World champion Jacques Villeneuve of 1997 summed up the last Mexican Grand Prix, offering the FIA an option on what would issue the $7 million fine Red Bull Racing must pay for violating financial rules.
Jacques Villeneuve: “There was a really great atmosphere in Mexico City and the race seemed interesting to me, despite the criticism that it turned out to be boring. Some of the interest was sparked by Mercedes’ strategic decisions, which probably should have followed the TV broadcast more closely.
Mercedes has had the best car over the years and has never been cornered. Last Sunday they took defensive positions as Red Bull acted aggressively and attacked. When you defend, your choice will not be decisive – you can only win if your opponents make mistakes.
In the first half of the race it became clear that soft tires remain effective despite full tanks and a muddy track. After fifty laps the cars’ tanks are empty and the traction is improving, so I am surprised by the choice of the Hard compound.
Lewis Hamilton had speed, so why didn’t Mercedes take a chance? Even more disappointing was George Russell, who asked several times to switch to soft tires as he had nothing to lose. Everyone saw how fast Ricciardo is, so this transition was the right decision. Perhaps Mercedes engineers should watch the race on TV more often than on their computers? Max Verstappen won by starting on soft tires and driving confidently.
I liked the race and seemed interesting thanks to Daniel Ricciardo, who bounced back after an incomprehensible attempt to overtake Yuki Tsunoda. I don’t understand racers who, after passing the front wheel of their car with the rear wheel of the opponent’s car, think they can do anything. That’s not how it works. Tsunoda did the right thing by closing the stretch.
Also I don’t understand the fine system – sometimes it’s five seconds, sometimes it’s ten. Consequences shouldn’t count, but they do. Last year Lewis Hamilton was given a ten-second penalty at Silverstone – he understeered, leading to a serious accident. No order.
I don’t think the extra time is an effective penalty, because such a penalty can sometimes encourage the rider to attack harder, as in the case of Ricciardo. He had to work hard, but thanks to his tires he was even faster than Hamilton at one point.
The Red Bull fine was announced in Mexico City, but the decision will not harm the sport. Because McLaren’s hundred-millionth fine in one go didn’t hurt. It is still not clear to me from the FIA ruling and the Red Bull fine what is and is not allowed and what the penalty will be. In addition, if the tax deduction had been taken into account, the excess would have been less than a million. That is why it is difficult for me to judge whether the punishment was severe enough.
In any case, this is not a scam. Lying about traction control is cheating. I doubt whether the budget overrun affected the result this year. Red Bull is so strong that they would have won anyway. I’m more concerned with what the FIA is going to do with those seven million.
For Red Bull this amount does not matter and other teams do not get a cent of this money. A 10 per cent reduction in wind tunnel time is painful, but such a penalty won’t help rivals regain lap times, although some of the fine would. Just divide the money between the teams.”
Source: F1 News
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
