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Eddie Jordan Correctly Called Lewis Hamilton's Bombshell Ferrari Move.
“I think he would like to win his eighth title but I have a passion in that I think he should go to Ferrari...but that’s just me talking nonsense.” Eddie Jordan.
Feb 01, 2024 12:48 PM
By Eoin Harrington
Balls.ie
Speaking to talkSPORT in April 2023, former F1 team boss Jordan said that he felt that "every great champion" should enjoy a spell with F1's most iconic team, and called on Hamilton to make the switch to avoid his career going "stale." “The reason why is I don’t want him to become stale, and I think when he was at McLaren he did well but he moved quickly to Mercedes.”
“I was one of the people with Niki Lauda who helped that happen, and then there was a refreshed, rejuvenated Lewis Hamilton. We know what he’s done since then, however, I think it’s time he moved on.”
“I think if there’s an opportunity to go somewhere he should go to Ferrari because every great champion should at least have a spell at Ferrari. It just oozes with style and grandeur.”
“That’s just me talking nonsense.” Eddie Jordan’;
https://www.balls.ie/motorsport/eddi...ferrari-586308
Mercedes held internal meeting today to tell staff about Lewis Hamilton exit
Lewis Hamilton is set to confirm a move to Ferrari for 2025 F1 season
01 Feb 2024
James Dielhenn
Crash.Net
Mercedes held an internal meeting at 2pm on Thursday to tell staff that Lewis Hamilton is set to confirm a move to Ferrari. Wolff joined the staff meeting remotely, Sky Sports' Rachel Brookes reported. She reported while at Mercedes’ Brackley HQ: “We can confirm that Hamilton is going to Ferrari for the 2025 season.”
“Staff at the Brackley base have been told that’s what is happening. The meeting lasted about 10 minutes or so. We saw the staff arriving and, within 10 to 14 minutes, they were leaving again.”
‘Internal meeting’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/104395...-hamilton-exit
Mercedes staff briefed over impending Hamilton departure
01 February 3:58PM
Author Rory Mitchell
RacingNews365
Mercedes staff have allegedly been briefed over Lewis Hamilton's impending departure to Ferrari, according to Sky Sports. Rumours have been rife in the last few hours over whether Hamilton will make the jump to Ferrari in 2025, with an announcement expected imminently on the outcome of talks between the pair.
Hamilton reportedly arrived at the factory today to brief the team alongside Team Principal Toto Wolff about the news of his departure. The 39-year-old has been with Mercedes since 2013 and won six of his seven world titles for the outfit.
‘Mercedes staff briefed’;
https://racingnews365.com/mercedes-s...lton-departure
Tell-tale sign Lewis Hamilton's shock Ferrari deal was hiding in plain sight with Peroni advert giving major hint at shock Formula One switch
Lewis Hamilton's switch to Ferrari was hiding in plain sight
A promotion from Peroni seemingly hinted at the move
Published: 14:33, 1 February 2024
By Ollie Lewis For Daily Mail Australia
Mail Online
Lewis Hamilton's bombshell switch to Ferrari was hiding in plain sight, with an advert released by the Formula One team's new sponsor giving away a key detail at the move that has shocked the sport.
As part of their promotion of the new partnership, Peroni released a graphic with a number of Ferrari items alongside its legendary bottle of alcohol-free beer. And hiding in plain sight was a miniature red racing car, with the number 44 plastered on the front. Forty four, of course, is Hamilton's racing number.
‘Hiding in plain sight’;
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...rmula-One.html
No, Ferrari's new sponsor didn't 'leak' Hamilton arrival
01 February 3:16PM
Author Jake Nichol
RacingNews365
Everyone loves an easter egg hidden away in plain sight, right? Peroni has joined the Scuderia, and in a marketing poster, an old Ferrari F1 car with the number #44 can be seen.
#44 is of course Hamilton's race number, and the discovery led some to believe that Peroni had dropped a massive hint about Hamilton's impending arrival.
Whilst it would be a fun story, the actual truth is that the car featured is Maurice Trintignant's 1955 Monaco GP-winning Ferrari 625, which carried the #44. But there's no such thing as a coincidence...
‘Easter egg hidden away in plain sight’;
https://racingnews365.com/no-ferrari...milton-arrival
Did Ferrari’s new F1 sponsor Peroni drop Lewis Hamilton clue two days ago?
F1 fans have been sent into a frenzy after Ferrari's new F1 sponsor appeared to hint at the Lewis Hamilton signing a couple of days ago.
01 Feb 2024
Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net
A graphic emerged on social media with a variety of Ferrari merchandise appearing on it. Most notably, there was a Ferrari car with the number 44 on it.
With the news yet to be officially confirmed by Mercedes or Ferrari, social media was sent into a frenzy when the aforementioned graphic got more attention.
‘Sent into a frenzy’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/104396...e-two-days-ago
Winners and losers from Hamilton's Mercedes-to-Ferrari switch
Feb 1, 2024
The Race
Lewis Hamilton's impending move to Ferrari is without doubt the most astounding Formula 1 driver market news of the 21st century - and a change that has huge implications not just for all parties involved but the wider F1 driver market too.
Winners: Ferrari, George Russell, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, F1, Fred Vasseur, Audi.
Losers: Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc, Mercedes the team, Mercedes the brand.
‘Most astounding Formula 1 driver market news of the 21st century’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/l...inners-losers/
Martin Brundle explains what George Russell is thinking about Lewis Hamilton transfer
15:16, Thu, Feb 1, 2024
By Harry Smith
Daily and Sunday Express
Martin Brundle believes that George Russell will be relishing the news that Lewis Hamilton is reportedly heading to rivals Ferrari for the 2025 season and that the 25-year-old is extremely well-placed to fill the seven-time world champion’s shoes as the team leader at Mercedes.
Speaking to Sky Sports News about what Russell’s view of Hamilton’s departure would be, Brundle said: “I think he’ll be thinking ‘that’s good, I am top man here, unquestionably now’. George is ready to pick up the mantle at Mercedes-Benz, there is no doubt about it at all. And he’s measured himself against, statistically and arguably, the greatest Formula One driver of all time.”
“That’s an argument we can have all afternoon and bring in all sorts of people back to [Juan Manuel] Fangio and [Stirling] Moss. But George has measured himself against Lewis and looked incredibly strong, very equal. If Mercedes have got a Championship-winning car this year, who would win? Would it be George or Lewis? I think it would be really close, so that’s the level that George is at now.”
‘Relishing the news’;
https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...Lewis-Hamilton
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Lewis Hamilton move causes Ferrari stock price to skyrocket by $7 billion.
New York Stock Exchange reveals huge Ferrari finances amid Lewis Hamilton swoop. Ferrari’s stock price has increased by a value of $7 billion due to Lewis Hamilton’s move.
01 Feb 2024
James Dielhenn
Crash.Net
The Formula 1 was rocked on Thursday by unexpected news that Hamilton will join Ferrari in 2025. It is the most seismic driver switch since Hamilton swapped McLaren for Mercedes in 2013. Ferrari stock increased in value by 7% pre-market, after hours of talk about Hamilton, sports-business expert Joe Pompliano reported. He added: “The Mercedes F1 team received about 25% of all TV time during its championship-winning seasons, and its valuation increased from $400 million to $2.7 billion.”
Karun Chandhok, ex-F1 driver and Sky Sports broadcaster, earlier wrote: “The power of the Lewis Hamilton brand… “Ferrari’s share price has jumped 6% today - on a market cap of 66 billion, his news is worth $4 billion!” But the opening of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday revealed the numbers had grown even further.
‘Ferrari stock price to skyrocket by $7 billion’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/104396...cket-7-billion
Ferrari confirm sensational Lewis Hamilton deal, uniting Formula 1’s most successful team and driver
1st February 2024, 7:06 pm
Connor Andrews
talkSPORT
Mercedes confirmed Hamilton’s departure in a statement which read: “Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team and Lewis Hamilton will part ways at the end of the 2024 season. “Lewis has activated a release option in the contract announced last year.”
Commenting on the departure, Hamilton said: “I have had an amazing 11 years with this team and I’m so proud of what we have achieved together. “Mercedes has been part of my life since I was 13 years old. It’s a place where I have grown up, so making the decision to leave was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make.”
The Stevenage-born star won a race in each of his first 15 seasons in F1, but hasn’t been on the top step of the podium since 2021. Much of that is down to Mercedes fumbling the 2022 aerodynamic rule changes, with Hamilton publicly complaining about their development path on multiple occasions.
‘Sensational Lewis Hamilton deal’;
https://talksport.com/sport/1733583/
How Lewis Hamilton’s sensational move from Mercedes to Ferrari played out
01 February 2024
Lawrence Barretto
F1 Correspondent & Presenter
Formula One - Official Site
Last spring, sources say Lewis Hamilton received a call. It was Ferrari chairman John Elkann. This wasn’t completely out of the blue. Ferrari had come calling before – and Hamilton knew Elkann well. They had become friends following several meetings. When winter came and Ferrari came calling again, Hamilton gave it the respect he always did and analysed the pros and cons. This time he was more interested – and the chats were more formal. They got serious quickly.
Ferrari laid out their short to medium-term plan to Hamilton. They believe they are on the right path with development. They believe 2026 – when new regulations are introduced – can be the turning point and set them in motion to end their title-less run. They believe their new 2026 power unit, which will run 100% sustainable fuel, can be the class-leader – and they have form in this area.
Hamilton absorbed the information and a decision was made. In his mind, now was the time to take that leap of faith and race for the team all F1 drivers ultimately want to drive for. He signed on the dotted line, with everything finalised early this week, and he subsequently informed Mercedes of his decision to leave on Wednesday. The dye had been cast.
‘Everything finalised early this week’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...BCezKBGZ7.html
Hamilton's given Mercedes a devastating vote of no confidence
Feb 1, 2024
by Edd Straw
The Race
Lewis Hamilton signing for Ferrari for 2025 without even having driven the Mercedes W15 in the real world or seen how the Formula 1 season starts in terms of performance is a devastating vote of no confidence in his current team.
Losing Hamilton to what would be a well-earned retirement is one thing, but to do so to a major rival that’s in broadly the same position as you in competitive terms is another. The inescapable conclusion is that what Hamilton has seen and experienced at Mercedes since committing to his current contract - perhaps both in terms of the continued erratic form in the closing stages of the season and preparations for 2024 - has given rise to some serious doubts. Perhaps something even more concrete than doubts.
We can’t rule out Hamilton having had a change of heart about this, but it seems more likely that he simply doesn’t believe Mercedes can give him the car he needs. If so, the worst that happens by moving to Ferrari is that he moves from one underachieving team to another - but with the bonus of living the Ferrari dream.
‘Devastating vote of no confidence’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/l...xit-gut-punch/
Lewis Hamilton blindsided Toto Wolff with Ferrari move 24 hours before story broke
1 February 2024 • 11:54pm
Tom Cary
Senior Sports Correspondent
The Telegraph
Lewis Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari for 2025 came as a complete shock to Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff when the seven-time world champion broke the news at the Austrian’s home on Wednesday morning. Telegraph Sport understands Hamilton blindsided Wolff at a pre-arranged meeting at the latter’s Oxford home before Thursday’s official announcement sent Formula One into meltdown. It meant the Brackley outfit had to scramble to get their ducks in a row, calling a meeting of the team’s staff at 2pm when Wolff informed them of the driver’s intention to leave.
Wolff was understood to be completely taken by surprise when Hamilton told him on Wednesday that he intended to exercise it. The Austrian, who owns a third of Mercedes F1, only recently signed a new three-year contract extension himself, breaking the news in an interview with Telegraph Sport in which he said he was confident that Hamilton could win that eighth world title at Brackley.
‘Toto Wolff blindsided’;
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/formula-...025-f1-latest/
Will Hamilton’s second change of F1 teams prove as inspired as his first?
Formula 1
Posted on 1st February 2024, 19:09
Written by Keith Collantine
Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari at the end of this year will be only the second time in a 19-year career that he has made a change. By the standards of most drivers, he’s been remarkably faithful to his teams. Looking back beyond Hamilton’s 11-year stint at Mercedes, past all those wins and championships, it’s easy to forget how big a gamble he appeared to be taking when he committed to them in September 2012. Seldom in F1 history has scepticism over a driver’s choice of team been so comprehensively dispelled by the reality of the move. As the trophies piled up around him at Mercedes, Hamilton has delighted in occasionally reminding everyone how many people told his he’d made a mistake by joining them.
Now, 12 years on, there are parallels between the two moves. The most significant is that, once again, Hamilton has made his move a year ahead of a complete overhaul in the technical regulations – not just chassis but power unit as well. That gives him time to bed into a new environment and be prepared to seize on whatever opportunities arise in 2026.
It’s hard to imagine any change of team would result in the kind of unprecedented success Hamilton has enjoyed in his Mercedes career. But a single title, avenging his lost crown of 2021, delivered for the passionate tifosi, would rank as a unique achievement in a career already replete with success. It’s not hard to see why, when presented with the opportunity, Hamilton took another brave and exciting decision which has stunned the F1 world.
