Quotes: Dieter Rencken
In the round-up: Pierre Gasly says Toro Rosso struggled with a lack of straight-line speed in Sunday’s race.
What they say
Despite a lack of straight-line speed and difficulty getting the ultra-soft tyres to work, Gasly believed he had a chance of scoring points before his collision with Kevin Magnussen:
I think first lap was good and with all the mess around I was P10 or P9. So really happy about that because I was in a good position.
And then after that was really a difficult situation because every lap I got overtaken in the straight even before the DRS zone and was massive delta of speed. We struggled with the speed in the last sector all weekend but then in the race was even more difficult. So pretty frustrating part of the race.
And then I don’t know, we didn’t really have the pace in the middle so switched to soft, got a bit better but wasn’t really good. But we knew that until the end everything could happen and then actually it happened, Safety Car we pitted and then we were P11 so I knew points was on the table.
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
I've just gone through a thorough set of photos of the damage that @alo_oficial's suffered on the first lap. It makes it even more incredible how he managed, not only to finish the race, but to push as hard as he did. Hats off.
— Ivan Roldan (@ivanlda) April 30, 2018
Baku City Circuit (BCC) today announced that 94,000 Formula 1 fans attended the racing action and nightly concerts at the #AzerbaijanGP over the course of 4 days. This figure represents a 31% increase in attendance from last year’s race on F1’s fastest street circuit. #F1
— F1 Media (@F1Media) April 30, 2018
In the simulator today. Working hard on preparing futur races! Probably a good way to forget yesterday's race… And focus on the positive : our very competitive Haas VF18
— Romain Grosjean (@RGrosjean) April 30, 2018
Most people in Portugal see milk when they look at this…
I just see Pedro Diniz driving (clinging on to) a @FortiCorseF1… pic.twitter.com/AROBFbSXNv
— Ollie Barstow (@OllieBarstow) April 30, 2018
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
More motor racing links of interest:
Max after Baku: 'Daniel and I may have to be a little less eager' (Verstappen)
"Of course, we are going to talk with each other and I think you should just let us race. Racing between us does not have to change drastically, but perhaps we should both be a little less eager when we race each other."
Ricciardo on Chinese GP win, Bottas and more (Sky)
"I'm not saying he would have made it stick but have a crack, son."
Video: Why Gasly branded Magnussen ‘the most dangerous driver on the grid’ (F1)
FOM has revealed the onboard video from Gasly and Magnussen's cars showing their Baku collision.
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Comment of the day
Should Red Bull ditch Renault for Honda?
I think Red Bull will gamble on Honda. Yes, the Renault power units have gotten much closer to Ferrari and Mercedes in terms of performance, but Red Bull wants that works team status again, and Renault probably doesn’t care what Red Bull does seeing as they have McLaren as a customer now.
On top of all that, I’m sure everyone in both teams wants to see the end of all the petty drama we’ve seen since the start of the V6 era. Personally, I’m surprised this dragged out beyond 2015, let alone 2018.
@ForzaMaldonado
Snapshot
Any F1 drivers who complained about the wind last week should check out the weather which greeted the World Rallycross field at Montalegre in Portugal last weekend. Watch highlights of the snow-hit action – and much more from last weekend – in the new-style, spoiler-free Weekend Racing Wrap:
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Ivan!
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James Coulee
1st May 2018, 1:07
No articles today: I feel there has been a trend lately -there’s a good reason for it, for sure- to feature less article links in the round-up, but they are missed.
Todd (@braketurnaccelerate)
1st May 2018, 3:42
Articles (Links) are definitely there. Seems the formatting is a little wonky, but they’re there nonetheless.
Tristan (@skipgamer)
1st May 2018, 5:38
I recommend feedly.com for those who miss daily links. You can set up a category there for formula 1 not too difficultly https://imgur.com/eXCJKzn an example of what it can look like. It’s a worthwhile service for all sorts of news/rss feed aggregation. It’s not curated of course but you can quickly get a feel for what news is out there with it.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
1st May 2018, 5:53
+1 for the Feedly suggestion, and that screenshot of potential sources. Personally, I keep just RaceFans and Crash.net on it to keep from being overwhelmed, as I also aggregate a lot of non-F1 news.
Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
1st May 2018, 7:12
The extra content far outweighs the round up but I do miss the links as a start of day bit of catching up I must admit.
Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
1st May 2018, 7:47
Even if the round up included the big articles from the previous day from this site would be convenient because there’s so much content within Racefans now. The external stuff isn’t as relevant
GeeMac (@geemac)
1st May 2018, 8:54
Most articles out there just regurgitate the same content, so I think that giving is links to a few reliable sources is a far better approach.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
1st May 2018, 4:16
Thanks for the video of the Gasly/Magnussen incident, as it wasn’t covered in the broadcast. A deserved penalty, and pretty scary seeing as it was happening on that fast straight.
Magnussen should count himself lucky that his rear tyre didn’t climb over the Gasly’s front tyre, else we might have seen yet another incident.
Magnussen does seem to be rubbing several drivers the wrong way with his seeming inability to move out in a timely manner under blue flags, and with his feisty defending.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
1st May 2018, 4:19
Re. the tweet about Alonso – I’d forgotten about the extent of Alonso’s damage, and yes, surprising and good to see that he did not DNF.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
1st May 2018, 4:32
So the toro rosso chassis must be awesome. The Car looks really competitive despite the speed Delta.
Bolide (@mim5)
1st May 2018, 5:17
I’m sorry to bring this up again but regarding the Verstappen-Riccardol
crash, first of all we all know how excellent both drivers are under braking or while overtaking but as we saw during qualyfying Gasly was so sure he would collide with his teammate but somehow he didn’t! How come both Redbull drivers crashed!
Phylyp (@phylyp)
1st May 2018, 5:56
@mim5 – the circumstances were different. In the Toro Rosso near miss, the only objective was to avoid a collision, so Gasly kept looking for the safe escape route that he took to bail out.
In the Red Bull crash, they were racing for position and Ricciardo was looking for an overtake, not to bail out (which he could have done capably if he so wished).
Put another way, if Gasly wanted to just dodge Hartley’s car and continue on his lap with minimal loss of time, the result could have very well been different.
Janno (@)
1st May 2018, 6:20
It is not that Gasly missed him by a mile… :p He had little of lady luck on his side – it was a good save but i’d say that would have ended very badly 9 out of 10 times.
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
1st May 2018, 6:37
I think the Gasly quote serves as a timely reminder of the dangers of having the Honda engine. In the STR it’s showing it’s not nearly as bad as McLaren made it out to be all that time, but it’s still not good enough for the level Rer Bull aspires to. Still a massive risk.
kartguy07 (@kartguy07)
1st May 2018, 14:44
I think it’s worth saying that Toro Rosso are undoubtedly getting the benefit of Honda using McLaren as a test lab in the final throes of their partnership.
Jere (@jerejj)
1st May 2018, 7:03
Now that I’ve finally got to see the Magnussen-Gasly incident I’ve come to the conclusion that I now wholeheartedly agree with what Gasly said in the interview pen shortly after the race: That was very dirty and disrespectful behavior from K-Mag even worse than some of Max’s moves like, for example, what he did to Lewis, and Seb in Bahrain, and China respectively, and or what Ocon did to Kimi. I could expect a move like that in Codemasters’ F1 games or console games/virtual racing, in general, but not in real life. That could’ve very easily led to a nasty crash considering the situational speeds of the drivers involved. I have nothing personal against K-Mag or any other driver for that matter, but I just hope that he’d stop pulling out unnecessarily risky moves before something terrible happens. BTW, I fully agree with the tweet of Ivan Roldan.
Jere (@jerejj)
1st May 2018, 8:05
I forgot to include earlier that I also agree with the COTD.
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
1st May 2018, 7:28
I love Dany Ric marketing pitch. He’ll be great in Merc but he really could have no seat next year if he didn’t force the deal soon enough. Especially with Fukuzumi to STR rumour and when RBR could bring back Sainz or promote Gasly.
Kimi is still good and obedient enough for Ferrari and Bottas just unlucky not to lead the championship table.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
1st May 2018, 8:27
If Dani Ric would be in Kimi seat Ferrari would have two extra wins and would be leading the WCC comfortably.
Egonovi
1st May 2018, 10:03
He could have tried a bit harder in Bahrain & China; nor his crash in Melboune had anything to do with being unlucky.
Kribana (@krichelle)
1st May 2018, 7:31
Off topic here, because I wasnt able to post yesterday.
What does a headwind do to an f1 car and what does a tailwind do? Are there advantages in having a tailwind or a headwind?
Talby (@maichael)
1st May 2018, 11:52
I remember DC once saying a headwind is preferable, as a tailwind will make the rear of the car less stable.
