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Mercedes looking at ‘interesting’ Red Bull sidepods
Mercedes technical director Mike Elliott hinted the team will “have a think” about how the radical-looking Red Bull sidepods work, after the cars were in action in pre-season running in Barcelona.
Date published: March 1 2022 - Henry Valantine
The RB18’s sidepods raised eyebrows in the week for just how different they look compared to other cars in the field, as they are significantly raised and undercut and appear to have left more room underneath for air to flow.
Previous design processes led by Adrian Newey have not been strangers when it comes to technical innovation and trying something different, and the new set of regulations appear to have shown Red Bull take a different approach to the rest of the teams on the grid.
‘Red Bull Sidepods’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/merced...bull-sidepods/
Verstappen expects Bahrain F1 test to be 'completely different'
01/03/2022, 07:00
Author Mike Seymour
Verstappen: Lap times will only matter in Q3 in Bahrain
Expanding on his first impressions of the new RB18, Verstappen explained that "everything was working well" up to this point.
"The car runs really well. In general, the weight is a bit up, but I really enjoy driving the car," he went on to comment, amid F1's rules reset for 2022.”
"It has a nice, stable balance and I think [the new cars] look cool as well – that's always nice to jump into.”
‘RB18 looks cool’;
https://racingnews365.com/verstappen...-at-final-test
Ricciardo: Red Bulls, Mercs, haven’t showed anything yet
Jad Mallak
1 March, 2022
Daniel Ricciardo warns – despite McLaren’s encouraging Barcelona Formula 1 test – that Red Bull and Mercedes haven’t showed anything of their real pace yet.
The eight-time Grand Prix winner is adamant that the top teams are keeping their powder dry: “In any case, still your Red Bulls, your Mercs, they haven’t showed really anything yet.
“So we’ll see what happens when that kind of opens up a little more. But for now, focusing on ourselves… just trying to figure out still where we’re [weak].
‘Keeping the powder dry’;
https://www.grandprix247.com/2022/03...-anything-yet/
How fast the 2022 F1 cars really are
1st March 2022, 07:21
By Scott Mitchell
“The 2021 cars were amazing to drive and I think our starting point in terms of performance is not so far from last year,” says AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly.
“So, considering all the development that we’re going to see at the start of the season and over the next couple of months, I think we will see pretty much similar performances.”
This echoes a recent prediction from Aston Martin technical Andrew Green that before long the 2022 generation would be on a par with their predecessors.
‘Performance on par with predecessors soon’;
https://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/Sport/F1/Pre-Season+Testing
Tech Draft: Formula 1 2022 becomes real in Bahrain
Mark Kay
1 March, 2022
With the first showing of the new breed of Formula 1 cars at the ‘group’ shakedown at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya now ended, we eagerly anticipate the conclusion of ‘real’ pre-season testing in Bahrain in just over a week.
Who has the advantage? I honestly think that its Ferrari that holds the upper hand… Let me explain why.
The amount of wind tunnel and CFD testing resource available to a team under this system is dependent on its finishing position in the previous year’s Constructors’ Championship.
With Ferrari’s disastrous finishing position of 6th in the 2020 Championship, this means that out of the Big 3 of Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull, it is the Scuderia that has benefited the most from the resource handicapping system under which F1 has administered since the beginning of 2021.
‘Scuderia benefits’;
https://www.grandprix247.com/2022/03...al-in-bahrain/
Russell: Active suspension solves ‘Porpoising’ with a click of your fingers
Jad Mallak
1 March, 2022
Russell channels his inner engineer. George Russell spoke to the media about the issue, he said: “We just saw with the Charles video just how bad it was for them. So, I think we will need to find a solution.
“I guess if active suspension was there, it could be solved with a click of your fingers. And the cars would naturally be a hell of a lot faster if we had that.
“I’m sure all the teams are capable of that, so that could be one for the future. But let’s see in Bahrain. I’m sure the teams will come up with some smart ideas around this issue.
‘Click of your fingers’;
https://www.grandprix247.com/2022/03...-your-fingers/
Ferrari has ‘most powerful engine’ – Wolff
ANDREW MAITLAND
FEBRUARY 28, 2022
“I think the McLaren and the Ferrari are looking incredibly strong,” said Mercedes’ George Russell, who admitted that the German team is not “fully happy” after the first test in Barcelona.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff agreed: “We have the feeling that Ferrari currently has the most powerful engine. But we’ve only had three days of testing and winter testing can be deceiving.”
Wolff’s Ferrari counterpart Mattia Binotto insisted: “We’re not the favourites, we’re the outsiders.”
‘Ferrari most powerful engine’;
https://grandpx.news/ferrari-has-mos...-engine-wolff/
‘It’s great news for Spain’: Alonso tips Sainz and Ferrari to have championship run in 2022
Fernando Alonso has tipped Ferrari to be the quickest team in 2022 after three days of pre-season testing in Barcelona.
by Rob Kershaw
28 February 202228 February 2022
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso believes that his former Ferrari team have put together the best package ahead of the 2022 season.
“Ferrari seems to be the fastest car, which is surely a surprise. For Carlos it’s great news and for Spain in general,” he told TVE.
‘Carlos Sainz tipped to be the 2022 F1 World Champion’;
https://formula1news.co.uk/its-great...p-run-in-2022/
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Gary Anderson: How Red Bull’s dramatic sidepod design works.
It’s all about ensuring the highest-quality, highest-speed airflow to the rear of the car and maximising the ground effect aero by sealing the underfloor.
1st March 2022, 9:24
By Gary Anderson
The Race
The front of the sidepods are designed to push the airflow around the sides of the car. That airflow is sent in several different directions. Together, these set up a vortex that travels down the outer edge of the rear part of the floor.
