Q: Why doesn’t F1 have one car go out at a time to qualify, or even just some number less than 20? There are always issues with someone holding someone else up. The time taken to do three qualification sessions could even still be less if one car went out at a time (for example, one lap to warm up and two laps to post a quali time). For all the ways F1 is advanced in technology, prestige, etc., the qualifying is pretty laughable.
Brian
CHRIS MEDLAND: F1 used to do exactly this, but it was deemed boring and I can understand why. You had spells where cars that had no chance of qualifying at the front were on track, and you’re watching them fight for 18th or 19th. But it also meant an unfair advantage for some, especially those running last with the best track conditions (or if rain was coming in then the worst).
Having them all out on track together helps ensure they all have the same chance, which is how it should be in my opinion. Monaco is always going to be a problem and is perhaps the one track where drivers should be split into two groups to reduce traffic, but once Q1 is done then it’s always less of an issue anyway.
Q: Jak Crawford has a lot of talent and started the season strong, but has been struggling lately. He is in the Aston Martin driver development program, which doesn’t seem promising given the current driver lineup in F1. He had a test with the FE Andretti team. He is only 19 years old. Where do you see him going in 2025? Back to F2? Sports cars? IndyCar? FE? do you still think he has a chance in F1?
Paul Hirsch, Westlake, OH
CM: Good timing on mentioning Jak, as he has been testing F1 machinery this week and I’ll be speaking to him about it in Montreal. He’s had a few tough weekends with reliability and team errors, but the good thing is the F2 championship is still wide open so there’s plenty of chance to make amends in such a long season.
If he impresses Aston in his F1 tests and doesn’t win the F2 title this year then perhaps they will back him for a further season in F2 to win the championship, but otherwise it becomes tricky as he’s not really in the F1 conversation quite yet with all the movement this year.
I’d hope he would take on a reserve role with Aston Martin, carry out plenty of testing in the same way Jack Doohan has been doing, and have a chance to still earning a future drive if one opens up. I always prefer to see drivers racing as part of that sort of schedule, but it doesn’t appear to have hurt Doohan’s chances — at the moment, at least.
The FE links with Andretti could be good on two fronts as well, not only to give him a chance at a race seat in that series if he needs it, but also to put Crawford in the frame if Andretti does get an F1 team in future and is looking at American driver options.
Q: I think it is time that F1 changes its red flag rules to be like American racing series, where you are not allowed to touch the car during red flag periods. Giving teams a free pit stop and allowing others to repair cars that were damaged and would have been out of the race is crazy.
The present policy of allowing these repairs and tire changes has ruined many a race. While it may have not changed who won Monaco this year, it would have changed the finishing order as Sainz and Gasly would have been out.
What are your thoughts on this?
Mark B., Floral City, FL
CM: On the whole I agree with you Mark, especially relating to tire changes. The reason they are allowed though is because teams say it’s a safety requirement. I spoke to Mario Isola about it last week and a number of teams found cuts in their tires after a big crash at a past race, and said it was proof that they needed to change their tires under the red flag to avoid a failure on the restart.
When you have safety as the basis for a rule, it’s always tough to change it, but I think it should be that you’re only allowed to change like-for-like tires (so the same compound) rather than do what happened in Monaco, which is change compound and then never need to stop again. That means strategies aren’t ruined by red flags, and pit stops still need to be made under some form of racing condition.
When it comes to damage repairs, I think I prefer teams being able to work on their cars in that sense. It can be very impressive to see, but also it’s usually the case that it’s better to have more cars in the race than not. Of course there are times it backfires and potentially a race-changing bit of damage is addressed that helps the dominant car win, but in general I think it’s better to allow that and have more cars out there.
Q: How the hell does NASCAR penalize the driver who threw a punch after being wrecked, but not the driver who intentionally used his car as a weapon in the All-Star Race? I know NASCAR is hesitant to assign penalties for on-track incidents. I have heard the phrase “let the drivers police themselves” used many times on broadcasts. Well, as far as I am concerned, Ricky Stenhouse followed through with the NASCAR policing policy as a pit lane confrontation was the only retribution Kyle Busch was going to receive for the intentional and dangerous act. NASCAR’s reaction? The guy who threw a punch is penalized and Kyle Busch goes scot-free!
Busch’s on-track actions could have injured several people. What a screwed-up system. NASCAR is the only major racing series in the world that acts in this fashion. At some point a driver is going to be seriously injured and NASCAR will be responsible. When will NASCAR start doing what every other racing sanctioning body does and start handing penalties out, at least for intentional actions?
