Selfishness for success

When McLaren first announced in 2020 that Daniel Ricciardo would be joining them to fill the seat that would be vacated by Carlos Sainz Jnr for 2021, it seemed like the perfect match. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free McLaren were gaining an established grand prix winner with nine-and-a-half seasons of experience who had brought Renault back onto the podium multiple times during 2020. Alongside the highly promising talent Lando Norris, it would be hard to blame McLaren CEO Zak Brown and team principal Andreas Seidl for feeling very encouraged for the team’s future. But whatever McLaren, Ricciardo or the team’s legions of fans expected from having the Australian join the team, it would not have been a pattern of consistently underwhelming results and a total points difference of 102 between Norris and Ricciardo scored over 35 races together so far. With Formula 1 resting over the summer, rumours and reports indicate that McLaren are now actively looking to … [Read more...] about Would McLaren be right to drop Ricciardo for 2023? · RaceFans

Red Bull appear to be opening the door for Pierre Gasly to pursue other opportunities when his contract expires at the end of the 2023 season. Gasly finds himself bumping his head on a glass ceiling within the Red Bull programme, having worked his way up through the ranks and into the main senior team seat alongside Max Verstappen in 2019 only to be demoted to junior team again after just 12 races. The pathway back to the senior team for Gasly appears to be blocked as they have found a more solid option in the vastly experienced Sergio Perez and, even if Perez was no longer a Red Bull driver, it would not be a dead certainty that Gasly would have a second bite of the cherry. There is a strong desire in the Formula 1 community to see Gasly follow in the footsteps of Carlos Sainz and break away from the Red Bull family and go his own way. Judging by comments made by Helmut Marko via the French branch of Motorsport.com , people may get their wish at the end of next season. … [Read more...] about Red Bull open to Pierre Gasly exit: ‘Yuki Tsunoda already as quick over one lap’

McLaren have confirmed that they will not be renewing Stoffel Vandoorne’s contract at the end of the season. Although the issues with Vandoorne’s car have been well-documented, the pressure has been building on the Belgian throughout the season in which he has failed to outqualify team-mate Fernando Alonso and score zero points since round four in Baku. Vandoorne was initially on the shortlist for the McLaren seat alongside the incoming Carlos Sainz but, following another anonymous race at Monza, the battle is now between Force India duo Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon, plus McLaren reserve Lando Norris. “We’re immensely thankful for Stoffel’s dedication, hard work and commitment during his time at McLaren,” McLaren CEO Zak Brown said in a statement. “He’s a talented racing driver with an incredible list of accolades in his junior career. We’re proud to have played a part in his break into Formula 1, from his role as Test Driver to his fantastic points-scoring debut in … [Read more...] about Vandoorne given the boot at McLaren

Daniel Ricciardo has denied that Lewis Hamilton only wins so much because of his car, stating that doing so is “easier said than done”. Hamilton officially became the joint-most prolific winner the sport has ever seen at the Eifel Grand Prix as he took his 91st victory, putting him level with Michael Schumacher. However, many feel that, despite the numbers, he isn’t one of the best drivers ever, claiming that he has only been so successful because of how dominant his car has been at Mercedes. Ricciardo, who finished the race at the Nurburgring alongside Hamilton on the podium in P3, doesn’t think that this is the case. “His career now has been well over a decade in the sport and to keep coming back and to show that level of consistency at the front, that’s not easy,” the Renault driver said as quoted by Autosport.com . “I think us up here [on the podium], I think we understand that. You can have a package and a car to do it, but it’s doing it every weekend when the … [Read more...] about Ricciardo defends Hamilton: ‘Easier said than done’

Listen to this article Mercedes gave its W13 car a maiden run-out at Silverstone back in February when the UK was being hit by Storm Eunice that had wind gusts reaching over 120 mph, causing a number of travel networks to shut down. George Russell described the wind on the day as being “absolutely crazy”, but it also had the impact of meaning Mercedes did not get a full picture of just how bad the porpoising problem would be until the first proper test in Barcelona. Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin said that while the team had discussed potential issues with the return of ground effect, it had not “forecast the sort of mechanism that was actually troubling us.” “When we were at Silverstone, it was the middle of a storm, we were in 70 mile an hour winds,” Shovlin told Motorsport.com in an interview looking back on Mercedes’ season so far. “You often start with a car quite high for shakedowns and things, just to avoid damaging it and then … [Read more...] about How Storm Eunice delayed Mercedes’ F1 porpoising alarm

Listen to this article A team that began its time in Formula 1 under controversial circumstances, Arrows’ 24-year spell in the championship came to an end in 2002 amid mounting financial problems. Still the team with the most world championship race starts (counting the Footwork years) under its belt – at 382 – without ever taking a victory, Arrows came close to troubling the top step of the podium throughout its curious history – but fell short each time. The British squad, started up by former Lotus F1 driver Jackie Oliver, Alan Rees and Franco Ambrosio, went through multiple ownership changes in its latter years. It spent six seasons as Footwork in the 1990s, before Tom Walkinshaw took over for 1997 and restored the Arrows name. Although the team made an encouraging start under his tenure, with the Scot’s investment helping to bring 1996 champion Damon Hill and famed designer John Barnard into the team, it arguably over-reached its capabilities with an in-house engine … [Read more...] about Top 10 Arrows F1 drivers ranked: Hill, Warwick, Fittipaldi and more