FORMULA 1

[MIKA27]

RENAULT: CLEARLY IT’S NOT A GOOD WEEKEND

Renault F1 Team missed out on scoring points in the 2019 Formula 1 myWorld Austrian Grand Prix with Daniel Ricciardo twelfth and Nico Hülkenberg close behind in thirteenth in Spielberg on Sunday.

After a strong start, Nico made up three places from fifteenth on the grid and closely lingered on the edge of the top ten.

Any hopes of scoring points faded towards the latter stages of the 71-lap race with Daniel overtaking Nico for twelfth place on the last lap. Daniel had dropped two positions by the end of lap one, but recovered well throughout the race.

It’s the first time since Spain the team has not scored points.

Nico Hülkenberg: “We can’t be happy with this weekend. We had multiple issues on the car today and it made it hard work out there. We didn’t have a points worthy car today and we didn’t have the pace to get by anyone during the middle or latter stages. Over the years, Austria has proved to be quite a particular circuit and one we don’t tend to do so well at. We’ll use this week off, dive into the data, and see what’s going on to make some improvements ahead of Silverstone.”

Daniel Ricciardo: “It was a tough weekend, for sure. From lap one today it was tricky and I struggled for grip. We improved as the race progressed, managed a decent stint on the Softs at the end, but it was probably a bit too late. We need to figure out why this weekend was so tough. There’s stuff we can improve, but I won’t put it all down to the car. I’ll look at myself and see what I can do better as well. Something wasn’t right this weekend and Nico shared the same feelings too. We’ll do our best to figure it out and get on top of it.”

Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal: “Clearly, it’s not a good weekend. Although we had the pace to be slightly higher up on the grid, the track exposed weaknesses of our car, similar to previous races but in a more exacerbated fashion this weekend. We need to identify if there was anything specific with set-ups or simply a feature of the chassis on which we must work.”

[MIKA27]

HAAS: RUNNING AROUND LIKE THAT IS NEGATIVELY AMAZING

Rich Energy Haas F1 Team drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen finished 16th and 19th in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix, the ninth round of the 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship at Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria.

In extremely hot and sunny conditions, Magnussen started 10th and did his best to hold position on a set of Pirelli P Zero Red soft tires around the 4.318-kilometer (2.683-mile), 10-turn circuit. He managed to do so over the opening nine laps but then began dropping positions quickly. He pitted from 15th on lap 12 for a set of White hard tires, before switching to Red softs late in the race. Along the way, he was required to serve a drive-through penalty for moving before the start signal was given on the grid.

Grosjean began the race on Yellow medium tires from his 11th grid position but quickly dropped four spots on the opening lap. He made those tires last for 35 laps before finally pitting for a set of hards from the 16th position. He resumed in 16th and held that position to the finish.

With today’s results, Rich Energy Haas F1 Team remained ninth in the constructor’s championship with 16 points, one behind eighth-place Toro Rosso and 16 ahead of 10th-place Williams.

Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen made a late-race pass of Charles Leclerc to score the victory, crossing the finish line 2.724 ahead of the Scuderia Ferrari driver. It was Verstappen’s sixth career win and second in a row at Spielberg. Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes took the final podium position of third.

The 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship resumes July 14 with the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit.

Romain Grosjean: “It’s a tough one, it’s really hard to understand where the grip is going, and how we can make the car go faster. I had no grip on those first few laps, then just no pace in the race. It’s been a very difficult afternoon with no balance, I was fighting the car as hard as I could. We’re in a very difficult situation. We’ll work on it, we’ll find it, it may take some time. I’m sure our guys have got the resources to get on top of our issues. There’s obviously just something that we’re not doing quite right.”

Kevin Magnussen: “We didn’t have any pace today in the race after qualifying P5 yesterday. It’s disappointing after a very good day on Saturday. It’s strange, and very frustrating. Nothing was really working, it felt pretty hopeless. It’s really confusing.”

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal: “A disappointing race, obviously. Running around like that is negatively amazing. After qualifying in fifth position, to then have a race like this, I can’t say anything other than it’s disappointing. We’ll keep working on it, try to get a better understanding of why this kind of performance is happening from qualifying to the race. We just do not understand it, at the moment we have no clue.”

MIKA: Absolute shame IMHO considering they Qualify P5 this season, last season P4 and P5 only to have a horrible race... I'd love to see HAAS on a podium.

[avaldes]

FINALLY a non-Mercedes win!! Leclerc defended brilliantly in the laps leading up to the pass, but it was only a matter of time. Glad the stewards didn’t intervene. 

I predict Leclerc and Mick Schumacher will be at Ferrari in two years and we will see a resurgence in the team.

[MIKA27]

Leclerc: Verstappen pass "not the way you overtake"

Charles Leclerc says Max Verstappen’s controversial move to win the Austrian Grand Prix is “not the way you overtake” after their wheel-to-wheel Formula 1 battle ended in contact.
The two drivers bumped wheels as Verstappen finally overtook the Ferrari at the Turn 3 right-hander at the top of the hill, one lap after a failed attempt in which they ran side-by-side without touching.

Immediately after the grand prix Verstappen questioned “the point of being in Formula 1” if that pass was considered illegal.

When asked by Motorsport.com in the official post-race press conference if he felt the win had been stolen from him, Leclerc said: “Red Bull was very quick today, very good at keeping the tyres better than us. [I'd have no qualms] if I feel that the overtake was done rightly - I don’t think the second one was.

“I believe that anyway the end will have probably been the same but it’s just not the way you overtake, I think.”

Verstappen had charged up the order from eighth on the opening lap after his Red Bull’s anti-stall kicked in and dropped him from the front row.

His first attempt to pass Leclerc was unsuccessful after Leclerc made use of more room on the outside line to hold on and outdrag Verstappen down to Turn 4.

However, the second attempt led to contact and a post-race stewards investigation that was due to begin at 18.00 local time.

