Метка: Dutch GP

How Verstappen and Red Bull are responding to being second best

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


For the first time since his home race joined the Formula 1 calendar in 2021, Max Verstappen wasn’t the man to beat in Zandvoort.

Verstappen was soundly beaten by McLaren’s Lando Norris in qualifying at the Dutch Grand Prix — to the tune of three tenths — and while another stuttering start cost Norris the lead on race day, he soon swept past and sailed off into the distance, defeating Verstappen by 22.9 seconds.

McLaren being on top is nothing new, as it mainly stopped itself from picking up more than its two wins before the summer break in Miami and Budapest, rather than its rivals getting in the way.

But the margin of Norris’ emphatic victory, in the Dutch lion’s den nonetheless, is poignant as an otherwise comfortable gap of 70 points in the drivers’ standings suddenly doesn’t sound so cushiony anymore.

What was once seen as a blip, an unfortunately timed run of bumpier circuits like Miami and Monaco that punished an inherent Red Bull weakness, has since carried over on circuits where Red Bull used to be dominant too.

But while few expected Norris to mount a credible title bid earlier in the season, this is the exact scenario Verstappen had been vocally warning about for months as Red Bull struggled to eke much more performance out of the RB20’s car concept.

From Miami onwards, Verstappen — never one to mince his words — had been urging the team both in public and in private to get its act together.

Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Speaking in Austria two months ago, Verstappen said: «In general everybody has come closer, I think we just have to be honest about that. We could say: ‘Yes, it’s normal’. I don’t think it’s normal. We always want to be better, and that’s why I bring that up.

«I could also say: ‘Yes, we won [in Spain], so it’s fine.’ But I don’t look at it that way. We do have to keep working hard. If we think this is normal, people are going to overtake us.»

That has now happened, with McLaren adding to its game-changing Miami upgrades with another package in the Netherlands that has also appeared to hit the mark and improved its aerodynamic efficiency.

Meanwhile, Red Bull has had to roll back some of its Hungary updates, with technical director Pierre Wache conceding to Autosport that it may have hit the ceiling of where it can take this year’s car.

Is anger making way for acceptance?

In Budapest, Verstappen was particularly irate and frustrated when Red Bull’s long-awaited upgrades didn’t provide the gains expected and launched a tirade on the team radio against his race engineer over the strategy he was put on, with Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase clearing the air a week later in Spa.

But while natural-born winner Verstappen could have been expected to be equally upset at losing his win streak in front of Zandvoort’s orange-clad grandstands, the difference with McLaren was such that anger appeared to make way for acceptance as there was nothing Red Bull could have thrown at Norris to stop him, not even taking the lead at the start.

After reporting the car «doesn’t respond to my inputs», Verstappen was powerless to keep Norris behind and soon switched to management mode, ensuring he would at least finish second rather than try and force the issue to keep Norris under any semblance of pressure.

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, passes Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, passes Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

«There was nothing that I could do, so once he passed, I just focused on doing my race, tried to bring it to the end in second,» Verstappen said, who re-iterated that McLaren’s big advantage doesn’t come out of nowhere.

«I think this weekend was just a bad weekend in general, so we need to understand that. But the last few races already haven’t really been fantastic. So that, I think in a sense, was already a bit alarming.

«But we know that we don’t need to panic. We are just trying to improve the situation. And that’s what we are working on. But F1 is very complicated.»

Christian Horner gave his view on Verstappen’s even-keeled demeanour: «I think he accepted it. He knew that Lando just had a quicker car today and actually saw that from Friday. So I think he drove a very mature race where he wanted to ensure that, OK, he was conceding seven points to Lando, but he didn’t want to concede more than that.

«You’ve got to drive with the championship in mind. And there’s been seven different race winners this year. So, if you can’t win, then you’ve got to be scoring the points.»

It feels like Verstappen has already made his point to Red Bull often enough, and is now just getting on with making the most of what he has to safeguard his fourth world championship.

What Red Bull can do to turn things around

So what can Red Bull actually do to turn the ship around, or at least ensure it stands a fighting chance to defend its slender 30-point lead in the constructors’ championship? And how worried should it be by Zandvoort’s monstrous gap with circuits like its 2023 Achilles heel Singapore coming up?

There are a few factors that have made the 22-second deficit larger than it really should have been, with Red Bull admitting it had gambled on a higher downforce strategy which failed to pay off in the race, having had limited dry running in practice.

