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DRIVERS KEEN TO HELP F1 SINGLE OUT BEST TRACKS FOR RACING

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Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton says drivers know what makes a good circuit and want to help the sport’s rule makers select those that offer real racing rather than ones chosen for commercial reasons.

Sunday’s British Grand Prix, won by the Mercedes driver for a record sixth time, delivered plenty of thrills for a 141,000-strong crowd that flocked to Silverstone.

Until last Wednesday, however, when F1 announced a five-year contract extension, the windswept old airfield track that hosted the first world championship grand prix in 1950 faced an uncertain future.

Hamilton, who had vowed previously to do all he could to keep the race on the calendar, said drivers needed to be part of the decision-making process when it came to what tracks the sport raced on.

“We know better than anybody which track we can overtake (on) and which track we can’t,” he told reporters after the race.

“There are ones that they are selecting for the future that we’re going to have not such great racing, the ones that are on the calendar that aren’t great,” added the Briton

“We’ve got places where you just can’t follow and its like a train. And so, what would you prefer? Having a race in those countries just for the sake of having a race — or do you want a great race like this?”

Hamilton did not say which races he was referring to but Vietnam, with a new street race in Hanoi, and the long-absent Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort are two novelties planned for 2020.

Zandvoort, a home race for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, is expected to draw a huge crowd but has also raised concerns that the racing will be processional and overtaking next to impossible.

F1 currently has 21 races but is talking about expansion, with more races in key growth areas the United States and China as well as possibly returning to Africa.

Jean Todt, head of the governing FIA, told reporters at Silverstone the quality of the venues was more important than the number.

Hamilton suggested the drivers could suggest improvements to existing circuits and advise on possible alternatives, an idea his teammate Valtteri Bottas agreed with.

“Definitely it’s all about selection of the tracks. I’m sure many of the track selections for the calendar, it’s just pure political reasons and money, rather than actually focusing on whether it’s good for racing or not,” he said.

“From our side, it’s not that nice. We love racing. Everyone loves good racing, that’s how it should be.

“We’re very keen to give our input because we’re in the car. We know exactly which type of tracks we need to have good racing. We have the feeling. So we are very, very happy to help,” added Bottas.

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OCON: DISCUSSIONS FOR 2020 GOING ON WITH MANY DIFFERENT TEAMS

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Esteban Ocon is now hopeful he will be back on the Formula 1 grid next year after sitting on Mercedes’ reserve bench in 2019, the ousted Force India driver has been linked with Valtteri Bottas’ place for next season.

But the rumour mill is also suggesting that Renault, Haas or Williams could be options for the 22-year-old.

“There are discussions going on with many different teams,” Ocon admitted in an interview with Top Gear. “At the moment it’s only talks, and I’ve learned that until the contract is signed, the seat is never for sure.”

“But there will be opportunities, and we’ll have to work to see what will be possible next year, but at the moment it’s going the right way,” he added.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has said in recent weeks that he would be happy to see Ocon return to racing next year, even if it is not with the German team.

“This is fantastic,” said Ocon. “It means Toto and my team are fully supporting me and want me back in a car no matter how. When I hear that, it’s very special to me. They really believe in me.”

As for whether he would accept a step back into a less competitive cockpit, Ocon replied: “I need to be back in Formula 1, so we’ll see. But it’s my target to be in a competitive car.”

MIKA: Is it worth moving to a team like Williams or is that going to be career suicide?

Ocon would be ideal at Renault, perhaps they might move Hulkenberg along?

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Red Bull sets new record for fastest ever pit-stop at 1.91s

Fastest ever Formula 1 pit stop

Red Bull Racing posted a new world record pit-stop time during the British Grand Prix, beating a record set by Williams back in 2016.

The 16-man crew serviced Pierre Gasly's car in just 1.91 seconds, which beats the previous record of 1.92s by just one hundredth!

In fact, the previous record was most recently completed by Williams at the 2016 Azerbaijan GP, which matched a time originally set by Red Bull in 2013 when they changed all four of Mark Webber's wheels in lighting speed at the US GP.

Not only did Red Bull beat that record at Silverstone, but they also recorded the second quickest stop of the race with Max Verstappen at 1.96s – which allowed him crucially to get out ahead of – or alongside might be more accurate – Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

Williams, which has been one of the best operations in the pit lane this year, registered the third-quickest stop of the race, servicing Robert Kubica in 2.14s.