Asked by Motorsport.com to talk through the differences between the two moves, Verstappen said: “I think the second one I braked a bit deeper into the corner. We had a little contact of course, mid-to-exit of the corner.

“From my side I think it’s racing. We all know there’s a crest in that corner as well, so if you take the crest wrong, because we both went a bit straight on, at one point you run out of room.

“But it’s hard racing. It’s better than just following each other and having a boring race.”

Leclerc said straight after the race that it was “pretty clear” in the car who was to blame.

Asked by Motorsport.com if he felt he could have done anything different to avoid the contact, Leclerc said: “I did the same thing from the first to the second lap. The only thing that changed from the first to the second lap was contact. And then I had to go wide, I lost quite a bit of time there.”

Pushed again on his role, Leclerc said: “I did not expect any contact on the second lap.

“As Max said he braked a little deeper. I don’t know if he lost it or not. But then there was the contact.

“I felt I was quite strong in traction on the first attempt, I managed to have a better traction and kept my position. On the second one I couldn’t do that because I was off-track.”

[Baccy]

If there's one manufacturer that has the resources to challenge Mercedes, it should be Honda. I realize that it's not a works team and they're simply an engine supplier to Red Bull but it would be great to see Honda pour everything they've got into developing their powerplant. God knows someone needs to start throwing the kitchen sink at Mercedes!

[MIKA27]

CONTRASTING OPINIONS: Leclerc & Verstappen on the dramatic pass that decided the Austrian GP

It was a stunning battle, and surely the first of many that we'll see between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc over the next few years: The two banging wheels at Turn 3 with two laps to go, with Verstappen coming out on top to win in Austria. Unsurprisingly, the duo had differing views of the incident, which is currently under investigation by the stewards…

This was a race where Verstappen was on a mission, having had a dreadful start to drop from second on the grid to seventh. His first stint was reasonable, but after his stop, the Dutchman came alive – and was comfortably the fastest car in the field. He didn’t waste that pace, pulling off a string of moves to rise up to second, before setting his sights on Ferrari’s Leclerc.

After lining him up for a couple of laps, Verstappen attacked the Ferrari on the run up the hill to Turn 3 but Leclerc held him off. Next time around, on lap 68, the Red Bull driver got ahead but Leclerc somehow managed to hang on around the outside to outdrag the Red Bull and retain the lead.

But on lap 69, Verstappen attacked again. This time, Leclerc didn’t defend the inside line. Verstappen didn’t need asking twice and stuck his Red Bull up the inside. That forced Leclerc wide and the two banged wheels, with Verstappen taking the lead and ultimately the win.

Verstappen's view:
Speaking in Parc Ferme imemdiately afterwards, Verstappen did not believe he did anything wrong. “It’s hard racing otherwise we have to stay home,” he said. “If those things are not allowed in racing, what is the point of being in F1?

"I don’t think we should get a penalty for that,” he added later. "I never opened [the steering wheel] but the problem is that in that corner there is a crest, so when you then go a bit deeper at such a tight angle you just understeer because of that crest.

"The car on the outside he has to wait a bit because we went quite deep. I never opened the steering wheel. I was in front. He just had to cut back on me but he tried to go around the outside which is not possible."

Leclerc's view:
Leclerc, unsurprisingly, didn’t see it the same way as his rival. “I’ll let the stewards decide but for me, it was pretty clear in the car," he said in parc ferme. "I don’t know how it looked like from the outside.”

When asked if he didn’t think it was fair, Leclerc replied: “I don’t know. I was on the outside, like the lap before, the lap before was completely fine, he left the space for a car width on the exit of the corner but he didn’t on the other lap so we touched and I had to go wide, and then obviously I didn’t have any chance to pass back so it’s a shame.”

[MIKA27]

From poor start to the top of the podium - Verstappen's epic Austrian GP charge

 

[TheGipper]

So the action we got this weekend is making me think about tire temperatures again.  I am wondering if the extremely high air and track temperatures helped with core temperatures for the teams that have been struggling with tire windows on the 2019 tires.

Obviously there was almost no chance we were going to go back to the 2018 tires, despite all the talk recently about that.

But what if they go back to 100 degrees on the rear blankets?  Or maybe even allow something higher than 100 on both?  Could that help with tire core temperature for some teams?  Is that a change FIA could make without needing unanimous agreement among the teams?

Would like FIA to take the attitude that we *must* have more races like this, and if a tire blanket temperature change *maybe* would help achieve that, then let's go for it.

[MIKA27]

17 hours ago, TheGipper said:

So the action we got this weekend is making me think about tire temperatures again.  I am wondering if the extremely high air and track temperatures helped with core temperatures for the teams that have been struggling with tire windows on the 2019 tires.

Obviously there was almost no chance we were going to go back to the 2018 tires, despite all the talk recently about that.

But what if they go back to 100 degrees on the rear blankets?  Or maybe even allow something higher than 100 on both?  Could that help with tire core temperature for some teams?  Is that a change FIA could make without needing unanimous agreement among the teams?

Would like FIA to take the attitude that we *must* have more races like this, and if a tire blanket temperature change *maybe* would help achieve that, then let's go for it.

Agreed!

But sometimes common sense doesn't really make any sense to the FIA

[MIKA27]

THE DAY AFTER: MAX’S MASTERCLASS

He may have had to suffer the wait of a lengthy stewards’ investigation, but in the end, nothing could take away from Max Verstappen’s stunning performance in Austria on Sunday.

It took a lot longer than we expected, but Max Verstappen is your 2019 Austrian GP winner, and deservingly so.

From P7 at the end of lap one, only to pass Sebastian Vettel, Valtteri Bottas and Charles Leclerc and finish atop the podium, Verstappen was utterly brilliant in a performance that is sure to be talked about long after his career is over.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper Max Verstappen performance if there wasn’t a healthy dose of controversy, and we certainly got that in his coming-together with Leclerc. Let’s be honest though, it shouldn’t have been as big of a deal as it was, really.

