In the round-up: Documents indicate Force India could be rebranded as Force One.
Links
Your daily digest of F1 news, views, features and more from hundreds of sites across the web:
Mallya paves way for F1 team to be a force without India (Reuters)
"The only named official for the companies - Force One Grand Prix, Force One Racing, Force One Team, Force One Technology, Force One Hospitality and Force One Brand - was Force India director Thiruvannamalai Ventkatesan Lakshmi Kanthan."
Vettel may face further punishment over collision with Hamilton (The Guardian)
"Sebastian Vettel is being investigated by the FIA for the incident in which his car hit Lewis Hamilton in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday."
Rachel's Diary: Seb v Lewis (Sky)
"There was no way Seb was going to admit turning in on Lewis, whether deliberately or because he only had one hand on the wheel at the time."
Red Bull can win races on merit in 2017, says Marko (Motorsport)
"Our chassis is good, we are bringing updates, Renault is working on the engine, As I said we still think we can win races on our own during the rest of the season."
Zweites China-Team mit Formel 1-Interesse (Auto Motor und Sport - German)
"F1 is planning a joint car launch event before the start of the 2018 season which fans will be able to attend."
Ferrari going for it in British GP (James Allen on F1)
"The high speed flowing Silverstone circuit should suit the Ferrari and to make sure that they give themselves the best chance of coming away with a British Grand Prix win, the team has decided to roll out the latest version of the 2017 engine that weekend."
10 minutes with... Sergio Perez (Crash)
"Knowing why you are quick and why you are slow, what happens weekend after weekend, makes a huge difference to your season and to your career in Formula 1. That's something I figured out what went wrong and I analysed really carefully what happened at my time with McLaren, why it went so wrong."
Celis handed first practice outings of season (Autosport)
"The Force India Formula 1 team will use its reserve driver Alfonso Celis Jr in Friday practice for the first time this season at the Austrian and Hungarian Grands Prix."
Baku tech roundup - small wings, big boards & asymmetric brakes (F1)
"For Friday’s two practice sessions Mercedes experimented with an asymmetric brake set-up, running greater cooling capacity on one side of the car than the other."
View from the Pit Lane: Baku (Channel 4)
"Hamilton deserves a lot of credit for what he did on the three restarts. He did something different every time, and you can’t overestimate that."
Admit it Seb, you screwed up (Racer)
"In Austria, Vettel should own up and apologize for his reaction, even if he wants to maintain Hamilton was at fault for their initial collision."
Disgracing Themselves (Darren Heath)
"Under team principal Maurizio Arrivabene, so frightened to upset Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne - the autocratic 65-year old who demands results or else - the team have operated an almost unparalleled media blackout of their personnel. Such a daft policy will inevitably bite when controversy occurs, since rivals with a grown-up attitude towards the press are far more able to control and react to the narrative."
Got a tip for a link to feature in the next F1 Fanatic round-up? Send it in here:
Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
My first time in an oval and it was great! BIG respect to oval racing drivers. pic.twitter.com/1PPcghZV5W
— Esteban Gutierrez (@EstebanGtz) June 28, 2017
You know you have been pushing really hard during your training session when you can't stand and have to seat on the shower… 😨🚲⛰️
— Romain Grosjean (@RGrosjean) June 28, 2017
Didn't think we'd see a P1 by this stage a few months back.. looks good. I like it. I think @redbullracing do too. Let's get some more 🙋🏻♂️ pic.twitter.com/xmmE75Q8Rk
— Daniel Ricciardo (@danielricciardo) June 28, 2017
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
Quite a few of you felt Kevin Magnussen deserved a spot among the ‘Star Performers’:
Magnussen maximised the car in the race, and the double move on Hulkenberg and Massa was rather nice too.
Hugh (@Hugh11)
From the forum
- @Modeno65 is looking for tips on getting to and from Silverstone during the grand prix
Happy birthday!
No F1 Fanatic birthdays today
If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is via the contact form or adding to the list here.
Luka
29th June 2017, 0:10
I Am One With the Force and the Force Is With Me
Fletch (@fletchuk)
29th June 2017, 1:14
OOOOH that is good!
Luka
29th June 2017, 8:09
It’s Time to Embrace The Force! :)
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
29th June 2017, 2:42
I read somewhere about Obi Oconobi and Checobacca…
Todfod (@todfod)
29th June 2017, 6:16
Hahahaha
What about James Keywalker and Princess Mallya?