 

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Christian Horner: 'Remarkable' Max Verstappen's car finished British GP

Max Verstappen flies through the air after being hit by Sebastian Vettel, British GP, 2019

Max Verstappen reaching the finish of the British Grand Prix was “remarkable”, according to Red Bull chief Christian Horner, in the wake of his clash with Sebastian Vettel.

Verstappen lost out during the Safety Car period but resisted Charles Leclerc, passed Pierre Gasly, and overhauled Vettel around the outside of Stowe to capture third place.

But Verstappen’s prospects were undone when he was struck by Vettel at the next corner, as the German’s attempt at challenging the Red Bull driver backfired.

Verstappen finished fifth but revealed that he could see parts shedding from his RB15, having lost power steering, while also grappling with a loose seat.

"It was remarkable the car held together, to keep going with the damage he had was quite incredible," said Horner.

"At least he managed to finish the race and get some points out of it.

"It is frustrating, because he’d made a great pass on Seb and I can only imagine it was a complete misjudgement by Seb to lock up and hit him the way he did.”

Horner believes Verstappen would have had a shot at beating Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas to second place without the incident.

"Obviously from our point of view, it was very frustrating because it knocked Max off a guaranteed podium… which spot on the podium we don’t know," he added.

"He certainly would have been second on track and then whether Valtteri would have been able to catch him or not, we’d have had to wait and see. So that was very frustrating."

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Lando Norris left frustrated by wrong strategy calls in British GP

Lando Norris battles Daniel Ricciardo, British GP 2019

McLaren's Lando Norris expressed frustration in the wake of his strategy leaving him sliding down the order at Formula 1’s British Grand Prix.

Norris ran as high as seventh in the early stages of his first home grand prix at Silverstone as he fought hard with the Renault of Daniel Ricciardo, having survived a brush with Pierre Gasly into Village.

Norris stopped on lap 13 of 52 for a set of Mediums tyres, but was not brought in again when the Safety Car was called for the stricken Antonio Giovinazzi seven laps later.

It bunched the pack and left Norris exposed as he needed to make a second stop later in the race.

Norris’ second stop left him 14th and while he recovered to 11th position it left him departing Silverstone unable to add to his points tally.

When asked by Motorsport Week about the catalyst of his problems in the race, Norris said: "The strategy, simple as that, we made the wrong decision under the Safety Car.

"We didn’t box when we should have done. Not gambling, but hoping a few more people would drop off at the end like Alex [Albon] did, but it didn’t happen.

"So, yeah, just in hindsight the strategy was the wrong thing but it’s not something we could have known as easily when we made the decision."

Despite qualifying eighth for his home race and running at the front of the midfield, the 19-year old was reluctant to lay blame at anyone's door and move forward.

"I still stand by the team, they did nothing wrong, we just didn't make the right choices.”

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Valtteri Bottas surprised Lewis Hamilton's strategy worked out

Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton

Valtteri Bottas says he must learn from his defeat at the British Grand Prix, having erroneously believed that Lewis Hamilton’s strategy would be slower.

Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli reckoned a two-stop strategy would be the optimum choice but Mercedes was open to the idea of its drivers adopting different approaches.

Bottas defended against Hamilton through the early laps but upon pitting for a first time he committed himself to a two-stop strategy, having fitted another set of Medium tyres.

Hamilton, meanwhile, extended his first stint and exchanged his Medium tyres for a set of Hards, ensuring he did not need to stop again, while also profiting from the timing of the Safety Car period.

Hamilton led Bottas through the second stint, with his Hard tyres lasting 32 laps through to the chequered flag, while Bottas had to come in late on for a set of Softs.

“Definitely there was an idea to split the cars,” said Bottas.

“One of us going for the Hard for the second stint [was the idea] but still the idea was for that car to do Medium-Hard-Medium or Medium-Hard-Soft.

“So one stop honestly was out of the question, and was a mistake from our side. It was by far the quickest strategy for our car – the Medium-Hard – we thought it would be much slower so, for sure, a learning point for us.”

Bottas finished second to Hamilton, his fifth runner-up position of the campaign, and now trails his team-mate by 39 points in the championship battle.

“It was not quite ideal, one of these days, but at least the pace was good in qualifying and the race,” he said.

“Lots of positives to take and also very, very happy for us as a team, we got maximum points and it’s pretty impressive for the teams behind now. That makes me really proud of us.

“In any case I’m still super hungry for the wins so I’m looking forward for the next one in two weeks.”

