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New F1 rules in the ‘sweet spot’ for McLaren – but fans will be real winners, says Brown

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Formula 1, the FIA and the 10 F1 teams used the coronavirus-enforced downtime to good effect, taking the opportunity to agree on significant rule changes for the sport from 2021 onwards. And while McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown couldn’t deny that the new rules were a perfect fit for a team like his, the real winners, he believes, will be the fans.

The rules, announced in May, saw the original proposed cost cap of $175 million reduced to $145 million for 2021, decreasing to $140 million and then $135 million in the following two seasons – while new ‘sliding scale’ aerodynamic testing regulations, with the lowest-scoring team from a season afforded the most amount of testing time for the following year and vice versa, were also introduced.

Asked about the new rules on Formula 1’s F1 Nation podcast, Brown said: “I am pleased for the outcome. I think the sport now is much more sustainable. I think it's going to make the sport much more competitive and ultimately the fans are going to be the winners.

“And I think if the fans win, the sport wins, because we'll have more fans, newer fans. That will drive television, that will drive countries wanting to have more Grands Prix, that will drive more sponsor partners wanting to join. So I think well done to the industry. It wasn't easy, not everyone was always on the same page but I think we've landed in a very good spot.”

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Brown might be expected to be happy, given that the higher-spending midfield teams like his, AlphaTauri, Racing Point and Renault are the ones who’ll have to do the least adaptation to operate at the $145 million cap. But Brown believed that all 10 teams on the grid – and any future ones – would ultimately benefit from the changes.

“Where the rules have landed are right in the sweet spot of McLaren,” Brown conceded, “but I think if I look at the top three spending teams, they have plenty of resource, so they'll have challenges in scaling back – but that's kind of a good problem to have, so to speak, so I think they'll remain as competitive as ever.

“And then I think you're going to have three or four teams that now run in the budget cap, ourselves, Renault, Racing Point and I think AlphaTauri will also. And I think Red Bull, if I'm Dr Helmut Marko, I now have two teams and collectively, I can kind of spread my resources and create two equal teams, so I think they're a big winner out of this as well.

“And then I think it closes the budget gap for – I'm not sure if Sauber, Haas and Williams will run at the cap, but the difference between where they are today and where the cap will be will certainly be tighter. So I think everybody's really a winner at the end of the day, and it's going to make for fairer, more balanced competition.”

McLaren are one of the teams to have suffered serious financial hardship during the coronavirus pandemic, having recently announced around 1,200 redundancies from the McLaren Group – with around 70 of those coming from the F1 side of the business – while McLaren are also understood to be considering a partial sale of the team.

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I have said it many times over the years, the FIA need to appoint stewards that are the same people for EVERY race. I have always felt that some stewards are biased toward "some" drivers (Of cour

F1 needs a Friday program including testing or the race tracks are going to lose a lot of ticket sales.  As a TV viewer, I find the Friday practice sessions quite enjoyable.   On par with the rest of

WILLIAMS CONFIRM SIROTKIN TO RACE AND KUBICA RESERVE Russian rookie Sergey Sirotkin will race for Williams this season after being chosen ahead of Polish rival Robert Kubica on Tuesday in wh

Really a shame for Alex. I feel Red Bull had a great strategy with changing the tires. If he was a bit more patient. He could of over taken Hamilton easily. But he put himself in that position. He could of challenged for first. But who is to say if the car would of been able to handle that since it failed with 2 laps to go  

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Merc proving once again they are miles ahead of any other team.  Ferrari looks like a dog chasing its tail.  Haas, how's that decision to keep Grosjean going for you?  They seriously need to consider putting some all terrain tires on his car.  He spent more time in the dirt and grass than a landscaper.  I'm not sure I can endure another season, albeit a shortened one, with him behind the wheel.

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Styrian GP: Hamilton takes dominant win; drama for Ferrari

Styrian GP: Hamilton takes dominant win; drama for Ferrari

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton beat Valtteri Bottas to victory in Formula 1's first Styrian Grand Prix, where Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel collided on lap one and retired.
In what was a straightforward race compared to last weekend's incident-filled and attritional Austrian GP at the Red Bull Ring, Hamilton controlled the lead throughout, while Bottas edged a thrilling battle with Max Verstappen for P2 and retained the championship lead.

At the start, Hamilton easily led away from pole, with Verstappen under pressure from the fast-starting Sainz on the outside of the first corner.

As Hamilton ran clear, Sainz's shot across the Turn 1 runoff, which cost him momentum and let Verstappen surge back onto the offensive as they approached the tight, uphill right of Turn 3.

The leaders ran through unscathed but in the pack behind the two Ferrari drivers came together, with Leclerc bouncing onto his teammate's rear wing after a late dive to the inside of his teammate, who was battling Haas' Kevin Magnussen after a slow start.

Vettel's rear wing was broken and he retired as the Ferrari drivers came into the pits just as the safety car was called for the debris from their collision – their second in two seasons after the 2019 Brazil GP – with Leclerc being called into stop a lap later after a front wing change.

The race restarted for lap four of 71 and Hamilton immediately pulled clear of Verstappen with a series of early fastest laps, while Bottas took until lap six to pass Sainz into Turn 4 – where Hamilton and Alex Albon clashed last Sunday – with Albon also getting by the McLaren at the same spot two tours later.

Bottas gave chase to Verstappen as Hamilton continued to build his lead little by little over the Red Bull across the first stint.

The Mercedes drivers began to push hard after the first two laps had been completed, which forced Red Bull to pit Verstappen on lap 24 to ward off the threat of being jumped by an early Bottas stop – as by this point Albon was too far behind to back up his teammate.

Verstappen rejoined on fresh mediums ahead of Albon in third and Hamilton stayed in the net lead when he came in at the end of lap 27.

Bottas stayed out for a further seven laps before he too came in to switch to the medium tyres and he came out again third, 8.2s behind Verstappen.

The Finn initially struggled to close the gap but Mercedes told him he would have the chance to attack Verstappen in the final stages.

As Hamilton surged into a big lead across the second stint to take his first win of 2020 by 13.7s at the flag, Bottas suddenly began to take chunks out of Verstappen's advantage – the Red Bull's front wing also sustaining damage to its right-hand endplate.

