F1 Madness

Tag: pirelli

  • F1 2019: German Gp Review – Verstappen, King of the Ring

    F1 2019: German Gp Review – Verstappen, King of the Ring

    On its day there isn’t a sport that can match the drama, exhilaration, and rapture of Formula 1. And on a rainy day in Germany Formula 1 was most definitely delivered a race to remember.

    Saturday qualifying was as embarrassing a day as Ferrari has experienced in some time. Well set to claim at the very least one spot on the front row neither Vettel nor Leclerc made it to the final shootout as both cars suffered technical failures. It left Hamilton to pick up the pieces and secure pole position with Max Verstappen alongside on the front row.

    Though most of the weekend had seen the Hockenheimring drenched in sunshine race day was markedly different as the rain came down. It prompted a couple of formation laps behind the safety car but conditions were good enough for a standing start. It was Hamilton who led away cleanly from pole as bad start, similar to Austria, dropped Verstappen down the other. It allowed Valtteri Bottas into second while Kimi Raikkonen scythed his way into third.

    Charles Leclerc, starting tenth, made an impressive start to be running sixth within a few laps while Seb Vettel too charged his way through the back-markers to fourteenth. The first Safety Car was brought out by Sergio Perez’s crash, which triggered the first round of pitstops with driver’s swopping full wets for intermediate tyres. The race settled momentarily before the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed for Daniel Ricciardo’s Renault that expired in a plume of smoke.

    As conditions improved drivers dived back into the pitlane for dry tyres. With Hamilton and Bottas still running one-two Verstappen struggled to heat his medium tyres and spun in the stadium section but rejoined without any damage. Again, the VSC would be called on as this time Lando Norris retired from the race with a loss of power.

    2019 German GPThe most dramatic sequence of events was just about to unfold. Leclerc, now in contention for the podium and even the race win, ran wide at the penultimate corner and slammed his Ferrari into the barrier and out of the race which prompted the appearance of the Safety Car. No sooner had Leclerc stepped out of his cockpit when race leader Hamilton lost control of his car at the same corner. Though the Mercedes driver too hit the barrier he was able to rejoin with the need for a few front wing.

    He dove into the pitlane but in doing incurred a five second penalty for failing to enter the pitlane before the bollard that indicates the correct pit entry. It wasn’t the end of Hamilton’s misery though as his arrival in the pitbox caught his team unaware. The pitcrew rushed around for the correct tyres and a new nose but thanks to the Safety Car and reduced speed Hamilton emerged in fifth overall.

    As the race ‘settled’ Verstappen was comfortably in the lead with Nico Hulkenberg in second ahead of Bottas. No sooner had the whispers begun spreading that Hulkenberg could be on for his first ever podium than the German driver found himself in the same barrier as Hamilton and Leclerc moments later. Yet another Safety Car was called on as drivers were back in the pits to swop dry tyres for inters. However, Lance Stroll and Racing Point gambled on dry tyres which worked a treat as the Canadian driver found himself in the lead as the rest of the field to the pitlane. Verstappen regained the lead of the race shortly afterward with Stroll desperately holding on to second ahead of Kvyat, Bottas, and Carlos Sainz. As Kvyat took second place from Stroll a few laps later it was going from bad to worse for Hamilton who flat-spotted all four tyres in a high-speed 360 in Turn 1.

    Mercedes’s day was about to get even worse when Bottas, just like Hamilton, spun at Turn 1. Unfortunately for the Finn he didn’t get away with it and destroyed the front of the Merc prompting yet another Safety Car.

    As the race re-started it was Vettel’s turn to come alive. He produced several brilliant overtakes and was past Sainz, Stroll and Kvyat in quick succession. It was a brilliant drive for Vettel who started 20thand last on the grid, kept his composure amid the chaos, and finished a fabulous second.

    2019 German GPUp ahead and well clear of the pandemonium Verstappen led serenely and apart from the earlier spin had no other issues. Apart from Mexico 2018 nearly all of Verstappen’s other race wins have come in dramatic fashion and Germany 2019 was no different. The seventh victory of Verstappen’s career was likely his most mature and reveals a driver ready to be a championship contender.

    While Verstappen marched to his second win in the last three races his teammate Pierre Gasly had a miserable afternoon. There were some good moments for the Frenchman but they were clouded by several off-track excursions before a coming together with Toro Rosso’s Alex Albon which put him out of the race. You cant help but feel as Gasly brought his damaged car to a halt it likely also marks the end of stint as a Red Bull driver.

    As impressive as Verstappen was it is undoubtedly Daniil Kvyat who deserves driver of the day for a sensational third place finish. It has been a long road back from the doldrums for Kvyat who was first replaced at Red Bull by Verstappen and later sacked by Toro Rosso. It couldn’t have come at a better time for the Russian driver who may find himself back at Red Bull in quick time.

    Elsewhere, Stroll eventually finished fourth ahead of Sainz in sixth who survived his own spin in the penultimate corner. Alex Albon made it a double-points finish for Toro Rosso in sixth. While the Alfa Romeo’s of Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi finished seventh and eighth on the track the two cars were later given a 30 second penalties for a pre-race rule infringement of, effectively, driver coaching. Alfa have stated their intention to appeal the penalties.

    This promoted Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen to seventh and eighth while Hamilton too benefited by being elevated to ninth. It also means that Williams secured their first point of the season with the elevation of Robert Kubica to tenth.

    Although this German grand prix is likely the last for the foreseeable future it went out on a spectacularly high-note. There’s little time for F1 to catch its breath as the paddock head to the Hungaroring this weekend for the final race before the month-long summer break.

  • F1 2019: British Gp Preview – Formula 1 at its British Best

    F1 2019: British Gp Preview – Formula 1 at its British Best

    The adage goes that you’re only as good as your last race. It will take some doing then for Formula 1 to top itself after the thrilling Austrian grand prix of two weeks ago. Nevertheless, the Silverstone circuit and British grand prix is as iconic as it comes in motorsport.

    Rookies

    Being a rookie in Formula 1 is almost always a baptism of fire. But as the F2 champion and runner-up in 2018 George Russell and Lando Norris have been enormously impressive in their respective debut seasons.

    Lando Norris was drafted into McLaren with the team still very much in the doldrums. However, 2019, and especially the last two races, has shown the progress that the Woking-based team has made. Progress means little however if the drivers in the cockpit are unable to capitalize and deliver the results. So far, Norris has produced nearly every time that he has been behind the wheel. With four races in the points he sits eighth in the world driver’s championship. Added to this is that he qualified a brilliant fifth in Austria, his noteworthy race-craft, and the fact that he hasn’t made any major mistakes. At only nineteen years old and with one of the best Instagram accounts in the paddock Norris has all he needs to a star of the future.

    George Russell’s superb and self-determined initiative to personally contact Williams and present himself as the best choice for a 2019 drive impressed Williams enough to agree and draft him into the team. Though he has been unable to trouble the point scoring positions in 2019 he has impressed not only in his demeanour but also in the complete demolition of teammate Robert Kubica both in qualifying and the races.

    Similarly, Russell had kept his nose clean and his car on the black stuff. Williams are expected to bring a major update to the German grand prix weekend and while it’s unlikely to propel them up the grid it may bring them closer to the field in terms of pace. If all goes to plan Russell seems the more likely of the two Williams drivers to extract performance from the car.

    Silverstone under threat

    As much as Silverstone forms part of the fabric of Formula 1 the threat that it could disappear from the calendar is ever present. Commercial rights owner Liberty Media has evidently renewed their interest in a London street race which suggest that it could take over Silverstone’s slot on the calendar.*

    One of the biggest problems for Silverstone and the BRDC (British Racing Drivers Club) is the hosting cost. The suggestion is though that the BRDC and Liberty Media understand the importance of a British grand prix on the F1 calendar. It is not impractical for Liberty Media to consider offering a discount on hosting costs to those venues such as Silverstone, Monza, Spa-Francorchamps, etc. that are historically significant to the sport and thereby ensure their presence on the calendar.

    2010 British Grand Prix StartAs a fan you get a little bit of everything at Silverstone. An incredible track layout highlighted by the incomparable Maggots-Becketts complex, Stowe, and Copse Corner combine for a supreme test of aerodynamic efficiency. It stands to reason then that Mercedes will be in the pound seats this weekend, no pun intended.

    The last few races hasn’t seen the best of Valtteri Bottas and while Lewis Hamilton is habitually exceptional at Silverstone it will be a good place for the Finn to re-state his designs on the world title. To beat Hamilton on home soil would go a long way, mentally, to begin chipping away at the reigning champion.

    But with all being equal it is difficult to bet against another British grand prix victory for Lewis Hamilton.

    *It has since been announced that Silverstone has struck a deal that will keep itself on the calendar for five more years.
  • 2019 Austrian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    2019 Austrian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Mario ISOLA (Pirelli), Andrew GREEN (Racing Point), Paul MONAGHAN (Red Bull Racing), Toyoharu TANABE (Honda), Andreas SEIDL (McLaren)

    Q: Mario, if we could start with you please, you had a meeting this morning with the 10 team principals. Please can you explain what that meeting was about and what conclusions were drawn?
    Mario ISOLA: It was mainly to understand if there is anything we can do to improve the show. We know the dominance for Mercedes is not helping the show at the moment and we had a discussion of the opportunity to reintroduce the 2018 tyres but after analysing the positive side and the negative side the conclusion was that we want to stay on the current… well, there was a vote from the teams and the decision is to stay on the current tyres. The meeting was quite productive; there were new ideas, new proposals for maybe the end of the season. Obviously we have to analyse that. At the moment they are just ideas. Let’s see. We will continue the discussion in the next days and maybe we come with a proposal for Silverstone or something like that. I don’t know yet because it was discussed two hours ago.

