Aston martin vantage gte

Former F1 driver Anthony Davidson says Red Bull have yet to feel the effects of their budget cap penalty, and when it does hit Aston Martin could rapidly close the gap. Red Bull have been the pick of the field this season, the RB19 comfortable the quickest car with Helmut Marko putting their advantage at a “second” per lap in race trim. It saw Max Verstappen win the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix with a margin of 38s to the nearest non-Red Bull car, Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin, while race winner Sergio Perez was 15s ahead of the Spaniard in Saudi Arabia. Scoring 87 of a maximum 88 points with their back-to-back 1-2 results, Red Bull are 49 points ahead of Aston Martin but it’s an advantage they may not be able to maintain as the season progresses given their budget cap penalty. Red Bull went into 2023 already facing a deficit on the aerodynamic test restrictions scale given they’re the reigning World Champions, but that was reduced by a further 10 per cent as … [Read more...] about ‘Red Bull worried the handbrake is coming and Aston Martin could find another second’

Sebastian Vettel has said an F1 comeback was “never an option” when Lance Stroll was a doubt ahead of the season opener in Bahrain. Vettel retired from Formula 1 at the conclusion of the 2022 season, after spending two years with the Aston Martin team. Citing a desire to spend more time at home with his young family after a hectic life of travel and commitments as a four-time World Champion, Vettel made it clear his intention for 2023 is to do as little as possible and see what opportunities he’d like to pursue in the future. But a tranquil start to retirement could have been interrupted very early on, as Vettel’s 2021 and ’22 teammate Lance Stroll injured himself in a cycling accident just before pre-season testing began in Bahrain. With Vettel having only just left the team and still as race-sharp as anyone, if perhaps a little less physically fit overall after a winter without F1-specific training, the possibility appeared realistic that Aston Martin could make a play for … [Read more...] about Sebastian Vettel had no temptation for F1 comeback after Lance Stroll injury

Fernando Alonso doesn’t agree with Lewis Hamilton’s view on Red Bull’s dominance, saying the seven-time World Champion has a ‘short memory’. After being overtaken by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen with ease at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix two weeks ago, it prompted Hamilton to label the RB19 ‘the fastest car I’ve ever seen in F1’, and suggested Red Bull’s dominance is even greater than what Mercedes managed at the peak of their success between 2014 and 2021. “I’ve definitely never seen a car so fast,” he said. “I think when we [Mercedes] were fast, we weren’t that fast. I think it’s the fastest car I’ve seen, especially compared to the rest.” But Alonso doesn’t agree with his former McLaren teammate’s opinion, taking the opportunity to make a joke about the seven-time World Champion’s age after making the comments. “I don’t agree at all,” the 2005 and 2006 World Champion told French publication L’Equipe when asked about Hamilton’s opinion on Red Bull. Fernando Alonso: Lewis … [Read more...] about Fernando Alonso jokes about Lewis Hamilton’s ‘short memory’: He’s getting old!

Max Verstappen secured pole position for the Australian Grand Prix ahead of the two Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton as Sergio Perez went off early in Q1. The Red Bull driver took half a second out of his own provisional pole time on his final run in Q3 to secure the top spot on the grid while the Mercedes drivers secured second and third with Fernando Alonso fourth. Perez will start last on the grid for tomorrow’s race, barring any penalties, after he skidded off track on his first push lap in Q1. Q1 Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free A brief rain shower less than 20 minutes before the start of qualifying had threatened to affect the opening phase. But all of the cars that waited at the end of the pit lane for the green light to appear queued up on slick tyres. The Williams FW45s of Alexander Albon and Logan Sargeant led the field away as Q1 began, while the five teams in the top half of the constructors’ championship opted to remain in … [Read more...] about Verstappen beats Mercedes drivers to pole after Perez slips up in Q1 · RaceFans

