FORMULA 1

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RENAULT: A DECENT DAY WHERE WE HIT OUR TARGETS

Renault Sport Formula 1 Team completed a bumper 190 laps on the second day of the second week of Formula 1 pre-season testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Carlos Sainz completed 88 laps in the morning before Nico Hülkenberg broached three-figures in the afternoon with 102 laps completed. Running to different programmes, Carlos set a best lap time of 1:20.042secs; Nico a 1:20.758secs.

Fast Facts:

• Track: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain, 4.7km.
• Chassis: R.S.18 – 02.
• Weather: Dry, blue skies and sunshine. Ambient 9°C – 16°C Track 10°C – 30°C.
• Programme: Set-up work, race simulation.
• Laps Completed: 190: 88 Carlos; 102 Nico.
• Classification: Carlos P7, 1:20.042; Nico P11, 1:20.758.

Interruptions: Various red flags.

Carlos Sainz: “Today was a great day. We finished our run plan and did a lot of laps without any trouble. Track conditions were finally starting to be representative: the wind was a lot less at that point, with normal track temperatures and grip levels for Barcelona. This helped us to understand the car. Today we focussed on exploring different set-up options, which was something I really enjoyed. It was a very productive morning.”

Nico Hülkenberg: “That was a good day with some proper time in the car so I’m a happy man. Obviously, we’re still at the early stages of learning about the performance potential, but it’s a strong positive to get more than 100 laps on the board so a fine afternoon.”

Alan Permane, Sporting Director: “Today was a decent day where we hit our targets. Carlos completed long runs and set-up work in the morning, handing over to Nico for some short runs and then a race simulation in the afternoon. The R.S.18 has run faultlessly which means we have a lot of information to work on. For the final days of the test we will run similar programmes as we extract further performance from the car.”

What’s Next? Nico will jump back into the car tomorrow morning, handing over at lunchtime to Carlos for afternoon duties.

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TORO ROSSO: WE HOPE TO MAINTAIN THAT MOMENTUM

Toro Rosso report from day two of the second preseason test at Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona, ahead of the 2018 Formula 1 World Championship.

• Driver: Brendon Hartley – Car: STR13-03
• Best time: 1:19.823- Laps: 119

Brendon Hartley: “Today was a really good day, we had just some little issues in the afternoon which cost us a little bit of time, but we made up for it in the end with a couple of long runs on high fuel. I’m getting to know the STR13 more and more – I hadn’t driven since day one of the first test – so that was a really productive day for me and it was nice to see how the car has progressed. Everything has been quite reliable so far, we had a couple of hiccups the last two days which have been resolved and all understood, so overall it’s been very good. We tried some different setups this morning which made the car quite tricky to drive, but I’m happy to have a couple of spins in testing …it’s better to have them here than in the race! In the afternoon I was really comfortable with the car and the long runs, and satisfied to bang in a reasonable time in the end.”

James Key, Technical Director: “It was an interesting day today, the first time really in the two tests that we’ve put some of the larger test items on the STR13; some of them mechanical and some aerodynamic. We had a bit of a stop/start morning with various stoppages and minor issues which meant we couldn’t really get a consistent set of runs together, which was important for Brendon given that he’s only really done one day so far here in Barcelona after the weather conditions last week. This afternoon we managed to get a reasonable amount covered in quite a short space of time towards the end of the day which proved to be productive. He did a good consistent set of laps on race stint running and then trying the softer compounds for short runs at the end, which was good preparation for later in the week. We’ve learned quite a bit from test items we had which has been important for decisions on future development directions and some more immediate steps that we want to follow up. Once again the engine has been very reliable and consistent all day so that’s another continuing positive for the power unit side and Honda’s progress. Overall, I think it was a productive and very busy day and hopefully we can continue that in the final two days of the test.”

Toyoharu Tanabe, Honda F1 Technical Director: “Once again today, the weather did not disappoint, with clear skies and warm temperatures ideal for testing. Brendon, who did not get much running time during Test 1, because of bad weather, was driving. We continued the programme from yesterday both on the chassis and PU side, focusing on actual race work. This was a positive day as we managed to complete 119 laps. There was one small issue during the session, but the team worked effectively to immediately identify the cause, deal with it and send Brendon back out on track with the minimum of time lost. After six days of testing, some of it affected by bad weather, I’m happy that the collaboration of Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda is working well together as one team. We hope to maintain that momentum and make further steps forward over the remaining two days.”

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FORCE INDIA: OUR BEST DAY OF TESTING SO FAR

Force India report from day two of the second preseason test at Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona, ahead of the 2018 Formula 1 World Championship.

Esteban Ocon: “I’m really happy with today. 130 laps is a great effort and we’ve learned a huge amount. The long runs went well and our pace looks promising at this stage. It’s going to help us take some steps forward as we prepare for Melbourne. It will be interesting to see how Checo feels after his day in the car tomorrow, but I feel optimistic after the work we’ve done today. There are plenty of things to analyse and more questions to answer, but we still have two days of testing. I think we are in a good place at the moment.”

Tom McCullough, Chief Race Engineer: “Today was a textbook day of testing – something we really needed considering all the time lost up to this point. We had a very ambitious run plan, which we completed in addition to some extra things. The car ran reliably and we continued gathering the data that is so important at this time of year, so we are pleased with our work. We are now building a better understanding of the VJM11. We did some set-up work in the afternoon and continued our programme with the new tyres. It’s been our best day of testing so far and hopefully we will get two more days like this in the rest of the week.”

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MARCHIONNE: I DID NOT SAY WE WERE LEAVING F1 IN 2020

Ferrari big boss Sergio Marchionne has clarified his much-quoted comments that he will pull Ferrari out of Formula 1, confirming they would pull out if the ethos of the sport changes.

Marchionne said in an interview with Autocar, “I did not say we were leaving Formula 1 in 2020, but that if we cannot reconcile our differences then we will leave.”

“We’ve raced in Formula the longest of anyone. We understand the sport. It’s definitely hard to imagine F1 without Ferrari, so I sincerely hope we can go through.”

“We have been in dialogue with Liberty Media and I’m hopeful we will find a way and go forward by the end of this year. If it doesn’t you will hear about it!”

Last year Marchionne set a line in the sand with regards to Liberty Media and warned, “Formula 1 has something noble, it’s not a sport like any other, we want to help preserve that and it should not just be about business here.”

