FORMULA 1

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BROWN: MCLAREN MUST GIVE NORRIS THE EQUIPMENT TO SHOW HIS TALENT

McLaren team chief Zak Brown is adamant that his team will not put pressure on rookie Lando Norris during his rookie season with the once mighty team, insisting that the teenager will be given time to adapt to the top flight.

Instead, Brown pointed out that it up to McLaren to deliver for the young driver, something they have failed with previous drivers – Sergio Perez, Kevin Magnussen and Stoffel Vandoorne spring to mind as drivers with huge potential before stepping up to F1 with McLaren and watch their careers implode.

One obvious exception was Lewis Hamilton, as a rookie with McLaren in 2007 he had a stellar season and might have won the F1 World Championship on his first attempt had an all-out civil war not erupted when the Briton clashed famously with Fernando Alonso.

Brown acknowledged in an interview with Racer, “Obviously Lewis came into McLaren but we were winning races at that point. So I think there’s certainly been rookie drivers that have come into teams in high-pressure environments.”

“Whether that was pressure to continue to deliver because the team’s already winning races or pressure to help us on the journey of recovery. I think it’s first and foremost the responsibility of McLaren to get us back to our winning ways.”

Brown is a man of many hats, apart from McLaren team boss he also runs his own United Autosports racing team, is part of Norris’ management team and ‘moonlights’ as chairman of Motorsport Network.

One could never imagine Ron Dennis – the man responsible for McLaren’s huge success since the late seventies – putting the onus on his team to deliver for drivers. In fact, the opposite was expected: You come to McLaren to deliver or you are out.

The fact that Brown will give Norris time to adapt suggest he is wearing his “I Manage Lando” hat as opposed to his “McLaren is Boss” cap.

Vandoorne is the latest ‘hot property’ that bombed at McLaren for a bunch of different reasons, and although he did not deliver relative to his teammate Alonso, it can hardly be said the Belgian was given a fair run.

In the wake of the disastrous car that McLaren built for him to drive, you would think that if the same ethos that they will apply to Norris had been practised with Vandoorne, then the 26-year-old 2015 GP2 Series Champion would not be plying his trade in Formula E but rather be given a final crack at the top flight.

Vandoorne was always on a road to a hiding with Alonso, but with Carlos Sainz as a teammate things might have been different, but we will never know.

By all accounts, Norris had a long-standing option with the Woking outfit to be on the grid with them in 2019, anything less would make him a free agent, which clearly Brown (wearing his I Manage Lando hat) did not feel was good business. Thus Vandoorne became excess baggage and ejected accordingly.

Brown continued, “I do think Formula 1 can be a pretty cruel environment. If you look at Leclerc, I remember there was commentary I think after the first two or three races of whether he should still be in Formula 1. And now he’s driving for Ferrari.

“So I think what we need to do is manage expectations, not after three races pass judgment — which we as a sport are always pretty quick to do.

“[Norris] clearly is extremely talented. We’ve seen him in our race car a good amount now and what we need to do is nurture him, manage expectations internally and externally, and give him the equipment to show his talent,” confirmed Brown.

Time will tell if Norris is the real deal, for now he ticks all the boxes, but then so did Perez, Magnussen and Vandoorne ahead of their time with the McLaren and we all know how that turned out…

But one thing neither of the trio had, namely a McLaren boss with a vested interest in making sure they succeed – as Dennis had with Hamilton and now as Brown has with his young charge – and that is sure to make a big difference in how things pan out for Norris.

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ALFA ROMEO RACING IS REBORN

The Sauber name will disappear from the Formula 1 grid this season after the Swiss-based team announced on Friday it had been renamed Alfa Romeo Racing as part of an extended sponsorship deal.

The team, who finished eighth out of 10 in the constructors’ championship last year, will remain under the same independent ownership and management with Frenchman Frederic Vasseur as principal.

Sauber made their Formula One debut as a privately-owned team in 1993, taking their sole victory at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix while racing as BMW’s factory team.

They have been partnered by Fiat Chrysler brand Alfa Romeo since last year.

The team use the same engines as Ferrari, with whom they have close ties, and have Finland’s 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen and Italian Antonio Giovinazzi in an all-new driver lineup for 2019.

Alfa Romeo has a strong heritage in Formula One with the first two world championships in 1950 and 1951 won by Italian Giuseppe “Nino” Farina and Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio in cars carrying the four-leaf clover emblem.

Ferrari’s late founder Enzo also started out racing and managing a team for Alfa Romeo, before setting up on his own in the late 1930s.

Founded in 1910, Alfa Romeo supplied Formula One engines in the 1960s and 1970s and returned as a constructor in 1979 before again withdrawing at the end of 1985.

Press Release:

The 2019 Formula One World Championship will see two of the most historical brands in motorsport – Sauber and Alfa Romeo – return to circuits across the globe with 2007 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen and the young Italian Antonio Giovinazzi driving for Alfa Romeo Racing, formerly referred to as the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team.

