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F1 2018: Williams and Martini Split Ways

It has been announced that the Williams F1 team will split ways with main sponsor Martini at the end of the 2018 season.

Martini first came on board the Williams team in 2018 which saw a return of the famed red, white, and blue colour scheme to the world’s most elite racing series. While Williams were open to extending the sponsorship agreement the Bacardi Group, which owns the Martini brand, has stated their intention to withdraw all of their interest from Formula 1.

“We have discussed extending beyond 2018,” says Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams. “While we would both like to do so, the Bacardi Group have told us that they will step away entirely from Formula 1 when our contract expires at the end of this year. They have many brands to support and obviously their strategic priorities evolve over time.”

While Williams will have received a financial boost from Sergey Sirotkin’s SMP Racing sponsorship the loss of Martini will be a blow to the team.

February 27, 2018
2018 Pre-Season Testing – Day 1

Daniel Ricciardo ended on top of the time sheets for Red Bull on the first day of the pre-season test for the 2018 Formula 1 season.

Ricciardo’s time of 1:20.179 was 0.170s faster than Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas who’s best time of the day was a 1:20.349. Ricciardo also clocked up the most laps of the day with 105 laps in the bag on the day.

Most of the fastest times were set in the morning session. The afternoon session got off to a wet start which curtailed the running for most of the teams which lead to a relatively quiet afternoon.

Kimi Raikkonen finished third fastest for Ferrari ahead of Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg by a small margin.

Fernando Alonso recovered to 5th fastest for McLaren after crashing out within 10mins of starting his testing session. The cause of Alonso’s crash was a wheel nut that had come off sending him spinning off into the gravel detaching his right rear.

Carlos Sainz finished 6th fastest after taking over from Hulkenberg. He was the fastest of the afternoon runners just ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes in 7th.

Nikita Mazepin spun out in the morning session and was not seen in the afternoon session.

February 26, 2018
Renault and Alfa Romeo Sauber’s 2018 F1 challengers

Following the launches of the new Haas F1 and Williams 2018 F1 cars, as well as Red Bull’s RB14, the Renault and Alfa Romeo Sauber unveiled their 2018 challengers on Tuesday.

The C37 Alfa Romeo Sauber

Marking the start of its title sponsorship with Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo, Sauber unveiled the C37 for the 2018 F1 season. The car was launched with the same livery used when the team first announced their partnership with Alfa Romeo who is returning to Formula One after an absence of over three decades.

As far as the livery goes, the car could probably have done with a little more red. As our own Natalie commented, “It’s going to look just like a Williams from the front. More red dammit!”.

The C37 has been built on a new design philosophy – one that Sauber’s technical director Joerg Zander hopes will bring Sauber back up to the midfield.

According to the team, the focus has been improved aerodynamics in addition to changes to meet the new technical regulations for F1 2018 which include the removal of the shark fin and T-wings and the addition of the halo cockpit protection system.

The C37 will also be competing with Ferrari’s 2018 spec power units. Zander says that the team is “positive that the new concept offers us more opportunities and will help us to make improvements during the course of the season. The 2018 Ferrari engine will also give us a boost in term of our performance.”

Renault’s R.S.18

Renault also revealed images of its 2018 challenger on Tuesday – the car manufacturer’s third new chassis since its return to F1 as a works’ entry. The car features a brand new ‘reversed’ livery and according to the team is a progression and refinement of the concepts developed during F1 2017. This includes improved suspension and better aerodynamic downforce.

The R.S.18 also features the new Halo cockpit protection system and all technical changes to meet the new regulations for the 2018 season.

Renault Sport Racing President Jérôme Stoll said that the “Renault Sport Formula One Team’s ambition is clearly to uphold the outstanding record of the past and the 2017 season has confirmed we are on the right track. We are a team on the rise.

“We have two very talented drivers who are hungry for results. Enstone is regenerated and the workforce has already increased by more than 35%. Our investment has so far been successfully translated to the track as we rose from ninth to sixth in the Constructors’ Championship in 2017 and ended the year with the fourth fastest car.”

“The success of the programme in just two years is a testament to the resilient plan laid down early in the creation of the team and the strong job done by Cyril and the entire Renault Sport Racing teams. I am convinced year three will take us one step closer to the long-term aim: winning races and challenging for championships.”

Photos: Alfa Romeo Sauber & Renault

February 21, 2018
Red Bull Launches the RB14

Red Bull became the third constructor to launch their 2018 contender online after Haas and Williams.

Red Bull kicked off the week of car launches with their Aston Martin-Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer RB14 in a special edition blue and black testing livery.