Not only did it make Verstappen a sitting duck on the straight against Norris, but it also overcompensated in pure lap time to protect against a level of tyre degradation that turned out to be lower than expected.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Horner also pointed out that Perez’s newer floor package, compared to an older version run by Verstappen, «got the better of the two», meaning the Dutchman’s car was already leaving lap time on the table.

But that doesn’t sugarcoat the reality it is in, with no silver bullet to provide an immediate fix even if Red Bull’s split package approach yielded more answers to Verstappen’s persistent questions over his RB20’s compromised car balance.

«Obviously, it’s not nice to be beaten by 22 seconds, but it just shows when you get things right in your car in the window, as we saw earlier in the year, that kind of result is possible,» Horner said.

«It doesn’t scare us in any way. It just focuses the mind that we need to turn this around, we need to get it right.

«The pressure is on us to respond and we’re used to being in championship fights over the years. We’ll dig deep and we’re going to fight with everything we’ve got over the remaining nine races.»

Watch: F1 Dutch GP — The Title Fight Comes Alive



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Lowe reveals «an element» of F1 V10 desire behind Zero creation

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Formula 1 has been steadily increasing the electrical element of its power units since introducing KERS in 2009 and making the switch from howling 2.4-litre V8s to 1.6-litre hybrid power units in 2014.

 

In the new 2026 regulations, the power split will be 50/50 between the stored electrical energy and the internal combustion engine.

Another cornerstone of the regulations, however, will see all teams required to run using 100% sustainable fuel, that is “either non-food-bio-derived, from genuine municipal waste or from sustainable carbon capture.”

But one criticism of the regulations is that, if sustainable fuels are being used, why can F1 not free up the regulations and allow multiple configurations, including V8s, V10s or, perhaps for those of a certain vintage, V12s?

Former Williams chief technical officer Paddy Lowe, who recently rejoined the F1 paddock through a sponsorship deal with Sauber, founded Zero Petroleum – a carbon-neutral synthetic fuel company – in 2020, and he revealed to the James Allen on F1 Podcast that this possibility had entered his thinking when creating the company.

“I’ve seen that idea for very long time, actually, and there’s an element of that in the formation of our company Zero, that type of vision,” he said.

“But whether it’s Formula 1 or some other platform, I think we will see that coming through.”

Paddy Lowe

Paddy Lowe

Photo by: Adam Cooper

These comments follow those of F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali who, when speaking to select media including Autosport’s Italian sister site earlier this year, said: “As soon as the 2026 regulations are defined, we will start to think about what the next steps will be, such as the 2030 engine.

“It is a personal consideration of mine, not yet shared with the teams, even if we have spoken about it with the FIA, that if sustainable fuels work, we will need to carefully evaluate whether to continue with hybrid (technology) or whether better solutions will be available.”

But before allowing hopes of this scenario to get too high, Lowe added: “I think the point I might put in there is that Formula 1 is a hybrid formula today, that is actually a very good solution for mainstream automotive I think.

“We’ve seen this swing for total electrification demanded by governments, which is both unrealistic and not even sensible in my view. I like electric cars, but to mandate it is ridiculous.

“Formula 1 is a great example of not mandating, but giving freedom. You know, the reason we use electricity for energy storage in Formula 1, that goes back to the KERS regulations, is that that was the best solution found. It wasn’t mandated.”



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Is it time McLaren asks Piastri to help back Norris’s bid for title glory?

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


McLaren’s Andrea Stella is a diplomatic man who is rightly earning the plaudits for overseeing the team’s substantial improvement over the past 20 months.

A steady hand on the tiller, Stella is a key factor behind McLaren’s transformation and until now, has comfortably rowed down the middle in terms of siding with his drivers, maintaining an impressive degree of harmony and diplomacy.

But as the team moves into the second half of the season there is now a chance, albeit a slim one, for them to win both the drivers’ and constructors’ championship titles.

Despite what Norris thinks, saying after his win in the Dutch Grand Prix it was «pretty stupid» to think about winning this year’s drivers’ title given Max Verstappen’s 70-point advantage in the championship, the reality is Norris is in this battle.

Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko said Norris’s victory was «alarming» both from their team — and Verstappen’s — perspective, with the reigning world champion now without a win in five races. For the first time since winning the title in 2021, he looks vulnerable and no longer assured of a solid haul of points at each race.