Just one year after it was founded on the 24th June 1910, Alfa Romeo made its debut in an official competition, winning the first Regularity Race in Modena. Since then, its sporting legend has been a string of victories and top-three finishes in many international championships, including Formula One. In 2019, the cars of Alfa Romeo Racing will sport the time-honoured four-leaf clover emblem that since 1923 has identified the fastest Alfa Romeo models.

The long-term partnership between Sauber and Title Sponsor Alfa Romeo was initiated in 2018. Over the past year, the Team made continuous progress and finished the championship in 8th place. The term of the collaboration has been further extended, with the ownership and management of Sauber remaining unchanged and independent. As Alfa Romeo Racing, the goal continues to be the achievement of ambitious results at the pinnacle of motorsport.

Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal Alfa Romeo Racing: “It is a pleasure to announce that we will enter the 2019 Formula One World Championship with the Team name Alfa Romeo Racing. After initiating the collaboration with our Title Sponsor Alfa Romeo in 2018, our team made fantastic progress on the technical, commercial and sporting side. This has given a boost of motivation to each team member, be that track-side or at the headquarter in Switzerland, as the hard work invested has become reflected in our results. We aim to continue developing every sector of our team while allowing our passion for racing, technology and design to drive us forward.”

Michael Manley, CEO FCA Group: “Alfa Romeo Racing is a new name with a long history in Formula One. We’re proud to collaborate with Sauber in bringing Alfa Romeo’s tradition of technical excellence and Italian panache to the pinnacle of motorsport. Make no mistake: with Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi on one side of the pit wall and Alfa Romeo and Sauber expertise on the other, we are here to compete.”

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Insight: What does Sauber's Alfa Romeo F1 rebrand mean?

It was announced on Friday that Sauber will compete as Alfa Romeo Racing in Formula 1 this year. But what does it mean for the team? Motorsport Week analyses the development.

Friday’s announcement is a seminal moment in the history of one of Formula 1’s longest-serving teams, one which has carved its identity out of plucky underdog performances and being slightly different owing to its location.

For the first time since 1992 the Sauber name will not be on the Formula 1 grid, with the team rebranded as Alfa Romeo Racing. Even during its BMW ownership from 2006-09 it was referred to as BMW-Sauber, owing to founder Peter Sauber retaining a minority stake in the operation, and which proved vital once the German car giant pulled the plug on its involvement amid so-so results in the midst of the global recession.

Sauber has brought through top drivers in the form of Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa, Robert Kubica and Charles Leclerc, not to mention leading mechanics, engineers and sponsors. It has weathered several storms and existed in several eras, from its Mercedes-linked nascent days, the Red Bull-sponsored/Petronas-engined period, and its rebirth, near-collapse and rejuvenation post-BMW.

The name may have gone as part of the rebrand but Sauber still exists. Sauber Motorsport AG runs the Formula 1 team – now called Alfa Romeo Racing – while it has its Sauber Engineering AG arm and the Sauber Aerodynamik AG offshoot, with all three companies collaborating at its base in Hinwil, Switzerland.

The Formula 1 car will continue to be produced and developed at that factory, it will continue to use Ferrari engines – branded as such – while the team set-up and structure, both in terms of staff, management and ownership will remain unchanged, as per the press release.

Indeed, it is that ownership that has permitted this next step to be taken, with original founder Sauber departing as part of the mid-2016 takeover that secured the team’s future.

The planned Honda alliance for 2018 was shelved in the wake of Frederic Vasseur’s arrival and he began to implement necessary changes as part of a long-term strategy. One key coup was the greater alignment with Ferrari that led to Alfa Romeo entering as title sponsor. Alfa Romeo, of course, is part of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles group, while Ferrari was spun off from the group in 2016 but remains part of the greater Exor group. They are, in effect, sister companies. The relaunch of the team, under the Alfa Romeo Sauber name, took place at Alfa Romeo's museum in late 2017, where the revised livery – complete with prominent Alfa Romeo logo on the engine cover – was unveiled, with the deal described as a “technical and commercial partnership.” It meant the 2018 approach was always likely to be something of an interim step, with the Alfa Romeo name returning to Formula 1 for the first time in three decades as a title sponsor. And for while the Sauber name has now been dropped, Alfa Romeo itself has history in the championship, even if its greatest success came in an era where the sport was an entirely different animal. It is also one of the most emblematic brands in motorsport – and motoring – with its style and history combining to form an almost-romantic aura.

