FORMULA 1

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VERSTAPPEN: EVERYTHING WORKED FINE

The Red Bull powered Honda hit the track for the first time in anger on the first day of preseason testing at Circuit de Catalunya, completing the second most laps on a hassle-free day, while clocking the fourth best time.

The Dutchman racked up 128 laps in the RB15 and set the fourth-best lap time of 1:19.426, albeit 1.2 seconds slower than the benchmark time set by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

It’s early days and times do not matter much on the ‘wedding’ day of Red Bull and Honda, what matters most is that there were no major issues.

At the end of the day, Verstappen told reprters, “I was looking forward to driving the RB15, especially because it is a new start with Honda as the engine supplier.”

“Everything worked fine and I have been able to drive many laps, so I am happy with that. That does not always happen on a first day.”

“At the same time these are only the first kilometres, so I will not be able to say much more. So far things go well and the car feels okay. We keep working to improve, as everyone else.”

“We want to understand the car and the engine better. We did not have any issues and were able to run our programme. It was a good first day,” added Verstappen.

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MERCEDES: TODAY WAS NOT ABOUT ABSOLUTE PACE

Mercedes are clearly unconcerned by the fact that they were nearly two seconds shy of their pace-setting rivals Ferrari, on the first day of the first four days of Formula 1 preseason testing at Circuit de Catalunya, in Barcelona, Spain.

The World Champions went about their business of dialling in the W10 with both Valtteri Bottas (on morning duty) and Lewis Hamilton (afternoon duty) both happy with the first day with the car they are hoping will back them another two titles to add to the ten they have amassed in the past five years.

Technical chief James Allison summed up, “The first day with a new car is always a really exciting thing and today was not a bad start. Both drivers had their first taste of the W10 and got 150 trouble-free laps on the board by the end of the day.”

“We managed to squeeze quite a lot into this first day of running, finding out both how the 2019 tyres are working and also learning about the way the car responds to set-up changes. Today was not about absolute pace and we’re reasonably pleased with the handling of the car and the way it is behaving.”

Hamilton, back from an adventure packed holiday off-season, was satisfied after his half day in the car, It’s good to be back in the car and it’s great to see the car is running as smoothly at it is.”

“It feels quite a bit different compared to last year and we’re now getting to know it, trying to understand the balance and trying to understand the characteristics we’re working with.”

“It’s been a positive first day, we got through our running plan and there’s lots for us to learn about the new car which we will be working on,” added the five-time F1 World Champion.

Valtteri Bottas echoed the team line, “I quite enjoyed this morning, it’s good to be back at the track. I did 69 laps and there were no major issues with the car, so it was a relatively successful run.”

“Since the car is brand new, we immediately found ways to improve the balance and the behaviour and we will continue to work on that in the next days.”

“It’s good to see the car running well and it proves that the entire team is doing a great job, both in Brackley and Brixworth, but also here at the track. I’m looking forward to a more time in the car tomorrow afternoon,” added the Finn.

Team chief Toto Wolff was wary of unleashing the beast too early, “You need to be disciplined because we are all keen and looking at lap times, and obviously you want to be quick and on top of the leaderboard at every single session, but it’s not the purpose of the test.”

“It’s to go through all the parts that you want to look at and what the data and sensors tell you. But yes, I’ve seen the time… definitely the Ferrari has been going strong this morning.”

The ‘gunpowder’ is obviously being kept dry in the Mercedes pit garage, when they do unleash those horse it will be interesting to see how things stand relative to Ferrari who have galloped out of the starting gates.

For now, these are very early days, but it would be fair to assume that both teams have the foundation for good race cars.

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Christian Horner hails Honda chassis/engine installation as 'best ever'

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner believes the chassis/engine integration Red Bull has for 2019 is “probably the best one we’ve ever had”, having aligned itself with Honda.

Red Bull spent the previous 12 years with Renault but its relationship fractured amid the French marque’s inability to sustain a regular challenge against Mercedes and Ferrari.

Red Bull has joined Toro Rosso in taking on Honda as a partner, having been impressed by the company’s gains with its junior team through the course of 2018.

“Ultimately power is a dominating factor but the installation of this engine into this chassis is probably the best one we’ve ever had,” he said.

“When you look how neatly integrated it is into the chassis it really is a thing of beauty and I think the whole engineering team, collectively with Honda, having done a great job installing what looks like a Swiss clock into the back of our chassis.

“I think Honda has had a good winter and certainly they are reducing that gap significantly but of course what you don’t know is what the others have done.

“If [the others] have found another 50kw then we’ve got a big issue.

“We’ve been very impressed by the approach of Honda and the progress that they’ve made.

“For us, it’s a vital piece of the jigsaw to get us into a competitive position not just for this year but for next year and potentially beyond.”

Toro Rosso Team Principal Franz Tost suggested earlier on Monday that Red Bill would be in a position to triumph in 2019 but Horner downplayed setting time-related targets.

“It is great to have that enthusiasm and optimism that Franz has shown and we are excited to be working with Honda in what is a true partnership as opposed to a customer-supplier relationship,” he said.

“We are already feeling the benefit of that so it is not going to be a fast process, there is no silver bullet, and I think as the organisations learn more about each other and their strengths and relative weaknesses it is something that will grow over a period of time but we are not putting any timescale on that.”

