Horner expects to keep Ricciardo and Kvyat

F1 Fanatic Round-up

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In the round-up: Christian Horner doesn’t plan to change Red Bull’s driver line-up for 2016.

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Your daily digest of F1 news, views, features and more.

Red Bull set to keep driver line-up in 2016 (ESPN)

"'I don't see any reason to change (the driver line-up),' Horner said. 'We don't have to be in any rush to make a decision but both the drivers are on long term contracts and it's a successful partnership.'"

Red Bull boss Christian Horner answers your questions (Sky)

"Inevitably there is going to be a concertina effect but that is probably a year away and it is good to keep all the drivers honest."

Lotus: Podium possible again at Monza (Motorsport)

"We were quick in Montreal, we were quick as Spa."

Vijay Mallya Q&A: More to come from B-spec Force India (F1)

"We have under 400 people - and I am sure that I don’t have to double the workforce if I want to go further up the grid."

Formula 1: la proposta Mercedes per l'abitacolo protetto (Omnicorse via YouTube)

Rossi hopes GP2 surge sways Haas (Autosport)

"We're one of the 10 drivers they have, but I don't think anyone really knows where they're at."

Max Verstappen and Atze Kerkhof Spa Training (Team Redline via YouTube)

Via WTF1

Kimi Raikkonen: 'A misunderstood individual' (Motorsport magazine)

"Although Kimi hates Ron with a passion, I always got on OK with him, and I was thinking of signing him again after he'd been pushed out of Ferrari at the end of '09."

Russia destroys 1.5 tonnes of food meant for BMW car racing team (The Guardian)

"The food was destroyed by officials in the Pskov region, about 450 miles north-west of Moscow. It was being delivered for the BMW team in a German-based series of circuit races called DTM, whose Moscow stage starts on Friday."

Walk The Line (The Buxton Blog)

"What we saw through qualifying and repeatedly during the race was drivers seemingly cutting that very corner. Why, then, was nobody penalised?"

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Comment of the day

It isn’t just Jenson Button who’s getting into Rallycross:

I love the concept of Rallycross! Went to Knockhill years ago to see an event and the highlight (apart from Jet Pack Man!) was the rally cross race, we were watching at the bit where they left the asphalt to hit the dirt. It wasn’t even the top billed race that day but it was great!

Then I found out about the FIA world series which just started in 2014. I’m subscribed to their YouTube channel to see all the highlights as well as the Facebook page for the gossip and chat.

The way they organise race weekends is perfect for a casual viewer to dip in and out of with short bursts of racing, and will work brilliantly in the recent Dirt video game which has a new Rallycross add-on that I can’t wait to try.
@Calum

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On this day in F1

Ten years ago today Lewis Hamilton won the F3 Euroseries championship with four races to spare.

He took the title with his 11th win of the year at Zandvoort. He rounded off the season by winning all of the remaining races for a total of 15 wins – which would have been 16 had he not lost one due to a technical infringement:

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Keith Collantine
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77 comments on “Horner expects to keep Ricciardo and Kvyat”

  1. Looking at that ‘blade shield’ cockpit design, I wonder if it would be possible to beef up the wing mirror supports and integrate the new protective halo with the wing mirrors rather than the single centre pillar they suggest using in the concept video.

    1. OmarR-Pepper - Vettel 41 wins!!! For Jules (@)
      28th August 2015, 0:21

      Would it be hard to drive a veru fast car with an object right in front of your eyes? It looks to me it would create the side danger of producing some accidents or cross-eyed tiredness.

      1. @omarr-pepper
        I’ve done a bit of club racing (though on a bike, so it may be different) and most of the time you’re either looking for a braking point, the next apex, or some other marker along the track and don’t really look straight ahead that much.
        It may be a problem at the start, I’m not sure I’d want something like that obscuring my view while 19 other cars are launching from the grid around me.
        Although for all of that it could be at a focal length that your eyes kind of see through it, like the way you can hold your hand out at arms length and still see what’s behind it.
        I’d be interested to see a demostration model, and hear what the driver thinks of it after trying it.

      2. As @Beneboy mentions, something right in front of you tends to gets blended out by your mind over time, having something on the sides would hurt more because that might be where drivers are actually looking for apexes or other cars around them.

