F1 2018

[1%er]

2018 F1 calendar
25 Mar '18 Australia Albert Park

8 Apr '18 Bahrain Sakhir

15 Apr '18 China Shanghai

29 Apr '18 Azerbaijan Baku Street Circuit

13 May '18 Spain Circuit de Catalunya

27 May '18 Monaco Monte Carlo

10 Jun '18 Canada Montreal

24 Jun '18 France Paul Ricard

1 Jul '18 Austria Red Bull Ring

8 Jul '18 Great Britain Silverstone

22 Jul '18 Germany Hockenheim

29 Jul '18 Hungary Hungaroring

26 Aug '18 Belgium Spa-Francorchamps

2 Sep '18 Italy Monza

16 Sep '18 Singapore Marina Bay

30 Sep '18 Russia Sochi

7 Oct '18 Japan Suzuka

21 Oct '18 United States Circuit of the Americas

28 Oct '18 Mexico Mexico City

11 Nov '18 Brazil Interlagos

25 Nov '18 Abu Dhabi Yas Marina

PRESEASON TESTING


February 26-March 1 Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona

March 6-9 Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona


IN-SEASON TESTING


May 15-May 16 Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona

July 31-August 1 Hungaroring, Budapest

2018 F1 DRIVER LINE-UPS

Mercedes Lewis Hamilton Valtteri Bottas

Ferrari Sebastian Vettel Kimi Raikkonen

Red Bull Daniel Ricciardo Max Verstappen

Force India Sergio Perez Esteban Ocon

Williams Lance Stroll TBC

Renault Nico Hulkenberg Carlos Sainz

Toro Rosso Pierre Gasly Brendon Hartley

Haas Romain Grosjean Kevin Magnussen

McLaren Fernando Alonso Stoffel Vandoorne

Sauber Marcus Ericsson Charles Leclerc

2018 TEAMS AND ENGINE SUPPLIER

Mercedes Mercedes

Ferrari Ferrari

Red Bull Renault

Force India Mercedes

Williams Mercedes

Renault Renault

Toro Rosso Honda

Haas Ferrari

McLaren Renault

Sauber Ferrari

 

[spitfire]

 

[1%er]

Rule changes for 2018
As well as the introduction of the Halo the teams will only be allowed 3 power-units for the season and the shark-fin will be gone. Also the FIA have announced a change to the grid penalty system. Any driver who incurs a penalty exceeding 15 grid places will be required to start the race from the back of the grid. If more than one driver receives such a penalty they will be arranged at the back of the grid in the order in which the offenses were committed.

Other changes announced for 2018 are as follows;
Regulations relating to procedures for starting or resuming a race behind the safety car.
Changing the event timetable to increase flexibility.
Ensuring that testing of previous cars may only take place on tracks currently holding an FIA Grade 1 or 1T licence.
Provision for demonstration events in previous cars which does not constitute testing. No such demonstrations may exceed 50km in length and only tyres manufactured specifically for this purpose by the appointed supplier may be used.
Changes to ensure that oil cannot be used as fuel.
Introduction of a detailed specification for oil.
A minimum weight and volume for energy storage (batteries).
Changes to position of cameras and wing mirrors to accommodate the Halo.

 

[Limejuice]

 

[Limejuice]

Toro Rosso look a bit exposed, as the only Honda engine user.

I may come to eat my words, but I'm not convinced the loud-box will be competitive.

But I'm looking forward to seeing what McLaren can do this season with a Renault under the bonnet.

 

[weltweit]

Who will post the first picture of a 2018 car with its halo?

 

[1%er]

The story at Williams
Williams need money as Paddy Lowe will not have moved there if he wasn't promised development money and the option to bring in new staff, the team are clearly looking to the future having employed aerodynamic boss Dirk de Beer from Ferrari, and new vehicle dynamics chief Barney Hassell, from McLaren. But they have fallen from 3rd to 5th in the constructors championship in the past few years costing them millions. In 2014 & 15 they finished 3rd and had money to pay drivers in 2016 & 17 they finished 5th, last year they had extra funds from Mercedes to offset the loss of Bottas and the Stroll money has also gone down. This year Williams not only need to take on Force India ahead of them but keep Renault and McLaren behind them.