‘Made his move a year ahead of a complete overhaul in the technical regulations’;
https://www.racefans.net/2024/02/01/...-as-his-first/
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Italy celebrates F1 'world coup' as Ferrari captures Hamilton.
“A bolt of lightning you don’t expect. A rare flower that seemed like it would never bloom again. The parable of Ferrari, the most prestigious and successful team in the three-quarters of a century of history of F1, and that of the baronet Lewis Hamilton, the driver with a cabinet full of trophies like no other, will truly intersect.” Il Messaggero.
February 2nd 2024
Author: Chris Medland
Motor Sport Magazine
Being a sport-specific publication, you’d expect La Gazzetta dello Sport to carry Hamilton prominently and that’s exactly the treatment he gets as Colpo Rosso (red coup) dominates its front page, with an image of Hamilton mocked up in Ferrari overalls and flags of the prancing horse waving in the background.
It’s that same feeling that drives Corriere della Sera – one of the earliest publications to first report that Hamilton was on the verge of making the move – to make the seven-time world champion the central picture on its front page and describe the switch as “A world coup” for Ferrari.
Corriere della Sera also states that Hamilton’s arrival is not the only significant development at Ferrari, describing it as “just the beginning of a revolution that started from the relationship with the boss [Fred] Vasseur” and adding that loyal technicians are also on their way.
'World coup';
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a...?nowprocket=1#
Lewis Hamilton 'will earn £85million per year at Ferrari' - almost DOUBLING what he earns at Mercedes - and 'was convinced by technical guarantees' that the Scuderia can help him win an eighth championship
Lewis Hamilton will reportedly earn £85million each year when he joins Ferrari
The Scuderia were willing to offer him £40m in May but couldn't land him
Assurances about the car's competitiveness are also a persuasive factor for him
Published: 16:44, 2 February 2024
By Luke Power For Mailonline
Mail Online
His financial package, swelled by salary, sponsors, image rights, bonuses and more, will reach £85m according to Italian website formu1a.uno. That is not far off double his £50m compensation at Mercedes.
According to formu1a.uno's report, Hamilton was swung not only by the money involved but by assurances of the car's competitiveness. That included technical guarantees, for example around the car's new engine, which is being designed at Maranello to it the track from the 2026 season.
Another factor which was reportedly persuasive for Hamilton is the presence of his former mentor Frederic Vasseur at Ferrari. The Ferrari team boss has a special bond with Hamilton, so it will come as no surprise that the Briton is keen to work with the Frenchman again. Hamilton won Formula Three and GP2 (now Formula Two) championships with Vasseur's ART team in 2005 and 2006 before making a spectacular Formula One debut with McLaren in 2007.
‘£85 Million per year’;
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...mpionship.html
Will Pete ‘Bono’ Bonnington and others follow Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari in 2025?
02 Feb 2024 1:07 PM
Thomas Maher
PlanetF1.com
In what is perhaps the biggest driver move in the history of Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton will cut ties with the Mercedes team with whom he’s won six of his seven titles, in order to join Ferrari from 2025.
Throughout the entirety of his Mercedes tenure, Hamilton has been ably supported by race engineer Pete Bonnington – the engineer becoming almost as famous as Hamilton as ‘Bono’ and his instruction ‘OK Lewis, it’s Hammertime’ would strike fear into the hearts of rivals.
Addressing the media, including PlanetF1.com, on Friday morning after the announcement of Hamilton at Ferrari, Wolff said discussions with Bonnington about his future will be held in due course. “I think this is a discussion that everyone needs to have in the months to come,” he said. “As much as I’ve spoken with Bono already, when I told him, he said ‘Is it April the first?’”
‘Bono’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/pete-b...-2025-question
Wolff admits Hamilton bombshell took him by surprise
13:11, 2nd February 2024.
The Straits Times
LONDON - Mercedes Formula One team boss Toto Wolff admitted on Friday that Lewis Hamilton's bombshell switch to Ferrari from 2025 had come as a shock when the seven times world champion dropped the news over breakfast.
"Formula One and my previous life have made me resilient to surprises. I've been confronted so many times in my life with black swans but it was a surprise," the Austrian told reporters in a video call on Friday.
"The surprise was that I've heard the rumours a couple of days earlier but wanted to wait for the breakfast we had planned and that was Wednesday morning. This was when he broke the news."
‘Bombshell took him by surprise’;
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/f...im-by-surprise
Lewis Hamilton "rolling the dice" as Toto Wolff admits being blind sided by Ferrari move
Toto Wolff has spoken out in a Mercedes press conference organised the morning after Lewis Hamilton announced he would be leaving to join F1 rivals Ferrari in 2025
2nd February 2024, 13:01
By Daniel Moxon Senior F1 Writer
The Mirror
"What happened is we got together for coffee at my place in Oxford [on Wednesday] and he said to me that he has decided to race for Ferrari in 2025. That was basically it. We had a good hour of conversation and this is where we are."
Wolff was quizzed on what might have changed for the Briton to U-turn on his future in the way that he has, but he could not answer. He replied: "I cannot tell you [what has changed]. I can only tell you that we were very aligned when we went into the Christmas period.”
"You need to ask Lewis why he changed his mind. How he framed it to me was perfectly understandable, that he needed a new challenge and that he was looking for a different environment and that it was maybe the last possibility to do something else.”
"Rolling the dice";
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...cedes-32030978
George Russell sends Lewis Hamilton 13-word message after Mercedes announcement
Fri 2 February 2024 12:30
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer
George Russell has now sent Lewis Hamilton a 13-word message after Mercedes and Ferrari announced the seven-time F1 champion is moving teams for the 2025 season. Now, 2024 will mark Hamilton’s final year racing for Mercedes ahead of joining Ferrari come the winter.
Russell has also now reacted to the news of Hamilton’s departure, noting that it has been ‘special’ to share the Mercedes garage and expressing his desire for a strong year. “It’s been special racing alongside you,” Russell told Hamilton in a message posted on his X account. “Let’s make this season one to remember.”
Hamilton beat Russell 15-7 in their Grand Prix results head-to-head battle at Mercedes over 2023. The 103-time Grand Prix winner also edged his one-time race-winning teammate with six podiums over two. Russell beat Hamilton 4-2 in Sprints and they tied 11-all in qualifying.
‘Hamilton’s final year racing for Mercedes’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/geo...-announcement/
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Mark Hughes' theory for why Mercedes lost Hamilton.
It’s now clear that Ferrari was able to offer Hamilton a longer-term commitment than Mercedes, which agreed a two-year deal with the second year as an option (a 1 + 1).
Feb 2, 2024
by Mark Hughes
The Race
Let’s just suppose that when Wolff and Hamilton were discussing their contract that Wolff had revealed that the long-term plan was to place Antonelli at Williams for a year or two and then if all went well to bring him into the main team?
As a way of future-proofing. Hamilton’s 1+1 would dovetail in with this nicely. We don’t know if Wolff did discuss this scenario, of course. But he and Hamilton are close, have achieved so much together, that it would be quite in character for such an open discussion to have taken place between them.
Let’s then imagine what Hamilton’s thought processes may have been if he had indeed received that information from his boss and friend. It would have been totally logical if he had pondered: ‘I may as well leave after year one, as that’s my final chance of the Ferrari gig – and there may not be anything for me here in ’26.’ So in nudging Hamilton towards retirement, might Wolff have instead nudged him early into leaving for one of Mercedes' key rivals?
‘Theory for why Mercedes lost Hamilton’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/m...errari-theory/
An inspired decision or risky move? Our writers give their take on Hamilton's shock Ferrari switch
02 February 2024
Formula One - Official Site
Chris Medland, Special Contributor: Like everyone in the F1 world, this is a move that caught me completely by surprise. The way Hamilton had previously spoken about his future with Mercedes – even beyond racing in F1 – had just led me to believe it’s where he’d end his career. I’ll admit first whispers didn’t even have me taking it totally seriously at first…
Mark Hughes, Special Contributor: I think this move illustrates just how brilliantly ruthless the F1 mentality can be and how that injects a volatility which is part of F1 DNA. In a way it's a 'Hollywood' move, the bringing together of the two highest-profile entities in F1 with all the commercial implications that carries.
David Tremayne, Hall of Fame F1 Journalist: I’m one of the last people to mention the words ‘career suicide’ to Lewis Hamilton when he thinks of changing teams, as he is all too happy to remind those of us who suggested a switch from McLaren to Mercedes for 2013 was, at the very least, perhaps unwise…
‘James Hinchcliffe, IndyCar Race Winner and Analyst, Mike Seymour, Staff Writer’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...k689FqpiK.html
What we learned from Wolff's debrief on Hamilton's Ferrari move.
The Race was present to get Wolff’s reaction, establish key details like the timeline that played out, ask what Hamilton’s rationale was, and find out what Mercedes does next.
Feb 2, 2024
by Scott Mitchell-Malm,
Valentin Khorounzhiy
The Race
TIMING A 'SURPRISE': “We got together for a coffee in my place in Oxford, and [ahead of] basically him returning to the factory, and he said to me he had decided to race for Ferrari in 2025,” said Wolff. “That was basically it. Then we had a good hour of conversation.”
HAMILTON NEEDED A CHANGE: Wolff hinted at a couple of firm reasons: the length of the contract on offer from Ferrari, for one, and the fact Hamilton simply needed a change.
WOLFF STOIC – MOSTLY: There were inevitably a couple of glimpses of how he really felt underneath - and he even said that "in the future we will discuss whether this could have been done in a different way".
MERCEDES DIDN'T WANT MORE THAN TWO YEARS: To reiterate, Mercedes had announced Hamilton as being retained on a 'two-year deal'. The quote marks there are because a two-year deal is for two years, and this one... is, in the end, not.
‘Wolff’s reaction’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/t...at-we-learned/
Four big reasons why Lewis Hamilton ditched Mercedes for Ferrari
01 Feb 2024 12:40 PM
Thomas Maher
PlanetF1.com
Lewis Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari has ended the most successful driver/team partnership in F1 history, so why would he do it?
Has Lewis Hamilton lost faith in Mercedes? Hamilton is currently without a win in Formula 1 since the tail-end of that tumultuous 2021 season, with Mercedes having fallen off the boil at the start of the new ground-effect regulations.
Is it one last roll of the dice for Lewis Hamilton? At the end of the day, Hamilton is much, much closer to the end of his career than the start, having just turned 39. By 2026, Hamilton will have turned 41. While Fernando Alonso has proven age doesn’t necessarily mean anything anymore, history goes against Hamilton here.
A chance to team up again with Fred Vasseur: A move to Ferrari means partnering up with Fred Vasseur again, a boss with whom Hamilton has enjoyed great success in the past.
The allure of the Scuderia, and doing what Ayrton Senna couldn’t: Regardless of their competitive prowess in any given year, Ferrari continues to have a hold over drivers. As the only team to have been on the F1 grid since the very first year of the championship, nearly all the greatest drivers have come through their doors.
‘Four big reasons’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/why-le...-from-mercedes
How Exactly Is This Whole Lewis Hamilton And Ferrari Thing Going To Work?
17:51 Fri, 02 Feb 2024
By Kathryn Xu
Defector
All roads lead to Maranello. That's a suitably ominous statement to contextualize the rest of the news, which is that Lewis Hamilton, after exercising a release option in his contract, will be leaving Mercedes after the 2024 season to join Ferrari on a multi-year deal. As tampering is famously a North American invention, Hamilton continues the cycle of drivers signing with Ferrari before their previous contract fully expired—and Carlos Sainz Jr. will exit the team at the end of the 2024 season, similar to how Sebastian Vettel left in 2020.
The timing is just precise enough that it's easy to crack jokes about how Hamilton saw Mercedes' 2024 car and sprinted away as fast as he possibly could. It's also the most logical explanation for a decision that was genuinely unimaginable back in 2020, when Hamilton and Mercedes seemed inseparable: Two years of wasted development on the zero-pod concept were simply two years too many, especially with a strict spending cap. Mercedes managed to eke out a second-place finish in the constructor championship over Ferrari last year (three points!), but they got there out of consistency and not pace.
After 11 seasons with Mercedes Hamilton is hungry for an eighth championship. He's also 39 years old, and if the upcoming 2026 engine regulation changes will make picking a team a gamble, he may as well get himself one year at a non-Mercedes team before then, especially one who reportedly poached an engineer he trusted. And why not reunite with Fred Vasseur, who ran the ART Grand Prix team that Hamilton won GP2 with, way back in 2006?
‘How Exactly Is This Thing Going To Work?’
https://defector.com/how-exactly-is-...-going-to-work
Details of Lewis Hamilton's contract with Ferrari emerge online including 'special clause'
Published 15:34, 02 February 2024 GMT
Ryan Smart
SPORTbible
French outlet Sportune report that the deal with Ferrari is worth $80 million per year, with $20 million of that sum given in bonuses 'for the benefit of' Hamilton's foundation, which would put him in line with what Red Bull's Max Verstappen is earning. Italian outlet Formu1a.uno add that Hamilton's overall earnings will be made up from a combination of salary, sponsors, image rights, bonuses and more. They claim that the total figure will be around $100 million per year.
