Quotes: Dieter Rencken
In the round-up: Ferrari has closed the gap in power unit development to Mercedes, Force India technical director Andrew Green believes.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix and Formula E Paris on RaceFans
Vettel was at the centre of controversy in Baku last yearThis weekend RaceFans will bring coverage direct from the F1 paddock in Baku and from the scene of round eight of the 2017/18 Formula E season in Paris.
Dieter Rencken will be in Azerbaijan speaking to the F1 drivers and top team members. Last year’s race proved one of the most dramatic of the year and was memorable for a controversial clash between championship contenders Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.
As usual our coverage from the track will begin to arrive on Thursday and will include Dieter’s new daily Paddock Diary throughout the race weekend. Keep an eye out for his new weekly column on Wednesday ahead of the race.
Meanwhile in France reportage from the Paris Eprix will come again from Hazel Southwell. it’s a significant race for several of the French-based teams and local drivers particularly as one of them, Jean-Eric Vergne, is leading the championship. Look out for Hazel’s qualifying and race reports from the scene on Saturday.
In another first for RaceFans in 2018 we are bringing coverage from two different events in the same weekend. This is possible thanks to our advertisers and the backing of RaceFans Supporters. See below for more on how to become a RaceFans Supporter to help us continue expanding and improving our coverage:
What they say
Green reckons Mercedes’ rivals have closed the gap in power unit performance again this year:
For sure the competition has got closer as far as the power unit is concerned. I don’t know where the power units sit now relative to each other, but it’s highly competitive area of the car. Teams like Ferrari have pushed their power unit really hard.
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Lewis and Toto in conversation (Mercedes)
“I want to push it as far as I can, with the lifespan as a driver that I have, that it would take a long, long time for anyone else to catch up. I think it would really upset the red cars and the red team, so that’s my goal…”
‘Overtaking was a lot more fun in 2016’ (Verstappen)
“Since 2017 it’s a lot harder and less fun to really race each other. The breaking distance is shorter and it’s just very hard to follow each other The car can also make unexpected movements and suddenly break out.”
How Haas became a competitive F1 force (Formula 1)
“When we’re doing badly, people will say that we’re just another stupid American team and when we’re doing well, it’s the Ferrari team. That’s not giving credit to the guys who work here.”
Q&A with Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)
“The castle complex of turns 8 to 10 is especially close with the wide cars. Monaco is spacious in comparison.”
Manor boss Booth ends Toro Rosso role (Autosport)
“My involvement with Toro Rosso came to a natural end. Maybe I look too old for Formula 1 now. Is that enough?”
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From the forum
On this day in F1
- Today in 1993 Alain Prost put his Williams on pole position for the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola