In the round-up: Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes Sergio Perez’s poor performance in the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix is likely to prove a one-off.
In brief
Perez “very strong” until Imola – Horner
Perez finished a lowly eighth having started 11th on the grid. He failed to make the cut for Q3 by just one hundredth of a second, and lost time in the race when he went off between the two Rivazza turns.
However Horner said Perez has turned around his form since last season and expects last weekend’s dip in performance will prove a one-off.
“I think he has had a much better start to this year, bar this weekend, which has been an anomaly,” said Horner. “He’s been very, very strong.
“I think that his approach, he’s been more relaxed, less focussed on what Max is doing, just focusing on himself. And I think he’s responded to that.”
F2 teams fined after simultaneous wheel errors
Formula 2 teams Hitech and Campos were fined £855 (€1,000) each for releasing their drivers from the pits with loose wheels when they came into the pits together during yesterday’s feature race. Amaury Cordeel and Pepe Marti retired following the errors by their respective teams.In the Campos case, the stewards “acknowledge that the loose wheel from the nearly simultaneous unsafe release of car 16 [Cordeel] was a distraction to the crew of car 21 [Marti]. Nevertheless, safety is paramount and the obligation to release the car in a safe condition remained.”
First Super Formula win for Makino
Tadasuke Makino passed pole-winner Ayumu Iwasa at the start of yesterday’s Super Formula race at Autopolis and went on to claim his first victory in the series. The pair were separated by five seconds at the end, while Sho Tsuboi took third.
Tomoki Nojiri and Makino are tied for the championship lead on 23 points, with Red Bull junior Iwasa three points behind.
Pitt impressed F1 drivers – Bruckheimer
Formula 1 drivers have been impressed by Brad Pitt’s performance at the wheel in filming for his forthcoming film about the series, says producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Pitt, 60, has been cast as one of the drivers in the film which Lewis Hamilton is co-producing.
“These are really fast cars,” Bruckheimer told Entertainment Tonight. “It’s really fantastic to watch Brad train and command these cars the way he does it. The drivers are amazed what a great athlete is.”
“This is something he always wanted to do,” Bruckheimer added. “He always wanted to make a race car movie and fortunately, we’re the lucky ones to make it.”
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Why are so many women leaving top jobs at FIA? (The Times)
'There was only one woman on the six-person ethics committee and since the FIA statute No 9.14.6 says that there has to be a minimum of two, the decision was unconstitutional. The FIA intends to update the ethics committee to include two women from June 13. The FIA statutes (18.2.4) also state that if it is the president who is being investigated, it is not for the ethics committee to adjudicate; instead the report should be submitted to the FIA Senate to decide. So it wasn’t just that the committee was unconstitutional, it was actually the wrong body of people altogether.'
F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix COO says she’s leaving race in ‘stronger position’ (Fox)
'The chief operating officer for the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix is leaving the race. Betsy Fretwell was announced as COO on January 9th of this year.'
'Tickets to Formula One can cost thousands of dollars, and Florida law prohibits elected officials from accepting gifts from companies that lobby them — a category that includes the Miami Dolphins, which receives millions in Miami-Dade subsidies, including $4 million in county money earmarked for the weekend Formula One race.'
Black IndyCar driver Myles Rowe says Penske equality program 'changed my world' (Detroit Free Press)
'During a station break, my dad changed the channel and turned to another, which had a Formula One race on. I couldn’t stop watching it. There was so much energy, it just stuck.'
Ellis Island targets Las Vegas Grand Prix in lawsuit (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
'Ellis Island claims that the race impeded access to its property during the race and during its months-long set-up and tear-down. That infrastructure work impeded both employees and customers from accessing the property on Koval Lane near the Grand Prix Plaza, the suit alleges.'
