Grand Prix 1970 van Nederland voor Formule I wagens , Zandvoort; Dan Gurney , kop *21 juni 1970
We at The Pit Crew Online join the global motorsport community in marking, and mourning, the passing of the legendary Dan Gurney.
Gurney came of age in the wild mid-century era of motorsport, racing for several teams across several series from 1959 to 1970 before focusing on managing his team, All American Racers. The list of his accomplishments could fill several lifetimes: racing for Scuderia Ferrari, winning at Le Mans, the most successful American driver in Formula One, winning in NASCAR, winning in Indy Car (the first driver to win in all four series), winning in Can-Am, the first to spray champagne from the podium at Le Mans, the first driver to wear a full-face helmet in a Formula One Grand Prix, inventor of the eponymous Gurney Flap and inspiration for the Gurney Bubble, manufacturer, team owner…
The list of names associated with Gurney throughout his storied career is no less luminous on both the driver’s and manufacturer’s side: Jack Brabham, Carroll Shelby, AJ Foyt, Bob Bondurant, Jackie Stewart, Jim Clark, Bruce McLaren, Roger Penske…
The 1967 season in particular stands out in Gurney’s rich career, thanks to the Golden Week of 11 – 18 June. It was on June 11th, 1967 that Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt won at Le Mans, and Gurney established the tradition of spraying champagne from the podium. A scant week later, Gurney won the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa in his Eagle Mk 1, the only US-built car to win a Formula One Grand Prix. Beyond this, the car was built by Gurney’s own team, then known as Anglo American Racers. This was the second time of only three in Formula One history that a driver has won a Grand Prix in a car of his own manufacture.
There is so much more one could say about Dan Gurney, and doubtless drivers and motorsport fans alike are recounting their favorite memories around the world in his honor.
Dan Gurney died from complications of pneumonia on 14 January, 2018, in Newport Beach, California. He is survived by his wife, their children, and grandchildren.
The final checkered flag has waved for one of the greats of global motorsport. Godspeed, Dan.
Pierre Budar succeeds Yves Matton, who joins the FIA as FIA Rally Director, after having initiated the return of the brand to the WRC.
The Citroën Racing Team, under the leadership of Pierre Budar, to recpnnect with the brand’s prestigious victories in motorsport, with 8 World rally championship titles, 3 WTCC World championship titles and 4 victories at Paris-Dakar Rally.
A graduate of the Ecole Centrale de Nantes, Pierre Budar joined Groupe PSA in 1989 as an engineer before being an official 309 Group N driver for the Peugeot Talbot Sport Team in 1991 and pursuing a brilliant career in engineering in France and in Asia.
After having created in 2010 the department of sports road versions (DS3 Racing, 208 GTi 30th, 308 GTi, DS3 Performance), he expanded his scope in 2016 to activities related to the Customer Competition. With his teams, he notably developed the 308 TCR and the C3R5.
His passion and his skills are undoubtedly an asset to reinvigorate Citroën Racing who is preparing to start the 2018 season of WRC at Monte Carlo rally with his C3WRC entrusting young talents Kris Meeke / Paul Nagle and Craig Breen / Scott Martin
On the occasion of his appointment Pierre Budar says: “Groupe PSA has given me a unique opportunity to reconcile my passion for motorsport with an engineering career. I never imagined one day running one of the most prestigious competition teams in the world. I measure the challenge that is proposed to me at the head of an extraordinary team and I will strive to obtain the best of its talents”
Jean Marc Finot, Senior Vice President of PSA Motorsport, adds: “I am proud that the FIA nominates Yves Matton to this prestigious position and would like to thank him for his contribution. I am pleased to give Pierre Budar the opportunity to express all his energy and enthusiasm in the service of ourcit passion: motorsport”
I got the opportunity to speak to the stars of the WRC during the launch day of the Championship.
2018 WRC Launch, Autosports International Show, NEC – Birmingham, UK, 11/01/2018
Here’s what they had to say.
First of all, I asked Citroen driver Craig Breen to sum up his 2017 season. This is what he said.
“It was a good first season in the world championship, close to a full season. The car wasn’t as good as we’d hoped, and we had to work hard on development in the middle of the year. Even still, it was a good year I’m quite happy, we showed some good speed and some rallies we were quite consistent finishing six times in fifth, so I was happy with that.”
I then asked him about his stellar drive to fifth in Monte Carlo in a 2016 DS3, and of course driving a C3 WRC there this year.
“Yes, Monte was a surprise with the old car, it was nice to do it, to get familiar with the event. Yes, I’m really looking forward to it, first time out with the big car there, and really excited!”
I then asked him which events he was most looking forward to this season.
“Finland, we’ve done well in Finland in the past, bagging a podium with third place in 2016. Portugal as well, Germany too.”
I then asked him if the team had got a good handle with the cars technical aspects.
“Yes, its definitely getting better and better with every test session and it’s going in the right direction and the team have already tested for Monte Carlo and have another two-day test next week.”
I spoke to Paul Nagle next, co-driver with Kris Meeke.
I started by asking him which events he was most looking forward to.
“Corsica was the first that he mentioned, saying we should have won that last year and the car gave up. Looking forward to going back to places that we won (Mexico and Portugal). It would be good to get a result in Monte and Sweden, solid results would be good, then Argentina as well (where they took their maiden victory).
I then asked him if he thought they had the pace in the car to challenge as last year was a mix, with a car that was hard to handle.
“We had the pace on tarmac, but the car was a handful. We improved as the year went on, getting more consistent results.”
Finally, I asked him about Sebastian Loeb joining the team for three events.
Autosport International Show, January 2018, Photo credit, Warren Nel
“It’s a good thing, he’s nine times world champion, brings a lot of experience, plus a lot of profile and support to the team and I’m looking forward to working with him.”
Kris Meeke was next up. I said to him that Paul was really positive for the season.
