Max was coming back at the end there. But our tyre deg was higher from halfway through the first stint and it was hard to combat that.”

‘Tyre Degradation Issue’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...fIlHZv2vU.html


Max Verstappen praised by Martin Brundle for his "fair and professional" driving in 2022
Verstappen was widely criticised for some aggressive moves in his title battle with Lewis Hamilton last season, but this year Brundle believes the Dutchman has been much more fair
16:21, 12 Jul 2022
Updated16:22, 12 Jul 2022
By Daniel MoxonF1 Writer

Max Verstappen has been "very fair and professional" in his on-track battles while defending his Formula 1 title this season, according to Martin Brundle.

Former racer and long-time pundit Brundle believes the Dutchman has matured and has driven much more cleanly so far this year, with Charles Leclerc now his main title rival. "Max once again was very fair and professional in his driving and defence," he wrote in his Sky Sports F1 column recapping the Austrian Grand Prix.

"Generally he is this year, albeit very much pushing the limits in his defence against Mick Schumacher the week before at Silverstone. I remember commenting in Jeddah last year Michael Schumacher's, and to an extent Ayrton Senna's amazing legacies are partly diminished by some dirty driving, and that Max would do well to avoid that career reputation."

‘Avoiding Dirty Driving Legacies!’;

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...clerc-27463406


Red Bull’s Christian Horner: “We’re still ahead but we know how quickly things can change”
July 12, 2022
By Paul Hensby

Horner says he is pleased his team only dropped five points to Ferrari across the British and Austrian Grand Prix weekends, but it is important they keep pushing to fight back against their rivals quickly.

“We scored some really important points today but it just wasn’t meant to be for us,” said Horner, the Team Principal at Red Bull. “Congratulations to Ferrari, although they were unlucky with Carlos, they had the faster car for the majority of the race which gave them more strategic options but Max’s tyre deg was higher from halfway through the first stint and it was hard to combat that.”

“Over the two races this weekend, we’ve only given away five points to Ferrari but obviously we’re really disappointed for Checo today. There was so much damage to his car from George that there was no chance for him to score any points and we had to retire him and save the mileage. We’ll do everything we can to bounce back in France, we’re still ahead but we know how quickly things can change and we need to keep pushing.”

‘Red Bull Keep Pushing’;

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2...gs-can-change/


Ferrari boss provides concerning Charles Leclerc update in Max Verstappen boost
CARLOS SAINZ's Ferrari burst into flames in the closing stages of Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix.
14:46, Tue, Jul 12, 2022
By Luke Chillingsworth

Charles Leclerc has been handed a blow in his championship challenge with Max Verstappen after boss Mattia Binotto admitted the team were still not on top of power unit issues. The Ferrari team principal claimed Sainz’s failure at the Austrian Grand Prix was “very likely” to be a known power-unit failure that plagued Leclerc in Azerbaijan.

Binotto warned the problem “has not been solved” and failed to set a deadline for when the work could be completed. He said: "It's certainly a concern, but the people back at Maranello are working very hard to fix them, which is not solved yet.

"Obviously if you look at what happened to Carlos, the problem has not been solved yet. But we have new elements and I know how strong they are working, how good they are, and I can count on them and that issue will be addressed very soon, or as soon as possible."

‘Ferrari PU Plague!’;

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...erstappen-news


Max Verstappen: “In difficult moments you need to score points and we did that today”
July 12, 2022
By Paul Hensby

Max Verstappen was forced to settle for second place in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix, with the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver struggling with tyre degradation throughout the race.

Despite winning the Sprint race on Saturday and starting on pole position on Sunday, Verstappen was unable to match the kind of pace the Scuderia Ferrari drivers had, and he was passed by eventual winner Charles Leclerc on three occasions at the Red Bull Ring.

The Dutchman was still happy to walk away with the points for second place, and he says it is important to maximise the potential of the car in every race even if they are not fighting for the win.

‘Max Potential in difficult moments’;

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2...id-that-today/

Wolff: Mercedes only ‘halved the gap’ to Red Bull, Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton may have finished on the podium but Toto Wolff believes there is still work to do as Mercedes have only “halved the gap” to Ferrari and Red Bull.
Date published: July 10 2022 - Sam Cooper

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, team boss Wolff acknowledged this and said they were currently “in the middle of nowhere. It’s just we’re missing a few things here and there,” he said. “I think we’ve halved the gap over the last few months. We understand better, but that’s still third for us.”

“We are somewhere right in the middle of nowhere but I would say if I tried to pick the positives in the race pace today, if we would have, which we didn’t, start right in the top six probably we could have held on to Max [Verstappen] and not be too far away.”

It would have been a stressful weekend for the 50-year-old who saw both of his cars damaged on the Saturday. The team were left running around for parts and Wolff described the rear wing fitted to George Russell’s car as a “barn door.”

‘Barn Door Parts!’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/toto-w...-bull-ferrari/


Lewis Hamilton and George Russell 'can get heated' but Mercedes vow duo have same 'enemy'
TOTO WOLFF has spoken out on Lewis Hamilton and George Russell's relationship behind the scenes at Mercedes.
05:45, Tue, Jul 12, 2022
By Charlie Malam

Toto Wolff has revealed Mercedes' driver pairing of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell "can get heated" behind the scenes but says the pair are working brilliantly together. The two Britons have been battling an underperforming car this season and Wolff says the pair both see the W13 as their common enemy.

Before Bottas, Hamilton was involved in a toxic intra-team rivalry with Nico Rosberg who denied him the 2016 title and then retired. There were fears outside of the team that the pace of Russell could also cause another fractious relationship.

And after the Austrian Grand Prix, Wolff admitted the pair have their heated moments off track but are proving a great pairing. He said on Sky Sports F1: "They're very good. I think they understand that enemy No 1 is a car that's not performing like it should. We need to get there but their personalities, their characters, their mindset is very special.”

‘Enemy No. W13’;

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...-enemy-F1-news


Wolff: Missing 2 or 3 tenths but there’s light at end of the tunnel
11 July, 2022
Paul Velasco

Toto Wolff hailed his Mercedes team for digging deep during the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix allowing Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to reward the massive effort with third and fourth place but also knows they are lacking the pace to mount a serious challenge, for now.

Reviewing the race in his homeland, team boss Wolff reported: “We always seem to be in two minds at the end of the races right now. We must accept P3 and P4 today. And when you think we had two cars in pieces on Friday afternoon, that’s a strong result.”

Wolff knows there is still a way to go: “We are missing the two or three tenths to be able to race at the front. We have glimpses of light at the end of the tunnel with the car – then it disappears again, and we need to get on top of that.

‘Digging Deep’;

https://www.grandprix247.com/2022/07...ian-gp-report/


F1 fans think Toto Wolff has already made up his mind on Lewis Hamilton replacement
TOTO WOLFF could have a stellar replacement for Lewis Hamilton in his sights.
06:40, Tue, Jul 12, 2022
By Alex Turk

Some F1 fans are convinced that Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is eyeing Ferrari poster boy Charles Leclerc as Lewis Hamilton's replacement. Wolff lauded Leclerc after his Austrian Grand Prix triumph on Sunday, sparking speculation over his future.

After the Austrian GP, Wolff heaped Leclerc with praise and teased that Mercedes, along with other teams on the grid, would like to call the Monegasque star their own. He said: "Charles was great today, but he always is. It doesn't cost me to say it, even if technically we're rivals - but I think every team would like a driver like Charles!"

One tweet read: "I've always said Leclerc to Mercedes is a possibility. He's top class and would fit nicely at Merc. Not too sure what the future holds for Leclerc and his Ferrari partnership, but it's feasible that at some point in the future, they may wish to promote Schumacher. Who knows?"

‘Charles Leclerc for W14?’;

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...ilton-Mercedes


Wolff makes fresh Mercedes assessment after four podiums in a row
12/07/2022, ‎18‎:‎40
Author Michael Butterworth

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff says his team have halved the deficit to Ferrari and Red Bull since the start of the season.

Having won eight consecutive Constructors' Championships between 2014 and 2021, the Silver Arrows have slipped back this year, with the W13 showing a worrying propensity to porpoise in the season's early rounds.

But, with Mercedes scoring their fourth consecutive podium at the Austrian Grand Prix, Wolff noted the extent to which his team have closed the gap on the front-running Ferrari and Red Bull outfits over recent races. "We're missing a few tenths here and there," Wolff told Sky Sports F1 after the Grand Prix.