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Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
Straight-shooting @Max33Verstappen in the post-race press conference.#F1 #EmiliaRomagnaGP #RaceFans pic.twitter.com/VZLUkGJN1c
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) May 19, 2024
My helmet for the 108th Indianapolis 500 💥
Inspired by a dream my Grandma had about me racing with a comic-themed helmet. So, I've turned my racing journey into a comic strip for this special race. Hope you like it as much as I do! 🙌#Indy500 pic.twitter.com/VIYG6qo0op
— Alex Palou Montalbo (@AlexPalou) May 17, 2024
Today has taken it out of me. It was so nice being back on @5liveSport but also incredibly hard trying to find the words. Sometimes they come, sometimes, not so much. My brain feels like it’s run a marathon. Thanks to everyone for their ongoing support. 😴
— Jennie Gow (@JennieGow) May 19, 2024
Huge shoutout to @nolan_siegel 👏 had to go for it. Left it all on the line. Such a tough one #indy500
— Conor Daly (@ConorDaly22) May 19, 2024
The pole that still eludes me.
But stoked for @smclaughlin93 & @Team_Penske 💪#INDYCAR // #INDY500 pic.twitter.com/AggAIhe5i6
— Will Power (@12WillPower) May 19, 2024
Pleasantly surprised by that one. Suspect McLaren have left Imola knowing that was a win that got away from them. Fascinated to think what @OscarPiastri might have done from second without his unnecessary qualifying penalty.#F1 #EmiliaRomagnaGP #RaceFans
— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) May 19, 2024
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
Max Verstappen won the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix with a two-rabbit strategy:
Max looked pretty drained after the race. He proved his masterclass again and I kind of expected the outcome to be like this. I knew he’s of such a calibre to pull out a rabbit or two when necessary.
First rabbit stopped working after track limits warning and he quickly pulled out a second one by adapting to constrains after couple of laps successfully defending the lead. A driving genius, to say the least. I enjoyed every second of his performance today.
But, Lando was my driver of the day!
Boomerang
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Ned Flanders, Rui Pinto, Thed4N1El, Dirk and Andy!
On this day in motorsport
- 40 years ago today Niki Lauda denied Patrick Tambay a home victory for Renault in the last French Grand Prix at Dijon
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Mark Zastrow (@markzastrow)
20th May 2024, 0:16
But had there been a sprint race this weekend, we would have seen Verstappen racing a Red Bull on Saturday that wasn’t nearly as sorted as what we saw today. I think the sprint format is much improved this year in that it captures snapshots of teams’ pace through the weekend, but doesn’t lock in their setup between the sprint race and the GP, allowing the form book to evolve.
CarWars (@maxv)
20th May 2024, 7:26
Likely would have lost the sprint to sort it more for the race. The race would have been boring with adjusted setup..
Dex
20th May 2024, 11:43
If there was a sprint, I’d enjoy the main race even less. I’m still not convinced that I need to watch things on replay; that’s simply not my thing. There are so many things I’d rather do than watch F1 race twice (albeit one of those races is not like a “real race”).
If crating mess is what people like, there are other ways to do it. You can prevent teams for having a proper setup without having a sprint format. You can even force them running different setups in a single race. We could do all sorts of crazy things, if having F1 as a serious sport is deemed boring. But please, don’t make me choose between locking my weekends and skipping official F1 races. Especially now that there are 24 races or whatever, which will possibly become 30 very soon. I have a life.
Mooa42
20th May 2024, 3:50
@Keith It would have been good to see the two McLarens starting 2nd and 3rd, OP seemed like he got a good start but had nowhere to go. OP usually good on the tyres early too. Pity we didn’t get to see them pressuring Max as a team, the day could have panned out a lot different.
Hopefully more fighting to come over the year, but not holding out much hope for McLaren at Monaco, slow corners seem to be the area they need to improve on.
Jere (@jerejj)
20th May 2024, 6:30
An anomaly, for now, at least, but not anymore if he also finishes lowly in Monaco.
