FORMULA 1

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Racing Point to see more effect from Stroll investment in 2020 than 2019 – Szafnauer

Force India’s F1 underdog story looked perilously close to coming to an end midway through 2018, in the face of the team's financial struggles. But their purchase by a consortium led by Lance Stroll’s father Lawrence – after the team had gone into administration – appears to have reversed the fortunes of the squad (now rechristened Racing Point) and suggests happier times ahead. But the really happy times, according to Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer, are likely to come in 2020, rather than next season...

The injection of Stroll money into Force India midway through 2018 had positive short-term effects, shoring up the jobs of the team’s employees while also paying for long-delayed updates. But according to Szafnauer, now that they’re safely out of survival mode, the team are beginning to make big plans for their future – plans that mainly centre around a larger, better-equipped factory to help take them to the next level in F1.

“All those types of things we're discussing now,” said Szafnauer, speaking to Formula 1’s official podcast Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose, about how the team plan to deploy Lawrence Stroll’s money. “So a bigger factory – but to build a bigger factory, you've got to buy the land first. Also within the factory, to detail what type of equipment [we] want, how much of it, what is important, what isn’t important. All of this while we mustn’t take our eye off the ball – that is, building, designing, producing and developing a competitive racing car.”

Szafnauer also expressed his aim that, despite the extra money gracing the Racing Point coffers, the team would remain an efficiently-run operation.

“I've seen it so many times where teams have decided to either build a new wind tunnel or a new factory or new facilities, and the performance of the car suffered because the same people that design and specify a factory are the same ones that design and specify the racing car,” he said, “and if you're doing one you can’t be doing the other. So we've got to be very careful that if we do embark – and we will embark – on improving our facilities and infrastructure, that the car doesn't suffer.

“We've got... to continue to maintain that efficient nature that we have. We can't lose that, and if you do have a little bit more financial resource but you stay efficient, then your output should be even better. The risk is that, if you've got significantly more financial resource, you lose the efficiency, and then your output is no better, but you've spent a lot of money – or even worse, your output can be worse and you've spent a bunch of money. So we've got to consciously be aware that that can happen and make sure it doesn't happen to us.”

As expected, Lance Stroll will move over from Williams to drive for the team in 2019 alongside Sergio Perez, who will start his sixth season with the Silverstone-based operation. But while Szafnauer expects to see some effects from the team’s healthier bank balance when Perez and Stroll hit the track in 2019, he believes that any significant step-change in Racing Point’s on-track performance will likely come later.

“I think 2020 will see a bigger change than from ‘18 to ’19,” he said. “There are things that we learned recently that will help the 2019 car. However, having said that, predominantly the 2019 car was designed, or the backbone of it was designed, by the time the consortium took over. The chassis was being manufactured already.”

One thing that may yet change, however, is the name…

“Racing Point was an off-the-shelf company that was used to buy the assets of Force India, so it could very well be that we change again,” said Szafnauer, who has until mid-January to decide on an alternative along with the team’s stakeholders. “We'll only change again if we find a better name… [but] I do hope we find something better!”

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ARRIVABENE: F1 COSTS ARE INCREASING INSTEAD OF DECREASING

Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene has called for patience and caution before Formula 1 power brokers set in stone the way forward for the sport beyond 2020, arguing that changes to next year’s rules are costing teams millions and it is doubtful that racing will improve as planned.

Between now and 2021, Liberty Media are expected to rip up the contentious and secretive Concorde Agreement and formulate a collective deal for teams heading into the future, a transparent plan in which a budget cap is high on the agenda, but as yet there is nothing concrete on the table to work with.

There are those in the paddock who warn of time running out and call for decisions to be made with regards to the way forward for Formula 1, but Arrivabene told Racer that patience would be a virtue in this case, “Time is quite tight, you know better than me.”

“So we need to move quickly – but in the meantime we need to avoid any move that could damage our company. I’m talking about Ferrari as I think my colleagues, they are talking about the company that they are representing.”

At the same time, he cautioned, “We don’t have any hurry to move forward and maybe to create a mess.”

“Talking about something that is in front of us now: We have regulations for next year, they were supposed to give more possibility to the overtaking, at the moment the first feedback that I got from our drivers is that most probably that objective is not achieved.”

“The result is that we are spending a huge amount of money next year to change our car, then we need also to sit together and to understand how could be the situation for the engine cost for 2021 and maybe thinking about that – because we are continuously talking about a cost cap but at the moment, I’m seeing costs that are increasing instead of decreasing.”

“So, we need to stop a bit and, instead of rushing, we need to think about what we are doing now, because what we are doing now, it could potentially influence future decisions.”

The current Concorde Agreement, inked in 2013, runs until the end of the 2020 season and is expected to make way for a more transparent and balanced deal with the ten teams.

Currently, Mercedes and Ferrari have budgets of around $400-million to $600-million per season depending on who you believe. The smaller teams are operating on about a third of that.

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KIMI’S FIA AWARDS BENDER CONTINUED OUTSIDE

A hilarious new video of Kimi Raikkonen’s FIA Awards night boozy bender has emerged, showing the 2007 Formula 1 World Champion greeting fans in St.Petersburg and even trying on a traditional ushanka hat before departing the gala event.

Last week video emerged of a thoroughly merry Iceman enjoying himself during the FIA hosted event to honour the various champions of all the championships under their jurisdiction, including the Formula 1 World Championship.

For next season, Raikkonen has been replaced at Ferrari by Charles Leclerc, the Finn will return to Sauber for a two-year finale in the top tier.

Vettel and Raikkonen were on hand to collect their trophies for finishing second and third respectively in this year’s championship title race.

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MISTER-X: ARRIVABENE AND BINOTTO NEED ONE ANOTHER

Interestingly, other than in Italy, media are all but ignoring the internal strife that is boiling at Ferrari, where the power vacuum left behind by the late Sergio Marchionne has set the stage for a power struggle between team principal Maurizio Arrivabene and technical chief Mattia Binotto.

Sky Italia, the country’s Formula 1 broadcasters, have uncovered a team insider they codenamed ‘Mister-X’ who has provided insight into the status quo within the hallways of Maranello.

This season the team was run almost as two separate entities with Binotto calling the shots on the technical side and Arrivabene running all the other management elements of the Scuderia.