“If the sport is going in the right direction, then we are open to talk about everything. But if the sport is to become a kind of supermarket, then I’m not interested.”

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Grosjean says F1 restarts could lead to "carnage"

Romain Grosjean believes some Formula 1 restarts could descend into "carnage" if drivers have to stick with old tyres after a red flag.
F1 races this year may feature standing starts after red-flag periods, with the cars being led by a safety car before forming up on the grid.

Though drivers will have the option to fit new tyres in the pitlane while preparing for the restart, they may not have fresh rubber left in their allocation.

That would leave some contending with poor grip, which Grosjean suffered from while performing a practice run of the restart procedure on old rubber in testing on Wednesday in Barcelona.

He said it was so bad "I didn't go above fourth gear", claiming he would usually reach eighth by Turn 1, and claimed that "safety-wise I'm a bit concerned".

"To me it could be carnage," he said. "You could lose the car in a straight line. Honestly, I was not having much fun, just trying to upshift and downshift was tricky.

"[Valtteri] Bottas was in front of me and was not having much fun either."

Grosjean said if someone is able to take on fresh tyres and another driver is not then "you're going to lose 25 seconds on the first lap".

"It's undriveable," he added. "I was one of the first cars to come on the grid, so I stay there with Bottas a long time.

"When we restarted it is like it is raining [and we are] on slicks. Every time you upshift the rear wheel spins, every time you downshift the rear locks."

Grosjean likened it to when drivers have crashed out of safety car restarts in the rain.

He said: "Some tracks it's fine, you can generate the temperature [in the tyres].

  

"Canada [is good but] here in those conditions [or] in China, I'm not sure you're going to get that temperature back."

Grosjean also revealed he thought the FIA was just experimenting with the procedure and did not know standing restarts were definitely being implemented.

The Grand Prix Drivers' Association director said he would speak with group chairman Alexander Wurz.

"I'm just going to say that in my experience I feel like it's dangerous," said Grosjean.

"Maybe the others don't feel the same but I don't feel confident going with cold tyres."

Grosjean's team boss Gunther Steiner said the restarts would "make it more interesting" but said rule makers needed to be wary of consequences "that we don't expect".

"It needs to go up the chain now and we'll see what the outcome is," he said. "That's why we do these tests.

"I don't know how bad it is and for sure somebody will be looking into it, getting videos and times, and they'll see if it's actually dangerous or not."

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Mercedes convinced Red Bull is now serious threat

Mercedes technical director James Allison has singled out Red Bull as potentially being the main threat to the reigning champion Formula 1 team in 2018.
Daniel Ricciardo set the fastest ever lap of the Barcelona circuit on Wednesday with the RB14, running on hypersoft tyres.

He was almost 0.4s ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who used ultrasofts on his quickest lap.

Red Bull also showed impressive reliability, as Ricciardo logged 165 laps.

"I think there's three quick teams and there's no doubt that Red Bull are going to be people that we're going to be fighting with this year," Allison told Sky Sports. "There's clearly no doubt about that.

"It's still not possible to say for sure if we've got our nose in front of them or they've got their nose in front of us, but you can say it's close."

Allison believes that there's more to come from Red Bull, saying: "I don't know what their engine plans are, but looking at what they've brought here, I'd say they've still got some bodywork to bolt on before Melbourne.

"But no one really sandbags. There's no point in sandbagging. You're here to test. And you're only going to do a valid test if you find out what your car can do.

"The thing you can do to change the absolute pace is to have more or less fuel in the car, to have the engine turned up more or less depending on what particular test you're making with it."

  

Ricciardo feels Red Bull is closer

Ricciardo believes that Red Bull has closed the gap to Mercedes, although he admits he doesn't yet know how Ferrari fits in.

"Now it looks like we're close," said the Australian. "I still don't really know where Ferrari is, I'm quite confident that Mercedes is just in front of us, but Ferrari I'm not sure. I think we're going to be a lot closer than last year.

"I don't think we're talking six or eight tenths, like it was this time last year. We seem to be close, and Ferrari I would guess are probably close, within our pace."

Ricciardo, who didn't run yesterday because he was unwell, admitted he felt tired after his marathon stint, which was planned from the start of running.

"I think if I said I'm very energetic right now, I'm certainly not, I'm running on empty, but we got through it, it was a good day," he admitted.

"Especially when the lap times are that fast, I would say a bit of adrenaline takes over, and it gets you through. But I think I'll sleep well tonight."

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FIA must step up to help sort 2021 F1 rules, says Brown

McLaren has urged the FIA to step up its game to get a deal on Formula 1's future rules beyond 2020 sorted over the next few months.
With clear differences of opinions between teams and F1 owners Liberty Media about its vision for grand prix racing from 2021, there have been predictions of some 'fireworks' in talks that are scheduled to take place in the near future.

And that is why McLaren executive director Zak Brown thinks the time has come for the FIA to do more to help push things along, and avert the possibility of Ferrari or Mercedes chasing a future away from F1.

"I think this year is a very important year," said Brown during pre-season testing at Barcelona in Spain. "Along with the FIA, there is a lot of conversation that Liberty needs to do.

"The FIA is their partner in the future of F1, and I think we need to quickly see them put on the table [the plans for the future].

"I agree with [Ferrari president] Sergio Marchionne, who is vocal at this time: we need to see the vision put on paper to the teams."

Although F1 is committed to its current rules packages until the end of 2020, Brown thinks that discussions about what happens after that date cannot go on beyond this year.

"We as McLaren need to have – as does any business – a five or 10-year business plan," he explained.

  

"2021 is around the corner and the teams agree with the strategic direction of the conversation of getting costs under control, and getting a more balanced engine. We also want to continue to be leading edge technology in motorsport.

"In the first half of the year we need to have 2021 locked down, because the big teams, such as ourselves are going to need to adapt to these potential new rules and that takes time.

"We are very keen to see their vision put on paper and put in front of us and that needs to happen very quickly."

Brown said that there had been little progress in moving forward the 2021 engine rules since a controversial meeting in November, which left Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari unhappy about what was being planned.

"We need to know what we are doing on engines kind of now," added Brown. "The FIA has put out the regulations, but I don't think there has been closure on that. The FIA needs to move to bring clarity to that so everyone can react accordingly."

