Formula 1

[Efini92]

There was time to do it immediately. As noted above, Antonelli managed it.

There wasn't even a hint of attempting to give it back. Even a radio message from MV asking if he had to give the place back might have helped his cause.

I suspect they took the gamble as hoping the running in the fresh air would allow him to pull away.
There may have been a radio message that was never broadcast.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Apr 2025 ==

Very commendable performance by Norris after qualy shambles and actually very stoic in the car with well deserved P4 although I thought he'd blown it when he was put under investigation but kept his head down.

He could’ve been on the podium had he not squabbled with Hamilton, was quite surprised he fell for the second drs line twice. Especially after the Hamilton/verstappen squabble in 2021.

 

[najaB]

There may have been a radio message that was never broadcast.

Given the intense interest and impact of the time penalty they would have broadcast it, even if after the fact.

 

[Efini92]

Given the intense interest and impact of the time penalty they would have broadcast it, even if after the fact.

They seem to be a law unto themselves with the broadcasts. It’s being reported that verstappen’s response to the 5 second penalty, which was starred out, was not not a profanity.

 

[JD2168]

Very commendable performance by Norris after qualy shambles and actually very stoic in the car with well deserved P4 although I thought he'd blown it when he was put under investigation but kept his head down.

I did think that Norris was not learning after the first time with Hamilton, to have it done again was a bit embarrassing. Also you only had to watch previous races on video to see what happens when you overtake into the last corner & concede the DRS to the other driver.

Definitely not Lando’s finest weekend

 

[CharlieSpotted]

They seem to be a law unto themselves with the broadcasts. It’s being reported that verstappen’s response to the 5 second penalty, which was starred out, was not not a profanity.

It was "bloody lovely" wasn't it?

Which, if 'bloody' is an offensive word at all, is very mild. My reference point on this is always Ofcom's reasearch "Public attitudes towards offensive language on TV and Radio" which found (in 2021) that 'bloody' was 'Mild: unlikely to cause concern in most circumstances, requiring limited context.'

The research is here, if anyone fancies something simultaneously nerdy and sweary to read:

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/research-and-data/tv-radio-and-on-demand-research/tv-research/offensive-language-quick-reference-guide.pdf?v=326908

 

[Cloud Strife]

I wonder if the safety car coming immediately afterwards was a factor? Even if Red Bull thought a penalty was coming, they couldn't hand back under the safety car as there's no overtaking allowed.

It shouldn't have been a problem to radio Race Control and ask them for authorisation to return the place under the safety car. It could easily have been coordinated without any danger, and I think the real issue is that Red Bull don't know if Max actually would return the place or not.

All they really had to do was say "Hey, Race Control, we think we gained the place illegally, should we return the place and can we do it under the safety car?".

The FIA get a lot of criticism, but Race Control works flawlessly in most cases without anyone ever noticing what is happening.

 

[Tetragon213]

The FIA get a lot of criticism, but Race Control works flawlessly in most cases without anyone ever noticing what is happening.

I feel that it's a bit like IT; if you're doing your job great, no one ever notices.

 

[dcbwhaley]

I feel that it's a bit like IT; if you're doing your job great, no one ever notices.

Or, as the old joke has it : doing a good is like peeing yourself when wearing a dark suit - you feel very warm inside but nobody notices

 

[DarloRich]

Finally caught up with the SA race - I don't know what Verstappen is moaning about. He cut the corner. Same as always. It is his usual start tactic which is always followed by a radio statement that " he pushed me off" - I am glad he is finally getting pinged for what has been going on for ages.

Even giving the place back he could have easily won that race. Silly.

 

[dcbwhaley]

Great race last night with a good result.
Hats off to Lando for giving the place back to Max without prompting

And it is looking like Lewis made an Alonso type mistake in changing to a team with inferior machinery and inferior tacticians

 

[SynthD]

And it is looking like Lewis made an Alonso type mistake in changing to a team with inferior machinery and inferior tacticians

He moved teams for 2026, the same as several other drivers.

 

[dcbwhaley]

He moved teams for 2026, the same as several other drivers.

Did he not have the otion of staying with Mercedes?

 

[JamesT]

Did he not have the otion of staying with Mercedes?

He did have a two year contract from 2023. But it had a break clause allowing to leave halfway through.
Comparing the 2024 cars, going from Mercedes to Ferrari didn’t look daft. As @SynthD says, a lot of focus will be on next year’s cars with the new regulations. Being part of the team this year will allow Hamilton to influence the new car.

 

[Cloud Strife]

And it is looking like Lewis made an Alonso type mistake in changing to a team with inferior machinery and inferior tacticians

I wouldn't call it a mistake at this point in his career. Ferrari are still a huge and powerful brand no matter how many mistakes they make, and Lewis is incredibly savvy when it comes to marketing and personal branding. He knows fine well that being a Ferrari driver as a seven time world champion in the twilight of his career will open even more doors for him, as witnessed by him chairing the Met Ball.

He still wants to win, but this was a very calculated business move. Staying with Mercedes just wouldn't have given him the same opportunities, and from his personal branding point of view, finishing 8th in a Ferrari is no worse than finishing 3rd in a Mercedes, as winning is everything and second is nothing.

 

[dcbwhaley]

I wouldn't call it a mistake at this point in his career. Ferrari are still a huge and powerful brand no matter how many mistakes they make, and Lewis is incredibly savvy when it comes to marketing and personal branding. He knows fine well that being a Ferrari driver as a seven time world champion in the twilight of his career will open even more doors for him, as witnessed by him chairing the Met Ball.