Bottas launched an attack around the outside of Turn 3 on lap 66 and then used DRS to blast alongside Verstappen into the downhill right of Turn 4 – but Verstappen fought back and edged him wide into Turn 6 to hang onto second.

But it was only for one more lap as Bottas used DRS to get further ahead into Turn 4 on lap 67, defending the outside lead to make sure of second place

Behind the podium finishers came Albon, who survived late contact with Sergio Perez at Turn 4 in near copy of his incident with Hamilton a week ago, although Albon was on the defensive this time which broke the Racing Point's front wing.

That damage undid a sensation charge from Perez, who had started in P17, and as he limped to the flag he was overtaken by Lando Norris – who had put in his own late-race rise – at the event's penultimate corner.

Perez hung on in a drag race to the line to beat his teammate Lance Stroll – also rising from a lower-than-expected grid spot in P12 – while Daniel Ricciardo took eighth as his contra-strategy of starting on the mediums did not pay off.

Sainz had handed Norris a place just before he pitted late on to take fresh softs for an attempt at the fastest lap, which Verstappen also did, with Sainz ultimately taking the extra point on offer.

Daniil Kvyat rounded out the top 10 – the only driver to make the hard tyres work, after his teammate Pierre Gasly abandoned that plan with a second stop to move back to the softs.

Gasly was hit by Ricciardo at the first corner and lost out to the Renault driver as they scrapped over P7 at the start, but his race unravelled with the second stop and he finished P15, just ahead of the Williams pair.

George Russell started strongly from his P11 grid spot but fell to last at the safety car restart when he skated into the Turn 6 gravel as he battled Magnussen (who finished P12, just ahead of teammate Romain Grosjean and behind Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen).

Esteban Ocon was the only other retirement with suspected cooling problems, coming to a stop on lap 25 after he had been battling teammate Ricciardo in the opening stint.

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Binotto: No time to "accuse" drivers in Leclerc/Vettel clash

Binotto: No time to "accuse" drivers in Leclerc/Vettel clash

Ferrari Formula 1 boss Mattia Binotto says it is not the time to place blame for the clash that forced Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel to retire early in Austria.
Leclerc and Vettel collided on the opening lap of the Styrian Grand Prix after Leclerc tried to pass up the inside of his teammate at Turn 3.

Vettel had lost a place after starting 10th, while Leclerc was recovering from 14th on the grid after receiving a penalty on Saturday, only to misjudge the move and run into the rear of his team-mate's car.

The collision left Vettel's rear wing hanging from his car, forcing him to retire immediately, while Leclerc was called into the garage five laps later due to a broken floor.

It marks the second time in four races both Ferraris have retired from a grand prix due to a clash between Leclerc and Vettel.

Leclerc was quick to take responsibility for the clash, apologising to Vettel and saying that "excuses are not enough".

But Binotto stressed the importance of Ferrari remaining united and focusing on bouncing back from the clash, and did not look to publicly place blame.

"I don't think there is much to say to the drivers," Binotto said speaking on Sky Sports after the clash.

"It's somehow a pain to conclude a race in such a way after only two laps. I think it's the worst conclusion on a very bad weekend somehow, so a difficult weekend for us.

"I think it's not time to look for responsibility or accuse, it's time to work united. Back home we've got the right people to progress as soon as possible."

The clash leaves Ferrari with just 19 points to show from a possible 88 to start the 2020 season.

It also denied the team the chance to see how the new updates for the SF1000 car - fast-tracked by one week after originally being planned for the Hungarian Grand Prix - would fare across the length of a full race.

Vettel said it was "a shame" that Ferrari had lost out on this data-gathering, and said he was surprised to see Leclerc attempt the move as he did.

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Bottas: Second "damage limitation" amid Hamilton domination

Bottas: Second "damage limitation" amid Hamilton domination

Valtteri Bottas called his run to second place in the Styrian Grand Prix “damage limitation” after maintaining his lead in the Formula 1 drivers’ championship.
After winning last weekend’s season-opener at the Red Bull Ring, Bottas could only qualify fourth in wet conditions on Saturday after struggling with a glazed brake, as Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton took pole position.

By the time Bottas passed McLaren’s Carlos Sainz for third place early in the race, both Hamilton and Max Verstappen had already pulled a gap that he could not close through the opening stint.

An extended run on the soft-compound tyres gave Bottas fresher rubber for a late charge, allowing him to pass Verstappen for second with five laps to go.

Bottas eventually crossed the line 13 seconds behind Hamilton, but said he stood little chance of beating his teammate after his qualifying result.

“Obviously Lewis started from the pole and had a good start,” Bottas said in parc ferme after the race.

“He could really control the race and there was not as much happening as last weekend.

“But from my side, starting fourth, I think today was damage limitation. Still got good points, still leading, so it’s not too bad.

“Yesterday wasn’t ideal, so that’s why I couldn’t get 25 points today.”

The result means Bottas holds a six-point lead over Hamilton in the standings ahead of the third round of the season in Hungary next weekend.

Bottas enjoyed a close battle with Verstappen for second place late on, with the pair going side-by-side at Turn 4 as the Red Bull driver looked to hold on to the position.

Verstappen was able to hang on around the outside of the corner and force Bottas to back off initially, only for the Finn to get the overtake completed one lap later.

“It was a good battle with him,” Bottas said.

I think I had quite a bit more pace at the end than him as we extended the first stint. Racing closely is always good fun.”

Asked if he was leaving Austria feeling satisfied with his championship lead intact, Bottas replied: “I could have been more satisfied, but it’s been a not bad first couple of races.

“So I’m looking forward to next week."

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Verstappen: Red Bull "a bit too slow" to fight Mercedes

Verstappen: Red Bull "a bit too slow" to fight Mercedes

Max Verstappen says Red Bull is "a bit too slow", after being unable to stop Lewis Hamilton storming away to victory in the Styrian Grand Prix.
The Dutchman had high hopes of being able to challenge pole position man Hamilton thanks to his front row start, but in the end never really was able to threaten the reigning world champion.

Having sat around five seconds adrift of the Mercedes for much of the afternoon, he eventually dropped further away after picking up damage to his front wing late in the race.