Although Brown recently suggested that Liberty needed to focus on doing what was right for fans, he has made clear he is aligned with Mercedes and Ferrari is demanding things move along quickly.

"In my conversations with Sergio and Toto [Wolff, Mercedes boss], there is a lot of alignment and agreement on the future direction of the sport," he said.

"There may be some differences of opinions about how you land on those conclusions, but we need to see something definitely put on the table to give us something all to react to."

Speaking about plans for a cost cap, he added: "I think that potentially it needs better alignment between Liberty and the FIA. I've heard that they support the cost cap and cost containment, but we don't have anything definitive on the table which is what we are all asking for.

"Every other business in this day has worked out how to make their business more efficient and more cost effective and deliver more value both to the racing teams to create franchise value and deliver a better product to the racing fans. So it needs to be addressed."

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Renault ramps up blown wing push

Renault has admitted that it is pushing Formula 1's rules to the limits in its bid to get an extra advantage from its blown rear wing this year.
The French car manufacturer raised eyebrows at the first test when its RS18 emerged with its unique angled exhaust configuration, which was clearly aimed to directing gases on to the rear wing.

While exhaust rule limitations since 2014 - plus a ban on monkey seats for 2018 - were aimed at deterring teams from pursuing blown wing opportunities, Renault clearly believes that raising its exhaust exit delivers a performance benefit.

It has angled the tailpipe at the maximium five degrees that is allowed in the regulations, and the upward tilt is exaggerated by the placement of the wastegate exhausts underneath.

The determination it has in getting this area of the car working perfectly has become clear this week, with Renault adding extra heat protection to the rear wing main plane to ensure it is not damaged by the 400-degree Centigrade gasses aimed at it.

Renault Sport F1 Team RS18 rear wing detail

Having run last week with temperature pads to monitor what was going on, the carbon ceramic material that has appeared looks like being a permanent solution to the matter.

Renault technical director Bob Bell has confessed that the team has deliberately angled its exhaust as high as it can to maximise the potential for a performance boost.

"It's no secret there is some benefit from the exhaust flows around the rear wing," he said. "We've chosen to push our exhaust up as high as you legally can to try to maximise the benefit.

"Different manufacturers have different solutions to that. It's a small gain. It's not where it was four or five years ago with blown diffusers by any means, it's nowhere near there, but it's still a useful benefit."

As well as getting the rear wing protection sorted, Bell has also suggested that effort will be put into getting engine modes created to help keep the flow of gases more constant rather than only being when the driver was on-throttle.

"We're a works team, Viry and Enstone are closely knitted, so on issues like that that involve an element of power unit performance and chassis performance we work very closely to get the best out of it," he said.

"We're working closely with them and we do whatever we can do within the regulations to maximise that."

Renault's customer teams McLaren and Red Bull have not angled their rear exhausts as high as the works team, but Bell would not be surprised if rivals pursue similar ideas soon.

When asked if he expected others to copy, he said: "It's not hard at all. You only have to look at where the exhaust is and change a few numbers on drawings and you can shove it up."

Red Bull Racing RB14 exhaust detail

Gary Anderson's View

Exhaust-blown aerodynamic components are nothing new. As I always say, you should never forget what you have learned.

Any time you have reasonably high-speed airflow at your disposal, you can do something with it. In the past, the exhaust exits were placed directly in the diffuser, improving the diffuser performance. That was then banned.

Then we had the Coanda effect, where placing the exhaust exit correctly on the sidepod surface would mean the high-speed exhaust gases would track along the body surface and again assist the diffuser performance.

For the V6 turbo era, the exhaust exit size and position was defined in the regulations, meaning it was more or less in the middle of nowhere and had very little effect other than to help energise the airflow on what was called the saddle wing.

This is a small aerodynamic section placed just above the exhaust exit. This in turn then helped the performance of the rear wing.

For 2018, regulation changes meant the saddle wing was eliminated and in regulation 5.8 the exhaust exit location was tightened up with the intention to eliminate any potential of exhaust blowing on the rear wing.

As you can see from Renault's efforts, it has the exhaust exit as high as possible and it is angled up at five degrees, which is again the maximum. There is still a little to be had from this higher airspeed as it leaves the exhaust and wastegate exits. The effect will be small, but it will be something.

The negatives are the heat on the rear wing surfaces, but with modern carbonfibre resin technologies this shouldn't be a problem.

Also, the fact that at the end of the straight you are shutting the throttle, which reduces the flow at the same time as you are closing the DRS, means that you could just have some rear wing airflow reattachment problems entering the braking area.

When I was watching trackside, I didn't see any real problems with this but it could be a different matter when the ambient temperatures increase.

Renault Sport F1 Team RS18 exhaust detail

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Prince Harry launches new Silverstone Experience project

The Silverstone Experience project was launched on Wednesday by Prince Harry as work officially started on the British Grand Prix's venue £19.3million visitor attraction, which will open in spring 2019.

The prince is the official patron of the Silverstone Experience, which is being built inside a former Wellington bomber hanger located within the grounds of the track and is expected to attract over 500,000 visitors a year.

As well as celebrating the history of the track and of British motorsport, the Silverstone Experience will also work closely with the Silverstone University Technical College to inspire future motorsport engineers.

After turning the ceremonial lights from red to green in the hangar, Prince Harry said: "It is well known that Britain is a leader in high performance engineering and motor racing engineering in particular.

"But it is no exaggeration to say that unless we encourage more young people to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics it will be impossible for us to continue to lead in this field.

"The Silverstone Experience will be an exhilarating attraction, based here at the home of British motorsport and I'm sure it will help to engage children in engineering by making that all important connection between their textbooks and the excitement and thrills of motorsport."

The project has received a £9.1m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Its chairman Sir Peter Luff added: "Silverstone is a place where so many legends of British motor racing have their roots.

"Thanks to National Lottery players we're delighted to celebrate this important step towards sharing Silverstone's fascinating history. Stories of drivers and sporting glory, yes, but also of the extraordinary creativity of British engineering and of all the people behind the scenes who, quite literally, have kept the show on the road."

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McLaren urges FIA to speed up talks over F1 2021 rules

McLaren has urged the FIA to step up its game to get a deal on Formula 1's rules beyond 2020 sorted over the next few months.

