F1 2019

[1%er]

Alonso to become McLaren shareholder
Reports in the Spanish press are claiming that Fernando Alonso will become a part owner of McLaren in the very near future, they claim that while the extent of Alonso's investment is unclear, it could follow similar lines of Michael Latifi's investment of 200 million euros. Alonso would join three other shareholders in the McLaren group, with Bareini fund Mumtalakat, who is the majority shareholder. The Spaniard is also expected to play a part in Formula 1 testing ahead of the season opener in Australia.

Kimoa is expected to also announce a new deal. The clothing brand sponsored McLaren in 2018 and look to increase their partnership. Kimoa is Alonso's clothing and accessories retailer, Started by him in early 2017. Kimoa is Hawaiian, meaning "sitting and watching the sun going down together".

Rumors denied about Mattia Binotto moving to Mercedes
Following on from the story in post 23 above regarding unrest at Ferrari, Toto Wolff has now released a statement covering the rumors in the Italian media about Mattia Binotto moving to Mercedes. Wolff has denied Mercedes made an offer to sign Ferrari's technical director Mattia Binotto. "No, we have not offered a contract to Binotto, I can say that he is an excellent engineer, but under the leadership of James Allison, we have a first-rate technical team, and therefore we are not looking for anyone else".

Mercedes did do a little reshuffle in the summer. Aldo Costa moved into a consultancy role, while John Owen became the chief designer. Aldo Costa was the Engineering Director at Mercedes and I wonder if James Allison will replace him in that position, leaving an opening for Mattia Binotto, who replaced James as Ferrari's head technical officer in 2016 when James left the team.

I don't think this is the last we will hear about this story as reports in the press continue about internal conflicts between team boss Maurizio Arrivabene and Mattia Binotto, if these story's are true I think one of them will leave the Ferrari team soon.

Are Honda as ready as Red Bull claim
In an interview Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost has revealed that he was “shocked” at the lack of knowledge Honda had after its partnership with McLaren. Tost is reported as saying “We had very good cooperation and we have a very good business relationship. If there is something which we detect on our side, we sit together, we discuss it, and then we try to find a solution. When we had the first meeting together with Honda, I was shocked, because they didn’t know things which are related to the chassis or power unit. If you are coming together with a new partner, first you have to sit together to discuss to find out where we need to be concentrating. But it went very fast and very well because they were totally open and so were we from our side”.

If their lack of understanding was such that it "shocked" a team principle, will they really have got things together in one season? I think Red Bull are overestimating the Honda power-unit that will be in their car for 2019, if this is by design or optimism I guess we will see when testing begins on February 18th.

Happy New Year to all the F1 fans here and catch you in 2019

 

[spitfire]

Happy new year to you too.

 

[spitfire]

I never knew what Lewis' tattoo was referring to until now. My little girl has a book about Maya Angelou and we just read it together.

Still I Rise
Maya Angelou, 1928 - 2014
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

 

[Badgers]

Lappy New Year Urb F1 Squad

 

[spitfire]

And you badgers.

 

[spitfire]

This is interesting.

Michael Schumacher’s son progresses to bring hope in tragic F1 tale | Richard Williams

 

[1%er]

More problems at Honda
As mentioned above I think Red Bull are "bigging up" the Honda power-unit and news from AutoBild who are usually on the ball, claim that Honda have split from AVL "due to disagreements between an AVL project leader and Honda engineers". AVL are a leading simulation and testing company who have worked with Ferrari to validate and improve its development work on its F1 engine, it was AVL that pointed Ferrari to its problems with last years car, which made Ferrari return to its previous version of it car last season after the team appeared to be going backwards.

According to Helmut Marko Red Bull have now drafted in Mario Illien in an effort to solve a major vibration issue linked with Honda's ICE. The vibration, which was talked about when Honda was with McLaren still appears to be a problem and has prevented Honda from running its unit at full capacity, thus limiting the engine's output. Despite the problems with the power-unit Marko is claiming in press interviews that Honda has overtaken Renault and will beat them in 2019.

Red Bull also have a bit of a problem with Danny Ric moving to Renault, as it is highly likely that he will explain to his new team how Red Bull deal with aero and also tell them about all the hidden devices they used on their car. I'm really looking forward to 2019 to see how Red Bull manage with Honda power and who will be best of the rest behind Mercedes and Ferrari.

