Tag Archives: formula-1

May 18, 2024 · 11:07 am

More to come from Aston after “aggressive” Imola upgrades

Aston Martin Formula 1 technical director Dan Fallows says that the team’s substantial Imola upgrade package is “aggressive” – and he insists that there is still more to come.

For the first European race of the season the AMR24 features a new front wing, nose, floor and floor edges, diffuser, engine cover and rear suspensions fairings.

Early running at Imola on Friday was inconclusive, and the team’s progress was not helped when Fernando Alonso had a major accident in FP3 on Saturday.

While the team has brought several packages already this season – for example at Suzuka – Fallows conceded that this weekend set of updates is the most significant thus far.

“Yeah, it is quite aggressive,” he said. “We knew we had a car we that we had a lot of opportunities with.

“At the beginning of the season we wanted to make sure we had continual upgrades coming through. So this is probably our biggest one to date. But it’s just part of our plan, and we want to sort of keep going with this in the next few races as well.”

Fallows says that the updates were initiated after testing in Bahrain, rather than as a result of how the car performed in the early events, when the car performed better in qualifying than in races.

“I think the majority of this update has been based on what we saw from the launch car, from the car in testing, and then how we wanted to sort of evolve that,” he said.

“We’ve seen some circuits suit our car better than others. And something we focused on, trying to make sure we can perform everywhere, whenever we need to.

“It is generic, it’s trying to make the car more competitive. There are areas we can see where we need to make specific improvements. So we’ve certainly worked on those.”

Fallows said it was key to ensure that the AMR24 is competitive on different types of tracks and a range of faster and slower corners.

“We have an era of ground effect cars where they have specific windows of performance that you’re always trying to sort of broaden that.” he said.

“And you want to make sure when you bring an update that it does perform in all the different conditions. I think we’re all kind of trying to chase the same thing, really.”

Expanding on the quest for consistency he said: “I think we’ve seen that some circuits, some conditions, we’re better than other times.

“And it’s obviously something we look at quite closely, to try and make sure that when we develop a car in the future that we try and sort of iron out those differences.

“But I think everybody’s working very hard to try to sort of understand when we do our performance that we add it in the right way. I think that’s the key thing for us.”

Fallow admitted that at times last year’s upgrades didn’t perform exactly as predicted, and that it’s important to ensure that they work as planned.

“Whenever you bring an update, then you obviously would like to just put it straight on the car, and it does exactly what you expect,” he said.

“But there are different ways of looking at the data, and obviously different things that may be slightly unexpected once you’ve put things on the car.

“We have done some learning in some areas, we’ve realised where we can we can push things harder than we could before. And some things we have to be a bit more careful of. It’s been a learning experience.

“And I think we have a bit more confidence now that these upgrades do work. And we’ll see again today. But there’s been a lot of hard work to try and understand that.”

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May 18, 2024 · 11:02 am

Vowles admits weight key issue for Williams

Williams Formula 1 boss James Vowles says that an overweight car has hindered the team in recent seasons – and that this weekend’s race at Imola sees the start of a programme to address the issue.

Vowles says that the team managed to reduce the chassis weight by 14kgs between 2023 and 2024, which represents a significant saving.

However increases in other areas as the team rushed to complete the car in time for Bahrain testing put the overall package added more weight to the overall package.

Vowles says that the extra weight has cost Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant 0.450s a lap thus far this season, which suggests that the FW46 is around 15kgs above the limit.

“We have produced cars that are not at the weight limit – and I only went back and looked unfortunately, too late – every year since 2019,” he said.

“None of the cars have started at the weight limit, they’ve been far up above it. To give you a view of the pit lane at the moment, everyone out there is near enough at the weight limit, and very few will have physical ballast on the car. Very, very few.

“The transformation we did between 2023 to ‘24 was that we took 14kgs out of the chassis. And for anyone in the business that knows those numbers, you’ll realise that’s an extraordinary feat, the team did very well in doing that.

“However, the car this year that we’ve been running is about four and a half tenths a lap slower every lap by the fact that it’s so overweight.”

Vowles says that the extra weight accumulated largely because the team has traditionally been late in completing the new car build during the winter, and thus compromises are made in the latter stages as the deadline of the first test approaches.

“What happens when you challenge the system and the technology is you can get an output from it,” he said. “And the output from it is things get delayed, and weight gets added is one of the fixes in order to get you back on track.

“And we added an enormous amount of weight – despite the chassis being in a much better place, we added an enormous amount of weight.