    2. Better protection than what the cars have now, at least for larger debris. I worry about the smaller bits with this design though. It is encouraging to see any ideas and dialogue towards better safety for driver’s heads.

      1. Maybe add a transparent screen to fill the gaps, let the beams provide the strength to stop wheels and body parts and a screen to protect against small debris.

        1. Exactly what I was thinking. Not very pretty but probably the best compromise I have seen so far.

          1. But then you’d need windscreen wipers, wouldn’t you?

    3. I don’t like it, but I’d rather have that than a canopy.

    4. I thought the exact same thing, or having 2 pilons either side or something, I can’t imagine it being anyway near pleasant to drive with that splitscreen effect at high speed for almost 2 hours solid.

  2. I so agree with the ‘Walk the line’ article. I hate when FIA makes the changes to the tracks to make drivers life easier (or safer for that matter). I find myself dragging away from F1 every time this happens. There were times when I was checking F1 news pretty much every 10 minutes as I was so excited to know more about what’s happening. Now I do it maybe twice a week. It’s just so bad in my view. Everything is now about safety and keeping drivers/teams happy. I see a great shame that we lost the ‘Heroes’ of F1 and replaced them with boys.

    1. Boys, with families, who would much rather them stay around than become injured or die for your entertainment. We had two tragic events happen recently and your comment is in bad taste, in my opinion. Safety doesn’t come at a cost to the ‘spectacle’, much rather I believe tragedies are the culprit. Tragedies catalyse these changes that you dislike. So, see these changes as a small price to pay to what could be much more costly to the sport. F1 is dying, and literal death is the last thing it needs in the 21st century.

      1. petebaldwin (@)
        28th August 2015, 10:32

        @toxic @gufdamm – There’s a big distinction to be made between easier and safer.

        Bringing in further head protection will make f1 much safer but it will not make it any easier. It certainly won’t affect the “spectacle”

        Removing all grass and gravel from tracks and refusing to punish drivers when they leave the track lap after lap makes F1 much easier. I appreciate that it also improves safety but it IS at a cost of the “spectacle” and certainly lessens my enjoyment of F1.

  3. Will Buxton is spot on. I read that earlier today and I agree with everything he says.

    These tyre failures happened right after those 2 places where drivers have been pushing the boundaries of the track just a little bit too much: Stavelot and Raidillion. Both times, it was the right rear tyre, the one that runs just on the edge between the road and the kerb, while acceleating and tracking out.

    I’m no expert but if you go over some places time and time again, you risk damaging your car. The tarmac on the track is as smooth as it gets but after the white line, you don’t know what’s been done there. It’s like WRC cutting some corners: they put a lot of strain in the suspension while doing so, and they cannot do it everywhere and always, and if they do, it’s probably because the car is designed to take it. F1 cars are not.

    I don’t like how drivers cut corners. And it’s just too difficult to police, apparently. But they have to try harder. Otherwise they just go, they throw the car into the corners and if it sticks, it sticks. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t matter, they carry on and try again.

    Pouhon used to be tricky. So did Stavelot and Blanchimont. But they add kms of tarmac run offs and there it goes… challenge dissapears. Just like Parabolica, and so many others.

    Tarmac run offs are poison to pure racing.

    1. @fer-no65

      So did Stavelot and Blanchimont. But they add kms of tarmac run offs and there it goes… challenge dissapears.

      The challenge of those corners was gone long before they added the tarmac runoff. The challenge was gone from around 2000-2001 which was when the cars/tyres started producing enough grip to ensure they were easy flat.

      You could put the gravel back & they would still be easy flat & still nowhere near the challenge they were when the cars didn’t have the grip that they have the past 15 odd years.

      1. @gt-racer yeah, it’d be easy flat, but few would dare to try what Max did and go side by side there… they can do it now and if it doesn’t work out, they take the run off and try again later.

        Knowing that pushing over limit of the track means a big penalty is the challenge.

  4. That design looks unsightly for me, nor does it completely solve the issue of debris. Massa was knocked out by a small piece off Ruben’s Brawn. And while not having the same amount of force as a large piece would which tragically struck Justin Wilson, a small piece of debris still has a large amount of force.

