Category: Formula One

The Lauda Years

There are few stories quite like Niki Lauda’s time at Ferrari during the mid-1970s.

From title wins to fireballs to disagreements over driver selection, the four-season relationship had an array of highs and lows. Lauda had paid for his previous drives at March and then BRM before joining Ferrari on the recommendation of new Ferrari recruit Clay Regazzoni in 1974, the duo working together at BRM.

The Austrian showed his potential early on with a second place at Round One in Argentina before taking Ferrari’s first victory in two years at the Spanish Grand Prix three races later. He would remain a challenger through the year on his way to fourth place in standings and picking up another win in Holland before the season was out. Lauda also gained a reputation during his first year at Ferrari for being studious of engineering and car setup and would work tirelessly to improve the car during his time in Maranello.

1975 would start slowly as the first four races would yield finishes no higher than fifth, but Ferrari’s updates put him back on track. He would win four of the next five races to put himself clear at the top of the title standings. Further points finishes in Germany and Austria would give him a chance to clinch a World Drivers’ Championship for Ferrari on their home soil. Third place gave him his first career World Championship and Ferrari’s first Constructors’ win since 1964 as teammate Regazzoni won the race at Monza.

Author: Lothar Spurzem

Lauda started 1976 in dominant fashion and swept all before him in the first six races – his worst finish being second twice during that period. Title rival James Hunt had shown flashes of brilliance in the early part of the year, but his McLaren was often unpredictable and also struggled with reliability during the early part of the season.

Round ten was the now infamous German Grand Prix. Lauda lobbied with other drivers to boycott the rain-soaked Grand Prix but was outnumbered. In a tragic irony he then crashed, and his Ferrari ignited. He was pulled eventually from the burning wreckage but extensive damage was done. He had suffered burns to his face and arms including losing most of his right ear, lost his eyelids and damaged his tear ducts which would affect him in further races and lost his scalp. That was supposed to be that. For his championship, for his career and possibly for his life.

Lauda didn’t follow the script and unexpected to almost everyone in the paddock, he returned – bandages and all – at the Italian Grand Prix just four races later. He took fourth, unable to blink with his skin-grafted eyelids and in obvious pain while Hunt had reduced his arrears during Lauda’s lay-off.

The Canadian Grand Prix went Hunt’s way as the maverick Briton won while Lauda finished out of the points in eighth, while in the USA Hunt won again but was joined his friend and rival. The 1976 Japanese Grand Prix was a race as wet as the fateful German Grand Prix and Lauda, still affected by his injuries, withdrew on safety grounds. That left Hunt needing third place to snatch the title away from Lauda, and after pitting from the lead he eventually worked his way back up to take the World Drivers’ Championship by a point. His decision to retire from that race didn’t sit well with Ferrari and his relationship with the team became more strained going into what would turn out to be his last year with the team.

Despite taking just three wins in 1977 Lauda’s consistency against his rivals made his third title straightforward, but he announced his decision to join Brabham anyway. The Austrian was irked by his team’s decision to replace Regazzoni with Carlos Reutemann, with whom he did not enjoy a friendship as with Regazzoni. But he didn’t even make the end of the season. Upset with the team fielding a third car with then-unknown Gilles Villeneuve, Lauda walked out at the Canadian Grand Prix two races from the end of the season.

Lauda won 15 races and two World Drivers’ Championships at Ferrari, but his time there will be remembered for so much more than just his accolades. It will also be remembered for his sheer bravery and battle to return against the odds.

1st August 2017
The Ferrari Driver Academy

The Ferrari Driver Academy, while not boasting a history quite as illustrious as the junior programme of, say, Red Bull, can trace its history back to 2002. It unofficially began with Ferrari’s grooming of Felipe Massa as they readied him for a shot in a race seat, which he would eventually take in 2006. However, it wasn’t until 2010 that the academy was formally created, with the late Jules Bianchi becoming the FDA’s inaugural member. He is, to date, the only driver to make it to Formula 1 as part of the programme.