‘W13 Assessment Missing a Few Tenths’;

https://racingnews365.com/wolff-make...diums-in-a-row


WOLFF REVEALS DOUBLE QUALIFYING CRASH WILL IMPACT REST OF 2022
Aftermath of both Silver Arrows crashing will have consequences for the team
19:38 Sat, 09 Jul 2022.
James Phillips

Both Mercedes drivers crashed in qualifying for Austria. Team Principal Toto Wolff has confirmed the repairs to the W13 are costly in more ways than one. Such was the damage, Mercedes were working into Practice 3 on Saturday to rebuild both W13s.

The scale of the repairs has meant an unexpected and unwelcome secondary effect. F1 recently announced a 3% increase in the cost cap to cover the worldwide rise in inflation. Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff speaking on Saturday confirmed that Mercedes have spent a third of the additional funds awarded by the rise on the overnight repairs to the W13.

Wolff confirmed that Mercedes is still operating above the cost cap. Praising his mechanics, Wolff admitted the mechanics needed to “work round the clock” to repair both cars.

‘W13 Rebuilding Costs’;

https://www.formulanerds.com/news/wo.../?nowprocket=1


Martin Brundle left 'staggered' by extent of damage to Lewis Hamilton's car in Austria
LEWIS HAMILTON's crash in Austria left significant damage.
16:00, Sat, Jul 9, 2022
By Jack McEachen

Martin Brundle was left “staggered” after he saw the damage that Lewis Hamilton’s car suffered after his crash during qualifying at the Austrian GP. Both he and Mercedes team-mate George Russell had a frustrating Q3 that ended in crashes, as Hamilton hit the barriers at Turn 7.

"I think Mercedes got really unlucky with the amount of damage they got actually," Brundle told Sky Sports F1. "Two gearboxes, and Lewis had to have a chassis change. I'm staggered by that. There's usually a secondary issue to crashes like that. They have to get thrown back together, and sometimes there are then secondary issues."

‘Staggered W13 Damage’;

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...-Russell-crash

‘We could have had P6’ says Norris, as track limits time penalty costs him in Austrian Grand Prix.
With Norris and Ricciardo starting the Austrian Grand Prix P10 and P11, the McLaren pair were helped by retirements for Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz, allowing them to finish P7 and P9.
11 July 2022
Formula 1.

While seventh and ninth was a respectable result – albeit that P7 marked Norris’ worst ever result at the Red Bull Ring – it could have been even better had Norris not been handed a five-second time penalty for repeatedly exceeding track limits. That prevented the Englishman from hunting down Mick Schumacher in the Haas for sixth – leaving Norris to reflect on the missed opportunity after the race, having finished 2.907s adrift of the German driver.

“I did two of them [exceeding track limits] very early on, so I was on my final warning for quite a long time. It’s a tough track to stay within the lines first of all, especially when you’re fighting the car a bit more, when you’re pushing to try and get the guys ahead – I have to push to that limit.

“I went over it a few too many times which cost us. We could have had P6 ahead of Schumacher I reckon, or at least had a fight with him I’d say, but [Haas] were quick, they did a good job.”

‘P6 Possible’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...8oQzruVKq.html


Norris explains his frustration with track limits penalty after racing to P7 at the Red Bull Ring.
10 Jul 2022
Formula 1.

Lando Norris was handed a five second penalty by the stewards for repeatedly going over track limits during the Austrian Grand Prix, but the McLaren driver explained it’s not always easy to control the car in the middle of a high speed corner.

‘Frustrating Track Limits’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...827468898.html


‘We put up a solid race’ – Ricciardo satisfied with P9 in Austria after McLaren’s struggles at the Red Bull Ring
10 Jul 2022
Formula 1.

It wasn’t a vintage weekend for McLaren but the end result for Daniel Ricciardo was a points finish for ninth – which he said was “nothing to spray champagne over but a bit of damage limitation on a circuit that proved tricky for us.”

‘P9 Solid Performance’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...139385252.html


‘Pleased but not happy’ – McLaren’s recovery is full of caveats
Jul 11 2022
By Scott Mitchell

McLaren Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo was pleased to rescue a points finish from a difficult Austrian Grand Prix weekend but said he “wouldn’t go as far as happy”. Ninth place at the Red Bull Ring marked only Ricciardo’s fourth points return of a difficult 2022 season. “On a weekend when we weren’t strong – really ever – I think we did well to walk away with the double-points finish,” Ricciardo said.

So, the double points finish for McLaren could easily have been reduced to a ninth or 10th place for Norris alone. “I think a little bit of luck on our side with Sainz and Perez out, but with the pace, we deserved to be where we were,” Norris said. “Alonso was fast, the Alpines were very fast, to finish seventh and ninth was good points.”

“It’s damage limitation from what’s been a very difficult weekend – especially from my side, maybe not so much from the other side. With how compromised we were with set-up all weekend, and how far out we were with some things, we know there was a decent amount more potential in the car this weekend.” Norris was referring to the power unit issues that limited his mileage in FP1 and forced McLaren to make educated guesses on key parameters ahead of qualifying, after which the set-up was mostly locked in.

‘Pleased but not happy’;

https://the-race.com/formula-1/pleas...ll-of-caveats/


McLaren 'considering' Sebastian Vettel as one of three Daniel Ricciardo replacements
DANIEL RICCIARDO has struggled to fulfil expectations since switching from Renault to McLaren.
15:34, Tue, Jul 12, 2022
By Stuart Ballard

McLaren are reportedly 'considering' their options regarding Daniel Ricciardo's future if the Australian driver decides to quit F1 after this season. There were high hopes for McLaren when they stole Ricciardo away from Renault last year as Carlos Sainz's replacement. But, other than a first F1 win at the Italian Grand Prix since May 2018, Ricciardo struggled for consistency. He ended the season finishing inside the top-10 just twice in the final seven races of the campaign.

Lando Norris regularly finished ahead in both qualifying and Sunday's races with the Brit only falling outside the top-10 once in all the races he finished. By his own admission, Ricciardo entered the 2022 campaign hoping for better results but McLaren have taken a backwards step this year.

Vettel is one of three drivers McLaren are taking a closer look at to replace Ricciardo. The report states Vettel, who is out of contract with Aston Martin at the end of the season, has been 'mentioned in connection' with the team. Alex Albon is also named as a 'possibility' given his impressive return to F1 with Williams this year after losing his seat at Red Bull last season. IndyCar driver Colton Herta will also test drive for McLaren this week, Andreas Seidl has confirmed.

‘Three Replacements Considered, Vettel, Albon and Herta’;

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...bastian-Vettel


I’m not walking away’: Ricciardo takes matters into his own hands as McLaren rumours swirl
July 14th, 2022 8:22 am
Michael Lamonato from Fox Sports

Daniel Ricciardo says he remains committed to seeing out his McLaren contract through to the end of next year in the face of speculation over his future in Formula 1. Ricciardo is in the second year of a three-season deal with Woking but has struggled to reach the high benchmarks of set in his years with Red Bull Racing and Renault.

He’s also been unable to consistently match the performances of teammate Lando Norris through their tenure together, and this season he trails the Briton 64-17 in the standings after 11 rounds.

Taking to social media, Ricciardo made clear that he wouldn’t be vacating his seat anytime soon. “There have been a lot of rumours around my future in Formula 1, but I want you to hear it from me,” he wrote. “I am committed to McLaren until the end of next year and am not walking away from the sport.”

‘Dan Defiant’;

https://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsp...943fdd82292f63

Ocon: 'Perfect' 100th F1 race in Austria 'feels like a win'.
Esteban Ocon says P5 "felt like a win" after a "perfect weekend" to celebrate his 100th Formula 1 race in Austria.
12 July 2022
Ben Issatt

After Alpine teammate Fernando Alonso failed to start the Sprint, the Frenchman led the midfield for the remainder of the weekend at the Red Bull Ring. Unfortunately, Esteban Ocon wasn't able to keep the two Mercedes' at bay, but he was still thrilled to maximise a milestone moment in his F1 career.
"It was a perfect weekend in terms of performance and how we've optimised the result," he said post-race. It's not a win, but it feels like a win because there was nothing better that we could have done from qualifying to the Sprint to now.”

