New color for Ferrari from Barcelona?
Don’t worry, F1-75 will of course stay red! However, our Italian colleagues report that the Scuderia was able to adjust the color a bit again – to save weight.
Because Ferrari is currently still overweight. And the new color is said to save up to 700 grams. Incidentally, Ferrari is already said to have the lightest color in the entire field.
As part of the Barcelona update, however, they would like to push a little more …
32 years ago today …
… Riccardo Patrese won the 1990 San Marinos Grand Prix in Imola. The special thing about it: It was Patrese’s first victory since the South African GP in 1983! With a waiting time of more than six years, he easily came to P1 in our photo series:
Photo gallery: Top 10: The longest time between victories in the race
Speaking of Russell …
Along with the world championship Leclerc, the Briton is the only rider this year to have completed all 285 laps in the previous five races. He is also the only rider to finish all races in the top 5.
On the teams, Mercedes is still ahead with 569 out of possible 570 laps. Only one lap is missing from Hamilton in Imola, where he was stuck at the back of the field and was rounded.
“Hamilton is looking for excuses”
Expert Tim Coronel is not impressed with record world champion Lewis Hamilton this year. He told our Dutch colleagues from ‘Motorsport.com’ that the Mercedes driver was looking for “excuses” this year.
“Hamilton is too busy with his piercings, jewels and other nonsense,” he says, referring to the current debate over the jewelery ban. Meanwhile, teammate Russell let his performance on the field speak.
While impressed by the Mercedes newcomer, Hamilton should focus on “real racing” rather than off-track issues, according to Dutch 1994 Citroën AX Cup champion.
More conspiracy theories …
… we have collected for you in this photo series! Since the Maldonado number is not even the craziest …
Photo Gallery: The Greatest Formula 1 Conspiracy Theories
Today ten years ago …
… Pastor Maldonado celebrated a completely surprising victory at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2012. It was Maldonado’s only Formula 1 victory and to date the last triumph for Williams in Formula 1.
For some observers, however, the victory in Barcelona still seems Spanish – in the truest sense of the word. Because Maldonado only got to points five times in 20 races that season.
Apart from his Spanish victory, he has never finished better than number five in his entire Formula 1 career. In addition, Maldonado was already more than 1.5 seconds faster than teammate Bruno Senna in qualifying.
The Assumption: The victory was a “gift” from Bernie Ecclestone to Frank Williams for his 70th birthday. A mysterious box fire after the race fueled rumors.
Whether there really were “special tires” for Maldonado at that time will never be clarified …
© Motorsports pictures
Speaking of Ferrari …
Also an info from our Italian colleagues: Ferrari is arranging a so-called film day in Monza today. Leclerc is scheduled to run on the F1-75 track between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Ferrari’s largest construction site is currently top speed. This should be improved with the Barcelona update. Maybe you want to use the movie day to gather some data here.
However, the possibilities on such a day are manageable: Only 100 kilometers are allowed on special Pirelli demo tires.
Then it’s Friday …
Hello and welcome to a new edition of our Formula 1 live ticker. Before the European season really gets underway with the back-to-back races in Barcelona and Monaco, the premier class is taking another break this weekend. Of course, we’re still working on a ticker for you today!
Ruben Zimmermann accompanies you through the day at this time. If you have any questions, suggestions or complaints, you can use our contact form. You can also find us on Facebook, TwitterInstagram and YouTube, and if you have any questions, use our Twitter hashtag #FragMST.
Here you can again read our live ticker from Thursday!