SILVERSTONE (GRAN BRETAGNA) 09/07/2014
© FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO X FERRARI

Currently, the Ferrari Driver Academy boasts six racers. Brazilian Enzo Fittipaldi (grandson of the two-time Formula 1 world champion) and New Zealand born Marcus Armstrong are both competing in Formula 4, and are new additions to the programme for 2017. Formula 2 driver Antonio Fuoco has been a member since 2013, and Chinese driver Guanyu Zhou (racing in the European Formula 3 championship) since 2014. Last year the FDA recruited Guiliano Alesi (son of former Formula 1 driver Jean Alesi), currently racing in GP3, and man of the moment Charles Leclerc, who is partnering Fuoco in Formula 2. It is interesting to note that all of these drivers are currently competing in their respective series with the junior outfit Prema Powerteam, with the exception of Alesi, but this may have more to do with the fact that Prema do not currently run a team in GP3.

With the vast resources of a legendary team such as Ferrari, and the apparent arrangement with a junior team as successful as Prema, the few drivers who are lucky enough to be a part of the Ferrari Driver Academy seem to be well placed to make a swift ascent to Formula 1, and eventually to a hallowed seat at Ferrari itself. But is this really the case?

The FDA’s track record would certainly suggest otherwise. Since the official creation of the Ferrari Driver Academy, only one driver has ever made it to Formula 1 as part of the system, and while it is almost certain that Bianchi would have earned himself a Ferrari seat, had it not been for his tragic and fatal accident, his is a lone and outlying example. The mission statement for the junior program quotes Enzo Ferrari – “I love to think that Ferrari can create drivers as much as cars” – but it is debatable whether the team itself has bought into this philosophy.

While it is undeniable that the FDA can equip a driver well for his journey up the single seater ladder, in terms of training both in and out of the car, even the drivers themselves seem to question whether the junior program can take them all the way. Current Formula 1 driver Lance Stroll was a member for five years, leaving the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2015 so he could join Williams’ junior team. To many it might have seemed like a step down, to move from a front runner such as Ferrari to a midfield team like Williams. But clearly the Canadian saw that better opportunities for progression lay elsewhere, and his promotion to Formula 1 proves that was exactly the case.

Unlike Red Bull, whose junior program is perhaps the most well established and successful, they do not have a de facto ‘B Team’ like the Austrian team do with Toro Rosso. However, Mercedes do not either, but they successfully managed to get two of their junior drivers; Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon, onto the 2017 grid. Maybe Ferrari feel secure in the knowledge that they will rarely have a problem filling their seats – a drive with the coveted Italian team is probably the most sought after in motorsport. But they would do well to prove that they have belief in their young protégées, and deploy the appropriate resources. Having successful drivers from their stable should be as treasured of an achievement as race wins.

So what can Ferrari do to make the most out of their driver academy? The most obvious is to take a chance on their young drivers. Ferrari is traditionally conservative in their driver choices, preferring to invest in known quantities than rookies. But this comes at the detriment of its own young drivers. While no one is suggesting they promote one of their drivers to a Ferrari seat immediately, to be seen actively pursuing a race seat for some of them would go a long way.

Although it is not something that is always within their control, if Ferrari could use one of the teams they supply engines to as a stepping stone to develop their young drivers, in a similar way to how Red Bull use Toro Rosso, then that would be ideal. Sauber, with the announcement that they will, after all, be using Ferrari engines in 2018, are well placed to do just this. Of course, it may not be the direction Sauber want their team to go in, but from Ferrari’s point of view, it is the perfect continuation of the FDA.

So have Ferrari taken steps to instil more confidence in their junior drivers? Evidence wouldn’t suggest so. And perhaps they haven’t needed to. Until 2017, none of their junior drivers were realistically in line for a F1 seat, let alone a seat at Ferrari. But signing up GP2 graduate Antonio Giovinazzi as their third driver for this year gave them someone who was in a position to step up. And now the unexpected dominance of 2016 GP3 champion Charles Leclerc has brought another figure into the frame

Suddenly Ferrari are faced with a dilemma they have never encountered before. They have two drivers whom, ideally, they should be finding race seats for. Both Leclerc and Giovinazzi have expressed their total faith in Ferrari to do what’s best for them. Yet there seems to be an unwillingness from Ferrari’s part to exert some influence in using the FDA to take their drivers all the way.