It is well chronicled how in the second half of the season the Reds went the wrong way with their development programme and the SF71H lacked when it mattered and, as a result, they had to play second fiddle to Mercedes in both championships again.

With their season imploding, at Suzuka, Arrivabene was critical of the car which obviously irked Binotto and since then the relationship has deteriorated to the point that they no longer speak to one another.

A destabilising crisis, they can ill-afford as they recharge for 2019, now demands hands-on involvement of the hitherto ‘invisible’ Ferrari president John Elkann who has some serious decisions to make as he takes control of the family jewel.

Mister X describes a scenario at the great Italian team dating back to the summer when Marchionne was set to make major management structure changes within the team, but everything was left in the air when he died on 25 July.

Sky Italia’s ‘Deep Throat’ Mister-X explained, “Marchionne had planned a very different future with a leading role for Mattia Binotto. We don’t know what it would have been but undoubtedly he would have been handed more freedom and also have him involved in the decision-making process that until now has been above his pay grade.”

“We are talking about a major role, but exactly what Marchionne’s envisaged for Binotto we will never know, however, these days he seems restless, so it is reasonable to think that there was something more on the table for him than his current tasks and responsibilities.”

Elkann and his equally out-of-sight CEO Louis Camilleri have some serious management issues to sort out, and decision time is now. The team’s spin-doctors, intentionally or not, by saying nothing at all have done a great job to keep everyone guessing on the state-of-affairs behind the Maranello gates.

There are three obvious choices for the Agnelli heir and his consiglieri: first, Arrivabene stays on as the all-powerful team principal who everyone answers to and Binotto allowed to leave to Mercedes who desire him highly; second, Arrivabene departs and Binotto becomes team boss; and finally they work together in harmony.

Mister-X believes the latter is the solution, “Arrivabene and Binotto can sit around a table and decide to move forward together, perhaps they have already done so, I hope so.”

“It is not required to go on holiday together to do a good job, but you need mutual trust and above all respect, both professionally and personally. Formula 1 is pure stress, where cracks become chasms.”

“If one or the other goes, decision makers in Turin will have to sort out a replacement which won’t be easy as we are almost at the start of the 2019 season. A company will always choose the one that creates the least problems. Replacements obviously also depend on who is available on the market.”

Concluding, Mister X, perhaps representing the sentiment on the factory floor, argued, “I wish Binotto and Arrivabene would put aside their differences and realise the opportunity they have.”

“Ferrari’s keys are in their hands, I find it an incredible opportunity, they can make history together. But they need one another and let’s be honest you don’t always work with colleagues you like, do you?”

“Do you think it is easy for Christian Horner to work with Helmut Marko?”

“Sometimes it is really worth putting aside ego and personal pride when there is an important goal to be pursued, and I think that on this front the motivations for Arrivabene and Binotto are certainly not lacking,” concluded Mister-X.

If the Ferrari Feud is indeed “fake news” as Arrivabene claims, then why not diffuse it all with a handshake photo between the pair? Pop it on Twitter and prove it is fake, end of story. These days it is very easy to put out fires through social media.

Instead, the silence is deafening, prompting rumours and uncertainty that have never lived well on Via Abetone Inferiore #4.

Several outlets in Italy are reporting that Elkann has been a regular at Maranello in recent days, suggesting that crisis management is happening, now we await the outcome.

Meanwhile, there are 90-days left until the start of the 2019 season-opening Australian Grand Prix on 17 March at Albert Park in Melbourne, peace and harmony reign at Mercedes…

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CHANDHOK RETURNS TO SKY F1 PUNDIT TEAM IN 2019

Popular former F1 driver Karun Chandhok will join the Sky F1 team from next year as the broadcaster bolster their ranks ahead of the 2019 Formula 1 season which they will flight on their channels.

The 34-year-old race driver turned pundit contested 20 grand prix races in total, doing ten races with HRT in 2010, and another ten with Team Lotus a year later. He made a final appearance in the top tier at his home Indian Grand Prix in 2011.

Sky announced on their website: “Karun Chandhok will return to the Sky Sports F1 team in 2019. The former F1 driver was part of Sky’s live coverage between 2012 and 2014 and rejoins the channel’s line-up ahead of the new season, which begins with the Australian Grand Prix on March 17.”

Chandhok, who became a father recently, said of his new venture, “I’m very excited to be rejoining the Sky Sports F1 team from the 2019 season. With their long-term commitment to Formula 1 and the team of people that’s in place, it’s a great time to return.

“I believe that I’ve been able to develop and offer viewers a unique perspective of someone with a technical, strategic and historical knowledge of the sport combined with the experience of 18 years of driving racing cars.”

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Romain's Empire: Grosjean on psychology, cooking and Haas

Motorsport Week's sister publication Motorsport Monday sat down with an open and honest Romain Grosjean for a chat about his 2018 Formula 1 season, psychology, cooking, and Haas' long-term prospects...

Think of Romain Grosjean and who do you think of?

There is the 10-time podium finisher capable of a stunning turn of pace, in the process bagging outstanding results, as expected of a veteran of almost 150 Grands Prix. Then there is the driver banned for causing a multi-car pile-up, and who came close to the precipice again, via a litany of carbon fibre and frustrated rivals.

In 2018 Grosjean did not score points for eight races – a spell that included a crash under the Safety Car in Azerbaijan and a crazy first-lap accident in Spain – but wound up with 37 points, taking a high of fourth in Austria, and impressed elsewhere, most notably in Germany and Italy.

“S**t and good,” is how Grosjean reflects on 2018. “This is like a football game. Rubbish for the first half and then I played very well for the second half. First eight races, not a point, some bad luck, and some mistakes.” He pauses briefly. “Too many. And then before Germany where I knew I was back to where I wanted to be and from that point it was just a really good part of the season.”

Getting “back to where I wanted to be” was a crucial point in a season that had been creeping towards disaster. Grosjean has previously been very open in the fact that he consults a psychologist, with whom he has worked since September 2012, and who can count Olympians, golfers, businessmen “and one Formula 1 driver!” among her clients. Formula 1, and sport in general, is slowly realising that mental analysis and understanding of the psyche should be regarded as a strength and not a weakness, and that sportsmen are humans and not robots, and the regular discussions have helped no end for Grosjean.