    Q: Thank you. Can you also tell us what the plan is for next week’s tyre test here at the Red Bull Ring?
    MI: We continue our development for 2020. As I already said, the main target is to have a wider working window for next year’s compounds. So, both in Austria and after Silverstone we will test new compounds, new philosophy, new types of compounds in order to achieve this target, in order to finalise the new construction for next year – because the current cars are really faster and faster, so that means they are putting more energy into the tyres and we have to cope with this energy and all the modification of the construction is to make them work better, and the compounds to have a wider working range and no issues with the aero map, and no blisters and overheating. Obviously the target is always to reduce overheating because it’s something the tyres don’t like, so I would say the two main targets are keeping that… safety is a target that is always there, we cannot consider a tyre that is not safe for Formula One. The targets are to have a wider working range and less overheating for next year.

    Q: Andreas, if we could come onto you. Welcome, your first FIA press conference. You’ve been team principal of McLaren for a couple of months. Can you just tell us how it’s going and what you found when you arrived at the MTC?
    Andreas SEIDL: Well, what did I find? Still early days, to be honest. It’s a big organisation. I got a very warm welcome from the team from the beginning. It also helped to get started that, compared to last year, the team has made a huge step forwards with the car. So all the changes that have been initiated last year already are paying off. I’m still in the period of really analysing in detail what’s going on inside the team, to find the strong and the weak points inside the team in order to then work out a clear plan how I want to, let’s say, approach the future with the team. Obviously Zak and the shareholders gave me the clear task to work out, as quickly as possible any deficits I see, also on the infrastructure side. So, I was very happy to announce last week that we got this positive decision on the wind tunnel, which was a quite obvious deficit compared to the top teams. So, very happy, it’s good to see that we are making steps, race by race now at the moment. It’s important for me to keep this positive journey going.

    Q: As you say, McLaren is a team on the up at the minute. What is the mood in the camp?
    AS: It’s obviously very, very positive. As I said before, results help; it’s good to see that the car is reacting to developments, different to last year. We are still bringing bits also for the next races, so we better and better understand the car. Also, we have a great working environment also together with the drivers. They perform very well on track. They have a great interation in terms of car development, also with the team at the track and the guys at home. All pretty positive. At the same time, the battle in the midfield is very, very tight – so it’s also no reason to get over-excited. It’s just important now to keep our heads down and keep pushing day and night.

    Q: You have a great result in France last weekend, sixth and ninth – but how concerned are you about a repeat of the hydraulics issue on one of your cars this weekend?
    AS: We obviously disassembled the car afterwards and found an issue on a single part.  We think we have identified the root cause of the issue and hopefully it was a one-off.

    Q: Paul, can we start by talking about this year’s RB15. What were your expectations coming into the 2019 season and has the car met them?
    Paul MONAGHAN: I suppose form a team point of view, no we’re not walking off into the distance and winning every race, so there’s an element of frustration rather than disappointment. Don’t forget, we were the ones that changed power unit and then picked up the bodywork changes, so we probably took more on in the winter than some of the others. These cars don’t stand still. They’re prototypes, aren’t they? So every race it’s changing, sometimes by larger amounts, other times by smaller amounts. Our friends at Honda are upgrading as and when they can. So, as a package we’re trying to move forward. The target is clear and yeah, it’s improving all the time and the rate of improvement relative to our opposition that will see whether we can catch them?

    Q: Well, how do you rate your chances of catching the two teams ahead of you? Do you think it’s possible within the current season to do that?
    PM: Yes, I think you have to, otherwise you sort-of say ‘we’re going to look at next year’s’. We’ll try and learn and move on at every stage we can and if the closer we get to them, the better off we are for next year, if we catch them, great. It’s really a case of making our own progress. The only thing that’s within our control is the performance of our car. We can’t influence the others, they’ll do what they’re going to do and it’s heads down and get on with it really, isn’t it?

    Q: And can we talk about drivers. We’ve seen tremendous consistency from Max Verstappen this year – but it’s been a bit up and down for Pierre Gasly, although he appeared to have a good morning this morning. What have been Pierre’s issues with the car?
    PM: Pierre finds it a little bit more difficult to drive in certain sections of the corners – I think – than Max from his comments but he’s a quick, young driver. Let’s not forget that. And he’s up against a very strong team-mate. He’s much happier this weekend, straight away. He’s on the pace, so his confidence is on the up again. He’s part of our team. We’ll support him as best we can with every bit of energy we’ve got and I think he’ll come good.

    Q: Tanabe-san, Paul says that you’re bringing upgrades as fast as you can and three of your cars run the new spec-3 power unit in France. All four cars are running it here. Did it perform at Paul Ricard as you expected?
    Toyoharu TANABE: Basically yes. We could see some improvement in the data when we ran the lastest spec at the track. And then, we compared to the dyno data and we see improvement trackside as well. But, on the other hand, the improvement is not significant, so as I mentioned before, when we introduced spec-3, there was a reliability and then a performance improvement – but the performance is not huge, which means we still keep pushing to perform well.

    Q: You talk about pushing to perform well. It’s quite early in the season to have introduced your third upgrade. Will there be another new spec this season and, if that’s the case, can you tell us when that might be?
    TT: Yes, so as you are thinking, just before halfway in the season, we already apply third PU and we are planning to introduce another spec sometime this season – but I don’t tell you exactly when and how much improvement we will have. We will announce later.

    Q: You’ve said development of this spec-3 involved working closely with Honda’s jet division. Can you just tell us how that worked?
    TT: So, we have a Honda R&D, so the one division is Honda Sakura R&D which takes care of the Formula One racing project. Then we have a big technical centre including many types of technology. The we use that resource and collaborate very closely. Not only jet engines but also other parts. As a result, we introduce at the last race the new turbocharger using… from the collaboration between Honda Racing technology and jet engine technology. So, we tried to make performance better, not only from the small Racing group but also the all the resources of Honda R&D.

    Q: Andy, very tight midfield this year. Checo was 12th for the third consecutive race last weekend. Can you tell us about the performance of your car, the RP19, its idiosyncrasies and where do you see your main opportunities in the next couple of months.
    Andrew GREEN: Yeah, you’re absolutely right, the midfield is incredibly tight. It only takes very small margins to move you from one end of the field to the other. The car has got some balance issues that we started the season with and really I think that’s a bit of a legacy of where we finished off last year and where we were as a company, position-wise. We’ve got a lot of changes coming ahead in the next few races and beyond, after the break as well. So, I think we’re making progress and, as Paul alluded to, it’s all a relative game really: we’ve got to make more progress than our competition – which is hard to do. It’s very hard to do. We’ve got a lot of work to do but the atmosphere in the team is incredibly buoyant. The team’s future is incredibly bright. We’re looking a long way forward with the team now, that we’ve never been able to do before, and so the fact that we’re in a bit of a tight scrap at the moment is not distracting now from things that we’re looking at much further down the road – so it is an exciting time for the team, it really is, like I’ve never seen before. So, we’re really looking forward to not just fighting this season but, from what we can do and what we can achieve going forward as well into the season beyond. It’s an exciting time.

    Q: And what about Lance Stroll? He’s raced well this year – three points finishes – but he’s been struggling in qualifying. What have been his issues and how can his engineers help him find a solution?
    AG: Yeah, there’s no denying his Saturday afternoon performance, he’d say the same, he struggles on a Saturday afternoon but we have to put it in perspective. He’s in a very early part of his career and he’s up against a very mature, experienced driver on the other side of the garage and he’s learning a lot. In each race and in each session we give him targets and what to look for and how to improve and it’s small margins every time – but he understands it. He’s an incredibly talented driver. We’ve seen that numerous times – and it’s a case of just getting the experience. And once he gets the experience and gets the confidence, we’ll see him close the gap to Checo and potentially take a leap ahead of him. So, we’ve got every confidence he can do it – it just takes a bit of time.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) To the three team representatives please. We started the press conference talking about changing the tyres mid-season. Can you just give us your thoughts on the decision not to change tyres and the prospect of a change later in the season? Obviously there wasn’t a change now, so why would it change later on?
    AG: Really, we listened to the arguments and we especially listened to this man on my left; Pirelli are the experts in this area. And from what we could tell, it wasn’t clear cut at all that a change, reverting to last year’s compound gauge thickness was going to be a positive change. It sounded like a significant risk to us. From our perspective it’s too late for this season and I think the decision to focus on trying to do something and trying to improve the tyres and the show for next season is the right thing to do. And I think to try and not distract from the testing that’s going on post this event and post-Silverstone as well is the right decision and focus on next year, and try to do something for next year, rather than a kneejerk reaction in the middle of this year.

    Thank you. Paul, your thoughts?
    PM: It’s difficult isn’t it. It puts Pirelli in a slightly difficult position. They’re doing a decent job, they’re going to win every race, the tyres are surviving on the cars, and as Mario points out, they’ve got to maintain their safety record. At the risk of being slightly controversial with regard to Andy’s comments, we would quite happily accept the 2018 tyres to come back. I don’t think the risk is as great as some perceive. But it is about creating a show and I think we almost have to take a step back and take a slightly less team-centric position and turn around and say ‘well, if it would be better for the show, could the teams cope with it’ and our opinion is yes, we could. We accept there has been a majority vote not to do so but we hold a slightly different view to the majority then.

