FORMULA 1

[MIKA27]

Magnussen ‘confident’ 2020 Haas can be midfield contenders

Kevin Magnussen has nailed his colours to the mast early doors in 2020 after insisting that, despite a woeful 2019 for his Haas team, he is confident they will once again be a midfield force to be reckoned with this year.

Haas’ struggles of 2019 are well documented, with the team taking just 28 points – less than a third of what they scored in 2018 – en route to finishing ninth in the constructors’ standings, four places down on their finishing position from the year before.

“Hopefully we’ve learned from the mistakes of last year so we can have a good season,” said Magnussen, ahead of the start of 2020 pre-season testing in Barcelona on February 19. “I’m very excited for the test this year. I’m confident we’ll have a good car.”

Comments by Magnussen’s team boss back up the Dane’s belief, with Guenther Steiner saying that Haas have worked hard on improving their ability to analyse problems, after last year’s VF-19 demonstrated a performance-killing aerodynamic instability issue.

“There were some hard lessons learned last year in a car that was underperforming. Those lessons learned will be applied into this year,” said Steiner, whose other driver Romain Grosjean tried out the new VF-20 in a filming day on February 17, two days before the start of pre-season testing.

“Last year we had a good test [in 2019], and the early races were good – then it went south,” Steiner added. “What we’ve learned is how to look at things better, and how to analyse our data better to see if we’re on the right track or if we’re headed in the wrong direction. We learned as well to listen to our drivers – that sometimes helps a lot.”

We’ll get our first chance to see how Haas’ performance stacks up compared to their rivals when pre-season testing kicks off on February 19.

 

[MIKA27]

Miami Grand Prix clears latest roadblock to 2021 F1 race

The Miami Grand Prix has scored a major win in its battle against local opposition following a vote on Wednesday, removing a potential roadblock for the planned event on the 2021 Formula 1 race calendar.
Although commissioners tied 6-6 in the vote, it means the approval of both the city of Miami Gardens as well as the county will not be required going forward. Owners of the Miami Dolphins NFL team can now proceed with plans to build the track within its grounds, which hosted the Super Bowl for the sixth time earlier this month.

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos A Gimenez said that a number of concessions have been made to local residents following a meeting, including the removal of section of track planned to use the public road at NW 199th Street. Assurances over noise pollution, and no track activity during school hours nor at night were also made.

“We are happy that the commissioners reaffirmed again today that the Hard Rock Stadium entertainment complex is a regional facility that exists to benefit all of Miami-Dade County,” Miami Dolphins CEO Tom Garfinkel said. “We are glad to put this long-delayed vote behind us so we can begin to make the multi-million dollar private investment required to bring a race here, and have positive and productive conversations with local leadership about the many benefits that a global event of this nature brings.”

However, local Miami Gardens commissioner Barbara Jordan – who successfully led a campaign of disruption by residents against the race so far – has vowed she will continue to fight against the event, which included a protest during Super Bowl Sunday.

When asked if she would continue to oppose it, she said: “Absolutely. I will try to put something on every agenda if I can.”

[MIKA27]

Steiner: Haas critic Racing Point should ‘think before it talks’

Haas boss Gunther Steiner says past critics like Racing Point should ‘think before it talks’, as its rival found itself at the centre of its own copycat intrigue on the opening day of F1 testing.

Racing Point, under its previous guise Force India, had been outspoken in the past about the similarity between the Haas and Ferrari cars and said it was ‘magic’ how a new team had been so quick in Formula 1.

But with Racing Point having deliberately decided to pursue Mercedes concepts with its 2020 design, Steiner says that the approach Haas had taken in having synergies with Ferrari had been vindicated.

“Sometimes you have to think before you talk, I will say that one, because maybe one day it's your turn and then you cannot go against [it],” said Steiner about the Racing Point intrigue. “As we all know, they complained quite heavily a few years ago, so now it is going full circle. It is up to them. I don't really care.”

Steiner was clear, however, that he saw no wrong in Racing Point having chosen to go down the Mercedes route with its new car: “I would put it like this. They use a lot of Mercedes parts on their car, so why would they go and copy a Red Bull? It's the same with us.

“We buy a lot of parts from Ferrari. So which car are we going to copy? I guess a Ferrari. I mean, if you will copy a Toro Rosso or a Red Bull we would be pretty stupid because we would try to invent something which is not there.

“So I think they're just doing what we are doing: just trying to get the best out of it and use that model.”

AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost said he was not surprised that the Racing Point and Mercedes cars looked so similar, based on the fact that they share suspension and gearbox designs.

“There's a cooperation as we know, between Racing Point and Mercedes,” explained Tost. “They have the rear end, they have the rear suspension. 

“I don't know how much they have from the front suspension and from the aerodynamic point of view, as normally this is listed. But I accept... or let me say it in this way, I see that Racing Point went into the same direction of the development, and they have come up to similar solutions. But everything is within the regulations.”

[MIKA27]

Racing Point took “big risk” in following Mercedes aero route

Racing Point Formula 1 team technical director Andrew Green says the Silverstone-based team has taken a big risk by switching to the aerodynamic philosophy pursued by Mercedes – because it could have got its sums wrong.
The new RP20, seen in the public for the first time when it took to the track in Barcelona on Wednesday morning, shows a clear resemblance to the F1 World Championship-winning W10. Green says that the team had to do something to find speed for 2020, and it felt that there was little to be gained by sticking with the philosophy it had been pursuing.