Derek Edwards
1st May 2018, 12:24
The headwind gets more airflow onto the front of the car and the surfaces designed to benefit from it, such as the front wing = more downforce, better stability, more assured braking. A tailwind does the opposite.
avl0
1st May 2018, 13:17
Cars are set up on a track by track basis with enough downforce to be able to brake and turn at speed comfortable but little enough that they dont get swamped on the straight.
A headwind increases this downforce so theyre a bit slower on the straight but the car is just as stable more or less
A tailwind removes downforce which make braking power lower and need to be slower before you can make the apex. So a gust of tailwind entering the braking zone means you’ve missed your braking point by 20 metres and you lock up because you applied too much brake pressure for the reduced downforce. If you’re really unlucky then the rear can snap out on you depending on how the reduced downforce affects your optimal brake bias.
Drop Sochi
1st May 2018, 13:57
A headwind makes the car faster at slow and average speeds, and corners. A tailwind makes the car faster at high speeds.
Egonovi
1st May 2018, 9:57
Pluralis maiestatis
Phylyp (@phylyp)
1st May 2018, 10:32
Took me a bit of Googling to get that; having done so, very smart comment :-)
The Skeptic (@)
1st May 2018, 13:44
Indeed.
One of the (many) useful things about using a Mac is that looking up the definition of wise phrases simply requires a “force click”, or a contextual menu selection.
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
1st May 2018, 11:31
Re COTD,
Agree in general but why are we still referring to petty drama? It was over in 2015 and frankly even then it was far from petty given Renault’s inability to improve (or even try to) on their 2014 effort.
Since then, even Renault would be the first to admit that they’re not as competitive (yet) as Mercedes and Ferrari and really have had no issues other than Cyril and Franz’s very public spat last year which again was dealt with and they both moved on.
Todfod (@todfod)
2nd May 2018, 9:00
I don’t think I could disagree any more with the COTD. Red Bull might despise Renault and vice versa, but there’s no way in hell they’ll dump Renault for an even lesser competitive power unit.
They’ve worked with Reanult for a decade, and have only worked with them in the hybrid era. Making a switch for 2 seasons before the power unit regulation change makes absolutely no sense. It’s not like Honda will produce a championship winning power unit, or even a race winning power unit within the next 2 years, so what’s the point of it?
I also don’t understand the benefit of a works relationship with Honda. I think Red Bull need to just look at the McLaren Honda partnership to understand how big a benefit it really was.
The only way I see Red Bull switching to Renault power is if Abiteboul says he’s not supplying them. Horner will whinge constantly, but he knows Renault customer is far more attractive than Honda works.
Todfod (@todfod)
2nd May 2018, 9:02
*switching to *Honda power
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
2nd May 2018, 10:15
I wouldn’t be too certain about that.
Firstly I suspect that Renault will be trying hard to dump them – they’ve used them to develop their PU & don’t really have a need for them any more (they have Mclaren now anyway).
Secondly I doubt RBR or anyone really believed they’ll win a WDC between now and 2021 – Mercedes and Ferrari are too far ahead and their PU’s will stay that way. Frankly Renault, given the fact they were the ones that pushed the Hybrid solution, have been and still are really poor both in power and reliability and while they’re still developing their own team don’t really care all that much.
So RBR …. no chance of a WDC with Renault, Renault will probably catch them by 2021anyway, really have no choice. Go over to Honda or resign to the fact that at best they’ll be fighting Renault and Mclaren for 3rd until 2021 and probably worse after that.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
1st May 2018, 12:28
I think what we are currently witnessing from drivers like Max and Magnussen is what I call the lack of racing education. The meeting point between these two drivers is that they’re sons of former unsuccessful F1 drivers which tells a lot about their behavior inside the track.
The way both these drivers treat their rivals on the track is very similar, they cannot accept the fact that they could be overtaken by someone even if they are down on power/tyre or whatever reason. They consider the attacking driver as their ultimate enemy and will give him the fight of his life. I remember Magnussen in his rookie year at McLaren throwing Fernando Alonso who was the reference driver on the grid at that time on the grass in Spa at nearly 340 Kph.
While I don’t know much about Jan and his son, Jos that was more famous for his pit incident than his driving result was like many “sportingly failed” fathers who translate their unaccomplished dreams to their sons. He contributed a lot to Max attitude and lack of respect toward other drivers on track by being very tough with him. I used to think that Max was the kind of spoiled brat but I was stunned when I heard that Jos used to make him walk to the hotel from the track back in his karting days. While the confidence and the tough character of Max are very appreciated, I think they are irrelevant without the racing education.
