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Alex Albon admits his 2024 Formula 1 targets ‘don’t match’ with Williams.
Alex Albon often outperformed the FW15 during the 2023 F1 season.
Fri 15 December 2023 17:00
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer
Williams driver Alex Albon has now admitted that his targets for the 2024 Formula 1 season are not aligned with what team principal James Vowles senses for their year. The 27-year-old was among the stars of the F1 grid in 2023 as Albon often outperformed the car Williams delivered. He finished the year 13th in the drivers’ championship after a host of brilliant displays. His 27 points even accounted for 96.4% of the Grove squad’s 28 as a team.
Albon was also the only person to win their inner-team head-to-head qualifying battle 22-0. The London-born Thai dominated Logan Sargeant during the American’s rookie campaign to also win their Grand Prix results head-to-head 19-3. He won both Sprint head-to-heads 6-0. What Albon achieved with Williams over 2023 now convinces the two-time podium finisher that he is ready to fight for further rostrum results and, potentially, Grand Prix wins. But his targets for 2024 do not align with what team principal Vowles expects for them next year.
‘27 points even accounted for 96.4% of the Grove squad’s 28’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/ale...with-williams/
Williams star Albon makes DESERVED F1 podium claim
Friday 15 December 2023 14:57
Matthew Hobkinson
GPFans
Williams driver Alex Albon has admitted that he feels as if he is in a position where he deserves to be fighting for podiums and race wins within Formula 1. “You have to take it two ways as a driver," he said (via RacingNews365). "Every driver has to be, in some ways, short-sighted. Our career spans, our competitiveness and our desires don't always match up to a team's long-term plan.”
“But you also understand that completely. We're not going to turn the car over in a year and just be fighting with the Red Bull. There's so much that has to be done. James [Vowles] out of everyone understands just how far behind we must be in certain areas.”
“It'd be silly for James to say 'Next year I'm going to be able to make a car that that's going to be fighting for wins'. That just doesn't happen. So the fact that he's realistic about it gives me confidence. But at the very same time, I feel like I'm driving well. I feel like I'm in a position where I deserve to be fighting podiums and hopefully race wins.”
‘DESERVED F1 podium claim’;
https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...s-2024-season/
Williams's F1 scrapheap bargain was its most valuable investment
Dec 1, 2023
by Edd Straw
The Race
Whatever Williams is paying Alex Albon this year, likely just a few million dollars, is one of the best investments it has made given he’s single-handedly lifted it to seventh in the Formula 1 constructors’ championship. In F1, the best drivers are paid enormous sums but in Albon Williams has got premium performance for a bargain bin price.
With every position in the standings worth approximately $10million (a figure that won’t be finalised until F1’s ultimate 2023 revenues are totted up) to teams, Albon’s value is obvious. He scored 27 of Williams’s 28 points and was the strongest driver across the season of those in the four-team group at the back battling for seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th places. He was one of the standout performers of the season across the whole grid.
The difference between tenth and seventh in the championship is roughly $30m and most would have predicted Williams to finish last for a second consecutive year. And it might have done, but for Albon’s performances. The 27-year-old isn’t one to shout about his excellence from the rooftops, but he is justifiably very satisfied with his campaign. “I’m very proud of my performance,” said Albon when asked by The Race how big an achievement Williams taking seventh was for him personally.”
‘Difference between tenth and seventh in the championship is roughly $30m’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/a...pheap-bargain/
Albon interview: How face of Williams revival is keen to push even further
06 December 9:00PM
Author Jake Nichol
Co-author Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365
Albon is now inextricably-linked as the face of Williams' revival under Vowles, and spoke at length to select media including RacingNews365 of his own performances in 2023, and how his performance and that of the car must meld together to extract results. "On a personal level, I don't think it has changed so much from last year," says Albon when asked if he felt a difference in performance level from 2022 to 2023.
"Most of it comes from a bit more confidence in myself, as last year was a bit of year back to prove myself, I felt like I did that and this year was more about: 'Okay, how do I bring this team up and get them moving to be where they need to be?' Experience is a big element, not just in Formula 1, but within the team, and I will give you an example. Let's say I go into Free Practice 2 [in Abu Dhabi], I already know what the car is going to feel like, I know what corners are going to be the limitations and which ones it works well.”
"There is always a reaction into a weekend where you're already one step ahead of where you were the year before, and that does make a really big difference, because you can go into a weekend, pre-empting issues and knowing your strengths and weaknesses as a driver, but also in the car itself. That has been very useful.”
‘Keen to push’;
https://racingnews365.com/albon-excl...h-even-further
'Proud' Albon says 2023 was ‘strongest year’ yet in F1
06/12/2023 at 10:52
Michael Delaney
F1i.com
"I'm very proud of my performance," said Albon, quoted by Motorsport.com. "I'm not the most arrogant person I would say, but I will give myself credit, I feel like I've had a very strong season. I felt like most of my races haven't been simple, there have been races where we've been fighting, fighting, fighting the whole time. But I enjoy it. I feel that's the environment that I thrive in.”
“For me, it's been my strongest year in F1. That connection that I have with the team has really helped that. I feel like that's where we've been able to execute everything we've done so well. When we've had the car to do it, we've made sure we've scored the points. I think others have either had a blunder with strategy or whatever it may have been, just to miss out on points."
‘Strongest year’;
https://f1i.com/news/495984-proud-al...yet-in-f1.html
Were Albon's best 2023 drives really 'world champion' level?
Dec 13, 2023
by Jack Cozens
F1i.com
How good was Alex Albon's 2023 Formula 1 season in the Williams FW45? Good enough, certainly, to single-handedly earn Williams its best constructors' championship finish in six years. Good enough, too, for the 27-year-old to earn sixth place in The Race's end-of-year multi-contributor ranking of every 2023 F1 driver. But were aspects of it at a much higher level than 'good'?
So while Vowles's comments have to be taken with a pinch of 'team boss praises lead driver' salt, such claims as the one he made on Sky Sports F1's 2023 season review have a degree of authoritative weight to them. "His confidence has grown enormously and a lot about driving the car on the limits is belief in yourself, belief in the infrastructure around you and the team, and that's what's changed. He really does believe in where we are and what he is capable of doing.”
"I've had the pleasure of working with a number of world champions across my time and the drives that he did across three events this year, certainly Monza, Montreal and Silverstone, was just that [at a world champion's standard]. He didn't put a foot wrong for 40 laps while we put him in a position where he had half the field really stacking up behind him [in Canada]. And that is really when you start to see the true Alex coming out in that situation."
'World champion level’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/a...pion-level-f1/
Albon on reshaping Williams’ destiny in F1’s 2023 season
The Thai-British driver helps Williams to success
December 7, 2023
Lena Ferle
FormulaNerds
Reflecting on the transition from 2022 to 2023, Albon remarked, according to racingnews365.com, “On a personal level, I don’t think it has changed so much from last year.” He attributed the improvements to increased self-confidence, emphasising that the previous year was about proving himself while the current focus was elevating the team’s performance.
Being given a quicker and more manageable car was another key factor. Albon noted, “When you have a car that is quicker and a bit easier to drive, you can exploit the downforce beyond the limit and the ceiling of the car.” He emphasised this wasn’t solely a driving skill but also a testament to the improved car design.
Albon acknowledged the collaboration between driver and car, drawing parallels with other successful teams like McLaren. He concluded, “That is no different to what it is like at Williams,” solidifying his role as a central figure in the team’s journey back to competitiveness in Formula 1.
‘Reshaping Williams’ destiny’;
https://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/Sport/F1...lexander+Albon
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F1 Season Review: Is Yuki Tsunoda the most improved driver of 2023?
Ups, downs, and more teammates than average — the 2023 F1 season was a year of development for Yuki Tsunoda.