Joao (@johnmilk)
29th June 2017, 6:52
Vijay the hutt
Fukobayashi (@)
29th June 2017, 9:33
This one killed me @johnmilk 😂
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
29th June 2017, 7:11
Vijay Mallya & Subrata Roy yang KotOR? (I’m so uninformed here I know nothing apart from the existence of 2 games in sort of the same setting as the one famous for the Force)
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
29th June 2017, 7:12
@ruliemaulana
petebaldwin (@)
29th June 2017, 13:07
At some point, both of their cars are going to retire and someone will say “Force One Out”.
Joao (@johnmilk)
29th June 2017, 14:46
I can’t wait to see the moment when one of their drivers signs a deal with a new team because they were going down a path that they could not follow
Dom (@3dom)
29th June 2017, 20:48
Excellent 😄
kanan
29th June 2017, 1:05
Darren Heath is right about PR/press lol. Mercedes and Hamilton use it really well. But other than that he’s taken all this Vettel/Ferrari bashing thing to the next level. I guess in the same article he’s basically proving the first point I (and he) mentioned without realizing too.
@F1-liners (@f1-liners)
29th June 2017, 11:06
disgracing himself ;)
Great picture of Vettel’s Ferrari though.
Ink
29th June 2017, 1:32
Name change, huh? Feels like they really tried to Force One out!
I am not a stand-up comedian, and I will keep my day job :)
OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
29th June 2017, 1:48
I would really like it if they named it Force Thiruvannamalai Ventkatesan Lakshmi Kanthan.
TR
29th June 2017, 2:00
The question is, Force him to do what?
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
29th June 2017, 2:50
@omarr-pepper I bet his business card is an A4 paper folded into a tiny square. And he can only carry 2 of them in his pocket…
Lee (@leejo)
29th June 2017, 2:56
That’ll be the real name, but they’ll introduce themselves as Force Jeff.
Todfod (@todfod)
29th June 2017, 6:18
Would love the commentators say that during the race (without any abbreviations)
Mangy Black Sheep (@mangyblacksheep)
29th June 2017, 2:13
Force One, lame. Force Pink is so much better.
Kash
29th June 2017, 6:13
How about Pink Force
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
29th June 2017, 2:38
For RedBull could win race on merit, Renault need to fix reliability issue first.
That TAG-Heuer power unit is proven more unreliable than Honda.
Todfod (@todfod)
29th June 2017, 6:22
Nope.
I believe McLaren have gone through over 10 entire power units already since the season began. Renault have gone through half that… the only problem is that Renault has failed during the race and that is why the laps completed stat is skewed.
Honda is still in a league of their own.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
29th June 2017, 7:59
@todfod McLaren have actually completed more race laps than Red Bull.
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
29th June 2017, 8:10
That’s only because VER retired early in two races, that skews the lap total but essentially it doesn’t matter in what lap a driver retires.
Renault still is doing much better than Honda in terms of engine components. Not even close.
Todfod (@todfod)
30th June 2017, 15:01
@mashiat
Don’t know if you even read my comment. I agree McLaren has more race laps, but they’ve gone through double the number of power units.
Joao (@johnmilk)
29th June 2017, 6:57
The unreliability is quite normal if you ask me. The rules play against them.
You have this self-widing engines in parc-ferme all night how can they expect it to last a whole race the day after?
SaraJ (@sjzelli)
29th June 2017, 4:02
Yeah ok Guardian. Whatever u say lol. And bats may fly outta my …
Pinak Ghosh (@pinakghosh)
29th June 2017, 6:13
Already two penalties have been dished out – 10 second (in the race) and license points (after the race). Had it not been for the headrest, it could have been a race win for Hamilton. There is no need for stewards to artificially intervene off the race track and and take a decision that has a bearing the outcome of the championship. Lewis and Mercedes has the upper hand at the moment both mentally and in terms of machinery. It is Ferrari trying to catch up looking to bring engine updates to match Mercedes.
Force One is a nice name even though I feel some part of the decision drop India from Force India has more to do with the team owner’s situation.
anon
29th June 2017, 7:36
@pinakghosh, the thing is, the allegations raised by Auto Motor und Sport – that the stewards felt they should have disqualified him from the race, but felt they could not because he was a championship contender – would, if true, set a bad precedent.
