Christian Horner has revealed that attention at Red Bull is already beginning to turn to their 2024 car, with 15 races still to go in 2023. The team have won seven races out of seven to begin the campaign, with the RB19 proving to be the dominant force on the grid and Max Verstappen leading the Drivers’ Championship by 53 points as it stands. Red Bull are already the runaway leaders in the Constructors’ Championship as well, with a tight fight behind breaking out already to be best of the rest – but both titles already look to be something of a foregone conclusion, barring a huge change in fortune. While the team’s penalty for breaching the 2021 budget cap will see Red Bull even less able to utilise their wind tunnel facilities compared to their rivals in 2023, the advantage they have over the rest of the field may make such a penalty seem immaterial at this moment in time, with the race behind being simply to catch up. If attention is turning to Red Bull’s 2024 challenger … [Read more...] about The Christian Horner reveal that spells both good and bad news for rivals
Christian drama team names
‘Toto Wolff still not convinced the new Mercedes sidepod concept is the better one’
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’
WEC 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours starting grid · RaceFans
Ferrari will lead the grid for the 100th anniversary Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend with its pair of 499P prototypes. Here is the full grid following the qualifying and hyperpole sessions. Pos No. Class Team Car Drivers Time 1 50 Hypercar (H) Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P Antonio Fuoco/Miguel Molina/Nicklas Nielsen 3’22.982 2 51 Hypercar (H) Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P Alessandro Pier Guidi/James Calado/ Antonio Giovinazzi 3’23.755 3 8 Hypercar (H) Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Sebastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley /Ryo Hirakawa 3’24.451 4 75 Hypercar (H) Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 Felipe Nasr /Mathieu Jaminet/Nicholas Tandy 3’24.531 5 7 Hypercar (H) Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Mike Conway/ Kamui Kobayashi /Jose Maria Lopez 3’24.933 6 2 Hypercar (H) Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R Earl Bamber/Alex Lynn/Richard Westbrook 3’25.170 7 5 … [Read more...] about WEC 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours starting grid · RaceFans
Le Mans 24h: Calado puts Ferrari top in final practice session
Taking over the #51 Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar that Alessandro Pier Guidi drove to second in Hyperpole, Calado whisked to a time of 3m27.275s shortly before Jean-Eric Vergne ’s #93 Peugeot 9X8 LMH brought out the red flags when it stopped between the two Mulsanne Chicanes. The one-hour session was restarted with 20 minutes still on the clock, but there were few noteworthy improvements thereafter as Calado’s benchmark time held. Calado was 1.003s faster than Esteban Gutierrez in the Le Mans-only #709 Glickenhaus-Pipo 007 that will start the World Endurance Championship blue riband from 14th. Gutierrez was in turn 0.162s faster than the Jota Porsche 963 LMDh campaigned by Will Stevens , which missed qualifying on Wednesday due to an electronic problem. Kevin Estre improved to fourth after the red flag in the best of the factory Penske-run Porsches, his #6 machine usurping the Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R of Alexander Sims . Jose Maria Lopez … [Read more...] about Le Mans 24h: Calado puts Ferrari top in final practice session
What are LMH and LMDh? The top Le Mans 24 Hours series explained
That’s two different rulebooks to which a manufacturer can build a car for the top category of the series. So on the 16-stong Hypercar entry for Le Mans this year there are nine LMHs and six LMDhs. What is LMH and LMDh? LMH stands for Le Mans Hypercar, a rulebook that has been in force in the WEC since 2021. LMDh is new for 2023, but you’ll never see the name written out, it’s not officially an acronym. But it is easy to guess what the letters mean given that the class was formulated by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest at Le Mans and IMSA based at Daytona in the USA. That little ‘h’ on the end refers to the fact that these cars, like their LMH rivals, incorporate hybrid technology. The two types of car are very different in some respects, but actually very similar in others. What’s the difference? LMH allows a manufacturer to design and develop its own car from top to tail - or rather from the nose to the tail. That includes all elements of the hybrid system, which, if … [Read more...] about What are LMH and LMDh? The top Le Mans 24 Hours series explained
Hunter-Reay to replace Daly at ECR from Road America
Hunter-Reay was a full-time driver in the IndyCar Series until he lost his DHL-backed Andretti Autosport drive to Romain Grosjean last year. He returned to the series at Indy last month, finishing 11 th in a one-off start for Dreyer and Reinbold. He will drive ECR's Chevrolet-powered #20 entry in place of Daly, whose departure from the team was announced yesterday , from the Road America race on 16 June. "I was surprised when I got the call from Ed," said Hunter-Reay. "He described how frustrated he was that his team has not been able to realize its potential despite their efforts, investments, as well as technical and personnel changes over the past few years and asked for my help. "Ed and I are very close friends and have been for a long time. I've worked with the team in the past and they are a very talented group with high expectations and a committed partner in Bitnile.com." The 42-year-old Texan, who now resides in Fort Lauderdale in Florida, has 18 career … [Read more...] about Hunter-Reay to replace Daly at ECR from Road America
Nico Hulkenberg pinpoints what he would rather have ‘other way around’ at Haas
One-lap pace is great, but Nico Hulkenberg would happily trade that in for a Haas challenger which shines in race trim. The German racer emerged as one of the surprise candidates excelling over a single lap at the Spanish Grand Prix, taking the Haas VF-23 into Q3. He would finish that session P8, though gaining a spot on the grid due to Pierre Gasly’s pair of impeding penalties, Hulkenberg went into race day seemingly well placed to end a run of three races in a row without points. Such hopes failed to materialise though in dramatic fashion, Hulkenberg forced into a three-stop strategy at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and ultimately finishing P15, while Kevin Magnussen in the other Haas crossed the line P18. It was a race where team boss Guenther Steiner claimed Haas simply could not “keep the tyres alive” on this challenging circuit for tyre degradation, and Hulkenberg would happily give up the one-lap performance to fix these race day struggles. “I’d rather have it … [Read more...] about Nico Hulkenberg pinpoints what he would rather have ‘other way around’ at Haas
Carlos Sainz responds to jealousy suspicions over Fernando Alonso popularity
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