August 23, 2024 · 6:13 am

Bottas Audi chances boosted by Binotto arrival

Bottas has a good relationship with Binotto

Valtteri Bottas believes that his chances of retaining his Formula 1 seat at Sauber into the Audi era have increased with the arrival of Mattia Binotto at the team.

Binotto started this week in his new role as chief operating officer and chief technical officer on August 1, and he will be joined net season by Jonathan Wheatley as team principal. The previous team of Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffman has been ousted.

The Binotto news was followed by formal confirmation of Carlos Sainz at Williams, which inevitably has increased the chances of Bottas being retained, although the team is also considering young drivers.

“Obviously Mattia has started,” said Bottas. “Like I mentioned in in Spa, things have reset quite a bit with a new point of communication. So we had a quick talk after Spa, and we continued the discussions this week. That’s where we are at the moment.”

Binotto is understood to rate Bottas highly, having seen what the Finn could do in his Mercedes days alongside Lewis Hamilton.

Asked by this writer about the Italian’s respect for him Bottas said: “He knows me a little bit, and now we’ve got to know each other better.

“We used to be competitors when I was at Mercedes, and he was at Ferrari. But it seems like he’s got respect for me, and I’ve got respect for him, which is a good starting point for the discussion.”

Bottas indicated that he feels he has more support than he did under Seidl and Hoffman’s leadership.

“It did feel for the last six months or so that I wasn’t the top priority,” he said. “Obviously, there was one signing before me [Nico Hulkenberg], and obviously the team and the management were looking for all the options with sometimes quite little communication.

“But now it feels a bit different. And like I said, there was a clear reset. Now there’s a clear structure at the top, who’s doing what, and I think that’s positive going forward. And Mattia comes from a team that has been super successful.

“He knows what a what a good team really needs. So I think this is good for the future of this team.”

Bottas said Wheatley’s appointment was a positive move by Audi.

“I think he’s a good catch for the team,” he said. “It’s always good to get people from the top teams, and just bringing that new, mindset and more experience. I think that’s really good for the team.

“And also, Mattia so far, he’s only started, so he’s been obviously observing and learning and putting a new kind of structure in place, which again time will show. But I’ve got lots of confidence on Mattia and his ability to do well.”

Bottas acknowledged that Sainz going to Williams had improved his chances: “For sure, it means there’s one driver less. I think it’s a fact that, yes, there are probably bigger chances now. But that’s where we are.

“My priority is being part of Audi. Since the announcement of the brand coming into F1, I’ve always shown my interest to that project.”

“Obviously they make the decision in the end, but they’re evaluating all the options, no doubt, as they as they should. But I would imagine I should be in a in a strong position, but obviously it’s down to Mattia and Audi.”

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August 20, 2024 · 1:35 pm

Robson: “Big stuff” still to come as Williams develops FW46

Williams will have an update package at the Dutch GP

Williams head of vehicle performance Dave Robson hopes that major updates will give the FW46 a boost after the summer break, starting with an initial package next weekend’s Dutch GP.

Robson conceded that the team didn’t do much to its 2024 car in the first part of the season, but promised that “big stuff” is on the way.

He added that at the start of the year the car represented a step over its predecessor, but that excessive weight held it back.

However, drivers Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant became frustrated as rivals made more progress with their update programmes.

“I think what was very clear at the start of the year, when the drivers still had last year’s car as a kind of clear reference, was that we made some very good steps forward with this car,” said Robson.

“Obviously, the weight, amongst other things, has kind of held it back a bit. But there were some very good steps forward, and that didn’t necessarily play out in terms of lap time for other reasons.

“But I think what’s happened since those opening races is that first of all, our drivers have really forgotten what last year’s car was like.

“It would be fascinating to put them back in it to remind them of some of the things that were really quite poor, that we did fix. And obviously their reference then changes more to just where we are in the pecking order.

“And frankly, we haven’t done a great deal to the car. We have saved some of the weight, which has helped the lap time for sure, and there’s been a couple of minor aero tweaks. But really, all the big stuff is yet to come.”

Robson acknowledged that windy conditions and hot weather have not been kind to the car.

“I think what we’re seeing is the drivers having to push everything to the limit and beyond to kind of keep up,” he said. “Because the pack frankly have just been pulling away, and inevitably, when it’s hot or when it’s windy, we see those effects.