He said, “Its nice to start with a clean slate, and 2017 wasn’t the year we’d hoped for, yet we were able to take two victories. It could have been more with Corsica and Portugal. We certainly struggled in certain areas, I made a few mistakes, probably through my usual trait of trying too hard, when things aren’t right. We identified things that where we were inconsistent and needed to improve, even looking to improve myself as well. We’ll take each event as it comes and hopefully we can try to be in the mix for the title, and give it their best shot.”
I then asked if they’d got a handle on the car.
“Yes, it turned around quite a bit, for sure the car was strong on tarmac, bar Monte Carlo, on gravel we certainly improved after we changed our suspension supplier to Ohlins, and that improved everything. However, there are still areas we have to work on, so we’ll wait and see.”
We then got the surprising news that Mads Ostberg had signed to drive in Rally Sweden for the team!
He said, “Well, for now its just for Rally Sweden, and that he’s working with Yves Matton to drive more events. I’m motivated to work with Citroen, it was some of the best years of my career, it’s a good mix and I’m happy to be back.” He continued, “I had eight or nine podiums whilst there.
He’s yet to drive the car, but the amount of test time is already agreed.
Mads continued, “I’m happy with the programme that is ahead of me for Rally Sweden.”
He had a real up and down Rally Sweden in the One Bet Fiesta WRC. I asked him for his memories of it.
“We were doing well and in the podium position, then we lost the wing, then we had the gearbox problem and then also had a puncture! I got the longest jump on Colins Crest as well!”
Now it was time to talk to the Hyundai team, and I started with Thierry Neuville’s co-driver, Nicolas Gilsoul.
2018 FIA World Rally Championship 2018 Birmingham Team Launch 10-11 January 2018 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Photographer: Helena El Mokni Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
I asked him what his hopes were for the new season.
“I think it’s quite clear. We missed the title last year, it’s our main target this year. He said less focus on the wins and more on the title itself and look to get the optimum result each time.”
Asking him if he was disappointed at all with the results, he said,
“No, not at all. A few had said that, and there is a little frustration, but that’s completely gone now and actually its been a fantastic season. If you check the numbers, you can see we have a lot of stage wins, more than Ogier and Tanak together, and except mid-season on a few rallies we struggled, for example we had a mechanical problem in Sardinia, in Finland the car was not competitive, we lost a wheel in Germany, three rallies in a row where we were not competitive or suffered mechanical problems, so except for that it was a very good season. Thinking of the problem at the start of the season, for sure, it should not happen, but I never count the corners through the year but we need some jokers, it’s close to impossible to drive at full speed to not do a mistake and sometimes its only a little mistake and its okay, and sometimes its not and you lose a wheel, or you break something and it’s over.”
I suggested that this is what he and Thierry wanted to do, to conquer these moments and overcome them.
“Yes, it’s a combination of things, to be really strong together, we are winning together and losing together and it’s the same for the team, for example three years ago when it was looking like we were not wanted by the teams we started to complain about the procedures, but it’s not the right way. The most important is to analyse what’s happened, to define what’s happened, to try and win through and solve the problem.”
Speaking about last season, he continued;
“I think last season, we didn’t start with the right mindset, because we didn’t expect it to be so competitive, and when we realised it, it was already too far through the season. Now this season we will start thinking of the championship. Now last year we mostly focused on rally wins.”
I asked them how long they’ve driven together and he said;
“Since 2011” he said. “We are very strong together, we know each other very well, we like working together and it’s easy and not boring at all, it’s still exciting, it’s good because now we are experienced and you are more confidant, because at the beginning you checking and double checking everything, and you are sometimes tired, and now it’s not being lazy, you trust yourself and you its been done and you don’t have to keep checking.”
Next, I had a chat with Seb Marshall, who is Hayden Paddon’s co-driver. He’s been working with the Kiwi for a couple of years now, but this will mark a first time they start a season together.
Seb Marshall, Hyundai Motorsport, Autosport International Show, January 2018, Photo credit, Warren Nel
He said “Yes, it’s nice to start a season together, and its confirmed that we have seven events this year, starting with Sweden, and gravel the rest of the year. Now the key objective is results wise with the drivers’ title not a consideration for us one of the key objectives is helping the team win the manufacturers championship, so that means that we need to score well. Last year we scored a couple of podiums and the target is that we can repeat that, and also take advantage of our road position on some events and string things together and target a win. We’ll take things as they come, take opportunities and see where we are at the end of the year.”
I spoke next to Thierry. I said to him, that it got away from him, but that it was a positive year on the whole despite the odd slip up.
He said, “It was a very positive year, the speed was there, the car was very good, the best performance of the team, we can’t complain. We just missed out on the objective, the most important, probably its not all about being world champion, but also enjoyable to do, I really enjoyed what we did we had a huge satisfaction, and I think a great preparation for the up-coming year as well, running in this position, we were one of the contenders for the title and at one point we were leading the championship, these are all things to experience and we have experienced it now we have to be constantly in this position. It won’t be easy. Looking forward to it!”
Next up, I spoke to Jari-Matti and his co-driver Miikka from Toyota. The second year with the team run by Finnish legend, Tommi Makinen. I started by saying, its your second year at Toyota.
2018 WRC Launch, Autosports International Show, NEC – Birmingham, UK, 11/01/2018
Jari-Matti said “Yes, it’s going to be exciting, Easier to start the second year than the first year, but there is a little more pressure of course, but you know on the other hand that the car is competitive!”
Of course, we did see Jari-Matti lead the championship after Rally Sweden last year.
Jari-Matti continued, “The first half of the season was very well and the first two races were special, it was an amazing feeling to be leading after Sweden, I knew that it would be more demanding in the high altitude races coming up, Mexico, Argentina, yes we were suffering in those, then it was getting better and I thought that wouldn’t face problems but we did mid-season, and of course it was disappointing to get them at the time when we could almost fight for the championship, but on the other hand it was the learning year and you know that they were coming, but still I prefer this way, that we had a good start to the season, it was really a bit great.”
I asked him next what his hopes were for the new season and what they had worked on over the winter.