"There was some hope that I could have kept George [Russell] behind, but after the Virtual Safety Car restart he was just too fast, so there was no possibility to keep him under control and behind. 13 points and we obviously are tied with McLaren now in the Constructors' Championship."

‘100th F1 race in Austria 'feels like a win';

https://www.insideracing.com/index.p...els-like-a-win


Why a points finisher was left feeling like a winner in Austria
‎11‎ ‎July‎ ‎16‎:‎10
Author RacingNews365 Staff
Co-author Aaron Deckers

Alpine driver Esteban Ocon finished as the 'best of the rest' behind Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes at the Austrian Grand Prix. Ocon also praised Alpine's development efforts, noting a significant step forward with the package the team introduced at the British Grand Prix.

"It's very positive," Ocon declared, as he assessed the upgrades Alpine have being bringing to their cars in recent races. I'm very happy to see that the one that we brought to Silverstone made quite a difference – we can really see it now. I hope the next ones are going to be as big.”

"We still have work to do to be able to perform against the Mercedes, because they are still too fast, so if the team can bring more of this stuff, we will take it!”

‘Points Finish felt like a win’;

https://racingnews365.com/why-a-poin...ner-in-austria


Alpine’s Otmar Szafnauer: Austria proves “the team is continuing its momentum forwards” after recent upgrades
July 13, 2022
By Ashley Cline

BWT Alpine F1 Team’s Esteban Ocon achieved his best finish of the season, taking fifth place at the Austrian Grand Prix, as team-mate Fernando Alonso finished tenth after starting at the back due to the issues he had on the starting grid of the sprint race.

Alpine Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer congratulated Ocon for his impressive result which coincided with his hundredth Grand Prix. He also said that the result proves that the team’s recent upgrades are having a positive effect.

“Firstly, congratulations to Esteban for marking his 100th Formula 1 Grand Prix start by scoring ten points in fifth place. He thoroughly deserved that after driving so well today and executing a very good two-stop strategy. By scoring so highly, combined with yesterday’s effort in the Sprint, it means the team is continuing its momentum forwards after delivering some good upgrades at recent events.”

‘EL PLAN: Alpine Momentum’;

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2...cent-upgrades/


‘It was one of my best races this season’ – Alonso laments late double stop that cost Alpine ‘fifth and sixth' in Austria
12 July 2022
Formula 1.

“A point is better than nothing, even more so knowing that we started from the last row today,” said Alonso. “I think it was one of my best races this season, apart from Silverstone last weekend. We were fighting for a sixth or seventh position, but I felt strange vibrations on the tyres that we had just [fitted] after our second stop under the Virtual Safety Car period.

“As [the VSC was still in force], we decided to stop again to put on a new set of tyres. Unfortunately, we lost a few positions with this extra stop, and we had to fight until the last laps. At the finish, we managed to finish in 10th position. So, instead of fifth and sixth today, we are fifth and 10th, so it hurts a little bit now.”

Alpine had showed tremendous pace throughout the weekend but were again hampered by reliability issues when Alonso – starting in P8 for the Sprint – failed to take the start due to an electronics issue. And Alonso believes Alpine could be happy with their performance in Austria, but not the end result.

‘A point is better than nothing’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...grkf0rDzI.html


Alpine cleared over loose wheel for Alonso, keeps point
by Phillip Horton
09:58 Mon, 11 Jul 2022.

Fernando Alonso has escaped sanction following Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix after being investigated for an unsafe release. Alonso came into the pits during the Virtual Safety Car period but came in a lap later after complaining of vibrations from the left-front.

It emerged that the wheel had worked its way loose, prompting Alonso to pit once more, eventually coming home at the foot of the top 10. Stewards investigated the situation and deemed that “there is nothing in the video [evidence] to indicate that the pit stop was anything other than a normal pit stop.”

Nothing was wrong with the A522 until just before Turn 3, where the left-front wheel “slightly disengages from the car by a very small amount.”

‘Alpine Cleared’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2022/...o-keeps-point/


Finger wag returned in Austria, this time it was Alonso
Date published: July 11 2022
Michelle Foster

For the second week running Formula 1 saw the finger wag in play, this time it was Fernando Alonso chastising Yuki Tsunoda. Last time out at the British Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc was subjected to the finger wag as his Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto tried to bring him into line following a disappointing race for the championship hopeful.

Both later downplayed the moment with former F1 driver turned pundit Jenson Button pointing out that one does not finger wag a friend to “cheer them up”. Alonso’s wag to Tsunoda was definitely not in line with friendship, more chastisement.

Racing for position in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix, the Spaniard tried to pass Tsunoda along the straight between Turns 3 and 4. The AlphaTauri driver pushed his Alpine rival towards the edge of the track, Alonso putting a wheel on the grass at 300 km/h. Despite the hairy moment, the Spaniard didn’t lift and seconds later overtook Tsunoda, giving him the good ol’ finger wag in the process.

‘Friendly Finger Wagging!’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/finger...rnando-alonso/


Austria driver meeting began with Alonso ‘monologue’
Date published: July 14 2022
Jon Wilde

A lengthy drivers’ meeting that ended with Sebastian Vettel being fined was dragged out by a Fernando Alonso “monologue”, according to a report. After the Austrian Grand Prix sprint, it emerged Vettel had received a summons from the stewards having “failed to live up to standard” in the expectation of F1 drivers serving as role models.

The reason, it had turned out, was that the four-time former World Champion had walked out of the drivers’ meeting without permission and was duly fined 25,000 euros – suspended until the end of the season subject to any further breach of that article in the rules. Mick Schumacher subsequently said a discussion, understood to be about track limits, had been “going round in circles” while broadcaster Ted Kravitz, on Sky F1, suggested there had been a 20-minute argument about driving standards.

Reporter Michael Schmidt, of Auto Motor und Sport, says Alonso was taking centre stage as he defended his actions in Canada, where he had earned a penalty for weaving on the straight while trying to fend off Valtteri Bottas. Schmidt also made a joke that Vettel may even trigger his suspended fine to be imposed with another walkout in France, should Alonso choose to bring up the incident in Austria where Carlos Sainz got away with overtaking George Russell off the circuit.

‘Monologue Walk Out’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/fernan...ria-monologue/

“Everything went as perfect as it can be” – Haas’ Guenther Steiner.
The Haas F1 Team enjoyed their best weekend since the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix, after Mick Schumacher finished sixth and Kevin Magnussen finished eighth at the Red Bull Ring.
By Nick Golding
July 12, 2022

The Austrian Grand Prix saw Schumacher secure his best finish in Formula 1 to-date, as well as this, the German driver was awarded ‘Driver of the Day’ by the fans. Magnussen also drove strongly; however, had to nurse an engine problem the entire race, something which caused the American team and the Danish driver some concern.

Considering the lack of upgrades Haas have introduced so far this season, it was an incredible result for the team to be so competitive. As a result of Schumacher’s and Magnussen’s finishing position, the team jumped to seventh in the Constructors’ Championship.

Team Principal Guenther Steiner labelled the weekend as “perfect”, with the Haas boss being incredibly happy to see his side move up in the standings. “A fantastic result for the team today with a double-points finish and back in P7 in the championship. There was one little issue with Kevin’s engine, but everything went as perfect as it can be. Thanks to the whole team for a big effort.”

‘Haas F1 Team Perfection’;

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2...nther-steiner/


Mick Schumacher credits Guenther Steiner pressure for recent points haul
Published: 10 Jul 2022, 18:56
By George Dagless

Mick Schumacher has said the pressure from Guenther Steiner has helped him earn points with him coming home in sixth in Austria. The German finally ended his wait for world championship points last weekend at the British Grand Prix with him finishing in eighth place just behind Max Verstappen.

He went even better in the race in Austria this weekend, meanwhile, as he crossed the line in sixth and it might be fair to say he’s currently driving the best he ever has in Formula 1.

“As athletes you’re always after that pressure because that’s what’s going to light that candle under the bum to make you go quick! And it did in some ways. In Silverstone coming into the points was just what I needed to really set off fireworks in my case.” Certainly, Mick seems to have embraced what Steiner had to say about some of the big crashes he had had earlier in the campaign and he is now delivering.

