Button wants puncture answers
BAR-Honda star Jenson Button hopes that tyre supplier Michelin gets to the bottom of its Belgian Grand Prix tyre failures before testing begins at Monza tomorrow (Wednesday)
Button was one of three Michelin drivers to suffer high-speed right-rear tyre failures at Spa on Sunday, while Toyota test driver Ryan Briscoe had a left-rear deflation in free practice on Friday that caused a heavy shunt. This week's testing is being held at Monza - the fastest track on the F1 calendar.
"Hopefully they'll find out [the cause]," said Button. "You can't go racing like this, being unsure whether the tyre is going to last or not. You don't crash at 200mph unless you have a failure, and it was obviously a big shock.
"It's a pretty serious problem if you have four people have failures, and at over 200mph it can be very dangerous. It needs to be sorted out before we test [at Monza] even, not just before the race."
Michelin motorsport director Pierre Dupasquier has already launched an investigation into the Spa blow-outs, but admitted on Sunday that it was "bizarre" that all three punctures occurred at different times in the tyre's lifecycle. The kerbs on the exit of La Source seemed the most likely culprit, however.
The tough balancing act facing Schumacher’s Netflix film producers
Michael Schumacher is the latest sporting superstar to get the ‘Netflix treatment’, with a special documentary film airing on the US streaming giant’s platform this month. DAMIEN SMITH has the inside track on how the filmmakers gained access to tell the human story behind one of Formula 1’s most publicity-shy champions - while the man himself, for obvious reasons, is in absentia…
The times that suggest Verstappen should be confident of F1 Russian GP recovery
For the second race in a row, Mercedes has ended the first day of track action on top. It’s in a commanding position at the Russian Grand Prix once again – this time largely thanks to Max Verstappen’s upcoming engine-change grid penalty. But there’s plenty to suggest all hope is not lost for the championship leader at Sochi
The ‘backwards step’ that is the right move for Formula 1
OPINION: With its days apparently numbered, the MGU-H looks set to be dropped from Formula 1’s future engine rules in order to entice new manufacturers in. While it may appear a change of direction, the benefits for teams and fans could make the decision a worthwhile call
The floundering fortunes of F1’s many Lotus reboots
Team Lotus ceased to exist in 1994 - and yet various parties have been trying to resurrect the hallowed name, in increasingly unrecognisable forms, ever since. DAMIEN SMITH brings GP Racing’s history of the legendary team to an end with a look at those who sought to keep the flame alive in Formula 1
Why the 2021 title fight is far from F1's worst, despite its toxic background
OPINION: Formula 1 reconvenes for the Russian Grand Prix two weeks after the latest blow in ‘Max Verstappen vs Lewis Hamilton’. While the Silverstone and Monza incidents were controversial, they thankfully lacked one element that so far separates the 2021 title fight from the worst examples of ugly championship battles
How F1’s other champion to emerge from 1991 thrived at Lotus
Mika Hakkinen became Michael Schumacher’s biggest rival in Formula 1 in the late-90s and early 2000s, having also made his F1 debut in 1991. But as MARK GALLAGHER recalls, while Schumacher wowed the world with a car that was eminently capable, Hakkinen was fighting to make his mark with a famous team in terminal decline
The forgotten F1 comeback that began Jordan’s odyssey
Before Michael Schumacher – or anyone else – had driven the 191 (or 911 as it was initially called), Eddie Jordan turned to a fellow Irishman to test his new Formula 1 car. JOHN WATSON, a grand prix winner for Penske and McLaren, recalls his role in the birth of a legend…
The squandered potential of a 70s F1 underdog
A podium finisher in its first outing but then never again, the BRM P201 was a classic case of an opportunity squandered by disorganisation and complacency, says STUART CODLING
