FORMULA 1

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Red Bull sets new pit stop record with 1.88s service

Red Bull Racing posted a new fastest pit stop time in Formula 1 at the German Grand Prix, according to data released by the championship’s partner DHL.

Red Bull’s pit crew lowered the record at the preceding event in Britain when Pierre Gasly was serviced in just 1.91s, 0.01s faster than the previous best time.

DHL revealed on Monday morning that Red Bull was judged to have turned around Max Verstappen in 1.88s when he switched from Intermediates to Softs on lap 46 at Hockenheim.

Two of Verstappen’s other four stops were also among the quickest of the grand prix, having been serviced in 2.04s on lap 25, when he took on Mediums, and 2.11s on lap 41, when he returned to Intermediates.

Williams produced the second-fastest stop of the grand prix as it serviced Robert Kubica in just 1.99s, the only other sub two-second pit stop in the race.

Between the two respective groups of mechanics Red Bull and Williams have been responsible for the fastest 10 pit stops undertaken in 2019.

 

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Daniil Kvyat: Three difficult years crashed from my shoulders

Daniil Kvyat hopes his German Grand Prix podium finish will “send a message” that he is ready to compete for top honours on a regular basis, commenting that the result allowed "three difficult years" to "crash from my shoulders".

Kvyat captured a shock podium result at Hockenheim after making an early stop for slick tyres as the track dried during the closing stages of the race, rising from the foot of the top 10.

Kvyat held on to third spot to take his first podium finish since the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix – when he raced for Red Bull – and Toro Rosso’s first top-three result in 11 years.

Kvyat was afforded another Formula 1 chance for 2019 courtesy of the machinations in the 2018/19 driver market, having spent last year as Ferrari’s development driver in the wake of being axed by Toro Rosso in late 2017.

“It was an incredible few years in my life,” said Kvyat.

“There were a lot of realisations in my life because there were sometimes tough times, and I thought maybe Formula 1 was over for me, and especially podiums, I would never, ever, ever be [there] again.

“But life just proves if you work hard and never give up, things are possible.

“And I think this is exactly what happened. Even the race, I managed to keep it cool.

“All these three difficult years just felt like they crashed from my shoulders finally now. This changed at this race.

“It was hard work to reach this moment, and hopefully it can send a message out there that I’m ready now to fight for these kinds of moments on a consistent basis.

“There is no stronger message than a podium like this.”

Team-mate Alexander Albon secured sixth place, with the result lifting Toro Rosso to fifth in the Constructors' Championship, exceeding its 2018 points tally.

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Prost takes non-executive director role with Renault F1 team

Alain Prost has taken a more formal role with the Renault Formula 1 operation by becoming a non-executive director of the UK company behind the team.
Prost was appointed earlier this month as a member of the board of Renault Sport Racing Ltd, as a direct replacement for Renault Group executive Thierry Bollore. The latter has left his role with the F1 team as he has taken on extra responsibilities on the road car side since becoming CEO of the parent company after Carlos Ghosn resigned amid controversy in January.

Four-time F1 world champion Prost has been an ambassador and then advisor to Renault’s F1 project since the French manufacturer took over the former Lotus team at the end of 2015. It’s unclear whether his new role will entail any changes in his day-to-day contribution.

The other directors are team principal and managing director Cyril Abiteboul, company president Jerome Stoll, Renault Group financial chief Thierry Cognet and Genii boss Gerard Lopez, who has retained a minority stake in the team since the Lotus days through his Gravity Motorsports organisation.

A Renault spokesman described the role of the team's board of directors as “establishing vision, mission and values, setting strategy and structure, delegating to management, exercising accountability to shareholders and being responsible to relevant stakeholders” as well as “taking key decisions for the company such as approval of the annual accounts and financial statements and approval of key contracts with sponsors, partners and drivers.”

Prost’s former McLaren teammate Niki Lauda held a similar post as a non-executive director of Mercedes Grand Prix until his death in May.

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Russell says Williams "made wrong choice" with tyres

George Russell feels his Williams team "made the wrong choice" with his tyre strategy during the German Grand Prix, admitting they threw away the chance of a much better result.
During the penultimate safety car period Russell occupied 13th position, ahead of Lance Stroll, who elected to pit for slicks as the safety car began its final lap on lap 45.

Stroll was immediately able to bring his tyres up to temperature on the restart and, after a flurry of pitstops as the field changed intermediate tyres for slicks, momentarily led the race.

The Racing Point driver managed fourth place as a result, and Russell felt that a similar result was possible had Williams granted him his request to stop at the same time as Stroll.

Russell went on to finish in 11th, while teammate Robert Kubica scored Williams' first point of the season up ahead, thanks to penalties for the two Alfa Romeo cars.

Asked how often he was on the wrong tyre during the race, Russell said: "Probably most of the race really! I wanted to start on the inter but we started on wets, we stayed out on the wets under the first safety car when we should have pitted to the inter.

"Then at the end of the race I wanted to box to go to the slick. For some reason we stayed out but I understand the position the team were in, probably why we chose to do that, and you know everyone is struggling to keep on the black stuff.

"We're not in a position to throw something away like that. We were ahead of Lance when he pitted under the safety car and we didn't, and he ended up coming out in second.

"So it proves we made the wrong choice."

Russell believes he should have been more "forceful" in telling Williams which tyres he wanted to fit.

"The car felt really poor in all conditions," he said. "The worst thing was we had the opportunity to go onto slicks under the last safety car when I was ahead of Lance.

"I wanted to pit, but I probably wasn't forceful enough to tell the team to pit for slicks. For some reason we decided to stay out and next thing, we're pitting one lap later and Lance is up to P2.

"So it could have been so much more."