  5. I’m glad to see some confirmation of interest in Rossi by Haas. I hope he gets a chance. The Autosport article included a bit about Max Chilton being the top 10 list and having talks. That bit of news worried me, but it looks like his prospects are not so high. I’ve never been impressed by Chilton’s driving. I’m shocked he is even in the top 10. It must be his money, err I mean talent.

    I would love to know if Kobayashi’s management ever reached out to Haas. He had connections to Ferrari in the past, but it looks like he back racing with Toyota here in Japan.

    1. @derekpicom You’re not impressed by Chilton but think Rossi deserves a chance?

    2. I don’t find Rossi’s year particularly strong. For sure, he’s had some bad luck, but still, I expected him to be a much greater challenge to Vandoorne.

    3. I was wondering about Kobayashi too, I haven’t heard any rumors though.

  6. This public Russian War on Food is ridiculous, but I’ve got to ask just how much do the BMW people eat? 1500 kilos of food, really?

    1. I guess its for the team, but also for their VIP guests @zimkazimka. Or the team is just VERY large!

      1. Or the people.

    2. @zimkazimka If they’re there from, say, Thursday to Sunday then that’s enough to give 375 people one kilo of food per day. Considering we’re talking about race team staff, non-race team staff, motorhome guests and so on, it seems like a reasonable figure to me.

      1. @keithcollantine Just read on a Russian business site that the food was indeed for the team and guests, but the total number of people was given as somewhere around 120. Let’s make it 150, and that means over 3 kilos of food per day per person! Mind you, that’s only confiscated food we are talking about, while there was additional stuff like pasta that was left alone. Just find it somewhat amusing and fascinating. Now I want to know whether F1 teams transport large amounts of food to every race and how they will handle Sochi.

  7. Great article about Raikkonen.

    1. Yeah.. completely agree.

      The part of going to Vegas during a back to back racing weekend when fighting for the title was a little shocking…. I guess that’s what made him a bit of a James Hunt in modern era racing.

      Honestly, I think if Kimi was more dedicated, he could have had a couple of more titles, but then again, if he was all focused and dedicated, he really wouldn’t be Kimi

      1. Ahh yes, the Kimi Uncertainty Principle.

  8. It looks like the Russian government have not read the New Testament (‘Give us each day our daily bread’), nor have they been taught by their parents to not play with food or waste food, while so many people in the world keep starving. So much for ‘traditional values’. While F1 and DTM cannot teach them civilized behaviour, the international series can and should avoid racing in Russia.

    1. Luigisky Petrocellinov
      28th August 2015, 8:48

      If the West were such good christians they wouldn’t embargo Russia in the first place. Not that christianity has anything to do with the matter, since thankfully we are supposed to be talking about secular countries.
      There is no starvation going on in Russia and most of the so called ‘outrage’ comes down to the restriction of food choice. City people are ‘outraged’ because they can’t buy their favorite danish cheese. Russia is big country and a major food exporter, so the proverbial poor people don’t really have access to imported food in the first place due to the high transportation cost involved and big domestic market.
      What I find outrageous is how BMW would try to outright smuggle so much food more than a thousand km away. I’m eagerly awaiting the Russian GP just for the possible laughs.

      I find your comment about teaching Russia civilized behavior especially hilarious considering this is probably coming from someone who ‘civilized’ people in its colonies by cutting their limbs off. Nobody has the right to culturally invade others and destroy their identity in the name if ‘civilization’. We should instead accept the diversity of ideas and cultures.

      And why should Russia even care about the starvation in other countries? Nobody does. And that’s a good thing. We shouldn’t help out failed states who can’t feed their own people and are dependent on food aid. There is a very good christian saying stating “God helps those who help themselves”. I hope you get the joke.