“We have the new front bumper, the new front aero, which will give help to the turnings, work done on the engine, gears and suspension and I feel the car is better than last year. The target is to try to fight for podiums in every race.”
I then suggested that we saw a rebirth of him last year after leaving Volkswagen and asked him if that was fair to say.
He replied, “That yes that was fair to say, at Ford I was young and fast but made a lot of mistakes, then I went to Volkswagen and I was close and two times I finished second in the championship, but Ogier was always a step ahead with the consistency but then coming to the Toyota I thought start a new era just focus really for the consistency and it was going well and the target is to keep that this year as well.”
I asked him next on his feelings about Rally Finland where he retired with a problem on the Saturday afternoon.
He said, “Ah, that was very, very, disappointing, I mean my best single day performance in the morning before the technical problems, but these things can happen.”
I then asked him about the relationship between the drivers.
His reply was typically honest as you’d expect.
“In our team we are close and even with the little change with Ott Tanak coming in and Juho being test driver, to try and keep that spirit. All in all, in the rally world basically I would say all the drivers have a very good relationship, it’s not like in the racing world.”
Finally, I asked him which events he was most looking forward to this year, well, other than Rally Finland of course!
He said “For sure Sweden is important, I like Sardinia, Catalunya which I have really wanted to win for a long time.”
Then I spent some time talking to Miikka Anttila. I asked him how many years he’d been in the car with Jari-Matti and also how he found the transition from Volkswagen to Toyota.
2018 WRC Launch, Autosports International Show, NEC – Birmingham, UK, 11/01/2018
“Since 2003, I think it’s the fifteenth year already, a long time. We have a very good working relationship. The biggest part is that the team is from Finland, working so much with the Finnish people, for sure makes it a much, much easier, I mean let’s say if we went to Citroen, it wouldn’t have been so easy, and then of course already in the team there were people we knew from the past, I mean not Finnish guys, but from M-Sport times, so all in all its been really easy. When we went there, we found it was a good boost for all the people in the team, that we came from Volkswagen who’d just scored the fourth title.”
Asking him their goals for the year, I said that Jari-Matti had said lots of podiums were what they were hoping for.
“Yes, to fight for the championship, you don’t have to win everything, but you do have to be in the points constantly, when you think the 2017 season there were so many different winners, it means the car needs to be on a good level. The other thing is that it’s the second year of the team, now in this sport you cannot happen that go and win at the top level straight away. Okay, in a way, Volkswagen did that, they did enter the car 18 months before the first rally with the world rally car, they went there with the smaller car, and they faced all the conditions, whereas we faced all the conditions with the new car. If we’d joined with the old regulations, then probably the gap would have been a lot bigger, but now it was new for everybody.”
I asked him next about the development of the Polo WRC and how it compared to the Yaris when they first drove it.
Autosport International Show 2018, Toyota Yaris WRC, Photo credit, Warren Nel
“We didn’t drive the latest of the 2017 Polo, as it was October the last time we drove it, and there would have been improvements to come, but they didn’t come and the car wasn’t finalised when we did our final test. That’s why it’s a bit difficult to compare. For sure, our car was changed a lot between the first test and before Monte Carlo and there were new parts coming all the time which were decided before we joined the team, because it was already December when we joined the team.”
Finally, I asked him about Seb, former teammate at Volkswagen and what he was like to work with.
“Let’s say he was a proper competitor, in the way he is always thinking for the competition what he can improve, not always telling to others, a bit not giving all the secrets of what he has in his pocket.”
Finally, I spoke to Elfyn and asked him what his hopes were for this new season
Elfyn Evans, M-Sport driver, Autosport International Show, January 2018, Photo credit Mitch Oakley
He said, “Yep, massively looking forward to it, there’s a lot to do, a lot of expectations to live up to thanks to the success of the team last year, expectations are high but so are my own expectations, to be honest, I would really like to be consistently on the podium as often as we can, we’re anticipating that its going to be even more competitive year, this year so we could find that a big challenge, looking forward to it!”
I then asked him about that win that got away in Argentina.
He said “After the rally it was a second-place finish, after a tough start in the first three or four rallies, although we were starting to show good speed, we’d not been able to bag a good result for different reasons so on reflection of the rally it wasn’t such a bad result, finishing second. At the time, it was hurting pretty badly, I have to be honest after showing such good speed through the first day and fighting through problems on the second, to lose by such a fine margin was tough to accept, but like I say looking back now with everything that happened it is was it is and second at the time was a positive result”
I also asked him about #ElfynsCorner.
“Well, yes it was a surprise to be honest when it came up, I had no involvement in it what-so-ever, I still don’t, its purely a fan base thing, we enjoyed massive support on the rally, both through ElfynsCorner and otherwise, just throughout the weekend, the amount of people supporting both on and off the stages was incredible, something I’d never experienced before, okay I’d always enjoyed great support in Wales before, but never to this extent.”
I then explained that I’d been in touch with the individuals, before it all it all spiraled into what had happened. The reason they did it was because they wanted to raise your profile, they felt you weren’t valued and wanted to show their support. I gave him the names of all the individuals who made it happen and he recognized them.
Autosport International Show 2018, M-Sport Fiesta WRC, Photo credit Warren Nel
His response was interesting, “It especially hard in the UK, because we have so many successful, high level sports, it’s very difficult to build a profile, especially through motorsport, so many high-profile tennis players, football players, football is massive, whereas let’s say Ott, he’s in the top three sportsmen in Estonia!”
Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the thoughts of the teams. We are getting really close to the start of the season, with just twelve days to go!
Pop back soon, as I’ll have my preview for round one very soon.
In a bid to reinvigorate their junior driver program, over the course of 2017, Red Bull recruited four young karters to its Junior Team. One of this select handful of up and coming talents is 13-year-old British karter, Harry Thompson, who becomes one of the youngest ever members of the programme.
We had the chance to speak with Harry about karting, Red Bull and his goals for the future.