So to the drivers;
Robert Kubica is believed to have $11 million in backing from a Polish chain of convenience stores, and an energy company, interestingly CVC Capital Partners own Zabka a chain of Polish convenience stores and PKP Energetyka an energy company in Poland, if anyone knows the worth of sponsorship in F1 you'd think CVC would

Sergey Sirotkin is thought to have twice the sponsorship money than Kubica to bring to the team, but do they want to be associated with SMP bank and the Rotenberg brothers, all of whom are black-listed by United States and Canada and on other lists. How would there other sponsors like that i wonder.

Late news on Kubica, Finnish broadcaster MTV claims Kubica is now back in the game. His manager Nico Rosberg has reportedly "made an offer" so that Kubica gets the green light to do the first seven races of 2017, for the price of $7 million in total to the British team. "If he does not convince Williams (during the 7 races), Sirotkin will replace the Pole," the report added. Williams is reportedly "seriously considering" the Kubica-Rosberg proposal, "which is why the decision has been postponed until January" a source claimed.

Sergio Marchionne not bluffing
speaking to reporters in Maranello ahead of the team’s Christmas lunch Marchionne claims other teams would follow Ferrari into a new series. Ferrari are unhappy with Liberty Media's plans for a new engine and a budget cap to be in place for the 2021 season, but as teams and the rights holder are only in the early stages of negotiation for the next Concorde agreement, it seems parties are just setting-out their stalls.

“We have been part of F1's history, so we understand bulls and we understand F1, we have a race department that works only on F1, so we know F1 well. We are not interested in making cars all the same and simple and cheap engines like Nascar,” Marchionne said. “If anything, the real problem is that there is no overtaking and F1 needs more exciting races. Otherwise Ferrari will leave. If they believe that we are bluffing, they are playing with fire". He added: “I think that Ferrari has the strength to drag others as well to an alternative championship. The thing that most annoys me is that there is an experienced man like Ross Brawn there who is looking for ways that go against the DNA of Formula One. Making cars all the same with simpler and cheaper engines is like NASCAR, it doesn’t interest us, we need to find a balanced solution for the future that satisfies everyone and I think we will do it in time”.

Daytona 24 attracts F1 drivers
News reports are claiming that as well as Alonso the Daytona 24 race will also see Lance Stroll and Kevin Magnussen on the starting grid. Not sure how risky their teams think it is but the race is in January shortly before preseason testing.

 

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Nico Rosberg returns to F1
Liberty Media and German TV channel RTL have signed an agreement for free-to-air F1 in Germany until 2020. Talking to Bild Nico Rosberg says he will be replacing Niki Lauda as the pundit on RTL's F1 coverage. His father Keke was the pundit before Lauda so they are keeping it in the family. Rosberg has not officially signed his contract yet, but is expected to be behind the mic for the first race of the 2018 season in Australia next March.

List of new formula 1 races
I meant to post something like this last year (but forgot until about halfway through the season ). A list of "new" F1 races reported in the press. I started jotting down the names of countries and tracks I read about in the press that were in the running for an extended F1 calendar. Maybe we could just cut and paste new places to this list as we go through the season (its easy as you'll remember it is on the first page). I'll start with the places I jotted down over the last 6 months, If you hear or read of a new place just cut and paste the list above and re-post the list in a new post please .

Tunisia, USA (Miami, New York, Milwaukee, New Jersey, Las Vegas, Daytona, California, Laguna Seca, Sonoma Raceway), Portugal Macau, Norway, Denmark, UK (Brand Hatch), Korea, Turkey, South Africa, Argentina, Netherlands (Zandvoort, Assen).

 

[1%er]

FIA change rules for free practice drivers
Until now drivers needed to accumulate 300km in a "representative F1 car" if they wanted to take part in a practice session without a superlicence. From now young drivers will still need to meet the 300km rule but will also now need to have competed in at least six F2 races or have racked up 25 points on their superlicence in eligible championships during the previous three seasons. Once drivers have completed one practice session they must go on and finish a full F2 season or amass 25 points on their superlicence in order to be eligible for further running in any subsequent F1 practices. Formula 1 teams must also show evidence that their reserve drivers have been briefed about the most important rules and regulations and the drivers must then prove to the FIA they have consistently shown the highest quality of driving in single-seater formula cars.