“We were on the phone [before Germany] and we just chatted and went through everything and I realised there were a lot of things I hadn’t really sorted early in the year that weren’t right and were just polluting my mind,” he explains.

“We cleared it all, we worked through everything and moved on, and from the time the phone call was done I phoned my manager and said ‘in Germany I’ll be back, I’ll be where I want to be’.

“We’re all different. One of my weaknesses is to have things that are hurting me, you know, and then just not treating them, and putting them to one side thinking ‘it’s nothing it’s nothing it’s nothing it’s nothing’… and then eventually you get a big bag of unpleasant things and it’s just… they pollute you. It can be from a lot of things. It can be from a conversation, it can be from a race. It can be from being a father. Being a husband. Being a man. Just little things that you think ‘it’s nothing, it’s nothing, it’s nothing’ and then eventually it gets to you. [Formula 1] a job where passion and emotions are involved and therefore if you’re on the edge coming into a race track you know you’re going to be very easy to trigger out. Whereas if you’re relaxed and calm and confident and happy in the place you are it makes things much easier.”

Part of that happiness comes from spending time off-track cooking, a passion that led to Grosjean and his wife, Marion, releasing a recipe book last year.

“It’s a good way to relax, we all have different ways to relax,” explains the Geneva-based racer. “I love sport as well but if you do too much sport you get tired and then you get to a race and you’re tired and it’s not ideal, so cooking is a really good way to change my mind. The kids [Grosjean has three] love it as well. We can cook together, have fun, it’s a way of sharing love with my family.”

Ever the sportsman, Grosjean is able to view parallels between two sides of his life. “I’m lucky to have a lot of Michelin-starred chefs’ phone numbers so whenever I have a question I just send a Whatsapp,” he comments. “They love racing, I love cooking, so it goes well. It’s very similar. We’ve got pressure for quali and the race and then there is one guy standing on the podium but there is a team behind. For example, Guy Savoy, or Gordon Ramsay’s three Michelin-starred restaurants… if he hadn’t got a team behind him he couldn’t do that. And the pressure of [serving] the lunch or the dinner at exactly one time, everyone comes at the same time… It can go from being superb to being completely rubbish. Bit too much salt, that’s it.”

Grosjean, 32, is an intense character, speaking at scatter-gun pace, but what is clear is that he has found a home with Haas. As Lotus struggled financially though 2015, amid the long-winded eventual takeover by Renault, Grosjean upped sticks from the operation with which he had been linked since the mid-2000s, through highs and lows, and joined Gene Haas and Guenther Steiner at the newly-created team. He scored a stunning sixth on Haas’ debut in Australia 2016, improving to fifth next time out, sealing its status as a midfield team straight away.

“It’s a great atmosphere, it’s a great team because everyone is [going] in the same direction,” he says. “Everyone has got the same mentality that we come to the race to go racing, have fun and to enjoy racing and do our best. There’s always someone to back you up in case you do a mistake, which happens, and there’s no finger pointing. It’s a really good atmosphere for everyone to do his best and give his best and feel confident he can go for it and if it doesn’t work it’s not the end of the world: someone’ll be here to help. Gene trusts the management but he loves coming and you can see in his attitude that he loves racing and understands that it’s complicated, it’s not like you feel you’ve got a boss who’s putting $100m [into the team] and is just wanting results. No, he’s here and understands the racing, and he doesn’t put the negative pressure. There is pressure, it’s Formula 1, but it’s positive.”

Haas, having taken back-to-back eighth places in the Constructors’ Championship across 2016 and 2017, vaulted to fifth this season, in the process giving Renault a stiff challenge, a remarkable achievement in only year three.

“If in winter testing you would have brought a contract saying you’re going to finish fifth in the Constructors’ everyone would have signed,” beams Grosjean. “The third year is amazing. Obviously we fought hard for fourth, we got it at one point before we were disqualified at Monza, at least we gave Renault a good run for their money, and I’m sure next year we can go again. I think we’ve got a good baseline, we’ve got a good group of people working well, I’m actually quite positive for the future.”

Formula 1’s surge towards youth means Grosjean is already Formula 1’s fourth-oldest current driver and early next year will pass the 150 Grands Prix barrier – but don’t for one moment think he’s creeping towards the closing chapter of his career.

“I’ve done eight years in Formula 1, I believe I’ve got another 6, 7, 8 to go. Kimi’s 39 and signed a two-year deal! I started at 27 so it’s not like I started when I was 17. I’m 32 and have done six [successive] years in F1, I can go six, seven [more], I think I’ve got the energy for it as long as I keep performing.

“A lot of people lose their… you know Fernando [Alonso], why does he get frustrated and angry on the radio? I think, my opinion is, it’s because he hasn’t lost that wish to win, and you always want to win, so when you don’t win for three, four, five years and your car is s**t and you know it, you get frustrated. Other drivers, athletes in general, are happy with [earning] X million per year [and have the attitude of] ‘I do what I like’. I’m kind of the same as Fernando. I’ve never lost that wish that I can win a race.”

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Arrivabene reveals 2019 Ferrari F1 launch date

Ferrari has announced that its 2019 Formula 1 challenger, codenamed internally 670, will be revealed on February 15.
Team principal Maurizio Arrivabene confirmed the news during the Autosprint award ceremony of Caschi d'oro, which was held this evening in Milan at Garage Italia.

The unveiling of the car will take place three days before pre-season testing begins at Barcelona in Spain.

In the absence of the traditional Christmas lunch that Ferrari has always reserved for F1 journalists, Arrivabene took advantage of the prestigious event of the Conti Editore, that was combined with the delivery of the ACI steering wheels.

“The group led by [technical director] Mattia Binotto has been working on next year's single-seater for months now,” said Arrivabene, who was accompanied at the ceremony by new signing Charles Leclerc. “The engines are already running on the test benches and there are parts of the car that are already in production. 

“Instead, the parts more related to the performance will arrive at the last moment, even if the tension increases because the time is less and less. On February 15 we will present the car and everything must be ready for that day.”

“Of course it is early to give an overall picture of the car. Simulations are being done and we are working on the simulator, but the real test bench is only the track. That's where you confront yourself, comparing the data you've collected during the winter period, and especially where you confront yourself with others. 