These are crucial for sealing the underfloor from the outside world, which means the underfloor will produce much higher aerodynamic load. The last generation of ground effect F1 cars had side skirts that touched the ground, but these vortices form ‘virtual’ skirts to maintain the low pressure area beneath the underfloor.
‘Sidepod vortex sealer’;
https://the-race.com/formula-1/gary-...-design-works/
Red Bull RB18 is overweight, needs a diet
Jad Mallak
1 March, 2022
Red Bull’s RB18 may have turned heads around the Barcelona paddock during testing last week, but Adrian Newey’s latest Formula 1 brainchild has an underlying weight issue.
However it seems that all other cars are having weight problems, as they seem to be exceeding the current minimum weight of 795 kilograms, and some even by double digits.
Red Bull’s consultant Dr. Helmut Marko: “However it seems that all other cars are having weight problems, as they seem to be exceeding the current minimum weight of 795 kilograms, and some even by double digits.”
‘Red Bull RB18 Diet’;
https://www.grandprix247.com/2022/03...-needs-a-diet/
Alfa Romeo ‘giving up performance’ to fix F1 porpoising issue
F1
Connor McDonagh
1 Mar 2022
Alfa Romeo technical director Jan Monchaux expects Formula 1 teams will have to compromise their own car performance to solve the issue of porpoising in 2022.
Cars were often bouncing down the start-finish straight on Barcelona when reaching high speeds, resulting in a loss of downforce into the next corner and potentially leading to other issues as the suspension is shaken.
Alfa Romeo was one of the teams most affected, completing only 165 laps across the three days of testing.
‘Alfa Romeo compromise’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/997017...rpoising-issue
Marko warns McLaren’s blistering pre-season pace could disappear
George Russell reckons McLaren look especially competitive ahead of the new season, but Dr Helmut Marko is not sure.
by Rob Kershaw
1 March 20221 March 2022
Dr Marko believes that the reason for McLaren’s notable pace in Barcelona was purely owed to them pushing harder than other teams, and jokingly suggested that they are looking for more sponsors.
“McLaren is chasing sponsors,” he quipped.
‘McLaren chasing sponsorship!’;
https://formula1news.co.uk/marko-war...uld-disappear/
TECH TUESDAY: Why ripples and curls adorn the floors of the 2022 cars
Technical contributors
Mark Hughes and Giorgio Piola
01 March 2022
Because of the wide variation in cooling layouts and the associated sidepod design of the new generation of cars, the way in which teams are striving to maximise the effectiveness of the underbody venturi tunnels is similarly varied. The most visible area of this differentiation is in the wildly different contouring and detail of the outer edges of the floor.
‘Ripples and curls’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...1IpbXUtVt.html
Ferrari are still ‘far from best performance’
Date published: March 1 2022 - Henry Valantine
Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc combined to rack up more laps than any other team throughout the pre-season shakedown, with 439 tours around the Circuit de Catalunya as the team collected valuable data on the 2022 cars for the first time.
While some teams are expected to bring significant upgrades to the official pre-season test in Bahrain from March 10, Binotto does not expect Ferrari to make the same kind of changes to their car and make the most of what’s available to them.
“The first step for us is to optimise what we have, as Carlos said, we are still far from the best performance, not only because we are running high fuel or the best engine mode, but simply because I think there is a lot more to exploit from the car itself.
‘Ferrari ‘chilled’ with minimal upgrades’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/ferrar...ce-ahead-2022/
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Some Bahrain updates ‘not quite in spirit of the rules’.
According to the German publication, none of the teams “showed all their cards” in Barcelona with one engineer saying Formula 1 “won’t see the delicate things that could lie in a grey area until we get to Bahrain”.
Date published: March 2 2022 - Michelle Foster
As such Sky Sports’ pit lane reporter Ted Kravitz predicted prior to Spain that there would be “some controversies with who has interpreted the rules in a way that wasn’t intended by the FIA. There might be some controversies over flexing floors and different ideas.”
Apparently the CAD data that the FIA have already seen in order to check the legality of the upgrades that are coming, shows that some are “sailing close to the wind and bringing solutions that do not quite correspond to the spirit of the regulations.”
‘Spirit of the Rules’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/some-b...-of-the-rules/
Things We Learned From F1 Testing in Barcelona
1 Mar 2022, 18:15 UTC ·
by Silvian Irimia
One of the most popular questions from last year was whether Mercedes and Red Bull will have enough time to develop the 2022 car after a titanic fight for both World Championships until the final race. In addition, they had the harshest restrictions on aerodynamic testing.
But after the three days in Spain, Mercedes drivers topped the timesheet with a one-two finish, and Red Bull's own Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were right behind them in third and fourth. However, these times are still potentially misleading because Mclaren and Ferrari seemed faster than the Silver Arrows on some sessions.
‘Potentially Misleading Times’;
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/t...na-182889.html
Why Russell's proposed porpoising solution would cause more problems
St March 2022, 15:10
Author Mike Seymour
Co-author Paolo Filisetti
George Russell has called for the return of active suspension to combat porpoising in F1. But as RacingNews365.com technical analyst Paolo Filisetti explains, such a move would be far from straightforward.
In response to Russell's comments, RacingNews365.com's Paolo Filisetti explains why the return of active suspension is not feasible on several levels.
‘Causing more problem’;
https://racingnews365.com/why-russel...-more-problems
Ferrari boss responds to Hamilton's pre-season comments
01/02/2022, 16:00
Author Mike Seymour
Mattia Binotto has given his reaction to Lewis Hamilton's suggestion that Ferrari could be well clear of the field in the 2022 development race.
"I'm pretty sure that they will be two or three months ahead of us by the time we will be in Bahrain!" Binotto told Sky Sports, ahead of Mercedes posting the fastest time of the test on the final day of action.
"I think that it's very difficult today to judge the performance and the relative competitiveness between the teams.
