2022 - A Look Ahead

[Fortitude]

Max Verstappen WINS the Sprint race and will start on pole for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after overtaking title rival Charles Leclerc on the penultimate lap... while Lewis Hamilton fails to improve on 14th.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the sprint race in Imola with a dramatic penultimate-lap pass – while Lewis Hamilton suffered another ignominious day by finishing a lowly 14th.
By Jonathan Mcevoy For The Mail On Sunday
Published: 14:30, 23 April 2022

Hamilton is 51 points adrift of the Monegasque, a horror story after just three-and-a-half rounds of the season. Hamilton, he started 13th and then lost two places in the opening lap, to Yuki Tsunoda of AlphaTauri and Lance Stroll of Aston Martin. Although he made one place back, repassing Stroll, it was an awful day on an awful weekend for the seven-time world conqueror.

Defending champion Verstappen made his decisive move on the 20th of 21 laps, a clean overtaking manoeuvre on more durable tyres than Leclerc coming off the main straight.

Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez finished third. Carlos Sainz drove from 10th to finish fourth and become Leclerc ‘s nearest championship purser. In other words, Ferrari are first and second in the standings.

‘Decisive Moves’;

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


2022 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix sprint race championship points
2022 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix
Posted on
23rd April 2022, 16:08 | Written by Keith Collantine
Charles Leclerc leads the drivers championship standings ahead of team mate Carlos Sainz Jnr after the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix Sprint Race.

F1 Championship Standings’;

https://www.racefans.net/2022/04/23/...onship-points/


2022 Emilia Romagna GP Sprint: Leclerc snatches lead at Imola start
23 Apr 2022
Formula 1.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc snatches the lead from polesitter Max Verstappen during a dramatic start to Saturday's Sprint at Imola, with points on offer and the result determining the grid for Sunday's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

‘Charles Leclerc Snatches the Lead’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...787126269.html


2022 Emilia Romagna GP Sprint: Zhou Guanyu crashes out after contact with Gasly
23 Apr 2022
Formula 1.

Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu comes off second best after contact with AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly, bringing out a safety car in the opening laps of Saturday's Sprint at Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

‘Contact & Crashes’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...708779355.html


2022 Emilia Romagna GP Sprint: Magnussen and Ricciardo tangle at Imola start
23 Apr 2022
Formula 1.

Haas driver Kevin Magnussen and McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo survive contact during the opening laps of Saturday's Sprint at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

‘Surviving the Tangling’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...870858241.html

[Fortitude]

Lewis Hamilton gives up on F1 title as Mercedes' misery continues in dire Imola sprint.
Lewis Hamilton: "We're obviously not fighting for this championship but we're fighting to understand the car and progress through the year."
By LUKE CHILLINGSWORTH
16:46, Sat, Apr 23, 2022

Lewis Hamilton believes his chances of securing an eighth F1 crown has gone as Mercedes problems worsened at Imola. The Briton claimed the team as ‘obviously not fighting for the championship’ as they failed to reach the top 10 during Saturday's sprint race.

He said: “Ultimately, we haven't got it right this year but everyone is working as hard as they can to correct it. This is the situation that we are faced with but everyone has their heads down and everyone is working as hard as they can.”

‘Championship Gone’;

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...magna-imola-gp


Rosberg: Wolff/Hamilton tense exchange sign of 'stress' at Mercedes.
Nico Rosberg weighed in on the clearly tense exchange that took place in Q2 on Friday at Imola between Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton.
23/04/2022 at 15:11
Phillip van Osten

Commentating the scene inside the Mercedes garage for Sky F1, Rosberg speculated on the content of the brief but animated conversation. "It’s very difficult to know what was said," Rosberg commented. "If I had to speculate now, it looked to me like Toto was annoyed about something that Lewis had done, which might be understandable.”

"Lewis could’ve been frustrated on the external Mercedes garage radio, that they didn’t follow his thoughts on what they should’ve done with strategy, complaining about the car or something.”

"Lewis also got out of the car before Q2 over. There might be still a one per cent chance that the track is still in a good shape towards the end of qualifying, maybe Toto was angry about that."

‘Signs Of Stress’;

https://f1i.com/news/439062-rosberg-...-mercedes.html


Nico Rosberg spots cracks forming in Mercedes at Imola
April 23, 2022
by Hugh Farrell

Is Mercedes’ lack of progress damaging team relations? Toto Wolff has never been one to hide his emotions but his apparent frustration at Imola ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix showed just how annoyed the Mercedes team are getting.

Nico Rosberg tried to figure out what could have been the specific cause of Wolff’s frustrations but there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of possibilities. “If I had to speculate, it seems to me that Toto was annoyed about something that Lewis had done,” said Rosberg on Sky Sports F1.

“It might be very understandable that Lewis could be frustrated on the internal Mercedes garage radio or something, complaining that he didn’t follow his thoughts on what they could have done on strategy or complaining about the car.

‘Mercedes Cracking’;

https://punditarena.com/other-sports...ercedes-imola/


‘Hell is breaking loose’ after verbal confrontation between Hamilton and Wolff
Sir Lewis Hamilton was seen engaging in a slightly tense conversation with Toto Wolff after he was eliminated from Q2 on Friday.
by Rob Kershaw
23 April 202223 April 2022

It started raining during the red flag period initiated by Sainz’s accident, meaning that Mercedes had no chance of escaping Q2, so they called it a day as Hamilton hopped out of his Mercedes.

Having been complaining of a lack of grip on the radio, the 37-year-old encountered Wolff on his way out of the garage, and there appeared to be a fairly heated discussion between the pair.

“Toto not happy with Lewis???” tweeted one user, sharing a video of the brief exchange. “For Toto to be shouting at Lewis. Hell is breaking loose right now,” said another, fearing a capitulation at Mercedes as a result of their problems this year.

‘Verbal Confrontation’;

https://formula1news.co.uk/hell-is-b...ton-and-wolff/


Wolff admits he and Hamilton ‘vented’ at each other
Date published: April 23 2022 - Frank Parker

Wolff has insisted there was no argument at all, rather a shared anger about the team’s current situation. It has been something of a fall from grace for the reigning World Champions, who find themselves languishing in the midfield having been unable to challenge for wins.