Asked how challenging the race had been, he said: "It was extremely challenging, but I think it was from our own doing really.

"It was challenging for everyone but I mean, it just felt like driving on ice in all conditions. I probably had two laps in the whole 60-odd laps that there were that felt relatively decent.

"But every lap, every tyre compound and every part of the race it just felt very difficult to drive. So, it's probably the least satisfying race and weekend we've had all year."

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FIA sees no issue with Hockenheim's drag strip run-off

Formula 1 race director Michael Masi believes there was nothing wrong with the controversial 'drag strip' area at the Hockenheim circuit, despite it being blasted as "unacceptable" by Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc was one of several drivers who found themselves in trouble after running wide at the final sequence of corners and skidding across a wet area of run-off.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Hulkenberg both also crashed there, while Carlos Sainz, Kimi Raikkonen and Lando Norris all had incidents with the slippery area – that is used as part of the track's drag strip – holding rain water.

Masi was aware of the driver concerns about the situation and conducted a post-race inspection of the area, but he insisted it was no different to run-off areas at other tracks.

"The drag strip looks fine," said Masi. "We inspected it the other day and had a look again post race with the water on it. It is fine.

"Even Sebastian [Vettel] is quoted as saying that it is normally one of the grippiest parts of the track and it is no different to any of the other painted run-off, to be quite honest.

"I think it was one of those ones where if put water on painted run-off then, as much as you can do anything to make sure it is anti slip paint, it is still more slippery than unpainted tarmac."

Asked if his main message for drivers was to not run off the circuit, Masi said: "Correct. It is called track limit controls!"

While the drag strip area came in for some criticism, Masi has said that drivers are normally more open to have run-off areas that punish them for mistakes – like there was in Austria.

"They may claim it is too dangerous but from our end, using the Austrian example, the drivers were all quite pleased with it, even with the bumps and that," he said.

"It punishes them for making mistakes and it was a similar way here. We saw the other implementation we had to do regarding Turn 1 with the track limits side.

"You are balancing it to a degree, but credit where it is due, all 20 drivers have been very consistent in their views that if they run off track there should be a consequences from doing it.

"Maybe straight after a race they may have a different view about the way it has affected them, but sitting down individually with them and as a group that has been consistent in their view and that hasn't changed."

Norris said he nearly crashed out of the race on his way to the grid after experimenting to see how much grip there was on the run off area.

"We have an onboard we have to watch, of one magic lap from Fernando [Alonso] when he was at Ferrari, and he goes two wheels onto the kerb onto the drag strip," explained Norris.

"On my lap to the grid I tried it, and I genuinely thought I was going to be out of the race before I'd even started. I pulled the clutch in, full opposite lock – and I'm not exaggerating, I shat myself. I was like "oh shit, this is not gonna be good."

"All the guys were waiting there to put me on my jacks and into position, and it was the biggest fright of my life.

"So yeah, from my side I knew that straight away, obviously I wasn't gonna tell anyone because I'll let them try it out, but every person that made a small mistake, lost it or understeered in the last two corners went onto the drag strip and you just see there's nothing you can do.

"It's probably quite dangerous to be honest, because you just don't slow down, there's tarmac run-off there that you're approaching at a decent speed. And once you hit it, you can't do anything. It's something I think needs to be changed for next time."

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Sainz relished 'bonkers' German GP to take season's-best fifth

"Bonkers." That's how Carlos Sainz described the German Grand Prix as he ran as low as 14th after a spin at the penultimate corner, but as high as fifth with a sniff at a podium as the dramatic rain-hit race reached its conclusion...

There were four Safety Cars, two VSCs, 78 total pit stops and a number of other anomalies at Hockenheim, making the German race one of the most exciting in F1's recent history.

Sainz was running a comfortable eighth when, like many of his rivals, he got caught out by the slippery conditions at Turn 16. Fortunately, he avoided damaging the car but he dropped six places to 14th. From there, good strategy hauled him back into the points and he had a chance of a podium in the closing stages before taking the chequered flag in fifth.

“It’s bonkers,” he said. “It was a crazy race but it was great fun. These kind of conditions are exactly where I enjoy the most out of racing. We were in the right tyre at the right time pretty much the whole race, we took the best decisions that we could take, we were as quick as a Ferrari in the wet, and we were as quick as a Mercedes with a slick in damp conditions. So everything went perfect except for the spin, which I take the blame obviously.”

Sainz reckoned a pit stop during the lap 41-45 Safety Car (for Nico Hulkenberg’s crash) would have reaped rewards. Kvyat and Stroll did just that, pitting for slicks during the intervention but Sainz points out they were towards the back of the field and had less to lose that

“We were in the best position out of all the midfield, we were leading the midfield, and stopping for slicks [during the third Safety Car intervention] was probably a very risky decision.

“The ones that had nothing to lose that were the ones at the back pitted for slicks and now they are on the podium, but we were in P5 at that point and it was very high risk/reward situation that the team, in the end, decided not to take.”

In fact, Sainz pitted just three times – fewer than any other driver who finished, and nursed a set of used soft tyres from lap 46-64. Kvyat and Stroll were in his sights, but was it possible for him to get on the podium?

“No, look,” he said. “I was on a very used soft from qualifying, it actually had two or three laps on it. I knew that those guys were on the new soft and on Friday they had same or better pace than me.

“Those two guys were the guys who had nothing to lose during the safety car that pitted for the slick… and in the end I finished third of the ones that didn’t pit which is nearly a podium, but in the end, P5.”

But hindsight is 20/20, and Sainz accepted that. He said “it’s very easy to say now. I think that is very easy to say in hindsight, but in the end it was a good day.”

