In the round-up: Max Verstappen says he has no interest in seeking the ‘triple crown’ of by adding victories in both the Indianapolis 500 and Le Mans 24 Hours to his 2021 Monaco Grand Prix triumph.
In brief
Verstappen: “I don’t need to risk my life” for Indy 500
The reigning Formula 1 world champion says he has “no desire to chase the triple crown, at least, not IndyCar.”“I appreciate what they do,” said Verstappen. “It’s insane. These drivers, I have a lot of respect for what they achieve there.
“But for me, especially not [having] been in F1 for such a long time already, I don’t need to risk my life there and potentially injure myself, your legs, whatever or… it’s just not worth it any more, let’s say like that.”
Despite not seeking an Indy 500 win, however, Verstappen said he would consider another part of the crown. “Maybe Le Mans. I do like endurance races, so I will probably do some, hopefully soon, but for me, it doesn’t really matter.
“I, of course, try to be good in F1, I try to be good in whatever I do, but that desire of the triple crown or whatever – not interested.”
Ericsson nets $3.1 million from largest ever Indy 500 prize pool
The total prize fund for the 2022 Indy 500 was $16,000,200 (£12,694,718) – the largest ever available as prize money for the event. The previous record high of $14,400,000 was set 14 years earlier, at the 2008 event. This year’s average pay-out for drivers was $485,000.
“F1 drivers are kind of artists” to find creative Monaco overtakes
Pierre Gasly brought some much-needed overtaking to the Monaco Grand Prix, with early moves up the order even on wet tyres.
“I was so much faster than those guys I just needed to calm myself because I’ve caught them so quickly,” he explained after the grand prix. “Then after you are like, ‘okay, I want to pass’ but if the guy is defending well, suddenly you’ve got no space on the right, no space on the left.
“But then I had to be creative today. That’s what I tried to do. And at the end of the day, F1 drivers are kind of artists, we need to go find always new ideas and I try to come up with unusual places to overtake and that worked out.”
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
Driver stopped on the M25 near Staines after being seen sending a Snapchat message on his phone.
The vehicle was displaying no front plate, an illegal rear plate.
The driver failed a roadside drugs test and was arrested.#Fatal5 – distracted driving#Fatal5 – drug driving pic.twitter.com/6F6SKTtjhR
— Roads Policing Unit (RPU) – Surrey Police – UK (@SurreyRoadCops) May 31, 2022
Happy birthday to my father, the man who made it all happen. He taught me determination. How to win and how to lose. To never to give up and always stand for what I believe in. I am forever grateful to this man and for the friend I have in him. Love you dad, have an amazing day. pic.twitter.com/juHTWATelG
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) May 31, 2022
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Brundle on the good and the bad from Monaco GP: Perez's win, Leclerc woe and the FIA (Sky)
"A couple of reliable sources tell me that there were heated arguments in race control during the impasse as we all looked on unsure of what was happening. This presumably explains the periods of inaction and lack of information, and the reason why the safety car was not out exploring track conditions as usual."
'Give me one T-shirt': Marcus Ericsson answers a decade of doubts with Indy 500 win (Indy Star)
'He didn’t find a single T-shirt, cap, anything,' Ericsson told reporters Monday, followed swiftly by an exasperated sigh accompanied by a wry smile. 'Pretty much every other driver in the field, but not a single Ericsson thing, and he was a bit shocked. ‘You’re starting fifth in the race, you took sixth last year, and not a single thing?’'
How Bad Can Bad Get? (Project K)
Your failures are a great unknown to the vast majority of the people you will ever meet. Mastercard-Lola’s Formula One team in 1997, however, gives us a look into that rarefied air.
Bruno Michel's debrief: A breakaway fight for the title (Formula 2)
Looking at this year’s results, it’s worth noting that the pair have shared top honours in all five Feature Races up until this point – Drugovich earning three victories whilst Pourchaire has won two. It’s no wonder they are slowly breaking away from the rest of the pack at the top of the Standings…
F1 22 | Features Trailer (F1 Game from Codemasters (YouTube))
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Comment of the day
Sergio Perez‘ contract extension should be a source of joy for the Monaco Grand Prix winner. But potentially despair in Red Bull’s junior ranks. Alan Dove points to some of the problem being that teams used to try out young drivers outside their own programs, even at Red Bull:
F1’s current structure is particularly problematic for young drivers. The trajectory of new drivers debuting each year has been on a downward trend since the sport’s inception. It’s is at a level now which is as low as it could possible be with the cycle of drivers coming to the end of their career.
As we have a franchised model in F1 we pretty much will no longer ever see small teams enter F1. Obviously the trends of new teams entering F1 has followed the trend of drivers… but now it’s hit zero.
But these small teams which used to come in, by their very nature, had a high turn over of drivers coming and going. While they often did become pay-driver affairs, they still gave drivers like who are considered as ‘real talents’ (though we need to recognise the blurring of real talent / pay drivers. it’s not black and white) Ricciardo, Bianchi (just a couple that spring to mind) etc.. their debuts in the sport. They agve them a chance to build their brand and competence.
Another key here, is F1 teams are moving to a ‘profit’ model. Drivers are aware that their value will be beyond their sporting performance. There is a branding aspect here that will play a key role in the length of driver’s careers. I don’t think we’ll see teams wanting to experiment with new drivers particularly.
So the logjam will only get worse.
Alan Dove
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Josh, Kevin Hodge, Christos and Yhacbec!