At best a case of Verstappen claiming the corner and Leclerc refusing to concede it, at worst the sort of racing incident that can happen with wheel-to-wheel racing, there never should have been the need for a stewards’ enquiry, let alone a three-hour one.

Unfortunately, the current state of rule-enforcement in F1 has made such convoluted, unnecessary processes the norm. Assuming the stewards didn’t spend those immediate hours post-race yukking it up in the beer garden, they must’ve been seriously considering handing Verstappen a penalty, even if most-everyone with an ounce of petrol in their veins knew it was unwarranted. Even if they ultimately arrived at the correct result, that’s still very concerning.

Indeed, I think it’s fair to ask if things would’ve been different had there been no incident with Vettel in Canada. Part of me feels Verstappen only “got away with it” because the four stewards here in Austria knew there would be hell to pay (not to mention several thousand angry Dutchmen to answer to!) if they repeated the black-and-white interpretation of the rules from three weeks ago.

Conspiracy theory aside, this ordeal is further proof that the FIA needs to go back to the drawing-board with their current set of regulations. No, that doesn’t mean drivers should be free to dive-bomb as they please, but there needs to be an understanding that they can take measured risks – even if it creates contact – and not always fear punishment for doing so.

In any case, congratulations to Verstappen, Red Bull, and perhaps most notably of all, Honda. This sport has endured more than enough negativity in recent times, and what they accomplished on Sunday was the perfect antidote to all of it. Mercedes may still own the season, but we’ll always have this one race where Max turned the tables on everyone, and that sort of beautiful improbability is why we go racing.

Quick Hits

Hats off to the Dutch fans for their incredible support on Sunday. Whatever you feel about their man Verstappen, hearing them sent into raptures only added to the broadcast.

Another day, another dose of misfortune for Sebastian Vettel, this time with a his bungled pitstop. If the German hasn’t already, he might want to look into hiring a witch doctor.

If it weren’t for Verstappen, driver of the day would have to go to Carlos Sainz at McLaren. Starting 19th on the grid and managing to come home P8, the Spaniard could not have been more impressive. I wonder if Red Bull regret letting him go?

Driver of the Day: Max Verstappen

Like there was any other choice. Recovered from seventh at the end of the first lap to win the race in the best drive of his still very young career.

Worst of the Day: Pierre Gasly

On the other side of the coin, Gasly’s chances of staying with Red Bull once again took a hit. As if it wasn’t bad enough to be lapped by your teammate, it came despite the Frenchman leading at the end of lap one. I take absolutely no joy in saying this, but I’d be surprised if he’s in the car come Silverstone.

Quote of the Day:

“It’s hard racing, otherwise we have to stay at home. If those things are not allowed in racing, then what’s the point of being in F1.” – Max Verstappen, on his coming together with Charles Leclerc. I’d say the fame, money and opportunity to drive the fastest cars on the planet are all good reasons to be in F1, but I see his point!

[MIKA27]

HORNER: MAX WON THIS RACE THE HARD WAY

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner hailed Max Verstappen’s Austrian Grand Prix victory as the 21-year-old Dutchman’s best yet, making a “perfect day” for the former Formula 1 champions.

Verstappen had lined up alongside Ferrari pole-sitter Charles Leclerc on the front row on Sunday, but a slow start saw him drop seven places down the order with his victory hopes seemingly dashed.

He fought back through the field, first picking off Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, then Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas and finally race leader Leclerc with a wheel-banging move two laps from the end.

That overtake drew the attention of the stewards who ruled it a racing incident.

It was the second successive win for Verstappen at the Red Bull-owned circuit. It was also his sixth career victory and ended Mercedes’ run of 10 successive victories.

“This race was won the hard way,” Horner told reporters. “We had to pass three of the four main opposition. Max did that today.

“To win here in Austria, Red Bull car, to get Honda’s first win as well since 2006, in the style and manner he did was the perfect day for us. Tastes even better than last year.”

The outcome of the stewards’ investigation into Verstappen’s move was announced more than three hours after the Dutchman had taken the chequered flag.

Not surprisingly, Horner said they had taken the right call, “It was hard racing, fair racing, it’s what F1 should be.”

And was full of praise for his driver, “At the start, the revs dropped and perhaps there was too much grip, and the anti-stall kicked in. You’re a bit of a passenger at that stage – you’re screaming at the TV at that point.

“But he got his head down, and he drove with such maturity to pass Vettel and Bottas and then pull in the gap to Leclerc. The way he came back and came through the field, managed the tyres was unbelievable,” added Horner.

[MIKA27]

MASI: MAX-CHARLES A VERY DIFFERENT INCIDENT

F1 race director Michael Masi has shot down suggestions Max Verstappen should have been penalised for his actions in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix, rejecting the notion the Dutchman warrants the same sort of punishment given to Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo at the previous two races.

Defending the race stewards against claims of inconsistency, Masi suggested comparing Verstappen’s lap-69 pass on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to the incidents involving Vettel and Ricciardo was like comparing “apples and oranges.”

As first reported by ESPNF1 and FormulaPassion, Masi argued “The incident in Canada, Sebastian went across the grass, he was in front, it wasn’t an overtaking manoeuvre. The one with Daniel with Lando was very much part of Daniel going off the track and rejoining.

“This here [in Austria] was not, both cars were off the track, it was an overtaking manoeuvre. Trying to compare the three of them, they are three very different incidents. It was an overtaking manoeuvre and as the stewards rightly pointed out, in my view, it was a racing incident and it was one of those that was good, hard racing from the perspective they saw.”

Already a hot topic prior to Austria, Sunday’s race has only seen the scrutiny over F1’s race stewardship further intensify. Reaction across the internet, while generally in favour of the outcome, has been largely critical of the difficulties judging such incidents under the current FIA sporting code.