As he looks to the Hungarian Grand Prix, Sainz will be encouraged by the fact that he’s taken four consecutive points finishes with his best performance of the season at Hockenheim. The McLaren driver now sits seventh in the drivers’ standings, just seven points adrift of Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly.

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Kvyat 'should have more kids’ jokes Horner after stunning Hockenheim podium

The relationship between Daniil Kvyat and Red Bull hasn’t always been the easiest – but their Team Principal Christian Horner was genuinely pleased to see his former driver claim third place at the 2019 German Grand Prix, his first podium since the one he’d netted at the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix, the penultimate race before he was dropped by Red Bull in favour of Max Verstappen.

A fraught race which saw the Safety Car and Virtual Safety Car deployed six times meant that Kvyat, who’d started the race 14th, found himself in P3 by the chequered flag, marking a third podium appearance for the Russian that was made even more special by the fact that his first child with girlfriend Kelly Piquet had been born the night before the race.

That allowed his former team boss Horner an easy gag when asked about Kvyat’s achievement, before Horner went on to pay tribute to the Russian, whose F1 career had looked to be all but over until his surprise call-up to return to Toro Rosso at the end of 2018.

“Unbelievable – he should have more kids!” joked Horner when asked about his reaction to Kvyat’s podium. “I’m so pleased for him. He’s kept his head down, he’s fought his way back into the [Red Bull] programme... For him to become a father last night and be on the podium today – it was a very mature drive by him.”

Kvyat, too, was left in no doubt about the poignancy of the moment, having endured a tough few years where his career had seemed to spin off the rails following his demotion from Red Bull in favour of Verstappen – the winner at Hockenheim – before he went on to be released by Toro Rosso before the end of the 2017 season, going on to spend 2018 working with Ferrari as a development driver only to be recalled to Toro Rosso for 2019.

“It was an incredible few years in my life,” said Kvyat in the post-race press conference. “A lot of realisations in my life because it was sometimes tough times and I thought maybe Formula 1 was over for me, and maybe I thought, especially a podium, I would never ever have it again.

“But life just proves that if you work hard and never give up, things are possible. I think that’s exactly what happened today. Even the race was tough for everyone, I managed to keep it cool and just… all these three difficult years just felt like they crashed from my shoulders finally. I lost these chains today. It was hard work to reach this moment and hopefully I can send the message out there that I’m ready now to fight for this kind of moment on a consistent basis – and there is no stronger message than a podium like this.”

Kvyat’s podium marks the first for a driver outside of Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull since Sergio Perez finished third at the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix for Force India, and sees the Russian jump from 14th eighth in the drivers’ standings, behind McLaren’s Carlos Sainz, while Toro Rosso also leap from eighth place to fifth in the constructors’ championship, thanks also to Alex Albon’s sixth place finish for the team at Hockenheim.

 

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VETTEL: I’M AS IMPATIENT AS EVERYONE BUT IT WILL TAKE A LITTLE WHILE

Ferrari have not won in fourteen races, while their star driver Sebastian Vettel has been winless for nearly a year while their Tifosi have suffered without a title for their beloved team since 2008 when they won their last title.

In his fifth year with the Scuderia, Vettel has called for patience from their fans and told Sky F1, “I’m as impatient as everyone else to get the results finally but it will take a little while. We know what we can improve and that’s where we are working on but in the meantime, I hope that people are a bit patient and give us that freedom in that time.”

“It’s certainly a tough time for us as Ferrari with days like [qulaifying at Hockenheim] because it shows that we have things that we need to sort out, we have things that we need to do better but I think in this period it’s very important that we keep the morale, we keep supporting the team,”

“From the inside that is happening and from the outside I hope it’s happening as well. I know the Tifosi are behind us but sometimes the headlines can shift in either way so it’s important that we keep the support because I think things are moving,

“We are pushing very, very hard and when it comes to passion I think we put a lot of effort and a lot of hours in; the people are very determined,” added Vettel.

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ABITEBOUL: WE’RE THINKING ABOUT OPTIONS AND HULKENBERG KNOWS IT

Nico Hulkenberg’s crash out of the German Grand Prix coincides with “important discussions” about his future according to his boss Cyril Abiteboul, who says he and other Renault team members had “tears in our eyes” when the German slid off the wet Hockenheim circuit and lost his first-ever F1 podium.

Abiteboul told Auto Hebdo, “You have to wonder about the psychological side, but with so many things happening, you cannot blame him.”

Indeed, Hulkenberg holds the record for the longest F1 career without a single podium. His contract is up at the end of the season and Esteban Ocon is being linked with his seat.

“Let’s be honest,” said Abiteboul, when asked about Hulkenberg’s crash. “This comes at a time of important discussions for the future. We’re thinking about our options and he knows it. It is something that comes into play. It’s a human and even sentimental element because Nico has been with us for three years now.”

At the same time, Abiteboul also acknowledges that, amid an admittedly “difficult” season for the French team, Renault must do better with its 2019 car, “The aerodynamics of our car are absolutely not at the level of our expectations.”

Now, Renault’s slide from fourth to just sixth in the constructors’ standings is made even worse by an incident that occurred on the road to Budapest.

One of the team’s yellow transporters crashed into a ditch on the side of a Hungarian motorway. It is not known if the truck was carrying the F1 cars.

“The driver, who was driving within the respected regulations, is conscious and has not suffered serious injury. He’s been transported to hospital for further checks,” Renault said in a statement.

Finally, F1 legend Alain Prost – formerly a team advisor – has now been appointed non-executive director of Renault Sport. It is a role similar to that held at Mercedes by the late Niki Lauda.

Company documents, as revealed by F1 business journalist Christian Sylt, show that Prost replaces Thierry Bollore, who is now CEO of Groupe Renault.