      1. If the West were such good Christians

        This is why running F1 Fanatic is such an eye-opener; it never would have occurred to me that there are people labouring under the misconception that the entire ‘west’ – however we define that – is made up of people entirely of one religion. In my country there are people of many different beliefs and non-believers. How many of each there are is influenced strongly by how the questions is posed:

        http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/sty-what-is-your-religion.html
        https://web.archive.org/web/20150109025634/http://www.free-enterprises.co.uk/Religion-Statistics/British-Social-Attitudes/table-1999-2009/

        But to drag us back towards the point, the interesting thing for me in this story is whether the F1 teams will have the same problems taking their food to Sochi? It’s another point on the long, long list of reasons why motor racing and politics are inseparable…

        1. Luigisky Petrocellinov
          28th August 2015, 11:15

          Thank you for proving my point that religion has nothing to do with the issue at hand and shouldn’t have been brought up in the first place.
          Although you missed that magnificently. :)

        2. @KeithCollantine This is actually not the first time when tantrums of Russian politicians interefere with their own international races. In 2013, DTM was forced to abandon the final qualifying session because Putin was flying around somewhere near the circuit.

          1. What’s quali has got to do with flying?

          2. let me quote the very first senctences of that article for you Paul:

            Qualifying for the Moscow leg of the DTM championship was cancelled when race organiser were told their airspace was was closed.
            Russian President Vladimir Putin was flying over in his private jet, meaning that the track’s medical helicopter would not be able to take off if there was a serious incident.

        3. Doubtful that F1 will have any food confiscated or destroyed as long as Putin is able to continue the Bernie schmoozefest begun at last years race.

      2. petebaldwin (@)
        28th August 2015, 10:41

        “And why should Russia even care about the starvation in other countries? Nobody does. And that’s a good thing”

        WOW. All I can say is that I desperately hope you end up in a position where you need the help of others and they respond in the same way as you….

        You have a lot of growing up to do, son.

        1. @petebaldwin
          To be fair, there’s an argument to be made for not helping to feed starving people in failed states. If those people weren’t able to get aid they may be more likely to rise up against their leaders and introduce the kind of reforms our ancestors introduced during the various uprisings and revolutions in our past.
          It could be argued that our short term help is actually sustaining dictatorships and other corrupt regimes as we’re preventing the absolute deprivation that sometimes leads to social revolutions.
          The great famine in India caused the deaths of more than 5 million people, but it also popularised the movement that eventually lead to India’s independence. Obviously it was bad for those who suffered, but their suffering helped free those who survived and gave them the opportunity to build the world’s largest democracy that is now becoming one of the most influential countries in the world.
          It could be argued that the world would be in a better state if developed countries operated according to the Prime Directive:
          http://en.memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Prime_Directive

          1. petebaldwin (@)
            28th August 2015, 14:12

            @beneboy – very true. There is no argument for not caring about people starving though.

          2. @petebaldwin
            I agree.
            I was trying to give the OP the benefit of the doubt as I suspect English isn’t his first language, and it can be easy to phrase things wrong when using a second language.

      3. You say that Russia is actually exporting food. But lets not forget that export was cut down years ago, and if we look at what really makes up Russian export by numbers we find that while Oil, gas, metals etc are prominently figured, food is not

        Oh, and FYI Luigisky, @girts lives in a country that is only too aware of what being colonized means and also how Russia acts towards it neighbours now and the behaviour of Russia as colonizer specifically in the past.

    2. @girts
      Since the end of the Cold War Western nations, particularly NATO have broken countless promises to Russia, built military bases all around their borders, tried to depose Russia-friendly leaders, and have generally treated Russia with nothing but contempt.
      Russia may not exactly be an innocent victim, and Putin is a crazy and corrupt SOB, but the idea that we shouldn’t race there for political reasons is laughable.
      The UK gladly sells weapons to any dictator that will buy them, have spent more than a decade invading and bombing countries that pose no risk to us, and spent the previous few centuries invading, raping and pillaging our way around the world. And our own government are using austerity policies to transfer wealth from the poorest and most vulnerable members in our society in order to help their rich rriends get even richer, just yesterday it was announced that more than 4,000 people have died after being declared fit to work by the DWP, we have record numbers of people living in poverty and more than a million families depending on food banks.
      I think the phrase “First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” applies here. If we were to stop racing in Russia we’d have to stop racing almost everywhere.

      1. @beneboy @Luigisky

        I mentioned the New Testament just to point out the hypocrisy of the current Russian leaders as religion and politics are closely related in Putin’s Russia.