On this day in motorsport
- 25 years ago today Greg Moore beat Michael Andretti by three-tenths of a second to win the CART IndyCar round at Milwaukee for Forsythe
playstation361
1st June 2022, 0:14
A successful accidental winner.
JohnH (@johnrkh)
1st June 2022, 1:38
COTD yes I agree in particular the demise of the smaller teams and the complete takeover of the corporate sector is a problem. As I believe this will lead to less leading-edge technology and more marketing hype.
PeterG
1st June 2022, 3:30
I also wonder if the budget cap may end up making teams reluctant to give some drivers opportunities they may once have given them.
On one hand some may see it as a good thing that teams become reluctant to bring in young drivers who incur more damage due to driving hard and taking risks. Yet on the other hand some of the most exciting drivers that have become fan favorites for the agrresive, flamboyant way they drive may fall into that category.
Think of drivers like Gilles Villeneuve and Jean Alesi for example. Both just got in the car and drove the wheels off it and both had plenty of accidents in the process. Yet would such drivers be given opportunities in F1 now? Would ‘Hunt The Shunt’ have been called up by any of the current teams? Do we want the grid to be made up of risk averse, cautious drivers who all drive the same way because that is what teams under the cost cap now look for?
I think all of the things F1 has adopted the past 20 years to cut costs or improve the show have had unforseen consequences which haven’t always been a positive. Could this be another one i wonder?
Time will tell.
Red Andy (@red-andy)
1st June 2022, 6:07
Joe Saward’s latest notebook is worth a read, particularly from the perspective of covering the Monaco GP amid rumours it may soon drop from the calendar.
For me the current stance of the Monaco promoters reminds me of the BRDC in the late 2000s, the last time there was a genuine threat to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Arrogantly assuming they would be always entitled to a Grand Prix because of tradition, presiding over terrible facilities and paying much less for the privilege than other venues around the world.
Thankfully the BRDC eventually got their act together and delivered the much-needed upgrades that secured the future of the race. Hopefully Monaco can do the same, though let’s hope they can do it without ruining the track at the same time (unlike Silverstone).
Adrian Hancox (@ahxshades)
1st June 2022, 8:31
@red-andy absolutely excellent read indeed
GeeMac (@geemac)
1st June 2022, 11:45
@red-andy @ahxshades His work is always worth reading…
BasCB (@bascb)
1st June 2022, 11:28
Thanks for the tip @red-andy, hadn’t seen it yet. Yup, really solid read. And yeah, let’s hope the Monaco people have some self reflection, although I would guess maybe having to sit out a year will be needed to get there.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
1st June 2022, 6:53
I’m really happy for Marcus. An Indy 500 winner! Oval racing can be a little bit lost on me at times, but I watched the last 50 laps and enjoyed every minute of it. *even if I didn’t necessarily understand every bit.
His career could have so easily slipped into the ether like so many others after F1. He wasn’t much thought of, seen as a pay driver I guess. But much like Checo with a two year contract in his hand, there is obviously some serious talent there.
Hope he enjoyed the semi-skimmed….. there is half a litre in my fridge if he wants more.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
1st June 2022, 7:31
As for the police report; can I be the first to say “Dan Ticktum?”.
Obviously it isn’t, but he does struggle to help himself.
petebaldwin (@)
1st June 2022, 8:32
“Manner of the subject: Quiet, nervous”
Perhaps not.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
1st June 2022, 8:57
@petebaldwin ha! Yeah, doesn’t match the description
jff
1st June 2022, 9:52
Why have that tweet on this site?
What’s next? Sharing holiday snaps of F1 drivers ?
Jere (@jerejj)
1st June 2022, 10:29
@jff An even better question would be why take such an image in the first place?
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
1st June 2022, 12:45
Holiday snaps don’t get your racing licence revoked! Its relevant
Jere (@jerejj)
1st June 2022, 8:00
An understandable & wise approach.
Gasly’s passing move on Ricciardo past Tabac & another one into Mirabeau were especially unusual & thus good. He’s right, drivers need to be creative on overtaking sometimes.
I get covering custody, serial, & collection kit batch numbers, as these can (or possibly can) reveal the relevant individual, i.e., the stopped driver since all three are identification numbers in one way/form or another.
However, dates I don’t get, as they can’t really reveal anyone any more than times.
Nevertheless, I don’t see much point in taking an image of such papers in the first place, not to mention, entirely voluntarily.
I might’ve already mentioned this before, but FIA was subpar in its handlings last weekend & I mean the entire event rather than only the race, not least helped by ignoring blue flag rules & not taking any action against Ocon for his risky & possibly even DSQ-worthy defense against Hamilton into Sainte Devote.
COTD’s theory raises good & valid points.
Time will tell how this aspect will pan out moving forward.
Green Flag (@greenflag)
1st June 2022, 15:18
However, Verstappen* would race the Indy 500 if Michael Masi was the racer director.
amian
1st June 2022, 15:46
Verstappen: “I risk my life wherever I get the most money, which now is F1”.
Michael
1st June 2022, 19:01
The small teams of recent past didn’t really go overboard on pay drivers they tended to go mostly for established drivers dropped by bigger teams (at least to start with). Drivers like Trulli, Glock, Kovalainen, De La Rosa, Klein, Kobayashi, Sato all extended their F1 careers with Lotus / Caterham, Marussia / Manor, HRT and Super Aguri.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
2nd June 2022, 13:16
That’s funny – that’s how everyone in F1 feels about Max.
Moi
3rd June 2022, 16:29
Just you. And you’re not in F1.