‘Mercedes will be two or three months ahead of us’;
https://racingnews365.com/ferrari-bo...eason-comments
Five things we learned from the first F1 test of 2022 at Barcelona
F1
Lewis Larkam
2 Mar 2022
There was huge intrigue surrounding the event given it was the first time F1’s new generation of cars had run collectively on track, and there were some fascinating storylines to emerge.
It may have looked like 'business as usual’ as Mercedes ended the test with a 1-2 ahead of 2021 rival Red Bull, but lap times from pre-season can be hugely misleading and should always be taken with a pinch of salt.
Nevertheless, there was still plenty to glean across three days of running in Spain as teams completed plenty of miles and encountered the usual winter testing gremlins. (See video link)
‘Five pinches of salt’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/997056...t-f1-test-2022
F1 NATION: Diving into 2022's opening pre-season running at Barcelona
01 March 2022
F1 is back and so is F1 Nation! Tom Clarkson, Damon Hill and Natalie Pinkham chat about the news, views and pre-season clues from three days of running in Barcelona.
Which teams have made strong starts, and which still have work to do?
Plus, the gang unpack rumours of 'brand-new' cars being prepared for the Official Pre-Season Test in Bahrain as squads aim to bring significant upgrade packages to the next sessions on March 10-12.
‘F1 Clarkson’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...Nrb9M1U2q.html
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Horner expects four-way F1 title battle with McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes.
“There is the possibility we’re in for an absolutely epic year,” says Christian Horner, in a rare moment of calm between pre-season tests and ahead of the slog of a record-breaking 23-race season – assuming a venue is found to replace the cancelled Russian Grand Prix.
March 2nd 2022
Author
Damien Smith
We meet the Red Bull Racing team principal on a flying visit to the Milton Keynes campus – an accurate description of the place given the astonishing expansion of what started out as the relatively humble Stewart Grand Prix base all those years ago. In the office next door Adrian Newey buzzes around, likely hard at work taking on the learnings from the opening Barcelona test in preparation for three more days in Bahrain next week. He’s filled with porpoise – I mean purpose… and it’s clearly all go. Horner yawns several times during our chat, and it’s likely he’s been burning the candle at both ends. But he’s in a reflective mood, too.
‘Epic year ahead’;
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a...-and-mercedes#
Gary Anderson: Adjusted F1 test times hint at Ferrari advantage
Mar 2 2022
By Gary Anderson
The first pre-season Formula 1 test at Barcelona gave us our first indication of the competitive order, and it seemed like business as usual with Mercedes fastest ahead of Red Bull.
But to help us understand a little better what the order appears to be, we can recalculate all of the best times of every driver to see what their pace would have been adjusted to the C4 tyre.
But I’ve looked back at what we’ve seen in the past from each team in terms of testing fuel loads to add a little extra context. I’ve used the 2020 test to the first race as the comparison given 2021 was affected by the carryover cars that impacted some more than others.
‘Tabulated order!’;
https://the-race.com/formula-1/gary-...ari-advantage/
Why the 2022 F1 pecking order is expected to become clear at Bahrain test
2nd March 2022, 13:40
Author Tom Leach
Co-author Dieter Rencken
Formula 1 is preparing to head to Bahrain for a double-header of events, starting with the official pre-season test before the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix one week later. Ferrari's Mattia Binotto believes that this is when the pecking order may become a little clearer. There have been plenty of mind games since Barcelona, with multiple drivers and teams keen to play down the competitiveness of their cars, even when topping the timesheets.
"In Barcelona, the first test was to collect data and, as we said, to try to understand the correlation," explained Binotto, speaking to members of the media including RacingNews365.com.
"But when we go to Bahrain, then it will be very close to the first race of the season. We will all, I believe, try to simulate some race simulations, quali[fying] simulations, how we try to extract the most of the performance from the car itself.
‘Pecking Order to become clear’;
https://racingnews365.com/why-the-20...t-bahrain-test
Lando Norris makes Mercedes performance prediction ahead of Bahrain trip
By George Dagless
Published: 2 Mar 2022, 12:05
“Mercedes never look that good in testing, only when they get to the first race. If they’re good in testing, that means they’re probably going to be incredible by the first race!”
“I think everyone’s worked on their own programmes and so on. Of course, everyone has different fuel loads and power modes and whatever.”
‘‘Mercedes Prediction’;
https://www.givemesport.com/87978960...f-bahrain-trip
Kravitz on who’s hot and who’s not in Barcelona
Date published: March 2 2022 - Mark Scott
Sky Sports F1 paddock and pit-lane reporter, Ted Kravitz, has provided his initial assessment of 2022 field following the shakedown event in Barcelona. And, whilst it was a familiar duo in Mercedes and Red Bull at the top end of the timesheet, two other teams have caught Kravitz’s eye for all the right reasons based on his three days of observation.
“Undoubtedly McLaren and Ferrari,” was Kravitz’s answer when asked in a Sky Sports Q and A which teams have made the biggest step up since last year.
“After Day One it just felt like both of those cars could do decent lap times at a moment’s notice and more significant was Mercedes’ surprise at how quick McLaren and Ferrari were, and they’ve got all the GPS data to know that.
‘Kravitz on Hot’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/ted-kr...arcelona-test/
F1 confirm Bahrain testing schedule and when cars will be on track
01/02/2022, 11:10
Author Tom Leach
Formula 1 have confirmed that testing in Bahrain will run from 10:00 to 19:00 local time, which means 07:00 to 16:00 GMT.
If the test in Barcelona is anything to go by, there will also be a one-hour lunch break sandwiched between the four-hour sessions.
Cars are expected to be on track throughout the four-hour sessions as the likes Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari look to learn all they can about their new challengers.
‘Looking to learn’;
https://racingnews365.com/f1-confirm...ll-be-on-track
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Leclerc says Ferrari is ‘working harder than ever’.