As Verstappen's pace fell away, he was eventually overhauled by Hamilton's Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.

Speaking after the race, Verstappen welcomed a podium finish after his retirements but says there was little to get excited about – beyond a temporary repass of Bottas late on.

"I tried but we are a bit too slow," he said about his battle with Hamilton.

"I did what I could also when Valtteri passed me. I tried to make it a bit difficult, because he was anyway going to get by one lap later.

"But at least it was a bit fun because the race was boring. [The] podium was good but still a lot of work to do."

Verstappen thinks that Red Bull needs to catch up with both car and engine, as he reckoned more work was needed if the team was going to close the gap to Mercedes.

"I was just pushing as hard as I could to stay with them, but clearly it is still not good enough," he said about the difference to Mercedes.

"The gap compared to the guys behind were massive. I was a bit shocked. I tried everything I could, but it's still not enough. We still have some work to do.

"But to bounce back from zero points last week to a podium now is a good start, but I think as a team we want to win and we want to fight for the championship. If you want to fight for the championship of course you need to win races."

He added "We need to look into it. I think we lose quite a bit on the straight as well, so it's a bit of both at the moment. We need to keep on working harder to try and close the gap."

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Racing Point "debatably" the second fastest F1 car - Stroll

Racing Point "debatably" the second fastest F1 car - Stroll

Racing Point Formula 1 driver Lance Stroll believes that his team “debatably” has the second fastest car at the moment after his teammate Sergio Perez charged from 17th to sixth in the Styrian GP.
Perez drove a superb race, setting several fastest laps along the way, and was pressing Red Bull's Alex Albon for fourth place in the closing stages.

However, when he made his move he clipped the back of the Red Bull and damaged his front wing.

That caused him to lose performance and cede a place to McLaren’s Lando Norris, with teammate Stroll finishing right on his tail in seventh.

Stroll is convinced that Racing Point is quicker than its midfield rivals and could possibly edge Red Bull as the second quickest car.

“I really believe today we had you know, debatably the second quickest car, maybe third, but we were definitely quicker than Renault, McLaren and a lot of other of our competitors. So that was really positive," Stroll told Sky Sports F1.

“You know, it wasn't the perfect race setting for both of us. I mean for Sergio starting 17th it was a pretty good result. I think he probably would have signed up for that before the race!

“From my side there were definitely some frustrating parts of the race, being stuck behind Ricciardo, but the pace was there the whole race and that's what's really promising going forward.”

Perez said that he was lucky to ultimately lose just one position after his failed late overtaking attempt on Albon.

“I think it was a great recovery, great pace from the car, the team did a fantastic strategy,” said the Mexican. “We managed to recover, we went all the way to P5, nearly P4 in the end.

“I was pushing really hard on Albon, and I didn’t have any opportunity other than the one that I took, and unfortunately I touched at the wrong angle.

"Basically I understeered a bit towards the exit, I opened up the steering wheel and picked up the power, and then I broke the whole front wing, I was very lucky just to lose one position from that.

“I had to give it a go, especially as we were pushing flat out with all what we had. That was only the opportunity I was going to have, and unfortunately that didn’t work, but in the end I’m lucky just to have lost one position.”

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Ricciardo: Stroll should have returned position

Ricciardo: Stroll should have returned position

Daniel Ricciardo has vented his frustration at a "desperate" move by Lance Stroll and felt the Racing Point driver should have penalised for their clash during the Styrian Grand Prix.
The Renault Formula 1 driver had been defending sixth place against Stroll in the closing stages, with McLaren's Lando Norris closing down on the pair, and on lap 70 the Canadian driver dived up the inside of Turn 3, forcing both him and Ricciardo off the track.

Ricciardo felt Stroll deserved a penalty for the clash but in a post-race FIA race stewards investigation no action was taken on the Racing Point driver for the incident.

Ricciardo strongly disagreed with the outcome, having felt he needed to take action to avoid crashing with the Canadian driver.

"Firstly he didn't really get past, he forced both of us off the track," Ricciardo said to Sky Sports F1.

"I'll always be critical of myself and I should have closed the door but I don't think he was ever making the move so I think it was desperate.

"I think Lando was coming and I think he had to do something otherwise Lando was going to eat him up. I take the apex and we crash, so that is a frustrating end and we lost a position to Lando.

"I think we will get the one back on Stroll, but it still doesn't… it is a bit of a shame to end the race like that."

The race stewards saw the clash as a racing incident, something Stroll agreed with.

"I was catching Ricciardo but I spent the whole second stint really trying to get a good run on him but he was very strong into Turn 1 and out of Turn 1.

"That made it very challenging for me to get by. And finally I saw an opportunity, it was a very small one and I went for it. It turned out to be really hectic last lap, but a very exciting for everyone."

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Renault lodges protest against Racing Point

Renault lodges protest against Racing Point

Renault has protested Racing Point's cars following its double points finish in the Austrian Grand Prix.
The French car manufacturer lodged complaints about both Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll's cars as the debate over its Mercedes copy erupted.

The Renault protest alleged that Racing Point had breached the rules by not using a design that had been fully created by itself.

Article 1 of Appendix 6 of the Sporting Regulations states: "A competitor shall, in respect of the Listed Parts to be used in its cars in Formula One, only use Listed Parts which are designed by it."

Renault further cited that Racing Point had not retained: "the exclusive right to use the Listed Parts in Formula One so long as it competes in Formula One."

And it also alleged that in copying the Mercedes concept it had breached rules that required: "in the case of the Outsourcing of design, such third party shall not be a competitor or a party that directly or indirectly designs Listed Parts for any competitor."

Ever since Racing Point revealeds its new car as pre-season testing it has caused a stir, with it being nicknamed a 'Pink Mercedes' because of the inspiration it took from last year's W10 car.

Renault had suggested on the eve of the season that it could protest the car, and it has duly followed through with that move after an impressive charge through the field from both Perez and Stroll on Sunday.

Speaking earlier this year, Renault team principal Cyril Abiteboul said he felt uneasy at the way Racing Point had been able to adopt so much of the Mercedes concept.

"I think it's the first time since I joined Formula 1 that someone has been really proud of copying," he said. "It's like someone who forges artworks being super happy with the work he's done.