However, for the time being, at least, Stella is reluctant to put all McLaren’s eggs in one basket and prioritise Norris’s end to the season over Piastri.

After Norris’s victory in Zandvoort, he explained his reasoning at length and with a refreshing amount of openness and said: «We always have conversations around team orders — from race one. Because you always want to enter a race having clarity as to how we are going to manage the internal competition between the two drivers.

Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, 1st position, Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team, Andrea Stella, Team Principal, McLaren F1 Team, the McLaren team celebrate victory

Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, 1st position, Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team, Andrea Stella, Team Principal, McLaren F1 Team, the McLaren team celebrate victory

Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images

«So the conversations about team orders happen throughout the season, but then you have to take this conversation within the context of what is, for instance, the driver’s classification.

«In general, our approach is to be fair, to have integrity in the way we go racing and I keep saying that I’ve known no driver that wants to be number one on a contract.

«Drivers want to be number one because they are fast on track and then when you are fast on track, definitely, you want to be supported by the team, when it’s a 50/50 decision or when the team can assist.

«We have nine races ahead of us, and if we created a number one driver, then what do we do? All the favour to the number one driver?

«This is not a healthy way of running a team. But for every race, we will analyse the situations, and in the 50/50 situations, or in those cases in which — in this case, Lando may need a bit of extra support from the team — we are going to give it. But the team includes Oscar.

«Like, the team should not do things that don’t look reasonable to Oscar. We are in this together. You don’t go as a team and a driver and the other driver kind of follows despite him.

«He needs to be part of this conversation, and he needs to be in agreement with what we think is the way forward.»

On the one hand, it is impressive seeing Stella stick to the team’s values, for McLaren has long since maintained there was not a number-one driver within the team.

However, I cannot help but feel the time is now right for it to tweak that approach and bring Piastri into line to support Norris’s push for McLaren’s first world championship since 2008.
When Piastri was asked after qualifying at Zandvoort whether he would support Norris’s bid to beat Verstappen, he gave a wry smile and said: «If I can get into second, then obviously that makes life a little bit more straightforward for the team. But… I mean, I’m not going to do anything specific to try and make that happen. I want to try and win the race myself. Let’s see what I can try and do.»

From that brief exchange, it was clear his focus was on his own self-interest and in keeping with McLaren’s overall strategy not to prioritise a particular driver.

However, we have already seen that questioned this season at the Hungarian Grand Prix where the team asked Norris and Piastri to swap places in the final stages of the race, culminating in the Australian’s first victory in F1.

While it was fantastic for Piastri to get off the mark, will those seven points surrendered by Norris come back to haunt him later in the year in his battle with Verstappen?

The reality, of course, is that we don’t know yet. But what we do know is this position of fighting for wins and titles — is a new experience for many staff working at McLaren and with it comes learning.

Talent aside, Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher all won titles thanks to some cooperation from their team-mates.

Would it not make sense to deploy Piastri in that supporting role to give Norris a better chance of beating Verstappen, who himself seems cut adrift from his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez?

McLaren are free to pick whatever approach they think is best but they also cannot afford to miss out on a great chance like this to win a world crown.

Maintaining the status quo and continuing to walk that tightrope of diplomacy is admirable, but having its drivers in P2 and P3 in the championship come the end of the year will only point to an opportunity missed.

Piastri won’t like it and it will take all of Stella’s negotiating and man-management skills, but maybe it is time he was pulled into line to support Norris’s bid to become F1 world champion.



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No need for Red Bull to panic despite «issue»

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Red Bull boss Christian Horner has insisted his team knows it has «an issue» and needs to improve to fend off the McLaren threat.

The reigning world championship-winning team holds a lead of 30 points in the constructors’ standings, while Max Verstappen heads Lando Norris by 70 points in the drivers’ championship.

However, the Milton Keynes squad is now without a win in five rounds and Verstappen has conceded its form is «alarming» after McLaren’s Lando Norris won the Dutch Grand Prix by over 20 seconds.

Speaking in the post-race press conference at Zandvoort, Verstappen said: «This weekend was just a bad weekend in general, so we need to understand that. But the last few races, they haven’t really been fantastic so that, in a sense, was already a bit alarming.

«We know that we don’t need to panic. We are just trying to improve the situation. And that’s what we are working on. But F1 is very complicated.»