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HAMILTON AND VETTEL LEAD CALL TO SAVE GERMAN GRAND PRIX

Formula 1’s top drivers Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton are pleading with the sport to keep Hockenheim on the calendar.

It seems that both Barcelona and Hockenheim could be missing from the 2020 schedule in order to make room for new races at Zandvoort and Vietnam.

“We just had a great race and it would be a shame to lose it,” Ferrari’s Vettel told DPA news agency before leaving Hockenheim for potentially the last time. It’s important to have the sport where the passion is.”

“Germany and Spain have long histories of racing, so it would be pity to lose them and instead go to a place where they pay millions to host the race but nobody is in the stands,” he added.

Vettel also told Bild newspaper: “I know the people here at Hockenheim very well. They don’t make any money from Formula 1, but their passion and dedication is remarkable. But in Germany, unlike many other countries, there is no political support.”

Mercedes’ Hamilton told RTL he agrees with his Ferrari rival, “There are only a few races that are the home of motorsport with such passionate spectators. Whatever happens, we 100 per cent need a German Grand Prix.

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MASI ABSOLVES HOCKENHEIM FOR ON-TRACK CHAOS ON RACE DAY

Formula 1 race director has cleared Hockenheim of blame for much of the carnage seen during the wet German Grand Prix. that delivered an enthralling race which is a candidate for the race of the century.

Top drivers including Charles Leclerc, Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Hulkenberg all crashed last Sunday.

Speaking to Globo, Masi cleared the circuit of blame, “We inspected it the other day and looked again after the race.”

“It’s one of those cases where even if you paint it with non-slip paint, it’s still more slippery than unpainted asphalt,” Masi said.

After his incident, Leclerc said the ice-rink style grip in the runoff where he crashed was “unacceptable”, even though he insisted: “I don’t want there to be headlines that say ‘Charles Leclerc blames the track for his mistake’.

“I take responsibility for my mistake,” the Ferrari driver added.

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Kevin Magnussen: I’ve never experienced such pace swings

Kevin Magnussen says he has never experienced such one-lap performance swings from a car as much as Haas’ 2019 Formula 1 challenger.

Magnussen ran Haas’ latest-spec VF-19 at Hockenheim while team-mate Romain Grosjean used the Melbourne-spec car, as the squad tried to understand its recent weaknesses.

In extremely hot weather on Friday Magnussen was mired down in 18th place but in cooler weather took fifth position in Saturday’s third practice session.

Magnussen then went on to qualify in 12th position at the tail-end of the group of midfield drivers who were split by just 0.033s in Q2.

“I think the main thing that follows as a trend is [Friday] was very hot, track temperature was really hot, and on Saturday morning it was very cold [in comparison],” said Magnussen.

“And then the car just transformed completely and it became a really, really good car, then in qualifying the temperatures went up a little bit again and we took a step back.

“I don’t really understand. We can’t say we understand why that is, but it seems to be a trend.

“You just lose so much grip when it’s hot, so much grip. When it’s cold the car is phenomenal, it’s a completely different car. It’s insane how big the difference was [Friday] to [Saturday].

Magnussen was receptive to the idea of using the old-spec car for evaluation purposes but stressed that Haas still needs to think long-term.

“I mean the other car seems to be a little more consistent,” he said.

“Whether that’s cold, whether that’s hot. At the end of the day, it’s not only my decision.

“We need to do what’s best for the team, but there’s no secret I would like to go back to the old one if I could just for pure performance but we need to think a bit long-term also.”

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Ex-Ferrari aero experimental chief Alessandro Cinelli to join Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo has appointed Alessandro Cinelli as its new Head of Aerodynamics, in place of the promoted Jan Monchaux.

Cinelli began his career in Formula 1 with Tyrell and Williams, but since 2002 has worked for Ferrari, starting out as its test team before graduating to its race team.

Up until this year Cinelli was the Head of Ferrari’s aerodynamic experimental group but he will now move to Alfa Romeo to take up his new position on August 19.

Monchaux currently holds the role but will imminently step up to the position of Technical Director, in place of Ferrari-bound Simone Resta.

“I am delighted to welcome Alessandro to Sauber Motorsport and Alfa Romeo Racing” said Alfa Romeo team boss Frederic Vasseur.

“He joins a strong aerodynamics team and we are eager to see them continue the good work that was done so far.

“The recent appointments show how we continue to strengthen our structures and represent an evolution, rather than a revolution, of the system that has helped us progress in recent years.”

Alfa Romeo slipped to ninth in the Constructors’ Championship in the wake of its double penalty at Hockenheim, though the results remain provisional as the team has lodged its intention to appeal.

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FIA Race Director Michael Masi explains why Charles Leclerc unsafe release was a fine

Formula 1 Race Director Michael Masi has clarified why Ferrari was handed a fine, and not a time penalty, for the unsafe release involving Charles Leclerc at the German Grand Prix.

Earlier in the season, Red Bull released Max Verstappen into the path of Valtteri Bottas in Monaco, causing the pair to make contact, resulting in Bottas stopping again, and a five-second penalty was applied.

The penalty dropped Verstappen from second to fourth in that race.

In Germany, Ferrari was issued with a €5,000 fine for releasing Leclerc into the path of Haas’ Romain Grosjean, causing “minor contact.”

Leclerc did not face any penalty that cost him race time, though he later crashed out.

“[In] Monaco, for clarification, it was labelled an unsafe release but it was actually for causing a collision in the pit lane,” said Masi.

“So that’s why that was different to the one [in Germany], which was clearly an unsafe release.

“But part of the discussion we had with team managers the other day, knowing the conditions could be changeable, and also taking into account everyone coming into the pit lane to do tyres at the same time is going to be a factor, it is still quite clearly consistent with the previous penalties.