Charles Leclerc said he felt “good” after Ferrari impressed during the first pre-season test in Barcelona but warned they were not focusing on performance at this stage.
Date published: March 2 2022 - Sam Cooper
“When you’re doing a lot of laps, you are certainly collecting data. So far I’m pleased by the fact that we did many laps which is important. Regarding the pace, it’s very early to judge. What I can see is that we are all very close, which was one of the objectives of the new regulations.”
“Overall, as Ferrari it was important for us to put focus and priority on 2022. We always said it was an opportunity. Now we are on track, we are trying to learn the car.”
“How we benefit from that, I think only the next months – not the next days – will tell us. To see the full potential of the cars will take at least four to five races as there is still so much to learn, to adapt, to address. Let’s wait and see. Honestly, we’re not the strongest team. We are still the outsider and not the favourites.”
Ferrari working harder’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/charle...der-than-ever/
‘First look says Ferrari overtook Mercedes and Red Bull’
Date published: March 3 2022 - Michelle Foster
“The first balance of the test in Barcelona was that Ferrari overtook Mercedes and Red Bull,” Red Bull advisor Marko told RTL.
“They are teams that has different technical concepts and in Bahrain the fine-tuning will be decisive. In terms of engine power, it seems that Ferrari is now the best.”
He’s not the only one who feels Ferrari have surged ahead with their engine, Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff also saying that “Ferrari have the strongest power unit at the moment”. Wolff isn’t overly concerned, and neither is Marko.
‘Ferrari overtake!’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/helmut...-and-red-bull/
The positive that teams that struggled in Barcelona testing can take away
02/03/2022, 15:20
Author Anna Francis
The first 2022 pre-season test in Barcelona appeared to go better for some teams than others. However, former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer has explained why those who struggled may not need to worry too much yet.
"If you're going to struggle at some point, the not-filmed Barcelona pre-testing test is going to be the time to do it," Palmer said on Formula1.com. "But it is just that really. The official pre-season test is in Bahrain. All these cars, we're trying to dissect, [but] it could all look really different in Bahrain and this is all nul and void.”
"There's a lot of time before the first race. This is still fascinating, but it's ever-moving goals, especially with the new generation [of cars]."
‘Moving goals’;
https://racingnews365.com/the-positi...-can-take-away
Did F1’s new 2022 cars really need two tests?
The Race
03/03/2022, 07:19
By Scott Mitchell
Formula 1’s new technical regulations have meant a return to two three-day tests in 2022. After the first, some have questioned whether it was necessary.
There were all sorts of hints in the off-season that ‘Team A’ was still failing crash tests and that ‘Team B’ would struggle to get its new car ready in time to run at Barcelona. Then on day one all but two teams completed more than 100 laps. Instant reliability for the vast majority.
The new cars were hardly bulletproof in Spain. The final day saw to that – Alpine and Aston Martin had fires, Haas and Alfa Romeo had a litany of problems. For one reason or another, four teams failed to complete any running on the final afternoon.
‘Two tests for new Technical Regulations’;
https://the-race.com/formula-1/did-f...eed-two-tests/
Williams’ ‘radical’ FW44 catches the eye in Barcelona
Date published: March 3 2022 - Mark Scott
The new Williams FW44 has caught the eye of its former World Champion Damon Hill following three days of unofficial testing at Barcelona.
And, on the latest edition of the F1 Nation podcast, Hill name checked Williams and Ferrari as the teams that stood out to him, pointing out some similarities along the way. “The Williams is incredibly radical,” Hill remarked.
“It’s phenomenal, the packaging on that thing. “Williams are a bit like Ferrari in [their situation].”
“Their Prancing Horse was hobbled a bit when they had their problem with their power unit, and they were clipped back, and they’ve been in reset mode, as have Williams. “
Williams FW44 Radical Reset Mode’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/willia...eye-barcelona/
Binotto: Mercedes will be ‘two or three months ahead’ of Ferrari
Mattia Binotto does not agree that Ferrari have the upper hand over Mercedes after the first pre-season test in Barcelona.
by Rob Kershaw
2 March 2022
Binotto dismissed rumours that the Scuderia are quicker than them ahead of the new season.
“I’m pretty sure that they will be two or three months ahead of us by the time we will be in Bahrain!” he told Sky Sports. “I think that it’s very difficult today to judge the performance and the relative competitiveness between the teams.”
“What was important for us was to collect data here and I think we can be somehow satisfied with the amount of laps we did. [Everything] will be analysed back in Maranello.”
‘Scuderia Data Collecting’;
https://formula1news.co.uk/binotto-m...ad-of-ferrari/
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Ferrari focused on 'optimizing' F1-75, not upgrades.
"I think that the first step for us will be to optimise what we have," explained Binotto, quoted by Motorsport.com.
Phillip van Osten03/03/2022 at 17:2703/03/2022 at 17:26
Contrary to Mercedes and Red Bull which will both roll out updated iterations of their 2022 cars in Bahrain, Ferrari's F1-75 will take to the track with few upgrades.
"We are more focused on that one [extracting more pace], not only in terms of setup engineering, but as well in terms of driving style and the drivers themselves. So let's wait, let's see what the others will bring.”
"Certainly, as Ferrari we are always concerned on upgrades of our competitors. And I'm pretty sure they will be very, very strong by then."
‘Ferrari F1-75 optimisation’;
https://f1i.com/news/433610-ferrari-...-upgrades.html
Binotto: F1-75 will not be much different in Bahrain
Jad Mallak
3 March, 2022
Binotto revealed that Ferrari are sticking with the same version of the F1-75 they ran in Barcelona, in an attempt to understand it fully, and optimise it as much as possible.
“It will not be much different compared to what we’ve got,” he said. “I think that the first step for us will be to optimise what we have.”