‘Candle Under the Bum!’;

https://www.givemesport.com/88032420...nt-points-haul


Haas: Recent results validates decision not to rush updates
13:12 Thu, 14 Jul 2022.
by Phillip Horton

Haas boss Guenther Steiner believes the squad’s recent pace justifies its decision not to rush to bring upgrades to its 2022 car. “I would say a lot of people are surprised – we knew that there was more to come and then therefore said why should we rush to do something,” said Steiner.

“Even the drivers are saying ‘I’d never have believed this car can still qualify sixth and seventh when all the others bring packages’. I told them ‘yeah, they bring packages but you guys don’t know what packages they bring so how can you judge those packages?’ ”

“We know exactly what we are doing and can just try and do our best, and we need to believe in ourselves, and we did. I think we have proven that the car is still strong and there will be a package coming and hopefully it gets even stronger.”

‘Judging Packages’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2022/...-rush-updates/


Steiner jokes: Imagine where Haas will be with upgrades!
Date published: July 13 2022
Editor

“Can you imagine if we had upgrades where we are?” he laughed, speaking on the F1 Nation podcast. “I always say upgrades are overrated, in my opinion, and we will bring some in Hungary – hopefully they will work as they should work.

“I don’t always follow what the others are doing, you need to go your own way, and we decided in Barcelona not to bring anything just to bring them because it wasn’t good enough. We developed more and hopefully, when we bring them in Hungary, they will work.”

Having found pace and form with a very raceable car in 2022, a huge step forward from their disastrous 2020 and 2021 seasons, Steiner said there is a chance his team could fight for points at every race for the rest of the year. “It’s very good, very good for the team,” he beamed.

‘Steiner’s Upgrades: They Will Work’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/guenth...haas-upgrades/


Steiner explains what eases his concerns about Ferrari engine issues
14th July 2022, ‎17‎:‎50
Author RacingNews365 Staff

Guenther Steiner admits that seeing Carlos Sainz's Ferrari engine fail at the Austrian Grand Prix was a concern for Haas, but believes that the power unit's speed is still a strong advantage. When asked on the F1 Nation podcast if he had felt any concerns when Sainz's power unit failed, Steiner quipped: "No, no concerns at all... I'm joking!"

"Obviously when you see [what happened to Sainz, it's not good], and we had a few issues this year," Steiner continued. But I always say, [on the one hand] the engine is very good, it's very powerful. On the other hand, [there have been] issues. I don't like them, obviously, but then [compare it to] an engine like we had last year.”

"At least when you start the race, you know you can fight. Obviously, if you have an issue, then it's very disappointing, but the engine is very powerful. I'm sure Ferrari [will] work hard to get the reliability into it."

"No, no concerns at all... I'm joking!";

https://racingnews365.com/steiner-ex...-engine-issues


STEINER: “WE ARE NOT EVEN THINKING ABOUT CONTRACTS”
Will Mick Schumacher remain in Formula 1 in 2023?
09:35 Thu, 14 Jul 2022.
Lena Ferle

For Günther Steiner, the boss of Haas, there have been many reasons to be joyful in recent weeks: his drivers Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher collected 19 points in Great Britain and Austria. For Magnussen, the Silly Season in Formula 1 is uneventful this year. When he came back to the sport as a replacement for Mazepin, he directly signed a multiple-year contract.

Team Principal of the Haas F1 Team, Günther Steiner, explains what matters now. “Performance is everything in this sport. Sometimes you make the points even if you just lucked into points. We are not just going there and saying, ‘You made the points, great, and now he’s got a contract.’ That would be too simplistic and not good for anybody,” Steiner said.

“We need to see how he fights, how he makes the points and what performance he brings. It’s a performance sport and you need to bring the performance. At the moment we are not even thinking about contracts. As a team, we have always done it after the summer break.”

‘Performance Is Everything’;

https://www.formulanerds.com/news/st.../?nowprocket=1


Mick Schumacher's attitude questioned by Haas boss after getting 'upset' in Austria
MICK SCHUMACHER hit back at Haas after Saturday's sprint race as he felt he was faster than team-mate Kevin Magnussen.
08:41, Tue, Jul 12, 2022
By Luke Chillingsworth

Guenther Steiner has questioned Mick Schumacher’s attitude after the young German snapped back at the team at the Austrian Grand Prix. Schumacher was annoyed after Saturday’s sprint race as he was left to fight Lewis Hamilton while team-mate Magnussen pulled away.

‘Snapping Attitude’;

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...ian-grand-prix


Guenther Steiner addresses tensions between Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen
Mick Schumacher achieved his best-ever F1 result at the Austrian Grand Prix.
13 July 2022
by Nick Golding

“I think sometimes a little anger helps to unlock the beast,” Schumacher told Sky Sports F1 after the race.

“I think we have been very consistent with what we have as a package and I don’t think we necessarily have made a huge step forward but I think this track maybe suits our car, suits our set up and maybe also suits our driving style in some ways so it will be interesting to see how Paul Ricard goes but I’m pretty sure, hopefully we will stay strong.”

‘Unlock the Beast’;

https://formula1news.co.uk/guenther-...vin-magnussen/

AlphaTauri “desperately” need upgrades after “disaster” weekend, urges Gasly.
“The whole weekend was a disaster, apart from qualifying, concluded Gasly, who qualified 10th for Saturdays sprint race, but fell to the back of the pack at the start after tangling with Lewis Hamilton.
2022 Austrian Grand Prix
Posted on
14th July 2022, 7:17
Written by Hazel Southwell and Claire Cottingham

Pierre Gasly despaired at AlphaTauri’s lack of pace in Austria, saying the team needs to upgrade its car. “We were nowhere in terms of pace,” he said. “I tried to do everything I could inside the car, but at the moment there’s just nothing to do. So I think we desperately need these upgrades on the car to be able to get any decent result.”

Gasly had a series of setbacks during Sunday’s grand prix. He received a penalty for multiple track limit violations, which he said made little difference to his result. “It’s the same rule for everyone. I didn’t respect it, so I got penalised – my fault. I saw quite a lot of guys getting black-and-white flags. I think it was better in the past without these track limits. Anyway, you can’t go wider with a double kerb, but at the end of the day whatever rule they set, we’ve got to respect it.”

He said AlphaTauri’s chance of better results hinges on upgrades which are due to arrive at his home race next week. The team had “no pace” last weekend. “I mean nowhere.” he explained. “You look at Yuki, you look at myself, even the strategy we lost a position when we boxed, but at the end of the day we just have no pace. You can do whatever you want, any strategy you want, with the speed we have at the moment. [We] just can’t keep going like this.”

“Nowhere in terms of pace”, “No pace”, “I mean nowhere.”;

https://www.racefans.net/2022/07/14/...d-urges-gasly/


AlphaTauri set for major internal review after Austrian GP nightmare
‎13‎ ‎July‎ ‎17‎:‎00
Author Michael Butterworth

Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda ended the Spielberg race down in 15th and 16th places respectively, and with AlphaTauri now having not scored points in the last three Grands Prix, there were long faces in the team after Sunday's struggles.

"It's been really tough, that was a long race," lamented Tsunoda. "I had no pace at all this weekend and really struggled with the car sliding all over the place.”

"We need to go away and look at what the issue may be, as we've not seen anything in the data that explains why this weekend has been so difficult. I gave it my everything and there wasn't much more I could've done, but this has been the hardest race weekend we've had so far this year."

‘Sliding All Over the Place’;

https://racingnews365.com/alphatauri...n-gp-nightmare


Gasly voices upgrades desperation after AlphaTauri "disaster"
Tuesday 12 July 2022 10:30
Ewan Gale

Pierre Gasly is desperate for AlphaTauri to introduce its next raft of upgrades after a "disaster" of a weekend at the Austrian GP. The Frenchman was never in the running for points despite narrowly missing out on Q3 in Friday's qualifying session, one he should have competed in as Sergio Perez should not have been involved given a track-limits violation not spotted until too late.

Contact with Lewis Hamilton at turn one of Saturday's sprint put an end to his hopes of a healthy starting position for the grand prix. Starting 15th, Gasly failed to make any progress and ended a lap down on eventual winner Charles Leclerc.

“The whole weekend was a disaster apart from qualifying," conceded Gasly. "We were nowhere in terms of pace. I tried to do everything I could inside the car but at the moment there is just nothing to do.”