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Williams delay prompts questions over Paddy Lowe’s future

Williams’ lengthening delay in getting its new Formula 1 car on track at Barcelona this week has fuelled paddock speculation that technical chief Paddy Lowe’s long term future may now be in the balance.
After initially scrapping plans for a shakedown of its FW42 last weekend, Williams has admitted that it is now only going to be able to run its car on Wednesday at the earliest this week.

While skipping one day of running could have been put down to simply missing ultra-aggressive build targets in a bid to maximise development time, being forced to miss at least a quarter of testing has hinted at the issues being more serious. Any further delay would be enough to prompt talk of a crisis.

Williams was certainly not alone in running late with its 2019 car build, with Renault also coming close to being forced to change plans, but it is the only outfit that actually had to change its original schedule.

And reading between the lines of deputy team principal Claire Williams’ statement about the team’s readiness for this week, it is clear that even getting the car on Wednesday is certainly not guaranteed.

“It is looking more likely than not that we will now not be in a position to run on track until Wednesday at the earliest,” she said. “This is obviously extremely disappointing, but it is unfortunately the situation we are in. We will be getting the FW42 on track as soon as we are able.”

Exactly what has gone wrong at Williams has not been elaborated on, but in the tight-knit world of F1, where team information spreads between staff of rival outfits, there have been whispers in recent weeks that the Grove-based team’s progress with its FW42 has fallen far short of what had been hoped for.

For even though there has been some encouraging news on the sponsorship front, with the signing of title backer ROKiT, it has been hinted that performance gains have not been so promising.

Furthermore, there have been suggestions that the car delay is more down to bad planning of production schedules rather than it being a deliberate tactic to maximise development time.

Multiple sources with good knowledge of the situation have suggested that the lack of progress has raised the prospect within Williams’ senior management that, if the FW42 does not come up to scratch, it will have to seriously evaluate Lowe’s position.

A lot may then rest on how the FW42 turns out – although there has even been a suggestion that Lowe may have gone as far as offering his resignation if the team felt it was the right thing to do.

Williams today issued a firm ‘no comment’ when asked by Motorsport.com about the rumours regarding Lowe's future and potential resignation offer. In F1 terms, that is known as a 'non-denial denial'.

How the Lowe situation plays out over the next few days or weeks is unclear right now, but much will likely rest on not only when the FW42 finally hits the track but how well it goes. Being late to finish a car that is a rocketship is not the biggest sin in F1, but if you are last out of the blocks and you are slow as well, then your bosses will not have much patience.

As Claire Williams said at the team's livery launch: “I don’t want a repeat of last year, none of us want to go through what we had to in 2018. It is a nerve-wracking time, there is a lot of pressure. 

“[The team had to] to do a huge amount of work behind the scenes to make sure that this year’s car is much better out of the blocks. It’s a really nerve-wracking time but I know everybody is working really hard and putting our best efforts in.”

Whether those best efforts are good enough to smooth choppy waters at Williams could reach a head very soon.

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Grosjean questions new tyre blanket rules after spin

Romain Grosjean has questioned the decision to drop Formula 1 rear tyre blanket temperatures for 2019 after spinning off on an out lap during pre-season testing in Barcelona.
The Haas driver was one of several drivers to have moments in Monday’s cold conditions, with Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel and Nico Hulkenberg also spinning.

Rear blanket temperatures have been dropped to 80°C this year, while fronts have stayed at 100°C. Pirelli experimented with different combinations at the Abu Dhabi test in November before making the final call.

“I think we are three who spun on our out lap,” said Grosjean. “We’ve got new tyre blanket temperatures, at 80°, and when the track is four degrees, it just doesn’t work, to be fair. In the afternoon it was still a struggle to get the first timed lap.

“I don’t really know why we went so low in blanket temperature, I don’t think it’s the right thing, and could be tricky on some occasions. That was the thing, I just went on the throttle and the rear was facing forwards at one point.”

He added: “We already know the Pirelli tyre has quite a narrow window, and if we go out at 80° behind the Safety Car, we'll find ourselves at 50° quite quickly, and that's when it becomes tricky.”

Pirelli F1 boss Mario Isola said that the change resulted from the fact that last year teams often preferred lower rear temperatures as they tried to optimise pressures.

“We tested 80°/80° in Abu Dhabi and the reasons we did that was to see if the warm up was still acceptable,” said Isola. “But the running pressures are a lot more in line with the starting pressure starting at 80°.

“Talking to the teams in general they were worried about possible issues with the front warm up. Because the front is a bit more tricky they had to put some energy on the front tyre.

“Nobody is worried about the rear tyres – last year we saw in a lot of races that the out lap was very slow in order to keep the rear temp very low, or some teams they were removing the blankets in advance in order to cool down the tyres, so we decided to go to 80°.”

Isola explained that lower temperature in turn has an impact on pressures, adding: “With 80° we have the opportunity to give them lower prescription in terms of pressure.

"If you compare the prescription compared to Barcelona last year we have 2psi less in the rear tyres, and this is considering the expected performance of the cars and the 80° prescriptions. That is all in the direction to avoid or reduce the overheating.

“Also the working range of the new compounds is slightly different to last year in order to reduce the overheating.”

Grosjean’s Haas team boss Gunther Steiner says that drivers will quickly adapt to the change.

