Tag Archives: formula-1

September 12, 2024 · 3:47 pm

Verstappen: Monza helped Red Bull to understand weaknesses of “monster” RB20

Verstappen says that Red Bull understands the issues of the RB20

Max Verstappen says that Red Bull is starting to understand more about the weaknesses of the difficult RB20 – but he admits that solving its issues will take time.

Verstappen called the car a “monster” after a difficult Italian GP that saw him qualify seventh and finish sixth, allowing Lando Norris to put a dent in his championship lead.

The Dutchman says that the Monza weekend provided useful lessons to the team about the car.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” he said. “But I do think that in a way Monza was positive to learn more about the car, and now it just takes time to make the car better basically, and understand our weaknesses. 

“I think we did. Now it’s about just trying to find solutions for it. I also know that it’s not coming within one or two weeks, from when you understand your problems.

“But yeah, I hope that from now onwards we could just look ahead and try to be better, not like a monster.”

After the Italian race Verstappen said that the drivers’ championship was now unrealistic for him.

Asked by this writer if he stuck with that view he said: “If we perform like Monza, it’s not realistic. So we definitely need to be better than what we have been delivering lately. We know that.”

He added: “I also know that we can do a better job in general, and if we understand our problems, then, yeah, if we can find a better balance with the car, then actually we’ll be more competitive. And if more competitive is enough, I don’t know.”

Verstappen acknowledged that Baku might be more suited to the RB20 despite its problems.

“Yeah, it’s a completely different track. So for sure, you have different kind of limitations, potentially, but we’ll see throughout the weekend.”

Verstappen downplayed the impact of Adrian Newey stepping back from the frontline duty earlier this year on the car’s form.

“I wouldn’t say it’s just that,” he noted. “Of course, when it was announced, that’s where it started to go a little bit wrong for us. But I think it already started to go wrong for us a long time before, but we didn’t really see that at the time.

“So I personally don’t think it’s related. That is not to be of course negative towards Adrian or whatever, I definitely don’t see it as something that is related, but it’s something that crept in over time.”

Regarding Christian Horner’s suggestion that the problems began in 2023 he said: “The car last year was quite different to this year. This one was always difficult.

“But of course, there are things that you develop over a period of time that add up to it. To say a specific race, I don’t know, but it’s been a period of time that it’s been going on.”

Verstappen said he had no concerns about McLaren team orders potentially improving Norris’s chances of eating into his championship lead.

“I’m not disappointed,” he said. “At the end of the day of course, they do what they want. That’s not my problem. I have my own problems at the moment.

“So yeah, of course, from Oscar’s side, he’s closer to Lando than Lando is to me in the championship, but it’s something that they have to deal with.”

“They’ve never really been that far apart anyway in the championship as well. And also from Oscar’s side,  you come in as a number one driver, both of them. I don’t think Oscar is the type of driver that needs to be labelled as number two anyway.”

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September 12, 2024 · 3:15 pm

Norris “thankful” for McLaren call on team orders for Baku

Piastri has said he’ll help Norris if asked to do so

Lando Norris is “thankful” for a call by McLaren on team orders that will see Oscar Piastri support his title campaign if it is necessary to ask the Australian to help.

The decision was made after internal discussions at McLaren since the Italian GP, where Piastri passed Norris on the first lap and put him in a position where he then lost second place to Charles Leclerc.

Team boss Andrea Stella says that the Monza move was detrimental to the overall situation of the team, and he wants to avoid a repeat.

Piastri has also said he’s willing to mover over if he’s asked to do so, although Norris is coy about accepting such help.

“I mean, good, thankful,” said Norris when asked about the call. “How do I say it? I mean, he’s still fighting for his own racing.

“He’s still going out and doing the doing his stuff. And it could be that there’s no time this year that he needs to help me.

“It’s more that I’ve got Oscar’s help when needs be. But he’s still going out with the intent of every session of fighting for himself and going to do his job.”

