spitfire
Walty McWaltface
Yeah would be hard to top last year, total insanity.
Hopefully Mr. Piastri will adapt to the McLaren better than the honey badger did. And make them a better team overall if there's 2 in the fight.
F1 2022
- Thread starter 1%er
- Start date
Yeah would be hard to top last year, total insanity.
Hopefully Mr. Piastri will adapt to the McLaren better than the honey badger did. And make them a better team overall if there's 2 in the fight.
MrCurry
right after this urgent rest
Driver of the season I give to Norris - convincingly won the battle to be the best of the rest, and by a margin too. Competing against a faster Alpine car and destroying his team mate in the process, it’s an achievement.
Slackers of the year - Ferrari race team. How can Binotto keep his job?
Worthy champion of the year, Verstappen. I might not like his personality but he drove better than any other and for a change kept his overtakes clean.
Looking forward to next year. Overall the new car regs have been an improvement and didn’t wreck the racing as I feared might happen. Next year with Merc having a chance to recover their competitiveness, we could have another great season.
Slackers of the year - Ferrari race team. How can Binotto keep his job?
Worthy champion of the year, Verstappen. I might not like his personality but he drove better than any other and for a change kept his overtakes clean.
Looking forward to next year. Overall the new car regs have been an improvement and didn’t wreck the racing as I feared might happen. Next year with Merc having a chance to recover their competitiveness, we could have another great season.
1%er
Well-Known Member
F1’s 2023 driver line-up is complete
The driver line-up for the 2023 Formula One season is now official. Logan Sargeant secured his superlicence to race in the series at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as he took fourth place in the F2 championship, confirming his drive with Williams in the process. The American will be one of three rookies in F1 next year with six seat changes in total, following the retirement of Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo’s departure from McLaren.Red Bull
Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton, George Russell
Alpine
In: Pierre Gasly
Out: Fernando Alonso
Retained: Esteban Ocon
McLaren
In: Oscar Piastri
Out: Daniel Ricciardo
Retained: Lando Norris
Aston Martin
In: Fernando Alonso
Out: Sebastian Vettel
Retained: Lance Stroll
Alfa Romeo
Valtteri Bottas, Gunayu Zhou
Haas
In: Nico Hulkenberg
Out: Mick Schumacher
Retained: Kevin Magnussen
AlphaTauri
In: Nyck De Vries
Out: Pierre Gasly
Retained: Yuki Tsunoda
Williams
In: Logan Sargeant
Out: Nicholas Latifi
Retained: Alex Albon
spitfire
Walty McWaltface
F1 2022 awards: Verstappen and Red Bull too good as rivals stuck in reverse
Dutchman overcame a slow start while Ferrari floundered but Lewis Hamilton showed he can still race
Didn't know this.
Races became learning experiences as the team furiously tried to understand and manage their recalcitrant car. A big ask for even an experienced driver, Russell handled it with impressive calm, grace and determination. He took a fine win in Brazil and outscored Hamilton, albeit given that that for the first half of the season the seven- time champion was given the more experimental set-ups to drive as the team looked to help unlock their car’s performance. Nonetheless this remained a baptism of fire and Russell emerged with distinction.
spitfire
Walty McWaltface
THIS JUST IN!
www.theguardian.com
Daniel Ricciardo secures F1 future with return to Red Bull as third driver
Daniel Ricciardo will join Red Bull as their third driver for the 2023 Formula One season, the Australian reuniting with team he raced for between 2014 and 2018 and scored seven grand prix victories
1%er
Well-Known Member
Mattia Binotto quits as boss of Ferrari F1 team
Ferrari's Formula One team boss Mattia Binotto has decided to quit, Italian daily Corriere della Sera said on its website on Friday, citing a loss of confidence by Chairman John Elkann. A spokesperson for Scuderia Ferrari said the company did not comment on speculation. Binotto, whose contract is set to expire at the end of 2023, and Ferrari are discussing the terms of his early departure, Corriere reported, adding an announcement was expected soon.Among the options for Binotto's replacement under consideration is Ferrari Chief Executive Benedetto Vigna taking his role on an interim basis, Corriere said. Earlier this month, Ferrari dismissed as "totally without foundation" media reports in Italy, including by Corriere della Sera, that Binotto would be replaced at the end of the season by Frederic Vasseur, team principal of Alfa Romeo, operated by Sauber. Ferrari won four races in 2022 but their early season promise fell away due to mechanical unreliability, strategy errors and driver mistakes. Ferrari ended the season second overall in the constructors' standings.