December 15, 2023
Jasmine Hughes
FormulaNerds
AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost once went on record as saying that rookie drivers need “three years minimum” in F1. Three years, argues Tost, gives a driver time to “understand what’s going on” at the pinnacle of motorsport. The 2023 season marked Yuki Tsunoda’s third year in the terrific yet trying world of F1… so how did it shape up?
Tsunoda established himself as something of a nearly-man in the early stages of the season. The first five races saw Yuki score points twice. Of those initial five rounds, when Yuki did not score points, he came tantalisingly close to it in P11. It was a mark of consistency from the 23-year-old, and saw him extract more from the AlphaTauri than might have been expected. It was a promising start to the season for Tsunoda, and one which earned him praise from critics.
On the basis of championship points alone, 2023 was Tsunoda’s second-strongest year. Of his three seasons in F1, numerically, his rookie year remains his strongest — although 2023 saw the AlphaTauri driver match his rookie year championship position of 14th. This season was the first year that Tsunoda outperformed his teammate(s). He had previously been significantly outperformed by Pierre Gasly in both 2021 and 2022. This is, however, a difficult metric to judge. De Vries, Ricciardo, and Lawson each had exceptionally short stints as Tsunoda’s teammate. Arguably, no driver had a chance to fully flourish and to truly stake their claim as better and/or worse than Tsunoda.
‘Ups, downs, and more teammates than average’;
https://www.formulanerds.com/feature...river-of-2023/
2023 Formula 1 driver rankings #14: Yuki Tsunoda
Formula 1
Posted on 15th December 2023, 7:15
Written by Will Wood
RaceFans
Ever since purchasing the Minardi team back in 2005 to transform them into what was then Toro Rosso, Red Bull have been fairly consistent in their philosophy when it comes to the young drivers they place in their second team.
Only drivers worthy of remaining for a full season are afforded that privilege. Only those who deserve a second year, get one. A select few may get the special honour of a third season. But typically, if you fail to prove yourself ready for a step up into Red Bull’s senior team at the end of your third season, that will be the end of the line for you.
So when Yuki Tsunoda was offered a third season at AlphaTauri in 2023, all signs pointed to this being a make-or-break year for the young Red Bull prospect. Although he was ultimately as unspectacular as he had been in previous seasons, he appears to have convinced Red Bull that he is still worth investing in beyond 2023.
‘#14: Yuki Tsunoda’;
https://www.racefans.net/2023/12/15/...-yuki-tsunoda/
‘Really, really good’: James Vowles very impressed with ‘really good’ driver who battled Williams yesterday
Mon 27 November 2023 14:00
Ben Evans
F1 Oversteer
Williams team principal James Vowles has admitted that he was very impressed with AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda during yesterday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Vowles was being interviewed live from the pit wall during the final race of the 2023 season. The only car Williams boss James Vowles had to worry about was AlphaTauri star Yuki Tsunoda.
Williams team principal Vowles impressed with Tsunoda. Vowles was asked if he thought it was possible for the Japanese driver to finish sixth on his ageing hard tyres and he said: “We’ll wait until the chequered flag, I’m not going to relax. I think it’s a tall ask, he did a really, really good first stint. You saw he was in the lead of the race for a long time without really being challenged.”
‘Really, really good’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/jam...ams-yesterday/
Tsunoda shows more signs of progress against trio of team mates in 2023
2023 F1 team mates head-to-head
Posted on 11th December 2023, 10:45
Written by Keith Collantine
RaceFans
Yuki Tsunoda’s progress at AlphaTauri hasn’t always been easy to pick out, partly because the team has produced successively less competitive cars since his 2021 debut, and then due to the parade of different team mates he had this year. Tsunoda might have been happy for de Vries to see the season out, such was the superiority he enjoyed. What he did not need was a hugely experienced race-winner turning up in the team’s other car and out-qualifying him at the first time of asking.
However, to Tsunoda’s credit, this was not entirely the shape of things to come. By the end of his seven-race spell as Ricciardo’s team mate, he had narrowly won the qualifying duel, the clincher coming at Yas Marina. Tsunoda has pulled off strong results there in the past and the same was true again this year as he battled to eighth place which was not quite enough to clinch seventh in the points for AlphaTauri, but might have been with a sharper strategy.
‘Signs of progress’;
https://www.racefans.net/2023/12/11/...mates-in-2023/
Tsunoda states he 'lost my mind' with team radio outbursts
05 December 9:20PM
Author Fergal Walsh
Co-author Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365
Yuki Tsunoda has been known to be hot-headed over the team radio at times but wants to eradicate that from his driving going forward. While Tsunoda feels he has improved his team radio frustrations this season, the 23-year-old wants to see further progress.
“I would say the behaviour on the radio and those things, it got much better compared to the last few years,” Tsunoda told media including RacingNews365.com “But there are still some races where I kind of lost my mind, I could not get my things together and sometimes [I was] still shouting [on the] radio. I want to definitely improve.”
Speaking about other areas he wants to improve, Tsunoda said: “Some of the calmness and situation control like what happened in Mexico, I could have finished P8 easily. “As a driver I wanted to more, obviously. I had quite good pace and I think if I was able to overtake smoothly, probably there was potential to finish in P5. That was a pretty big mistake for me so I have to definitely reduce that kind of big mistake [that] I should not have never done.”
'Lost my mind';
https://racingnews365.com/tsunoda-st...adio-outbursts
23-year-old F1 driver’s ‘biggest issue’ right now is getting ‘too heated’ in the cockpit
Wed 6 December 2023 19:00
Ben Evans
F1 Oversteer
AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda certainly has plenty of potential, but he needs to find a way to stop getting so heated during races. Speaking on the Chequered Flag Podcast, Harry Benjamin was speaking about the talented Japanese driver. Yuki Tsunoda is now three seasons into his Formula 1 career and despite never being in one of the fastest cars, he’s always done a solid job.
He scored his highest points tally during his debut season in 2021, including an incredible fourth place that was overshadowed by other events during the final Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi. The AlphaTauri was very quick that year with Pierre Gasly scoring more than 100 points, but in the past two seasons the car hasn’t been anywhere near as competitive.
With Gasly moving on this year, Tsunoda was the more senior driver in the team alongside Nyck de Vries. The Dutchman only lasted 10 races, but even when Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson were in the car, he was still on average the team’s fastest driver and impressed in the final races of the season.
‘Too heated in the cockpit’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/23-...n-the-cockpit/
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Ferrari become first team to announce launch date for 2024 challenger.
Ferrari will unveil the Formula 1 car they hope can help them take the fight to world champions Red Bull in 2024 on Tuesday, February 13.
18 December 2023
Lawrence Barretto
F1 Correspondent & Presenter
The Italian team are the first to publicly reveal their 2024 launch date but they have chosen not to release any specific details about their launch plans. The launch will take place just eight days before the start of pre-season testing, which runs across three days in Bahrain from February 21-23.
Team Principal Fred Vasseur says Ferrari are changing “95% of the components of the car” which finished third in the constructors’ championship behind Red Bull and Mercedes. The 2024 campaign will be Vasseur’s second season at the helm of the Prancing Horse, and the third car built in Maranello to sweeping new regulations introduced in 2022.
‘Changing “95% of the components’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...2Ik0fXw72.html
Ferrari become first F1 team to reveal launch date of 2024 car
18 Dec 2023
Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net
Dubbed the Ferrari 676, their all-new car will be revealed to the world on February 13 at a media event in Maranello. “The launch will take place on the 13th of February, the day before the Valentine's Day,” Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur said. “You will see the rest [of the details] on that day.
“Why? Because we will have one day more before the [Bahrain] test. No, it's quite tight, more seriously. We have the test a bit before and it's quite a challenge to put everything together. It means that we had no other option. I think also that some other teams are doing it on the 14th, but it's quite challenging to be all ready for Bahrain.”
Vasseur refused to “promise” anything heading into next year. “I don't have to promise something,” he added. “The best way is to be focused on what we are doing to deliver.”