The Mercedes boss admitted to Sky F1 the pair were “venting” at each other. “There was no disagreement at all,” said Wolff. “It doesn’t go any closer like the two of us are. We were just so angry about the session overall, him and I, and he vented at me, I vented at him but it was absolutely about the same thing.”

“It’s just a degree of frustration that we are not able to generate the grip on the first lap and yesterday was all about first lap. Then it red-flagged and we weren’t able to make it into Q3 and it’s so frustrating.”

‘Venting Frustration’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/toto-w...ilton-venting/

[Fortitude]

‘Unrealistic’ to think Mercedes can fight for 2022 F1 title – Wolff.
“It would be a pretty unrealistic to claim we have a slot among the frontrunners fighting for the championship.” Toto Wolff.
23rd April 2022, 15:20
by Fergal Walsh

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has all but ruled Mercedes out of contention for the 2022 Formula 1 Championship following Saturday’s F1 Sprint in Imola.

Speaking after Saturday’s action from Imola, Wolff said: “We are four races in and today marks the low of the first four races. It is obvious that we are not anywhere near the fight at the front.”

“I think what we saw today is that we haven’t got a car with enough performance differential to some of the midfield cars to overtake them,” Wolff said.

‘Performance Differential Lacking’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2022/...1-title-wolff/


Wolff and Hamilton unite on Mercedes' "unrealistic" title hopes
Saturday 23 April 2022 18:45
Sam Hall

Toto Wolff has bluntly agreed with Lewis Hamilton's damning assessment of Mercedes' fading prospects for the season by claiming thoughts of championship success to be "unrealistic".

Explaining the mood within the garage, Wolff added: “Nobody in the team is anywhere near enjoying the ride at the moment.

"This team, we have done it in the past and we just need to dig ourselves out of that hole.”

‘Unjoyable Ride’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/80...c-title-hopes/


Wolff - Imola "a complete write-off" for Mercedes
Sunday 24 April 2022 04:00
Sam Hall

Toto Wolff has labelled the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix weekend "a complete write-off" for Mercedes after the team's lacklustre season hit a new low.

“You can say that we are trying to learn but we weren’t great with tyre warm-up and that is why there is not a lot that we can really…there is no miracle that you can expect at the race start. “

“And because the overtaking is so difficult…we can make up positions, we showed it on Saturday, but not quickly enough and therefore beyond the fact that we are learning, it is another humbling experience.”

‘Humbling Experiences’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/80...-for-mercedes/


Wolff issues worrying assessment as Mercedes' struggles get worse
23rd April 2022, ‎19‎:‎10
Author Mike Seymour
Co-author Dieter Rencken

With Mercedes' weekend - and season - only getting worse, Wolff did not hold back when speaking to the media. "I think points scoring needs to be the minimum, but this is not where we set our expectations, and therefore this weekend is a complete write-off," Wolff told members of the press, including RacingNews365.com.

"You can say, 'Well, we're trying to learn', but we weren't great at tyre warm-up, that's why there's not a lot that can be [done]. "There's no miracle that you can expect at the race start, because overtaking is so difficult. We can make up positions, we've shown it today, but not quickly enough.”

Wolff agrees with Hamilton over title chances. Hamilton conceded after the Sprint that he and Mercedes are likely out of the fight for this year's world titles, despite there being 19 more race weekends. Wolff, having himself put Mercedes' championship chances at around 20 per cent heading to Imola, agreed with his driver's comments.

‘Championship Write Off’;

https://racingnews365.com/wolff-issu...gles-get-worse


What Mercedes can salvage from ‘complete write-off’ Imola weekend
23/04/2022, 20:18
By Edd Straw

“Points scoring needs to be the minimum, but this is not where we set our expectations and therefore this weekend is a complete write-off,” said Wolff.

Wolff believes that the Mercedes W13 is broadly as competitive as it was during the opening three race weekends, when it had the third-fastest car in race conditions.

But the qualifying struggles and being stuck in traffic without a performance advantage big enough to make relatively quick and easy passes on midfield rivals means it is difficult to show it.

‘W13 Salvage Operation’;

https://the-race.com/formula-1/what-...imola-weekend/

[Fortitude]

Verstappen leads Red Bull 1-2 as Ferrari suffer nightmare home race.
Sergio Perez finished second in the other Red Bull, taking the team's first 1-2 finish since the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix.
24/042022, ‎15‎:‎36

It was a terrible start to the race for Ferrari. With Red Bull assuming the top two positions, Carlos Sainz's race came to an end after just a few metres, as he and McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo made contact going through the Tamburello chicane on the opening lap.

Leclerc and Ferrari then attempted an aggressive strategy to pit at the end of Lap 49 to take on a fresh set of Softs, forcing Perez and Verstappen to respond to do the same, as Red Bull hauled their drivers in on Lap 50 and 51 respectively.

However, he made an error at the Variante Alta as he lost control of the car after going too aggressively over the kerbs. As a result, Leclerc flew off into the barriers as he desperately tried to avoid hitting anything too hard.

‘Tifosi Nightmare’;

https://racingnews365.com/verstappen...aris-home-soil


Perez overjoyed to secure Red Bull 1-2: It wasn't easy!
24/04/2022, ‎16‎:‎10
Author Thomas Maher

Red Bull's Sergio Perez was thrilled to help give his team their first 1-2 finish in six years, as the Mexican driver came home second to teammate Max Verstappen at Imola.

"Yeah, it was a really intense fight since pretty much halfway through the race," Perez said after the chequered flag. It was all under control, but then [Ferrari] started chasing us with the stop, and then it was a fight trying to warm up the tyres.”

"I think the most important thing today was not making mistakes because, with these conditions, it was so tricky out there. To get a 1-2 in these conditions, I think it's a great result for the team."

‘Overjoyed 1-2’;

https://racingnews365.com/perez-over...-it-wasnt-easy


Verstappen and Red Bull embarrass Ferrari at Imola
By Associated Press
Published: 16:12, 24 April 2022

IMOLA, Italy (AP) - Formula One champion Max Verstappen dominated Sunday in a Red Bull rout of Ferrari at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. "Lovely Sunday," Verstappen radioed his Red Bull team. The Dutchman also won the sprint qualifying race on Saturday and earned maximum points on the weekend.