Pay to play just got a lot harder

Did Max and Jos pull a stroke
Some interesting stuff coming out about Max Verstappen's new contract with Red Bull. Those who follow F1 will recall last season a number of stories in the press relating to Max talking to Ferrari and Mercedes. It seems these were well timed and well placed stories. Both Max and Jos didn't outright dismiss them but said things like "these rumors are positive" or "I'm not talking about what's happening, I have a contract with Red Bull" etc.

It now turns out that neither Ferrari nor Mercedes spoke to anyone representing Max. Sergio Marchionne made this clear last season and yesterday Niki Lauda said the same, speaking to Servus TV Lauda said "I have a good relationship with Helmut Marko as we often talk and fly together. Today we talked about Verstappen and I told him that they could have saved a lot of money, since we never entered negotiations with him".

When asked about Lauda's comments Marko is reported to have said "He took advantage of the situation to get a raise in his money, We shared with him our plans for the future, guaranteeing that by 2020 we will have the best people and good options for the engine".

It is now believed Verstappen's salary is in the range of $25-35 million per season including prize money. Well done Max and your management

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Hmmmmm. 2017 was the first season for about 25 years where I didn't watch a single race or any highlights. All I did was read various news reports, blogs and the thread here.

I honestly didn't feel like I'd missed out on anything

Maybe I'll try again in 2018, but it just doesn't feel like the sport I used to love anymore.

 

[1%er]

Hmmmmm. 2017 was the first season for about 25 years where I didn't watch a single race or any highlights. All I did was read various news reports, blogs and the thread here.

I honestly didn't feel like I'd missed out on anything

Maybe I'll try again in 2018, but it just doesn't feel like the sport I used to love anymore.

It is changing that's for sure, I think how the driver line-up changes in 2019 could be interesting but for me the new Concorde agreement in 2021 will be the deciding factor. I am really unsure how a budget cap will effect the sport and how any new power-unit will also effect it. But F1 has gone through many changes over the years and still managed to retain billions of viewers around the world, I do miss Bernie and his shenanigans, I used to love F1 politics but nowadays it has become a bit dull

 

[Badgers]

 

[1%er]

K-Mag ruled out of Daytona or Le Mans
As posted in #7 above, news reports about Kevin Magnussen being on the starting grid for Daytona 24 hours are wrong. I thought it was a bit risky for him to be doing that race just before testing starts with Haas, the team also seem to thing so. In today's Danish newspaper BT K-mag says he was in talks but having spoken to the team, "it is now a no-go", he has also said "no chance that I will do Le Mans this year".

Lowe explains about Massa's 2nd retirement
Lowe said that Massa would have also been in contention, despite his initial plans to retire after the 2016 season, but the Brazilian wanted answers before Williams were in position to give them [he wanted to know before the Brazilian GP].

"With the timing of it all, Felipe needed a decision before Brazil," Lowe said "We weren't able to. He was still in the running and was a strong candidate. But we weren't able to make that commitment at that point. So we agreed that he would drop out of considerations and retire from the team". Nethertheless, Lowe has praised Massa for his efforts and was a driver they could always rely on no matter what.

 

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FIA clampdown on Suspension
Got a feeling of Déjà Vu? I'm not surprised as a story about suspension started around the same time last season Iirc last season it was Ferrari (and others) who had an interconnecting system (front and rear) which was banned back in 2014, but which all teams changed prior to the start of the season.

This year it is a "suspension and steering" linked system that is being banned. From my understanding of the system, there is some sort of special linkage between the steering and suspension that changes the ride height of the car when the steering angle is changed, thereby lowering the car in the corner, thus allowing the car to go faster through the corner. This type of system is banned already I believe, as it is against the rules to have any system that allows "a driver input to alter the aerodynamic characteristics of the car" and as steering is done by the driver it makes the system illegal, in my view. As far as I'm aware the only moveable aerodynamic device that is allowed in F1 is the DRS system.

The FIA's Charlie Whiting has issued a new "technical directive" and written to all the teams informing them that a new system, whereby steering angle determines ride height, therefore lowering the car in a corner, will be outlawed. "It became clear during the season that some teams were designing the suspension and steering systems in an attempt to change the front ride height of the car," wrote Whiting. "Whilst some change is inevitable when the steering wheel is moved from lock-to-lock, we suspect that the effect of some systems was a far from incidental change of ride height. We also believe that any non-incidental change of ride height is very likely to affect the aerodynamic performance of the car".