With clear differences of opinions between teams and F1 chiefs about the vision for grand prix racing from 2021, McLaren executive director Zak Brown thinks the time has come for the FIA to help push things along, and avert the possibility of Ferrari or Mercedes chasing a future away from F1.

"This year is a very important year," said Brown during pre-season testing at Barcelona in Spain.

"Along with the FIA, there is a lot of conversation that Liberty [F1's owner] needs to do.

"The FIA is their partner in the future of F1, and we need to quickly see them put on the table [the plans for the future].

"I agree with [Ferrari president] Sergio Marchionne, who is vocal at this time: we need to see the vision put on paper to the teams."

Although F1 is committed to its current rules packages until the end of 2020, Brown thinks discussions about what happens after that date cannot drag on beyond this year.

"We as McLaren need to have - as does any business - a five or 10-year business plan," he said.

"2021 is around the corner and the teams agree with the strategic direction of the conversation of getting costs under control, and getting a more balanced engine.

"We also want to continue to be leading edge technology in motorsport.

"In the first half of the year we need to have 2021 locked down, because the big teams, such as ourselves are going to need to adapt to these potential new rules and that takes time.

"We are very keen to see their vision put on paper and put in front of us and that needs to happen very quickly."

Brown said there had been little progress in moving forward the 2021 engine rules since a controversial meeting in November, which left Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari unhapppy about what was being planned.

"We need to know what we are doing on engines kind of now," added Brown.

"The FIA has put out the regulations, but I don't think there has been closure on that.

"The FIA needs to move to bring clarity to that so everyone can react accordingly.

"In my conversations with Sergio and Toto [Wolff, Mercedes boss], there is a lot of alignment and agreement on the future direction of the sport.

"There may be some differences of opinions about how you land on those conclusions, but we need to see something definitely put on the table to give us something all to react to."

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NEWEY: RESTRICT THE TOOLS

Red Bull ace designer Adrian Newey fears Formula 1 is losing its magic because it has evolved into an engine formula that is far too expensive, extremely complex and difficult to cap budgets, but he does believe that restricting the use of expenses such as wind tunnels will go a long way to levelling the lopsided playing field that currently exists.

There are ten teams of which a couple of them just survive from year to year while three of them are gobbling up the results by massive spending in the development of their respective cars. The other five teams merely make up the numbers.

Throw into that the fact that the current cars, despite being amazing pieces of engineering, do not promote close racing and Formula 1 is not in a very good place in terms of unrealised entertainment potential.

Newey did not mince his words in an interview with Auto Motor und Sport, “The balance between the importance of the engine and the chassis has shifted and is no longer tenable.”

“Here Mercedes is superior in all the key areas: engine power, fuel consumption, drivability, MGU-H recuperation. You can not make up for that with a better car.”

In the end, it has to be asked: how much money and resources should teams be allowed to throw at their F1 campaigns without restriction?

Newey’s own Red Bull team is spending around $300-million per year on their Formula 1 campaign, with 800 staff behind Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo working hard to give them the best equipment.

Mercedes and Ferrari have about 1,000 people dedicated to their F1 projects, bearing in mind they also supply teams with engine packages which Red Bull do not do.

Nevertheless, there is even an imbalance of power among the Big Three teams as Newey pointed out, “We have 125 people in the aerodynamics office. Mercedes has almost twice the people. Their output is automatically higher.”

Liberty Media are well aware of this scenario that currently prevails among the haves and the have-nots in the sport and have suggested addressing the issue with a budget cap.

But Newey is not a fan of such action, “That’s socialism. In real life, it only worked in theory. Restrict the tools. Then we do not need so many people.”

First to go in Newey’s book are wind-tunnels, “From a technical point of view, they are dinosaurs that are about to die out anyway. We design more and more with the help of the CFD simulation.”

Newey further advocates limiting the use of certain aero bits, “If you’re only allowed to build five different rear wings a year, you’ll wonder if building a single special wing for Monza is required. You then restrict yourself to the essentials.”

Finally, Newey reveals why he is no fan of the hybrid turbo power unit era which he believes is not the right engine formula for the sport, “In 1998, our McLaren weighed 580 kilograms. We still had 45 kilos of ballast on board. Today we are at 733 kilograms with virtually zero ballast.”

“You could save a lot of fuel if you were driving with significantly less weight, but this is only possible with other engines,” added Newey.

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HONDA: WE USED THE SAME ENGINE THROUGHOUT TEST 2

What a difference a year and a slap in the face have made to Honda, last year this time they left Barcelona scratching their heads as they had produced a dud of an engine for McLaren setting the stage for a woeful season and the ultimate divorce.

But a year later, with their new partner Toro Rosso, the Japanese manufacturer are enjoying a strong honeymoon with the Faenza based outfit which may lay the foundation for a long-term relationship that could impact the entire Red Bull F1 organisation.

Honda F1 technical chief Toyoharu Tanabe said after the final four days of testing at Circuit de Barcelona- Catalunya, “We used the same Power Unit throughout Test 2.

And added, “The results of winter testing have been satisfactory, as we managed to get through nearly all items on our programme, thus acquiring plenty of valuable data.”

“It was our first eight days of working at a race track together with Toro Rosso. Our relationship has been very open and honest and communication has been effective between all of us.”

“It’s only testing, but it has been an ideal start and now we look forward to racing together in Melbourne,” added Tanabe, whose team are clearly relishing working with their new partner.

The past three years with Honda and McLaren was fractious and tension-packed which in the end resulted in two corporations failing to plug-and-play together. With Toro Rosso this is quite the opposite.

Team principal Franz Tost explained, “I have always said that the partnership with Honda will be very important for our team, as it gave us the possibility to start a new way of designing and developing this season’s car in real cooperation with a very strong engine manufacturer – this time effectively working together in order to improve the packaging in its totality.”

The Honda power unit bolted onto the Toro Rosso STR13 for the second test was bullet-proof thanks to choices made during the first week of testing, when Honda provided three different spec engines for Brendon Hartley and Pierre Gasly, from those they selected the ‘chosen’ one to do the business during the final four days in Barcelona.

At the beginning of December 2017, Tanabe was promoted to technical director of Honda’s Formula 1 project, with Yasuaki Asaki as Operations Manager.

He has worked for Honda for 33 years and used to be a Gerhard Berger’s Honda technician at McLaren during their glory years. He also engineered Jenson Button during the Englishman’s spell with Honda.