For their part, the Italian media has been much less kind, with the likes of Gazzetta dello Sport blasting the non-penalty as “a decision that undermines the credibility of Formula 1.”

[MIKA27]

HONDA: A MOMENTOUS DAY AND A GREAT PLEASURE TO WIN AGAIN

Honda hailed a fresh start in Austria on Sunday after celebrating the Japanese engine maker’s first Formula 1 race triumph since 2006, making it 73 wins in the top flight for the manufacturer after a 13 year hiatus.

After three difficult and painful years with McLaren, and a season with Toro Rosso in 2018, the Red Bull partnership bore fruit with Max Verstappen beating Mercedes and Ferrari.

“We finally made it,” said Honda F1 technical director Toyoharu Tanabe. “This win is also a way of saying thank you to all our fans, all over the world, for their continued support. We have been back in this sport since 2015, but today feels like a new beginning.”

The Japanese company’s last win was at Hungary 2006 with now-retired Briton Jenson Button.

In three increasingly fraught years with McLaren, marked by a lack of performance compared to the top teams and a lack of reliability, Honda had never come close to the podium with fifth being the team’s best result.

They sold their own team at the end of 2008, with the outfit renamed Brawn GP and winning both titles in 2009 with Mercedes engines.

The German carmaker bought Brawn in 2010 and has won the last five drivers’ and constructors’ crowns in the V6 turbo-hybrid era that started in 2014.

“It’s not been easy for them (Honda) in the past but today it’s been incredible, so I’m very happy for them,” Verstappen told reporters. “I think this is very important for us and also for the future, for Honda as well.”

“I’m just very happy that it happened today and it just gives a lot of confidence as well to the boys and maybe a few doubts are going away because of it. So yes, at the moment it’s an amazing feeling.”

Tanabe said Sunday was just the first step: “We keep pushing very hard towards the end of the season and next year as well.”

Honda Statement:

It was a momentous day for Honda as Aston Martin Red Bull Racing secured our first win since returning to Formula 1 in 2015 courtesy of a stunning drive from Max in Austria.

Starting from second place, Max had a difficult start and dropped to seventh, one position ahead of Pierre. The two ran in tandem through the early laps before Max started making progress, overtaking Lando Norris and Kimi Raikkonen to move into the top five.

A long first stint saw Max lead for a spell, and after pitting for hard tyres on lap 31 – later than his rivals ahead – he rejoined in fourth place ahead of Lewis Hamilton. From there, Max was on a charge and fought his way past Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas to run second, before hunting down Charles Leclerc.

A thrilling battle saw the pair go wheel-to-wheel, with Max finally taking the lead with three laps remaining and achieving our first victory with Red Bull.

Takahiro Hachigo, Chief Executive Officer: “For the people and parties who have supported us in this project.

“It is a great pleasure for us to win once more in Formula 1, especially because getting to this point has not been straightforward since our return to the sport in 2015. First of all, I would like to thank Max and Aston Martin Red Bull Racing for this victory.

“Of course, we must also thank Scuderia Toro Rosso and all the drivers who have given so much support to the project, as well as all the suppliers and related parties.

“I want to thank all our fans. With their support, we will keep challenging as we strive towards our ultimate goal, which is to win the world championship, taking this victory as a first step. Any future success we have is also thanks to our fans who are really a part of our team.”

“F1 was our founder Soichiro Honda’s dream and it is in our company’s DNA. We went through some tough times over the past five years on the race tracks and in the factory. I am speechless when I think about the enormous effort from all the Honda staff involved in this project, who always believed in themselves and never gave up and finally reached today’s victory. I think this embodies our ‘Power of Dreams’ motto.”

Toyoharu Tanabe, Technical Director (pictured above): “Thanks to the efforts of all the Honda F1 staff in Japan and the UK, who worked tirelessly on our PU development, we finally made it, our first win in the hybrid era, the first since Hungary 2006.

“And a special word of thanks to all their families who supported them. Thanks of course to Max for a great drive and to Aston Martin Red Bull Racing for providing him with a fantastic car. We must not forget the great contribution made by Scuderia Toro Rosso, who helped us get back on the right path last year.

“Honda has not done this alone and so we want to acknowledge the contribution of our outside suppliers. This win is also a way of saying thank you to all our fans, all over the world, for their continued support. We have been back in this sport since 2015, but today feels like a new beginning.

“While we can enjoy the celebrations for a short while, we must get back to work as soon as possible, because we still need to close our performance gap to the quickest teams.”

 

[MIKA27]

Tech insight: How Ferrari is targeting gains to close the F1 gap

Although the Red Bull Ring flattered its shortcomings, Ferrari’s SF90 has clearly not delivered on its early pre-season promises, as the Scuderia’s approach to the new regulations has resulted in a car that has an array of weaknesses, all of which are difficult to overcome during the course of a campaign.
However, it continues to push on and look for track-specific gains that can help. One such area of development in this regard has been its front brake assembly, with numerous changes made to enhance feel, improve cooling and reduce weight.

The latter is a relative novelty for Ferrari, as although the likes of Mercedes and Red Bull favour a lightweight construction philosophy, the Scuderia have always preferred a more solid foundation with it comes to stopping power.

Having reached high levels of rigidity, it’s begun to work on the lightening parts of the braking system, in the belief that by reducing the unsprung masses it is possible to improve the car’s behavior, giving greater reactivity, particularly in change of direction.

Here are its most recent brake developments:

Ferrari SF90 front brakes, Canadian GP

For Canada (above), one of the most challenging tracks for the braking system, Brembo had brought a carbon disc with seven cooling holes in a chevron formation on the outer surface (totalling over 1,400 holes). This solution was coupled with a mounting bell that was characterized by long, narrow, rectangular openings near the disk. In France, where the braking zones were less problematic, a disc with six cooling holes in the chevron formation made its debut and was characterized by a scalloped surface in the central part – a design we’ve seen Mercedes use for a number of years now.