The upside would be a potential leap in performance – Sergio Perez ended Day 1 of testing third in the times, behind only both Mercedes drivers – while the downside was tempered by the fact that there is only one more year with the current regulations. Thus in a worst case scenario had the teams got its sums badly wrong in making the switch only one year would be lost before the move to completely new rules in 2021.

“The inspiration is from the quickest car from last year,” Green told Motorsport.com. “That's where our inspiration came from. It's… why wouldn't we? We're in a position where we're using their [2019] gearbox, we've got the same power unit, and the gearbox is designed for suspension to go with a certain aerodynamic philosophy.

“We had a car that was running around seventh in the championship. And we've got one more year of these regulations, and the development that we were seeing with the high rake car to me just wasn't going to deliver, and it was worth taking a risk. And it is a big risk. We tore up what we did before, fresh piece of paper, where are we going to start? Well, you aren't going to start looking at the slowest car on the grid are you? You're going to start looking at the fastest car, and that's where we started.

“If it works, it works. If it doesn't, we’ve lost one year, but I don't think we would have lost anything relative to not doing it. The downside of not doing it was much greater.”

Green acknowledged that the key was fully understanding how the Mercedes approach worked.

“That's the hard bit,” he said. “We had to be confident that the team had the ability to understand what they were doing, and that's the risk. That is the big risk. I think from the data that we've seen during all the winter development our [aero] team back in Brackley have done a really good job at trying to understand how it all fits together and works. We've added our own bit to it, our own Racing Point side to it. So far, it seems really encouraging.”

Green said that the team had for several years consciously avoided following the Mercedes aero route, despite the restrictions created by the shared gearbox, which commits a customer to the same pick-up points: “It tries to push you in a certain direction.

“And we've been resisting it for several years trying to do a different type of concept using their hardware, and this was the year that we had the opportunity to do it. We’ve never had this opportunity before.”

He also clarified how much of the rear suspension is directly shared with Mercedes, as allowed by the rules.

“The suspension is mainly Racing Point,” he said. “Like last year we do utilise some Mercedes suspension bits outboard, so it’s no change. Some of them are delivered from Mercedes, some of the mechanical bits, but the rest of its designed by Racing Point.”

Asked how much of the launch car will be raced in Australia he said: “You're seeing a fair chunk of it, but there's a significant change coming for Melbourne as well. But that's got to be like the big step.

“Maybe there's another step in the year, we'll have to see how we go. Obviously, the draw to move on to ’21 is getting bigger.”

[MIKA27]

Leclerc: Day 1 test times reflect new Ferrari approach

Charles Leclerc says his Ferrari Formula 1 team has "changed a little bit our approach" to pre-season testing, after he finished only 11th-fastest on the opening day of 2020 running.
Leclerc, who received a call from Ferrari at 6.45am to replace his unwell teammate Sebastian Vettel for the first day, completed 131 laps on the day but was over a second down on the pace-setting Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton - despite having set his best time on a softer tyre than the reigning champion.

This was in stark contrast to the first day of testing last year, in which Vettel set the pace, before Leclerc himself then went quickest on day two.

But Ferrari's strong showing in Barcelona testing last year did not translate to the start to the season that had been expected, and Leclerc has admitted the Italian team is consciously holding off on performance work this time.

"Of course I think we changed a little bit our approach compared to last year," Leclerc said. "Last year the testing was great but the first race was a bit less great.

"And yeah, I think we've learned a few things on this, and this year we decided to focus more on ourselves, trying to learn the car as much as possible in these first few days, and then focus on performance a bit later on, and we'll see if that pays off."

Leclerc added that Wednesday's work was "more about correlating the numbers from the factory and the track", which means it mostly benefits engineers whereas drivers "don't learn much" about how competitive it is.

"Still, driving a new car, I still try to push at the limit of the car," he continued. "We haven't pushed the car, but I'm pushing myself to try and know this car better.

"So, the more laps that we do with it, the more confident I'll arrive in Melbourne, so on that side, on the driving side, I've learned a lot, and then the different tests we've performed today, I think they've been very positive."

Leclerc suggested that Ferrari was unlikely to take a page out of Mercedes' book from 2019 in bringing a very different car to the second week of testing.

Asked whether the SF1000 has accomplished team principal Mattia Binotto's stated aim of prioritising downforce compared to its predecessor, Leclerc said: "It's quite difficult to see that at the moment. Of course I feel quite quick in the corners, but it's always difficult to compare one year to the other.

"I think the good benchmark will be at the first race when the tyres will be in the right window. It's still very cold now, and the downforce has quite a big effect on tyres. So it's all about having the aero that puts the tyres in the right window. And for now we can't really know, so we just focus on ourselves."

[MIKA27]

Verstappen says new Red Bull "fast everywhere"

Max Verstappen says the new Red Bull car is "fast everywhere" and its reliability has improved as well, following the first day of pre-season testing.
The Dutchman ended the opening day of action at Barcelona fourth overall in the standings, just more than half a second adrift of pace-setter Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes, but seemed bullish about his first experience of the RB16.

"The car is fast everywhere, which is a good thing," said Verstappen about his first impressions of the car.

"And the reliability seems even better, so that is all very positive."

He added: "I think it's been a good day. The car has been working really well together with the engine, and that is what we want to see. For us that is the most important.