Most recently, he worked as head of the IndyCar program, celebrating victory at the legendary Indy 500 with compatriot Takuma Sato in 2017.

In Spain, Tanabe said, “We have gained a lot of experience, the work with Toro Rosso has been outstanding. It was an ideal start to our cooperation, with very open and honest communication.”

MIKA: Good to see HONDA doing well with their engine, brings me back to the BAR Honda days.

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RED BULL APPOINT WACHE TO NEW TECHNICAL DIRECTOR ROLE

Red Bull Chief Engineer of Performance Pierre Wache has been appointed to the newly created role of Technical Director with the energy drinks outfit, making him second in charge to Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey.

The appointment of Wache will allow Newey to focus on both the Formula 1 project and Aston Martin/ Red Bull related road car endeavours.

Wache joined Red Bull in 2o13 after a spell with Sauber and his promotion does not impact on the existing positions of Chief Engineering Officer Rob Marshall, Head of Aerodynamics Dan Fallows and Chief Engineer for Car Engineering Paul Monaghan.

The internal move is expected to streamline Red Bull’s chain of command on the design front. The team has tended to mould itself around Newey’s commitment. This move will lessen the impact his occasional absences will have on the team.

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VETTEL: LAWN MOWING GIVES ME SATISFACTION

Ferrari have not won a Formula 1 World Championship title since 2007, expectations are high not only within Maranello and their Tifosi, but also the whole of Italy who will not have Gli Azzurri to shout for on the World Cup this year and thus will be banking on their beloved Reds to deliver on track.

The man tasked with bringing home the title for Ferrari is Sebastian Vettel who finds motivation from these expectations that surround the legendary team, while revealing that he is an avid lawnmower man!

In a wide-ranging interview with Sportbild, Vettel was asked if the expectations around the fabled team was pressure or motivation for him, he replied, “Motivation. I put that pressure on myself.”

“It is important that we stick together as a team and have a plan. Everyone at Ferrari gives all they have for success, they are extremely motivated, you can feel the passion that people have for Ferrari as a brand. And everyone sacrifices personal interest to help pursue success for the team.”

“Enzo Ferrari once said: You can not describe passion you have to experience it. Red is just a colour, but it is one which stands for Ferrari in racing and in Formula 1 and is something special again. The stuff that makes you weak at the knees.”

Asked if at 30 years of age, with four F1 world titles to his name, how he found motivation at the start of each season, he replied, “There is still that hunger for more that keeps you going. It’s not a question of age, it’s up to you to decide to what extent you’re still fast enough to be at the front.”

As for more titles, specifically with Ferrari, Vettel said, “I do not look so far ahead. I think it’s very important to stay cool and sober. If you over-think it, always pondering how to get to your destination faster you may miss important steps and then you realize that you are not there, where you want to be. That’s why I’m a step-by-step person.”

Lewis Hamilton versus Sebastian Vettel was a tasty contest last year and looks set to continue this season as both Ferrari and Mercedes appear to have impressive cars at their disposal.

Asked for his opinion on his archrival and nemesis, Vettel ventured, “Lewis is a four-time World Champion and one of the best F1 drivers… He is an opponent on the track, but not in life.”

“Honestly, it does not matter to me who I am driving against, but if you win against Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso at the end feels better, you’re proud of it. You know that the level at which Lewis or Fernando are on is extremely high.”

Much has been written about Vettel’s headline-grabbing rant and actions during last year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, when asked why he is so emotional in the cockpit he explained, “Everyone can judge those who make mistakes. Of course, you should not cross certain borders, but this happens sometimes in life.”

“If this did not happen would life be so worth living? Not for me. I think it is also interesting for other people to be able to form their own opinion in each situation and make their own judgment. If I get criticised after that, I have to live with it, life goes on.

He also gave insight on how he deals with criticism, “Example Singapore: The evening in Singapore was not so easy to digest. Especially because I could have finished the race much better. That was the main lump I had to chew on.”

“The situation and how it arose, I was pretty clear… That’s when I reacted the way I reacted. Was that wrong? Could I have done better? This question can often be asked, but it happened.”

The Formula 1 landscape has changed massively since Vettel broke onto the scene when he made his debut for BMW at the 2007 United States grand prix and in the wake of the big changes to the sport (such as the Halo and grid girls ditched) he was asked if he still enjoyed being an F1 driver.

He replied, “Yes, because I still love driving at the limit with the fastest cars in the world and in a Ferrari. The halo may not look good, but the pros outweigh the cons from a safety aspect. If only one life can be saved by the Halo, it has already proven itself to be worthy.”

“As far as the grid girls are concerned, I can live well with kids in front of our cars like in football which they have been doing for years. Players come on to the playing field with children. It’s a good idea to do it now in Formula 1.”

As for the danger of the sport, he said, “I’m not afraid of the car. I feel very safe when I am sitting in the car, directing the steering wheel and deciding what to do. You have to respect safety which is quite normal.”

“You can feel the high speeds in the car, but you do not imagine what you might risk or what could happen if there is an accident. It can always happen because you are constantly at the limit, but I’m not afraid of that.”

Finally, it was interesting to learn that Vettel, a man recognised as one of the best race drivers of his generation racing the fastest multi-million dollar cars on the planet, admitted, “Lawn mowing gives me satisfaction. I have a small lawn tractor. When I mow the lawn and it looks really neat, then I’m really satisfied.”

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HORNER: I SEE TOTO MAKING A LOAD OF COMMENTS ON THIS

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff believes that Red Bull compromise themselves by opting to use a different fuel and oil supplier to Renault their engine supplier, but his colleague Christian Horner has rubbished the notion and claims it is actually an advantage for the energy drinks outfit

Red Bull use ExxonMobil while Renault use BP and the company’s Castrol lubricants and Mercedes, on the other hand, are supplied by Petronas.

During the final week of testing in Barcelona,  Wolff said in an interview, “The strategic mistake is to opt for the commercial deal rather than making sure you are on the same specification of fuel and oil as the works team.”

“You’re running different calibrations on track, which doesn’t give you any learning. You’re making your life complicated if you’re having different specs. It’s a philosophy,” added the Austrian.