‘Upgrade Desperation’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/87...auri-upgrades/


Tost reveals why he gave Tsunoda a rap on the knuckles
14/07/2022 at 10:39
Phillip van Osten

AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost says he gave "problem child" Yuki Tsunoda a serious rap on the knuckles after his run-in with teammate Pierre Gasly at Silverstone.

The pair were running seventh and eighth in the early stages of the British Grand Prix when Tsunoda went down the inside of Gasly at the tight right-hander at Village, where a contact sent both drivers spinning off the track.

"It was a nightmare for the team," Tost told the media in Austria. "Immediately after the race I called Yuki into my office and told him that this is absolutely a no-go and that he has to be more disciplined and patient.”

‘Knuckle Rap’;

https://f1i.com/news/448207-tost-rev...-knuckles.html


Tsunoda reacts to AlphaTauri hiring psychologist to work with him
‎09‎ ‎July‎ ‎07‎:‎50
Author Anna Francis
Co-author Aaron Deckers

Yuki Tsunoda has welcomed AlphaTauri hiring a psychologist to support him, but acknowledges that it may take some time before there are results.

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko recently revealed that the team had made the decision due to the youngster's behaviour over team radio, including during the British Grand Prix where the Japanese driver came together with teammate Pierre Gasly.

"Thank God Max is calm, our problem child is Tsunoda," Marko was quoted as saying by German publication Motorsport-total. "We have organised a kind of psychologist to work with him, because he continued to complain through the corners, and that affects performance."

‘Psychological Development!’;

https://racingnews365.com/tsunoda-re...-work-with-him


Honda Considering Returning to Formula 1 in 2026, Could Tweak Red Bull Branding Until Then
12 Jul 2022, 08:44 UTC ·
by Sergiu Tudose

Remember when Honda quit Formula 1? Of course you do, it nearly was “just yesterday” that the Japanese carmaker decided to focus its resources on battery electric road cars, instead of Grand Prix racing.

However, they did agree to keep helping Red Bull and AlphaTauri with regards to the manufacturing, assembly and support for its re-badged Formula 1 engines - using an HRC logo, which stands for Honda Racing Corporation.

Now, following Red Bull’s 2021 title win, together with F1’s push for sustainable fuels from 2026, speculation surrounding Honda’s return to F1 has recently surfaced, reports Motorsport. The HRC exec went on to add that his company is also eying more exposure within Red Bull and AlphaTauri, where instead of it just saying 'HRC' on the cars, we would once again see 'Honda' branding.

‘Just Yesterday Honda Quit, Just Tomorrow Honda Return’;

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/h...en-193334.html

Aston Martin boss reveals main weakness of their 2022 car.
Team boss Krack spoke about Aston Martin’s lack of performance during a press conference at the Austrian Grand Prix, saying recent tracks haven’t played to their strengths.
Date published: July 14 2022
Editor

“Obviously, we all know we had not a very good start [to the season],” Mike Krack told reporters. “I think the last races before Silverstone, we had tracks that were suiting the characteristic of the car. But now, the last two tracks, they have really shown again, a bit better picture of where we are standing. And we simply are not performing enough. We’ve seen it in Silverstone. We have seen it yesterday. And we need to find our way out of there. We need to work ourselves out.”

Over the first 11 races of the season, Krack explained that a particular characteristic of the AMR22 has been uncovered – namely, the car doesn’t like high-speed corners. He revealed that the driver’s main complaints are “always about grip and balance”. “So obviously, when you push it really hard – which I always think when you have a car that is not quick enough, you over push or you try to over push – so you have balance problems, but also we have had sessions where to go faster, you need more grip,” he said.

“So, we struggled in high-speed, in all high-speed areas. In Canada, there were less of them, in Baku, there were less of them. [The] car is quite okay, I think, in the low-speed. And yeah, it’s mainly low-speed corners. But as soon as it goes high-speed, we are lacking.”

‘Aston Martin Main Weakness’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/aston-...ness-2022-car/


Gallery: Our 2022 Austrian GP weekend.
The Austrian landscape provided a great backdrop for Formula One's second Sprint weekend of the season, in what proved to be a difficult weekend for Sebastian and Lance.
11.07.2022
Aston Martin F1

‘Austrian landscape’;

https://www.astonmartinf1.com/en-GB/...ian-gp-weekend


Stroll: Aston Martin ‘just lacking pace’ in Austria.
10 Jul 2022
Formula 1.

Lance Stroll said he enjoyed “some good battles” in the Austrian Grand Prix, but ultimately didn’t have the pace to fight for points as he came in 13th.

‘Aston Martin: ‘just lacking pace’!’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...544826499.html


Vettel calls Austria an ‘unlucky weekend’ after pair of trips into the gravel following collisions
12 July 2022
Formula 1.

In an Austrian Grand Prix weekend in which Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin was sent into the gravel twice, before he came home P17 in Sunday’s race – the last of the remaining drivers – the only word the four-time champion could use to describe his experience at the Red Bull Ring was “unlucky”.

Vettel began the race down in 18th, and was one of the few drivers to start the race on the hard tyre. And despite being hit by debris at the start of the race, the German driver was able to continue and made steady progress, climbing as high as ninth in the first stint.

However, on Lap 38, battling for 13th with Pierre Gasly at Turn 4, the Frenchman clipped Vettel into the gravel, sending the Aston Martin driver plummeting down the order. And after a “disappointing” weekend, Vettel was simply looking to move on from Austria and ahead to France.

‘Unlucky Weekend’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...OfAI93ZY4.html


Sebastian Vettel rages after spin | 'What's wrong with these people?!'
15:14 Sun, 10 Jul 2022.
Sky Sports

Sebastian Vettel expressed his frustration over team radio after contact with Pierre Gasly caused him to spin off the track.

‘Frustration Rage’;

https://www.skysports.com/watch/vide...ttel-spins-out


Aston Martin boss Krack ‘confident’ that Vettel will stay beyond 2022 to reap rewards of hard work
14 July 2022
Formula 1.

Aston Martin Team Principal Mike Krack has expressed his hope that Sebastian Vettel stays with the team beyond the end of this season, as he called the two years the four-time champion will have spent with the squad an “investment”.

Vettel joined Aston Martin in 2021, and has scored 58 of their 95 points so far. However, the German’s contract is set to expire at the end of 2022. Team boss Krack previously said it would be “foolish” for the team not to try and retain Vettel’s services, and in Austria he evaluated talks between the squad and their veteran driver.

He added that, despite Aston Martin occupying ninth in the standings, both drivers have been dealing with the situation positively and pragmatically. “I think both drivers, we really have to say hats off, how they cope with it, how constructive they still are with us. There is no bad word, nothing at all. We try to do this together, try to get out together, they give us very good feedback.”

‘Good Feedback’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...HHW2X3Myc.html

Vettel left drivers’ meeting after ’20-minute argument’.
Speaking during his Notebook show, Sky Sports F1 pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz said that Vettel had grown frustrated with an argument that had lasted 20 minutes before he decided to get up and leave.
Date published: July 11 2022
Sam Cooper

“They kept going around… apparently, there was a big argument between all the drivers – they were talking about driving standards and it went on for 20 minutes,” Kravitz explained.

“Sebastian was sitting there and thinking, look we are going around and around in circles, we haven’t got onto the actual drivers’ briefing yet, if you’re not going to talk about it, I am just going to walk out.”

“He went to the race director in the end and made good which is why he got a suspended fine and not anything else.”

‘Round and Round!’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/sebast...-meeting-exit/


FIA should apologise for "deplorable" attack on "hero" Vettel.
Friday 15 July 2022 08:20
GPFans Staff

Vettel was accused of failing to be a good role model for his behaviour, a quote that went against the grain as the Aston Martin driver has in recent times tackled a host of serious societal and environmental issues away from the circuit. Vettel was ultimately handed a suspended fine of €25,000 after offering an apology for his walk out.

Ewan Gale - F1 Writer. "I really hope someone comes out and says something about this, to suggest Sebastian Vettel wasn't being a role model, I mean come on. "There are two drivers on that grid - Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton - for everything they do, for the sport and away from the sport, to come out with that statement when they gave the suspended fine and say he wasn't being a good role model, sorry, that is tone deaf - absolutely tone deaf and deplorable.”