"I am very happy about that. We just want to learn the car and try things on the car and see what we can do."

Although Mercedes was clear at the front, Verstappen said that his team was only focused on itself and was not reading too much in to the times.

"We're not looking at that," he said. "We just have to look at ourselves and focus on what we can improve.

"For us it was just about turning laps and testing different things. That's what we did today."

The only dramas that Verstappen suffered during the day were two spins at the final chicane, which he escaped from both times without hitting the barriers.

"I touched once the gravel I think, that is why I spun," he said. "And once I lost it in the second corner, so these things can happen trying to find the limits with the car and what we can do.

"Luckily no damage which at the end of the day is the most important thing."

[MIKA27]

Hamilton leads Mercedes 1-2 on first day of testing

Lewis Hamilton led Mercedes to a one-two finish on the opening day of 2020 Formula 1 pre-season testing, topping the timesheets ahead of Valtteri Bottas.
After seeing Bottas set the pace in the new Mercedes W11 car through the morning session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, reigning world champion Hamilton took over for the afternoon, completing 94 laps.

Hamilton managed to beat Bottas's time within the first 90 minutes of the four-hour session, and improved further to end the day with a best lap of 1m16.976s, set on the C2 compound tyre.

The lap saw Hamilton finish three tenths of a second clear of Bottas in the final standings. The Finn racked up 79 laps through the morning session, with his fastest effort coming on the C3 tyre.

Sergio Perez finished an impressive third for Racing Point as the team broke cover with its new RP20 car, notable for its similarities to Mercedes's 2019-spec car.

Perez lapped within four tenths of a second of Hamilton on the C3 tyre, completing 58 laps before handing over to teammate Lance Stroll for the afternoon. Stroll ended the day 10th fastest on 52 laps.

Max Verstappen finished fourth for Red Bull, half a second off Hamilton's benchmark time, but suffered two spins through the day in the final sector.

They proved to be the most notable on-track incidents during a quiet day of uninterrupted running, as all teams managed to complete over 100 laps thanks to a lack of red flags or stoppages.

Ferrari finished the day down in 11th with Charles Leclerc, who deputised for the unwell Sebastian Vettel on the opening day.

Leclerc completed over two race distances despite being kept in the garage for over an hour at the start of the afternoon session, finishing the day 1.3 seconds shy of Hamilton.

Daniil Kvyat took fifth place for AlphaTauri ahead of McLaren's Carlos Sainz, with both setting their fastest time on the C2 compound.

Renault split running between Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon on Wednesday, finishing seventh and eighth respectively. Ricciardo was able to beat Ocon's time by 0.131s in the afternoon.

George Russell ended a solid first day of testing for Williams in ninth place, having completed 73 laps through the morning.

In a far cry from 2019 when the team missed the first two-and-a-half days of testing due to delays with the car build, Russell finished 1.1 seconds behind Hamilton, and reported the new FW43 was already "much better" to drive. 

Nicholas Latifi took over from Russell in the afternoon, finishing two-tenths of a second off his teammate in P12.

Robert Kubica ended the day 13th during his maiden outing as Alfa Romeo's reserve driver, completing 59 laps through the morning. Teammate Antonio Giovinazzi propped up the timesheets in 15th place, the pair split by Haas driver Kevin Magnussen.

Testing resumes at 9am local time on Thursday in Barcelona.

[MIKA27]

Ocon has "never felt" so much downforce in F1 car

Esteban Ocon says he felt more grip than he has ever experienced in a Formula 1 car when he tested the new Renault RS20 in Barcelona on Wednesday morning.
The Frenchman, driving the car in anger for the first time on race tyres after a shakedown on Monday, believes that the 2020 generation of cars will break all lap records this year.

Ocon made the observations when comparing the Renault with the world championship-winning Mercedes W10, which he sampled throughout 2019 in the Brackley team's simulator, and drove at Paul Ricard in a Pirelli tyre test in September.

He also tried last year's Renault over two days in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi.

"There are always differences," he said when asked to compare the new car with the W10. "But to be honest, the amount of grip there is this year already, I think if you take it in account the fastest lap time, we're already faster than the fastest lap time of last year first day.

"So I think the cars are just evolving year-by-year. It's hard to compare, but the amount of grip I feel now I think I've never felt it before."

He added: "I don't know if it's the track, but I drove on Monday in the filming day. And yeah, it's impressive, those new cars, I have to say.

"I've never went that fast in some corners before, so it feels good. It's definitely exciting. Because that's just going to go faster and faster. So we're going to probably break all the records of laptimes I reckon this year."

Asked for his first take on the new car, he said: "It's a good base that we are having at the moment. Sometimes when you step in cars and you think ah, there is an issue that you're trying to solve for the whole winter, there isn't any kind of that at the moment.

"So it feels pretty healthy. But it's only the first morning. We have to wait and see how this evolves during the test."

Ocon stressed that it's important to push hard from the start of testing, despite the risk of mistakes potentially impacting the development programme on the run to the first race.

"You still you still have to push the car. We had a good chat with with Cyril [Abiteboul] and Alain [Prost] about this. It's important that you push the car to have good references to have yourself ready, but also to have proper data because, that's the way you're going to be able to improve the car.

"You can't have the compromise like that. You still have to push it like if there was more time, and hopefully there won't be mistakes.

