In the round-up: George Russell says that Mercedes had been “overanalysing” in the early part of the season
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In brief
Mercedes ‘slipped on simple things’ by “overanalysing” – Russell
Mercedes driver George Russell says that his team have been guilty of focusing too much on finer details prior to the return from the summer break.
Mercedes have been frustrated in their efforts to catch Red Bull so far in 2023, having been unable to beat them in any race this season. Russell admits that he and his team have been guilty of overthinking their pursuit of the champions.
“I think when I perform best is when it just sort of comes to me and not overanalysing things,” Russell told select media including RaceFans.
“It’s very difficult to not overanalyse things when you’re slightly on the back foot. You really feel like you need to do more to improve and work harder to find that solution, but sometimes you need to take one step back to go two steps forward, and focus on the simple things. And that’s perhaps something, we’d been focusing too much on with detail and slipping up slightly on the more simple things that deliver the most amount of performance.”
Singapore track changes could suit Williams
Williams’ head of vehicle performance, Dave Robson, believes the change of layout for this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix may better suit their car.The ‘float’ sequence in the final sector of the Marina Bay circuit is being bypassed for the first time this year due to renovations in that area. Asked if Singapore will be a true test of their car’s performance, Robson said “I think it probably will.”
“Obviously, the change in circuit layout probably helps us because four corners have been taken away,” Robson continued. “So that’s probably helpful. That does change the characteristic quite a lot for everyone. Hopefully that plays more to the strengths of this car.”
Antonelli extends FREC lead
Mercedes junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli extended his lead in the Formula Regional European Championship over Martinius Kleve Stenshorne after two fourth place finishes at the Red Bull Ring.
Antonelli headed into the weekend six points ahead of Stenshorne, but Stenshorne finished down in 18th in the opening race of the weekend. Although he took a podium in race two, Stenshorne’s deficit has grown to 15 points with three more rounds and six races remaining.
Antonelli’s Prema team mate Rafael Camara won race one, with Alessandro Giusti claiming the second and final race of the weekend.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Ferrari F1 simulator used by Michael Schumacher to appear at Dublin antique fair (Belfast Telegraph)
'An official Ferrari Grand Prix drivers’ simulator used by Michael Schumacher will be on display at a major antiques fair next weekend. The simulator was used by Ferrari to prepare drivers for the various circuits on the Formula One calendar in 2006 – Schumacher’s last season driving for the team. The F1 memorabilia will appear at Timeless, the Irish Antique Dealers’ Fair, which returns to Dublin’s RDS on September 15 and will be sold at a subsequent auction in the coming months.'
Inside brutal Alpine F1 staff cull as 'promises not kept' and chief labelled 'incapable' (Mirror)
'So that's the blame laid firmly at Szafnauer's feet. Alpine have been banging on about a ''100-race plan'' for a while now, by the end of which it said it wanted to be winning races and in championship contention. Although it's a nice bit of PR and something impressive to tell shareholders about, it remains to be seen whether there is any substance to it – or if it's achievable.'
'Pedro de la Rosa didn’t begin karting until the age of 16 but went on to start more than 100 Grands Prix during a Formula 1 career that spanned over a decade and intertwined race roles with lengthy spells as a highly-rated test driver for top teams like McLaren and Ferrari.In our latest Lights To Flag feature, De la Rosa reflects on his late start in racing, working for Ron Dennis, losing out to a young Lewis Hamilton, and pursuing his dream of a Spanish F1 team…'
Karun Chandhok: ''So part-way around, I was just thinking to myself, ‘how cool is this? I’m in a GTO at Goodwood!’. Then coming out of Lavant onto the straight – I was in second and cruising – I heard a bang and the back wheels locked up. As I turned I saw flames, so I got right off the track safely, to minimise oil going down and get out of the way.''