I’m positive Iwasa will get his first victory in SF at some point, & at least he’s firmly in the championship battle, given the tightness in the driver standings.
I find Palou’s Indy 500 design cool.
I reckon Piastri would’ve finished at least third, albeit the penalty itself wasn’t unnecessary as impeding is impeding, but going out on track when he was already safe for progression was, so in hindsight, without doing so, the impediment would’ve never happened.
I wholly agree with the COTD.
David BR (@david-br)
21st May 2024, 2:36
@jerejj I’d question just how much of an anomaly it was. My interpretation is that Perez has or had been performing well so far this season due to the combination of Red Bull having a clear advantage and Perez deciding to drive within his own limits (and accepting second place to MV). So no real pressure on him. But this was a race where Red Bull were under strong pressure, more so than Miami perhaps, and a track that suits Perez far less than Miami. If Max is fighting on the edge to win races, I really don’t see how Red Bull under pressure won’t destabilize Perez’s performance as they’ll need to experiment with new components and setups to win back their advantage.
JamieFranklinF1 (@jamiefranklinf1)
20th May 2024, 6:32
Agreed. I was thinking the same thing. If you look at Miami, and his two stints in Miami, Piastri had a tendency to start fast before falling off towards the end.
There’s every chance he could have pushed Max into using his tyres more early on, and then falling back into Lando later, or having to pit earlier. It’s all conjecture of course, but I think there’s a possibility it could have gone more in McLaren’s favour if not for the penalty.
BasCB (@bascb)
20th May 2024, 7:41
Yeah, that’s what I imagine might have happened too.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
20th May 2024, 6:36
Anomaly? I think it’s a very well representation of what Perez brings to the team. When the car is at it’s best, he can finish up there, albeit with effort, usually starting much lower down the grid than the car can. But when the car isn’t in it’s optimal window, he’s nowhere.
Perez isn’t doing what he was hired to do: being a good back up. He’s not there picking up the wins when Max can’t do it (Australia, Miami) and he’s not there to help the team if there’s a strategic risk. Had Piastri started second, Red Bull would’ve lost all strategic manoeuvre to cover all possibilities from both McLarens while Perez was racing Tsunoda.
BasCB (@bascb)
20th May 2024, 7:43
Arguably he was able to hold both Norris and Leclerc behind for long enough that Max could maintain a large enough gap for later in the race though.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
20th May 2024, 7:46
@bascb as a result of being really out of position, and had gone off. He had no choice but to be a pawn in the game. Without that off, Lando would’ve been further back and able to claw back even more time.
Mayrton
20th May 2024, 8:19
I totally agree. He is not the right person in that seat. The minimum he needs to do is help the nr1 driver and/or pick up the pieces when this nr1 doesn’t score. He rarely does any of that. Given McLaren and Ferrari have picked up the pace and the field is close now, RB will soon experience they need a much better driver in that second car to get their championships.
Jonathan Parkin
20th May 2024, 12:51
But if they do they might have the same experience as McLaren in 2007
Mayrton
20th May 2024, 16:31
Well it can be a mediocre but steady driver, Bottas like.
SteveP
20th May 2024, 6:47
Built a lead by breaking the rules, repeatedly.
Saw the lead diminish when he had to stop breaking the rules or risk a penalty.
Saw the lead diminishing even more rapidly when warned by his engineer about an impending 5-second penalty (presumably due to a reminder from the stewards)
Not really a master class, more of a Magnussen class.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
20th May 2024, 7:45
Are you serious? All drivers know 3 strikes earn you a black and white. That’s the margin they all play, it’s by the rules. Norris could also have used that margin to chase Verstappen (and probably did). It’s part of the game. It’s not breaking the rules, breaking the rules would be going off limits 4 times and NOT get a penalty.
anon
20th May 2024, 20:57
@fer-no65 according to the FIA’s own records, there was only one instance of Norris exceeding track limits during the race (a single warning given on lap 62).