    And Andreas?
    AS: Well, I think first of all it’s important in all fairness to Pirelli to mention that we don’t have a tyre issue in general here. I think Pirelli, the product we have this year is matching all the requirements we set out last year, as Formula One, for what we want to have. I think in the end the reason why we have this discussion at the moment is that we have three top teams with the same resources and one team is doing a significantly better job than the other two. So that’s that situation we are facing. There is nothing we can really influence as McLaren. I think it’s down to the three top teams, with the FIA and Formula One to see if there is anything that can be done short-term to fix that issue. I think in general we have a far bigger issues which is this big gap we have between the top teams and the midfield. That is also where our focus is on. This is something also that cannot be solved in the short term, so we have big hopes for all the changes that are on the table on the financial side, technical side, sporting side, regarding the regulations in ’21 and hopefully F1 and the FIA with all the experts which they now have onboard, which is a unique situation, pull through. We full support the changes that have been sent out some weeks ago and that is our focus to be honest.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines / Racefans.net) Mario, the vote, 5-5, do you take that as a vote of confidence in your product or a vote of no-confidence in your product? And if your product was in line with the target letter then should the target letter just be scrapped? 
    MI: No, I don’t think so. The target letter is fixing some parameters in terms of delta lap time and degradation and characteristics of the tyre. That means we can change the target letter for the future and we can put numbers that are better for the show. As Andreas said, we made a product in line with the requests coming from F1. Don’t forget what happened last year: the drivers were complaining about overheating, and if we go back to 2018 tyres we go back to overheating, to blistering, and all the different stuff, where basically we were working on to make a better tyre for this year. So what is clear to us for next year is to develop a wider working range in order to have more teams that are able to use the tyres better. I am very confident that for the second half of the season most of the teams will learn how to use the current tyres, because it’s always a learning curve. Every year it was the same. Going back to last year’s tyres on the technical side was not the right decision and I’m happy that five teams recognised that and voted against the change. On top of that we are very happy to work together with the teams, the driver and FIA and FOM to find a better solution for the sport as we did in the past and as we have always done. Provided that safety and the image of the company are protected we are here to do something good for Formula 1. If this is not the right direction then let’s change the direction, but we need to agree what is the direction, because at the end of the day we make one tyre for everybody, not get customised tyre for any car.

    Q: (Ian Parkes – New York Times) A question for Andreas. Andreas, you talked about the positivity within McLaren, but you’ve come into the sport at what appears to be quite a negative time, primarily due to the dominance of one team, as you mentioned, Mercedes. Can I just get your thoughts as to what your perceptions were of F1 before you joined McLaren, what your perceptions are now that you have been with the team for a couple of months, and what you would like to see going forward, primarily from 2021 onwards?
    AS: Well, I’ve been following Formula One the last 10 years as a fan and I think it hasn’t lost anything. It is still the platform, which works. It does not change compared to 2009 when I left Formula One. Of course there is an issue, as I mentioned before, with this big gap between the top teams and the midfield teams. Simply the resources these teams are having, let’s say, went out of control compared to what we, for example, can do. It’s not possible for us to be competitive and sustainable at the same time. Again, this should not hide that we have, in general, some work to do inside the team, independent of, let’s say, the boundary conditions we are in at the moment. So I think it’s very, very important to get this right for 2021. I think the objectives are clear for everyone involved and there is also huge agreement regarding the objectives. First of all I think the biggest, or most important topic, is to introduce the budget cap, because that is the only guarantee really to have somehow a level playing field between the teams. We would prefer that is even lower than the numbers that are under discussion at the moment. But we also understand that it needs to be a compromise in the end. Then I think it’s simply important to get the technical and sporting regulations right. It’s important to be a bit more restrictive in terms of the freedom on the development side, which then allows to have the field closer together. At the same time we are up for still having some freedom as the better team should still be able to make a difference. I think everything is on the table and it’s just important now that Formula One and the FAI is pulling through and the whole regulations that are in discussion at the moment don’t get softened again by, let’s say, the agendas of the teams, their own agendas.

    Q: (Julien Billotte – Auto Hebdo) A question to Tanabe-san and Paul. Max Verstappen said yesterday in this press conference that he is keen to evaluate the updates that are coming on your package over the next few races. How confident are you that you can give him the equipment he needs to continue to trust the Red Bull-Honda project and stay with the team longer term?
    PM: To answer your question directly: we are confident that we can give Max a car that enables him to challenger for race wins and beyond. The time scale is not within our control, because you have to catch the others and pass them to achieve this. There are a number of update on both, as Tanabe-san said, with the engine and on the chassis side to improve our performance. We will deploy those as and when they are ready and we know that, or believe that they are right and will make a reasonable difference to the car and if we can make some progress towards that it’s really all on the cars for the start of next season and who rolls out the door fastest then.
    TT: Yes, so we both work very hard to achieve our objectives or our target. I understand the feeling from the cockpit, so we try to deliver performance, not only PU but also chassis. So as Paul said we keep working very hard to keep our driver, so Max, in the confident car. That’s our goal anyway. So we are working very hard. We understand there is a space or a gap to achieve that top level also the period to improve our performance.

    Q: (Péter Vámosi  – Racinglines.hu) Andreas, Bernie Ecclestone confirmed yesterday that four years ago he was in talks with Volkswagen Group and Porsche and Audi that they can come to Formula 1. Can you confirm this and could you imagine that in 2021 we can again have a marriage between McLaren and Porsche? 
    AS: Well, obviously I have a new shirt on, so I can’t comment on what happened at my previous employment. I think in general it’s very difficult for a new engine manufacturer to come in. This is why I think also that from ’21 onwards it makes sense at the moment to really keep the regulations as they are, because we see at the moment already that with keeping the regulations stable all the power trains are coming closer together. And then, I think as far I can see at the moment, we simply have to wait for the next cycle of the regulations and we have to see then also how the automotive industry is going, in which direction, to see if then there is any chance to create any interest for another manufacturer to come into this sport.

    Q: (Maria Reyer – Motorsport-Total.com) Mario, Toto Wolff said after the meeting today that we could see at the end of this season already 2020 tyres being used, maybe in practice, to be tested. Do you see this is possible from a protection side and do you think this maybe could be the case at the end of the season? 
    MI: Yes, it is possible because the current regulations allow us to do that. So we can supply two additional sets of prototype tyres for evaluation during Friday. And there was also the discussion to slightly change the regulations to understand if different tyres can be used during the race weekend, not just in free practice. This is, as I said, a completely new idea and it has to be evaluated and discussed and the FIA should come with a wording to propose but we are open to evaluate that and we will continue our development test for the next weeks, but if we also have the opportunity it is a good opportunity to test the product for next year during the season.

    Q: (Sam Collins – RaceCar Engineering) To Andreas and Paul: just following on from one question back, Andreas you’ve worked with a number of technical working groups in different championships and you mentioned that you wanted to see the new engine regulations in future that will attract new manufacturers to the series. What rule changes would it require, what would the new power unit need to be to attract a new manufacturer to the series in your opinion? And Paul, as a team that has relationships with two automotive manufacturers, from Red Bull’s point of view as a team, what do you think is needed from the engine regulations in ’25 to bring new manufacturers into the sport? 
    AS: First of all, obviously there are a lot of changes ongoing at the moment in the automotive industry with the powertrains, electrification and so on, so I think for the next cycle of regulations you simply have to make the next step of hybridisation, definitely. This is the technical aspect but in order to be attractive as a sport for a manufacturer to enter again, I think it’s also very very important to make sure you can enter this sport with an investment which is a lot smaller compared to what you have to do now with budgets that are a lot smaller, because again, if you want to enter this category at the moment, then the investment you have to do for the infrastructure  and the budget you have to use in order to get to the point where the established manufactures are, you have to be realistic. Pretty difficult to imagine that anyone would invest that money at the moment.
    PM: It’s an interesting question for 2025. I suppose I will answer it by saying that – if you asked me what would I presently do, I would try not to upset the four that are there at the moment, to find ourselves down to two, one of them being new, just as an example. So if you take that point of view, the four that are currently investing and developing engines are supplying them to all ten teams, you could argue on a complete clean sheet of paper but then it rather negates all the work that they’ve currently done. And taking Andreas’s point that you don’t want the new rules to be intimidating to anybody else wanting to come in, you clearly have to strike a compromise somewhere and where that lies I wouldn’t want to comment at the moment. That’s my thought for 2025.

    Q: (Daniel Majet – GPHirek.hu) When there is talk about the spectacle of Formula One, it is often compared to IndyCar. Do you see in it from a technical aspect, chassis, engine, whatever, that can be considered, which is now in IndyCar, for the future of Formula One? 
    MI: I believe that we should look at any other series that’s providing the show, not just IndyCar. If we look at the other series with an open mind, we can find solutions also for Formula One, keeping in mind the DNA of Formula One because it is clear that we cannot have a Formula One that is a standard series like Formula Two or something like that. There are a lot of dedicated aspects to consider but observing the rest of motorsport with a critical view can only be positive.
    AG: I think the regulations moving forward in 2021 do take some of other formulas technology, I think with moving towards more of a ground effect car going forward. I think that definitely comes from the north American series, which, if we’re looking at, trying to have the cars race closer together then I think that’s the right thing to do, that makes complete sense. But I think the same, I think we need to keep Formula One at the pinnacle, it needs to be a technological amazement really. That’s where I think the sport needs to be, it’s not just about having cars that are close, it’s about a bit more of a Wow factor and we need to make sure we don’t lose any of that.
    PM: To answer your question directly, yes, I think you can learn from other series. Your specific question of IndyCars Andy has partly answered I think in that the way they generate their downforce is of interest to us. The question becomes can they run closer, can we still maintain differentiation between the cars as opposed to stock bodywork as they would call it over there? So I think you keep an open mind and you look and you learn and you don’t assume that you have perfect knowledge. I think that open-mindedness will serve us well.
    AS: Yeah, same from my side. I think we all do –  Formula One, FIA and the teams should also currently look at what’s going on in other categories, on the technical side and also on the sporting side which has a big impact as well, the sporting regulations of how the show is actually happening on track. I think some aspects of the ’21 regulations like standardisation and so on, limitation of the freedom regarding the aero development and so on, they’re going in the direction we see already in other categories. There’s a lot of work going in to also to allow this closer racing so I think we are not far off with the proposals that are on the table. As I said before, we just need to pull through now.
    TT: Yes, IndyCar and Formula One are sports and also entertainment. I think there is a big differences between the two series and also the spectator characteristics are different. But it’s good to learn from each other or share the idea which enforces the Formula One, which enforces IndyCar and then supplies much more until the spectator is good, I think.