“The technicians are working hard to complete the car by 15 February. We have some information from the guys who work on the simulator, but it's still too early to talk about performance.”

[adwinistrator]

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MARKO: WE LAP MCLAREN TWICE IN A NORMAL RACE WITH SAME ENGINE

Earlier this year bad blood between Red Bull and McLaren boiled over when the Woking outfit poached Toro Rosso designer James Key and announced the deal before it was cast in stone, so no surprise when Helmut Marko was asked to review the season past he aimed a torpedo them.

First, the Red Bull motorsport consultant was reminded how not long ago McLaren boasted they had the best chassis on the grid, until this year when – after years in the wilderness with Honda – they bolted on Renault engines to their cars expecting to match similarly powered Red Bulls, only to find that they fell way short.

Asked to explain the deficit, Marko could not resist a sarcastic swipe, “We lap McLaren twice in a normal race with the same engine. So what do you think it is?”

“Of course, if you only look at downforce – you just have to look at how [McLaren] went the previous season at Spa: full wing, full downforce. Of course, they were the fastest in the corners.”

“But on the straights… if we set-up our car that way, we would never achieve our results. You have to make a compromise. The combined lap time is what counts, not the cornering speed.”

While McLaren ditched Honda, in stepped Red Bull with their junior team as ‘guinea pigs’ ahead of a full Red Bull Honda partnership next season which comes with its own possible pitfalls.

Marko acknowledged, “Definitely there is a certain risk factor for us, Honda has to catch up, they must work aggressively, but that does not deter us. I don’t think we can count on three engines per season like Mercedes and Ferrari.”

“But Max and Daniel have shown a few times what is possible even when we started from 18th or 19th and in two or three laps we were already near the front again.”

With regards to highly-rated Key moving to head up McLaren’s technical department, Marko said, “When you discuss something and then we have to hear it through press releases…”

“There is still no solution but, in Abu Dhabi, I met Mansour Ojjeh, with whom we will sit down and sort this out because both sides want a solution, maybe we can succeed,” he added.

McLaren had one of the worst cars on the grid last year, only the tenacity of departed Fernando Alonso earned them some respect and sixth in the F1 World Championship standings.

Zak Brown and his management team pinpointed Key as the saviour to the shambles that is their technical department but will have to wait for the privilege of his services before he embarks on unlapping McLaren who are still a long way down on the blue cars.

Until they get back to the sharp end, they will have to tolerate humiliating barbs from the Doctor until next season when Honda performance will rev him up more or render him quiet.

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VERSTAPPEN: NEWEY IS HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH THE RB15

While Honda seek to build a decent engine, Red Bull star Max Verstappen takes comfort in the fact that design guru Adrian Newey is deeply involved in the production of next year’s RB15, the weapon that will take the team into their new era.

In an interview with Motorsport-Total, Verstappen revealed, “It’s always very good news when Adrian Newey gets involved with something.”

This year’s RB14 was considered to be one of the best if not the best chassis on the grid good enough for four victories in the hands of the Dutchman and Renault bound Daniel Ricciardo. almost five if you count Brazil!

But the two Honda-powered Toro Rossos suffered more engine issues than their rivals as the Red Bull junior team became a test lab for next season.

Verstappen continued, “Of course we have to build a good car, of course, but a lot will depend on how good the new Honda engine is, I’m hopeful, but I also want to stay realistic, and we have to wait and see what the power unit is really capable of.”

“I think this year has already been pretty good. They have taken a lot of engines just because they could because they were at the back or something happened. I prefer, maybe, to win a race and then blow up in one than be consistently slow.”

Ironically the last races with Renault, the engine supplier he lambasted on a regular basis, were his best races and his best spell of the year, finishing on the podium in all five of the last races, including a superb win in Mexico to add to the famous win in Austria.

But heading to 2019 the 21-year-old is playing down expectations, “It all looks very promising but I want to be realistic. First, we still need to build a car, and then the engine should be reliable as well, and powerful.”

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RICCIARDO: JULES’ PASSING AFFECTED ME MORE THAN I EVER THOUGHT

The death of Jules Bianchi in 2015, nine months after his horrific accident during the Japanese Grand Prix, shocked the world but few were more devastated than the promising Frenchman’s inner circle of which Daniel Ricciardo was one.

Bianchi was the first Formula 1 driver to die during a race since Ayrton Senna perished at Imola in 1994, the 25-year-old Frenchman’s peers and rivals had never experienced such a tragedy on such a huge stage.

Bianchi and Riccardo were rivals on track but proper friends off it too, the pair often hanging out and travelling together in their junior years. The bond remained throughout their rise through the ranks and continued when they met again in Formula 1 – Bianchi with Marussia and Ricciardo at Red Bull.

Speaking during his final podcast as a Red Bull driver, Ricciardo opened up on coping with the tragedy at the time and to this day, “A lot happened in 2015, more on a personal level, with life.”

“Jules’ passing affected me more than I ever would have thought. I had a few other things going on in my life at that time that in a way shaped me into this next version of who I am.”

The 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix marked the first F1 race after the passing of Bianchi on 17 July 2015, he had remained hospitalised in a coma for nine months after that fateful day at Suzuka.

Ricciardo recalled, “The first race back was Budapest and that was my first podium that year, a double podium for the team, and I remember the whole weekend was very emotional. To get a podium there felt massive, it was a huge relief and a moment of gratitude.”

Fast forward to 2018, the big smiling Australian endured another tough season, one in which he lost the balance of power within the energy drinks team after wresting it from Sebastian Vettel in 2014.

With Max Verstappen the team’s golden boy, Ricciardo was prompted to make a career-changing decision by accepting a big bucks offer to race for Renault, and ditching his alma mater.

Reflecting on the season past, he said, “I thought 2015 was challenging, on and off-track, but this year the on-track stuff’s been more challenging than ever.”

“Also just other things, a lot of people have been trying to help, just trying to figure out who is really trying to help and who is not,” added Ricciardo who will line-up for his 151st grand prix start at the season opener at Albert Park in March, on that day he will lower himself into a yellow and black cockpit rather than blue one.