Ian Parkes - Editor-in-Chief "I asked Seb twice in the media pen post-race on Sunday 'What are your thoughts?' and he said 'ask the FIA'. You could tell he was not happy. It was a very unusual stewards' statement that came out. They don't go to that level of a personal attack. They are normally very straightforward, matter of fact, this happened, that happened, this is our decision and why we made our decision.”

'Hero Vettel: “Ask the FIA” ';

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/87...astian-vettel/


Mick Schumacher and Daniel Ricciardo defend Sebastian Vettel after FIA clash
Sebastian Vettel was given a suspended 25,000 euro fine after leaving the drivers' briefing early in Austria.
12 July 2022
by James Clifford

Mick Schumacher and Daniel Ricciardo have sympathised with Sebastian Vettel leaving the FIA drivers’ briefing without being excused in Austria. The inconsistency of the stewarding this year was brought up by Fernando Alonso after Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc escape punishment in Silverstone for indiscretions he had already been penalised for in previous races.

George Russell indicated after the briefing that the FIA might be advised to “stick to one race director” after the arrival of Eduardo Freitas and Niels Wittich this year, which appears to have further convoluted the situation in race control. It also seems that the hierarchy has lost control of the drivers, because Sky Sports reporter Ted Kravitz reported on Sunday that there had been some arguments among the racers about driving standards so far in 2022.

This was taking place instead of the planned meeting, so Vettel decided he had heard enough, and walked out to attend to his other commitments. Schumacher agreed that the conversation was not really going anywhere, and suggested that his German compatriot was not the only one who wanted to leave. “I just felt like we were going in circles with some of the things that were discussed,” he said, quoted by Autosport.

‘Not the only one who wanted to leave’;

https://formula1news.co.uk/mick-schu...ter-fia-clash/


Sebastian Vettel punished by the FIA for suggesting Masi approach was better
Sebastian Vettel reportedly walked out of the drivers' meeting on Friday in Austria.
10 July 2022
by James Clifford

On every Friday of a race weekend, the drivers are mandated to arrive at the briefing room to be told of any important information for the remainder of the weekend, and discuss anything that might have popped up throughout practice.

The Race reported that there is a feeling among the drivers that the alternation between Eduardo Freitas and Niels Wittich is “not working effectively,” so they are “discontent” at the current situation.

Vettel is said to have strongly imparted his opinion onto Wittich, who has since held a “constructive conversation” with the four-time world champion, before walking out of the meeting without being excused.

‘Walk Out’;

https://formula1news.co.uk/sebastian...ch-was-better/


Vettel ‘not a saint’ amid FIA briefing saga
Grandpx.news07:06 Sun, 10 Jul
ANDREW MAITLAND

Despite insisting he tries to “set a good example” in Formula 1, Sebastian Vettel has been penalised for storming out of a meeting in Austria. The quadruple world champion, who is increasingly involved in social, cultural and environmental activism, had a EUR 25,000 fine suspended for the rest of 2022.

According to stewards, the 35-year-old stormed out of the drivers’ briefing. “Drivers at this level are role models for every driver around the world and in the opinion of the stewards, Vettel failed to live up to that standard in this case,” a statement read.

Earlier, he hit back at those who believe he should stop moralising and telling people what to do and stick to racing his Aston Martin. “I’m not a saint, I can’t tell anyone how to behave,” the German told Sport1.

‘Vettel: The Saint (Work In Progress)!’;

https://grandpx.news/vettel-not-a-sa...briefing-saga/


Tech Draft: Black faced Vettel a wakeup call F1 needs
14 July, 2022
Mark Kay

This Tech Draft reflects on some aspects of the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix, but mainly a sustainability-related issue sparked by the scene of Sebastian Vettel covered in brake carbon dust. The image of Sebastian Vettel covered in carbon dust alongside an FOM sign promoting the hybrid engine as the world’s most efficient was a juxtaposition Stefano Domenicali and his team should look long and hard at.

Carbon/carbon braking systems have unparalleled performance, are light, they operate at much higher temperatures and cool well, are almost immune to thermal shock, they are very rigid at high temperature and so the pads don’t wedge and knock, and critically they wear in a linear manner which means the rate at which the pad wears in comparison to the rotor is completely predictable.

Nevertheless, carbon/carbon braking systems are very dirty, as we know from those images of Vettel after Sunday’s race, the by-products of their use isn’t just black burnt carbon dust, which is a known carcinogen, but there are other nasties in the composite matrix that become toxic and carcinogenic when they burn, such as the binding resins.

‘Black burnt carbon dust, is a known carcinogen’;

https://www.grandprix247.com/2022/07...call-f1-needs/


Sebastian Vettel "feels like there is a target on my car" after being taken out by rivals.
21:01, 14 Jul 2022
By Daniel MoxonF1 Writer

The German has endured a tough season so far with strugglers Aston Martin, and his fortunes did not improve at the Austrian Grand Prix where he was clipped by two different rivals. Sebastian Vettel was left to rue his bad luck after being sent spinning in two separate collisions during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend.

The German travelled to the Red Bull Ring hoping to build on the two points he managed at Silverstone a week earlier. But all that was in store for the Aston Martin racer was a return to the more familiar misery that he has endured for much of this season.

Qualifying was a disaster as he set the slowest time of all, but Saturday's Sprint started promisingly as the four-time world champion moved up to 14th on the opening lap. It will have given his team hope of a better starting place for the main event the following day.

‘The Saint (Work In Progress): More familiar misery’;

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...gasly-27486085

“It’s disappointing to leave without a point” – Alfa Romeo’s Frédéric Vasseur.
Frédéric Vasseur admitted the Austrian Grand Prix was a difficult weekend for the Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN as they failed to register a points finish with either Valtteri Bottas or Zhou Guanyu.
July 14, 2022
By Paul Hensby

Vasseur, the Team Principal at Alfa Romeo, said the team knew it would always be difficult to score points on Sunday, but the fact they came as close as they did under difficult circumstances gives them hope heading into the next double header later this month, which starts with the French Grand Prix at the Circuit Paul Ricard.

“It’s been a difficult weekend for us, and to nearly come away with a point despite all that happened shows the attitude of this team,” said Vasseur. “With Valtteri starting from the Pit Lane and Zhou in P13, we knew we had a tough job ahead of us if we wanted to come away with a good result, and we very nearly did.”

“It was a hectic race, with lots of battling and action – a great advertisement for our sport: for the team, we had nearly delivered a great comeback, but the tyre advantage Alonso had on the final lap was too much for Valtteri to overcome, and Zhou’s penalty really put an end to his hopes of points. It’s disappointing to leave without a point, but we will regroup and aim to start scoring again in France.”

‘Lots of battling and action’;

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2...deric-vasseur/


‘We did everything right’ – Bottas sanguine about just missing out on points after pit lane start in Austria
10 Jul 2022
Formula 1.

Valtteri Bottas started the Austrian Grand Prix from the pit lane and ultimately ended up P11, just one place out of the points – but the Finn said there wasn’t any more he or the team could have done on the day.

‘We did everything right’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...773647017.html


Bottas laments 'lack of pace' in Austria after losing P10 on final lap to Alonso
12 July 2022
Formula 1.

It was a difficult weekend in Austria for Alfa Romeo, culminating in Valtteri Bottas finishing in 11th, after narrowly losing out on a top-10 finish on the last lap, while Zhou Guanyu came home in P14. And speaking after the race, Bottas admitted that, while his team did everything they could to get points, they were ultimately just lacking pace.

“I was hoping for points today, that was the target, and it’s a bit disappointing to be finishing just outside the top 10,” said Bottas. “In the last lap, Fernando was closing the gap pretty fast with a new set of tyres, and ultimately got me.”

"Besides that, I think it was a good race, also strategy-wise, and we did everything we could give where we started: we just lacked a bit of pace, especially through the corners.”

‘Lack of Pace’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...8FTJrO3oY.html


Zhou: 'Risky' first stint on hard tyres in Austria a mistake.
13/07/2022 at 17:26
Phillip van Osten

Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu admitted after last weekend's Austrian Grand Prix that starting his race on the hard tyre was not only a risky choice but also one that was misguided. Given a chance to do it all over again, Zhou would have opted for the medium compound tyre.

"It wasn't the best weekend, but in the race I think the problem was just the hard tyres, we just couldn't switch them on," said the F1 rookie. "For me, it was all degradation, and not getting any reward from it.”