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Progress pleases Pierre Gasly, but frustrated by podium miss

Red Bull F1 driver Pierre Gasly

Pierre Gasly labelled the British Grand Prix as “by far” his strongest event of 2019, though expressed frustration at missing out on a maiden Formula 1 podium.

Gasly had struggled through the opening races and was substantially off the pace in France and Austria, coming home a lapped seventh at the preceding round.

But Gasly expressed confidence at turning around his form and at Silverstone he was significant more competitive.

Gasly dropped to sixth at the start but passed Sebastian Vettel and moved into fourth through the Safety Car period.

Gasly was overhauled by Charles Leclerc and dropped to sixth, but was promoted to fourth once more when Vettel hit the back of Max Verstappen in the fight for the podium.

“By far the best weekend of the year so we can be pleased,” said Gasly.

“There were quite a lot of things going on after Austria, a lot of meetings with the team checking the whole weekend and how to improve things.

“We made a lot of changes and I am pleased that from the first session we could see the big step forward.

“It was a strong Friday, strong Saturday and strong Sunday. I just enjoyed the whole weekend a lot more so I think we can be pleased with the step we made.”

Leclerc moved past Gasly around the outside of Village, securing the inside line for The Loop, and the Red Bull driver admitted he was surprised by his opponent’s move.

“It was good, I didn’t expect him to roll the speed on the outside and I could have gone wider or tried something different,” he said.

“In the end without DRS for a couple of laps it was putting quite a lot of pressure on and at that time he was on fresher tyres.

“I am pleased with fourth place but of course as a competitive guy I am a bit disappointed to miss out on the podium by a couple of seconds.

“I think we need to look at the whole picture and the whole weekend which was a big step forward.”

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Guenther Steiner: Drivers brought a shovel, dug hole deeper

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Haas Formula 1 boss Gunther Steiner has criticised his drivers for their "not acceptable" first-lap clash in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean ran side-by-side through the first few corners at the start of the British Grand Prix before making contact through the flat-out left kink onto the Wellington Straight. 

The impact punctured Magnussen’s left-rear tyre and Grosjean’s right rear, both drivers’ feedback over the radio was limited to swearing, and their races ended a few laps after the incident.

Steiner said both were to blame, adding: “It’s not acceptable what happened. I was pretty clear with them after Barcelona [where the two drivers clashed at the first corner after a safety car restart] what not to do. 

“In the end, we are in a difficult position at the moment trying to find out about the car on track. 

“Everybody works hard like hell, and then it seems we’ve got a chance when our long runs [on Friday] were OK.

“[Then] we crash into each other on Turn 5, which is not acceptable.”

Steiner said the drivers “didn’t speak” because he simply told them what he thought when they met over the issue post-race, and that was it. 

Steiner: Grosjean/Magnussen clash "not acceptable"

“To explain something like this you don’t need a lot of time,” said Steiner. “Sometimes you can say a lot in a few words, and I’m obviously disappointed to say it.

“Everybody works very hard to get out of this hole that we are in, and you guys see that. 

“The best that our drivers could bring to the battle was a shovel – to dig the hole we’re in even deeper,” said Steiner.

“We do the almost impossible, and then we have got the chance to get points, or at least learn something to move forward, they do something like this. For me, I don’t need any explanation of it.”

Haas is enduring its worst start to a season in its short F1 history, and only has 16 points from the first 10 races. 

Steiner said that while the team showed progress from a competitive perspective at Silverstone, the on-track clash and off-track saga involving its title sponsor Rich Energy meant it “wasn’t the easiest” week for the team. 

“It seemed on Friday that we could get into the race with some chance, and then we spoiled it ourself,” he added. 

“Between Austria and here they’ve both been tough, one one way and one the other.”

MIKA: IMHO, Grosjean needs to go.

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Red Bull grid drama was cracked rear wings

Red Bull grid drama was cracked rear wings

Red Bull has revealed that its pre-race drama on the grid at the British Grand Prix was caused by cracks being discovered in the rear wing endplates of both cars.
With the final preparations under way at Silverstone, Red Bull mechanics were prompted in to a frenzy of activity to replace the rear wing endplates on both Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly’s cars before the start of the race.

The matter was further complicated by the fact that, with the cars under parc ferme conditions until the start of the race, the team needed to get permission off the FIA to replace the rear wing parts.