He still wants to win, but this was a very calculated business move. Staying with Mercedes just wouldn't have given him the same opportunities, and from his personal branding point of view, finishing 8th in a Ferrari is no worse than finishing 3rd in a Mercedes, as winning is everything and second is nothing.

I doubt that many drivers would agree that a place on the two lower steps of the podium, with the associated trophy, is "nothing"

 

[JD2168]

Oliver Oakes has resigned as Alpine Team Principal with immediate effect, this comes in the wake of increasing speculation that Franco Colapinto will replace Jack Doohan at the next race, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola. Alpine have also not had the best start to the season in 2025.

 

[Efini92]

Oliver Oakes has resigned as Alpine Team Principal with immediate effect, this comes in the wake of increasing speculation that Franco Colapinto will replace Jack Doohan at the next race, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola. Alpine have also not had the best start to the season in 2025.

Alpine seem to be haemorrhaging staff at the moment. Who’d have thought Briatore would be back on the pit wall.

 

[PG]

Alpine seem to be haemorrhaging staff at the moment.

Maybe they've fitted a turbo to the revolving door at Enstone - pointing in the direction of Cadillac!

Who’d have thought Briatore would be back on the pit wall.

err, well Flavio for one...

 

[DarloRich]

next change at Alpine: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/articles/c9858ngl144o

Argentine Franco Colapinto will drive for Alpine for the next five grands prix, replacing Jack Doohan.

it has been coming!

 

[sannox]

5 races. Vote of confidence there- perhaps depends on amount of money he costs in cars. Alpine are a shambles.

 

[JD2168]

Max Verstappen has won the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix with Oscar Piastri in second & Lando Norris in third. Going into the Tamburello chicane Max was third behind George Russell on the opening lap but went around the outside of Piastri to take the lead.

The race was a good one as there was overtaking & differences in strategy as softer tyres were used this year than previous. A VSC was used when Ocon retired & the full Safety Car later on when Antonelli retired.

The Ferrari’s recovered from their poor qualifying to finish in fourth & sixth with an impressive Alex Albon in fifth for Williams

 

[DelW]

Max Verstappen has won the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix with Oscar Piastri in second & Lando Norris in third. Going into the Tamburello chicane Max was third behind George Russell on the opening lap but went around the outside of Piastri to take the lead.

Unless something has been overturned, it was 1 Verstappen - 2 Norris - 3 Piastri.

I agree with the rest of your post though:

The race was a good one as there was overtaking & differences in strategy as softer tyres were used this year than previous. A VSC was used when Ocon retired & the full Safety Car later on when Antonelli retired.

The Ferrari’s recovered from their poor qualifying to finish in fourth & sixth with an impressive Alex Albon in fifth for Williams

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Mandatory two stop race for Monaco, I believe... but will that make any real difference unless someone botches a pit stop?

 

[PG]

Mandatory two stop race for Monaco, I believe... but will that make any real difference unless someone botches a pit stop?

I suppose it offers the opportunity for strategists to gamble on effectively a one stop, hoping to have enough gap behind them to make a 'free' penultimate lap stop for the final set of tyres?

 

[DarloRich]

Max Verstappen has won the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

By overtaking fairly on the first corner - he doesn't need to cheat to win!

A VSC was used when Ocon retired & the full Safety Car later on when Antonelli retired.

A bit of inconsistency there though? Basically the same incident in the same place with 2 different outcomes

The Ferrari’s recovered from their poor qualifying to finish in fourth & sixth with an impressive Alex Albon in fifth for Williams

A good response by Ferrari and a good show by Williams. Aston qualified well but fell away

 

[sannox]

A bit of inconsistency there though? Basically the same incident in the same place with 2 different outcomes

I think Ocon stopped at a better point and car was rolled back by marshals hence VSC. Antonelli required a recovery tractor to be used hence safety car (they may also have moved it uphill rather than where Ocon's was but not seen that).

That said the safety car did seem to be out a long time, but they followed protocol which is what everyone wanted after Abu Dhabi. I do agree it took too long to get field bunched and get going again for a minor incident. Seeing Bearman waste time unlapping was unsatisfactory too.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Mandatory two stop race for Monaco, I believe... but will that make any real difference unless someone botches a pit stop?

It will make more of a difference as there’s more tactical flexibility. What we’ve seen there the last few years is the leader drive as slowly as possible. This wasn’t to protect the tyres exactly, more that it was to prevent the cars being him from having a gap in clear air to pit into. If you can’t get clear air you can’t undercut.

For a one-stop this works perfectly, but when there’s two stops there’s more opportunity to try different things. I don’t actually think it’ll make that much difference but we’ll see.

 

[Darandio]

Half way through and it's somehow made the Monaco spectacle worse. Wasn't sure that was possible.

 

[66701GBRF]

Not that it would have made a difference in hindsight, but it is boggling to me why they did not remove the free pit stop under a red flag for this race with the 2 mandatory stops rule.

 

[JD2168]

Lando Norris has won a sometimes confusing Monaco Grand Prix with Charles Leclerc in second & Oscar Piastri in third.

The confusion came from the pit stop regulations which forced each driver to make 2 pit stops during the race. Racing Bulls then Williams manipulated the race by drivers driving deliberately slowly to enable gaps for pit stops to take place. This didn’t make for great viewing making drivers go multiple seconds off the pace.

Towards the end Max Verstappen who finished fourth left his second stop to the end in the hope of a red flag which didn’t come. This did bunch up Norris, Leclerc & Piastri making an interesting finish.

Mercedes after a difficult qualifying failed to score any points.

Only retirements were Pierre Gasly who hit the back of Yuki Tsunoda & Fernando Alonso with a power unit failure.

The next race is the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona where the regulations on wing flexibility change.