The future of Ferrari lies in such drivers, but it is the team itself that seems to fail to see that.

1st August 2017
John Barnard and the Ferrari gearbox that revolutionised Formula One

Formula One steering wheels are now awash with buttons including engine map settings, brake bias settings and paddles to shift gears. These are all now things we take for granted as Formula One cars become more like computers and get more and more complicated. As with everything in Formula One, it took one piece of genius to set the ball rolling with this technological innovation that we now see as the norm.

Ferrari 640 Cockpit (Unattributed)

Ferrari have been pioneers for a lot of things in Formula One but one of the most ground-breaking was the semi-automatic, electronic gear shift system that we now know as the flappy-paddle gearbox. After fabled designer John Barnard joined Ferrari from McLaren in 1987, the Englishman quickly set to work on what became Ferrari’s 1989 challenger after arriving too late to influence the 1987 car and reliability issues with new transmission hampering 1988. With 1988 being the last of the turbo years, Barnard wanted to focus in detail on 1989 and beyond.
Formula One cars used to have a clutch pedal and stick shift as are in most road cars and Ferrari’s technical chief felt that the wider cockpits that came with this system unnecessarily increased drag. The system was fist tested during 1988 and hit reliability problems as Ferrari’s pioneering technology encountered the expected hiccups. Despite that, Barnard elected to run the F1-89, or 640, with the revolutionary transmission from the start of 1989, although not expecting it to make the finish of the season-opening Brazilian Grand Prix. Even with the low expectations, the F1-89 was the most eagerly anticipated car of 1989 as teams and drivers watched and wondered about the new technology. Both Williams’ of Thierry Boutsen and Ricciardo Patrese fell by the wayside while Ayrton Senna also hit mechanical strife to leave Nigel Mansell out front.
Mansell wasn’t expected to stay there as in testing the gearbox had only lasted around half a race distance, but to the surprise of many including a large number of Ferrari personnel the Brit held off Alain Prost’s McLaren and the semi-automatic transmission won on debut. That would be the only points for the Scuderia until Round Seven at the French Grand Prix as they sought to solve the gearbox teething problems. The problem was found to be a lack of power from the battery to the electrical gearbox, and results including a further two victories came with reliability as the car proved to be fast.
For 1990 Ferrari challenged for the title with Alain Prost and had a clear head start in electronic transmission, but the years 1991-94 proved to be fruitless and other teams caught up in the new electronic era of Formula One. Every team had electronic gearshift technology by 1995, and the concept is now a staple of the modern motorsport world. The equipment has even made it onto many road cars we use today.
And it all came from a drawing in a workshop in Guildford.

31st July 2017

Ungarn -GP: Was ist drin für McLaren-Honda?

Für McLaren-Honda könnte der Ungarn GP sportlich eine der größten Chancen der gesamten Saison werden. Doch neben der Performance auf der Strecke steht weiterhin die Frage im Fokus, ob die leidgeprüfte Britisch-Japanische Allianz auch 2018 zusammen an den Start gehen wird.

Das anstehende Wochenende in Ungarn wird auch in diesem Jahr wieder eine der größten Hoffnungen auf Punkte für McLaren werden. Nicht umsonst rechnen sich die Verantwortlichen nur in Monaco und Singapur ähnliche Chancen aus. Bereits in den letzten beiden Jahren konnte man auf dem Hungaroring, einer Strecke auf der ein gutes Chassis deutlich besser zur Geltung kommt, als bei den meisten anderen Rennen im Kalender, die besten Saisonergebnisse erzielen.

Die Statistik gibt ihnen Recht:

Während Fernando Alonso und Jenson Button im Katastrophenjahr 2015 hier mit den Plätzen 5 und 9 glänzten, schafften es beim letztjährigen GP beide McLaren-Fahrer erstmals seit 2014 in den dritten Qualifikationsabschnitt.

