Red flag f1

Formula 1 heads to Sochi for the 10th round of the world championship this weekend following yesterday’s news that the sport will soon have a new CEO. Can Domenicali expect a warm return? Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free As RaceFans revealed yesterday evening, Stefano Domenicali is to return to Formula 1 as CEO in place of Chase Carey . He’s well-known and well-liked, but will Ferrari’s rivals have concerns over another former figure from the team taking a senior position in the sport? After all, last year Ferrari said it opposed the potential appointment of Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff to the same position. However Wolff was still in charge of Mercedes at the time, whereas Domenicali stood down at Ferrari six years ago. Will Sochi produce another procession? Of course the expectation was also that Mugello would not produce an exciting race. But with two red flags, two standing restarts and more overtaking than was predicted, a lively … [Read more...] about Will teams welcome Domenicali as F1 boss? Seven Russian GP talking points · RaceFans

Exactly 15 years on, I recall the scene clearly. Ron Dennis, then McLaren’s head honcho, heading stone-faced down the US Grand Prix grid, stopping one by one beside selected peers – six in total – as he twirled an upward-pointed index finger in a single circle before mock-slicing his throat with said digit. Significantly, Dennis did not acknowledge Jean Todt, then Ferrari’s team boss, tending his top car, placed fifth on the grid. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Each of Ron’s respondents nodded silently in return, faces set grimly as their eyes locked with Ron’s, the gesture clearly having been pre-arranged, and the unsaid implication crystal clear to each of the team bosses. Tellingly, they all sported a Michelin logo on their team gear. As my gaze followed him down the grid it dawned on me that this sign language spelt disaster for F1; that the single finger meant ‘one’; the circling mimed a lap, with the throat ‘cut’ being F1-speak for ‘kill engine’. My … [Read more...] about Indygate remembered, 15 years since F1’s six-car fiasco · RaceFans

A group of protesters who broke onto the Silverstone track posed a risk of “serious harm” to F1 drivers and marshals, a court has been told. Five protesters invaded the track during the opening lap of the 2022 British Grand Prix and sat on the Wellington Straight as the cars went by. The event was largely overshadowed by Zhou Guanyu’s dramatic crash on the first corner but could have been much worse had the cars not been travelling at red flag speeds. On approach, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was heard saying on the radio “what are these guys doing? Look at these spectators coming onto the track.” The five protestors, two women and three men, sat down on the track just as the AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda passed by. They were then dragged off the circuit by marshals as Esteban Ocon drove past. The on-board footage of both drivers was shown to a jury at Northampton Crown Court during the prosecution’s opening speech, as was Lewis Hamilton’s who passed by shortly before the protestors … [Read more...] about Just Stop Oil protesters risked ‘serious harm’ to F1 drivers, court told

As tensions continue to mount in the on-going war-of-words between the FIA and Formula 1, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has reminded F1 bosses “the championship is ours and we have only rented it out.” The Formula 1 World Championship has, to some degree, two bosses, or to use Otmar Szafnauer’s turn of phrase, “two popes”. They are the FIA, motorsport’s governing body, and Liberty Media, who own the series’ rights having bought a controlling interest in the Formula One Group in early 2017. While the FIA’s mandate is to ensure safety and enforce the rules, the Formula One Group is in charge of all commercial affairs. But right now the two parties are at loggerheads over just about everything to do with the sport. PlanetF1 recommends Forget Red Bull v Mercedes v Ferrari, another battle looks set to dominate in F1 2023 Who is Mohammed Ben Sulayem? Everything you need to know about the FIA president F1 entry fee: Why do new teams have to pay a whopping $200m fee to … [Read more...] about FIA president reminds F1 bosses: ‘The championship is ours, we have only rented it out’