The name change comes at a time in which the team is on an upward trajectory, having put the misery of 2017 to bed with an encouraging 2018 campaign. Sauber started slowly but developed its well-balanced C37 strongly, shelving the previous approach of pinning hopes on major updates and instead bringing regular tweaks. The correlation between expectation and on-track results was also positive, allowing it to fast-track updates, which were boosted by the ongoing recruitment drive at a state-of-the-art factory that had previously been under-utilised. Coinciding with the rise of rookie Leclerc, whose arrival was facilitated by the closer Sauber/Ferrari alliance, the progress enabled Sauber to regularly finish in the points and battle for Q3 spots. It was also a much sharper race operation, for example being quicker at pit stops and better at strategy. Its final result was eighth in the Constructors’ Championship, but at the last handful of Grands Prix it can claim to have held the fourth-fastest package. Leclerc signed off with a string of sevenths. Such pace and consistency was unthinkable just six months previously.

Politically, it is also a development. It builds on the vision the late Sergio Marchionne had for the Sauber/Alfa Romeo relationship, and it strengthens Ferrari’s hand in future discussions with Liberty Media. Ferrari – namely FCA – also ostensibly has Haas under its wing as well, don’t forget. It is also encouraging for Formula 1 that a major manufacturer is increasing its involvement in the championship at a time when other companies appear less-than-interested. Commercially it is also a boon for Alfa Romeo to have a World Champion on board – one of only three teams on the grid with that ace up its sleeve – and a popular one at that, with the enigmatic Kimi Raikkonen still a fan favourite. And in Antonio Giovinazzi it has the dream of an Italian racing for an Italian brand – the first such occurrence in a decade.

The Sauber name may have gone in Formula 1 but the Sauber spirit remains – and there’s every reason for fans to be excited for the next chapter in the team’s distinguished history.

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Mexican GP at risk as government pulls funding

The future of the Mexican Grand Prix looks to be at risk after a Mexico City government official confirmed the events financial support would be stopped after the upcoming 2019 event.

The race returned to the Formula 1 calendar in 2015 following a 22-year absence at a newly upgraded Hermanos Rodríguez Circuit in Mexico City and has received government support in order to pay its hosting fee.

Speaking to El Financiero, Claudia Sheinbaum, Head of Government for Mexico City, explained that the funding, estimated at 400 million Pesos (£16m, $21m) annually, would be diverted to the Mayan Train project, which aims to link major cities in the southeast of the country.

"For 2020, the federal government has no longer committed this resource [to the race] because it is earmarking most of the funds to the completion of the Mayan tourist train or the Mayan train."

Sheinbaum confirmed the 2019 event, due to take place in late October, will be unaffected: "F1 in 2019 is going to take place because since last year the past administrations committed this amount."

The promoter of the event declined to comment on the news when contacted by Motorsport Week.

The funding switch is likely a result of Mexico's recent change of administration, with the previous ruling party suffering a heavy defeat during last year's general elections. The National Regeneration Movement headed by Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is now in power and a key election promise of Mr. López Obrador is to cut waste and corruption from government spending.

The Mexican Grand Prix is one of five events, along with Spain, Britain, Germany and Italy, on the 2019 calendar that does not have a 2020 deal.

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Haas to reveal 2019 livery on Thursday

Haas will reveal its livery for the 2019 Formula 1 season next week on Thursday February 7. 
The American team's livery is expected to reflect the black-and-gold colours of title sponsor Rich Energy after signing a deal with the energy drink company late last year. 

Haas confirmed the news in a post on Twitter, with no mention made of its 2019 car or its launch plans.

Haas is one of three teams yet to confirm a launch for its 2019 car alongside Red Bull and Williams.

The expected change to Haas' livery comes after the F1 team defended its decision to partner up with Rich Energy after scepticism over the its finances and its failed bid to buy the then-Force India squad.

Haas enjoyed its best season last year with drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, finishing fifth in the constructors' championship after its first two years in F1 yielded eighth.

[TheGipper]

Hmm, I hope F1 doesn't overdo the change to the camera angle thing.  Indy Car (ABC/ESPN) really overdid the wall-mounted and in-track camera shots to the point of almost ruining Indy 500 coverage in recent years.  They spend so much screen time on low angle shots that a viewer often misses tracking track position/gaps and closing speeds when a position pass is developing.

Plus here in the States we got Sky's UK coverage here for the first time in 2018 and I don't ever want to watch anything else.  It's a superb presentation of all the sessions.  I was upset when ESPN took over from NBC for 2018, meaning we lost Steve Matchett and David Hobbs as analysts last year.  But now that I've got to watch Croft/Brundle/Di Resta/Davidson/Kravitz for a full year, I like their commentary much better than the remote-produced stuff NBC was giving us.

The AWS stuff could be interesting though.  Would be nice to be able to see live tracking of undercut attempts as they develop, the way the teams see it on their screens as it's happening.

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21 hours ago, TheGipper said:

Hmm, I hope F1 doesn't overdo the change to the camera angle thing.  Indy Car (ABC/ESPN) really overdid the wall-mounted and in-track camera shots to the point of almost ruining Indy 500 coverage in recent years.  They spend so much screen time on low angle shots that a viewer often misses tracking track position/gaps and closing speeds when a position pass is developing.

