In the round-up: Pierre Gasly says Max Verstappen’s overtaking move on him during the Dutch Grand Prix was “on the limit” of acceptability.
In brief
Gasly unbothered by dicey battle with Verstappen
Verstappen put a forceful move on Gasly when he overtook the Alpine early in the race. The Red Bull driver nudged his rival at the exit of Tarzan then lunged past him at turn three, putting Gasly wide at the exit of the corner.
The stewards did not investigate the incident, but Gasly was not concerned as he went on to end a two-year podium drought by finishing third.
“It was a wheel-to-wheel battle,” he said. “Max knew that if you push me slightly wider on the paint in the wet, if I put a wheel on there, then I’ll just understeer wide.
“It was on the limit. Yeah, if I [was] in his position and you’ve got to pass a car, you’ll play with the limit and that’s why you will try. So I’m not too fussy about it. It’s just racing, and close racing.”
Current cars too susceptible to tyre damage – Norris
Lando Norris says the damage George Russell sustained in the contact between the pair shows the current cars suffer damage too easily.
The pair went side-by-side into the turn 11 right-hander which is followed immediately by a left-handed hairpin. There was not enough room for both and Norris’s left wheels went off the track before he rejoined fully at turn 12. But in doing so he clashed with Russell.
“The cars are so sharp nowadays, you touch them a little bit and it’s like you have four punctures all of a sudden,” said Norris afterwards.
“It was just good racing, it was close, we were wheel-to-wheel and I feel bad that he came off that way, but there’s nothing I should have done differently.”
Vandoorne gets Peugeot debut in Japan
Former Formula 1 driver and Formula E champion Stoffel Vandoorne will return to sports car racing in next month’s Fuji Six Hours, getting his first outing in Peugeot’s 9X8 hypercar. He has been called up to take the place of Nico Muller, who revealed he suffered an injury to his left collarbone which required treatment from specialists.
Vandoorne said he is “looking forward to team up with Loic Duval and Gustavo Menezes” in Peugeot’s number 94 car. He is usually reserve driver for the team, as well as for Aston Martin and McLaren in F1.
In 2019 Vandoorne did two WEC rounds in its top LMP1 class, finishing third in the Le Mans 24 Hours, and in 2021 did a full season in the second-tier LMP2 class.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Hydraulics issue played a part in Sargeant’s Dutch GP crash (Racer)
‘A hydraulics issue triggered Logan Sargeant’s heavy crash in the Dutch Grand Prix, but the American admitted he had been too cautious fearing an incident after his Saturday error.’
After a troubled edition, now no reports of transgressive behavior in Zandvoort (nu.nl)
‘This year, no reports of transgressive behavior have been received by the police after the F1 race in Zandvoort. The organization tightened up the protocols this year, after several incidents occurred last year. Last year, social media and the organisation received several reports of women who had been harassed. Two people reported the incident to the police. In addition, dozens of victims reported to fan club F1 women with complaints about transgressive behavior.’
Josh Mason to keep PHM Racing by Charouz seat for rest of F2 season (Formula Scout)
‘Josh Mason has confirmed to Formula Scout that he will continue to drive for PHM Racing by Charouz in the remaining rounds of the Formula 2 season. The 21-year-old Briton joined the team last month at Spa-Francorchamps to make his F2 debut, and also raced at Zandvoort last weekend.’
Inside Scott Dixon’s winning strategy at Gateway (Speedcafe)
‘Scott Dixon’s 55th IndyCar win left many on pit road confused, wondering to themselves just how in the world he pulled off another fuel strategy win. Fuel saving has been a trademark of Dixon’s throughout his career, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise that Sunday’s race at Gateway would be won by spending less time on pit road than everybody else.’
‘After a couple of seasons of dramatic gains in ratings, attendance, sponsorship, licensing, private equity interest, stock price, promoter solicitations and overall cultural resonance, F1’s US ratings growth has slowed to a trickle this year on ESPN.’
Correa hoping Zandvoort weekend a turning point for VAR after bittersweet points finish (Formula 2)
‘After his opening lap contact with PREMA Racing’s Bearman and the 10-second time penalty that went along with it, Correa says the hardest part of the race was just keeping the car on the circuit. Plenty of others fell by the wayside after their own dramas, allowing Correa to make back places he’d have otherwise lost.’
Giaffone clinches USF Juniors title at COTA (USF Juniors)
‘DEForce Racing’s Nicolas Giaffone has emerged as the 2023 USF Juniors champion and will earn a scholarship valued at $241,890 to advance to USF2000 in 2024. Giaffone, 18, of Sao Paulo, Brazil and son of IndyCar race-winner Felipe Giaffone, has had a stranglehold on the championship and merely needed to start the second race of a triple-header event at Circuit of the Americas to secure the title. He claimed a record six wins as well as five poles and 11 top-three finishes in the 16-race season.’
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Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Jelle Van Der Meer, Metrium, F199Player and Stefano!
On this day in motorsport
- 30 years ago today Damon Hill took the second win of his career in Belgium, clinching the constructors’ championship for Williams. Home racer Thierry Boutsen made his final F1 start