“The fact that every other team thereafter was out didn’t even though the fast lane is as wide as it is, didn’t allow what we saw at Silverstone with the car driving on the painted area.”

Masi also refuted suggestions that Ferrari’s fine could persuade teams in the future to accept the financial penalty in a bid to unsafely get a driver ahead of a rival through the pit phase.

“No I don’t think so,” he said when asked if it set a precedent. “I think it’s one of those… I think you’ve got to take each… I’m very much a firm believer, and the teams all agree, that you treat each case on its own merits.

“As much as you can try and group things, generally, you have to treat each and every circumstance that comes up, and judge it, so yeah I think in the end that’s pretty straightforward.

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Guenther Steiner considering team orders after Germany clash

Haas boss Guenther Steiner says he is considering implementing team orders after another race clash between Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean.

Magnussen and Grosjean brushed wheels in Spain, after which they were given a warning, while Steiner was furious in the wake of their first-lap collision in Britain.

Haas is still trying to understand why its VF-19 is experiencing such performance fluctuation, with Magnussen running the newest-spec car while Grosjean is using a Melbourne-spec package.

The close battles, and clashes, between the drivers mean Haas is getting distracted from the main issues that it needs to resolve.

“I am just going to call the race, that’s my job now,” said Steiner. “Tell them what to do.“

“I need to think about it but there are not many options. I think at some stage something needs to be done and I normally try to avoid that as you know, I like racing, I think that’s what we should be doing.

“But if it always works against us I can’t keep letting it happen. We were lucky that nothing got (damaged) but it could have happened again.”

“It doesn’t help to find a solution. It doesn’t help to be always constructive because I’m thinking about things I shouldn’t be thinking about.

“I should be thinking about everything else. It’s a lot going on, so the more you can focus on your real issue the better it will be.”

Grosjean reverted to a Melbourne-spec car in Britain, having immediately wanted to abandon the update Haas introduced in Spain, and qualified ahead of Magnussen.

But Magnussen’s pace fluctuated throughout the weekend, placing fifth in FP3, and Steiner says the lack of viable conclusions is making Haas’ job even more challenging.

“If we had fully understood it we would know what to do next,” he added.

“We’re still to understand where we are with it. This is the strangest car I have ever worked with. You can qualify sixth, which in reality is eighth [due to Ferrari’s problems], I know that, but we qualify fifth sometimes and then in the race you just drop off to second last. It’s amazing you know?

“I have never… I mean, there hasn’t been many times a car like this has been around. I don’t remember anything like this and therefore it is even more difficult because you cannot even go back.

“If we are always slow… but Kevin without the lock-up would have made it into Q3 pretty easy, but then again in the race we end up being slow. I’m baffled.

“If we had come to the conclusion that the Melbourne car is faster then we would change to the Melbourne car, but we haven’t come to that conclusion because in FP3 look at the time from Kevin. It was an amazing time. Where did it come from? I don’t know.”

Haas will continue to run a split car specification at this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.

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Christian Horner frustrated by Pierre Gasly's error amid Ferrari fight

Christian Horner says Red Bull has to have both cars scoring strong points regularly if it wants to challenge Ferrari for second position in the Constructors’ Championship.

Red Bull has taken two wins while Ferrari is yet to triumph in 2019, while Max Verstappen heads both Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc in the Drivers’ standings.

But Pierre Gasly has endured a fraught first half of 2019 in Red Bull colours and, after a promising display at Silverstone, ended without points at Hockenheim after colliding with Alexander Albon.

Red Bull trails Ferrari by 44 points and reckons the runner-up position is within reach if Gasly can step up on a regular basis.

“It’s been up and down,” said Horner on Gasly’s display at Hockenheim.

“He had a strong qualifying. He had a difficult first pit stop, there was a problem with the right-rear wheel nut and then they had to hold him because the whole queue of cars came in.

“He was recovering well, recovering, recovering, recovering, then on the last restart he passed [Sebastian] Vettel but went wide on three consecutive laps at Turn 1 and that’s where the other cars got past him.

“And then obviously racing with Albon they tripped over each other, which was frustrating because it was a good opportunity to take a lot of points out of Ferrari.

“So instead of taking 20 odds points out of them, we’ve only taken seven or eight.

“I think if we can start double scoring that’s [second] our target in the second half of the year to close that gap down.”

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Mercedes appoints Markus Schafer as non-executive chairman

Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Limited, the company which runs the Mercedes Formula 1 team, has announced Markus Schäfer a new non-executive chairman.

Schäfer has been a non-executive director of Mercedes Grand Prix since March this year, and is also on the board of Daimler AG – Mercedes’ parent company – as part of its Group Research and Car Development division.

He has risen through the ranks of the organisation since joining as a trainee in 1990.

Mercedes has appointed Frank Markus Weber, Vice President [of] Corporate Development of Daimler AG as a non-executive director.

The moves come in the wake of the departures from Mercedes Grand Prix of Ola Kallenius, who is now overall Daimler and Mercedes-Benz Chairman following Dieter Zetsche’s retirement, and Bodo Uebber.

Schafer and Weber join existing board members Britta Seeger, Rene Berger and Mercedes Grand Prix CEO and Team Principal Toto Wolff.

“The commitment of our parent company has been fundamental to the team's success and will continue to be so in the years ahead,” said Wolff.

“This support for Formula 1 has always been reflected in our team's board, with strong representation from Daimler's senior leadership, and it continues through the appointments of Markus and Frank Markus for the years ahead.

“Formula 1 is a powerful technology and marketing platform for Mercedes-Benz globally, and a valuable shop window for the company's values and its competitiveness."

Mercedes returned to Formula 1 as a manufacturer team in 2010 and has swept to the last five Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles, emerging as the championship’s leading squad in the hybrid era.