F1 records broken in 2017
Lewis Hamilton who broke a number of records last season:
The first Briton to win four world titles
The all-time pole position record, ending the season on 72
The only modern driver to claim 3 grand slams (pole, fastest lap, win, led every lap)
He now holds the record for front-row starts
He surpassed 3,000 laps led for his career
He has now taken pole at every circuit on the current calendar at least once

Lance Stroll who at 18 years and 239 days became the youngest rookie (and second youngest driver of all time behind Max Verstappen) to stand on an F1 podium with third place in Azerbaijan

Nico Hulkenberg the driver with the most Grand Prix starts without a podium finish to his name 135

11 lap records being obliterated in Azerbaijan, Monaco, Austria, Great Britain, Belgium, Singapore, Malaysia, Russia, USA, Mexico, Brazil

Team entry fees for the 2018 season
An amended entry fee system, introduced in 2013, mandated every team to pay a flat entry fee of $516,128, indexed by the US CPI [Consumer Price Index], along with a sliding scale dependent on its success. The Constructors' Champions must pay a fee of $6,194 for each point earned, with the remaining outfits charged $5,161 per point amassed with the amount payable by 30 November. The combined entry fees amount to $16,276,544

Formula 1 team entry fees: 2018 / 2017
Mercedes: $4,653,720 / $5,254,538
Ferrari: $3,210,170 / $2,570,206
Red Bull: $2,415,376 / $2,931,476
Force India: $1,481,235 / $1,408,981
Williams: $944,491 / $1,228,346
Renault: $810,305 / $557,416
Toro Rosso: $789,661 / $841,271
Haas: $758,695 / $665,797
McLaren: $670,958 / $905,324
Sauber: $541,933 / $526,450

 

[Limejuice]

Well, guess what Santa brought?

The new Adrian Newey book: "How to Build a Car".

If you like the engineering, oily-rag end of motorsport, you'll enjoy it.

It has graphs!

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Well, guess what Santa brought?

The new Adrian Newey book: "How to Build a Car".

If you like the engineering, oily-rag end of motorsport, you'll enjoy it.

It has graphs!

I got that as well, it’s superb

It confirms my long held view that the drivers really are incidental to my love of the sport. The real fight is between the engineers...

 

[1%er]

Well, guess what Santa brought?

The new Adrian Newey book: "How to Build a Car".

If you like the engineering, oily-rag end of motorsport, you'll enjoy it.

It has graphs!

If anyone wants a copy of the ebook "How to Build a Car" let me know I'll send it via email
I also have SHUNT, watching the wheels, life to the limit, total competition and The secret life of Bernie Ecclestone as ebooks, if you like Rock music biographies I also have loads of them, if you want a list PM me

 

[1%er]

RIP Bette Hill
I just noticed that Bette Hill died earlier this month, I came across the story while reading the BRDC website and I'm surprised I didn't see reported in any of the newspapers, magazines or websites I read about F1. The wife of Graham mother of Damon died aged 91. Everything I ever read about her was positive and she appears to have been a wonderful women. She was an Honorary Member of the BRDC and also worked hard with a number of charities that supported the families of racing drivers who were killed or injured. The memory that springs to mind of her, is when she gave Murry Walker a dressing down for claiming that "Michael Schumacher was a great sportsman" after he won the world title in Adelaide in 1994 after deliberately crashing into Damon. Her word about Walkers statement were 'If you can't win honourably, don't win at all".

Bernie to become CEO of Ferrari's breakaway series
To be honest I think this is just an April Fools story that has left the grid to early. A while ago I was listening to a podcast where this was spoken about as a joke but now seems to have been picked up by someone who has written about it as a real news story. I think it is safe to say that Liberty Media would have made CVC and its top employees, including Bernie, sign non-compete clauses so I don't believe this story has legs, but it will be interesting to see who else picks up this "news"

Driver honored in new years honers list
No, not the British racing driver and 4 times World Champion Lewis Hamilton, nor the great John Surtees, Derek Warwick or Martin Brundle but a government chauffeur. Interestingly I see that Lord Coe heads the honours sport sub-committee, he is also chairman of the CSM promotions company which has a great deal of involvement in F1, so you'd think he wouldn't miss much in Grand Prix racing.

 

[Limejuice]

I fully endorse Bette Hill's comments about dishonourable sportsmanship.