        I don’t think that whataboutism is a good starting point for a valuable discussion. Firstly, the fact that no one is perfect does not mean that everyone is the same – I can assure you that almost everyone would choose to live in the EU or the USA over Russia, if they were given the choice. Any internationally recognised report about human rights and living standards in Russia and the Western countries will confirm that. Also, the fact that someone did something horrible 100 or 10 000 years ago and has changed now, does not mean he/she is the same as the one, who keeps doing these horrible things today. According to your logic, either we should all be in prison or all the prisons should be shut down because everyone has done something wrong during their lives.

        But that is not the point here. The point is: The actions of the Russian government are not only despicable and hypocritical, they are also showing disrespect for the racing community and not allowing the racers to do their job. At the same time, Kremlin is using the international motorsport events to boost its own popularity. That is why F1, DTM and everyone else should say that enough is enough.

        1. @girts
          Asking for all host nations to be judged by the same standards isn’t whataboutery.
          And the actions of the UK, US and other governments isn’t just in the distant past, the Middle East is going through a period of extreme violence because of our recent military interventions and current foreign policies. And that’s before we mention our own involvement in Ukraine, and our own sanctions against Russia that have contributed to the embargo that has caused this food to be destroyed.
          Russia isn’t acting in isolation here, this is just one part of an onyoing dispute with Europe and USA.
          Using your own analogy, what you’re arguing for is for one person to be sent to prison for getting into a fight, while the other is let off even though they were equally responsible for starting the fight.

          1. Sorry, you had a great COTD only a few days ago. But please leave out the myth that somehow Ukraine was the one that started the conflict and had Russia invade it.

            “our own involvement in Ukraine” Who is the “our” in that? The embargo by the EU, the US and many other countries was installed as a direct reaction to that invasion and was tightened after Russian armed and trained militiamen shot down an airliner.

            As for the Middle east, yeah its complicated. The roles of the US, of many European countries over the years, of the arab world, Egypt, Turkey but certainly Russia as well did a lot to bring about the state there. There is no single country responsible for the mess more than any other, a lot of it is routed in politics since at least 120 years back and further formed by East-West power games during the cold war.

            But that does not change anything about Putin rubbing close to the Russian orthodox church and installing restrictive rules on his own people. And its no reason to be less unhappy about a country that feels in its rights to invade a neighbouring country currently.

          2. @beneboy I am not an expert in international politics and I am sure that there is some truth to your claims. But even if it is the case, the UK and the USA still have not annexed any part of any other independent country and the policies in these countries can be democratically changed; the media and the people are allowed to fight against them. For instance, Owen Jones and Jeremy Corbyn would be marginalised, persecuted and perhaps even imprisoned if they were in Russia and fighting against the country’s establishment. There will be no Russian “Obama”, who could possibly soften the policies of the Russian “Bush” (Putin) because Russia is not a democracy.

            However, I would still support the Russian Grand Prix if it was not turned into Putin Grand Prix (as we saw last year), if the teams were simply left alone and everyone would be able to focus on racing.

          3. @bascb
            I don’t recall claiming that Ukraine started anything, I think you may be reading things into my comment that I never said, or inferred.

            If you read my first comment you’ll see that I’m not claiming that Russia are innocent in this, or that they’re the “good guys”, all I’m saying is that most host countries have questionable governments with some dodgy politics going on, and that to single Russia out for a boycott would be hypocritical.
            Barhain, China, Malaysia, Singapore, to name but a few, have many issues going on that I’m unhappy about, but that doesn’t mean I want them boycotted for political reasons.

          4. @girts

            Texas? Falklands?

            And putting ‘annexing’ aside (it is actually a lot more complicated than that, Crimea was in the first place given to Ukraine unlawfully and the people there had always considered themselves Russian), can you please tell me which country/alliance has caused the most deaths in the last 20 years? Every time I ask this question, people magically disappear without an answer. Why? Because they know the answer, but the moment they acknowledge it, they loose any credibility in their preaching and thus cannot continue.

            @bascb
            Mate, I have a great deal of respect for you, but to write what you did you either have to be extremely naive or plain stupid. Since I believe the latter doesn’t apply to you, I wil considered it being the former.