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MONZA CHIEF WAITING ON A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

Monza owners intend investing €100-million ($113-million) to refurbish the historic venue but now only require municipal approval to move the project forward, with time running out on renewing a deal with Liberty Media they are hoping on a Christmas miracle for this to happen sooner rather than later.

Once the agreement with local government authorities is concluded it will pave the way for a new deal to host Formula 1 through 2022 which will mark a century of racing activity at the Temple of Speed.

Monza National Circuit was inaugurated in September 1922 and Angelo Sticchi Damiani, president of ACI and the majority shareholder of the company (Società Incremento Automobilismo e Sport aka SIAS S.p.a.) that built the track in the 1920s and now manages it, intends making the 100th anniversary of the race a special one.

But first, he needs to renegotiate deals with local government organisations and then pen a long-term contract with Liberty Media, after which Damiani said, “We’ll find the money with these two deals in place.”

Much needed refurbishment and modernisation of the venue is on the cards, including areas such as the accessways, subways, bridges and general infrastructure.

On the iconic track itself, the intention is to restore the original radius of the second Lesmo which was tightened in 1994 after the tragedy of Ayrton Senna at Imola. The changes were mandatory at the time, in response to safety regulations.

Other tweaks to the layout will be modifications to the second Variante where Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel tangled this past season.

Also on the cards is widening of the track surface to 12 meters as is required by the FIA, for which Monza has an exemption because of the history of the place.

Andrea Cremonesi of Gazzetta dello Sport reports that these ambitions hinge on renewing an existing agreement with the Park Consortium, namely the municipalities of Milan, Monza and the Lombardy Region who collectively own and govern the land, and thereafter inking a contract with the sport’s owners Liberty Media to continue hosting Formula 1.

Damiani explained, “The agreement [which includes rent paid annually by SIAS] expires in two years, we are seeking a long agreement that will justify such an investment. In September there was a summit in the Region, we all agreed but three months have passed and the only concrete signal of intent has been the regional allocation of €15-million.”

“It’s now decision time because without the agreement [with local authorities] how do I close a deal with Liberty? An agreement that is very complicated, among other things, and we still have areas to negotiate. We have also not talked about money yet,” revealed the Monza chief who added, “We’re waiting for a Christmas miracle.”

Monza has hosted the Italian Grand Prix 68 times, the first grand prix held at the venue was on 10 September 1922, while the first of the modern era – the first year of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship as we know it – was run on 3 September 1950 and won by Giuseppe Farina in an Alfa Romeo.

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New F1 engine manufacturers to get support from rivals

New Formula 1 engine manufacturers will receive technical support from current suppliers if requested, under new rules which will be part of the 2021 package, Ross Brawn has confirmed.

F1 had proposed a completely new engine to form part of the major 2021 rules overhaul, but a push from the current manufacturers, Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda, to retain the current technology, means the power unit will now remain largely unchanged.

As a compromise, Brawn said an agreement had been reached whereby current manufacturers will be forced to offer technical support should a new manufacturer show interest in becoming involved in F1.

"The drawbridge has been pulled up and the existing suppliers don't want anyone else to come in," Brawn told the official F1 website.

"We have found a compromise. There are regulations coming out which would mean new entrants will get support from existing entrants. There will be components and technology which will have to be shared if it is requested.

"There has been a recognition from the existing manufacturers that they can't shut the door behind them.

"If we start to get serious interest from another manufacturer or supplier, they have to cooperate to find ways of helping that manufacturer come into F1."

Although the hybrid-based V6 will remain largely unchanged, Brawn revealed there had been some progress which will put more focus on the driver.

"It is not quite such a radical change that we were proposing, but still quite a good step in the right direction and there are some nice changes to the way the driver has to manage the engine, which I think goes a long way in the sporting direction."

[MIKA27]

Leclerc found F1 "intimidating" at first

Charles Leclerc has admitted that he found Formula 1 "intimidating" at first as he got used to dealing with more people than he had been used to before.
Although the Monegasque driver impressed enough during his rookie campaign for Sauber to earn a seat at Ferrari for 2019, he has confessed to finding the step up to F1 tough to begin with.

“At the beginning it’s first of all quite intimidating to speak to so many people,” he explained.

”Everything you are going to say is going to be analyzed, not only by your engineer, but by so many people. So obviously it’s quite, not scary, but intimidating as I said. But then you get used to it.

“And also the type of feedback you give, you can be a lot more precise with everything you say because there are a lot more people in the background.

“In Formula 2, you really try to focus on the main points because obviously there’s only one or two persons maximum that are helping you to get the car better. It’s a different approach [in F1] and it takes a bit of time to get used to it, yes.”

Leclerc also says that one of the big adjustment he had to get used to at first was the length of F1 races.

“I remember finding the first races extremely long in Formula 1 compared to Formula 2,” he said. “So this is something also that you need to get used to.

“After 20 laps you think that the finish is two laps away and then they tell you ‘Okay, 40 laps to go’ and you’re [like] ‘that’s quite long!’ ”

Despite the early surprises Leclerc says he has ended the year much wiser about the qualities needed to be successful in F1.

“Most of all it comes from just getting used to this paddock, to the things that we need to do around driving that I didn’t expect at the beginning of the year,” he said. “All these things are small details but it makes quite a big difference.

“And also just the way you work with so many people. I’ve learned to work with quite a lot more people. Before you are used to speaking only to your engineer and that’s it.

"So yeah, all of these things have changed me quite a bit.”

 

[Lotusguy]

So those crappy sounding V6 hybrids will stay.

Terrible.

[MIKA27]

Why stats alone don’t do Fernando Alonso’s career justice

For me, the real moment when we began to see just how good Fernando Alonso was came in the closing laps of the 2005 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, where the young man from Oviedo really won his spurs.

Back then you got one set of tyres for the whole race. Ferrari had Bridgestones, Renault, naturally, Michelins. The Bridgestones weren’t great at reaching temperature in qualifying, but their race pace was excellent, and from 13th on the grid on Ferrari’s home ground Michael Schumacher came scything through until, on the 51st lap, he came up behind Alonso. The Spaniard was leading, following the early demise of Kimi Raikkonen’s McLaren. And it seemed only a matter of time before Schumacher, who jumped from 10th to third after the early round of refuelling stops, and then to second after the next, and was now right on Alonso’s tail, overtook.

