In the round-up: Esteban Ocon expects he will be “jumping into the unknown” when he pits to change tyres in today’s race having only run the soft compound so far.
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What they say
Ocon will start the race on softs but isn’t sure what to expect after he pits:
I think we are jumping a bit in the unknown tomorrow, unfortunately. We did run only the soft tyres actually on my side. So I don’t really know what to expect when we are going to change compound and how the car is going to behave. So fingers crossed is going to be okay.
In cold conditions the graining could be could be a factor like we’ve seen in some cars in practice. But we are usually pretty good in the race. The struggle is going to be for everyone if it is and we are in a good position to start the race, so let’s see.
Quotes: Dieter Rencken
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
Reunited: @HulkHulkenberg and @SChecoPerez are back together as team mates for the first time since the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. They're driving for the same team, which was called Force India back then. This was also the last race before the team turned pink. #F1 #EifelGP pic.twitter.com/fo4eWOdGB8
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Links
More motor racing links of interest:
Antonio leads the charge in Qualifying (Alfa Romeo)
"I am really happy with what we did as a team. It’s the first time we make it to Q2 this year, something I really wanted, and to do it in such challenging circumstances, with only one hour of practice and on a track I never drove in full before, is special. "
LMEM Confirm No Change To 2021 LMP2 Driver Line-ups (Daily Sportscar)
"That clarification comes after an evening of anger and upset expressed by teams and drivers following the publication of the latest FIA World Motorsport Council communique, which reported that a new regulation had been approved to make either a single Bronze-ranked driver, or alternatively two silver-ranked drivers mandatory in LMP2 in the FIA WEC, a development that, had it gone ahead, would likely have had to have been replicated in ELMS too."
Laura Salvo: Rally co-driver, 21, dies after crash in Portugal (BBC)
"The Spaniard was accompanying driver Miquel Socias as part of the Peugeot Rally Cup Iberica."
"I am a little bit disappointed; I think Q2 was possible if we had put everything together. It was tough in these cold conditions; the tyres are really difficult to get working. In FP3 they were working well, and the car was feeling great, but I couldn’t get the same feeling in qualifying."
Checo into top 10 on challenging Eifel GP Saturday (Racing Point)
"I definitely think there was more on the table in qualifying because we didn’t have another set of softs for Q3 to make a second run."
Charles in great shape, claims second row start (Ferrari)
"The minor updates we brought here and two weeks ago in Sochi have given us a bit more performance: nothing exceptional but when the gaps are so small, it doesn't take much to make a significant difference."
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Comment of the day
Should Racing Point have taken notice of Lance Stroll’s symptoms sooner?
If he’s been sick for a while it makes you question why Hulkenberg wasn’t on standby, at the track and the team could have ran him yesterday (if the fog hadn’t been an issue).
As a minimum you’d want him to run final practice.
Kris Lord
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Jim from US (@jimfromus)
11th October 2020, 1:16
I’ll give Stroll and RP a pass on subbing Hulk late. With Friday practice cancelled the team most likely thought that the extra rest would improve Stroll’s condition. If the Friday practice was held, Stroll’s actual condition would have been noticed sooner so the cancellation worked against RP.
Scottie (@scottie)
11th October 2020, 1:54
By not having a backup plan though, they lost practice time, and performance in qualifying.
In the top tier category, not having a backup plan is pretty poor.
mybu
11th October 2020, 2:56
I heard Otto mention that SVD was the nominated reserve so perhaps SVD’s seat was sent to the track and Hulk’s needed to be shipped in.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
11th October 2020, 8:26
Yup pretty poor, they also have their real backup driver on standby… What kind of deal is that?
Jamie B
11th October 2020, 12:39
@scottie @drycrust I’d say it’s borderline unacceptable, especially as they knew Stroll was unwell for two weeks. If you think how much Hülkenberg could have prepared in two weeks…
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
11th October 2020, 2:33
I think the more important factor isn’t so much what notice they gave Nico to get to the race track, but whether or not he is race fit. If he is, then the race will be much more comfortable than if he isn’t race fit.