"If I was to go back, I would go back to the medium tyres, because the mediums we had on for 20 or 30 laps, [and] I felt we found the pace again we had yesterday [in Saturday's sprint race]. So it just shows maybe our set-up wasn't the best for the hard for today. So that compromised the race.”

‘Hard Tyres a Mistake’;

https://f1i.com/news/448184-zhou-ris...n-austria.html


Bottas worried Alfa Romeo could get left behind improving midfield rivals
‎12‎ ‎July‎ ‎11‎:‎10
Author Luke Murphy
Co-author Aaron Deckers

Valtteri Bottas believes Alfa Romeo need more performance gains after losing ground in the Constructors' Championship to Alpine and McLaren. Valtteri Bottas has voiced his concern about Alfa Romeo's pace after losing ground to Alpine and McLaren at the Austrian Grand Prix.

The Finn came close to completing a strong recovery drive after starting the race from the pit lane. Having taken power unit penalties earlier in the weekend, Alfa Romeo elected to start Bottas from the pit lane in order to make set-up changes for the race.

These efforts almost came to fruition, with Bottas running in 10th on the final lap of the Grand Prix. However, the final points-paying position was lost on the final lap to Fernando Alonso, much to Bottas' frustration.

‘Alfa Romeo could get left behind’;

https://racingnews365.com/bottas-wor...idfield-rivals


Valtteri Bottas: Alfa Romeo engine misfiring affected Sprint performance.
09 Jul 2022
Formula 1.

Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas hopes the technical issues that dogged his performance in the F1 Sprint at the Red Bull Ring won't be replicated in Sunday's 2022 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix.

‘Engine Misfiring’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...265687079.html


Zhou reveals he had to do a full restart procedure on his Alfa Romeo after his engine died on the Sprint formation lap.
09 Jul 2022
Formula 1.

Zhou Guanyu was seen crawling to a stand still on the Sprint formation lap, and revealed his engine had switched itself off, forcing him to do a full restart procedure to get the car running again.

‘Full Restart Procedure Necessary’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...323853261.html


Alfa Romeo: Where It Came From, Where It’s Going
The 112-year-old company has done it all, plans to keep doing it.
Jul 15, 2022
BY MARK VAUGHN

Historically speaking Alfa has really done it all: five world championships between 1925 and 1977, four Le Mans victories, 17 European Touring Car titles, and 10 Targa Florio and 11 Mille Miglia wins. When Enzo Ferrari wanted to try his hand at racing, before there was a Ferrari race team, he drove for and later managed the Alfa Romeo team, which included no less a talent than Tazio Nuvolari.

Alfa Romeo was founded in Milan in 1910 as “Anonima Lombardo Fabbrica Automobili,” and even you would rather just say Alfa. The “Romeo” was added after a savior of the same name ran the company for a while. One year after its founding, Alfa went racing, first in the Targa Florio, then the Mille Miglia and, of course, in Grand Prix. It won everywhere.

‘Alfa Romeo Tradition’;

https://www.autoweek.com/news/indust...ere-its-going/

Alfa Romeo share remarkable details over Zhou's British GP crash.
Following Zhou Guanyu's dramatic British Grand Prix crash, Alfa Romeo team boss Fred Vasseur says the Chinese driver was remarkably non-plussed upon his immediate return to the garage.
‎14‎ ‎July‎ ‎12‎:‎50
Author Michael Butterworth
Co-author Aaron Deckers

Alfa Romeo Team Principal Fred Vasseur says Zhou Guanyu's first thought when he returned to the pits after his dramatic British Grand Prix crash was whether the team would have enough spare parts for the following race in Austria.

Having been tagged by George Russell just after the start at Silverstone, Zhou's car flipped upside down and skidded at high speed off the track, with the force of the impact seeing the Alfa Romeo vault the outer barrier and come to rest wedged sideways against the inner catch fencing.

Though there was much concern for Zhou's condition, the Chinese driver was released after precautionary checks at the circuit's Medical Centre, and later posted on social media to confirm he was unhurt. So unscathed was Zhou after the crash that Vasseur said the F1 rookie's immediate concern was for the stock of parts in the Alfa garage, rather than his own wellbeing.

‘Zhou Guanyu non-plussed upon his immediate return to the garage’;

https://racingnews365.com/alfa-romeo...itish-gp-crash


Zhou proving the ‘perfect choice’ for Alfa Romeo
Date published: July 13 2022
Jon Wilde

Fred Vasseur has hailed Zhou Guanyu as the “perfect choice” for the second seat in a much improved Alfa Romeo team this year. The Swiss-based squad have reached the halfway mark of this season with 51 points already collected – in the previous two campaigns combined, they scored a total of only 21.

Zhou has contributed only five of the 51, but there is a huge gulf in experience between he and his team-mate Valtteri Bottas who won five consecutive Constructors’ titles with Mercedes and won 10 races. Bottas, released by Mercedes after the 2021 season, was a no-brainer for Alfa Romeo to hire, but taking on Zhou was a tougher choice given he was an F1 rookie – and when the team also have a bright F2 prospect coming up through their ranks in Theo Pourchaire.

The Frenchman could have been thrown in at the deep end this year at the tender age of 18, but instead Alfa Romeo opted for Zhou, who is just over four years his senior, at least partly due to the sponsorship revenue he brings from China.

‘Perfect Choice’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/zhou-g...erfect-choice/


Alfa Romeo still investigating Zhou rollhoop collapse
14/07/2022 at 18:11
Michael Delaney

Alfa Romeo team boss Fred Vasseur says the Swiss outfit is still investigating the collapse of the rollhoop of Zhou Guanyu's C42 during the Chinese driver's terrifying crash at Silverstone earlier this month. The element failed on its first impact with the tarmac when Zhou's car overturned following a start-line contact with the Mercedes of George Russell.

Fortunately, the Alfa's Halo cockpit safety device protected Zhou during his harrowing ride that saw the car skid upside down to the first corner before it somersaulted over the top of the tyre barrier and came to rest against catch fencing. Alfa Romeo said at the time that it would conduct along with the FIA an investigation into the rollhoop's failure.

"It's still under investigation, and we'll share all the information about the crash with the FIA," Vasseur said last weekend in Austria. "The first [issue] is that the crash was something like two times more than the load of the crash test. I don't know if you had the look on the tarmac, but we dug a groove into the tarmac something like four or five centimetres deep.”

‘Rollhoop collapsed, Alfa's Halo cockpit safety device protected Zhou during his harrowing ride’;

https://f1i.com/news/448235-alfa-rom...-collapse.html


What FIA intends to change after Zhou’s F1 rollhoop failure.
Jul 15 2022
By Edd Straw

The FIA will introduce “more stringent measures” in Formula 1’s rollhoop regulations for 2023 following Alfa Romeo driver Zhou Guanyu’s accident at the start of the British Grand Prix. This follows Thursday’s meeting of the technical advisory committee, which drew on the analysis of the Silverstone accident and resolved to take action to improve the rollhoop rules.

The nature of the more stringent measures has yet to be decided on, although the FIA is working on the modifications to the technical regulations. A statement released by the FIA on the TAC meeting said it “discussed the serious incident involving Zhou Guanyu at Silverstone.

“The teams confirmed their availability to introduce more stringent measures on the rollhoops for 2023, and the FIA undertook to complete the relevant analyses, and to communicate to the teams new requirements for the safety of the rollhoop.” Although details of the investigation into Zhou’s accident have not been released, it’s clear that what’s called the ‘primary roll structure’ suffered a failure during the crash. F1 cars are required to have two roll structures, with the halo – that Zhou credited for saving his life – the secondary one.

‘The FIA will introduce “more stringent measures” in Formula 1’s rollhoop regulations for 2023’;

https://the-race.com/formula-1/what-...lhoop-failure/


FIA to impose 'more stringent' rollhoop measures for 2023.
15/07/2022 at 10:43
Phillip van Osten

The FIA will introduce for 2023 "more stringent measures" for rollhoops in Formula 1 following the recent crash suffered by Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu at the British Grand Prix. The rollhoop on Zhou's Alfa C42 collapsed on impact when the car overturned following a start-line contact with the Mercedes of George Russell at Silverstone.

F1 teams typically use a double concept rollhoop design that integrates with a car's chassis. However, Alfa Romeo relies on a single-spike design on its C42, an option authorized by the FIA but which may be outlawed in the future if the governing body mandates the double rollhoop structure.