Bill M, Austin, TX
KELLY CRANDALL: NASCAR penalized Ricky Stenhouse Jr. because he had a cooling-off period between the time of the on-track incident and the fight. Matt Crafton faced the same penalty for the fight with Nick Sanchez at Talladega Superspeedway last year. NASCAR views heat-of-the-moment confrontations differently. As for Busch using his car to retaliate on Stenhouse, in this case NASCAR did not see the contact as egregious or as intentional as everyone else did. But a week later Austin Hill was penalized for staying on Cole Custer’s bumper down the backstretch at Charlotte Motor Speedway and wrecking him under caution. They are always judgment calls from NASCAR and they don’t always get them right, or at least the way many others would have reacted.
Q: What is the deal/debate/holdup with Kyle Larson’s waiver? If he skipped the Cup Series to race IndyCar every other weekend, it would make sense exclude him from the playoffs. But he had every intention of starting in Charlotte, and I fail to see what the benefit would be of penalizing him.
This was an opportunity to compete in the, largest, most historic, and most prestigious event in American auto racing. Larson did nothing but represent NASCAR and stock car racers in this event with class and dignity. NASCAR racers deserve to be represented in the Indianapolis 500, and it’s frustrating to imagine that this stupid waiver system might penalize Larson, and discourage similar attempts, robbing fans of the chance to see their drivers represented at such a major event (not to mention playoffs).
Braxton
KC: NASCAR has not spoken about the waiver and why it is taking so long to make a decision, so it’s only speculation at this point. [ED: Larson’s waiver was granted as this week’s Mailbag was being put together]. The argument, possibly, could be made that he didn’t have the intention of starting at Charlotte because he didn’t. The choice was made to stay in Indianapolis when weather moved in and it became apparent that he would not make the start of the Coca-Cola 600. Perhaps, that is part of what NASCAR is caught up — choosing to run another series instead of coming to Charlotte when Hendrick Motorsports and Larson had been previously saying that NASCAR was the priority.
However, I can see arguments on both sides about how many waivers NASCAR has granted in the past, how this is a rare circumstance of not competing in the Cup Series race, and so on. It seems NASCAR is debating all those arguments behind the scenes right now as well since a decision hasn’t been made when I think everyone in the industry, and the fan base, assumed it would be granted as soon as it was requested. Larson isn’t being penalized; it comes down to whether NASCAR enforces what the rule book says.
Q: I was going to tune into the Cup race at WWTR after IndyCar was over with, only FOX had the Cup race on FS1, which I don’t get because (gestures at the crazy high cable fees). In its place on prime-time FOX was… pickleball. Seriously. FOX chose pickleball over the Cup race? How did FOX get the rights to any NASCAR race in 2025 if they are choosing pickleball over NASCAR?
John
KC: From what I hear, pickleball is becoming quite popular. I know nothing about it nor does it interest me, but that seems to the word around social media. Anyway, I cannot offer any insight into why television networks make the decisions that they make and I don’t work for a network to have any idea on how those decisions would be made. Fox Sports paid a lot of money to have broadcast rights to NASCAR and make whatever choice they want, though.
Q: With the news of SHR closing down, it’s sad that an organization that was looking like it could be the next JGR or HMS is soon to no longer exist, and the lack of involvement/interest from the ownership can be blamed for the demise in my opinion.
Finally, what absolute heartbreak on the final lap for Ryan Blaney to go from cruising to a win to being the last car on the lead lap! Just an absolute gut punch. I also want to say that Austin Cindric deserves many congratulations for his win. Granted his win came at through misfortune of his teammate Blaney. Cindric had a fast car all race long and was up there all race. He deserves to be talked about for a positive performance, especially a win!
Kevin, Arizona
KC: I disagree that a lack of involvement and interest from the ownership group at Stewart-Haas Racing is the sole reason for its impending closure. The organization has gone through a lot of changes over the years including personnel, drivers, and losing multiple big-time sponsors. There was also the huge investment of the Next Gen car. I think the joint statement from Tony Stewart and Gene Haas was pretty straightforward about how much it takes to run a successful team and both being at a point in their lives where they need to move on.
Austin Cindric was fast all weekend and was there to capitalize when the race fell his way. That doesn’t happen without a fast car, good strategy, and being in the right place at the right time. It was job well done by everyone on the No. 2 team and a much-needed day. The team is fully capable of more days like that, but it just hasn’t jived the last two years.
THE FINAL WORD
From Robin Miller’s Mailbag, June 3, 2015
Q: There is often discussion about increasing the personal profile of the drivers. I’ve often felt that the drivers should lose the sunglasses when being interviewed on television. I’m sure that they are paid to wear them, I get it. Face time is important to people trying to raise their profile. Helio: wearing the damned headphones out of Gasoline Alley. I guess his wife and daughter didn’t have anything to say to him. Need I even mention the GoPros on the baseball caps? Really? Your coverage of the sport is invaluable.
Brian Bristo, London, Ontario
ROBIN MILLER: You are spot on. It’s hard enough to recognize an Indy driver without the sunglasses, and it’s half-assed offensive as well. My only explanation for headphones is that these guys watch too much pre-game NBA basketball.