Motorsport News – July 17, 2019

HaasFormula1 bossGunther

Steinerslammedhisdrivers’

‘unacceptable’first-lapclash

andsaidneitherspokeduringa

post-racereprimandbecause“I don’t

needanyexplanationofit”.

KevinMagnussenandRomain

Grosjeanranside-by-sidethrough

thefirstfewcornersatthestartof

theBritishGrandPrixbeforemaking

contactthroughtheflat-outleftkink

ontotheWellingtonStraight.

Theimpactpunctured

Magnussen’sleft-reartyreand

Grosjean’srightrear,bothdrivers’

feedbackovertheradiowaslimited

toswearing,andtheirracesended

a fewlapsaftertheincident.

Steinersaidbothweretoblame,

adding:“It’snotacceptablewhat

happened.I wasprettyclearwith

themafterBarcelona[wherethe

twodriversclashedatthefirst

corneraftera safetycarrestart]

whatnottodo.

“Intheend,weareina difficult

positionatthemomenttryingto

findoutaboutthecarontrack.

“Everybodyworkshardlikehell,

andthenit seemswe’vegota chance

[fora decentrace]whenourlong

runs[onFriday]wereOK.

“[Then]wecrashintoeachother

onTurn5, whichis notacceptable.”

Theclashbetweenthedrivers

compoundeda miserableweekend

forHaas,asoff-tracktheteamfound

itselfembroiledinanongoingsaga

withtitlesponsorRichEnergy.

Thecompanyannouncedina tweet

lastWednesdayeveningthatit had

terminateditspartnershipwithHaas

duetopoorperformance,before

shareholdersandinvestorsofthe

energydrinkbrandthenissueda

statementtosaythatthetweetwas

theworkofa “rogueindividual”and

thedealremainedunchanged.Both

Haascarscontinuedtorunwith

RichEnergybrandingallweekend.

One-stopstrategybenefitedHamilton

Grant, Carey and Pringle confirmed new Silverstone deal

Lewis’schoice
LewisHamiltonsayshewent
againsthisMercedesteam’s
ordersbynotpittingforfresh
tyresin thelatterstagesof the
BritishGrandPrix.Askedif
hehadconsideredstopping
againat theendwhenhehad
themarginoverBottasto doso,
Hamiltonreplied:“Whytakethe
risk?I hada pitstopwindow,but
there’stheentryof thepitlane,
there’sthestop,there’sextra
pressureonthemechanicsto
dothepitstop– notthatI doubt
themat all,butyoujustgivea
chance[forit to gowrong].”

McRenault
DanielRicciardothinksmerging
thebestbitsof theRenaultand
McLarendesignswouldresult
in a “prettydecent”Formula 1
car.Renault’sstrengthin low-
speedcorners,andMcLaren’s
weaknessin thisarea,helped
theFrenchoutfitreturn
strongerin themidfieldorder
at theBritishGrandPrixaftera
disappointingshowinglasttime
outin Austria.Ricciardosaid
takingthebestelementsof both
designsandcombiningcars
would go some way to reducing
the gap to the top three teams.

Albon’s charge
A high-voltage problem denied
Alex Albon a points finish at
Silverstone after his Honda
engine issue prevented him
from making a second pitstop.
Albon spent most of the race
inside the top 10, but dropped
out of the points with two laps
remaining because a voltage
concern meant Toro Rosso
and Honda decided not to
risk pitting him. Albon’s
problem, which has not been
fully identified yet, meant the
car would be unsafe until the
ignition was switched off.
Honda F1 technical director
Toyoharu Tanabe told MN:
“We had a caution from our
high-voltage system. We
will investigate exactly why
it happened, from now.”

Wing dramas
Red Bull’s pre-race drama
on the grid at the British Grand
Prix was caused by cracks
being discovered in the rear-
wing endplates of both its
Formula 1 cars. Mechanics
were prompted into a frenzy
of activity to replace the
endplates on both Max
Verstappen and Pierre Gasly’s
cars before the start of the race.
The matter was complicated
by the fact that the cars were
under parc ferme conditions
until the start of the race,
meaning the team needed
permission from the FIA to
replacetherearwingparts.

RACING NEWS

NEW SILVERSTONE FIVE-YEAR FORMULA 1 DEALCONFIRMED

Haasdriversinhot

waterafterclash

Silverstone circuit chiefs have

agreed a new five-year deal with

Liberty Media, which will keep

the British Grand Prix venue on

the Formula 1 calendar until 2024.

In July 2017, the track’s bosses

triggered a break clause in the

then current British GP contract.

It meant Silverstone opted out

of the remaining 2020-26 seasons

included in that deal. Recent

interest from Liberty Media

over holding a race in London

had also raised fresh doubt over

the likelihood of Silverstone

signing a new deal.

But in a press conferencelast

Wednesday with F1 CEOChase

Carey, Silverstone managing

director Stuart Pringleand

chairman of the BritishRacing

Drivers’ Club – the circuitowner–

John Grant, the newdealwas

formally confirmed.

“We are really pleasedto

confirm that the BritishGrand

Prix will stay on the FIAFormula

1 world championshipcalendar

foratleastthenextfiveyears,

withtheeventremainingatits

long-standinghome,Silverstone

circuit,”saidCarey.“Wehave

alwayssaidthat,if it is tohavea

long-termfuture,oursportmust

preserveitshistoricvenuesand

SilverstoneandGreatBritain

representthecradleofthissport,

itsstartingpointbackin1950.”

Thedealincludesprovisions

thatwill‘protecttheinterests’

ofSilverstone,shoulda second

Britishracebesignedoff.

ByScottMitchellandEddStraw

Mercedes will check to make sure it is

not ‘unconsciously favouring’ either of

its Formula 1 drivers by allowing them

to execute different strategies, like in

the British Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton overcame team-mate and

poleman Valtteri Bottas to clinch a record-

breaking sixth win at Silverstone, after

opting for a one-stop strategy and a long

second stint on hard tyres.

That, combined with a safety car before

Hamilton had made his first stop, allowed

him to leapfrog Bottas, who had pitted early

and stuck to a two-stop strategy.

Bottas thought a one-stop was “out of the

question” and even Hamilton admitted he

was not sure he would be able to stick it out

on the hard tyres.

Team principal Toto Wolff said the strategic

freedom was a result of driver-led discussion

in the team’s morning meeting, but he said

questioning the move away from the team’s

tendency to run the same strategy was

“a fair argument”.

AskedbyMotorsportNewstoexplain

the different strategies, Wolff said: “The

discussion we had with them in the morning

was, if you were to put them on the same

tyre on the same strategy, basically Turn 1

or lap one would lock in the result.

“And we felt that, picking up on

their suggestion, it would provide an

interesting race.

“It still overlapped on many instances.

We knew they would be racing each other

but maybe with a different strategy, so

that’s what we tried.

“I think in hindsight the argument has

value, and I think we need to look at it – are

we favouring somebody unconsciously?

Which we wouldn’t want to do.

“It created more experience and more data

for us to judge whether it’s something we

want to do in the future.”

Unlike Ferrari and Red Bull with Charles

Leclerc and Max Verstappen respectively,

Mercedes opted not to make a second pitstop

for Bottas under the safety car.

That forced him to make a second stop later

on to take a mandatory second compound, and

MEMORIES OF TOM PRYCE AT ANGLESEY PAGE 28

Photos:LAT

Hamiltonleaptinto

theleadatSilverstone

IN BRIEF

Wolff convinced two plans was the right option

MERCEDES STANDS FIRM

ON SPLIT STRATEGY

The Haas team is in a Rich spin

Wolff explained there were two arguments

against switching to the hard tyres when the

race was neutralised.

“We were still not convinced that a

one-stop would make it, so we were

offsetting our strategies,” Wolff said. “The

other thing is he would’ve come out behind

Sebastian, because Sebastian was running

close behind him, if I’m not mistaken.”

Vettel stopped under the safety car as

well but Wolff said Mercedes did not know

that would happen.

“The call was right in not pitting him,

but what must be said is that Valtteri drove

a splendid race,” Wolff added.

8 JULY 17 2019 motorsport-news.co.uk Advertising enquiries: 0203 405 8110