If the stewards feel that Vettel should have been disqualified for an act of bad driving, that penalty shouldn’t be watered down because he is a title contender (in much the same way that many feel that Grosjean shouldn’t have been punished harder than usual after the 2012 Belgian GP just because he hit two of the championship contenders in that race). If a driver in the field who wasn’t a title contender would have been disqualified for that act, then that same punishment should be issued to all, irrespective of whether or not they are competing for the title.
Pinak Ghosh (@pinakghosh)
29th June 2017, 16:02
You do have a point @anon …rules are equal for everyone and there shouldn’t be any discrimination based on the position on the results table.
My point is: Vettel’s antics should have been judged in the race itself. If the stewards had imposed a longer time penalty or even black flagged Vettel in the race, it would have been perfectly understandable. But the race is done and dusted. Why bother now with an investigation when already two penalties have been served?
Robbie (@robbie)
29th June 2017, 22:32
But the reality is that indeed bad deeds go differently punished in F1 depending on who has committed the deed and where they stand in the WDC chase and where the race sits within the calendar, as in, near the start of the season or near the end. F1 has shown themselves to try to manipulate things as much and yet as subtly as they can if it at all can help bring the WDC decider down to the last race. Black and white, written in stone rules and regulations make for less controversy and less ability for F1 to bring it down to the last race of the season. So the more shades of grey they can maintain, the more room they have to play with. There is also the reality that every incident is unique and different on it’s own and is usually subject to debate. And F1 loves us to debate.
Todfod (@todfod)
29th June 2017, 6:25
I’m surprised they didn’t call the team “Kingfisher Racing” or something like that…. after all the team did raise it’s laundered finances from Kingifisher.
Unicron (@unicron2002)
29th June 2017, 6:35
Force One sounds like one of those teams that had to do pre-qualifying in the late 80s/early 90s.
But I love the team, love the cars, love the drivers. But not the owners. So maybe distancing themselves from the India link could in this case could be a good thing.
@F1-liners (@f1-liners)
29th June 2017, 7:13
The main problem I had was that the abbreviated version – FI – Resembled too much the series.
Not sure if that’s now resolved. Will we see it being referred to as FO, F1, or FONE ;)
Kie
29th June 2017, 7:18
Force One sounds like a bad Chuck Norris Movie. in fact it actually IS a bad chuck Norris Movie
Chuck Norris
29th June 2017, 23:01
There is no such thing as a bad Chuck Norris film
Patrick (@anunaki)
29th June 2017, 7:24
I really hope no further penalty will be given to VET. Sure they could’ve DSQ him during the race. But they didn’t. The race is over now. Move on.
sumedhvidwans (@sumedhvidwans)
29th June 2017, 7:28
I don’t think the outrage against Vettel would be this strong had Hamilton’s headrest stayed in place. The fact that Hamilton finished behind Vettel is what is causing this chorus of another penalty for Vettel.
IMO, the first contact by Vettel was accidental, fully his mistake. The second action to get alongside Hamilton and gesticulate to him was deliberate by Vettel. The final action of hitting Hamilton happened because Vettel had one hand in the air and couldn’t control the car. Irresponsible, amateurish driving by Vettel, no doubt. But the second hit wasn’t “deliberate”. And because of it not being deliberate, I think Vettel should get no more penalty.
I think FIA has 5 options now (in increasing order of severity): 1) No extra penalty 2) Suspended race-ban to Vettel over and above the points on his license 3) DQ from Azerbaijan results 4) Race-ban for Austria 5) DQ from season
If the final decision of FIA is a combination of 2&3 (which is what Mclaren got for the Liegate controversy of 2009 Australian grand prix), it would be quite harsh. I feel it should be just option 1. But option 2 is probably the best midway that FIA will go far.
JC
29th June 2017, 7:46
The wheel bang was deliberate. An F1 car doesn’t move sideways with that much force without a very sudden and forceful movement of the steering wheel.
@F1-liners (@f1-liners)
29th June 2017, 8:52
Cosby is still looking for a lawyer. Are you available @sumedhvidwans?
Frasier (@frasier)
29th June 2017, 10:46
LOL
Ruben
29th June 2017, 7:52
This.