‘Dubbed the Ferrari 676’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/104280...-date-2024-car
Leclerc details how Ferrari issues 'disguised' in qualifying
18 December 10:10AM
Author Jake Nichol
Leclerc took five poles in 2023, the second most of any driver behind Max Verstappen, but the one-lap pace could not be transferred into races, with second place in Austria, Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi his best result. The failure also means Leclerc has not won from his last 12 starts from pole, stretching back to the 2022 Australian Grand Prix, as the Monegasque detailed how the SF-23 was particularly sensitive to its tyres.
"When we have new tyres in qualifying, the extra grip from the tyres compensates for the car's weaknesses," Leclerc told Auto Motor und Sport. "As soon as the tyres get older and lose grip and we have a lot of fuel on board, the problems start. "Then if we are driving in traffic, the wind picks up or the temperatures change, the weaknesses become even more obvious.”
“Then it becomes very difficult to drive the car. With us, new tyres disguise the weaker points, which would otherwise slow us down. With Red Bull this is less the case. As I said, it's a very thin line on which the car works. Take the Mexico City Grand Prix: We were really fast on medium tyres, but as soon as we got on hard tyres, nothing worked."
‘Ferrari issues 'disguised' in qualifying’;
https://racingnews365.com/leclerc-de...-in-qualifying
Charles Leclerc makes pole position declaration after barren winning run
18 Dec 2023 4:45 PM
Thomas Maher
PlanetF1.com
Charles Leclerc says pole positions are no longer a ‘real highlight’ as they are rarely converted into race victories. Reflecting on his 2023 season, in which he went without a win after scoring five pole positions, Leclerc was asked about his own personal highlights from the year.
“Normally it’s the victories,” he told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport. “Of course, a pole position feels good, but I’ve already got 23 of them. And of course, the whole thing is clouded by the fact that I already know on Saturday that Sunday will be much more difficult.
“That’s why pole positions are no longer a real highlight. That’s why the best thing for me this year was that I helped to understand the car and transform it in a direction that is better and will lead us back to success in the medium term.”
‘Pole position declaration’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/charle...en-winning-run
Unwavering dedication: Leclerc sweating out the off-season
18th Dec 2023, 11:42
F1i.com
While the Formula 1 world takes a breather during the off-season, many drivers are relishing a well-deserved holiday retreat.
However, amidst the leisure and relaxation, Charles Leclerc is still putting in the hard work at home in Monaco while already preparing for the challenges that lie ahead.
‘Unwavering dedication’;
https://f1i.com/news/496659-unwaveri...ff-season.html
Ferrari’s future secured?: Sainz could stay in red through 2027
December 18, 2023
Andrew Maitland
Grandpx.news
Frederic Vasseur, the head of Ferrari’s F1 team… …also addressed the persistent notion of Leclerc being Ferrari’s favored driver. “We have two drivers and two cars and both scored more or less the same points during the year,” he clarified, highlighting the balanced performance between the two drivers.
Looking ahead, Vasseur expressed his desire for continuity in the team. “And if I have the two right drivers for Ferrari for 2024, then I want to have them for 2025, 2026 and 2027,” he added, suggesting a strong commitment to both Sainz and Leclerc.
‘Stay in red’;
https://grandpx.news/ferraris-future...-through-2027/
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Bottas: Sauber thinking ‘outside the box’ for 2024 car.
Valtteri Bottas says his soon-to-be rebranded Alfa Romeo F1 team will field an entirely new car in 2024, one that its designers have conceived by “thinking outside the box”.
02/12/2023 at 14:54
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com
Unfortunately, looking back on the past twelve months, Bottas has few highlights to reflect on. “Highlights? I think, sadly, I would say the very first race of the season,” Bottas commented, referencing his P8 finish in Bahrain. “We had a solid weekend, scored immediately, everything was looking quite good. But then it’s been a tough ride. There’s been a few occasions we have scored, but not enough times, so I’m definitely waiting for more highlights next year with a new car.”
The design of Sauber’s 2024 contender is being overseen by the team’s new technical director James Key, who joined the outfit from McLaren. And so far, Bottas likes what he’s seen from the outfit’s revamped engineering department. “In this sport, with the margins we have, it’s everything,” commented the Finn. “There’s nothing fundamental.”
“The good thing is we do have a completely new car with some new ideas, with new people in the team, and that’s exactly what we need now, so we need to make big steps over the winter – that’s the key.”
‘Thinking ‘outside the box’;
https://f1i.com/news/495821-bottas-s...-2024-car.html
Valtteri Bottas reveals ‘completely new’ Sauber direction is ‘exactly what we need’
15 Dec 2023 2:15 PM
Henry Valantine
PlanetF1.com
Valtteri Bottas is hopeful the changes incoming at Sauber over winter are “exactly what we need now”, with plenty afoot at the Hinwil-based team. The FIA’s 2024 entry list was unveiled on Friday, confirming that the team would be known as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber as a new naming rights deal was agreed before Audi’s takeover in 2026.
“In this sport, with the margins we have, it’s everything,” Bottas responded to media including PlanetF1.com when asked where Sauber need to place their focus on car development over winter.
“There’s nothing fundamental, but the good thing is we do have a completely new car with some new ideas, with new people in the team. That’s exactly what we need now, so we need to make big steps over the winter. That’s the key.”
‘Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/valtte...uber-direction
Bottas to head down under to Adelaide for F1’s winter break
16/12/2023 at 16:07
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com
Valtteri Bottas will once again trade horsepower for pedal power during F1’s off-season when the Finn heads down under to Adelaide for a warm and sunny retreat. Over the years, the Finn has forged a strong connection with Australia and Adelaide in particular, the hometown of his partner, professional cyclist Tiffany Cromwell.
Bottas has embraced the Australian lifestyle and repeatedly mentioned his fondness for the country's laid-back atmosphere, friendly people, and stunning natural beauty. Cycling is always on Bottas and Cromwell’s agenda wherever they happen to be, and the couple have planned a couple of competitive outings this winter in Southern Australia.
‘Adelaide for F1’s winter break’;
https://f1i.com/news/496566-bottas-t...ter-break.html
2023 Formula 1 driver rankings #12: Valtteri Bottas
Formula 1
Posted on 16th December 2023
Written by Will Wood
RaceFans
If RaceFans did an end of year series ranking drivers who had enjoyed themselves the most during the 2023 season, Valtteri Bottas would be a lock for a top three spot. Since losing his seat at Mercedes at the end of the 2021 season, Bottas has found a loving new home in Alfa Romeo. As the senior driver in a team for the first time in 2022, Bottas seemed to flourish in the role of team leader at a modest midfield outfit.
He scored 49 points in his first season at Alfa Romeo – a large bulk of which over the first third of the year – to help his team to a brilliant sixth place in the championship. But while Bottas and team mate Zhou Guanyu were hopeful they could at least build on that in 2023, their car simply did not have the speed they were hoping for.
Instead, Bottas scored just 10 points over the entire season – only slightly more than he managed in his first race with the team in 2022. With one of the slowest cars in the field, Bottas was easy to overlook during 2023. But looking a little deeper at his season, his performance was better than it might appear at first glance.
‘Car simply did not have the speed’;
https://www.racefans.net/2023/12/16/...ltteri-bottas/
F1i Team Report Card for 2023: Alfa Romeo
16/12/2023 at 10:51
Andrew Lewin
F1i.com
Perhaps inevitably, the air went out of the Alfa Romeo operation this season as the end of the Italian marque's involvement in F1 loomed. There wasn't much motivation for them to do anything more than merely tread water in the meantime. They managed to score points in four of the first eight races of the season but after that made the top ten only twice more in Italy, and finally in Qatar - which was ironically their best race of the season. As a result, Alfa Romeo fell from P6 with 55 points in 2022 to P9 and just 16 points this season.