Verstappen won from the pole, logged the fastest lap and picked up his second win of the season while leading teammate Sergio Pérez to the first one-two Red Bull finish since Malaysia in 2016.

It was a disastrous race for Ferrari, racing on its home soil and hoping to celebrate a return to F1 dominance. Charles LeClerc came into Sunday as the championship leader with two wins in the first three races and Carlos Sainz Jr. celebrated a two-year contract extension this weekend in Italy. But LeClerc couldn't get the jump on Verstappen at the start and never contended. Sainz spun off course on the opening lap to ruin his race, and LeClerc's bid to salvage the day for Ferrari ended when he spun racing Perez for second.

‘Lovely Sunday’;

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap...ari-Imola.html


F1 – Verstappen wins in Imola ahead of Pérez as Leclerc spins to sixth place
24.04.22
FIA

Starting from pole position, Verstappen delivered a flawless performance to claim the second grand chelem of his career with pole position, fastest lap and race victory after leading every lap of the factory. In addition, the world champion claimed victory in Saturday’s Sprint to ensure he left Imola with a maximum weekend haul of 34 points.

And after 63 laps Verstappen crossed the line to take his 22nd career win and a maximum points haul of 34 points. Pérez took the flag 15 seconds later to seal Red Bull’s first one-two finish since the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix and Norris took his sixth podium finish with third place.

Championship leader Charles Leclerc finished in sixth place following a late-race spin and Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz the race in a first-lap collision. Lando Norris took the final podium position for McLaren.

‘Flawless Performance’;

https://www.fia.com/news/f1-verstapp...ns-sixth-place


Leclerc frustrated with himself after costly mistake: I was too greedy
24/04/2022, ‎16‎:‎30
Author Thomas Maher

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc has explained the late-race error that cost him a podium place at Imola, and could have resulted in a retirement. "It wasn't great," Leclerc mournfully told Viaplay after crossing the line.

"I've had a season where I haven't done many mistakes until now, but today was one big one. The championship leader explained he'd been pushing hard to try keeping pressure up on Perez.”

"Realistically, we didn't have the pace of the Red Bull; they were too quick today for us in all the conditions," he said. "I tried to put a bit more speed in Turn 14 and 15 to be closer to Checo [Perez] to try and overtake him into Turn 2, because I saw that this was one of the only opportunities of the race, and I pushed too much."

‘Too Greedy’;

https://racingnews365.com/leclerc-fr...was-too-greedy


Norris praises McLaren turnaround after shock podium
Sunday 24 April 2022 16:35
Ewan Gale

Lando Norris has praised the turnaround of McLaren after taking his first podium of the season at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Speaking on team radio on his cool-down lap, Norris said: "We just got another podium, who would have thought? Awesome work everyone, nice to see how much we have turned it around. Proud of you all well done." Asked if it was a surprise to be on the podium, Norris replied: "Yeah of course.”

"An amazing race, an amazing weekend to be honest. To beat Ferrari is much better than we were expecting always so I am happy. The team deserve it. From where we were in race one to now a podium, they all deserve it so top job to the team."

‘Awesome McLaren Podium’;

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/81...-shock-podium/

[Fortitude]

Nico Rosberg feels Toto Wolff is hiding the 'truth' with Lewis Hamilton apology at Imola.
"Here, Toto was playing the mental game which is very smart on his behalf again, taking the blame themselves and really trying to support Lewis mentally," Rosberg said on Sky Sports. "Lifting him up and saying that it wasn't Lewis' doing, it's on us.”
By STUART BALLARD
16:43, Sun, Apr 24, 2022

Wolff jumped on team radio to apologise to Hamilton after the race, but Rosberg believes Russell's performance in finishing fourth paints a much bigger picture for Mercedes.

"It's very smart because it's not quite the truth and let's not forget that Russell is in P4 with that same car. So Lewis definitely had a big role to play in that poor result this weekend."

Russell is already 19 points ahead of Hamilton in the championship with the new Mercedes driver enjoying an impressive start. The 24-year-old has been consistent in each of the opening four races, finishing fourth, fifth, third and fourth so far. He's managed to beat Hamilton in three consecutive races with the 37-year-old conceding after the race that his chances of winning the championship are already over.

‘Taking the blame, to support Lewis Hamilton’;

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


Lewis Hamilton 'very angry' as Nico Rosberg details rising tensions in Mercedes garage
By STUART BALLARD
13:28, Sun, Apr 24, 2022

Lewis Hamilton will be "very angry" at starting another race behind George Russell, according to Nico Rosberg. The F1 2022 season has not gone to plan for Mercedes so far with the W13 nowhere near close to challenging Red Bull and Ferrari.

Rosberg knows better than most how Hamilton deals with pressure having been the only man at Mercedes to beat the Brit in a full season. And the 2016 F1 champion knows Hamilton will be "very angry" at the current situation with Russell starting ahead of him for Sunday's race.

"Let's not forget, Lewis hates ending up behind his team-mate," he said on Sky Sports. "Even if you're 11th and 13th. He really, really, passionately hates coming in behind his team-mate. It makes him very angry and that also happened in qualifying and the race this weekend so far.”

‘Very Angry’;

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...des-Toto-Wolff


Hamilton insists title hopes are over after 'weekend to forget'
24/04/2022, 16:50
AuthorMike Seymour

Lewis Hamilton says there's now "no question" that he's out of the running for the world title this season, following a tough weekend at Imola.

The predicament prompted Mercedes boss Toto Wolff to apologise to Hamilton over the radio on the lap back to the pits. "Sorry for what you have needed to drive today. I know this is undriveable and not what we deserve to score as a result," said Wolff. "We'll move from there, but this was a terrible race. We will come out of this." Hamilton responded: "Yeah, no worries, Toto. Let's keep working hard."

Asked again about his hopes of fighting for the title, Hamilton issued a clear response. "I mean, I'm out of the championship, there's no question about that," he added. "I'll still keep working as hard as I can and try and somehow put it back together."