Red Bull say that their racing livery will be revealed when testing commences at the Circuit de Catalunya next week.

The new car, although what looks like an evolution of last years car has a bunch of new things on it. Chief among which is the Halo which has become mandatory from this season. Red Bull chose a dark colour for the Halo minimising it’s visual impact. The other major change were the exclusion zones at the rear of the car effectively removing monkey seats, T-Wings and the love to be hated shark fins. Teams have found a way around the shark fins by incorporating it into the engine cover, the result of this is that the visual impact is much less than the shark fins seen in the previous season.

Traditionally Red Bull like to launch their car as late as possible, allowing their design team to optimise their car design. They’ve done things a little different this year. They’ve launched early with a filming day on the launch. This allowed the team to catch any issues with the running of the car before testing and allows the team to focus on testing rather than trying to fix running issues with the car.

Pictures courtesy Red Bull Racing

February 20, 2018
F1 2018: Haas and Williams Launch New Challengers

As a new season of Formula 1 approaches the period just before testing commences is the most optimistic time of the year. Right now all new cars are aerodynamically flawless, more powerful than anything that’s ever been built, and lighter than a feather. But all too soon a modest stopwatch will humble them.

The first team to launch their 2018 car was the Haas F1 team. The American team chose to forego a typical launch and opted instead for to release a handful of images online. The release of digital images was no doubt a ploy be Haas to keep their competitors, quite literally, in the dark as to the nitty-gritty of their 2018 design.

Nevertheless, what was obvious from the images is that Haas has adopted a strikingly similar side-pod design to what Ferrari pioneered in 2017 and a considerably more intricate front-wing. Additionally, this early version of the Haas is sporting a scaled down version of 2017’s sharkfin and a significant focus on a predominantly white livery. As the technical regulations have remained largely stable and unchanged the changes from 2017 to 2018 cars won’t be as visually obvious. The most noticeable difference is the inclusion of the Halo head protection system. While it is certainly a big adjustment and change to the aesthetic of the car chances are it probably wont take as long as some might think to get used to.

Williams was the second team to introduce its car with a traditional online launch. Chief technical officer Paddy Lowe and head of aerodynamics Dirk de Beer have designed the FW41. Lowe said the car “has many new features, most of which are not all that obvious, but externally the team has pursued a very different aerodynamic concept which has allowed us some significant progress in aerodynamic performance.”

“All Formula One cars are an evolution of what has gone before to some extent, but the FW41 does involve a number of departures from the directions that have been pursued in the past. Overall, the philosophy we are starting to see emerge is a new approach to the collaboration between aerodynamics and design to achieve the optimum working result.”

While only lap times will tell if Williams have built a quick racecar the 2018 challenger undoubtedly looks more aggressive than its predecessor. In addition, the car has been designed with a longer wheelbase, which suggests that Williams have foregone the low-drag design philosophy of the last few years.

Similar to Haas the Williams also sports the Ferrari-style side pods, which you’re likely to see on more of the mid-field cars this season. Naturally, and so as to avoid giving away any design secrets, some areas of the car has been shrouded in black paint.

Beyond the car that has been designed by Williams this season the other big unknown for the team is its driver line up. Nonetheless, de facto team principal Claire Williams has described the driver pairing for Sergey Sirotkin and Lance Stroll as “exciting” while highlighting Sirotkin’s impressive work with the technical team. Paddy Lowe echoed this sentiment by saying that the choice to sign Sirotkin was based purely on his ability.

The Sauber and Renault teams are the next to launch their respective cars on the 20^th of February followed by Ferrari and Mercedes on the 22^nd, McLaren on the 23^rd, and Toro Rosso on the first day of testing, the 26^th of February.

February 20, 2018
Review: Williams Documentary

In 2017 the Williams team celebrated four decades in Formula 1 with the release of a documentary that tells the most incredible story of one of the sport’s most successful teams.

Often sports documentaries have a tendency to be predictable but the perspective from which the Williams story is told is simultaneously unexpected and profound. The film is mainly based on the 1991 book, A Different Kind of Life, written by Lady Virginia Williams, late wife of Sir Frank Williams. As a result the film is infused with the sort of extraordinary authenticity that elevates it well above the average sports documentary.

There is marvelous input from co-founder and designer extraordinaire Sir Patrick Head who minded the store between 1991 and 1997 during which the team won 59 races and four drivers’ titles. It also charts the tumultuous and highly successful time of teammates Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet in 1986-7.