 

[1%er]

First I'd like to wish all the readers and contributors to the F1 thread a happy new year

Who will become the Mercedes B-team
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has been exploring and "having discussions" with some independent teams about also having a B-team in a similar format to the way Ferrari and Sauber are linked. He is reported in the press as saying "It's something that we are considering. It's not easy because you don't want to distract your own organisation with a collaboration with another team on the other side. We are having discussions but nothing is done yet".

Ferrari's partnership with Sauber for 2018 will see the team officially badged as Alfa-Romeo Sauber. The deal also saw Ferrari juniors Charles Leclerc and Antonio Giovinazzi handed a race seat and reserve role respectively. Wolff is wary of how the latest deal could strengthen Ferrari. "I think what Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne and Maurizio Arrivabene are doing is very clever" Wolff said, "they've had a good relationship with Haas. That has helped Haas and helped Ferrari and what they are doing now with Sauber is very visionary. With Fred Vassuer he has a team principal on the other side who knows the business inside out and it can be an alliance that can be dangerous for us".

Wolff is open to the idea of Mercedes copying Ferrari's example with another team on the grid and has admitted it is an area he is already exploring. There are two obvious teams who already run Mercedes engines, they are Force India and Williams, but would either of those teams want to be known as "Mercedes B-team". It is unclear if and when Mercedes would start up a B-team, but the other independent teams on the grid all appear to have engine supplier contracts.

Teams already approaching Aston Martin
It has now emerged that other independent teams on the grid have been in contact with Aston Martin regarding taking a supply of their engine after 2021 and it is believed Aston Martin could be in a position to create the capacity for more than two teams. The British car maker, which will become Red Bull’s title sponsor in 2018 is keen on F1’s next engine rules cycle , providing the production and development costs are controlled. Work on the concept has already begun, following the recruitment of ex-Ferrari F1 engine chiefs Joerg Ross and Luca Marmorini.

When ask about Aston Martin's involvement the president and CEO Andy Palmer said “I have some rough maths in terms of what cost and what price. With all of this stuff in F1, you have to factor in intangibles because you’re talking about a marketing return, not necessarily a physical return. Marketing return hopefully turns into sold cars, which is why we’re doing this. This is to seed the soil for when we bring a mid-engined car to compete with the Ferrari 488, which is what the Valkyrie [hypercar] was about. It’s about creating credibility ready for when we go mainstream face-to-face with Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren on the road. The timing of the 2021 regulations work really well, because it is about the time we’ll be bringing that car out”.

There are some other factors to take into account when looking at Aston Martin and F1, they are, will Dietrich Mateschitz sell his interest in F1? News reports claim that he has fallen out of love with the sport and it is clear that Toro Rosso has been up for sale for some time now. Should Mateschitz sell his F1 interests, Red Bull could become the Aston Martin factory team and Toro Rosso could become the Honda factory team (if Honda get their act together with their power-unit and become a factory team again). For sure we will hear stories over the next couple of years about this but I don't think we will hear anything concrete until the new engine rules have been finalized and the next Concorde agreement is signed.

Paul di Resta back on track
Paul di Resta will race alongside Bruno Senna, Will Owen and Hugo de Sadeleer in the #32 Ligier JS P217 later this month and will be taking part in some practice at Daytona this week. di Resta had his first taste of the Ligier at the Circuit Paul Ricard last November when he tested for the team. When speaking to the press before his first run at Daytona Paul said "I’m really looking forward to starting the 2018 season so early on, I have never done this before in my career and it’s something new to me, endurance racing, in the US, at Daytona. I had a small taste of the LMP2 car in early November and really liked how it was, now the real business will begin. I have to start working hard with the team and my team-mates to make the best of this race with United Autosports. I liked what I saw in the team and I hope it only works better when the pressure is on”.

United Autosports team co-owned by McLaren’s Executive Director, Zak Brown will also run car #23 which will be driven by Fernando Alonso, the Spaniard will share the team’s Ligier car with McLaren development driver Lando Norris.