    Q: (Carlo Platella – F1ingenerale.com) A double question for Mr Seidl: McLaren introduced a new front suspension in France. Is the introduction of such an important component in the middle of the season a result of the new organisation of the team? And have you noticed a significant improvement in performance thanks to it? 
    AS: Well, I think with the limited testing which is available in Formula One nowadays, which we all support also, you simply have to use the Fridays also to try let’s say adventurous stuff, which we did in Paul Ricard. It’s nothing we follow up at the moment. It was – let’s say – an engineering exercise, a learning exercise for the engineers and we have to see now what we do now with the conclusions of that test, regarding future developments we want to bring to the car this year or next year.

    Q: (Ian Parkes – New York Times) Andreas, can I just get your thoughts on the season Lando is having so far, his plus points, what he’s done? Well, he’s obviously had a bit of bad luck but his plus points, what he’s done well, where you feel he needs to improve?  He needs to learn in his first year, at the end of the day, and also get your thoughts on his obsession with his home simulator and how much that is helping improving him as a driver? 
    AS: Well, first of all, I was obviously very very impressed, straight from the beginning, even during the first races when I was still watching the races from home, with what Lando was doing on track. If you come into Formula One and you go into your first qualifying in Melbourne with a car that was maybe somewhere between – in terms of performance – ten to 14 and you score P8, it’s an impressive achievement and it was not just a one-off, he did that now several times which is great to see, also how he handles the races, I think it’s great. He had some bad luck in terms of results but I think that’s nothing which is too worrying at the moment, so we are very very happy inside the team, also how he interacts with the engineers regarding the development of the car, with the guys here at the track and also back home so very encouraging to see and I think he will have a great future in Formula One and obviously with the McLaren team as well, long term.

    Q: And his home simulator? 
    AS: Yeah, I think that even here in the motorhome there’s a big competition going on between Carlos and him each day, battling each other on the simulator so he’s obsessed with that, he’s convinced and we can see that also that it helps him to prepare the races, to be sharp when he’s arriving here, in addition to the simulator work he’s also doing with the guys back home in Woking. It’s great to see, this new generation also how they prepare themselves for this challenge in Formula One, and again, very excited to work together with him and the same for Carlos, I think we have a great driver line-up and they will be the future for this team.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines / Racefans.net) To Mario and the three team representatives: if one has a single tyre supplier, surely it’s inevitable that some teams are going to be marginalised by this. If we are looking at tyres to improve the show, should we not be looking at multiple tyre suppliers in Formula One in future when the current contract expires? 
    MI: You know everybody is talking about the budget cap and multiple tyre supplier means a lot of cost more. Don’t forget when we had the multiple tyre supplier, the top teams had a specific test team just for tyres and introduction of new tyres, new prototypes every race so it’s a bit against the philosophy of having a cap on the budget. But if this is the decision of the sport, we will evaluate that as we told you in the past and obviously with a different approach, it’s a lot more about the performance and other stuff rather than the same product to everybody and with the characteristics which are decided by the famous target letter. Or we can try to find different values in that document to enhance the show. Maybe it is possible. We are working with the FIA and FOM in order to have different numbers for the future.
    AG: Yeah, I think multiple tyre suppliers goes against the whole ethos of trying to compress the grid and improve the show. You are going to end up with the haves and have-nots with respect to tyres. Currently we all have the same tyre and we can all do the same job, up and down the grid. I think the team that does the best job with the tyres should be rewarded for that so I don’t think that’s the right way to go for the show, to be honest.
    PM: In the current generation of Formula One then multiple tyre suppliers don’t really fit with the model. We don’t go tyre testing every week and tyres per se are not a prime performance differentiator so at the moment our current working philosophy, if you like, is to have a single supplier. It would change everything that is on the table now and I believe plans for the future if we were to bring in multiple suppliers and I don’t if you would close the field up or spread it out in that circumstance. At the moment, we’re not really equipped to go down that route.
    AS: Well, I think we should also not forget that even in the years of the biggest tyre war, sometimes we had a total dominance of one team throughout the entire season so I’m not convinced that this is the solution. I think it’s simply important now that between the teams, together with the FIA and FOM that we have, let’s say that we take our time to really define clearly what is the target letter for the tyres for next year and for ’21 and I think that’s the way to go, to be honest.

  • F1 2019: French Gp Review – Mercedes Dominate…Again

    F1 2019: French Gp Review – Mercedes Dominate…Again

    A cursory scroll through social media comments would easily lead you to the conclusion that the 2019 French grand prix is not one that will down in history as a great race. Heck, it’s likely to be remembered for the exact opposite.

    Unlike Canada’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with several pitfalls mere centimeters away, the acres of run-off area at the Paul Ricard circuit doesn’t offer anywhere close to the same on-the-edge challenge. Here the vast asphalt run-offs do nothing more than take away the challenge of driving an F1 car.

    But sanitized racetracks are hardly F1’s biggest issue. The teams, Liberty Media, and the FIA are currently in discussion about regulations for 2021 and they would do well to use the French grand prix, and the fans’ response to it, as a case study for what needs to change in the sport.

    Before then there is still a season, or two, to run and the latest race in France was little more than a Sunday afternoon drive for Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver led every one of the 53 laps and seemingly had more pace to unleash if he felt like it. As it were Valtteri Bottas could mount no serious challenge and Hamilton won the race by 18 seconds. A late race VSC and Bottas’ difficulty in getting his tyres switched on afterwards nearly gave Charles Leclerc a run at second but the Ferrari driver ultimately finished third. Max Verstappen maintained fourth in a rather lonely race as Sebastian Vettel recovered from seventh on the grid to finish fifth.

    Perez penalty

    While most of the drivers kept their noses clean into the first few corners after lights out Sergio Perez quick decision to take to the run-off area netted him a five-second penalty. The Racing Point driver followed the letter of the law by rejoining the track at the stipulated point. But his trip through the run-off gained him a position and therefore a lasting advantage warranting the penalty.

    lecatselletsunday45-797703Ricciardo penalties

    The only bit of excitement surrounded the fight for seventh between Lando Norris, Daniel Ricciardo, Kimi Raikkonen, and Nico Hulkenberg. Norris well in control of his seventh place was hit with hydraulic issues that meant not only an inability to use DRS but also the gradual loss of power steering. Nevertheless, the impressive rookie soldiered on until the very last lap when he fell victim to Ricciardo, Raikkonen, and Hulkenberg.

    Ricciardo’s move on Norris saw the McLaren driver forced off the track which he followed up with a pass, with all four wheels off the circuit, on Raikkonen moments later. The three drivers were summoned to the stewards after the race which resulted in Ricciardo receiving two five-second penalties. Unfortunately for the Aussie driver the rules are rather black and white and clearly state that a penalty must be awarded for, first, crowding another driver off the track, and second, for completing a pass with all four wheel off the track. The Renault driver dropped out of the points to 11th overall but wasn’t apologetic about providing “some entertainment” for the fans.

    Carlos Sainz finished a remarkable sixth in what has been McLaren’s best race to date in 2019. The rejig of the results, following Ricciardo’s penalties, means that Raikkonen finished an impressive seventh with Nico Hulkenberg in eighth for Renault. Despite his issues Norris was ninth ahead of Pierre Gasly in tenth.

    Pierre Gasly

    One of the things that are almost always a certainty is that when a driver gets to his home race he ups his game. But this wasn’t the case for Frenchman Pierre Gasly whose weekend was nothing short of embarrassing. While teammate Verstappen was solidly in fourth Gasly trundled around behind both McLarens, both Renaults and an Alfa Romeo.

    lecatselletsunday13-640986Riccardo’s penalties meant that Gasly was classified as tenth but in reality the Red Bull driver finished 11th on the track. As a Toro Rosso driver Gasly impressed Red Bull enough to earn the call-up to the big team but he has come nowhere near to proving that he deserves to be in the seat. While Verstappen has scored 100 points in 2019 Gasly’s tally is a mere 36.

    Christian Horner’s demeanour after the race was one of barely-concealed irritation at Gasly’s performance. History reminds that Red Bull, in the form of Horner and Dr. Helmut Marko, can be ruthless when it comes to driver demotions, just ask Dannil Kvyat. If Gasly continues in the same vein he may well be replaced, ironically, by Kvyat before the year is out.

    No such issues exist at Mercedes who roll on in 2019 with yet another victory. There are those who would point out that the Ferrari and Red Bull eras were as dominating as this era’s seemingly unconquerable Mercedes. But even the heyday of Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel doesn’t quite stack up to the utter command that Mercedes has over Formula 1.

    Lewis Hamilton’s latest win in France takes Mercedes’ tally to ten consecutive race win if you include the last two races of 2018. Of the 107 races, so far, in the Hybrid era Mercedes have won a staggering 80 of which 50 have been one-two victories. It is difficult to imagine that this number wont increase to 81 victories at this weekend’s Austrian Gp.

  • F1 2019: Race Preview – The French Connection

    F1 2019: Race Preview – The French Connection

    With the Canadian grand prix and all its accouterments consigned the history books Formula 1 turns the page to the eighth round of the season and France’s Paul Ricard circuit.

     Renault progress

    The season so far for the French works team has been well below par. Team principal Cyril Abiteboul and others in charge of the F1 project are likely to admit that the team has not achieved its projections, so far, in 2019.