It's hard not to conclude that Sauber will be battling hard again next season simply to avoid the ignominy of the wooden spoon, having finished just four points ahead of Haas this year and behind the likes of AlphaTauri and Williams. The whole story of Alfa Romeo's brief return to F1 seems to be one of low ambition and squandered opportunities.
‘F1i Team Report Card’;
https://f1i.com/magazine/496454-f1i-...lfa-romeo.html
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Transfer market: Audi still aiming for Hulkenberg.
The Swiss-based team, which will be taken over by Audi in 2026, hopes to sign in Hulkenberg for the 2025 season.
16 December 4:00PM
Author Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365
Haas's driver line-up of Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg is an experienced one, with the duo having strong resumés to their name. Nevertheless, it is still somewhat surprising to see both drivers back on the grid again next year - not because of their performance in 2023 but rather due to the fact that a couple of years ago, a return to a seat in Formula 1 seemed improbable.
Magnussen experienced a very strong 2022 season in which he had an advantage over Mick Schumacher. As a result, the Dane went into the 2023 season with confidence, although it soon became clear that Haas did not possess a competitive car this year. Even the update the team brought to Austin did not ultimately make a large difference, with Hulkenberg even switching back to the old-spec car. As always, the German was honest with the team and that feedback was put to good use at Haas.
The relatively small F1 team does not have the resources to make a major change throughout a season, so it will have to move in the right direction immediately with the 2024 car. In doing so, the team desperately needs feedback from Magnussen and Hulkenberg - a resource that is valuable to the squad and saw it go in the direction of employing experience rather than taking a chance on youth. But Steiner will worry whether he will still have Hulkenberg at his disposal after 2024 as the 36-year-old driver is being eyed by Sauber/Audi.
‘Audi still aiming for Hulkenberg’;
https://racingnews365.com/transfer-m...for-hulkenberg
F1 SEASON REVIEW: A STRUGGLING HAAS HINDERED HULKENBERG’S SEASON
Hulkenberg has made an impressive return to F1 and shown everyone he deserves his spot in the top flight of motorsports
December 13, 2023
Caitlyn Gordon
FormulaNerds
The ‘Qualifying king’
The anticipation started to build for the return of Hulkenberg. His first weekend back made viewers start to think that Haas made the right decision by bringing the seasoned F1 veteran back. During Qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix, Hulkenberg put his car through to Q3. The German was on the way to achieving an eighth-place start, however, his track time got deleted seeing him start 10th in Bahrain.
In comparison to his teammate who couldn’t escape Q1 – which becomes more of a pattern throughout the season – the weekend was a great start for the driver. Hulkenberg continued his strong performance into the third round in Australia. This is where he secured his second-best performance of the season – finishing seventh overall. Although his finishing position doesn’t quite justify his performance in Albert Park where he was on his way to fourth. However, chaos ensued when the red flag was brought out for the third time.
Haas received harsh vitriol for even entertaining the idea of the German to come back and help the team more than Schumacher could’ve. However, Hulkenberg proved critics wrong on many occasions. Consistently outperforming his teammate in both the race and Qualifying aspect proved he was the right driver for the job. Both Alfa Romeo sporting director, Beat Zehder and Guenther Steiner have labelled Hulkenberg as the ‘best qualifier they have worked with.’
‘THE Qualifying king’;
https://www.formulanerds.com/feature...nbergs-season/
Hulkenberg demands ‘better solutions’ from Haas for F1 2024
07:28 Fri, 08 Dec 2023.
by Ian Parkes
Speedcafe
Nico Hulkenberg feels it is incumbent upon Haas to deliver “better solutions” for the 2024 F1 season following a wretched year for the team. Haas finished 10th and last in the constructors’ championship for the second time in three years as a reasonable start to the campaign tailed off into a miserable season.
On his return to F1 after a three-year full-time hiatus from the sport, Hulkenberg scored points in only one of the 22 races, taking advantage of the carnage that unfolded during the Australian Grand Prix to finish seventh. Team-mate Kevin Magnussen managed three 10th-place finishes, with the duo combining for a total haul of 12 points, four adrift of Alfa Romeo.
Nico Hulkenberg: “We just need to pick ourselves up and do a better job. We need to work hard because we want to do better. I want us to do better ultimately, and I think everyone in the team wants to do better, so we just have to try and come up with better solutions.”
‘Better solutions’ from Haas for F1 2024’;
https://speedcafe.com/nico-hulkenber...tions-f1-2024/
F1i Team Report Card for 2023: Haas
15/12/2023 at 10:30
Andrew Lewin
F1i.com
A deserved wooden spoon for a team struggling for direction. The good news is that Haas avoided the fate that consumed them in 2021 when they were dead last having scored no points. This year they're back to dead last in the constructors standings, but at least they picked up 12 points along the way which will give them a small share of the prize money on offer. That's still only a third of points that accrued when they finished eighth last year, however. Given that the team released the crash-prone Mick Schumacher in favour of the vastly more experienced Nico Hulkenberg last winter, such retrograde movement is hard to justify.
The driver line-up
• Nico Hulkenberg: P16, 9 points
• Kevin Magnussen: P19, 3 points
Nico Hulkenberg showed little sign of 'race rust' when he was recalled to duty by Haas after two years on the sidelines. He contributed the best two results of the season for the team in Australia and the Austria sprint, although those were the only times he scored points all year.
Kevin Magnussen finished in tenth place on three occasions (Saudi Arabia, Miami and Singapore) but overall Hulkenberg beat Magnussen 13 times to nine on race day and out-qualified the Dane 15-7. Canada was a particular success where he claimed second on the grid before a red flag infringement earned him a costly grid drop for the race itself.
‘Nico Hulkenberg showed little sign of 'race rust'!’;
https://f1i.com/magazine/496448-f1i-...2023-haas.html
Hulkenberg: Haas were flattered by F1 rivals' initial issues
12:07 Sat, 09 Dec 2023.
by Taylor Powling
Motorsport Week
Nico Hulkenberg believes the initial problems rival teams encountered throughout the early stages of the 2023 Formula 1 season flattered the performance of Haas’ VF-23 car.
Reflecting on the 2023 season, Hulkenberg said: “Obviously, it was a process, and signs were there early in the season. But we got away with it early in the season because other people also were struggling more.”
“And then once they cleaned up and then brought some real developments, that’s when we really started to pay the penalty. The last or the second half of the season has been really tough. I think there was only an opportunity to score a point or two for me in Singapore, which we missed by the wrong strategy call.”
‘Flattered by F1 rivals' initial issues’;
https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=141488
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Daniel Ricciardo given Red Bull reality check as Martin Brundle questions his F1 plans.
Martin Brundle has been left underwhelmed by Daniel Ricciardo since his return to the Formula 1 grid.
19:29 Mon, 18 Dec2023.
By Daniel Moxon Senior F1 Writer
The Mirror
Daniel Ricciardo is back on the grid with AlphaTauri but plans to earn a return to sister team Red Bull with his performances in 2024 - something Martin Brundle isn't sure will happen. Team-mate Yuki Tsunoda more than held his own against his much more experienced partner as the Japanese racer rose to the challenge to finish the year strongly.
Both stars will continue to race for the junior Red Bull outfit in 2024. Ricciardo has made it clear that he wants to use it as a springboard to return to the seat alongside Max Verstappen that he willingly vacated five years ago. Brundle, however, has not yet seen enough of the Aussie to know that he is worthy of that place with the top team.
Answering a fan's query in a question and answer session, the Sky Sports F1 pundit made clear he would have liked to have seen a little more from Ricciardo. "I don't think Daniel has perhaps outperformed Tsunoda as I would have expected him to," said Brundle. "I know he was thrown in at the deep end and he was really unlucky with that incident in Zandvoort. So the jury is out on that.”