“It caught him out, but like everything we get used to it, and find a way around it," said Steiner. "We’re unhappy for one or two races or one or two tests, and then we just get used to it and move on, because we have to.

"If Pirelli thinks that’s what we need to do, we need to learn not to be too complicated about everything anybody changes.”

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Raikkonen: Alfa Romeo has made "big step" since 2018

Kimi Raikkonen reckons his Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team has made a “big step” from the Sauber he drove last year, after a “very positive” start to pre-season testing. 
Raikkonen has joined Alfa, which has taken over the title of Sauber’s F1 entry, after five years with Ferrari. 

He drove Sauber’s 2018 car in the post-season Abu Dhabi test last year and believes serious progress has been made since then, after an encouraging first day of 2019 testing on Monday at Barcelona.

“It is very positive,” said Raikkonen, who finished fifth-fastest and completed 114 laps. “Straight out [we are] not doing an awful lot with the car. [We just] try to do things here or there. 

“It is very happy actually. The guys did a very good job over the winter and we have a package that we can work [with]. And we can get better.

“Everything feels normal and when I [compare it to what I] tried at the end of last year, the Sauber, it is a big step for sure.”

Alfa’s return to official F1 running started inauspiciously when Raikkonen spun into the gravel early on and ended in similar fashion when he stopped on track right at the end of the day with an unknown issue.

Raikkonen joked that the early off was because “we never seem to learn from the winter”.

“It is always difficult to start in the cold conditions,” he said. “But apart from that, everything ran smoothly. The car feels very, very positive. It is early days but so far it is good.”

Alfa team principal Frederic Vasseur said Raikkonen’s early spin had not forced the team away from its original run plan, although Raikkonen was back on track just 37 minutes after flying into the gravel.

“This kind of day you don’t have to be focused on performance, the most important thing is to stick to the plan,” Vasseur said. “We had a clear plan before and we stuck to this through the day.

“The performance, I don’t want to say it’s not relevant, but nobody knows the quantity of fuel, the set-up of the engine, and so on. 

“We have to be focused and to stay focused on what we’re doing, on our job, not to compare. We have 21 races for this.”

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Renault updates revealed on first day of testing

Renault has brought a number of new parts to the first day of Formula 1 pre-season testing at Barcelona, updating key areas from the launch specification of car unveiled last week.
Images of the RS19 were released last Tuesday, with seemingly plenty of carry-over from the previous year’s car despite the introduction of new regulations for 2019.

However, the French squad has emerged on the track with an array of new aerodynamic parts for the opening day of testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, showcasing greater complexity compared to the version of the car originally shown.

The bargeboard area, in particular, has been given an overhaul - the top edge of the main bargeboard element has been squared off - allowing the car to hold onto airflow from the front of the car longer before conditioning it for use further downstream.

This now merges the main bargeboard body into the upward protrusion in the original-spec car, with a cut-out breaking up the top edge to improve the flow attachment.

Furthermore, the vertical turning vanes ahead of the sidepod have been completely redefined; the original design retained cues from last year’s “aerocat” geometry, but this has been discarded for four interlinking slats - the second of which extends below the final two to strengthen the vortex around the sidepod undercut.

There is also a new arrangement around the rear wing endplates, Renault attempting something completely different compared to the simple endplates seen previously.

Three separate teeth now overhang at the point at which the wing flares out; the one closest to the leading edge is triangular before leading into a tooth-shaped strake, while the final strake extends to the trailing edge of the wing.

These assist with managing the flow off the rotating rear wheels and developing it into something more workable, assisting with the generation of the trailing vortices produced from the rear wing.

Renault has also added a small fin to the mounting point of the halo to add a little bit of extra flow control over the centre of the car, while the mirrors have been changed to include a slot inside the perimeter.

A design trialled by Ferrari last year, the shrouded mirror ensures that there’s as much flow control in an area that’s traditionally difficult to manage.

This is also something Toro Rosso has included into its design, having launched with a curious flat mirror package last week.

The Italian team has also added complexity to its bargeboards, having unveiled the STR14 with deceptively simple arrangement with three interlinked panels.

Now, the bargeboards feature a number of serrations at the top edge to pull airflow down towards the edge of the floor, while the front-facing ‘daggers’ now develop into an extension of the sidepod turning vane, boosting the airflow energy around the car’s midriff.

Toro Rosso also ran with the improved outwash front wing it performed a shakedown with last week, closing up the outboard section to drive flow outwards.

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2018 FORMULA 1 CARS MORPH INTO 2019 SUCCESSORS

All the Formula 1 Cars morphing from 2018 to 2019 cars. Studio shots of all teams: Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault, Haas, Alfa Romeo, Racing Point, Williams, Red Bull Honda, McLaren, Renault, Toro Rosso – Williams car not ready.

Images used in this video were sourced from F1 teams.

[BrightonCorgi]

I expect big things happening at Alfa F1 this season.  They could be "the best of the rest" this season. 

Here's the betting odds for 2019 so far:

 

 

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WILLIAMS FW42 FINALLY HEADING TO SPAIN

The beleaguered Williams team could finally get their troubled new Formula 1 car on track at Circuit de Catalunya on Wednesday, five days later than planned and well behind rivals already pounding out laps in testing.

The former champions, who finished last overall in 2018 and have shed a number of sponsors, had planned to debut the car last Saturday for a limited mileage filming session at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya.