 

[1%er]

Williams to announce Sergey Sirotkin as 2nd driver
According to the German magazine Auto Bild the deal has been done between Williams and Sergey Sirotkin, who it is believed has signed a two year contract to drive for the team. As mentioned in the 2017 thread Sirotkin is backed by Boris Rotenberg who controls the SMP Bank and founded Russia’s SMP Racing. It will be interesting, if this story is true, to see how this plays out for Williams as both Boris and his brother Arkady Rotenberg appear on EU and US sanctions lists, along with the SMP Bank. I would imagine that any individual or company backing an F1 driver wants a return on their investment, so this is business not just sport.

Liberty Media are a listed US based company and both Williams Grand Prix Holdings PLC and Williams Grand Prix Engineering Ltd are listed on the German DAX exchange. I'm not really sure how the US and EU sanctions work, but one could assume that they are in place to stop people and businesses named on them from investing in companies in both locations I also wonder how Martini will feel about their sponsorship being linked to people and a company on both US and EU sanction lists.

Changes to Paul Ricard for French GP
There are a number of track modifications being made to the circuit before the return of the French GP, that will take place on June 24th. The one I find most interesting is the change to the long back straight where they intend to add a chicane called Sud/Nord, other changes include tightening Turn 1, widening the entry of Turn 5 and tweaking the Turn 14/15 complex. The biggest change will come at Turn 12 with an entirely new corner being laid which bypasses the original corner, making it a sweeping left-hander aimed at increasing overtaking.

They are also installing additional grandstands to cater for 90,000+ spectators, so they are clearly expecting a large number of Dutch fans to come along to support Max The last race in France was held at Magny-Cours back in 2008, it was dropped from the 2009 calendar because the race promoter FFSA (the French domestic motorsport's governing body) did not believe it is possible to run the event profitably. The race had lost money for several years and the FFSA did not want to commit to a potential financial risk in the economic climate of that time.

The circuit is owned by Excelis and in turn Excelis is owned by the Bambino trust, which I'm sure you'll know is Bernie Ecclestone's family trust, but neither Bernie nor the trust will be involved as promoters of the race (for sure Bernie knows better that than to get involved in that sort of non-profit situation ) the track will be rented to the people that are going to be the promoters of the race for the next 5 years. I believe they are the regional government, the local city government and the French motorsport association (FFSA again).

 

[hipipol]

All the 2017 European F3 races are on Youtube now, spent a few days over crimbo watching them all!!
Much more exciting than F1, plus it has a Schumacher and a Piquet - sons of the famous ones, plus a Sato (no relation it seems) - plus Lando Norris, so beloved of McLaren... much less predictable than the FI not so magic roundabout style procession

 

[1%er]

Sergey Sirotkin to bring $30 million to Williams
As mentioned above Sergey Sirotkin is believed to be announced as Williams 2nd driver with-in the next ten days and is expected to bring $30 million to the team over two years. Williams appear to be doing very well from pay drivers at the moment, as it is believed that Stroll paid $25 million for his race seat in 2017 plus the reported $15 million he paid for the 8 private tests he did. The Stroll deal may not cost the family any money in the end, as it is believed they financed the deal by buying advertising space on the car and are selling that to off-set the money spent. It is thought that the total Williams budget for 2018 is around $225 million. The bulk of that coming in the form of prize money $134 million, Sponsorship $63.5 million and from partners around $27.5 million.

Will we soon see Haas/Maserati F1 team
I don't think we will see it this season, but it is thought that Hass are talking to Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne about a similar agreement to the new Sauber deal (Sauber Alfa-Romeo). The Haas F1 team is currently financed by Gene Haas's own businesses and a little money from FOM as they only qualify for 6% of the column 2 payment (Column 1 payments are calculated based on a team's classification over two of the past three years, while Column 2 payments are based solely on a team's 2017 classification with only the top 10 qualifying. In 2017 the column payment was $36million). Haas team principal Gunther Steiner has said in the press that the team is open to looking at a similar deal to Sauber and Marchionne is said to be keen to see the Maserati name back in F1.

 

[1%er]

Dave Greenwood leaves Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen's race engineer David Greenwood has left Ferrari, he became Kimi's engineer after he left the role of chief engineer at Marussia when they went under. Ferrari has yet to make a decision on who will replace Greenwood, but one is expected in the coming weeks. It seems Ferrari are having another mini-reshuffle as pitwall-based operations chief Diego Loverno will no longer travel to races and will instead work from the factory. Again it isn't clear who will take up his roll, or if anyone will, his job on the pitwall could just be spread between other members of the team. One option is that Jock Clear takes on some of those duties as part of his role as head of race activities. Further adjustments to the structure and staff duties are expected in the coming weeks ahead of pre-season testing.

