Ex-Ferrari driver Jean Alesi believes that their true competitor is not the Red Bull team, but their design chief Adrian Newey. For 2022 Formula 1 introduced sweeping changes to the Technical Regulations, which saw the cars return to ground-effect aerodynamics for the first time since the early 1980s. And it was Red Bull who mastered the new rules, dominating to take a title double, their first since 2013. Red Bull started the season at a similar performance level to Ferrari, perhaps even slightly slower, but Red Bull’s development path saw the RB18 grow into the leading challenger, thus adding another title-winning masterpiece to the collection for Newey. Therefore, Alesi, who drove for Ferrari between 1991-1995, believes it is Newey directly who Ferrari are fighting against as his former team look to mount a fresh title challenge in 2023. “If we really look at how things stand, the real factor to consider is Adrian Newey,” Alesi is quoted by RacingNews365.com as having … [Read more...] about Jean Alesi: It is now Adrian Newey versus Ferrari in F1, not Red Bull
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Toto Wolff gives hope to Mick Schumacher over potential F1 grid return
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff thinks Mick Schumacher has the potential to follow in Nyck de Vries’ footsteps in his quest to return to the F1 grid. Schumacher was aiming to head into a third year driving for the Haas team after first making his F1 debut in 2021, but the powers-that-be at the American outfit decided to cut him in loose, favouring a more experienced line-up with Nico Hulkenberg joining forces with Kevin Magnussen. With a lack of available options to try and retain his place on the F1 grid, Schumacher has been forced to settle into a reserve driver role for the F1 2023 campaign. However, the fact he has landed at Mercedes will have gone an awful long to cushioning the blow. Mercedes had an opening in the reserve driver slot after Nyck de Vries’ services were acquired by the Red Bull team, placing the Dutchman in the sister outfit of AlphaTauri alongside Yuki Tsunoda for the 2023 season. De Vries put himself firmly on the F1 radar following a superb debut performance … [Read more...] about Toto Wolff gives hope to Mick Schumacher over potential F1 grid return
Zak Brown shows not every F1 team boss is against Andretti’s F1 bid
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown went against the trend of team bosses and showed his support for the Andretti-Cadillac F1 bid. While the consensus among the teams’ higher ups has largely been against the arrival of an additional team, with the fear of a potential loss of income, Brown and McLaren have been one of the few voices in support of Andretti. Perhaps given the American connection with Brown hailing from Los Angeles and Andretti based out of Indianapolis, it came as no surprise to see the strong relationship between the two parties, resulting in Mario Andretti being given a ride in the 2021 McLaren car ahead of the US Grand Prix. That relationship moved a step further still when Andretti announced their partnership with General Motors who also supply McLaren’s IndyCar team. But despite this new partnership, Formula 1 bosses remain far less convinced than their FIA counterparts and as the Andretti Group prepares their application for the Expression of Interest process, … [Read more...] about Zak Brown shows not every F1 team boss is against Andretti’s F1 bid
Steiner: “A lot of margin” for F1 race control to improve after “nonsense” calls
Listen to this article F1's governing body, the FIA, restructured its race control operations last year in the wake of the Abu Dhabi controversy at the end of 2021, with changes including the appointment of two race directors. But it did not stop the decisions from race control becoming a big talking point throughout the 2022 season, especially over its use of the black-and-orange flag, policing of track limits and deployment of recovery vehicles at the Japanese Grand Prix. By the end of the season, the FIA had ended its rotation of race directors, although president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has since indicated it will return to having multiple officials filling the role this year. Earlier this week, the FIA also announced that highly-respected team manager Steve Nielsen had joined as its new sporting director as part of an overhaul of its F1 management structure. But Haas team principal Steiner felt there was room for improvement with race officiating in F1 heading into … [Read more...] about Steiner: “A lot of margin” for F1 race control to improve after “nonsense” calls
F1 explains plan for active aero to improve racing for 2026