    The big money signing of Daniel Ricciardo from Red Bull would have been a morale boosting shot in the arm for most at Renault. The highly rated Australian has won several grand prix and is expected to excel no matter the car he drives. But there have, expectedly, been some teething issues in joining a completely new environment. So much so that apart from a standout Canadian grand prix weekend Ricciardo has been somewhat anonymous in 2019.

    Nevertheless, Renault and Abiteboul appear to be committed to Formula 1 and making their way back to the front of the sport. A repeat performance of sixth and seventh this weekend for Renault would go down well on home soil.

     gaslyPierre Gasly

    As Ricciardo’s replacement at Red Bull Pierre Gasly hasn’t had any easy time of it. The Frenchman has struggled to find his feet at the team and has been emphatically out-performed by teammate Max Verstappen. Yes, Verstappen, with his heaps of talent, isn’t your average teammate but Gasly is in a top-flight team where he is expected to turn in performances befitting the equipment at his disposal.

    There is every chance that Gasly could come good in the Red Bull but for his sake it has to be sooner rather than later. Rumours linking Reanult’s Nico Hulkenberg to the Red Bull seat are already making the rounds and given Gasly’s run of results this season it isn’t unfathomable to imagine Hulkenberg in the Red Bull cockpit.

     Romain Grosjean

    Although he was born in Switzerland Romain Grosjean is very much a Frenchman and will be keen to do well in his home race. It hasn’t been an easy season for Grosjean as Haas F1 has struggled to unearth their tyre issues on race day. So far, Grosjean has contributed only two points to the team’s tally of sixteen points in 2019.

    grosjeanOnce a teammate to Fernando Alonso at Renault Grosjean’s career has been somewhat of an anomaly. As a bonafide winner in the GP2 series he came into F1 with a good reputation. His speed though never materialized. His second go at F1 at Lotus alongside Kimi Raikkonen finally began to reveal his talents. A slew of podium finishes in 2013 upped his stock in F1 but it was followed by a miserable two years in which Lotus produced an equally miserable car. Still, he secured a hard-earned podium at Spa in 2015 but his career was blotted by several outrageous first-lap crashes.

    His move to Haas F1 came on the eve of Renault’s announcement that they would return to F1. Nevertheless, he seemed to slot into the newly formed American team with ease. But despite again slowing flashes of real talent and speed he simply hasn’t been consistent enough to catch the eye of any of the top teams. At the age of 33 Grosjean could be one of the unfilled talents in F1.

     Paul Ricard

    The Paul Ricard circuit’s 15-turn layout comprises a variance of corners that dictates a compromise on set-up. The first sector of the lap consists of lower speed corners where traction and good braking performance is most rewarded. Quicker corners characterize the middle sector of the circuit while the medium-downforce track also features three long straights that demand a lot from the power units.

    The higher speed sections of the track will mean that lateral grip is increased and therefore the tyres are put under more stress. It might place enough strain and wear on the tyres to open up some intriguing strategies for Sunday’s race.

  • F1 2019: Canadian Gp Review – Hamilton Wins…Sort of

    F1 2019: Canadian Gp Review – Hamilton Wins…Sort of

    There are several points, performances, and moments from the 2019 Canadian grand prix that are worth mentioning in the customary post-race review.

    Elsewhere, Daniil Kvyat held onto the final point in tenth for Toro Rosso while Lance Stroll finished an impressive ninth for Racing Point on home soil. Pierre Gasly brought his Red Bull home in eighth behind the two Renault’s of Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo in seventh and sixth. Ricciardo’s brilliant fourth place in qualifying netted his best start since joining Renault at the start of the season. He would’ve had designs in getting in amongst the podium positions, at least early on in the race, but they proved a touch too quick for the Aussie driver. Nevertheless, after an under-performing start to the season Renault will be delighted with their performance.

    Apart from a few overtakes down the back straight fifth place finisher Max Verstappen ran a fairly anonymous race unable to make an impression on either Ferrari or Mercedes. In comparison to what he had delivered so far in 2019 Valtteri Bottas endured a poor weekend with a difficult qualifying followed by a lowly fourth place finish in the race. Charles Leclerc showed flashes of speed but though it was never enough to trouble the front of the race he did finish third on the day.

    McLaren’s Lando Norris was running well in the points before overheating rear brakes caused a suspension failure and his subsequent retirement from the race. Haas F1’s struggle on race pace continued with a lowly showing of fourteenth and seventeenth for Grosjean and Magnussen. Though Williams still has a mountain to climb the team showed a slight improvement in pace with George Russell.

    At the end of seventy laps at the chequered flag came out Sebastian Vettel crossed the line first with Lewis Hamilton following less than two seconds behind. Vettel had put together the perfect weekend which included pole position and leading all but two laps of the grand prix. A seriously underperforming Ferrari team had finally put everything together and taken their first victory of the season. But they didn’t.

    montreacutealsunday2-600630For the first time in 2019 Vettel and Hamilton were engaged in a race-long battle for the lead of the race. It was enthralling and what fans had been yearning for all season. From on-board footage on lap 48 it was clear that the rear of Vettel’s car stepped out. It sent him wide and onto the grass run-off of the Turn ¾ chicane. From several replays it was abundantly clear that Vettel was not fully in control of his car as he slid back onto the track in front of Hamilton.

    The Mercedes was immediately on the radio to decry Vettel’s rejoining of the track as “dangerous”. There is little doubt that Hamilton wanted the incident investigated by stewards and any other driver in his position would have done the same thing. The stewards awarded a five-second penalty to Vettel for rejoining the track in an unsafe manner and for forcing Hamilton off the track.

    First, it is clear that the FIA race stewards showed a complete lack of understanding of what Vettel did. Several replays clearly show Vettel with opposite lock on the steering wheel as he rejoins the track which is clearly an indication that he was not under full control. Second, every single driver has consistently navigated the exit of the Turn 3/4 chicane with all four wheels beyond the white line. Seeing as this was not noted by the FIA as exceeding track limits at any point during the weekend it is then presumed to be a part of the circuit. By this logic, and the Stewards own allowance, Hamilton could not have been “forced off track”.

    From Jenson Button, to Mario Andretti, to Mark Webber there is hardly any former driver that views the penalty as fair. Social media polls too are overwhelmingly slanted towards the penalty being unjust. The Stewards have, at their misguided discretion, robbed fans of what was otherwise a fascinating race that had all the makings of a memorable. While it will still be remembered it certainly wont be for the right reasons. On days like these and with decision as blatantly wrong as this it is difficult to defend this sport and truthfully one should not even try do so.

  • 2019 Canadian Grand Prix: Friday Press Conference

    2019 Canadian Grand Prix: Friday Press Conference

    TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Toto WOLFF (Mercedes), Guenther STEINER (Haas), Franz TOST (Toro Rosso), Mario ISOLA (Pirelli), Toyoharu TANABE (Honda)

    Q: Guenther, last time you were in this press conference you talked about the need to unlock the potential of Pirelli’s tyres. What solutions have you found in the last couple of races?

    Guenther STEINER: We haven’t found any! I think sometimes when you get the tyre to work it is working and sometimes it isn’t. I think in Monte Carlo, with the family of the softer tyres, we got them to work, but we don’t have a solution. If you ask me ‘what is your solution for the next race?’ I don’t know. Maybe we haven’t got one. It’s like we fall into it or not. We are working hard and for sure by going on and using the tyres you learn more and more but do we have a proper understanding of it, I would say, no.

     

    Q: What did you learn during FP1 this morning?

    GS: Again, the track is very dirty. It seems like we can get the tyre up to temperature. I said ‘it seems’, I didn’t go conclusive here because FP2 will be a lot more relevant because the track will be cleaner and we can learn more. At the moment everything seems to be OK, so let’s see what in the next hours is coming.

     

    Q: What can you tell us about Ferrari’s upgraded power unit? You had it for the first time in Monaco, but what difference are you expecting it to make here in Montréal?

    GS: I think the difference it should make here, because here the power is much more needed than in Monte Carlo. We had it in Monte Carlo just to see that everything works and for sure it helps there as well. But at the moment we are not running it; we are running it only tomorrow, so I cannot come to a conclusion here.

     

    Q: Tanabe-san, this is the first real power track of the season. How much are Honda looking forward to it?

    Toyoharu TANABE: It is a very good question and a bit difficult to answer for me. But anyway, I frequently told you that we are still in the position of catching up the top PU manufacturers, in terms of power and also the reliability. We are still developing for both. It means we know our position is a little bit down from these top competitors. But in terms of the performance since the first race of this year, our forecasts showed good performance on the track, so I’m looking forward to seeing tomorrow and then the race here,.

     

    Q: What do you think is the gap to Mercedes no?

    TT: I cannot tell you an exact number, but we will see the gap.

     

    Q: When can we expect the next Honda upgrade?

    TT: Our development is ongoing and we are considering when we introduce the next step up. But we are observing the current situation on the PU, mileage and then damage, and we are discussing with the teams when is the best timing to introduce new, updated PU to the trackside. It’s not only a Honda matter; we are closely working with the teams, for both Toro Rosso and Red Bull. At the moment I cannot tell exactly when but we are looking for a new, updated PU.

     

    Q: Thank you Tanabe-san, good luck this weekend. Toto, we’re talking engine upgrades. You’ve got one here this weekend. Where is it better?

    Toto WOLFF: Well, we hope it’s a tiny bit better than what we had before in terms of specification, but the biggest difference is just that it’s a fresh unit. The other one has had quite some high mileage. With mature regulations it becomes more and more difficult to extract pure lap time performance out of the engines. You’re trying to find a bit more reliability, maybe run a bit harder, longer, but you are not finding these kind of big jumps that we used to see in past years.

     

    Q: Where do you the balance of power this weekend, between yourselves and Mercedes in particular?

    TW: If I would know! Guenther surprisingly summarized it well! The track is pretty dirty after FP1 so there is not really clear picture, people have been sliding all over the place. We were very competitive but you need to sceptical as to whether this is really the balance of performance. FP2 is going to give us more guidance.

