#F1 - LECLERC STEALS THE SHOW: 2024 #USGP Wrap: The Inside Line

22 October 2024

The battle for the drivers’ title was in full focus as Formula One arrived at Austin, Texas’ freshly resurfaced Circuit of the Americas for the 12th time. But, Ferrari stole the “stars and stripes” showdown, with Charles Leclerc leading home his teammate Carlos Sainz for the Scuderia’s first one-two on US-soil since 2006.

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webmaster     John Nichols    @itcracing    @Linkedin 

#F1 - 2024 United States Grand Prix - Sunday "Fightback for George but disappointment for Lewis" Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

 

Press Information 20 October 2024

 
F1: Session Report
 
2024 United States Grand Prix - Sunday

 
Fightback for George but disappointment for Lewis

• George Russell finished sixth whilst Lewis Hamilton retired from Sunday's United States Grand Prix.
• Lewis lined up P17 on the grid with George starting from the pit lane, after the team had to work through the night to repair his car following Saturday's Qualifying crash.
• Lewis made a strong start and gained five positions into turn one. Unfortunately, his race came to an early end as a gust of wind at turn 19 caught him out and left him beached in the gravel.
• George meanwhile showed strong pace on the Hard tyre and cycled through the field as he extended his first stint to lap 40.
• After boxing for the Medium compound and serving a five-second time penalty for forcing another driver off track, he used his fresher rubber to close on Sergio Perez for P6.
• On the penultimate lap, he passed the Red Bull into turn 12 to cap a solid recovery drive.

Driver	Grid	Result	Fastest Lap
George Russell	PIT	P6	1:37.656
Lewis Hamilton	P17	DNF	1:48.064

Strategy	Start	Stop 1	Stop 2
No.63	Hard	Medium (L40)
No.44	Hard

George Russell
I was pleased with how today went from my side. We didn't know what the race would bring in terms of opportunities but going from the pit lane to P6, and finishing ahead of Red Bull, meant that we made the best of a difficult situation. We had good pace throughout, in particular on the Hard compound tyre. We were able to extend that first stint and give ourselves fresher rubber with which to attack in the closing laps.
 
We will work hard in the coming days to analyse the weekend as a whole. The car can still be tricky at times; Lewis doesn't end races in the gravel as we saw today. When we find its sweet spot, it is capable of strong performances but that is difficult to deliver consistently. I think the car had the potential to fight for the podium this weekend, but we need to widen its operating window. We will therefore be looking to bounce back next weekend in Mexico.
 
Lewis Hamilton
I had a great start, and I thought we were in for a positive race. I was just bringing the tyres in when I had the accident, which was a really strange moment. I wasn't pushing too hard but the car bounced a little into turn 19, I lost the back end and that was that. We measured a large gust of wind, up to 40 kph, as I turned in which likely didn't help. George had a similar spin to me yesterday so we will work hard to analyse both incidents and see what we can learn from them.
 
I am sorry to the whole team who have worked so hard to bring these updates but onwards and upwards from here. Hopefully we can get the car in a better place for next week in Mexico. We will all be working incredibly hard to do so.
 
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO
It has been a tough weekend overall here in Austin. We see that there is pace in the car, as was shown on Friday and with George in the race today, but we are still dealing with its inconsistency. That is not something unique to us though. Different teams have come into and out of form throughout the season, but it is something we will be working hard to improve over the final five races of the season.
 
The positive from today was that George was quick throughout and produced a good fightback from his pit lane start. The team in the garage worked hard last night to get the car ready for the race, with a large workload to get through as we had to revert on specification. George drove a strong race and was particularly quick on the Hard compound. That enabled us to extend his first stint and ultimately claim P6 in the final few laps. Unfortunately, it was a disappointing day for Lewis. He wasn't pushing at all but a gust of wind, combined with the dirty air from the car ahead, and he lost the car. We need to look at that, and what happened with George yesterday, to understand why the car reacted like that. Lewis Hamilton is not a driver that loses a car like that on lap two of a race, so there is something there that we need to understand.
 
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director
Given that we had one car starting at the back and one in the pit lane, we had realistic expectations as to what could be achieved today. Lewis made a good start and was quickly up to P12. Unfortunately, that didn't last long as he lost the rear in turn 19. We're still investigating what caused that, but in any case, his race was over.
 
George was making steady progress through the field in his first stint, but it still took him until the halfway point to get any clear air to judge pace. Encouragingly, the car was hanging on to its tyres well and that was allowing us to extend. P6 was the best he could have achieved today, and he drove a good race to get there.
 

As a team we have underachieved across the weekend and are under no illusions that we need to do better. The update kit has shown some promise, but we've not had a single clean session, and we'll leave here not knowing what we could have done if we'd started near the front with a car in our latest aero specification. We will look to answer that question next weekend in Mexico.