Listen to this article F1 overhauled its technical ruleset for the 2022 season in a bid to reduce the amount of downforce lost when cars were following each other, allowing them to get closer and attempt more overtakes. The changes were widely praised by the F1 drivers, while Pirelli reported the number of overtakes in F1 had risen from 599 over the 2021 season to 785 last year. But attention is already moving towards the next major technical rule changes, due in 2026 when F1 also introduces its next generation of power units. Active aerodynamics are being evaluated as a way to improve the efficiency of the cars, but they could also be used to influence the competition on track and stop runaway wins. Speaking at Autosport International last week, F1 chief technical officer Pat Symonds said the following performance of the 2026 cars would be "even better than the '22 cars". DRS is set to remain part of the rules package, but Symonds explained how the active … [Read more...] about F1 explains plan for active aero to improve racing for 2026
Carlos Sainz Jnr nailed the F1 qualifying argument · RaceFans
Formula 1 motorsport director Ross Brawn made it clear yesterday he is determined to carry on with plans to evaluate changes to the race weekend format in 2020 . Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free It’s not been decided yet exactly what form his “experiments” will take. Some of the rumoured proposals are quite radical, including using a system of mini-races to set the starting positions for Sunday’s main event, and using a reverse grid for those races. Brawn insists there has been “positive” feedback to the plan to trial new formats at a small number of races next year. He previously spoke of how he’d like to use non-championship races to evaluate such changes. But adding yet further rounds when the 2020 F1 calendar already boasts a record 22 races is a non-starter. So the experiment must take place during championship rounds. Testing the changes next year would make sense, says Brawn, because most other aspects of the regulations will remain unchanged, … [Read more...] about Carlos Sainz Jnr nailed the F1 qualifying argument · RaceFans
Brawn: Italian GP shows why F1 needs reverse grid races · RaceFans
Formula 1 motorsport director Ross Brawn says the Italian Grand Prix shows why the series should consider introducing reverse grid races. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Brawn unsuccessfully tried to introduce reverse grid sprint races for three rounds of the 2020 F1 season . He revealed the Italian Grand Prix was one of the events which the format was under consideration for. “Monza was a candidate for a reverse grid sprint race when we were considering testing the format this year,” said Brawn. “Unfortunately, we could not move forward with it, but the concept is still something we and the FIA want to work through in the coming months and discuss with the teams for next year.” Brawn’s attempt to introduce reverse grid races this year was thwarted as the unanimous support of the teams was required to introduce it. Two teams, Mercedes and Racing Point, opposed the plan. However changes to Formula 1’s governance process following the signing of the new … [Read more...] about Brawn: Italian GP shows why F1 needs reverse grid races · RaceFans
Rear floor change means teams need “front-to-back” aero rethink for 2021 · RaceFans
Formula 1 cars will be slower next year because of the changes being made to their rear floors, Racing Point’s technical director Andrew Green believes. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free New regulations for 2021 will force teams to reduce the floor area in front of the rear wheels. This is being done to reduce how much downforce the cars will generate to ensure they do not over-stress their tyres, as F1 will continue to use Pirelli’s 2019-specification rubber next year. “It was really a directive from the FIA that if we were going to carry these cars for another year, and postpone what was the 2021 regulations and move it to 2022, we can’t have a huge step in performance,” said Green. “We need to be limiting the development so that the development of the car peaks this year and we don’t we don’t sail past it in 2021. “So for that reason we’ve made a change to the aerodynamic technical regulations and we’ve taken a slice of real estate out of the floor in … [Read more...] about Rear floor change means teams need “front-to-back” aero rethink for 2021 · RaceFans
FIA extends Pirelli’s F1 tyre contract by one year · RaceFans
The FIA has agreed to extend Pirelli’s contract as the official sole supplier of tyres to Formula 1 by one year. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free A meeting of the World Motor Sport Council confirmed the decision to extend Pirelli’s deal until the end of 2024. Pirelli, which has supplied F1’s tyres since 2011, was chosen over rival bidder Hankook when the contract last came up for renewal . Whereas previous contracts were offered over a three-year period, the latest tender covered four years, from 2020 to 2023. The longer deal was a result of the planned move to 18-inch wheels for the 2021 season. Extending the deal to four years was intended to give the successful bidder a three-year window to recoup the developments costs associated with the 18-inch rubber. However the introduction of 18-inch tyres was postponed to 2022 last year as a cost-saving measure due to the pandemic. The FIA has therefore taken the decision to extend Pirelli’s contract by a … [Read more...] about FIA extends Pirelli’s F1 tyre contract by one year · RaceFans