“We are still far from the best performance, not only because we are running high fuel and not the best engine mode, but simply because there is a lot to exploit more from the car itself.”
‘Ferrari F1-75 to be exploited’;
https://www.grandprix247.com/2022/03...nt-in-bahrain/
‘Lando may be playing mind games, but Mercedes aren’t’
Date published: March 3 2022 - Mark Scott
With Russell and Norris both trying to deflect attention away from their own respective teams and onto their rivals, it will only be in Bahrain when we start to figure out the truth.
But, in Russell’s case, he said he has no interest in playing games. It is unclear whether his nose grew as he was saying this.
“I can’t be bothered with mind games, it’s too much effort. No, there are no mind games,” Russell told reporters in Barcelona.
‘Mind games?’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/lando-...ll-mind-games/
Norris: Mercedes never look that good in testing
Jad Mallak
3 March, 2022
Lando Norris and McLaren had an impressive Formula 1 test in Barcelona, the Briton topping the time screens on Day 1, but he warned that Mercedes will have the edge, as they never tend to look good in testing.
“Mercedes never look that good in testing, only when they get to the first race,” Norris pointed out. “If they’re good in testing, that means they’re probably going to be incredible by the first race!”
https://www.grandprix247.com/2022/03...od-in-testing/
Verstappen set to ink a quarter billion euros Red Bull deal
Reuters
2 March, 2022
Max Verstappen the 2021 Formula 1 World Champion has agreed on a lucrative long-term contract extension with Red Bull said to be worth around €250-million over the next five years, Dutch media reported on Wednesday.
Helmut Marko said before that Verstappen should not expect too much money from Red Bull following a contract extension, but that doesn’t seem to have been the case, as the energy drinks outfit have reportedly broken the bank to retain the second F1 World Champion to emerge from their junior ranks after Sebastian Vettel.
Red Bull have most probably played it safe by locking down Verstappen in a long-term deal, and avoid the risk of him being lured by another team, a case of the reigning Champion seeing the grass greener on the other side of the fence.
‘Quarter Billion’;
https://www.grandprix247.com/2022/03...red-bull-deal/
Verstappen: Easy decision to stay with Red Bull until end of 2028
Editor
3 March, 2022
As reported yesterday, Max Verstappen has inked a long-term deal with Red Bull which will see him with the team until the end of 2028 with a hefty $50-million per annum retainer.
Red Bull confirmed today in a statement released today: “After winning his maiden Formula 1 World Championship title in 2021, Max Verstappen has signed a long-term contract extension that will keep the 24-year-old Dutch driver with the Oracle Red Bull Racing Team, exclusively, until the end of 2028.”
Speaking about the new five-year deal, Max said: “I really enjoy being part of the Oracle Red Bull Racing Team, so choosing to stay to the 2028 season was an easy decision. I love this Team and last year was simply incredible, our goal since we came together in 2016 was to win the championship and we have done that, so now it’s about keeping the number one on the car long-term.”
‘Verstappen Red Bull’;
https://www.grandprix247.com/2022/03...-new-contract/
FIA approves new circuit protection for fans after catch fence tests
F1
March 3rd 2022
Dramatic videos show a new catch fence design approved by the FIA for F1 use. The FIA has approved a new catch fence designed to protect fans from debris during crashes.
Designed by Swiss company Geobrugg, the new fencing was tested and approved by the sport’s governing body for use at Grade 1 circuits, making it applicable for Formula 1 events.
A video posted by Geobrugg shows a car weighing 1000kg hurtling into the catch fencing at 150kph and the new design catching and withstanding the impact. Debris launched towards fans is minimised and no major pieces are seen flying through the fencing.
‘Catch Fence Protection’;
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a...h-fence-tests#
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Haas aiming to avoid 'gremlins' in Bahrain Pre-Season Test after Barcelona issues.
An issue with the Haas’s Ferrari engine curtailed the team’s Friday running at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and meant that the squad – who finished 10th in last year’s constructors’ championship – managed just 160 laps over the three days. For comparison, Ferrari led the distance stakes with 439 laps between their drivers.
03 March 2022
Haas managed just nine laps on their final day of pre-season running and left Spain with the lowest lap total of all 10 teams – leading Team Principal Guenther Steiner to hope there are no “gremlins” troubling the team in Bahrain.
Steiner continued: “About the rest of the test – the first day was a little bit clumsy, I would say, but we learned enough that on the second day we were well prepared. The second day was actually pretty good, we learned a lot; if you think we had three days of testing… really we only managed one. I think we made good progress.”
“Obviously after having had only had about 40 laps [on Day 1] in total for the whole team was, I think, not ideal. To have already more than 50 [on Thursday] is definitely a big support and I think we’re learning with every lap – so I think we’re on a good way,” he said on the second day in Spain.”
‘Haas hoping for no “gremlins”!’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...KFKnrYB45.html
AlphaTauri data correlation “better than expected” after wind tunnel change – Tost
RaceFans Round-up
Posted on
4th March 2022, 0:01| Written by Will Wood
AlphaTauri team principal, Franz Tost, said their data from the opening three day test in Barcelona correlated better with their wind tunnel projections than they expected. The AT03 is the first car the team has designed after moving in line with their rivals by switching to a 60% scale tunnel.
The team completed 308 laps over the course of the first three day test in Barcelona last week between drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly, before their final day’s running was cut short by damage sustained by Gasly hitting the tyre barriers.
“To find out how close we are really there, we did a lot of measurements the last days with our racks, as you could see, with the sensors mounted on there,” Tost explained. “Now the engineers are analysing the data and this is then the data basis for correlation with CFD and the wind tunnel. But the information I got is that we, from the beginning onwards, had quite a positive correlation. Of course, now as we have a lot of data from the racetrack, it’s much easier to build up this.”
