
In summary: Pierre Gasly believes Max Verstappen should be the favorite to win the 2021 title, especially if he leaves Jeddah by a point.
in the letter
Gasly: Verstappen has the championship advantage
AlphaTauri driver Gasly expects Verstappen’s rival Lewis Hamilton to be very competitive this weekend in Jeddah but gave his former teammate a tip to prevail.
“Max has the point advantage,” said Gasly. “I see him win in the end and he has two races. It’s only two races, he’s eight points ahead, so he’s clearly in a better position. “
However, Gasly added, “I don’t think it will be easy for Verstappen” this weekend. “I think Mercedes will be very strong here.
“But if he arrives with a point lead in Abu Dhabi, I think he will take the championship.”
Gasly said he was delighted to see an “entertaining” battle for the championship this year. “Of course we don’t see all the action racing with them, but when you see everything that has happened during the season, it’s a pretty good year.
“We’ll see who wins in the end, but of course we want to see that more and more in the future and hopefully with even more cars fighting for the championship.”
Leclerc: Cracked Losail chassis felt “weird”
Ferrari has not yet fully got to the bottom of the problems it faced with a broken chassis during qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix. The problem was discovered after qualifying, which meant his mechanics had to work quickly to change his chassis before the race.
“The car felt weird,” explained Leclerc. “We have not yet passed all the tests on this chassis.
“How much did it affect your performance? I do not know. But I just didn’t have the right feeling for qualifying. “
Red Bull offers all possible rear wing setups for Jeddah
Sergio Perez said concerns about Red Bull’s limitations on a medium downforce setup shouldn’t be a factor in the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix. The team switched to their maximum downforce rear wing in Qatar after further problems with leaner wing flapping at high speed.
“I think it’s all under control and [we have] no problems with that, ”said Perez. He confirmed that “we have every single rear wing of our car available for the race in Jeddah”.
Mortara fastest in Formula E pre-season test
Edoardo Mortara set the fastest overall lap time in the pre-season Valencia test in Formula E. The Venturi driver, whose car is equipped with the drive train of the defending champion Mercedes, set a time of 1’25.763, almost a second faster than the previous best time of Mercedes works driver Stoffel Vandoorne.
The lap times were significantly slower than in the tests of the previous year, when Max Günther drove the best lap of 1’11.760, because this year Formula E uses the modified layout with additional chicanes that it used for the Valencia Eprix. Last season, the chicane used in previous years on the start-finish straight was even removed to save bodywork while FE was looking for spare parts during the pandemic.
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Interesting links on the topic of motorsport:
Saudi Arabia: F1 events risk glossing over abuse (Human Rights Watch)
“In order to meet their human rights obligations and to avoid damaging the reputation of the Saudi government, the Formula One group and participating artists should take this opportunity to publicly urge the Saudi authorities, including unjustly detained Saudi dissidents and human rights activists those imprisoned or placed under restrictions for advocating driving rights or refusing to participate in Formula 1 events. “
Lewis Hamilton: I turned down Anna Wintour – I can’t afford to get Covid (The Times – subscription required)
“Hamilton: ‘Last night it was the British Fashion Awards and I was supposed to be at a really nice table and sit with Anna and I was like,’ I have to work out, I have to be focused, I can’t ‘risk getting Covid.” I made every sacrifice. ‘”
Clear words from Bernie Ecclestone: Hamilton should have resigned for Schumi (RTL)
“Ecclestone: ‘In fact, I’m surprised that Lewis didn’t say at the beginning of the year: I’m stepping down, I don’t want to win more races or world championships than Michael.'”
Race For Sir Frank And Remember His Legacy (Nicholas Latifi)
“He practically lived in the factory. Whenever I took a short break during the sim sessions, I often saw him outside to get some fresh air, survey the surroundings and chat with the staff who passed by.”
Piastri expects many variables on the “unique” track in Jeddah, but remains confident that he can extend the title lead (Formula 2)
“There will be a couple of variables. Yellow flags will be very important because it’s a street circuit and the margin of error on a circuit like this is basically zero. There are a few more uncontrollable ones, but in terms of what I can do “Control, I’m confident we can be quick.”
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Happy Birthday to Riise, Speed Damon, Colm and Rick!
That day in motorsport
- Born today in 1924: Roberto Mieres, who finished fourth three times in Formula 1 but never made it onto the podium.