That deadline slipped because the FW42 was not ready and Williams were then the only team unable to make the start of official pre-season testing on Monday.

A Williams spokeswoman said the car was now expected to arrive at the circuit between 03h00-04h00 GMT on Wednesday but was unlikely to run in the morning session that starts at 08h00 GMT.

“Obviously there will still be a fair amount to do but we will be working as fast as we can,” she added.

The first pre-season test ends on Thursday with a further four days next week before the teams head out for the opening race in Australia on March 17.

The lack of testing time is a big setback for a team hoping to clamber back from one of their worst ever seasons and pinning their hopes on coming up with a much better car than the woeful one produced last year.

Williams, who took nine constructor’s titles and seven driver’s crowns during their glory years between 1980 and 1997, scored only seven points from 21 races last year.

The inability to produce the car on time has raised questions about the future of technical head Paddy Lowe, who joined in 2017 from champions Mercedes and is the man ultimately responsible for delivering it.

The Formula One website reported fears that the new car, based on data simulations, could also be almost two seconds slower than its closest rival when it does hit the track.

Williams have not given details of why deadlines were missed, fuelling speculation that there could be a serious problem with the design that has needed fixing.

The FW42 is the second car built under Paddy Lowe’s watch, the FW41 was a disaster and the worst car ever built by the once indomitable.

The technical chief, hired by the team to lead them back to the front of the grid, has been off the radar in recent days as a true crisis engulfs the team at a time when they can least afford it.

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RICCIARDO: I FEEL THEY ARE TICKING ALL THE BOXES

Big smiling Daniel Ricciardo took heart from the performance of his Renault in Formula 1 testing on Tuesday, even if the Australian’s time in the car was cut short by the rear wing flying off.

The former Red Bull driver, who moved to Renault at the end of last season, said he felt “quite encouraged” with the laps he did before the failure.

“The way the car used the tyres I thought was pretty encouraging. I didn´t feel like it fell off a cliff and we´re killing it,” he said.

Asked how the rear wing had felt, he replied: “While it was on it was OK.”

Ricciardo said it was still way too early to say where Renault, fourth overall last year, stood from a competitive standpoint but he said they were leaving no stone unturned.

“I feel there’s a lot of attention to detail and it’s promising from an ambitious point of view. I feel they are ticking all the boxes from an analysis and ‘trying to get better’ point of view.”

The Australian, who until this season has spent his Formula One career backed by Red Bull, also managed to avoid the pitfall of stopping at the wrong garage.

“Today the Red Bull guys were waiting for (Pierre) Gasly when I was coming in the pits. They were all out there and I was like ‘I’m not going to fall for it’. I actually waved as I drove past,” he laughed.

The Red Bull mechanics waved back, he added.

Ricciardo won two races last year for Red Bull, who have now switched from Renault to Honda engines. He said that had been one of the key factors in his decision to leave.

“I had wins and it wasn’t always bad, but I thought maybe now if the next phase with Honda doesn’t work, it’s just going to be potentially more risky for my happiness within the team and everyone’s motivation,” he explained.

“From that point of view I think there’s less risk coming into this (to Renault) because I feel there’s more room for us to grow.”

“The five years there (at Red Bull), coming close but never really close enough, I just felt a year or two with the same outcome…that was the balancing point where it was time for a change because that was potentially the risk.”

Ricciardo, who was team mate to 21-year-old Max Verstappen at Red Bull, said there was also a benefit from moving to Renault alongside 31-year-old Nico Hulkenberg.

“I’m honestly just happy to be the younger driver in the team again. It’s been a while. I’ve been the old guy for the last few years,” said the 29-year-old.

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NORRIS: THE TIMES AREN’T IMPORTANT TO US

Rookie Lando Norris conducted himself like a veteran professional by playing down the fact that he ended his first test session as a fully fledged McLaren driver second fastest on the second day of Formula 1 preseason testing at Circuit de Catalunya in Spain.

The 19-year-old kept his best for last to pop the orange car into second place on the timing screens late in the afternoon to bring to an end another positive day for the Woking outfit.

The mood in the McLaren garage was jovial, the relief palpable but the occasion was not going to the youngster’s head, and reported afterwards, “The times aren’t important to us, it’s about getting through the plans we have to do, especially in this part of the season when there are a lot of new things on the car to test.”

“The times aren’t important to us, it’s about getting through the plans we have to do, especially in this part of the season when there are a lot of new things on the car to test.

“I’ve not done much long running in the past or pit-stops, so getting up to speed and talking to my engineers are the most important things for me to get on top of over the next two weeks. Laps, mileage and reliability are the main objectives, as well as getting to know the car.

“There are still a lot of things we need to continue to work on and improve over the next few days. It’s definitely a work in progress,” explained Norris.

A day earlier Carlos Sainz was also second fastest, but Norris found a couple of seconds more than the Spaniard was able to extract and when the chequered flag waved to end the day’s track action the rookie was only four tenths shy of Charles Leclerc’s best time in the pace-setting Ferrari.

And the pair set almost identical times, with the Spaniard ending the first day on 1:18.555 and Norris lapping at 1:18.553 today.

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LECLERC: I FELT COMFORTABLE AND ENJOYED MYSELF IN THE SF90

Charles Leclerc started his chapter at Ferrari in the best manner possible, topping the timesheets at the end of his first full day in SF90 on day two of Formula 1 testing at Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona.