"Yet, it's not worth the original piece, or the pride of working on an original piece…"

However, the FIA has visited Racing Point's factory and gave the outfit the all-clear with its design concept.

Renault issued a short statement on Sunday night that said: "We confirm that Renault DP World F1 Team has submitted a request to the Stewards of the Event for clarification on the legality of the Racing Point RP20.

"We have no further comment on this matter until the Stewards have arrived at a decision."

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Stewards rule Renault’s Racing Point protest “admissible”

Stewards rule Renault’s Racing Point protest “admissible”

The FIA stewards at the Styrian Grand Prix have declared a protest submitted by the Renault Formula 1 team against the two Racing Point cars of Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll as admissible, and it will be ruled upon when the evidence has been gathered.
The protest concerned Appendix 6 of the FIA sporting regulations, which relates to listed parts, and what can and cannot be shared between teams.

It relates specifically to the front and rear brake ducts used by the Racing Point RP20, which Renault clearly believes are more similar to those used on last year’s Mercedes W10 than the rules allow.

In stark contrast to the protest made last week by Red Bull Racing on the subject of the Mercedes DAS system, which was submitted on a Friday and thus did not affect qualifying or the race, Renault took action after today’s Styrian GP.

Perez and Stroll finished sixth and seventh, immediately ahead of Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo. Should the pink cars be excluded, Ricciardo and those who finished behind him would move up the order.

The stewards first had to decide that the protest was admissible – in other words that Renault had a case – before determining that the matter would require a more detailed investigation than could be carried out at the track on Sunday evening.

The stewards explained the case thus: “With regards to front and rear brake ducts used on cars 11 and 18, the Stewards summoned and heard from the team representatives of both teams and a representative of the FIA Technical Department. 

“The Stewards determined that the protest met all requirements specified in Article 13 of the FIA International Sporting Code and is, therefore, admissible.

“The FIA Technical Department representative was directed to seal and impound the relevant parts of cars 11 and 18 in preparation for conducting a detailed analysis of those pieces.

“The representative is further directed to provide a detailed report to the Stewards with the findings and to include an assessment that matches those findings against the alleged infringements outlined in the protest.

“The representative is authorised in the name of the Stewards to call upon such outside technical assistance, including representatives of the following teams:-Renault DP World F1 Team, BWT Racing Point F1 Team, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team – in the conduct of their assessment.

“Furthermore, the Stewards ordered the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team to provide the front and rear brake air ducts of the Mercedes-AMG F1 W10 EQ Power+ used by the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team in the 2019 season to the FIA Technical Department for examination.”

Regarding the date of the hearing they added: “When the likely submission date of the assessment can be determined, the FIA Technical Department representative will communicate that to the Chairman of the Stewards so that the next meeting to assess the claims can be scheduled.”

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Norris hails 'best race in F1' after passing both Racing Points on final lap for P5

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It's been quite the week for Lando Norris. From his superb podium in the opening race to chest pains in practice that left him struggling to drive the car. But it all came good once more on Sunday, with a stunning final two laps boosting him from P8 to P5 at the chequered flag in the Styrian Grand Prix. And despite that rostrum last time out, it was this race the McLaren driver was keen to call out as his “best race in F1”.

“[It was a] really good race from me,” said Norris. “Probably my best race I’ve done in Formula 1 in [that race pace was] definitely not my strength last year and also something I worked on a lot last year, over the winter and this year. To see those gains and some of those boxes ticked, I’m very happy with it.”

Norris, who started ninth after a three-place grid penalty, pitted on Lap 39 – later than any of his midfield rivals – and swapped from soft to medium tyres, giving him a chance to push hard in his second stint.

With two laps to go, running P8, he closed in on a battle between Racing Point’s Lance Stroll and Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, watching as Stroll pushed Ricciardo out wide at Turn 3, before capitalising and sweeping past the Renault.

A lap later he passed Stroll into Turn 4 and then just two corners from the line he passed the other Racing Point of Sergio Perez, the Mexican limping to the line having damaged his front wing in a battle with Red Bull’s Alex Albon.

Looking back at the Turn 3 pass on Ricciardo, Norris said: “This one was a bit lucky. They’re fighting and I was hoping for that. I had to brake a lot harder and I had a lot better slipstream from Stroll, and made the most of that. I was a bit nervous what was going to happen.

“[At Turn 4, alongside Stroll], I was a bit nervous, I lifted on the exit. You know, I didn’t have the most confidence in where I was going to end up or get squeezed to on the exit [of Turn 4]. I had the option of backing out. I waited the next half a lap, made the most of my tyre, the slipstream, I had DRS and it worked out perfectly.

“So then we got a bit lucky with Perez on the last corner and I would say this concluded one of the best races of my F1 career so far,” he continued.

It says much about the 20-year-old Briton's relaxed approach that the first thing he did after stepping in front of the media was to wish his sister a happy birthday.

“She wished me luck the other day and that came through,” he said with a smile. And now sitting third in the world championship standings, behind only the Mercedes duo of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton, Norris certainly has plenty to smile about.

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Too bad about the Ferrari situation today and in general. Pretty good race with an interesting end and an impressive drive by Norris.


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Norris: Styrian GP my best F1 performance

Norris: Styrian GP my best F1 performance

Lando Norris reckoned his Styrian Grand Prix display was stronger than his podium-winning performance from the previous week, as he continued his fine start to 2020.

Norris claimed his maiden Formula 1 podium at the season-opening event and followed it up with fifth at the same venue.

But Norris struggled physically throughout the Styrian GP weekend amid suspected back pain and started ninth after a grid penalty for an FP1 red flag transgression.

Norris was only on the fringes of the top 10 during the early stages but surged to fifth during the closing laps, passing McLaren team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr., Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll.

He then moved past Sergio Perez at the penultimate corner of the 71-lap race as the Mexican stuttered to the finish line with front-wing damage.

“It was a tough race,” said Norris. “The first [stint] we weren’t so good. We were just in a DRS train and it was very difficult to do anything.

“I was always like I felt in the wrong place, and using too much of my tyres. A few laps in I decided that nothing was going to change, and I decided to go for very long stint on the Softs, which was like to lap 45 or something. It was not what we were expecting at all.

