By Bigryeguy98
Moving on from Jeddah, race two of F1CRL Season Five took place at Paul Ricard Circuit in France. Mirroring the real life calendar but not necessarily the results, Alfa Romeo’s Say took his second victory in as many races. Fivesix2king and Ghost_726 rounded out the podium places, and Aston Martin’s Guitarhero1234 and Isiboy23 captured P4 and P6 in an impressive display of racecraft. The stewards were quite busy with many incident reports and penalties being dished out post-race. With Say pulling ahead in the championship and Bigryeguy98 returning for Hungary, nobody knows how either of the championship battles will turn out. Media team member Bigryeguy98 asked the team principals for their comments on the race and the season thus far.
Absent Bigryeguy98 Critical of Stewards in Post-race Comments
-What is your opinion on how the race at France went?
“I again was unable to attend the race. It was good to see Say win again. Other than that, I didn’t see what happened.”
-There were a lot of incident reports and penalties dished out by the stewards this week. Do you have any thoughts or concerns about any of the steward’s decisions?
“Two of the stewards are team principals. It’s been my long-standing opinion that stewards should be separate from the drivers/team principals.”
-Did any team member’s performance in the last race impress you?
“No.”
-What are your thoughts on Haas/McLaren re-signing fivesix2king one week after releasing him?
“Seems odd, but I couldn’t care less. Just excited to get back on track on Wednesday.”
-The next race is at the Hungaroring. Any thoughts or predictions on how your team will do next week?
“I’m back.”
Solid Points Grab but Still No Cigar For Ghost’s Haas/McLaren
-What is your opinion on how the race at France went?
“From a Haas-McLaren perspective, I’m pretty happy with how it went. Again we were able to put all 4 cars in the points, even though all 3 of my drivers were involved in a spin.”
-There were a lot of incident reports and penalties dished out by the stewards this week. Do you have any thoughts or concerns about any of the steward’s decisions?
“I am a steward, so I’m sure I’m a little biased on this question. But taking a step back, I think they are doing the best they can with limited data points. Unlike real life, we rarely have more than 2 camera views, and never have access to telemetry. Combine that with the fact racing incidents are never black and white, and someone’s always going to be unhappy with the decisions we make. I get being frustrated, but I’d just ask the league to remember we aren’t getting paid, we are doing the best with the limited tools we have, and that we aren’t out to get any one.”
-Why did you decide to release fivesix2king and then re-sign him again? Was there a bit of backroom dealing between yourself, 562, and Juzzzyb?
“My goal all along has been to get 562 as much race time as possible, even if it’s with other teams. I made that commitment when I signed him as a reserve, and I intend to honor it. I heard that juzzy needed a reserve for just this one week, so I released 562 so he’d get another race in. My only ask for juzzy was that he re-release 562 if he wasn’t going to make him a full time driver. But of course he could have ignored that if he wanted.”
-Did any team member’s performance in the last race impress you?
“I was really happy with PCC-Godly’s drive this week. He was involved in an early incident that sent him flying off the track, had to two stop due to starting on mediums, and still finished P5.”
-Did any team member’s performance in the last race concern you?
“Not at all. How can I be concerned about a super-constructor race win, a podium, and all my drivers in the points while technically on recovery drives?”
-The next race is at the Hungaroring. Any thoughts or predictions on how your team will do next week?
“Honestly, I have no idea how it’s going to go. We have limited league runs here, so there’s really no past performance to look at. Couple that with the fact we might have a couple drivers out, and I’m left with more questions than answers.”
Assists-less Jmtitan10 Off the Pace, but Hope For Williams in SSPoTs
-What is your opinion on how the race at France went?
“Could have gone better for me personally but it seemed like an interesting race overall with the dry to wet strategy choices.”
-Why did you decide to get rid of the waiver system? Based on this, do you have any thoughts on Haas/McLaren re-signing fivesix2king after releasing him last week?
“It’s more important to me that drivers are where they want to be than the teams being even (which is kind of the draw of a waiver system). I think the driver market will work itself out as drivers go to the teams/spots that make the most sense for them. 562 can do whatever he wants and I’m glad he’s in a situation he thinks is ideal for him.”
-There were a lot of incident reports and penalties dished out by the stewards this week. Do you have any thoughts or concerns about any of the steward’s decisions?
“No comment.”
-Did any team member’s performance in the last race impress you?
“SSPoTs had a really good race. He has great pace and I can’t wait to see what he continues to do this season.”
-Did any team member’s performance in the last race concern you?
“No, I think we have a great group. My performance is the only one that needs a step up.”
-The next race is at the Hungaroring. Any thoughts or predictions on how your team will do next week?
“I think it could be good for us. If HAL gets better luck than he’s had, he could easily join SSPoTs in the points this week.”
Juzzzyb Voices Concern Over FiveSix2King Flip-Flop Back to Haas/McLaren
-What is your opinion on how the race at France went?
“We were able to bring home a few points for RedBull with a late pick up of fivesix2KING. Unfortunately both AlphaTauri boys got caught up in accidents, but overall the race went well and it wasn’t a driver parade for more than half of the race.”
-What are your thoughts on Ghost_726 re-signing your driver fivesix2king after releasing him just last week?
“Ghost must have a need for him, so it’s good to see him get picked up again. It would be a shame for that talent to sit on the sidelines and not be used.”
-There were a lot of incident reports and penalties dished out by the stewards this week. Do you have any thoughts or concerns about any of the steward’s decisions?
“Part of me wants to shout out ‘No Jeff, no, no this is so not right’, but at the end of the day we went motor racing and these things will happen.”
-Did any team member’s performance in the last race impress you?
“Moose had a great race and fight with Aleix ultimately gaining 7 positions. Fivesix2KING had a good race, but we all knew he had the pace for that 2nd place at the start of the race.”
-Did any team member’s performance in the last race concern you?
“No concerns from my end. RecklezzXV had a good quali, but unfortunately ended up being a byproduct of another incident and fell down the order.”
-The next race is at the Hungaroring. Any thoughts or predictions on how your team will do next week?
“Hungaroring has never been a strong track for myself, so I don’t hold a lot of hope for getting points. We’ll put our heads down, get to practicing and hopefully run the best race possible.”
Double Points Boost William Lebowski in Midfield Battle
-What is your opinion on how the race at France went?
“Aside from people forcing moves that didn’t fit against our teams, it went very well! Very happy to see both Aston Martins scoring points!”
-There were a lot of incident reports and penalties dished out by the stewards this week. Do you have any thoughts or concerns about any of the steward’s decisions?
“Stewards talk about wanting a league that races clean but don’t always penalize incidents.”
-Did any team member’s performance in the last race impress you?
“I was very impressed with the results and improvements from all drivers on Aston Martin and Alpine!”
-Do you have any thoughts on Haas/McLaren re-signing fivesix2king one week after releasing him?
“Not my monkey, not my circus.”
-The next race is at the Hungaroring. Any thoughts or predictions on how your team will do next week?
“I see more success coming to Aston Martin as they are focused and really dialing it in. And I’m predicting improvements for Alpine this week.”