But over the remaining 11 laps, Fernando drove the perfect defensive race, resisting the intense pressure from the greatest driver of the era. Far from cracking, he finished two-tenths ahead, and let the Ferrari driver know that there was a new kid in town, and that he, too, was a sharpshooter. From that day onwards, Michael knew that he had competition.

What he couldn’t know was that he was now racing on even terms with his Nemesis, the man who would ensure that he never won another title.

Schumacher was impressed. “He didn't make a single mistake,” he said.

2005 victory at Imola marked the true arrival of a threat to Schumacher's dominance

Those in the know had always rated the Spaniard. Back in Melbourne in 2001, when he, Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen made their F1 debuts for Minardi, BMW Williams and Sauber respectively, Alonso had not long since won for the sole time in F3000, at Spa.

But Montoya and Raikkonen garnered the headlines. They were in competitive cars, and in the shadow of the Colombian’s flamboyance and the Finn’s icy calmness, Alonso’s effort in Paul Stoddart’s European Minardi, 30kg overweight and with an aged Cosworth V10 that was 160bhp down on its rivals, went almost unnoticed. But there was nothing lacking in the 19-year-old driver’s polished performance. He had one spin, and a small mistake in the last sector of his fastest lap in qualifying cost him half a second and a place ahead of the troubled Benetton-Renaults on the grid. But it nearly wasn’t a perfect debut…

“We could not test the car before Australia,” Fernando revealed this year in Abu Dhabi. “The team were bankrupt, so Paul Stoddart came in at the last moment and flew the car to Australia. I remember going out in FP1 and there was a queue of cars at the end of the pit lane, because there was still a red light, and I nearly crashed with them because I could not find the neutral button. That was not the perfect start!”

But, overall, team manager Rupert Manwaring was hugely impressed.

“He’s cool and calm,” he reported, “and he is really intelligent. He’s absolutely a top driver of the future, no question, one of those who are naturally gifted. What he achieves doesn’t appear to demand too much effort. Half his brain is left over to do the thinking, while the rest is doing the driving extremely well.”

“Of all the rookies,” Jenson Button said, “he impressed me the most.”

Fresh-faced Alonso impressed Jenson Button in his rookie season – then replaced him at Renault

Incredibly, like Esteban Ocon today, Alonso then had to sit out 2002 as Benetton-Renault had contracted drivers Button and Giancarlo Fisichella, but he was back for 2003 in Button’s place, and there the legend truly began, with a brilliant second to Schumacher’s more powerful Ferrari in front of his countrymen in Barcelona, then that first victory in Hungary. By 2005, Renault were a definite contender, thanks to him.

That year, victories in Malaysia, Bahrain, San Marino, Europe, France, Germany and China secured him his first title. Others, in Bahrain, Australia, Spain, Monaco, Britain, Canada and Japan, his second in 2006.

With Schumacher retiring, it seemed that the road was clear to multiple crowns. In retrospect, it’s incredible to think that the apogee of his career came 12 years ago…

His switch to McLaren in 2007 was heavily compromised by the arrival of Lewis Hamilton, who embarrassingly beat him overall on countback as they both lost out at the 11th hour to Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari. That season yielded another four wins, in Malaysia, Monaco, Europe and Italy, but was soured by the manner in which he chose to fight, threatening to report his own team to the FIA during an affair that became known as ‘Spygate’. And perhaps that was where it all began to go wrong, as it forced him back to Renault, and the scandal that was the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. Yet regardless of the manner in which he won there, his triumph next time out in Suzuka was pure Alonso.

Like 2004, 2009 was a barren year, but he won his first race with Ferrari in Bahrain in 2010, then again in Germany, Italy, Singapore and Korea. But the failure to win the title in Abu Dhabi reportedly left him in tears for an hour in the Ferrari hospitality unit.

2011 saw only one win, at Silverstone, followed by three in 2012, in Malaysia, Valencia and Germany. The final two successes came in China and Spain in 2013.

Leaving Ferrari at the end of a hopeless 2014 season was understandable, perhaps, given the failures to be competitive and win titles that the world had expected when the talents of one of the greatest drivers in history and one of the greatest teams were combined.

Missing out on 2010 title was crushing for Alonso

The failure to win the title in 2010 hit both Fernando and Ferrari very hard indeed, and quite probably undermined each party’s belief in the other, to the point where a souring relationship, allied to changing management styles, ultimately led to a parting at the end of 2014 said to have been triggered not by Ferrari, but by Alonso himself, in the belief that Mercedes or Red Bull would come knocking on his door for 2015. Neither did, and suffice it to say that what happened at McLaren in 2007 was not forgotten in many quarters. Which made it all the more ironic that he was forced by circumstances to go back to that very team, as a prodigal son. He needed a seat, they needed a topline driver. Unquestionably, as it began to sink, the Woking team got the better side of that deal.

Looking back, it is an astonishing and terrible fact that Alonso was unable to add to his statistics of 32 victories, 22 pole positions and 23 fastest laps in his final five years of F1. He did not win another race after his triumph at home on May 12 2013. In that time, Hamilton has won 52 races. By simple maths, had Alonso been in a decent car and repeated his pre-2013 success rate he could have won another 30. Except that, in fighting against Hamilton, he would certainly have on occasion deprived the Briton of some of his successes. After all, Vettel has won 13 races since joining Ferrari, and probably lost another six or even.

So Fernando Alonso’s story ends (or perhaps pauses) as one of brilliant promise only partly fulfilled, of frustration, of a fearsome, uncompromising warrior whose methods of dealing with teams and whose decision making often planted the seeds of his own career’s destruction. Unquestionably, he could have been racing far better equipment in his final years had he taken better decisions.

Was the 2007 season with McLaren where it all started to go wrong for Alonso?

We should all lament the departure of a great and spectacular champion who raced cleanly and would still have so much to offer in a competitive car, and we should also celebrate the high points of his greatness.

This was, after all, the man who had overtaken the great Schumacher twice at Suzuka in 2005, once at 130R and once in the first corner, both times going around the outside. Any topline driver will tell you that being ‘buffalo girled’ is the most embarrassing experience in racing.