Binotto has spent his whole career at Maranello and was appointed team boss in January 2019, replacing Maurizio Arrivabene.
1%er
Well-Known Member
Lando Norris makes McLaren demand for 2023 after admission he could quit for new team
Lando Norris piled the pressure on his McLaren team to deliver a competitive car in 2023 as he declared one podium in a season "is not enough". Norris stood on the podium for the one and only time this year when he finished third in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. That in itself was an impressive achievement which looks even better now the season is over – no other driver outside the top three teams managed it all year. But the ambitious young Brit is not satisfied with that. While he joked he must be an "incredible" driver to have managed it, Norris made it clear he wants to be able to make it happen more often going forward."A podium always means something to me, it means something to the team but one isn't enough," said the 23-year-old. "One is like we got lucky and all of this stuff. You want to feel like you deserve to be there all of the time. We deserved to be there for sure. We weren't quick enough to be there, we were way ahead of where we deserved to be but one time isn't enough for me. It's not a good enough job by the whole team and again, all of that is down to the car we have had."
Norris words echoed what he said in October about his future with the team. "I have to have faith that my team can do a good job. [2024] will be our first year in which we have no more excuses," he said, hinting he could look elsewhere for a seat if McLaren cannot match his ambition.
The Woking-based outfit finished fifth in the constructors' championship this year, 14 points behind rivals Alpine. Norris pointed to the team's inconsistent car as the main cause of their defeat to the Renault-backed marque in a mixed season for McLaren.
He added: "Everyone is working hard now. It isn't like it's a new thing. We know we've had a very tough season. We've found it difficult, we've been quite up and down. We've had a weekend like here where we were quick and then we've had Brazil which was one of our worst weekends of the whole season. We've had one of the biggest lows and then maybe one of the best highs of the year in the final two weekends, so there's a lot of understanding still for us, a lot of learning but we need to take a step next year, we have to take a step. I feel like everyone is putting in the effort to do that so time will tell."
1%er
Well-Known Member
Ross Brawn shortlisted to replace Mattia Binotto at Ferrari
Ross Brawn is reportedly a candidate to replace Mattia Ferrari as Ferrari team principal. Italian media claimed last week that Binotto was set to leave his high-profile role due to a breakdown in relations with president John Elkann. Brawn is on the shortlist to step in as the new team principal, Italy’s La Stampa report. He is the former Ferrari technical director at the time of Michael Schumacher’s dominance.However, he is seen as an outside-chance because he had already suggested taking a step back from F1 at the end of 2022, rather than a significant new role at a top team. McLaren’s Andreas Seidl was reportedly an option but doesn’t want to move, leaving Alfa Romeo’s Frederic Vasseur as the key candidate. Vasseur handed Charles Leclerc his F1 debut in 2018.
He will want a defined No 1 and No 2 driver - which will be bad news for Carlos Sainz, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport. Fow now, Binotto remains in his position and did claim to be “relaxed” about his future at the final race of the season.
[It would be interesting to see Brawn back at Ferrari but I can't see it, he wants to retire]
spitfire
Walty McWaltface
He does, Mlle Fire did an event with him during the summer and he was very open to everyone about his desire to spend more time with his family etc. The Ferrari job would obviously be a big carrot and may not have been on the table at the time but he's getting on and I think he wants to enjoy the trappings of a life well lived before he gets too old.