Norris insisted that he doesn’t want Piastri to have to hand over a race victory: “No. Probably for lower positions. But if he’s fought for a win and he’s deserving of a win, then he deserves to win.”

He said that he doesn’t want a win the championship based on help from Piastri, and that if a decision in his team mate’s favour means he loses at the final round, he will have to deal with it.

“I’m sure it will hurt,” he said. “But I’m also here to race, and if a driver is doing better than me, and outperforming, he’s just doing a better job. So I wouldn’t want to take that away from someone. And I also don’t want to be given a championship.

“Yes, it would be great to have a championship, and short term, you’d feel amazing, but I don’t think you’d be proud of that in the long run. And that’s not something I want.

“That’s not how I want to win a championship. I want to win it by fighting against Max, by beating Max, beating my competitors, and proving that I’m the best on track. And that’s how I want to win.”

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September 12, 2024 · 7:58 am

Krack: Aston has “plenty to time” to adjust structure for Newey arrival

Aston already has a lot of technical heavyweights – but Newey will be in charge

Aston Martin Formula 1 boss Mike Krack says that the team has “plenty of time” to adjust to the arrival of Adrian Newey and properly define what his role is.

Newey will start work on March 1 and owner Lawrence Stroll has made it clear that he will be the head of a technical structure that already features a lot of leading names, with others still coming, notably former Ferrari technical chief Enrique Cardile.

McLaren faced an awkward situation early this year when new recruit David Sanchez didn’t fit a revised technical structure and left not long after his arrival.

Krack is confident that Aston will be able to accommodate everyone in the right jobs.

“I think we will have plenty of time with him joining in March,” he said. “We will have a close look at it. Any team that can have someone like that will have to discuss its structure and how to adjust it, to make the best use of it.

“This is what we’re going to do. We’re not in a rush. We have plenty of time. We have some plans that we will need to discuss with him, but I think we will find a good solution.”

Asked by this writer if it might be difficult given the number of top technical people the team has he said: “I think at the end of the day, you have to look at which areas you want to cover, how much overlap do you want to have in a structure, and who is accountable for what? And that is an exercise that we have to go through.

“But you have to do that each time in each department with each new recruit, you need to define what are the roles and the responsibilities and what is this new employee accountable for?

“It’s the same with the senior leadership, the technical leadership. I think if you cover all the areas and you allocate them properly, there will be no such problems.”

He added: “The most important thing in F1 is to be flexible and open for change. If you’re stuck in the past, then you’ve seen some, some examples of the grid, how it can go.

“So I think you need to be open. You need to be dynamic at all times. And that is how we are approaching it.

Krack believes that Newey’s approach will be inspiring for the younger engineers in the Aston camp.

“The thinking differently, that is something that I think could add an extra, but then also the inspiration,” he said.

“I think a lot of engineers will be inspired by the approach, by the way of doing, because it’s a different approach.

“And I think with all the young engineers we are having, plus also the medium level, I think they will all benefit greatly from that, because you just see that things can be done differently, or that you just follow different ideas. I think it will be inspiring for all of us.”

Krack said that Newey’s arrival will make Aston appealing to everyone, including drivers.

“I think it would make a difference for everybody, starting with the staff. I think when you manage to appoint Adrian Newey, I think it’s, first of all, it’s a proof that the project is credible, that the whole vision of Lawrence is not only words, but it’s really action that we can take confidence of as a team.

“This is not anymore underdogs like it used to be in the past. It’s a team that should be confident that it can do it, but then also you have a completely different approach with partners, and same for race drivers. So I think it opens a lot of doors for the future.”

Asked if the door was now open to Max Verstappen he said: “The door for Max Verstappen is always open I think, for every team.”

Newey’s arrival will have an impact on the cost cap. He will now become of the top three highest paid team members whose salaries are outside the cap, and he will thus push someone else into the cap zone – thus absorbing several hundred thousand pounds that now can’t be spent elsewhere.