Auch dass der MCL32 der wohl vom Chassis her beste McLaren in den letzten Jahren ist und man in Silverstone deutliche Fortschritte von der Pace sehen konnte, spricht für eine gute Chance an diesem Wochenende.

Alonso muss an diesem Wochenende ausnahmsweise auch nach jetzigen Stand noch nicht über eine Startplatzstrafe bangen: Dieser Umstand ist der Tatsache geschuldet, dass man bereits in Silverstone sämtliche Teile an der Powerunit des Wagens mit der Startnummer 14 wechselte, um sich in Ungarn nicht um eine gute Chance zu bringen.

Zu der Hoffnung des guten Chassis und der wohl gewohnt einwandfreien Leistung von Alonso, gesellt sich jedoch auch Mut auf der anderen Seite der Garage. Stoffel Vandoorne konnte bei den letzten Rennen ein klaren Aufwärtstrend verzeichnen, zuletzt sogar seinen Teamkollegen zum ersten Mal in dieser Saison ausqualifizieren.

“Auch wenn wir etwas Pech hatten, fühle ich, dass meine Performance sich von Rennen zu Rennen steigert. Ich arbeite hart mit den Ingenieuren und fühle mich nun wohl im Auto. Meine Rennwochenenden laufen nun deutlich besser als im ersten Teil der Saison und wir machen als Team jedes Wochenende Fortschritte. Wir haben die Geduld, arbeiten hart und hoffen dass sich unser Einsatz lohnen wird.”

Das Team weiß: Es gibt in dieser Saison nicht mehr solche großen Chancen wie in Ungarn, Punkte zu holen. Und die hat man auch bitter nötig, denn selbst 2015 hatte man zum aktuellen Zeitpunkt mehr Punkte als jetzt. Mit zwei Punkten hängt das einstige Siegerteam weiterhin auf dem letzten Platz der Konstrukteursweltmeisterschaft.

Doch ebenso gibt es berechtigte Sorge, dass aus einem guten Punkteresultat erneut nichts werden könnte: Und da wären wir bereits beim Thema Honda angelangt. Während die Japaner die Antriebseinheit nach der letzten Ausbaustufe zumindest leistungsmäßig etwas nach vorne bringen konnten, wird man weiterhin von Zuverlässigkeitsproblemen heimgesucht. Zuletzt traf es Alonso beim Rennen in Silverstone, als der Spanier sein McLaren wiedermal mit den Worten “No power” in die Box schleppen musste. Grund genug für den Starpiloten sich Gedanken zu machen:

“Das Wichtigste ist für uns wie immer die Zuverlässigkeit. Selbst wenn unser Auto in Ungarn konkurrenzfähiger sein wird, brauchen wir ein Problemfreies Wochenende um jede Chance auf Punkte nutzen zu können. ” – Fernando Alonso

Hierbei sei eine aktuelle Statistik von den Kollegen bei Speedweek.com erwähnenswert: Diese zogen die Ausfallquote von Alonso aus den Jahren 2005 bis 2014 zum Vergleich mit der von 2015 bis Mitte 2017 heran. Das Ergebnis: Während Alonso in den ersten genannten Jahren eine Ausfallquote von weniger als 10% vorzuweisen hatte, schied der Spanier in den letzten drei Jahren in 40% (!) aller Rennen aus.

In Bezug auf die Konkurrenzfähigkeit des Motors drängte sich in den letzten Wochen immer mehr die Frage auf, wie es mit der einst so glohrreichen Partnerschaft McLaren-Honda weitergehen könnte. Wenn es nach einigen Medienberichten ginge, würde McLaren 2018 wohl mit vier verschiedenen Motoren an den Start gehen. Vom sicher erzählten Mercedes-Comeback, über ein Alfa Romeo-Ferrari Motor und zuletzt die Möglichkeit Renault. Fakt ist: McLaren und Honda haben ein bestehenden Vertrag und Honda-Motorsport-Chef Masashi Yamamoto stellt klar:

“Wir haben einen Vertrag mit McLaren. Und der sieht nicht vor, dass McLaren mit einem anderen Partner arbeiten kann, auch nicht übergangsmässig. Für uns käme das ohnehin nicht in Betracht. Einen Rückzug aus der Formel 1 wird es nicht geben. Ich rede ständig mit Firmenpräsident Takahiro Hachigo. Es gibt keine Absicht, die Formel 1 zu verlassen.”