1%er
Well-Known Member
Lewis Hamilton gets revenge as his Extreme E team beats Nico Rosberg’s to title
Lewis Hamilton’s Extreme E team beat arch rival Nico Rosberg’s to the title in the final round at Punta del Este. In a dramatic finale, X44 - an Extreme E owned by seven-time champion Hamilton - claimed the title ahead of Rosberg X Racing. X44 - driven by Sebastien Loeb and Cristina Gutierrez - were 17 points behind Rosberg’s team going into the round. They completed an unlikely comeback on Sunday with X44 coming out on top.It’s a role reversal to last year, when Rosberg X Racing won the inaugural championship. Hamilton wrote on Instagram: “I am blown away by this comeback after such a difficult day yesterday. The team rebuilding, staying position and coming out fighting. Wow, I’m so proud of the team and these two amazing drivers.”
What is Extreme E?
Extreme E is an electric, off-roading racing series with a goal of raising environmental issues for some aspects of climate change. The series has also focused on promoting women drivers with each team being forced to run one male and one female driver.
Limejuice
Well-Known Member
Binotto has "resigned".
www.ferrari.com
Ferrari announcement
Ferrari N.V. (NYSEEXM: RACE) (“Ferrari” or the “Company”) announces that it has accepted the resignation of Mattia Binotto who will leave his role as Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal on December 31.
www.ferrari.com
1%er
Well-Known Member
Ferrari “spoke to Christian Horner” about replacing Mattia Binotto
Red Bull boss Christian Horner was reportedly approached about moving to Ferrari to replace Mattia Binotto but rejected the chance.Binotto has resigned from his job as team principal at Ferrari, ending weeks of speculation that he was under pressure. Ferrari spoke to many respected figures in the F1 paddock about becoming their new team principal, including Red Bull’s Horner, long before Binotto’s exit was confirmed. But they received no takers, in part because of the churn with which Ferrari go through team principals, the report says.
It also states that CEO Benedetto Vigna has “meddled” with team strategies, which Ferrari have been criticised for regularly in 2022. Ferrari began considering Binotto’s position after the F1 Brazilian Grand Prix leading to speculation that Alfa Romeo’s Frederic Vasseur would replace him. Ferrari chairman John Elkann did not end this speculation until Binotto asked him to do so - at which point the team released a statement. Binotto then thought his job was safe, having delivered a second-place for Charles Leclerc in the F1 standings and a second-place for Ferrari in the constructors’ championship. Binotto realised there was no trust in his position and offered his resignation, which was accepted.
Elkann now faces the prospect of rebuilding Ferrari’s F1 team at the same time as he rebuilds Juventus, the titans of Italian football, whose entire board resigned the night before Binotto’s exit was announced. Reports in Italy say that Alfa Romeo’s Vasseur has a verbal agreement to takeover as Ferrari team principal but hasn’t signed a deal yet. Vasseur gave Leclerc his F1 debut and would plan to prioritise the driver as the team’s undisputed No 1.
.
1%er
Well-Known Member
Marko suggests that Vettel could replace him
While some ponder Sebastian Vettel's possible return as an F1 driver, Helmut Marko believes the four-time world champion would be the ideal candidate to oversee Red Bull's racing operations. Even as he was hanging up his helmet for the final time in Abu Dhabi there was widespread speculation over whether Sebastian Vettel might one day make a return to the grid. While the German joked about a one-off return at Suzuka or replacing Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes should he opt to retire sometime soon, he will be only too aware that comebacks rarely succeed.Of course, Alain Prost returned and secured a final title as did Niki Lauda, but not so Vettel's all-time hero, Michael Schumacher. While Vettel turned 35 in the summer, Red Bull's 'motorsport consultant' Helmut Marko is 80 in April, and the Austrian believes the four-time champion could make the perfect replacement. "It's not out of the question he will come back in a top management position, Marko told Sky. "I'll be 80 soon, that would be something. We had a discussion," he revealed, "and I think if he could get a top management position, that might appeal to him. That's what emerged in the talk. For now we'll let him plant some trees and then we'll see what happens," he added. "He would certainly have the potential and he would have that personality for it. We have heard the message. We have two teams. We are open. But Sebastian, it's a serious difference as top management you have to be there earlier, leave later and you only get a fraction of the money you are used to as a driver."
