Good year auto

The Grand Prix Trust, an organisation which exists to help F1 team staff who have fallen on hard times, held a reunion lunch at Silverstone on Monday, bringing members together for the first time since the Covid-19 outbreak. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The organisation was set up by Sir Jackie Stewart over three decades ago, when it was originally known as the Grand Prix Mechanics’ Charitable Trust. Among its 10 trustees are its chairman Martin Brundle , F1 motorsport director Ross Brawn, former Williams designer Sir Patrick Head and Red Bull’s sporting director Jonathan Wheatley. A registered charity, the trust provides help and advice to F1 team personnel and others directly involved in the sport, including those who have worked for companies in the F1 supply chain for at least two years. Over more than three decades it has helped hundreds of F1 team staff and their families who have been affected by injury, ill health or loss of income. The … [Read more...] about How the Grand Prix Trust is reaching out to F1 team staff seeking support · RaceFans

The FIA’s clampdown on drivers wearing jewellery and non-compliant underwear prompted a mixture of criticism and derision from competitors. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Lewis Hamilton turned up at an FIA press conference in Miami wearing every item of jewellery he could lay his hands on, while Sebastian Vettel briefly sported a pair of boxer shorts on the outside of his overalls before one session. However Grand Prix Drivers Association chairman Alexander Wurz recently gave his full backing to the FIA’s tough new line. He described how he learned the importance of following the rules after speaking to former sportscar racer Kris Nissen, who was badly burned in a crash in 1988. Nissen, now 61, told RaceFans he believes strongly that today’s drivers should follow the FIA’s requirements on fireproof clothing. He suffered burns to more than a third of his body when his Porsche 962 sports-prototype car crashed at Fuji and caught fire. He joined … [Read more...] about Interview: “Totally ridiculous” not to follow FIA underwear rules · RaceFans

The first team principal to run Max Verstappen in Formula 1 is “convinced” he will win the championship this weekend. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Franz Tost described how he had been impressed by Verstappen’s mental toughness from his first practice outing for his team, at the age of 17, at no less a track than the formidable Suzuka . “I knew him from the very beginning onwards and he was already mentally strong in those days,” Tost recalled in an exclusive interview for RaceFans. “Because if you remember right there were many people who criticised us to sit him in the Formula 1 car because he was only 17 years old, and even didn’t have a driver’s licence.” Ahead of Verstappen’s practice debut at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, Tost says some journalists told him he was “completely wrong” to put such a young driver in his car. “I said to them let’s talk in five years once more, I think it’s right. In the end it was right.” After Verstappen made … [Read more...] about Verstappen was mentally tough from his first day in an F1 car – Tost interview · RaceFans

Formula 1 drivers are optimistic the revised layout of the Yas Marina will improve overtaking opportunities during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free This weekend’s race is the first to take place on the significantly revised track, with a series of alterations at key points designed to improve overtaking opportunities. The old chicane of turns five and six leading to an acute hairpin has been replaced by a single, wider hairpin which will now have just a single braking zone and allow drivers to carry more speed. At the opposite end of the circuit, the previous sequence of turns 11, 12, 13 and 14 have been combined into a single, constant-radius corner now known as turn nine. The corner has been installed with positive camber, to encourage better mid-corner grip and provide more lines of attack for drivers to take. Furthermore, almost every corner in the final sector around the track’s hotel landmark has been made shallower, … [Read more...] about Yas Marina corner modifications earn early praise from drivers · RaceFans

Haas is planning to bring a significant upgrade for the French Grand Prix, team principal Guenther Steiner has confirmed. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Several of the teams’ rivals are expected to run upgrades at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix. But the Haas drivers will have to wait another seven races for the team’s first significant change to its car. “You will see when we bring the upgrade it’s everywhere,” said Steiner. “We will make a nice package. I wouldn’t say ‘everywhere’, that’s exaggerated, but quite a big one. It’s not just a turning vane or something like this, it’s quite a few changes.” However Steiner said it is difficult to estimate what kind of gains the team expect to see from its Paul Ricard upgrade. “It’s not only the upgrades, it’s also you understand the car better,” he explained. “You make improvements. “Especially this year it’s difficult to say with the bouncing because if you have bouncing you are really slow. Then if … [Read more...] about F1: Haas drivers face seven-race wait for team’s ‘quite big’ upgrade package · RaceFans

AlphaTauri’s biggest weakness compared to their rivals is their lack of aerodynamic efficiency, Pierre Gasly says. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Gasly currently sits 13th in the drivers’ championship after five rounds on six points – ten fewer than he had scored after the first five races of 2021. The team’s best result of the season came from the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, where Gasly’s team mate Yuki Tsunoda finished in seventh place. Asked by RaceFans what area of the team’s AT03 is in greatest need of improvement, Gasly pointed to the car’s aerodynamic efficiency. However he stressed a solution would not be coming in the short term as the team “don’t really have any anything in particular for this weekend” in terms of upgrades. “I think we know it’s mainly aerodynamics,” Gasly said. “We know that’s the main thing. “It’s mainly trying to find more load from the floor, trying to be more efficient, less drag and more load on the car. It’s wind … [Read more...] about No short-term fix for AlphaTauri’s aerodynamic deficit – Gasly · RaceFans