"I tried to have the first feel. It's not true that I'm just not leaning on it yet. I'm driving, trying to get the rust off of me also. It's been some time since I properly drove a car, which means with somebody next to me, and having references, etcetera. I'm just trying to get back up to speed.

"And it's important to have decent lap times to be able to feel how the car reacts in the race condition or in the in the practice condition."

[MIKA27]

Russell says new Williams feels "much better" than 2019 car

George Russell says the new Williams FW43 Formula 1 car feels much better to drive than the 2019 car after a trouble-free opening session of pre-season testing.
After missing the first two-and-a-half days of winter testing in 2019 due to delays with the car build, Russell and Williams were first out of the pitlane in Barcelona on Wednesday.

Russell managed to complete 73 laps through the morning session - 33 more than he did in the entire opening test last year - and finished the morning sixth-fastest.

The Briton's best lap was half a second quicker than his qualifying time at last year's Spanish Grand Prix and just three hundredths of a second shy of his fastest 2019 testing time.

"I'd say definitely the general handling of the car is much better. From lap one today, I had confidence to push the car to the limit, whereas last year, it wasn't a nice feeling in the early laps," Russell said.

"It was quite scary to drive actually last year in the opening laps, trying to build that confidence. Already that's better, but not always a nice car to drive is a fast car. So it's a laptime-based sport, and it doesn't matter how you get around the lap, as long as it's fast, that's what counts.

"It's been improved in that area, now we just need to see if we have managed to put more downforce onto the car to compete with the guys around me."

Williams's disastrous start to pre-season testing in 2019 set the tone for a difficult season spent at the back of the field, scoring just one point as it finished last in the constructors' championship.

Russell joked the team was already faster than at this point last year given the car was "still in bits", but acknowledged it was a big boost for the team to start with no issues.

"[It's] massively important. Last year was far from ideal, the team have done a really great job to achieve that," Russell said.

"The build quality of the car is a much better standard than last year. Things fit properly, the car looks better from the design perspective, so I think overall it has been a very positive morning.

"Everybody was a bit lost last year because they didn't know what to do as there was no car here. We're definitely excited for the new season. It was a character building year last year. I'm confident we can go racing this year and have a bit more fun than we did last year. That's what we're all looking for."

Asked if the team had planned to be the first car out of the pitlane in testing, Russell replied: "We had an intense morning planned, and to get everything in, it was important to get out from the beginning.

"But also off the back of last year, I guess it was psychologically important for all of us, and for everybody who has worked day and night back at the factory, to see their car go out first.

"So now it's just a relief for all, and we can get cracking on this test programme."

[MIKA27]

Alfa Romeo unveils livery for 2020 F1 season

The Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team has unveiled its new livery before the start of pre-season testing in Barcelona on Wednesday.
The team formally launched its 2020 challenger in the pitlane at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, having previously given it a maiden run in a camo livery in a Fiorano shakedown last week.

Drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi were on hand to lift the covers off the new livery, which remains largely unchanged from last year’s design.

The white base colour remains with red trim, albeit with additional branding for new title partner Orlen - on the front wing endplates, rear wing and sidepod - following its arrival for the 2020 season. The blue lines that adorned the 2019 car's nosecone have been painted red.

New reserve driver Robert Kubica is set to complete the first official running in the Alfa Romeo C39 on Wednesday, having joined from Williams.

The Pole is scheduled for the morning session in Barcelona before handing over to Antonio Giovinazzi in the afternoon.

Kimi Raikkonen got his first taste of the new car during the shakedown, but will get a first extended run on Thursday when he is slated for the full day.

Giovinazzi will then round out the opening test on Friday.

During the launch, the team confirmed it has retained 2020 Super Formula newcomer Tatiana Calderon in a test driver capacity.

Haas was another F1 team to officially launch its 2020 car in the pitlane ahead of testing, albeit it had already released images of the VF-20 prior in its race livery prior.

[MIKA27]

‘I’m finally back home’ says Kubica after starting Alfa Romeo role

Robert Kubica’s F1 career began at Sauber back in 2006 – and now that he’s Alfa Romeo’s reserve to Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi, it’s all come full circle for the Pole who made an incredible comeback to F1 in 2019.

Kubica took part in numerous practice sessions and testing days for Sauber in 2006 before being called up to the team to make his race debut in place of Jacques Villeneuve mid-season. In just his third start, he scored a sensational podium at Monza.

He eventually had to step away from F1 before the start of the 2011 season after he was severely injured in a rally accident, but he returned to the sport as a race driver for Williams in 2019. But having left the British team at the end of last season, Kubica will also compete in the DTM in 2020 alongside his Alfa Romeo duties.

The Sauber team was rebranded as Alfa Romeo in 2018 – and the Pole says it feels like familiar territory.

“When I started my Formula 1 career in 2006, I started in Hinwil [Switzerland] so I am 14 years older – I am in a bit of a different role but it’s nice to see so many of the same faces, same people who actually made everything happen for me… a lot of things have changed because F1 has changed actually, quite a lot, and the team is developing but the DNA of the team is still the same. I’m finally back home and I hope we have a good year,” Kubica said as pre-season testing got underway in Barcelona on Wednesday.

“Regarding my position, my role at the team is of course a bit different, but actually in 2006 I started as a reserve driver, though at that time testing was practically every week so I had a bit more time, or much more time, in the car.

