In the round-up: Sergio Perez says he was closer to taking pole position in Miami than it seemed.
In brief
Mistake cost me chance at pole – Perez
After qualifying fourth on the grid for today’s Miami Grand Prix, Perez believes a mistake prevented him from fighting his team mate Max Verstappenfor pole position.
“It was quite tricky,” Perez told the official F1 channel after qualifying. “Unfortunately, I didn’t get a clean Q3 run one, when the track what at its best, I think. And then I did a slight mistake into turn eight, which cost me at least a front row, probably pole.
“Unfortunately we just didn’t maximise it. But I’m optimistic. It’s hard to miss out on the front row by a couple of hundredths, but it’s how it is. The margins are super-close. We did some mistakes with how we were setting up, going into qualifying. So we’ve got to understand the issues, but we are getting a lot closer now.”
Ferraris “should be red” – Leclerc
Charles Leclerc is that Ferrari did not opt for a full blue colour scheme for their special Miami Grand Prix livery.
The team are running with a one-off livery with shades of blue this weekend to commemorate 70 years of Ferrari being active in North America, with the fireproof suits of the teams drivers and mechanics also coloured blue for the weekend.
“I think everybody expected more blue on the car, but I think everybody loved the actual kit, which is great,” Leclerc said. “But, to me, a Ferrari should be red, so I’m happy it’s not an all-blue car.”
Cullen “very happy” in IndyCar – Hamilton
Lewis Hamiltonsays that his former physio Angela Cullen is “very, very happy” with her new role in IndyCar.
Cullen worked with Hamilton as his physio for several seasons at Mercedes before their working relationship came to an end before the start of last year. She is now working with IndyCar racer Marcus Armstrong, a fellow New Zealander.
“I think she’s really enjoying it,” Hamilton said. “A different environment, but still racing.
“I think from her time here, she became such a passionate racing fan. And I think once you catch the bug, it’s hard to get out of it. And why should she? She belongs in the sport. She’s definitely very, very happy right now.”
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Red Bull’s pitstop guru Jonathan Wheatley considering his future (The Times)
‘Jonathan Wheatley, the man who has made Red Bull the fastest at pit stops, could become the latest key member of staff to leave after the announcement this week that Adrian Newey, their chief technical officer, will quit at the end of the season. The Times understands that Wheatley, 56, holds long-term ambitions to become a team principal and has been sounding out other teams on the grid. ‘
How Miami became a sporting powerhouse (Daily Mail)
Miami Dolphins CEO Tom Garfinkel: ”When I first came here in 2013, this was a 28-year-old stadium with a bunch of empty parking lots. Now it’s truly a global entertainment destination (and) Formula 1 has only raised Miami to new heights. Combining the prestige of Formula 1 and with the culture of Miami has created an event that people across the landscape of business and entertainment want to come to year after year.”
Formula 1: The Exhibition is a museum-grade show for the Drive to Survive crowd (Globe and Mail)
‘The result was Formula One: The Exhibition, a museum-grade installation of artefacts, videos, and interactive exhibits that offers fans a dive into the history of the sport, some motorized eye candy, and a few glimpses behind the curtain of F1 magic (i.e. engineering). After opening in Madrid last year, the show moved to Vienna, where it is still running. The North American iteration opened Friday in Toronto at 1 Yonge Street, in the former printing press room of the Toronto Star, where it is tentatively scheduled to run through midsummer before moving to another (as yet undetermined) city.’
Yifei Ye: ‘Ferrari is the team most of drivers dream to be part of’ (WEC)
”My teammates have the same first name, so it always creates confusion when someone calls for ‘Robert’! We had to come up with some kind of nicknames. Robert Kubica – ‘The Polish Rocket’ – has a lot of experience at the highest level. He has a deep understanding of the technical aspects. Robert Shwartzmann also brings very valuable information to the team. I think we form a very strong team together.”
Italian F4 round 1: Misano (Italian F4 via YouTube)
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Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Sush Meerkat, Daniel Dumlao and Aimal!
On this day in motorsport
- 40 years ago today Nelson Piquet took pole position for the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola in his Brabham-BMW