Plus here in the States we got Sky's UK coverage here for the first time in 2018 and I don't ever want to watch anything else.  It's a superb presentation of all the sessions.  I was upset when ESPN took over from NBC for 2018, meaning we lost Steve Matchett and David Hobbs as analysts last year.  But now that I've got to watch Croft/Brundle/Di Resta/Davidson/Kravitz for a full year, I like their commentary much better than the remote-produced stuff NBC was giving us.

The AWS stuff could be interesting though.  Would be nice to be able to see live tracking of undercut attempts as they develop, the way the teams see it on their screens as it's happening.

I really like listening to Brundle commentate  

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FORMER FORCE INDIA CHIEF MALLYA VOWS TO APPEAL EXTRADITION

Tycoon Vijay Mallya has promised to appeal Britain’s decision to order his extradition to India to face fraud charges.

The case of the 63-year-old owner of Kingfisher beer, who also heads the Force India Formula One racing team, is the most high-profile of several extradition cases between Britain and India.

Former Force India Formula 1 team chief Mallya left India in 2016 owing more than $1 billion after defaulting on loan payments to a state-owned bank and allegedly misusing the funds.

The loans were intended to bail out his failed carrier Kingfisher Airlines.

In December, a British court ruled that he could be sent back to India, where he was once a member of parliament.

On Monday, Britain’s interior ministry confirmed that Home Secretary Sajid Javid has signed an order for his extradition. Mallya has two weeks to appeal.

“After the decision was handed down on December 10, 2018, by the Westminster Magistrates Court, I stated my intention to appeal,” Mallya tweeted on Monday.

“I could not initiate the appeal process before a decision by the home secretary. Now I will initiate the appeal process.”

Judge Emma Arbuthnot ruled in December that Mallya had misrepresented how loans received from banks would be used and therefore had a case to answer.

She said bankers had been “charmed” by a “glamorous, flashy, famous, bejewelled, bodyguarded, ostensibly billionaire playboy” into losing their common sense.

Mallya was once known as the “King of Good Times” but dropped off India’s most wealthy list in 2014, engulfed by Kingfisher Airlines’ massive debts.

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FERRARI CONFIRM WEHRLEIN AND HARTLEY FOR SIMULATOR ROLES

Ferrari have hired ex-Formula One drivers Pascal Wehrlein and Brendon Hartley to help develop their 2019 race car in the simulator.

The pair were among four simulator drivers named on Monday to work at the Italian team’s Maranello factory in support of racers Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc.

Wehrlein, who last year ended ties with Mercedes, drove for now-defunct Manor and Sauber in Formula One in 2016 and 2017 and the German is now racing for the Mahindra team in the all-electric Formula E series.

New Zealander Hartley, a two-times world endurance champion who won the Le Mans 24 Hours with Porsche in 2017, competed for Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso last year.

Italians Antonio Fuoco and Davide Rigon were the other two drivers appointed.

“Our team has taken on four undoubtedly talented drivers, who possess innate feeling, with a strong understanding of race cars and tracks,” said team principal Mattia Binotto in a statement.

“These are exactly the qualities required in the skilful role of driving in a simulator, one of the vital pieces of equipment in the Formula One of today.”

Russian Daniil Kvyat and Italian Antonio Giovinazzi, who performed simulator duties for Ferrari last year, are racing this season for Toro Rosso and Sauber respectively.

The season starts in Australia on March 17.

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RED BULL HONDA RB15 TO BREAK COVER ON 13 FEBRUARY

Fortunately for Red Bull, the 13th of February is a Wednesday and not a Friday, as the team announced on Twitter that they will be revealing their 2019 challenger on in nine days time.

The RB15, penned by Adrian Newey and his crew of designers, is the most anticipated car of the new season as Red Bull begin their new era with Honda power.

The team also welcomes Pierre Gasly to their garage alongside Max Verstappen for 2019.

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Ferrari plans to increase its F1 budget in 2019

Ferrari plans to increase its Formula 1 budget this season to try to end its long championship win drought, in a move that emphasises its reliance on grand prix success.
The Italian manufacturer has not won a title since its constructors' championship success in 2008, with Kimi Raikkonen claiming its last drivers' crown the year before.

Ferrari has parted company with Maurizio Arrivabene ahead of the 2019 season and named former chief technical officer Mattia Binotto its new team principal as it attempts to finally beat Mercedes to a title in the V6 turbo-hybrid era.

"While our Formula 1 performance last year was the best one since we won the constructors' championship in 2008, we fell short of our ambition to raise the winners' cup," Ferrari chairman and CEO Louis Camilleri told investors in a conference call last week.

"Our objective going forward remains the same as it has always been, to win.

"In 2019 we project an increase in spending which partially reflects this ambition, but also includes the development expenditures required to address the new tactical regulations that will form part of the envisaged Concorde agreement that should come into force in 2021."

It is not clear what Camilleri meant by his reference to development work around F1's planned 2021 overhaul given there are still no confirmed technical regulations.