Apart from topping the timing screens for most of the day, the 21-year-old also completed a total of 157 laps; 73 in the morning, a further 84 in the afternoon.

Speaking to reporters at the end of the day, Leclerc said, “I am very happy with the way today went. Despite some red flag interruptions, we were able to get through all our programme and to do 157 laps, which has produced a lot of useful data.”

“In terms of feeling, I quickly felt comfortable with the SF90 and I have to say I really enjoyed myself. Emotion? There’s always going to be some when you get into a Ferrari, but today I put that to one side because I had a job to do for the team.”

Ferrari tend to start the season with a bang while Mercedes tend to keep their powder dry, as they did last year, while World Champions Mercedes tend to keep their powder dry early on. The game plan seems to be the same as always as the Reds strut their stuff the Silver Arrows bide their time.

Nevertheless, Leclerc was upbeat after a faultless day in the cockpit, “Let’s hope we keep going like this over the next few days because it’s important to make the most of the few on-track testing opportunities we have.”

Leclerc is the youngest Ferrari F1 driver since 19-year-old Mexican Ricardo Rodriguez raced for the team in 1981.

This first pre-season test continues at the Barcelona circuit until Thursday. Tomorrow, Sebastian Vettel will be once again behind the wheel of the SF90, before handing back to Leclerc for the final day.

Next week the Spanish track hosts the final four days of testing before the Formula 1 season gets underway in Australia on 17 March.

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MCLAREN RENAULT FASTEST TOP SPEED BUT MERCEDES STILL CRUISING

After two days of Formula 1 preseason testing, Renault are leading in the top speed stakes as Lando Norris recorded the top speed in the McLaren of 337 kph but it is pretty obvious that Ferrari and Mercedes, in particular, are yet to unleash their best.

Top Speeds

In a report published on the official F1 website, stats Honda in second on 229 kph which was recorded by Max Verstappen on the first day of testing in Spain.

Notably, Mercedes were slowest at around 326 kph, suggesting that for now they are simply in cruise-mode and when they do crank it up they are likely to tickle the 340 kph and perhaps even break it.

Racing Point are also likely to benefit from the extra horses when they are made available, as the RP19 with Sergio Perez at the wheel looked like a handy piece of kit.

Ferrari is sure to have some added oomph in their bag of tricks and of course, it will be interesting to see what Honda’s ‘party mode’ has in store.

For now Renault… (make that their customer team McLaren) are fastest down the main straight, but that is likely to change in the forthcoming days.

Data Gathering

Ferrari are the only engine supplier with six cars running during the first Formula preseason test in Barcelona, which makes them top of the all-important data collection stakes during the first two days of on-track action.

Renault and Honda are each supplying two teams each while Ferrari have three as do Mercedes, but with the Williams no show they lost out on the extra data acquisition.

Thus Ferrari-powered cars have covered over 300 laps around the Spanish Grand Prix venue, next best are Mercedes on just under 250 laps racked up during the first two days.

 

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FIA OPEN TENDER FOR STANDARD F1 GEARBOX SUPPLIERS FROM 2021

The FIA have called for companies to tender for standardised Formula 1 gearboxes with the purpose of implementing ‘one-box-fits-all’ into the rules for 2021 and beyond.

Manufacturers such as Ferrari, Renault, Mercedes and Honda make their own gearboxes, while the teams they supply pay for them and bolt them on to their respective race cars.

However, there has been a lobby for one supplier to provide the gearbox internals, but allowing teams freedom to create their own outer casings.

The tender specified: “The aim of single source supply is to retain current levels of Formula 1 gear change performance for all cars at a much-reduced cost to the competitors while also removing the requirement for teams to design or source their own gearboxes,” said the tender.

“The unit can be carried over between seasons so removing the need for costly continual performance development. In order to retain competitor’s own freedoms for suspension and for the gearbox aero surfaces, the outer housing will remain team specific (designed and produced by the competitor) with the common, self-contained gearbox cassette mounted inside.”

The tender document adds: “The FIA reserves the right to request any additional information from and to organise meetings with tenderers who have submitted the most interesting bids. The FIA reserves the right not to select any supplier if no offer is finally deemed capable of being beneficial for the Championship and its competitors.

“Should a tenderer be selected, it will be invited to enter into a contract with the FIA that will establish the terms of the tenderer’s appointment as exclusive supplier.”

While a hint of more power was made evident in the following paragraph: “There should be some power increase for 2021 relative to today, not just because of natural development, but also because of a 30kW increase in the MGU-K output.”

The FIA’s plan involves teams using four gearboxes per season, based on the calendar swelling to 24 races with five tests. The units can form a pool and be used at any time during the season.

Anyone interested in the tender is required to submit their proposals before 1 March, with a decision expected between 15-30 April.

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ALBON ANNOUNCES HIS ARRIVAL WITH A FIRST LAP SPIN

Toro Rosso rookie Alexander Albon’s first lap as a fully fledged Formula 1 driver ended in the gravel several hundred meters from his pit garage, as he spun on cold tyres on his out lap to announce his arrival in the top flight, early on the second day of preseason testing at Circuit de Catalunya.

Albon appeared to lose the backend of the STR14 at relatively low speed, but on a green track and on a much colder day than yesterday. He ended facing the wrong way in the gravel between Turns 4 and 5 prompting a red flag period as the car was recovered.

