Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin: 'Our bigger concern is around the pace. It's been another hot race, and we were giving the rear tyres too much of a hard time. We therefore suffered from poor grip and degradation throughout. We've got to get on top of that quickly as there are a lot of hot races coming up and we can't continue to perform at this level.'
Oliver Bearman: 'We were in a really good position going for a one-stop race so when the VSC came out, we switched onto the medium tyre, and I was coming out behind Russell and he was (seventh), so we were on for a good race, but my wheel wasn’t attached properly in the pit stop.'
Frederic Vasseur: 'In the closing stages, we asked Charles to give back position to Alex Albon, because it was very close and if he had been given a penalty, we would have lost four or five places.'
'A promising one-stop strategy was undone by the timing of the Virtual Safety Car which dropped both Fernando and Lance outside the points. With hindsight, we could have pitted again under the VSC, but we did not want to sacrifice track position.'
Andy Cowell: 'A promising one-stop strategy was undone by the timing of the Virtual Safety Car which dropped both Fernando and Lance outside the points. With hindsight, we could have pitted again under the VSC, but we did not want to sacrifice track position.'
Andrea Stella: 'With Oscar (Piastri), we deviated to a two-stop strategy. Had the hard tyres behaved just a little bit better, this would have been a strong strategy, but that’s something we have to judge with hindsight.'
Nico Hulkenberg: 'Unfortunately, the safety car towards the end of the race was of no help for us. At the restart I was surrounded by faster cars, and I was unable to keep Yuki (Tsunoda) or Fernando (Alonso) - on fresher tyres - behind me. In the end, everything combined to prevent us from scoring points.'
'The McLaren Development Driver went from fifth on the grid and made several important passes throughout the race in crucial moments to earn the victory. Hitech TGR team mates Luke Browning and Dino Beganovic rounded out the podium places.'
'The Van Amersfoort Racing driver made the decisive move three laps to the end of the race to achieve his first Formula 3 feature race win and his second victory of the season. Camara wound up in third behind his late-charging team mate Noah Stromsted in (second).'
Incredible respect and commitment to all the drivers this year. Tricky conditions all week, cars more on edge than previous years. Everyone pushing the limits again and again without giving up. Love the spirit of this race #500
The reason for the SC rather than the VSC is because Kimi was parked further up the hill than Ocon’s and they then struggled to wheel the car towards the closest opening (They were able to push Ocon’s car quickly and easily) so had to call for a vehicle to recover the car which had to come from Acque Minerali.
The vehicle was then not permitted to go onto the circuit until all cars were in formation behind the SC which obviously took a little longer as cars pitted. There was then the time for it to get to the car, recover it and go back to where it was originally positioned and then lapped cars were not allowed to begin to unlap themselves until it was back behind the barriers.
The nature of the circuit been fairly narrow around that section and a bit blind with the crest of the hill and with the safety vehicle having to drive on the circuit throughthe exit of Piratella probably also played into them been a bit more cautious than usual with when they permitted it to be on the track.
And then given it was only Bearman that needed to unlap himself with relatively few laps left the decision was taken to allow him to catch the back of the train rather than restart with him on his own half way around the circuit so that process took 2 laps rather than 1.
Spot-on regarding everything.
I was initially surprised by the full SC rather than VSC, like in Ocon’s case.
I quickly realized Antonelli’s precise stoppage location was the contributing factor, as his car was further away from the closest emergency exit than Ocon’s, combined with the recovery vehicle having to enter the circuit & from around Acque Minerali rather than the Tosa-Piratella interval.
I didn’t realize the marshals were struggling to move his car, per se.
Bearman was indeed the only one who needed to unlap himself since the other three who’d gotten lapped shortly before the SC deployment (Colapinto, Lawson, Bortoleto) got back on the lead lap via pitting a lap later than Max.
They were close to end up lapped again when they rejoined the track from their pit stops with the SC & Max approaching the pit exit & so where the Aston Martin duo, for that matter.
I also partly realized the delay in letting Bearman unlap himself, but that continued a bit even after the recovery vehicle had returned behind its emergency exit location.
At least he was allowed to fully catch the pack as per the rules, as one full lap post-unlapping is required.