“That’s when you need to underdrive a bit, and if your car is just a bit slower than those you’re trying to race, you can’t do that. Or if you do that, you just have to be satisfied with a poor finishing position.

“Then that’s not how the race drivers are wired. So I think we’re sort of creating some of those problems just by virtue the fact that the car has fallen back a bit. But hopefully that’s going to change in the races after the shutdown.”

Robson indicated that the team should gain by focussing resources on a major upgrade for after the break rather than on smaller but regular updates earlier in the year.

“Hopefully what it means is that actually the wind tunnel and the simulator programme have been able to work largely unhindered and just deliver hopefully some bigger steps,” he said.

“We’ve got to wait and see what happens when we get to the track, and whether we’ve actually delivered what we what we expect. and what we hope. I think we’ve seen that has become increasingly difficult I think in this rule set. I think we’ve seen people struggle. So we definitely won’t be counting those chickens until they’re hatched!

“But I think the reality is that the wind tunnel has been able just to get on with this big update, and not get too involved in the short-term smaller performance items that we probably would have been doing, had the design and production resource been available to deal with them at the time, which it wasn’t. So it’ll be interesting to see how it pans out.”

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August 3, 2024 · 8:45 am

Red Bull “working flat out” to improve RB20, says Horner

Horner says that RBR knows how to improve the RB20

Red Bull Formula 1 boss Christian Horner says that the team is still “working flat out” to improve the RB20 and knows what areas it has to focus on in order to find performance.

Red Bull still leads both World Championships, but McLaren has cut its advantage, and the Milton Keynes outfit has been beaten to victory in the last four races.

However Horner pointed out that Max Verstappen was still comfortably fastest in qualifying at Spa, and could have won the race without his PU grid penalty.

“The whole team is still working flat out on this car,” said Horner. “Because with stable regs, whatever we learn now is relevant to next year anyway.

“And if you reflect on the on the first part of the year now, we’re over half distance, we’ve won seven Grands Prix. We’ve won two or three sprint races. We’re leading both championships. But over recent weeks that constructors’ [lead] has diminished somewhat, and that’s where our focus is.

“I think we know what we need to, where we need to focus and improve. And that’s what everybody’s doing.

“We took the pole [at Spa] by six-tenths. It was a very dominant display. And I think had Max started from the pole. it’s then a completely different race.

“But we took the penalty. We got damage limitation out of it. I think with Checo we need to work with him and continue to support him to understand what isn’t quite working at the moment.”

Horner says that it was inevitable that the top teams would close up after a period with stable regulations, and with gains from development getting ever more marginal.

“Inevitably, you get to the top of the curve,” he said. “And we have less wind tunnel time than anybody because of the system of the ATR. And that’s normal. You will continue to get convergence throughout next year as well.

“I think everybody’s getting to the top of the curve. And one week, it’s Mercedes, one week it’s McLaren, one week it’s Red Bull. Ferrari have popped up for a while. So it keeps moving around.”

Horner suggested that the competitive situation will continue to the end of the current regulations before the big changes for 2026.

“I think it’s great for the sport, and it was almost inevitable,” he said. “When you get consistency of regulations, you always get convergence.

“If you look through the history of F1, I remember when I first came into F1 Ron Dennis banging that drum back in 2005. He had the best car at that time.

“But convergence has always brought the teams together. And of course, we’ve got a big regulation changes in 2026 that will cause divergence. But between now and then, for the next 18 months, it’s going to be flat out between the four teams.”

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August 1, 2024 · 4:06 pm

Audi: Binotto and Wheatley combination “a decisive step” for F1 project

Highly regarded in the paddock Jonathan Wheatley has played a big role in RBR’s success

Audi CEO Gernot Dollner says that the addition future team principal Jonathan Wheatley to the company’s Formula 1 outfit alongside recently announced COO and CTO Mattia Binotto is “a decisive step” ahead of the marque’s entry in 2026.

RBR sporting director Wheatley’s move to Audi was confirmed by his current team earlier today, and the German manufacturer has now clarified how the twin leadership roles will be split, with both men reporting to Gollner, who is chairman of Sauber Motorsport AG.

Audi says that Binotto “takes over the operative management of Sauber Motorsport AG at the site in Hinwil and the technical development of the future racing cars.

“In this role he is the overall technical interface between the development teams in Hinwil and Audi Formula Racing GmbH at the Audi site in Neuburg an der Donau, which is responsible for development of the power unit.”

