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Welcome to Wednesday’s edition of the RaceFans round-up.
Comment of the day
Jacques Villeneuve was disappointed Formula 1 didn’t red flag the final laps of the Canadian Grand Prix so they could attempt a late restart – but @Roger-Ayles says they made the correct call to finish it behind the Safety Car:
I was glad they didn’t throw a ‘for show’ red flag and just allowed the race to run to the end behind the Safety Car.
The incident wouldn’t have been wouldn’t have been a red flag on say lap 10 of the race so there was no reason for it to be a red flag on lap 67.
Late race ‘for show’ red flags just to have a one/two/three/four lap shoot-out just ends up turning the grand prix into a lottery and it just would neither be fair or sporting. This is why traditionally if a major incident caused a race to be stopped late on it wouldn’t be restarted.
George Russell for instance basically dominated that race so if they called a red flag and did a full standing restart where maybe poor grip levels on a dirty part of the track causes him to get a poor start or he maybe gets clipped at turn one or has some other issue simply wouldn’t be a fair or sporting way to end the race not to mention how it would just make the result feel unsatisfying and a bit manipulated from a fans point of view.
@Roger-Ayles
Social media and links
Thai cabinet approves $1.2bn bid to host Formula 1 race in 2028 (Reuters)
‘If successful, the Thai capital would win a contract to host a race each year from 2028 to 2032, government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub told a news conference.’
Norris says the ‘F1′ movie mirrors his rivalry with Piastri after Canada collision (Associated Press)
‘The interesting part, and I think the thing that the F1 movie gets into a little bit more, is how team mates have to be team mates but also how they want to beat one another, and how do you get that balance right? Because if it’s too much one way, it’s not good. If it’s too much the other way, it’s not good. It’s a difficult balance, but that’s part of the sport.’
WEC: #50 Ferrari disqualified from Le Mans (FIA)
‘Post-race scrutineering determined that the car’s rear wing support was “not in compliance with the deflection test indicated in Article 3.8.7 of the 2025 LMH Technical Regulations and the homologation form for car number 50”.’
Ferrari statement following disqualification of 499P number 50 (Ferrari)
‘Given the design of the element, the absence of one or more of these components did not compromise the car’s safety in any way. The subsequent loss of the remaining bolts during the final 37 minutes of the race provided no advantage in terms of performance or the final standings.’
WWTR delivers 95.7 percent TV audience increase on last year’s race (Racer)
‘IndyCar’s primetime Sunday night debut on Fox (…) at World Wide Technology Raceway delivered an average of 1,012,000 viewers.’
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