‘Title Hopes Over’;

https://racingnews365.com/hamilton-i...kend-to-forget


Hamilton apologises after finishing nine places behind Russell
2022 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix
Posted on
24th April 2022, 16:56
Written by Keith Collantine and Claire Cottingham

“It’s been difficult, but I don’t really know what to say,” Hamilton commented in response to a questioned from RaceFans after the race. “It’s definitely not easy and we all feel it as a team.”

“At least George got some points today for the team, so my apologies to everyone I wasn’t able to do the same.”

Russell jumped up to sixth place at the start while Hamilton found himself in a queue of other cars which he couldn’t pass. “I didn’t really find it frustrating, I just wasn’t moving forwards” he said. “I don’t really know [why], I just wasn’t fast enough to overtake. I was just a bit of a sitting duck today,” he added.

‘Sitting Duck’;

https://www.racefans.net/2022/04/24/...ehind-russell/

[Fortitude]

Binotto reacts to disastrous race for Ferrari on home soil.
Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto has urged his team to "keep smiling" after they endured a painful race on home soil at Imola.
24/04/2022, ‎18‎:‎00
Author Mike Seymour

"Obviously, we are a bit unhappy for the results of today," Binotto told Sky Sports F1 as he digested proceedings. "I think we need to keep [our] heads up. It's part of racing; some races may go wrong and it has been [that way] today. "But I think we've still got a competitive package, [so] I think we need to keep the smile on and look forward to the next races."

Binotto then explained why Ferrari opted to pit for the Soft tyre stint that proved to be Leclerc's undoing. "It was was not necessary for tyres and we didn't do that for the fastest lap [bonus point]," Binotto made clear.”

"We simply did that because we thought it was the best option for us, to try to have some opportunity.”

‘Keep Smiling’;

https://racingnews365.com/binotto-re...i-on-home-soil


Our verdict on Leclerc and Ferrari’s Imola disaster
24/04/2022, 17:00
The Race

Ferrari came to its first home grand prix of the 2022 Formula 1 season looking serenely in control, and then had its worst weekend of the campaign so far at Imola.

SILLY ERROR, BUT LECLERC HAD TO STAY AGGRESSIVE
GLENN FREEMAN

FERRARI STRATEGY CREATED UNNECESSARY JEOPARDY
SCOTT MITCHELL

LECLERC HASN’T CUT THE ERRORS – BUT HE MIGHT NOW
EDD STRAW

VERSTAPPEN AND RED BULL JUST DID A MUCH BETTER JOB
MARK HUGHES

FERRARI MUST LEARN FROM THIS AND NOT WASTE ITS START
GARY ANDERSON

NEEDLESSLY JUMPY
MATT BEER

‘The Verdicts’;

https://the-race.com/formula-1/our-v...mola-disaster/


'I gave it my all but went over the limit': Charles Leclerc apologises to Ferrari fans after his costly late spin helped championship rival Max Verstappen to win at Imola and saw him finish sixth - but he vows 'we'll come back stronger'
By Jonathan McEvoy for the Daily Mail
Published: 22:31, 24 April 2022

• Championship leader Charles Leclerc pushed his Ferrari to the limit at Imola
• However, in front of his home fans, he over-extended and spun off the track
• His costly error saw him finish sixth, with Max Verstappen clinching the win
• Leclerc apologised to his team's fans but vowed they will 'come back stronger'

'I gave it my all,' said the Monegasque, 'but went over the limit at the end. Sorry to the team and to all the tifosi who support us. We'll come back stronger.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...ing-sixth.html


Video: How Leclerc’s first error reignites F1 2022 title fight
25/04/2022
The Race

Charles Leclerc’s first major mistake of the 2022 season helped reignite the Formula 1 title battle in a dramatic end to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Just as Ferrari looked like it was taking control of the season and all the pressure was on Red Bull, Max Verstappen has taken 19 points out of Leclerc’s championship lead in one weekend.

Our video delves into the circumstances of Leclerc’s messy Imola weekend and Verstappen and Red Bull’s flawless one, what the title rivals and their teams are saying about it.

F1 2022 Title Fight Re-ignition’;

https://the-race.com/formula-1/video...2-title-fight/


Podcast: What Imola F1 defeat means for Ferrari and Leclerc
Apr 25 2022
The Race

Ferrari wasn’t just clearly outperformed by Red Bull for the first time in the 2022 Formula 1 season at Imola, it also lost a load more points thanks to Charles Leclerc’s error.

Edd Straw, Mark Hughes and Scott Mitchell look at what Ferrari’s troubled weekend and Red Bull and Max Verstappen’s flawless one means for the title fight in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix episode of The Race F1 Podcast.

They examine all the factors that led to Ferrari’s strong run being interrupted and the significance of Leclerc’s mistake.

‘Ferrari Outperformed With Mistakes’;

https://the-race.com/formula-1/podca...i-and-leclerc/

[Fortitude]

Emilia Romagna GP: Lando Norris hails McLaren's teamwork after P3 finish in Imola.
"In Lando, I think we're seeing a future world champion in his drives," Rosberg said on Sky Sports F1.
Last Updated: 24/04/22 6:48pm
By Emma Thurston

Brown, who labelled Norris' performance in Imola as a "mega drive", continues to be extremely happy with the 22-year-old's work and progression. "He's doing a great job; he's very consistent, very fast and doesn't make mistakes," McLaren's CEO said. "Hopefully, we can give him a car to win a race sometime so because he's certainly ready for it."

Nico Rosberg, the 2016 world champion, is another who has been taken by Norris' development since his arrival in Formula 1. "In Lando, I think we're seeing a future world champion in his drives," Rosberg said on Sky Sports F1.

"Phenomenal stuff, there are no mistakes. It's really impressive and a great job by McLaren to secure his services for so many years. McLaren in the first race they were 15th, how an earth have they turned it around so much? I think Toto [Wolff] needs to give Zak Brown a call for some tips there. It's really impressive."

‘Lando Norris, Future World Champion’;

https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12...inish-in-imola


Norris: McLaren’s hard work deserved ‘amazing weekend’.
Lando Norris revelled in his podium finish at Imola, adding that his McLaren team “deserve” their success after a tricky start to the year.
Date published: April 24 2022 - Henry Valantine

Having been rooted towards the back end of the midfield at the season opener in Bahrain, McLaren have steadily got themselves back towards those around them – and Norris rewarded the team by taking a surprise podium finish in tricky conditions on Sunday.