Markus Berger/Red Bull Content Pool
“I started go karting at the age of 5…my Dad’s friend’s son had done karting and asked if I wanted to give it a go. Dad took me and I have been hooked ever since.”
Hooked, and successful too. Competing in the Cadet class of go karting, Thompson was the holder of several national titles by the age of 12, and took the step to the Junior class in 2017. This is where he caught the attention of Red Bull, who were keeping an eye on the international karting scene as part of their new strategy of looking beyond the usual junior single seater categories of motorsport to find their new star.
“After a few good performances, Red Bull showed interested. They invited me to have a drive on their simulator and after testing on the simulator Red Bull decided to give me a contract.”
Markus Berger/Red Bull Content Pool
The Red Bull Junior Team is notoriously successful at nurturing young drivers and bringing them through the ranks to Formula 1, and arguably has the highest success rate of churning out F1 drivers. Formula 1 is where Thompson’s eyes are set, but like many young drivers nowadays, he “would be happy to drive any formula for a living”. He hopes that with Red Bull’s backing, he will be able to achieve this dream.
Many of the other successful examples of graduates from the Red Bull Junior Programme act as inspiration for Thompson:
“Verstappen has done a fantastic job with Red Bull. I look up to him because he has achieved a lot in go karting. Ricciardo seems like a very down-to-earth character who I also have a lot of respect for.
“I also think Lewis Hamilton has done an amazing job and I look up to him.”
After a busy 2017, in which he won the IAME X30 International Final with Fusion Motorsport, Thompson is aiming for a few more years in karting with Red Bull’s backing:
“I will hopefully be competing at the highest level and this could lead into a single seater drive when I am around 15/16.”
We here at ThePitCrewOnline wish Harry all the success for the future, and if you want to follow his progress you can find his Facebook page here.
Force India has signed Canadian F2 racer Nicholas Latifi as its new test and reserve driver for the 2018 F1 season.
Latifi’s role will comprise simulator work as well as participation in young driver tests and “a number of Friday practice sessions” throughout the year.
“I’m really excited about the opportunity,” Latifi said in a statement. “Sahara Force India is a team that has shown constant improvement for the last few years and I’m proud to become a part of one of the success stories of Formula One.
“I am eager to show the team what I can do and help them as they continue to close the gap to the front of the grid.”
Joe Portlock/FIA Formula 2
Force India team boss Vijay Mallya said of the appointment, “Nicholas joins us off the back of a strong season in F2 and strengthens our driver development programme. He will support our simulator programme and work with the team during a number of Friday practice sessions.”
Mallya added: “We have a long track record of bringing on young talented drivers and Nicholas will learn a huge amount as he gets embedded in the team, and looks forward to a career in Formula One.”
Latifi, who previously held a test driver role at Renault, took one race win and nine podiums to finish fifth in the 2017 F2 Championship.
One of Sean’s 2018 car designs: The new Sauber with the Alfa Romeo livery and the Halo
We talked with designer Sean Bull about his work in Formula E and his change from casual F1 fan to creator of fictional and real car designs, and show the person who stands behind some of the most popular fantasy F1 liveries.
Most of the F1 community knows it: the feeling weeks before the presentation of the new F1 cars. Especially when a team has a big new sponsor or has changed their engine partner for example, everybody talks about possible livery changes. How would Ferrari look without Santander? Or the new McLaren in an old-school papaya coat? What about Red Bull with the new Aston Martin deal, or Sauber with Alfa Romeo? And most importantly: how will the cars look with the new halo system above the cockpits?
Only a few of the many questions in this year’s pre-season. Thats where the work of Sean Bull begins. A man who not only creates possible designs of real and fictional F1 teams—he also started with a real design for the Dragon Formula E team this season.
The fictional designs are iconic to many people. Thats why the disappointment is often big, when the teams reveal their real cars with a much more conservative livery. Some people might ask why the real teams don’t look as good as popular examples from designers like Sean Bull. Let’s ask the man himself about this and know more about him, his hobby and his job at the same time.
A dream came true: Sean’s livery designs for Dragon Racing in this year’s Formula E season.
1. First of all, congratulations on your first real car livery, the Dragon Racing Formula E cars and their driver suits. They look great. Could you tell us, what was your reaction when you learned that your design had been chosen for the car?
Sean: The Dragon design was months of hard work, working closely with the team’s owner, Jay Penske to design and develop the teams refreshed identity this season after the departure of Faraday last year, going back to the team’s roots of the striking red chrome and a more elegant and flowing design was a pleasure to draw and create, with the car lending itself heavily toward the livery layout. A classic use on subtle pinstriping around the key feature lines and the minimalist American flag motif that adorn the roll hoop and front wing are the result of continued fine tweaking and development.
The decision to split the liveries came quite late and continue what is left of the team’s corporate DNA from last year with the split faraday designs, only presented in a more obvious and dramatic fashion this year, with each car being the mirror imprint of the other, something I wish F1 would be allowed to adopt with such difficulty telling the drivers apart from one another.
The race suits and garage design were also fun aspects to design and create, we went with a range of options before we settled on something more minimal and classy rather than anything too outlandish and obvious, and I believe they look great, with obvious relation between the cars, pits and corporate branding and I’m very proud to have been part of it and am certainly looking forward to working with the team for the rest of the season.
2. Tell us what got you started designing. What inspired you to design car liveries, and is that your full time job now, or is it still a hobby for you?
Sean: I started, as I believe any fan of F1 has, sketching the cars watching the race as a young kid, and it’s from then that it’s always been my passion to be a car designer, so I studied Automotive Design at Coventry university and after gaining an industrial placement in my 3rd year I continued to work for that company as an Automotive Stylist after graduating in 2016. It was the skills in Photoshop and CAD learnt at university and work that helped me develop a hobby designing fantasy F1 liveries that slowly evolved into designing and creating the real thing for some big race teams around the world. Fortunately, it is still my side hobby and one that I take great passion in, but as I enjoy my main career as a car designer, it makes for a good break and free time relaxation, I’m just lucky enough that the livery work I do for ‘fun’ has given me the opportunity of a “second career”.