Asked by Motorsport.com about what happened on the grid, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: “One of the mechanics doing one of the checks found a crack in the rear wing of Max, so we applied to get permission to change it.

“Then, there was an inspection on Pierre’s and we could see the very start of a crack appearing in the same place. So permission to change them both was granted just as a security, and we did that.”

As well as the endplates being replaced for identical specification ones, mechanics were also spotted applying a special glue tape to the wings to ensure the cracks did not return during the race

“The tape wasn’t going to reinforce it, it was more some glue that went on,” Horner said.

Both Verstappen and Gasly were able to finish the race without any problems on their rear wings, although Red Bull will almost certainly look in to why the cracks appeared in the first place.

The high-speed nature of Silverstone means the forces put through the cars there are amongst the highest they experience during the year.

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Raikkonen realistic on Alfa progress despite third straight points finish

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Points in three consecutive races might have been celebrated by Alfa Romeo in the past, but Kimi Raikkonen still had more questions than answers after finishing P8 at Silverstone on Sunday.

Raikkonen qualified just outside the top 10 alongside team mate Antonio Giovinazzi and was fighting for the lower points for much of the race. Sebastian Vettel’s collision with Max Verstappen, coupled with a second pit stop for Lando Norris saw Raikkonen move up to ninth. A final overtake on Alexander Albon gave Raikkonen four points at the end of the day, but he is not letting the final result cloud his opinion of Alfa Romeo’s weekend.

“Not the easiest of races, I must say,” Raikkonen admitted. “I think the car was handling quite nicely, especially in the second part of the race, but we were lacking quite a bit of straight-line speed and that was just limiting us. My best choice was to get within the DRS of somebody and hang in there, so that no one else could pass me.

"In the end, I waited long enough the tyres run out on the first Toro Rosso. I knew it was going to be difficult to keep them behind, but the car was really good around the corners. I had just enough to keep them behind.

“The pass on Albon was into Turn 15. I saw he was struggling more and more with the left side tyres so I waited and passed him then. I knew that was the best way because if I passed them earlier they would then pass me back on the straight. In the end, it was a pretty good result.”

The first practice session on Friday saw Raikkonen stop on track with a power unit failure, and the Finn attributes the lost running to some of the troubles understanding the car at Silverstone.

“I think we’d better check some things up for the next race, as overall it was a difficult weekend with the engine issue on Friday, when we were trying to compare both packages. I don’t think we had a very strong weekend, but we managed to get some good points.”

That engine issue did not directly impact Raikkonen’s race result, but Giovinazzi retired after spinning into the gravel, with a mechanical failure currently being investigated by the team back at their factory in Switzerland.

“It’s unfortunate but it’s how racing goes,” Giovinazzi said. “I was quite close to Kimi and we were on similar strategies, so I could have been in or close to the points, but we can still be pleased about our performance. We scored a good result for the team and we made another step forward. The midfield is very close so we need to keep working hard to remain there.”

Alfa Romeo lie sixth in the constructors' standings on 26 points, seven ahead of Racing Point and 13 behind Renault.

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Hulkenberg frustrated that Renault 'made life difficult for themselves' at Silverstone

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Nico Hulkenberg cut a frustrated figure after the British Grand Prix, a race in which he'd hoped for far more than his eventual 10th place finish. Not only did he get hit by the Racing Point of Sergio Perez and then suffer a technical glitch, he was also irked by the strategy he was put on.

Starting 10th on the grid, Hulkenberg ran as high as eighth before pitting, seven laps before the Safety Car intervention. Having dropped back to 10th, he was then hit by Perez on the Safety Car restart – an incident the Mexican explained as being caused by a steering wheel issue – which dropped him further down to P12.

Sebastian Vettel's clash with Max Verstappen lifted Hulkenberg one place to P11, and then - on aging rubber - he pinched the final point on offer with a pass on Toro Rosso's Alex Albon on the penultimate lap.

A point gained then, or several lost? The German firmly believed the latter...

“Tenth, so not really great," he said. "I don’t know, the race just went way from us. A few things: I think we just pitted too late. I asked to pit, the team didn’t want to pit me. We just hurt ourselves over, making life difficult, then got overtaken with dead tyres and got hit at the rear on the Safety Car restart.

“Then later on, we thought we had an engine issue and we went to a ‘limp home’ mode for a couple of seconds, lost another one position. It was difficult to go racing with so many problems.”

The immediate post-race communication between German and his race engineer Mark Slade over team radio encapsulated Hulkenberg's frustrations.

