By Bigryeguy98
Race three of F1CRL Season Five took place at the Hungaroring in Hungary. Another race on the calendar that mirrors the real life calendar, it was an action-packed race with plenty of newcomers. Ferrari’s Bigryeguy98 returned from a two race hiatus to take pole and the race victory. McLaren welcomed Vols8840 where he rewarded the team with a P2 finish in his first race. KB got his first podium with Alpine after being dramatically released from Alfa Romeo one day before the race. Media team member Bigryeguy98 asked the team principals for their comments on the race and the season thus far.
Bigryeguy98 Returns to Victory for Ferrari, but Off-Track Drama Casts Shadow Over Alfa Romeo
-What is your opinion on how the race at Hungary went?
“I returned from a hiatus to take pole position and the race win. I had great battles with Say and Vols which was nice to see. I can’t ask for much more.”
-You released KB one day before the race at Hungary. Please give some insight into why you did this?
“I released KB because I wanted to pick up ThugHughes, who is very fast, but I also wanted to ensure KB got a full-time seat somewhere. I didn’t want KB to rot in the Alfa Romeo reserves. It seems he’s picked up the pace since patch 1.06 which is great to see. We still message regularly and I’m hoping he continues to find pace in this season. I’m glad Juzzzyb offered him a full-time seat at Red Bull. It seems he’s quick enough to throw a much-needed wrench in the title fight with Haas/McLaren.”
–Do you think releasing KB in the manner you did sends a signal to your drivers that their seat is not safe? That you’d throw them away if they weren’t performing?
“This is something I considered, yes. At the end of the day I felt the reward was worth the risk. Some may disagree or use this to clown me in the chat, but the performances on track will do the talking.”
-Did any team member’s performance in the last race impress you?
“I came back from a two race hiatus and my banker lap was enough for pole position. The race wasn’t comfortable with Vols showing he has great race pace, but the pole/win by that margin wasn’t something I expected.”
-Now that the season is underway, it looks like both of your teams are in the championship battle. Will team orders be issued at any point during the season?
“I don’t plan on it currently. I can envision specific scenarios later in the season where team orders could make sense to maximize points for a specific driver or team, but that’s not the case at the moment. Ferrari and Alfa Romeo are free to race responsibly.”
-The next race is at Miami. Any thoughts or predictions on how your team will do next week?
“Track drives like dog water and dish soap but both Ferrari and Alfa Romeo should be competitive.”
Newcomer Vols Gets Maiden Podium, But Haas/McLaren Lose Ground to Ferrari/Alfa Romeo (Ghost_726)
-What is your opinion on how the race at Hungary went?
“I’m pretty happy with it. Hungary is a tough track, so another podium and 3 cars in the points is pretty solid.”
-You picked up newcomer Vols8840 and he picked up P2. Tell us your thoughts on how Vols fits into your team?
“We found ourselves with 2 full time drivers out, and only 1 reserve on the roster. After reaching out to a couple of league reserves with no success, I found vols, who was gracious enough to help us out. For that he’s got a spot in the Haas McLaren paddock as long as he wants.”
-Does the qualifying pace gap between your teams and Ferrari/Alfa Romeo concern you at all?
“Not at all. I think everyone expected that team to have the best qualifying pace, so it’s nothing to be surprised or concerned about.”
-Now that the season is underway, it looks like both of your teams are in the championship battle. Will team orders be issued at any point during the season?
“Nope. Our modus operandi has always been the same. No team orders, but don’t fight your teammates, especially if you’re on different strategies. If they’ve got the pace to get past you, let them go.”
-The next race is at Miami. Any thoughts or predictions on how your team will do next week?
“I expect it’s going to be another difficult race, and could have some chaos similar to Jeddah. I think it suits most of the guys on my team well, but doesn’t suit me quite as well. So I expect to be the weak link.”
Impressive Race by HAL9100 Gives Points Boost for Mercedes Midfield Battle (Jmtitan10)
-What is your opinion on how the race at Hungary went?
“Overall I think it went well. It was nice to have Big Rye back and competing up at the front with Vols and Say (pre-empty fuel tank) and I saw quite a few good battles throughout the field. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the season goes.”
-You are committed to racing without assists, but you’re also off the pace. Do you think your insistence on running no assists is costing your team championship places?
“I probably am costing us points, but the hope is that in the long run this makes me a better driver, and hopefully i’ll recoup all those points down the road when i’m the best sim racer on the planet.”
-Did any team member’s performance in the last race impress you?
“HAL finally got a good result which was nice to see. He’s had great pace all year but has had some bad luck. It will be interesting to see how competitive he is with the top guys as the season progresses.”
-Did any team member’s performance in the last race concern you?
“No, I think overall we’re showing some promise. I think as we all continue to get some more time with the game we have some real points potential.”
-The next race is at Miami. Any thoughts or predictions on how your team will do next week?
“I can’t speak for the other guys but I’m running my first-ever laps at Miami today (Saturday before the race)… it could be a long race on wednesday night for me…”
Major Shake Up at Red Bull/Alpha Tauri After Hungary Crash, Says Juzzzyb
-What is your opinion on how the race at Hungary went?