The same outlet claims that Hamilton was given technical guarantees as a clause during contract negotiations which convinced him to sign, mainly surrounding the engine that Ferrari are developing to meet the new technical regulations in 2026. Forbes reported in November that Hamilton had earned a salary of $55 million (around £43.4 million) at Mercedes in 2023, but with no bonus listed.
‘Details of contract with Ferrari emerge’;
https://www.sportbible.com/f1/lewis-...91663-20240202
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Formula One's invitation for in-person meeting with Andretti Cadillac went to a spam email folder.
Formula One's invitation to Andretti Cadillac for an in-person meeting about its application to join the motorsports series was sent via email and landed in a spam folder…
Published: 17:44, 2 February 2024
By Associated Press
Mail Online
The invitation was news to the Andretti camp. Its IT team later discovered the request in a search of the email system; the email was not from F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, but a staff member of the series.
"We were not aware that the offer of a meeting had been extended and would not decline a meeting with Formula One Management. An in-person meeting to discuss commercial matters would be and remains of paramount importance to Andretti Cadillac," the team said. "We welcome the opportunity to meet with Formula One Management and have written to them confirming our interest." Andretti Cadillac.
‘Spam folder’;
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap...il-folder.html
F1's in-person meeting invite with Andretti Cadillac went to spam email folder
Published Feb 02, 2024 at 12:39 PM ET
TSN
Formula One's invitation to Andretti Cadillac for an in-person meeting about its application to join the motorsports series was sent via email and landed in a spam folder, which is why Michael Andretti and General Motors representatives never answered the request. The junk email revelation came Friday as Andretti Global sought to clarify two points in the sharply critical document F1 released earlier this week in rejecting the Andretti Cadillac application.
F1 said it had contacted the Andretti camp on Dec. 12 “extending an invitation to an in-person meeting at our offices in order for the applicant to present its application, but the applicant did not take us up on this offer.”
The invitation was news to the Andretti camp. Its IT team later discovered the request in a search of the email system; the email was not from F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, but a staff member of the series.
‘Spam email folder’;
https://www.tsn.ca/auto-racing/formu...lder-1.2070948
F1's invitation for in-person meeting with Andretti Cadillac went to a spam email folder
Feb 2nd 2024 at 2:45PM
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Autoblog
Formula One's invitation to Andretti Cadillac for an in-person meeting about its application to join the motorsports series was sent via email and landed in a spam folder, which is why Michael Andretti and General Motors representatives never answered the request.
The junk email revelation came Friday as Andretti Global sought to clarify two points in the sharply critical document F1 released earlier this week in rejecting the Andretti Cadillac application.
‘Spam email folder’;
https://www.autoblog.com/2024/02/02/...Vv9PJ_1Eq_2-j2
F1 meeting invite landed in Andretti Cadillac's spam email folder
Michael Andretti and General Motors representatives say they were unaware of the request until Formula One claimed its invitation had been ignored.
21:20 Fri, 02 Feb 2024
By AP via Scripps News
Scripps News
Formula One's invitation to Andretti Cadillac for an in-person meeting about its application to join the motorsports series was sent via email and landed in a spam folder, which is why Michael Andretti and General Motors representatives never answered the request. The junk email revelation came Friday as Andretti Global sought to clarify two points in the sharply critical document F1 released earlier this week in rejecting the Andretti Cadillac application.
F1 said it had contacted the Andretti camp on Dec. 12 "extending an invitation to an in-person meeting at our offices in order for the applicant to present its application, but the applicant did not take us up on this offer."
The invitation was news to the Andretti camp. Its IT team later discovered the request in a search of the email system; the email was not from F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, but a staff member of the series.
‘Junk email revelation’;
https://scrippsnews.com/stories/f1-m...-email-folder/
Guenther Steiner defends F1 over rejection of "too ambitious" Andretti-Cadillac plan
Former Haas boss Guenther Steiner was one of the first big names in the F1 world to give his reaction to news that Andretti-Cadillac's bid to create a new team had been rejected
21:34 Wed, 31 Jan 2024.
By Daniel Moxon Senior F1 Writer
The Mirror
Guenther Steiner thinks Andretti-Cadillac were undone by a Formula 1 plan that was "too ambitious". Speaking to ESPN, Steiner agreed that the new team was unlikely to have any success if it joined the grid as early as planned. "I think they looked at it and thought it was too ambitious," said the former Haas team principal.
"I don't have all the information. Maybe they looked at it and they said, 'We want them but we want to make sure they are successful when they come' - to protect them from themselves.”
"I think F1 is protecting all the teams, everyone involved in the sport, they didn't close the door completely. They said '28 is a new day, a new year, it's quite a few years away, it's not tomorrow but the door is open. Show us you can get prepared and be competitive by then and I think we'd welcome them."
‘Make sure they are successful when they come - to protect them from themselves’;
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...einer-32015604
-
This is a joke. If such high-profile personnel wants to get in touch, they would have Domenicali's mobile literally in 5 minutes. lol
-
Haas F1 Team Unveils All-New VF-24 Race Car for 2024 Formula 1 Season, Better Call Gene.
The American outfit will be looking to improve on their performance from last year, when they finished dead last in the Constructors standings with just 12 points (4 points shy of Alfa Romeo).
Published: 2 Feb 2024, 15:01 UTC
Sergiu Tudose
autoevolution
Right off the bat, we can tell you this isn’t the real car, but rather an official rendering. We won’t see the real thing until it hits the track for a shakedown at Silverstone on February 11.
Anyway, design-wise, we can’t tell much from the nose. It looks similar to last year’s front section, which means we’ll probably see the final design come February 11. What’s clearly new though is the shape of the sidepod inlets. A little reminiscent of what Ferrari did last year.
‘Better Call Gene’;
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/h...ne-228659.html
Launch renders reveal design secrets of new Haas F1 car
08:46 Sat, 03 Feb 2024.
AUTHORMatt Somerfield
Motorsport.com
The team is looking to build on the development trajectory that it pursued during 2023 and the most obvious alteration is the design of the sidepods. This is a continuation of the development made by Haas at the United States Grand Prix last season.
A large blister on the surface of the floor on the VF-24 confirms it has now taken that approach, which has allowed designers to not only expand the size of the undercut but also refine the position and shape of the inlet.
Notably, this now echoes the Red Bull RB19’s design, with an elongated lower lip used to define the airflow’s passage either into or around the sidepod inlet.
‘Design secrets of new Haas F1 car’;
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/l...-car/10571898/
Haas's striking launch pessimism shows there's no quick fix
Feb 3, 2024
by Scott Mitchell-Malm
The Race
A brand new car – even one with a familiar look – is the first real kick-off for what Haas hopes will be a more successful era under new leadership, but Formula 1’s bottom team could find things get harder before they improve.
Honesty is great – Komatsu’s predecessor Guenther Steiner was famed for it – and there is no sense in Haas blowing smoke about its prospects if it truly expects to be in for a difficult start. But it is still worrying, given Haas finished last in the championship and had such clear car issues to overcome.
Komatsu says plainly that the launch-spec Haas is “not going to be quick enough in Bahrain” and his hopes are so low that he reckons Haas will probably be the worst team at the start of the season: “Out of the gates in Bahrain we’re going to be towards the back of the grid, if not last.”
‘There's no quick fix’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/h...nch-pessimism/
New Haas boss criticises key Guenther Steiner decision as F1 minnows face massive issue
Haas became the first F1 team to launch their 2024 car livery on Friday - but it came with a warning from new boss Ayao Komatsu not to expect to see it anywhere near the front of the grid
15:34 Fri, 02 Feb 2024.
By Daniel Moxon Senior F1 Writer
The Mirror
New Haas chief Ayao Komatsu admitted he expects his team to start the new Formula 1 season dead last. "Out of the gates in Bahrain, I still think we're going to be towards the back of the grid, if not last," was his glum prediction. "Since I've become team principal, I've spent a lot of time talking to managers - both in the UK and Italy - and they're excited because it's an opportunity to improve and there are areas of improvement everywhere.”
"The reason our launch-spec car is not going to be quick enough in Bahrain is not because of the quality of the people we have here, but it's because we started late and then we stopped for two months to do the Austin upgrade. It really diverted resources, so we lost time there.”
"But the team is finding good gains in the wind tunnel, so that's positive and in terms of characteristics, it's going in the right direction. The focus is to have a good test program for Bahrain so that we come away from the test having quality data for the team to analyse and understand which direction to develop the car.”
"Out of the gates in Bahrain… … back of the grid, if not last";
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...einer-32032224
Needless Guenther Steiner ‘barriers’ removed in major Haas staff shake-up
03 Feb 2024 2:30 PM
Henry Valantine
PlanetF1.com
New Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has outlined behind-the-scenes changes that are taking shape in the post-Guenther Steiner era. Having taken stock of where the team is over his first few weeks in the top job, Komatsu believes the first year in their new form is a chance to build upwards. He also sees this restructuring as a chance to improve efficiency from what came before.
“Obviously it’s been busy, but it’s been really positive,” he said when asked about his opening weeks as team principal. Everyone I speak to sees this as an opportunity to improve. I think many people were feeling the same thing – not knowing where this team was going, how it’s going to improve.”
‘Haas staff shake-up’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/haas-f...einer-barriers
Haas VF24: A New Chapter for the F1 Team?
18:42 Fri, 02 Feb 2024
Motorsport.com
Bryn Lucas talks to Alex Kalinauckas and Jake Boxall-Legge to discuss Haas' 2024 hopes, what Hulkenburg and Magnussen need to do this year, whether Haas replacing Guenther with Komatsu will help the team, and whether Andretti really should consider buying F1's current American team out.
COMMENTS: BOlafson
New chapter, same old book: off the shelf parts and copies of last years innovation by others. Destination: tenth again.
‘Haas' 2024 hopes discussed’;
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/video/...1-team/646080/
Haas expecting to start the 2024 season among tail-enders
February 3, 2024 at 2:13 AM
The Straits Times
LONDON - Haas expect to start the Formula One season among the tail-enders, new boss Ayao Komatsu said on Friday as the U.S.-owned team became the first to present their 2024 challenger.
Komatsu said the immediate aim was to come away from testing in Bahrain with quality data to provide updates during the season. He added that while the Austin update delayed the new car's development, it provided more confidence in what was being presented now.
"We're all realistic that our launch car in Bahrain will not necessarily turn heads, but our concentration and focus is to work with the VF-24, understand the car and then define the correct pathway to upgrade the car," he explained.
‘Start among tail-enders’;
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/f...ng-tail-enders
Haas name new Technical Director and performance chief after winter reshuffle
02 February 2024
Formula One - Official Site
Fresh from presenting the livery for their new F1 challenger, Haas have announced a series of changes to key design and engineering positions as they gear up for the 2024 season.
With the VF-24 colour scheme being revealed to the world on Friday afternoon, Haas also shared the news that Andrea De Zordo is taking on the primary technical position after several seasons serving as Chief Designer below Resta.
‘Winter reshuffle’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...pk0pA4FH6.html
Here is the new Haas
Posted on February 2, 2024 by Joe Saward
Joe Saward's Grand Prix Blog
LT says: Does it move forward?
Joe Saward says: No it only goes backwards…
Brent says: and yet the asset value climbs.
Joe Saward says: Yes.
Ash says: R Daltrey: “Meet the new Haas!”
P Townshend: [krang, kerrang]
R Daltrey: “Same as the old Haas!”
Etc., etc.
Silverstone Man says: Will look great in everyone’s rearview mirror.
Joe Saward says: You should change your name to Brackley man…
‘P Townshend: [krang, kerrang]’;
https://joesaward.wordpress.com/2024...-the-new-haas/
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Toto Wolff fuels speculation of a former world champion replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes... with the star refusing to rule out a return to the sport last year.
A multi-time Formula One world champion could be set for a shock return to the sport, fans have speculated.
Published: 14:53, 4 February 2024
By Lewis Browning For Mailonline
Mail Online
Words from Mercedes boss Toto Wolff this week have fuelled speculation that a Formula One legend could be set for a shock return and step into the seat vacated by Hamilton. Sebastian Vettel retired from the sport at the end of the 2022 season, putting an end to a 15-year career that saw him win four world championships and 53 wins.
Wolf revealed he is in regular dialogue with Vettel, leading to fans suggesting the 36-year-old could be the one to replace Hamilton, but the man himself played down speculation. 'I think he made the decision to not race anymore,' Wolff told AMUS. 'We are talking on a regular basis. We've also talked yesterday, but it wasn't about driving for us in the future.'
‘Toto Wolff fuels speculation’;
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...-champion.html
Wolff won’t rule out signing Alonso or Verstappen for 2025
With Lewis Hamilton heading to Ferrari for the 2025, Mercedes finds themselves with big shoes to fill
February 3, 2024
By Jasmine Hughes
Total Motorsport
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has not ruled out signing anyone to replace Lewis Hamilton for the 2025 Formula 1 season, including Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen.