Ferrari SF90 front brakes, French GP

Therefore, at Paul Ricard, maximum weight saving was sought, knowing that there were only three significant stops, only one of which was very severe – the North Chicane. The high speed nature of the circuit was also taken into account as the ductwork used to pipe cold air to the calipers was also repositioned, allowing the system to cool down well. Meanwhile, the mounting bell was characterized by asymmetrical round holes arranged in a zigzag pattern on two rows.

Ferrari SF90 front brakes, Austrian GP

The team sought a compromise between these two solutions in Austria, as the disc has six holes in the cooling surface with a central scalloped section that is about half of that seen in France. Interestingly the mounting bell is the same as the one in Canada, owing to the requirement of more stiffness and through flow of air to cool the brakes at altitude, with the Red Bull ring some 700 meters above sea level.

Search continues for aero improvements

The team continues to look for answers to address its aerodynamic inefficiencies this year too, which resulted in the use of a new turning vane arrangement in Austria.

Ferrari pressed on with a more conventional turning vane layout for 2019, rather than follow the trend initiated by Mercedes of draping a cape over this section of the nosebox.

However, as has been the case since their introduction and proliferation over a decade ago, the position of the turning vanes corresponds to the prevailing regulations, with the first examples mounted on the nose and reaching back under the chassis, while later examples were almost exclusively mounted under the chassis.

Ferrari SF90, nose

In recent years Ferrari has opted to bridge the two, with elements mounted on both the nose and chassis, which are paired to maximise aerodynamic performance. For the Austrian GP both of these elements were changed in order that they work more harmoniously, with the leading elements housed on the nose altered in shape and size and accompanied by another element behind it.

Ferrari SF90, front – NEW

Meanwhile, the turning vanes mounted on the underside of the nose were also revised, with the leading element given a forward-reaching extension that merges with the vanes ahead of them once the nose is installed.

Ferrari SF90, front – OLD

The old setup did not have those forward-reaching extensions.

Ferrari SF90, front wing

As could be seen in the earlier illustration, and here in this photo, the designers also saw fit to install a small horizontal strike that corresponds with the lower edge of the holes in the front wing pillars. This strike has undoubtedly been installed to try and rectify a small aerodynamic deficiency with the way the airflow moves around and through these holes and the wing pillars.

Ferrari SP90, rear wing end plate

Noteworthy as it remained on the car for Austria, having been introduced in France, are the changes made to the SF90’s rear wing. The designers have opted to totally remove some of the lower strakes, make the upwash strikes above them slightly shorter and alter the cutout behind the wing section, which is now taller than before – all changes which alter the aerodynamic interaction between the diffuser and rear wing.

 

[MIKA27]

Bottas says miscalculation led to cooling issues in Austria

Mercedes Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas says a miscalculation contributed to the cooling issues the team faced in the Austrian GP being even more challenging than anticipated.
Bottas and teammate Lewis Hamilton both had to manage their power unit temperatures, making extensive use of a lift-and-coast strategy.

Having run second early on, Bottas eventually finished third behind Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, just managing to stay clear of a charging Sebastian Vettel at the flag.

The Finn called it the "hardest" race he's ever done in terms of looking after his power unit.

"We knew today was going to be hot, but we calculated it a tiny bit wrong as well," Bottas said.

"I think also the laptime estimates for the lift and coast was not quite spot on. The more we had to do lift and coast, we were losing bigger chunks of time than we actually predicted.

"For me it was the hardest race in terms of power unit management, temperature management, I've never had to manage it so much.

"Also we couldn't run the full power of the engine, because of temperatures, so that was costing quite a bit of laptime as well.

"So it was tricky, attacking and defending was pretty much impossible, and always if there was a car close ahead I was getting brighter, bigger warnings on the dash.

"So definitely a race that we need to learn from and make improvements, because there will be other hot races."

Bottas said it was particularly difficult when he closed within DRS range of other cars.

"It was quite sensitive. We were all the time on the limit. With this engine we still need to do many, many races, so we still want to play on the safe side. Today's circumstances I'm happy to be on the podium, because it was also getting pretty close at the end with Sebastian.

"If there would have been a couple more laps it would have been tricky to keep him behind me, he was clearly quicker and with the management I had to do – maybe he had fresher tyres as well – it.

"When you come to a session that i am down for you ask questions, and we chat after, and we find a way to split it, or you leave me to it would have been tricky. But the race is 71 laps and we calculated the strategy for that, and we were ahead."

Bottas said he had at least achieved one target in Austria by outscoring Hamilton and gaining five points on him in the title battle.

"A positive today for me this weekend. Being on the podium and getting to drink free champagne, that's always nice! It's a fact. And getting a few points against Lewis in the end.

"I'm second in the championship, and my target is to close in the points to Lewis, and that target was achieved this weekend, although it would be nice to be higher up on the podium there have been. There could be a worse weekend in terms of points."

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Ricciardo: Current Renault form "doesn't add up"

Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo admits his team's current form in Formula 1 "doesn't add up", after the French outfit's cars scored no points in the Austrian Grand Prix.
Renault had both cars in the top 10 on the road in Canada and France - although Ricciardo lost his points finish to a penalty in the latter race - but the upgraded RS19 then struggled badly for pace at the Red Bull Ring.

Ricciardo said finishing 12th in the race was the culmination of "a tough weekend", and admitted he had "no real answers" as to why Renault had such a difficult time in Austria.

"I really hope we're going to find something this week, because it felt like - for example, Le Castellet was a lot windier yet I didn't really feel affected by the wind, where even today the car felt like there was massive turbulence during the race, in terms of the way it was handling, and the high-speed was very light.

"So I feel something still wasn't quite right on the car this weekend, what that is though we still don't know, but I'd like to believe we're going to find something, because right now it doesn't add up.

"So for now I remain optimistic that I'll be like, 'that was what was wrong', and then we'll be in Silverstone laughing."

Ricciardo said he'd spoken to teammate Nico Hulkenberg, who finished two seconds behind in 13th, after the race, and said the German provided similar feedback.