But mostly it is about the seemingly unstoppable Sir Frank Williams and his legacy. With nothing but a single-minded obsession with speed Frank Williams created one of the world’s most successful and enduring F1 teams. Despite nearly losing his life in a 1986 car accident, which left him a tetraplegic, his unconquerable resolve and spirit endures to this day. Though the film charts not only the history of the team it also provides a compassionate portrait of not only Sir Frank Williams’ survival against the odds but his voracious passion.

At 75 years old he remains, technically, as team principal but the duties and responsibilities have, since 2013, fallen to his daughter Claire Williams. Despite more than holding her own as deputy team principal she maintains that she never expected “to be given the keys to the shop”. Sir Frank’s faith in Claire is easily one of the most touching aspects of the film. Further, it is Claire’s presence in the film, her openness when questioned about personal matters, and her poignant readings of excerpts from her mother’s book that create the human connection and shows its sensitivity.

This film is guaranteed to leave you with a deeper and perhaps even emotional appreciation for Williams and what it means to the sport. What’s more, it if wasn’t there before, it will probably leave you with an insightful reverence for the team. And it will leave you with the unmistakable realization that Williams will never stop fighting, never stop working, and never stop racing.

February 7, 2018
Formula 1 2018 Testing and Car Launch Schedule

As the weeks tick by we get closer to the car launches and pre-season testing.

Here’s the schedule of when the teams are launching their cars and when pre-season testing will take place.

2018 Car Launches

2018 Pre-Season Testing Schedule

February 5, 2018
Grid Girls Out, Grid Kids In

Formula One together with the FIA have announced that Grid Kids will replace Grid Girls.

The initiative called Grid Kids will work with the Grand Prix promoters and ASNs – the FIA-recognised national sporting authorities – who will in turn provide a unique experience for youngsters and their parents to experience the build up to a race on the grid.

The FIA said in a statement that the youngsters on the grid will be chosen by their motorsport clubs on merit, or by lottery, and will already be competing in karting or junior formulae.

Grid kids will be chosen for each Formula 1 race and for the major F2 and GP3 series. They will be accompanied by their parents who will have paddock passes for the Sunday.

“Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motor sport and the dream of every young racer competing the junior series that make up the FIA’s single-seater pyramid, from karting all the way to F1,” said Jean Todt, President of the FIA.

“We are therefore delighted to bring that dream a little closer by giving the future champions of our sport the opportunity to stand alongside their heroes on the grid in the build-up to the race start.

“For the wider FIA, this is an excellent initiative that provides additional support to our member ASNs in their efforts to grow motorsport worldwide through a unique reward they can make available to youngsters participating in their national series.”

Sean Bratches, F1 Managing Director of Commercial Operations said: “This will be an extraordinary moment for these youngsters: imagine, standing beside their heroes, watch as they prepare to race, the elite of the elite in motorsport, to be there, alongside them in those precious few minutes just before the start.

“What an unforgettable experience, for them, and their families.

“An inspiration to keep driving, training and learning so that they can dream of one day being there themselves. What better way to inspire the next generation of Formula 1 heroes.”

Photo Credit: Sahara Force India Formula One Team

February 5, 2018
F1 2018: Drivers Who Need To Perform in 2018

In the lead up to any new Formula 1 season speculations is rampant as to who has designed and built the quicker car. Beyond what the factories can deliver the expectations for drivers to perform are equally demanding and important.

For some drivers the pressure to perform is exponentially more than others. In fact, their F1 careers depend on it. In 2018 especially there are a handful of drivers that will need to up their game if they’re going to take the next step up in the careers or even remain in the sport.

Romain Grosjean

The Frenchman’s first foray into F1, with Renault, was a baptism of fire and he quickly disappeared back to GP2, now F2. He impressed by winning the GP2 title and found his way back into F1. However, while he was quick at the then Lotus team it was marred by several crashes and a subsequent ban from the Italian grand prix.

He bounced back and refined his race craft, which thrust his undoubted speed to the forefront. His time at the Haas F1 team started brilliantly as he took the American team to heights previously unimaginable for a new team. However, his last season was tarnished by brake issues and painted him as a bit of a moaner. Still, there is little doubt that if Haas can deliver the car Grosjean will deliver the speed and the points.

But if Grosjean has an eye on a seat at any of the front-running teams he needs to deliver in the car this season. Should a Lance Stroll or the newly announced Sergey Sirotkin not perform Grosjean would be a perfect fit for the Williams team.

Kevin Magnussen

It’s rather difficult to be sold on whether Magnussen has the potential to be great. His debut season with McLaren was a forgettable one and he hasn’t been setting the world alight in either a Renault or his current Haas.

In fact, he’s so far under the radar his name is never mentioned in relation to the top teams in the sport. The likelihood is that he’ll probably have a driver in 2019 but unless he blows away teammate Grosjean this season it’s highly unlikely that it’ll be at a top team.