But speaking to Sky Sport, Horner refuted the notion and quipped, “I see Toto has been making a load of comments on this,” 

“We see it as an advantage,” insisted Horner. “We have a great relationship with Exxon and have done for the last 12 months. They are producing some great products and we see it as a technical advantage. Their products won three grands prix last year.”

“Obviously there are additional burdens involved in that as it’s a different supplier than what the works team have, it just means they’ve got to run more engines on the dynos which we have to cover the cost for.”

“But we wouldn’t be using it if we didn’t see it as a technical advantage. They are a great company, great to respond, very quick and we see it as an advantage,” added Horner.

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RENAULT ENGINE DOESN’T END MCLAREN PROBLEMS YET

New engine but ongoing disappointment for McLaren, the second most successful team in Formula 1 history, who hope to put an end to three years of misery using Honda-made motors by ditching the Japanese engine manufacturer and partnering with Renault as a customer team.

The move, however, has been anything but trouble-free so far as McLaren continued to struggle despite the change to Renault power units during two weeks of preseason testing in Spain, which ended on Friday.

Technical mishaps limited McLaren to the fewest laps of the 10 teams running at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. McLaren logged 599 total laps over eight days. Defending champion Mercedes led with 1,039.

Toro Rosso, meanwhile, seemed to be adapting well after switching from Renault to Honda motors, making it increasingly clear that McLaren’s woes were not all caused by its old engine. Toro Rosso completed the third-most laps with 822, a stark difference to the problem packed sessions they endured a year ago.

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier acknowledged the preseason hadn’t given the team’s fans a reason to believe in a rebound.

He couldn’t even guarantee McLaren will put a race-ready car on the track for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on 25 March.

“One-hundred percent sure? No. Because we have not run as much as we wanted. So there will be a higher risk of failure,” Boullier said during the final testing session on Friday.

Twice this week Fernando Alonso lost valuable practice time when his car ground to a halt due to oil leaks, forcing engineers to replace the power unit both times.

Those car failures came after the former world champion suffered an ominous start to the preseason two weeks ago when a wheel popped off his McLaren and sent him into the gravel. Also, on Tuesday, teammate Stoffel Vandoorne twice had his runs interrupted by technical hiccups.

Alonso did post the second-fastest time on Friday, but that will mean very little come race day if his car is not reliable.

“So far we have minor issues, but that is because we didn’t do a good enough job to prepare the car,” Boullier said.

McLaren has eight constructor championships and 12 driver titles to its name. But its last driver title was in 2008 and its last grand prix victory in 2012. It has been four years since one of its drivers reached a podium.

Last year, Alonso and Vandoorne managed a meager 30 combined points with their best result being sixth by Alonso in Hungary. They failed to finish 13 races and didn’t start two more.

“The last three years was a difficult context. We are now trying to get McLaren back to where it should be,” Bouiller said. “You can’t do it in one day and maybe there are a few hitches, but we have not lost our ability to design fast cars and I hope you will see it on the track soon.”

Boullier said the goal for this year was to get the team to compete with the middle of the pack which means that McLaren is still far, far away from joining Ferrari and Red Bull in their quest to topple Mercedes.

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INSIDE LINE: IF ENGINES ARE EQUAL WHY ARE WILLIAMS SO BAD?

The matter regarding Formula 1 power unit parity between works and customer teams took centre stage the week before the second test in Barcelona after the FIA put out a directive demanding that engine suppliers provide their customer teams with equal PUs as well as related hardware and software.

This, in turn, spurred Red Bull chief Christian Horner to stir the pot when he suggested that Claire Williams actually lobbied the FIA for this directive, implying that the Grove outfit were unhappy with the ‘equality’ of the engines they received from Merc, but a statement from Williams refutes the claim and said that the engines are equal.

In the wake of Horner’s ‘revelation’ Williams declared on Twitter: “Contrary to comments made recently in the press, we refute any suggestion that we have questioned the parity of the power units provided by Mercedes-AMG HPP.”

Horner’s claims also appear to have irked Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff who was adamant, “It’s not relevant for us, because the rules have been in place for a while that you must supply the customers with the same hardware and software from a power unit standpoint, and we’ve always done that.”

End of story? Well not quite because there is still a little niggle with regards to this engine parity matter that refuses to go away…

Let’s face it Mercedes have been untouchable in the new turbo era of Formula 1. In the 79 grand prix races since 2014 when the new engine formula was born, their drivers have scored 122 podiums, won 62 grands prix and brought home eight Formula 1 world championships. Utterly dominant is an often used description.

During this period Williams amassed 15 podiums but none of them victories, while a glance at fellow Merc-powered Force India reveal stats that are even bleaker as in the four seasons of hybrid turbo power the Silverstone based outfit have four podiums to their credit but no wins.

Another interesting stat is that a Mercedes has started from pole position on 71 occasions during this period, while Williams has had only one top spot start with Force India yet to enjoy such a luxury.

Now Wolff is adamant that the complaints did not emerge from the teams they supply and insisted his organisation are supplying equal power units to Williams and Force India, plus the exact same software to their customers.

Williams themselves have confirmed: “Contrary to comments made recently in the press, we refute any suggestion that we have questioned the parity of the power units provided by Mercedes-AMG HPP,” Williams said in a statement.

“We are absolutely confident that the power units used by Mercedes, Force India and ourselves are identical in terms of both hardware and software.”

From where I stand Williams have a huge problem: they either have a very bad chassis or very bad drivers during these four years in which they have been receiving identical kit to the work’s team.

Tackling the drivers first… it is notable that Valtteri Bottas in his three years with Williams never won a race, but in his first season with the Silver Arrows added three wins to his CV.

In his three years with Williams, he was in the top three on nine occasions, while in his single year with Merc he celebrated on the podium 12 times.

Mercedes chief and F1 legend Niki Lauda believes that on average Bottas was about two tenths off teammate Lewis Hamilton’s pace during the course of 2017.

So let’s attribute three tenths to the driver deficit, but on a rough average Williams were about 1.5 seconds off the Silver Arrows pace during qualifying and anything between half a second and a second in race pace.

Thus with engines equal as claimed by both parties, presuming the drivers account for around three-tenths of a second deficit then it must be that the chassis’ that Williams have produced for the past four years has been rubbish.

Which in turn suggests that the big gains by Mercedes are down to chassis and, more specific, aero advantage in the dominant cars they have produced during their eight F1 titles winning spell.