“But the Medium on the second stint was really good. I had really good pace from the very beginning. And got three positions in the last three laps. Probably my best Formula 1 race that I have done.”

Norris also conceded that McLaren had “no chance” against Racing Point on pure pace alone and felt fortunate to finish in front of both RP20s.

“You saw how quick the Racing Points were, especially Sergio.

“When you have a guy in the car that extracts all the time out of it, you can see how quick they were, so in pace we had no chance against them.

“We have no chance against Red bull or Mercedes, so on paper seventh and eighth is the best we could have done.”

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Stewards more lenient when team-mates clash – Masi

Stewards more lenient when team-mates clash – Masi

Formula 1’s Race Director Michael Masi says stewards tend to be more lenient in dealing with clashes between team-mates, in explaining why no penalty was issued to Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc hit the back of team-mate Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari at Turn 3 on the opening lap of Formula 1’s Styrian Grand Prix, leaving both cars with terminal damage.

Stewards noted the collision but opted against further investigation.

Leclerc immediately accepted full responsibility and apologised to both Vettel and Ferrari.

Masi confirmed that “stewards looked at it at the time and determined the incident didn’t warrant further investigation” and when asked if a team-mate clash affects the way an incident is viewed he said: “I think it certainly does. Obviously it is taken into account.

“But I don’t know if it is a determining factor either way.

“We’ve seen incidents between two team-mates be penalised before, or otherwise, so I think it has done for many years that it is taken into account.

“To the degree, I think it changes overall depending on the severity of the incident to be honest.”

Stewards went on to investigate Lance Stroll’s overtake on Daniel Ricciardo, in which both went off-track, with the Renault driver labelling the move as “desperate.”

However no further action was taken and the drivers kept their respective positions.

“That one there they had a look at at the time and the stewards’ view from my understanding from a quick chat when they were investigating it is neither driver was predominantly to blame for the incident,” explained Masi.

“It says either a driver need to be wholly or predominantly to blame and in their view neither driver was predominantly to blame so on that basis their view was there was no breach of the regulation and no further action was required.”

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Hamilton: ‘Weird’ podium boxes over the top

Hamilton: ‘Weird’ podium boxes over the top

World Champion Lewis Hamilton described Formula 1’s Styrian Grand Prix podium ceremony as “weird” and the remote-controlled boxes that delivered the trophies as “over the top.”

Formula 1 has not held its traditional podium ceremonies in 2020 owing to the social distancing measures and new hygiene protocols following the coronavirus outbreak.

The podium has been moved to the pit straight, rather than above the pit lane, with no dignitaries – usually local politicians or sponsors – in attendance.

At the first event in Austria the top three drivers, along with a representative from the winning Constructor, were given their trophies by Formula 1’s Master of Podium Ceremonies Alexandre Molina.

But at the second event, and after it was trialled in Formula 2, four remote-controlled boxes were used to present the trophies.

“I thought it was weird, I would have preferred them to just to throw it to me or something,” said race winner Hamilton.

“It’s a really, really weird time, while you’re in the work zone, everything seems normal, driving and racing.

“But it really hit me at the end when I got out of the car and there’s no atmosphere, you miss the fans, it just shows how big the fans make a difference.

“I really missed it for that moment, you usually share it with those that follow you, and who don’t, we didn’t have that.

“The boxes arriving with the trophy just feels odd, definitely a bit OTT in my view as everyone here has been tested and wear gloves and all that kind of stuff.”

Formula 1’s opening eight events are due to take place without spectators though organisers of the Russian Grand Prix, scheduled for late September, have outlined that they will be open to fans.

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Ferrari facing long road to recovery – Brawn

Ferrari facing long road to recovery – Brawn

Ferrari faces a “long road” to recovery in Formula 1, according to the championship’s Managing Director Ross Brawn, after a dismal Styrian Grand Prix weekend.

Ferrari struggled for pace at the season-opening round though salvaged a podium courtesy of Charles Leclerc.

Boss Mattia Binotto suggested that Ferrari was losing a second per lap, with a 70-30 split between power and aerodynamics, and pushed for updated components to be brought to the second round.

Ferrari’s drivers expressed encouragement over the SF1000’s speed on high fuel runs in Friday practice but in Saturday’s wet qualifying session the team was off the pace again.

On the opening lap of the race Leclerc ran into the back of team-mate Sebastian Vettel, causing terminal damage to both cars, marking the second time they have clashed in just four races.

It leaves Ferrari in fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship, 61 points behind Mercedes, which has won both races in 2020.

“It was a race weekend to forget for Ferrari, with their drivers committing a cardinal sin by colliding and forcing both cars out of the race in the opening laps,” said Brawn.

“As a team boss, you never want to see that happen, but this will hurt Ferrari even more given they had worked hard to bring their upgraded aerodynamic package to Austria a week ahead of schedule – and the collision between Sebastian and Charles has robbed them of a chance to analyse the new package.

“Charles was very good in accepting the blame for the accident but it doesn’t help. That said, it’s sport and these things can happen – and now it looks like the engineers back at the factory have a lot of work to do.

“One of the biggest problems for Ferrari is that of all the teams on the grid, they come under the closest scrutiny from the media, particularly in Italy.

“I know from my own experience that the media pressure in Italy can be incredibly intense, and you have to make sure it doesn’t get to your people.

“The management have to cope with it and make sure the staff maintain the faith and stay focused on what needs to be done.

“They aren’t going to turn it around overnight, and there’s a long road ahead of them. They need to find out if there is a fundamental problem with the car – and they need to find out fast – because clearly they are some way off the pace.”

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How F1’s fallen giant has shown signs of recovery

How F1’s fallen giant has shown signs of recovery

For the past two seasons Williams has been Formula 1’s slowest team in nearly every metric, a humiliating fall from grace for a squad third on the all-time victory list and second in number of Constructors’ titles won.

Williams failed to make it out of Q1 through all of 2019 and scored just one inherited point in a dreadful season in which it was often a second per lap slower, mired at the back with no hope of fighting rivals.

But 2020 has already provided encouraging signs that Williams has stopped the rot and not just plateaued but set the path for its road towards recovery.

After its awful start to 2019 most of its upgrades after mid-season delivered the desired gains, providing it with confidence, that it hoped would carry through to 2020.