Still no news on a British Grand Prix
Former British Racing Drivers Club president Derek Warwick believes the UK's status as the global home of motorsport is no guarantee that the British Grand Prix will continue to feature on the Formula 1 calendar in the future. Ahead of his resignation as BRDC president in October, Warwick oversaw Silverstone's decision to trigger a break clause in its existing F1 contract due to escalating costs and an increasingly bleak financial forecast. In an interview with the press, Warwick stressed that while the UK may be a key hub for global motorsport, acting as the base for 70 per cent of F1 teams and with strong links through racing history, it acted as no guarantee of the race staying on the calendar. "The grand prix is too expensive, we’re losing money and that’s why we triggered the break clause," Warwick explained. "Britain is the home of motorsport. Does that mean there will always be a British Formula 1 grand prix? Absolutely not. Of course we want a British Grand Prix and for it to stay at Silverstone, but we want it to be affordable so that we can make just enough money to reinvest in the circuit. We can’t do that under the present deal."

 

[1%er]

The Torpedo to join Ferrari
Well I didn't see this coming, Daniil Kvyat is to become Scuderia Ferrari's development driver. It isn't clear what his job will entail as Ferrari already have Charles Leclerc (driving for Sauber) and Antonio Giovinazzi named as reserve drivers. Clearly others had seen some potential, as in 2014 he was picked by Red Bull to drive for Toro Rosso and then moved up to the Red Bull team to replace Vettel. His best result was finishing second in the 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix and managed third place at the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix. But he crashed into Vettel during the 2016 Russian Grand Prix leading the German to brand Kvyat "the torpedo", after which he was dropped by Toro Rosso during last season and replaced by Pierre Gasly.

While we are talking about Ferrari and Toro Rosso, it seems that Marco Matassa who was Kvyat's engineer at Toro Rosso has also moved to Ferrari, I think he will replace David Greenwood as Kimi Raikkonen engineer, although Ferrari have not made that clear yet.

Could Copenhagen be on the calendar by 2020
Chase Carey has given Copenhagen the thumbs-up as a potential grand prix venue of the future. The Danish capital is vying to secure a place on the 2020 grid with a city street circuit. Speaking to the press after visiting the city yesterday, Carey said "We are very excited to explore the possibility of a race here in Denmark, we have talked a lot about the importance of our events being at iconic locations that capture the world's interest, and I think Copenhagen does that". The race backers are still trying to raise all the money needed and have yet to get the full support of government and the community. The backers want an initial 3 year deal but FOM want a much longer commitment.

While the government hasn't yet given its 100% backing to the project they are being very supportive, industry minister Brian Mikkelsen attending Wednesday's meeting with Carey claimed "We had a really good meeting with Chase Carey, the Danish government is interested in attracting major sporting events, and formula one is definitely that. I have told Chase that the Danish government supports this project and is willing to discuss the economics. But we will not be funding the majority".

As mentioned in post 8 above there are many venues that Liberty Media are looking at, it seems the top 5 after Copenhagen are, in no particular order;
Las Vegas
A second race in the United States alongside the Circuit of The Americas track in Austin, Texas, is high on the agenda and the glitz and the glamour of Las Vegas is sure to appeal to Formula 1 bosses. A night race which includes part of the track running down the famous strip has been suggested and Liberty have already filed for trademarks in preparation of a potential race.
New York
Staying in the US, another highly desired destination is New York and that has been the case for many, many years. Pinpointing the specific location has proven difficult, but a street circuit in Weehawken, New Jersey looks the most likely venue should Liberty focus on the east coast.
Zandvoort
The Dutch Grand Prix has been missing from the Formula 1 calendar for 33 years but the rise of Max Verstappen and his legion of supporters has seen a growing interest in bringing the Netherlands back into the fold. Liberty Media would be foolish not to capitalize on Verstappen's popularty while also enlarging the European market for F1.
Buenos Aires
The Argentine Grand Prix has had an on/off relationship with Formula 1 the last race was held in 1998. It was due to continue in 1999 but a breakdown in negotiations put a stop to that. An attempt to bring a street race to the seaside resort of Mar del Plata failed in 2012 but given the unhealthy state of the Brazilian Grand Prix with the uncertainty of a new contract being signed, an opportunity may arise for a new South American Grand prix.
Kyalami
Another race that could be brought back in from the cold is the South African Grand Prix, hosting its last race in 1993. A lot of work has gone in to bringing the Kyalami track up to Formula 1 standards and in its current state, is fit for purpose when it comes to testing.