Red flag already. Albon in the gravel. Not the start he wanted ?

UPDATE: Steering issue to blame for Alexander Albon spin – Toro Rosso

Toro Rosso have explained that a "steering issue" was to blame for Alexander Albon's spin on the second day of pre-season Formula 1 testing.

Albon exited the pits when the track went green to complete a shakedown lap, but as he approached Turn 4 on what was his first ever lap of the Toro Rosso STR14 (bar a filming day, which is conducted at slower speeds), the Thai driver span and beached his car in the gravel trap.

That caused an immediate red flag just a minute into the session as Albon's car was recovered back to the pitlane.

However speaking on Tuesday morning, Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost laid the blame on an overnight change to the STR14's steering.

"It was a steering issue. We changed something from yesterday to today but it didn’t work out as we expected and therefore we changed once more to yesterday’s version," he explained to the official F1 broadcaster.

Tost said Albon's aim today was to get comfortable driving a new car and they would only focus on testing different specifications and set-ups next week.

"There are not so many test topics today as yesterday with Daniil [Kvyat]. We can’t test so many different specifications on the car, for him it’s important to drive to get experience, to learn the car to get familiar with the car.

"Next week is then another story. We will also test different set-ups with him next week. This week is more for him to do as many laps to get experience."

 

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ADLER BECOMES OFFICIAL PARTNER OF ALFA ROMEO

Alfa Romeo Racing is delighted to announce that Adler has become an Official Partner of the Team.

Adler is a leading company in the design, development and manufacturing of components for the automotive industry which was founded in Ottaviano, Italy, in 1956. With vast experience in the creation of systems for acoustic, thermal comfort and interior design for vehicles in the automotive, aerospace and railway industries, the company has a presence in 21 countries.

The Adler logo will be proudly featured on both race cars.

Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal Alfa Romeo Racing and CEO Sauber Motorsport AG:
“We are delighted to have Adler join us as an Official Partner of Alfa Romeo Racing. Adler is an innovative company, which shares our goal of achieving constant progress and creating modern products and ideas. In the scope of the expansion of our commercial activities, we are proud to carry the Adler logo on our cars for the upcoming season and look forward to the collaboration.”

Paolo Scudieri, Chairman Adler-Pelzer Group:
“We are very proud to support Alfa Romeo Racing. As Adler Group we always have been committed to support outstanding players in international sports initiatives. The opportunity to be a partner of Alfa Romeo Racing is the perfect example of a partnership rewarding human and industrial values in the wonderful world of Formula One.”

[MIKA27]

Christian Horner: Pierre Gasly has to 'grab the opportunity' in 2019

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner says Pierre Gasly has to “grab the opportunity” handed to him in Formula 1 this season.

Gasly, who debuted with Toro Rosso towards the end of 2017, was expected to remain with the junior squad for this season, until Daniel Ricciardo’s departure to Renault altered Red Bull’s plans.

Horner nonetheless backed Gasly to perform strongly – and reckons the Frenchman’s prior experience with Honda (with Toro Rosso in 2018 and in Super Formula in 2017) will prove beneficial.

“With Pierre Gasly it is going to take him time to get up to speed,” said Horner.

“He is still very young in terms of experience, once he was with Toro Rosso but perhaps he has been promoted a little earlier than we would have ideally liked.

“But there is never a perfect time you’ve just got to grab that opportunity which he now has.

“He will have the full support of the team and we’ve known him for quite a few years as a member of the junior programme. He knows how we operate and what is expected of him.

“[The Honda experience] has given him a good combination of knowledge so he knows the strengths and weaknesses and is able to focus the engineering team on that.

“I think it’s only a positive that he brings that experience and data bank of knowledge with him.”

Red Bull will also have the second-youngest driver line-up on the 2019 grid but Horner downplayed suggestions that their relative youth could be a drawback.

“Age is irrelevant; it is about how they conduct themselves,” he said.

“I think Max [Verstappen] now has that level of experience, we saw during the second half of last year a really impressive campaign from him, if we continues that momentum into this year I think we can already see he’ll be a phenomenal force to be reckoned with.”

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Gasly "caught by surprise" in F1 test crash

Red Bull Formula 1 newcomer Pierre Gasly says he was “caught by surprise” in his crash on the second day of pre-season testing in Barcelona.

Gasly, making his debut behind the wheel of Red Bull's new Honda-powered RB15 after Max Verstappen drove it during a filming-day shakedown and the opening day of the test, crashed at Turn 12 with just over an hour to go in the day.

The car snapped out of control as he went through the corner, and the Frenchman spun rear-end-first into the tyre wall.

Asked to explain his crash at the end of the day, Gasly admitted it had been caused by driver error.

He said: “Basically you are pushing the car to the limits and playing with the limits. I went on throttle and lost the rear, and basically that was it.

“It caught me a bit by surprise and not much you can do once it is done. We have six more days of testing and a lot of stuff to test."

Gasly insisted it had been a “very positive” first day in the RB15 despite the crash.

He finished the day with 92 laps to his name and a best laptime of 1m19.814s on the C3 tyre, which was good enough for seventh fastest on the day and was four tenths short of what Verstappen had managed on Monday.

“I was really excited to be back behind the wheel,” Gasly said. “We did some positive tests over the day.