Insider: How the loss of Alex Palou will affect Zak Brown, Arrow McLaren (Indy Star)
Zak Brown: ''It’s pretty disappointing how it’s been handled. There’s ‘what’ happened, but also ‘how’ it’s been handled, and that’s probably as surprising as anything. I’m not going to get into a running commentary. I’ll let the (U.K. Commercial Court) and the facts when they surface allow people to come to their own conclusions as to Alex’s character.''
We always endeavour to credit original sources. If you have a tip for a link relating to single-seater motorsport to feature in the next RaceFans round-up please send it to us via the contact form.
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
Thinking of all those affected by the devastating earthquake in Morocco. My thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones.
Je pense à toutes les personnes touchées par le terrible tremblement de terre au Maroc. Mes pensées vont aux victimes et à leurs proches.
🇲🇦💔
— Esteban Ocon (@OconEsteban) September 10, 2023
The Albon pets have been promoted🐱🐶 Singapore GP drop coming sooooon… https://t.co/ZgJ3ysT3W6 pic.twitter.com/hOFpLrdIA9
— Alex Albon (@alex_albon) September 10, 2023
Who could forget the infamous Singapore Sling? 😅
The street circuit's tricky chicane proved a challenge year after year until the turn was changed in 2013#SingaporeGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/L8EScJO8dD
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 10, 2023
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
This weekend’s Caption Competition winner is MichaelV12!:
“Look, Frederic, I found this awesome game on Steam – it’s called Motorsport Manager. You can set up strategies and everything!”
MichaelV12
Thanks to everyone who came up with caption idea this week and a special mention to Roth Man, Red Andy and Electroball76 who all came up with particularly good captions.
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Sweetooth and Dimitris 1395!
Jere (@jerejj)
11th September 2023, 6:22
I don’t quite see the same way as Robson because even that longer full-throttle run into the fourth-to-last corner is still short, with the track configuration being unchanged otherwise.
On a somewhat related matter, I was happy the Sling got removed ten years ago & I’m happy the float sequence gets bypassed for the time being.
However, I wish this configuration change were permanent rather than only for three seasons, but temporary is better than never.
Nicely done video by Albono.
Streydt (@streydt)
11th September 2023, 8:29
Sounds like Palou has somehow really offended Brown and I am kind of surprised. I get that Brown is disappointed but business is business, right? I mean it’s a bit odd after the whole Piastri saga that Brown now gets so worked up over this and even questions Palou’s character. It’s not very classy and I doubt it will impress sponsors.
F1 frog (@f1frog)
11th September 2023, 8:55
It seems to me that every major motor racing series seems to be in a bad place at the moment.
Formula 1 is still the most special, in my opinion, despite Verstappen and Red Bull dominating and looking like winning every race this season. But DRS is too powerful and is often ruining battles, there are too many safety cars and they can’t race in the wet anymore.
BTCC has always been slightly fixed, but is supposed to just be about exciting racing. But due to the totally ineffective hybrid system, races have become processional and when that is combined with the fact that there is success ballast and reversed grids, it is a shadow of its former self.
Formula e has been okay this year, but the energy-saving and slipstreaming races are too random and all the same, making them seem very forgettable.
IndyCar races would be good if it weren’t for the fact that every time a safety car comes out, the entire order is totally jumbled and makes the races seem like a bit of a lottery.
WEC is very exciting at the moment, but the Balance of Performance, particularly being adjusted mid-season, makes the whole championship feel slightly fake and prevents it from being as good as it should be.
WRC is suffering from a lack of competitive entries, otherwise I think it would be doing well. It just needs one or two more competitive manufacturers.
DTM has totally lost its identity.
NASCAR became a complete joke when the stupid playoffs system was introduced.
At least there is still the history, at least that is one thing that never changes. Not so, thanks to Felipe Massa and his ridiculous legal case not just potentially changing the result of one season from 15 years ago, but potentially opening a can of worms for many others to do the same and for the whole of Formula 1 history to be turned on its head.