Wheatley meanwhile will be more involved in race operations as well as day-to-day political dealings with the FIA and F1. Audi says that “he will focus above all on the racing performance of the future F1 factory team, on operational management of all race events, and on representing Audi at team principal level in matters relating to F1.”

In confirming the news Dollner made it clear that he believes that he has created the ideal combination.

“I am delighted that we have been able to gain Jonathan Wheatley as team principal for our future F1 team,” he said. “Jonathan has played a major part in many F1 race victories and World Championship titles in his F1 career so far, and has extensive experience in the paddock. He is a very valuable addition to our team.

“With the appointment of Jonathan and Mattia we have taken a decisive step towards our entry into F1. I am convinced that with the two of them, we have been able to combine an extremely high level of competence for Audi. Their experience and their ability will help us to get a foothold quickly in the tough competitive world of F1.”

Wheatley is set to go on gardening leave at the end of his final season at RBR, with Audi revealing that he will start work in July 2025 “at the latest.”

He said: “I am extremely proud to have been a part of the Red Bull Racing journey over the last 18 years and will leave with many fond memories. However, the opportunity to play an active part in Audi’s entry into F1 as head of a factory team is a uniquely exciting prospect, and I am looking forward to the challenge.

“Also I am glad to be working together with Mattia, whom I have known for many years and who is the right person to collaborate with in this exciting project.”

Binotto added: “I have known Jonathan for many years and rate him highly as an experienced and committed motorsport expert. 2026 is not a long time away now, and I’m looking forward to setting up the new racing team for Audi along with Jonathan and leading it to success.”

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July 31, 2024 · 12:26 pm

Spa was “damage limitation” against fast opposition, says Verstappen

Verstappen says it was always going to be hard to progress at Spa

Max Verstappen says his run to an eventual fourth place at Spa was “damage limitation,” especially as he finished ahead of title rival Lando Norris.

Having taken pole Verstappen started 11th thanks to a grid penalty. He rose to fifth by the chequered flag, just in front of Norris, before gaining a place from the exclusion of George Russell.

Verstappen said that he couldn’t make further progress simply because he didn’t have a speed advantage over those who started ahead.

“The balance of the car wasn’t too bad always in the first few laps,” he said. “But of course, I also ran a lot in traffic, which probably also didn’t help. But yeah, we were just not faster than the cars around us, and then you just get stuck in that DRS train.

“And I think as a team, we maximised the performance today. Naturally, if you start P1 with the pace that we had, I think you’re fighting for the win, regardless. But starting P11, I knew that it was always going to be a damage limitation race.

“Looking at the championship, it was still a positive day. I extended my lead, where it could have also easily been calculating losses. So from that side, of course, it’s a positive day.”

Verstappen made it clear that beating closest pursuer Norris was the key achievement of the weekend.

“Naturally it’s always better to gain points than lose points,” he said. “And today could have been either way, because he was very fast behind me, but at the same time I was also hunting in front of me.

“I think also naturally we were on two mediums and a hard. I think today, a hard tyre would have helped. Of course, George won the race on a one-stop. But I don’t think we had the tyre wear or tyre life to do that anyway.

“So yeah, also there a few things to analyse, but as a team today, we did a good job. We definitely did the right thing with the strategy, to try and be a bit aggressive initially, to try and get ahead of a few, and it made my race a little bit better.”

Regarding the RB20’s form he added: “With the car at the moment that is probably not the quickest in the race, it’s about just limiting the damage, and trying to be as close as I can be every single time. And that’s what we have been doing lately.

“Next year, I would just hope that we can find a little bit more performance, because we will make our lives a bit easier in the race.”

Verstappen acknowledged that the form book has changed a lot since the days of Red Bull domination.

“I think it shifts a little bit, for sure,” he said. “Constantly, McLaren has been really quick. Mercedes has been quick, but not everywhere. And from our side, we have a bit of work to do. We know that, we have a few things to analyse as well, what to do with the car for the remainder of the season.”

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July 30, 2024 · 3:16 pm

Vowles: Securing Sainz for 2025 a “rollercoaster” process for Williams

Vowles says securing Sainz was a “major event” for Williams

Williams boss James Vowles admits that the process of getting Carlos Sainz to commit to the team was a “rollercoaster” – and he says that he didn’t believe it was realistic until the contract was actually signed.