Auch die Worte von McLaren-Boss Zak Brown klingen mittlerweile deutlich zahmer als noch vor einigen Wochen. Mercedes und Ferrari scheinen nicht zu wollen und ob man das Risiko “Renault” eingeht, ist ebenfalls fraglich. Die Wahrscheinlichkeit McLaren und Honda 2018 gemeinsam am Start zu sehen, wird immer höher.

Was auch immer am Ende bei diesem Motorentheater rauskommen wird, eine Entscheidung ist wohl in den nächsten Wochen nicht in Sicht. So bleibt den Verantwortlichen aus Woking und auch den McLaren-Fans nichts anderes übrig, als das Beste aus der Situation zu machen und an diesem Wochenende erneut auf eine ähnliche Sensation wie in Silverstone zu hoffen, als mit dem kurzfristigen Schachzug auf abtrocknender Strecke auf Slicks zu wechseln, am Ende von Q1 mit tosenden Applaus das Erste Mal seit Indien 2013 ein McLaren auf Platz 1 in einer offiziellen Session stand.

26th July 2017

Hungarian GP: Big chance for McLaren?

The Hungarian Grand Prix could be one of the biggest chances for McLaren-Honda to score some points and start to catch up the midfield. But while the focus is on track performance, the big question remains if the long-suffering British-Japanese alliance will be still competing together in 2018.

The upcoming weekend in Budapest will be the big hope for the third year in a row for McLaren. In the last two years, the team’s best results of the season have been achieved at the Hungaroring, where a good chassis is much more important than on most of any other tracks in the current calendar.

While Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button finished fifth and ninth in the disaster year of 2015 both McLaren drivers made it to the third qualifying session in last year’s Grand Prix.

With the MCL32, probably the best McLaren chassis in the last few years, showing significant progress at Silverstone, this race should be a good opportunity.

Also (currently) Alonso doesn’t have to worry about a grid penalty this weekend: this is due to the fact that McLaren changed all parts of the engine in Silverstone, to protect Alonso from grid penalties in Budapest.

With the good chassis, there is also light on the other side of the garage. Stoffel Vandoorne was able to show a clear uptrend in the last races: most recently his Q3 appearance at Silverstone, in which he outqualified his teammate for the first time this year.

“I’ve won in Hungary before, in GP2, and I enjoy driving on this track,” Vandoorne said. “Although we’ve been a bit unlucky, I feel that my performances have been consistent and improving race-by-race.

“I’ve been working hard with the engineers and I feel confident in the car—my weekends are coming together better now in the first part of the season and as a team we are progressing every weekend. We have to be patient, keep working hard, and I hope to see the reward for our efforts paying off soon.”

McLaren have to score points in Hungary. Just in mind: even in the painful 2015 season, the team had more points than now. With only two points in the bag, the ex-winners still hangs in the last place of the Constructors’ World Championship.

Reliability

Unfortunately, there is still a big concern for this weekend: and there it is, the big topic of the last weeks: Honda. While the Japanese were able to bring more power with the latest upgrade, the engine is still hurt by massive reliability issues—the latest being on Alonso’s car in Silverstone, when the Spaniard had to drag his McLaren back into the pits with the words, “No power”. Reason enough for the star pilot to think about the reliability:

“The important thing for us, as always, is reliability,” Alonso said. “Even if our car could perform better in Hungary, we need to have a trouble-free weekend to take advantage of every opportunity for points.

“We made some big decisions in Silverstone in terms of taking grid penalties in preparation for this race, and hope that’s paid off so we can put ourselves in the best possible position for points this weekend.”

