Verstappen says rivals are trying to slow Red Bull down
Jun.4 - Max Verstappen says it's "understandable" that Mercedes is "trying to slow us down" by pushing on with the flexible wing saga.
Formula 1 has now arrived at Baku, where Toto Wolff recently warned could be the scene of an official protest against the 'bendy' Red Bull rear wing.
But an unnamed engineer at Alpine - another team affected by the FIA's post-Baku clampdown on wing flexibility - doubts any protest will be lodged.
"We'd be surprised," he told Auto Motor und Sport.
"As long as we pass the current FIA tests, our cars are within the limits of the regulations."
Rumours were swirling in the Baku paddock on Thursday that it could be McLaren, a Mercedes-powered team, who actually pushes the button on a protest.
When asked about rumours that McLaren could protest, team boss Andreas Seidl said: "It depends on what we see on the other cars on Friday and Saturday."
According to the speculation, the basis of the complaint will not be the FIA's new post-Baku clampdown, but the existing rules against move-able aerodynamics.
"The rules say that the aerodynamic parts must be rigid," the Alpine engineer continued. "But that's not a conclusive legal text.
"It's simply in the nature of things that parts on the car bend under load. If you just stick to the wording alone, every car would be illegal."
Aston Martin, a closely Mercedes-aligned team, appears unlikely to protest.
"The FIA has already taken the initiative and implemented countermeasures with the technical directive," a team source said. "By Silverstone, the subject will be a thing of the past."
At Baku, eagle-eyed observers noticed that Red Bull has actually taken a brand new rear wing design to Azerbaijan.
The same observers also noticed that FIA officials have added small yellow stickers to all the cars' rear wings, to help them gauge the level of flex from onboard footage.
Championship leader Verstappen says he is taking the saga in his stride.
"The attention on our cars is understandable, because we're doing a great job," the Red Bull driver told Sky Italia.
"I even understand the complaints - they are just trying to slow us down. But everything has been done within the rules," said Verstappen.
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after practice 2 things are looking good for the bulls 1 and 2.AT 5 and 10.mercedes ha ha plus 1 sec botty plus 2 sec.how can this be.bad batch of tyres again maybe .
post p2 things are looking good for the bulls 1 and 2 AT 5 and 10 yippee
Posted at 13:3413:34
Team radio - Hamilton
I don't know where all the time is.
Sergio Perez (Red Bull, 1:42.115)
Max Verstappen (Red Bull, +0.101)
Carlos Sainz (Ferrari, +0.128)
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari, +0.321)
Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri, +0.419)
Fernando Alonso (Alpine, +0.578)
Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo, +0.826)
Lando Norris (McLaren, +0.903)
Esteban Ocon (Alpine, +0.905)
Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri, +1.015)
Maybe they can ask Redbull?, but its just practice, so not geting carried away
mercedes not in the top ten,im sure sky commentry team will put a good spin on it somehow.to to lying low .ferrari going well on the same tyres
Christy, funny that you mention SKY Mercedes bias. Yesterday, they implied that the FIA had put wing flex monitoring stickers only on RB when, in fact, they were on every car in the field. Not sure whether SKY is pro MB or anti RB, but you are correct about the bias.
i think they are pro MB because of the brit driver .not anti RB.british driver winning something for the british channel.good for the ratings and subscriptions to sky.dont they realise F1 has a universal appeal.
the bias is blatently obvious.it wouldnt do any harm to learn how to pronounce the drivers names too.charles leclerc should sound like charle leclerec.t not charles or charley bloody insulting to the man.
they average 2 M f1 subscriptions per race c4 averages 1.8M
just for highlights
sky is worse for bias than the BBC, and they are bad enough, cant blame the old f1 drivers hill herbert etc, they are getting well paid for it
if they are getting paid well for their opinions they should be honest opinions of an ex F1 driver.herbert and hill are wearing blinkers(union jack blinkers)and would get respect for honest opinions.if the drivers werent contracted to speak to sky i suspect they wouldnt speak to sky at all.some interviews are two faced laughing with a driver,and not long afterwards laughing at the same guy.
I didnt say they were GOOD i just said I cant blame them, but as you pointed out , they are there make f1 on sky look good for the british paying viewers, they wont be contracted to speak to sky persee, but to the media generally, and the drivers generally want the interviews to up there media profile
The world and his dog know herberts a joker, hill, as an ex world champ he should know better,Brundle at least knows what hes on about and has won numerous awards for his f1 coverage its entertainment, and to be fair , if its that bad in your opinion why do you watch it ?
Im not knocking you , just trying to understand your reasoning and understanding, (or lack of it) regarding Sky F1 TV
I dont watch sky as i refuse to pay 45-50 quid a month just to watch one , as i understand it in the usa its a lot cheaper maybe ?
Roll on qualifying............
yes roll on qualifying.ive been a fan of F1 long before SKY came on the scene.i can watch live on sky or highlights later on,on channel 4.i watch it live on sky.sometimes later on ch4 as well.just wish i could listen to unbiased opinions from (experts).is bert a joker or a clown .the race itself is /can b exciting.dont watch pre race or after race commentry once max has been interviewed im off for a spin in the vette