“It’s a challenge for everybody,” said Krack. “Not only for us, but it’s the same challenge for every team.

“You have a cost cap. In the cost cap, there is the all the relevant personnel that you have to incorporate, you have a top three exclusion, and you have to incorporate your development budget, and a lot of other things as they are described in the financial regulations.

“I think most important thing in these kinds of cases is proper planning and proper anticipation.

“What is going to happen, where are our expenses, and what is our development plan, and then you need contingencies for accidents, for crashes and stuff like that.

“Our finance team is very strong in planning this properly ahead in terms of cost monitoring. So I think, to be honest, I have full confidence that there will be no issue.”

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September 10, 2024 · 12:22 pm

Stroll: Newey “has the passion and desire to win”

Lawrence Stroll has total faith in Newey

Aston Martin Formula 1 owner says that Adrian Newey is “a winner” and is the key piece of the puzzle in improving the team’s fortunes.

Stroll said he first approached Newey two years ago, and his interest ramped up as soon as it became public that he was on the market.

Newey will start work at the team on March 1 after completing his Red Bull gardening leave.

“Adrian arguably is the greatest in the world at what he does,” said Stroll. “There’s nobody who’s come close to winning as many World Championships.

“He’s a gentleman, he’s a winner, he’s a competitor, and he has the passion and desire to win, as do I, and most of the people in this building.

“We started on a journey six years ago with this team, on similar ground, much smaller premises, a much smaller building, and that’s really when the journey had started.

“We’ve put together a fantastic management team. And building this premises was really showing our real intent. First was hiring the people, but to make this level of investment, to build a premises like this, that was non-existent before, in F1, the first of its sort. It’s so grand, but it’s so special, we can build 100% of the car here.

“We’re going to have the first, greatest, newest wind tunnel built in over 20 years. That’s a huge tool to make the car go faster, ultimately. So putting all that in place, the people, the premises, and then really looking for our technical leader.

“And I had been trying to speak to Adrian for a couple of years. And I believe when things are meant to be, they happen.

“I believe he shared my passion, intent and vision. And there really is no other F1 team that is poised for the future as we are. So I can’t be more excited to have Adrian on board.”

Expanding on Newey’s role he said: “As I mentioned, we have a strong team, some of which Adrian has already worked with.

“Adrian is going to be the managing technical partner of that team, so on a day-to-day basis, he’ll be here, full commitment, full time committed to F1, giving leadership and direction to his team.”

He added: “Adrian is key, key, key, and the biggest part of the puzzle, certainly from a technical point of view, from a technical leadership point of view. He will be leading the team, and I think that will have a trickle-down effect throughout the whole organisation.”

Stroll made it clear that the focus will be in 2026, with Newey joining in time to make a difference heading into the new rules set.

“We had a slight distraction moving into this building,” he said. “We had a very strong start to 2023 as you know, the first nine races were great. These ground effect cars are rather complex, and obviously we went in the different or clearly appears now a wrong direction. We’re trying to find our way back.

“We’re currently fifth in the championship, in all honesty, for a team like us, with just moving into this building, with not having all our tools in place, without having a true, big technical leader as Adrian – I would like to be in a better space, don’t get me wrong, but our focus really lies on doing a better car for ’25 but really, most importantly, we’ll be focusing most of our energy next year on ’26.

“Re-set, new rules, new power. unit building is up and running, wind tunnel is running. So that’s really going to be our focus.”

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September 10, 2024 · 11:10 am

Newey: Aston Martin became “a very natural choice”

Newey will officially start work at Silverstone on March 1

Adrian Newey says joining Aston Martin became “a very natural choice” after talking to owner Lawrence Stroll and seeing the team’s new facility at Silverstone.

Newey will officially start at the team on March 1 in the role of technical managing partner, with overall technical control of the organisation.