‘AT03 Better Than Expected’;
https://www.racefans.net/2022/03/04/...nd-up-04-03-5/
Gasly says AlphaTauri AT03 felt 'positive straight out of the box' in Barcelona
28 February 2022
Pierre Gasly was buoyed by his AlphaTauri AT03’s performance straight out of the Barcelona pit lane, and despite a small crash on the final day he left Spain buzzing for the Bahrain Official Pre-Season Test.
The Frenchman completed 187 laps over the three-day programme – more than Day 3 leader Lewis Hamilton – while AlphaTauri managed 308 tours of Barcelona in total. Gasly said he'd been “super excited” to try the new breed of F1 car, and it seemed AlphaTauri’s AT03 did not disappoint.
However, his final day was curtailed to just 40 laps thanks to a crash in the morning. “Unfortunately, I locked up my tyres during the morning running and damaged the car, but testing is about finding the limits and we’ve still been able to gather a lot of valuable data over the three days,” he explained.
‘AT03 Felt Positive’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...6JI2QSU7h.html
What to expect from Aston Martin’s new F1 team principal
F1
Lewis Larkam
4 Mar 2022
Mike Krack finally started work as Aston Martin’s Formula 1 team principal this week, having taken over following the departure of Otmar Szafnauer.
The former BMW motorsport boss officially began his new role on Tuesday and will make his first appearance in the F1 paddock for Aston Martin during next week’s second pre-season test at Bahrain.
Speaking to Crash.net and other media in his first interview in his new role, Krack said he aims to utilise all of his management strengths from his wealth of experience gained across various motorsport series including F1, Formula E, and the World Endurance Championship.
‘‘Utilising All Management Strenghts’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/feature/997...team-principal
Editor’s Desk: It’s time Ferrari gave Binotto a hand
Jad Mallak
4 March, 2022
Ferrari arrived at the 2022 Formula 1 preseason testing with the attractive and innovative F1-75, tipped by many to be the class of this year’s grid, but will it be enough for the Scuderia to launch a proper title campaign? Doesn’t their team boss Mattia Binotto need a helping hand?
This brings me on to “Management”, and in particular Ferrari’s team principal Mattia Binotto, the man who has climbed through the ranks of Maranello since joining in 1995 to finally reach the helm, a capable engineer once in charge of the team’s power unit department.
But under his watch as team principal, the team has not advanced, but even struggled, with slow cars, operational errors… You name it. And although the man cannot be blamed for all those problems, as the rot had already set in way before he took charge of the team, he is yet to make an impression to say the least.
‘Helping Hand’;
https://www.grandprix247.com/2022/03...inotto-a-hand/
Leclerc reveals porpoising affected by DRS, admits most teams underestimated it
One of the key themes of the first pre-season test in Barcelona was the "porpoising" issue many teams appeared to experience.
by Rob Kershaw
3 March 20223 March 2022
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has compared the porpoising many teams experienced during testing in Barcelona to “turbulence” in an aircraft, while team-mate Carlos Sainz believes that many in the paddock “underestimated” the issues the new technical regulations might present.
“It feels like turbulence in an airplane going up and down the whole straight,” he said, quoted by Motorsport.com.
“I can’t say it feels good. It makes you a bit sick, but it is okay.”
‘Porpoising underestimated’;
https://formula1news.co.uk/leclerc-r...restimated-it/
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If Ferrari has a rocketship, will Leclerc and Sainz partnership turn sour in F1 title fight?
If the Ferrari really is as good as it looked in the Barcelona running last week – when it appeared to be nip and tuck as quick as Mercedes and Red Bull – then we have a very interesting dynamic to observe between the team’s two drivers.
March 4th 2022
Author Mark Hughes
There was surprise in some quarters when Carlos Sainz was able to walk into Ferrari and in his first season out-score (albeit by a scant half-point) Charles Leclerc. But probably there shouldn’t have been. He’s been super-fast ever since arriving in F1 and even when he found a car – the Renault – in which his favoured driving style didn’t work, he still managed to pull together classy performances, frequently leading or ‘winning’ the ‘best of the rest’ class there in 2018.
Before that, he was comparably quick to Max Verstappen at Toro Rosso. Subsequently he edged a narrow advantage at McLaren over Lando Norris, a driver whose huge potential is now much more widely acknowledged than when Sainz was alongside him.
Leclerc has a devastating turn of speed and melds that incredible gift into a flat-out attacking spirit that sometimes pulls off outrageous feats of qualifying performance. In sessions where a valid comparison could be made, he outqualified Sainz 12 times to 5 last year but the average time difference between them was only around 0.1sec. From that platform, Sainz was able to compete head-to-head in the races. There was no number one and number two.
‘Scuderia Rocketship’;
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a...tle-fight-mph#
Drivers have got a 'mountain to climb' to get on top of 2022 cars, says Vettel
04 March 2022
Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel has seen generations come and go in Formula 1, but after his first taste of the new Aston Martin he has pointed out that this new breed of car has an exciting but steep learning curve.
“We did a good amount of laps and there’s still a lot to learn for me,” he said. “The car wants to be driven in a different way, I am playing with driving styles and what I can do. Equally we are playing with the car, we are trying to sort some problems that we have, some of the challenges that we’ve faced, find solutions.”
“So, there is still a lot to do, everybody is flat out and there is still a very, very steep, and high, mountain to climb. I can’t say at the minute we are seeing the peak, but it's fun, I think the challenge is fun and the belief is there that one day we will reach that peak, hopefully just before the season.”
‘Mountain To Climb’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...6d7bANa98.html
‘We have all the ingredients to be successful’ – Aston Martin’s new team boss Mike Krack on his mission to win
Staff writer
Greg Stuart
04 March 2022
Mike Krack was sitting at home feeling under the weather when the discussions began that would ultimately lead to him becoming Aston Martin’s Team Principal, as of March 1 2022.