Quote

 

NICO: "I just don't undertsand.... why we couldn't stop early. We just cost ourselves this race, I was genuinely struggling, not playing any games or any Bulls**t like that. You just gotta believe me sometimes!"

"F*****G BELIEVE!"

"It's obvious, my tires were a hundred and F*****G Forty and still... No, no, it's fine, let him stay out, it's all good!"

 

Still 11th in the points, but now five points behind team mate Daniel Ricciardo, who finished seventh, the positive for Hulkenberg and Renault is that both yellow cars finished in the points at Silverstone - the first time that has happened since Canada.

“We’ll regroup and review a few things to put ourselves in a better position for the next race,” added Hulkenberg.

That regroup is all the more important for the veteran of 166 Grand Prix starts, as he readies for the next Grand Prix: his home race at Hockenheim in Germany.

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F1 Paddock Pass: Post-Race At The 2019 British Grand Prix

The 70th British Grand Prix was a Silverstone sizzler. Will Buxton brings us all the reaction from the paddock - once he gets the mic back from young Max...

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Lewis Hamilton and Frank Williams: A Very Special Hot Lap

A special hot lap, not just for an F1 legend, but also for a very special man... Here's to you, Sir Frank on your 50th anniversary as Williams Team Principal! 

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ITALIAN MEDIA: THE LITTLE PRINCE IS FERRARI’S NEW LEADER

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Increasingly Italian media have collectively lost faith in Ferrari’s current number one driver, Sebastian Vettel who yet again tarnished his reputation with a glaring mistake during Sunday’s British Grand Prix.

While Charles Leclerc battled for victory in Austria and raced spectacularly at Silverstone, his teammate Vettel was outqualified and then slammed into Max Verstappen in the race.

“Ferrari has a new leader,” said the authoritative La Gazzetta dello Sport, “Leclerc is combative and energetic and has finally captured the heart of the Ferrari fans.”

And described  Vettel as “again disastrous” last Sunday added the report “Vettel has shown that he is not the driver that Ferrari wants. It is now clear that something is no longer working.”

Corriere della Sera declared: “Vettel loses his head once again, while the youngster Leclerc is gaining all the time in prestige.”

La Repubblica added: “For a long time, Vettel has no longer looked like a four-time world champion, while the little prince Leclerc was the Driver of the Day.”

And La Stampa said: “Maranello, we have a problem. Almost like an older brother, Binotto defends Vettel but the driver’s crisis seems to be endless.”

Former F1 driver David Coulthard said Vettel’s current problems remind him of the final days of Michael Schumacher’s career.

“At the end of his career, Michael Schumacher also started hitting other cars and eventually he realised that he was the common denominator,” he is quoted by German media.

Ferreri watcher and columnist, Leo Turrini summed up Vettel’s Sunday, It’s not Seb’s annus horribilis, but the collision with Verstappen is like a black curtain falling.

“Simply, it’s up to him, to Vettel, to look for and give the right answers. I don’t believe in identity crises or even sudden declines. However, no one can know the truth better than the person concerned and the answer must come from Seb. On the track.”

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HORNER: GASLY WORKED PERFECTLY ALL WEEKEND

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Under-pressure Red Bull driver Pierre Gasly believes he has put his Formula 1 career back on track, impressing his bosses with his performance during the British Grand Prix weekend.

After Austria, the team’s Dr Helmut Marko said the Frenchman’s recent performances had been “unacceptable” and he had until Hungary to get his act together or face the consequences.

But Gasly appeared to have bounced back strongly at Silverstone this past weekend, finally looking near the pace of his highly-rated teammate Max Verstappen.

“We had many meetings after Austria to understand what had happened,” Gasly said. “It was nothing serious but simply the sum of many small things. Fortunately, we made a big step forward here.

“I got my best result of the season, I had some good battles with the Ferraris and I am happy with my race even if I still need something extra to go to the podium,” he added.

Team boss Christian Horner agrees that Gasly turned a corner in Britain, “He worked perfectly all weekend. What happened in Austria stayed in Austria.”

“As soon as he arrived at Silverstone, he concentrated on his work without worrying about what his teammate was doing. Yes, I think he performed very well.”

The harsh reality for the Frenchman is that he is being measured up against Verstappen who is very much the star driver of this season, who would have probably beaten his teammate had Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel not lost the plot yet again.