However, a broad concept of the engine rules, evolving the current specification of turbocharged hybrids, has been publicly outlined.

Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes have reservations over how F1 owner Liberty Media's planned 2021 revolution will work, particularly the practical application of cost-capping elements like limiting team spending.

Camilleri had already softened Ferrari's stance from the quit threats made by his predecessor, the late Sergio Marchionne.

The confirmation it is preparing a bigger spend in 2019, with one eye on the 2021 changes, is a further shuffle away from an F1 exit.

Latest defeat prompts financial rethink

Only last November Ferrari's chief financial officer Antonio Picca Piccon said a €5million decrease in industrial costs and research and development was "mainly to lower spending in Formula 1 activities".

There are likely many factors behind the reverse for 2019, not least the fact F1's shifting landscape makes it difficult to achieve consistent spending.

In terms of tangible financial changes, Ferrari credits a €16million increase in the company's overall sponsorship, commercial and brand revenues in 2018 to more sponsorship and finishing second in the 2017 constructors' championship.

That result, which Ferrari sustained in 2018, meant it was awarded more F1 prize money last year, having slumped to third in 2016.

And while it has not recovered the third engine customer it lost when Toro Rosso switched to Renault for 2017, Ferrari has presumably benefitted from Sauber opting for contemporary engines for 2018 after having a cheaper, year-old supply before.

Ferrari will also have a lower driver-salary spend this year given Kimi Raikkonen has been replaced by young rising star Charles Leclerc.

While that presumably gives Ferrari more flexibility over how it applies its existing funds, it was clear last year it was outgunned and out-developed by a Mercedes team unafraid to react to increased pressure and dig into its own pockets.

Given Camilleri said last November that Ferrari is "doing everything we can to win" but had watched its title drought extend to a full decade, its decision to add even more financial firepower is not surprising.

The factors that make F1 so vital

It is also a case study in how Ferrari remains immune to the common fate that befalls manufacturers that have long spells without major success in motor racing.

Other manufacturers tend to walk away but, despite Ferrari's often public negotiation tactic of threatening exactly that, it is clear from its actions and the narrative of its financial reports that F1 is too important for the manufacturer to seriously to do so.

Ferrari's position is that its success in F1 and its "significant" expenses are two of the key influential factors in the overall performance of the company.

If it does not spend appropriately it risks poorer results, a smaller share of prize money, a tougher challenge of finding new or renewed sponsorship and an overall detraction from the brand's value.

The F1 programme is cited as "the core element of our marketing effort", which means Ferrari is able to avoid traditional, ultra-expensive advertising activities because of what F1 does to the "prestige, identity, and appeal of the Ferrari brand".

While its high research and development costs are "mainly" those incurred for its F1 programme, Ferrari also acknowledges they are "fundamental" to the development of its road-car range.

But a prolonged period without success, let alone not participating at all, would have a direct, adverse effect on the business.

That is why Ferrari's commitment of hundreds of millions of euros to F1 every year is being added to for 2019, rather than being seriously under threat for the years that follow.

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Ricciardo appears in Renault colours for first time

Daniel Ricciardo has appeared in Renault colours for the first time since his departure from Red Bull.
The Australian made the shock decision to join the French car manufacturer last summer, but was unable to drive for the outfit at the post-season Abu Dhabi test because Red Bull would not release him.

Ahead of the launch of Renault's new Formula 1 car, the team has released images of Ricciardo wearing team colours for the first time.

Renault's new car will be unveiled at its Enstone factory on February 12, prior to the start of pre-season testing at Barcelona on February 18.

Although Ricciardo is not expecting to be able to win races in 2019, the team is clear that his arrival will help it achieve that target in 2020.

Renault F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul told Motorsport.com: "I don't see us suddenly in a position to fight for wins or fight for the championship. That is not what we have told him, and he has been clear about that too.

"Anyone can think what they want about the road map that we have defined, but I think it is already quite aggressive as a road map.

"Anyone who knows enough about F1 appreciates that the gap we have to the top teams will take some time to be absorbed. Daniel has only increased the chances to stick to the road map which is to fight for wins by 2020."

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CAMOUFLAGE LIVERY FOR MERCEDES IN 2019?

Mercedes have shown a glimpse of their 2019 Formula 1 livery on Twitter, showing what appears to be a camouflage paint-job on the front wing of the W10.

World Champions Mercedes will launch the car that Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will use for the forthcoming campaign on 13 February.

At the time of writing it is not certain that the camouflage livery will be used for testing or if the design will be part of the livery the Petronas backed team will use for the full 2019 campaign.

MIKA: Doubt this will be for the season. Kinda like RBR a couple years back during testing.

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ALONSO: I FEEL THAT MERCEDES CYCLE OF DOMINANCE WILL END

Fernando Alonso has a busy 2019 racing season on the cards despite walking away from Formula 1 at the end of last season, but the Spaniard admitted he will be following the forthcoming world championship with the interest of a true fan of the sport at the highest level.