“And when I went back through the history of us, of how we operate, with these facilities, with the systems, with the process and structures we have, weight became the natural outlet for it. And as a result of that we’ve been overweight for many, many years.

“What we gave Alex is a car that he’s been openly speaking about as much better balanced, it’s a much better package. If you take four and a half tenths off, you’ll have a realisation as to why Alex has been sat here frustrated.

“What’s not of interest to me is what’s happened. It’s how we move forward from this point on.

“So Imola is the start of weight being shed, that will now continue across the next six races fundamentally, in order to get us back to where we need to be.”

Vowles also admitted that attempts to save weight and develop the car have been hindered by the accident damage incurred thus far this year, which has soaked up resources.

“What’s hindered us is that across the beginning of the season, we have damaged four gearboxes beyond repair, we have damaged five floors, we have damaged four front wings, four rear wings, and some miscellaneous bits,” he noted.

“Any team on the grid, go speak to them, you can’t deal with that plus taking out weight, plus adding aerodynamic performance we’ve hinted ourselves. So the damage bill I just couldn’t believe would have happened at three races.

“But that’s where we are. I’m not proud of any of these facts. But the reason why I’m being open and transparent about it is that’s a red line.

“And this is where it stops and downwards. we produce cars that are effectively up to where they need to be. Williams for many years has had some great people working on items.

“But it’s incredibly expensive, taking weight out of the car and a lot of what we’ve been doing, I did it last year when I joined here is taking weight out. It’s very inefficient in doing it. And that stops now and that’s one of the foundations moving forwards.”

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May 14, 2024 · 8:15 pm

Liberty boss believes “goodwill” of F1 teams will ease Concorde negotiations

Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei believes that the goodwill of Formula 1 teams will make for “easier” Concorde Agreement negotiations ahead of a new deal for 2026.

The current Concorde, which runs to the end of 2025, was negotiated during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 by then F1 boss Chase Carey.

Since then the teams have boosted their incomes as the sport has expanded, and their earnings from F1’s overall revenue have increased.

Maffei believes that the financial health of the teams in the Liberty era will encourage them to be co-operative as the new Concorde is discussed with Stefano Domenicali.

“We’ve just sent out the new draft of our proposed Concorde Agreement,” said Maffei. “There’s been some discussion with some teams about it, and where it will go. And so we have reason to think it should be relatively easier.

“I’m sure there are teams who will want more money than we want to give them. There’s always that tension.

“But I do believe the goodwill that we have created, and the general fact that they’re all not only making more money remember off of F1, but also their own sponsorship deals have been tremendously stronger – go look at the success of sponsorship at Red Bull, McLaren, even Ferrari now, with their new HP deal.

“The teams are doing very well to where they were before we got involved. So I think that hopefully that goodwill carries forward.”

Maffei made a comparison with the philosophy espoused by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who spoke to the teams at last year’s Canadian GP.

He told them that a sports league and its participants both benefit from working together.

“Prior management, before Liberty, went out of their way to basically have the teams kind of screw each other,” said Maffei. “That was the whole attitude.

“And we’ve tried to take more of the – and full credit to Roger Goodell – fight on Sunday, but on Monday, we’re all together, this is one league, and we do better if we rise together. And I really do think there’s much more of that attitude.

“That doesn’t mean there’s lessened competition. But I think the teams appreciate that Liberty is playing the long game and trying to grow the sport, because that’s how we all profit.

“So in general, the sentiment around the teams towards Formula One Management is very good. And very positive.”

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May 14, 2024 · 5:17 pm

Wolff: Mercedes W15 updates can’t be rushed

Toto Wolff says that further W15 updates are on the way – but they can’t be rushed

Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff is adamant that the team knows how to improve the difficult W15 and is waiting for parts to come through the system.

The team currently lies fourth in the World Championship having scored just 64 points thus far this season.

Early optimism about the potential of the W15 quickly evaporated, and as in 2022 and 2023 the team has faced a huge challenge as it attempts to improve a tricky car.

“I think we understand much more what is needed to get the car in a better space, because it’s so clear now what it does, and why we struggle, and where we struggle,” said Wolff.

“The design offices is all in, the production and operations are flat out, the race team has been doing a good job. So all of the factory is really sixth gear in order to bring stuff to the car that we believe can be very helpful.

“I think we know what we do, and in terms of what we’re bringing to the car, you can’t really rush it, because you’ve got to develop to the point where you say now it’s good to be released into production.

“And once that part comes, or once these bits come, they need to be solid. So this is a matter of many weeks.”