            As for the Middle east, yeah its complicated. The roles of the US, of many European countries over the years, of the arab world, Egypt, Turkey but certainly Russia as well did a lot to bring about the state there. There is no single country responsible for the mess more than any other, a lot of it is routed in politics since at least 120 years back and further formed by East-West power games during the cold war.

            And what exactly is that?? Since the fall of Soviet Union Russia for long was in no postion to play any role in the ME, we had a lot of our own problems, so the US had plenty of room for manouvre, eventually invading Iraq and destabilising the whole region. So what did Russia do? The only moment I recall is not letting to turn Syria into another failed state like Libya.

            Look at facts and results, not what your media and politicians are telling you

          5. @njoydesign Texas was annexed by the USA in 1845, Crimea was annexed last year. If we use Texas as an example, then we might as well start discussing the politics of the Roman Empire or how the societies lived during the Stone Age. The world order was completely different in the past, it does not mean you can ignore the international law today. I agree with you that Crimea is a special case and that most Crimeans would most probably want to belong to Russia if there was a legitimate referendum. However, its annexation is still a breach of several current laws and agreements and thus unacceptable.

            which country/alliance has caused the most deaths in the last 20 years?

            I have never asked or tried to answer such a question because it is impossible to answer it. Maybe it’s Sierra Leone, which has the lowest life expectancy in the world and where no Russian or American troops are present.

            Anyway, I can promise you that, despite my views, I will forget the politics as soon as the red lights go out on October 11. If my TV doesn’t show Putin 20 times during the broadcast, that is :)

          6. Hm, @njoydesign. naive, eh?

            The situation in the middle east is complicated exactly because other powers have been meddling, brokering, pushing for power and influence there for more than a century now. That Russia lost an incredible amount of their influence since the 1980’s is clear, and its clear why, yes. And I fully understand that it does not want to lose even more of their regional influence (for example ports in the black sea and in Syria). But that does not matter that it doesn’t, hasn’t or won’t play a role. Just a different one.
            Your argument does hit a very true nerve, though and a critical one. Namely that Russias leaders clearly dislike their waning influence there and in other areas and treat this as if its a secret scheme by their enemies which they can fight instead of realising the world has changed that a different approach to gaining new influence might work better.

          7. Yes, @beneboy, maybe I did read more into your post than is there.

            But its definitely not true that invading Ukraine should be accepted as just another move on a political chess board.

            And yes, I do agree that all the meddling in other countries is dodgy too (like Saudi Arabia bombing Jemen as part of its struggle for regional power with Iran for example, or their “intervention” in Bahrain) and most countries are or have been involved in that kind of things over the ages.

            But that is another reason why I have my objections against racing in some of the other locations you mention. However, we cannot hold the past against a country and put that on the same level as a countries current politics.

          8. @bascb
            In an ideal world we’d only go racing in liberal democracies where everyone enjoys equal rights. Sadly I just can’t see that happening any time soon, and also accept that for some people the UK wouldn’t be included in that list.
            Some Irish people think we’re illegaly occupying Northern Ireland, some Argentinians think we’re illegaly occupying the Falklands, some people in the Middle East think we’re one of the most evil countries in the world.

            While we may want Ukraine to be a free and independent country, it’s a difficult situation with various historical claims and the age old Russia/NATO standoff mudying the waters.
            Ideally we’d have leaders who could use diplomacy to get it sorted in a way that benefits everyone, but again, I can’t see it happening any time soon.

            Apologies for any misunderstanding in earlier posts.

  9. With the Russian government (i.e. Putin) having lost their heads over what to do with food, “You’re supposed to eat it!”, what’s going to happen when the F1 circus goes there in 6 weeks time? Where are all their gourmet meals going to come from? Or are they going to have to join the food bank queues…

    1. Isn’t Bernie a pal of Putin’s? I bet he negotiates some kind of deal as I can’t imagine the VIPs in the Paddock Club swigging Russian Champagne – or the drivers on the podium spraying each other with it! Anyway, haven’t Mumm got the exclusive deal for podium celebrations?

    2. If F1 is going to have the same problems importing food as DTM has, I would argue that this is a sufficiently severe logistics issue that cancellation has to be on the table. After all, teams cannot be expected to run the cars all weekend without food. Even without guests, there will be 500 team members plus officials that have to work. Unless Russia can guarantee appropriate food will be available to every single one of those members, the race cannot plausibly be run.