Following the death of Dietrich Mateschitz, his son named the three men who will now manage the Red Bull empire, with Oliver Mintzlaff appointed CEO for projects and investments a role which includes overseeing the company's F1 operations.
souljacker
innit
No way Whinger Spice would take a job where he isn't the main character.
spitfire
Walty McWaltface
1%er
Well-Known Member
Hong Kong billionaire ready to dive into F1 with potential brand new team
Billionaire Calvin Lo believes there has never been a better time to invest in Formula 1 as he explores the possibility of launching a brand new team by 2026. The Hong Kong-based businessman and philanthropist is the CEO of RE Lee International, the world’s largest life insurance broker. Lo is also a passionate F1 fan and has ties with the Williams team via his private investment firm. He is eager to take his involvement in the sport to another level, either by creating a new team or by investing in an existing one. Lo opened up about his plans, and his passion for the sport. He revealed his team are “crunching the numbers” as they assess the validity of an F1 entry. Meanwhile, intermediaries representing him have held talks with key figures within the sport. Lo was at pains to stress that his involvement would be financial and that he has no desire, nor the inclination, to be a team principal-time figure.“We are still exploring what capacity I would be involved in F1," he said. "I am not smart enough to run the team! Whatever involvement I would have, it would be financial. In the last few years, I’ve been approached by many players in the F1 world, from teams to highly aspirational potential team owners or investors.” His interest in taking an active role is genuine and he has attended races, including the recent Singapore Grand Prix, to gain a better understanding of F1. “We’ve been looking at a current team and that’s how the idea of starting a new team came about,” explained Lo, a boyhood Michael Schumacher fan. “There are a lot of opportunities right now. I believe we’re going into a new era of a younger audience, a newer fanbase. Accessibility seems easier than before.”
If Lo decides to invest in a current team, he says he could be in F1 as early as next year. But creating a new team would be a different matter, a massive undertaking that would take years to get off the ground. Arguably the biggest hurdle to overcome would be F1 and the team’s reticence towards new teams for fear it would dilute the sport’s financial pot. Even Andretti, an established racing team which participates in major racing series around the world, has struggled to win F1 over as it looks to break in. If Lo decides to go down the new team route, he admits convincing existing teams his project would benefit the sport as a whole would be challenging but believes it can be done.
“Whoever comes in, in whatever capacity, has to ensure that [financial] pie gets even bigger. I understand the current teams’ reluctance. If it all comes out of the same pot, what’s the point?,” he acknowledged. “But if we could somehow expand that pie a little bigger, everyone could benefit, the whole grid could benefit. That’s where the ‘how’ comes in. How are me and my team able to tell the current teams that our involvement, in whatever capacity, will increase that viewership, that fanbase? I think there is an opportunity for someone who’s not in the motor racing world to come in, to bring in new ideas, new perspectives. I think it’s exciting if someone from the outside comes in. The financial part is a huge commitment. But assuming that’s done, we could be in for a pleasant surprise in how everyone could benefit.”
While much has been made about growing US interest in F1, Lo highlighted the passion for the sport in Asia, insisting there are markets in the continent that remain untapped. He would also like to see more races in the region. Lo has no desire to create an official Asian F1 team but would like to open the door for more potential drivers and key team personnel from the continent. “I don’t think it needs an Asian team per se, but maybe an Asian influence in the sense of drivers, designers, strategists,” he said. “Any new team or new player in the sport will bring new ideas, new perspectives. I’m from Asia and there’s only a few races here. We would try and make the pie bigger. This new popularity isn’t just in the US. It’s in Asia too, everyone is talking about it. I attended the Singapore Grand Prix and the excitement of everyone attending was incredible.”