“I felt very comfortable in the car. We feel there is some really good potential.

"We need to understand more our package but the first feedback is good.”

Gasly, who drove a Honda-engined Toro Rosso car last year, praised the reliability displayed by the Japanese manufacturer's power units over the first two days of the 2019 pre-season test.

“I think so far it has been really good,” he said. “Also looking at Toro Rosso, they have managed to do a lot of laps [209 over two days] so we need to use all the feedback.

“But so far we are really happy with the job they [Honda] have done. Still more tests to do over the next six days but really happy so far.”

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Mexican president to cut grand prix funding to pay for railway

The president of Mexico has suggested the country’s Formula 1 race will not receive state support, as the event fights for its future on the calendar.

Mexican GP organisers have won the ‘best promoter’ award at the FIA’s annual end-of-season prizegiving every year since the race rejoined the F1 schedule in 2015. 

The organisers received government funding, reported by the Financial Times to be worth around £16million, in order to revive the race after a 23-year absence.

However, the country's president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said that money will be spent on a multi-billion-pound, almost-1000-mile long railway project. The Mayan Train aims to connect the ancient site of Palenque with the east-coast tourist resort Cancun.

At a press conference on Tuesday morning, ‘AMLO’ – as he is known – said: “I do not know how the F1 contracts are. If they are not signed, we will not be able to.

“In some cases, events were financed by the tourism development fund and that fund is committed to the construction of the Mayan train. We do not know in what situation these contracts [with F1] are. We are going to review them.

“We will continue to support all sports but with austerity, without excess, without waste.”

The Mexican GP is one of several races that does not have a deal beyond 2019, but it recently distanced itself from criticism of F1's owner Liberty Media from a collection of race promoters. 

It is understood that the organisers will discuss the future of the event with the Mexican government and F1 when possible, with the intention of striking a deal to keep it on the calendar.

Last year the promoter claimed the event made a $1.3billion (£994.8m) economic impact across its first three years, which it said was “12.2 times the original investment”. 

That would put the ‘original investment’ of the first three races at around $106m (£81.1m). 

It was also claimed that the race had attracted more than one million attendees in its first three years, generated 31,600 jobs and $248m worth of earnings. The move to cut funding for the F1 race had been hinted at earlier this month by one of the president’s allies.

AMLO, a left-wing politician and former Mexico City mayor, won the Mexican presidency last summer and assumed it at the start of December with a mission to “purify public life” in the country.

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New Racing Point site expands current base tenfold

Racing Point had expanded its Silverstone site ten fold after acquiring land on which to build its new factory.

The team recently purchased 27 acres of farmland that encompasses the current three-acre site where the team has been located since the summer of 1991, and its early days as Jordan Grand Prix.

Construction will start after planning permission has been confirmed, with the front of the factory facing the Dadford Road that leads to the Silverstone Circuit's main gate.

Land on the other side of the current factory, which now features some industrial units, is still owned by Eddie Jordan.

"It's just next door," said team principal Otmar Szafnauer of the expanded site. "We don't have planning permission yet, but we hope that's forthcoming.

"We're working on the plans now, to apply. There's a six months process to go through all the necessary steps, and we're probably three to four months into that process before we apply for planning. Once we have permission, then we'll start.

"I think it will take about two or two and a half years, probably two years from now, for us to finish the new factory, and then we're going to move in.

"We have three acres of land, and we bought the 27 acres that go around it. So now we have 30 acres."

One of the key goals is to have the entire team on one site, because the aerodynamics department is currently based at the team's Brackley wind tunnel, some seven miles away.

One complication that the team faces is that it is planning a new base just as F1 heads into the era of cost caps post-2021, and thus it's not easy to specify exactly what type of facility it will need.

"We've got to right-size it, but I don't know what that is. Unless you know the regulations, it's hard to know.

"How do we know how big to make the factory, how little to make it, what to include, what not to include?

"What we do know is that the building we're in, with the people we have, is too small. That we know for sure. What we don't know is do we need a new wind tunnel?, for example.

"So we bought enough land so that we can expand or contract as needed, based on the regulations."

Szafnauer says that even the team has some way to go to reach the level that a cost cap is likely to be pitched at.

"We have some insight as to what 2021 will look like, even with a cost cap. And even with the cost cap that's been talked about, we will need more space. Right now we are about 300 people on one site, and another 100 on another.

"We can't really fit many more than 350 in the site where we're at, and we're already 425. Even if we stayed the same size we'd need a new building to get everybody together. But I think we're going to grow. So wherever the cost cap comes out, I think we'll be way under it, and we'll start growing.

"We're going to grow too, but we've got to grow over time, we've got to grow strategically, but we'd like to house everybody under one roof. It's better.

"Somebody told me today that from a human resource perspective we are the second smallest team. I think Haas has less people, but they spend more money. So from a budget perspective we're probably still the lowest, and from people we're the second lowest."

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Ferrari making "statement" with Vettel/Leclerc claim - Wolff

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes that Ferrari suggesting it could favour Sebastian Vettel from early in the season is a "statement".

New Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto, who landed the top job after Maurizio Arrivabene was dropped, suggested last week that Vettel may be prioritised over Charles Leclerc if the situation calls for it.

"I think it's normal, especially early in the season, that if there are particular situations our priority will be Sebastian," Binotto said at the launch of Ferrari's 2019 car.