A couple of the many sideshows that the Spaniard will be following this year in the top flight include the remarkable comeback of his mate Robert Kubica while keeping an eye on Ferrari and the new era that his former team is embarking on.

Kubica’s incredible story is well told, and like most F1 fans Alonso intends to keep tabs on the Pole’s progress, “I will follow Kubica. His story is extraordinary, until a few months ago Robert seemed to have lost all hope but now he has nothing to lose.”

At Ferrari, for whom he drove for from 2010 until 2014, there has been much change as the Italian team bank on the experience of Sebastian Vettel and the youth of Charles Leclerc while Mattia Binotto takes up the helm at Maranello.

Alonso continued, “Leclerc at Ferrari… he is young, intelligent and talented. He needs to learn to score points regularly to help the team. He must not be in a hurry while keeping in control the excitement and the emotion of driving for the team.”

With regards to the promotion of Binotto, “I think it’s a good thing. Mattia has demonstrated his leadership skills, he is in charge of the technical management and I am sure he will do everything to make Ferrari even stronger.”

Mercedes have been mighty ever since the dawn of the F1 hybrid turbo but in 2014, but with a host of new rules being introduced their rivals may or may not reel in what is one of the most dominant teams in the history of the sport.

The double F1 World champion mused, “I’m curious to see if the Mercedes cycle of dominance will end. I feel that the moment is near.”

Last year Alonso toiled hard in a McLaren that was simply rubbish. Almost single-handedly he managed to take the team to a respectable sixth place in the F1 constructors’ championship, prompting many to suggest that if he had been driving Vettel’s SF71H the title would have gone to Maranello.

But the 37-year-old played down the speculation,  “These are difficult subjects. Whoever is ahead, fighting to win always has everything to lose.”

“Perhaps he lost important points but also Hamilton lost them. Vettel did much better than Raikkonen and he fought until the end, he is a champion.”

“When he won four world titles all spoke of him as a phenomenon and now the same is happening with Hamilton. The truth is that it’s never easy when you’ve got so much attention and pressure focussed on you,” explained Alonso.

After winning the Daytona 24 Hours in style last month, he will continue with Toyota Gazoo Racing in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) Superseason and, in May, he will spearhead McLaren’s Indianapolis 500 foray in his quest for the Triple Crown of Motorsport.

Testing for McLaren may also be on the cards for Alonso who claims he has unfinished business in F1.

 

 

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HOCKENHEIM: PROMOTERS UNDER-REPRESENTED IN KEY F1 DECISIONS

German Grand Prix hosts Hockenheim have added their weight to Formula One Promoters Association (FOPA) gripes about the way Liberty Media are managing the sport but at the same time suggests that progress is being made in finding a satisfactory working arrangement.

Hockenheim chief Georg Seiler told Auto Bild, “Little consideration is afforded Grand Prix race organisers.

But he also suggested that progress is being made with the sport’s owners, “The discussions with Liberty Media have been constructive and is something we want to underline.”

“With regard to recent discussions, however, Hockenheim has been on the side of FOPA, as promoters are under-represented in key decisions for the future of Formula 1,” he added.

FOPA, who represent the interests of most of the circuit promoters, aired their grievances late last month whereby they accuse Liberty of being and lacking clarity and being disjointed.

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AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX EXTENDS F1 DEAL TO 2023

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku will continue at least until 2023 after the organisers of the event renewed their contract, Formula 1 management announced on Tuesday.

The renewal is the first to be signed in 2019, with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix following the Belgian, Chinese, German, Japanese and Singapore races extending their deals over the previous two years.

“We are very pleased to have renewed this agreement which will see the Azerbaijan Grand Prix feature on the FIA Formula One world championship calendar for many years to come,” F1 Chairman and CEO Chase Carey said in a statement confirming the three-year extension.

“In just a short space of time, this race has become one of the most popular of the season, always producing closely fought and spectacular racing.”

Azerbaijan was keen to renegotiate its deal post-2020 to pay less in race-hosting fees and gain more commercial benefits, promoter Arif Rahimov had said last May.

“This new agreement will allow our race to maximise its commercial revenues through increased fan-engagement activities and a new sponsorship approach,” Azerbaijan’s sports minister Azad Rahimov added.

“With these exciting opportunities in mind, extending our contract was never in question and we are delighted to stay in this wonderful sport for another five years at least.”

Briton Lewis Hamilton triumphed in Baku last year before the Mercedes driver capped the season with his fifth world championship title.

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RED BULL AND FUTUROCOIN CONFIRM NEW F1 PARTNERSHIP

Red Bull have announced a new partnership with FuturoCoin as Formula 1 cash in on the nascent global crypto-currency boom that is taking the world by storm.

FuturoCoin branding will appear on the race suits of Pierre Gasly and Max Verstappen, as well as on the team’s transporters.