 

[1%er]

Maurizio Arrivabene sacked by Ferrari
As mentioned above the problems with-in top management at Ferrari have taken a turn, with Maurizio Arrivabene being replaced by chief technical officer Mattia Binotto. With the decision makers at Ferrari running out of patience, they have decided to call time on Arrivabene’s reign, which began back in 2014 when he was appointed by the late Sergio Marchionne. With Binotto being largely credited with spearheading Ferrari’s improved power unit performances, the team have been championship contenders for the last two seasons. However, driver and team errors have proven costly, and what should’ve been a close championship fight went completely Mercedes way in the second half of 2018. In attempt to up their game on the driver front, Ferrari will be hoping that their move to replace Kimi Raikkonen with Charles Leclerc will encourage improved performances from Vettel in 2019. Tensions between Arrivabene and Binotto were believed to be at an all-time high towards the conclusion of the 2018 season.

For months there have been rumours of a power struggle within Ferrari, with Binotto and Arrivabene known to be locking horns within the team after the death of CEO Sergio Marchionne last summer. In a radio interview this morning Arrivabene is claiming the story is "fake news", but an anonymous source with-in Ferrari is saying this story is true. I would expect a public announcement very soon from Ferrari which will confirm or deny this story.

 

[1%er]

Niki Lauda has been readmitted to hospital
Lauda has been away from Formula 1 for several months, having taken ill last July. Prior to the German Grand Prix, Lauda was flown to hospital in Vienna for an emergency lung transplant. The procedure went well and Lauda was recovered sufficiently to return home to spend Christmas with his family in Ibiza. However, a bout of flu has resulted in the three time World Champion being flown back to Vienna and into the intensive care unit at the AKH Hospital where he was treated over the past few months. In a recent interview Lauda confirmed that his recovery at home in Ibiza has consisted of him training himself to walk again without support, requiring him to rebuild muscles through strength training. It’s not yet clear whether Lauda will be in a position to resume his role at Grands Prix as non-executive chairman at Mercedes AMG, at least in the short-term.

Who is Mattia Binotto
Ferrari through and through it seems. Binotto began his career with the Scuderia back in 1995, when he joined the team as a test engine engineer, before performing the same role from 1997-2003. He was appointed a race engineer from 2004, which resulted in a role as ‘chief engineer, race and assembly’ in 2007. He moved back onto the engine side of operations in 2009 when he became Head of Engine and KERS Operations, a year when only Ferrari and three other teams elected to at least trial the new KERS system. Appointed Deputy Director, Engine and Electronics in October 2013, Binotto then took on the role of Chief Operating Officer, Power Unit. Finally, he was promoted to Chief Technical Officer in 2016, as Ferrari’s attempted to make gains in the power unit department. It is not yet known who will replace Binotto as chief technical officer, or whether Ferrari will opt for a different management structure altogether.

 

[Limejuice]

I hope that Red Bull can master the Honda unit, and that a Binotti-led Ferrari can live up to its potential this season. One or both need to be challenging Mercedes.

Much as I like seeing a Brit as world champion, a three-way contest would be much more interesting.

ETA: Shite news about Niki L. Fingers crossed.

 

[1%er]

Why the power struggle at Ferrari
Well it appears it all goes back to when Sergio Marchionne as Chairman (and not Maurizio Arrivabene as team principle) decided to replace James Allison who was Technical Director at Ferrari. In 2016 Sergio Marchionne personally reshuffle the technical department of the F1 team over the head of Arrivabene, he appointed Mattia Binotto as chief technical officer and apparently told Binotto he would make him team principle with-in a couple of years. When Marchionne died in July last year it became unclear if the new leadership would honor Marchionne promise. This is when the stories above I posted started to circulate. As mentioned above (posts 23 & 31 and the 2018 thread), it appeared that Binotto was being courted by a number of other teams, but the new management at Ferrari didn't want to lose him, so have decided to sack Arrivabene in an effort to keep Binotto.

It seems that Ferrari president John Elkann and chief executive officer Louis Carey Camilleri made the decision shortly before the Christmas break. Arrivabene was widely seen within F1 as a Ferrari figurehead only, with the real power instead resting with former president Sergio Marchionne, so it was always likely that the new management would sack Arrivabene to ensure they kept Binotto who is considered one of the best engineers in Formula 1. Also whilest Ferrari's failure to win the title last year was largely put down to mistakes from Sebastian Vettel, there were many failures of operational management and strategy for which Arrivabene had overall responsibility.

