Otmar szafnauer and vettel

With the French GP absent from the 2023 calendar, Jean Alesi has hit out at what he believes is the “politics” behind its removal. The French Grand Prix was one of the seven circuits in the inaugural season of Formula 1 and remained a near permanent fixture on the calendar up until 2009. The race was brought back for the 2018 season but is again absent from the 2023 schedule with no sign of a second comeback any time soon. Getting any race on the F1 calendar can be a political minefield but nowhere does that seem more true than in France with the host of the grand prix frequently being shifted depending on whose voice was loudest. In total, seven different tracks have held the race and in 1991, the venue moved from Paul Ricard to Magny-Cours as the French Federation of Automobile Sport sought to increase attendances. The centrally located Paul Ricard is 600km south of Magny-Cours. But in 2018, the race returned to Paul Ricard after the French government refused to subsidise … [Read more...] about Jean Alesi blames ‘politics’ for end of French GP, not the circuit

Red Bull pair Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez have joined the driver backlash to the FIA’s new controls over political statements. The FIA caused something of a stir when they introduced a new ruling which stated that any personnel would need their prior permission to make religious or political statements during an FIA-sanctioned event. The likes of Valtteri Bottas and former F1 driver Sebastian Vettel, the latter a leading F1 activist in his final few years on the grid, have both spoken out against the ruling, and now Verstappen and Perez can be added to the list. Verstappen said that while he is not usually one for speaking out, he finds it “unnecessary” to bring in a ruling designed to stop it. “I think firstly, you know, everyone’s different, some people are more outspoken than others,” he told Sky Sports F1. “I’m normally not that outspoken on that, because first of all, it’s tough as a racing driver to be fully committed to that as well in terms of going into … [Read more...] about Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez latest F1 drivers to disagree with FIA’s political statement clampdown

Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson enjoyed his wild ride at Bathurst when he got behind the wheel of the RB7. As the 2023 staging of the Bathurst 12 Hour played out at Mount Panorama, there was time in the schedule for Lawson to take the RB7 for a spin. At the hands of Sebastian Vettel, the RB7 became a title-winning Formula 1 car back in 2011, but it was sporting less downforce for Lawson’s demo run at Mount Panorama. That being said, Lawson had expected to be in for a rougher ride. “Just crazy,” said Lawson in reflection with Speedcafe.com . “Just really crazy. “The first lap was honestly very daunting going up the hill with all the elevation, and I was quite nervous. “But by the second lap I actually got quite comfortable and the car was really good, so I loved it. “At points it was a bit rough, but for a Formula 1 car on this place, I expected it to be worse, just felt cool, just felt really cool. “Down Conrod, we were completely flat and was through The Chase, … [Read more...] about Liam Lawson takes in ‘really crazy’ Bathurst Formula 1 car run with Red Bull

On the back of Ferrari’s strongest Friday – and Red Bull’s weakest – for many months in Hungary, cynical observers questioned just how Ferrari would manage to end up being beaten to pole position on Saturday. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free As it turned out, those expectations were well founded. But it was not Max Verstappen who denied Carlos Sainz Jnr and Charles Leclerc pole position at the Hungaroring and nor was it Sergio Perez. It was not even the man with the most poles in the history of Formula 1 – Lewis Hamilton. Instead, Ferrari were stunned by George Russell , who delivered a fantastic final lap to deny Sainz and take a shock maiden pole position of his career, despite not setting a single fastest sector in the process. For Mercedes, it was a stunning turnaround from their poor Friday – and no one was more stunned than the team themselves. “It’s a total unknown,” Russell admitted. “We’ve turned the car upside down since yesterday.” … [Read more...] about Is Mercedes’ mystery “big step forward” enough for Russell to beat Ferrari? · RaceFans

The first dry qualifying session of 2014 saw Mercedes continue their monopoly on pole position this year – though this time it was Nico Rosberg , not Lewis Hamilton, on the top spot. But while a Mercedes front-row lockout was predicted by most, there were some interesting upsets and incidents throughout the rest of the field that could also be heard playing out over team radio. Romain Grosjean has often sounded unhappy on the team radio this year but for once his frustration wasn’t directed at his uncompetitive Lotus. Grosjean fumed at Adrian Sutil who got in his way during Q1, for which the stewards later penalised the Sauber driver . An unusual message from Valtteri Bottas pointed to a new kind of problem for drivers to cope with. It appears he was directed onto the weigh bridge between sessions and when a marshal turned his steering wheel to manoeuvre his car they accidentally changed some of his settings . Sebastian Vettel complained of gear change problems … [Read more...] about 2014 Bahrain GP qualifying team radio transcript · RaceFans

The only surprising thing about Mercedes’ sweep to a front-row lockout in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix was that it was their first of the season instead of their third. They won the first two races comfortably and seem to have a slightly larger performance advantage in Bahrain – perhaps because the circuit doesn’t play to the strengths of Red Bull, who until now have been their closest competitors. But while Bahrain’s switch to a night race may mean cooler temperatures for the grand prix, no team is exempt from the ever-present concerns about the reliability of these complicated new power units. Most drivers are using the same engine for the third race running this weekend. As they can only use five complete power units for the 19-race season, most of their engines will have to do four grand prix distances, and if they reach the chequered flag they will be well on the way to achieving that. It was at this stage of their engines’ lifespans during testing that the … [Read more...] about 2014 Bahrain GP pre-race analysis: Reliability may decide – F1 Fanatic

His beloved Buffalo Bills may not be there but Daniel Ricciardo has picked out his favourite for the Super Bowl. When he is not busy driving fast cars around the circuit, F1’s Ricciardo is known for being quite the sport enthusiast, especially when it comes to American ones. In the past, he has shown his love of UFC but he is also a huge NFL fan, regularly attending games when he can and being a big Buffalo Bills fan. February 12 sees the biggest game of the season when the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs for the Super Bowl at the State Farm Stadium in Arizona and while his beloved Bills are not going to be there, Ricciardo revealed he would be in attendance. “I’m actually going to be there next week, which is really cool,” Ricciardo told media including PlanetF1. “So that’s another perk about not racing this year. The upside is I will get to do some fun things which deep down I’ve wanted to do for a long time and scratch some itches.” In terms of who he … [Read more...] about Daniel Ricciardo makes his prediction ahead of Eagles v Chiefs Super Bowl showdown