Having seen the work behind the scenes at McLaren, the 22-year-old added he was happy to see how well the team had performed – although he admitted the small upgrades they had brought to Imola were not enough for him to believe they would make the jump in performance they eventually managed.

‘Behind The Scenes Hard Work’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/lando-...-imola-podium/


Norris ‘didn’t expect podium all season after Bahrain’
25/04/2022
by Phillip Horton

Lando Norris says neither he nor McLaren could have envisaged claiming a podium finish so soon after its awful start to the 2022 Formula 1 season.

“Surprised I guess to be here, but feels amazing,” said Norris. “So, from where we were, what, three weeks ago, four weeks ago, a month, in Bahrain to be on a podium, I genuinely didn’t think we would be on the podium all year after Bahrain. So it’s quite a shock.”

“It’s hard to ever imagine yourself on the podium and a great result would have been P5. But a few good things throughout this race, you know, an amazing start to be ahead of the Ferraris, to stay out of the chaos which happened behind, just I guess a lonely but a great race.”

‘Lonely Great Race’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2022/...after-bahrain/


Norris on P3: nice to see the hard work paying off
Imola, Emilia Romagna
24th April 2022
by Emer Hedderman

Norris had qualified P3 on Friday but lost out to Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz in the Sprint and started the Grand Prix in P5. With neither Ferrari getting off the grid too well, and a good start for the McLaren driver, he was back into P3 before they had reached the first corner.

“An amazing start to be ahead of the Ferraris,” Norris said, “to stay out of the chaos which happened behind, just I guess a lonely but a great race. Just managing the gap to George, looking after the tyres for the whole stint.

“Everything just went well all weekend to be honest, not just the race today, but qualifying P3 already was a pretty good achievement for us. So, great weekend. Nice to see the improvements we’ve been bringing and to reward everyone with a podium is even better.”

‘Great Weekend’;

https://formulaspy.com/f1/norris-on-...ying-off-78850


McLaren “deserve” surprise podium after “amazing weekend” – Norris
2022 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix
Posted on
24th April 2022, 16:55
Written by Will Wood

“[It was] an amazing race, an amazing weekend to be honest,” said Norris. “To beat one Red Bull [in qualifying] and one Ferrari is much better than we were expecting, so I’m happy.”

“The team deserve it from where we were in race one to now scoring a podium. They all deserve it, so top job to the team.” McLaren had suffered a challenging start to the season, discovering a problem with their MCL36 in pre-season testing that led to the team struggling towards the back of the field during the opening race in Bahrain

Asked where the improvement in form had come from, Norris credited the team for the turnaround in performance. “The boring answer is just hard work,” Norris said. “A lot of time and effort everyone’s putting in back in the factory and everyone here.

‘Just Hard Work’;

https://www.racefans.net/2022/04/24/...eekend-norris/

[Fortitude]

Mercedes’ George Russell Struggling with Back and Chest Pains Because of Porpoising
26 Apr 2022, 12:46 UTC ·
by Sergiu Tudose

Aside from compromising the car from a competitive standpoint, porpoising, it seems, is also hurting Mercedes-AMG F1 driver George Russell physically, reports Motorsport.

“When the car is in the right window and the tires are in the right window, the car – except for the bouncing – feels really good to drive,” stated the British driver while describing what it’s like to drive the W13. “But the bouncing, it really takes your breath away. It’s the most extreme I’ve ever felt it. I really hope we find a solution and I hope every team struggling with the bouncing finds a solution, because it’s not sustainable for the drivers to continue.”

He then went on to add: “This is the first weekend I’ve truly been struggling with my back, and almost like chest pains from the severity of the bouncing. It’s just what we have to do to go and do the fastest laps.”

‘Back and Chest Pains’;

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/m...ng-187339.html


Why Lewis Hamilton is struggling with his 'unacceptable' Mercedes but George Russell is not.
For all of Hamilton’s recent success, he has rarely required the skills Russell developed at Williams and never recently. Imola was a weekend to forget for Hamilton, who wrote off his championship chances already – but Russell showed what the car can do
By Luke Slater 25 April 2022 • 2:12pm

The performance gaps have not been enormous in every race, but the situation that Hamilton is in now is almost alien. The points gap being as large as it is and being beaten by his team-mate in three consecutive races has not happened since Nico Rosberg was his team-mate in 2016.

Before his promotion to Mercedes, Russell spent three seasons at a struggling Williams team. In 2021 he managed to catch headlines with some impressive qualifying performances – especially in the wet at Spa and in Sochi – which earned him the nickname Mr Saturday, for being able to wring every last hundredth of a second out of sub-standard machinery over one lap. This year he has translated those skills across the whole weekend.

In 2019 and 2020, though, the Williams was the worst car in the field. Although it would have surely been frustrating to be at the back, he says the experience was useful in developing skills that he would not have been able to do going straight into a front-running team.

‘’Imola 2022, a weekend to forget’;

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/formula-...eorge-russell/


Transcript: “I need more power” – Hamilton and Russell’s contrasting fortunes at Imola
2022 Emilia-Romagna GP team radio transcript
Posted on 26th April 2022, 13:37
Written by Keith Collantine

Their conversations with their race engineers throughout the afternoon reveal how their races unfolded, and also their contrasting styles on the radio. Russell had an almost continuous back-and-forth with his race engineer, Riccardo Musconi.

In contrast Hamilton’s exchanges with Pete Bonnington were much briefer. This reflects the difference between Hamilton in his 10th season as a Mercedes driver and Russell only in his fourth race for the team. The newcomer often prompted Musconi to confirm whether he was managing his car the way the team wanted him to.

‘Team Radio Conversations’;

https://www.racefans.net/2022/04/26/...unes-at-imola/


Our verdict on Russell outracing Hamilton in F1 2022 so far
26/04/2022, 11:02
The Race

Four grands prix into Lewis Hamilton and George Russell’s time as Mercedes Formula 1 team-mates, and Russell has finished ahead in 75% of the races and leads his seven-time world champion team-mate by 21 points and three places in the standings.

