Legitimate expectation in administrative law

Reports of Red Bull’s reign of dominance over the 2023 season coming to an end have been greatly exaggerated. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free In a year when competition between their rivals behind has been as unpredictable as it has been gripping, Red Bull have routinely rocked up to paddocks across the globe only to crush all opposition with near-militaristic execution. Then, in Singapore, a rare stumble from the world champions offered hope that the Red Bull giant could indeed be toppled. Yet six days later, Red Bull and Max Verstappen reminded everyone just how powerful a combination they are when they stormed to pole position in Suzuka by one of the biggest margins of the season – and the largest for nearly 20 years at the famous Japanese circuit. Not that it was of any surprise to their opposition. “Our internal messaging was ‘expect them to be back out front when we get back to Suzuka’,” admitted Mercedes’ trackside engineering director Andrew … [Read more...] about Verstappen sitting pretty but unexpectedly hot track could cook up drama

George Russell said he’s “taken a step backwards” from Friday practice after qualifying eighth for the Japanese Grand Prix. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The Mercedes driver qualified three tenths of a second behind team mate Lewis Hamilton . The pair will share the fourth row of the grid, but were over a second away from pole position. Russell comfortably led his team mate in both Friday practice sessions at Suzuka. Yesterday he appeared to be in the hunt for second place behind eventual pole winner Max Verstappen , lapping close to the times set by the McLaren drivers and Charles Leclerc. However he admitted he didn’t get the best out of his car on Saturday. “There’s a sweet spot when it comes to circuits like this, which is very difficult to find and when you’re not there you can be quite far off the pace,” Russell explained. “We saw yesterday I was more competitive, we were much closer yesterday to the rest of the pack than we were today. … [Read more...] about Russell admits he “took a step backwards” after Friday practice

Carlos Sainz Jnr believes a late change to his car’s set-up compromised his qualifying result for the Japanese Grand Prix. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The Ferrari driver who took pole position for the last two rounds qualified sixth at Suzuka. His Q3 lap time was almost a second slower than that of pole winner Max Verstappen . After finishing Friday’s practice sessions second and fourth, Sainz attempted a different set-up for Saturday which affected his preparation on a circuit where he expected Ferrari would struggle. “We knew before coming here that this track would expose us a bit more with the high-speed characteristics,” said Sainz. “It was never going to be easy. I took the approach yesterday and this morning to try different things on the car. “By quali I saw it was not quite working, and we had to go back to a more basic set-up which in the end probably ended up compromising my quali preparation and my weekend in general.” Sainz was … [Read more...] about Sainz blames late set-up change for qualifying performance at Japanese GP

As Red Bull’s junior team, it’s unusual for AlphaTauri to give a new driver four consecutive seasons to prove themselves. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Whether in their current guise or previously as Toro Rosso, drivers either found themselves propelled upwards to Red Bull within a few seasons – as in the case of Max Verstappen , Sebastian Vettel and others – or quickly replaced, as Nyck de Vries discovered after less than half a season this year. The team has kept the faith with Yuki Tsunoda , however. This is despite a downward trend in his points-scoring which, of course, has more to do with the team’s decline in competitiveness than the quality of his efforts. Having scored 32 points on his debut in 2021 he took just 12 last year as the team fell behind several of its rivals in the first year knew technical regulations were introduced. That downward trajectory has continued so far this season, and Tsunoda has only scored three points from the … [Read more...] about The “big step” AlphaTauri saw from Tsunoda which earned him a new deal

Verstappen took pole at Suzuka by roughly six tenths ahead of McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris . Having both drivers in the top three was a huge result for McLaren, but at the same time, Stella felt it was humbling to see how much faster Verstappen was on the challenging layout, having hoped that his drivers would be closer to the Red Bulls. "We expected to be more competitive than Singapore," Stella said. "We were unsure as to whether this would have put us as second best team, or whether Mercedes and Ferrari would have been there with us. "We were pretty certain that Red Bull would have been the quickest car here, considering the track layout. "If you look at the overlays, Verstappen gains in every kind of speed range, so it's quite remarkable. It gives us again the measure about how much work we have ahead of us." He added: "In fairness, I would have expected to be a little closer. We are P2, P3, it's a good result for the team, but six tenths is a … [Read more...] about Stella: “Remarkable” Red Bull F1 gap highlights scale of McLaren’s work