Asked when he would like to dive fully into the sport, he replied: “Probably yesterday! It’s funny, it’s the fastest sport in the world but the logistics are pretty slow. We would be very fortunate to be involved, in whatever capacity. With a current team, that would be faster. Realistically, to get the car on the grid [with a new team], it would be 2026. That’s a short period of time, a very tight timeline.” On his links with Williams, Lo was unable to go into detail due to non-disclosure agreements but confirmed: “We have some ties. In some ways we are involved [with Williams], that’s the first step that got things going and learning about the details of the F1 world.” But any tie-up with an existing team or more would not necessarily be with Williams. “I’m just a big fan of the sport and I see opportunities to benefit the whole F1 community. I want to be part of it,” he added.
1%er
Well-Known Member
Ross Brawn applauds F1’s decision to drop unanimous agreement: ‘We can get things done’
Ross Brawn has applauded Formula 1’s decision to do away with unanimous decisions, saying with eight teams “we can get things done in the short term” while only five are needed for decisions affecting the next season. Appointed as F1’s managing director by Liberty Media back in 2017, Brawn, at times, found himself butting heads with a team or two as any changes he and the rest of the sport’s bosses wanted to make had to be signed off by the teams. He said back in 2020 that it was “frustrating” for F1 bosses and the FIA that they had to get unanimous approval from the teams to make changes. He would rather F1 rely on a majority ruling.“I think we need the opinion of the competitors – we need to listen and we need to have the majority of competitors in favour of these ideas,” he said. “And I think if you can’t convince the majority, then you’re failing that. If you get one or maybe two people stopping something which the vast majority want and F1 want and the FIA want, that’s frustrating.” But with the pandemic changing the way the sport was in, in 2021 it was decided that only a majority was needed, eight of the teams having to agree if the rule change affected the current season and only five for decisions relating to the next year. Brawn, walking away from Formula 1 after the Abu Dhabi to “watch F1 from my sofa, cheering and cursing as an F1 fan”, has hailed that as one of the sport’s victories.
“The governance system has been improved,” he declared in his final column for the official F1 website. “We now have much more flexibility and don’t need all the teams to agree for the sport to make changes and go forward. As long as we get eight teams to agree, we can get things done in the short term. With five teams and the FIA and F1, we can get things done in the long term. We don’t have the constraint of the old governance system and there are now lots of things we’ve moved in the right direction which has made this sport function so much better than it did before.”
The other big win has been the introduction of the budget cap. A cap of $145 million was introduced last season, that lowered by $5m this year before the teams were later handed an increase due to unprecedented inflation. The cap was part of a package that also included aerodynamic testing restrictions (ATR) that was aimed at levelling the playing field, giving those with less financial resources a chance to close the gap. “It was key that we improved the racing in an authentic way,” Brawn said of the cost cap. How do you do that? You need to give every team an equal opportunity. Part of that is financial resource. For many years, there were three or four teams on the grid who had significantly more financial resource than the rest. That doesn’t create a situation to achieve close margins. The competitors must construct their own cars – that is the DNA of F1. But it is a huge challenge, and in the past, the more money you had, the better car you could build. It would have been an easy route to have standard cars, same engines, spec parts – you get a close competitive field, but then you lose the magic of F1. The cost cap has created an environment where you have a limited spend and the smartest people win. The margins from the front to the back are going to be much tighter. I think the cost cap is a very significant step for F1. It’s got bugs to iron out but considering the complexity of introducing such a system, it’s fantastic what the team at F1 and the FIA have achieved since it was introduced last year.”
MrCurry
right after this urgent rest
He talks a good game! I’d personally prefer if there were more teams. More interesting that way. Hope he succeeds in his aim
Limejuice
Well-Known Member
Liberty Media will try to shoehorn half a dozen replacements into the calendar.