Verstappen’s order not to panic was echoed by Horner, who pointed to the lack of McLaren success across the season so far.

«Based on performance, if it was like that at the next nine races, yes, it would be very, very difficult,» said Horner.

«But it’s the fourth time this year, only the fourth time, that Max’s points lead had reduced. It’s only Lando’s second win.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

«But we know we have to find performance. So we were 78 points, now we’re 70 ahead. We want to make sure that we extend the lead, not see it continuously diminish.

«Obviously they made a step a little while ago and their car here particularly with Lando was very impressive. So, we need to understand where and address our deficit.»

Horner also explained that McLaren’s improvement, coupled with his team’s dip in form, showed the nature of Formula 1 and how quickly the tables can turn.

He added: «Well, it just shows that things have moved very quickly. I mean, we were winning races by 20, 25 seconds and Stefano [Domenicali, F1 CEO] was asking us to slow down in the first five races.

«It can change very quickly and that means it can change back the other way as well. 

«We know we’ve got an issue. You can hear that Max didn’t feel that the car was responding to what he wanted. We’ve obviously got to be able to manifest that into a setup that works these tyres across all conditions.

«McLaren did that with Lando. We weren’t able to, but we limited the damage by ‘if you can’t win it, finish second’.»

Additional reporting by Ronald Vording and Erwin Jaeggi



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Seven things we learned at the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Put the Piz Buin away, folks — the summer break is officially over and done with. The Formula 1 circus returned from its holidays in typically rambunctious fashion, laying down an assortment of storylines to make up for a fallow period in the annual soap opera.

For those missing sandy beaches, the seaside town of Zandvoort offered a neat way to wean people off their out-of-office messages and thrust them back onto the F1 hamster wheel. The racing action might have been stilted in comparison to the pre-summer affairs, as the tight circuit draped across the Dutch dunes made the wheel-to-wheel stuff a little more difficult, but it nonetheless added another element to a once one-dimensional title affair.

PLUS: Dutch Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2024

But wait, there’s more: the announcement of a rookie driver kicked things off, albeit not the one that was expected — although we’ll get to that later. There was an attempted seizure of assets as a sponsor was awaiting payment, a qualifying disqualification based upon the tightest margins, and a team’s reversal in fortunes in the race after a disappointing Saturday. Let’s go through the Dutch Grand Prix weekend’s best bits.

1. Norris’ iffy starts might not matter any more

McLaren's Lando Norris lost the skirmish at the start but beat Red Bull's Max Verstappen in the battle for victory

McLaren’s Lando Norris lost the skirmish at the start but beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the battle for victory

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

When Lando Norris parked his car on the front-most grid slot with the third-biggest pole margin of the year (0.356s), all of the subsequent discourse had laid around his track record of losing the lead into the first corner. A butterfingered grasp of pole had contrived to cost Norris at both Hungary and Barcelona, as the Briton’s ‘second phase’ clutch release proved to be a bugbear of his. The pressure to perform was palpable this time around.

And then it happened again. Norris matched fellow front-row occupant Verstappen in the initial getaway reaction, but gathered too much wheelspin that stunted his progress into the opening corner. The Dutchman grabbed the lead into Turn 1, presumably leading to some choice words from Norris enclosed within his neon-yellow crash lid. But he regrouped and, although Norris fell out of DRS range, he kept tabs on Verstappen and never let the lead exceed two seconds.

PLUS: The Red Bull mistake that let McLaren’s poor Zandvoort start off the hook

When it became apparent that Verstappen couldn’t build much of a break, Norris turned the screw and started to loom larger in the Red Bull’s mirrors. A lap 17 tilt into Tarzanbocht was seen off, yet the McLaren was able to remain in Verstappen’s wheeltracks and cannoned out of the banked Turn 14 for a lunge down the inside of Turn 1 on the next lap. Job done, and the McLaren driver started to augment his lead with a near half-second per lap advantage to ensure it became unassailable. And if McLaren has that kind of performance over Red Bull now, the starts at future races should come with a little less pressure.