The Grove team announced on Monday that Sainz has agreed to a long-term deal, having turned down firm offers from Sauber/Audi and Alpine.

Vowles says that discussions about bringing Sainz to Williams first started in Abu Dhabi last year, long before Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari made the Spaniard a free agent for 2025.

He thought a deal was close around the time of the Spanish GP, only for the team to have a poor race weekend, and in effect delaying Sainz’s decision.

“The moment it looked realistic is when his pen hit the paper, that’s the only time I thought it looked realistic,” said Vowles.  “I got stung earlier in the year around Barcelona time.

“I thought we were in a very good state, and that’s on our shoulders. We had a shockingly bad event, and you can’t do that in professional sport.

“But from the perspective of the ups and downs, it’s been a tribulation up and down all the way through from I would describe it as Monaco onwards I think, it’s probably the right timeline.

“But it’s been a rollercoaster, that’s for sure. But it hasn’t been a rollercoaster for any more than actually, the driver market has been really up and down.

“There’s no teams that have properly been committing or deciding their direction of travel right at the front, and that includes right up until now, last weekend. where there’s still discussions over where does Perez go, what changes there?

“And when you have that instability, it’s completely normal that a driver won’t commit to you until such point as they know what their future holds and what doors and avenues are closed. That’s my opinion of it. So as I said, until pen hit paper, I wasn’t comfortable.”

Vowles admitted that beating a major manufacturer like Audi to secure Sainz’s services was a major coup for the team, and reflects its potential for improvement.

“I think it’s a huge, huge event for Williams to have two of the best drivers in the world fighting at the front,” he said. “And I think it is very much a sign of things to come, the fact that we are prepared to have the investment required to be there.

“And a lot of it you can’t see. The one that you can materially see is what we’re doing by effectively putting money where it should be, into the best drivers that are available to us.

“In terms of beating an OEM, and one of the largest in the world, I’m incredibly proud. I said it to him on this, it’s one of the proudest moments of my career, and I’ve had lots of great moments my career.

“The fact that he chose us above all else is a huge, huge, monumental decision. Then, on top of that, we have to be straightforward. Alpine are ahead of us on points this year, and on points ahead of us last year as well, I recognise all of that.

“What he’s not buying into is ‘25, what he’s buying into is what can we provide over the next two years, and what’s the direction of travel.”

Vowles worked hard to convince Sainz that Williams will be a much stronger force heading into 2026 and beyond, having explained why the team will have a difficult time during the building process in 2024-’25.

“I think the first thing is, the conversation has been many months,” he said. “It hasn’t been weeks of which you’ve been privy to some of it, because it’s been a bit more public than I would normally do with a driver discussion, but it actually started way back in Abu Dhabi last year. And the message I gave to him and to his family at the time is no different.

“The message I gave him last weekend in Spa, to be clear. And I believe that’s what’s won it. From the beginning, I gave him warts and all.

“’Here’s what’s going to happen. We are going to go backwards. Here’s why, here’s what we’re investing in, here’s what’s coming. Here’s why I’m excited by this project, and it’s your choice if you want to be a part of it. But I know that we will have success in the future, and I know it’s going to cost us in the short term.’ And I’m confident that that honesty and transparency has paid off.”

Vowles says Sainz in turn kept him fully informed of his thought process in terms of the pros and cons of the competition, thus giving him a chance to state the case for Williams – but he insists without criticising rivals.

“He’s been very consistent on his messaging from the beginning,” said Vowles. “I’ve really loved this process. I wish we could have sort of documented it, and had a little camera, and you would have seen it!

“It was great. He and I have spent some evenings in various hotel locations, including his room, at times, where we’ve had some of the best chats I’ve had, because he’s just this fiery, performance-filled entity. It’s just brilliant. I wish you could be a fly on the wall to observe it.

“And he’s been pretty consistent in his messaging back, which is here are all the positives that you can’t see because you wear a William shirt of all these other entities. And my job back in return is to say, here are the positives of Williams, and here’s the difference.

“I’ve never changed on what those positives are, and I’ve done it in a way that is not putting down other entities.

“I don’t believe that’s correct, or right to do so. And what he’s been doing in time is seeing how some of those positive strands maybe don’t exist elsewhere. That’s probably the best way I can put it to you.”