Still no official announcement from Ferrari on this story but it seems to now be all over the world press, some people are reporting that Maurizio Arrivabene was not only team principal but also Managing director of Ferrari F1 and that he may continue in the the latter position, I can't see that being the case. I don't believe that Binotto would take the position of team principal if Arrivabene remained Managing director. I think if this story is true and I think it is, Arrivabene will hold no position with-in Ferrari F1 after today.

 

[cybershot]

Would also be good to not see the 6 main cars so far ahead of everyone else, last season they could have started at the back of the grid every race and probably still have been the first 6 over the finish line.

 

[1%er]

Ferrari issue a statement
After four years of untiring commitment and dedication, Maurizio Arrivabene is leaving the team. The decision was taken together with the company’s top management after lengthy discussions related to Maurizio’s long term personal interests as well as those of the team itself.

Ferrari would like to thank Maurizio for his valuable contribution to the team’s increasing competiveness over the past few years, and wish him the best for his future endeavours.

With immediate effect, Mattia Binotto will take over as Scuderia Ferrari’s Team Principal. All technical areas will continue to report directly to Mattia.

 

[a_chap]

Random F1 question: which year did you attend you first Grand Prix and what was the circuit?

Mine: 1980, Brands Hatch

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Random F1 question: which year did you attend you first Grand Prix and what was the circuit?

Mine: 1980, Brands Hatch

1991, Silverstone. Mansell on pole and won. Was at Club corner, right where Senna stopped and Nigel picked him up to give him a lift back on the slowing down lap.

I can still remember hearing the noise of an F1 car for the first time. Hairs on the back of the neck stuff.

 

[a_chap]

1991, Silverstone. Mansell on pole and won. Was at Club corner, right where Senna stopped and Nigel picked him up to give him a lift back on the slowing down lap.

I can still remember hearing the noise of an F1 car for the first time. Hairs on the back of the neck stuff.

Blimey! I was at Stowe corner that year. Small world, eh?

 

[Supine]

Random F1 question: which year did you attend you first Grand Prix and what was the circuit?

Mine: 1980, Brands Hatch

2015 Singapore

 

[cybershot]

2006 silverstone. Glorious sunshine all weekend.

 

[spitfire]

Monaco 2004.

 

[1%er]

McLaren appoint new Managing Director
Andreas Seidl will take over the roll of Managing Director at McLaren, he will take responsibility for all aspects of its Formula One operation, reporting to McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown. Seidl helped guide Porsche to multiple World Endurance Championship titles and Le Mans victories and as Porsche have been winding down their racing since 2017, he has moved back to Formula 1 (he worked with BMW Sauber until 2009). The announcement does not make clear exactly when Seidl will join, saying only it will happen "during 2019".

McLaren have undertaken a major restructure of the team, with racing director Eric Boullier leaving last year as well as tech chief Tim Goss and engineering director Matt Morris. Former Indy 500 winner Gil de Ferran was installed as sporting director following Boullier's departure but his appointment never seemed to be a long-term solution to the team's problems (his main job was to manage the race from the pit-wall during GPs). The team has also yet to confirm the start date of new technical chief James Key, who was signed from Toro Rosso last year, it is not known if Toto Rosso (or really Red Bull) will release him from his contracts with them early.

Another blow for Bottas
Having been told by Toto that he needs to up his game this season or he will lose his seat at Mercedes, Bottas has now lost his biggest sponsor. According to reports in the Finnish press, "Wihuri" will no longer sponsor him because of his poor performance towards the end of last season. Quoted in the press Billionaire Antti Aarnio-Wihuri has said "I think he was quite weak at the end of the year. It's difficult to be Hamilton's teammate, but Valtteri was also left behind by many others. It was a pretty weak result". Aarnio-Wihuri has sponsored Bottas for his entire racing career, so while the money will not make a great deal of difference to Bottas, it will surely hurt him on a personal level.

 

[Limejuice]

Smacked Botty.

 

[Badgers]

1%er I am told that McLaren are having quite serious money issues also that they have sold wind tunnels to Sauber? Gossip?

 

[1%er]

1%er I am told that McLaren are having quite serious money issues also that they have sold wind tunnels to Sauber? Gossip?