He is also a shareholder and partner of Stroll in the project.

“I think I felt as if I needed a new challenge,” Newey said of his departure from Red Bull. “And so kind of towards the end of April, I decided I needed to do something different.

“I spent lots of time with Mandy, my wife, kind of discussing, ‘Okay, what’s next? Do we go off and sail around the world? Do I do something different, America’s Cup, or whatever?’ So we took a bit of time out,

“And I felt I’ve been lucky enough to have achieved what I aspired to from the age of 10 or 12, which was simply to be a designer – I don’t think I knew the word engineer – in motor racing, I can honestly say, everything else has been a bonus, having sort of achieved that straight out of university.

“I never, of course, expected anything like what I’ve been lucky enough to be involved with. But you have to be honest with yourself, you have to keep yourself fresh. And so I felt I needed a new challenge. And so took a bit of time off.”

Newey says Stroll was quick to make his interest in his services clear.

“Lawrence and I have known each other off and on over the years,” he said. “We often bump into each other in the [hotel] gym, particularly at the Middle East and Far East races.

“As I announced to everybody that I would be departing the old team I was very flattered to have a lot of approaches from various teams, but really, Lawrence’s passion and commitment and enthusiasm is very endearing. It’s very persuasive.

“The reality is, if you go back 20 years what we now call team principals were actually the owners of the teams, Frank Williams, Ron Dennis, Eddie Jordan, etc, etc.

“In this modern era Lawrence is actually unique in being the only properly active team owner. And I think that is a different feeling when you have somebody like Lawrence involved like that, it’s back to the old school model.

“And to have the chance to be a shareholder and a partner is something that hasn’t been offered to me before. So it’s a slightly different slant. It’s one I’m very much looking forward to. It became a very natural choice.”

Newey acknowledged that the new Aston Martin facility at Silverstone played a key role in persuading him to join the team.

“I think what Lawrence and Martin [Whitmarsh] have built here, these facilities are just stunning,” he said. “It’s not an easy thing to do, to build a brand new factory in a green field site and have a really nice, warm, creative feel to it.

“Because, after all, that’s what we’re here for, to try to be creative and to come up with good solutions, and particularly with good communication between everybody that works here. And I’ve seen some new buildings that haven’t quite fulfilled that, but this one is has a great feel.

“The proportions are right. It has all the facilities. I’m so looking forward to starting, to getting to know everybody here, to work with them, and go from there.”

Asked what his role will be he said: “Any F1 team is the same, we have three principal departments, which is aerodynamics, mechanical design and vehicle performance or vehicle dynamics.

“So it will be making sure that we try to have synergy between those departments and with Honda on the PU side, because there’ll be probably more than ever, a big interaction between the PU and the chassis. It’s about trying to come up with a holistic product.”

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August 1, 2024 · 4:06 pm

Audi: Binotto and Wheatley combination “a decisive step” for F1 project

Highly regarded in the paddock Jonathan Wheatley has played a big role in RBR’s success

Audi CEO Gernot Dollner says that the addition future team principal Jonathan Wheatley to the company’s Formula 1 outfit alongside recently announced COO and CTO Mattia Binotto is “a decisive step” ahead of the marque’s entry in 2026.

RBR sporting director Wheatley’s move to Audi was confirmed by his current team earlier today, and the German manufacturer has now clarified how the twin leadership roles will be split, with both men reporting to Gollner, who is chairman of Sauber Motorsport AG.

Audi says that Binotto “takes over the operative management of Sauber Motorsport AG at the site in Hinwil and the technical development of the future racing cars.

“In this role he is the overall technical interface between the development teams in Hinwil and Audi Formula Racing GmbH at the Audi site in Neuburg an der Donau, which is responsible for development of the power unit.”