A current statistic from Speedweek.com shows the worse numbers since 2015. They put the rate of DNF’s from Alonso’s F1 years from 2005–2014 in comparison to his last three seasons with McLaren-Honda. The shocking result: while Alonso had a failure rate of less than 10% in the first few years, the Spaniard failed to finish 40% of his races in the last three years.

McLaren and the engine question

Regarding the competitiveness of the engine, more and more people have been wondering how the McLaren-Honda partnership could continue. If all the media reports tell the truth, McLaren would probably start with four different engines in 2018. From the obvious Mercedes comeback, to a branded Alfa Romeo-Ferrari engine, and finally the possibility of Renault.

The fact is, McLaren and Honda have an existing contract and Honda Motorsport boss Masashi Yamamoto spoke to the media last week and made it clear that Honda has no intention to leave McLaren or the sport, or consider the possibility of McLaren using another engine until the Japanese company solves its problems:

“There is a contract between us and the premise of the talks with them is to continue,” he said. “We exclude the possibility that McLaren will even temporarily use the power unit of another manufacturer. I am always talking with president Takahiro Hachigo and the board members, and there is no intention to withdraw from Formula One.”

After comments to the media from both the McLaren leadership and from the drivers, the words of McLaren boss Zak Brown and the whole Woking team have been much quieter since the Austrian Grand Prix.

While Mercedes and Ferrari don’t seem to want supply McLaren, the talks with Renault as an engine partner continue. But the chance of seeing McLaren and Honda together on the 2018 grid is getting more and more likely. Not only because of the loss of money, but because time is also playing against the British team. But there are other reasons why McLaren will probably stay with Honda:

There is maybe time until October to decide what engine should be in next year’s car—but remember that the Renault engine has a completely different layout then the Mercedes or Honda engine. Honda copied the Mercedes concept after getting to the performance limit with their 2015/2016 engine layouts. According to Zak Brown, the building of the 2018 car begins now. That means that the team has to build two different chassis, one for a Honda engine and the other for a Renault engine. That will definitely be no help for 2018.
If McLaren break the current contract between them and Honda while not having another engine deal in the pocket, they will not only pay much money for breaking the contract. The FIA Rules say: The manufacturer with the fewest teams to supply will be forced to supply a team which has no engine. And you know what manufacturer that is? Bingo! It’s Honda.

Remembering these facts, McLaren will probably be forced to keep Honda as partner next year and hoping for a massive improvement.

Whatever is going to come out at the end of this engine-war, a decision will probably be taken in the coming weeks. So the team and the fans will have no choice, but to make the best of the situation and believe in something similar as two weeks ago in Silverstone, where a McLaren finished a session (Q1) fastest for the first time since India 2013.

26th July 2017

Red Bull “Hungary” For Success

Red Bull have been edging closer and closer to the top since the beginning of the season, a common trend since the hybrid era in 2014.

The cars seem to start off with a well oiled chassis, up there with the best on the grid. The repetitive scenario is that over the winter period it seems that other engine manufacturers just get that extra horsepower that Red Bull don’t which is leaving them in a current no mans land.

Daniel Ricciardo was excellent in Baku, taking full advantage of others misfortune after his own strife at the start, but could Hungary see the team back at the front on pace? Adrian Newey is by all means one of the greatest designers of all time, whilst everyone uses their computer aided designs (CAD) and tinkers it with a keyboard to this day Newey will still get a pencil, ruler and rubber out.

This is simply amazing, he after beginning his career in 1988 with March hasn’t changed his approach up until this day, a current successful 19 years in the sport. Coming from championships in the early 90’s with Williams, Mclaren in ,1998 & 1999 and as current with Red Bull from 2009 to 2013 Newey’s say on the car is the catalyst for performance. It is widely tipped that like Barcelona a previous highly dependant downforce track Red Bull are rumoured to be bringing substantial upgrades to their RB13.

There is only so much they can make up aerodynamically with their power deficit. If anyone can come up with something it is Newey. He has stepped aside for the time being with Aston Martin road cars, one of Red Bull’s newest sponsors to look at the F1 car. Hungary is less power dependant and with the nature of the highly downforce based second sector this could be one of few chances remaining they have the chance on pace alone to match Mercedes & Ferrari.

