Motorsport on Tuesday: 26/05/2015
Mercedes' mistakes; Montoya's masterclass; VW dominates (again) and more!
A picture speaks a thousand words...
Toto said you blew it. Niki Lauda said you blew it. The boss of all things Daimler, Dr. Dieter Zetsche, who was there to see the chaos and embarrassment unfold, didn't say anything but Toto said he wasn't happy and I bet that's putting it mildly.
Yes, mistakes happen. Drivers drive into each other (or, in Verstappen's case, over each other) and throw away races. That's regrettable too. But this beggars belief and the unnecessary ramifications on the eve of Hamilton signing a new £100m contract are surely going to stir and stir. No denying it made the end of the race exciting, but as own goals go, it was right up there with the most jaw-dropping ever.
Hamilton will probably never now emulate Senna's winning total at this famous driver's circuit, which is going to irk him for the rest of his career. Interesting that he even decided not to copy Senna in another way on Sunday, by getting going again at Portier rather than jumping out and going back to his apartment. Nobody would have blamed him if he had've done.
Montoya milks it again
Time to get Montoya in a sportscar?
2015's victory came a full 15 years after his first Indy 500 triumph, back then as a rookie. He reckoned this one was much harder - in 2000, he dominated, but had to really fight to get this one. For those of us who have followed his career, it's with delight that we saw him cross the chequered line in the lead; another deserving riband on the portfolio of among the millennium's most exciting racers.
I'd also forgotten - of all the racers still driving, Montoya's the only one who could be in with a shot of taking the 'triple crown': that's victories at Monaco, Indy 500 and Le Mans 24 Hours. Once this stage of his Indycar career is over, what's say we try to get him in WEC?
Rallycross in Britain; WRC goes to Portugal
Finally, a win in 2015 for Latvala
It was close-fought stuff, but similarly close was the WRC round in Portugal. There, Jari-Matti Latvala at last took a victory in 2015 after withstanding the final-day pressure from his ever-ominous team-mate Sebastien Ogier. Last-round winner Kris Meeke was up there fighting too, which suggests his maiden win in the Citroen was indeed a breakthrough; pity about the broken anti-roll bar in the final stages, which dropped him back to fourth.
Portugal marked the debut of M-Sport's new Fiesta WRC car, which looked quick in Ott Tanak's hands: he stayed out the water and finished fifth, setting some impressive stage times in the process. Even Robert Kubica managed to not crash and finish, albeit down in ninth place.
McLaren wins in British Blancpain round
As if all that wasn't enough international motorsport for one Bank Holiday weekend, the Blancpain Endurance Series also headed to Silverstone. A series so many racers wish they were rich or well-backed enough to compete in, this year's race saw the first victory for the new McLaren 650S of Rob Bell, Shane Van Gisbergen and Kevin Estre. It was a dominant victory too, over the two Team WRT Audis.
In the Pro-Am class - the one that really does make us all dream we're but one lottery win away from becoming an international sportscar driver - Leonard Motorsport's Aston Martin won, and mild amusement for those of us reading the scoresheets with the 18th-placed Pro-Am AF Corse Ferrari, co-driven by... D. Cameron. No, not that one.
Photos: LAT Photo
[Source: Yahoo Sports]
https://twitter.com/MercedesAMGF1/status/603160877...
Probably did not say anything as a German won in a German engine car so I do not think he will be that bothered, he is more likely to be pissed that they blew the 1-2 finish and lost championship points IMO
Probably did not say anything as a German won in a German engine car so I do not think he will be that bothered, he is more likely to be pissed that they blew the 1-2 finish and lost championship points IMO
"And, as Toto Wolff later said, decisions in this computer-driven racing world are made on the pit wall, not on the track. Drivers don't come into the pits unannounced; they don't ignore instructions to pit when they're given. It was your call. And you blew it"
They should and messaging between the driver and pit should be limited to safety related conversations only. It adds nothing to the sport and the tech has no use outside of Formula 1, as far as I know.
Completey tragic result but as someone else said, Germany won and I am certain Totttooooo and his boss are quite happy.
Lewis - How is my speed through that corner?
Pit - I'm not allowed to say anymore...you know those pesky rules!
Lewis - Ok then...what's the weather like?
Pit - Good. *nudge wink smile*
I wonder what a race would be like if there was no fuel regulation and no forced tyre stops. Drivers where fuelled u and tyred up till the end and instructed to just go for it for the entire race. The driver can then choose to beast it and risk doing their tyres (in which case they can jump on the radio and ask to pit for a new set) or be a bit more conservative and see if they can get to the end.
Let the racers race....
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