“At Aston Martin, yes, the pressure is there, but I think you have to turn that into positive pressure. Yes, we want to succeed. We have to succeed, but also, we’ve spent so much time and so much budget, and it's not for being second or participating.
“Obviously, you cannot switch and be… winning from the first day,” he adds. “But at the end of the day, it's a huge challenge but it's also a huge opportunity that we have now. With that brand, the Aston Martin brand, we have all the ingredients that you need to be successful.”
‘Krack Ingredients’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...0CSnycBLT.html
Albon impressed by 'great foundation’ set by Williams ahead of Bahrain test
04 March 2022
Williams kicked of their 2022 Formula 1 season with an impressive few days of running at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona. The team from Oxfordshire in the UK completed 347 laps, the fifth-most on the grid, over the three days of testing in Spain, leaving many impressed – including their driver, Alex Albon.
“Honestly, feeling very good, getting good mileage into the car,” said Albon. “It seems like everyone is doing pretty well, everyone is getting good mileage in… The car is feeling very, very good to begin with. I feel like we’ve got a good foundation to start the year on.”
“It’s not different, not very different at all,” said Albon. “All F1 teams operate in a very similar way, it’s more like going to a new workplace or a new school: new faces to learn and new names to remember.”
‘Williams Great Foundation’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...KtnYeDnDo.html
Pirelli brimming with positivity for 2022 prospects after Barcelona running
04 March 2022
Pirelli came away from last week's Barcelona track sessions brimming with positivity over their 2022 18-inch tyres, after 10 teams completed a total of more than 3,000 laps using all five of the tyre supplier’s compounds – plus wet and intermediate tyres.
“It was quite positive; comments were in line with what we found last year. Now we have a lot of data to analyse. Teams were focused mostly on C2 and C3 [compounds] because they are focused on the car set-up and balance and to understand how the car behaves, but I believe that we have good information.”
The final day in Barcelona also saw trucks emerge to soak the track for Pirelli’s wet-weather test, giving teams the chance to run blue-banded wet tyres and green-banded intermediates for the opening hours of Friday afternoon. As Isola explained, it wasn’t a simple task – and there was much valuable information to be gained.
‘Pirelli brimming with positivity’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...b590d3nR7.html
PALMER: My verdict on all 10 teams’ pre-season performances so far ahead of Bahrain testing
Special contributor
Jolyon Palmer
04 March 2022
Pre-season running at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya gave us our first chance to see all 10 of the new-for-2022 Formula 1 cars out on circuit together. Former Renault F1 racer Jolyon Palmer was keeping his expert eye on proceedings from trackside.
Here, he gives his verdict on the performance of all 10 teams, as they get set for the Official Pre-Season Test in Bahrain on March 10-12.
‘The Verdict’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...lsMS8RmYC.html
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Red Bull tipped to bring surprises to Bahrain test.
Former Renault F1 driver Jolyon Palmer reckons Red Bull are keeping plenty of tricks up their sleeve ahead of next week's test in Bahrain.
Author Tom Leach
5th March 2022, 07:00
The car featured aggressive new sidepods, with plenty of solutions across the floor, as the team look to claw back as much downforce as they can following major winter regulation changes.
But they are not done yet, according to Palmer, who expects more surprises in Bahrain when testing resumes on 10 March.
Speaking to Formula1.com, Palmer said: "[Red Bull] seem to be in a decent position overall, even if they acknowledge there is plenty more to do with the car. But as yet, I'd say they've maybe kept the most hidden of any teams – so they will be well worth watching in Bahrain."
‘Tricks Up The Sleeve’;
https://racingnews365.com/red-bull-h...f-bahrain-test
Porpoising problems will be gone “in two or three races” – Alfa Romeo
RaceFans Round-up
Posted on
5th March 2022, 0:01 | Written by Hazel Southwell
Jan Monchaux, Alfa Romeo’s technical director, said that despite setting the fewest laps of any team during Barcelona testing, he was confident that the situation could be turned around by the time of the Sakhir test.
“It was [not] a secret that we had some bouncing issues at the beginning,” admitted Monchaux, “and it was true, I think, for everybody. And we had some mechanical issue on the second part of the test.
“We have to to fix it, I think it’s a challenge but I’m quite confident that we’ll be able to do it for next week.”
‘Porpoising will be gone in two or three races’;
https://www.racefans.net/2022/03/05/...nd-up-05-03-5/
Video: Go behind the scenes with Norris and McLaren for Barcelona testing
05/03/2022, 11:05
Author Thomas Maher
Norris gets behind the wheel of the McLaren MCL36, and shares his initial thoughts from driving the new generation F1 car in anger for the first time.
Encouragingly for McLaren fans, a smiling Norris jokes that he's "going to win the championship" after topping the times for the day, after being happy with the new car's handling through the fast sequences of the circuit.
‘Going to win the Championship’;
https://racingnews365.com/video-go-b...celona-testing
Palmer paints a gloomy picture of Aston Martin’s test
Date published: March 4 2022 - Mark Scott
Ex-F1 driver turned pundit and analyst, Jolyon Palmer, was struggling for positives when assessing Aston Martin’s Barcelona test.
The return of the Aston Martin brand to Formula 1 in 2021 did not begin with the most exciting first chapter as the team finished P7 in the Constructors’ Championship, ahead of other notable strugglers in the form of Williams, Alfa Romeo and Haas.
“In Barcelona it was tough – from the outside at least – to spot any obvious signs that they’d made much progress towards the front end of the grid,” Palmer said. “The car looked snappy and hard to drive, particularly in the low-speed final sector, and it was also the car I saw porpoise the most on one particular lap, as it was launched almost fully into the air down the start-finish straight.”