     

    Q: We’ve got the same tyre compounds this weekend that we had in Monaco. What lessons have been learned from your Monaco strategy with Lewis Hamilton?

    TW: Quite some lessons. We got it wrong in Monaco, in our assessment of how long the tyre would last, so that was an important step for us.

     

    Q: Thank you and good luck this weekend. Mario, talking about that strategy in Monaco, how surprised were you that the mediums lasted 66 laps?

    Mario ISOLA: The problem was not related to the wear life of the tyre, more on the performance life. On a track where it’s so difficult to overtake, like Monaco, Lewis was able to keep everybody else behind him – that’s the point. The hard was working well. The best information for us was that all the three compounds in Monaco, that usually is a track where everybody is using just the two softest of the three chose, all three compounds were working well.

     

    Q: And what can you tell us about tyre wear this weekend?

    MI: We need to wait until FP2 because it is a session where all the teams are collecting relevant data on tyres. We have some estimation. I believe it is not a surprise that everyone is targeting a one-stop race in Montréal because the wear in not high. It is a circuit where the rear degradation can make a difference, so saving the rear tyre is probably a target for everybody here. If we make a comparison to Baku rather than Monaco, because Monaco is a street circuit that is quite unique, we have tyres that are one step softer. The weather conditions expected are good, so they probably struggle a bit less with warm-up. I will talk to Guenther later in the afternoon to understand. But I can tell you, he was coming here with a jacket and outside it’s 28 degrees so probably he has a problem with the temperature in general himself.

     

    Q: It’s been a busy few weeks for Pirelli, looking ahead for 2020. You’ve been testing F1 tyres and F2 tyres. What can you tell us about those tests?

    MI: Yeah, we made a plan with F2 where at the moment we have eight sessions already planned. Obviously we have to concentrate the development this year to be ready latest in December. If necessary we are also planning some back-up sessions in the Middle East at the end of the year. For F1 the plan is confirmed. We have three sessions, one in the middle of September at Paul Ricard with Renault, one at the beginning of November at Paul Ricard as well, with McLaren, and we are trying to find a solution with Mercedes for the last session, that will probably be in December. All dry sessions for the moment. We will start soon to make a plan for 2020, where we have 25 days of testing to distribute to the teams that are willing to test 18-inch tyres.

     

    Q: And how was the F2 18-inch tyre holding up in testing?

    MI: We did just one shakedown in Mugello, but it was really a shakedown to understand the driveability of the car with an 18-inch tyre. Don’t forget that the F2 car is without power steering, so the first target was to understand if they need to adapt the car, and if how to adapt the car with the new tyres. And we are going to test in Aragon in mid-June, so in one week’s time.

     

    Q: Thanks. Franz, a double points finish for the team in Monaco, your first since Spain 2017. Just how pleased are you with progress at Toro Rosso this season?

    Franz TOST: So far Toro Rosso has a competitive package together. We have a car that is fast, a car that works well from the mechanical side as well as the aerodynamic. And with Honda we have a very strong partner on the power unit side. We have two competitive, high-skilled drivers. Both of them are doing a really good job and the team is improving as well. The complete package, I must say, currently is quite good.

     

    Q: Tell us about the team, because Daniil Kvyat said yesterday in this press conference that the team has improved in many areas since he was last with Toro Rosso. What are those areas?

    FT: We reshuffled our aerodynamic department. We changed a lot in the production to increase the quality. Also in the assembling we changed many working methods and processes and I think everything together came up with the result that the car is quite good.

     

    Q: And what about Kvyat himself? How much has he improved since he was last with you?

    FT: Daniil is much more experienced now. He is much more mature. He understands the technical side much better. Last year, as well all know, he was working at Ferrari in the simulator. I think that he learned there also a lot and everything is coming together with him and therefore he is showing a good performance. But also I must say that Alex is coming up with a very good performance and I think he is a surprise and he also this morning was quite fast, because we must not forget that he is here the first time and he has to learn the track. It looks very easy from the outside but also Canada has some tricky corners, as we know, and he is making good progress. As I said before, we have two real competitive drivers. They have high natural speeds; they are quite good, talented.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action / Speed Sport) For Guenther and Franz, Liberty is on record saying they want to increase the number of races. Unlike the big teams, you cannot afford to have extra staff to rotate. How concerned are you about the stress and strain on your staff and their families?

    FT: I don’t care about the families. If we have a lot of races… we have 52 weekends, we can have 26 races. Where’s the problem? If we get the money for all the races, that’s important. Then I don’t have a problem.

     

    Guenther, anything you can add?

    GS: Yeah, I care about the families! That’s what I would like to add. Because then the people working are happy. I think if we reorganised a little bit the weekend, how we run it, we maybe could make some savings there. With days at the track. We cannot save days but we can adjust it a little bit. I agree with Franz, if the new races bring financial benefits, why not do it? But we need to be clever about it and try to find the days somewhere else. Just putting more and more on is maybe not productive. And also, we need to be careful what the spectator wants. There is a saturation factor which I am not entitled… or I have not the knowledge. Maybe Toto has because he knows a lot of things. When the saturation happens. In general, if we can make the weekends a little bit shorter for the people that work here, I think we can do a few more races.

     

    Toto, shall we just open this up to you as well. What are your thoughts?

    GS: He’s the expert!

    TW: We’re a good combination. He knows all about tyres and temperatures and I do about saturation! I think Guenther summarised it very well. I think we… saturation is something that needs to be considered. Formula One is exclusive and adding more races is not adding to the exclusivity factor. On the other hand, we are all asking Liberty to increase revenue and doing more races is obviously the biggest leverage in that respect. In my opinion it’s a fine balance. We need to respect that, at the moment, the travelling population, all the race team, is pretty flat out. I don’t think you can really do much more than 21 races. You need to work with a second shift. We have started to rotate a little bit – but then you can’t really rotate the very senior personnel. So, if we do more races, my opinion is that it needs to be linked with more income and spectacular new tracks or markets that we open up. That would be important.

     

    Q: (Éric Desrosiers – Le Devoir) Sorry, I have to ask, maybe to the three team managers: how do you like the new installations here on the circuit?

    FT: It’s a very nice facility, thank you for this. Generally, I like to come here to Montreal, and especially now, we have much more space. People have – not only teams, also journalists and the marketing side – have much more space for working . A big thank you to Montreal, to the city, to the government that they approved this and authorised the building. I think it’s a big improvement.

     

    Toto, the facilities…?

    TW: It’s a bit cold here, that’s the only one in the new facilities. But like Franz said, it’s fantastic that Montreal has committed to Formula One racing by building such a state-of-the-art facility. They have done it really well, because we have keep the authenticity of the track and the island but equally built a purpose-built facility that’s great.

     

    Guenther?

    GS: There’s nothing to add, just to say thank you for what the city did here. It’s always good to have new facilities, because the old ones were run down – but very good that they came up with the money to do this. Thank you.

     

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines / racefans.net) Tanabe-san  and Toto. As engine suppliers, as well as, in your case Toto, the team principal of the race team, the current engine formula was originally devised in 2009. It was given a reprieve and will now run through until 2024. What sort of formula would you like to see from 2025-onwards that would keep your wo companies in Formula One. And then, to the other two team principals: what sort of engine formula would you like to see?

    TW: I think that we are in the middle of a transition of technology, at least on the road car side, and as much as we, most of us, are fans of the loud, traditional engines, it not where the technology goes and where the perception on sustainability goes – so I believe we’ve done the right thing in keeping the regulations almost stable for the next term – because it would have caused a tremendous amount of development to come up with the new formula. Also, it is not quite clear where this next generation of power unit actually should be. Listening to our chairman of Daimler, we expect 50 per cent of our fleet to be either hybrid or electric by 2030, so I think if this is the direction technology goes, we could as well have an engine that will have a higher hybrid component, renewable energies or electricity. Today, it’s maybe around 20 per cent, maybe that ratios going to go to 50 per cent. As long as it’s an exciting engine – the sound is something that we need to address or at least talk about it – but I believe the hybrid component is going to increase after 2025.

     

    Tanabe-san, what’s Honda’s position?

    TT: As Toto said, we think the a kind-of transition phase now and then we just finish discussion over the 2021 PU regulation and then we keep current concept until 2024/25. Then, one of the reasons, we couldn’t find any next step, green, sustainable and then high efficiency PU confirmation now. So, it means we need to discuss again and start again, what should be the pinnacle of Formula One race PU technology. I believe the same thing as Toto. We keep a hybrid and then what we can do is improve the current principle of the current Formula One PU.

     

    Guenther and Franz, your thoughts…

    GS: I think we need to stay current with technology. I don’ t know that the technology will be in 2025. Toto and Tanabe-san know much better what is happening there. It was asked from Dieter, what do you like? We all like a loud, screaming V10 or V12 but that is not, in this time, it is just not acceptable any more. So, I think I would like that Formula One stays current in technology with what is happening. The engine manufacturers know what it needs to be: it needs to be sustainable, adding more electrical element, as Toto said, so, I go with them. For me, the point is, we need to stay up with technology in F1 and not go back to what I like, because I was young then.

     

    Franz?

    FT: I think currently we have a power unit which is on a very, very high technical level and, unfortunately, this has not been communicated in a way the power unit deserved. We have a small engine, two energy recovery systems and all these components together is the technology for the future because with this engine also in a normal street car, maybe you can do 100km with one litre, two litres of fuel, and then you come home with a filled battery. They all are talking about the electric cars, and I’m just asking where from do they get the energy? It’s not like in Formula E when 20 cars are outside on the track and behind there are 50 diesel aggregates spending their energy. This is nothing serious in my opinion – but the great manufacturers go to the Formula E or have built electric cars. I’m just asking where they get the energy from? I think we have, in Formula One, the technology for the future. As Toto said, maybe the hybrid part, electric part will increase to 40 per cent or even more. That’s fine, but from the technology itself, for me, this is the solution for the future.

