Aston martin e red bull

Wanting more from Aston Martin after falling behind Mercedes in Spain, Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack has confirmed that “something is coming” for the Canadian Grand Prix. Off the podium at his home race in Barcelona, Alonso wasn’t dejected by the result but instead determinedly said that “it will not happen again” and that Spain was Aston Martin’s “last race without podiums”. But with Mercedes having taken a notable step forward with the introduction of their B-spec W14, Alonso is facing tight competition for that final spot on the podium. In Spain it went to Mercedes where Lewis Hamilton and George Russell capitalised on an off-weekend for Sergio Perez to finish 2-3 behind race winner Max Verstappen. Alonso has made it clear he not only wants that to be a one-off but he wants to be fighting Verstappen for the race wins, and soon. “I think that in two weeks we will see a completely different picture and, hopefully, we will fight with the Red Bulls soon,” he said. “In … [Read more...] about Aston Martin tease ‘something is coming’ to rival Mercedes upgrades

At last week's Spanish Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell scored a double podium after the Brackley team's comprehensive upgrade package delivered a solid step forward. While Hamilton still finished 24 seconds behind dominant winner Max Verstappen , Mercedes' W14 was the second-strongest car on the high-downforce circuit, providing the team with a solid baseline to continue its recovery. The double podium also elevated Mercedes above Aston Martin to second place in the constructors' standings. But Shovlin, the team's trackside engineering director, expects the Canadian Grand Prix to be a more difficult weekend for the Silver Arrows due to the low-downforce nature of Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, which is the polar opposite of the Barcelona circuit that its revamped 2023 car was competitive at. "The fact is that the update kit works very well around circuits like Barcelona with a lot of high-speed performance," Shovlin said in Mercedes' post-race … [Read more...] about Mercedes: Canada a “bigger challenge” than Barcelona for upgraded F1 car

The SF-23 has been quick over one lap in qualifying thus far this season, but has usually lost out to Mercedes , and often Aston Martin as well, over a race distance. That pattern was repeated in the Spanish GP, where Carlos Sainz qualified second but was jumped by both Mercedes drivers, as well as the Red Bull of Sergio Perez , in the race. Vasseur believes that Ferrari will be able to challenge Mercedes in races once it has solved its issues. "I think as soon as we will unlock the situation with consistency we can imagine to fight with them all over the race," he said. "With Red Bull it's another story, especially with [Max] Verstappen. He is still much faster than us in quali, much faster in the race." He insists that Ferrari is keeping up with Mercedes in the development race as both teams strive to catch Red Bull. "An upgrade when you increase the potential of the car, we are speaking about the top," he said. "You have to think that Mercedes, they are not … [Read more...] about Vasseur: Ferrari can fight Mercedes once F1 consistency issues are solved

With Charles Leclerc baffled by the inconsistent Ferrari SF-23, ex-Red Bull driver Mark Webber foresees trouble for the team in the present time and beyond as they work on future developments. Ferrari introduced their new-look SF-23 challenger for the Spanish Grand Prix, which most notably featured reworked sidepods to follow a concept more in-line with that of the dominant Red Bull team. But, while rivals Mercedes seemingly took a clear step forward with their alterations, the same was not true for Ferrari, Carlos Sainz finishing P5 while Leclerc managed only P11 after starting from the pit lane, following a shock Q1 exit in qualifying. Speaking after the race, Leclerc, wide-eyed in confusion, admitted he does not understand what is going wrong with the SF-23, a car that has already been described as peaky, which is therefore not giving the drivers confidence to push at the limit. Leclerc though said the inconsistency has spread to a point where comparing his first and last … [Read more...] about New ‘double concern’ identified for Ferrari amidst SF-23 struggles

Toto Wolff is reportedly “not convinced” Mercedes’ new sidepod concept is better than the zero-pod design but the team changed it anyway, says F1 journalist Christian Menath. Having run a zero-pod design, dubbed that because of the lack of bulk to the sidepods, Mercedes won just one race in 28 in F1’s new ground effect aerodynamic era. But while the team stayed true to their philosophy even after last season’s disappointment, team boss Wolff conceded at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix that the team would probably not win a race without radical changes. Those changes included axing the zero-pods, although that wasn’t the only new part on the W14 at the Monaco Grand Prix with the team also introducing a new front suspension and floor. It’s the latter that from Motorsport-Magazin’s Menath believes it the key to Mercedes’ upturn in form. “What is a concept? You’ve heard that question from the Mercedes engineers quite a lot,” he said on the F1 Nation podcast. “They now have … [Read more...] about ‘Toto Wolff still not convinced the new Mercedes sidepod concept is the better one’