I don’t approve of Seb’s action at all, but the matter that FIA is looking to give him a different penalty after thinking they gave out the wrong penalty themselves is farcical. If it were about the way he behaved after the race I would understand. But it is the conduct during the race that’s going to be discussed which he already received a ten second Stop-Go for, not the aftermath in which Seb refused to talk about it.
This is the second time in two races that the FIA has given out a penalty that they were doubting over the punishment. Kvyat had to serve two penalties in Canada for one offense which FIA screwed up on. You get it right the first time or you admit your mistake saying it won’t happen again. Not keep pilling it on till you get it right to save face.
Really time for a team of stewards that is there for the whole year. This guest stewarding is clearly not the way to go.
Frasier (@frasier)
29th June 2017, 10:49
Yes, the stewards, where do they find them, what are their qualifications for the job, apart from the driver steward of course..
So many inexplicable and inconsistent decisions
Lancer033 (@lancer033)
29th June 2017, 12:09
I think the only requirement to be a steward is to have a pulse, but if you know the right people that could probably be waived.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
29th June 2017, 13:18
+ 1 I agree with this approach. Anything more than option 2. would be ridiculous in my opinion.
Robert
29th June 2017, 16:34
Vettel shouldn’t have been penalised in the first place because the “incident” didn’t affect the actual race at all. Hamilton didn’t lose time and no damage was sustained to his car so the penalty for Vettel is not justified. What should have happened is that the officials should have shown Vettel the half black/half white flag for unsporting behaviour because that is exactly the behaviour that he exhibited.
The Last Pope (@the-last-pope)
29th June 2017, 17:35
Unsporting behaviour in sport must always be punished. Whether the race was effected or not is beside the point. Vettel brings the sport into disrepute with his actions. Fia promotes safe driving, they can’t then allow one of their own drivers get away with extreme road rage on the track unpunished.
Robert
29th June 2017, 20:43
That is what the half black/half white flag is for in F1, they should have used it for this.
It is the only point actually, I recognise the rulings in motorsport, it’s a shame other people seem not to and just want to give out draconian punishments all the time.
That is not even remotely true, he is a great champion and what happened in that moment is out of character. It was wrong of him but it definitely does not bring the sport into disrepute.
This was racing on a closed circuit, not every day driving in heavy traffic, so you cannot compare them.
pH
29th June 2017, 7:46
I think they should call the team The Force, assuming they can get it licenced from George Lucas. If not, The Schwarz would do.
Joao (@johnmilk)
29th June 2017, 12:10
what would the code be for the pink side of the force?
Aditya (@adityafakhri)
29th June 2017, 7:52
You guys may find it hard to believe, but I once drove a Force One before my father sold it.
It was two-stroke engine powered by Yamaha.
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
29th June 2017, 12:49
@adityafakhri LoL. Yeah, I use to have a black one. All the time it force me to steer it to nearest workshop.
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
29th June 2017, 18:06
@adityafakhri
*goes on Google*
wow, beneran 2tak
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
29th June 2017, 8:12
That’s a great idea!
@F1-liners (@f1-liners)
29th June 2017, 9:00
How good would it be to have a huge launch circus the day before the 1st Barcelona/Jerez test with all the cars on display for fans to see, drivers available for photo ops and autographs, and all the excitement they normally have at Albert Park including the Bundy Promo girls ;)
@jeffreyj
@F1-liners (@f1-liners)
29th June 2017, 8:49
Let me introduce you to the Force One (link)
– 2.2 FMTECH Engine with a top speed of 160 kmph
– Advanced braking system for sure stop braking.
– Front: Independent Double Wishbone Coil Spring Suspension
– Tiltable and collapsible steering column for greater comfort
AntoineDeParis (@antoine-de-paris)
29th June 2017, 9:22
This photo artist’s article very interesting. Stopped reading immediately after “Ferrari really are a horrible team right now”. As an artist he should try little bit harder lol
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
29th June 2017, 10:22
Force One? Sure why not. Let it be a global team. They are hardly Indian anymore. And they never were…
:D Pink Force One! :D hehe.
Sakis (@)
29th June 2017, 12:12
I can’t help thinking that “Force One” sounds like a really bad low cost action film.
Since they decided to drop geographical reference there, they should consider dropping “Force” too. It does not suit with anything. Should they keep it, net and plain names like “Force GP”, “Force F1 Racing”, “Force Motorsports” sound much much better and extremely appealing.