2. Red Bull feels the pressure as Verstappen on receiving end of rout

Max Verstappen was left in the wake of McLaren's Lando Norris

Max Verstappen was left in the wake of McLaren’s Lando Norris

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Verstappen is usually on the other end of a 22.9-second drubbing, a margin representative of his customary drives where he disappears into the distance — only to appear again with his car parked up behind the #1 board in parc ferme. Instead, he had to cop the significant margin of defeat. It’s the culmination of Red Bull’s inability to keep the RB20’s development bubbling away, as new floors and bodywork have scarcely added anything to the car — other than the odd side effect of hurting the handling.

«It just seems like we are too slow, but also quite bad on degradation at the moment,» Verstappen rued. «That’s a bit weird because I think the last few years normally we’ve been quite good on that. Something has been going wrong lately with the car that we need to understand and we need to quickly try to improve. It’s just not a connected balance, front or rear.»

Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko called the result «alarming», while Christian Horner reckoned that a higher-downforce set-up direction — with the intent to counter tyre degradation — did not pay off. Versus McLaren’s diligent upgrade path that continues to deliver performance, Red Bull has stalled to some degree. The team is very aware that it needs updates to keep moving forward, but it also needs them to deliver the performance.

«We know we have to find performance,» Horner added. «So we were 78 points, now we’re 70 ahead. We want to make sure that we extend the lead, not see it continuously diminish.»

3. Leclerc hails podium ‘miracle’, Mercedes caught out

Charles Leclerc fought hard to claim an unlikely podium

Charles Leclerc fought hard to claim an unlikely podium

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

After a relatively flat qualifying session in which Carlos Sainz missed out on the Q3 cut-off, Ferrari could only get Charles Leclerc as high as sixth on the grid. A fight for the lower reaches of the points seemed to beckon, but the wind seemed to change overnight. Instead, Leclerc gained a place at the start and gamely hung onto the George Russell-Oscar Piastri battle, finding that his car had a lot more pace in it over the race stint.

The undercut call also worked out perfectly, lifting Leclerc above both Russell and Piastri to sit in third. Then came a stellar defence in which Leclerc pushed just enough to keep the Australian behind him, leaving Piastri to suffer with the dirty air, to collect a surprise third place. In the meantime, Sainz defied the Zandvoort circuit’s nature to make a series of moves up the order, eventually passing Sergio Perez and getting on Russell’s tail before the Mercedes driver pitted to clinch fifth.

Mercedes, for its part, had a less fortuitous weekend. Like Sainz, Lewis Hamilton was another prized scalp claimed in Q2, but was also issued with a three-place grid penalty for hindering Perez in qualifying. This made his afternoon more difficult, but rose to eighth — which he retained despite a second stop. Sensing that Russell would lose a place to Sainz anyway, Mercedes called him in for softs with the expectation of catching Perez — but progress was not forthcoming. «Whatever we’d done didn’t really work because of the car not being in a good place,» Toto Wolff reckoned, anticipating a full review ahead of Monza.

4. Alpine entrusts Jack with Doohan the business in 2025

Jack Doohan will graduate to F1 next year with Alpine

Jack Doohan will graduate to F1 next year with Alpine

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

When Sainz’s destination for 2025 was finally revealed, with Williams capturing the Spaniard’s signing among a suite of suitors, many wondered which domino would be next to fall. Autosport revealed during the summer that Jack Doohan was expected to earn a promotion to the Alpine seat alongside Pierre Gasly for next season, as the French squad had been among those in the hunt for Sainz.

Indeed, Doohan’s signing was unveiled on Friday; the six-time F2 race winner has spent this season testing older machinery for the team, and his performance across those outings and in his six FP1 sessions was considered good enough to earn an F1 debut. He revealed that he was given the news on the Monday evening after the Belgian Grand Prix, and put pen to paper on a deal before the summer shutdown.

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This means that Doohan reunites with new Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes, who ran the Australian in Asian F3 at Hitech in 2019. Doohan’s career highlights include third in the 2023 F2 championship standings, having been runner-up to Dennis Hauger in 2021’s FIA F3 title battle. A former Red Bull junior, Doohan switched to Alpine’s set-up after feeling he’d get more opportunities with the Renault-run squad — a decision that has been vindicated.

5. Antonelli in for Monza FP1 as 2025 preparation continues

Andrea Kimi Antonelli testing as Mercedes at Imola earlier this year

Andrea Kimi Antonelli testing as Mercedes at Imola earlier this year

Photo by: Davide Cavazza

Highly rated Mercedes junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli will get his first taste of a Formula 1 weekend at Monza, as he steps into the W15 for FP1. Having turned 18 on Sunday, Antonelli had previously been given special dispensation to make an F1 weekend debut at 17 — but this was ultimately not required. The Italian has also been given experience of Mercedes’ older machinery under the testing of previous cars regulations, ensuring he has experience of high-power machinery ahead of his first ‘proper’ run in contemporary cars.