The FIA's approach to improving rollhoop strength could target more stringent load tests as well as structural design changes. The changes will take into account the findings from Alfa Romeo's investigation into Zhou's crash which the Swiss outfit is in the process of completing and sharing with the FIA.

‘More Stringent Rollhoop Measures’;

https://f1i.com/news/448253-fia-to-i...-for-2023.html


More stringent rollhoop tests planned following Zhou's British GP crash
15/07/2022
NEWS STORY

While it was the Halo that rightly got the praise following the first lap crash which saw the Chinese driver's Alfa Romeo flipped over and skid along the track over the gravel trap that followed and finally barrel-rolling over the barriers into the catch fencing, it was the failure of the car's rollhoop that caused serious concern. Alfa Romeo is alone in being the only team to run a 'spike' (triangular) rollhoop design, the Swiss team doing this for aerodynamic reasons, and it remains to be seen whether, following the investigation into the failure, such designs are banned.

"The principal structure must pass a static load test details of which may be found in Article 13.3.1," state the 2022 regulations. "Furthermore, each team must supply detailed calculations, which clearly show that it is capable of withstanding the same load when the longitudinal component is applied in a forward direction." The crash test for the rollhoop applies "a load equivalent to 60kN laterally, 70kN longitudinally in a rearward direction and 105kN vertically", allowing only 25mm deformation along the loaded axis, with "any structural failure limited to 100mm below the top of the roll structure when measured vertically".

"The last time I was involved in a project that ran a roll hoop like that, I think it was 2011," said AlphaTauri technical director, Jody Egginton in Austria, his team, like the majority opting for a double concept. "I remember the reasons for it, and they were specific. "Obviously, we are all subjected to and pass the same test, that's a requirement," he added. "But I guess these are the topics which are going to be raised in the TAC (Technical Advisory Committee), to see how we go forward and what the FIA view is."

‘Technical Advisory Committee and FIA Decisions’;

https://www.pitpass.com/73113/More-s...itish-GP-crash

Williams’ Dave Robson: Austria was a “good result for the entire team who worked very hard to get us back into this position”.
Williams Racing Head of Vehicle Performance Dave Robson was pleased to see a great race and recovery for Alex Albon after losing positions in Saturday’s sprint, though Nicholas Latifi had to retire as a result of floor damage.
July 15, 2022
By Ashley Cline

Robson said that Albon’s battle for the final points position with Valtteri Bottas was a close one, and that he was disappointed that he ultimately missed out on a top ten finish.

“Today was a good recovery after the result yesterday. Alex drove well and the strategy worked well. Having got into the top 10 with only 10 laps to go, it was disappointing to miss out on a point.”

“However, we had been battling with Bottas since the first pitstop and it was a tight race that could’ve gone either way. At least we got a full race completed with the updated car, which gives some data to go through before we run again in France.”

‘Great Race Recovery’;

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2...this-position/


Concept change means Williams FW44 is a ‘new car’
Date published: July 17 2022
Jon Wilde

Williams have revealed they are treating their heavily-revised FW44, driven by Alex Albon at the last two races, as essentially a “new car”. Albon was given the major upgrades for the British Grand Prix, but any hope of them bringing an immediate reward were scuppered before he had even reached the first corner as he was punted into the wall and out of the race by Sebastian Vettel.

The British-Thai driver then finished 12th in Austria, while his team-mate Nicholas Latifi retired with floor damage and the Canadian hopes the big updates will be on his car for the French Grand Prix. It was no surprise Williams have tried a different approach because they are last in the Constructors’ standings, with only the three points collected by Albon so far, and their revamped design has headed more in the Red Bull direction regarding its sidepods – although there is no suggestion of copying.

Even Albon himself said: “Everyone started a bit different and it’s either the Ferrari concept or the Red Bull concept that seems to be adopted. “Ours looks more like the Red Bull car, but I wouldn’t call it like-for-like. It’s the direction we’ve headed into.”

‘Williams FW44 is a ‘new car’!’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/willia...oncept-change/


Alex Albon: “The whole race we were more or less matching the McLarens”
July 15, 2022
By Ashley Cline

Williams Racing’s Alex Albon was on the verge of points at the Austrian Grand Prix, ending up taking twelfth place after starting in fifteenth. In his battle to fight for the final points position, Albon said that he was too hard on his tyres– leading him to losing crucial positions.

“It was a fun race. We took risks, we were bold and I had to push a little bit too hard on the tyres to keep up with Valtteri as he was a little bit quicker than us, so I knew what I was doing wasn’t kind to the tyres but I was trying to stay close to him.”

Overall, Albon was happy with the race in spite of missing out on points, as he said the car advanced in Austria and was performing about on par with the likes of McLaren F1 Team.

‘Matching the McLarens’;

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2...-the-mclarens/


Albon: Improved Williams downforce a ‘good platform’
Date published: July 14 2022
Michelle Foster

The Austrian GP weekend was a better one as the driver came through the weekend unscathed, 12th in qualifying before losing positions in the sprint race and then recovering to P12 in the grand prix. “We’ve got more downforce, that’s clear,” Albon told Motorsport.com of the new parts.
“It is a little bit trickier to use in some places, especially at this circuit it was very tricky, with the wind changing. I don’t know how the others felt it, but it was a very tricky race to drive. But the way I see it is we’ve got the downforce, that’s the important bit, then it’s trying to get the balance into it.”

“So we’ve got the rest of the season to do that. And we’ve got a good platform to start on, as I said, you just see it, it’s not the most intricate car in that sense. And we can build on that. It’s a good base. You see the top teams are most probably confident in their base car, and then they’re just fine-tuning it, week on week on week,” he said. “We’ve done quite a big change to the car, a different philosophy, which takes much more time to understand. It’s a little bit more of a reset.”

‘Improved Williams downforce a ‘good platform’ ’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/alex-a...ams-downforce/


Albon: Williams ‘definitely made a step forwards’ with new upgrade package in Austria
10 Jul 2022
Formula 1.

Williams brought a new upgrade package to the last race at Silverstone for Alex Albon, but he was unable to really assess it after he crashed on Lap 1. But in Austria he ran the whole race and was encouraged by the team’s improved pace.

‘Upgrade Package, Step Forward’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...628989257.html


Albon encouraged after new Williams updates deliver in Austria
‎12‎ ‎July‎ ‎16‎:‎10
Author Michael Butterworth
Co-author Aaron Deckers

In his first full race at the wheel of his updated Williams FW44, Alex Albon issued a positive report following the Austrian Grand Prix. Alex Albon has hailed his Austrian Grand Prix weekend as encouraging, after completing his first full race distance with a new upgrade package on his Williams FW44.

In Austria, Albon finished 12th of 17th classified finishers, and was just six seconds behind 10th-placed Fernando Alonso by the chequered flag, prompting the British-Thai driver to issue a positive report on the day's action. "We were running P10 at one point, which I was really happy about," Albon told media, including RacingNews365.com.

"With the Medium tyres, we took a step up in performance, and I was happy. It’s our first full race with the new aero package. We'll learn a lot from today, we'll look at the data and conclude where we're struggling, where we're weak. We're clearly still missing a little bit, but we're still getting to grips with the car."

‘Williams Update Encouragement’;

https://racingnews365.com/albon-enco...ver-in-austria


Williams Racing moving in the right direction
July 17 2022
By Andrew Hooper

Williams Racing had started the 2022 Formula One season with some positive results but as other teams made gains the team would see itself stuck at the bottom of the Constructors' Championship with just three points. So after much anticipation the Williams Team would finally produce a major upgrade package for their problematic FW44 first appearing at the British Grand Prix. The only limitation was the fact that the team was only able to produce one upgraded car for Alex Albon.

But after some excellent work by the team mechanics the upgraded car would return for the Austrian Grand Prix where Alex Albon would have a far better opportunity to assess the new car given the far improved weather conditions. Again it would only be the car of Alex Albon that would run the upgraded components with Nicholas Latifi being forced to run the older design.

But regardless the team had learnt a lot over the weekend and hopefully that will give them a good basis on which to tackle the next race in France, where Nicholas will be seen in the upgraded car. For Williams they are very much playing catch-up with their competitors who have been able to move forward with their development programs early in the season while Williams has had to wait until mid season.

‘The Right Direction’;

https://www.sportnetwork.net/main/s107/st203556.htm