“As a reserve driver I will have a few duties, not racing, but it doesn’t mean I will be on holiday,” explained Kubica. “I will attend probably most of the races or nearly all races as a reserve driver so in case, hopefully not, something happens to Kimi [Raikkonen] or Antonio [Giovinazzi], I will step up.

“[The] simulator is quite a big topic in current Formula 1 times where testing is limited,” he added, “the simulator is playing quite a big role and is taking a lot of time and a lot of effort. We have a new simulator, we try to develop it to make it work and hopefully it will give us a good tool to prepare for races, and be beneficial.”

With Alfa Romeo hoping for an improvement to their P8 finish in 2019 as they launched the C39 on the first morning of pre-season testing, Kubica’s role is crucial – as Team Principal Frederic Vasseur reiterated.

“We are roughly in the same scenario as last year and we are continuing to recruit and we made a big investment with the simulator,” said Vasseur. “It won’t pay [off] in one day, it’s a long-term project and we have to continue in this direction to develop the company and to invest. All the competitors are doing the same and it’s a big fight. With Robert Kubica on board, it will impact the development of the car.”

[MIKA27]

Perez quickest as Mercedes creates intrigue with steering wheel

Racing Point’s Sergio Perez continued the team’s eye-catching start to 2020 as he went quickest on the morning of the second day of testing, while Mercedes’ steering wheel trickery created intrigue.

Mercedes led a 1-2 on Wednesday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Perez third, and on Thursday morning the Mexican clocked a time of 1:17.347.

It left the Racing Point driver 0.402s clear of Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo at the end of the four-hour session, in which – as per Wednesday – there were no red flags.

The greatest intrigue of the morning came courtesy of Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton appearing to move the steering wheel of the W11 back and forwards along the straight, affecting the toe of the front tyres.

It has yet to be determined whether the system contravenes the Formula 1 regulations, or whether any rivals will protest such a device.

Hamilton finished the morning session in seventh place, 10.40s behind Perez, as he completed the most mileage, amassing 106 laps.

Red Bull Racing’s Alexander Albon got his first taste of the RB16 and wound up third, in front of AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly – who had a tame out-lap spin at Turn 9 – and Williams’ George Russell.

Charles Leclerc was sixth for Ferrari, in front of the aforementioned Hamilton, with Haas’ Romain Grosjean, Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen and McLaren’s Lando Norris completing the running order.

All 10 teams were separated by less than 1.2s across the course of the session, mirroring Wednesday’s close classification.

Thursday afternoon’s session will begin at 14:00 and run through 18:00.

[MIKA27]

Legality of Mercedes W11 under scrutiny as trick steering system revealed

The legality of the Mercedes W11 has come under scrutiny on the second day of Formula 1 pre-season testing as a trick steering system has reportedly been uncovered.

Onboard footage with Lewis Hamilton on Thursday showed the six-time champion moving the steering wheel in a backwards/forwards motion (i.e. closer/further away from him).

The Briton was able to pull the steering wheel towards him as he entered the long start/finish straight, before pushing it away as he came to the end of the straight.

In the footage (seen here), as Hamilton moves the steering wheel, the toe of the front tyres can be seen to instantly change, reacting to his input.

A system that is capable of changing the toe whilst on-track could provide several major benefits including reduced tyre wear, better handling in corners and reduced drag on the straights.

Increased toe-in will typically result in reduced oversteer, helping to steady the car and enhance high-speed stability. Increased toe-out (which an F1 car runs as standard) will typically result in reduced understeer, helping free up the car, especially during initial turn-in while entering a corner.

Although the adjustment is small, the overall benefit could be significant, particularly if the system is capable of adjusting the ride height of the car.

The system though seems to be against Article 10.2.3 of the FIA Formula 1 technical regulations which govern suspension and stipulates that “no adjustment may be made to any suspension system while the car is in motion.”

Mercedes may however argue that toe adjustments aren’t classed as a change to the suspension elements, but the steering.

Article 10.2 adds: “With the steering wheel fixed, the position of each wheel centre and the orientation of its rotation axis must be completely and uniquely defined by a function of its principally vertical suspension travel, save only for the effects of reasonable compliance which does not intentionally provide further degrees of freedom.

“Any powered device which is capable of altering the configuration or affecting the performance of any part of any suspension system is forbidden.”

If it transpires that that is what is happening, it’s highly likely rival teams will protest the W11 if the system is run during the season – though of course during testing teams are able to run anything they wish.

[MIKA27]

Mercedes: FIA has given dual-axis steering (DAS) all clear

Mercedes Formula 1 technical chief James Allison says he is not concerned about the legality of a steering wheel system on its W11, which has been labelled DAS (Dual-Axis Steering).

TV footage on Thursday morning noted that Lewis Hamilton was moving his steering wheel forwards and back along the pits and back straight at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

The footage suggested that the toe of the front tyres reacted in accordance to the steering wheel moving, creating a potential advantage in reducing drag and keeping tyres in their optimum window.

Allison confirmed on Thursday lunchtime that Mercedes had checked with the FIA that its system was permitted within the regulations.

“No not really, this isn’t news to the FIA,” Allison said on legality worries.

“It’s something we’ve been talking to them for some time. The rules are pretty clear about what’s permitted on steering systems and we’re pretty confident that it matches those requirements.

“It just introduces an extra dimension for the steering, for the driver, which we hope will be useful during the year.

“But precisely how we use it and why we use it, that’s something we will keep to ourselves.”