Marcus Ericsson

Swedish driver Ericsson has been far from impressive in his F1 career. There is no denying that his presence on the 2018 grid is due to the fact that the Sauber team is now owned by Longbow Finance who count several Swedish investors amongst their ranks.

It remains to be seen how long the investors will keep backing Ericsson who hasn’t done much to show any sort of potential. He’ll be up against rising star Charles le Clerc too in 2018. If he doesn’t summarily outperform the youngster it could be the end of Ericsson’s F1 career.

Nico Hulkenberg

The German driver has been rated for many season in F1 and has won the 24 hours of Le Mans on his first try. Still a top driver eludes Hulkenberg and for good reason. While he is a solid driver his reputation suffered at Force India as he rarely got the better of teammate Sergio Perez.

In 2018, he’s alongside Carlos Sainz Jr, one of the hottest prospects in the sport. Given that he’s been in F1 for a number of years 2018 is an important season for Hulkenberg if he’s ever going to make his mark in the sport.

Stoffel Vandoorne

The Belgian driver has had a tough go of it with a Honda powered McLaren and the fact that he shares a garage with Fernando Alonso, one of the best in the business. While Vandoorne isn’t as pressed for time as a Nico Hulkenberg he does need to show his capabilities sooner rather than later.

There were glimpses in 2018 of his speed and he’s certainly consistent. And out-performing a driver of Alonso’s caliber will guarantee automatic recognition.

January 31, 2018
F1 2018: What F1 will look like in 2018

2018 is here and it brings with it the prospect of a new Formula 1 season. Though there is no great change in regulations the modifications for the 2018 season could still have a significant impact.

Aesthetically there is good news and bad news for the 2018 cars. The good news is that the T-wings and shark-fins will no longer feature thanks to a tweak of the aero rules. Like it or loathe it the halo head protection system is coming in 2018. There’s little doubt that the halo will make a significant visual impact to F1 but it’s not the only impact it will have. The two other factors that will have been giving several designers prolonged headaches is the effect it will have on aero performance and the weight addition. While the FIA has added 6kgs to the overall weight limit of the cars rumours are that the halo comes in at around 15kgs. This will likely force teams into trimming weight in other areas of the car.

One of the more preposterous rules for 2018 is the limiting to three power units for the entire 21-race season. It means that each engine will now have to last seven races. This, in the name of cost saving, means manufactures will need to balance reliability and performance on a knife-edge. With only three engines its likely inevitable that all teams will incur grid penalties at some point, including the frontrunners. The irony of it all is that money wont be saved on power units. Spare engines, gearboxes, turbos, etc. are manufactured and carted around the world anyway which means that no money is being saved. Instead the manner in which teams and drivers, and fans for that matter, pay is with absurd grid penalties.

Toro Rosso in particular will be hoping that Honda has solved its woeful reliability record as it starts its partnership with the Japanese manufacturer in 2018. While Honda’s performance saw a slight upturn with McLaren in the latter half of the 2017 season they still have a long way to go to catch up to Renault let alone Mercedes and Ferrari. The Honda partnership does make Toro Rosso a de facto works team, which means a plethora of perks, including a more than tidy injection of cash.

Elsewhere, McLaren and Fernando Alonso will be hoping that Renault has solved its own reliability issues that marred the end of the 2017 season. There is great expectation that bolting the Renault into the back of the McLaren will push it up the grid. How far they’ll progress remains to be seen. Sauber too are looking to recover from one of the worst season on record. They’ll be doing so with the signing of F2, formerly GP2, champion and Ferrari Academy driver Charles le Clerc. Despite jumping into the high-pressure cauldron of F1 there is high expectations for le Clerc who is considered one of the best young drivers.

Another boost to Sauber’s 2018 bid is a new technical and commercial partnership with Alfa Romeo. While the car will be decked out in Alfa red the link up also means access to Ferrari’s latest power units.

The Williams team has announced Sergey Sirotkin alongside Lance Stroll in their 2018 car. While Robert Kubica returns to F1 as the reserve and development driver for the team. It’s a big year for Williams as Paddy Lowe can begin to make the sort of impact the team needs to move forward. The question remains whether the team’s inexperienced driver line-up will be equal to the task. If not, someone like Romain Grosjean could well be lined up for 2019.

With all of this there are still many more scenarios, issues, permutations, and speculations for the new season. Will Mercedes be able to hold off Ferrari and perhaps even Red Bull? What of the intra-team battle between Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo? How far can McLaren go with Renault power? What impact will Pirelli’s remodeled tyres have on track?

January 22, 2018