Preview

Friday

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Sunday

FF1600 Festival Brands Hatch Livestream Saturday - Sunday 

Race Highlights | 2024 United States Grand Prix

Drivers React After The Race | 2024 United States Grand Prix

Mercedes F1 Team CEO Toto Wolff on the business of F1, success in the U.S. and growth outlook: CNBC

#F1 - Mercedes F1 Team CEO Toto Wolff on the business of F1, success in the U.S. and growth outlook: CNBC

18 October 2024

Toto Wolff, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team principal and CEO, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the business of F1, success of F1 in the US, partnership with LVMH and other brands, long-term growth outlook, and more.

webmaster      John Nichols     @itcracing     @Linkedin  

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday "Challenging Saturday for the team" Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

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FF1600 Festival Brands Hatch Livestream Saturday - Sunday 

#F1 - 2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday "Challenging Saturday for the team" Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

 

Press Information 19 October 2024

 
F1: Session Report
 
2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

 
Challenging Saturday for the team

• After a positive Friday, Saturday proved more challenging for the team at the Circuit of the Americas.
• Lining up P2 and P7 for the Sprint, neither driver had the pace to fight for the top three. George was passed by the McLaren of Lando Norris before dropping back behind the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.
• Lewis gained one place taking P6 with George claiming P5 at the flag.
• Qualifying took place later in the evening and proved just as, if not more, challenging.
• Both Lewis and George's efforts on the used Soft compound left them unsafe and unfortunately, Lewis' new tyre run couldn't get him out of the bottom five.
• George made it through in P4 and then progressed to Q3. After setting the sixth-quickest time on a used set of tyres, he crashed out at turn 19 on his final effort and brought an end to the session.
  

Driver	Grid	Result	Tyres
George Russell	P2	P5	Medium
Lewis Hamilton	P7	P6	Medium

Driver		Q1		Q2		Q3
George Russell		6 Laps 1:33.536	P4 Soft, Soft	4 Laps 1:33.142	P7 Soft, Soft	5 Laps 1:32.974	P6 Soft, Soft
Lewis Hamilton		6 Laps 1:34.154	P19 Soft, Soft

George Russell
Yesterday we were in the fight for P1 in Sprint Qualifying but today we were really struggling. It is confusing how our fortunes have changed so drastically from one day to another. It is clear that when we find the sweet spot of this car, we are capable of fighting for pole positions and race wins. When we don't, we are at the back of the front pack.
 
In the Sprint, I lost a position off the start and was pushing hard early on to regain that. Unfortunately, we then started to struggle with the tyres, and I went backwards. It was difficult to understand as our pace on Friday, particularly on the long run, was strong. We continued to struggle in Qualifying, although my final lap was looking strong before I locked up into turn 12. I was perhaps over-pushing into turn 19 to make up for that time and I lost the rear of the car. I am disappointed in the damage I caused to the car and the work that will have to go on overnight now to repair it.
 
Lewis Hamilton
That was a tough day. The Sprint was a difficult session for us with the car not feeling as strong as it did yesterday. The temperature was warmer than on Friday and that didn't seem to suit us. We made some changes ahead of Qualifying to counteract that and try to push us in a direction that could get the car closer to how it felt on Friday, but we continued to struggle.
 
Tomorrow will be difficult for us starting P19. It will be hard to come across opportunities, but I will be giving it my all to move forward. The car today suffered from an inconsistent balance and a lack of grip so hopefully it will be in a better place on Sunday.
 
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO
A disappointing and frustrating day. After a strong Friday, we were hopeful of a good showing and it quickly became clear in the Sprint that we didn't have the pace of our nearest competitors, falling back to finish a distant P5 and P6. Added to that, the handling balance both drivers had enjoyed the day before was missing and they were struggling with tyre overheating - Lewis on the rear axle, George on the front. We made some set-up changes to tackle this ahead of Qualifying, but we continued to struggle and couldn't unlock the same level of performance we had seen on Friday, with Lewis finishing P19 and George P6 but unable to complete his final flying lap.
 
Tomorrow's race will therefore be an uphill battle: there is a major repair job ahead for George after the Q3 crash. With Lewis starting P19, it will be a case of damage limitation in the race: fighting for meaningful points will be tough and we need things to fall in our favour to do so.
 
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director
After a promising Friday, this was a tough Saturday. It became apparent early in the Sprint that we didn't have the speed of our competitors. We were pushing hard to keep up with those ahead and that put extra energy through the tyres. That overheating bit us hard in the second half of the race and we could only manage P5 and P6. We also found a broken part on Lewis' front suspension post Sprint and that definitely impacted the overall balance.
 
In an effort to get the car back to the sweet spot we had on Friday, we made some set-up adjustments ahead of Qualifying. Sadly these didn't have the desired effect. A consistent balance continued to elude Lewis although he was unfortunate to be knocked out in Q1 having been impacted by traffic in sector one. George fared slightly better and was on a strong lap in Q3 but came unstuck at turn 12 with a lock up and then finally turn 19 with his off.
 
We have a lot of work to do to get George's car ready for the race. The team will be working hard through the evening in order to do that. We know tomorrow will likely be a tough fight but we will continue to work diligently and hard, looking to take advantage of any opportunities that come our way.