Marquez’s existing deal with Honda covers the 2024 season, but in recent weeks has he become heavily linked to a shock switch to Gresini to ride a year-old Ducati amid ongoing difficulties with the RC213V in 2023. Following a difficult test at Misano earlier this month where the 2024 Honda prototype failed to perform as per his expectations, Marquez openly said he has three options at his disposal, without naming what exactly there are. Ducati sporting boss Paolo Ciabatti fuelled the Gresini rumour on Saturday at the Indian Grand Prix when the stated in a TV interview that the way is open for Marquez to join the Ducati satellite squad next year. Responding to comments from Ciabatti, Marquez said that doesn’t want to share his thought process as he finalises his plans for next year, but made it clear that he will take into account how his decision could impact others - including Honda. “Obviously, I heard about those comments,” he said following the Indian GP sprint race on … [Read more...] about Marquez will take Honda’s interests into account while finalising MotoGP future

The iconic figure-of-eight track has always been punishing on its rubber, but things could well be a bit more extreme this time around. Race day is expected to be another scorcher, and complaints that George Russell mentioned on Friday about a "strange" sliding have been caused by a track surface that has had a 15% drop in macro roughness (so effective grip) compared to 12 months ago. As Ferrari's Charles Leclerc said: "Especially with the very warm temperatures this year, the overheating is really, really bad. So, I expect that it [the race] will be all about the tyre management and the strategy." A two-stopper looks nailed on then, but it comes with not all teams having the luxury of what appears to be the ideal tyre allocation to get them through without much drama. F1 tyre supplier Pirelli thinks the best approach to the race is to start on the soft, run through until laps 12-18, and then split the rest of the grand prix up into two hard stints. But that is … [Read more...] about Are Red Bull and Ferrari on back foot for potential Japanese GP tyre wrecker?

Home Off beat -Irwin Mills By Irwin Mills Updated: Wednesday, September 20, 2023, 14:37 [IST] Former MotoGP rider, Loris Capirossi has shown his satisfaction with the quality of the altered race track at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) in Greater Noida. The special modifications have been done in preparation for the inaugural MotoGP round in India, taking place from September 22 to 24. The track at BIC, which had previously been a host to Formula 1 races between 2011 and 2013, has been adapted to fit the needs of MotoGP. Enhancements include wider gravel traps around the course to provide increased safety for riders in the event of an off-track incident. For the sake of the riders' safety, air fences and foam barriers have also been put into place. The Formula 1 track had 16 turns, but the modified track for MotoGP comprises of 13 turns, keeping intact the longest straight of the calendar which can have the racers touching the … [Read more...] about MotoGP India: Capirossi Approves Modified Track at Buddh International Circuit

George Russell believes Mercedes are facing a tough race on Sunday at Suzuka, admitting it’s not the best circuit for the W14. The British driver qualified in eighth place for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, just behind Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton – the swooping and flowing Suzuka circuit not playing to the strengths of the W14. Having been amongst the star performers at last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, the contrast from weekend to weekend – particularly with Red Bull resuming their usual position at the front of the field – had George Russell shocked after the qualifying session ended as he was 1.3 seconds slower than Verstappen’s pole time. George Russell: The drop down the field is a shock to the system Speaking to media after claiming his eighth place grid slot in what was a subdued qualifying session from Mercedes, Russell said that their final positions sum up where the car is in the pecking order at a track demanding huge aerodynamic efficiency. “I’d say it’s a … [Read more...] about George Russell ‘shocked’ after seeing gap to Red Bull after qualifying