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Two anticipated trends in 2023 Formula 1 car design were evident in the first new chassis presented for the upcoming season today. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free While Red Bull, Haas and Williams relied on models or old cars to reveal their new liveries over the past week, Alfa Romeo became the first team to show something approaching a genuine 2023 machine. Their video broadcast showed Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu revealing the car in a similar configuration to what they will run when testing begins in Bahrain in two weeks’ time. The team also issued images of its car in launch specification. One obvious change is the shift towards a darker livery, just as fellow Ferrari power unit customers Haas have done. Teams have been removing paint and exposing the carbon fibre beneath for years in an effort to save weight, but the introduction of new regulations last year prompted many to go a step further. It’s striking that Alfa Romeo, who began last … [Read more...] about The major change Alfa Romeo made after being “stuck in a corner” last year · RaceFans

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

Lest anyone worry that the Magic Mike series has nothing left to say, or nothing on its mind but glistening abs, the third and allegedly final installment begins with a voice over—British, proper, authoritative—waxing rhapsodic about the role dance has played across all of human history. Such pontification is not so surprising coming from Steven Soderbergh, who recently kicked off a different film with a narrated flashback to the invention of money. But it's still a concerningly academic way for this movie to start, and the first moment of several in Magic Mike's Last Dance that might bring to mind the immortal words of Barton Fink 's Ben Geisler. Channing Tatum . Male stripper movie. What did Soderbergh need, a road map? A decade ago, the director and his screenwriter, Reid Carolin, knew better than to overthink the story of a Florida exotic dancer balancing his daydreams of opening his own furniture store with his nightlife flashing flesh for cash. The original Magic … [Read more...] about ‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ strips the fun out of the franchise

After hiring former Pro Bowl linebacker and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans as head coach last week, the Houston Texans have wasted no time pursuing potential coordinators. Some early candidates started to emerge shortly after Ryans was hired, with 49ers offensive passing game coordinator Bobby Slowik, Cincinnati Bengals receivers coach Troy Walters, New England Patriots tight ends coach Nick Caley, New York Jets safeties coach Marquand Manuel and San Francisco defensive pass game specialist and secondary coach Cory Undlin being linked to the job prior to last Thursday's introductory press conference. According to KPRC's Aaron Wilson , the Texans have recently requested permission to interview Washington Commanders secondary coach Chris Harris for their defensive coordinator position as well, in addition to Manuel. Ryans described the type of coaching staff is looking to build while speaking with the media last week, while not providing any … [Read more...] about Houston Texans coordinator search: Candidates to be next OC, DC

One day, Alexandria Robertson’s carefully crafted life suddenly started falling apart. She returned from vacation in January 2020 to learn she’d been laid off from her corporate job in the Austin area. Her car was totaled in an accident. At the same time, she found out she was pregnant with her first child. “I was pregnant. I had no job. I had no car. And I had no health insurance,” Robertson said. “I at the time just did not have money for the expenses of having a baby.” Robertson qualified for Medicaid, but since Texas is one of just 11 states that haven’t expanded the program, she would be covered only up to two months after childbirth. But then, just a few weeks later, COVID-19 descended on the United States. For the length of the public health emergency — which turns three next month — no one would be moved off of Medicaid. The state is urging people on Medicaid to ensure their information is up to date at YourTexasBenefits.com and to respond to renewal notices … [Read more...] about Texans brace for the end of nearly three years of pandemic Medicaid coverage

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

F1 2023 is fast approaching as teams take the covers off and reveal their colours ahead of a brand new season of action. There is every reason to be excited about the F1 2023 season, teams having had the chance to put their wealth of learnings about the new Technical Regulations to use with their second attempts, the 2023 challengers. And the first key step ahead of seeing these new creations on the track is launch season, as the teams, while often hiding many of their clever innovations, are at least more than happy to show us what their cars are going to look like. Our luck really is in because with 10 teams making up the grid, you guessed it, that means we have 10 different livery reveals to enjoy. So, let’s take a look at the designs which we will clap eyes on in F1 2023… Haas Haas did the honours of kicking-off launch season for 2023 when they revealed the livery for their 2023 challenger, the VF-23, on January 31. The American outfit struck a new title … [Read more...] about F1 2023 liveries: See all the new season looks as they are unveiled

Although Sebastian Vettel has been given more time to decide if he will stay on as a GPDA director, a successor may soon need to be chosen. The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association acts as the trade union for the F1 drivers and was particularly important at the Saudi Arabian and Japanese Grands Prix last year. With former F1 driver Alex Wurz as chairman, he has three directors to work alongside which are currently George Russell, lawyer Anastasia Fowle and Vettel. The four-time World Champion has been in the role since 2010 but with him now stepping away from the sport, there are question marks as to whether he will stay on with the GPDA. But if he does choose to step away, who will take over? Here at PlanetF1.com, we’ve taken a look at five likely candidates for the role. Valtteri Bottas Following Vettel’s retirement and Daniel Ricciardo’s departure from the grid, Bottas became the active driver with the fourth highest number of race starts behind only Fernando Alonso, Lewis … [Read more...] about Five ideal candidates to replace Sebastian Vettel as GPDA director