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#F1 - Where are Andretti's F1 plans now? The Inside Line

19 October 2024

Andretti Global’s shot at getting onto the F1 grid from 2028 took a twist ahead of the United States Grand Prix, with its founder Michael Andretti stepping back from his operational role at the organisation. Andretti, 62, will hand over the reins to his business partner Dan Towriss, for more family time. But the ex-F1 driver and Indycar champion says it’s not goodbye, with Andretti staying on as an advisor.

Watch the video, and tell us what you think in the comments…

webmaster     John Nichols    @itcracing    @Linkedin  

#F1 - 2024 United States Grand Prix - Friday "Positives to be taken with Sprint Qualifying front-row" - Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

 

Press Information 18 October 2024

 
F1: Session Report
 
2024 United States Grand Prix - Friday

 
Positives to be taken with Sprint Qualifying front-row

• George Russell will start Saturday's F1 Sprint in Austin P2 with team-mate Lewis Hamilton P7.
• The team brought an update package to the Circuit of the Americas ahead of the final six races of the season.
• FP1 proved a tricky session, with the notorious bumps of COTA causing difficulties. Neither driver was able to hook up a full lap although there was clearly promise in the car.
• That translated into a more competitive showing in Sprint Qualifying as both Lewis and George progressed serenely into SQ3.
• The team opted to run on the early side in the eight-minute session, and therefore lessen the risk of being caught out by yellow flags.
• Unfortunately, on his one flying lap, Lewis came upon a yellow flag following a spin for the Williams of Franco Colapinto and he was unable to set a representative time.
• George meanwhile was just 0.012s shy of taking P1 and will line up for tomorrow's Sprint on the front-row alongside the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.

Driver	FP1	SQ1		SQ2		SQ3
George Russell	P7	6 Laps 1:34.125	P6 Medium	5 Laps 1:33.544	P5 Medium	3 Laps 1:32.845	P2 Soft
Lewis Hamilton	P6	5 Laps 1:33.840	P2 Medium	4 Laps 1:33.370	P3 Medium	3 Laps 1:33.378	P7 Soft

George Russell
I'm really happy with how today went. It has been a while since we qualified on the front-row so we can be pleased with the progress we have made. The update kit we brought here seems to be working well although it has surprised us a little how competitive we were today. Sprint Qualifying was a tricky session, but I was able to put my lap in SQ3 together. The final sector in particular was strong and that is what enabled us to take P2.
 
Lewis was very quick today, and he was unlucky to be caught out by a yellow flag. We both should have been up there but it's great that, as a team, we were back in the mix today. It is also clearly very close with several other outfits including Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren. Hopefully we can continue this form into the weekend and look forward to fighting at the front.
 
Lewis Hamilton
That was a real shame today as I got unlucky with a yellow flag. I was four tenths up on my lap and looking good for P1, but it is what it is. The good thing is that we seem to have made a step forward with the car. The update we have brought here was working well and I am really grateful to everyone back at the factory for their hard work. The last few races haven't been straightforward, but everyone has done a great job to bring this upgrade.
 
We also did some strong work after FP1 to improve the car for Sprint Qualifying. Sprint weekends add an extra level of jeopardy with a second parc fermé, but as soon as we took to the track, I knew we had made some good choices. Despite our disappointment today, we have another go at it tomorrow and we will be giving it our best.
 
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director
We can take many positives but ultimately, we end the day slightly frustrated. Lewis was on for a lap that would have been more than enough for P1. We had opted to go on the early side to avoid any interruptions with yellows on a busy track at the end of the session. Unfortunately, and ironically, Lewis caught a yellow flag following a spin for the Williams of Colapinto at turn 12. That put paid to his challenge for the front-row and he will line up P7.
 
George wasn't as comfortable with the car today as Lewis but it's a clear sign of progress that he was still able to take P2. We have brought an update kit this weekend and its introduction has been straightforward. It is of course only one day of running but it does look like we are seeing the gains we hoped for. We will look to continue that momentum into the rest of the weekend.

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Friday

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#F1 - Has Haas hit the big time with Toyota? The Inside Line

18 October 2024

Haas made global headlines ahead of the US Grand Prix, having forged a new technical partnership with Japanese car manufacturer Toyota that will involve both parties sharing knowledge, expertise and resources.

The tie-up, supported by Haas' existing strategic partner, Ferrari, will see Toyota provide design, technical and manufacturing services - while the F1 team will share technical expertise and commercial benefits.

Watch the video, and tell us what you think in the comments…

webmaster     John Nichols    @itcracing    @Linkedin  

#F1 - Why Red Bull's Bib "Trick" has Sparked Controversy - F1 US GP Media Day Reaction: Autosport

18 October 2024

F1 returns to Austin, Texas, for the US Grand Prix this weekend, and there is already controversy surrounding Red Bull and their Front Bib Height / T-tray device.

Despite the speculation, both Verstappen and Perez have said the adjustment is well known and exists on all 2024 F1 cars, and they're not breaking the rules, but is that true?

Jon Noble and Alex Kalinauckas chat in the Circuit of the Americas paddock to understand what this really means going forward, F1's plan to drop the fastest lap additional point, COTA's track changes and more.

webmaster    John Nichols   @itcracing   @Linkedin  

2024 United States Grand Prix - Preview: Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team