The opening back-to-back events at Austria’s Red Bull Ring proved that pre-season optimism was not misguided – but neither should the team be jumping up and down in jubilation just yet.

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George Russell (GBR) Williams Racing FW43. Steiermark Grand Prix, Saturday 11th July 2020. Spielberg, Austria

Q2 reached after just two races

Williams suffered 21 double Q1 exits out of 21 last year and typically only picked up positions on the grid when rivals erred. The closest it came was in Hungary, when George Russell was within a tenth of Q2, while in Austria he was 1.1s off the top 15 positions.

At 2020’s Austrian Grand Prix Russell almost made it through to Q2 and felt that the lack of a slipstream on his last push lap cost him two-tenths of a second, which proved to be the difference. Nonetheless Russell out-qualified both Alfa Romeos, ensuring the FW43 was not the slowest car.

Team-mate Nicholas Latifi, the only rookie in the 2020 field, was some way off though attributed his deficit to building up confidence and speed in the wake of a crash in FP3 that also denied him a qualifying simulation.

When wet conditions struck the Styrian Grand Prix Williams thrived, with Russell making it through to Q2, where he set a time just a tenth shy of Sebastian Vettel, who was 10th.

Latifi should have joined his team-mate mid-grid and was the faster of the duo in the early stages of Q1, before missing out when Antonio Giovinazzi spun exiting Turn 9, bringing out the yellow flags. The session was then prematurely stopped when the Alfa Romeo driver halted his C39 further around the track.

“Mercedes have made really good gains from last year in our qualifying modes which definitely helps us in comparison to Haas and Alfa Romeo who I think have taken a step backwards in the power unit side from Ferrari,” said Russell.

“I was surprised how comfortable I felt getting up to speed, I’ve always been quick in the rain in junior categories, but it’s a different animal in Formula 1,” said Latifi on the wet session, while ruing the misfortune that denied him a Q2 berth.

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Nicholas Latifi (CDN) Williams Racing FW43. Steiermark Grand Prix, Sunday 12th July 2020. Spielberg, Austria.

Race pace raises questions

This is where Williams was not as strong – and it came as a surprise to the team.

Russell was on course for the top 10 in the attrition-filled Austrian GP until he too became a victim of the high retirement rate when he suffered an engine-related issue.

Latifi set his sights on reaching the finish and he did so, revealing afterwards that he had to spend a lot of the race battling high temperatures and other assorted issues.

Russell’s lofty grid spot in Styria was wasted when he went off at Turn 6 on the restart – for which he accepted full responsibility – and dropped to the back of the field, having been 11th.

Russell, who lost seven seconds in the off, went on to pass Latifi, beating his team-mate to the line by four seconds, as both drivers finished two laps down. Russell was 15 seconds behind AlphaTauri’s two-stopping Pierre Gasly, who in turn was the same gap down on a group containing Daniil Kvyat, the Alfa Romeos and the Haas drivers – which in Styria were very much the ‘Midfield B’ contingent.

“These last two weekends have been interesting,” said Russell. “We approached the weekend thinking we’d struggle a bit more in qualifying and have better race pace in comparison, that’s what we learned in winter testing, and also what we learned Friday of Austria of Round 1.

“And yet both races and both qualifying sessions have been the complete opposite, we’ve had strong pace in qualifying but have really struggled in the race.

“It is a sport where qualifying is key, this is a circuit where you can race, in the race I messed up, but looking at our pace we probably would have ended up in the same position had I not gone off as well with the pace we had.”

Added Latifi: “I felt more comfortable in the second race, having a lot of the unknowns not unknown anymore, such as the start, the first laps, general performance, managing the tyres, so I feel I did a much better job than in the first race – even though the result didn’t show that. We were not as quick as we thought we were going to be. We thought we’d have a chance of fighting the Haas [drivers] but it didn’t turn out to be that way. I was around George most of the race, he was a bit quicker, but we were by ourselves.”

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Nicholas Latifi (CDN) Williams Racing FW43 and Romain Grosjean (FRA) Haas F1 Team VF-20 battle for position. Steiermark Grand Prix, Sunday 12th July 2020. Spielberg, Austria.

What’s positive, what’s not?

Williams has been faster than one team, at least, in both qualifying sessions – and in dry and wet conditions. That is encouraging. It is no longer the hopeless tail-ender and if it gets everything right it can make Q2, while it is in possession of a car that is not giving the drivers the heebie-jeebies. That was not the case in 2019, when Russell and Robert Kubica felt the car was going to zig when it should zag. But it still appears to be the slowest car in race trim – which is backed up by the pure results.

“The big thing is always going to be grip, downforce is king as they say, so even if the balance from entry to exit is all over the place with more grip you’ll go quicker,” said Latifi, who drove the 2019 car in selected FP1s and testing. “One thing that was improved on the car this year is the driveability and when I say that I mean predictability, how the car handles from entry to apex to exit, and being more consistent, so it gives us more confidence. It’s a more consistent car, you’re not having to anticipate, or guess, what the car’s going to do, everything feels more natural and more predictable, so this is a big area that has been improved.”

Russell commented that “one thing we’re really struggling when we’re close to cars ahead of us, the car feels very sensitive from an aero perspective. When I’m in clean air the car feels good, when I’m within 2-3 seconds of a car I’m really struggling, which is an issue.” For a team at the back of the grid that is a setback that needs as much resolving as possible.

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What about the drivers?

Williams has the least experienced driver line-up on the grid and even its ‘veteran’ of 23 grands prix still has a lot to learn, given he spent all of last year alone at the back. For the first time in his Formula 1 career Russell has been able to fight with competitors while Latifi is in a similar predicament, having only just stepped up from Formula 2.

“For me I’ve had a lack of battling over the last year, that’s far from an excuse [for the error] but it’s something that… I was in the midfield, something I didn’t experience one single time last year,” said Russell.

“I could feel what it’s like to attack the driver when there’s load of cars ahead, feeling that lack of downforce, gaining that experience, and to learn you always have to make mistakes.

“Your race craft at the back of the pack on your opening laps is very different to what it would be at the front of the pack. You get quite a concertina effect of cars getting backed up into corners, like you saw with Charles [Leclerc] and [Sebastian] Vettel, and at the front of the pack you don’t have that, you can attack more, you don’t have that concertina effect, that’s one small factor.