Red Bull always tend to be there or thereabouts on heavy fuel but low fuel qualifying they don’t have the extra power they can unlock like Mercedes. We saw Red Bull win in 2014 under the guidance of Daniel Ricciardo, and that was placed on outright performance, his move on Vettel at turn 1 once more showed his epic mastery of late braking, although this isn’t one of their happiest hunting grounds.

In qualifying it will be important to be best of the rest as per the previous races this season, then the start. Max Verstappen at Montreal for example got a fantastic start jumping drivers to second. The car wasn’t competitive enough to place the pressure to eventual winner Lewis Hamilton on that day but things could be different in Hungary.

There are few tracks remaining where Red Bull will be competing at the top with their current car but upgrades and the mid-season test follow.

If this goes well in Hungary and the in the test this could be the reminder to Ferrari and Mercedes that Red Bull aren’t just an energy drink company.

Chris Lord 24/07/20-7

IMAGE: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

24th July 2017

Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel Have Had Their Fair Share of Bad Luck, it’s Game On Now

The Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend sees three men in with a chance to lead the World Drivers’ Championship after the race.

Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton are virtually neck and neck at the summit, but Valtteri Bottas has certainly put himself in the hunt.

Suddenly there is a lot more riding on this weekend.

The British Grand Prix set the cat amongst the pigeons in the Formula One World Championship fight.

Where before, Vettel had a lead of 20 points and was steadily extending his lead in the Championship on diet of consistency served with a side of controversy, that gap is no more.

Hamilton’s dominant display at Silverstone coupled with Vettel’s afternoon from hell meant that the Brit’s deficit was cut to just one point.

We’re now exactly halfway through the season, and while Vettel and Hamilton have been the two central figures, Bottas in the second Mercedes cannot be ruled out of the running either.

The Finn has quietly and calmly closed the gap since retirement in Spain from third place – had he finished that race, he’d be only eight points behind Vettel.

Hamilton’s headrest strife in Azerbaijan following that series of crazy events in Baku undoubtedly cost him 15 points, while he was off colour all weekend in Sochi.

Vettel was on for third in Silverstone before his tyre blowout and also should have been higher in Canada after contact with Max Verstappen’s Red Bull caused extensive damage to his front wing and floor, costing the German a podium.

Bottas has confounded experts who said that he was a stop gap until Fernando Alonso could break free from his McLaren contract at the end of 2017.

Victories in Russia and Austria have put him within a race win of the decorated Hamilton.

And that could cause Mercedes a headache. While Ferrari can, and have, lined up behind Vettel from early on this season, Mercedes cannot.

Budapest suits Lewis Hamilton. After all, he has won there five times already – although never in a season in which he has won a world title.

Tighter circuits similar to the Hungaroring layout have tended to suit the Ferrari car, and with the weather often hot in Hungary the Prancing Horse will also be bullish about their chances.

Vettel also has a victory here, taken at the chaotic 2015 staging of the event.

The last time the winner of the Hungarian Grand Prix went on to win the World Championship in the same season was 2004 during the Schumacher/Ferrari juggernaut.

One of the three title contenders will have something to say about that this weekend.

IMAGE CREDIT: Mercedes AMG F1 Photography Pool – Wolfgang Wilhelm, Australian Grand Prix 2017

24th July 2017

The Cosworth Option

The Cosworth option

With the recent news that Cosworth could be set for a return to Formula 1 in 2021 alongside the new engine rules and regulations I’ve decided to take a look at who could possibly be the benefactors of this move. As ever nothing is confirmed yet and these are only a few possibilities of what could happen.