     

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) – A question to the three team bosses. We’re all quite excited to see what we’re going to get for the 2021 regulations, sooner rather than later. Guenther, in one of your earlier answers you mentioned maybe condensing the schedule down. That might be a way to fit in more races or reduce the load. I believe one of the suggestions for5 2021 has been to move parc fermé to the beginning of Friday, shuffle the Friday practice sessions back later. Where do you stand on parc fermé to before you’ve run on track. I guess that would cause slightly more headaches for the engineers and move the preparations to simulations before the weekend?

    GS: I’m OK with that, because that’s what I said before. We just need to plan it well, how we do it. So that we are prepared for it. We adapt all pretty quick here. There’s enough people working at it. That would be one of the solutions – to start on Friday the event, which now starts on Thursday, because we are all here, but we could do that job also from other places. That would be one of the solutions and that I think is the intent of it.

    TW: I think if you can compress without reducing the show, then that is something we should look at. I believe that for the promoters it is not great. The Friday is an important day when they are able to generate some revenue and attract some audiences. We are not keen on the parc fermé format from Friday to Sunday. There is no motor racing formula out there that doesn’t allow the cars to be touched over the weekend and I don’t think we should start with Formula One, the pinnacle of motor racing. You open up a can of worms with penalties because cars will end up in the wall and they will need to rebuilt and I think from the sheer idea of how we can add more variability, more unpredictability, have more cars braking down, I think we will achieve the contrary. We will spend more time and resource in the virtual world, runs cars harder on dynos to make them last, because we know we can’t take them apart over three days, so I don’t think this is something we should touch. There are many other areas that make sense, but this one, not for us.

    FT: Of course there are a lot of discussions going on and I’m not a big friend of this solution to be honest. As Toto mentioned before, Friday is an important day also for the organisers from the financial side. Whether we are now here one day earlier or later at the track, I don’t think this makes a big difference. We have to increase the show, we have to reduce the costs, we have to distribute the money in a fair way. I think these are the most important points. The parc fermé story is absolutely secondary. OK, it’s being discussed now among the teams but I don’t think these changes are important for the topics I just mentioned before. I think we don’t need to change anything in this way.

     

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Two questions for Toto: one is about the complaining of Lewis yesterday. He said he wanted a different Formula One. He’s the most successful driver in the hybrid era. I would like to know your comment about this. And the second question: it could be ugly at this moment but I would like to know what has happened about Niki’s 10 percent of the team. Are you going to buy it?

    TW: I think, on the first topic, drivers want machines that are difficult to drive and that are challenging and that is clear. I think when we need to look at chassis regulations going forward, that can be a point of discussion. I’m not entirely sure that we can go back in time. I think if you put a car on track it’s going to vibrate, not drive in a straight line and not do what the driver wants; I’m not sure the drivers would be happy about it but I kind of get the point that when you look at the images of Mansell and Senna collapsing after the end of a race that is exciting and they should be gladiators, so I can understand where he’s coming from.

    On the Niki situation, we haven’t discussed that yet. It’s too close to the tragic event. That is going to be a topic we will address with Daimler in the next few weeks and months.

     

    Q: (Maxime Sarasin – 98.5 FM) I want to go back to what Lewis told us yesterday. He told us that it was too easy for pilots to drive, that he was not exhausted at all after a Grand Prix and he could maybe do two or three others in the same day. And he didn’t feel that at that time, he was saying that new pilots were coming in are maybe the best athletes that they should be and he told us that that shouldn’t happen right now. So I really want to know what you think about that, what are your thoughts about that and do you think that going with technology should at least make an obligation to have drivers to be the best athletes possible for Formula One.

    FT: In my opinion, the current level of the drivers from the fitness side is the highest I’ve ever seen in Formula One. You must not forget that we now have drivers who started motor sport when they were six or seven years old. That means that when they come to Formula One, they’ve already done 10 to 15 years of karting first and then the junior categories and I’m not talking about the Red Bull and Toro Rosso drivers. Our drivers have special physical training plans. They have their own coach, they have a nutrition plan. That means they are so well prepared that the driving itself is no longer so exciting for them and of course, you cannot compare this time with – let me say – twenty or thirty years ago when Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell or whoever collapsed after a race. They never saw a fitness centre from the inside and some of them were smoking as well and in former days, I remember that some cars did not finish the race and then they talked about gearbox problems. Hey, they were smoking beforehand and they were not fit enough to finish the race and then they put it in any gear so that the car stopped. They were not fit enough. This is the reality and nowadays we have really really good drivers in Formula One and we have a very high level and therefore you don’t see accidents – which on one side is very good – from the entertaining point of view is boring. Friends of mine say you don’t even see a crash after the start in the first corner because they all manage to do it. It’s because the driving level is very very high, I think the highest we’ve ever seen in Formula One and this we continue. But this is nothing to do only with Formula One; this is in all the other sports as well, in skiing and so on, therefore I think we should be happy to see these drivers.

    MI: This is for the team managers, he said. I agree, it’s a completely different… we cannot compare the era of Senna, Piquet and so on with the current drivers. I believe that the level of the drivers is very good. We are changing the car from 2016 to 2017; it became a lot more physical to drive, I don’t know if it is (difficult) enough or not, for Lewis probably not. But talking about tyres, I would say that we are always trying to supply to Formula One what they want so just ask and we try to do our best. In terms of cars and so on, it’s more Toto that can give you an answer.

    Q: Well, Toto, what about Lewis’s thoughts yesterday?

    TW: You can look at the lap times. I think we have the quickest cars by now. We have changed the aerodynamic formula to take a few seconds off the cars and we are going faster than last year, so the levels of downforce are enormous and like Franz said, it’s very right that the level of perfection has just increased enormously and you don’t see these kind of mistakes any more. You could, artificially, make it much harder: take the power-assisted steering out, then you will have drivers like bodybuilders and they will struggle to finish races because it will be so tiring – that is easy – but it would be a step back in technology but maybe that is something we should consider in the future for the entertainment factor.

    GS: Or we could ban the drivers from going to the fitness studios as Franz said, so they will be tired at the end of the race. It would be a lot cheaper. And to eat fast foods all the time! No, without joking, I think Franz explained it very well: the fitness level is just so high and the cars are so sophisticated so it’s just getting better and it’s evolution. It isn’t that they are easy to drive, we are just so well prepared – they are so well prepared altogether. That is why they now complain about it.

    TT: I just remember 20 or 30 years ago, after the race, drivers got wet and then sometimes they couldn’t get out of the car. But with technology improvement, the current drivers work not only physically but also their heads. I don’t know which is good but Formula One wins, I think.

     

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines, Racefans.net) Toto, continuing what Lewis said yesterday, he actually said that Formula One should be a man’s sport. I was wondering how this sat alongside the women in motorsport initiative and also what your wife (Susie Wolff) thinks about that comment?

    TW: He was on a roll yesterday, I think! I don’t think he meant it in the way that it was seen as discriminatory. On the contrary, he’s someone who is very open to diversity and somebody who raced against Susie in Formula Renault. I think that what he meant was that it needs to be a gladiator’s sport, the toughest machines for the best drivers out there. In terms of the FIA initiatives that have been merged with Dare to be Different, I think this is wonderful to see that there are more girls now looking at go-karting and when in the past there were a hundred boys there were one or two girls now you can see there are five or six and that it’s starting to have an impact. We will see where that is in five years. I would very much hope that in our lifespan in Formula One we will see a girl racing competitively in F1.

     

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Toto, again referencing something that Lewis said yesterday, hopefully not something that has been taken out of context. It was when he was asked about the engine upgrade here and he said that one of the things that had impressed him was the fact that Mercedes had not had the smoothest ride with developing the engine or working on upgrades at the start of the year. I just wondered if we could get your thoughts on whether there was anything in particular that was troubling with the development of these engine upgrades or has that been par for the course over the last few years when you’re pushing the envelope and trying to push the engines as hard as you can?

    TW: I think we had times at Mercedes where the engine was described as the determining factor in the team’s success and then it has somehow transitioned to the chassis side and people nowadays are talking that the chassis is the leader of the pack but what really needs to be said is that with mature regulations it becomes more and more difficult to extract additional performance and keeping reliability and the guys in Brixworth are doing a fantastic job. Obviously I live in it and I’m seeing the struggles and the boundaries they are trying to push and the targets they set and sometimes they don’t reach them completely but they keep pushing and pushing and pushing and that is very inspiring to see that the group of people have not stopped chasing performance.

     

    Q: (Trago Mendonca – O Dia) Franz, Indycar is testing a new system to protect the drivers, the aeroscreen, a partnership with Red Bull. What do you think about the system comparing to the halo that we have now in Formula One?

    FT: The most important thing is that the safety is guaranteed. If this new system is working from the optical side, from the aesthetic side, I like it more and then we will see because the car looks more sophisticated but together with Red Bull Technology they will test everything and then we will see what the solution will be.

  • F1 2019: Canadian Gp Preview – Ferrari to the Fore?

    F1 2019: Canadian Gp Preview – Ferrari to the Fore?

    Formula 1 travels from Monaco to Montreal for the seventh round of the 2019 championship this weekend. The Canadian grand prix track is a relatively short one with a lap time below seventy seconds highly likely in 2019. But the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, seemingly innocuous, has quirks and nuances that have caught out many drivers. From barriers just beyond the edge of the rumble strips to the famed Wall of Champions together with a number of big braking points combine to produce a fast, low downforce circuit.