“48 hours ago, I wouldn’t have thought that Lewis would tell me that he would be driving for Ferrari next year,” Wolff told the media. “That’s why I wouldn’t rule anything out in Formula 1.”
“I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues to make the right decisions about who will be in the cockpit next year,” continued Wolff. “Maybe this is the chance to do something bold.”
“Chance to do something bold”;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...rstappen-2025/
Red Bull 'agree deal' for Sergio Perez's replacement as Toto Wolff loses Mercedes option
Red Bull driver Sergio Perez will be out of contract at the end of the 2024 season.
11:03, Sat, Feb 3, 2024
By Fraser Watson
Daily and Sunday Express
F1 pundit Peter Windsor has claimed that Albon, who drove for Christian Horner’s team in 2019 and 2020 before being demoted to the role of test driver, will make a surprise return to partner Max Verstappen: “As I understand it, Albon has been offered a 3-year contract by Red Bull to start in 2025,” he said on his YouTube channel.
“So I think you are going to see him alongside Max Verstappen in the Red Bull. I can't imagine he is going to say no to it. As I understand it's not a 100% but 90% correct."
As for Perez, the news is now likely to make him a candidate to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, with the seven-time world champion joining Ferrari at the end of the year. That’s despite finishing second behind teammate Verstappen last season, and helping Horner and co to a second successive constructors’ title.
‘Perez, a candidate to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes’;
https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...ilton-Mercedes
Why Lewis Hamilton replacement is ‘not an easy situation’ for Toto Wolff
04 Feb 2024 10:30 AM
Michelle Foster
PlanetF1.com
With Andrea Kimi Antonelli not yet ready for F1, finding a new team-mate for George Russell after Lewis Hamilton announced he’s off to Ferrari won’t be “an easy situation” for Mercedes. Hamilton shocked the motor racing world on Thursday when it was confirmed he’d be leaving Mercedes at the end of this season to head to rival team Ferrari.
Having only informed his team boss Toto Wolff about his decision some 36 hours before the official confirmation, Mercedes have been left reeling as they contemplate what comes next, and, more importantly, who comes next as Hamilton’s replacement. From reserve driver Mick Schumacher to former Mercedes junior Esteban Ocon, just about every driver’s name is on the list of potential candidates although it is thought Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso are leading the running.
The big question, though, is whether either would consider a one-year contract for 2025 as Mercedes have protégé Antonelli already pencilled in as Russell’s future team-mate. Sky Italia’s Roberto Chinchero believes Mercedes, if they want a star driver alongside Russell for 2025, would be best served putting a two-year deal on the table.
‘Not an easy situation for Toto Wolff’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/lewis-...ation-mercedes
What Wolff's 'pragmatism' tells us about Mercedes post-Hamilton
04 February 7:00AM
Author Jake Nichol
RacingNews365
It is the morning of Wednesday 31st January and you are Toto Wolff. Later this morning, you have your traditional pre-season catch-up breakfast with Lewis Hamilton pencilled in as the work continues at Brackley to prepare for the launch of the 2024 challenger - the W15 on February 14th - and then getting everything shipped off to Bahrain for testing and the first race. Lewis has just had a seat fit in the new machine and on Friday, he is set for some time in the simulator to test if tangible progress has been made with the third attempt at a ground-effects car.
He arrives at your Oxford home and as the talks begin, Hamilton drops the news that he has decided to activate the break clause in his contract and wants to leave the team at the end of the 2024 season and join Ferrari for 2025. Immediately after the news was delivered by Hamilton, Wolff explained how he went into 'what is best for Mercedes mode' and began game-planning what was to come once the news went public. "When he first told me, my next thought was pragmatic," Wolff told media including RacingNews365.
"[I thought]: 'What does it mean? When are we communicating this? What are the pressure points? How are we managing the season going forward, and what are we going to do in terms of driver line-up?” As American author Erin Morgenstern wrote in The Night Circus: "All empires fall eventually; it is the way of things." But it is also important to note that Mercedes is bigger than Lewis Hamilton, the driver. Granted, he is the most famous driver on the planet, but sentimentality for past glories only gets you so far - take Ayrton Senna trying to leave McLaren in the 1990s for Williams or Ferrari forcing Michael Schumacher out in 2006 to make way for Kimi Raikkonen.
'Pragmatism';
https://racingnews365.com/wolff-uncl...-hamilton-ally
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Spam Folder May Have Sunk Michael Andretti’s Formula One Bid.
The Associated Press reported on February 2 that the IT department at Andretti’s offices discovered the email after searching through its computer files.
Feb 2, 2024,08:23pm EST
Bruce Martin Contributor
Forbes
F1 had said it sent an email to the Andretti group on December 12, “extending an invitation to an in-person meeting at our offices in order for the applicant to present its application, but the applicant did not take us up on this offer.”
Such a revelation was a complete surprise to Andretti, and when its IT team scoured its email system, it discovered that the email came from an F1 staffer and not F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali. Because the email address was unfamiliar to Andretti’s IT system, it was rejected and put in a “Spam” folder.
Whether FOM would have approved Andretti if the group had attended the meeting in December is uncertain, but the optics of not communicating were taken as an insult by F1 officials, who did not realize the email never made it to Andretti or General Motors officials.
‘Email address was unfamiliar to Andretti’s IT system’;
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucema...rmula-one-bid/
Why Andretti doesn’t accept F1’s rejection arguments
UPDATEDFEB 4, 2024, 5:05 PM
AUTHOR: Adam Cooper
Motorsport.com
One revelation in the F1 statement was the claim that “we subsequently wrote to the applicant on 12 December, 2023 extending an invitation to an in-person meeting at our offices in order for the applicant to present its application, but the applicant did not take us up on this offer". While not saying that Andretti had declined, the implication appeared to be that Andretti was reluctant to engage with F1, before the team’s Friday response made it clear that it didn’t know about the invitation.
“We were not aware that the offer of a meeting had been extended and would not decline a meeting with Formula One Management,” it said. “An in-person meeting to discuss commercial matters would be and remains of paramount importance to Andretti Cadillac. We welcome the opportunity to meet with Formula One Management and have written to them confirming our interest.” It emerged that the email, which came from an F1 employee rather than Domenicali, had been found in a spam folder. It sounds ridiculous, but such things can happen to any of us.
And if the sender doesn’t phone or follow up, how could you possibly know that such an important message was ever sent? As a result of the IT mishap, F1 issued its rejection statement without conducting any face-to-face enquiries with or hearing a presentation from Andretti, relying instead on the info given to the FIA and some supplementary questions submitted in October.
‘Andretti doesn’t accept F1’s rejection’;
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/w...sion/10572307/
Andretti hits back at F1 rejection with DEFIANT response
Saturday 3 February 2024 21:59
Tyler Rowlinson
GPFans
Andretti Cadillac have responded defiantly to news that their bid to enter F1 for the 2025 and 2026 season has been rejected. In an official statement, Andretti hit back at the decision and thanked fans for their support as their work continues behind the scenes.
It said: “Andretti Cadillac has reviewed the information Formula One Management Limited has shared and strongly disagree with its contents. Andretti and Cadillac are two successful global motorsports organisations committed to placing a genuine American works team in F1, competing alongside the world’s best.”
“We are proud of the significant progress we have already made on developing a highly competitive car and power unit with an experienced team behind it, and our work continues at pace. Andretti Cadillac would also like to acknowledge and thank the fans who have expressed their support.”
‘DEFIANT response’;
https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...iant-response/
Andretti’s spam folder might have intervened with its F1 bid
New information about Andretti’s failed Formula 1 bid has come to light, as disagreements between Andretti Formula Racing and F1 continue.
February 4, 2024
By Jasmine Hughes
Total Motorsport
In the full statement outlining the reason behind F1’s decision to reject Andretti’s bid, F1 stated that it had extended an invitation to an in-person meeting to Andretti in December 2023. It added, “the applicant did not take us up on this offer”. Staff at Andretti’s Indianapolis-based office have since found the invitation to this meeting. The email – sent by F1 back in December – had gone straight to Andretti’s spam folder.
Andretti, in a press release issued in response to F1’s decision, emphasised that it had been unaware of any invitation extended by the sport. “We were not aware that the offer of a meeting had been extended and would not decline a meeting with Formula One Management,” they said. “An in-person meeting to discuss commercial matters would be and remains of paramount importance to Andretti Cadillac.”
‘Andretti’s spam folder’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...ntervened-bid/
F1’s Invitation to Meet Andretti Cadillac Was Lost in Spam
Formula One Management thought Andretti Cadillac blew them off.
PUBLISHED Feb 4, 2024 10:25 AM EST
By Nico DeMattia
The Drive
Formula 1 ruffled the feathers of most American motorsport fans earlier this week when it denied Andretti Cadillac's application to join the sport. According to F1, one of the reasons why Andretti was rejected was because he and his team failed to respond to an invitation to meet in person with Formula One Marketing, which they took as Andretti blowing them off. However, according to AP News, Andretti's tech department said the invitation email was never received because it went to the company's spam folder.
Andretti's team went scouring for the invitation email after F1's rejection document was revealed. The team discovered that the email was sent to spam because of who it came from. Rather than being sent from F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, the email was sent from a member of his staff.
Now that Andretti Cadillac claims that F1's invitation was sent to spam and still wants to meet in person, does F1 reopen the application and meet with the American team?
‘Lost in Spam’;
https://www.thedrive.com/news/f1s-in...s-lost-in-spam
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Williams and Stake F1 kick off launch season with differing goals ahead.
Williams and Stake will today become the first teams to unveil their car ahead of the 2024 season.
05 Feb 2024 7:30 AM
Sam Cooper
PlanetF1.com
While both Haas and McLaren have already shown off their liveries, Williams and the newly-branded Stake F1 will kick start launch season proper today as both lift the covers off their 2024 runner.
Williams have chance to take another step forward as James Vowles’ project continues. The mood around the Grove camp feels a lot different than it did this time last year. This time last season, Vowles had not been long in the job after a surprise departure from Jost Capito off the back of a P10 finish in the 2022 championship.
Enter Stake. The Australian cryptocurrency has increased their sponsorship of the team for 2024, naming it the catchy Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber and wheeling out rapper Drake to promote it. The partnership started in 2023 with Stake reportedly paying close to AU$140 million (£72 million) to get their name on the car but the figure will most likely have risen for exclusive naming rights.
‘Kick off launch season’;
https://www.planetf1.com/features/wi...-launch-season
What F1 car launches take place this week?
05 February 9:15AM
Author RacingNews365 Staff
RacingNews365
Four uncoverings take place this week across a number of locations as the first race in Bahrain draws nearer, so here RacingNews365 brings you all the information you need to enjoy each reveal.
Williams - February 5
Williams will hold a special launch event in New York City later today [February 5] to unveil the FW46.
Stake Sauber - February 5
The launch will almost certainly be one of the more stylish as well, with London's Guildhall hosting the event. The launch will be available to watch on Kick from 19:00 GMT [14:00 EST] tonight [February 5].
Alpine - February 7
The French manufacturer will launch the F1 car alongside it's World Endurance Championship Hypercar project, which will surely be a fascinating occasion.
Visa Cash App RB - February 8
F1 returns to Las Vegas for the launch of the Visa Cash App RB team.
‘F1 car launches’;
https://racingnews365.com/what-f1-ca...lace-this-week
The design trends to look for as 2024 F1 cars are revealed
Feb 5, 2024
by Edd Straw
The Race
UNDERFLOOR HEIGHT: The powerful ground effect venturi tunnels in the underfloor are the primary downforce generator of an F1 car.
SIDEPODS: Given we’ll have to wait for a serendipitous car recovery to get a clear look at the floors, the sidepods are the next best thing in terms of something to spot as soon as 2024 cars are revealed.
CHASSIS SHAPE: Red Bull had a more V-shaped chassis than the rest last year. There’s every chance more will go in this direction.
COCKPIT POSITION: Lewis Hamilton’s complaints about the cockpit positioning early in the season grabbed the headlines. He felt he was sat too far forward…
PUSHROD vs PULLROD SUSPENSION: Whether cars have pushrod or pullrod suspension configurations is one of the most obvious design decisions to spot when you first see a new F1 car.
PLATFORM CONTROL: As the interaction of the aerodynamic and mechanical characteristics is crucial in getting the best out of the current ground effect F1 cars, platform control is therefore essential. And Red Bull has shown great mastery of this.
‘UNEXPECTED INNOVATION: F1’s regulations may be highly prescriptive, with expectations of even greater convergence of car designs this year. But that doesn’t mean someone won’t spring a surprise’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/f...nds-to-expect/
Williams Racing strikes VAST Data deal
5 Feb 2024
By Matthew Ord
Insider Media
Pat Fry, chief technical officer at Williams Racing, said: "It is fantastic to welcome VAST Data as an official partner, enhancing our data-driven approach to performance as we strengthen on and off track.”
