2023-10-08 12:54:08
2:56 p.m
Mercedes: Qatar is neither particularly good nor bad for us
James Allison from Mercedes spoke about the pace in Qatar this weekend and said that after Suzuka they are in good shape again this time. “Particularly Suzuka was [zuletzt] “Not so good,” he emphasizes.
Before that, the opposite was the case in Singapore. “That’s because in Suzuka there are a lot of things our car doesn’t like and not many things it likes. In Singapore there are all the things our car likes and none of the things it hates.” , he explains.
Qatar is “a bit in the middle” between the two routes, so the pace is good, but not outstanding. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton will then start the race from P2 and P3 behind Max Verstappen.
2:33 p.m
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2:23 p.m
More damage after the sprint
The colleagues of car motor and sport also report that there will be three mandatory pit stops today. They learned that after the sprint, Pirelli again discovered damage to the tires under the microscope.
This means: The new track limits in turns 12 and 13 were not sufficient to sufficiently contain the problem. That’s why a maximum number of laps for the tires in the race has now been stipulated.
2:09 p.m
Hamilton reveals: I wanted to test in Qatar!
The record world champion also commented on the tire situation this weekend and explained: “We certainly have to improve our organizational skills and procedures like that.”
“We need a better product, a better tire,” he says, but makes it clear: “That’s certainly not the manufacturer’s sole fault. We have so few tests, and we don’t test on a track with such hardcore fast corners as here.”
“I suggested in a meeting that we have the three days of testing before the start of the season [statt in Bahrain] do it here because it’s the hardest track for the tires,” said Hamilton. But as we all know, it didn’t happen that way.
In any case, “such tire problems are not unexpected” for him, he emphasizes.
2:01 p.m
#FragMST
A reader would like to know from us: “Why is there discussion about requiring THREE stops when you are allowed to drive 20 laps at the same time? Because in theory you could drive 20 times three times and achieve the race distance with two stops.”
Mario Isola already answered this exact question yesterday and explained: “Because there are 57 laps. And if you specify two stops, there is a risk that all the cars will come in on the same lap.”
“That leads to confusion. So if you stipulate a maximum number of laps of 20, but three stops, then you have the flexibility to work around this,” said Isola.
His complete statements can be found here!
1:51 p.m
Verstappen: World Cup title in 2023 my best so far!
The new (and old) world champion was asked yesterday at his big world championship PK which of his three titles was his best? “This one is the best,” he clarifies there.
“The first one was the most emotional because it made dreams come true in Formula 1,” he explains. But 2023 was his personal “best year”, partly because of the series of ten wins in a row.
“And the car itself was probably the best,” he adds and explains: “That’s probably the one [Titel]which I’m most proud of.” And the season isn’t even over yet!
The Dutchman can even set further records in the remaining six races…
1:37 p.m
Max Verstappen’s path to the world title…
… we have traced race by race again in this photo series. By the way, the Dutchman could get his 14th win of the season today. This would mean he is only one triumph away from his own record from last year!
Photo series: Max Verstappen’s path to the 2023 World Cup title
1:28 p.m
Sainz: FIA communication “not good enough”
We are waiting for a decision from Pirelli and the FIA and in the meantime we want to hear what Carlos Sainz has to say about the whole situation. “If it is necessary for security, then we have to do it,” said the Spaniard about possible measures.
What he doesn’t agree with, on the one hand, is that they already drove in Qatar in 2021, “and in the meantime two years have passed to react to the bad curbs,” said Sainz. Nevertheless, the curbs would have the same design as back then.
“I don’t blame Pirelli,” he clarifies. However, communication urgently needs to be improved because he found out about the situation “from the press”. “Nobody informed us that there would be any changes to the track limits,” he reveals.
We generally found out everything from the media, and that was simply “not good enough,” he clarifies.
1:15 p.m
World Cup trophy not until the gala? FIA against it!
While at other major sporting events the silverware is presented immediately after the end of the respective event and the title is decided, Formula 1 has always proceeded differently.
Formula 1 regulations stipulate that the world champion is only crowned at the FIA awards ceremony at the end of the season. If that weren’t the case, Max Verstappen would have already held the trophy in his hands last night.
But FIA president Mohammed bin Sulayem dismisses the idea of such a change, saying there are good reasons why the Formula One champion must wait.