To put it in context, during the race in Imola, a total of seven drivers had a lap time deleted for track limits over the duration of the race. Out of those, two drivers are listed as having breached track limits more than once (Verstappen and Hulkenberg), with Verstappen being the only driver in the field who received a black and white flag for repeated offences.
With regards to your assertion that “It’s not breaking the rules, breaking the rules would be going off limits 4 times” – that is not what the regulations actually state (similarly, Osnola is also wrong to claim that “The rules state you can cross track limits three times”).
Section 33.3 of the FIA’s sporting regulations states that “Drivers must make every reasonable effort to use the track at all times and may not leave the track without a justifiable reason. Drivers will be judged to have left the track if no part of the car remains in contact with it and, for the avoidance of doubt, any white lines defining the track edges are considered to be part of the track but the kerbs are not.”
You are welcome to search for yourself, but you won’t find anything referring to being allowed to breach track limits multiple times without penalty – any time that a driver exceeds track limit without a reasonable excuse would count as breaking Section 33.3 of the sporting regulations.
The whole “three breaches is OK” comes from the race directors notes, not from the regulations themselves. However, the race directors notes are officially classed as advice – i.e. it is guidance on how the race director has chosen to interpret the FIA’s regulations, but are not legally binding statements in themselves.
The idea that it can be that many times before the driver gets a formal warning, and then only gets penalised after that point, is ultimately down to how the race director wants to interpret the rule – i.e. the race director has decided that it is convenient to ignore a small number of breaches to allow them to focus on more serious issues, and the decision to allow three breaches before issuing a formal warning is a convention based on an arbitrary decision.
Osnola
20th May 2024, 15:43
The rules state you can cross track limits three times. After that there is a final warning : the black and white flag.
So no rule breached. Norris on the other hand during his chase crossed the limits multiple times almost each lap. But let them race. No track limit caused any advantage on this track.
SteveP
20th May 2024, 21:24
I’m afraid you’re wrong – as detailed by anon.
There’s a bit of light reading if you wish on the FIA website
Biggsy
20th May 2024, 7:00
If you have to state that it is an anomaly, it probably is not an anomaly.
He’s been horrible for a year now, and only a few good races can be called anomalies.
Mayrton
20th May 2024, 16:29
I agree. The anomalies are when he has a good race.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
20th May 2024, 22:34
Don’t make an enemy of an anomaly. Be more consistent. Perez is fortunate that Red Bull don’t seem to know who or what they want to replace him with. An American, now that Fawd are coming?
David BR (@david-br)
21st May 2024, 2:38
@bullfrog Or indeed who to replace Verstappen with if Mercedes can persuade him to leave.
SteveP
21st May 2024, 6:59
As consistent as Ricciardo? That doesn’t seem to be working too well.
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
20th May 2024, 14:11
Anomaly? I don’t think that word means what you think it means. Clearly the Mercedes have an awful car and PER could not catch them. That is the marker for me know. PER might not have the skill or car to compete with the McLarens or the Ferraris but the Mercedes, not 1 of them?
Osnola
20th May 2024, 15:46
Really? Do they have to promote this over budget movie with these kind of remarks?
He probably lapped less then 2 minutes slower in a f2 car. Probably impressive for his pr team …
Edvaldo
20th May 2024, 17:11
Red Bull could’ve signed Hulkenberg cheap and didn’t. He’s 37 and still very fast as his numerous appearances on Q3 with that Haas shows.
With that car, half of the work is to put it high on the time table, so comes the race you won’t be limited by anybody and can unleash the pace it has. Something Perez probably did just a couple of times in 3 and a half seasons.
Bottas probably would be a better fit too.
.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
20th May 2024, 20:47
37? That’s a whole Oscar younger than Brad Pitt.
SteveP
20th May 2024, 21:27
I thought Brad Pitt was a lot of Oscars (groan) – in fact, a complete Hamilton of them. :)