LANCE STROLL AT CENTRE OF FRESH F1 CRITICISM FROM RIVAL DRIVER WITH PENALTY SYSTEM QUESTIONED – F1 NEWS ROUND-UP

Tuesday’s F1 news sees fallout continue from the “concertina” crash of Lance Stroll into Daniel Ricciardo, with the normally sanguine Oscar Piastri offering critique.

Elsewhere, Ferrari will be changing up their colour scheme for the Miami Grand Prix, another bidder wants a race from 2027 and much more…

F1 news: Oscar Piastri’s blunt assessment of Lance Stroll crash

While Daniel Ricciardo retired as a result of being punted by Lance Stroll prior to the Safety Car restart in China, Oscar Piastri was also hit by Ricciardo as a result – damaging the rear of his McLaren and costing him time on the day.

Unsurprisingly, then, he was not best pleased about the nature of the incident which took place on Sunday.

Conceding that those ahead of them had braked early, the McLaren driver told the media in Shanghai: “But everyone else didn’t crash into each other.

“I think in that kind of corner you always kind of need to expect that.”

Pundit argues in favour of disqualification in Stroll/Magnussen circumstances

Multiple 10-second penalties were given out on Sunday, one for Stroll for his collision and another for Kevin Magnussen for his contact with Yuki Tsunoda.

Spanish F1 commentator Antonio Lobato believes that, given Fernando Alonso was handed three penalty points and a 10-second penalty for minor contact with Carlos Sainz, the severity of the other incidents mentioned should have merited a worse punishment – perhaps even disqualification.

“I don’t want to be a pest with this topic, but it makes my blood boil,” he told SoyMotor.com.

“I’m looking at the penalties applied during the Chinese GP and I see that Kevin Magnussen has been given a 10-second penalty and two points on his Super Licence for a suicidal manoeuvre on Yuki Tsunoda and ruining his race after destroying his car.

“Lance Stroll has been given a 10-second penalty and two points, just two, on his Super Licence for crashing into Ricciardo and Piastri. And you ask yourself: ‘Did they change the stewards between Saturday and Sunday?’. How is it possible that the judgement measurement has changed!”

Toto Wolff’s theory for Mercedes W15 performance swing

With the Mercedes W15 showing up different levels of performance from session to session, Toto Wolff has offered his theory on why that might be.

“I think the car is a difficult car to set up and difficult to drive, and that is why you have these oscillations in performances in my opinion,” he told the media in Shanghai.

“I think where the car is, where Lewis’s car was in the race, was certainly far away from the optimum and it is driving on a knife-edge.

“So, what is it? This is where we are.

“For Miami we are bringing some new bits, and it will be interesting to see how they are going to perform there.”

A home Grand Prix for Alex Albon, perhaps?

The prime minister of Thailand has confirmed he has held a meeting with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali over the prospect of a street race in Bangkok.

The Thai government say they would be looking to join the calendar in 2027 if a deal should come to pass with themselves and Formula 1, with tourism and job opportunities a key focus for their administration.

Writing on X [formerly Twitter], prime minister Srettha Thavisin said: “Thailand has the potential to host Formula One in Bangkok. If it is successful, I am confident that our country will be one of the hosts of the competition that creates the most impression with its potential and facilities and the friendliness of Thai people.

“I sincerely hope that this trip to Thailand to explore the possibility of expanding the Formula One competition in Thailand will allow the company to gain insights and survey and study the route that shows Thailand’s potential to host a Formula One competition. The Thai government is ready to fully facilitate.”

A blue Ferrari in Miami?

Ferrari will be reviving two shades of blue used in the 1960s for the Miami Grand Prix next time out, as the brand celebrates a landmark anniversary of their arrival in the American market.

Two classic shades of Ferrari blue – Azzurro La Plata and Azzurro Dino – will take their place in a special livery which their F1 2024 car, the SF-24, will sport at the Miami Grand Prix.

Azzurro La Plata, the lighter shade of blue and Argentina’s national racing colour, closely resembles the colours worn by Ferrari racing legend, two-time F1 World Champion Alberto Ascari, while later race suits worn by the likes of John Surtees, Lorenzo Bandini, Ludovico Scarfiotti, Chris Amon and Niki Lauda all sported this shade of blue.

Azzurro Dino meanwhile, the deeper shade of blue, was most recently worn by Clay Regazzoni in 1974, after which the classic red synonymous with Ferrari took over – and we cannot wait to see the results of it.

2024-04-23T21:25:16Z dg43tfdfdgfd