It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good.
1%er
Well-Known Member
McLaren forced to sell heritage Formula 1 cars to Bahrain amid financial trouble
McLaren are one of the most prominent supercar manufacturers in the world, producing some of the most impressive pieces of machinery over the course of their existence. The McLaren Artura is set to be one of the most impressive supercars produced by the British company, but the process to create and roll out the Artura has been far from straightforward. The car manufacturer have been forced to seek emergency funding numerous times over the past couple of years to aid with the Artura project, recently raising £125 million through convertible preference shares from Ares Management Corporation and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. McLaren have recently reported a loss of £203 million over the previous nine months, nearly three times the figure from the year prior.“We are in active talks with all shareholders regarding a recapitalisation on the group,” said the company in a recent report, after recently being forced to look elsewhere for sources of capital. It has now been revealed that McLaren have chosen to sell some of their heritage vehicles to Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat Holding Co. to raise capital, with the collection including 54 Formula 1 cars and Supercars. While it is not unusual for the company to sell one or two of these cars from time to time, it is believed that McLaren have been forced to sell a significant amount of their prized collection to help fund the Artura project.
The supercar makers have reportedly encountered problems with certain technical upgrades on the Artura hybrid supercar that have caused the release of the car to be delayed. In return for an undisclosed number of the historic car collection, Mumtalakat Holding Co. have agreed to grant McLaren an additional £100 million to help them overcome their financial issues caused by the Artura project. McLaren’s financial woes will not be helped by the Formula 1 team’s performance, with Zak Brown’s team missing the chance to overtake Alpine at the final race of the season, and never quite taking advantage of the major regulation changes at the start of the year that so many had tipped them to do.
1%er
Well-Known Member
Brundle: Binotto exit at Ferrari 'a little bit strange'
Sky F1 pundit Martin Brundle admits that Mattia Binotto's departure from Ferrari, with no immediate replacement lined up by the Scuderia, "looks a little bit strange". Ferrari confirmed on Tuesday that Binotto had handed in his resignation as the Scuderia's outfit's team principal, a position the Italian engineer had taken over from his predecessor Maurizio Arrivabene in January 2019. On paper, Ferrari enjoyed a reasonably good campaign this year, finishing runner up in F1's Constructors championship to Red Bull, its main rival that proved unassailable in the second half of the season.However, the Scuderia's inability to build on its early lead in the championship coupled with poor execution in too many races that cost the team many points progressively eroded Binotto's credit with Ferrari's top brass, namely chairman John Elkann and CEO Benedetto Vigna. Ferrari has stated that a replacement for Binotto would be finalised in the new year, and that the process was already underway. But the talented Italian's all-encompassing role at the House of Maranello, where he oversaw the team's technical department in addition to his overall management responsibilities, will be difficult to reconstitute, which has led many to believe that Ferrari, by firing Binotto, has already jeopardized its 2023 season.
Speaking in London at the Guild of Motoring Writers’ Annual Awards dinner on Thursday night, Brundle admitted to being puzzled by how Binotto's exit had played out, with seemingly no replacement plan in place. "You're working for a country there at Ferrari, not just a team, of course," commented the former F1 driver. "They've lost their chief technical officer and their team principal, so unless they have got somebody very, very good to replace him straightaway, it all looks a little bit strange. But that's the nature of it."
Looking towards the future, Brundle suggested that perhaps a diverse group of non-Italian individuals less vulnerable to the country's unrelenting media would prove more successful in taking Ferrari back to a golden period it last enjoyed under the ruling of Jean Todt and Ross Brawn. "You've got to speak Italian," said Brundle. "And I think the problem is, if you look back at when they were last successful, they had a Frenchman in Jean Todt, a Brit in Ross Brawn, a South African with Rory Byrne and so on. Maybe that's what they need again, something like that: people who are not completely exposed to the daily Italian media."
1%er
Well-Known Member
Apparently its Portugal, that's the word on the rua
