F1 Today – 28/06/2022
Wolff accuses rivals of being “disingenuous”
Mercedes CEO and team principal Toto Wolff has accused his rivals of “disingenuous” and “pitiful” behaviour in F1’s ‘porpoising’ row, though his Red Bull counterpart Christian Horner has hit back by claiming his counterpart is creating “theatre”.
This season has seen a number r of complaints from drivers about the new 2022 cars bouncing violently at high speed, the FIA issued a new technical directive ahead of the Canadian GP on safety grounds – leading to a stormy team bosses’ meeting in Montreal, where Wolff and Horner had differing views.
However, Red Bull which leads both the drivers and constructor’s championship has said it was unfair to change the rules mid-season, accusing Mercedes of lobbying for changes. Mercedes have said the changes are for safety rather than to counter the bouncing they are struggling with.
Wolff admitted that all teams were either trying to keep a competitive advantage or gain it but insisted the “situation has clearly gone too far”. The Austrian said that all the drivers were struggling from a design issue which needed to be solved.
He told Sky Sports “Team principals trying to manipulate what is being said in order to keep the competitive advantage, and trying to play political games when the FIA tries to come up with a quick solution to at least put the cars in a better position, is disingenuous.”
“This is a joint problem we are having as Formula 1… this is a design issue that needs to be solved. We have long-term effects that we can’t even judge. But at any time this is a safety risk and then coming up with little manipulations in the background, or Chinese whispers, or briefing the drivers is just pitiful.”
Wolff accepted, however, that people could question whether that is a sincere position. The once-dominant Mercedes are currently third in the constructors’ standings, 116 points behind Red Bull.
The FIA’s new technical directive will force teams to alter their set-ups if they are found to be breaching a limit on vertical movement of their cars.
Horner warns of “catastrophe” if budget cap isn’t resolved
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes that it would be a “catastrophe” if team personnel pay the price for a failure to sort out budget cap problems. The dramatic rise in inflation and the cost of living crisis has led to several teams struggling to say below the budget cap.
Some teams including Ferrari and McLaren, have already admitted in public that they are on course to break the cap this season because costs have jumped so much – so are in desperate need of a compromise deal being put in place to help ease their situation.
While Liberty Media and the FIA working on finding a solution, not all outfits are in favour of a move, especially the smaller teams that do not have the spending power to get near the spending limit. The smaller teams are concerned about the precedent that could set to allow future revisions of the spending limits and have admitted they will not spend to the cap.
Meanwhile, the bigger teams have also been forced some teams to hold fire on upgrades for fear of them committing to spending at the current time that could put them in breach of the rules later in the year. Horner is concerned that if no compromise or solution can be reached on easing the cap, that could lead to staff being made redundant and pay cuts.
Asked by Motorsport.com, about the impact of the debate, Horner said, “We’ve had to reign everything back. I think the problem with uncertainty with a cap, and with the rate of inflation that we’re seeing, is there’s only parts and people that are really the biggest cost drivers.”
“It would be, I think, a catastrophe for the formula that people would have to take a hit for something that is beyond their control. I think there’s a moral issue that needs to be dealt with as well there. I know the FIA are looking at it, together with the Liberty guys, because nobody could have expected this kind of inflation.”
Horner says that the budget cap debate goes beyond the top teams, because teams who are further down the order are also talking about it. He again insisted that this wasn’t about the bigger teams wanting more money, it is also a factor for the teams in the midfield.
Adding “It’s not about development being the biggest contributor to these costs; it’s just the fixed costs of going racing with freight, with energy, with utilities, and with the supply of components. It has just gone stratospheric.”
Red Bull and Ferrari, first and second in the championship, have argued the bouncing is a matter for teams to solve independently and a technical directive should clarify rules rather than change them.
After the Canadian GP, where Max Verstappen won again but Mercedes impressed in third and fourth despite their car issues, Horner said Wolff’s position was “ironic”.
Condemnation over racist comments by Piquet
Formula One has condemned three-time world champion Nelson Piquet for using racially abusive language about Lewis Hamilton. The Brazilian was speaking on a podcast where he discussed the first lap incident between Hamilton and Max Verstappen at Silverstone last year, he used offensive language.
He also used a swear word in expressing his opinion that Hamilton had made a mistake and caused the incident and had been “lucky”.
Piquet, who is the father of Verstappen’s girlfriend Kelly, has a history of making controversial, unsavoury and unpleasant statements. During his driving career, he publicly questioned Ayrton Senna’s sexuality and called his rival “the Sao Paulo taxi driver”
An F1 statement said: “Discriminatory or racist language is unacceptable in any form and has no part in society. Lewis is an incredible ambassador for our sport and deserves respect.”
It added: “His tireless efforts to increase diversity and inclusion are a lesson to many and something we are committed to at F1.”
Hamilton’s team Mercedes said: “We condemn in the strongest terms any use of racist or discriminatory language of any kind. Lewis has spearheaded our sport’s efforts to combat racism, and he is a true champion of diversity on and off track.”