‘Aston Martin Gloom’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/jolyon...lona-analysis/
Ranked: The best and worst F1 liveries of 2022
Date published: March 1 2022 - Oliver Harden
The February fashion show in Formula 1 concluded last Sunday as Alfa Romeo became the final team to formally launch their new car for the 2022 season.
With new regulations in place, this year’s breed are generally a good-looking bunch but, as with all things, some teams have done a better job than others.
Here’s how we rank all 10 liveries:
‘Formula 1 Fashion Show’;
https://www.planetf1.com/features/20...veries-ranked/
Video: The making of a Formula 1 car launch
Yesterday, 18:00
Author RacingNews365 Staff
AlphaTauri have released a behind-the-scenes video showing how they pulled off their AT03 car launch presentation.
AlphaTauri fused a virtual world with reality for the recent launch of their 2022 F1 car.
Named after Red Bull's clothing brand, AlphaTauri sent the well-dressed Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda out on stage with a host of models, before a digital version of the AT03 appeared and the drivers switched into their race suits.
‘Formula 1 Car Launch’;
https://racingnews365.com/video-the-...a-1-car-launch
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Who are F1's 'happiest team' ahead of Bahrain testing?
Jolyon Palmer says he thinks Ferrari are the happiest team after the first three-day pre-season test session at Barcelona concluded last week.
05/03/2022, 14:15
Author Michael Butterworth
"Ferrari looked hooked up from the word go," Palmer told Formula 1’s official YouTube channel.
"In previous years, when the Ferrari got out of shape, you’d think [the driver] is about to crash, but now they get out of shape and they can still lean on it.”
"Particularly Charles Leclerc, he’s got these slight drifts on the corner exit, so it looks like he’s got confidence in the car. Carlos [Sainz] looks to be a little bit smoother, but is still getting some good pace out of the car.”
‘Happiest Team’;
https://racingnews365.com/jolyon-pal...f-bahrain-test
How ‘brute force aero’ makes 2022 F1 cars easier to drive
Mar 4 2022
By Edd Straw
McLaren technical director James Key believes the “brute force aerodynamics” of the 2022 Formula 1 cars makes them easier to drive.
Key argues that the change to ground-effect cars with simplified top-body aero ultimately makes it possible to achieve a more stable platform.
“We know we’ve got a couple of areas we need to improve on, but overall it’s been maybe even an easier car to drive so far. When you look at the way we are generating downforce, we’ve got massive brute force surfaces, a huge front wing, a massive floor which is very powerful, far less complexity above all that.”
‘McLaren Brute Force Aero’;
https://the-race.com/formula-1/how-b...sier-to-drive/
Mercedes expects 'lots of jumping' over which car is quickest
Andrew Lewin05/03/2022 at 13:5305/03/2022 at 12:29
Mercedes are expecting a volatile new season ahead, with the likelihood of big swings in relative performances during the course of the campaign as teams continue to work hard on developing their new cars.
"I suspect that most of the teams will find they're probably still on a strong development slope, and we'll see lots of upgrades as a result of that," commented technical director Mike Elliott in a new video released by the team.
"I think it's going to be really difficult to tell from winter testing who's quickest," he continued. "The cars are so new and so different, I suspect we'll also have the sort of reliability fixes that you need to put in place, and a big chunk of work to put into that as well.”
‘Volatile New Season Ahead’;
https://f1i.com/news/433678-mercedes...ckest-car.html
Alpine encouraged by low-drama bow of new power unit
Andrew Lewin 05/03/2022 at 12:35
The Alpine team is taking a big step with this year's power unit in the new A522 chassis, with Renault switching to the split turbo approach first introduced by Mercedes back in 2014.
Alpine sporting director Alan Permane was happy that the new engine package had gone largely unremarked upon, which he took as a good sign.
“Honestly, we haven't spoken about the power unit – and that's a great thing,": he told the media. "It hasn't even been a talking point really, which is great. “It's so different. It's completely different to anything that Viry have produced before," he continued.
‘New Power Unit, Completely Different!’;
https://f1i.com/news/433657-alpine-e...ower-unit.html
Fernando Alonso’s last stand – how long Alpine star has to carry out El Plan
FERNANDO ALONSO is as popular as ever among F1 fans, who will be thrilled to see the Spaniard has a plan to succeed - El Plan, to be precise.
By DANIEL MOXON
15:17, Sat, Mar 5, 2022
Just what is El Plan? Is it a social media stunt, thoughts up by the brains behind Fernando Alonso's public profile and Alpine's marketing department? Or is it a genuine scheme to give the two-time world champion the chance to add more silverware to his already impressive collection? The answer, most likely, is somewhere in the middle.
EL PLAN: The Spaniard kept bringing it up, and wore T-shirts with the phrase to make sure it didn't slip from anyone's mind. EL PLAN: And it gained most traction when, for free practice ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the letters on Alonso's rear wing were rearranged so that the phrase was there for the whole world to see.
EL PLAN: To clarify, or perhaps to make it even more confusing, he then added: "I think it’s part of ‘El Plan’ that I don’t know exactly what ‘El Plan’ is. You will have to bet. That’s ‘El Plan’…to scare without knowing."
‘EL PLAN’;
https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...l-Plan-F1-news
Albon has already ‘exceeded expectations’ at Williams
Date published: March 5 2022 - Henry Valantine
Williams team principal Jost Capito said he has been “very impressed” with Alex Albon since he joined, to a degree where he has “exceeded expectations” about how well he has gelled with his new team.
“He gives very good information, is very good at evaluating the car. He is calm, has a good feeling for the car and works well with the engineers and the team,” Capito said, quoted by Motorsport-Total.
“I think he has just the right balance of being a nice guy on the one hand, but then also finding the necessary aggressiveness in the car and pushing. He is a fighter. I expected him to fit in really well with the team, but he actually exceeded my expectations there.”
‘Exceeded Expectations’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/alex-a...ions-williams/
