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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’

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

Listen to this article Verstappen led the pack out of the pits at the start of FP2, but it was Carlos Sainz that set the first time to set the first place benchmark, the Spaniard putting in a 1m20.378s on the medium tyres to establish the first-place benchmark. A few minutes later, Verstappen beat this with a 1m19.759s while also running the mediums, before Sainz shot back ahead with his second lap to complete a 1m19.695s. But this only stood as the best time for a few moments as Alonso's first flier on the mediums resulted in a 1m18.887s for the Spaniard, which then stood as the leading lap for nearly all the session. This was because shortly before the first quarter of the one-hour session had been completed, rain began to hit Albert Park – most noticeably at the first corners where Verstappen had an early off catching snap oversteer running the rapid right and immediately following Turn 2 left. Just before conditions really worsened, Leclerc slotted into second … [Read more...] about F1 Australian GP: Alonso tops rain-hit second practice from Leclerc

Daniel Ricciardo has made some telling changes to his driving style during the four years he spent away from Red Bull, according to team principal Christian Horner. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The eight-times grand prix winner has returned to the team he raced for between 2014 and 2018. Ricciardo spent two years at Renault (now Alpine) and two more at McLaren in the interim. His McLaren spell ended in disappointment, as the team cut short his contract by a year due to poor performance. Ricciardo subsequently agreed to return to Red Bull in a test and reserve driver role and has already returned to work in their simulator. The Australian driver is attending his country’s round of the world championship with the team. “It’s great to have him back in blue,” said Horner in today’s FIA press conference at the track. “This is the first grand prix he is attending this year,” Horner continued. “He’s really throwing himself into it, sitting in all the … [Read more...] about Red Bull discovered “habits” Ricciardo picked up from other cars’ “limitations” · RaceFans

Listen to this article On Thursday, Perez stressed that he now feels he has an equal opportunity to succeed at Red Bull and is supported by the team. However, he added that before he arrived at Red Bull in 2021 "they were just going racing with two cars because they had to." The clear implication was that his immediate predecessors Daniil Kvyat , Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon did not enjoy the same level of support that he now enjoys as Verstappen's team-mate. However, Horner insisted that the team has never favoured one driver over the other. "Well, that's the first I've heard him saying that," said Horner when asked by Motorsport.com about Perez's comments. "We always have run two cars since we entered the sport in 2005. And we always want to have the best two drivers that we can in the car, and I think it's great to see Checo doing certainly a great job now. "In 2021 he came into the car off the back of the COVID season and at the end of a set of … [Read more...] about Horner counters Perez’s suggestions about Red Bull being one-car F1 team

Listen to this article On Thursday, Perez stressed that he now feels he has an equal opportunity to succeed at Red Bull and is supported by the team. However, he added that before he arrived at Red Bull in 2021 "they were just going racing with two cars because they had to." The clear implication was that his immediate predecessors Daniil Kvyat , Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon did not enjoy the same level of support that he now enjoys as Verstappen's team-mate. However, Horner insisted that the team has never favoured one driver over the other. "Well, that's the first I've heard him saying that," said Horner when asked by Motorsport.com about Perez's comments. "We always have run two cars since we entered the sport in 2005. "And we always want to have the best two drivers that we can in the car, and I think it's great to see Checo doing certainly a great job now. "In 2021 he came into the car off the back of the COVID season and at the end of a set of … [Read more...] about Horner counters Perez’s suggestion about Red Bull F1 being one-car team

Formula 1 is considering a change to the format of the first sprint race weekend of the year in Baku. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The series’ CEO Stefano Domenicali said earlier this week he wants more competitive sessions to take place during weekends. The sprint race format which was introduced at limited rounds in 2021 was one step towards achieving this. Under its current sprint weekend structure, F1 holds a qualifying session on Friday which sets the starting order for Saturday’s short race, which in turn decides the grid for the grand prix. However F1 is considering a revised format under which a second qualifying session would be held to decide the starting order for the sprint race. “In Baku we are talking about having a second qualifying in the moment,” Haas team principal Guenther Steiner explained. “We don’t know how we do it and if we do it.” One criticism of the sprint race format has been that it makes the second practice session on … [Read more...] about Second qualifying session under consideration for F1’s Baku sprint round · RaceFans

Christian Horner has refuted Sergio Perez’s claims of feeling like Red Bull only raced a second car ‘because they had to’ when he first joined the team. Speaking to media ahead to the Australian Grand Prix, Perez was talking about how he intends to bring a title challenge to Max Verstappen for an internal Red Bull fight, revealing how he felt the Milton Keynes-based squad only raced a second car because the rules dictated so. “I fully believe… certainly when I came to the team, things were very different,” he told media, including PlanetF1.com, on Thursday in Melbourne. Additional reporting by Michael Lamonato “Basically, they were just going racing with two cars, because they had to. I can say now that I really feel part of the team, I really feel like I have my place and am well-respected. “That’s something good to have as a driver and I really believe that I have the full support of the team as much as Max does and I will have every single opportunity to win the … [Read more...] about Christian Horner responds to Sergio Perez’s one-car team comments