Call for rule changes: scorn, ridicule and anger for Vettel’s team boss


Call for rule change
Mockery, ridicule and anger for Vettel’s team boss

It’s not going at Aston Martin, at least not fast enough. Sebastian Vettel’s new team also blames a rule change for this – and hopes that the wheel will be turned back here. However, there is a clear rejection from the competition.

The Formula 1 racing team Aston Martin wants the FIA ​​to adjust the aerodynamics rules. Reason: The team around Sebastian Vettel sees itself massively disadvantaged by the aero rules introduced for the 2021 season in the rear area and on the underbody. AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost waddles the British off for the advance.

Aston Martin team boss Otmar Szafnauer announced that he will hold talks with the FIA ​​around the Emilia Romagna GP in Imola (Sunday, 1.30 p.m. LIVE on RTL). The Vettel team complains that its aerodynamic low-rake concept – that is, a low angle of attack – has led to an unrecoverable deficit under the new rules.

Cars with a high angle of attack (high rake) like Red Bull and AlphaTauri have a clear advantage, says Szafnauer. Industry leader Mercedes, whose W12 is geared to low rake, has also lost ground due to the new rules. The lead over Red Bull has melted. Aston Martin, on the other hand, drove far behind Mercedes with both cars on the first race weekend, even on the first laps of the second race weekend in Imola – even if Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel assured them that “maybe you have.” taken a step forward “.

Cons of the competition

Talks with the FIA ​​are “the right thing,” said Szafanuer. His team tried everything to make up for the gap created by the new rule – according to Aston Martin, this is one second per lap. One World. “We have to work very hard as a team to win back everything that is possible. But at the same time we should discuss with the FIA ​​whether something can be done to make it fairer.” Catching up this second is not possible due to the limited further development in the course of the season.

“We should talk to the FIA ​​about how we could achieve an alignment (of the aero concepts, d. Ed.),” Said Szafanuer. The point is to roll over the entire process of rule changes “so that we can find out what exactly happened and why. Then we can see if something can be done to make things more balanced.” Szafnauer continues: “I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but it was made clear by all of us who drive a small angle of attack that the changes would have a greater effect on us. And that’s how it happened.” The background to the rule change was the official safety concerns of the tire manufacturer Pirelli, which had announced that it would not design any new tires for the current season – and therefore wanted the cars to break in. “But when the changes were decided, Pirelli announced that they would also bring a new tire construction,” says Szafnauer with astonishment.

“Should deal with the story”

Szafnauer receives a bitter rebuff from the competition for his advance: Red Bull motorsport advisor Dr. Helmut Marko Motorsport-Magazin.com scolded: “He should deal a bit with history. What changes we have to accept in our active time,” said Marko. “That has now been done for safety reasons and Mercedes has also managed to get the car off the ground anyway.” The Austrian even had a clear recommendation for action for his colleague: “They just have to make sure that they get the same information from Mercedes. It’s a Mercedes.” The background: Aston Martin’s predecessor team Racing Point had copied the previous year’s Mercedes in 2020 and was even punished with deduction of points for it.

Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto reminds that Ferrari recently had to work through a season without a chance due to a rule change: “We frozen the car to Australia last year and knew that we would perform poorly without having a chance for the rest of the year have “, so the Italian. “It’s part of the game. The rules are the same for everyone, and I don’t think you can say that a concept is better or worse so clearly. I think it’s just a challenge for our designers in the end to make sure we perform as best as possible, no matter what the rules are. “

AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost doesn’t think much of his colleague’s approach either. “The rule change was decided by the technical directors and then again by the F1 commission,” explained the Tyrolean at Sky. He could therefore not understand at all that Aston Martin is now complaining. “I’m also not sure that the rule change is responsible for their problems. This is just talk. You can’t change the rules any way you like it just because your engineers didn’t understand something.” Tenor: The British had backed the wrong horse aerodynamically over the winter and were now moaning because things weren’t going as they had hoped.

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