It is widely expected that Mercedes will elevate Antonelli into a race seat next season to fill the void left by Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari, and the FP1 session will offer the team insight into how he works with the race engineers at the circuit.

«We’re going to do FP1 with Kimi in Monza, which is going to be a really emotional moment,» Wolff said. «Because we followed him since he was 11 and a baby, go-kart driver, and a Mercedes kid proud to be in the garage. To see him drive out on Friday in FP1 in Monza, in front of the tifosi, having an Italian kid in a competitive car, I think that will be something that everybody in Italy can be very proud of. And then we take it from there.»

6. Mere microns behind Williams’ failed legality checks; Sargeant set for demotion?

Logan Sargeant was involved in a fiery crash in FP3

Logan Sargeant was involved in a fiery crash in FP3

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Alex Albon’s impressive eighth place in qualifying for the Dutch GP was expunged from the record when his new floor was declared illegal. Scans by the FIA had shown that the floor was too wide, which contrasted with Williams’ own scans at the factory and ahead of Friday practice.

Vowles told Sky that the amount that the new floor was off by was «fractions of a millimetre» in one specific area, and that it could be fixed with «a bit of 400-grit sandpaper». But the damage was done; Albon was sent to the back of the grid, from which he could scarcely recover having become entrenched within the midfield.

Logan Sargeant, for his part, had been unable to qualify at all owing to his heavy shunt in FP3. After touching the grass on the exit of Turn 3, the American was thrown into a spin and he made contact with the opposite Armco barrier. This caused considerable damage and the car caught fire, but amazingly the chassis was unscathed and could be built up for the race on Sunday.

Regardless, Williams was known to be dissatisfied with Sargeant’s performance and his immediate future with the team is once again under review. Mick Schumacher and Liam Lawson are being considered as options should Williams wish to make a switch for the final nine races.

7. Haas deals with $9m fees, Uralkali attempts to seize

Haas is free to take its cars and equipment to Monza after former sponsor Uralkali confirmed receipt of a $9 million refund payment

Haas is free to take its cars and equipment to Monza after former sponsor Uralkali confirmed receipt of a $9 million refund payment

Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images

After an arbitration hearing in June in the Swiss courts, Haas had been ordered to repay former title sponsor Uralkali $9m after their deal was torn up on the eve of the 2022 season following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Russian chemicals giant, owned by Dmitry Mazepin — father of ex-F1 driver Nikita — had paid $13m for title sponsor rights that season, and Haas was able to keep $4m of that.

But Uralkali contended that it had not seen the repayment by a July deadline, and took action in the Dutch courts to seize Haas’ assets. Bailiffs and police were called to the circuit to take an inventory of Haas’ assets at the circuit, while the American team was able to continue its racing activities in Zandvoort. Haas later stated that it had conducted the repayment on Friday into a Middle Eastern account owing to sanctions but, it being the weekend there, had not yet gone through.

This meant that the team was unable to move its freight to Monza on Sunday night thanks to a court order, but is now able to do so as Uralkali received the payment on Monday.

«Uralkali confirms that we have received in full the payment owed by Haas (including interest and fees) following the ruling of the Swiss court of arbitration,» it stated. «We have also collected the race car owed to us under the terms of the sponsorship agreement.

«As such, Uralkali has notified Dutch authorities that they may release Haas’ assets from arrest as an interim measure, and Haas is free to take them out of the Netherlands.»

What will we learn next time out at Monza?

What will we learn next time out at Monza?

Photo by: Erik Junius



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Talk of an F1 title challenge is “stupid”

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Lando Norris is not looking ahead to potentially winning the Formula 1 title this season and labelled it “stupid” to increase the focus despite a dominant display at the Dutch Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver once again struggled off the line from pole position and fell behind reigning champion and local favourite Max Verstappen into the first corner.

However, Norris recovered in style, keeping tabs on Verstappen before passing the Red Bull with ease on lap 18 – never looking back as he stormed to a comfortable win.