Nevertheless, if Gasly has indeed found the sweetspot and can remain there while improving, as opposed to Silverstone being a one-time show of competence, then expect the Dutchman in the sister car to raise his game accordingly as right now it is obvious who is doing the chasing in that team.

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SILVERSTONE SEEK NEW DATE FOR 2020 TO AVOID BIG EVENT CLASHES

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Silverstone is pushing for a new British Grand Prix race date on the 2020 Formula 1 World Championship calendar to avoid clashes with big sporting events on the same weekend.

At the British grand prix, Lewis Hamilton complained that his home race had not been scheduled to avoid competing for air-time with the cricket world cup and Wimbledon finals.

Silverstone’s owner, the BRDC, is now pushing for a new race date for 2020.

“We are putting forward our preferences and Formula 1 are co-operating with us,” managing director Stuart Pringle told inews.

However, he said a potential ‘no deal Brexit’ outcome could complicate that rescheduling, “I’m sympathetic to F1’s concerns about Brexit and the impact of a hard Brexit on queues at the border next year.”

“I agree with them that back-to-back races with a European race next year would introduce risk that is not acceptable.”

Notably, on the motorsport calendar, this past weekend was also the Formula E championship finale in New York as was Indycar’s championship race in Toronto.

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WHO WILL HAAS DROP? GROSJEAN OR MAGNUSSEN OR BOTH?

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Speculation is ramping up that Haas will wave goodbye to one of its current drivers (if not both) after their first lap fiasco seriously compromised the team’s efforts at the British Grand Prix on Sunday, and asking serious questions about their suitability to be in the top flight.

Already struggling with the Pirelli tyre situation and in a new war with the team’s own title sponsor, boss Gunther Steiner could not hide his fury after Silverstone.

“I don’t want to blame one of them right now, but I don’t like the situation,” he told Ekstra Bladet newspaper.

Steiner said he “could not believe” that Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen crashed into each other on lap one, having warned them about it earlier in 2019.

Asked if the problem is the ‘chemistry’ between the Frenchman and the Dane, Steiner answered: “I don’t know. I need to think about it with a clear head and find out what we do. That’s my job. Because that’s not acceptable.

“I don’t have the solution now but I have to find out how we move forward. For me, this is a question of the team above the individual,” added Steiner whose team is only better than struggling Williams this year, in the wake of the 2018 season in which they finished a solid fifth.

However, the reality is that their drivers; Grosjean in particularly cost them dear not only in broken spare parts but also points that would have allowed them to beat Renault to fourth place in the championship.

It is believed the driver most likely to leave Haas would be Romain Grosjean, potentially to be replaced by Sergio Perez. The Frenchman has been on a downward and never-ending spiral of form that raises questions about his suitability to remain in the top flight.

Meanwhile, Perez could lose his place at Racing Point, who may replace the Mexican with former Force India driver Esteban Ocon who is backed by Mercedes, their engine supplier and will also further align the Silverstone based team with the Silver Arrows.

Another alternative, perhaps the most popular among F1 fans, is to offer Californian Alexander Rossi a crack at the big time with the American team.

Meanwhile, perhaps ominously, Haas team boss Gene Haas, a partner in the hugely successful Stewart-Haas Nascar franchise, has been tight-lipped about the shenanigans of the drivers in his cars.

MIKA: Definitely remove Romain Grosjean. That guy is inconsistent and accident prone, even at his very own hands. I mean, even at Silverstone, the guy spins exiting pits and crashes. Laughable. As for Magnussen, he is a good driver, though super hot-headed and often lacks any respect toward other drivers. But that can be reigned in. 

 

 

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Haas sponsor Rich Energy changes name, drops CEO William Storey

Rich Energy logo on the Haas F1 cars

Haas F1 Team title sponsor Rich Energy has changed its name and dropped CEO Williams Storey following an ongoing saga between the two companies.

Rich Energy has changed its name to 'Lighting Volt' according to papers filed with the UK's Companies House, which also confirms that Storey, who founded the energy drinks company, has resigned.

This was confirmed by Story via social media, which the outgoing character uses as his primary communcation tool.

"William Storey founder of @rich_energy has sold his majority stake in the legal entity of Rich Energy limited. This decision was reluctantly reached due to the duplicitous conduct of minority stakeholders. To quote @Schwarzenegger he will be back!"

Storey had previously tweeted that he wouldn't step down, nor could he be forced out as the majority stakeholder.