Wolff reiterated that low-speed performance remains a key weakness of the W15.

“I think the car is not bouncing anymore, which is good, it was really bad the last few years [in Miami],” he said.  “The car is very strong in high-speed, the ride has been better, although not on the level of the other ones.

“The car just doesn’t turn in low-speed, and you don’t want to have a car that is either good in low-speed or in high-speed, you need the two of them, and that’s why it points in points us in some of the right directions.

“It’s been a painful learning curve, and it’s still not satisfactory, but the situation is more encouraging now.”

Wolff noted that there was some good news in Miami, although he wasn’t happy with the overall outcome. 

“In terms of the positives for the team, we were quicker than [Sergio] Perez at the end on the same tyre, probably quicker than the bunch ahead, but they were on the hards, so you need to see that in a relative way. On the hard, we struggled a lot.

“I wasn’t happy on Friday at all and with the sprint race, and then we put in some solid work, very structured, for the Grand Prix qualifying, accepting that this is the base level at the moment, and then just carrying it over into the race.

“And finishing sixth and eighth is not something to be proud of. But it’s a step in the right direction.”

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May 14, 2024 · 1:16 pm

Stella: Piastri “in a strong place” after Miami

He didn’t win the race but Oscar Piastri impressed McLaren in Miami

McLaren Formula 1 boss Andrea Stella says that Oscar Piastri is “in a strong place” after the Miami GP despite his performance being overshadowed by the victory of team mate Lando Norris.

Piastri went into the weekend with what Stella described as “50%” of the upgrade package that Norris has on his car,

While the Australian had the new front wing and revised suspension, he didn’t have the floor and sidepods that were used by his team mate to such good effect.

After running second in the early stages and briefly leading the race after Max Verstappen pitted Piastri’s Miami race was ruined by contact with Carlos Sainz that damaged his front wing. He finished outside the points.

“I think Oscar comes out of this weekend even more conscious of his strengths as a driver,” said the Italian.

“We sort of knew already how fast he is on a single lap. Consider that he didn’t have the full package. And let me pay proper credit to Oscar, the gap he had to Lando during qualifying is smaller than the difference of the package he had.

“So he was really pulling off a strong performance over a single lap in very difficult conditions, like all drivers said with the soft tyres.

“His performance in the race was again very strong. Lando said something really nice, he said, by looking at Oscar overtaking a Ferrari, he got like, ‘Wow, we are actually there today.’

“So it was a realisation for Lando himself. And Oscar could keep a strong pace in the first stint.

“I think he comes away from this weekend with these sort of convictions, which, especially in terms of race pace, is something that we wanted to improve, having looked at Japan, having looked at China. So for me, he is in a very strong place.”

In addition Stella praised Piastri’s reaction after learning that he wouldn’t have the full update package in Miami.

“He also comes off this race having proven once again how strong a team player is,” he said. “Because clearly when I told him, ‘Oscar, we’re going to give the sidepods and the floor to Lando,’ he wasn’t the happiest in the bottom of his heart.

“But at no point he made this decision difficult. At no point he said, ‘But why?’ He understood the reasoning, and he was immediately supportive, like all the entourage around Oscar.

“So I think he comes away with a lot of positives. And the fact that it was the collision with Carlos actually, I think that he was a little late in braking, he had a bit of an overseer, contact with Oscar, but I think that was a really racing incident, and it doesn’t detract anything of the weekend that Oscar has been able to pull off.”

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May 14, 2024 · 10:08 am

Gasly: Alpine F1 upgrades allow drivers to be “more pushy”

Pierre Gasly says that Alpine Formula 1 team’s latest upgrade package allows its drivers to be a “more pushy” as they fight in the midfield pack.

The new parts were used by Esteban Ocon in China before Gasly received them in Miami, where the A524s finished 10th and 12th, with Ocon logging the team’s first point of the season.

As well as aero benefits the package created a valuable weight saving, the cars having been over the limit since the start of the season.

“I think weight is true lap time, you can quantify like roughly 10 kilos is three-tenths per lap,” said Gasly. “So it’s quite easy to quantify. But then even when you’re talking about a few kilos over a full race distance in terms of energy you put in the tyre, it does affect it.

“So it helps you in performance, degradation, all around. In terms of car balance, not a huge difference. You see with the floor, it’s a bit more downforce as well.

“It’s just like a tiny bit, but at the moment in that midfield just a tiny bit allows us to race a bit more, be a bit more pushy sometimes, be able to overtake or defend.