"It sounds like he struggled with the same things, just a very light car and a light feeling, especially during braking."

Asked for his view of the RS19 in the race, Hulkenberg confirmed that he was having issues with handling and braking.

"The conclusion is that nothing really worked today," he said.

"Some very strange issues, a very square kind of braking which was difficult to control the car at times.Also driving in a straight line the front felt very light and it was getting pushed around as if you were in a tow behind another car.

"It was certainly not easy today, the Alfas in the points were not very far ahead of us but following another car was very tough in those fast corners. We didn’t have enough pace to get by."

The German said the issues Renault suddenly faced at the Red Bull Ring were "a bit of a surprise and a bit strange".

"Austria is a very particular circuit and in the last few years at Renault we’ve never had a great experience here so I kind of hope it’s more track-specific.

"But let’s hope we can use that next week, take a deep dive into the data, take a look at things and see what’s going on."

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Sainz apologised for being "rude" before Austrian GP

Carlos Sainz says his superb charge from the back of the grid at the Austrian Grand Prix to finish eighth came just hours after he apologised to his McLaren team for being so miserable and "rude" earlier in the weekend.
The Spaniard had been far from happy on Saturday when he knew that his qualifying efforts were wasted because he would be starting from the back of the grid anyway thanks to an engine change penalty.

"I was very depressed," he told Motorsport.com. "I don't know why I had a really bad day. I was in a bad mood the whole day.

"At some point I think I was even a bit rude because I had a very bad day and I apologised to everyone because I think I had one of those painful days that you cannot wait to finish.

"I didn't even use qualy mode, so I didn't even get to feel the power of the new engine. On Sunday I was a new man. Still I didn't expect to finish where I finished and have the pace I had."

Sainz is also convinced that his charge to eighth would have been even better if he had not broken his front wing late in the race.

As he closed in on teammate Lando Norris and Red Bull's Pierre Gasly ahead of him in the closing stages, Sainz suffered a broken front wing – which cost him a lot of downforce and meant he could do little to move further up the order.

"I'm a bit surprised because we had some serious pace," explained the Spaniard. "Right from the start I managed the tyres instead of overtaking at the beginning as I wanted to create a bit of tyre delta for the last stint as my race was was going to get better and better with our tyre degradation.

"In the second stint I was very, very fast. I did the fastest lap at some point, and from there on I passed one car every lap in the midfield and then suddenly I saw myself behind Gasly and Lando, catching them half a second a lap.

"But just when I was about to enter the three-second mark with Gasly the front wing broke. I don't know how. I think it was with one of these strange kerbs and I lost a lot of the aero balance.

"I lost the whole flap and had to nurse the eighth place home, which I nearly lost to Raikkonen, but the pace was still there."

McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl reckons that the damage to Sainz's car cost him around one second per lap, so it was quite fortunate that the pursuing Raikkonen had also lost pace.

"Carlos simply had a lot of understeer, and lap time wise how much he will lose is about one second," he said. "I think then it was just about battling it through.

"We were lucky that Raikkonen also lost pace in the last laps in the end. But Carlos' race, he made sensational laps and sensational overtakes, keeping it together.

"The target was to stay out as long as possible in the first stint with the mediums in order to then switch at a late stage to the hard ones and then make all the positions up."

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Honda's Tanabe explains why he was late to Austria podium

Honda technical director Toyoharu Tanabe was late onto the Austrian Grand Prix podium because he had "no idea" what to do after his company's first Formula 1 win since 2006.
Max Verstappen won Red Bull's home race in spectacular fashion to give his team its first win since partnering with Honda for the 2019 season.

It is Honda's first victory since returning to F1 in 2015 and its first since Jenson Button's breakthrough victory with the works team in 2006.

Tanabe, who was appointed Honda's F1 technical director in late-2017 and has overseen major improvements in its trackside operations, was chosen to go on the podium to represent the winning manufacturer.

However, he missed the Dutch and Austrian national anthems and only arrived in time to receive the trophy.

"I was surprised when I was told 'you go' [to the podium]," Tanabe said when asked by Motorsport.com about being the man on the rostrum.

"I had no idea what I should do. That's why I got on the podium a little later than the others. You need to stand before the national anthem, I thought, 'I must be there', but I was late.

"This is the first time, of course. [I thought] 'I'm so upset, what should I do?'

"Nobody told me! But it was fantastic. I could see our team members below, also Red Bull, they were very happy, and a lot of fans there too."

After lifting the trophy, Tanabe was hugged on the podium by DTM boss and ex-F1 driver Gerhard Berger.

Tanabe's first Honda F1 role was as Berger's engineer at McLaren back in 1990.

The ex-Honda IndyCar technical chief paid tribute to the company's staff in Japan and UK for working "tirelessly" so that "we finally made it", and also Toro Rosso for the role Red Bull's junior team played in helping Honda "get back on the right path last year".

"Honda has not done this alone and so we want to acknowledge the contribution of our outside suppliers," said Tanabe.

"This win is also a way of saying thank you to all our fans, all over the world, for their continued support. We have been back in this sport since 2015, but today feels like a new beginning.

"While we can enjoy the celebrations for a short while, we must get back to work as soon as possible, because we still need to close our performance gap to the quickest teams."

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Verstappen rumours won't influence Mercedes 2020 line-up talks

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff insists that Red Bull's worries it could lose Max Verstappen next year will not change his team's approach to choosing its 2020 driver line-up.
Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko told German publication Auto Motor Und Sport in Austria that he was worried Verstappen could walk because the team is claimed not to have yet hit a performance target it needs to ensure the Dutchman stays for next year.

Although no details of the performance clause have been revealed, there have been various suggestions that it requires either Red Bull to win a race before the summer break, or to be second in the constructors' championship by that stage of the campaign.