This is believed to be the track if F1 goes to Copenhagen, Denmark.

All new TV experience for F1 in 2018
Liberty media are claiming that the F1 TV experience will be very different in 2018, there will be significant changes on the broadcast, on the graphics and the storytelling, it isn't clear how they will do this with existing contract holders, but what is clear is that their OTT service will not be streamed in countries where there is an exclusive contract in place, so I'm not sure how things will change for those of you in the UK, where Sky has an exclusive contract until 2025. The USA is expected to have Liberty Media's streaming service, so it may be possible to watch that, if you don't want Sky, as someone is sure to stream it live and free as is currently done with many F1 streams at the moment.

The new 2018 F1 app is out and offers a number of services (if you want to pay), it looks good but I don't see any services that I'd pay for yet, as I can already find most of the stuff offered free on the web. Liberty Media have done a good job with their web content, they are the fastest growing social media sporting event on the Internet and managed to get an increase in TV audiences for the first time in a number of years.

 

[Limejuice]

I've just checked the crossroads part of the proposed Copenhagen circuit beside the Langebro.

Good news - the lights are set to green for all directions.

(Just kidding. It's an underpass.)

I also note the circuit skirts Christiania, home of the finest stimulants in Northern Europe (according to a friend). It adds new meaning to the the phrase: "the need for speed." Could be a popular destination for petrol- and pot-heads.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Nice to see the inclusion of a scalextric style crossover on that Copenhagen track, will liven things up no end

 

[1%er]

I've just checked the crossroads part of the proposed Copenhagen circuit beside the Langebro.

Good news - the lights are set to green for all directions.

(Just kidding. It's an underpass.)

I also note the circuit skirts Christiania, home of the finest stimulants in Northern Europe (according to a friend). It adds new meaning to the the phrase: "the need for speed." Could be a popular destination for petrol- and pot-heads.

I visited Christiania in 1972 and 73 it was a strange place back then, I think nowadays it is kind of "normal", while you can still buy drugs, as one can almost everywhere, I think the drug street market has closed now and the Danish police regularly petrol the area.

Limejuice I'm interested to know how you know about Christiania, not many Brits I speak to know about it and its history, are you an old hippie?

 

[Limejuice]

I visited Christiania in 1972 and 73 it was a strange place back then, I think nowadays it is kind of "normal", while you can still buy drugs, as one can almost everywhere, I think the drug street market has closed now and the Danish police regularly petrol the area.

Limejuice I'm interested to know how you know about Christiania, not many Brits I speak to know about it and its history, are you an old hippie?

In a word, yes.



I visited somewhere between 1975 and 1980. I really can't get any closer than that. I have a dim recollection of wonderful edibles.
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90 minutes later: Just got back from changing the tyre on my daughter's car. In the dark on a fast, busy road, the wrong tools, a broken jack... Miraculously all the young, fit males who might know how to change tyres quickly and simply in her colossal social media circle were all busy / at work / en route elsewhere, including the male who until 90 minutes ago was her boyfriend, and probably still thinks he is. Fifteen minutes in the pitch black to identify the correct nut arrangement; ten minutes to crank the jack; two minutes to change the bloody wheel, ten minutes to remove the stuck jack by re-jacking the car with a second jack and kicking the first out; plus travelling time. Daughter now has a 200 mile journey back to university.

All in all, for an ageing hippie, I can still fettle cars. It turns out that after all, I am a god. I shall now open a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape because I have lots of it and I deserve it.

 

[spitfire]

I went to Christiania in the late '90's with the Alabama 3. It was a weird place. They wouldn't let people wear sunglasses in the cafes or bars so they could make sure they weren't pinned (on smack). There was reportedly a zero tolerance attitude to hard drugs as the area had got so bad in the late '80's/'90s. If there were any hard drugs available someone would have found some coke........if they did they didn't share.

I quite liked it as an area, it was an interesting alternative to the norm.

edit. oh yeah, they still had hash and weed stalls in the streets. NO PHOTO'S!