This, too, was the man who eventually toppled Schumacher, who kept Hamilton honest all through 2007 and at times beat him fair and square, whose mastery in a competitive car was balanced by his brilliance in taking lesser cars to victory. None of the Ferraris he had after 2010 was up to much, yet sheer class and racecraft saw him walk the 2011 British Grand Prix, keep his head in the rain in Malaysia in 2012 despite serious pressure from Sergio Perez’s Sauber, and win later that year in Valencia, a victory he rates as his best triumph of all. And don’t forget that he helmed his uncompetitive McLaren-Renault to seventh place in Baku this year despite all the damage it suffered early in the race.

One of his greatest wins? Alonso holds off the hard-charging Sergio Perez in Malaysia in 2012

Sharing memories of his 18 years in F1 in Abu Dhabi, he could not resist responding jokingly, “The season with Lewis, 2007!” before adding: “I don’t know, I think more than races or memories or victories, the best thing I have from the F1 time is the people that I worked with, the people that I shared half of my life with. I’m 37 and I raced here 18 years. It’s half of my life with a lot of talented engineers, designers, mechanics, you guys, the media, everyone. We shared a lot of days over the seasons and I think that’s the best thing that I will always remember about Formula 1. How you approached these kind of races, the philosophy behind a Grand Prix, the preparation, and the discipline in all areas of the team. Now, racing in other disciplines, you realise that Formula 1 is a step higher and it’s just trying to find perfection in everything, every weekend, every two weeks, all around the world. This was probably the best memories I will get from here.”

Asked to name the driver he regarded as his greatest rival, he said that if he had to choose it would maybe be Schumacher – “but just for emotional reasons, not for any technical aspects.”

Lewis said that he would miss him, just as Fernando’s sport would miss him too, and that their respect for one another was now higher than ever. And with good reason.

Notwithstanding the brilliance with which Hamilton and Mercedes fought back in the latter half of 2017 and 2018, there are many who believe that with the sort of uber-competitive Ferrari that Sebastian Vettel had last year and this in his hands, Fernando Alonso would never have fluffed either of those championships.

[MIKA27]

2 minutes ago, Lotusguy said:

So those crappy sounding V6 hybrids will stay.

Terrible.

It's a terrible reality but one that I knew would never go back to V8's, V10's or 12's....  

[Lotusguy]

It's a terrible reality but one that I knew would never go back to V8's, V10's or 12's....  

Yeah. I’ve resigned myself to that - but at least make those engines less complex and cheaper to build so we can have some more manufacturers enter. This whole “we will force existing manufacturers to help out” is complete BS and they know it.

[MIKA27]

1 hour ago, Lotusguy said:

 

 

Yeah. I’ve resigned myself to that - but at least make those engines less complex and cheaper to build so we can have some more manufacturers enter. This whole “we will force existing manufacturers to help out” is complete BS and they know it.

 

 

Agree mate, a more even playing field would be nice.

[MIKA27]

ALBON CHOOSES LEGENDARY NUMBER 23

Thai rookie Alexander Albon clearly has an eye on superstardom as he has picked #23 for his Formula 1 debut season with Toro Rosso in 2019, the number that will remain with him for the remainder of his career in the top flight.

The number has iconic status with the likes of superstars David Beckham, LeBron James and most famously Michael Jordan carrying #23 during their illustrious careers.

Albon was a late-season contender for a seat that was hotly contested by several prominent drivers, but he impressed enough with a strong showing late in the Formula 2 season to get the nod from Helmut Marko to step up alongside Daniil Kvyat in the Red Bull junior team for next year.

Time will tell if #23 will also become boss in Formula 1 in the future. Albon will turn 23 six days after he makes his debut at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix on 17 March.

Like all F1 drivers, Alex began his career in karting at a young age with early success, winning titles at the 2006 and 2009 Super 1 Honda National Championships (Cadet and KF3 class), and the 2010 European Championship.

Alex then joined the Red Bull Junior Programme in 2012, competing in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season. After a difficult year Alex was let go by the Programme, but that didn’t stop his determination from making it to the top, proving his worth by finishing runner-up in the 2016 GP3 Series to Charles Leclerc.

He then graduated to the Formula 2 Championship where he spent two seasons, one with ART Grand Prix before moving to the DAMS squad, finishing third in the Championship with four wins, three pole positions and eight podiums.

His persistent attitude and accompanying results warranted another call-up to the Red Bull Programme, and he was called up for his first taste of Formula 1 to partner Daniil Kvyat for the 2019 F1 season.

All the 2019 driver numbers:

 

[MIKA27]

REPORT CLAIMS SCHUMI NOT BED-RIDDEN

The Daily Mail claims that Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher is not bed-ridden as has been widely speculated and remains living in his $50-million mansion in the Swiss town of Gland, pouring cold water on reports the family were relocating to Mallorca.

The report reveals: “Sportsmail understands that he is not bed-ridden. Nor is he existing on tubes. Yet it is believed he is receiving extensive nursing and therapy care, which has been estimated to cost more than £50,000 a week.”

“He is, it can be revealed, living with his close family in the main body of his house rather than in an outbuilding that some reports suggested had been constructed in response to his injuries as a special medical facility, a sort of hospital at home. In fact, the building work began before the accident occurred and the new cottage was always intended as a base for his widower father when he stayed.”

In 2016, Schumacher’s German lawyer, Felix Damm confirmed in a court case against Bunte that Schumi could “not walk” which led to the magazine paying damages for claiming in an article that he could walk.  Since then the strict secrecy over his condition has led to often wild but ongoing speculation.

December 29 will mark five years since the near-fatal incident shocked the world which still mourns his condition. Schumi will turn 50 on 3 January.

MIKA: I wouldn't trust the Daily Mail but they have come out of the woodwork to make such a statement knowing Sabine Khem and Schumachers wife would no doubt jump at them if it were false....? Surely?

[MIKA27]

RACING POINT TO LAUNCH INTO NEW ERA WITH EVENT IN TORONTO

Racing Point will launch their 2019 Formula 1 World Championship season with an event during the Toronto International Autoshow on 13 February.

The team that has risen from the near ashes of Force India, saved by a consortium led by billionaire Lawrence Stroll and close business associates and will use the event to introduce the ‘new’ team to the world.

Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez will drive for the team, starting with two stanzas of preseason testing – on 18 February to 21 February and then 26 February to 1 March – in Barcelona before the season opener in Melbourne on 17 March.