This is just not good enough for an F1 race. No recovery vehicle nearby? Drivers just carelessly parking their car wherever? To lose so many laps, upend strategic games, for this? It’s a huge turnoff. This was the first live race I watched in a long while, and it’s save to say it’ll be back to highlights for the foreseeable future.
MichaelN Antonelli indeed carelessly parked his car unnecessarily far away from an emergency exit, which ultimately forced the use of a recovery vehicle that had to be sent from Aque Minerali.
Parking where Ocon parked would’ve been better for everyone, as in that case, VSC would’ve been enough to cover his car removal.
He had zero reason to continue driving further down the Tosa-Piratella interval.
Besides, teams have received a track map showing precise emergency exit locations since the Japanese GP, so the team should’ve informed him to park as next to an orange-marked exit hole.
I think they need to either tighten up some of the procedure or introduce some changes to help speed it up. Perhaps set up a “high danger” area in the mini sectors surrounding where the incident has happened where cars proceed as normal, possibly with enforced requirement to be as far away from an incident as the track allows (ie stay driver’s right if the incident is on the left to give marshals and recovery vehicles as much space as possible) and over the rest of the track other procedures can be dealt with if practically possible, such as allowing lapped cars to unlap themselves.
Craig FIA should simply start handing out sanctions to teams if a driver doesn’t park his car beside an orange-marked exit hole when retiring from a race or sprint on the trackside.
All of this already happens in sportscar racing. F1 is way behind the times as usual, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t much care to do better since they seem thoroughly sold on the idea that a SC makes a race exciting. See the recent attempt to make standing restarts the norm. And that went well.
I read that the main reason they chose the actual SC over the VSC was that they could not put the Mercedes to the closest gap in the fence as that space was already occupied by Ocons car and there was only space for one car. So they needed a recovery vehicle to put it elsewhere. Did you hear anything about that? Because clearing the exits in the barrier could surely be a fix for the next time that should prevent ridiculously long SC periods for just one parked car without endangering anyone.
Pretty simple choice, since drivers using Russian licences are urgently banned. Shwartzman raced under a Russian licence – since driving under an Israeli licence is legal it’s not surprising that he switched (he could apparently race under a neutral flag instead but having been born in Tel-Aviv it’s understandable that he’d choose to represent another country). All of that said he was also raised in part in Italy so may qualify for Italian citizenship under residency rules.
Regardless, it’s was an extremely impressive performance. 1st oval race of any kind and he’s on pole, first rookie in 42 years to qualify on pole while driving for a team in their 1st Indycar season.
GT Racer (@gt-racer)
19th May 2025, 0:44
Regarding COTD.
The reason for the SC rather than the VSC is because Kimi was parked further up the hill than Ocon’s and they then struggled to wheel the car towards the closest opening (They were able to push Ocon’s car quickly and easily) so had to call for a vehicle to recover the car which had to come from Acque Minerali.
The vehicle was then not permitted to go onto the circuit until all cars were in formation behind the SC which obviously took a little longer as cars pitted. There was then the time for it to get to the car, recover it and go back to where it was originally positioned and then lapped cars were not allowed to begin to unlap themselves until it was back behind the barriers.
The nature of the circuit been fairly narrow around that section and a bit blind with the crest of the hill and with the safety vehicle having to drive on the circuit throughthe exit of Piratella probably also played into them been a bit more cautious than usual with when they permitted it to be on the track.
And then given it was only Bearman that needed to unlap himself with relatively few laps left the decision was taken to allow him to catch the back of the train rather than restart with him on his own half way around the circuit so that process took 2 laps rather than 1.
Jere (@jerejj)
19th May 2025, 6:03
Spot-on regarding everything.
I was initially surprised by the full SC rather than VSC, like in Ocon’s case.
I quickly realized Antonelli’s precise stoppage location was the contributing factor, as his car was further away from the closest emergency exit than Ocon’s, combined with the recovery vehicle having to enter the circuit & from around Acque Minerali rather than the Tosa-Piratella interval.
I didn’t realize the marshals were struggling to move his car, per se.
Bearman was indeed the only one who needed to unlap himself since the other three who’d gotten lapped shortly before the SC deployment (Colapinto, Lawson, Bortoleto) got back on the lead lap via pitting a lap later than Max.
They were close to end up lapped again when they rejoined the track from their pit stops with the SC & Max approaching the pit exit & so where the Aston Martin duo, for that matter.