He still had enough in his used hard tyres to set the fastest lap on his final tour and the winning margin of 22.896 seconds was the biggest in a race not won by Verstappen since Lewis Hamilton’s impressive victory at the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

But despite coming back from the summer break in scintillating form, as another upgrade proved to bring instant improvement, Norris offered a bullish response when asked by Autosport if he was confident he has a shot at the title.

“I’ve been fighting for the championship since the first race of the year. There’s no sudden decision now,” he said.

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

“I need to do better. I’ve been working hard the whole year and I’m still 70 points behind Max. So it’s pretty stupid to think of anything at the minute. I just take one race at a time and just keep doing what I’m doing now because there’s no point in thinking ahead and thinking of the rest.

“I don’t care about it at the minute. I’m just focused on one race at a time, so it’s not a question that I need to get asked every single weekend.”

Whether Norris will be good enough over the course of the season to close the 70-point gap to Verstappen remains to be seen.

McLaren, though, was a class ahead of the rest in Zandvoort as Mercedes boss Toto Wolff conceded the Woking-based squad “annihilated” the pack.

With the Italian GP a week away, Norris refused to offer a positive take on whether he could make it back-to-back victories.

«Anyone could be on top,» he insisted. «Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, us. Ferrari was quite quick. We probably didn’t expect them to be as good as they were. Maybe Red Bull struggled a bit more.

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, 1st position, takes the chequered flag

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, 1st position, takes the chequered flag

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

«I think that was probably more the factor that the Red Bull struggled a bit more than we were expecting. We just keep our heads down.

«There’s no point thinking how we’re going to do next weekend. We’ll just get there and work hard and wait till we get there. There’s no point thinking ahead.»

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Russell baffled after «dropping like a stone” in Dutch GP

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


George Russell has conceded he was «left scratching his head» after going backwards in the Dutch Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver qualified in fourth place and had looked strong all weekend going into Sunday’s race but struggled for pace and finished seventh — one spot ahead of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Russell, 26, who came into this weekend having been denied victory in the Belgian Grand Prix after his car was disqualified for being underweight, said he was perplexed to be so far adrift.

«We just had no pace,» the Briton lamented. «I was just dropping like a stone — especially quite surprised versus Ferrari. We were expecting to be comfortably ahead of them, and Charles [Leclerc] was quicker, Carlos [Sainz] was catching me. Clearly, we got something wrong with the tyres.

«After the first couple of laps I thought we were on course for a podium here, I knew the overtaking was going to be difficult. I was really shocked at how fast McLaren was.

«Lando [Norris] just looked so comfortable out there, super impressive to see, but we’ve had six really strong races and then suddenly we’ve finished almost a minute behind the win, so you don’t lose all of that performance overnight.

«We qualified fourth and clearly didn’t get something right [in the race]. Honestly, right now I’m still scratching my head. It was very tough conditions, you know, this wind with the long corners. Right now I don’t have the answers.»

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Meanwhile, Hamilton was left ruing the cost of his three-place grid penalty imposed for blocking Sergio Perez and said that grid drop prevented him from a shot at the podium.

«I had a lot of fun today,» the seven-time world champion commented. «We planned to do a two-stop, started on the soft – the soft tyre was a very good tyre, it felt much better than the medium tyre in practice.

«The hard tyre was pretty decent, it was difficult to see what I needed to do. I was on a two-stopper, so I was trying to use up the tyre but I also wasn’t sure whether or not we might possibly go for a one [stop].

«Probably if I got on to the one-stop and managed a little bit better, then I could have done a one-stop and maybe finished one spot ahead.

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On whether the result would have been better without his grid penalty, Hamilton replied: «Yes, definitely, if I just qualified like I should have qualified.

«If I didn’t have the problem in qualifying then yes. I think I had the pace today to be in the top five – if I started fourth for example I would’ve finished at least fourth.»



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Norris and Piastri clear on McLaren’s rules of engagement at Dutch GP

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri insist they are aware of team rules when it comes to fighting one another during the Dutch Grand Prix.

Norris put in a stunning lap to take pole position in Zandvoort, while Piastri starts third with reigning world champion and local favourite Max Verstappen separating the pair.

Team orders have been a hot topic for the Woking-based squad recently after Norris was asked to let Piastri through for victory in Hungary, having initially undercut the Australian in the pits.

The championship-chasing British driver eventually did cede to his team-mate with CEO Zak Brown declaring before the return from the summer break that McLaren is running two number one drivers this season.

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Piastri will be on the second row and directly behind Norris when the lights go out on Sunday afternoon, but he revealed he was not planning to simply play rear-gunner in the Netherlands.

“If I can get myself into the lead, then that works well for me,” he said after initially greeting a question about supporting Norris to make sure he leads after the first lap.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Erik Junius

“I think the start is always a good opportunity to make up ground if you can. Obviously, I want to finish as high as I can.

“If I can get into second, then obviously that makes life a little bit more straightforward for the team. But… I mean, I’m not going to do anything specific to try and make that happen. I want to try and win the race myself. Let’s see what I can try and do.”

With Piastri keen to look after his own interests, he was pushed on whether he and Norris were clear on the rules of engagement if they find themselves in a battle for lead.

“The rules are very, very clear and haven’t changed,» he insisted. “We’re free to race each other to try and win. Of course, we’re in a constructors’ championship fight and we know that there’s a lot at stake for the team.

“But we’ve shown time and time again that we can race each other well, race each other cleanly. We’re both free to try and win the race and that’s not changed.”

Norris simplified matters as he revealed the one rule that had been put in place: “There have never been any rules apart from ‘don’t crash into each other’.»

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

The 24-year-old will be starting on pole for the fourth time in his career and will be looking for a fine showing after claiming on Thursday that he had “not performed at the level of a world champion” this season despite taking victory in Miami and proving to be Verstappen’s closest title challenger in 2024.

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The gap to Verstappen at the top of the standings sits at 78 points and Norris once again conceded: «It’s obvious… I know my starts have not been my forte,” he said.

“They’ve not been bad, honestly, I’m still up there with being one of the best average starters. I’ve just missed out on a couple of races and maybe slightly worse than what it’s been over the course of a season.

“There’s a couple of times when they’ve not been quite where they need to have been, a couple of times I’ve been on the front row. So, like I said, they’ve not been for any certain reason.

“They’ve been different things each time but I feel confident I put in a good amount of work to kind of try and make my starts a bit better.”



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Albon disqualified from Dutch GP qualifying over technical infringement

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Alex Albon has been thrown out of the Dutch Grand Prix qualifying results as the floor on his Williams was found not to be compliant with the FIA’s legality checks.

The Anglo-Thai driver had enjoyed an impressive Saturday afternoon at Zandvoort, and had hurled his newly upgraded Williams into eighth in qualifying to beat Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly in Q3.

In their post-session scrutineering session, the FIA had found the Williams’ floor had lain outside of the maximum bounding box permitted by the regulations and thus reported to the stewards.

Autosport understands that when the floor was scanned by the FIA, it was found to be too wide — beyond the 1600mm width permissible by the regulations.

Williams had contended that its own measuring devices had shown that it was within the limits which the FIA did not dispute, but that its own scan had proven to be different.

The floor had been among the numerous upgraded parts that Williams had brought to the first race after the summer break; the team had also introduced new sidepods and engine cover bodywork in an effort to move up the championship order.

«The Stewards heard from the team representatives of Car 23 (Alexander Albon), the FIA Technical Delegate, the FIA Scrutineer conducting the measurement of the car and the FIA Single Seater Director,» read the stewards’ report.

Alex Albon, Williams FW46

Alex Albon, Williams FW46

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

«The floor body of Car 23 was found to lie outside the regulatory volume mentioned in Article 3.5.1 a) of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations.

«The team did not dispute the calibration of the FIA measuring system and the measurement of the car, but stated that their own measurements have produced different results.

«The Stewards determine that the result of the measurement conducted with the FIA system in Parc Ferme is the relevant one and the due process prescribed by the regulations has been followed.

«Therefore the standard penalty for such an infringement is applied.»

Williams said: «We are incredibly disappointed with this outcome and will be carrying out a thorough investigation and will provide an update soon.»

As a result, Albon will start from the back of the grid, and all drivers behind him will move up one position — Stroll will start from eighth in Sunday’s race, with Gasly ninth and Carlos Sainz 10th.

Williams also submitted a request to the stewards to allow Logan Sargeant to start, as the American’s heavy FP3 impact precluded him from participating in qualifying. This was granted, as Sargeant’s times in the earlier practice sessions were deemed to be satisfactory — per Article 39.4 in the F1 sporting regulations.

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