Another idea from Sean: making the most of the unpopular halo system with driver-specific liveries.
3. Your designs for the upcoming year are everywhere on the web, especially during the winter break. Many are disappointed when the real cars are presented by the teams after the break. In contrast to your designs they are often more simple and less warmly received. Does this reaction make you proud?
Sean: As mentioned, this is what I love to do in my free time, so it’s good to see how my fantasy designs are received by the public, and that’s the difference between mine and the real ones that get presented in February. I’m not tied down to any corporate restrictions, branding guides or sponsor requirements, hence why my designs can be so much more extreme and dramatic compared to the real life counterparts. So I do have sympathy for the team’s actual design departments, especially now knowing the creative restrictions that do apply after working on a few real world commissions.
4. Could you tell us how much time you spend on a typical livery design?
Sean: Usually when just playing around with my F1 designs, it’s anything from ten minutes to an hour. The real time is spent creating my templates and trying to get them as photo-realistic as possible. That’s where the hours and hours of work is spent. With the real-world teams it can be a lengthy process of design and development, or it can be relatively quick if the team love an initial concept and want to go with that. For example, the Dragon designs were five months from initial sketches to the final application, with changes and tweaks being made even as the car was being wrapped. However, in contrast the F2 livery for MP motorsport last year went straight from an initial sketch to the final proposal in a matter of weeks, such was the reaction from the proposed title sponsor the designs were created for!
Also one of Sean’s most popular livery series’: the 2017 McLaren with all the team’s liveries from 1966 onwards. This is the design of the 1968 McLaren M7A.
6. 2017 has been a special year for you, with many successes. What is your next goal? Do you have an ultimate goal, perhaps designing a livery for an F1 team in the near future?
Sean: 2017 has honestly been the best year of my life, both professionally and personally. I was lucky enough to be engaged to my now-fiancée and we are getting married next year, so that was the personal highlight for me!
In terms of professional success, this year has been incredible. I only started in November 2016, so for all this to happen in such a small space of time has been amazing—especially the work with Leclerc, going to see my first F1 race as a guest of his, and the Red Bull work I have done with their North American team this year (I was lucky enough for them to fly me out to LA to meet them and see my GRC liveries in action at the last race of the rear). And to top off the year, the Formula E commissions with Dragon and the contest win with Mahindra have been incredibly well received!
Looking forward to the future, my ultimate goal is of course F1, and to gain a commission with a team there or eventually work as part of the team. I have other aspirations that I hope will be realised in the coming year, but they’re all secret for now!
Throughout 2017 there have been stories aplenty. Whether it be the old guard proving that they still have it, or a new generation suggesting they might upset the apple cart, it’s certainly been memorable. Here are eight men that excelled and enthralled in their respective fields, with a poll at the bottom so you can pick your favourite.
Jason Doyle:
After heartbreak in 2016 when the affable Australian looked set to win his first Speedway World Championship before injury robbed him, Doyle simply picked himself up and carried on in 2017. A battle with rookie Patryk Dudek went to the final round in Melbourne, where the 32-year-old took what he felt what was rightfully his.
Jason Doyle became Speedway World Champion in 2017: Image courtest of www.Speedwaygp.com
Lucas Di Grassi:
2016/2017 FIA Formula E Championship. Lucas Di Grassi (BRA), ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport, Spark-Abt Sportsline, ABT Schaeffler FE02. Photo: Zak Mauger/LAT/Formula E ref: Digital Image _56I7110
The Brazilian’s Formula E victory in the 2016/17 season came against all odds. After Sebasiten Buemi and Renault e.dams’ sensational start it looked a forgone conclusion, but other commitments for Buemi and a sudden loss of form while Di Grassi remained consistent meant the Brazilian stole the championship from the Swiss.
Charles Leclerc:
The new kid on the block in Formula One for 2018, Leclerc has earned a drive at Sauber after dominating Formula 2. At 20, Monaco’s finest looks set to have a long career ahead of him at the pinnacle of motorsport.
Charles Leclerc (MCO, PREMA Racing) Photo: Zak Mauger/FIA Formula 2. ref: Digital Image _J6I1710
Lewis Hamilton:
Mercedes content pool. Lewis Hamilton is now a certified great after a fourth championship.
There is little to say about Lewis Hamilton that has not already been said. The Briton has not only won his fourth title after a titanic battle with Sebastian Vettel and moved into an elite club of just five to have won more than three World Championships, but also broke the great Michael Schumacher’s pole position record and with 62 is now the closest man to the German’s record of 91.
Marc Marquez:
In the past, Marc Marquez has won his MotoGP titles with varying degrees of difficulty. This year was one of his biggest challenges as Andrea Dovizioso led a rejuvenated Ducati challenged. Eventually the mercurial Spaniard won his fourth World Championship at the final round in Valencia.
MotoGP: Marc Marquez has won four of the five MotoGP Championships he has contested
Sebastien Ogier:
Sébastien Ogier (F), Julien Ingrassia (F) Volkswagen Polo R WRC (2016) WRC Rally Australia 2016 Photo: Helena El Mokni
Ogier continued his dominance in the World Rally Championship over the last five years with another title in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta. Two wins and nine podiums meant that he beat nearest rival Thierry Neuvile of Belgium by 24 points
Jonny Rea:
It’s been a record-breaking year in the World Superbike series for the man from Northern Ireland. A third straight Championship win would have been enough to see his name on the list, but in doing so he scored 556 points to break a 15-year-old points record that had previously been held by Colin Edwards with 552.
Ash Sutton:
Ashley Sutton (GBR) Team BMR Subaru Levorg, leading at Oulton Park.
A Baby-faced Assassin in the British Touring Car Championship, Sutton had given fair warning to his rivals of what could happen given the chance during his debut season in 2016 with victory at Croft. Six further wins in 2017 saw the man from Kent dethrone reigning back-to-back champion Gordon Shedden in style in the final round at Brands Hatch.
