Confirmed 2019 f1 drivers

Logan Sargeant has chosen the number he will race with when he makes his Formula 1 debut next year. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The Williams driver has selected number two. However he admitted it was not his first choice. Sargeant originally planned to race as number three. Daniel Ricciardo has used that number since the FIA allowed drivers to select them in 2014. Although Ricciardo will not compete in the 2023 season, the number three remains allocated to him “throughout his career in Formula 1″, according to the rules. The number will not be available for anyone else to use until two consecutive seasons pass without him entering a round of the championship. Sargeant has therefore chosen to use number two, which he last raced with in 2018, when he finished fourth in the Formula Renault Eurocup (pictured). “I used to run it in Formula Renault, and I had a pretty good season that year,” he said. The number two was last used by a driver in … [Read more...] about Sargeant to race in F1 using number two as Ricciardo’s three is unavailable · RaceFans

McLaren are running Oscar Piastri in their 2021 Formula 1 car at the Circuit de Catalunya this week as they prepare him for his world championship debut next year. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free It is the third time Piastri has driven for the team since joining them from Alpine, where he was a reserve driver. Alpine gave Piastri his first experience of contemporary F1 machinery in last year’s official post-season test day. As their junior driver Piastri drove two-year-old F1 cars in private tests from 2020 to halfway through this year, when he stunned the team by signing to race for McLaren next year. McLaren are now embarking on a similar programme to the one Piastri had as an Alpine junior. His first two-day test took place at Paul Ricard at the start of November in an unspecified older car, once an agreement had been reached to allow Piastri to depart Alpine early. He then drive the team’s current car in the only day of post-season testing at Yas … [Read more...] about Piastri tests 2021 McLaren F1 car in Spain · RaceFans

Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri says his company’s F1 team support the budget cap and have made “sacrifices” to help the smaller teams, because without doing so F1 would “slowly die”. From 2021 the sport will introduce new financial, technical and sporting regulations aimed at making F1 more competitive but also financially sustainable. A major part of that will be the $175million-per-season budget cap that will come into force, a cap which Ferrari could have vetoed but chose not to, seeing it as an important part of F1’s future. The 2020 season will see teams managing two projects as they aim to be competitive in that campaign while also preparing for 2021, and Ferrari have already confirmed that they have increased their budget significantly for this . But, at the same time Camilleri says Ferrari have made “sacrifices” to help the smaller teams, while he also thinks the negotiations for 2021 have helped to create a fairer financial landscape for F1 – the series wants to … [Read more...] about Ferrari warns F1 will ‘die’ without budget cap

Listen to this article Sargeant will make his F1 debut next year with Williams , replacing Nicholas Latifi after securing enough superlicence points through his rookie Formula 2 season to make the step up. Williams has now revealed that Sargeant will race with #2 as his permanent number in F1, becoming the second driver to use it since the system was introduced in 2014. The team made the announcement in a short social post on its channels on Wednesday with the hashtag #LS2. Sargeant was able to pick #2 as his number as more than two seasons have passed since it was last used by Stoffel Vandoorne , who raced with it during his stint at McLaren in 2017 and 2018. Williams team principal Jost Capito revealed over the United States Grand Prix weekend in October that Sargeant was in line for a seat in 2023 so long as he gained the required superlicence points. Sargeant passed the threshold by taking fourth place in the F2 championship at the Abu Dhabi season … [Read more...] about Sargeant picks permanent race number for rookie F1 season

Listen to this article Tuesday's announcement that Binotto would be leaving his role as team principal at the end of the season came following weeks of speculation he was being ushered towards the exit after 28 years. Ferrari said in the statement making Binotto's departure official that the process to find a new team principal was "underway" and "expected to be finalised in the new year." Alfa Romeo F1 boss Frederic Vasseur is the favourite for the job, with the links dating back several weeks as the rumours began to swirl in the paddock. But replacing the man at the very top of the F1 operation is not the only challenge that Ferrari chairman John Elkann and CEO Benedetto Vigna now face: they also need to find a new technical chief. Upon taking the reins at Ferrari in 2019, Binotto adopted an unconventional dual role running the team, as no replacement was promoted into his previous role as technical chief. Binotto rose through the ranks at Maranello after … [Read more...] about The added complication Ferrari faces in its hunt for Binotto’s F1 successor

Listen to this article However, he stressed that the team has to make steps next year, especially as the AMR23 will be the first car designed and built under technical director Dan Fallows and other key hirings. At the start of 2021, having taken over the Racing Point entry, Aston Martin set its sights on winning the world championship within five years. Aston had a tricky start to the 2022 season, with the cars regularly finishing just outside the points. Over the last few races, the team jumped from ninth to seventh in the world championship, narrowly missing out on sixth place. "From the way we started the year, I think we were behind schedule," said Krack of 2022's progress. "But I think we caught up quite well. I think in year three, we need to see a clear improvement, a clear step in terms of performance, and yeah, I would say we're on target. "I think it's a very impressive recovery. You clearly see the impact of people like Dan joining and others, mixing … [Read more...] about Aston Martin “on target” in five-year F1 plan but needs big step in ’23

Formula 1 fans will known later this week whether reverse grid qualifying races will take place next season with F1 bosses set to vote on it on Wednesday. In a bid to spice up the show, F1 owners Liberty Media want to introduce reverse grid qualifying races in 2020 . The plan is to run three – Paul Ricard, Spa and Sochi – as an experiment. Instead of qualifying as it is now, drivers will line up on a Saturday afternoon in reverse championship order and run a sprint race. The result of that will determine the grid for the Sunday grand prix. “If it’s not unanimous, it will not happen,” Haas team boss Guenther Steiner told Autosport . “And I don’t know if these people will be convinced, but that is a decision for Wednesday. “There was more than once that somebody didn’t want something, and then still it happened. “So I wouldn’t get ahead of myself and say it is not going to happen. There are people which have got opinions, concerns about it. “But the decision is on … [Read more...] about F1 set for crucial vote on reverse grids

Heading to Alpine with 10 penalty points on his super licence and with none expiring until after the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Pierre Gasly is staring down a potential one race ban if he hits 12. But, the driver has warned, he’s not the only one who could receive ban, saying as many as “four or five” drivers could be out for a race at some point. F1 introduced the penalty points system in 2014 in response to Romain Grosjean’s race suspension for triggering a multi-car pile-up at the start of the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix. It was the seventh lap one incident of his season. Under the system drivers accrue penalty points for indiscretions and any driver who bags 12 during a rolling 12-month period is automatically banned for a race. Gasly is knocking on that door, and hard. He has 10 to his name , although only four are for causing collisions, the other six relating to forcing a driver off the track, speeding in red flag conditions, exceeding track limits and not adhering to … [Read more...] about Pierre Gasly warns ‘five drivers could be banned’ due to penalty points

F1 managing director Ross Brawn says the series is “moving away” from the need to get unanimous agreement from all teams for rule changes. All ten teams on the grid have been required to agree in order for the series to make changes to its regulations, making that a very difficult task for management. In 2019 alone, the talks regarding the 2021 overhaul became drawn out with teams fighting with their own agendas, while an idea to have reverse-grid sprint races instead of traditional qualifying at selected events was turned down by the teams. The proposed system for 2021 is expected to change the situation and make it so that only a majority or super-majority –a seven-eight split – will be needed to pass a rule change. “We are moving away from this unanimity which has always blocked anything happening,” Brawn told The Guardian . “It has been counterproductive. We are moving away from the rigid, locked situation where things can’t change even when they are wrong. … [Read more...] about F1 ‘moving away’ from unanimous agreements