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Christian Horner says floor tweaks imposed by the FIA this season to minimise porpoising came at “quite a lot of expense” and were “probably not needed”. Making the change from over-car airflow to ground effect aerodynamics last season, many of the teams were caught out by porpoising. Some more than others. While Red Bull, their RB18 designed by Adrian Newey who is said to be able to ‘see air’, had hardly any bouncing, their 2021 title rivals Mercedes had it to the extremes. Such was the ferocity of the W13’s porpoising, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell complained of back pain, head aches with Hamilton also saying “there’s a lot more bruising after the races nowadays”. But with Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff advocating for the FIA to get involved, citing long-term health concerns, Horner said if his RB18 had the same problem he’d also be telling his drivers “ to bitch as much as they could over the radio and make as big an issue out of it as they possibly could”. As … [Read more...] about Christian Horner rues having to spend on porpoising floor changes that were ‘probably not needed’

Verdict 9.0 / 10 Unlike some of its competitors, Honda has no intention of giving up on the sedan market. Its Accord and Civic are today’s most popular vehicles for first-time buyers, Generation Z, and Hispanic customers, and the automaker isn’t about to cede that crown by abandoning the segments that made it a household name in the US. But tastes and environmental sensibilities demand some evolution, which is why the 2023 Accord is leaning heavily into electrification. Although not a fully electric vehicle (yet), the redesigned sedan is ditching the lusty turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder in its top trims, with an efficient hybrid powertrain taking its place. Although the base LX and slightly better-equipped EX trims soldier on with Honda’s adequate 1.5-liter turbo, every other model (Sport, EX-L, Sport-L, and Touring) now comes exclusively with the hybrid powertrain. I’ll freely admit that Honda’s decision to go heavy on electrification had me a bit skeptical … [Read more...] about 2023 Honda Accord First Drive Review: Hybrid-Heavy Honor Roll

Two statistics lay bare the astonishing impact Covid-19 has had on Formula 1. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free First, since the pathogen intensified its spread across world in March almost half this season’s scheduled 22 races have been cancelled or (optimistically, in the view of some) postponed. Second, the obligatory annual team shutdown – usually a three-week break in summer – has now been in place for three times as long. Although speculative calendars are increasingly doing the rounds, these count for nought as long as authorities restrict the movement of people across the world. What use is a calendar which schedules races in countries which refuse to admit foreigners or make concessions for sport activities? The pandemic’s effect on the 10 teams has been disastrous . Most have furloughed staff, some are expected to be ‘retrenched’, ‘de-hired’ or similar, while a number of independent teams have availed themselves of advances on future F1 revenues … [Read more...] about Why the pandemic’s economic impact on F1 goes far beyond a disrupted calendar · RaceFans