With Fernando Alonso still going very strong over 40, Nico Rosberg used that as inspiration to discuss his time as team-mate to Michael Schumacher when he returned to F1. Schumacher initially called time on his legendary Formula 1 career after the 2006 campaign, by which point he had broken a plethora of records with the jewel in the crown being his status as a seven-time World Champion. But after a Ferrari return in 2009 to cover for the injured Felipe Massa was thwarted for Schumacher by a neck injury, the German racer secured a return to Formula 1 for 2010 as he and Nico Rosberg became team-mates at the new Mercedes team. Schumacher’s return lasted three seasons, though did not feature anything like the success of his past, with a P3 finish at the 2012 European Grand Prix and setting the fastest qualifying lap in Monaco that year serving as the highlights. Having turned 41 in his first Mercedes season, he bowed out at the age of 43. And now Alonso, who ended Schumacher’s … [Read more...] about Nico Rosberg reveals Michael Schumacher’s adaptation struggles upon F1 comeback

Carlos Sainz sees that Fernando Alonso is leading the popularity vote in their native Spain, but he perfectly understands why. In recent years it has been Sainz at the forefront of Spain’s Formula 1 hopes as a Ferrari driver, winning for the first time at the 2022 British Grand Prix, that a season where he also claimed a further eight podium finishes. All the while Alonso was fighting to pick up the scraps in the midfield-running Alpine, but with his F1 2023 switch to Aston Martin thrusting Alonso back into the podium scene, his fans back in Spain, where he and Sainz both hail from, are out in full enthusiastic force once more. Alonso has featured in five of the seven podiums so far this season, with a P2 in Monaco representing his best result, and though he was unable to get near the top three at the most recent attempt, his home race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the support of the home crowd did not waver. Sainz though made it clear that there is no feeling of … [Read more...] about Carlos Sainz responds to jealousy suspicions over Fernando Alonso popularity

Now seemingly on the right path with their car’s development, Damon Hill has told Mercedes to do “really badly” for the rest of this season in order to gain extra ATR [aerodynamic testing restrictions] allowance for 2024. After much speculation, Mercedes arrived at round six of this year’s championship with a B-spec W14, one that no longer featured zero-pods but instead had bulk on the sides for the first time in F1’s new ground effect aerodynamic era. Already the changes, which it must be noted also included a new floor and front suspension, are paying off with the team securing a double podium at the Spanish Grand Prix where Lewis Hamilton was second to George Russell’s P3. The result created cause for optimism, Mercedes now dreaming of closing the gap to Red Bull and becoming the team that ends their winning streak. But even if they win a race, or four, the championship trophies are all but Red Bull’s as, barring disaster, they hold a 135-point advantage in the … [Read more...] about Damon Hill’s ‘absolutely stupid policy and strategy’ to assist Mercedes in 2024

Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon have a complicated past, but working together at Alpine is proving to be “very easy” according to Gasly. When Fernando Alonso announced that he would be departing Alpine at the end of 2022 to switch to Aston Martin, Alpine made the move to prise Gasly away from the Red Bull fold and create an all-French driver line-up as he became team-mate to Ocon. There were some eyebrows raised regarding this news though, considering it is rather well-documented that the pair of Normandy natives have not always been the best of friends in the past. Or as Gasly terms it, they have certainly had their “ups and downs”. Seven rounds of the F1 2023 campaign have now passed though and there has been no sign of tempers flaring between the duo, Gasly instead talking up the efficiency of their Alpine partnership. “We’ve known each other since we were nine years old, 18 years ago now,” Gasly told Mundo Deportivo . “Obviously we know each other very well and we have … [Read more...] about Pierre Gasly discusses bitter rivalry with Esteban Ocon and current dynamic