    Seven races into the 2019 season and Ferrari’s best result is Seb Vettel’s second place finish at the Monaco grand prix. On merit the Ferrari was the third quickest car at the last race which is a far cry from pre-season expectations. But for several mechanical and driver errors in 2018 the Scuderia could well have won the championship and it seemed as if they were on the path towards maintaining the challenge in 2019. While their engine is currently the class of the field Ferrari’s biggest problem with the SF90 is that it lacks downforce. This means that while they may be the quickest on the straight they fall painfully shy of Mercedes, and even Red Bull, in cornering.

    It stands to reason then that in Canada Ferrari should fare better. In Spain they introduced an upgraded engine but because of the layout of Catalunya and Monaco the gains were masked by the circuit layouts. However, a fresh, upgraded engine will aid them on the power sensitive Canadian circuit. While it may not be outright domination by Ferrari the expectation is that they could be significantly closer to Mercedes but only if they check all the boxes, including a seamless strategic and organizational weekend.

    M193406Mercedes are likely to bring an upgraded engine to Canada as will have to manage their own inter-team battle given the manner in which Bottas 2.0 has stepped up in 2019. While he has never taken victory on this circuit Valtteri Bottas has been somewhat of a Canadian Gp specialist. In 2013, his debut year with Williams, he secured an impressive third on the starting grid before taking his first podium, still as a Williams driver, at the same circuit in 2015 and 2016.

    If Bottas could be classed as somewhat of a specialist around these parts then Lewis Hamilton must be the master. His first career win came here in 2007 and he’s followed it with five more victories for a grand total of six wins in Canada and only one adrift of the great Michael Schumacher. Hamilton has recently been quoted as saying that he hasn’t been driving particularly good this year. If he is to be believed this weekend’s Canadian grand prix, where he has exceled brilliantly in the past, could well spur him into stepping up his game.

    If it is to be battle between Mercedes and Ferrari the expectation is that Red Bull would be the third quickest team. But on a circuit layout like this which rewards engine prowess they too will have to tick all the boxes if they are to have a solid weekend. There is the added element of unpredictability of this grand prix which has turned many races here on its head. And it is this randomness that has made the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and the Canadian grand prix one of the most anticipated races of the year.

  • F1 2019: Monaco Gp Review – Hamilton’s Fortitude Ensures Win

    F1 2019: Monaco Gp Review – Hamilton’s Fortitude Ensures Win

    In 1974 it was his performance at the Monaco grand prix that prompted Enzo Ferrari into signing up a Niki Lauda. Not only would he become a three-time world champion but also complete the greatest comeback in sporting history following a near-fatal crash in 1976 at the Nordschleife. As drivers, teams, and fans paid tribute to the great champion who passed away on May 20 one thing became crystal clear Niki Lauda is an unmistakable and an unequaled part of Formula 1 lore who will never be forgotten.

    On the face of it Lewis Hamilton’s pole-to-flag victory may seem like yet another Mercedes domination. But looking a bit closer reveals a far different story and a race performance that Hamilton will remember for some time to come. It started in Saturday qualifying where the Brit had to “dig far deeper than ever” to pip teammate Valtteri Bottas to the coveted pole position by a mere margin of 0.086.

    Hamilton led off the line easily enough as Max Verstappen nearly snatched second from Bottas. Nevertheless, Bottas 2.0 was never going to yield into turn one and held his position around the outside of Sainte Devote (Turn one). Behind the first three Sebastian Vettel made a clean start to maintain fourth on the road. Charles Leclerc, following a strategy blunder in qualifying by Ferrari, didn’t have the same luxury and was forced into taking major risks to advance through the field after starting fifteenth. He pulled off a move on Lando Norris for thirteenth before, on lap seven, sending his car up the inside of Rascasse and past the Haas of Romain Grosjean. It proved one lunge too many though for the Monegasque driver who tagged the wall while attempting to put the same move on Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg. While he did get going again a right-rear puncture caused his tyre to delaminate and destroy the floor of the car which eventually put him out of the race. As pieces of Leclerc’s floor littered the circuit it prompted the appearance of the Safety Car on lap eleven.

    The top four, Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen, and Vettel, all took the pitlane for fresh tyres but it was Bottas who would pay the biggest price. The Finn was slow into the pitbox to allow service to Hamilton first, which allowed Verstappen to be released perilously close to the Mercedes. So close in fact that he nudged Bottas into the pitwall and caused a puncture. Verstappen netted second on the road but it was clearly an unsafe release for which the stewards awarded an especially light penalty of five seconds. It was especially lenient when considering that it not only compromised Bottas’ race but also caused a collision in the pitlane amongst a plethora of mechanics.

    With 67 more laps to go Verstappen, Vettel and Bottas had fitted the hard compound tyre with the clear intention of making it to the chequered flag without making further trips to the pitlane. Hamilton however was fitted with the medium compound tyre with the same intention of not pitting again. As the race continued Hamilton became more and more worried about the state of his tyres. At one point, on lap 50, he deemed them completely “dead” and said there was no way he could hold of Verstappen who was harassing the rear of the Mercedes.

    But true to Monaco track position is king and despite a late lunge up the inside of the Nouvelle chicane Verstappen was never able to overtake the race leader. Despite the near impossibility of overtaking in Monaco Hamilton’s drive shouldn’t be undervalued. The sheer amount of mental strength required for Hamilton to maintain his position despite driving on treacherously worn down tyres is off the charts. “That was probably the hardest race I’ve had, but nonetheless I really was fighting with the spirit of Niki.”Said Hamilton.

    monacosunday3-210734Verstappen finished second on the road but due to his five-second penalty was demoted to fourth on the timing sheets. Sebastian Vettel salvaged second in yet another difficult weekend for Ferrari while Valtteri Bottas took the final step on the podium.

    Pierre Gasly took fifth and the fastest lap in his Red Bull while Carlos Sainz scored a brilliant sixth place finish for McLaren. Toro Rosso teammates Dannil Kvyat and Alex Albon were seventh and eighth as Daniel Ricciardo was ninth after a penalty for crossing the pit-exit line dropped Romain Grosjean to tenth. It was forgettable day for Alfa Romeo Racing as Kimi Raikkonen finished a lowly 17thin his 300thgrand prix weekend. Though overtaking is at a premium here there appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel, no pun intended, for Williams as George Russell finished an encouraging fifteenth on merit.

    As it turns out Hamilton confirmed after the race that despite the multitude of radio messages pitting was never on the cards. I wasn’t going to come in – I was either going to crash or finish. Honestly, I was driving around on nothing.” Hamilton’s drive to win the Monaco grand prix was a master-class of precision and mental strength that must be rightfully lauded. And to boot he extend his championship to seventeen points over teammate Bottas heading to the Canadian grand prix in two weeks time.

    All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport
  • F1 2019: Monaco Gp Preview – Win or Bust for Ferrari

    F1 2019: Monaco Gp Preview – Win or Bust for Ferrari

    Formula 1 cars have raced through the sun-kissed streets of Monte Carlo every year since 1950. Decade after decade it the Monaco grand prix stood proud as the jewel in F1’s crown. All the legends have won here from Juan-Manuel Fangio to Sir Jackie Stewart to Ayrton Senna to the great Michael Schumacher. And it is unquestionably the grand prix victory that drivers want in their CV.

    More recently it hasn’t done must to endear itself to modern-day F1 fans. And it isn’t because these fans are a lot of whingers either. It isn’t even that in an over-saturated world that they are easily bored, as some would have you believe. Most, if not all, of these fans appreciate and laud the sport’s venerated history and speak in awe of decades gone by.

    The utter precision and bravery that it demands to fling these marvels of design and engineering through the barrier-lined streets is a feat so outrageous it shouldn’t be possible. But it is. And year after year Formula 1 shows up and proves it possible. As gloriously insane a spectacle as that is it simply isn’t conducive anymore to what modern F1 fans yearn for. There is a great hunger for wheel-to-wheel racing, for overtaking, for edge-of-the-seat racing that leaves you, simultaneously, stunned and exhilarated. And this is nothing something that the Monaco grand prix can deliver anymore.

    Monaco F1 Grand Prix - RaceSeveral decades ago the story was different but with modern F1 cars it just isn’t feasible. The width of the cars alone makes overtaking in Monaco, already at a premium, nearly impossible. This means that Saturday qualifying dictates Sunday’s race, barring unreliability. In the recent past, 2016 to be precise, leader Nico Rosberg drove deliberately slowly and still no one was able to overtake the then Mercedes driver. Off the track, for which the action starts on Thursday, it is the place to be seen. Here you can rub shoulders with the rich and famous provided you have the right invite or the ability to cough up an exorbitant amount of money to make it into the paddock or onto one of the luxury yachts.

    The reality is though that most F1 save for months, even years, to make it to a racetrack somewhere in the world and hardly entertain the thought of being able to attend a grand prix on the French Riviera. It seems nearly unthinkable to imagine an F1 calendar with the Monaco grand prix. But what it even more inconceivable is that those who tend to the sport do not take into account what the fans want and can afford.

    Monaco Grand Prix 2014 Safety CarFor the foreseeable future there is a Monaco grand prix and this weekend someone will again loft the famous first place trophy into the air as the winner. In recent years Mercedes have struggled with equal tyre warm-up across both axles of their car. However, recent form in Singapore, also a street-track, suggests that they have begun to get on top of the issue. Valtteri Bottas will be interesting to watch here, as Monaco has never been a strong circuit for the Finn. It’s a good place then to show that new-for-2019 Bottas is not only a force to be reckoned with but also a bonafide championship contender.

    Red Bull won here in 2018 with Daniel Ricciardo despite a loss of power. It could well be Max Verstappen’s chance to shine on the famous streets provided he can keep his Red Bull out of the barrier – a feat he didn’t accomplish in 2018.

    For Ferrari, as in Spain, it’s win or bust. Anything other than the top step of the podium will be devastating to their championship aspirations that are already hanging by a catastrophically thin thread.