Hamilton’s consequently getting a hard time from the faction of his critics who’ve always argued that he would struggle when he didn’t have the ‘best’ car – and an equally firm response from those who think that theory is simply wrong and the current results don’t show the real picture. Here’s where our writers stand on the Russell vs Hamilton situation:

‘The Verdicts’;

https://the-race.com/formula-1/our-v...1-2022-so-far/


JONATHAN MCEVOY: Pitiful Lewis Hamilton is on the road to nowhere and running out of options... he has struggled to recover from last season's title battle with Max Verstappen and is being eclipsed by George Russell
By Jonathan McEvoy for the Daily Mail
Published: 22:31, 25 April 2022

We have showered many words on Lewis Hamilton over his brilliant 16 seasons in Formula One. Brave, daring, quick, relentless, magnanimous, sore, impetuous, crusading and unprecedented. But until now we have never resorted to 'pitiful'.

Having finished 13th, a lap behind winner Max Verstappen and a minute adrift of Mercedes team-mate George Russell, who was fourth in the same hard-bouncing, sub-standard car, Hamilton spoke quietly and solemnly as he conducted post-race interviews that carried the desperate air of an inquest.

My mind thinks back to a comment one high-placed Mercedes insider shared with me a few days after a mixture of Verstappen's brilliance and highly controversial race direction deprived the Brit of an eighth world title in Abu Dhabi. 'I don't know if Lewis will ever get over it,' said the observer, who was working on a potential legal challenge that was never launched. Or as Red Bull's motorsport adviser Helmut Marko said, with undisguised relish: 'Maybe he is thinking he should have stopped last year.'

‘Road To Nowhere’;

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...nce-Italy.html


Rosberg praised for calling out ‘Mercedes PR’ tactic after Hamilton’s miserable Imola GP
Sir Lewis Hamilton ended the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in P13, while George Russell managed an impressive P4.
by Rob Kershaw
25 April 202225 April 2022

Nico Rosberg has received praise on social media for providing his honest opinion on Toto Wolff’s radio message to Sir Lewis Hamilton at the end of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Wolff apologised to Hamilton after the race, sympathising with the fact that the 37-year-old was faced with an “undriveable” Mercedes last weekend, and Rosberg saw this as a tactic to try and lift Hamilton’s spirits.
“Toto was playing the mental game which was very smart on his behalf,” the 2016 Formula 1 champion said. “[Mercedes were] taking the blame themselves, really trying to support Lewis mentally, lifting him up and saying ‘hey Lewis, none of your doing, it’s really on us,’ so that’s very smart because it’s not quite the truth.

‘Nico Rosberg Insight Praised’;

https://formula1news.co.uk/rosberg-p...able-imola-gp/


Hamilton may quit Mercedes mid-season - Villeneuve
26/04/2022, 08:31
By GMM F1

While his fans suffer with him amid a rare personal slump, not everyone is unhappy that Lewis Hamilton is struggling in 2022. "To be honest, I liked it when Max lapped him," world champion Max Verstappen's father Jos admitted after Imola.

But it wasn't just a one-off for the seven time world champion - he is struggling even more than his new teammate George Russell with the woeful 2022 Mercedes. "He has to wonder why Russell is so much faster than him," former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher told Sky Deutschland

As he didn't quit, though, pundits are now wondering if the 37-year-old will be able to cope with a full season of pain in the badly-'porpoising' silver car. "It's a question that will be raised," 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve told the Dutch publication Formule 1. We've been surprised in the past," Villeneuve concluded. "It has happened before that champions sometimes say they've just had enough."

‘Enough To Quit’;

https://www.sportsmole.co.uk/formula...0.html?newsnow


Lewis Hamilton 'doesn't want George Russell in front ever again' after Imola horrorshow
LEWIS HAMILTON came 13th in the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday.
By WILL LANCASTER
06:30, Tue, Apr 26, 2022

Lewis Hamilton will be motivated by finishing behind Mercedes team-mate George Russell at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday, according to Nico Rosberg - with the seven-time Drivers' Championship winner wanting to 'keep the fire on' by never finishing second to the youngster again this season.

“And with George performing so well, that could be the biggest motivator for Lewis to keep going and keep going because he does not want to see George in front of him ever again. I think that will keep the fire on.”

Hamilton currently sits seventh in the Drivers' Championship, already 58 points behind Charles Leclerc in first. It is a far cry from previous seasons, where the Brit has been in the top two every year since 2013. And with rumours that he was set to retire in the off-season, this could well be Hamilton's last in Formula One before retirement.

'Doesn't want George Russell in front ever again';

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

[Fortitude]

Bottas calls Russell battle ‘really good fun’ as he claims P5 in Emilia Romagna.
Valtteri Bottas managed a season-best P5 finish in Sunday’s Grand Prix after taking yet more points with P7 in the Sprint – with the Finn leaving Imola praising the pace of his Alfa Romeo.
25 April 2022
Formula 1.

“Yes, it was a good race,” said Bottas, who also got caught up in the Lap 1 crash between Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo (see below). “I mean, even with a bit of contact in Turn 2 – luckily there was not damage. The pit stop for sure compromised the race a bit. After that we had really good pace, I could push flat-out all through the race. I was catching the Mercedes pretty well, and unfortunately didn’t quite have the pace towards the end to overtake them – but good points.”

Asked if he’d enjoyed having the pace to battle with his former Mercedes team, meanwhile, Bottas replied: “Yes – really enjoying it. It’s really good fun. The upgrades we had this weekend definitely made the car even stronger, so it’s a good feeling.”

‘P7 in the Sprint, P5 in Emilia Romagna’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...xGB4S8B1f.html


“It’s nice to see the upgrades we brought to the track worked” – Valtteri Bottas
By Nick Golding
April 26, 2022

Valtteri Bottas signing for Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN, continues to look like the best driver transfer for this season, after the Finnish driver crossed the line in an impressive fifth-place at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Considering his race could’ve ended within the first twenty-seconds, fifth was a stellar job by Bottas who was pleased to see the upgrades the team brought to the weekend working well.
“It was a fun race for me today! It’s always good to get points, we had a strong race in a car that felt really good. I am happy with how everything went, even though we lost a bit of time in the pit-stop, but we bring home ten points today so we’ll take it. I had a bit of a scare at the beginning of the race, when I couldn’t avoid Ricciardo when he tangled with Sainz, but luckily we didn’t have any damage.”