Allison was nonetheless keen to stress that focus on the DAS detracts attention from other areas of the W11.

“Perhaps one of the things that’s not greatly appreciated is that each of the cars we bring to the track are festooned with innovation,” he said.

“It’s just not as obvious with a discrete, standalone system like this when you can see it with your own eyes.

“One of the things that gives me massive pride from working with Mercedes is to give me part of a team that doesn’t just turned the sausage handle each year, but is working out how we can work fast enough to bring these innovations to the track and make them stick.

“This is fun but it’s only the tip of an iceberg of similar stuff that’s written across the car.”

MIKA: Now watch all the other teams attempting to copy  

[MIKA27]

Steiner: F1 can't take any risks travelling to China

Haas boss Gunther Steiner says Formula 1 must make sure there is zero risk involved in travelling to China before it gives the green light to finding a slot for its grand prix later in the year.
With the original April 19 date for the Shanghai race having been abandoned because of the coronavirus outbreak, F1 chiefs are considering numerous options on how to run it later in the year.

As Motorsport.com reported earlier this week, one possibility is to host a two-day Chinese GP on the weekend between the Brazilian and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix.

Steiner says thinking about the various scenarios for the race, and whether or not teams would approve them, is still too premature - because F1 needs to guarantee there is no risk of anyone catching the virus if the event goes ahead.

"At that time are we safe from what is happening now?," said Steiner, when asked by Motorsport.com if he would approve a triple header later in the year. "That's for sure and FOM is speaking the same.

"We can put a triple-header on, but I don't know when this virus is over. I have no idea. But if there is any risk then for sure I'm against it because we shouldn't race if there is risk.

"I think they [FOM] look into that stuff, hoping that it is over, but I don't think that anybody can say in November if this virus is gone. I mean, I hope it is gone because it is not good. But there is no guarantee of that one. So if it is all gone, we see how it works and if it is possible logistically to do it. There is a lot of ifs.

"I think they're looking into it, but they haven't come back to us with a proposal, how are we going to do it. For sure they need to look in and see what is possible."

AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost agrees that postponing the race was inevitable, but he is open to the idea of it being rescheduled.

"First of all, it's the absolute right decision from the FIA and from FOM not to go to China under the circumstances," he said.

"Because safety and health for all the employees and for all the people – because you [the media] also would be there – is the most important factor.

"Whether we can squeeze it in at the end of the season, we will see. First of all, they have to sort out the health situation. And I doubt that they can do it within the time frame they need to do it to be safe to go there. And if there's a possibility, yes, of course, then it's at the end of the season.

"And because Abu Dhabi has to be the last race – this is, as far as I know in the contract, maybe they'll put Abu Dhabi one week later. If the coronavirus is under control, then I think we can find a solution."

Regarding doubts about Vietnam, he added: "As far as I'm informed, up to now, the organiser says that we can do the race there. But of course also here the health of the of the people has to have priority."

[MIKA27]

Alfa Romeo's new F1 simulator "will take time" to be ready

Alfa Romeo's new Formula 1 simulator will not be ready for around another 18 months, the team has said.
While Sauber Motorsport invested in a state-of-the-art wind tunnel many years ago, it held back on investing in a driver-in-loop simulator, creating an obvious handicap compared to its main rivals.

Technical director Jan Monchaux admitted that honing the new system will be a lengthy process.

"I think we have to be realistic," he said. "Some big teams took 10 years to get it right. Obviously compared with 10 years ago, the technology is more advanced, and certainly more clever.

"So, I would hope that in a year, in a year and a half, maybe a bit earlier on some specific things, we can start using it as a tool like all the simulation tools we have.

"It's going to be a long process, because you constantly have to align it with reality, with these guys, and make sure what they feel with that big and expensive PlayStation is somehow realistic and can align with what they feel in the real car.

"And that's far from being trivial. In a year's time I hope I'd be able to say, 'it's six months now.' But it will take time."

Reserve driver Robert Kubica will have developing the simulator as one of his main roles.

His test outing in Barcelona on Wednesday was in part to help him provide a benchmark with the real car.

However, the development process is complex, and the team won't be able to gain full benefit from its new tool in a long time.

"It will be a busy year," said Kubica. "Additionally I will be racing also in the other series [DTM], so a lot of things will be going on. Definitely one of the part of my job here is on track, but also off track.

"We are a young team regarding the simulator. So we'll try to develop as best as we can the simulator, which is always time consuming, and from experience which I have with simulators you have to be really patient.

"But in F1 it is difficult to be patient, and it's kind of a race not only on track but also in the factory. So it will be also a big challenge in front of us regarding the simulator, and trying to cover most of the job I can do and help the team."

[MIKA27]

Using Mercedes DAS like “running in flip-flops” – Vettel

Ferrari Formula 1 star Sebastian Vettel believes that the new Mercedes DAS steering system must be difficult for the team’s drivers to operate – comparing the unnatural effort of moving the wheel back and forth with “running in flip-flops”.
Vettel also questioned how much lap time the innovation might be worth, suggesting that it is not “the ticket to win.”

The four-time world champion confirmed that Ferrari became aware of the system on the Mercedes when most observers did, after onboard images from Lewis Hamilton’s car in Barcelona this morning showed him moving the steering wheel back and forwards for straights and corners respectively, and the front wheels reacting.