It comes after Rich Energy attempted to terminate its sponsor deal with Haas, only for the company to release a statement explaining that a "rogue employee" had sent the tweet without permission from other shareholders.

Haas then sought to either remove Storey and continue its partnership with Rich Energy or sue for compensation totalling £35 million for unpaid fees and future payments due.

However it now appears that Rich Energy has managed to remove Storey from the position of CEO and will be known as Lighting Volt going forwards. This is also likely in reponse to legal action by Whyte Bikes, which had sued the company over copyright infringement after its logo was used on Rich Energy's drinks cans.

Zoran Terzic, a close friend of Storey, has also been removed from the company and Matthew Kell has been appointed CEO and director and documents say he now holds 75 per cent of the companies shares "directly or indirectly".

It's likely the company will now reband and could mean Haas will run with a new livery going forward.

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Pirelli reveals tyre selections for German GP

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Pirelli has revealed the compound choices made by Formula 1 teams for next weekend’s German Grand Prix.

The company has nominated the C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium) and C4 (Soft) tyres in order to deal with the demands placed upon the rubber by the Hockenheim circuit.

As usual each driver has 13 sets of tyres available for the grand prix weekend, with Pirelli mandating one set of each compound; drivers have free choice for their remaining 10 sets of rubber.

Renault and Toro Rosso have taken the most aggressive approach by selecting 10 sets of Softs, leaving Nico Hulkenberg and Daniil Kvyat with just a single set of Medium tyres.

Nine of the 20 drivers, meanwhile, will have just one batch of the Hard compound tyres available to them for the duration of the weekend.

Under Formula 1 regulations, assuming dry conditions prevail through the race, either the Mediums or Hards must be used for one stint.

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Mattia Binotto: Ferrari must be disappointed with pace

Mercedes lead Red Bull and Ferrari at Silverstone, British GP 2019

Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto says there is “a lot to improve” with its SF90 in the wake of a challenging display for the team at Formula 1’s British Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc qualified within a tenth of a second of polesitter Valtteri Bottas but had already cautioned over raising expectations for the race, given Ferrari’s pace during Friday practice.

Leclerc’s thoughts were proved correct as Ferrari was unable to remain in touch with the lead Mercedes drivers, as its drivers spent much of the race battling the Red Bull drivers.

Leclerc took third spot, though finished half a minute down on victor Lewis Hamilton, as Ferrari’s barren run extended to 13 grands prix.

“We need to be capable of fighting for the first position at every single race whatever the circuit,” said Binotto.

“It has not been the case [in Britain] and no doubt in that respect it’s disappointing.

“And after qualifying, I would say we were expecting a better result but the pace was not good enough and I think there is a lot to improve.”

Ferrari has faced a renewed threat from Red Bull in recent races, with its advantage in the Constructors’ Championship owing much to Pierre Gasly’s difficult start to the campaign.

“They certainly improved, and if I look at the last two races as matter of fact they won in Austria and they have been very competitive in the race [in Britain],” said Binotto.

“I think our package and their package are very close and I think that the last two races have shown it.

“I think we are pretty close, I think eventually for us it’s giving us even more of a boost as we need to further improve.”

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Engine drop out hindered Nico Hulkenberg’s race

Nico Hulkenberg and Alexander Albon battle at Silverstone, British GP 2019

Nico Hulkenberg joked he was surprised to still score a point at the British Grand Prix, in the wake of several setbacks.

Hulkenberg struggled for tyre life, was clipped by Racing Point’s Sergio Perez, and suffered an engine drop out that cost him crucial lap time.

Hulkenberg nonetheless moved back into the top 10 during the closing stages by overhauling the tyre-limited Alexander Albon.

“I think we left some points on the table not really getting the strategy right in my eyes, pitting too late in the first stop as I was really in trouble with my tyres,” said Hulkenberg.

“The safety car was not perfect for me and my race, I got hit by Checo after the restart which I lost one position to Kimi [Raikkonen], then we had an engine problem.

“I lost engine power for the entire Hangar Straight to go into kind of a limp home mode, got it back after a few default actions.

“All in all not fantastic. Quite surprising to get a point after all those problems.”

Renault displayed improved pace compared to its subdued showing in Austria but Hulkenberg nonetheless underlined the need for the team to improve its R.S.19.

“Austria I think was a standout, it didn’t work for us there, [at Silverstone it] was back to more normal and we were more competitive in the midfield,” he said.

“But you see it’s very tight with McLaren, Toro Rosso, even Alfa Romeo and Racing Point often.

