Wolff: F1 risks protests with "half-baked" flexi-wing tweak
By:
Jonathan Noble
May 20, 2021, 8:31 AM
Formula 1 is at risk of a messy protest situation at the Baku Grand Prix over the ‘half-baked’ delay in imposing new flexi rear wing tests, warns Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.


With the FIA introducing a fresh clampdown on ‘bendy’ wings from the French GP, there is mounting concern from some outfits about the benefits their rivals can get by continuing to run their flexible designs for the next two races.

While the advantage of a flexing rear wing is minimal at this weekend's Monaco GP because of the lack of straights, it could offer a decisive lap time benefit in Baku next month thanks to the ultra-long run out of the final corner.

Wolff does not understand why there has been a four-week delay to the introduction of new tests, and he fears that F1 could end in a messy legal situation if protests are lodged in Baku.

“Delaying the introduction for whatever reason leaves us in a legal vacuum and leaves the door open for protests,” said Wolff at the Monaco Grand Prix.

“It's not only us but it's probably two other teams that are most affected, maybe more, and obviously a protest could end up in the ICA [International Court of Appeal].

“That is a messy situation and can take weeks before we have a result. And we should have not ended in this situation if we're having four weeks until the race that is most relevant in the calendar.”

Wolff understands why an immediate introduction of new tests would have been unfair, but thinks that the delay beyond Baku makes no sense at all.


https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/wo...tweak/6511932/

Practice 2 results

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/57190542

Norris: McLaren expected Ferrari's fast Monaco F1 pace
By:
Filip Cleeren
May 21, 2021, 9:50 AM
McLaren Formula 1 driver Lando Norris says he expected Ferrari to be as quick as it is in Monaco after the Scuderia topped Thursday's second practice session.


Despite sitting out most of Thursday morning's first free practice session with gearbox issues, Charles Leclerc topped the second session at the Monaco Grand Prix, holding off Carlos Sainz for a Ferrari 1-2.

Observers expected Ferrari to be strong in Monaco as its SF21 proved to be very competitive through Barcelona's slow final sector at the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this month, which often provides a good indication of Monaco pace.

Ferrari came good on that early promise on Thursday, with Leclerc topping FP2 with a lap of 1m11.684s, one tenth quicker than teammate Sainz and nearly four tenths up on title rivals Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

While Leclerc said his practice pace seemed too good to be true, Sainz acknowledged after the session that Ferrari "definitely look very close to being a genuine threat".

According to Sainz's former McLaren teammate Norris, Ferrari's strong form was expected.

"After Spain? Yes, for sure," Norris said.

"They were very quick in the final chicane and you always have corners that you know are like Monaco and things like that.

Norris revealed he even texted Sainz earlier in the week, backing the Spaniard to have a chance at winning the Monaco Grand Prix.
Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari SF21

Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari SF21

Photo by: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images

"I texted Carlos before the weekend saying I think he has a good chance of winning," he added.

"I think from our side it's expected, maybe not from the outside or from the viewers, but we know where they are quick, where they're not and this track suits them very well, so not a surprise.

A big points weekend for Ferrari could swing the balance in the constructors' championship, with Ferrari and McLaren embroiled in a fierce battle for third which the Woking outfit currently leads by five points.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/no...-pace/6512705/

'Like riding a dirt bike in a supermarket' - The magic of the Monaco Grand Prix remains intact

https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/3...remains-intact

But there is no telling what fuel loads Ferrari was using compared to the others. Or what engine settings Mercedes was practicing with.

The question mark here was RBR, who should have topped the testing leaderboard based on their performance in Sector 3 at Barcelona. Yet their results underwhelmed.

Still, there are no prizes for practice, and (to paraphrase Kimi) "Thursday is Thursday, Sunday is Sunday".

It seems the entire premise of Ferrari pace is Sector 3 of Barcelona. Possibly they had the 'sweet' set up for Thursday etc. Prac 3 tomorrow is the true indicator. If Ferrari lead it by .3 or more I will then believe lol!

So many unknown factors as you point out.

Stream for qualy! https://cricfree.live/watchfeeds/index/147

Happy qualy day!

Hoping Charlie’s engineers can put his car back together for a great top of the grid tomorrow!

He was blazing out there with Carlos and Max! And where did Bottas pull those laps out of?

Tomorrow is going to be fun. Watch out out for the spoilers. Norris and Vettel are on point.

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That's right! My boy, Charles LeClerc. Hometown pole! Putting Ferrari on his back. Order 66, seal the deal. Crash the car so no one can put in a hot lap after! Pro expert move.



But really, we got a race to win tomorrow GL bro.

Indy red flag rule s/b considered by F1 for future. The shunt by LeCrash took out any chances for MV and VB to take pole as well as others to move up places. They were doing great before the red flag. Now I'm wishing for a big Ferrari fail tomorrow.

Yes as fans we were denied true competition. iF you leave the garage and do cause a red flag on pole or not, you should not benefit from it. That needs to happen now. Carlos, Max or Bottas could have taken pole but Charles crash denied all the chance. Ridiculous.

If you dont finish qualy in full shape you cannot be on pole. Thats a given. Your lap doesnt matter if all others cannot have the same chance to set a time by your mistake.

Im a Ferrari fan but Charles should not be on pole via this situation unless the time was stopped, his car cleared and 2 -3 minutes added for others to complete a lap.

I hear ya, but this is a sport built on a rule book and they did nothing against the rules. Don’t hate the playa! Hate the game!

And we still don’t know about the gearbox, correct?

I also think he didn’t crash on purpose but that’s just my opinion. Go Charlie!

Monaco has a not good tradition for this. I expect a new rule about qualy because of this. There has been some negative press about keeping pole simply by crashing.

Gearbox is to be finally assesed in a few hours by Ferrari. If its in doubt it will be changed. The initial assessment is no damage but they did not power it up significantly. They will need sometime for a change if needed.