“I've seen it and we talked about it at lunch,” said Vettel. “It obviously looks interesting. I guess the fact that they're running with it means it's legal. I don't know, but it's called steering wheel, not push or pull wheel!

“I don't know if it works. I guess there's quite a lot of work to bring it to the track and it’s probably not as easy as it looks for the driver to work with it. We will see, but for sure it was a novelty for us to see.”

Asked if the system would be easy for other teams to copy he said: “I found out just before before lunch, and then we just looked at some onboards. Obviously, we're lucky that we have the onboards here, otherwise, maybe we wouldn't spot it. Obviously, we're busy with our car and our stuff. So I don't know if it's easy to do or not, I guess no, because these things are never easy, but also guess it's not easy to operate it.”

Vettel compared the system with the era of the f-duct, when drivers had to use their hands, elbows or knees to block holes in the cockpit area for an aerodynamic benefit.

“I think it’s quite weird, when you have the feeling all of a sudden, you might have the wheel in your hand,” he said. “I could just imagine it feels weird. But for sure if it’s faster and there's no concern you go for the faster option. We had the f-duct many years ago, like 10-11 years ago, and we drove around with one hand most of the tracks.

“So that wasn't safe, but it was fast. So you do what you're pushed to do, but then that's why we have the FIA obviously, to look after us and make sure things make sense, and we have got our hands on the wheel.”

Elaborating on that theme he said: “Imagine you are used to doing something... Imagine you’re used to running and you put on your running shoes, and then somebody asks you to run with your flip-flops. You can also do that, but it just feels very different.

“So, obviously, it’s not quite that extreme, but it’s just that you add something that’s completely new and feels probably strange and weird at first, but obviously if it gives you an advantage, gives you an edge, you can fulfil the task, and you have the capacity to do it and with enough practice, then why not?”

Asked if DAS could be a gamechanger for Mercedes, Vettel played down the suggestion, and replied: “I think it’s much more dependent what you have around it. I don’t know, maybe I’m underestimating, but I don’t think that this is the ticket to win.

“I think there’s a lot more elements to building up a competitive car, but for sure it’s an innovation, and we will see whether it’s something that everyone has to pick up on or not.”

[MIKA27]

Vettel: Ferrari SF1000 ‘definitely a step up from last year’

After missing Day 1 of testing due to illness, Sebastian Vettel drove his first laps in anger in the Ferrari SF1000 on Day 2 of pre-season testing at Barcelona – with the four-time champion declaring himself pleased with the results of his team’s hard work over the winter.

Ferrari have been clear that the goal for the new SF1000 was to increase downforce, with last year’s SF90 known to have very low drag but less cornering might than its Mercedes counterpart.

And asked whether he’d felt that up in downforce during his 73 laps in the SF1000 on Thursday en route to P5 in the classification, Vettel replied: “Yes. Enough? We will see, but it's definitely a step up from last year.

“Obviously I had some laps and you feel very quickly the characteristics of the car in some places,” he added, “in other places I think there are some similarities [to the 2019 car], but I think it's still very early days. We've still got plenty of stuff on the list still to go through for the next four days to try and see what the cars doing, how it will respond to certain set-ups and windows where we use the car.

“Obviously we had a clear plan of what we wanted to achieve with this year's car, and it is going in that direction, but now I think it's up to us to really explore the car back to front and see how it responds on track.”

Asked to assess the class-of-2020 F1 cars, meanwhile, Vettel predicted a closely-fought season ahead, while praising the detail work on cars throughout the paddock, in what will be the final F1 season before the 2021 regulations kick in.

“The cars, they all look beautiful in a way,” said Vettel. “They all have got very high level of detail, all of them, it doesn't matter if you go up or down the pit lane. Certainly compared to maybe two or three years ago where the top cars looked very fine and then the midfield and then bottom of the field, you were able to see the differences.

“Now I think it should be a lot closer. I hope it's a lot closer on track, and we will see that throughout the season. I think there's a lot of stuff as a fan to look at.”

With Charles Leclerc having subbed for his ill team mate on Day 1 of the test, Vettel will now spend the whole of Friday in the car, as he looks to build up even more of a rapport with the SF1000 before Week 1 draws to a close in Spain.

 

[MIKA27]

TECH INSIGHT: Have Mercedes just changed the game with new steering wheel system?

F1 fans’ eyes were drawn to onboards of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes W11 on Day 2 of 2020 pre-season testing at Barcelona, as footage appeared to show him moving his steering wheel in the car to effect a change in the W11’s attitude. Mark Hughes analyses what’s going on inside the new Silver Arrows machine…

Mercedes created a stir on the second day of testing as an on-board camera showed Lewis Hamilton pushing and pulling on the steering column (as shown in the video above), using a mechanism that appeared to change the alignment of the front wheels.

Hamilton would pull the wheel back on the column as he drove down the straight (which had the effect of straightening-out the usual ‘toe-out’ of the wheels) and would then push it back down just before the corner, at which point the wheels would adopt their conventional ‘toe-out’ setting.

Typically an F1 car will be set up so that its front wheels are aligned with ‘toe-out’, which simply means that they splay out at the bottom away from the centre of the car, with the top pointing inwards.

The reason they are set in this way is to create a tiny delay in the front tyres loading up as the car is turned in so that the rear tyres do not have too sudden an instantaneous load placed upon them, which would make the car feel unstable on turn in.

