Listen to this article The Frenchman had been running comfortably in the top seven in the first half of the race, ahead of the critical switch to slick tyres that teams needed to make as the track dried out. But the squad went too early with its call as the track was not quite ready for dry tyres, and that shuffled Gasly well down the order. He ended up coming home 10th. After the race, Gasly said he did not understand why AlphaTauri decided to take a gamble on the timing of the switch, especially as the teams that were stopping later gained so much more. Speaking after the finish, Gasly said: "I think we didn't do a good job. We were seventh, ahead of the two Aston Martins, with track position. We had everything in our hands and we threw it away because we decided to box too early. "There was no communication, and no dialogue, which I don't fully understand why. We took a gamble in a moment where we didn't need to. So we boxed, everybody stayed out on track, and we … [Read more...] about Upset Gasly says AlphaTauri “threw away” F1 Singapore GP
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F1 stats: Closest three-team pole fight since 2003 in Singapore · RaceFans
Qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix produced the closest fight for pole position involving three different teams for almost two decades. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free When Max Verstappen backed off his final flying lap because his Red Bull team had realised he was going to run too low on fuel, it secured Charles Leclerc’s ninth pole position of the season – and ensured no one will end the year with more of them than the Ferrari driver. Leclerc beat Red Bull’s Sergio Perez by 0.022 seconds and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton by 0.054s. That’s the smallest gap which has covered three different teams at the front of a grid for nearly 20 years. You have to go back to the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix to find a closer top three involving a trio of different teams. Rubens Barrichello – also in a Ferrari – took pole position for that race by 0.011 seconds from David Coulthard (McLaren) and 0.044s from Mark Webber (Jaguar, which became Red Bull two years later). … [Read more...] about F1 stats: Closest three-team pole fight since 2003 in Singapore · RaceFans
Ferrari: Even minor F1 cost cap breach worth 0.5s per lap
Listen to this article F1 teams are bracing themselves for the FIA’s announcement on Wednesday on which teams were under last year’s cost cap limit and which went over. There was rampant speculation over the Singapore Grand Prix weekend that one team had had a minor procedural overspend, while another was well over the limits. Aston Martin and Red Bull faced suggestions that they were the squads that could have broken the rules, but both teams moved to play down such talk – as they insisted the FIA had not informed them of any problems . Rival teams are hugely interested in the outcome of the FIA’s audits, and especially how seriously the governing body will take any outfit that has gone over the limit. While a 5% overspend of the circa $145 million limit is officially classified as a ‘minor’ breach, Ferrari is clear that the gains from being able to spend a few million more are huge. Team principal Mattia Binotto admitted that it was not ideal that the 2021 … [Read more...] about Ferrari: Even minor F1 cost cap breach worth 0.5s per lap
McLaren: Singapore F1 swing showcases “open battle” for P4 with Alpine
Listen to this article In a wet-to-dry race, Lando Norris produced an error-free display to move up from sixth to fourth following a duel with Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen , who both slipped up. Starting from 16th, Daniel Ricciardo also had a strong race to finish behind Norris in fifth, after delaying a switch from intermediates to slicks until a lap 36 safety car. In stark contrast to McLaren's 22-point haul, both Alpines of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon retired due to power unit failures, allowing McLaren to suddenly jump the Enstone team for fourth in the constructors' championship and lead by four points. When team boss Seidl was asked by Motorsport.com if he was surprised to be leading Alpine after generally struggling to match it on pace in recent months, he said the points swing simply shows the fight for fourth will remain an "open battle" until the last lap in Abu Dhabi, with Alpine's huge score in Belgium now undone by McLaren's … [Read more...] about McLaren: Singapore F1 swing showcases “open battle” for P4 with Alpine
F1 cost cap: Red Bull’s ‘major breach’ rumour a result of ‘mischief making’
A new report has claimed that, if Red Bull are found to be in breach of Formula 1’s cost cap at all, their overspend will only be a minor one. A report from Sportsmail said that private claims from teams that Red Bull could have exceeded the budget cap by as much as £10m are wide of the mark, with their report citing that the overspend – if any – is more likely to be in the region of £1m, and would likely be filed under a ‘procedural breach’ rather than a sporting one. Procedural breaches under the FIA’s Cost Cap Administration [CCA] relate to actions like late submissions of or failure to submit appropriate paperwork on time, all the way up to submitting paperwork which is ‘deemed inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading’. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has vehemently denied any wrongdoing at his team, suggesting that claims from Mercedes and Ferrari that they had breached the budget cap were “bang out of order”. Alongside Sportsmail’s report, Sky Sports F1’s Ted … [Read more...] about F1 cost cap: Red Bull’s ‘major breach’ rumour a result of ‘mischief making’