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LOWE: LIMITATION IN THE FW41 IS CORNER ENTRY INSTABILITY

Williams technical chief Paddy Lowe admitted that the team struggled to unlock the potential of the new FW41 during the eight days of testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya these past two weeks.

Much was expected of the team’s new car was a new design project led by Lowe in conjunction with highly rated former Ferrari designer Dirk de Beer, but testing has been a disappointment in terms of raw pace for the team and their young driver line-up.

Speaking to reporters after the final day of testing in Barcelona on Friday, Lowe said, “We’re doing a lot of experiments. The limitation in the car at the moment is corner entry instability. That’s quite often the limitation in the car to be honest, but it’s particularly exaggerated at the moment with what we’re running.”

“If we can unlock some progress there, we will find a lot more lap time than we’ve got at the moment because some other aspects of the car are working really, really strongly through other phases of the corner.”

“Mostly these things involve a strong aerodynamic element, but the solutions involve everything from suspension to tires and everything else. So it’s always multi-dimensional.”

“I think a large degree of change both in the team that delivered the car and the car itself, that can take a while to develop and optimize. I think we can make a lot more progress within the season, and even into next. It’s still early in the potential I think that’s in the team.

“I think the correlation is pretty sound. Actually, Williams’ ability to measure aerodynamic performance is one of the strongest I’ve seen. The technology and the people together is very strong.”

“We’ve got a great wind tunnel, it’s well up there with the best. So we’ve got good tools and we make good use of them, but I think there’s potential to do even more,” added Lowe.

Lance Stroll, Sergey Sirotkin and team reserve Robert Kubica all spent time in the car during the course of the eight days.

Although lap times in testing reveal very little it can be noted that Sirotkin was fastest of the trio with a best time of 1:19.620 set on Pirelli soft compound tyres on Friday, but perhaps of concern was the fact that it was two seconds off the top time set on the day. Stroll struggled to dip below the 80 seconds mark.

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Nico Hulkenberg lifted by year-on-year Renault F1 growth

Nico Hulkenberg says he has been encouraged by Renault’s development, but on- and off-track, as he enters his second campaign with the team.

Hulkenberg joined Renault prior to 2017 – after previous stints in Formula 1 with Williams (2010), Sauber (2013) and Force India (2012, 2014-16) – when the French manufacturer was one year in to its full-time comeback.

Renault has expanded its facilities and headcount at Enstone and Viry-Chatillon as it continues towards its target of competing for the Formula 1 title in 2020.

“It feels much more mature and like a grown operation and unit” said Hulkenberg on Renault’s year-on-year progress.

“Also the car build, how the car is running, what we achieved is 100 degrees better than last year.

“So that’s all very, very good and what was the target but also what we need to do if we want to succeed with this project.”

Hulkenberg was also buoyed by the information Renault was able to gather across the course of the two pre-season test sessions at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

“Melbourne is luckily not too far away and we finally go racing again,” he said. “I feel good. I feel positive.

“We’ve managed to collect a lot of miles and a lot of data and pretty much successfully go through our programme which is not always that normal in winter testing.

“From that we will build a much better knowledge about the car and our understanding of the car. Also already for the development going forward.”

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Williams: Sergey Sirotkin doesn't act like an F1 rookie

Formula 1 debutant Sergey Sirotkin acts like an “old hand” rather than a rookie, according to Williams Deputy Team Principal Claire Williams.

Sirotkin, 22, has stepped up to Formula 1 with Williams after a junior career which yielded back-to-back third places in GP2, as well as race-winning performances in Formula Renault 3.5

The Russian had prior Formula 1 experience before joining Williams, competing in test and practice sessions in 2014 (with Sauber) and 2016/17 (at Renault).

Williams praised the manner in which Sirotkin has approached his rookie campaign in the sport, and lauded his feedback across the test sessions in the FW41.

“Sergey has done a fantastic job, and we are delighted,” she said.

“He has only been in the team a short while yet he has spent a huge amount of time with us back in the factory already, pretty much all of January he was at Grove with us.

“That was great as I haven’t seen race drivers do that for a long time and I really feel that they need to integrate on a daily basis with the team if they are going to achieve what they want to.

“He kept his head down [during testing] and has done what we have asked of him in the car – long running, short running – and he has given some really great feedback which is what we wanted to see of him.

“From my perspective he might be a rookie but he certainly doesn’t act like one.

“He acts like an old hand who has been in this paddock driving Formula 1 cars for years so he is a great addition to the team and I am really pleased.”

Sirotkin will partner sophomore Lance Stroll, and Williams described the 19-year-old as a “changed character” compared to 12 months ago.

“I know there was a lot of talk about our driver line-up, but Lance has done a lot of work over the winter to make sure he is really prepared going into this season,” she commented.

“I think one of the areas was around his short runs and qualifying laps, so he's done some good work in the simulator with that, as I said, another programme that we have running behind-the-scenes with him. He'll continue that work throughout the year.

“He's definitely a changed character from where we were this time last year, but Lance is despite his young age, he's incredibly confident, and that translates.

“He knows what he wants and he's not afraid to ask the engineers for it. He's a much more of an all-rounder now.

“There's still clearly work to be done, as everyone in life still has work to do, whatever age you are or however much experience you have in the career that you're in.

“But he's definitely a driver that knows what he's doing. It's going to be exciting to see what he delivers this year.”

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Haas 'not getting excited' over F1 test pace - Kevin Magnussen

Kevin Magnussen says Haas is not getting overtly excited over the pace it displayed during the second pre-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Haas is entering its third season in Formula 1, having placed eighth in the standings in both 2016 and 2017, with its VF-18 an evolution of its predecessor.

Magnussen and Grosjean placed sixth and ninth respectively on the combined leaderboard, with their best lap times coming on the Supersofts, rather than the Hypersofts or Ultrasofts.

When asked whether Haas could spring a surprise, Magnussen replied: “We have to wait and see. We don’t know what other people can do, or if other people have a lot of fuel in the car.

“So we are not getting excited already. We feel like we have improved our car, and we definitely have improved our car, but so has everyone else.

“We will have to wait until Melbourne to really get a better idea of where we are going to be, and then the first couple of races will probably show another picture.

“Hopefully we can do well, but it is too early to say now.”

Magnussen expanded on Haas’ ambitions for the 2018 campaign, reiterating that moving one spot up the Constructors’ championship is a realistic target, after its pair of eighths.