Wolff has no doubt that Binotto faces a big challenge in managing the Italian team's drivers.

"First of all Mattia has a tremendous task in front of him, and I believe he wants to do it his own way," said Wolff.

"Team orders are always a very controversial topic, we've discussed it last year, be it within Mercedes or Ferrari, and coming out with that at the beginning of the season is a statement."

Asked what sort of relationship he expected to enjoy with his rival, he added: "I've known Mattia for quite a long time, for many years, first as the engine boss and then as the technical director.

"Obviously now he's stepped up to being the team principal. I respect him, he's a very intelligent man, and he knows how to manoeuvre his way through the paddock. He will be a force to be reckoned with, absolutely."

Wolff admitted that the prospect of being the first team to secure six double titles – which would move his Mercedes team ahead of Ferrari in the record books – was very motivating.

"It wasn't done before, but equally there's a reason it wasn't done before, because it's very difficult, and it feels like you have 30 seconds left in the Super Bowl and you need to catch the ball, and it's not trivial to catch the ball in the last pass and drag it over into the touchdown zone.

"This is a little bit how it feels. But Ferrari is going to do everything to not make that happen, and equally some of the other teams."

[LLC]

NORRIS: THE TIMES AREN’T IMPORTANT TO US

Rookie Lando Norris conducted himself like a veteran professional by playing down the fact that he ended his first test session as a fully fledged McLaren driver.
“The times aren’t important to us, it’s about getting through the plans we have to do, especially in this part of the season when there are a lot of new things on the car to test.

“The times aren’t important to us”. That’s one way to spin it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Sauber Motorsport confirms junior team roster

Sauber Motorsport has confirmed the line-up for its newly-formed junior team.

Sauber, which now competes in Formula 1 under the Alfa Romeo Racing banner, revealed last year that it was to create a junior squad from 2019.

Sauber’s junior team will compete in Formula 2, Formula 3 and Formula 4 and be run by Charouz Racing System, providing drivers with a path up the FIA’s single-seater ladder.

Callum Ilott – also a member of Ferrari’s Driver Academy – and Juan Manuel Correa will race for Charouz in Formula 2, with both newcomers to the championship.

Reigning ADAC Formel 4 champion Lirim Zendeli, Fabio Scherer and Raoul Hyman will compete for the operation in FIA Formula 3, which has replaced the GP3 Series on Formula 1’s support package.

In Formula 4, the team will be represented by Alessandro Ghiretti, Roman Staněk, and Théo Pourchaire.

“The Sauber Junior Team is heading into the 2019 season with a strong line-up in the FIA single-seater categories – F2, F3 and F4,” said Sauber CEO Frederic Vasseur.

“Our project was launched with the goal of passing on our experience to young drivers and providing a platform where they can successfully develop their skills and come closer to their dream of racing at the pinnacle of motorsport one day.

“We look forward to our collaboration and will follow the progress of these young talents closely.”

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CLAIRE: WILLIAMS IS NOT IN CRISIS, IT’S NOT IN TURMOIL

Deputy team principal Claire Williams insists that her organisation is not in crisis despite their car turning up two days late to the first Formula 1 pre-season testing at Circuit de Catalunya in Spain, on Wednesday.

By the time the FW42 took to the track at 3pm, the Grove outfit were over two and a half days behind their rivals in terms of track time for their new car, and their new drivers Robert Kubica and George Russell, both in desperate need of track time for obvious reasons.

Although Williams acknowledged the predicament her team was in, she underplayed the situation, “We know that we’ve got problems and we’ve got to fix those problems. But Williams is not in crisis, it’s not in turmoil.”

“If you spent five minutes at Grove you´d know that wasn´t the case. We´ve made a big mistake not getting our car out and there´s a number of reasons for that, it´s not just one reason.”

Paddy Lowe was brought in to revive the team, when he took over the engineering side Williams had just finished fifth in the championship, last year they were last. The FW 41, the first car built under his watch was a well-recorded disaster.

Asked if heads would roll, indeed even her own, the daughter of Sir Frank Williams was adamant, “I’m not considering my position at the moment at all. I don´t think that would be the right thing to do,” declared Williams.

“Of course as the boss it´s my ultimate responsibility, but it´s everyone´s responsibility in any team to make sure they play their part in getting whatever your product is to the place that it needs to be.”

Lowe’s media session scheduled for Wednesday afternoon was cancelled at short notice, but later he finally emerged with a soundbite in the team press release, “It’s very disappointing to miss two days of this first test in Barcelona, but we are very happy today that we got the car out for the afternoon session.”

When reporters suggested cash-flow might be an issue, she replied, “We are very confident in the budget we’ve got this year, it´s pretty similar to the one with which we went racing last year. Financially the team is pretty solid. That´s not my main concern at the moment.”

“Any rumours out there that Williams is going into administration at the end of the year are utter rubbish. We are a 650-strong operation on the F1 side of the business, nearly 300 people working in advanced engineering, there are 40 brilliant projects. That business is growing 15 percent a year.”

“We’ve got two great drivers in our car, a new title sponsor. We´ve finally got our car on track, hopefully in a week everyone will have forgotten these past couple of days and we can just focus on what we do best and that´s going racing.”

“I am certain that we will have two cars in Melbourne and a spare chassis,” concluded Williams with reference to the season opener in Melbourne on 17 March.