"At Williams Racing, we are always striving for excellence and seeking innovative solutions to gain a competitive edge in a sport with extremely fine margins.”
"F1 teams generate enormous amounts of data every day, so we're privileged to partner with VAST Data whose expertise in managing and processing large datasets will play a crucial role in optimising our performance."
‘Pat Fry: Seeking innovative solutions’;
https://www.insidermedia.com/news/so...vast-data-deal
Maloney Confirmed as Stake F1 Team Reserve Driver
15:51 Wed, 31 Jan 2024.
InsideF2
Former Red Bull Junior, Zane Maloney, has been announced as part of the Sauber Academy ahead of the 2024 FIA Formula 2 season starting in March. As part of his duties, he will become Reserve Driver for Stake F1 Team (formally Alfa Romeo) sharing his responsibilities with F2 2023 champion, Théo Pourchaire.
Maloney progressed into F2 following a stellar season in F3 where he challenged Victor Martins for the title. His fight went to the final race of 2022 in Monza, which was cut short due to a red flag, swinging the championship favours to Martins.
‘Stake F1 Team Reserve Driver’;
https://www.insidef2.com/maloney-con...eserve-driver/
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ANALYSIS: New sponsors, an exciting driver pairing and big plans to return to the front – why the future’s looking bright for Williams.
Williams headed across the pond to New York City to reveal a striking blue livery they hope will adorn a car that can help them take another step towards returning to the front of the grid in the coming years.
05 February 2024
Lawrence Barretto
Correspondent & Presenter
Formula One - Official Site
“The change that needs to take place isn’t going to be one of 12 months, or 24 months or even 36 months,” Vowles tells me when we chat exclusively. “Finding out where we are strong, where we are not strong, digging out the bits that aren’t strong – which for much of it, it’ll be infrastructure that is 20 years old – takes time.”
But he adds: “If I look back at where we were 12 months ago, it’s an enormous change in such a short space of time. Change exists in terms of people; we had Pat [Fry, Chief Technical Officer] join, but we have a number of great names coming from other teams. They see the vision of where we are and where we are going towards and are wanting to be part of it.”
Upgrading the car and the development process. So what have Williams got this year? Well we won’t see that until pre-season testing (unless they release some images from their shakedown that happens a few days before) as in New York, the team opted to keep the design under wraps and only reveal the livery.
‘ANALYSIS’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...uGLKgSFb0.html
In pictures: Williams launches FW46
05 February 3:50PM
Author Rory Mitchell
RacingNews365
Williams has launched its new car ahead of the upcoming F1 season, revealing their livery for the FW46.
‘Williams FW46’;
https://racingnews365.com/in-picture...-launches-fw46
Launch Gallery: Williams FW46 livery
05/02/2024 at 15:45
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com
Williams continues its efforts to strengthen itself on and off the track in a bid to revive its past glory, which is why it chose a livery for its 2024 contender that blends past glory with its future aspirations.
‘Check out our gallery of pictures from Monday's online presentation’;
https://f1i.com/news/498874-launch-g...46-livery.html
Alex Albon confirms Williams FW46 philosophy change as F1 2024 goal revealed
05 Feb 2024 3:31 PM
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com
Alex Albon is looking to keep the progress coming with Williams in F1 2024, confirming that the FW46 ushers in a philosophy change “for the better”. Full focus is on Williams though and ensuring that the goal of continuing their progress into F1 2024 is realised, Albon confirming the team will look to do that with a philosophy tweak to their FW46.
Williams unveiled the look of their FW46 with a February 5 livery launch, Albon’s team-mate Sargeant targeting an improved second season in Formula 1 after Williams put their faith in the American racer off the back of a tricky rookie year.
“Everyone at Grove has been working tirelessly to deliver the FW46 over the winter break. I can’t thank them enough for their hard work and the support they’ve given me. Hopefully we can achieve some great results together in 2024.” Logan Sargeant.
‘F1 2024 goal revealed’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/alex-a...hy-change-fw46
Williams Formula 1 Team unleash their 2024 car
5th Feb 2024, 15:40
Motorsport.com
A look at the 2024 car for the Williams Formula 1 team.
‘Unleash their 2024 car’;
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/video/...24-car/646237/
James Vowles on 12 month Williams journey to deliver the new FW46
05 Feb 2024
Formula One - Official Site (Video)1
James Vowles on 12 month Williams journey to deliver the new FW46 and looking ahead to the 2024 F1 season.
‘12 month Williams journey’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...549280421.html
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Gary Anderson on 2024 Sauber + where it must convince Audi.
Sauber once again has a new name (Stake) and this season is now surely the start of ramping up to become Audi's Formula 1 factory effort from 2026.
Feb 5, 2024
by Gary Anderson
The Race
Let’s take a look at the launch car, with the proviso that we can only comment on what has been presented so far. After all, some say F1 is all smoke and mirrors and I think Sauber, with its new Stake deal, agrees. Let’s take a look at the launch car… This side view shows Sauber has, unsurprisingly, now incorporated the Red Bull-style radiator inlet (yellow ellipse) as opposed to the 2023 Ferrari version.
The leading edge of the underfloor (red line and arrow above) shows that this area is of similar height and the outer floor edge splitter (blue line) has a very similar profile. Front suspension-wise, Sauber has gone from a pushrod operation to a pullrod (red line). These images show a simple comparison between what could be called a Ferrari eyelet radiator inlet (left) and a 'duckbill' Red Bull radiator inlet (right).
To use that old saying, ‘what we have seen is only what they have shown us’ and I’m sure when the car runs for the first time on February 9 there will be many differences. The key is that the team needs to focus on improving in-season development to give Audi confidence that it has made the correct decision to partner with Sauber from 2026.
‘Launch car’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/g...e-2024-f1-car/
FIRST LOOK: Kick Sauber show off dazzling livery with a 'slew of changes' to new 2024 car
05 February 2024
Formula One - Official Site
Kick Sauber have unveiled their 2024 challenger the C44, which sports a dazzling new fluorescent green and black livery, at a glittering event at London’s Guildhall. The Swiss-operation say the C44 is “a marked departure from its predecessor” and a “slew of changes have been introduced”. One of the most significant tweaks is a move from push-rod to pull-rod suspension.
The C44 also features revised sidepods and engine cover plus a new floor – one of the most important areas for development when pursuing pure lap time. The team adds “some important updates” will be brought to the car “in the opening rounds”.
Technical Director James Key, who returned to the Hinwil team last September after stints at Toro Rosso and McLaren, added: “The C44 is virtually a completely new car, with a few carry-over areas at the rear of the car. The team had to take an ambitious direction well before I joined: there are many mechanical changes, some of which you can't see at all, but some are very visible.”
‘FIRST LOOK’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...GNbDmP1Pv.html
Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber reveals 2024 car in bright green and black livery
Here's what Valterri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu will be driving this year
Feb 5th 2024 at 3:50PM
ZAC PALMER
Autoblog
Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber just launched its car for the 2024 season named the C44. It’s a complete livery rethink for the Sauber team this year, as the previous title sponsor Alfa Romeo is officially out.
“The front suspension is completely new, a tough and ambitious project for a team of our size,” Key added. “There are many aerodynamic changes, too, as would be expected given that this remains the primary area of development – so, overall, the car will really look quite different to last year's car. We took a lot of new, exciting directions, all of which appear to hold quite a bit of potential, so we're looking forward to seeing them on track.”
This new Sauber car will hit the track for the first time this Friday when it completes a shakedown run in Barcelona, and following that, we’ll hope to get an idea about how competitive it might be during pre-season testing later this month in Bahrain.
‘Bright green and black livery’;
https://www.autoblog.com/2024/02/05/...RE2W0nQpPUvqVx
GALLERY: Every angle of Kick Sauber’s bold new look for the 2024 season
05 February 2024
Formula One - Official Site
Gone is the red and black design used under the team’s Alfa Romeo partnership and in its place is an all-new green and black combination.
Check out the striking livery Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu will race this year in the gallery.
‘Every angle of Kick Sauber’s bold new look’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...KutbGnDUi.html
Stake unveils the C44
05/02/2024
NEWS STORY
Pitpass
It's not the kind of Formula One car you've ever seen before. Aggressive, exciting, different - both on track and off it: the Stake F1 Team C44 is finally in the open. The 2024 challenger of Stake F1 Team was unveiled in the historic setting of London's Guildhall, but there was nothing conventional or staid about it.
There was an edginess to the event, the feeling of being at the start of a new era, to be witnessing the birth of a new way of doing racing: but, despite the stars in attendance and the glitz of the set-up, all eyes were on the new car. As Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, our 2024 race drivers, looked on, the team lifted the covers off an impressive piece of engineering, the latest work of art to come out of Hinwil.
Clad in an attractive black and Fluo Racing Green livery - the shiny, viridescent hue itself the result of impressive development work by team partners, BASF - the look and feel of the C44 redefines what to expect on track. It's an eye-catcher, a head-turner, the centre of attention on every TV screen, the point of focus in every photograph. It's not the usual F1 car: it's not a tribute to the past, but a nod to a new and exciting future, one that incorporates everything that is great about our sport, and elevates it to the next level.
‘The shiny, viridescent hue’;
https://www.pitpass.com/76970/Stake-unveils-the-C44
James Key 'pleased with the numbers' as the new Kick Sauber C44 is unleashed
05 Feb 2024
Formula One - Official Site (Video)
James Key 'pleased with the numbers' as the new Kick Sauber C44 is launched in London.
'Pleased with the numbers';
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...362765475.html
Sauber F1 team joins Red Bull and McLaren in suspension shift
19:44 Mon, 05 Feb 2024.
AUTHORAdam Cooper
Motorsport.com
The success of Red Bull’s RB18 and RB19 models and McLaren’s surge in form last year inevitably led other teams to examine the option, and Sauber has decided to take the pull-rod route in search of an aerodynamic benefit, in conjunction with a totally new bodywork package.
New Sauber technical director James Key conceded that it was a challenge to make a bold aerodynamic step while also introducing mechanical changes to the car. “It is quite an important project to try and get the balance right, but the team has done a fantastic job with a very difficult project to produce something that should function as planned,” he said.
“Of course, aerodynamics dominates, so a lot of the external things that you'll see are for the purposes of generating more efficient downforce. The bodywork is a massive battleground in these cars, much more so than in the previous generation. We can see trends developing there, and the direction we have taken is a lot more extreme than what we did last year.”
‘Suspension shift’;
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/s...hift/10572601/
Alessandro Alunni Bravi unleashes new brand identity for Kick Sauber
05 Feb 2024
Formula One - Official Site (Video)
Alessandro Alunni Bravi unleashes new brand identity for Kick Sauber as well as the new C44
‘New brand identity unleashed’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...598281244.html
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New Williams livery has tribute to Sir Frank – Vowles.
The revised livery for the 2024 Williams includes an arrow motif echoing that of the logo of Frank Williams Racing Cars – the precursor to Williams Grand Prix Engineering.
6th February 2024, 0:016th February 2024, 10:19
Written by Will Wood
RaceFans
Williams team principal James Vowles says the livery of the team’s new FW46 has a tribute to the team’s founder Sir Frank Williams. “I think it’s one of the biggest brands – certainly in motorsport and certainly in the UK,” Vowles told media including RaceFans. “I also have no desire whatsoever to change it – nor does Dorilton, for that matter – because it means a tremendous amount to me.
“Frank and his legacy remain in us. You’ll see in the livery now as well, if you look at the back you’ll see his arrow, subtly embedded in there. You’ll see a bit of Silverstone as well. I really wanted his mark on the car. I wanted to reflect that I’m not here to replace him, I’m here to carry on the legacy that is Williams.”
‘Tribute to Sir Frank’;
https://www.racefans.net/2024/02/06/...nd-up-06-02-6/
Albon: Williams F1 progress key to long-term future
6th Feb 2024, 14:03
AUTHORFilip Cleeren
Motorsport.com
Alex Albon says Williams' rate of progress will be key to his long-term future with the Formula 1 team amid interest from rival teams. "My whole focus is on Williams and that's where I see myself. The rate of progression, to me, is also very important, so time will tell.”
"I feel like I'm very close to my peak. There's always improvements to be done and there's still areas to improve, but generally, with my experience now and where I am, I feel like I am deserving of a car that can score podiums and fight for wins. And that's just being totally honest with how I see myself.”
"More than anything, I want that team to be Williams. And that's where I put all my work and all my efforts into. And outside of that, that's just really: how does it fall into place? It's very clear to me, especially when you see the driver market, there's a huge interest in teams wanting the same driver for 25 and 26. That's how it looks like it's playing out. And let's see about that.”
‘The rate of progression’;
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/a...ture/10572909/
Williams Racing FW46 Technical Specifications
February 6 2024
By Williams Racing
‘FW46’;
https://www.sportnetwork.net/main/s107/st205620.htm
Williams show off livery of their 2024 F1 car
6th Feb 2024, 08:53
By Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical
The Grove-based outfit showed off the livery of their 2024 F1 car at a special launch ceremony in New York. The FW46 will sport a striking blue livery which, according to the team, “links Williams’ championship-winning heritage with its mission to return to the front of the grid”.