“Together, we share a vision for a diverse and inclusive motorsport, and this incident underlines the fundamental importance of continuing to strive for a brighter future.”
Aston Martin hoping that Vettel stays for long term
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack is hoping that Sebastian Vettel will stay in the sport for the long term ahead of talks to renew his contract with the team. The four-time champion joined the team on a two-year deal last year and has indicated his future will be decided over the summer.
While Vettel is in no rush to decide his future, it is set to be one of the key pieces in the driver market as Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren have their drivers all signed for the next few years. In Montreal, Krack confirmed there had been no change in stance, and that Aston Martin would like to keep him as part of its project for the long term.
Krack told Motorsport.com, “We were always clear that if he wants to continue, we would like him to stay for long, yes. We are talking. We have a very, very good relationship, and it is not that we have to set each other deadlines.”
“Obviously at one point, if we drag that too long, we will also be running into trouble, and he’s aware of that. But they are very trustworthy discussions that we are having. From that point of view, it’s all good.”
After missing the opening two races of the season due to COVID-19, Vettel picked up his first points at Imola before recording his best finish of the season in Azerbaijan, where he finished sixth. In April, he said that his future would depend on how the upgrade in Barcelona, which resulted in a wider set-up window for the car.
That lead to Vettel being able to score points in Monaco and Baku, a further upgrade is planned for this weekend at Silverstone. The team will be looking to build on the upgrade which gave the team a wider set-up window, it hopes that the upgrade continues to move them forwards.
Asked if he had a gut feeling about what Vettel would decide to do, Krack replied: “You should not talk about feelings, you can get disappointed! No, no, we analysed what we have done here, we work hard for Silverstone, and then we see where we are, and then we talk.”
Silverstone plots a sustainable and event-focused future
Organisers of the British Grand Prix have announced plans to target high-profile music acts as well as sustainability to ensure the race keeps up with Miami and Las Vegas.
After activating a break clause in the contract with Bernie Ecclestone in 2017 due to the 5% escalator fee, a new five-year deal for Silverstone was signed with Liberty Media in 2019.
Now the circuit is operating with a “much more collaborative” relationship with F1’s owners, the circuit’s managing director Stuart Pringle is now “prepared to join hands and walk down the aisle for a long time” and follow the likes of Albert Park, which recently inked a ten-year contract.
The idea that Silverstone has is to create a “festival” while improving sustainability. Pringle explained to Motorsport.com: “To recognise that in Miami and with Las Vegas coming online, there is an expectation to a level of entertainment that is something that has not previously been seen at Silverstone.
“It is becoming a different sport. There’s a whole new load of people coming into it. The challenge I set our team here at Silverstone is how do we keep pace with that? How do we that in our own distinct style?”
However to keep it British feeling he wants to create a festival, potentially similar to Glastonbury or Reading & Leeds, by upscaling the quality of the music acts. This is also part of the plan to keep fans on-site to reduce travel, which will help achieve Silverstone’s goals about sustainability.
This year as part of the early phase Sam Ryder, who finished as runner-up in the Eurovision Song Contest, will sing the national anthem.
As part of F1’s 2030 plan to be net-zero, Silverstone has announced a £2.8m investment in solar panels with a target of 25-30% of the circuit’s annual energy requirement is generated on site.
Pringle said: “There’s numerous examples of why Formula 1 innovation is great for this country. But some people don’t understand that. They just think that we’re creating CO2 for fun. I’m determined to address that. It’s a very deliberate very visible statement. We are straining every sinew to be to move this business.”
Williams weaknesses “aren’t clear” – Albon
Alex Albon believes that Williams has a car balance weaknesses that “aren’t so clear” to fix as the team prepares to introduce a major update package. This season the British team has struggled to compete in the midfield regularly which has left it at the bottom of the constructors.
Albon has scored all three of Williams’ points this year, finishing tenth in Australia and ninth in Miami after capitalising on opportunities that fell the team’s way. Recently his teammate Nicolas Latifi has spoken about the “fundamental” difficulties he has had this season with the car.
This weekend the team’s first major upgrade of the season is expected for Silverstone, his and the team’s home race, but Albon felt it was not clear how to address to struggles the team is currently facing. The British-Thai driver told Motorsport.com, “Everyone has been upgrading, and we haven’t had a major upgrade in a while, so there’s that side to it.”
“Balance-wise, we have weaknesses in the car, which aren’t so clear to be able to fix with what we’ve got right now, with updates. Most things are predominantly down to the through-corner characteristics of the car. Hopefully [the updates] will put it in a better window, but until then, it does make things tricky.”
Albon say that depends on the circuit, and ones like Montreal make it more difficult to find a good compromise through the lap which then escalates. The team has managed to get the car into Q2 twice this season, and is twelve points behind Haas in the constructors.
Team principal Jost Capito said over the Canada weekend that Williams was “working hard” to get the update package, which is set to be “visibly different”, ready in time for the British Grand Prix.