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Listen to this article Ferrari bounced back from two difficult years to return to race-winning form in 2022, scoring a 1-2 at the opening race in Bahrain and three further victories in the first half of the season. A key factor in Ferrari's return to form has been its engine gains, which helped the team make up a big performance gap to the Mercedes , Honda and Renault-powered cars from the past couple of years. While it was difficult to know just how good the F1-75 car was until the opening race of the season, the engine numbers coming out of Maranello indicated Ferrari had made a big step forward - beyond anything Binotto had seen before. "We had some more clarity on the power unit, yes, because we knew where we were on the power unit, the regulations were consistent," Binotto told Motorsport.com in an interview. "On the power unit, we set big numbers in terms of objectives. And what I've seen that we have been capable of developing during last season for 2022 on … [Read more...] about Ferrari’s F1 2022 engine gains greatest for more than 25 years

Listen to this article Mercedes failed to regularly challenge Red Bull and Ferrari at the front of the pack through the first half of this season as it struggled with porpoising and bouncing on its W13 car. The team opted for a different design route compared to the rest of the field, chasing a slimline sidepod solution that was dubbed the 'zeropod' when it debuted in Bahrain testing. As the season progressed, Mercedes gained a better understanding of its car and the issues it faced, paving the way for George Russell to score pole in Hungary at the end of July. Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin explained Mercedes was "not wanting to go down the route of just copying the fastest car that we could see", instead taking a long-term view with its car concept. "When you look at the long-term future as a team through a set of regulations, if you don't understand it, copying will only get you so far," Shovlin told Motorsport.com. "The most sensitive … [Read more...] about Why Mercedes steered clear of an F1 car concept revamp despite early struggles

Listen to this article Brabham made its last world championship Formula 1 start in the 1992 Hungarian Grand Prix. Future world champion Damon Hill scraped his BT60B onto the back row of the grid and finished last, four laps down, before financial issues forced the team into obscurity. The Brabham family, of course, raced on, but that seemed the end of the road for the constructor that Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac had founded three decades earlier. David Brabham, son of Jack, was busy carving out his own racing career in the 1990s, one that would yield two Le Mans 24 Hours class wins and outright success with Peugeot, plus titles in the All-Japan GT Championship and American Le Mans Series. But he never forgot about the team he had briefly raced for in F1 in 1990, a time he says brings "painful memories". "That's when it started to go wrong I think," says Brabham. "Middlebridge had bought Brabham and wanted me to drive in the F1 team. The year before, they had a great … [Read more...] about How one of F1’s greatest names was revived

Listen to this article F1's switch to ground effect cars as part of its radical technical regulations overhaul for 2022 has seen the return of vertical oscillating – or porpoising – on straights. The bouncing has caused problems for a number of teams – chiefly Mercedes – sparking calls for changes on safety grounds, which has led to a stand-off for months between outfits over the issue. Having been previously discussed by the WMSC, those changes have now been approved. As previously reported , from the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of the month the FIA will monitor the phenomenon and will introduce changes to the stiffness requirements of the underfloor plank and skids. And from 2023, the edges of the car floors will be raised by 15mm, while the diffuser throat height will also be raised and its edges stiffened. Read Also: Brain damage risks shows FIA must act on F1 porpoising, says Wolff F1 cannot risk "NFL situation" by not acting on porpoising - … [Read more...] about F1 porpoising and roll hoop rules changes ratified by FIA

Listen to this article The latest teaser for Bugatti's upcoming debut promises the vehicle is "the last of its kind." The special model debuts at The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering, during Monterey Car Week at 10:20 AM Pacific time. The teaser video shows a sideways V-shaped taillight that leads to a horizontal lamp. If we could see both taillights, then we'd expect them to create an X-shaped layout on the vehice's tail. The first teaser (below) was similarly enigmatic . It had the message "unlock an icon." The accompanying picture showed a stack of illuminated bars. The image have shown one of the vehicle's headlights. Calling this vehicle an "icon" and "the last of its kind" only adds to the mystery because the styling cues visible in the teaser images don't seem to match up with any current Bugatti. This makes us wonder if the company is referring to something different by saying this is the final model of its type. See all the news about the Pebble Beach … [Read more...] about Bugatti Teaser Promises “Last Of Its Kind” Debuting August 19