In the round-up: Yuki Tsunoda says RB have work to do after introducing their new upgrades package.
In brief
RB “missing something massively” with new update – Tsunoda
Despite bringing one of the most comprehensive upgrades packages to the Spanish Grand Prix, RB are “way off the pace” so far according to Yuki Tsunoda.
“It was trickier than usual,” Tsunoda told the official F1 channel after the team ended Friday down in 15th and 16th. “It’s not the pace we wanted, but we have to investigate what we’re missing and hopefully it will be better tomorrow.
“The package seems to be working as expected, but we’re missing something massively because we were way off the pace that we usually have. it’s not easy to fix, so we’ll have to do something for sure.”
The team confirmed it stopped using its new rear wing after the first practice sessions due to problems with its Drag Reduction System.
Stroll reprimand for missing fan session
Lance Stroll was given a formal reprimand for failing to participate in a fan engagement session prior to first practice as required by the rules.
While the stewards accepted Stroll missed the session to attend a doctor’s appointment at short notice, they noted his team failed to inform the relevant medical representative at the FIA. “The team representative explained that they informed the media delegate as soon as possible but the timeline to do so was very tight,” they added.
Pulling takes pair of poles
Alpine junior driver and F1 Academy championship leader Abbi Pulling secured double pole for the second successive round in Barcelona after setting the two quickest times in qualifying.
Pulling’s overall best time of 1’41.369 secured her pole for today’s first race by just 0.059s from Haas affiliated driver Chloe Chambers. Her second-best time was also 0.076s faster than Chambers’ own second-quickest time of the session, which means Pulling also takes pole for tomorrow’s second race.
Nerea Marti will start today’s race third with Mercedes junior Doriane Pin taking fourth after recovering from a recent injury that took her out of the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Montoya loses best lap
Sebastian Montoya has dropped from tenth on the grid for Sunday’s F3 feature race down to 27th after having his best lap from qualifying deleted for exceeding track limits at the final corner.
The Campos driver will start down the field for both races, starting with today’s sprint race. As a result, Santiago Ramos has moved up into 12th position, meaning he will start today’s race from pole position with Trident team mate Sami Meguetounif alongside him.
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New F1 24 patch coming on Monday
EA have announced that the next patch for the F1 24 game will be available for all platforms on Monday, featuring a livery update for Ferrari to add the brandings of its newest sponsor.
The patch will also address AI cars running in long DRS trains without changing position, removing a bump on the approach to the penultimate corner at Barcelona among other fixes.
Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
The official Formula 1 website’s article on Flavio Briatore returning to Alpine does not mention that he was banned from the sport over his role in Crashgate.
Instead it refers to him “vacating his position in 2009 and taking some more time out of F1.”#F1 pic.twitter.com/QBGjeIIfp6
— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) June 21, 2024
A letter to my younger self, by Amelia, Abbie, Francesca, Madeleine, Holly and Carla. 📝🧡
We’re celebrating International Women In Engineering Day, which takes place this Sunday. #INWED24 pic.twitter.com/isS9iw9w32
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) June 21, 2024
Our little monkey Emil is 1 year old today, Happy Birthday 🎂 We’re spending the day in UK, our friends have a wedding so double celebrations in order 🍾🍾
I also received some good news from follow-up checks after my open heart surgery – structurally the aorta and my chest bone… pic.twitter.com/hxQD88GuBq
— Heikki Kovalainen (@H_Kovalainen) June 21, 2024
Why did @FranColapinto drive on the grass after completing his lap in #F2 qualifying?
“I was not very happy when I crossed the line!
“I was saying so many bad words on the radio that I even forgot to see the road on the straight and I went off after I finished…”#RaceFans pic.twitter.com/BeDDCVBTN5
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) June 21, 2024
10/10 save for @Nolan_Siegel 👏
📺: #INDYCAR practice on Peacock pic.twitter.com/7FNuuquFoP
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) June 21, 2024
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Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Domprez and Rhys Lloyd!