F1 team leaders have spoken out about the drama that took place at the F1 GP in Las Vegas, with Frédéric Vasseur and Toto Wolff reacting quite violently.
After all the hype surrounding the F1 GP in Las Vegas, things didn’t start out particularly well, with the FP1 session ending after nine minutes when the water valve cover came off due to high speeds. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz’s car, which caused the red flag, suffered the most damage, while Alpine’s Esteban Ocon also sustained damage to his chassis.
Ferrari had to replace the chassis and the third ES, which suffered damage to the underside. This resulted in a grid penalty and there was discussion of special circumstances, but to no avail. Despite the rider’s good pace, Vasseur was quite agitated throughout the day.
He called this an “unacceptable” situation, but did not appreciate the generosity of the entire event. Mercedes’ Wolff, Williams’ James Vowles and McLaren’s Zak Brown agreed. They wanted to separate the two sides of things.
When the reporter described the situation as “rubbish”, not only Vasseur but also his partner Wolff spoke highly. Mercedes F1 bosses have made fun of him and generally not everyone appreciates the efforts Liberty has made to get his media to Las Vegas.
This is what was said –
Thoughts on fiasco –
Vasseur: “He said that in the air I hit something on the truck and he didn’t know exactly what it was. I think it was. The situation has completely damaged the monocoque, engine and battery, and I think this is in no way acceptable. This is good, we don’t need a bigger picture than this. That’s what we’re talking about today. I don’t know if it was a very tough FP1. This costs a lot of money. I ruined Carlos’ session. Tuning the car required changing the car’s chassis. Well, a show is a show and everything is going well, but I think this is totally unacceptable for F1 today. I still believe this event is huge for F1. This happened in Monaco a few years ago. I remember Baku 2019. I remember having several such occasions. But again, I am still convinced that he was already convinced before FP1 that this event is a mega event for his F1 and that he must continue in this direction.
“I also remember when we started playing music in the stands at Zandvoort, and everyone had to do the same thing after the race. Maybe it was a step in the right direction from Las Vegas. “I think so. And probably not everyone does.”It’s the same standard, but we’re going to go in that direction in terms of shows and entertainment and things like that. But we also have to take care of the sports side. That’s a completely different story. Not because I’m putting on a show, you know what I mean…I’m definitely frustrated. I’m also scared because Carlos hit a piece of metal at 320mph and it could have been much worse. ”
Wolf: “It’s not a black eye. It’s nothing. I have free training session 1 left on Thursday evening, but I haven’t completed it. They covered the drain. We’ll close it, and in the morning no one will talk about it… (interrupted by another reporter indicating it’s a garbage situation) Did you ask a question? Absolutely ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous! FP1, the new standard, How can you say anything bad about an event that sets new standards for everything? And then we’re talking about the drain cover being opened, and that’s happened before. It’s nothing. This is FP1.
“We salute the people who founded this Grand Prix and made this sport bigger than ever.” Have you ever spoken well or written a nice word about someone? All the people who were here should be investigated. Liberty did a great job. And you shouldn’t complain if the drain cover came loose in FP1. My car broke down, I’m really sorry. It could have been dangerous for Carlos and there needs to be an analysis between the FIA and the circuit on how to prevent something like this from happening again. But I’m talking about black eyes from Thursday night sports. No one sees it on European time anyway. ”
Vohles: “Perhaps I should add that we don’t judge ourselves by what happens in the last 30 minutes, but by what happens when the checkered flag drops on Saturday. Please.”
Talk with stewards –
Vasseur: “I was there and I talked to them. It’s a strange feeling because, first of all, I don’t think we did anything wrong. .We have to pay a huge price for this. On top of that there is also the penalty knowing that we are fighting for the championship and 10th place is a great achievement. Now, in order to get the job done and come back, I have to stop thinking about it. We have good pace so we need to focus on qualifying and then deliver a good race. I don’t have time to discuss this. I don’t think it’s the team’s decision to say we’re going to allow them to do this or that. If someone wants to go in a different direction tomorrow, it’s a different story. We’re not trying to set any records here. But it was definitely a big race as we had to replace the chassis, engine, battery and gearbox and build a new one. The mechanic did a good job. ”
Tracking delayed tests –
Vasseur: “No. As you understand, I’m a little frustrated and I don’t want to draw any conclusions at this moment. It’s certainly difficult to understand, but that’s the fact. I think we will discuss this later and try to improve the system. However, I am still a little shocked and would rather remain silent at this point.”
What makes you happy –
Vasseur: “It’s a donation, right? No, that’s not what I’m saying. That’s what it is. We know this is a sporting event and this I know something like this can happen: FP1 could be bad. Now I have to pick up on the weekend that I have to find a solution. Track time is very important in this type of event. A new track, a new track for the riders, and a new track for us. That said, from a sporting perspective, it would have been a huge loss for Carlos to miss FP2, but we also have to bear in mind that the situation could have been much worse. I’ll do my best on the weekend, but it’s a long road, but I know that every detail counts. But don’t forget to donate. ”
F1 cuts corners to make the event bigger –
Vasseur: “You don’t have to mix everything. I think the show is great and I’m very happy with Liberty’s performance during the race. I think this is a big step forward for F1. So you have to separate the show from the sport. The show is mega. I was at the paddock club yesterday when the ceremony took place and it was probably unlike anything I’ve seen at Magny-Cours in 2008. But , No, seriously, I think this was a huge deal for F1. However, just because you are doing that doesn’t mean you don’t need to work in sports or other fields. I think they are different things. And I don’t want to mix things up and say, sorry for the expression, but they failed on the sports side because they were putting on a show. That’s not true. He can put on a show and do a good job athletically. They are two different things. ”
Brown: “No, I think every time an incident happens, you have to first resolve it and then look back and say, ‘Why did that happen?'” That I think it’s unfair and hasty to conclude that the corner was shortened, whether there was a problem or not, whether there was an issue with the track or an issue with the car. You know, this has happened before – it happened in Baku, I remember when it happened many years ago at a sports car race in Montreal. So it’s an unfortunate event. I don’t think it’s because I didn’t try hard or cut corners. It’s just that they got it wrong in some way. For now, we need to focus on solving the problem. And then you have to look back and ask yourself, “How could this have gone wrong?” And I’m sure it’s a technical issue that will be resolved. But they spared no expense throughout the event. So I think they just misunderstood it. ”
Vowles: “In my opinion, something like this happened in Monaco as well, if I remember correctly, on the circuit and on the circuit where cars ran for many years. I think.” Importantly, these cars generate enormous suction power down below. And the brakes I saw, the pictures I saw, it wasn’t a lack of care, it was a big force that they weren’t expecting. I’m sure we can work things out, but like Zach said, I don’t think it’s about cutting corners. I think the intention here was to make this great show. That’s it! However, I just want to make sure I understand all the details correctly. Reflect and understand what you can do to ensure things stay on track for upcoming new events. ”
This happened in FP1 of the F1 Las Vegas GP
What happened in FP2 of the F1 Las Vegas GP
