Hakkinen comments on Bottas rumors, backs Hamilton over team orders

4 Comments

Two-time Formula 1 world champion Mika Hakkinen is not surprised by speculation linking protegé Valtteri Bottas away from Williams for 2015.

The Finn has been the breakout driver of the season so far, scoring three podium finishes and the majority of Williams’ points. After a difficult 2013 campaign with a troublesome car, Bottas has now flourished and met the expectations that many had for him.

Naturally, this has led to speculation about his future, with British newspaper The Guardian linking the Finn with a move to McLaren for 2015. For Hakkinen, this comes as little surprise.

“This is quite natural,” the Finn wrote in his column for Hermes. “Valtteri is still a young driver who has been in Formula 1 for only a short time.

“Valtteri is interesting not only because of his speed; he can motivate the others in the team and manages to create an atmosphere, as it is necessary for success.

“There is interest and that is good. What happens in the future remains to be seen.”

Hakkinen also gave his support to Lewis Hamilton following the Briton’s decision to ignore team orders during the Hungarian Grand Prix. Hamilton was given the call to let teammate Nico Rosberg past as they were on different strategies, but did not allow him to do so. He eventually finished the race ahead of Rosberg, cutting the German’s championship lead to eleven points.

“Nico had the greater pace and softer tires, so the team thought Lewis should let Nico past for the best result,” Hakkinen wrote. “Lewis, of course, looked and noticed that Nico was not close enough in the rear-view mirror.

“He probably worked out that it made no sense to let Nico past because he would lose two seconds and a place on the podium. In my opinion, Lewis was right.”

Roger Penske discusses flying tire at Indy 500 with Dallara executives: ‘We’ve got to fix that’

0 Comments

INDIANAPOLIS – Roger Penske spoke with Dallara executives Monday morning about the loose tire that went flying over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway catchfence and into a Turn 2 parking lot.

The left-rear wheel from Kyle Kirkwood’s No. 27 Dallara-Honda was sheared off in a collision at speed as Kirkwood tried to avoid the skidding No. 6 Dallara-Chevrolet of Felix Rosenqvist on Lap 183 of the 107th Indianapolis 500.

No one seriously was hurt in the incident (including Kirkwood, whose car went upside down and slid for several hundred feet), though an Indianapolis woman’s Chevy Cruze was struck by the tire. The Indy Star reported a fan was seen and released from the care center after sustaining minor injuries from flying debris in the crash.

During a photo shoot Monday morning with Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden at the IMS Yard of Bricks, Penske met with Dallara founder and owner Gian Paolo Dallara and Dallara USA CEO Stefano dePonti. The Italian company has been the exclusive supplier of the current DW12 chassis to the NTT IndyCar series for 11 years.

“The good news is we didn’t have real trouble with that tire going out (of the track),” Penske, who bought Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2020, told a few reporters shortly afterward. “I saw it hit. When it went out, I saw we were OK. I talked to the Dallara guys today. We’re going to look at that, but I guess the shear (force) from when (Rosenqvist’s) car was sitting, (Kirkwood’s car) went over and just that shear force tore that tether. Because we have tethers on there, and I’ve never seen a wheel come off.

“That to me was probably the scariest thing. We’ve got to fix that. We’ve got to fix that so that doesn’t happen again.”

Asked by NBC Sports if IndyCar would be able to address it before Sunday’s Detroit Grand Prix or before the next oval race at Iowa Speedway, Penske said, “The technical guys should look at it. I think the speed here, a couple of hundred (mph) when you hit it vs. 80 or 90 or whatever it might be, but that was a pinch point on the race.”

In a statement released Monday to WTHR and other media outlets, IndyCar said that it was “in possession of the tire in Sunday’s incident and found that the tether did not fail. This is an isolated incident, and the series is reviewing to make sure it does not happen again. IndyCar takes the safety of the drivers and fans very seriously. We are pleased and thankful that no one was hurt.”

IndyCar provided no further explanation for how the wheel was separated from the car without the tether failing.

IndyCar began mandating wheel suspension tethers using high-performance Zylon material after a flying tire killed three fans at Charlotte Motor Speedway during a May 1, 1999 race. Three fans also were struck and killed by a tire at Michigan International Speedway during a July 26, 1998 race.

The IndyCar tethers can withstand a force of more than 22,000 pounds, and the rear wheel tethers were strengthened before the 2023 season.