However, this means that on the straight the inner edge of the tyre’s tread surface is being heated up more than is the remainder of its width.

If the Mercedes mechanism works as assumed, the tyres will be heated more evenly across their width as they run fully upright, but the benefits of toe-out can still be deployed into the corner. It will be of particular benefit on circuits with long straights.

It appears to be a fully mechanical device, likely using the column movement to activate a lever acting upon the wheel hubs. It will add a whole new dimension to the tools available to the driver in trimming the balance of the car and looking after the tyres.

The full picture of how exactly Mercedes’ system works will doubtless become clearer in the next few days. But one thing is clear: the reigning world champions certainly haven’t been taking their foot off the gas over the winter break…

[In-A-Gadda-Davidoff]

1 hour ago, MIKA27 said:

Mercedes: FIA has given dual-axis steering (DAS) all clear

 

Mercedes constantly pushing the developmental envelope with innovations like DAS are exactly why they have won the last 6 championships.  While I doubt it gives a noticeable performance advantage, the potential is there to drastically change tire wear characteristics.  That alone could be a game changer in terms of race strategies.

[Lotusguy]

Mercedes constantly pushing the developmental envelope with innovations like DAS are exactly why they have won the last 6 championships.  While I doubt it gives a noticeable performance advantage, the potential is there to drastically change tire wear characteristics.  That alone could be a game changer in terms of race strategies.

If this was Ferrari, the whole world would be in arms about them bending the rules...

[In-A-Gadda-Davidoff]

11 hours ago, Lotusguy said:

If this was Ferrari, the whole world would be in arms about them bending the rules...

I agree with your statement completely.  Just look back at last year.  Verstappen went as far as calling out Ferrari as cheaters and they weren't found of any wrongdoing.  Teams will exploit gray areas in the regulations to gain an edge.  That is just competitive nature.  I have to give Mercedes kudos for developing something that outwardly appears so mechanically simple to alter the tire alignment, yet has the potential to drastically alter tire temperature, tire adhesion and tire life.  I'm not discounting the engineering that went into the development, I'm sure the system is complex, but a push/pull device on the steering wheel to adjust tire alignment is a stroke of genius.  I'm kind of surprised that they invested the money into developing the DAS considering it does not comply with the forecast 2021 regulations though.

[MIKA27]

On 2/21/2020 at 2:16 PM, In-A-Gadda-Davidoff said:

Mercedes constantly pushing the developmental envelope with innovations like DAS are exactly why they have won the last 6 championships.  While I doubt it gives a noticeable performance advantage, the potential is there to drastically change tire wear characteristics.  That alone could be a game changer in terms of race strategies.

That's what Formula 1 is all about, pushing the envelope, reading the rules and working within and around those rules to get the edge.

Some teams complain simply because they didn't think about it first.

[MIKA27]

Ferrari drivers will start 2020 season on equal terms

Ferrari’s drivers will begin the 2020 Formula 1 season on equal terms, team boss Mattia Binotto has clarified.

Charles Leclerc joined Sebastian Vettel in 2019 and the four-time World Champion was initially given priority during a season in which instructions were given at various grands prix.

Leclerc went on to finish one position ahead in the championship, claimed two victories to one, and scored more pole positions than Vettel.

“It is right that they are on the same level to start in 2020,” said Binotto.

“I think they know as well the team has the first priority so team orders may still be there.

“I am not saying that they are free to race with no team orders, so there might be team orders for the benefit of the entire team. But it has to be a clear situation.”

There were a handful of flashpoints through 2019 between the two drivers, most notably at the penultimate round in Brazil, where a collision resulted in the retirement of both cars.

Binotto believes that Ferrari – along with Leclerc and Vettel – will be stronger for 2019’s experiences.

“I think last year has been very useful for both of them and myself, to know each other and to understand how we should behave and what should be the rules within the team and what is the priority – that the team comes first,” he said.

“I think that the two drivers now know each other better too and they are behaving well and I am very happy at the level of discussions we got and the level of contribution to the car and to the team in the way that we are discussing.

“I think, generally speaking, there is not much to tell them because they understand perfectly what should be the way to behave on track.”

[MIKA27]

Williams aiming for Q2 return, racing and respect

Williams endured a miserable 2019 Formula 1 campaign in which it failed to make it out of Q1, scored just one point, and finished last in the standings.

It was consistently adrift of its opponents, sometimes a second a lap, with the only opportunity for a scrap coming either on the opening lap or between the two FW42s.

Williams has already started 2020 on a stronger footing, with George Russell besting his time from last year’s Spanish Grand Prix, as the team amassed encouraging mileage with the FW43.

“It’s too early to really truly tell where anybody really is as we’re all doing our individual programmes,” said deputy team boss Claire Williams.

“So to compare and contrast is difficult, but certainly we feel we’ve made a step forward.

“I’m sure we’ll get some more data next week when people start doing proper qualifying runs but until then we need to wait and see.”

On the ambitions for 2020 Williams said: “We want to go racing. We’re here in Formula 1 to go racing, that’s why Williams exists, we’re not here to do anything else, we’re here because we love racing, and last year we just weren’t racing.

“Robert [Kubica] and George were racing each other and we want to come to each and every race to fight for I think realistically a Q2 position and then to fight for a position in the race that brings our pride back.

“We want George and Nicholas [Latifi] to have the opportunity to fight with the midfield competitors.”