Wheatley meanwhile will be more involved in race operations as well as day-to-day political dealings with the FIA and F1. Audi says that “he will focus above all on the racing performance of the future F1 factory team, on operational management of all race events, and on representing Audi at team principal level in matters relating to F1.”

In confirming the news Dollner made it clear that he believes that he has created the ideal combination.

“I am delighted that we have been able to gain Jonathan Wheatley as team principal for our future F1 team,” he said. “Jonathan has played a major part in many F1 race victories and World Championship titles in his F1 career so far, and has extensive experience in the paddock. He is a very valuable addition to our team.

“With the appointment of Jonathan and Mattia we have taken a decisive step towards our entry into F1. I am convinced that with the two of them, we have been able to combine an extremely high level of competence for Audi. Their experience and their ability will help us to get a foothold quickly in the tough competitive world of F1.”

Wheatley is set to go on gardening leave at the end of his final season at RBR, with Audi revealing that he will start work in July 2025 “at the latest.”

He said: “I am extremely proud to have been a part of the Red Bull Racing journey over the last 18 years and will leave with many fond memories. However, the opportunity to play an active part in Audi’s entry into F1 as head of a factory team is a uniquely exciting prospect, and I am looking forward to the challenge.

“Also I am glad to be working together with Mattia, whom I have known for many years and who is the right person to collaborate with in this exciting project.”

Binotto added: “I have known Jonathan for many years and rate him highly as an experienced and committed motorsport expert. 2026 is not a long time away now, and I’m looking forward to setting up the new racing team for Audi along with Jonathan and leading it to success.”

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July 31, 2024 · 12:26 pm

Spa was “damage limitation” against fast opposition, says Verstappen

Verstappen says it was always going to be hard to progress at Spa

Max Verstappen says his run to an eventual fourth place at Spa was “damage limitation,” especially as he finished ahead of title rival Lando Norris.

Having taken pole Verstappen started 11th thanks to a grid penalty. He rose to fifth by the chequered flag, just in front of Norris, before gaining a place from the exclusion of George Russell.

Verstappen said that he couldn’t make further progress simply because he didn’t have a speed advantage over those who started ahead.

“The balance of the car wasn’t too bad always in the first few laps,” he said. “But of course, I also ran a lot in traffic, which probably also didn’t help. But yeah, we were just not faster than the cars around us, and then you just get stuck in that DRS train.

“And I think as a team, we maximised the performance today. Naturally, if you start P1 with the pace that we had, I think you’re fighting for the win, regardless. But starting P11, I knew that it was always going to be a damage limitation race.

“Looking at the championship, it was still a positive day. I extended my lead, where it could have also easily been calculating losses. So from that side, of course, it’s a positive day.”

Verstappen made it clear that beating closest pursuer Norris was the key achievement of the weekend.

“Naturally it’s always better to gain points than lose points,” he said. “And today could have been either way, because he was very fast behind me, but at the same time I was also hunting in front of me.

“I think also naturally we were on two mediums and a hard. I think today, a hard tyre would have helped. Of course, George won the race on a one-stop. But I don’t think we had the tyre wear or tyre life to do that anyway.

“So yeah, also there a few things to analyse, but as a team today, we did a good job. We definitely did the right thing with the strategy, to try and be a bit aggressive initially, to try and get ahead of a few, and it made my race a little bit better.”

Regarding the RB20’s form he added: “With the car at the moment that is probably not the quickest in the race, it’s about just limiting the damage, and trying to be as close as I can be every single time. And that’s what we have been doing lately.

“Next year, I would just hope that we can find a little bit more performance, because we will make our lives a bit easier in the race.”

Verstappen acknowledged that the form book has changed a lot since the days of Red Bull domination.

“I think it shifts a little bit, for sure,” he said. “Constantly, McLaren has been really quick. Mercedes has been quick, but not everywhere. And from our side, we have a bit of work to do. We know that, we have a few things to analyse as well, what to do with the car for the remainder of the season.”