      As this would be a matter outside the control of either F1 or the race organiser (unless it turns out the race organisers voted for the “Western food” boycott, which I believe was devised by other parties), this would constitute termination by frustration and thus not be subject to the same “they can’t run it in 2016 if 2015 gets cancelled” that the regulations say should have been applied to Bahrain in 2012. This is just as well, as the FIA has repeatedly demonstrated (especially in the Bahrain case) that breaches of its regulation regarding politics are not enforced. Any attempt to enforce would simply lead to Russia citing Bahrain as evidence, complain to the EU, and likely lead to the FIA losing its rights to be treated as a sporting governing body under the Nice Agreement. (Normally I’d say Russia arguing anything with the EU would merely lead to its getting mocked, but the EU seems keen to take F1 down a peg or two for sailing close to the wind on the Nice Agreement in other ways over the years…)

      1. Luigisky Petrocellinov
        28th August 2015, 11:21

        Unless Russia can guarantee appropriate food will be available to every single one of those members, the race cannot plausibly be run.
        I’m pretty sure Russia has supermarkets and restaurants.
        I’m even more sure that the hotels the teams are staying at have their own dining areas.

        1. Hi Guidisky, are you aware of just about everyone visiting there last year (teammembers, journalists but also the relatively small number of foreign fans visiting) complained about the fact that most restaurants, let alone hotel lobbies, actually did not have all that much food to serve them?

      2. There isn’t a shortage of food in Russia, The F1 teams will simply have to provide meals using Russian ingredients.

        1. I wonder what they will spray with on the podium then @asanator! ;-)

      3. What everyone seems to be missing here (and especially the russophobic Guardian), is that the food was destroyed not because of the embargo, but because the team failed to supply the required paperwork and certificates.

        The situation is actually a lot simpler, but is a great material for a spin.

        1. yeah, its all just as simple and clear. And certainly nothing to do with any showboating about burning western food that is impounded, after all the caterer has been doing this job for years.

          I guess its just as large a coincidence as Russian officials starting to find more and more bugs in Dutch flowers the day after the Netherlands requested an international UN-installed court to judge on the MH17 issue.

    3. Let them eat caviar!

  10. Martijn Stolze
    28th August 2015, 9:16

    That Kimi piece was great, but the words ‘he hates Ron’ surprised me. Ron Dennis did give him his chance and nurtured his talent.

    1. and did who knows what else…. But yeah, it was a great read.

  11. Ofc Reb bull will keep that lineup. They need Kvyat to continue tosuck up Putin and they need Riccardo becouse they need someone who is good at driving.

    1. Hm, did you watch any of Kvyats driving in the last 3-4 races @rethla? I think that after a bit of a struggle at the start of the year, he has shown some very good skill recently.

      1. Yeh indeed, hes shaping up the last couple of races. It will be interesting to see if he can keep it up or if it will be like Maldonados one hit wonder. I think the latter but i wouldnt mind at all if he proves me wrong.

    2. @rethla – Kyvat is holding up well against Ricciardo. It seems like every new Red Bull driver outperforms the previous one.

  12. If I had a penny for every time someone calls Räikkönen “misunderstood”, I’d be a very, very rich person.

  13. Don’t like the driver protection system presented in the video.
    In my opinion, maybe something better would be some (retractable) steel bars (4 or 6) hidden in the body, surrounding the cockpit, and that come up via some sensors at a certain speed and/or if the car is hit at a certain force. This way the look of the car is not altered and I’m sure they’ll be quite effective.

    1. Willem Cecchi (@)
      28th August 2015, 12:26

      +1 One has to consider visibility being impaired.

  14. Why is “Ricciardo and Kvyat next year in Red Bull” is treated like new news every other week?

  15. Re the lotus tweet. the winner of the fan mail comp gets a pile of final demands!!!

  16. Force India doesn’t need staff. It needs an owner who is serious and who can attract proper sponsors to the team. It’s egregious and shameful that such a talented team barely made it to the grid and raced a “launch-spec” car for half the season. With proper management this team could be a top contender but instead they are mired in mediocrity. I sincerely hope Hulkenberg doesn’t waste another year with them.

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