“It was brainless, Cars colliding seems a deja-vu. It’s absolutely not what we want. We are looking like a bunch of idiots and it’s disrespectful to the people who work their nuts off to prepare the cars and this is why it needs to end. It seems that talking doesn’t bring us any further so we need to think about all possible solutions and go as far as implementing the not very popular team orders.”
-Will team orders be issued at any point during the season?
“This is on the table now. This is what we are going to discuss, because maybe it’s the only way we can manage the situation. I hate team orders, we owe it to the fans to let them race but if every race ends up in a collision between team-mates, it’s not what we want. It could easily have been a double DNF.”
-Did any team member’s performance in the last race impress you?
“Despite being part of an inter team accident, Bode was able to put in a solid recovery to come home in p11 and make up 3 places on his starting position. Overall though, it’s hard to be too impressed by a driver who ran into his teammate.”
-Did any team member’s performance in the last race concern you?
“The crash between Bode and Moose was extremely disappointing. We had one rule at the start of the season and that was to not crash into your teammate or sister team. They are both to blame for this, and it’s the team that unfortunately lost out. They have got to show the team and each other respect and give each other space, they’ve been reminded that they have a responsibility in the role they perform, that they are both highly paid individuals, to act with the team’s interests at heart, not just their own.”
-What are you hoping KB brings to your team as a full-time driver?
“We’ve seen KB perform consistently well over the last couple of seasons. we’re hoping he can bring some morale to the team after our Hungary woes and keep Red Bull firmly in the midfield.”
-The next race is at Miami. Any thoughts or predictions on how your team will do next week?
“We have had some major shake ups between the two teams. With Bode causing an incident between himself and Moose, he has been benched for the week as punishment and we are putting KallMeMaybe in his place to hopefully show Bode how it’s done and bring some points for AlphaTauri. I’ll be taking a step back and filling in the RedBull reserve driver role after taking on KB-0_07 as our new full time driver. He’s a solid performer and Alfa Romeo’s loss will be our gain.”
William Lebowski Leaving F1CRL at the End of the Season?
-What is your opinion on how the race at Hungary went?
“I think overall Hungary went well. It’s a very unassuming track that looks more technical than it is. But it seems like the entire field had ups and downs during the race, just like we did.”
-You picked up KB from Alfa Romeo and he picked up a podium. Are you happy with his performance?
“Of course I am happy with how KB performed. But I am more happy for KB than with KB. After he was dropped it did not look like he was going to have a full time ride for the rest of the season. We had an empty seat at Alpine and he agreed to fill it. And KB used the moment to really shine! I’m glad his performance was able to grab the attention of Jutty at Red Bull, KB deserves a full time ride.”
-Did any team member’s performance in the last race impress you?
“I am impressed with isi’s performance to come up through the field and finish just outside the podium, then lost positions due to a penalty (that wasn’t applied to everyone who did the same thing). I am impressed with guitarhero’s ability to stay calm after being taken out at the start (of which the perp wasn’t punished more severely for an opening lap incident that is stated in the rule book). I am very happy that KB was able to grab a podium after jumping into a new team. And I am very happy with the progress that Steven is making, very soon they will be challenging finishers for points.”
-Do you have any thoughts on Ferrari/Alfa Romeo releasing KB in order to sign ThugHughes?
“I don’t really know anything about ThugHughes, but if Ferrari/Alfa feel like KB’s spot should be given to them there is clearly a lot of potential there because KB is a very worthy competitor.”
-The next race is at Miami. Any thoughts or predictions on how your team will do next week?
“I think it’s going to be important for everyone to manage expectations for this race. We are going back to another street circuit with some very tight corners. I’m sure there will be incidents.”
-You’ve been critical of the stewarding decisions recently. What would you change in order to improve the league?
“From Jeff down to the stewards, it has been made very clear that they have no interest in improving the league or attracting new people. Even being hostile to me for disagreeing with poor stewardship and pointing out legitimate ways to improve the system. Why ask someone to join on as a principal if you are just looking for the same experience you already have? Why should I put effort into this if it is not welcomed, wanted, or appreciated? Why should anyone care about the races if there is not going to be any consistency from management on penalties? Why would anyone practice if stewards are just going to rule based on emotion and not rules in the rule book or precedents? I’ve been vocal about some very basic adjustments that would improve the experience of the league, but apparently there is no room between what already exists and PSGL.
This will more than likely be my last season involved with F1CRL because they’ve made it abundantly clear they want to continue racing the same people they already have. They don’t want to enforce rules that will force drivers to race more cleanly. And they don’t want to have to “spend more admin time” than they already do. Fine by me, I’ve got a team full of people who would appreciate it if I spent more time practicing for seasons full of endurance races than being talked down to by Ghost like I’m a child that has no idea what I’m talking about. So congratulations to everyone who jumps down my throat in chat, I’ve muted the server, I will communicate attendance to Jeff, and I will only speak with my teams for the remainder of the season.”