2023-10-21 23:37:30
02:27 am
Quitting time
Things got a bit chaotic behind the scenes here, as we had actually planned a live stream, which now has to be canceled because our director’s internet connection no longer wanted it. That’s why it’s been a bit quiet in the last hour, but now I’m going to close it here so we can at least record the analysis video.
Thank you for your attention on today’s sprint day and have a restful night. We’ll meet again here tomorrow!
sincerely
your Kevin Scheuren
01:38 am
Fresh tires, a little frustration
Alexander Albon was three tenths away from the points, but right from the start they had a better feeling than yesterday and decided to put on fresh medium tires and throw everything in, as he announced in the media round after the sprint. But he was still a bit annoyed:
“We tried because we were a lot stronger today than yesterday, so we put new tires on to give ourselves the best opportunity to score points. It’s frustrating, but at the same time I think it was a good race, that “You can’t talk it down. What makes it frustrating is ninth place, but actually it was a great race.”
© Motorsport Images
01:13 am
Difficult race
For Nico Hülkenberg it didn’t really go forward or back. The Haas driver ended up in 15th place in the sprint and was able to at least make up one place. Nevertheless, he was a bit disillusioned afterwards at Sky Deutschland:
“On the first lap I had a bit of bad luck on the straight from eleven to twelve, I was a bit in the Aston Martin sandwich, but unfortunately I didn’t have any slipstream and in the end I lost more places than I gained. That was a “It was a bit suboptimal. But after that we just lacked a bit of speed. And I couldn’t keep up with what they had set at the front.”
How does Hülkenberg see the prospects for tomorrow?
“We are by far the fastest on the straights, but unfortunately we are lacking in the corners and of course that ultimately affects the tires. Not ideal and I think it will remain difficult tomorrow too.”
© Motorsport Images
12:15 a.m
Penalty for Russell
George Russell gets an extra 5 seconds for overtaking Oscar Piastri off the track on lap 3.
Since there are normally no pit stops in the sprint, this penalty is added up.
© Motorsport Images
12:08 a.m
Tightening Max
Max Verstappen had to defend hard against Charles Leclerc before Turn 1 so that the Ferrari didn’t overtake him. Lewis Hamilton took advantage of this before Turn 3 and overtook Leclerc to move up to second place.
Winners of the start: Russell and Magnussen with three places each gained.
Loser: Alonso with three lost places.
11:31 p.m
Completely different challenge
Mick Schumacher tested Alpine’s hypercar in Jerez last week and spoke to Sky Deutschland about what it was like for him:
“It’s of course a completely different feeling. The car is relatively big, relatively heavy, completely closed cockpit, which was of course a bit claustrophobic at the beginning, but you got used to it relatively quickly. And of course it’s a completely different approach to racing “Because you share this car. So that’s obviously exciting in a way. And the car has to last 24 hours and I think it’s a completely different challenge.”
What happens next will probably only be decided after this weekend in Austin:
“When we leave here, we’ll look at everything again and hopefully we’ll have a few options.”
© circuitpics.de
9:50 p.m
Penalty for Russell
George Russell will start the F1 Sprint in Austin from 11th place.
The Briton was given a grid penalty of three places after the sprint shootout for obstructing Charles Leclerc.
© Motorsport Images
9:00 p.m
More satisfied than yesterday
Lando Norris once again showed that he feels more comfortable in the McLaren this weekend than his teammate Oscar Piastri, who ultimately failed to get past Norris in SQ3 and finished fifth, while Norris finished fourth.
“I was happier with my lap today than yesterday, I had the feeling that I got more out of it. But obviously the other guys did too, it’s that simple sometimes,” said Norris after the Sprint Shootout Sky UK.
“It wasn’t the best lap you could have had, but it’s always difficult here with the bumps and stuff like that. A little better than yesterday, but not quite where I want to be,” Piastri also summarized his sprint qualification Sky-UK-Interview together.
© Motorsport Images
8:45 p.m
Happy with the changes
Red Bull motorsport consultant Dr. Helmut Marko joined Sky Germany expressed favorably about the changes to the track limits:
“There were simply too many violations. Unfortunately it only happened today, otherwise we would be in pole position, but it is a sensible regulation. And I think that in the last few races, like in Doha with the tire regulation, in the sense of Good decisions are made in sports.”
© Motorsport Images
8:41 p.m
Track limits adjusted
As in Qatar, the FIA reacted to the many track limit violations and made adjustments in some areas.
The governing body states: “Following yesterday’s discussion with the teams and drivers, we have widened the white line on the outside of turns 9, 12 and 19 to give the drivers a little more leeway in these corners.”
The wider white line now extends well beyond the first part of the curbs at the exit of the curve.
8:30 p.m
Not ideal, but good enough
Max Verstappen was happy about the sprint pole, but also realized that it could be a close affair in the sprint race:
“I think the last lap wasn’t particularly good, but still pole for me. That also means the car worked quite well. I think it’s going to be an exciting afternoon with lots of different cars very close together “, he said in an interview after the Sprint Shootout.
Verstappen also determined what will be important in the sprint and whether it can go “flat out” for 19 laps:
“Tyre management is always very important here. Tire wear is always quite high because of all the high speed corners, and then you also have to deal with a very low speed where you need traction, so it gets tough. I don’t think we Being able to drive 19 laps at full throttle, to put it that way.”
© Motorsport Images
8:20 p.m
55 thousandths
It was a very tight race for the sprint pole in Austin!
Max Verstappen set the first fastest lap, then the competition was allowed to let off steam. Lando Norris was only a tenth too slow, Oscar Piastri couldn’t get close, but then Charles Leclerc put in a very strong lap and narrowly failed by 55 thousandths to Verstappen.
You can read everything about the Sprint Shootout in the report by my colleague Ruben Zimmermann.
© Motorsport Images
8:04 p.m
Again only eleventh
Daniel Ricciardo didn’t make it into SQ3. The AlphaTauri driver narrowly failed at the hurdle and only finished eleventh.
Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll and Guanyu Zhou were eliminated with him.
Max Verstappen set the fastest time, but also had a spectacular spin.
© Motorsport Images
7:46 p.m
Both Haas outside
That was a bitter SQ1 for both Haas drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen, as they have already been eliminated. Hülkenberg was bowled out at the very end by Daniel Ricciardo in the AlphaTauri.
Also eliminated are Yuki Tsunoda, Valtteri Bottas and Logan Sargeant.
On the positive side, Alexander Albon came in a strong third at the very end.
© Motorsport Images
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