“It is what it is with the car. I think to really help ourselves we still need upgrades and to change some of the characteristics.”

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Brake balance issue behind Nico Hulkenberg clash - Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez with damage at the British Grand Prix

Sergio Perez has blamed a steering wheel issue that prevented him from adjusting his brake balance for his clash with Nico Hulkenberg at Silverstone.

Perez had worked his way into contention for the points-paying positions at the British Grand Prix but a steering wheel problem left him unable to change his brake balance as required.

Perez clipped Hulkenberg into Brooklands at the restart and lost his front wing, dropping him to the rear of the field, where he remained through to the chequered flag.

“I had a fantastic first stint, everything was looking great, the team deserved a massive result, P7 was on the cards,” Perez explained post-race.

“We missed the Safety Car by one lap and we had a problem with the steering wheel and I couldn’t change my brake balance.

“I ended up with a massive forward brake balance, I couldn’t stop the car, ended up hitting Nico, already apologised to him, nothing I could have done, extremely unlucky day for us, we did a fantastic day up to that.”

Racing Point ended empty-handed for the third event in succession as Perez’s team-mate Lance Stroll mustered only 13th.

“I think it’s a weekend to forget, to be honest,” said Stroll. “Things just haven’t worked out for us.

“I had a good start and I was up three places by the end of the first lap. Unfortunately we had to pit earlier than planned to remove some debris from my left front brake duct and that really hurt our strategy.”

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Valkyrie's British GP debut was "two fingers" to sceptics

Valkyrie's British GP debut was "two fingers" to sceptics

Aston Martin’s first public run of the Valkyrie hypercar it developed with Red Bull was chosen for the British Grand Prix partly to give “two fingers” to the company’s critics.
The road-going version of the Aston Martin/Red Bull Advanced Technologies-developed Valkyrie, which will be built for the new World Endurance Championship rules as well, completed a demonstration lap of Silverstone on Saturday.

Aston’s 1160bhp machine appeared in a livery inspired by the red camouflage design Red Bull shook down its 2019 F1 car in at Silverstone earlier this year.

The company’s CEO Andy Palmer told Motorsport.com there were a “whole bunch of things at play” that led to the Valkyrie being run for the first time on the British GP weekend, in front of a sell-out crowd.

“First of all it’s the ride-and-handling home of Aston Martin because our Stowe facility is just there,” Palmer said. “Second it’s the home grand prix of the Aston Martin Red Bull team, and very close to the Red Bull home. That was important. There’s a whole load of British fans there. And since we listed, there’s a whole bunch of people who are shorting our shares on the premise or thesis that we can’t make DBX and Valkyrie work.

“To some extent it was a bit of two fingers to those guys, to demonstrate publicly that it not only works but it’s bloody great as well.”

A coolant leak on Thursday night meant the team “only got the car reliably running on the Friday”, said Palmer, who admitted he briefly thought the run would not happen.

Aston Martin Valkyrie

He credited Red Bull for being able to get the car ready.

“Sitting on the apron, when the guys ‘it’s ready to go, do we go?’ – that lap was a long lap from my perspective,” Palmer said. “But the car performed perfectly.

“From an achievement perspective, that’s a car that is nigh-on impossible to achieve, and plenty of people have told us it’s impossible. So to get it there is a huge milestone.

”
The team originally responsible for the concept engineering of the car will assist with the initial develop of the WEC version of the car.

Aston Martin Valkyrie

At the same time, “a fairly significant build” will now begin for multiple road-going cars that will undergo various tests.

“Some go on to be crashed, some go onto rigs for long-term durability testing, some go off for calibration,” said Palmer. “They all go into various test modes to make sure we meet the test standards of Red Bull for a Formula 1 car, but also meet all of our standards for a road car. It’s quite an arduous schedule now.”

The Valkyrie may reappear on track to give a public “validation” of its performance.

“What you saw at the weekend it wasn’t going flat out,” said Palmer. “I’d like to see it unleashed. And then the biggie [milestone] is the first production car at the end of this year.”

Dr Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing Team Consultant, Andy Palmer, President & Chief Executive Officer, Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd, Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing Team Principal, Adrian Newey, Red Bull Racing Chief Technical Officer, Marek Reichman, Executive Vice President & Chief Creative Officer, Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd, and David King, Director of Special Projects at Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd pose with the Aston Martin Valkyrie

Aston Martin Valkyrie

Aston Martin Valkyrie

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