Just one week before revealing Max Verstappen’s new RB19, Red Bull have teased a “blank canvas” livery that has fans speculating about a refreshed 2023 design. The Formula 1 World Champions are set to reveal the machine Verstappen and Sergio Perez will pilot for their defence of the Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles on February 3, with a launch event planned in New York. The RB18 will be a tough act to follow after the Austrian team’s 2022 concept sped into the history books as one of F1’s most dominant cars, propelling Verstappen to a single-season record of 15 Grand Prix victories. We’ll have to wait until the Bahrain pre-season tests to begin on February 23 for a slight indication of the new Red Bull’s pace but fans are wasting no time speculating about its aesthetics. The teaser released by Red Bull on Friday shows an all-white RB19, the livery completely untouched apart from their title sponsor’s trademark charging bull. The social media post is simply captioned: “Blank … [Read more...] about A new-look RB19? Red Bull tease ‘blank canvas’ with social media post

The 2012 driver rankings continue with part two, which take us up to the top five. 14. Felipe Massa Beat team mate in qualifying 2/20 Beat team mate in race 0/17 Races finished 19/20 Laps spent ahead of team mate 70/1081 Halfway through the season Massa appeared at number 22 in these rankings, so 14th represents a significant gain following his disastrous first half of the season. Massa never mastered the F2012 when it was at its worst the way Alonso did. In Malaysia he dropped back from his team mate at a rate of over two seconds per lap and was almost lapped by him at the end. In Spain, as in Malaysia, the next car behind him at the finish was a Caterham. As the Ferrari improved Massa made faltering progress. There were still wasted races in Canada (spin), Germany (went off during qualifying) and Singapore (collided with the other Caterham). While Alonso only failed to reach Q3 twice, Massa missed out in half of the races. But there were also … [Read more...] about 2012 F1 Driver Rankings part two: 14-6 · RaceFans

Lewis Hamilton was shown the black-and-white flag during the Malaysian Grand Prix for weaving in front of Vitaly Petrov. He didn’t receive a penalty, but was warned not to repeat his actions. It’s been a long time since anyone was shown the “unsportsmanlike driving” flag – and its appearance in today’s race is a sign the addition of experienced racing drivers to the stewards’ office is having an effect. There is no written rule on what a driver who is defending his position is allowed to do. But it’s generally accepted they are allowed to make “one move” off the racing line and a subsequent move back towards the racing line as they approach the next corner. Hamilton obeyed this principle when he first passed Petrov at the end of lap five. Then Petrov re-passed him. But when Hamilton got past the Renault driver again at the end of lap seven, his defensive tactics clearly went beyond what is normally accepted. As they crossed the line to start lap eight Hamilton crossed … [Read more...] about Drivers as stewards make presence felt as Hamilton gets black-and-white flag · RaceFans

Aston Martin won’t join the fight for race wins nor the World Championship titles if they “just replicate” what their rivals are doing. That’s the opinion of technical director Dan Fallows. The Silverstone-based team last won a grand prix in 2020, Sergio Perez taking the chequered flag at the Sakhir race. That season the team raced a pink Mercedes, the RP20 drawing heavily from Mercedes’ 2019 championship-winning W10, so much so that Renault protested the car. The protest was upheld as the RP20 was found to be using illegal brake ducts with the intellectual property for those belonging to Mercedes. The team was fined €400,000 and docked 15 constructors points. Two years later, with the team racing under the Aston Martin moniker, questions were again raised about the car when the team debuted Red Bull-esque bodywork at the Spanish Grand Prix. The FIA, having banned reverse engineering car designs after 2020, cleared them of any wrongdoing. “The investigation, which … [Read more...] about Aston Martin: Copying Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes won’t get us anywhere

Every year the mantra of Melbourne is that the first race of the year tends not to give an accurate impression of the season to come. Last year Adrian Sutil led a chunk of the race and Kimi Raikkonen won it – two things which never happened again. Albert Park is something of an outlier as F1 circuits go. It’s a temporary facility which isn’t shaped in the derivative mould of more recent additions to the calendar. It tends to produce unusual results. That counts double when qualifying is disrupted by rain, as happened on Saturday. And again when many teams arrive at the first race of the year with so much potential still untapped in their new designs. But the emphatic, assured manner of Nico Rosberg’s cruise to success affirmed every suspicion around Mercedes pre-season test form. They are in very strong shape indeed, and in the opening phase of the season the contest for victory is likely to be exclusively between their two drivers. Engine failures sideline champions … [Read more...] about Australian GP: Rosberg beats home hero Ricciardo – F1 Fanatic