Press Release:

FuturoCoin unveiled as Partner of Aston Martin Red Bull Racing in first-ever F1 cryptocurrency sponsorship.

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing is pleased to announce a new partnership with global cryptocurrency, FuturoCoin. The partnership represents the first time a cryptocurrency has sponsored a team in Formula One, and marks another exciting step in the development of this industry.

“In recent years, the rise of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies has been truly remarkable, and we’re delighted to be the first Formula One team to embrace this, through our partnership with FuturoCoin,” said Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Team Principal, Christian Horner. “Secure digital currencies are on the leading edge of technological development and we are very excited to be part of this revolution.”

The multi-year agreement will see FuturoCoin branding feature on the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing RB15, team transporters and drivers’ overalls.

Roman Ziemian, co-founder of FuturoCoin added, “Cryptocurrencies and Formula One are very similar and their values are much alike; speed, technology and being ahead of their time. I’m a huge fan of motorsport and F1 has always intrigued me. The sponsorship is an exciting new chapter for our company and will be a global platform for us to drive awareness of FuturoCoin.”

Paulina Woźniak, CEO of FuturoCoin’s management company, said: “We are very proud that FuturoCoin will be the first cryptocurrency in the world to appear on a Formula One car. In addition, we are looking forward to working alongside Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, a prestigious brand that is recognised across the world.”

[MIKA27]

Pirelli reveals how compounds will be displayed during testing

Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli has revealed the way in which its compounds will be identifiable during pre-season testing.

Pirelli has previously used its ‘rainbow’ range, with each compound attached to a colour, but for 2019 it has altered its approach.

It will nominate a Soft, Medium and Hard for each Grand Prix from a reduced range of compounds, which are officially labelled from C1 (hardest) to C5 (softest).

The Soft will be red-banded, the Medium yellow and the Hard white, but for testing it has had to amend its approach, with all five compounds available for teams to trial.

The C2, C3 and C4 will carry the Hard, Medium and Soft sidewall and brackets as usual.

The C1 and C5 will be red and white respectively, though neither will feature the brackets, in order to help trackside spectators distinguish between compounds (see main image).

“Normally we will only see three colours at every race, so we’re only using three colours at the tests as well,” said Pirelli chief Mario Isola.

“But we want to make sure that people can tell the compounds apart.

“As a result, the very hardest and softest tyres won’t be marked with stripes: only the colours will vary. This will be the case for the in-season tests as well.”

Pre-season testing will begin at Spanish Grand Prix venue Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on February 18.

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Horner: 2019 rules an expensive "mistake"

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner thinks even Formula 1 owner Liberty Media would accept that rushing through aero rule changes for 2019 has been a "mistake", as he expects them to make no difference to the quality of racing.
F1 teams have spent the winter preparing all-new cars thanks to a raft of regulation changes introduced for 2019 to try to boost overtaking.

As well as the front and rear wings being wider and simpler, there are new restrictions to the bargeboard areas and brake ducts in a bid to allow cars to follow each other closely.

But at a media event on Tuesday at Red Bull’s London offices ahead of the 2019 F1 season, Horner was sceptical about the rules delivering anything better.

Asked by Motorsport.com about how different the racing will be thanks to the new designs, Horner said: “I don’t think it will change at all.

“From what we see, the characteristics of the car are slightly different in different areas of the track, but in terms of following each other closely, I don’t think it is going to make any difference whatsoever.

“But, what I think will happen in the early part of the year, is that some people will have got it right, and some people won’t. Then, the development and evolution you have will be on probably quite a steep development graph over the first three or four months of the year.”

The changes to the 2019 rules were pushed through after a lack of passing at last year’s Australian Grand Prix, despite scepticism from some teams about the need for such a dramatic overhaul.

Pushed on how concerning it would be if the rules failed, with Liberty basing some of its 2019 ideas on concepts it has for 2021, Horner said: “I think they would even accept that it was probably a mistake to rush through this front wing change for this year.

“They have cherry picked something in isolation off a future concept for 2021, and rushed it through onto the current car.

“Like with all these things, there is no silver bullet. It has to be everything working in harmony with everything else. 

"Just taking a front wing and saying that will make racing better, it is quite a naive and ultimately expensive approach. And of course the burden of that expense is on the teams.”

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko said over the winter that his team had spent an extra 15 million Euros in developing the new aero rules.

Horner is not expecting any more overtaking for the season-opener in Melbourne, but he thinks that remains down to the circuit’s tight layout than a particular fault with the cars.

“I think the race in Australia will be exactly the same,” he said. “The problem isn’t the car so much in Australia, it is the circuit.

“You don’t have any big stop braking zones into a slow corner in Australia, so unless you have a significant speed differential between the cars, overtaking there is damn nigh impossible.

“That has been the same for years. It is not unique to this set of car regulations. It is a great place to go to, a great venue, but as a circuit it has its limitations in providing good racing.”