Before we look at “who” we first need to understand “why” this would be a good move. Cosworth has huge experience in building and tuning race winning engines. Most famously of course with the Ford DFV which to this day is still one of the most successful engines to ever compete in Formula 1. The rumours suggest that the FIA and the teams want to look for a cheaper version of the current V6 hybrids, this is where Cosworth step in. Because Cosworth operates solely as an engine builder their overheads are a lot smaller than the existing manufactures who all produce various road and race cars. These smaller overheads mean that the customer could then pay a considerable amount less for their power units effectively creating a cost cutting scheme in Formula 1. To go along with this, we would need some sort of hybrid system. Now this could be a spec system that every team would use or I’m sure that the clever guys at Cosworth would be able to come up with a system of their own.

These smaller costs could attract new teams to Formula 1. Whether they are independent teams looking to be the next Red Bull or a car manufacturer who doesn’t yet have the capabilities to produce a competitive power unit. This scenario would help the sport grow immensely as new teams would have a bigger budget to focus aerodynamics and the car’s chassis. Both crucial for making sure you get off to a good start in F1. More teams also means more exposure. New sponsors would once again look to Formula 1 as a way of showcasing their products, in turn creating more money for the sport as a whole.

Now for the existing teams, who if anyone could benefit from this? For me the most obvious team to take this would be Red Bull. Since the hybrid era started in 2014 they haven’t really been able to compete up at the sharp end consistently. The constantly say they need more power, drivability and reliability from their power units (formerly Renault now Tag Heuer branded). There’s no guarantee of course that the gamble would pay off. But it’s hard to move forward if you stand still. Another team that would benefit hugely from this could be McLaren. Their poor form over the last few seasons has been hugely down to their Honda power unit. Every issue you could imagine has occurred for the Woking team which has stunted their development. Reports suggest that Honda is at least five years behind the competition. It seems as though they started on the wrong foot and now have to play catch-up. But is it too little too late? While this move could be a little bit too far away for McLaren it is certainly a great “what if” story. If we’re looking purely at financial gains then the obvious team to take this would be Sauber. We constantly hear stories of how team members haven’t been paid and that the team is struggling to survive. This also affects on track performance as to save money Sauber have resorted to using last year’s Ferrari power units. So a current spec power unit that also costs a lot less, this would be like Christmas to the struggling Swiss team. It would also keep them safely on the grid, it would be a real shame to lose Sauber after all their achievements in the sport.

So if you were a team boss, would you take up the Cosworth option?

24th July 2017

Kubica confirmed to test for Renault in Hungary

After much speculation, today Renault Sport F1 team confirmed that Robert Kubica will be driving the R.S. 17 in Hungary on August 2nd as part of the two days of mid-season testing for the teams. After a series of private tests in older Renault machinery, this announcement marks the next step in what many hope will be the Pole’s full comeback to Formula 1.

Cyril Abiteboul, Managing Director at Renault, previously labelled Kubica as an “option” for Renault in 2018, and claimed that he saw no “obvious roadblocks” to the return of the Polish driver, who was a race winner back in 2008. Kubica himself claimed that he believed he could drive again at the level he did before his career stalling rally crash in 2011, and was quoted as estimating his chances of a return to F1 as “80%-90%”.

This test will mark the first time Kubica completes laps in up-to-date Formula 1 machinery, and will give both Renault, and the general public, a chance to see how he fares in the newer, more physical cars. It will also be the first time he will drive in a public testing session, where his competitiveness will be displayed to the world for the first time.

While rumours are abound that this is Renault’s way of gauging whether or not Kubica is fit to replace current driver Jolyon Palmer, with some placing the switch happening as soon as Spa. This seems unlikely however, as Abiteboul claims the test is merely to see whether it would be possible for Kubica to return in “the upcoming years”. But nevertheless, the announcement marks a huge step forward in the Pole’s quest to return to racing in Formula 1 full time.

Still, fans will be watching very closely to see how his times compare to those of Palmer, and whether or not he manages to last a full race distance. And regardless of whether it leads to a race seat or not, few will not enjoy seeing Robert Kubica back driving a Formula 1 car again. It looks more and more likely that what people once thought was impossible, might become a reality.

Renault also announced that Canadian Formula 2 driver, Nicholas Latifi, will test the Renault R.S. 17 on the other day of the two day test at the Hungaroring.

24th July 2017