The team stated that "the livery seamlessly blends past glory with future aspirations to make history again, featuring a vibrant colour transition from Heritage Navy Blue to New Era Williams. A red and white pinstripe, reflecting Williams’ position as a British icon and inspired by historic cars from the 1985 FW10 driven by Nigel Mansell and Keke Rosberg to the 1997 Championship-winning FW19 piloted to glory by Jacques Villeneuve, is meticulously integrated for a classy yet powerful look."
‘2024 F1 car’;
https://www.f1technical.net/news/24381
Haas pokes fun at Williams following launch of 2024 F1 car
05 Feb 2024 4:28 PM
Thomas Maher
PlanetF1.com
Komatsu were a close collaborator with Williams during the 1980s and ’90s, with Sir Frank Williams brought on board to design and manufacture gearbox components for the title-winning 1987 FW11. Komatsu also designed, manufactured, and supplied the gearboxes for the 1997 Williams FW19.
Komatsu’s logo and branding features prominently on Williams’ FW46 – as well as the team’s overalls and kit during the upcoming Formula 1 season – and the fact its logo is written on the side of the car didn’t escape Haas’ attention.
Following the departure of Haas’ team boss Guenther Steiner a few weeks ago, the team’s new boss is the promoted former director of engineering, Ayao Komatsu. Such a coincidence didn’t escape Haas, who took to social media to laugh at the situation. “Why is our team principal on your side pods?” the team posted, with a laugh.
‘Launch of 2024 F1 car’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/haas-p...launch-komatsu
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2024 Alpine F1 car launch: date, time and live stream details of reveal.
Alpine will launch its 2024 F1 title-contender on Wednesday 7 February.
February 5th 2024
Author: Motor Sport
It’s yet another fresh start for Alpine after a season of change in 2023. Midway through a disappointing campaign Philippe Krief replaced Laurent Rossi as CEO and quickly parted ways with three key figures within the Enstone camp: team principal Otmar Szafnauer, sporting director Alan Permane and chief technical officer Pat Fry.
Ahead of the winter break, director of racing expansion projects Davide Brivio also “mutually parted ways” with the French marque after three years of collaboration. Will any of the changes make a difference?
‘2024 Alpine F1 car launch’;
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a...?nowprocket=1#
Alpine F1 Team Launch
09:48 Tue, 06 Feb 2024
Motorsport.com
Watch the livestream of the Alpine Motorsport 2024 Season Launch on Wednesday 7th of February with the unveiling of the A524 Formula 1 car and the A424 World Endurance Hypercar alongside its fleet of drivers.
‘Team Launch’;
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/video/...launch/646296/
Szafnauer takes aim at Alpine, opens up F1 team exit
01 February 2:10PM
Author Fergal Walsh
RacingNews365
Ex-Alpine Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer has provided details regarding his departure from the Enstone-based squad last year. During the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix weekend, Szafnauer's exit was confirmed alongside Sporting Director Alan Permane.
“This may sound egotistical but I believe I was doing a good job at Alpine and that I was making the right changes,” Szafnauer told MotorSport Magazine. “I have seen new team leaders make changes for the sake of change, they want to show the owners that they are doing something, making changes for the better.”
“The problem is they often don’t understand the changes they’re making. When you walk into a situation like Alpine you first have to get a deep understanding of what you have, what’s good, and what needs changing, but you cannot do that overnight.”
‘Alpine F1’;
https://racingnews365.com/szafnauer-...p-f1-team-exit
Alpine takes the long-term approach
30/01/2024
NEWS STORY
Pitpass
Alpine's technical director, Matt Harman reveals that the French team is focussing on future gains as opposed to an immediate improvement in form. Not helped by the fact that it has a woefully underperforming engine, the team is now looking to the 2026 rules overhaul and the revised regulations on Capital Expenditure as it seeks to return towards the front of the pack.
"We took a decision in the end to focus on the future, and we'll deal with this power unit for the next two years by trying to remove some of its losses and everything we can do within these regulations," says Matt Harman, according to Motorsport Week. Our focus is on the future and the 2026 regs as well as the cars we need to do between now and then," he adds. "We have got some big ideas for that.”
"We have also got a big programme at both sites to improve the capabilities and functions," he reveals, referring to the French team's facilities at Viry in France and Enstone. "You'll have seen there are some CapEx equalisation topics that have gone on with the FIA.
‘Long-term approach’;
https://www.pitpass.com/76942/Alpine...-term-approach
Alpine’s stark admission despite ‘understanding’ Red Bull design
17:54 Sat, 27 Jan 2024.
Michelle Foster
PlanetF1.com
Although Alpine think they understand the philosophy behind Red Bull’s championship-winning ground-effect aerodynamic cars, technical director Matt Harman says they won’t copy it. Despite showing signs of promise during the 2022 season, the first campaign under Formula 1’s latest batch of technical regulations, Alpine faltered last season.
The team managed just two Grand Prix podiums, one apiece for Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, on their way to a disappointing P6 in the Constructors’ Championship. They, however, have ruled out following McLaren and others by heading down the Red Bull design philosophy. That is simply because tech director Harman doesn’t believe they can beat Red Bull by copying them.
“We think we understand what they’re doing,” he said but added: “You can’t click your fingers and just imagine it overnight. We understand our direction. But I think we’ve also understood some of the other cars on the grid as well.”
‘Stark admission’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/alpine...ed-bull-design
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‘Only the steering wheel survived’ - Alpine’s bold and aggressive A524 F1 car design explained.
Alpine’s brand new A524 F1 challenger underwent such a revamp over the winter that “only the steering wheel survived”.
07 Feb 2024
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net
The A524 was unveiled at Enstone on Wednesday, with Alpine technical director Matt Harman describing the radical changes as part of a “very bold approach. It’s a brand new car from front to back, I think only the steering wheel survived. So we’ve really tried to look at every single area of the car,” he said.
“We rigorously analysed the key aerodynamic concepts that we wanted to move towards on this car to explore more aerodynamic freedom and better unlock these concepts to their full potential.”
“We found with the A523 that it was operating within a very narrow window. This was a weakness as it meant we were limited on what we could exploit with the car and there were very specific characteristics on where it thrived and where it did not. Therefore, for the A524, we aim to broaden this window as much as we can to give ourselves a better opportunity of maximising its potential.”
‘Only the steering wheel survived’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/104409...-f1-car-design
Alpine roll out ‘aggressive’ changes for A524 as rivals warned of ‘huge potential’
07 Feb 2024 3:20 PM
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com
Alpine will head to Bahrain with an A524 “completely new from front to back”, which carries an “awful lot of potential to extract”. Technical director Matt Harman, who confirmed that the A524 is “completely new from front to back” after Alpine hit the performance ceiling with its predecessor.
“We maxed out the potential on the A523 and so the A524 is completely new from front to back. We rigorously analysed the key aerodynamic concepts that we wanted to move towards on this car to explore more aerodynamic freedom and better unlock these concepts to their full potential.”
“We found with the A523 that it was operating within a very narrow window. This was a weakness as it meant we were limited on what we could exploit with the car and there were very specific characteristics on where it thrived and where it did not. Therefore, for the A524, we aim to broaden this window as much as we can to give ourselves a better opportunity of maximising its potential.”
“Awful lot of potential to extract”;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/aggres...-front-to-back
Alpine pulls the covers off ‘bold’ 2024 F1 car
07/02/2024 at 14:16
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com
Alpine rolled out its 2024 F1 contender on Wednesday at Enstone, a car that will be raced once again by Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly.
The team says its A524 is a "brand-new concept created for the next two seasons and is marked by innovative solutions as a result of learnings from previous iterations. "The bold approach will allow the team to apply a stronger development path across the next two campaigns."
‘Bold 2024 F1 car’;
https://f1i.com/news/499028-alpine-p...24-f1-car.html
Alpine take bold approach with all-new 2024 F1 car
7th Feb 2024, 17:10
The Straits Times
ENSTONE, England - Renault-owned Alpine said they had changed almost everything bar the steering wheel as they became the first Formula One team to roll out their new 2024 car, rather than just presenting a livery or digital rendering, on Wednesday.
Team principal Bruno Famin, who took over last year, said everything had to improve. "We have an idea of where we think we are compared to last year but we have no clue about where are the competitors," he said.
‘Bold approach’;
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/f...ew-2024-f1-car
Alpine launches the A524
7th February 2024, 15:58
Motorsport.com
A quick look at the 2024 Alpine F1 car.
‘Video’;
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/video/...e-a524/646351/
Alpine setting no targets for 2024 as ‘we must improve everywhere’ – Famin
7th February 2024, 16:44
Written by Keith Collantine
RaceFans
Alpine team principal Bruno Famin is not setting any targets for their 2024 F1 season after embracing a new car design philosophy. The team is also making extensive changes behind the scenes, said Famin, which may take time to pay off.
“There’s a lot of expectations, we are excited, for sure, it’s a brand new car, but to me there is no optimism,” he told media including RaceFans at today’s launch. “We know that the road is long. We know that we have a lot to do. We know where we want to go to fight in front. But we know that the road is long. We have a lot of things to improve everywhere across the company.”
‘We must improve everywhere’;
https://www.racefans.net/2024/02/07/...rywhere-famin/
Alpine: All new A524 all about ‘maximizing potential’
07/02/2024 at 16:11
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com
Alpine says it “maxed out” the potential of its 2023 car which justified conceiving an all-new contender for 2024, a “bold” design on which only the steering wheel was carried over from its predecessor. This ambitious move, spearheaded by technical director Matt Harman, reflects the team's dissatisfaction with their 2023 performance and their hunger to return to the top of the midfield.
"There are many big changes on the A524, our challenger for the 2024 season,” commented Harman. “We maxed out the potential on the A523 and so the A524 is completely new from front to back,"
"We rigorously analysed the key aerodynamic concepts that we wanted to move towards on this car to explore more aerodynamic freedom and better unlock these concepts to their full potential.”
‘Maximizing potential’;
https://f1i.com/news/499057-alpine-a...potential.html
Alpine boss makes Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly ‘relentless’ promise at launch of 2024 F1 car
Wed 7 February 2024 16:00
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer
Alpine technical director Matt Harman promised Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly that the F1 team will ‘relentlessly upgrade’ the A524 in 2024 at the launch of the new car.
“We have really focused on learning and reacting to what we have learned, rather than on results. The project has been bold where we have focused on realising concepts, which we aim to add to the car. We’ve built ourselves a strong platform to add performance when we can and we have set ourselves targets to deliver those.”
‘Relentless promise’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/alp...f-2024-f1-car/
TECH ANALYSIS: Why there’s more to Alpine’s new A524 car than meets the eye
07 February 2024
Mark Hughes
Special Contributor
Formula One - Official Site
While the Alpine A524 looks superficially similar to its predecessor of last year, it represents a nose-to-tail re-engineering job which the team hopes will significantly improve its competitiveness. The chassis redesign, while encompassing the targeted weight reduction, has allowed for both the new sidepod layout and new rear suspension.
The take-away points of visual difference are a re-arranged geometry for the pushrod rear suspension and a reconfigured sidepod-cooling layout which allows a deeper undercut along the length of the sidepod. There has also been a big push to reduce the chassis weight further and to get better thermal management of the brakes in order to optimise tyre performance.
‘TECH ANALYSIS’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...ez4uZDA7B.html
Gary Anderson's verdict on the 2024 Alpine
Feb 7, 2024
by Gary Anderson
The Race
Overall this car is a step forward from last year but it’s still difficult to assess where Alpine might stand in the pecking order. I think it’s a case of what level the others have risen to as I’m not seeing anything too exciting here just yet.
‘Verdict’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/a...erson-verdict/
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Visa Cash App RB further teases new 2024 F1 livery.
Visa Cash App RB has provided further hints at its new livery for the 2024 season, with the car set to be launched on Friday morning European time in Las Vegas.
08 February 8:40AM
Author Jake Nichol
RacingNews365
Visa Cash App RB has provided further hints at its new livery for the 2024 season, with the car set to be launched on Friday morning European time in Las Vegas.
‘Teases new 2024 F1 livery’;
https://racingnews365.com/visa-cash-...2024-f1-livery
Ricciardo race suit leak suggests HUGE Red Bull change
Wednesday 7 February 2024 22:57
Sam Cook
GPFans
A photo circling on social media apparently shows the new race suits that both Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda will wear during the 2024 season.
The race suit in question looks to be white, in a similar style to Ricciardo and Tsunoda's most recent AlphaTauri gear, but clearly features a lot more commercial sponsors compared to 2023, including Hugo Boss.
This influx of sponsors and a rebrand commercially brings them closer to the Red Bull name, and suggests a different direction is being taken with the team by the wider Red Bull brand having previously lacked in this area.
