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Ferrari has announced another change in a senior position within the company with the arrival of Lorenzo Giorgetti as chief racing revenue officer. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Giorgetti will report to CEO Benedetto Vigna, and arrives at the team while continuing to be part of the Global Esports Federation’s board. Prior to that he was the chief commercial officer at Italian football club AC Milan and worked at the RCS Media Group leading the commercial management of its sports portfolio. He joins Ferrari seven years after the company was publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange. “With his experience and leadership, Ferrari will further develop long-term collaborations with our sponsors across all sport activities, including the emerging Esports world, and with our passionate global fan community,” said Vigna. Ferrari’s racing activities have also expanded for 2023, with the F1 and GT racing programmes now joined by an entry into the World … [Read more...] about Ferrari hires Esports expert as racing revenue officer · RaceFans

Two statistics lay bare the astonishing impact Covid-19 has had on Formula 1. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free First, since the pathogen intensified its spread across world in March almost half this season’s scheduled 22 races have been cancelled or (optimistically, in the view of some) postponed. Second, the obligatory annual team shutdown – usually a three-week break in summer – has now been in place for three times as long. Although speculative calendars are increasingly doing the rounds, these count for nought as long as authorities restrict the movement of people across the world. What use is a calendar which schedules races in countries which refuse to admit foreigners or make concessions for sport activities? The pandemic’s effect on the 10 teams has been disastrous . Most have furloughed staff, some are expected to be ‘retrenched’, ‘de-hired’ or similar, while a number of independent teams have availed themselves of advances on future F1 revenues … [Read more...] about Why the pandemic’s economic impact on F1 goes far beyond a disrupted calendar · RaceFans

After hiring former Pro Bowl linebacker and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans as head coach last week, the Houston Texans have wasted no time pursuing potential coordinators. Some early candidates started to emerge shortly after Ryans was hired, with 49ers offensive passing game coordinator Bobby Slowik, Cincinnati Bengals receivers coach Troy Walters, New England Patriots tight ends coach Nick Caley, New York Jets safeties coach Marquand Manuel and San Francisco defensive pass game specialist and secondary coach Cory Undlin being linked to the job prior to last Thursday's introductory press conference. According to KPRC's Aaron Wilson , the Texans have recently requested permission to interview Washington Commanders secondary coach Chris Harris for their defensive coordinator position as well, in addition to Manuel. Ryans described the type of coaching staff is looking to build while speaking with the media last week, while not providing any … [Read more...] about Houston Texans coordinator search: Candidates to be next OC, DC

Verdict 9.0 / 10 Unlike some of its competitors, Honda has no intention of giving up on the sedan market. Its Accord and Civic are today’s most popular vehicles for first-time buyers, Generation Z, and Hispanic customers, and the automaker isn’t about to cede that crown by abandoning the segments that made it a household name in the US. But tastes and environmental sensibilities demand some evolution, which is why the 2023 Accord is leaning heavily into electrification. Although not a fully electric vehicle (yet), the redesigned sedan is ditching the lusty turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder in its top trims, with an efficient hybrid powertrain taking its place. Although the base LX and slightly better-equipped EX trims soldier on with Honda’s adequate 1.5-liter turbo, every other model (Sport, EX-L, Sport-L, and Touring) now comes exclusively with the hybrid powertrain. I’ll freely admit that Honda’s decision to go heavy on electrification had me a bit skeptical … [Read more...] about 2023 Honda Accord First Drive Review: Hybrid-Heavy Honor Roll

Alfa Romeo have unveiled their new car for the 2023 season but former racer turned pundit Martin Brundle believes there is a problem with it. In a change from last season’s offering, Alfa went for a predominantly black car with a shade of the company’s red across the top. The new livery, which was unveiled at the team’s Switzerland base on Tuesday, received the approval of the fans but one expert believes there could be a problem when it takes to the track. Brundle has been a long-time pundit on Sky Sports F1 so knows what he is talking about when it comes to how cars will look both on the track and on people’s TVs, and believes the black plus the carbon finish will make it an issue. “Love the back of the rear wing,” Brundle tweeted. “This new low weight carbon finish is becoming very prevalent in F1, weight limit drops by 2kgs this year and most teams were struggling before. “But this car will be hard to see on TV or trackside on an overcast day.” PlanetF1 recommends … [Read more...] about Martin Brundle spots a problem with Alfa Romeo’s new C43 livery

After a title fight that faded out almost as soon as it began, Ferrari are “working relentlessly” to get back into the fight says CEO Benedetto Vigna. Ferrari’s 2022 championship and it’s, at times, comedy of errors nature has been widely dissected not only by the media but Ferrari themselves. Taking up the reins following Mattia Binotto’s resignation, new team boss Fred Vasseur told the media in his first briefing that he’s “in the process of reviewing everything”, the Frenchman not afraid to make changes down the line if he feels it is necessary. But while Ferrari’s strategist bore a significant portion of the blame last season, they weren’t alone when it came to make errors. Ferrari’s mechanics botched a few pit stops, the drivers crashed, the engine was unreliable and the car was overweight. All of that, Vigna hopes, has been resolved over the winter. PlanetF1 recommends Christian Horner explains reason for snubbing ‘flattering’ past Ferrari offers Watch epic … [Read more...] about Ferrari CEO wants the ‘ultimate prize, second is the first of those who have lost’

Although Sebastian Vettel has been given more time to decide if he will stay on as a GPDA director, a successor may soon need to be chosen. The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association acts as the trade union for the F1 drivers and was particularly important at the Saudi Arabian and Japanese Grands Prix last year. With former F1 driver Alex Wurz as chairman, he has three directors to work alongside which are currently George Russell, lawyer Anastasia Fowle and Vettel. The four-time World Champion has been in the role since 2010 but with him now stepping away from the sport, there are question marks as to whether he will stay on with the GPDA. But if he does choose to step away, who will take over? Here at PlanetF1.com, we’ve taken a look at five likely candidates for the role. Valtteri Bottas Following Vettel’s retirement and Daniel Ricciardo’s departure from the grid, Bottas became the active driver with the fourth highest number of race starts behind only Fernando Alonso, Lewis … [Read more...] about Five ideal candidates to replace Sebastian Vettel as GPDA director

Christian Horner says floor tweaks imposed by the FIA this season to minimise porpoising came at “quite a lot of expense” and were “probably not needed”. Making the change from over-car airflow to ground effect aerodynamics last season, many of the teams were caught out by porpoising. Some more than others. While Red Bull, their RB18 designed by Adrian Newey who is said to be able to ‘see air’, had hardly any bouncing, their 2021 title rivals Mercedes had it to the extremes. Such was the ferocity of the W13’s porpoising, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell complained of back pain, head aches with Hamilton also saying “there’s a lot more bruising after the races nowadays”. But with Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff advocating for the FIA to get involved, citing long-term health concerns, Horner said if his RB18 had the same problem he’d also be telling his drivers “ to bitch as much as they could over the radio and make as big an issue out of it as they possibly could”. As … [Read more...] about Christian Horner rues having to spend on porpoising floor changes that were ‘probably not needed’