‘Upgrades Working’;

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2...ltteri-bottas/


Bottas explains how he used Russell and Mercedes as motivation
‎25‎ ‎April‎ ‎07‎:‎45
Author Mike Seymour
Co-author Dieter Rencken

Valtteri Bottas secured a third points finish in four races as his and Alfa Romeo's encouraging start to the 2022 season continued at Imola.

Valtteri Bottas has revealed how George Russell and Mercedes served as his motivation to keep pushing throughout the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Alfa Romeo driver Bottas finished on the tail of Russell - who replaced him at the Silver Arrows for 2022 - in Sunday's wet-dry race at Imola, having recovered from a delayed pit-stop earlier in the afternoon.

‘Motivation’;

https://racingnews365.com/bottas-exp...-as-motivation


“There are so many positives we can take away” – Alfa Romeo’s Frédéric Vasseur
April 26, 2022
By Nick Golding

The Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN took home an impressive twelve points from the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, all courtesy of Valtteri Bottas who performed brilliantly in both the Sprint race on Saturday and the main race on Sunday, at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari Circuit.

Alfa Romeo Team Principal, Frédéric Vasseur, was very happy with the team’s overall performance but was especially pleased to see the upgrades they brought to the weekend working well.

“It has been a strong weekend from the team and to bring home 12 points between yesterday and today is a deserved reward. We delivered upgrades that worked well, a brilliant job by the team at home, and the crew were incredible both on Friday and Saturday night, with two rebuild jobs they undertook with strong spirit.”

‘So Many Positives’;

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2...deric-vasseur/


Two moments cost Bottas an Imola F1 podium shot
26th Feb 2022, 14:15
By Edd Straw

Valtteri Bottas’s fifth place in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was Alfa Romeo’s best result in two-and-a-half years. But it’s possible the team could have ended its near decade-long absence from the podium, had two key moments in the race not gone against it.

Given Bottas lost the place to Russell on the first lap only as a result of hitting the back of Daniel Ricciardo’s McLaren after it collided with Carlos Sainz Ferrari, then lost around nine seconds to a problem in the pitstop, it’s reasonable to ask whether he really could have beaten Norris.

Despite the strong result, Bottas’s misfortune started during qualifying. Having reached Q3 easily, he suffered an exhaust problem that not only forced him to pull over but also led to the team rebuilding the car around the spare chassis. That was a big task given the spare wasn’t ‘dressed’ with suspension components in advance and it led to Bottas missing FP2.

‘A P3 Podium Possibility’;

https://the-race.com/formula-1/two-m...1-podium-shot/


Bottas surprised by how much Hamilton and Mercedes are struggling
26th April 2022, ‎17‎:‎50
Author Michael Butterworth
Co-author Dieter Rencken

After finishing narrowly behind Mercedes' George Russell and well ahead of Lewis Hamilton at Imola, Valtteri Bottas expressed his surprise at his former team's struggles so far in 2022.

Bottas now sits just four points behind former Mercedes teammate Hamilton in the 2022 Drivers' Championship standings, and said he was at a loss to explain the Silver Arrows' poor start to the season.

"I don't know the reasons why they're struggling. I don't know the technical details," Bottas commented. I didn't see what happened in the race. I would imagine [Hamilton] was stuck behind other cars, and if there's a DRS train, it's not easy [to pass].”

‘Loss To Explain’;

https://racingnews365.com/bottas-sur...are-struggling


2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday
April 24th, 2022
Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN

Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN delivered a strong performance as the team capped off a successful weekend with a fine fifth place by Valtteri Bottas. Team-mate, Zhou Guanyu, fought well to recover from a pitlane start after yesterday’s retirement, and finished in 15th place.

The ten points added to our tally, in conjunction with the two from yesterday’s Sprint, lift the team to a total of 25 and fifth place in the constructors’ championship.

Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal: “It has been a strong weekend from the team and to bring home 12 points between yesterday and today is a deserved reward. We delivered upgrades that worked well, a brilliant job by the team at home, and the crew were incredible both on Friday and Saturday night, with two rebuild jobs they undertook with strong spirit. Our race today was positive: Valtteri had really good pace and was able to fight for P4 until the final lap; Zhou always had a difficult job on his hands after yesterday’s crash, but did well to recover from a pitlane start to finish 15th with some good overtakes on the way. There are so many positives we can take away from this weekend, not just in terms of the result but also in the way we went about our business, and we can definitely aspire to do even better in the next few races.”

https://www.sauber-group.com/motorsp...d-prix-sunday/

[Fortitude]

Tsunoda 'just trusted' AlphaTauri pace to score impressive P7.
Yuki Tsunoda delivered a solid drive for AlphaTauri in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the Japanese charger steering clear of trouble and "just trusting" his car's pace to finish an impressive P7.
25/04/2022 at 14:37
Michael Delaney

Tsunoda qualified a lowly 16th for Saturday's sprint event, but a productive effort in the 21-lap dash ensured a start on Sunday from 12th on the grid.

The 21-year-old held his own during a frantic opening lap but took advantage of several retirements in the first half of the field to settle into ninth place from where he managed most of his race.

But in the final stages of the 62-lap event, Tsunoda upped the pace and overhauled both Haas' Kevin Magnussen and Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel to claim sixth.

‘Yuki Tsunoda Impressive P7’;

https://f1i.com/news/439509-tsunoda-...essive-p7.html


Yuki Tsunoda satisfied to reward 'home' support with P7 at Imola.
24 Apr 2022
Formula 1

Yuki Tsunoda believes his P7 in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is an appropriate 'thank you' for all the hard work of the AlphaTauri team, based just down the road from Imola.

‘Home Support’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...542494765.html


Yuki Tsunoda praises AlphaTauri team as sterling drive earns him points in Imola.
AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda credited the hard work of his team as they celebrated a 7th place finish at their home race at Imola on Sunday afternoon.
Published: 25 Apr 2022, 11:32
By George Dagless

The Japanese driver may well have been concerned about how his weekend was going to unfold after a tough qualifying session on Friday, which saw him and team-mate Pierre Gasly eliminated at the end of Q1.