They have a number of issues that are causing the company problems at the moment. In 2017 they restructured the company into what is now called "The McLaren Group", following this there were reports of some sort of investigation into the company by a UK government agency, iirc they are being looked at in some wider investigation. It has something to do with third-party companies and top management people, past and present (Board level people I believe). They have also lost a great deal of income from F1 because of their poor results over the last few years.

The F1 team made a massive loss looking at their accounts, somewhere north of £65 million in 2017, but the McLaren Group have grown as a company year on year for many years. In 2018 the car company sales were up over 40% in Europe, almost 50% in the UK and over 120% in China. When looked at against other super-car makers they have had a very impressive rise.

I haven't read anywhere they they are in serious financial trouble, although with China slowing down economically and that being their area of most growth things could change. I also haven't read anything about them selling their wind tunnel to Sauber, I thought Sauber had their own full-size wind tunnel at their factory in Hinwil.

I'd be very interested to read anything that says the Group have financial troubles as it would impact on their F1 team.

 

[Badgers]

They have a number of issues that are causing the company problems at the moment. In 2017 they restructured the company into what is now called "The McLaren Group", following this there were reports of some sort of investigation into the company by a UK government agency, iirc they are being looked at in some wider investigation. It has something to do with third-party companies and top management people, past and present (Board level people I believe). They have also lost a great deal of income from F1 because of their poor results over the last few years.

The F1 team made a massive loss looking at their accounts, somewhere north of £65 million in 2017, but the McLaren Group have grown as a company year on year for many years. In 2018 the car company sales were up over 40% in Europe, almost 50% in the UK and over 120% in China. When looked at against other super-car makers they have had a very impressive rise.

I haven't read anywhere they they are in serious financial trouble, although with China slowing down economically and that being their area of most growth things could change. I also haven't read anything about them selling their wind tunnel to Sauber, I thought Sauber had their own full-size wind tunnel at their factory in Hinwil.

I'd be very interested to read anything that says the Group have financial troubles as it would impact on their F1 team.

This is rumour stuff really. Have just hired a bloke who does the driver sponsorship for Gasly apparently he told me about the wind tunnels situation but only his word to go on.

 

[1%er]

Maurizio Arrivabene news
There are some reports doing the rounds claiming that Maurizio Arrivabene could become boss of Sauber, well not Sauber but a full Alfa Romeo works team, which would mean the people who currently own Sauber selling a majority stake in the company to the Fiat group. I'm not really sure this story has legs, if Arrivabene isn't good enough for Ferrari I can't see that he would be good enough for a works Alfa Romeo team. He didn't really run the Ferrari team, I think it is clear now that the team was run by Sergio Marchionne and after his death the team went South.

An interesting piece here from two professional F1 journalists talking about Arrivabene's sacking.

 

[1%er]

This is rumour stuff really. Have just hired a bloke who does the driver sponsorship for Gasly apparently he told me about the wind tunnels situation but only his word to go on.

Sauber have a full F1 factory in Hinwil Switzerland. Last time I was in Zurich a friend took me to see their factory (only about 30-40KMs from Zurich iirc) it is a massive complex and their wind tunnel is on that site. I have no idea if they have brought McLarens tunnel but if they have they would for sure move it to their Swiss site. Would that be cost effective rather than just updating their own systems?

Didn't McLaren use the Toyota wind tunnel last season, the one in Cologne? I seem to remember them being questioned about it by Sky last season.

 

[1%er]

More Ferrari news and gossip
Could Stefano Domenicali be returning to Ferrari to deal with things like the new Concorde agreement. team personnel and the media? According to many sports newspapers in Italy it is a done deal. They are reporting that Domenicali who is currently Managing Director and CEO at Lamborghin will soon be appointed as CEO at Ferrari with joint control of running the F1 team.

The papers are also claiming that president of Fiat-Chrysler John Elkann is a big supporter of Domenicali who ran the F1 team from 2007/8 to 2014 and has also overseen a sales rise of 50% at Lamborghin. It is also being reported that Domenicali is be backed by Louis Camilleri, the current CEO of Ferrari. Whilst all the reports talk of a return to the team by Domenicali, they differ slightly in what they believe his roll will be, some claiming he will be in a support roll for Mattia Binotto, while other believe he will takeover as CEO of the Ferrari car company with some responsibility over the F1 team (allowing him to control the areas mentioned above, the new Concorde agreement. team personnel and the media). Questions have been raised about the technical guru’s abilities to run the personnel of Ferrari and the non-technical side of the team.