“It’s a different style of racing, really focus on positioning, and as I learned you sometimes can’t attack 100 per cent to make these moves because you have such a lack of downforce with so many cars around you, it really is quite messy sometimes, so like I say, I am sort of learning how Formula 1 is in the mid-pack and battling cars whereas last year I only had one guy to battle.”

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Hopes for Hungary

Russell’s lap in Hungary last year was the closest it got to making Q2 all year and while that box has now been ticked Williams is still pushing to reduce its deficit.

Williams’ FW43 is still draggy – though nowhere near as bad as its predecessor – and fewer full-throttle sections in Hungary should aid its cause, though the reduced reliance on power will ostensibly assist nearest opponents Alfa Romeo and Haas as well.

“We’ve got a couple of interesting bits in the pipeline, something we had over these past weekends, I had it last week, Nicholas had it this week, front suspension that seemed to work well,” said Russell. “I think when you get to a certain point it is chipping away at it, I need to have a sit down with the aero guys as obviously in an ordinary season you go racing, analyse the data, and you know where it is to improve.

“Every team has only had winter testing to base the updates on whereas you need to keep driving and driving to learn the car and understand how to improve. Even though we are seven months into the year no team has seven months of development, we have two races worth as we have only done two races.”

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F1 personnel set to minimise time spent in Hungary

F1 personnel set to minimise time spent in Hungary

Formula 1 teams are set to minimise the time they need to spend in Hungary this week in the wake of tight restrictions coming into force.

Formula 1 personnel have operated in a bubble in Austria across the past 10 or 11 days, with teams remaining apart from each other, and bubbles within the same squads set up where possible.

But whereas Formula 1’s Austrian events took place in rural Spielberg the Hungarian Grand Prix takes place at the Hungaroring, on the outskirts of Budapest, with personnel staying in hotels in the city.

Formula 1 teams were always set to remain at their hotels as much as possible, or at the Hungaroring, in order to be responsible.

However on Saturday the updated event notes issued by the FIA’s Covid-19 delegate warned that non-EU citizens face a hefty fine or even imprisonment if caught outside of the track or their accommodation, and that private transport must be used at all time.

As a result some travel plans have been altered such that those whose presence at the circuit is not immediately required can stay out in Austria before heading over the border into Hungary.

“These restrictions apply from the moment you enter Hungary,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.

“What we are going to do as a team is enter late. No one wants to be stuck in a hotel room from Monday to Thursday, so in that respect, we are going to maintain the bubble in Austria.”

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Racing Point hits out at ‘misconceived, poorly informed protest’

Racing Point hits out at ‘misconceived, poorly informed protest’

Racing Point has hit out at Renault’s “misconceived and poorly informed protest” in the wake of Formula 1’s Styrian Grand Prix.

Racing Point finished sixth and seventh in Austria, with Sergio Perez ahead of Lance Stroll, as the team moved into fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

Post-race the legality of its RP20s was protested by midfield rival Renault, and stewards deemed that the protest was admissible.

The front and rear brake ducts of the RP20s have been sealed and impounded by the FIA for further assessment and a hearing take place at a yet-to-be-confirmed date.

Renault’s protest relates to its suspicions that Racing Point is in breach of the regulations regarding the design of its RP20, which has drawn parallels to last year’s title-winning Mercedes W10.

Mercedes has also been ordered by the stewards to supply the relevant components from its W10 to allow a full investigation to take place.

Racing Point has never shied away from the fact that it used the W10 as inspiration for the design of its W10 but has maintained that no regulation has been broken.

“BWT Racing Point F1 Team is extremely disappointed to see its results in the Styrian Grand Prix questioned by what it considers to be a misconceived and poorly informed protest,” read a statement issued by the team on Monday.

“Any and all suggestion of wrongdoing is firmly rejected and the team will take all steps necessary to ensure the correct application of the regulations to the facts.

“Prior to the start of the season, the team cooperated with the FIA and satisfactorily addressed all questions regarding the origins of the designs of the RP20.

“The team is confident that the protest will be dismissed once it has presented its response.”

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Mercedes and Bottas agree new deal for 2021 F1 season

Mercedes and Bottas agree new deal for 2021 F1 season

Valtteri Bottas will remain at Mercedes in 2021, with a new deal having now been agreed in principle, sources have revealed to Motorsport.com.
While a final contract has yet to be signed off, both team and driver have agreed terms for their partnership to continue at least in to next year on the back of the Finn's strong start to the campaign.

The agreement, which has been put together in the last few days, came after Mercedes CEO Ola Kallenius gave his blessing, during a visit to the Austrian Grand Prix to an unchanged line-up for next season.

"We'll stay with our two boys," he told Sky Germany.

The move on Bottas will now leave the way clear for Mercedes to make progress in hammering out a fresh contract with Lewis Hamilton, who has yet to agree terms for next season but is also expected to stay.

Speaking before the Styrian GP weekend, Bottas said that he hoped an early deal could be agreed to help remove a potential distraction from his efforts to win the championship.

Asked about the chances of a swift deal being agreed he said:"I really hope so.

"Obviously it's a very special season starting so late. So, the timing is not really relevant to other seats and we've only done one race.

"On the other hand there's no rush, but also yes, time will fly by quickly and as soon as we know it, it's going to be the end of the season. So yeah, hopefully we can do something with that and get that kind of out of my mind.

"As we've seen, if things drag on, it's never a benefit. So, we can learn from that. We'll be taking actions based on what I learned."

Speaking after the race, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said the team was in no rush to announce its line-up for 2021, and was not interested in offering a running commentary of how negotiations with both drivers were going.

"You know that always when I tell you about timings, I keep hearing every single week 'why isn't it done? Why isn't it signed?'" he said.

"And that's why this year around, I wouldn't want to live comment about the status of our negotiations or discussions. They're happening. I don't know when we're going to announce."

The news on Bottas means that another potential option for Sebastian Vettel has closed off following his release from Ferrari.