However, that only served to drive Tsunoda on over the course of the weekend, with him working his way up to 12th at the end of Sprint on Saturday, and then into the points with a 7th place finish in the Grand Prix on Sunday.

“I’m super happy we were able to score points, especially at [the team’s] home track with a lot of people watching from the factory,” Tsunoda said to Give Me Sport’s George Dagless among the media after the chequered flag at Imola. “The amount of work they’ve done last year and this year has been so huge so to score points I’m super happy for this one.”

‘SUPER Happy For The AlphaTauri Team’;

https://www.givemesport.com/87999559...oints-in-imola


Yuki Tsunoda is repaying Red Bull's faith in F1 2022 - Alex Brundle
F1
Connor McDonagh
28 Apr 2022, 05:31

Tsunoda starred in tricky conditions at Imola as he out-qualified and out-raced highly-rated teammate Pierre Gasly en route to finishing seventh. His race included late overtakes on Kevin Magnussen and Sebastian Vettel as his points haul helped AlphaTauri move ahead of Haas in the constructors’ championship.

Speaking in the latest episode of Crash.net’s F1 podcast, Brundle was impressed by Tsunoda’s rate of improvement since last year. “He’s worked on it, hasn’t he? He’s still full beans in the cockpit,” Brundle said. “The radio message when he made the pass late in the race: ‘Let’s go!’ - it’s something I absolutely love about him and I want to see him succeed.

“I find myself watching him really wanting to see him succeed because he’s a human in the car, you can tell that as opposed to some other drivers that just come across and it’s no detriment to the character, in fact, it’s probably beneficial in the circumstances that they come across as a machine. Yuki definitely doesn’t, it’s something I really like about him. The incidents are fading out aren’t they and they are believing in him and the performances are coming back in.”

‘Still Full Of Beans In The Cockpit’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/100165...1-2022-brundle


AlphaTauri Need to “Fine Tune” Imola Upgrades For Consistent Points – AlphaTauri’s Franz Tost
By Joe McCormick
April 27, 2022

Franz Tost, Team Principal of Scuderia AlphaTauri believes the 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix saw good progress for the team, with the upgrades that were added to the car. Tost believes that with only a few more minor changes, both Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly will start scoring points consistently.

Speaking on the successes and failures of the weekend, Tost firstly congratulated AlphaTauri’s sister team on their one-two result on Sunday. “It was a very exciting race today. I would like to congratulate Oracle Red Bull Racing for their well-deserved one-two. Max and Checo controlled the pace for the entire race, they did a really fantastic job.”

“As for us, we also had a successful race. Yuki started in 12th position and after the first lap was already up to 10th. He drove a really strong race, overtaking many cars, to finish in seventh place. Yuki has been competitive immediately, from Friday onwards, so I think he now has a good basis for the upcoming races.”

‘AlphaTauri Fine Tuning’;

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2...is-franz-tost/


Tsunoda P7 rewarded AlphaTauri’s ‘insane’ work
Date published: April 26 2022 - Jon Wilde

The Japanese driver was one of the outstanding performers in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as he worked his way up five places from his grid position to add some valuable points to both his and the team’s tally.

Although at one point he was at the front of a DRS train, being challenged by Lance Stroll, Tsunoda found extra pace and passed both Kevin Magnussen’s Haas and then Sebastian Vettel in the other Aston Martin – the first of those moves eliciting a cry of “let’s go” from the 21-year-old over the team radio.

It was a rare weekend when Tsunoda outperformed his more experienced team-mate, Pierre Gasly – and he now has four more points than the Frenchman in this year’s championship.

‘Insane Work At AlphaTauri Rewarded’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/yuki-t...i-insane-work/


Tsunoda promises more to come after mighty Imola result
‎25‎ ‎April‎ ‎12‎:‎15
Author Tom Leach
Co-author Dieter Rencken

Yuki Tsunoda has climbed above teammate Pierre Gasly in the World Championship standings after an impressive, overtake-packed Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

"To be honest, I didn't expect [this result]. I mean, I didn't try to expect it, because this kind of difficult condition is really hard to predict," he said, speaking to select members of the media, including RacingNews365.com.

"I was just focusing to stay on the track first and just trusting my car's pace, [and] I'm super happy to be able to score points, especially at a home track."

‘Just Focused To Stay On The Track’;

https://racingnews365.com/tsunoda-pr...y-imola-result


Boss wants Alpha Tauri to find 'solution'
26/04/2022, 08:51
By GMM F1

Franz Tost admits Alpha Tauri needs to up its game. The second Red Bull-owned team is just seventh overall in the constructors' standings, but boss Tost says the problem isn't the drivers. "(Pierre) Gasly is on the way to becoming one of the best drivers," the Austrian told Sport1.

"If we give him a suitable car, he can win races. Unfortunately, our car is currently not able to do this. Our engineers have to find a solution." Tost is also happy with Yuki Tsunoda's start to his second year on the grid, with the Japanese actually a few points ahead of Gasly so far.

"He is in his second year and we are very happy with him," he said. "I always say that it takes a driver three years in Formula 1 to fully settle in. There's still a lot of potential that Tsunoda can exploit."

‘Alpha Tauri needs to up its game’;

https://www.sportsmole.co.uk/formula...1.html?newsnow


Tsunoda ‘didn’t expect’ AlphaTauri pace during Imola GP
25th April 2022, 15:47
by Fergal Walsh

Yuki Tsunoda admits he wasn’t expecting to have such a competitive AlphaTauri car underneath him at the Emilia Grand Prix on Sunday. “The car was really good. We didn’t expect it to be that good, especially compared to Australia,” he said.

“We made really good progress through the weekend and I’m happy with what I did today. That was my main goal, that I try to achieve points in front of the people who came from the factory.”

“Also the people watching at the factory, the amount of work they’ve done since the beginning of the season. I’m happy that I said thank you with the driving, and [hopefully] we keep it like this.”

‘Main goal to achieve points, in front of and for the AlphaTauri employees’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2022/...ring-imola-gp/