Indy 500 starting grid

Adrian Newey referred back to a key early lesson from his Fittipaldi Automotive days to rid Red Bull of their bouncing issues with the very first upgrade. The new regulations for 2022 marked a huge shift in the challengers gracing the grid as Formula 1 returned to ground effect aerodynamics, an era which has been aced so far by Red Bull with Newey at the helm of the design team. The RB18 already set an incredible standard with 17 grand prix wins out of 22, a level of dominance only taken to new heights in F1 2023 with the RB19, Red Bull having accounted for 15 of the 16 victories so far this season. Adrian Newey set Red Bull course with swift porpoising fix A key sticking point for several teams at the start of this new regulatory era was a bouncing phenomenon known as porpoising, a characteristic which held Mercedes back in particular with their W13 through the first half of the 2022 campaign. For Newey and Red Bull though, only one upgrade was needed for the opening race … [Read more...] about How Adrian Newey’s incredible F1 mind fixed Red Bull’s porpoising issues

Nyck de Vries’ exit from Formula 1 was watched by those around him with anguish. His childhood dream, which he spent his career working towards, ended far more quickly than he must have expected after starting what was supposed to be his first full season. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Red Bull made the tough decision to replace him after less than half a season, placing Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri before the Hungarian Grand Prix. On paper it made sense: Despite his team mate Yuki Tsunoda having just two points on the board at the time, De Vries was yet to get off the mark and had made some costly errors on-track. The axe fell after three tough races finishing near the back in Canada, Austria and Great Britain. Losing his seat before the halfway mark in the championship, shortly before his home race, seemed particularly tough even for the cutthroat world of Formula 1. Lewis Hamilton , Charles Leclerc, Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon all spoke out … [Read more...] about De Vries ready to fight for Formula E titles again after “hurt” of losing F1 drive

Kokubu has been a mainstay at the Japanese manufacturer for over three decades, having joined Honda in 1986, working on its MotoGP project and even briefly in Formula 1. He did not travel to India last week and is also not present at Motegi for the Japanese Grand Prix, and will most likely be followed in a few months by Tetsuhiro Kuwata, who has a more administrative than technical role. Kokubu's time with Honda in MotoGP is especially significant, having been responsible for the chassis of the RC211V raced by the marque in 2003 right at the beginning of the four-stroke era of the premier class. With that chassis, Honda won two world championships with Valentino Rossi and a third with Nicky Hayden before the RC212V was introduced for 2007 at the start of the 800cc era. In 2008, Kokubu was appointed as project leader of the RC212V and became technical director in 2012, before taking on the role as general manager of Honda's technical and development division in 2016. … [Read more...] about Honda makes significant technical reshuffle amid Marquez MotoGP future uncertainty