[cfc1016]

@MIKA27 - I'm curious. Do you write all of these yourself?

[MIKA27]

22 minutes ago, cfc1016 said:

@MIKA27 - I'm curious. Do you write all of these yourself?

No I don't write the majority of the articles. 
I do sometimes write one here or there, but mostly source from various F1 websites so as to save everyone else the trouble. 

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WEBBER: FERRARI AND RED BULL NEEDED A CHANGE

Mark Webber believes Ferrari and Red Bull were forced to make big changes to their teams during the winter, ahead of the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship season as the two front-running teams continue to chase down perennial pace-setters Mercedes.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the launch of the all-electric Porsche Taycan, Webber said of the changes at the Scuderia, “After last year, Ferrari was in the situation after 2018 to have to change something. There was a lot of constant pressure on them.”

“This is a new opportunity for Sebastian Vettel. [Leclerc] senses his chance, but first he has to gain experience in a big team. He could cause Seb a headache, especially in qualifying, but I think Seb is prepared for that.”

“Kimi Raikkonen was very strong at times last year, but at the end of his career he has less potential than a hungry youngster. I like Leclerc very much – he’s good for the sport, intelligent, fast, I would call him almost elegant. He is also a real fighter.”

Leclerc is the youngest driver to don the red of Ferrari since Ricardo Rodriguez raced for the Italian outfit in the early sixties and marks a change of driver policy at the great team.

While Vettel needs to put behind him a season that promised so much but in the end was not enough to break the dominance of his nemesis Lewis Hamilton or overcome the might of Mercedes.

Since then Maurizio Arrivabene has been replaced by Mattia Binotto as team principal, marking a new era for Ferrari as they set out to win a title for the first time since 2008.

There are also wholesale changes happening at Webber’s former Red Bull team, where Renault power makes way for Honda in what is arguably the biggest gamble for a team since McLaren reunited with the Japanese manufacturer in 2015, and everyone knows how that turned out…

Webber said of the ‘revolution’ at the team with whom he won nine Grands Prix, “First of all, the decision to switch from Renault to Honda was implausible, but Red Bull also needed a change.”

“The team has derived new energy from the partnership, but the biggest challenge for Honda will be to get the best possible performance over the lifespan of the power unit.”

“I don’t doubt that Honda will catch up in qualifying but race reliability at the highest level must first be achieved and that will take time.”

Finally, on the decision by fellow Aussie Daniel Ricciardo to ditch Red Bull for Renault, Webber said,  “He has taken a gamble, but no question he wants to win with them.

“What I know is that Red Bull was very fair with him. Renault has a lot of excellent people and if they can catch up in terms of performance, Danny will be a contender. But only time will tell,” added Webber.

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HORNER: WE PAID RENAULT FOR A FIRST CLASS SEAT BUT GOT ECONOMY

Red Bull are still hurting in the wake of their ‘divorce’ from Renault, with Christian Horner lobbing a barb the way of their former engine partners as his team begin their new era with Honda power.

Ahead of the new season, Horner told Reuters, “I think we’ve had a really collaborative approach and open approach with Honda. Communication has been very honest and very open about areas of strength and weakness.”

Despite four glorious years in which they won eight F1 world titles, Red Bull’s relations with Renault were fractured from the start of the V6 turbo hybrid era, when Mercedes began a period of domination that has now brought them five successive title doubles.

Horner was sure the Honda partnership would be very different and said of the last three seasons with Renault, “Effectively we’ve been paying for a first class ticket and you get an economy seat.”

“An awful lot of frustration was born out of that… so I think with Honda, it being a true technical partnership, there’s much more collective responsibility from both sides rather than being a customer-supplier scenario.”

Horner also said Red Bull aimed to be more consistent across all circuits this year, rather than just those where engine power was less of a factor.

[MIKA27]

VERSTAPPEN REVEALS 2019 HELMET DESIGN AND COLOURS

 

[MIKA27]

Racing Point name confirmed on official FIA entry list

Racing Point has been confirmed as the name of the former Force India outfit for the 2019 season, despite suggestions it would be called something else.

After Force India entered administration during the Hungarian Grand Prix last year, it was renamed Racing Point Force India as a temporary measure after being taken over by Lawrence Stroll and his partners.

"It is just a placeholder to indicate future change which will take place and be announced before the 2019 season," team boss Otmar Szafnauer confirmed in December.

However it is believed attempts to license a historic name such as Lola, Lotus or Brabham were unsuccessful and the decision to stick with Racing Point for 2019 was made.

The outfit will therefore officially be titled 'Racing Point F1 Team' for the 2019 season, as confirmed on the final FIA F1 entry list published on Wednesday.

The list also confirms Haas' official title will be Rich Energy Haas F1 Team following its link-up with the energy drinks brand and an expected black and gold livery which is due to be unveiled on Thursday.

The entry list also confirmed Sauber's change of name to Alfa Romeo Racing, with the name of the chassis also altered to that effect.