RaceFans Round-up: Qualifying my “Achilles’ heel”

In brief

Qualifying my “Achilles’ heel” during return – Ricciardo

AlphaTauri driver Daniel Ricciardo says his qualifying performances were a weakness during his return to the grid in the second half of 2023.

Veteran Ricciardo lost his qualifying battle with team mate Yuki Tsunoda by 4-3 in the seven rounds he competed in, being eliminated from Q1 twice in Belgium and Brazil and reaching Q3 just once in Mexico.

“If I look at Brazil and [Abu Dhabi], qualifying was kind of the Achilles’ heel,” he said. “And I’ll take some responsibility for that – not maybe putting the best lap together.

“Obviously Brazil, we [fell] a lap down, but actually our pace in the race, I think we could have [been] well inside the points. Obviously these are ifs and buts and maybes, but the pace is there and it’s just really probably just sorting out the one-lap pace. Other than Mexico and a couple others, there’s a lot to be encouraged about.”

Vasseur forbids ‘what ifs’ at Ferrari

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur says his team are forbidden from lamenting where they lost second place in the constructors’ championship to Mercedes.

The team were beaten to the runners-up spot in the championship by just three points. Asked how many points he would see Ferrari having scored in an ideal season without setbacks, Vasseur said he refused to entertain the notion.

“I hate to race with ‘ifs’,” he said. “Because everybody can race with ‘if’ and do a better job. This is completely forbidden at the factory, to work with ‘if’.

“It’s not to find an excuse at all, because it’s our fault. It’s not that we are saying that ‘if this…’ – it’s where we are. Where we have to improve and so on. It’s clearly a huge potential in terms of points.”

Verstappen joins Broadbent’s charity simrace

Newly-crowned three times Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen is competing in a charity endurance simracing event organised by popular simracing personality Jimmy Broadbent.

Verstappen is sharing the #420 car which, at time of writing, currently leads the 23 hour ‘The Race for Mental Health’ charity endurance race around the Zolder circuit on the iRacing platform. The event is raising funds for the Mind mental health charity and achieved its £25,000 fundraising target long before half distance, in part thanks to the perk of viewers being able to apply penalties to drivers of their choosing by making qualifying donations.

Anyone wishing to support the fundraiser can donate via JustGiving.

Links

Motor racing links of interest:

In sexist F1, will we ever have a female world champion? (Times)

‘The numbers show about one girl to ten boys start in karting and that about one in 25 then progress to the top ranks. Funding is the big challenge in this sport and that funding has invariably gone to boys, whether that’s due to sexism or simply the lesson of history that boys may make it and girls almost certainly can’t.’

Mohammed Ben Sulayem hanging onto position after FIA president brought up potential conflict of interest between Toto and Susie Wolff (Daily Mail)

‘One of the most significant figures in the sport, close to the scene, told Mail Sport, relating to Ben Sulayem’s position: ‘Anything could happen now.’ He added: ‘This situation is not going away. It’s disgraceful the way Susie has been treated and she has everyone’s support. Mohammed needs to deal with it or suffer the consequences.”

Lewis Hamilton Tops Formula 1’s Most-Followed List on Instagram (Boadroom)

‘As far as the drivers’ popularity, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton tops the most-followed list on Instagram with 35.5 million followers. His online presence remains pure entertainment, ranging from his top fashion moments to footage of him surfing and glimpses of his recovery. Hamilton nearly triples the number of followers of the next popular, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc.’

LIGHTS TO FLAG: Romain Grosjean on Renault, Haas, that crash – and swapping F1 for racing in America (F1)

”Spa (2012) was a mistake, I accept the penalty, but I think the penalty was far too harsh. I’m not proud of it, but it’s part of it. I remember texting Fernando (Alonso), ‘Sorry, I’m glad you’re okay.’ His answer was: ‘The penalty is too harsh, you will bounce back.’ Then on the other hand, it was not nice to have Mark coming in, I mean, we all make mistakes and he’s done some. Yeah, that was tough.”

How Indy Nxt champion Rasmussen landed his IndyCar seat (Formula Scout)

Christian Rasmussen: ”It’s super cool for me to show that the ladder system works. Because that’s really how I’ve been able to to make this happen, is through the ladder system. I’m finally here, but the work doesn’t stop now. It’s going to be full push to also own my spot in IndyCar and prove myself there.”

The Wretched Racing of Ricardo Rosset (The Mobile Chicane via YouTube)

YouTuber The Mobile Chicane celebrates 10,000 subscribers by offering a deep dive into the notorious F1 career of Ricardo Rosset.

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