Daniel Ricciardo demands changes at Red Bull
Minor track changes in Austria
Andries van Overbeeke presents 2019 F1 concept
Daniel Ricciardo demands changes at Red Bull
Last year he was everybody’s darling, especially for those fan bases, who were and partly still are bitter over the four championship titles of Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel. Daniel Ricciardo easily beat his German team mate during the first part of 2014, but the Australian was not so dominant once Vettel got began to get to grips with the characteristics of the car.
This year Danny is the clear team leader for RBR and he told F1i.com he was prepared for the task and ready to challenge for the title.
“Yeah, I did. Obviously there was a lot of positive talk around the team and how Renault will close the gap a lot and we found this with the car and this and that. So in my mind I was prepared and ready to go and fight for a title … but it’s not quite that easy …”
As was reported in last week’s news, this sounds eerily similar to just any number of Vettel interviews from last year. However, there is a shift in the rhetoric because the Aussie refuses to lay all the blame on the asthmatic Renault power unit. Ricciardo believes the RB11 itself is obviously not Adrian Newey’s best shot.
“I think we’re in a difficult place now. The hardest thing is we know where we lack in power, that’s a known, but there is still something within the car and the chassis which I don’t think we quite understand. That’s where I don’t think at the moment we have the confidence to move forward.
“Obviously the team has got the resources and whatever, but we’re bringing updates quite often and they’re not really giving us much. We’ve hit a small little bump in the road and we’ve got to try to overcome it sooner rather than later.”
Prejudice aside, the Vettel of 2014 was not performing to the level of the previous year when he spent most of his time on and off track fine-tuning his driving style to the unique characteristics of the RB9. Sebastian clearly found it hard to ‘unlearn’ this style with the new turbo-powered car.
Since Daniel Ricciardo hit the headlines in 2014, he now must prove it was more than just a flattering year – and the lacklustre RB11 appears to be wearing Ricciardo’s patience thin as he calls for his team to make something happen.
“It’s tough. I’m definitely experiencing it now and fortunately I am a positive guy and I do get motivated pretty easily, but even for my level of positive I’ve been pretty down quite a few times this year. It’s not fun.
“We’ve got to start seeing some change, that’s it. We’re nearly half way through the year. Also last year we got some wins but we were nowhere near Mercedes the majority of the time so we can’t afford to slip back any further. We’ve got to start seeing some change otherwise I think something big has to happen and someone needs to step up and make it happen.
“I think I can make a bit more noise now. I feel like I need to as well. I know everyone’s not happy where we are but me as well, I’ve got a small window of success, an F1 career is not long. So I think I can speak up and try to push for a change if I feel there needs to be one. Obviously also the senior guys in terms of … there’s obviously contracts in place for some things but if you’re not making progress then I think you’ve got to try and push the envelope a little bit.
“It’s going to be a busy next one or two months. I think looking ahead to next year, we can’t continue like this. We’ll need a miracle to stay like this and all of a sudden fighting for the win again. We do need to make something happen.”
A little tip from the Judge’s chamber. Call Maranello and ask to speak to Seb. He went through the same gambit of emotions just 12 months ago.
Minor track changes in Austria
Turn 8 of the Red Bull Ring in Austria has seen minor changes. Astro-Turf has been added behind the curbs, because drivers tended to take liberties with the track limits last year. The artificial grass is meant to punish that more than tarmac and the watchful eyes of the stewards do.
The driver steward in Austria will be American Danny Sullivan, who drove for Tyrrell in 1983 and famously won the 1985 Indy 500 despite doing a Three-sixty at full speed, nearly collecting Mario Andretti.
Pirelli President acquitted
Pirelli president Marco Tronchetti Provera has been acquitted of charges for industrial espionage by a court in Milano. Provera had been handed a 20 month suspended sentence in 2013, but appealed the court’s decision. The Italian had been brought to court on claims that he stole trade secrets between 2001 and 2006 when he was in charge of Telekom Italia.
Andries van Overbeeke presents 2019 F1 concept
Andries van Overbeeke, who has presented several concepts of how future F1 cars could look like in a series called “Echoes of a nearby Future” has released another stunning looking concept of a 2019 McLaren with a closed cockpit.