Front-running options at Mercedes and Renault are no longer a possibility, which means his only remaining hope of staying in F1 is if there is change of heart at some teams

Despite its insistence it is not interested, Red Bull could still be an outside bet if Alex Albon does not improve on the difficulties he suffered last weekend, while Racing Point continues to be linked to Vettel despite it having both Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll are under contract.

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Horner: Everyone should be "worried" by Racing Point's pace

Horner: Everyone should be "worried" by Racing Point's pace

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner says all teams should be "worried" by the pace of the Racing Point, after the way the controversial car charged through the field in the Styrian Grand Prix.

After a disappointing qualifying that left Sergio Perez down in 17th on the grid, the Mexican pushed up the field to challenge for fourth at one point – before a collision with Red Bull’s Alex Albon damaged his front wing and resulted in him dropping back behind McLaren’s Lando Norris.

But the speed shown by the car, with Perez able to lap at the same pace as race winner Lewis Hamilton when he was in clear air, has left rivals wide eyed about the RP20.

Asked by Motorsport.com if Red Bull was worried by the pace of the Racing Point, Horner said: “I think everybody would be worried by the Racing Point.

“I mean, Perez was quicker than the Mercedes at that point in the race. Bearing in mind that [Valtteri] Bottas was on tyres that were within one lap of age to the Racing Point, Perez was three or four tenths quicker. So it was very impressive pace that they showed.

“I think Alex drove incredibly well to keep them behind. But also if you look at Alex’s pace on that tyre versus Bottas, again there was encouragement that we can take from that in a car that wasn’t carrying any damage.

Racing Point's early-season form was the trigger point for Renault deciding to lodge a protest against the car, amid suspicions it has directly copied last year's Mercedes W10.

The FIA says that the ground of Renault’s protest against Racing Point is admissible and the team's brake ducts have been impounded so detailed checks and comparisons with last year’s Mercedes can be made.

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl echoed Horner’s view that the Racing Point was an incredibly fast car, but said that the onus was on his outfit to try to improve to match it.

Asked if he was worried by it, Seidl said: “It doesn't concern me because it just confirms the picture we have seen in Barcelona and also on Friday here.

“It's just a fact that this one year old Mercedes is simply a quick car, which is operated by a great team. We know that, with the development we did over winter, we did make the step to get to last year's Mercedes. So if they extract more from this car it is difficult for us to compete.

“Therefore it's very important for us now to simply make sure we keep developing our car, keep improving it and at the same time to maximise opportunities, which we did also in the first races with very good drivers and I think a lot of right decisions in terms of strategies.”

Racing Point "too fast for our liking"

Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo said that Racing Point is "hooked up" and "too fast for our liking."

Speaking before the protest was made official, Ricciardo made it clear that he's been surprised by the pace of the Racing Points.

"I just saw the race plot with all the lines and all that stuff," he said.

"And Perez had some serious race pace. When the team told me Perez was behind me, I was like, I thought we were having a good race. But obviously he started way back, and he was coming.

"So they're fast. I mean, a little too fast for our liking right now. But even watching the onboards, watching his lap from P2, the car is hooked up.

"I'll take nothing away from Perez, Perez is obviously a very good driver. But that thing's working very well at the moment. So they're a bit of a handful."

Ricciardo's teammate Esteban Ocon, who retired with a cooling issue, agreed with his teammate.

"At the moment, we seem to be lacking pace for sure, against Racing Point," said the Frenchman. "That is clear. They are they are on top of us at the moment. We seem to be in the mix with McLaren. I think we have a great pace, we can race them, I think that's where we are at the moment in race pace."

"We were still on to have a good result in the end so I don't worry on having the Racing Point go that far in the soft tyres. So in terms of saving the tyres, we are not bad. We are just lacking slightly pace against those pink machines."

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Renault seeks urgent solution after second radiator failure

Renault seeks urgent solution after second radiator failure

The Renault Formula 1 team is seeking an urgent solution to a radiator issue after the Enstone outfit was hit by two identical failures on successive weekends.
Daniel Ricciardo was forced to retire from the Austrian GP after a weld failure led to a leak and triggered overheating. After the race the remaining examples were returned to the UK factory, X-rayed and checked over, and then sent back to the Red Bull Ring.

However in Sunday’s Styrian GP, Esteban Ocon had an identical failure and was called into the pits to retire, costing the team valuable points for a second time.

The problem for Renault is that the schedule of back-to-back races does not give the team enough time to source replacements, so it has to work with what it has.

“It's extremely, extremely frustrating and extremely disappointing,” Renault executive director Marcin Budkowski told Motorsport.com.

“It's a part that we get from a supplier. To get into detail, it’s a weld on the on the radiator. We've inspected all the welds, we haven't found any issue. And we had the same exact problem.

“And we used the same radiators in Barcelona pre-season testing, and we had no issues whatsoever. So whether it's the kind of thermal duty cycle of the circuit, whether it's the famous kerbs of Spielberg, there's something we didn't understand, or we didn't manage to spot.

“So we're going to take stronger containment measures for the next race, but we're extremely disappointed that that we had the same problem twice and we lost two point scoring opportunities with each driver.

“So we are going to look at it very, very hard again, so all the radiators are on the way again, back to Enstone to be checked.”

Budkowski confirmed that the same batch would have to be modified for Hungary.

“We can't do new ones, so we're going to have to do what we call containment on the existing ones. We're going to have to add some material and try to reinforce the weld and try to make it less prone to breaking or to leaking.

“So it's not going to be pretty, but hopefully it will be good enough for one race, and we will look at something more robust and in the future.”

The positive for Renault is that Ocon and Ricciardo have both managed a race distance and scored points, having earned an eighth place apiece.

“I didn't have any cooling issues or warnings today,” said the Australian after the Styrian race. “So it seems like it's the reverse of last week, Esteban had no issues, I did.

"And today he had the issues, and I didn't, so I didn't have to take care of anything on cooling today. So mine was fine.

“But it seems like a very similar issue that he's had today. So that's, that's obviously something that needs further investigation.”

Ocon added: “I'm obviously disappointed for sure with what happened. We were running on a good position, we were having a great opportunity. I think the strategy was also quite nice. So it's a shame.

“Unfortunately, it's it's motorsports sometimes. We suspected it was a cooling issue. So we retired to save the engine, in case that was that the thing.”

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