‘HUGE Red Bull change’;
https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...e-sponsorship/
Visa RB strengthens its technical department with Alan Permane and Tim Goss
08:21 Tue, 30 Jan 2024.
By Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical
Following last week’s announcement of its brand-new identity, Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team has announced key changes to its technical department, signing three experienced senior technical and trackside personnel. After leaving the FIA, Tim Goss is set to join the Visa Cash App RB Team, taking on the new role of Chief Technical Officer. The British engineer will report to the Team Principal, Laurent Mekies, and will commence his work in Faenza in October.
He has gained a wealth of competitive experience shaped by 28 years with McLaren, where he rose from assistant race engineer to become Head of Vehicle Performance, Chief Engineer, Director of Engineering and Technical Director in 2013. During this time he helped to deliver five drivers titles with Senna, Hakkinen, and Hamilton. He joined the FIA’s Single-Seater Technical Group in 2021 and became the Federation’s Technical Director in 2023 and held the role until January of this year.
‘Technical department strengthened’;
https://www.f1technical.net/news/24370
“Not available” - Helmut Marko rules out Daniel Ricciardo as possible Lewis Hamilton replacement
One less driver is available to Mercedes with Helmut Marko ruling Daniel Ricciardo out of a potential switch.
06 Feb 2024
Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has poured cold water on Daniel Ricciardo as a potential replacement for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2025. “Ricciardo still has a long-term contract and is not available,” the Austrian told F1-insider.com
“Not available”;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/104405...lewis-hamilton
Visa Cash App RB pass major test ahead of 2024 launch
06 February 8:36AM
Author Jake Nichol
RacingNews365
Visa Cash App RB has passed a major test in the birth of its first Formula 1 car, by powering up the Red Bull Powertrains-Honda power unit. The team, which has rebadged from AlphaTauri for the 2024 season, will once again be powered by the same engine as the senior Red Bull team which the in-house power unit manufacturer will provide, along with support from Honda once again.
The car is to be unveiled at a special launch event in Las Vegas on February 8th - three days before Super Bowl LVIII in the city where the new livery will be revealed with the team set to run drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda once again. There have been major changes to the leadership of the team throughout the winter with Laurent Mekies taking up team principal duties from the retired Franz Tost with Peter Bayer starting his first full season as CEO.
‘Pass major test’;
https://racingnews365.com/visa-cash-...of-2024-launch
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British Grand Prix to stay at Silverstone as huge £300m new F1 deal announced.
Silverstone have extended their deal to host the British Grand Prix for another 10 years. The legendary circuit's previous deal was due to expire at the end of the 2024 season but it will now remain in place until 2034.
14:12, Thu, Feb 8, 2024
By George Glinski
Daily and Sunday Express
The news was first announced in a social media video with British F1 drivers George Russell and Lando Norris. According to the Daily Mail, the deal is worth a staggering £300million.
F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali said: "I am delighted to announce that the British Grand Prix will remain on the calendar for 10 more years with this agreement.
"Silverstone is an iconic venue at the heart of F1 history and as it approaches its ninth decade hosting Grands Prix, the event continues to attract fans from around the world for fantastic racing on track and the amazing fan experience off it.”
‘British Grand Prix for another 10 years’;
https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...rstone-F1-news
Ten-year F1 deal keeps British Grand Prix at Silverstone until 2034
February 8th 2024
Author: Dominic Tobin
Motor Sport Magazine
The British Grand Prix will stay on the F1 calendar for at least another ten years, and Silverstone will remain its home after striking a ten-year extension to its current contract. A short message from Silverstone’s social media accounts expressed “delight” and the development which caps a turnaround project that has been going on for more than 15 years, since Bernie Ecclestone branded the circuit “an embarrassment” and awarded the race contract to Donington Park
Silverstone managing director Stuart Pringle outlined more of the changes in a conversation with Motor Sport last summer. Grand Prix weekend entertainment gives spectators more for the price of their ticket, and bosses regularly cite the circuit’s fan approval rating, which is consistently at the top of the scale, compared to other venues on the calendar.
“I would argue very strongly that we are leading the way for traditional circuits in showing what F1 is nowadays,” said Pringle last year. “I don’t think there is anybody from the established circuit brigade and certainly not from the cornerstone races who have embraced this way of operating with quite the same verve as we have.
‘Silverstone until 2034’;
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a.../?nowprocket=1
Future of F1 British Grand Prix secure until 2034
8th February 2024, 15:33
by James Attwood
Autocar.co.uk
Peter Digby, chairman of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, which owns Silverstone, said the extension “will provide a solid base for the further development of the venue as we continue to improve and transform the circuit into a year-round international motorsport and leisure destination”.
F1 boss Stefano Domenicali added that he was “delighted” with the deal, calling Silverstone “an iconic venue at the heart of F1 history”.
‘A year-round international motorsport and leisure destination’;
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/m...ure-until-2034
British Grand Prix remains on F1 calendar until 2034
8th February 2024, 15:11
The Straits Times
The British Grand Prix will remain on the Formula One calendar until 2034, following a 10-year extension with Silverstone and the British Racing Drivers's Club (BRDC), F1 announced on Thursday.
The first ever Formula One Grand Prix was held at Silverstone in 1950 and the new deal will see the circuit involved for its ninth decade. "I am delighted to announce the British Grand Prix will remain on the calendar for 10 more years with this agreement," F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali said in a statement.
‘First ever Formula One Grand Prix, Silverstone in 1950’;
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/f...dar-until-2034
Silverstone secures its F1 future: British GP to run until 2034!
08/02/2024 at 14:17
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com
The roar and clamor of British F1 fans will continue to echo through Silverstone until at least 2034 following the venue’s confirmation on Thursday of a new ten-year deal sealed with Formula 1. Silverstone Circuit’s social media buzzed with the announcement, featuring a celebratory "TEN. MORE. YEARS." message and a video cameo from British F1 stars George Russell and Lando Norris.
The circuit’s 10-year pact provides Silverstone and the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) with much-needed security and clarity. Knowing their marquee event is guaranteed well into the future allows them to confidently invest in infrastructure upgrades and further enhance the fan experience. “The 2024 Formula 1 season will start with nine BRDC Full and Honorary members on the grid and the importance of our continued support of young drivers is particularly evidenced by the success of Lewis, Lando [Norris], George [Russell] and Alex [Albon].”
“This long-term commitment reflects the importance of the British Grand Prix to Formula 1 and their acknowledgement of our ability to deliver a world-class experience for the British fans who are among the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable in the world,” added Stuart Pringle, Chief Executive Officer, Silverstone.
‘Roar and clamor of British F1 fans will continue to echo through Silverstone’;
https://f1i.com/news/499103-silverst...ntil-2034.html
-
VCARB livery released in Las Vegas as Red Bull complete eye-catching rebrand.
Red Bull have rebranded their sister team to VCARB in 2024, and the Faenza-based outfit have an eye-catching new livery to match.
06:34, Fri, Feb 9, 2024
By Harry Smith
Daily and Sunday Express
Red Bull's rebrand of their sister team to VCARB - which stands for Visa Cash App RB - has been completed after the team unveiled a striking new livery at their launch event in Las Vegas. The design is an ode to the team's history as the Toro Rosso team, with whom the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen made their F1 debuts.
‘VCARB’;
https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...y-car-pictures
Red Bull's rebranded second F1 team RB reveals 2024 car
Feb 9, 2024
by Josh Suttill
The Race
Red Bull's rebranded second Formula 1 team has revealed its 2024 challenger, the first under its new 'Visa Cash App RB' identity. The team previously known as AlphaTauri and Toro Rosso, issued images of its VCARB 01 2024 car in parallel with a private launch event in Las Vegas.
RB has adopted a blue and white livery, not so dissimilar from the fan-favourite liveries used in the final years of its Toro Rosso guise from 2017 to 2019. The 2024 RB marks a closer collaboration with Red Bull, something that will only add fuel to complaints from rivals that began increasing in volume in late 2023.
‘VCARB 01’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/r...livery-launch/
Visa Cash App RB unveils striking Red Bull-inspired car
09 February 7:33AM
Author Jake Nichol
RacingNews365
VCARB-01 takes its front pull-rod and rear push-rod suspension from Red Bull, with this design becoming a common trend among the teams to launch their new machines thus far.
The power steering, brake system, gearbox and exhaust are also from Red Bull Technologies, with the team designing the monocoque and brake ducts itself as per the regulations. The car to be driven by Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda will be powered by the Red Bull Powertrains-Honda unit once again.
‘VCARB-01’;
https://racingnews365.com/visa-cash-...ired-rb-01-car
RB reveals its new VCARB 01 Formula 1 car
9th February 2024, 06:47
AUTHORJonathan Noble
Motorsport.com
The rebranded RB team has revealed its 2024 Formula 1 car at a special event on the Las Vegas Boulevard. Following a winter of significant change for the Faenza-based squad, which has a new team principal and new identity, the VCARB 01 was shown for the first time at a launch party.
The blue, black and white challenger features significant branding from new title sponsors Visa and Cash App. On the technical front, the new car features some interesting changes that have brought it closer to sister team Red Bull's concept, having been open about there being closer collaboration for this season.
‘VCARB 01 Formula 1 car’;
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/r...-car/10573967/
In photos: Visa Cash App RB reveals new 2024 F1 challenger
09 February 7:36AM
Author Jake Nichol
RacingNews365
At a special launch event in Las Vegas, drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda unveiled the the livery for the new machine on a show car, with the team providing renders for the Red Bull Powertrains-powered car.
The previous four launches for 2024 had featured a distinct lack of paint and far more exposed carbon than normal owing to weight concerns, but the team has elected to buck the trend seen thus far with the car.
‘New 2024 F1 challenger’;
https://racingnews365.com/in-photos-...-f1-challenger
Visa Cash App RB Formula 1 Team unveils stunning VCARB 01 in Las Vegas for the 2024 Season
AlphaTauri have been rebranded Visa Cash App RB for the 2024 F1 season
February 9, 2024
By John Smith
Total Motorsport
Under the glittering neon glow of Las Vegas Boulevard, the Visa Cash App RB Formula 1 Team made a grand entrance into the 2024 season with a spectacular launch event. The night was charged with excitement as the team unveiled its new livery, the VCARB 01, and celebrated the beginning of a promising partnership with its sponsors.
The launch event was not just about the bright lights and high-energy entertainment; it marked a significant milestone for the Visa Cash App RB Formula 1 Team. With the unveiling of the VCARB 01, the team showcased a fresh identity, featuring a striking blue and white livery that symbolizes a new era of competition and ambition.
The launch was elevated by performances from two giants of the music industry, Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem, whose electrifying sets matched the high-octane atmosphere of Formula 1. Their involvement underscored the blend of sports, culture, and entertainment that Formula 1 embodies, making the Visa Cash App RB team launch an unforgettable event.
‘Stunning VCARB 01 in Las Vegas’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...-01-las-vegas/
Toro Rosso vibes return as VCARB launch 2024 F1 car in Las Vegas
09 Feb 2024 6:41 AM
Thomas Maher
PlanetF1.com
Taking the covers off the car to the cheer of the crowd, the team unveiled the car on stage in Las Vegas as artists performed to massive hype. It’s all revolution at the newly-renamed VCARB outfit where, along with the new identity, the team has had a significant change in leadership.
Partnered with Tsunoda is Daniel Ricciardo as he makes his full-time racing return – the Australian had a truncated 2023 season after being brought back as a replacement for the struggling Nyck de Vries as Ricciardo suffered a hand injury at the Dutch Grand Prix.
‘VCARB launch’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/vcarb0...ched-las-vegas
FIRST LOOK: RB pull the covers off their 2024 challenger at Las Vegas event
09 February 2024
Formula One - Official Site
The newly-rebranded RB team have unveiled their 2024 challenger – the VCARB 01 – at a glittering launch event in Las Vegas. The VCARB 01 was very much the star of the show at the dazzling launch event in Las Vegas, with the team's new CEO Peter Bayer present as well as new Team Principal Laurent Mekies.
There’s also been a host of changes to the operation ahead of this year’s campaign, with three experienced technical and trackside personnel signing on recently. One of those is Alan Permane – who departed Alpine as their Sporting Director midway through last season – as he takes up the role of Racing Director.
Tim Goss will also take on the role of Chief Technical Officer in October, while Guillaume Cattelani joined the team as Deputy Technical Director, reporting to Technical Director Jody Egginton.
‘2024 challenger – the VCARB 01’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...jSkytN64J.html
-
Red Bull 2? Gary Anderson on RB's new VCARB 01 F1 car.
Red Bull's second Formula 1 team has undergone yet another identity refresh and is onto its third name since the company took over Minardi.
Feb 9, 2024
by Gary Anderson
The Race
The team will be even closer to Red Bull for 2024, and is being encouraged to use more of the transferrable parts available within the regulations. RB also has two experienced drivers in Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo, so results-wise will be chasing podiums and, if luck falls its way, maybe even snatching a win.