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Red Bull suspects mapping issue behind "horrible" starts

Red Bull thinks that the poor starts for Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly were caused by a software mapping issue that the team needs to sort with Honda.

Verstappen and Gasly both dropped down the order during the wet standing start after suffering excessive wheelspin when they tried to get going.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner described their getaways as terrible and said it was important the outfit looked into detail about what went wrong.

“It was horrible,” he said. “Both cars had an issue at the start, so we need to look into that. They both held their heads at that point though. 

"Max quickly got himself back into running behind the Mercedes. Pierre dropped further back but was starting to make some progress and he made another mistake.”

Asked by Motorsport.com if the start issue was a mapping problem from either Red Bull or Honda, Horner said: “I think it was a mapping issue. I think it's a numbers thing we did on our side that we need to work with Honda to try to fix. I think it could be similar to Austria, so we need to understand what we're doing to cause that situation.”

Pierre Gasly reckoned that his getaway from fourth was even worse than that of Verstappen ahead of him.

“Yeah, just a lot of wheelspin,” he said .”It was the same on all the gears, so we need to analyse a bit more.

“To be fair at the moment I don't really have an idea about what happened exactly, so I don't want to comment too much. But for sure, I saw Max had a poor start, and I had an even worse one behind him.”

Verstappen's poor start did not prevent him from taking his second grand prix of the season, in a grand prix where changing track conditions left teams and drivers switching between wets, inters and slicks.

Reflecting on the madness of the afternoon, Horner said the event reminded him of Ayrton Senna’s famous triumph in the 1993 European Grand Prix.

“It was an amazing race, it was a bit like Donington '93 I think,” said Horner.

Despite the win, Horner said that Red Bull got one of its calls wrong when it put Verstappen on to medium slicks early in the race.

The Dutchman questioned the decision over team radio at the time and, as he struggled to get temperature in the tyres, he had a spin at one point but was able to get going again.

“The circuit looked like it was ready for dry tyres, and we went for the yellow compound, the medium, because we thought we might be running that tyre to the end of the race,” Horner said.

“We were quite concerned about the graining on the soft and the longevity. There were some teams that went soft, some didn't. Then Max had a spin on his out-lap, but he kept it together.

“With hindsight it wasn't the right tyre to put on at that stop, but I think it was the only mistake we made.”

Once Verstappen had got himself to the front of the field, Horner said the Dutchman was easily able to manage his performance to bring home the win.

“He just kept his head and managed the car, managed the tyres,” added Horner. “You could hear he was almost like on a Sunday afternoon drive judging by the dialogue with his engineer, to win a thriller.”

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Kubica: German GP visibility worse than night rallies in fog

Williams driver Robert Kubica said the 2019 German Grand Prix provided him with a stark reminder of how bad visibility is during wet Formula 1 races.
Last weekend at Hockenheim was his first wet-weather F1 start in nine years and he likened the experience to his sojourn in rallying.

“I forgot how much spray there is and how visibility is poor,” said Kubica, who earned Williams' first point of the season after penalties for the two Alfa Romeo cars. 

“I did night stages in rally cars with fog. And when you’re switching off the lights because they’re not helping in the fog with the night, it’s crazy, but you can at least see and have pace notes, so you know where you are. 

“Here, especially the first lap, it wasn’t easy and I didn’t know where I was. I was backing off, everybody was backing off, especially it was as I said a quite conservative approach and I struggled a lot with the grip, with keeping the car on track.” 

After an accident in the Ronde di Andora rally in February 2011 left Kubica with a partially severed right arm, he took time out of racing to recuperate before returning to action in a rally car, becoming a regular participant in the World Rally Championship and the European Rally Championship from 2013-15.

The last wet grand prix Kubica contested was the inaugural Korean event in 2010, which he finished fifth after starting eighth for Renault.

That race was red-flagged for 45 minutes after a rolling start and three laps behind the safety car. When it was restarted behind the safety car again, the field completed 14 laps before conditions were deemed suitable for racing.

Complaints that rolling starts behind the safety car made for dull racing prompted the FIA to introduce a new wet-weather starting procedure for the 2018 season, though it has not been required until last weekend at Hockenheim.

“All in all, it was a valuable experience and for sure, nine years is a long time,” said Kubica. 

“But still I think in these conditions it’s a lot about keeping your head down and staying calm. A lot of cars were faster than us, or most of them, but still you have to drive to your limits and not what you see around you.”

 

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"Bitter" Sainz backs McLaren strategy despite lost podium shot

Carlos Sainz said it felt "very bitter" to miss out on a chance at his maiden podium in the chaotic German Grand Prix - but backed his McLaren team's cautious strategy.
Sainz had put himself in position to score big points by being one of the few drivers to forego a fruitless switch to slicks in the early stages of the race, which allowed him to recover from an early off.

However, while he was keen to roll the dice late on and equip dry tyres, McLaren opted to play it safe - and while Sainz ended up a strong fifth, he lost out to midfield rivals Daniil Kvyat and Lance Stroll, who had gone through with the gamble.

"During the safety car i said let’s go on the slicks but at the same time it was too risky so I perfectly understand that we didn’t pit because no one did actually out of the top five cars," Sainz recalled.

"I did have the feeling it was the right thing but at the same time it was very risky so I back the team totally and when you see Kvyat celebrating a podium and Stroll in front of you and they were really far behind [earlier], it feels very bitter right now.

"But at the same time, I don’t think we would’ve done anything differently. We just did everything perfectly and the guys who had nothing to lose, just took a decision - a risky decision - that turned out to be right."

McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl said the team had to prioritise simply getting points on the board given the race of attrition had already claimed some of the usual frontrunners, as well as both cars from McLaren's main midfield rival Renault.