It’s almost time to switch off the lights and celebrate the first day of the 2018, but before we close the 2017 chapter, we must first give the crown to the driver who received the most grid drop penalties in 2017.
During the past season, many fans complained about the amount of penalties which were given to the Formula One drivers, some of them were fair, but some others didn’t even make sense. This article, presents all the penalties which were given to the drivers in the 2017 season. Due to the different type of penalties, I decided to give the crown to the driver with the most grid penalties.
Let’s step aside now and let the numbers do the talking.
The first figure shows the number of penalties which applied on every track, the least penalties were given in Malaysia and Singapore, whilst Italy and Belgium set the highest rate of penalties. The award of the most “painful” track goes to Monza (12)!
It’s not difficult to guess which team got the most penalties in 2017 (hint: they were using Honda engines), the interesting point is that despite the wins and the podium finishes Red Bull Racing was penalised 12 times in 20 races. The two title contenders had low penalty percentage, which means that the battle for the title wasn’t affected much from grid position penalties.
The award of the most penalised team goes to McLaren (25).
Now it’s finally the time to announce the big winner. (Hold your breath!!)
Many drivers tried to beat him, to claim the throne, but once again he proved how skilful driver, he is, of course his team and their engine supplier helped him to achieve this victory, but without teamwork you cannot achieve anything.
His closest rivals were Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo with eight grid drop penalties, whilst Esteban Ocon still doesn’t know how is to lose positions due to penalties, no grid drop penalty for Esteban (a.k.a. Oconsistency).
The award of the Mr.Penalty goes to.. Drums… Stoffel Vandoorne (15)!
At this point, I would like to thank the Pit Crew for giving me the opportunity to freely write articles and express my opinion via our website! I hope you enjoyed most of them, if not all them, and I wish you a happy new year!
See you all next year!
Ps. if you are planning to attend the Autosport Show, in January, let me know and we can meet there!
GP3 gave us lots of close and entertaining racing, proving why it is has an ever-growing fanbase. The statistics themselves do not give it away how intense battles were. It is only when you watch the series consistently you see how skilled each driver is and how they use that to find their own driving style.
When it came to qualifying, ART took every pole and they were easily the most dominant team winning the constructors championship for the seventh time in GP3. They had 578 points to their nearest rival Tridents 286. ART also lead the way with driver championship with their four drivers of George Russell, Jack Aitken, Nerei Fukuzumi and Anthonie Hubert placing in the top 4 in that order.
Russell, a Mercedes Junior driver was a firm favourite going into the season and sealed the title with two more races today. He has 4 poles and 4 wins to his name, the most of any driver this season. By the end of the year Russell was just over 80 points clear of nearest rival Aitken. However, it was Russell’s consistent point scoring that played in his favour as eight other drivers won races during the season and some in very dominant fashion.
Before everyone knew it GP3 was back in Spain for the first round. Drivers had the new challenge of only being able to use DRS for six times each race meaning it was crucial they were tactile with DRS. Russell unfortunately went backwards in the start while team mate Fukuzumi was flying in the first lap but being kept honest by Aitken. Alessio Lorandi was one driver that nailed DRS and managed to go up the field without falling back down later on in the race. Mechanical issues struck for the first time in a heart-breaking fashion by choosing Aitken in second position as its first victim of the season. This elevated Leonardi Pulcini to second and Lorandi was rewarded third place for his effort at the start with DRS and Fukuzumi drawing the first blood for the championship battle.
Spain Race 2 was another impressive race for Jenzer’s Lorandi as he managed to get on the podium in the second race fighting with Hubert for most of it. The main fight was between Arjun Maini and Dorian Boccolacci who were locked in a tussle for first position. Maini was able to hold Boccolacci off to take Jenzer’s first victory since 2012.
Austria was a good weekend for ART who achieved a 1,2,3,4 in race 1. Russell took his first victory out of four in Austria although he had a long and hard fight with British compatriot and team mate Aitken. The virtual safety car made its first appearance when Hubert, Steijn Stothorst and Leonardi Pulcini made contact with Hubert taking the blame and a ten second time penalty for company. It was not such a good weekend for Boccolacci or Lorandi either as in race two Lorandi dropped from second to seventh and on lap eighteen made contact with Boccolacci’s trident who went into the gravel and rolled. Luckily Boccolacci was okay and after safety car period the race continued with Roaul Hyman taking his first win followed by Juliano Alesi and Fukuzumi.
Russell got off to a rough start at his home race in Silverstone by having a bad getaway which had the consequence that Hubert took the lead. Although that didn’t last long as by lap four Russell was back leading the pack. Fukuzumi and Ryan Tveter both experienced mechanical failures which took them out the race. Tveters led to a virtual safety car that worked to the advantage of Lorandi who got a good restart and found himself third in the race behind Hubert and Russell.
Silverstone race two was not so calm as Steijn Schothorst and Julien Flachero collided and brought out the safety car. Hubert and Lorandi also had contact but both were able to continue without damage and despite it being investigated it was deemed a racing incident. Pulcini and Santino Ferrucci also collided but had no further action when investigated. Russell was on the charge but had to get past the defence Maini put up. Maini was able to keep Russell back for a few laps with good defensive moves but it was not enough as Russell has superior speed. By the end of the race the ART had caught up to Niko Kari in third but the laps ran out and the brit had to settle for fourth position.
Next up was Hungary, race one started without Russell as his car had a mechanical problem on the warm up lap that appeared to be terminal. His team mates Aitken and Fukuzumi had a good old battle for first position. One that would be won by Aitken. The third ART to finish the race Hubert came third on the road as well. It was a comfortable third as Kari and Boccolacci were fighting behind for fourth position until Kari went wide and dropped down the order. Jenzer’s Lorandi stormed up through the field in the final stages to take fourth away from Boccolacci.