Does Formula 1 really need three hours of unrestricted practice on a grand prix weekend? Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free In F1’s endless meandering between whatever contentious topic is currently dominating discussions in the media pen as well as backroom meetings in the paddock, it’s now the turn of Friday’s free practice sessions to come under scrutiny. Regardless of how traditionalists may feel, it seems the era of three unrestricted hours of running each race weekend may not be long for this world. It’s ironic, then, that despite two sessions taking place around Albert Park on Friday, there is such little meaningful data to use to paint a true picture of how the rest of the Australian Grand Prix weekend is likely to play out. Through a tumultuous blend of a green track, GPS glitches causing traffic problems, plus red flag disruptions and rainfall, teams found themselves more unsure than usual about their performance after Friday’s practice day. Fast … [Read more...] about Ferrari enjoy “most positive” Friday yet but don’t expect to challenge Red Bull · RaceFans

Fernando Alonso was quickest in a rain-interrupted second practice session in Melbourne ahead of Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The Aston Martin driver set the fastest time early in the session before rain began to fall around the 15 minute mark, which put a stop to any further improvements on the timing screen. Alonso’s 1’18.887 put him almost half a second quicker than Leclerc’s Ferrari. With clouds drifting over Albert Park threatening rain before the session began, the temperature had dropped significantly compared to the opening hour of practice as the second hour of running got underway. With a 40% risk of rain expected, there was a rush of cars onto the circuit as the green light appeared at the end of the pit lane, drivers dicing for track position over the first two sectors of the lap to secure a clear track to start their runs. Carlos Sainz Jnr won the race to start the first flying lap and he duly set the … [Read more...] about Alonso leads Leclerc as rain interrupts second practice · RaceFans

When asked why he had committed to McLaren – allegedly until end-2024 – by RaceFans during an interview in Monaco on Thursday, Lando Norris listed the team’s plans to build a new wind tunnel as one of “a combination of a few things over the past couple of years that we’ve done, but then also things that we have coming up in the future. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free “I guess having our own wind tunnel is one of the biggest things,” he continued, adding, it would be much easier for “the guys and girls who travel all the way to [Toyota’s facility in] Germany every time and go to the wind tunnel, spend time in isolation, there for three weeks, come back and spend time in isolation again and so on. We lose a lot of time compared to other teams who are able to do it a lot quicker.” Wind tunnels are extremely costly pieces of kit, not only to install but also to maintain and operate. A team is unlikely to obtain much change from $60 million (£42.4m) for a … [Read more...] about McLaren are building a new wind tunnel, so why do they support banning them? · RaceFans

Listen to this article After a light rain shower had hit the Albert Park track just ahead of the one-hour session getting underway and with the C4 softs holding on for multiple laps but requiring multiple warm-ups to be at their best, the Melbourne crowd was treated to an action-packed session. After being fuelled to run for huge chunks of laps at a time in Q1 and Q3, most of the Q3 runners opted for two new tyre runs of five tours, with two fliers. Verstappen had led the way throughout but was reporting possible issues with his RB19's battery and transmission when he blasted in a 1m16.732s to secure pole with a few seconds left on the clock. That knocked back Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso , who was shuffled back to fourth by the last-gasp efforts of Russell and Hamilton. The younger Briton slotted in a 1m7.968s as the only other driver to join Verstappen under the 1m17s bracket, with his team-mate slightly adrift having had to jockey for position with Haas driver … [Read more...] about F1 Australian GP: Verstappen beats Russell to pole; Perez last

Listen to this article Verstappen will start ahead of the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3. Australian Grand Prix qualifying results: Verstappen on pole from Russell Cla Nº Driver Car / Engine Time Delay 1 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'16.732 2 63 George Russell Mercedes 1'16.968 0.236 3 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'17.104 0.372 4 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'17.139 0.407 5 55 Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1'17.270 0.538 6 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'17.308 0.576 7 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'17.369 0.637 8 23 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes … [Read more...] about F1 qualifying results: Max Verstappen takes Australian GP pole