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July 29, 2024 · 3:05 pm

F1 driver market set to unlock as Sainz commits to Williams for long term

Sainz has made his mind up – finally!

Carlos Sainz has made up his mind and committed to the Williams Formula 1 team with a long term deal that should take him beyond 2026 with the Grove outfit – ensuring that other vacant seats can now be filled.

The news comes as little surprise after bullish statements to the media from James Vowles in Spa suggested that the deal was set be announced soon.

After weeks of examining his options Sainz has turned down both Audi and Alpine, with the recent management turmoil in both camps perhaps the final deciding factors.

It was widely thought that the arrival of Flavio Briatore at Alpine and a planned switch to Mercedes power would make the Enstone team more attractive to Sainz, but the general feeling in the paddock that the team is simply set up to be sold by Renault, and that clearly didn’t appeal.

Although Sainz knows new Sauber/Audi boss Mattia Binotto well from their days at Ferrari he did all his initial negotiations with previous incumbent Andreas Seidl, and while some see the change of leadership as a positive it also points at uncertainty in the camp on top of the unknown form of the 2026 power unit.

Williams, with stable leadership under James Vowles and bold plans for the future, ultimately appealed more than rivals.

“It is no secret that this year’s driver market has been exceptionally complex for various reasons and that it has taken me some time to announce my decision,” said Sainz.

“However, I am fully confident that Williams is the right place for me to continue my F1 journey and I am extremely proud of joining such a historic and successful team, where many of my childhood heroes drove in the past and made their mark on our sport.

“The ultimate goal of bringing Williams back to where it belongs, at the front of the grid, is a challenge that I embrace with excitement and positivity. I am convinced that this team has all the right ingredients to make history again and starting on January 1 I will give my absolute best to drive Williams forward alongside every single member of the team.”

Sainz made it clear that he believes in the team’s vision: “I want to thank James Vowles and the entire Board of Williams for their trust and determination. Their solid leadership and convictions have played an important role in my decision-making.

“I truly believe that the core of every successful team lies amongst their people and their culture. Williams is synonymous with heritage and pure racing, the foundations of the project that lies ahead of us are very strong and I am really looking forward to being part of it starting next year.”

Vowles, who has pulled off a major coup by both holding on to Albon and attracting Sainz, has madem it clear that the team has a big future.

“Carlos joining Williams is a strong statement of intent from both parties,” he said. “Carlos has demonstrated time and again that he is one of the most talented drivers on the grid, with race-winning pedigree, and this underlines the upwards trajectory we are on.

“Carlos brings not just experience and performance, but also a fierce drive to extract every millisecond out of the team and car; the fit is perfect.

“In Alex and Carlos we will have one of the most formidable driver line-ups on the grid and with huge experience to guide us into the new regulations in 2026. Their belief in this organisation’s mission demonstrates the magnitude of the work going on behind the scenes.

“People should be in no doubt about our ambition and momentum as we continue our journey back to competitiveness – we are here, we are serious and with Dorilton’s backing we are investing in what it takes to return to the front of the grid. 

“I also want to thank Logan for everything he has done for the team and know he will continue to fight hard for us in the races ahead.”

Attention now moves to the remaining seats on the 2025 F1 grid. Sauber incumbent Valtteri Bottas is well placed to retain his seat, although the team is known to be looking at young drivers, and is waiting to see how the Red Bull/VCARB situation shakes out.

Jack Doohan is set to graduate to an Alpine race seat, and the Aussie will continue his development programme in the team’s 2022 test car at Spa this week.

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July 29, 2024 · 11:26 am

Leclerc frustrated by surprise Mercedes speed as Ferrari lacks “raw pace”

Leclerc didn’t expect Mercedes to be so fast in the Belgian race

Charles Leclerc insists that the Belgian GP was not a “positive weekend” for his Ferrari Formula 1 team despite taking pole and finishing fourth and only 8.5 seconds behind original winner George Russell.

Leclerc, who subsequently moved up to third when the English driver was disqualified for being underweight, noted that a strong performance was outweighed by the fact that Mercedes proved faster in the race.

He acknowledged that he expected that McLaren and Red Bull would be more competitive than Ferrari, but not Mercedes.

“If it was a Red Bull in front then I think it would have been a positive weekend,” he said. “But now it was a Mercedes, which we thought we were on a par with, and they had the edge on us. I don’t consider this result a very positive one.”