‘Underwhelmed by Daniel Ricciardo’;
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...-2024-31702944
Daniel Ricciardo told he has ‘a lot more to do’ to secure dream Red Bull return
16 Dec 2023 3:00 PM
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com
Sky F1 pundit Martin Brundle was left underwhelmed by Daniel Ricciardo after his F1 2023 return, feeling he is yet to do enough to justify a Red Bull recall. “Daniel’s got a lot more to do before I would think that he’s ready to go and take the fight to Max Verstappen.”
Ricciardo has made it clear that his ultimate goal is to return to the Red Bull team, as he looks to apply pressure on Sergio Perez for a 2025 seat, but Brundle had expected Ricciardo to post better performances versus Tsunoda than he did, so believes Ricciardo must do “a lot more” to prove he is worthy of a Red Bull return.
‘A lot more to do’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/martin...ed-bull-return
Ricciardo admits fears over FROSTY Red Bull return
Friday 15 December 2023 22:12
Cal Gaunt
GPFans
Daniel Ricciardo has admitted he was nervous about returning to Red Bull last season, questioning whether or not he would be welcomed back to the Formula 1 team with open arms. Having re-entered the Red Bull fold as their third driver earlier this year, Ricciardo's driving errors saw Red Bull engineers diligently seeking to rectify them.
“I think bad habits can just come in the form of a lack of confidence,” Ricciardo told the Beyond The Grid podcast. “It was the end of last year. Once the season was done, I jumped on the sim, I guess it was sometime in December before I went home for Christmas.”
‘Nervous about returning’;
https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...-third-driver/
2023 Formula 1 driver rankings #17: Daniel Ricciardo
Formula 1
Posted on 13th December 2023, 12:00
Written by Will Wood
RaceFans
As Daniel Ricciardo competed in only seven grands prix through the 2023 season, his ranking takes his reduced participation into account. In a Formula 1 career that had left him among the most successful drivers of the modern era not to have won a world championship title, Daniel Ricciardo had never endured a season like 2022.
As thrilled as fans and paddock dwellers alike were to see the ‘Honey Badger’ back on the grid, Ricciardo had a lot to prove following his poor performances at McLaren. However, over three days of his first grand prix weekend back in a Formula 1 car, he did much to banish the memories of the last two years. Driving an unfamiliar car with an experimental tyre allocation format which limited his ability to gather experience on all three compounds as usual, Ricciardo still got through to Q2, unlike team mate Yuki Tsunoda, securing 13th on the grid. Despite being hit from behind at the start, he brought the car to the finish 15 seconds ahead of Tsunoda to instantly prove Red Bull right for picking him over De Vries.
Suddenly, the season was over. Having raced in seven grands prix during the second half of the year, Ricciardo admitted he wasn’t ready for the season to end and had so much more energy still to burn. Now, he can spend that energy over the winter on preparing to hit the ground running for 2024 – a year many expect will serve as an audition to return to the Red Bull senior team once more.
‘So much more ‘Honey Badger’ energy still to burn’;
https://www.racefans.net/2023/12/13/...iel-ricciardo/
Daniel Ricciardo had two spins during Red Bull test that turned Helmut Marko’s head
07:00, Sun, Dec 17, 2023
By Harry Smith
Daily and Sunday Express
The 34-year-old impressed Helmut Marko so much during his stints that the Austrian immediately made the call to axe Nyck de Vries and put the Aussie in the second AlphaTauri car for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
“So I did the test and, on the first run, I actually spun twice,” Ricciardo explained on the Beyond The Grid podcast. “In Turn 4, I had a spin. So a very low-speed spin, just a little bit eager on the throttle. Then I had a spin in Turn 7, I think, so another slow speed [corner] again, I did a tiny little loop and got it going. It wasn’t like I was in the gravel or anything.”
“So we put some new tyres on. We put FP2 fuel [levels] in the car. I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. The first timed lap I did was on the money. Take the fuel out to put it to quali fuel and it was a few hundredths off Max’s pole time.” AlphaTauri reaped the rewards of making the change and reintroducing Ricciardo into F1. He contributed six points as AlphaTauri scored in four of the final five Grands Prix of the season, climbing above Alfa Romeo and Haas in the Constructors’ Championship standings.
Honey Badger: “I’m not gonna sugarcoat it”;
https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...l-Helmut-Marko
Daniel Ricciardo admits huge AlphaTauri change for unprecedented 2024 F1 season
Sat 16 December 2023 12:30
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer
Daniel Ricciardo has revealed that the mentality has now shifted at AlphaTauri to no longer just be Red Bull’s driver academy for the first time before the 2024 F1 season. The Faenza squad have exclusively acted as the finishing school in Formula 1 for the Red Bull driver academy since 2006. But Ricciardo believes AlphaTauri have completely changed their stance on how the team should operate next season. It would be an unprecedented change.
Ricciardo expects 2024 to be an unprecedented season where AlphaTauri try to be more than Red Bull’s little sister. He already feels the team took steps towards that goal over 2023 since the Australian’s return. But they can now start a year with a more ambitious mentality. “I’m definitely excited for what’s ahead,” Ricciardo told Motorsport Week. “The second half of the season was much more promising than the first half. And a lot of changes are taking place for next year. I think it’s also just the approach that the team will be taking.
“It’s no longer a junior team approach. And I think it’s one where, probably with me coming into the season as a very experienced driver, they can also see what it can do for development. I think it’s given them a lot of confidence moving forward. We can look at Mexico and get on the second row and we can show we belong there. Yuki, too, I mean, he is far from a rookie now. So, I think it’s the wrong word to be like the team is going to take themselves more seriously.”
‘Mentality has now shifted at AlphaTauri’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/dan...024-f1-season/
Ricciardo exclusive: 'My self-confidence plummeted during troubled McLaren spell'
12 December 9:00PM
Author Fergal Walsh
Co-author Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365
Daniel Ricciardo successfully returned to the Formula 1 grid this year with AlphaTauri, several months after his disappointing two seasons with McLaren came to an end. “With McLaren, we started to struggle and then we tried to understand it. But it never really got better, especially in 2022. Once I stopped I realised that not only were our results going down but also belief in myself and my confidence.”
“I think that probably compounded the time at McLaren. Coming into doing the simulator at Red Bull, I started building my confidence back, I saw my times were competitive. I did the test at Silverstone which was a really good test. So then I was like, ‘Okay, I just needed some time off, I needed to be back in a team that feels like the car is my car’.”
Having had several months away from the spotlight Ricciardo grew his confidence levels once more which enabled him to extract performance right out of the gates upon his return. “Going into Budapest, I hadn't driven the AlphaTauri but immediately I got a good feeling with it. And I think then my confidence was back where it needed to be,” he said. “I couldn't really exploit my strengths with that car. So then we started trying a lot of things, and I tried to change my style of driving. With that, my confidence started getting lower and lower.”
‘Self-confidence plummeted’;
https://racingnews365.com/ricciardo-...-mclaren-spell
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24-year-old Formula 1 driver is now ‘very popular’ within the team garage.
Zhou very popular among Alfa Romeo team. “He’s very popular within the team, a hard worker, works very well with the guys in the garage.
Tue 5 December 2023 16:00
Ben Evans
F1 Oversteer
Speaking about the future of the team’s line-up, Straw(The Race F1 Podcast, journalist Edd Straw) said: “You could make the argument that they’ve not taken [Theo] Pourchaire because they had [Valtteri] Bottas on a locked-in contract for 2024. Bottas had an option but it was on Bottas’s side. “He was always going to take that up because there wasn’t going to be any other better offers.”
“So, you could argue that the combination of the commercial appeal of Zhou [Guanyu] and the fact that he’s doing a solid job. He’s very popular within the team, a hard worker, works very well with the guys in the garage. I just think the only problem with Zhou is that edge of speed probably isn’t there.”