I also partly realized the delay in letting Bearman unlap himself, but that continued a bit even after the recovery vehicle had returned behind its emergency exit location.
At least he was allowed to fully catch the pack as per the rules, as one full lap post-unlapping is required.
MichaelN
19th May 2025, 8:05
This is just not good enough for an F1 race. No recovery vehicle nearby? Drivers just carelessly parking their car wherever? To lose so many laps, upend strategic games, for this? It’s a huge turnoff. This was the first live race I watched in a long while, and it’s save to say it’ll be back to highlights for the foreseeable future.
Jere (@jerejj)
19th May 2025, 13:07
MichaelN Antonelli indeed carelessly parked his car unnecessarily far away from an emergency exit, which ultimately forced the use of a recovery vehicle that had to be sent from Aque Minerali.
Parking where Ocon parked would’ve been better for everyone, as in that case, VSC would’ve been enough to cover his car removal.
He had zero reason to continue driving further down the Tosa-Piratella interval.
Besides, teams have received a track map showing precise emergency exit locations since the Japanese GP, so the team should’ve informed him to park as next to an orange-marked exit hole.
Jere (@jerejj)
19th May 2025, 13:15
I don’t know how I got ‘as’ before next.
S Arkazam
19th May 2025, 14:56
Often the result of your fingers touching the buttons with the letters on them ;)
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
19th May 2025, 13:58
Cool. See you then. Most people who watch live every week get safety is paramount and whilst frustrating, isnt as important as someones life.
Craig
19th May 2025, 8:22
I think they need to either tighten up some of the procedure or introduce some changes to help speed it up. Perhaps set up a “high danger” area in the mini sectors surrounding where the incident has happened where cars proceed as normal, possibly with enforced requirement to be as far away from an incident as the track allows (ie stay driver’s right if the incident is on the left to give marshals and recovery vehicles as much space as possible) and over the rest of the track other procedures can be dealt with if practically possible, such as allowing lapped cars to unlap themselves.
Jere (@jerejj)
19th May 2025, 13:09
Craig FIA should simply start handing out sanctions to teams if a driver doesn’t park his car beside an orange-marked exit hole when retiring from a race or sprint on the trackside.
MichaelN
20th May 2025, 7:58
All of this already happens in sportscar racing. F1 is way behind the times as usual, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t much care to do better since they seem thoroughly sold on the idea that a SC makes a race exciting. See the recent attempt to make standing restarts the norm. And that went well.
BasCB (@bascb)
19th May 2025, 11:48
Thanks for filling in the details a bit there @gt-racer.
roadrunner (@roadrunner)
19th May 2025, 23:30
I read that the main reason they chose the actual SC over the VSC was that they could not put the Mercedes to the closest gap in the fence as that space was already occupied by Ocons car and there was only space for one car. So they needed a recovery vehicle to put it elsewhere. Did you hear anything about that? Because clearing the exits in the barrier could surely be a fix for the next time that should prevent ridiculously long SC periods for just one parked car without endangering anyone.
S Arkazam
19th May 2025, 8:40
Good weekend for German motorracing:
Tramnitz winning the F3 sprint race;
Schwartzman on pole for the Indy500; and,
Hermann winning in F1.
Jere (@jerejj)
19th May 2025, 13:11
Except the Shwartzman name is written without ‘c’ & he competes under an Israeli racing license.
us-brian (@us-brian)
19th May 2025, 13:40
I believe Shwartzman is Israeli/Russian. Name might sound German but he does not have any German connection.
S Arkazam
19th May 2025, 16:34
I’ll let myself out (of the stand-up comedy club).
The conundrum of which passport to use when identifying yourself.
skydiverian (@skydiverian)
20th May 2025, 0:05
Pretty simple choice, since drivers using Russian licences are urgently banned. Shwartzman raced under a Russian licence – since driving under an Israeli licence is legal it’s not surprising that he switched (he could apparently race under a neutral flag instead but having been born in Tel-Aviv it’s understandable that he’d choose to represent another country). All of that said he was also raised in part in Italy so may qualify for Italian citizenship under residency rules.
Regardless, it’s was an extremely impressive performance. 1st oval race of any kind and he’s on pole, first rookie in 42 years to qualify on pole while driving for a team in their 1st Indycar season.