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July 30, 2024 · 3:16 pm

Vowles: Securing Sainz for 2025 a “rollercoaster” process for Williams

Vowles says securing Sainz was a “major event” for Williams

Williams boss James Vowles admits that the process of getting Carlos Sainz to commit to the team was a “rollercoaster” – and he says that he didn’t believe it was realistic until the contract was actually signed.

The Grove team announced on Monday that Sainz has agreed to a long-term deal, having turned down firm offers from Sauber/Audi and Alpine.

Vowles says that discussions about bringing Sainz to Williams first started in Abu Dhabi last year, long before Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari made the Spaniard a free agent for 2025.

He thought a deal was close around the time of the Spanish GP, only for the team to have a poor race weekend, and in effect delaying Sainz’s decision.

“The moment it looked realistic is when his pen hit the paper, that’s the only time I thought it looked realistic,” said Vowles.  “I got stung earlier in the year around Barcelona time.

“I thought we were in a very good state, and that’s on our shoulders. We had a shockingly bad event, and you can’t do that in professional sport.

“But from the perspective of the ups and downs, it’s been a tribulation up and down all the way through from I would describe it as Monaco onwards I think, it’s probably the right timeline.

“But it’s been a rollercoaster, that’s for sure. But it hasn’t been a rollercoaster for any more than actually, the driver market has been really up and down.

“There’s no teams that have properly been committing or deciding their direction of travel right at the front, and that includes right up until now, last weekend. where there’s still discussions over where does Perez go, what changes there?

“And when you have that instability, it’s completely normal that a driver won’t commit to you until such point as they know what their future holds and what doors and avenues are closed. That’s my opinion of it. So as I said, until pen hit paper, I wasn’t comfortable.”

Vowles admitted that beating a major manufacturer like Audi to secure Sainz’s services was a major coup for the team, and reflects its potential for improvement.

“I think it’s a huge, huge event for Williams to have two of the best drivers in the world fighting at the front,” he said. “And I think it is very much a sign of things to come, the fact that we are prepared to have the investment required to be there.

“And a lot of it you can’t see. The one that you can materially see is what we’re doing by effectively putting money where it should be, into the best drivers that are available to us.

“In terms of beating an OEM, and one of the largest in the world, I’m incredibly proud. I said it to him on this, it’s one of the proudest moments of my career, and I’ve had lots of great moments my career.

“The fact that he chose us above all else is a huge, huge, monumental decision. Then, on top of that, we have to be straightforward. Alpine are ahead of us on points this year, and on points ahead of us last year as well, I recognise all of that.

“What he’s not buying into is ‘25, what he’s buying into is what can we provide over the next two years, and what’s the direction of travel.”

Vowles worked hard to convince Sainz that Williams will be a much stronger force heading into 2026 and beyond, having explained why the team will have a difficult time during the building process in 2024-’25.

“I think the first thing is, the conversation has been many months,” he said. “It hasn’t been weeks of which you’ve been privy to some of it, because it’s been a bit more public than I would normally do with a driver discussion, but it actually started way back in Abu Dhabi last year. And the message I gave to him and to his family at the time is no different.

“The message I gave him last weekend in Spa, to be clear. And I believe that’s what’s won it. From the beginning, I gave him warts and all.

“’Here’s what’s going to happen. We are going to go backwards. Here’s why, here’s what we’re investing in, here’s what’s coming. Here’s why I’m excited by this project, and it’s your choice if you want to be a part of it. But I know that we will have success in the future, and I know it’s going to cost us in the short term.’ And I’m confident that that honesty and transparency has paid off.”

Vowles says Sainz in turn kept him fully informed of his thought process in terms of the pros and cons of the competition, thus giving him a chance to state the case for Williams – but he insists without criticising rivals.

“He’s been very consistent on his messaging from the beginning,” said Vowles. “I’ve really loved this process. I wish we could have sort of documented it, and had a little camera, and you would have seen it!