“And I think that was the whole point of the race. We had some great battles, I managed to even pass [Fernando] Alonso at some point when I didn’t really expect to fight with him. We just seem to be a bit more in the mix.”

Gasly conceded that Ocon’s point was a boost for the whole team.

“I think we are just showing we’re making a lot of progress,” he said. “Very positive for the team to open the account and get a get a point out of that race. The whole weekend was positive, I finished ninth in the sprint, as well.

“So yeah, a lot of positives, and great motivation for the guys now, I hope we can keep pushing that direction, and hopefully things can start coming a bit more our way on our side of the garage.”

He added: “We keep trying things, and it feels like at the moment the car is not really quite giving me the stuff that I like. But we’re slowly getting in the right direction. So yeah, it’s slowly coming, but hopefully we can see us fighting for top 10s a bit more consistently now.”

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May 9, 2024 · 2:39 pm

Piastri: McLaren’s Miami F1 race form was “unexpected”

Oscar Piastri showed great pace in Miami before his race “unravelled”

Oscar Piastri admits that his McLaren Formula 1 team’s impressive pace in the Miami GP was “unexpected” after the cars showed mixed form over the previous two days.

While team mate and race winner Lando Norris had the full update package Piastri had what Andrea Stella called only 50% of it, and was notably missing the revised floor and sidepods.

Despite not having all of the new kit Piastri ran third in the early laps of the race after jumping up from sixth on the grid, before passing Charles Leclerc for second.

However his afternoon was spoiled when he was hit by Carlos Sainz while battling with the Ferrari driver, and he had to pit for a new front wing. He eventually finished 13th.

“I think in these conditions on this track, the pace we had today was unexpected,” he said when asked by this writer about the value of the upgrades.

“I think we don’t fully understand why, we were a bit up and down on different days. But I think the fact that we can win a race on pace is a very, very encouraging sign for the rest of the year.”

Although obviously disappointed by the outcome of his own race Piastri was encouraged by Norris’s win.

“I think definitely a lot of positives to come from today,” he said. “I think, for both of us the car was really strong. I think for Lando to win the race on pace, and to pull away from Max [Verstappen] after the safety car, I think that’s a very, very encouraging sign.

“So very happy for him, and for the whole team. I think we deserve it. Our trajectory in the last 12 months has been towards this moment. And yeah, also for Lando, I think it’s been a long time coming. So I’m happy for him.”

Regarding his own race he noted: “I was happy with the start. And then the fact that I could get past Leclerc as well was unexpected coming into the race.

“So from that point, I was quite happy and was reasonably comfortable with him behind me there. Just the timing of the safety car wasn’t ideal, and it unravelled from there.”

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May 9, 2024 · 12:31 pm

Domenicali: F1 will announce “attractive” new venues

Domenicali says that further “attractive” venues will join the likes of Miami

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says that the organisation will announce “some new venues that could be very attractive” in the next couple of years.

F1 continues to insist that the schedule will not increase from the current 24 races, which means that established races will have to make way to allow new venues in.

While many promoters have been signing long term deals that go beyond 2030 some events, mainly in Europe, still have shorter contracts.

Thailand is the countries that has emerged as a potential future F1 host.

“In the course of the last few years, because of the strong demand of our product, and because of the standard we are asking to work with our promoters, we have seen everything going up in terms of quality of demand, of course economical input for both the promoter and our side,” said Domenicali.

“And the strong demand we are receiving just shows really the strategy is right. Now the point is to keep the balance between the different counties that are requesting the different Grands Prix.”

He added: “Race promotion, before COVID, everyone was worried about the fact in terms of revenue stream, this could have been a very flat line. 

“And actually, the fact that we have a lot of demand, of course, is pushing up also the possibility of maximising in the best way that we can the race promotion fees.

“But it has to be connected to our strategic development in different markets. So everything is progressing very, very well. And I would say in the next couple of years, I’m expecting to see – and we are expected to announce – also some new venues that could be very attractive to grow the business of F1.”

Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei admitted that strong demand from competing venues allows F1 to generate more income from race hosting fees.

“I think for a long time it was perceived that the growth and promotion would come from incremental races,” said Maffei. “And we obviously went from 18 or something to up to this 24 level, which is where we do not anticipate growing any more races.

“But it actually creates a great incentive, scarcity, to be able to play promoters off against each other and not to try to, not take advantage of them, but just given the amount of demand we have both among fans to attend and among promoters to host an event, we’ve been able to find attractive pricing and good uplifts.

