\u2018Repercussions\u2019 loom after Norris-Piastri clash<\/a><\/p>\nPiastri talks controversial Lando clash | 02:10<\/p>\n
SAINZ STANDS BY COMMENTS THAT WERE \u2018BLOWN OUT OF PROPORTION\u2019<\/p>\n
Spaniard Carlos Sainz stood by his criticism of the television coverage of this month\u2019s Singapore Grand Prix, and added he was unimpressed by the \u201cviral\u201d global over-reaction to his comments.<\/p>\n
He said he had not wished to cause any offence by observing there had been too much focus on celebrities and girlfriends at the expense of the racing on October 5.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy comments were a bit blown out of proportion,\u201d he said before this weekend\u2019s United States Grand Prix in Austin.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that I mentioned the girlfriends, or the WAGs (wives and girlfriends), or whatever you like to call them, brought a bit of spice to the comment and it went more viral worldwide.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Singapore the broadcaster didn\u2019t do a good job. I mean there are other races where they do an incredible job and show us things, incredible things and track action, but for Singapore it was not good,\u201d the 31-year-old added.<\/p>\n
Sainz stood by his comments. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Sainz\u2019s comments were widely published after the Singapore race. A spokesperson for Formula One reacted to Sainz\u2019s observations, defending the sport\u2019s television coverage and said they sought to balance important moments with reactions from grandstands, high profile guests and locations.<\/p>\n
Sainz has been in good form for Williams in recent races and carved through the field on his way to finishing 10th from 18th on the grid at Singapore.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey missed way too much track action, but that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s a criticism of them or the way they do their job,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a shame that on a track where it\u2019s so difficult to overtake, they missed so many on-track battles.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope they didn\u2019t take it personally or take it too hard, because it was just a simple critique of Singapore, which was not good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘Not Oscar!’ Max fires cheeky Norris dig | 01:07<\/p>\n
ALONSO NOT RULING OUT LATE VERSTAPPEN THREAT TO PIASTRI<\/p>\n
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso said Max Verstappen was capable of overhauling Oscar Piastri\u2019s 63-point advantage to claim a sensational fifth drivers\u2019 world title this year.<\/p>\n
The Aston Martin driver did not go so far as to forecast the four-time champion would succeed, but stressed that if anyone could do it, it was Verstappen.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s difficult to say, or to guess, who can win the championship,\u201d said Alonso, speaking to reporters ahead of this weekend\u2019s United States Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe two McLarens have a little bit of an advantage because of the points and I would say it\u2019s between the two of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Max is an incredible driver. He is one of the best drivers in the history of the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s obviously fighting against a superior car, which is the McLaren, but if it comes to the last race or whatever and they are tight on points, maybe in that moment he becomes the man to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alonso also pointed at the increased pressure the title contenders will face in the final six races of the season.<\/p>\n
Verstappen said he was taking it \u201crace by race\u201d and was \u201cnot really thinking about it\u201d when asked about his title challenge.<\/p>\n
McLaren clash on the way to Constructors | 01:06<\/p>\n
HEAT WARNING FOR RACE<\/p>\n
The upcoming United States Grand Prix was declared a heat hazard event, making it the second race in succession to be labelled as potentially dangerous by ruling body the International Motoring Federation (FIA).<\/p>\n
In a statement, race director Rui Marques said an official weather forecast had predicted a heat index higher than 31 degrees Celsius during the sprint and Grand Prix race.<\/p>\n
The announcement, which was also made at the Singapore Grand Prix two weeks ago, enables a rule that allows drivers to take up an option to wear cooling vests that circulate cool liquid to control core body temperatures in their cars.<\/p>\n
The ruling on declaring a heat hazard race was introduced following the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, which left many drivers suffering adversely from high temperatures and humidity.<\/p>\n
But the vests, which are scheduled to be a mandatory feature at heat hazard events next year, are not popular with all the drivers.<\/p>\n
Those that take up the option must have 500 grams of ballast added to their cars in order to avoid any competitive advantage.<\/p>\n
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull explained in Singapore why he did not intend to take a vest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t used it and I am not intending to because I feel like this is a driver\u2019s choice,\u201d the Dutchman said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"British driver George Russell and Italian Kimi Antonelli signed contract extensions with Mercedes for next season, but a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":205975,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[1687,372,6537,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-205974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-f1","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205974"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205974\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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