“It was great. He and I have spent some evenings in various hotel locations, including his room, at times, where we’ve had some of the best chats I’ve had, because he’s just this fiery, performance-filled entity. It’s just brilliant. I wish you could be a fly on the wall to observe it.

“And he’s been pretty consistent in his messaging back, which is here are all the positives that you can’t see because you wear a William shirt of all these other entities. And my job back in return is to say, here are the positives of Williams, and here’s the difference.

“I’ve never changed on what those positives are, and I’ve done it in a way that is not putting down other entities.

“I don’t believe that’s correct, or right to do so. And what he’s been doing in time is seeing how some of those positive strands maybe don’t exist elsewhere. That’s probably the best way I can put it to you.”

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July 29, 2024 · 3:05 pm

F1 driver market set to unlock as Sainz commits to Williams for long term

Sainz has made his mind up – finally!

Carlos Sainz has made up his mind and committed to the Williams Formula 1 team with a long term deal that should take him beyond 2026 with the Grove outfit – ensuring that other vacant seats can now be filled.

The news comes as little surprise after bullish statements to the media from James Vowles in Spa suggested that the deal was set be announced soon.

After weeks of examining his options Sainz has turned down both Audi and Alpine, with the recent management turmoil in both camps perhaps the final deciding factors.

It was widely thought that the arrival of Flavio Briatore at Alpine and a planned switch to Mercedes power would make the Enstone team more attractive to Sainz, but the general feeling in the paddock that the team is simply set up to be sold by Renault, and that clearly didn’t appeal.

Although Sainz knows new Sauber/Audi boss Mattia Binotto well from their days at Ferrari he did all his initial negotiations with previous incumbent Andreas Seidl, and while some see the change of leadership as a positive it also points at uncertainty in the camp on top of the unknown form of the 2026 power unit.

Williams, with stable leadership under James Vowles and bold plans for the future, ultimately appealed more than rivals.

“It is no secret that this year’s driver market has been exceptionally complex for various reasons and that it has taken me some time to announce my decision,” said Sainz.

“However, I am fully confident that Williams is the right place for me to continue my F1 journey and I am extremely proud of joining such a historic and successful team, where many of my childhood heroes drove in the past and made their mark on our sport.

“The ultimate goal of bringing Williams back to where it belongs, at the front of the grid, is a challenge that I embrace with excitement and positivity. I am convinced that this team has all the right ingredients to make history again and starting on January 1 I will give my absolute best to drive Williams forward alongside every single member of the team.”

Sainz made it clear that he believes in the team’s vision: “I want to thank James Vowles and the entire Board of Williams for their trust and determination. Their solid leadership and convictions have played an important role in my decision-making.

“I truly believe that the core of every successful team lies amongst their people and their culture. Williams is synonymous with heritage and pure racing, the foundations of the project that lies ahead of us are very strong and I am really looking forward to being part of it starting next year.”

Vowles, who has pulled off a major coup by both holding on to Albon and attracting Sainz, has madem it clear that the team has a big future.

“Carlos joining Williams is a strong statement of intent from both parties,” he said. “Carlos has demonstrated time and again that he is one of the most talented drivers on the grid, with race-winning pedigree, and this underlines the upwards trajectory we are on.

“Carlos brings not just experience and performance, but also a fierce drive to extract every millisecond out of the team and car; the fit is perfect.

“In Alex and Carlos we will have one of the most formidable driver line-ups on the grid and with huge experience to guide us into the new regulations in 2026. Their belief in this organisation’s mission demonstrates the magnitude of the work going on behind the scenes.

“People should be in no doubt about our ambition and momentum as we continue our journey back to competitiveness – we are here, we are serious and with Dorilton’s backing we are investing in what it takes to return to the front of the grid. 

“I also want to thank Logan for everything he has done for the team and know he will continue to fight hard for us in the races ahead.”