But although the possibility of having Verstappen on the market would likely be of interest to Mercedes, which has not yet decided on Lewis Hamilton's teammate, Wolff says that he is not going to change plans because of the Red Bull situation.

He is also clear, despite suggestions from Red Bull of repeated contact with Verstappen, that he has not spoken to the young driver.

"I don't know anything about it," said Wolff, when asked by Motorsport.com about whether or not he views that Verstappen situation as an opportunity for Mercedes.

"I haven't spoken to Max, to make it clear here, and I would like to continue it like we have always done in the past.

"First we evaluate our current line-up and discuss with the drivers what their views are before really entering into a proper discussion with anybody else. And that is valid for any driver out there who can possibly bring something to the game at Mercedes.

"But we have exciting junior drivers that merit to be in F1. Esteban [Ocon] being the one that fell through the chairs last year and putting all that puzzle into place is something that I would like to do over the next few months over the summer."

While talk of Verstappen's exit clause first surfaced earlier this year, the Dutchman has repeatedly made clear that he is committed to moving things forward with Red Bull.

Asked about the Mercedes rumours in Austria, Verstappen said: "I guess there's people who know more than me."

Hamilton added that he had heard nothing about Verstappen being on the move, but would have no problem in going up against him in the same team.

"People are always making up stuff," explained the world champion as he sat alongside the Dutchman. "It's the first I've heard of it. I think the team's pretty happy with Valtteri and me.

"So I do know Max is definitely interested in opportunities. I don't know, maybe. If there is, then great. I don't mind driving with you. I'll drive against whoever."

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2019 Austrian Grand Prix: Race Highlights

 

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Formula One Has A BIG Penalty Problem

In spite of the fact that Max Verstappen was finally able to break Mercedes’ stranglehold on the 2019 Formula One season victories and score the first race win for a Honda engine in 13 years, there is a larger story in the paddock these days. F1 is quick to consider any form of contretemps penalty-worthy. With three of the last four races decided by penalty, or in this case lack thereof, the penalty process has become more important and more talked about than the drivers, the teams, or the cars.

That’s not an indicator of a healthy sport.

If you didn’t catch the pass that decided the Austrian Grand Prix, check it out from multiple angles above.

Within seconds of Verstappen’s pass on race leader Charles Leclerc, the stewards let everyone know that the pass was under review. With three laps to go in the grand prix and the decision to take no further action, thus allowing Verstappen to keep his well-earned victory, took more than three hours to contemplate and announce.

While I commend the stewards to ultimately coming to the correct decision, that neither Verstappen or Leclerc were to blame for the contact, or at least equally to blame, it hurts me to my core that the sport has devolved to a series of stewards decisions and off-the-track fighting.

By delaying the decision until most of the fans had left the circuit, and perhaps some had even arrived back home, the high of the great battle between Red Bull and Ferrari was allowed to fade and the doldrums of waiting for a steward to balance the scales give this a sour taste.

Call me old-fashioned, but I vehemently believe in letting the racers race. I’m generally opposed to most penalties for contact, blocking, or passing outside the bounds of the track.

If one driver makes it to the finish before the other, they’ve won. And while I’m hardly a NASCAR fan, I wholeheartedly agree with that series’ policy to declare a winner and let that victory stand. Let the fans see a winner. Don’t even cast the doubt.

While many agreed with Verstappen’s penalty for unsafe release in the pit lane at Monaco, I’m not sure I did.

While many agreed with Vettel’s penalty for returning to the race course in an unsafe manner in Canada, I definitely did not.

Let racers race, trust that they know what they’re doing.

Stewards shouldn’t treat the sport as if it’s competitive holding the door open for the person behind you at 7/11. There’s no room for polite niceties on the track, it should be a knock down drag out. It should be what we saw this sunny Sunday in Austria, and then some!  

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HAKKINEN: NO ONE WAS GOING TO STOP MAX!

Unibet columnist and double Formula 1 World Champion Mika Hakkinen shares his views on the Austrian Grand Prix.

What a fantastic race we had in Austria, with two young guys locking out the front row, plenty of overtaking during the race and a close fight for victory until the very end. This was Formula 1 at its best and, after the processional race in France one week earlier, it could not have come at a better time.

Charles Leclerc’s pole position for Ferrari was really impressive and it is great to see this young guy making such an impact on the sport. To have another 21-year-old, Max Verstappen, beside him on the front row of the grid showed that – in Austria at least – Mercedes did not have all the answers. Ferrari and Red Bull were really competitive against Mercedes, and between each other.

Max’s win was enjoyable to watch, especially after the ‘anti-stall’ software caused him to make a bad start and drop to 8th place at the beginning of the race. He said afterwards that he thought it was all over, but began a comeback drive that is one of the very best in recent years. There is nothing like watching a top driver in a competitive car coming through the field like this. No one was going to stop him!

A clear example of hard but fair overtaking

I have said before that it is so important for drivers to be able to drive flat-out instead of nursing the car and protecting their tyres, and Max’s choice of medium and then hard tyres worked out perfectly. After making a late pit stop he was able to push really hard in the second part of the race, overtaking car after car, including both Mercedes and finally Charles for the lead – 3 laps from the end of the race.

It is a shame that there was some uncertainty over whether the Stewards might apply a penalty for Max’s overtaking manoeuvre on Charles.

To me, it was a clear example of hard but fair overtaking. When the two cars got to the apex of the corner Max had made the overtake. I understand why Leclerc trying to stay on the outside but you cannot use the run-off area to overtake. It was good racing, and Max really deserved this victory.

An important win for Honda

It was an important win for Honda, and this is good news for Formula 1 because it is important for all the car manufacturers supporting the World Championship to have their moment of success. Honda has been a strong supporter of Formula 1 since the 1960s and it is great to see them on top of the podium again after several years of disappointment.

Austria was a tough weekend for Mercedes Benz due to the challenge of keeping the car’s systems cool enough in hot conditions. The altitude of the Austrian circuit is almost 700 metres, which reduces aerodynamic downforce. Combined with a track temperature of 56 degrees, this gave Mercedes a headache.