He added: “I think fourth was what I thought would be the best result possible today, with two McLarens in front, and one Red Bull.

“But again, that’s what makes me not so happy about today, is that we have two Mercedes and one McLaren in front, and the Mercedes, we thought that we were on a par with them. So yeah, worse than expected.”

Like others Leclerc expected McLaren to be the team to beat in Sunday’s race.

“I personally thought that McLaren had huge advantage of pace for this weekend, which I saw a little bit less today,” he said.

“They were still the fastest, probably with Red Bull and Mercedes today, but I thought McLaren had the edge.

“It’s good to see that everybody’s so close, but unfortunately, we are still the fourth fastest team, and the top three keeps changing, but we are consistently behind them, on a par with Mercedes. We just need more pace.”

As the first stops as rivals pitted Leclerc suggested to the team that he if he was going to be undercut, he should go long.

However he then stopped on lap 12, just one lap after Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez and Oscar Piastri, the cars immediately around him.

“It’s very, very difficult to know at that point,” he said when asked by this writer about his radio request.

“Because when you have so many cars, obviously we were in a position where second on track, when you are getting undercut by one car, two cars, three cars, four cars, it starts to be quite tricky, and you take a lot of risks.

“It was just better to align ourselves to the other strategy. We didn’t know even what was the hard like, because we hadn’t run it before the race.

“So all of this, I don’t think it’s fair to say that we did a mistake at that point, and I understood the point of view of the team.

“I just felt like the raw pace is not good enough. And when it’s like this, unfortunately, you can do whatever you want with the strategy, but you’re always going to lose places. We are just not fast enough.”

Leclerc suggested that it would have been difficult to replicate the one-stop strategy used so well by Russell.

“It was one of our plans, but I knew that it was very, very, very unlikely for me to do so,” he said.

“Just for the reason I explained before, when you are in front to keep going and to get undercut by three, four cars and just lose so many positions if the one-stop doesn’t work, it was just better to align ourselves with the guys behind.

“But we knew it wasn’t too far, But I think they just had more pace, so they made the one-stop work, because they were super, super strong today. So we had it on our card. It was just not possible in our race situation.”

Asked to summarise the season so far he admitted that Ferrari has work to do.

“Our first half really good,” he said. “I think we couldn’t hope for better. We maximised the potential of the car. Then we’ve had four races where we’re going extreme setups from extreme setups.

“And for me, it was just impossible to get to quali and to know where the limit of the car was. And we lost a lot of points.

“And the last two races, we focused again on maximising the results, and I think we did, but just not fast enough, as I said.

“So that’s where we really need to focus and to do a step for the second half if we want to have any better results.”

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July 29, 2024 · 10:29 am

Perez’s Red Bull F1 future under debate as he misses Spa race target

Perez needed a strong race at Spa ahead of F1’s summer break

Sergio Perez endured a difficult run to eighth place on the road in the Belgian GP amid the ongoing internal debate at Red Bull over his Formula 1 future.

Perez has clearly been under pressure to raise his game after a disappointing recent run, and he did a good job to qualify third at Spa, before gaining a spot from the grid penalty taken by team mate Max Verstappen.

Prior to the race Red Bull’s simulations suggested that from second on the grid he could hang on to third place, while team mate Verstappen could climb to fifth from 11th.

The Mexican ran third initially behind Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, but he slipped down to eighth at the flag before George Russell’s penalty gifted him a place.

Red Bull is having a meeting on Monday that could potentially lead to a reshuffle of the drivers across its two teams for the rest of the season and heading into 2025, with some VCARB filming day and TPC car running at Imola this week potentially having an impact.

Reserve driver Liam Lawson and F2 championship leader Isack Hadjar are both waiting in the wings, while Daniel Ricciardo has some momentum behind him.

It was clear after the race that much more was expected of Perez at Spa.

“Starting on the front row our objective pre-race was we felt that third and fifth would be achievable,” said team boss Christian Horner.

“We achieved the fifth [with Verstappen], but we didn’t achieve the third. We obviously need to go through the data to understand where his loss of pace was. I think that based on his starting position we didn’t envisage finishing eighth from second on the grid.

“Checo’s had a tough run over the last few races. And what’s so confusing for us is the season started so well for him, and then has tailed off.

“He did a great job, a super job in qualifying yesterday. Obviously, we need to go through and understand the issues in the in the race. We’ve got the time to do that and analyse that and work with him.”