"Towards the end of the race, seeing who dropped out, and that the Renaults also dropped out, we played it conservative, staying in line with what was happening at the front, and obviously the two cars behind took the risk and benefited from it, so well done to them," Seidl said.

“In the end what made the great result for Stroll was taking the gamble from P14 to go on dry tyres two laps earlier than anyone else, so well done to them.

"From our point of view we didn’t want to take a risk at this point, because you could crash out and then you have a different discussion after the race.

“When you speak to Carlos, he’s disappointed, but given where we have been in the middle of the race we can be very happy with P5.

"And again, with the calls towards the end of the race we simply played conservative, because for us it’s more important to score the points on the table, especially with a race weekend like that, with our main competitors dropping out, [rather than] trying a gamble from P5 to go for glory.”

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Marko rules out Red Bull replacing Gasly mid-season

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has silenced talk that Pierre Gasly’s future at the Formula 1 team is again in doubt, by confirming that the Frenchman will see out the season.

Another difficult weekend for Gasly at the German Grand Prix, which included a crash in practice and a race-ending clash with Alex Albon, has fuelled further speculation about his future with the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

His situation has also not been helped by Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat recording a podium finish, meaning Red Bull has an obvious replacement if it needs one.

However, Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has made it clear that the team is committed to Gasly for the rest of 2019 at least.

“This year we won't change,” he told Motorsport.com. “We will end the season as we currently are.”

But asked if Kvyat’s growing form put Gasly under pressure, Marko said: “Sure.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said Gasly experienced highs and low over the weekend in Germany, as he expressed some frustration at the points lost by the late collision with Albon.

“It was up and down,” said Horner about Gasly’s weekend. “He had a good qualifying, but then he had a difficult first pitstop – there was a problem with the right rear wheelnut. And then they had to hold him because the whole queue of cars came in.

“He started recovering, and on the last restart he passed [Sebastian] Vettel. But then he went wide on three consecutive laps at Turn 1, and that's where the other cars got past him.

“Then obviously racing with Albon, they tripped over each other, which was frustrating because it was a good opportunity today to take a lot of points out of Ferrari. So instead of taking 20-odd points out of them, we've only taken seven or eight.”

Horner suggested that Red Bull now needed Gasly to start delivering more points if it was to have any hopes of overhauling Ferrari in the constructors’ championship.

Asked if second place was achievable this year, Horner said: “I think if we start double scoring. That's our target in the second half of the year, to really close that gap down.”

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‘There would have been a lot of opportunities’ – Ricciardo frustrated by Germany failure

Exhaust failure ended Daniel Ricciardo’s German Grand Prix early on, as he was forced to retire his Renault on Lap 13. And the Australian confessed to suffering a strong case of FOMO – fear of missing out – as he watched the rest of the frenetic race unfolding from the side lines.

Ricciardo was running in P12, one place up on where he’d qualified on Saturday, when the rear of his Renault R.S.19 started billowing out smoke, forcing him to pull the car to the side of the track, bringing out the race’s first Virtual Safety Car.

“It was an exhaust failure,” Ricciardo explained afterwards. “Everything else seems okay, nothing with the engine. I could see it a little bit in the cockpit and then I looked out of the mirror and I could see a lot of smoke from the exhaust.”

Especially cruel for Ricciardo, he then had to spectate as Daniil Kvyat, his former Red Bull team mate and the driver directly behind him when his car let go, wound up P3 for Toro Rosso by the race end – while even Lance Stroll, languishing in 17th when Ricciardo’s incident happened, was up to a fine P4 for Racing Point by the chequered flag. And the seven-time Grand Prix winner admitted that it had been hard to watch his midfield rivals soak up crucial championship points – and even, in Kvyat’s case, a podium.

“It’s a shame because I was watching the rest of the race and it looked, as a spectator, fun, and I would’ve loved to stay out there,” he said. “There would’ve been a lot of opportunities… so I’m obviously frustrated with that.”

Adding to Renault’s woe, Ricciardo’s team mate Nico Hulkenberg later crashed out of a strong fourth place, having run as high as second at one point, meaning the team endured their fifth non-scoring Grand Prix in 11 races.

Ricciardo will now regroup and prepare for the Hungarian Grand Prix in a few days’ time, a race at which he secured his second F1 win back in 2014, and where he’ll be keen to add to his tally in the drivers’ standings, having now scored just six points in the past four Grands Prix.

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HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX: VERSTAPPEN’S ORANGE ARMY HOPE TO EXTEND PARTY

German Grand Prix winner Max Verstappen and his Dutch Orange army of Formula One fans hope to continue the party in Hungary on Sunday, even if it will be hard to match the madness of Hockenheim last weekend.

The Hungaroring, narrow and technical and sometimes described as ‘Monaco without walls’ because of the difficulty of overtaking, is a circuit that should play to Red Bull’s strengths.

Red Bull’s Verstappen arrives with two wins from the last three races and, while a massive 63 points adrift of five times world champion Lewis Hamilton in the standings, is looming increasingly in the Mercedes mirrors.

The track is a favourite, even if it gave the 21-year-old plenty to swear about last year.

“We’ve won two races so far and a couple of other podiums, a couple of ‘should have beens’ and ‘could have beens’,” commented Red Bull boss Christian Horner after a wet and chaotic weekend in Hockenheim.

“We’ve got a car that’s capable of qualifying near the front now, we’ve got a great racecar and everybody in Milton Keynes, Adrian (Newey) and his team, are all getting performance through to the car as well.

“Hopefully we can sign off with a good result in Budapest and then the second half of the year we’re expecting hopefully some more good things.”