“We are going into this season with a mind-set that we will do the best we can,” he said. “And not have any set expectations.

“We don’t necessarily need to finish fourth, we need to not do worse than we did last year.

“We have a pretty common goal in the team that we want to take a step forward in the field and preferably move up a position in the championship.

“Our goal is to try not finish eighth again. If we can finish seventh in the constructor’s championship and move up a position we can be really happy.

“We are pleased with where we are in the process right now, and we will take it race by race.”

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Thankful Kubica hails ‘incredible fans’

Robert Kubica has paid tribute to his “incredible” fans for the “amazing” support he has received throughout his long road to recovery.

Wherever, whenever Kubica is racing, the Polish fans and their flags are not very far behind. And while Kubica is thankful for the support, he does not want them to be too disappointed about him not getting the full-time drive at Williams.

“Polish fans are incredible,” Kubica told Mobil 1 The Grid.

“It’s not only in F1 [that] they have been following me. They have been following me in rally, whatever races I was doing – on the race track, on the rally stage, in snow, in wet. It’s amazing.

“I know they have high expectations and they felt a bit disappointed [that Kubica didn’t get a full-time drive] but I think we have to look at it [with] a bit of a wider angle.

“I think nobody thought that 12 months ago I would have a chance to  get this possibility.

“The fans for sure [made] me becoming stronger, I think. They really gave me [a] smile. I would like to thank everybody and, let’s see us on the race track!”

Check out the full interview below…

 

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Marko: Red Bull have the better chassis

Red Bull’s chassis is “better” than Mercedes’ W09, that’s according to Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko.

Although it was Ferrari who claimed bragging rights in pre-season testing, posting the fastest two lap times, Mercedes head into this year’s championship as the team to beat.

Marko, though, says that’s not because of the chassis they’ve designed, rather it is their engine that gives them the advantage.

“We have a better chassis than Mercedes,” he told Auto Motor und Sport.

“The difference is the engine.”

And it is that engine, or more specifically the oil burning, that tech guru Adrian Newey says makes the difference.

“For us, the oil consumption is 100 liters at 0.1 liters,” he explained. “Mercedes and Ferrari go to the limit of 0.6 liters.”

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Honda, Toro Rosso to consider tactical engine changes

Toro Rosso F1 boss Franz Tost believes the team and Honda will discuss taking tactical engine changes this year, as there could be performance gains to be had from using fresher power units.
Formula 1 teams are bracing themselves for a tough time in managing engine life in 2018 – with new rules liming them to just three power units (and two MGU-K, energy store and control electronics) for the 21-race season.

Manufacturers have worked hard over the winter to prepare for the challenge, but Tost believes that the power drop off that comes as an engine reaches the end of its life means there could be benefits to deliberately taking a fourth power unit instead.

Speaking to Motorsport.com, Tost said that he had no doubts the issue would come up later in the campaign and that he and Honda would have to work out whether dropping down the grid order was negated by having more horsepower available.

"There will come the period where we have to find out if is it better to start with a new power unit from the back instead of using an engine that will have 3000-4000 kilometres on it, and you start losing power after one or two hundred kilometres," he said.

"So we will see. But I can tell you now that we will have this discussion. I don't know when, but we will have it."

Tost thinks it is 'crazy' that F1 has stuck with the three-engine limit, after attempts to Red Bull to get the rule changed met resistance.

"Last year manufacturers tried with four engines and less races, and this year we have more races and less engines," he said. "I must only say they are totally crazy with this regulation.

"But Ferrari was against it [changing the rules], because others wanted to go with four. They [Ferrari] think they have an advantage with three. And it is within the regulations so we have to live with it.

"We have to accept it and how many power units at the end we will need I don't know."

Tost's comments about the Honda situation come after Renault admitted that it too was considering the possibility of tactical engine changes this year.

Renault F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul said: "We want to establish the baseline, we want to know a bit more about ourselves, the performance of the engine as it is right now.

"If it's better for everyone to use four power units or four V6s, rather than three, we may take that decision. But it's really too early to talk about that."

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The secret behind floor tunnels on Ferrari's SF71H 2018 F1 car

Ferrari's 2018 SF71H Formula 1 car grabbed attention in pre-season testing thanks to the appearance of new bodywork tunnels exiting alongside the gearbox.

The intrigue over the tunnels was such that they prompted some wild conspiracy theories about double diffusers, although these suggestions were wide of the mark.

These channels are instead the latest step of a clever design path that Ferrari has been working on in recent seasons.

Since 2016, Ferrari began working on the idea of an extra channel on top of the diffuser area to help direct airflow. This trench was previously left open, but for this year it has taken the step of covering it to increase its power.

The extra push in this area is also directly linked to the team's decision to increase its car's wheelbase this year.

Although last year's SF70H was in a class of its own on high-downforce tracks like Monaco and Hungary, it lacked the balance and aerodynamic efficiency required on more flowing circuits.

Increasing the wheelbase for 2018 - from 3550mm to 3678mm - allows the team to better manage airflow across the car's surfaces, and especially at the rear of the car, without it forcing the need for high-drag wings.

As Giorgio Piola's drawing (above) shows, Ferrari has achieved its longer car by moving its front wheels forward a little bit, but its rear wheels have been shifted backwards much more.

As well as lengthening the sidepods, the team has also moved the radiators and power unit forward to free up some space at the rear. This has the benefit of allowing the team to run ultra-tight packaging at the rear of the car.

But as well as very narrow sculpted bodywork at the rear, the design has opened up the chance to exploit more the airflow around the diffuser.

This means the channels run right alongside the wall of the new gearbox, which helps accelerate airflow to help feed the diffuser.

You can also see how Ferrari has shaped the gearbox covering to help channel air too.

How the channels work

The outlets that can be seen at the rear of the car are actually fed by a trough in the floor that has been present on the last few generations of car (2016's SF16H above).

Rather than the trough being exposed as it was in the past, Ferrari has now shrouded it with bodywork so the airflow around the coke bottle region has contours to follow.

This bodywork should provide a protective barrier for the flow, helping it to navigate the region more effectively over a wider number of operating conditions.

The team will hope that the SF71H delivers its peak performance more consistently at different tracks - and is especially better on the longer flowing circuits where Mercedes excelled in 2017.