“He’s brisk enough, he’s not slow but he’s not super quick, let’s put it that way.” Zhou’s being popular at Alfa Romeo won’t guarantee his place on the grid, but if the team were convinced by Theo Pourchaire’s F2 championship win, then now would have been a good time to make the switch.
‘Very popular’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/24-...e-team-garage/
Zhou Guanyu receives ominous 2024 warning from Alfa Romeo
After a difficult season for both Alfa Romeo and Zhou Guanyu, the Chinese driver finished the season in P18 in the drivers' championship having scored six points in 2023
December 6, 2023
Rhiannon Temporal
FormulaNerds
Formula One’s first ever Chinese driver suffered from a lacklustre season in 2023. Zhou Guanyu finished inside the points on three occasions this season, which translated into only six points scored. This is the same amount that AlphaTauri’s Daniel Ricciardo scored, and the Aussie only took part in seven races this year. However, the team still displayed a significant amount of trust in the Chinese driver, as they gave him a contract extension for the 2024 season. “It was a tough race to end the season, but we aim to come back stronger in 2024. ��@ValtteriBottas and @ZhouGuanyu24 debrief the #AbuDhabiGP. ⬇️#F1 | @Stake pic.twitter.com/JrUmzpqhsS”
— Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake (@alfaromeostake) November 26, 2023
Following the conclusion of the 2023 season, Alfa Romeo’s Head of Trackside Engineering, Xevi Pujolar, opened up about Zhou’s difficulties in 2023. He highlighted that in specific situations, the Chinese driver seemed to struggle more than others. Pujolar said: “In some conditions, it’s been a struggle a bit more and we’re trying to understand what we can give him with the car and how we can work with the tyres, just to make sure he’s more consistent.”
He continued, “In some conditions, he is a bit more sensitive to what he is feeling. The differences are not big, but in terms of positions they are big, so we need to work on that for next year.” As Zhou goes into his all important third year of Formula One, he will want to iron out these mistakes. A sentiment reflected by Pujolar, who warns Zhou: “There is no room for any small drop or mistake [next season].”
‘Ominous 2024 warning’;
https://www.formulanerds.com/news/zh...om-alfa-romeo/
2023 Formula 1 driver rankings #15: Zhou Guanyu
Formula 1
Posted on 14th December 2023, 12:00
Written by Will Wood
RaceFans
As the only rookie in the field in 2022, Zhou Guanyu lacked direct competition to compare his performances with aside from a very experienced older team mate in Valtteri Bottas. But compared to some of those who had stepped up to Formula 1 the season before – Yuki Tsunoda, Mick Schumacher and his team mate – Zhou’s first season was defined by how relatively few mistakes he made.
For much of the season, Zhou was fairly average – not spectacular, but not making many egregious errors either. However, there were some underwhelming weekends. He struggled over the weekend in Montreal while Bottas took a point and when the rain came down during the Dutch Grand Prix, Zhou was the only driver in the field to crash out after aquaplaning off the road along the pit straight.
Compared to some of his rivals who are paid much more than he to drive much faster cars, the mistakes that Zhou committed during the season were not worthy of much concern. He received reward for his reliable driving in the form of a contract extension for 2024 and a third season in Formula 1. Over two seasons, he has shown how controlled and confident a driver he is. Now the question is, can he begin to show flashes of something greater?
‘Received reward for his reliable driving in the form of a contract extension for 2024’;
https://www.racefans.net/2023/12/14/...5-zhou-guanyu/
Zhou admits it was 'impossible' not to hear criticism after he earned his F1 seat
18 December 2023
Formula One - Official Site
When Zhou originally signed for Alfa Romeo for his rookie season, he was understandably elated with his achievement after spending three seasons in F2. “To be the first ever Chinese driver in Formula 1 is a breakthrough for Chinese motorsport history,” he said at the time. “I know a lot of hopes will be resting on me and, as ever, I will take this as motivation to become better and achieve more.”
“To be the first Chinese driver in F1 history… it’s everything to me,” he said. “I’m so proud of where I’m from — the support I’ve received from everyone back home. I race for them. I want to show that, even though we aren’t known for motor sports, we can still be great. That we can be fast. That we are a racing nation.”
“That desire, that passion — that’s what made the first lap in Bahrain so tough. In the grand scheme of things, it’s just one lap of more than a thousand over the course of the year, but I wanted to prove to everyone, to myself, that I belonged there. So I just put my head down, and I followed my instincts. Our team had a great strategy and we battled all the way back. It was a crazy few last laps and when I came across the line in 10th, scoring a point… it felt like a win.”
'Impossible not to hear criticism’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...OTZah4Qug.html
F1 season review: Zhou experienced transformative journey
Zhou's 2023: a trip through challenges, triumphs, and evolution, while navigating team dynamics and gearing up for 2024 battles
December 12, 2023
Lena Ferle
FormulaNerds
Zhou’s evolution as a driver manifested prominently in his race performances, where he outshone his seasoned teammate, Valtteri Bottas, on some occasions. In the races which both finished, the ratio was 7:10 against Bottas, compared to 3:10 in 2022. Noteworthy ninth-place finishes in Australia, Spain, and Qatar underscored Zhou’s growing prowess, contributing vital points to Alfa Romeo’s tally.
Despite short-term performance peaks, Zhou faced a considerable challenge in the qualifying domain. Losing the qualifying battle 6:16 to teammate Bottas indicated a need for consistency in this crucial aspect of Formula 1. The latter part of the season witnessed Alfa Romeo grappling to match the performance of superior rivals. Zhou’s finishes outside the points in the final races accentuated the team’s struggle against formidable adversaries.
Zhou’s point-scoring in three races significantly impacted Alfa Romeo’s standing in the constructor standings. These contributions highlighted his role as a valuable asset to the team’s overall performance. Alfa Romeo’s ninth-place finish in the constructor standings emphasised the team’s collective challenge. With only 16 points accrued, there is a collective need for improvement to ascend the ranks in the competitive Formula 1 landscape.
‘Transformative journey’;
https://www.formulanerds.com/feature...ative-journey/
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F1 News: Kevin Magnussen optimistic of Haas 2024 “comeback”.
Kevin Magnussen still believes Haas can be competitive in 2024, despite a consistently downward trend in recent months.
December 20, 2023
By: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
Last Word On Sports
Guenther Steiner’s personnel have stomached a difficult season, finishing 10th in the standings for the second time in three years. After a somewhat encouraging start to the year, Haas quickly fell away from their rivals.
Even with the budget cap and limitation to wind tunnel runs, the American team is lacking in resources. This was evidenced most painfully in Monza, where Nico Hulkenberg was critical of the team’s failure to bring a low-drag rear wing. They were the only team without this specification at the Italian GP.
Kevin Magnussen, continues to express a positive outlook ahead of 2024. The 31-year-old explains why a negative approach is unhelpful: “We have to stick together and make a comeback, like we have done in the past,” he explained after the season finale. This team has already shown great potential, and it’s time for us to consistently achieve our goals. Because I believe that the talent and potential are very big in this team.”
“Comeback”;
https://lastwordonsports.com/motorsp...2024-comeback/
Magnussen: ‘We haven’t developed at all’ as the Dane looks to bounce back next season
November 29, 2023
Oliver Brindle
FormulaNerds
Haas driver Kevin Magnussen has revealed the only positive taken away from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was that “it was the last race” of the season. Meanwhile, teammate Hulkenberg admitted he was just happy “to be back in F1”.
Speaking to Formula 1, Magnussen said: “I think the only positive today is that it was the last race and that we can close this year and look forward to next year. It’s not been a good year for us. We’ve not developed at the rate we should have, or we haven’t developed at all.”
“I think we started the year in an okay position, but we lost out to the competition in the development race. It’s a big winter for us catching up, but I believe we can do it.”