[MIKA27]

WEBBER: HAMILTON BEST QUALIFIER SINCE SENNA

Mark Webber believes Lewis Hamilton is the greatest driver in qualifying since the late great Ayrton Senna and admits he cannot see any weaknesses in the five-time Formula 1 World Champion’s armour.

The best qualifier claims by Webber suggests Hamilton is better than the great Michel Schumacher, as well as the likes of Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost and Nelson Piquet.

Speaking to Speedcafe, Webber said, “In qualifying – I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again – he’s the best since Senna. I mean he is better than Michael over one lap,” Webber told Speedcafe.com.

“Arguably he is definitely the best in the last, getting on for 40 years. He’s up there with Ayrton on one lap. Lewis doesn’t go off the road much on Saturdays but he’s had this devastating turn of speed when he needs to turn it on.”

Hamilton keeps on growing in stature, able to reach beyond his previous limits as he did that night in a memorable Singapore qualifying. The #44 Mercedes started from pole in 11 races and also won 11 this past season.

He qualifying has been his strength throughout his career, having notched up 83 top spot starts in 229 starts.

Webber raced against Hamilton, but cannot quite figure out how the Briton can be beaten, “I don’t know what his real weaknesses are, that is why he is so dangerous.”

“He has definitely had the measure of Sebastian (Vettel) of late. We know he is as strong as Fernando, so he’s been hard work for all of us over the years and that’s why he’s got the track record that he has.”

Although Hamilton insists records are not his thing, more could topple as he and his team continue to be the benchmark in the premier division of the sport, with no end in sight.

Wedder, continued, “He is one of the greats (and) he’s not finished yet, so he can be at the top of a lot of the statistics, which is incredibly, incredibly impressive feat.”

“He could go all the way, especially if he gets [his sixth] world championship next year. I think that’s going to be a big indication of whether he’s got the motivation to try and get past Michael, which obviously will be eight.”

“Have the next three years on the bounce, a lot of people probably would have switched off by then. To watch the record happen would be incredible but there is a lot, a lot of racing to be done,” concluded Webber.

As it stands, ahead of the 69th season of Formula 1, Schumacher heads with the big-daddy of them all, namely seven Formula 1 world titles to Hamilton’s five, the great German has 91 grand prix victories to his name with his successor at Mercedes on 73.

Schumacher has 155 podiums, to Hamilton’s 134 with the latter on 83 pole positions compared the former on 68.

[MIKA27]

BRAWN: TEAMS WILL HAVE A YEAR OR SO TO WORK ON 2021 CARS

While the Formula 1 world waits impatiently for direction on regulations for 2021 and beyond, motorsport chief Ross Brawn has revealed that the delays have been by intent, in an effort to try and balance the opportunities available to teams irrespective of resources.

In a way, rule makers are caught between a rock and a hard place with regards to the rules deadline, too soon may benefit the big budget teams – Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull – to the detriment of the minnows. However the same could be said if the rules are released too late, hence timing is critical.

In his end of the season review, Brawn explained, “The FIA and ourselves have issued a framework of what the car could be like with tasks for each team to look at aspects of it. It’s not enough for teams to go off and start designing a car, we’re purposefully trying to hold back on that.”

“We don’t want teams with a lot of resource to gain a march on those who don’t. But it’s a difficult balance because there is a perfectly valid argument that the later you leave the issuing of the information, the more it suits the teams with a lot of resource.”

“The teams will have about a year or so to work on the designs of these cars, I think that’s the right sort of timescale. Once they’ve designed their 2020 cars, they need to be able to focus on 2021,” added Brawn.

Simple maths suggests that a “year or so” from now is circa end of next season, upon which teams will have the double headache of embarking on an all-new project while maintaining their race programme at the same time.

On the upside for fans, sweeping regulation changes can tinker with the pecking order as his own BrawnGP team proved in 2009 with Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello.

“Whenever you introduce fairly major conceptual change in the regulations, the opportunity exists for a team to devote its resource to that project and leapfrog a year – accept where it is and that it might not be the greatest year – in favour of jumping up to where they want to be the following year,” reasoned Brawn.

[MIKA27]

Kubica understands why there are doubters

Robert Kubica says he understands why people remain doubtful about his ability ahead of his Formula 1 return because he would also have doubts if he was a team boss.
Next March, eight years after the rally accident that almost severed his right arm, Williams signing Kubica will end an absence from the F1 grid stretching back to 2010.

The Pole, who will be 35, tested for Renault and Williams in 2017 as he eyed a 2018 drive but had to settle for a Williams development role for this season, which he has turned into a 2019 race seat.

Kubica said he has heard for "many years [that] people struggle to believe that I can do it" but accepts why that is the case.

"If I would be a team principal I would also have doubts," said Kubica.

"This year has been very useful because the first meeting, I remember, I said 'If you have any doubt, we shouldn't be doing it, because in difficult times it's easy to point the finger on my arm – I want to make sure that you are sure that I can do it'.

"First of all I have to be sure that I can do it, that's why I'm here, but second of all the team has to be convinced that I'm able to do a job."

Kubica has secured enhanced backing from Poland to facilitate his F1 return.

He believes that his comeback "shows that somehow nothing is impossible", and insists that his doubters "just need to wait and you will see".

"If I think I will not be able to drive competitively fast I would not be here," said Kubica.

"This is a normal way of thinking, that people see my limitations and they ask how it's possible that I do it.

"I know that it's hard to believe but Williams has seen it this year and I have seen it [for] the last 16 or 18 months, since I first tested an [older Renault] F1 car in Valencia that I can do it."

Deputy team principal Claire Williams told Motorsport.com that she is totally convinced by Kubica's ability, "especially from his work ethic".

"I've been able to spend a lot of time with him this year, as the team has, and to see how committed he is to improving as a team has been really positive," said Williams.

"As you would expect from any reserve driver he's in the garage all the time, but then his determination to follow up and see how developments come through and make sure we are doing what we need to do back in the factory to develop a better racing car is really impressive.

"I want to hear back from him next year in the car, I want a driver who is really pushing everyone back in the factory to deliver the best racing car they can for Sunday afternoon.

"Robert is exactly of that mentality."