The full gallery is available on The artists website
Supadupa looking car. Are there any reasons why the concept car will be able follow another car closely in a corner without loosing too much downforce?
Love the concept car as well. I don’t know whether any further thoughts about aerodynamics has gone in to creating it but looking at the rather simple front wing design combined with the relatively low rear wing things should be ok in that regard too.
I think he’s an artist but each one of his creations is better than that Ferrari ‘concept’.
yeah agreed. Ferrari designs are quite bad lately IMO.
I’ll drink to that!
So these are OK? You spent pages on condemning Ferrari for doing one, yet you have no problem with this?
You shouldn’t expect something as mundane as logic from landroni. He’s a very bitter man. His condemnation of the Ferrari was based on his pathological hatred of them. In fact I have yet to work out why he watches F1 in the first place. He hates Red Bull, Ferrari, Vettel, me, the world. God know what he’s on about.
@Bill McKidd
There were a number of fundamental issues with the Ferrari design, none of which concerned aesthetics.
On the technical side, loss of open-wheel design, disguised under the label of “minimal [regulatory] changes” by the Ferrari PR. An overturn of safety elements concerning the nose height, which the FIA have been desperately trying to regulate in the past few years. And overall a design that would require huge changes to the technical regulations, again sold under the disingenuous mantra of “continuity of technical rules”. All points previously made by the Judge himself…
Ultimately, this was a car design that had nothing to do with F1 or open-wheel racing. And the proposal was little more than a PR stunt by Ferrari, sorely inappropriate given the current financial context (both considering the dire straights of half the grid, and the lavish subsidies that Ferrari receives from small teams via FOM handouts). Furthermore, it all smacked of a “play the ref” operation, as outlined by Our Honour:
“And once again, the costs of a whole new concept of F1 car will be punitive to the smaller teams – and maybe see off, a couple more from the sport.
“Level the playing field once more and give us another go” – is certainly one interpretation of the message behind this PR stunt.”
On the other hand, I have no issues with a sexy looking, open-wheel design that is nothing like a Ferrari billboard (or Merc, or Audi, or McLaren, or what-have-you)…
I like the design but is a closed cockpit the way to go? This will bring it into sports car domain rather than an open wheeled prototype
It still has 13″ wheels…………..
‘Pirelli president in jail for stealing secrets of the paper industry’
You know the Daily News is written by our lovable Hippo when it starts with:
“Last year he (Ricciardo) was everybody’s darling, especially for those fan bases, who were and partly still are bitter over the four championship titles of Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel.”
Just to say though Ric got many fans because he’s a good driver and challenged a 4xWDC, not necessarily because they’re all bitter about Vettel. Plus, he did beat Lewis’ time in Top Gear.
When Mercedes make a strategic decision: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52-vFRNMTso
It’s about 6:20 here I n the central parts of the U.S. Being centimeters from country life, I’m greeted with roosters doing their thing as the sun rises in the morn.
When I open The Judge 13 first thing and see a missive from Fatt Hippo that includes something about “Toro Rojo,” as many Latinos here would say, I’ve come to wholly expect the corpulent land creature to wallow with his cohorts at the nearest watering hole and wax poetic while reminiscing about the glory days of one, Seb Vetttel. And if not penning a Blakeian sonnet line or two about his hero, then a Poe-ish couplet warning off all who would dare speak ill of the 4-time WDC.
For sometime this curmudgeon with the wet and wry watering hole humor bothered me greatly. But times passes and the man’s fond memories of the dashing SV adorned in blue and red serve as a reminder of F1’s last breath of glory day driver swashbuckler drivers.
And so, I’ve come to find a day without a Hippo, SV mention, is like a day without sunshine.
Hah! Good comment, DWil.
That left me smiling… +1
I thought I was the only who noticed the SV/Ferrari praises and the Mercedes bashing when he does the DN&C….
Well put….
you know what? I like that 2019 concept with the closed cockpit. looks very nice. I sure do hope we can get to a chassis formula like that. open cockpit or not.
That car looks neat.
Ricciardo better watch out. Red Bull – Marko, Horner, et all – will more likely throw him under a bus than admit to shortcomings.
The funny thing is, Ricciardo is being well behaved and quite diplomatic… for an Australian.