“And we continue to find new venues and new locations which find it very attractive, given the amount of demand we have and given the opportunities they’ve seen others pursue. So far, so good on promotion, and I do think it continues to remain a growth area.”

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May 8, 2024 · 7:09 pm

Alonso: “Nice kid” Norris deserved Miami debut F1 win

Fernando Alonso says that “nice kid” Lando Norris deserved his debut Formula 1 win in Miami, especially after logging a string of podium finishes.

Alonso got to know Norris when the Englishman was a McLaren junior, and especially when he ran some Friday FP1 sessions at the end of 2018.

The following year they shared a car for Zak Brown’s United Autosports team at the Daytona 24 Hours.

Norris’s victory came 21 years after Alonso’s own debut win with Renault in the 2003 Hungarian GP.

“The first win after so many podiums,” said Alonso. “I’m really happy for him. Hopefully he remembers this day. The first of many wins.

“He’s a nice kid, he’s a nice man and a very talented driver. I know him very well. We did the Daytona 24 Hours in 2019 together. He started in McLaren as a test driver when I was there. We both live in Monaco, we see each other sometimes there in the city, travel together sometimes as well.

“And after so many podiums, I think he deserved his win. As I said, hopefully he enjoys this day, because sometimes you forget quickly, because you’re so focused on the next event. But yeah, I’m very happy for him. And for McLaren as well.”

Regarding the Woking team’s Miami form he said: “Well, they were close, and I think they were second in China.

“And they were again fast here, especially on the sprint qualifying, they were very fast. They brought a lot of updates here. Let’s see what will happen in the next few races in the championship.”

After a disappointing qualifying session Alonso enjoyed a charging race in Miami for Aston Martin, starting on the hard tyre and eventually working his way from 15th on the grid to ninth at the flag.

“I think we were lucky with the [virtual] safety car today, that really helped our race,” he said when asked by this writer about his afternoon.

“Starting on the hard, maybe we were thinking to stop a little bit later, but the safety car came in that lap, and we took the opportunity.

“And then the full safety car bunched everyone else. And we were with the mediums, the others were with hards. So we had a little advantage there.

“So all-in-all, we were lucky with the strategy and with the safety car, a little bit better on the race, compared to quali but we still need to improve and find more pace.”

Alonso enjoyed his fights on the way through the field, notably the one with former Alpine team mate Esteban Ocon for ninth place.

“Good battles, Esteban very hard fighting, as well,” he said. “As always, he’s a racer, but always with respect. I really enjoyed today the fight with him. It’s the first point for Alpine, I’m happy as well for them. But I think Esteban drove really well to take that point. So well done to them.”

Alonso created a stir in Miami by suggesting that nationality sometimes played a part in penalties. He subsequently had a conversation with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

“He’s always on board on every opinion that the drivers have, he knows that we are the ones driving the cars, and that we can have some suggestions on things.

“There are a couple of points that we need to address as a sport. And yeah, he always listens to us. Let’s see between if we make F1 a better sport, and a little bit more consistent.”

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May 8, 2024 · 5:34 pm

Russell: Mercedes can only target P5 “on a good day”

George Russell admits that his Mercedes Formula 1 team can currently only target P5 “on a good day” and is generally only the fourth best team in the field.

Russell finished the Miami GP in eighth place, losing out to the VCARB of Yuki Tsunoda, having complained about a lack of grip at various stages during the race.

His team mate Lewis Hamilton only fared a little better, earning sixth place after starting on the hard tyres.

“Something didn’t quite feel right with the car,” said Russell when asked about his race by this writer. “I just had no grip, no pace. I was slower than Yuki for the whole last stint. So just need to go and see what was going on.

“I don’t really know to be honest, it’s swings and roundabouts for us at the moment. On a good day we’re P5 and on a bad day we’re P8. Today was a bad day, and we finished P8.”

Russell insisted that Lando Norris’s victory indicated that teams can make progress through upgrades.

“McLaren qualified P17 and 18 12 months ago in Miami, and today they won,” he said. “So it shows what’s possible when you get things right. But right now we don’t have things right, and we need to make changes quick.”

Asked if there is some light at the end of the tunnel for Mercedes he said: “There’s definitely direction.

“And we do have a few things coming in the short term, but nothing that’s going to transform us into race winners right now.

“I think we have to accept that we are the fourth fastest team at the moment, the lap times don’t lie, the championship doesn’t lie. This is where we are.

“And as I said, I think we’re fighting for the P5 to P8 region, week-in, week-out now.”

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