You can read what they look like here!
1:07 p.m
Tires for racing
We’ll be back in the ticker because the decision is slowly approaching as to whether there will really be three mandatory pit stops afterwards. Below you can see the tires that the drivers still have available for the race.
However, Pirelli has not yet proposed a strategy. No wonder, because it is currently not clear whether the tires can even be driven for more than 20 laps…
9:23 a.m
Narrowly failed
Max Verstappen won the world title yesterday – for the third time in a row. In our photo series we look at the drivers who narrowly missed this goal:
Photo series: These Formula 1 drivers failed to win their third world championship title in a row
9:15 a.m
Stroll makes it clear: No problem after the garage incident
When Lance Stroll was eliminated (once again) in Q1 on Friday, it looked on the TV pictures as if the Canadian had pushed his trainer aside in the Aston Martin garage.
Now he makes it clear: “Everything is good between us. He’s a buddy. We’re both frustrated and we travel together, so it’s okay.” Stroll emphasizes that his entire team is currently frustrated.
We’re currently in a crisis, “and it’s not getting better,” he admits, emphasizing: “We want to get better, but at the moment it’s just a fight.” The Canadian again remained without points in the sprint yesterday.
Stroll scored his last points so far at the race in Spa, before the summer break. Since then, teammate Fernando Alonso has scored points in three out of four races and was even on the podium in Zandvoort.
And yesterday the Spaniard scored points again in the sprint.
9:01 a.m
Verstappen: Suddenly things happen very quickly…
Once again about the tires: The FIA has already adjusted the track limits in turns 12 and 13. Max Verstappen explains with a smile that he finds it “pretty interesting” how “quickly” that happened on Saturday.
“If we [Fahrer] “If we talk about how we want to have the track limits changed here and there with a white line or whatever, it’s all very difficult,” emphasizes the world champion.
This time it suddenly happened very quickly – without informing the drivers beforehand. Verstappen therefore wishes that people would listen to the drivers a little more in the future.
By the way, George Russell, for example, also sees it that way.
8:37 a.m
Sargeant is annoyed: “A stupid mistake!”
We want to use the time until the decision is made, among other things, to look back on yesterday’s sprint. There Alexander Albon came seventh and surprisingly once again scored two points for Williams.
“We capitalized on the difficulties of everyone involved today and that led to a point, with the penalty against Charles [Leclerc] Now there are even two points, so I’m very satisfied,” he reports himself.
He reveals: “We took a risk with the vote and it worked.” Albon also started on the medium tires and overtook numerous drivers on the soft compound in the final phase.
“A good strategy and a bit of luck” were responsible for his point, he says. Less “luck” for his teammate: Logan Sargeant was eliminated again after a mistake and was self-critical afterwards.
He is annoyed: “I wanted too much when I came off the curb [Kurven-]The entrance turned and the rear became extremely light. A stupid mistake, but the positive thing is that I rode well all weekend.”
But of course it doesn’t help if you don’t reach the finish line again.
8:25 a.m
When will there be a decision?
As a reminder, the race doesn’t start until 7:00 p.m. CEST (8:00 p.m. local time) today. This gives those responsible some time to make a decision on the tire issue – and they will actually take it.
There will be a meeting with the Formula 1 team bosses in the afternoon to discuss the situation. This meeting is scheduled to take place at 2:00 p.m. local time and only then will the FIA announce the result of the renewed Pirelli investigation.
Pirelli used the time since yesterday’s sprint to take another close look at the tires used there. If damage is discovered there again, three mandatory pit stops could be required during the race.
So here in Europe we should find out around late lunchtime whether these measures are coming or not.
8:17 a.m
Raceday!
Hello and welcome to a new edition of our Formula 1 live ticker. We don’t often have a situation like this: It’s race Sunday and we don’t yet know exactly what the rules for the race will be!
The background is the damage that occurred to the tires on Friday. Pirelli and the FIA will therefore discuss further possible measures before the start. We are of course following the situation here in the ticker.
Ruben Zimmermann will accompany you through the day today and if you have any questions, suggestions or complaints you can use our contact form. You can also find us on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube, and if you have any questions, you can also use our Twitter hashtag #FragMST. Here we go!
Here you can read our ticker from yesterday again!
Photos: F1: Qatar Grand Prix (Losail) 2023
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