Having not raced a lot in lower formulas, Verstappen and Magnussen racing education would strongly be derived from their fathers which I think is questionable since they were poor F1 drivers. Back in the old days, F1 senior drivers played the role of the mentor that provides “guidance” to new joiners when they need it.
When the young Senna pulled a dangerous move against Mansell in Spa, Mansell went straight to the Lotus garage after the race and grabbed him by his neck. Alboreto brake-tested Senna at Zeltweg in a protest to his attitude. Senna himself after becoming a senior driver was teaching a young Schumacher in front of Tv cameras how to behave on track at Magny Cours.
Since the charismatic leading F1 drivers have disappeared over the years for obvious reasons (FIA and Ecclestone have done a very good aspect with that regard), I think that the FIA needs to react by severely punishing Verstappen & Magnussen for their dirty driving before a disaster can happen. One race ban each will do them very good like it did with RoGro.
Robbie (@robbie)
1st May 2018, 15:18
@tifoso1989 I disagree, and I also think Max is not Jos. Jos and his wife trained Max from an early age, and we are now witnessing a relentless hard charger of the kind F1 needs more. Max has a massive and successful career ahead of him. And he’ll continue to learn and grow throughout it.
Kim Philby (@philby)
1st May 2018, 16:56
@tifoso1989
Your comment may very well be the analysis I have read of Magnussen and Verstappen. I never thought the poor career of their respective fathers angle, as the basis for their self entitled attitude against others.
A race ban is long overdue for the both of them. Every driver makes questionable moves, it is the frequency that sets those 2 apart.
For the record I consider K-Mag the dirty one and Verstappen the reckless one.
Sundar Srinivas Harish (@sundark)
1st May 2018, 16:47
Actually, Jan Magnussen has been quite successful outside F1 and continues to race competitively to this day. He’s a multiple LeMans and Sebring class winner, a Daytona class wonder, and defending IMSA SCC champion in his class. Josh Verstappen, too has had a fair share of success, being an LMP2 champ and a LeMans class winner. If the two of them educated their sons about racing, they received damn good education.
I think it’s a question of their mentalities and/or personalities, which obviously cannot be changed. A competitive person will remain hugely competitive, unless they have a massive incident which forces them to change their ways. We just have to accept them for who they are. You don’t like them? Join the club. All drivers have their detractors, and it doesn’t make any difference what you think of them. The change must come from within.
That isn’t education, that’s merely bullying. A seasoned campaigner flailing his massive member in front of a potential star.
Kim Philby (@philby)
1st May 2018, 17:05
@Sundar Srinivas Harish
” unless they have a massive incident which forces them to change their ways”. So we have to wait for someone to get hurt instead of punishing them to prevent the incident in the first place.
Sundar Srinivas Harish (@sundark)
3rd May 2018, 1:13
Magnussen, at least, has received many punishments. A race ban isn’t likely to trigger a behavioural change in them – in fact, it may motivate them to behave more recklessly in the future.
anon
1st May 2018, 19:28
@tifoso1989, I am not sure that I agree with your characterisation of Kevin Magnussen.
For a start, Kevin had spent quite a few years in junior series, working his way up from the traditional start in Formula Ford all the way up to Formula Renault 3.5. I believe that, by the time he started in F1, he had competed in more than 140 races in junior series – that’s a comparable level of experience in junior series to Perez, for example, and more experience than drivers such as Ocon have had. Equally, Kevin spent more time in higher powered junior formulas than some other recent drivers – he spent two seasons in Formula Renault 3.5, whilst Ocon jumped straight from GP3 into F1.
As for Jan Magnussen, most of the criticisms levelled against him when he was driving tended to err towards him being too passive rather than too aggressive, not to mention being extremely disorganised (Kevin does seem to have picked up a bit of his father’s disorganised attitude, though Renault suggested that Kevin was a pretty lazy driver too).
Equally, when Kevin first started racing in F1, in the first few races the main criticism was that he wasn’t being aggressive enough and was being too passive to other drivers – remember, Martin Whitmarsh said early in the 2014 season that Kevin needed to “get his elbows out” and be more aggressive because he was making it too easy for more experienced drivers to pass him. I would say that Kevin’s current attitude and extremely aggressive behaviour on track is more down to the fact that he was encouraged by McLaren, and then later at Renault, to drive in a much more aggressive manner on track.
I do have to agree with the comment that @jerejj makes further up this thread about Kevin being a pretty dirty driver though – the onboard clips do make it fairly clear that he is looking and waiting for Gasly to make his move before then turning into him, and it is not the first time that he has pulled that kind of stunt either.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
2nd May 2018, 3:07
Expensive milk.