‘We haven’t developed at all’ as the Dane looks to bounce back next season’;
https://www.formulanerds.com/news/ma...k-next-season/
Magnussen says 'no great highlights' from 2023 season but is hopeful Haas can take 'step forward' next year
12 December 2023
Formula One - Official Site
Kevin Magnussen says there was no great highlight from his and Haas’ 2023 campaign after the American squad finished at the bottom of the constructors’ championship. Asked if Haas know which direction they will be heading with the 2024 car, Magnussen replied: “Well, I think the upgraded car is more in line with the plan for next year, the concept looks like what we think of for next year.”
“So, it's not actually got more downforce on paper, it's not faster, but it is better to drive, it's easier, the balance is more consistent and that's why you don't see a step back when we run the new spec, although it's got less downforce. I think that's what we need to go into the winter, developing in that direction and hopefully we can take a step forward for next year because it's not been an easy year for sure.”
'No great highlights';
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...ogXP8dy6v.html
F1 season review: How a car concept hampered Magnussen during his 2023 season
The Dane had a difficult time during his second stint at Haas, seemingly constantly outperformed by teammate Nico Hülkenberg
December 11, 2023
Nathan Hartley
FormulaNerds
The start of Magnussen’s season did not go particularly well, the Dane clearly struggling with the car. However, after a change in concept with the VF-23, Magnussen was able to extract much more from the car. The Haas driver managed to accumulate three points throughout the entire season. The Dane managed to drive a strong race in Saudi Arabia – the second round – finishing in 10th, scoring his first point of the season.
The Dane’s problem was that the car could not execute his style effectively. The car simply did not have good enough handling — from braking on the entry of a corner and dealing with the corner turn in. The VF-23 struggled with Magnussen’s driving style as the car would lose stability through the demand of braking and rotational forces at the same time. Therefore, the V-style approach was better suited for the VF-23, consequently favouring Hülkenberg’s driving approach.
‘Car concept hampered Magnussen’;
https://www.formulanerds.com/feature...s-2023-season/
Magnussen wants Haas to 'break status quo' with next car
03 December 4:15PM
Author Rory Mitchell
Co-author Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365
Kevin Magnussen believes Haas must "break the status quo" with its 2024 challenger, after it finished last in the Formula 1 Constructors' Championship. Magnussen scored the fewest amount of points this year at three, which puts him bottom on the salary to points ratio. The Dane wants to see the team make radical changes for next year, as it looks to improve its fortunes.
"This year, we haven't been able to find better performance even on the drawing board, so we need to break that [trend]," Magnussen told media, including RacingNews365. "Things are looking better back at the factory, and we kind of broke that status quo that we had for too big a part of the season.”
Magnussen hopes it will bring more consistency next season, after showing shades of good performance this year. "The thing is we will show flashes of very good performance, so it's not just a flatline of poor performance all the time. But it's way too much poor performance," said Magnussen. There's potential in there and that's the motivational thing. At same time it's frustrating because we can't seem to hit consistency with our top level performance.”
'Break status quo';
https://racingnews365.com/magnussen-...-with-next-car
2023 Formula 1 driver rankings #18: Kevin Magnussen
Formula 1
Posted on 13th December 2023, 8:14
Written by Will Wood
RaceFans
After returning to the grid, Magnussen effectively ended the F1 career of young Mick Schumacher by thoroughly and consistently out-performing the second-year driver despite having missed a full season. But in 2023, it was Magnussen’s turn to be upstaged by a team mate who had been off the grid for even longer than he had. Nico Hulkenberg won the battle between the two Haas team mates over the year convincingly – a fight that Magnussen surely would have expected to have come out on top in heading into the season.
The VF-23 suffered throughout the season with tyre degradation compared its rivals, leaving both Magnussen and Hulkenberg struggling to keep up with the pack over the course of a stint. But while both were having to drive around the problem, Hulkenberg seemed to manage it better than Magnussen. In Hungary, car number 20 just seemed slow. In Zandvoort, he not only wrecked his team’s new front wing heading out of the pits in practice, he caught the attention of the stewards multiple times in the rain-affected grand prix for his erratic driving and failed to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the wet weather.
‘Magnussen’s turn to be upstaged’;
https://www.racefans.net/2023/12/13/...vin-magnussen/
Kevin Magnussen ruthlessly makes feelings clear on Haas season with 'only positive'
Kevin Magnussen took to social media to vent his true feelings on the disappointing F1 season for Haas, who finished the 2023 season in last place
00:58, Mon, Nov 27, 2023
By Rory Robinson
Daily and Sunday Express
Magnussen tweeted: "So long, 2023. The only positive today is that it was the last race. We can close the book and look forward to next year. Thanks to the whole team for working so hard during the season. It's going to be a big winter for us to catch up, but I believe we can do it."
"It has been a tough season for us, which started well but did not get any better, as everyone else got better," said Steiner. "We ended up fighting all season, so now we need to work hard over the winter to get a better car out there, as there are a lot of things within this team that are good."
"We have got a race team that is always ready to race and a team who wants to do well. We just need to get better with the performance of the car. Then we will be okay," he continued. "It's not an easy task, but everyone is rolling their sleeves up and working hard to achieve it."
‘Ruthlessly makes feelings clear on Haas’;
https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...f1-haas-racing
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Behind the scenes with Logan Sargeant: Williams’ rookie on his new deal for next year and his goals for 2024.
Hey all, for my final column on F1.com I’m writing to you from the Williams Racing factory in Grove, where I’m spending my final day with the team in 2023 before heading to Florida for a much-needed winter break.
16 December 2023
Logan Sargeant
Williams Racing Driver
Formula One - Official Site
“I’m so excited to keep growing within the team. I’m just scratching the surface of what I’m capable of and now going into my first F1 off-season, I have a chance to reflect and see how I can be better. I didn’t find out what my future looked like until just before the announcement was made – a few days after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.”
“I had a long, very honest and open conversation with our Team Principal James Vowles after the post-season test at Yas Island on Tuesday. He congratulated me on the new deal and said he was excited to continue, as I am. We then just went over the main things he wants to see from me, about how I can be better, what I need to do to be better and what the team expect of me going forward.”
‘Behind the scenes with Logan Sargeant’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...LrsjKX2S3.html
Logan Sargeant shares James Vowles conversation after last-minute 2024 contract offer
Sun 17 December 2023 20:00
Ben Evans
F1 Oversteer
Williams driver Logan Sargeant has shared some of the details from the conversation he had with team principal James Vowles after finding out he was retaining his seat for the 2024 season. There was a big decision to make at Williams after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as they had to determine who would be Alex Albon’s teammate heading into next year.
When talking about his post-season conversation, Sargeant said: “I didn’t find out what my future looked like until just before the announcement was made – a few days after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. I had a long, very honest and open conversation with our Team Principal James Vowles after the post-season test at Yas Island on Tuesday. He congratulated me on the new deal and said he was excited to continue, as I am.”
“We then just went over the main things he wants to see from me, about how I can be better, what I need to do to be better and what the team expect of me going forward. It was just a good and honest conversation. It was one we needed to have, and it was great to get the news in what was just a normal chat that James and I are used to having. I won’t go too much into detail about what he said I need to do, but I understood where he wanted me to go, he understood the direction I wanted to go – and it’s all the same direction. Everything is clear.”
‘Last-minute 2024 contract offer’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/log...ontract-offer/
James Vowles proved right with new Logan Sargeant contract despite ‘other options’
Logan Sargeant was handed a contract extension after the season finale in Abu Dhabi, despite scoring just a single point.
08:15, Sat, Dec 16, 2023
By Harry Smith
Daily and Sunday Express
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Vowles explained: “Without question, he struggled across the year. However, across the last four [or] five races, part of it was definitely being in the top ten in Las Vegas and doing some incredible laps, not just one, three or four throughout qualifying.”
“He’s absorbing the pressure far better than he did before. He’s fighting for the back end of the points. The car simply wasn’t quick enough across those last four rounds but he’s been where I needed him to be in order to demonstrate he’s made the step required and he can grow further next year, in other words, the journey is still growing.”