There are also reports that Ferrari intend to shake-down their new car before the first day of official testing at the Barcelona circuit on the 17th February, claiming it to be one of their two promotional events allowed under the rules. They did this last season and despite complaints from other teams intend to do the same again. F1 regulations state that these days must take place purely for marketing or promotional purposes, with a maximum of 100km of running and using special demonstration-specification Pirelli tyres. However, they are also a useful way of checking for any teething problems or potential setbacks before the start of testing that would jeapordise crucial pre-season mileage. The first 4 day test starts on February 18 in Barcelona.

Lunch dates announced so far
February 12 Renault launch
February 13 Racing Point launch
February 14 McLaren launch
February 15 Ferrari launch

 

[Limejuice]

I liked Domenicali. He always came across as a decent cove.

 

[1%er]

Niki Lauda out of hospital
Some good news, Niki Lauda has been released from hospital after contracting influenza. The three-time Formula One world champion was admitted earlier in January, just five months after a lung transplant. A spokesperson from Vienna General Hospital, where Lauda had been receiving treatment, confirmed the 69-year-old had left the facility. Lauda underwent a life-saving operation in August, and was released for rehabilitation nearly four months later before falling ill with flu while on holiday in Ibiza.

Is this the new Ferrari front wing
Sources in Italy seem to have been sent CFD concepts of the 2019 Ferrari front wing, a piece of aero critical to the new 2019 rule changes. By simplifying the front wing, teams may well be forced to reduce the amount of rake, or angle, the cars run at. Red Bull are known to run high rake, and Ferrari are not too far behind in their angles over the last season. Mercedes run their car very flat, a concept they’ve excelled at since the team’s inception under Ross Brawn. The new front wing lends itself to this concept, thereby potentially giving Mercedes a development advantage for 2019. If the leaked Ferrari CFD drawings are to be believed, then it appears Ferrari are considering a similar front wing aero design to that of Mercedes. The source reiterates that these have yet to manufactured for the wind tunnel, and may not be seen in testing. But it has been noted that the ‘non-thumb’ style nose of one concept was first instigated by James Allison in 2015, before his departure to Mercedes.

Has Paddy Lowe just slapped Frank and Claire Williams face
In an interview with Autosport Paddy Lowe has made what to me appear to be some astonishing comments about how the Williams team has been run in the past. I guess we will see this season what his worth is, as this 2019 car will for sure be a Paddy Lowe car. Paddy Lowe has admitted he "fell into the trap" of not accepting the extent of the Formula 1 team's problems and how much change it needed.

Williams slumped to the bottom of the constructors' championship in 2018 after developing a car with fundamental aerodynamic problems, and has been conducting a significant review into its processes as a result. Lowe told Autosport that Williams needed to "get out of this mindset that there are just two or three things to fix and than everything will be OK, and we'll be winning races. It is a mindset that I think has been in Williams for a very long time," said Lowe, whose team last won a grand prix in 2012 but has not clinched a title since 1997. "The mindset we need is to say, 'Everything is available to be challenged and everything has to be done better every year', otherwise you're being left behind by a very strong set of competitors. All 10 teams in Formula 1 are well financed, relative to history, they're well populated with really, really well educated engineers, some of the most talented in the world. You can't stand still in any area and this is a mentality that we need to adopt and we are adopting. That was not present before. Even I fell into that trap as a new fresh set of eyes to the team."

Lowe said that the work Williams had been conducting from the early stages of 2018 was done to make crucial fundamental progress to its working practices. He insists that this did yield positive results even if that did "nothing to transform our overall performance". Lowe went on to say "The work we've got to do is internal, and we would rather do it internally, and not to declare it or define it in the media. I don't want my staff to read first in the media that we're about to sort of reorganise such and such department. We like to be as open as we can, and be honest, but some things you have to do internally first".

I wonder if Claire and Frank think that the Williams teams mindset has been as Paddy describes, Frank isn't a person who takes criticism very well, I'd like to have been their to see how Frank reacted to Paddy's comments.

 

[Limejuice]

In a couple of books I've read (Damon Hill's and Adrian Newey's) Frank Williams doesn't come over at all well.

I can imagine him still holding all the strings and Claire not contradicting him much.

But surely a driven (pun!) guy like FW can look at the performances and results and accept something big has to change. That's why you hire someone like Lowe.