In the round-up: Fernando Alonso should not have been penalised for weaving in front of Valtteri Bottas on the last lap of the Canadian Grand Prix, says former Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean.
In brief
“Let them race” says Grosjean over Alonso penalty
Alonso was given a five-second time penalty for making multiple changes of direction in front of Bottas on the final lap of Sunday’s race. The penalty dropped him from seventh to ninth, and left Grosjean unimpressed.
“I really disagree with Fernando Alonso’s penalty,” said Grosjean. “He didn’t deserve one for moving twice on the straight. The back straight is not even straight so how can yo go straight?
“Bloody let them race. It’s good to see wheel-to-wheel action, obviously it has to be under certain limits, but I didn’t feel like that was anything bad. I thought it was good racing and it was exciting to see it.”
Grosjean also criticised the race director’s decision to show the black-and-orange flag to Kevin Magnussen due to his damaged front wing. “Yes, the front wing is going a little bit in pieces but it’s a small piece and if you really want to avoid anything [hitting] the drivers, put an Aeroscreen just like IndyCar, and then the part can fly and won’t hit the driver’s helmet.”
Piastri to make F1 practice debut soon
Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer says test and reserve driver Oscar Piastri will get an opportunity to run a car during a grand prix weekend soon.
“He will be in an FP1,” Szafnauer said after the Canadian Grand Prix. “We can tell you it won’t be Silverstone, but it’s not far off.”
After the British Grand Prix F1 will head to the Red Bull Ring. Piastri tested a 2021-specification Alpine at the Austrian track earlier this year.
Latifi’s grandad in the grandstands last weekend
Nicholas Latifi’s grandfather was among his family members who came to watch his belated first appearance as a Formula 1 driver at home. Latifi’s rookie season coincided with the Covid-19 outbreak which kept the Canadian Grand Prix off the calendar for the last two years.
While Latifi comes from Toronto, much of the rest of his family is from the Montreal area. “I had my grandfather, all my immediate family [here],” he said after the race. “Everyone else besides my immediate family still lives here in Montreal.”
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Podcast: Bottas, My big break (Motorsport magazine)
‘At the end of 2018 I almost stopped. It was so close. Just because of the fact I couldn’t understand and take in the fact that I couldn’t beat Lewis in those two years.’
Verstappen sent secret text message about Hamilton after controversial crash (The Express)
“It read: ‘Cannot cope with the pressure that guy hahaha. Don’t worry Tommy, we’re gonna beat him this year.'”
Madrid interested in hosting Formula 1 race (Reuters)
”I would like to confirm our commitment to you and to this project, as well as our willingness to sign the appropriate agreements to promote the race and offer a great sporting and entertainment spectacle,’ local government cabinet minister Enrique Lopez wrote in a letter to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.’
Indy Lights runs oval test at Iowa, Rasmussen fastest (Formula Scout)
‘He was the only driver to record a sub-20 seconds lap, with his 19.9122s effort having an average speed of 161.167mph. Rasmussen was 0.1030s faster than team-mate Hunter McElrea in second place, with McElrea leading the way early on.’
A race in my words: Doohan (F2)
‘We stayed in fifth for the first four or five laps I think. Then as soon as the car started to come alive, we started to slowly overtake.’
‘Over the top hypocrisy’ of F1 oilsands protest helps Alberta’s case, Kenney argues (Yahoo)
“I am happy with what Sebastian Vettel did, because I think? it’s almost like a cartoon caricature of hypocrisy.”
‘It’s important for the younger generation, if there are kids out there that want to get into motorsport, be they male or female, young boys need to understand that engineering is a normal vocation for females to take, and likewise females need to know it’s one they can have without any prejudice because of their gender.’
F1 22 Developer Deep Dive – Audio and Music (F1 22 via YouTube)
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