Vowles: Sargeant didn’t crash because of too much pressure
After the accident on FT1 today, some are asking whether Sargeant felt too much pressure after the events in Melbourne and that’s why he crashed? However, team boss James Vowles makes it clear that this is not the case.
Sargeant wasn’t “at his limit” when his accident occurred, so he didn’t want to prove anything. “It was a completely different mistake,” emphasizes Vowles and explains: “He simply didn’t know where the car was on the track – at least not compared to his expectations.”
Such a crash could always happen and has nothing to do with the incidents in Melbourne.
Ricciardo gets a new chassis from China
Will a new chassis solve Daniel Ricciardo’s current problems? The Australian has so far struggled to keep up with Yuki Tsunoda. The reasons are not yet obvious, which is why the Racing Bulls team is now taking the next step.
Ricciardo will get a new chassis from the upcoming race in China. He suggested this to his team – “just to make sure” that everything was OK with the previous material.
You can read the full story here!
Open session ticker now!
The second training session in Suzuka begins in ten minutes and we’re moving the action back to our session ticker. So there’s a short break here, after the end of FT2 we’ll continue with the votes for the day here.
And if you want to know how you can watch Formula 1 in Japan live stream, you can find out here!
Weather update
By the way, it no longer rains in Suzuka. Helmut Marko had… ORF previously predicted: “Generally it’s just light rain, not the usual precipitation, where everything goes down.”
Nevertheless, FT2 is likely to start on the wet slopes right away, as the second training session starts in just 20 minutes.
Aston Martin fined
Lance Stroll was caught in the pit lane in FT1 at 80.9 km/h. Only 80 are allowed, and because just over is also over, Aston Martin receives a fine of 100 euros. Will you be able to get over it…
Marko happy with Iwasa
The Austrian explains in ORF: “Iwasa at Racing Bulls cut a very good figure. The gap to Yuki Tsunoda is within a second. That’s a very positive performance.”
The Japanese finished FT1 in P16, leaving Alpine, Sauber, Haas and Williams behind him. In the second training session, Daniel Ricciardo will take over his car again as normal.
Rain
A not entirely unimportant piece of information from the route: It’s raining! Not a bad rain, but if it lasts longer, it will of course have an impact on FT2. Because this would at least start on a wet slope.
Wolff takes on Masi
No statement from the PK, but two and a half years later, Toto Wolff is still concerned with the events at the Formula 1 race in Abu Dhabi in 2021. In an interview for the book The Formula The Austrian once again took on the then race director Michael Masi.
He describes him as “completely irrelevant” and says that he lives on the other side of the world and “no one is interested in him”. Wolff continued: “He really was a total, pathological egomaniac.” Ouch!
You can read his complete statements here.
Quitting time
This is how the PK ends again. In just under an hour we will continue on the track with FT2, and until then we will provide you with further information and voices directly from Suzuka here in the ticker!
Is Hamilton threatened with an engine penalty?
We already know that Lewis Hamilton will no longer be able to use the Melbourne engine this season. “It’s for the rubbish bin,” confirms Wolff again in the PK with a smile.
But does this mean that Hamilton will need an additional drive later in the year and thus receive a penalty? According to Wolff, this is not yet certain at this point.
It could be that you need an additional drive, but it could also be that you can get through to the end of the season with the remaining units. We have to wait and see how the season will develop.
Vettel a candidate at Mercedes?
Wolff is asked this question specifically in the PK. Could the German become Lewis Hamilton’s successor in 2025? “Sebastian is someone you can never exclude,” says Wolff diplomatically.
A break can also be “good” for a driver’s “motivation,” he emphasizes, but at the same time he also makes it clear that there will be no decision on the driver issue “in the next few weeks.”
The driver market is “dynamic” and it is still “far too early” to make a decision. When asked, he explains that he has at least already narrowed down the possible candidates.
With a grin he also says that he won’t reveal how many names are still on this list…
Wolff: Can’t find the downforce on the track
The Mercedes team boss talks about the current crisis and emphasizes that in the simulations you measure a lot more downforce on your own car, but you simply can’t find it on the real track.
And we have had this problem since the new rules began, which is why we are now taking “new paths”. For this reason, the double loss in Melbourne doesn’t play a big role for him.
Although they lost World Cup points as a result, the much more important issue was to find performance first.
Also Alpine without a replacement chassis
Exciting: It’s not just Williams who is currently without a replacement chassis! Bruno Famin reveals that Alpine doesn’t have one either. And according to Toto Wolff, even Mercedes didn’t have a third chassis at the beginning of the year.
It’s not just Williams who is a little late in this regard. The replacement chassis will only be ready in Miami.
All clear for Sargeant
James Vowles reveals that although the damage to the car is “pretty significant”, the chassis is “okay”. This means: Sargeant can continue to take part on the weekend.
However, it will be “difficult” to rebuild the car in time for FT2 because, among other things, the suspension and gearbox were damaged.
But at least his weekend basically continues.