This meant that Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton were not able to push as hard as they would have liked, and I think Valtteri’s podium finish was as good as they could possibly get.

It is interesting that Lewis has mentioned the possibility of these overheating problems being repeated at some of the hot European races such as Hungary, and team boss Toto Wolff has admitted that these cooling issues are a weak point. You can be sure the team will be doing everything possible to fix this problem.

Lando Norris who really impressed me

While Max and Charles got most of the attention on Sunday it was another young guy, 19-year-old Lando Norris, who really impressed me with another strong drive for McLaren. He was up to 3rd position at Turn 1, and although he was overtaken by Lewis and a very fast-starting Kimi Raikkonen, Lando’s skill and growing confidence at McLaren is very clear.

With Carlos Sainz starting from 19th on the grid, due to a penalty, and then recovering to finish in 8th position, this was a strong showing for McLaren and strengthens their 4th place in the team’s championship ahead of Renault – their engine supplier. With new team boss Andreas Seidl in place, McLaren is now leading the mid-field and chasing Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull, It’s good to see.

The next Grand Prix will be in Silverstone, UK, and on this high-speed track, I think that Mercedes and Ferrari will go head-to-head with Red Bull Racing hoping to get in the mix if they can. Lewis has won his home Grand Prix four times since 2014, but Sebastian Vettel won last year.

Sebastian had a weekend to forget in Austria, with a technical problem putting him 9th on the starting grid and a mistake by the team during his pit stop losing him a lot of time. He will be determined to re-establish himself against teammate Charles, and score a repeat of that 2018 victory if he can. If we could have a race with the same level of excitement as Austria, that would be perfect.

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McLaren set to lose engineering director Pat Fry

McLaren's engineering director Pat Fry has reportedly been put on gardening leave ahead of his imminent departure.

It's understood that Fry, who returned to McLaren last year to oversee the development of their current car, the MCL34, put in a request to leave the team having initially agreed a short-term contract.

The British engineer stepped in to fill the vacancy left by Tim Goss, who departed in 2018 amid a technical reshuffle whilst McLaren awaited the arrival of James Key from Toro Rosso.

Fry began his motorsport career with Benetton in 1987 before joining McLaren in 1993. He then left to join Ferrari for 2011 where he held the role of technical director up until 2014. After a brief spell at Manor, he returned to McLaren.

It's not known if the 55-year-old has an offer from a rival team, or whether he has decided to return to semi-retirement. Williams however would be a prime candidate to poach Fry after recently parting ways with Paddy Lowe after a legal dispute was resolved last week.

McLaren has enjoyed a resurgence this season and currently leads the midfield battle behind the leading trio of Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. With the team just ten points shy of its 2018 points tally after just nine races – it enjoyed its best result of the season in Austria last weekend.

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Robert Kubica sliding everywhere, trying everything, amid struggles

A downbeat Robert Kubica says he is “trying everything” to improve his situation in the wake of another difficult display at Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix.

Kubica returned to a Formula 1 race seat with Williams this season, after an eight-year absence, but has struggled for performance aboard the recalcitrant FW42.

Kubica has yet to out-qualify team-mate George Russell and has been beaten by the rookie in all bar once race.

Russell was able to briefly battle with the lower end of the midfield in Sunday’s race but Kubica was cut adrift at the rear of the field and classified in 20th place.

“It’s difficult to comment when you finish three laps down and nearly a lap behind your team-mate,” lamented Kubica.

“The comments are the same as always I would say.

“I’m sliding whenever… I’m putting too much stress into the tyres, I have no grip, and even if I try to keep up the pace I’m able to do it for maybe two [or] three laps and then the tyres are overheating, sliding.

“I was even sliding on the exit of Turn 7 which is a fifth [or] sixth gear corner.

“You can imagine it’s pretty difficult to extract anything if you are just sliding and degrading.

“Whenever you put more slip into the tyres you go slower so I have to drive [so I] don’t slip them and then the pace is very slow.”

Kubica has now been lapped 19 times across the opening nine grands prix amid his and Williams’ struggles.

“I try everything,” he said of his plight. “It’s not the first time [this situation has happened]. It’s not that I’m not trying.

“It's just I’m lacking overall grip and in this condition when it’s hot and when there is a lot of overheating and tyres are suffering a lot I’m just sliding even more.”

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Ctrl+Alt+Del - Pierre Gasly needs a reset, says Red Bull

Red Bull has to “go control, alternate, delete” with Pierre Gasly and “start again”, according to Christian Horner, amid the youngster’s difficult start to life with the team.

Gasly joined Red Bull for 2019 as a replacement for Renault-bound Daniel Ricciardo but has struggled for overall pace, consistency and results through the opening nine grands prix.

Gasly has yet to out-qualify team-mate Max Verstappen and has scored only 43 points compared to the 126 amassed by the Dutch racer.

Gasly ran ahead of slow-starting Verstappen on the opening lap in Austria but was passed by the sister car at Turn 9 and from there mustered only seventh.

Verstappen, who went on to win the race, finished a lap ahead of Gasly.

“Pierre is having a tough time at the moment, we’re doing our best to support him, I think he just needs a reset,” said Horner.

“I think we have got to somehow go ‘control alt delete’ in his head and start again.

“He is a quick driver. The problem he has got is that Max is delivering every week, and that puts more pressure on him to perform, but we’re sticking by him.

“We still believe in him and we’ll give him all the support we can to try and nurture the talent we know he has.”

Red Bull, and sister team Toro Rosso, has previously demoted or dropped drivers struggling for form, but Horner has stressed that such a scenario is not under consideration regarding Gasly.

“There is no intention to change Pierre,” said Horner.

“He’s our driver, we’re going to work with him, we will try to get the best out of him.

“He’s having a tough time at the moment but we will do our best to support him through it.”