Neil (@neilosjames)
29th June 2017, 12:29
When I hear ‘Force One’, the only thing I can think of is the Beaufort Scale.
Force One – car drives past at 200mph.
Force Two – wind felt on face.
Force Three – proper bit of motion on on the flag circle at Sochi.
I was a strange, weather-obsessed child.
BobF1
29th June 2017, 14:27
Force 1 Out (F1O) would be a good name and not cause a stink with FOM and FIA.
stefano (@alfa145)
29th June 2017, 16:05
Force One Racing looks promising to me. it’s short, sexy and it’s not just Force One wich is too much like “F1”
Loup Garou (@loup-garou)
29th June 2017, 17:02
“Force One” does sound strong but that horrible pink colour will not go with it. They should go for military green or something more punchy.
The Last Pope (@the-last-pope)
29th June 2017, 17:39
That pink livery turned the worst looking car on the grid into the best looking, most identifying car on the grid.
DaveW (@dmw)
29th June 2017, 21:10
I’ll be the first to weigh in this (in the last 30 seconds): Regarding Vettel, this seems quite straightforward. One car rammed another car on the track intentionally. This is the gravest possible misdeed in the sport (now that FOM has eased up on people posting clips of races in FB). This must earn a disqualification from the event, at the least. A 10-second penalty for this is a howler. One should consider the aggravating factors as well, so to speak: 1. the attack was unprovoked. 2. this was behind the SC and 3. he remains wholly unrepentant. You can consider prior bad acts as well, because they are quite on point, for example, his hideous abuse of Charlie Whiting on the radio. He appears to lack respect for both rules and rule-makers, and a two-fingered slap on the wrist here is asking for more trouble.
Robbie (@robbie)
29th June 2017, 22:45
Well, ok, I’m not going to lose sleep whatever further they may decide to do with SV, but first of all I don’t think this was the gravest thing…doing it at racing speeds would have been many times worse. Also, we don’t know if he remains unrepentant. Will be very interesting to hear what the FIA does and what SV has to say on the subject now that some days have passed.
Old_mate_Mick
30th June 2017, 1:31
It’s entirely possible that he was told immediately after the race to not speak about the incident. Ferrari this year have been very quiet, with drivers and staff being told essentially to say as little as possible to the media about anything. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to find out that Vettel was told not to speak about the incident by someone at the team. His manager kept a very close eye on him while he was speaking to the press, and he seemed to be trying really hard to avoid talking specifically about the side-on contact. Considering it was an on-going matter, he was likely told to keep quiet about it until him and the FIA had sat down and sorted everything out. I’ll be expecting him to come clean and apologise next weekend before practice.
As for his punishment: He wasn’t only given a ten second penalty, so can everyone stop saying that? It was a ten sec stop/go, which is significantly more serious than a regular ten sec pen. Stop/go penalties are one of the harshest penalties they can give, and they also gave him 3 points to go with it. The last time an incident like this happened, it was Hamilton and Maldonado intentionally ramming each other. The British fans made a big point of laying 100% of the blame at Maldonado’s feet (surprise surprise), but the FIA found both drivers intentionally turned in on each other, and as such both were to blame. However, Ham only got a reprimand, while Maldonado got a 5 place grid penalty. Both of those penalties are significantly lighter than Vettel’s ten sec stop/go and 3 penalty points. Ferrari would be smart to bring this precedent to the FIA’s attention.
What Vettel did was uncalled for, and stupid, but I suspect he knows that, and feels very silly about it. His penalties were definitely harsh enough, and without Mercedes stuffing up Hamilton’s headrest, Vettel would have finished four places behind Hamilton. It’s not his or Ferrari’s fault that Mercedes stuffed up, and that definitely shouldn’t be a factor in the FIA’s decision. It should only matter if the punishment fits the crime, which in this case it did. As I said, Maldonado and Hamilton were both found guilty of the same thing as Vettel, and one of them got a way lighter punishment, and the other only got a reprimand for dangerous driving, and their incident was at speeds in excess of 150kph, not 30kph…
Lewisham Milton
29th June 2017, 21:25
But what will they call Vijay Mallya’s private jet?
Todfod (@todfod)
30th June 2017, 15:03
Jailbird