In the round-up: Max Verstappen doesnt expect Renault will make up their power shortfall any time soon.
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Verstappen doubts Red Bull win threat (GP Update)
"I think from the engine side there is not much coming compared to the other teams where there is still development on both sides (chassis and engine)."
Belgian Grand Prix: Race Advance (Haas)
"We gained a little bit of knowledge last year when it was supposed to come in for 2017, but it was never off the list so everybody was thinking about it and working on it. We’ll work on how we get the weight down on other parts of the car because we are at the minimum weight, otherwise our car just gets too heavy."
Renault: Further growth needed for F1 success (Autosport)
"It will have to grow in a controlled manner, because frankly I don't have the appetite for becoming an 800-900 head unit,
Prema would consider F1 customer car entry (Motorsport)
"It depends on how everything is organised, and in the case of a customer car I think it’s possible to be organised."
Formula E is no short term 'fad', insists Porsche (F1i)
"If Formula E were just a short-term trend or a passing fad, we would certainly not become involved."
I’m in pole position to change the world (The Times - subscription required)
Nico Rosberg: "Having (Alaia) really opened my eyes to future planning, because I want her to have all the opportunities I had in my life."
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Comment of the day
The last Caption Competition over the summer break was won by Philip:
Two-thirds of Sauber’s table tennis doubles team practice together
Philip (@Philipgb)
Thanks to everyone who joined in and special nods go to Hzh, Johnny, Oni, Franceso Nicolardi, Nick, Cyberaxiom and Roth Man whose captions all made the short list.
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bogaaaa (@nosehair)
21st August 2017, 2:28
Dont worry about the lack of engine power Max, Keith makes up for it with his love of you!
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
21st August 2017, 13:53
Can we get you a saucer of milk ;-)
Jorge Lardone (@jorge-lardone)
21st August 2017, 15:00
+1
BasCB (@bascb)
21st August 2017, 6:36
Will be interesting to see where Rosberg is headed. He is clearly far to clever and young to just keep celebrating free life.
eljueta (@eljueta)
21st August 2017, 8:02
He’s far too clever to not be celebrating free life I think you mean :D
Hugh (@hugh11)
21st August 2017, 9:24
I reckon he’ll be involved with Mercedes, just not as a driver.
IJW (@)
21st August 2017, 10:33
Maybe he will be involved with the new Mercedes Formula E team in a Manager role?
IJW (@)
21st August 2017, 12:28
*Management role?
Jon (@johns23)
22nd August 2017, 6:08
Wouldn’t be surprised if he eventually goes FIA role. Groom him to be the FIA president. He would be very capable. They need someone young and relevant
TheBullWhipper (@thebullwhipper)
21st August 2017, 8:16
So if Renault don’t have the appetite for becoming an 800-900 person team……….
Well they don’t have the appetite to win then do they.
Ferrari, Mercedes and Redbull have all shown what u need to win. Strength in depth! Remember everyone making jokes about the number of top technical guys Mercedes recruited. Well who’s laughing now.
Renault under-invested in these Hybrid PU’s (and paid the price) and now they are already planning to under-invest in their team.
Anyone else still wonder why the Renault F1 works team have been so hit and miss over the years?
They try and do it on the cheap!
IJW (@)
21st August 2017, 10:36
You couold be right. There’s that old saying; “If you buy cheap, you pay twice”?
anon
21st August 2017, 11:19
@thebullwhipper, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari don’t have a workforce of 800-900 people either – they all operate with smaller workforces than that, and have tended to outsource more work in recent years instead (such as Ferrari outsourcing a large chunk of their engine development work to AVL).
Abiteboul is talking about building up to about 650 staff, which would be pretty similar to the headcount at Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes (about 700 in those teams); if anything, 800-900 might be starting to get a bit bloated. If headcount alone was the determining factor for success, then Toyota should have been thrashing everybody in the 2000’s given they had the largest workforce…
Baron (@baron)
21st August 2017, 11:22
But you see what FI have achieved with minimal infrastructure. It’s not how many you have, it’s the quality, skill set & organisation that counts. Punching above your weight is key.
Mike (@grippgoat)
21st August 2017, 10:34
I don’t get the caption…
swh1386 (@swh1386)
21st August 2017, 10:52
@grippgoat
+1
NotAgain
21st August 2017, 10:57
Quite simple:
A doubles team has 2 players.
Two-thirds of that is 1.5 player.
Thus one of Sauber’s team members is just half a player.
I’m not sure which one though.
Gaunibwe
21st August 2017, 13:25
That is some dreadful arithmetic.
Wesley (@)
21st August 2017, 20:26
Still didn’t make it funny.
Ludwig_M
21st August 2017, 12:09
@grippgoat I think it refers to the case Van der Garde, when Sauber had 3 drivers signed for 2 raceseats. So a “Sauber table tennis doubles team” consists of 3 players instead of 2.
Philip (@philipgb)
21st August 2017, 13:12
Ding ding ding
Hollidog
21st August 2017, 12:40
It’s a play on the fact that a few years ago sauber had contracts with 3 drivers yet obviously there are only two seats. Van Der Garde took them to court in Melbourne and actually won, although he (I presume) just took the settlement money because the two other drivers started the race.
The joke is that they have hired a third player for their doubles team and two of them are seen practicing.
Sham (@sham)
21st August 2017, 10:34
Renault never did have a massive team – they made up for it with talent and ingenuity.
I wouldn’t be betting against them so fast.
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
21st August 2017, 11:28
And leadership.
And I’m not convinced they have all that much of the three you’ve already mentioned.
I’ll bet now that this time next year we’ll still be seeing their PU massively behind and the works team still well in the midfield.
praxis (@praxis)
21st August 2017, 12:36
@sham,
You probably mean the people at Enstone facility. Those people have always been punching above weight since their Benetton days…
dutchtreat (@dutchtreat)
21st August 2017, 13:59
If I remember correctly, they also had a driver named Fernando Alonso…
Bart
21st August 2017, 21:37
And a crook named Briatore…
Juan Fanger
21st August 2017, 21:49
And a movable aero device (that wasn’t, unlike some floors going around at the time).