Jere (@jerejj)
11th September 2023, 10:35
@f1frog I generally see what you mean, especially about F1 & WRC, although the parts about DRS & SC are inaccurate for the most part even if the wet thing has been true for a while.
Yellow Baron
11th September 2023, 10:41
Try watching UFC instead
Alan Dove
11th September 2023, 11:06
FIA KZ karting is pretty much the best of them all pound for pound. No Balance of Performance, decent entries, multiple manufacturers, dozens of top-level drivers. The rest of karting is a mess, but the very top level is really good despite the FIA. The FIA direct drive stuff has fallen of a cliff in terms of relevance and meaning, but the top shifter class is banging to be fair.
Alan Dove
11th September 2023, 11:08
oh, I forget. No gimmicks. No hybrid, no overtake button, no DRS. Just pure racing.
it genuinely is the best racing
MichaelN
11th September 2023, 14:41
The BoP is the only reason there is a Hypercar class, but the FIA/ACO has not done a good enough job on it throughout the season. The problem is obvious: they race on different tracks. They absolutely nailed Le Mans, where the BoP was near perfect between all the various teams. Given that Le Mans is by far the most important race, perhaps even the only genuinely important race, this is a very good accomplishment with so many new cars in the mix.
But they cannot use the Le Mans spec for the entire season, because it’s a very peculiar track. And as you say, when they start messing with the BoP every time it quickly becomes tiresome and people tune out because it all feels contrived and fake. It also doesn’t help public perception that both Toyota and Ferrari have been theatrically and publicly moaning about it, something the regulations explicitly forbid – but both went without sanction (so there’ll be more to come).
With more teams and more cars joining in the 2024 season, this is becoming a pretty serious problem.
MichaelN
11th September 2023, 14:54
An excellent point, and Freitas over in the WEC is similarly addicted to Safety Cars. It’s perhaps the #1 reason I now watch far fewer live races than say, ten years ago. The whole point of longer races in the premier classes is that it adds a lot of tactical and strategic elements to a race. These are all invalidated to a large degree by the constant interruption, resets, and messing up of strategies.
The whole safety car concept needs an FIA-wide rethink. As shown by both F1’s standing restart fiasco, the constant red flag restarts at the recent Indy 500, and the even more hilariously bad safety car rules for Le Mans 2023 (which were effectively scrapped midrace because they were so ill thought out) – the governing bodies are actively abusing a system that was once meant to ensure the safety of participants, marshals and the public, all in an effort to ‘spice up the show’. They are thereby pressuring, or even incentivizing, the race directors to use these tools more and more.
I’m not suggesting it was all great in the 1990s, because having stranded cars just abandoned along the track is a serious safety concern, but it should be possible again to recover cars (quickly) with the use of local yellow flags.
Abrams 25
11th September 2023, 17:10
Bianchi crash was during local yellow flags.
Jere (@jerejj)
11th September 2023, 20:46
@MichaelN – Yes, but to be precise, FIA isn’t responsible for race control in WEC or IndyCar, but otherwise, some approach change should indeed come.
Fortunately, F1 races haven’t been unnecessarily neutralized for a little while.
@Abrams 25 – Yes, but circumstances were exceptional.
Mayrton
11th September 2023, 12:20
This doesn’t make sense to me. There were some major elements wrong with that car that would need a lot more than a focus on details to offset.
So this doesn’t make sense either. Overall, it now comes across like they still haven’t got a clue or sensible strategy and are simply still lost on where to begin and what to do. I am getting the idea they spend their way out of issues in the past but since the budget cap are struggling to make sense with the means they have.
Kurik
12th September 2023, 7:58
I don’t think he is talking only about the car alone but with strategy like when to change for slicks in wet weather or why pits stops are so long or which tires to start with. Host of things. While I agree that when they were winning they had the money and time to spend their way out of problems, they are currently 2nd in the championship and scoring podiums on a regular and look like the only team that might challenge redbull in the near future. They arent winning but thats not bad or terrible either.