Attention now moves to the remaining seats on the 2025 F1 grid. Sauber incumbent Valtteri Bottas is well placed to retain his seat, although the team is known to be looking at young drivers, and is waiting to see how the Red Bull/VCARB situation shakes out.

Jack Doohan is set to graduate to an Alpine race seat, and the Aussie will continue his development programme in the team’s 2022 test car at Spa this week.

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July 29, 2024 · 11:26 am

Leclerc frustrated by surprise Mercedes speed as Ferrari lacks “raw pace”

Leclerc didn’t expect Mercedes to be so fast in the Belgian race

Charles Leclerc insists that the Belgian GP was not a “positive weekend” for his Ferrari Formula 1 team despite taking pole and finishing fourth and only 8.5 seconds behind original winner George Russell.

Leclerc, who subsequently moved up to third when the English driver was disqualified for being underweight, noted that a strong performance was outweighed by the fact that Mercedes proved faster in the race.

He acknowledged that he expected that McLaren and Red Bull would be more competitive than Ferrari, but not Mercedes.

“If it was a Red Bull in front then I think it would have been a positive weekend,” he said. “But now it was a Mercedes, which we thought we were on a par with, and they had the edge on us. I don’t consider this result a very positive one.”

He added: “I think fourth was what I thought would be the best result possible today, with two McLarens in front, and one Red Bull.

“But again, that’s what makes me not so happy about today, is that we have two Mercedes and one McLaren in front, and the Mercedes, we thought that we were on a par with them. So yeah, worse than expected.”

Like others Leclerc expected McLaren to be the team to beat in Sunday’s race.

“I personally thought that McLaren had huge advantage of pace for this weekend, which I saw a little bit less today,” he said.

“They were still the fastest, probably with Red Bull and Mercedes today, but I thought McLaren had the edge.

“It’s good to see that everybody’s so close, but unfortunately, we are still the fourth fastest team, and the top three keeps changing, but we are consistently behind them, on a par with Mercedes. We just need more pace.”

As the first stops as rivals pitted Leclerc suggested to the team that he if he was going to be undercut, he should go long.

However he then stopped on lap 12, just one lap after Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez and Oscar Piastri, the cars immediately around him.

“It’s very, very difficult to know at that point,” he said when asked by this writer about his radio request.

“Because when you have so many cars, obviously we were in a position where second on track, when you are getting undercut by one car, two cars, three cars, four cars, it starts to be quite tricky, and you take a lot of risks.

“It was just better to align ourselves to the other strategy. We didn’t know even what was the hard like, because we hadn’t run it before the race.

“So all of this, I don’t think it’s fair to say that we did a mistake at that point, and I understood the point of view of the team.

“I just felt like the raw pace is not good enough. And when it’s like this, unfortunately, you can do whatever you want with the strategy, but you’re always going to lose places. We are just not fast enough.”

Leclerc suggested that it would have been difficult to replicate the one-stop strategy used so well by Russell.

“It was one of our plans, but I knew that it was very, very, very unlikely for me to do so,” he said.

“Just for the reason I explained before, when you are in front to keep going and to get undercut by three, four cars and just lose so many positions if the one-stop doesn’t work, it was just better to align ourselves with the guys behind.

“But we knew it wasn’t too far, But I think they just had more pace, so they made the one-stop work, because they were super, super strong today. So we had it on our card. It was just not possible in our race situation.”

Asked to summarise the season so far he admitted that Ferrari has work to do.

“Our first half really good,” he said. “I think we couldn’t hope for better. We maximised the potential of the car. Then we’ve had four races where we’re going extreme setups from extreme setups.

“And for me, it was just impossible to get to quali and to know where the limit of the car was. And we lost a lot of points.

“And the last two races, we focused again on maximising the results, and I think we did, but just not fast enough, as I said.

“So that’s where we really need to focus and to do a step for the second half if we want to have any better results.”

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