“There was optionality, there were other choices, but we’ve invested in him because we believe in him. He’s fiercely fast when he gets it all right and altogether. He needs the environment now where he can grow and do more of that next year. That’s why he deserves more of an opportunity.” Of the options available to Williams, three are likely to have been Mick Schumacher, Frederik Vesti and Felipe Drugovich.
‘Handed a contract extension after the season finale’;
https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...nt-Williams-F1
Logan Sargeant feels 27-year-old F1 rival shows where Williams driver must improve
Sat 16 December 2023 18:00
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer
Logan Sargeant believes it is ‘great’ to have Alex Albon as a teammate at Williams as he shows the American where he must improve after one year as a Formula 1 driver. It was a rookie season of ups and downs for Sargeant in 2023 as Albon dominated the head-to-head battle at Williams. But the 22-year-old showed enough towards the end of the year to get a second season. Now, he heads into the winter break ready to return a better driver.
Sargeant accepts that he has to improve in his second season as a Formula 1 driver with Williams in 2024. So, he will now use the winter break to study his and Albon’s data. He sees Albon as a great teammate to have given the London-born Thai presents a brilliant yardstick. “It’s great to have my teammate, Alex Albon, as such a good reference,” Sargeant told the F1 website. “It shows me the places I need to work on. That’s something that isn’t always the easiest to do in-season as you’re so caught up in the mix. That’s something I can improve on when reflecting on what has been a long season.”
‘Such a good reference’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/log...-must-improve/
Albon stunned by F1 rival's 'outrageous' lack of Christmas knowledge
Thursday 21 December 2023 16:57
Matthew Hobkinson
GPFans
Alex Albon has been left stunned after his Williams Formula 1 team-mate, Logan Sargeant, admitted that he had never seen a Christmas cracker before in his life. With less than a week to go until the big day, drivers and teams are putting racing to one side as they prepare to celebrate with family and friends.
The subject of Christmas crackers arose, as Albon was left dumbfounded over the fact that Sargeant had never seen one before. "Okay, Christmas crackers," Albon said. "Someone's told me that you don't actually know what these are."
"I've never seen these before," Sargeant replied, causing Albon to label the revelation as 'outrageous'. "What do you do then before you have Christmas dinner?" Albon asked, before Sargeant revealed that a household tradition of his is to 'blow off massive fireworks' instead.
'Outrageous lack of Christmas knowledge’;
https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...ant-fireworks/
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Toto Wolff optimistic ahead of 2024 F1 season after ‘proactive steps’ from Mercedes.
"There’s a team that is so successful and we have a big gap to close.”
13:58 Wed, 20 Dec 2023
Kieran Jackson
Formula 1 Correspondent
The Independent
Toto Wolff is optimistic about Mercedes’ chances of challenging Red Bull next year after some “proactive steps” from the team so far in the F1 off-season.
"At the same time, I believe we’ve taken some proactive steps to close that gap. Is it going to be good enough? I don’t know. But we’re going to see it in testing and then in the first race in Bahrain.”
"I’m super excited. I’d like to start going now. It’s the stopwatch that’s going to tell us what job we’ve done."
‘Toto Wolff optimistic’;
https://www.independent.co.uk/f1/f1-...-b2467259.html
Revealed: The three reasons why Toto Wolff isn’t on social media
20 Dec 2023 12:30 PM
Henry Valantine
PlanetF1.com
Toto Wolff has explained why he is not on social media, giving three different reasons behind his lack of online presence. While he is often seen in posts on Mercedes’ official channels, he does not use social media himself…
“For me, having official Instagram channels or Twitter would be super distracting,” Wolff explained when asked whether or not he would join social media in future. “I’m also an emotional person, so that would not be beneficial if I were to post things!”
“I also believe that as a team principal, I’m running an F1 team, and I don’t believe that having an Instagram profile makes any sense. I’m not keen on taking selfies of myself or posing for the camera. Sports people or entertainment stars need to do that because it’s their profile. And therefore, no, these channels are nothing for me.”
‘The three reasons’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/toto-w...media-presence
13 Questions with Toto Wolff: 2023 F1 Season Review
15:42 Tue, 19 Dec 2023.
Motorsport.com
‘13 Questions’;
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/video/...review/644539/
Toto Wolff interview: The ‘headwind’ Mercedes currently face in Red Bull battle
17 Dec 2023 1:30 PM
Thomas Maher
PlanetF1.com
Toto Wolff has hopes Red Bull’s ‘diminishing returns’ will allow Mercedes to close the gap for 2024, but fears how early their rivals will have switched focus.
After coming out of the blocks for 2023 with an incredibly competitive machine that went on to become the most dominant car in F1’s history, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner recently spoke about how ‘diminishing returns’ means his team is approaching the performance ceiling of the current regulations.
Formula 1 is entering the third year of the ground-effect regulations in 2024, with the now-mature ruleset meaning the teams are finding it more and more difficult to find time and performance – a fact Toto Wolff is hopeful his team will be able to use to spring forward for next season.
‘Headwind Mercedes currently face’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/toto-w...ed-bull-battle
Interview: Wolff backs Mercedes' F1 line-up: 'With a good car, we'll be there'
19 December 6:00PM
Author Pepijn van der Hulst
Co-author Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365
When asked by select media if Hamilton and Russell are the best line-up in F1, Wolff told select media including RacingNews365: “If we give them the right car, yes. I think there's a few others, Max you cannot doubt him. He’s already one of the best drivers. If you give our [drivers] a great car, then we’ll be right there.
Wolff stated that Mercedes' “fragile” car resulted in performance swings between the pair during the year. “Everybody needs some feedback,” Wolff explained regarding Russell. “He's a very strong character and he came out of the summer [break] very strong. He changed his approach a little bit and that was good. Then it swung the other way around.”
“Lewis performed in an extraordinary way but I think these swings they happen. They happen from track to track with this fragile cars you know you can come from a very good weekend to a very bad [one] suddenly. Everyone needs an arm around the shoulder. I have my wife who puts an arm around my shoulder.”
'With a good car, we'll be there';
Toto Wolff interview: When Toto will leave Mercedes…and why he’s nowhere near ready yet
21 Dec 2023 12:00 PM
Thomas Maher
PlanetF1.com
Toto Wolff has said he has no intentions of stepping aside from his role at the Mercedes F1 team any time soon but doesn’t plan on operating in his role once he feels he’s past his best.
Wolff revealed that he constantly questions his own contribution to the F1 team after successfully implementing a ‘no-blame’ culture that has proven fruitful at maintaining team harmony through difficult periods. Pushed on whether that questioning goes so far as to the point of thinking about stepping down from any of his leadership roles, Wolff said he hasn’t reached that point yet.
“No, I don’t, because I still think that I can contribute to the team in my area of expertise,” he said. “That is, I think, keeping it together, although I’m very emotional sometimes. But they know me so well, that I have these difficult moments on Sunday night.”
‘Constantly questions his own contribution’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/toto-w...ng-mercedes-f1
Wolff makes Mercedes 'sporting advantage' F1 wind tunnel claim
Thursday 21 December 2023 19:57
Matthew Hobkinson
GPFans
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has admitted that any attempt to purposely finish behind Ferrari in the constructors' championship for more wind tunnel time would not have been a 'one-dimensional' decision.
Mercedes pipped Ferrari to P2 in the team standings by just three points during the curtain-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Each team’s allowance of wind tunnel time is defined by on-track performance on a sliding scale.
"Obviously it's not one dimensional," Wolff told the team's official YouTube channel when asked if he ever considered ceding P2 to Ferrari for increased wind tunnel time. "I think from a mindset [perspective], whether you finish P2 or P3, if you would have asked me that at the beginning of the season I would have said it's not very relevant.”
'One-dimensional decision’;
https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...inish-ferrari/