Verstappen’s hopes went up in smoke after six laps in Hungary a year ago, when the team were powered by Renault engines and Hamilton won from pole position after a wet qualifying.

Hamilton has won a record six times in Budapest and he has vowed to “come back with fighting spirit” after a German weekend in which he started on pole, finished 11th on the track and was then promoted to ninth.

High temperatures could work against Mercedes, who struggled with cooling in the heat in Austria and could face more of the same in Hungary, while Hamilton has to shrug off the after-effects of the bug that laid him low in Hockenheim.

The champion, who has won seven of 11 races, said on Sunday he was going home to sleep and had cleared out his diary.

A win in Hungary would send Hamilton 48 points clear of teammate Valtteri Bottas in the championship, double the lead he enjoyed over Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel last year going into the August break.

Bottas needs to do something special to shrink the gap, with his future to be decided in August and Verstappen closing in fast on second place.

Vettel led home a Ferrari one-two in Hungary in 2017 and, fast approaching the anniversary of his last win in August 2018, would love a repeat even if he is prepared for another tough afternoon.

“Hungaroring is a pretty physical track in a current Formula One car, because there aren’t any long straights and it’s a very stop-start circuit, which means you are always working away at the wheel,” he said.

“And given the time of year, it’s usually boiling hot, which definitely doesn’t help.”

Ferrari’s major concern will be ensuring there are no repeats of the power unit problems that affected both Vettel and teammate Charles Leclerc, who crashed out last Sunday, at Hockenheim.

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RENAULT: WE HAD A SMALL TASTE OF BEING AT THE FRONT ON MERIT

Renault F1 Team previews the twelfth race weekend of the 2019 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the Rolex Hungarian Grand Prix.

Drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo share their thoughts on the challenges of the Hungaroring, while Cyril Abiteboul and Chassis Technical Director Nick Chester give the latest on the team and on the 2019 package.

Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal: “We left Hockenheim with a bitter taste as, in exceptional races like Sunday’s, you can really pick up some big points. We have another chance in Hungary to demonstrate what we can do, and I know both drivers are motivated to deliver on the potential and go into the summer on a positive.

“We continue to be focused on our objective to build a more competitive car. We had a small taste of what it feels like to be up at the front on merit and this is just the motivation we need heading towards the summer break. The championship is open and, quite clearly, we need to score good points in Hungary to stay in the race.”

Nick Chester, Chassis Technical Director: “The track is tight, with lots of low speed corners. The only long burst of full throttle is the pit straight. We run in a high downforce configuration, one of only four times over a season we will run it, along with Monaco, Singapore and Mexico. The average speed is therefore low, but it is hard on the tyres, in particular the rears. There aren’t many overtaking possibilities, and qualifying becomes even more critical than at other races.”

Nico Hülkenberg: “The Hungaroring is a very technical circuit and almost non-stop. Corners come one after the other and they all combine in a way. A small mistake on one corner means you’re off for the next one and it’s therefore quite challenging to string together a lap. You need confidence in the car. Last weekend hurt, but we have the opportunity for an immediate comeback this weekend in Hungary. I’m determined as ever for a strong result.”

Daniel Ricciardo: “People liken the circuit to Monaco without walls, but it’s tricky to make that reference as it is its own track with its own challenges. It’s fast there, quite tight, but that doesn’t mean overtaking isn’t possible. Plenty goes on at the wheel at the Hungaroring. I’m looking forward to Budapest and we know how important it is for a strong team result so we’re heading into the summer on a positive.”

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WILLIAMS: IN HUNGARY WE HAVE NEW PARTS TO EVALUATE

We’ve reached the midway point of the 2019 season as Hungary marks the final stop on the calendar before teams are rewarded with a well-earned break during the annual summer shutdown.

The Hungaroring is one of the shortest tracks on the calendar, and its popularity amongst drivers, teams and fans doesn’t go unnoticed for its location near the beautiful city of Budapest. On top of this, the Hungarian Grand Prix is the closest event to a home race for Robert Kubica and we expect to see many Polish fans in attendance.

Dave Robson, Senior Race Engineer: “Following the high-speed and high-efficiency circuits of Silverstone and Hockenheim, the opening part of the 2019 season finishes at the high downforce, low-efficiency Hungaroring.”

“The track was renewed in 2016 and now has a fairly smooth and consistent surface which is less demanding on the tyres. As in Germany, Pirelli have made the middle of their compound range available and so C2 is the Hard, C3 Medium and C4 the Soft tyre. How these will behave will depend on the track temperature, which can regularly exceed 50°C during August in Budapest.

“Since winter testing began in mid-February, we have completed 11 race events and five test events in little over 20 weeks. The schedule demands a lot of the team, both at the factory and on the road, and it is to everyone’s credit that we arrive in Hungary with further parts to evaluate ahead of the second half of the season, which begins with the traditional back-to-back races in Spa and Monza that marks the end of the European season.

“We approach the race in Hungary as we do any other, with tyre testing and parts evaluation on Friday before we switch focus to qualifying and the race. Once pack-up is complete on Sunday evening, the whole team can start to think about some well-earned rest and recuperation before we head off to the Ardennes for one of the best races of the season.”

Robert Kubica: “Hungary is the closest event to a home race for me and so even though it’s not in Poland, I expect a lot of Polish fans to attend. I made my Formula One debut at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix and it was the first Formula One race I attended when I was 12 years old in 1997. There a lot of things that I can relate to with Hungary, so let’s hope for a good weekend. Finally, I would like to thank the fans for their support during this difficult period.”

George Russell: “Budapest is one of my favourite races of the year. The circuit has a good flow to it and the fans always provide a great atmosphere. It’s the last race before the summer break, so we are going to make sure that we enter the holidays satisfied that we got the most out of our package.”