However he downplayed the significance of the timing of Monday’s discussion: “We’re constantly analysing, constantly looking at things. We’ve got a meeting tomorrow, but it’s not just about Checo. We have other topics on the agenda as well, which we always do going into the summer break.”

Perez explained that his race was compromised by PU issues that cost him performance, and by a short middle stint, with his early pit stop clearing the way for pursuer Verstappen.

“I was just struggling a lot on the straights,” he said. “I don’t know what was going on, but I had to save battery early on in the first couple of laps. And I was just very weak on the straights.

“And once I managed to clear it, charge the pack a bit, I was pretty much the same as Lewis and Charles, I was staying there. But then the second stint, jumping onto the medium tyre with all the traffic behind, it just made it really, really difficult, very tricky, and we did quite a short stint as well. 

“So yeah, we were just out of sync. I think we were just not good with the tyres today. Balance wasn’t there as well. So yeah, plenty of things to analyse on our side.”

“I think there were some strategic reasons behind it, but I don’t know why we went so short. I think we were obviously very compromised by having just two sets of mediums. 

“So again, I think strategically, it wasn’t a perfect execution. It’s something that we will get together as a team and obviously understand.”

Perez insisted that one poor race will not decide his future.

“Yesterday I had a good qualifying, a good day,” he said. “It doesn’t change anything. I think we have too much going on in the team, a lot of things that we have to focus on, and we cannot waste any energy with all this speculation surrounding.

“So this is the last time I will speak about the future. Just to make it clear for everyone, I will not answer any more questions about my future.”

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July 29, 2024 · 9:36 am

Norris left frustrated by run of “stupid stuff and mistakes”

Norris admits that things haven’t always gone to plan recently

Lando Norris says he’s looking forward to a reset in the Formula 1 summer break after “stupid stuff and mistakes” have hurt his title bid in recent races.

The McLaren driver started fourth in Belgium but ran wide at the exit of the first corner, and thus he was only seventh at the end of the lap.

Although the Woking team was expected before the race to have good pace relative to other top teams he had only recovered one more position, from Carlos Sainz, before the chequered flag. However disqualification for George Russell gifted him fifth place.

“I misjudged it, honestly,” he said when asked by this writer about his start. “I just didn’t want to get taken out in Turn One, so I’ve left the gap and just misjudged the exit a little bit. I lost four or five positions.

“Just impossible to overtake, the overtaking sucked today, and I think there were very few overtakes actually done on track, most of it was just in the pit stops. There were some overtakes, but only when you had like a 10-lap tyre advantage.

“So otherwise a bit of a tough race with the overtaking. And I felt like we were quick, The car was quick. Just don’t feel like we maximised what we could have done.”

Norris admitted that things haven’t gone right for him in recent weeks.

“I think I just need to reset,” he said. “I’ve given away a lot of points over the last three, four races, just because of stupid stuff and mistakes and bad starts. Turn One now.

“I don’t know why. It’s just silly things. It’s not even difficult stuff. It’s just Turn One, trying to stay out of trouble, trying to make sure there’s a gap and not get hit, and then I put myself off the track. So just some stupid things. The pace is good. The team are doing an amazing job.

“So I’m happy. And in a way, I feel like I just don’t want to take a break. I just want to continue, because we’re on good form. Even today, I felt like the pace was very strong.

“But the last two, three races, I’ve just not clicked as much as I needed to, and given up a lot of points, so hopefully I can come back stronger.”

Asked to elaborate on his issues he highlighted his starts as a key weakness recently.

“It’s many different things,” he said. “It’s just different stuff. Obviously, my starts have not been great.

“I’ve lost probably a good amount of points off the line, and now Turn One again, easily a podium or even more. So there isn’t one reason. It’s maybe just trying a bit too hard and paying the price for that.”

Regarding his plan to reset during the break he added: “Just forget about it. Still another week of debriefs and stuff, so I’m in the factory for half of next week.

“Just kind of review everything and look over everything, make sure we take a break on a good note. Which I think we have, honestly, I feel like there’s a lot of positives. Just things haven’t clicked for us.

“But I feel like we’ve still got what we need and what we want, so I’m happy we’ve got what it takes to fight and to put up a good battle. But I’ve just not been on it from my side.

“So review my things and go away and forget about it for a good time, and then come back stronger.”

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