Race two was full of retirements from Fukuzumi and Pulcini making contact to Lorandi taking on one too many kerbs and getting a puncture. Russell’s driving was on another planet, the Brit went from starting last to running eighth in the field until he made contact with Aitken and had to retire the car. Despite all the chaos it didn’t take away from Juliano Alesi taking the lead on lap 4 and storming to victory followed by Tveter and Kevin Joerg.
Belgium, Spa was next and it was no relaxing time for anyone. Dams had a race to forget with Tatiana Calderon stalling on the grid and then tapped team mate Baptista by accident sending him into the barriers and out the race. Calderon later made contact with Hyman, both of whom were lucky to get away with little damage. Russell started on pole but was passed by Fukuzumi. However it didn’t last long before Russell was back in front and Fukuzumi had Aitken behind challenging for second. It was a battle in which Aitken would win leading to another full ART podium.
Race two at Spa wasn’t as much fun for ART as Aitken had contact with Boccolacci which was deemed to be the brits fault. Aitken’s punishment from the FIA was a ten second penalty for causing a collision. Russell was flying from eighth on the grid all the way to second to have back to back podium positions. Calderon knocked sides with Correa while battling but both came out the other side unscathed. Alesi was on pole and he maintained the lead the whole time to cross the line first for the third time this season.
Callum Illot
Italy was a strange one as they only had one race in which the grid was determined by the practice times. Fukuzumi was the lucky one to start on pole for the first time but unlucky in the fact he then had mechanical issue. Pulcini caused safety car by mounting the back of Lorandi causing them to both go out the race and Pulcini to have a hefty impact with the barriers. The safety car went in on lap 9 when Russell nailed the restart. Wasn’t long before Ticktum, Kari and Boccolacci all made contact with Ticktum getting a puncture and Boccolacci heading to the pits for a new front wing. Hubert took the lead from Russell only for Russell to get it back two laps later. However, the best move of the race came from Aitken when he went from third to first in a couple of corners, a superb move. Unfortunately, Russell had too much pace and took the win leading another ART filled podium. It was also enough to seal the team championship for ART.
It was back to Spain for the stand alone race weekend but this time in Jerez. Joerg and Siebert collided sending Joerg into the gravel but he was able to keep it going and limp back to the pits. Siebert only lasted until lap 14 before retiring due to damage. Fukuzumi had a comfortable lead with Russell right behind determined to wrap up the championship as soon as he can. Aitken had Ticktum closing in on him for third but managed to keep the Dams behind. Lorandi and Alesi fought over eighth position and reverse grid pole but Lorandi held Alesi off to put himself in the prime position for the next race.
Niko Kari
Lorandi had a good start and maintained a good gap from Boccolacci the whole race. His dominating race form was over shadowed by Russell making a late move to get past his main championship rival Aitken. The risky move paid off and Russell was ahead. Ticktum and Kari were fighting for third when they collided and ticktum went into the gravel. The safety car was brought out to deal with the stricken dams and Kari was later handed a time penalty for causing a collision. Lorandi nailed the restart when the safety car went in on the last lap. Boccolacci couldn’t do anything to challenge for the win and he was followed by Hubert for third. Russell finished fifth and it was enough to seal the championship with two races remaining.
Most of the pressure was off drivers heading into the final round in Abu Dhabi. Poor Pulcini and Siebert, neither of them finished either race. However, there was a lot to celebrate. Both races produced new race winners. Kari and Boccolacci had both fought for podiums and sometimes wins throughout the whole season and it wasn’t until the very end when they were rewarded with the top step of the podium and listening to their national anthem. After a terrible season full of DNF’s Schothorst became the last of the regular drivers to score points. Ticktum who had battled for podiums but been denied finally got his wish and finished third in the final race of the season.
Ferdinand Hapsburg.
It is fair to say ART were on form and their drivers impressed but there were lots of consistently good and skilled drivers. Lorandi, Boccolacci and Maini were all names that were constantly near the top of the leaderboard, fighting for points and wins. It is clear to see the field is closer than ever and you cannot predict a thing.
This season has been so much fun as a fan and a journalist. I cannot wait to see more young drivers come into the series and show us what they can do. Although, there is probably a fair few staying in the series for another year and they will only get stronger over the winter break. They will look at all the data, train harder, work on everything they can. Next year’s championship is going to be open for the taking. I for one cannot wait and I hope you will join me when GP3 is back next year.
Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia. Sunday 26 March 2017. World Copyright: Zak Mauger/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _56I1907
Season finale once again, the 2017 Formula One season, belongs to the past, it’s hard to describe my feelings for this season. There are two emotional packages, the first one is before the summer break and the other one is after the break, mixed emotions but at the end, despite the results, despite the winner, there is no way to relieve the pain that appears when the F1 season ends. Now we have to wait until the first pre-season tests to hear the noise of the engines, but before that there will be massive debates about the Halo. Personally, I don’t like it, but the drivers’ safety is always the most important factor, end of discussion!
A traditional review would break the season into two parts and remind you round by round, or race by race, if you prefer, what happened the past months. Let’s try a different approach, a shorter season review, which will try to put you in a flashback mode, and pass all the 2017 season in front of your eyes in 1 minute (okay maybe a bit more!)
8 months ago…
Australia
Season premiere, tonnes of coffee for us who are living in the European time zone, agony as well, like the first day in school after the summer break! Sebastian Vettel, started from the second place, had better set up and a faster car than his title rival, Lewis Hamilton, and won for the first time since the Singapore Grand Prix in September 2015. Mercedes asked from Hamilton to go faster, but the Brit had issues with his tyres and was unable to catch Vettel’s speed.
Not a race to remember for Daniel Ricciardo, the Australian’s Red Bull, stopped on the way to the grid, his mechanics sent him back to the race, and on the second lap he had another issue, returned to the track, to enjoy his home race, but retired before the 30th lap.
China
Lewis Hamilton took his revenge, the Briton won his first victory in 2017. On Saturday he secured the pole, and had an advantage the following day, Vettel was close but never too close and at the end Hamilton took the chequered flag. The drivers started the race on wets, Max Verstappen had an impressive race, moved from the 16th to the third. Antonio Giovinazzi crashed his Sauber on the third lap of the race and retired, a good result for Carlos Sainz who finished seventh and scored six points for Toro Rosso.
Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. Sunday 16 April 2017. World Copyright: Charles Coates/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _27I8921
Bahrain
Pole position for Valtteri Bottas, the first in his career, the Finn set the fastest lap on Saturday, followed by his team-mate and Sebastian Vettel. Ferrari, had the pace to challenge Mercedes, and win their second victory of the season. At that moment, it was clear that the 2017 title would be decided between Hamilton and Vettel. Lewis Hamilton received a five second time penalty, for driving slowly on the pit entry to hold up Daniel Ricciardo. Lewis, served his penalty during the second and final pit-stop, when he re-joined the track he was behind Vettel and Bottas. The Finn stepped aside, allowed to Hamilton to pass him and chase Vettel, but Hamilton was not able to cover the 12 second gap in nine laps.
Max Verstappen crashed on the eleventh lap of the race, due to brake problems and retired.
Russia
Russia was the next stop for the Formula 1 crew, after the Bahrain Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel was prepared to celebrate another victory in 2017, as he claimed the pole position in Bahrain, followed by Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas, but the Finn had other plans. The Silver Finn, jumped the two Ferraris in front of him and took the lead on the opening lap. Bottas, despite the pressure from Vettel during the final laps, managed to remain first until the chequered flag and scored his first victory in Formula 1.
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada. Sunday 11 June 2017. World Copyright: Steven Tee/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _R3I0800
Spain
Hola amigos, said Hamilton to Sebastian Vettel. After an amazing start, Vettel passed Hamilton on the first lap, but Mercedes had an ace under its sleeve. The Silver Arrows, decided not to follow Ferraris strategy and go for a quick stop, but to leave Hamilton on the track for a longer medium stint and gain an advantage on a later stage of the race. Valtteri Bottas, delayed Vettel, as the German couldn’t pass the Finn, Mercedes pitted Hamilton, after the end of VSC, and with 30 laps to go. The British champion, re-joined on softs, Vettel pitted a lap later and after a wheel to wheel battle with Hamilton managed to remain first. On lap 44, Lewis was on Sebastian’s tail, took advantage of the DRS and overtook the race. Since that moment Lewis has tried to increase the gap between him and Vettel and at the end, he took his second chequered flag of the season.
Hamilton vs Vettel = 2-2
Monaco
Kimi Raikkonen started from the pole position, after nine years, Kimi took advantage of Vettel’s mistakes on his flying lap, and took the pole on Saturday’s session. A race to forget for Hamilton, Lewis qualified 13th and finished seventh. Jenson Button, replaced Fernando Alonso, in Monaco, but collided with Pascal Wehrlein on lap 60 and retired the race.
Ferrari decided to pit Kimi on lap 34, Sebastian Vettel found the opportunity and set some flying laps, pitted after five laps, and re-joined ahead of his team-mate.
Daniel Ricciardo was the third person on the podium, it was Red Bull’s third podium of the season, and the second consecutive for Ricciardo.
Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. Sunday 14 May 2017. World Copyright: Andy Hone/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _ONZ6737
Canada
Easy weekend for Lewis Hamilton, the Briton started and finished the race from the same position, the first. Vettel, qualified second on Saturday, couldn’t follow the pace of the two Mercedes’ and Ricciardo’s, he finished only fourth. Sergio Perez, refused to follow Force India’s orders, to allow Ocon to pass, while he was fourth behind Ricciardo. At the end, Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon finished fifth and sixth respectively.
Azerbaijan
Three safety cars, and several crashed were not enough to stop Daniel Ricciardo to win his first victory in 2017. Sebastian Vettel collided with Lewis Hamilton, he got a 10 second stop and go time for swearing in Hamilton’s car.
Daniel Ricciardo totally deserved the victory in the Baku Grand Prix, the Australian dropped down to 17th place, but moved up to the tenth position just before the first safety car. The two following, safety cars, and the troubles between the leading drivers, gave the advantage to Ricciardo to move all the way up in the first place.
A race that Stroll will never forget, the Canadian young driver finished on the podium for the first time in his career.
Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia. Saturday 25 March 2017. World Copyright: Zak Mauger/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _56I7996
Austria
Valtteri Bottas dominated in Austria, took his second victory in 2017. A five-place grid penalty dropped Hamilton to eighth position, the following day, Lewis finished fourth behind Daniel Ricciardo whilst Sebastian Vettel finished second. During the final laps of the race, Vettel was closing to Bottas and Hamilton to Ricciardo, for the third place, but both drivers didn’t improve their position.
After the Austrian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel was leading in the championship standings by 20 points.
United Kingdom
Home race for Lewis Hamilton and he couldn’t imagine a better way to thank his fans who appeared in Silverstone, than to win the British Grand Prix. With that victory, Lewis Hamilton tied the all-time record of five career wins in the British GP.
“The support has been incredible this weekend, I am so proud I could do this for you all. Now the plan is to win the championship.” Lewis Hamilton said after his victory in Silverstone.
An issue on Vettel’s front tyre, dropped him to seventh place behind Hulkenberg. Kimi Raikkonen, suffered the same problem a couple laps earlier, which cost him the second position, dropped him to the third place, whilst Bottas moved up to the second position.
Hungary
The last race before the summer break, Ferrari dominated in Hungary, and responded to Mercedes 1-2 in Silverstone. Sebastian Vettel, despite the problems that his Ferrari suffered, he won in Hungary, followed by his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who was complaining about Vettel’s speed.
Lewis Hamilton, was not able to catch the two Ferraris in front of him and allowed Bottas to pass him and finish third. The Briton, kept the promise which made to Valtteri earlier in the race, when Bottas allowed Lewis to pass, as he was moving faster at that point of the race.
A great race for Fernando Alonso, who finished sixth and scored crucial points for McLaren, a positive result for Carlos Sainz Jnr too, the Spaniard finished seventh behind Alonso.