To achieve that, the drivers will need the equipment to show their real talent so let’s have a look at what has been revealed so far. As I always say, I can only comment on what we can see from what the teams provide at this point, so please take my analysis with a pinch of salt until we see exactly what turns up in Bahrain.
Overall, this is a neat and tidy package and a good starting point. I’m pretty sure there will be more detail to get stuck into when we see the Bahrain test version, so it will be interesting to see what has been hidden and what level of initial detail the team will come up with.
‘VCARB 01 F1 car’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/r...erson-verdict/
How VCARB plans to turn an historical 'weakness' into a strength
09 February 9:55AM
Author Jake Nichol
Co-author Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365
At present, VCARB's main base is in Faenza but an outpost is located in the UK in Bicester where aerodynamic testing is carried out, but the split in the two locations has been historically regarded as a weakness in F1, with only Alpine and Haas following a similar trend with their Enstone/Viry and North Carolina/Maranello operations, respectively. But Mekies, who left his role as Ferrari's sporting director to replace Tost is sure that the team can foster a winning environment across two locations.
"Historically in Formula 1, it's always been seen as a weakness to have two headquarters," Mekies exclusively told RacingNews365 at the launch of the VCARB. "What we want to achieve is that what was historically a weakness, we want to turn it into a strength, so we are very happy to have two headquarters with one in Bicester and we are building a new one in Milton Keynes to transfer the people from Bicester to a brand-new HQ, hopefully by the end of the year.”
"Obviously we have the historical headquarters of Faenza, and we are a technology company, nowadays, we are a competitive technology company and times have changed. We think there is a way to get people to work on both sides of the Channel, and that we can turn that into a strength. We can go on the job market and get the best people in the UK and in Europe and making our company a location-free company where communication flows and where we build the right environment with enough technology so we overtake the historical weaknesses."
‘VCARB plans’;
https://racingnews365.com/how-vcarb-...nto-a-strength
Laurent Mekies: 'Let's build the best possible racing team and see where it takes us'
09 Feb 2024
Formula One - Official Site
RB's newly appointed Team Principal Laurent Mekies speaks to Lawrence Barretto about his 2024 targets.
‘Best possible racing team’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...871663741.html
VCARB 01 - Entering Our New Era
9th February 2024, 06:57
Motorsport.com
Introducing the VCARB 01, our 2024 challenger as we enter our new era and identity. Drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo are ready to take on the season for an action packed year in their new look.
‘Entering Our New Era’;
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/video/...ew-era/646468/
Yuki Tsunoda on 2024 goals at RB
09 Feb 2024
Formula One - Official Site (Video)
Lawrence Barretto sits down with Yuki Tsunoda ahead of the 2024 season.
‘2024 goals at RB’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/v...256168252.html
Daniel Ricciardo sets lofty “top-fives” target as RB embark on new era
Daniel Ricciardo has big hopes for the Visa Cash App RB F1 team in 2024.
09 Feb 2024
Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net
"There are a lot of new personnel, some big partners coming onboard,” Ricciardo told F1’s official website. "The team has always taken itself seriously, but I feel like this is another step up. It’s no longer just a platform for Red Bull Racing, it’s a time for us to fight at the front of the midfield.”
"I like what’s happened, the changes that have taken place. There’s something about the team, the mindset is a bit different, kind of like a point to prove. It’s cool. It’s fun. You have to aim high, but being in this sport so long, you want to remain realistic as you don’t want to end up ultimately disappointed,” Ricciardo said when asked what is possible this season.
"Top-fives should be a target and if we get into that position, maybe some podiums present themselves. Of course we want to win but, you know, let’s…I think we made steps last year, let’s make a few more steps. Do I think top-five results are on the table – and could they be on the table in the first half of the season? I’d like to think so."
“Top-fives”;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/104412...embark-new-era
-
Williams Racing Needs More Cash to Return to the Top, Says F1 Team’s Principal.
“We’re not financially stable,” Vowles said in a Bloomberg TV interview as Williams launched its 2024 livery in New York City. “We’re going on the right pathway towards it, but it does require Dorilton to do an investment into the organization year-on-year to make sure we are still in a strong place.”
13:20 Wed, 07 Feb 2024.
Nataly Pak, Bloomberg News
BNN Bloomberg
The storied team with nine constructors’ championships under its belt has been struggling financially for some time. Williams posted a £17.9 million ($22.6 million) loss in 2022 and £11.9 million in 2021, according to financial statements. The results for 2023 are yet to be released.
“I want to change a lot of the infrastructure that really isn’t fit for purpose anymore into new age, modern technology,” Vowles said when asked about a £36 million capital injection from its parent company for 2023. “Again, that requires investment. Investment has to grow, not shrink, from those numbers.”
Dorilton is “absolutely” willing to support Williams along the way, according to Vowles. The New York-based private equity firm bought Williams for £152 million in 2020. “Within a five-year period, I’m confident that we can get this team into a strong position,” Vowles said.
“We’re not financially stable”;
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/williams...ipal-1.2031965
Only a ‘fool’ would drop Williams name for ‘problem’ VCARB, Stake branding
07 Feb 2024 3:00 PM
Michelle Foster
PlanetF1.com
James Vowles will not sell Williams’ naming rights to the highest bidder, adamant only a “fool” would drop the legacy that is Williams. Although the team is in its fifth season of ownership under US investment company Dorilton Capital, Williams remains Williams, and if team boss Vowles has any say, it always will.
“I think it’s one of the biggest brands, certainly in motorsport and certainly in the UK. I also have no desire whatsoever to change it nor do Dorilton for that matter, because it means a tremendous amount,” he told the media, including PlanetF1.com. “Frank and his legacy remain in us. And you’ll see on the livery now as well, if you look you’ll see his arrow subtly embedded in there.”
“I still today don’t know AlphaTauri’s new name and I was in an F1 Commission earlier and they mentioned it but it doesn’t matter. Something is their new name. And that’s part of the problem, that doesn’t have legacy, that doesn’t hold weight in my mind. You create legacy through championships, through growth, through a tremendous amount of the world believing in you and following you. Williams means a tremendous amount to me. It’s the first team I really followed, and it’s what I want to retain because it’s a strength and a weakness.”
“Frank and his legacy remain in us”;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/willia...ip-vcarb-stake
Alex Albon issues bleak Williams verdict after ‘open’ James Vowles talks
Wed 7 February 2024 20:00
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer
Alex Albon has issued a bleak verdict on the chances of Williams fighting for regular podiums after ‘open’ talks with team boss James Vowles before the 2024 F1 season. The new campaign is now mere weeks away with pre-season testing from February 21 to 23 in Sakhir. Five red lights will then go out to start the Bahrain GP one week later at the circuit. It will mark the start of Albon’s third season with Williams and Vowles’ second at their helm.
Albon told RacingNews365: “James is extremely involved and he always keeps me up to date with the progress of the team, the areas we need to work on, the areas that I could help him improve. He’s very open in that sense – which is, obviously, a very nice thing to have.”
The London-born Thai continued: “I think that 2026/2027, that’s the period of time where I think we’re going to consistently fight for podiums and, obviously, that’s quite far away. I just have to be happy with the journey that we’re on and the progress that we’re making. That’s pretty clear of where I see the team and where I want the team to be. I’ll be assisting in pushing for that as long as I can.”
‘2026/2027: Consistently fight for podiums’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/ale...-vowles-talks/
SPECIAL REPORT: James Vowles' sleepless nights, Alex Albon's rising fame, and Logan Sargent 2.0... inside Williams' 2024 preparations - and how they've changed 'everything' ahead of the new Formula One season
Published: 20:15, 6 February 2024
By Ben Nagle For Dailymail.Com
Mail Online
Here, DailyMail.com goes behind the scenes to find out Williams' plans for the new year, how Vowles is already finding success... and what happened during a grueling winter back at the factory. 'There are nights that I really haven't slept because of the responsibility. I have the weight of the company on my shoulders.' Crouched over a table at the top of a New York skyscraper, the Manhattan skyline in full view behind him, Williams team principal James Vowles is in a reflective mood.
'I think we're probably the last team to get it all together and fire the car up, which happened today,' Vowles tells Mail Sport at the top of the Rockefeller Center. 'It's a momentous occasion for the team, and I love being here, don't get me wrong... but I also really miss the fact that I didn't get to hear the car for the first time.'
His determination to succeed seeps out of every pore, with Vowles keen to insist that he will do whatever it takes to get this team back where it belongs. 'I didn't care about last year, and I don't really care about this year,' he explains. 'Yeah, I'm confident we've done a really good job, but what I care about is us fighting at the front for championships again.’
‘James Vowles' sleepless nights’;
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...es-Vowles.html
Williams boss James Vowles makes ‘idiot’ claim after rival F1 team’s decision
Tue 6 February 2024 21:00
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer
James Vowles says he would be ‘an idiot’ to throw away Williams’ legacy in Formula 1 after Red Bull rebranded AlphaTauri as Visa Cash App RB ahead of the 2024 campaign. Red Bull GmbH, the parent company of Red Bull Racing, initially rebranded Toro Rosso to be AlphaTauri in 2020. But four seasons with the name failed to deliver the marketing results it hoped for. AlphaTauri is a fashion brand that Red Bull launched in 2016 named after the star.
Vowles believes he would be ‘an idiot’ to let Dorilton Capital – which bought Williams from the Williams family in August 2020 – throw away their ‘vast legacy’ by changing the team’s name. He is adamant that the name remains ‘one of our strengths’ compared to their rivals. “It’s one of the biggest brands in motorsport and in Great Britain,” Vowles said, via quotes by Motorsport-Total. “I have no desire to change that, and neither does Dorilton, because it means a lot to me.”
‘James Vowles makes ‘idiot’ claim’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/wil...eams-decision/
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Steiner: Haas ‘won’t get anywhere’ with current approach.
Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner believes the US outfit will continue to linger at the back of the F1 grid without fresh investment from its eponymous owner and a reassessment of its model.
06/02/2024 at 11:46
Michael Delaney
F1i.com
This stark contrast in philosophies - Steiner pushing for ambitious expansion, Haas prioritizing strategic resource allocation - created an irreconcilable situation that ultimately led to their dramatic split. “Something needed to change,” Steiner told Autocar.
“I’m not saying that Haas did it wrong. All the other ones did it right. F1 changed from when Haas started to where it went in the past five years. It’s a completely different ball game. They’re all strong teams.”
“You just need to open your eyes, if you understand F1, and look at what the other ones do – and Haas isn’t doing it. At some stage, you can’t get anywhere with [Haas’s] approach. It’s just not time-representative anymore.”
‘Haas won’t get anywhere’;
https://f1i.com/news/498983-steiner-...-approach.html
Guenther Steiner expects Haas to struggle to “keep up” without new F1 structure
Ex-Haas boss Guenther Steiner is unsure his former team will be able to keep up with their midfield rivals in the coming seasons.
08 Feb 2024
Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net
Ex-Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner doubts his former team will be able to “keep up” with their midfield rivals unless they change how they operate. Steiner conceded that Haas did go down the wrong route with their design concept for 2023.
However, he feels that Haas’ smaller workforce only makes things more difficult for the American outfit. “It’s no secret that we were at an impasse with our concept and that it took us too long to react,” the Italian added. “That’s what happens when you only have half as many people as others. But our guys didn’t do such a bad job.”
‘Haas to struggle’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/104410...w-f1-structure
Haas failure down to 'old structures' still in place – Steiner
06 February 9:00AM
Author Nick Golding
RacingNews365
Guenther Steiner has hit out at Haas team owner Gene Haas for failing to adapt to the current F1 regulations, which were introduced in 2022. The Drive to Survive sensation recently departed his role as the American side's boss, following the conclusion of his contract at the end of 2023. Gene opted not to offer Steiner an extension, with Ayao Komatsu having been promoted from being the team's Director of Engineering.
Prior to his departure, Steiner – who led Haas from when they joined the sport in 2016 until the end of 2023 – outlined to Gene how he wanted the team to change going forwards. The 58-year-old even wanted to invest in the North Carolina-based squad, something the team owner didn't want the Italian to do.
‘Failure down to old structures';
https://racingnews365.com/haas-failu...-place-steiner
Haas owner didn't want to spend more on F1 says Steiner
FEBRUARY 5, 2024
GrandPrix.com
Gunther Steiner admits he was fired by Gene Haas because he wanted the billionaire team owner to spend more money on Formula 1. Steiner said the team was established with its uniquely lean structure long before the budget cap era, leaving more powerful rivals able to adapt in a way that Haas could not.
This is not a criticism of the team, Steiner told Auto Motor und Sport, "but the reality. The budget cap has completely changed Formula 1. Old structures no longer work, he explained. "McLaren, Williams, Alpha Tauri have been investing for two years in infrastructure so that they have more budget for the operational business. If you don't follow suit, you can't expect to be able to keep up.
Every bit of new software, for example, reduces the expenses on the personnel side, Steiner added. Every new machine helps you produce more cheaply. Then you have money left over for developing the car. He said his plan was for a grand new team factory. If you want to attract new people, you have to offer them a pleasant environment. Otherwise no one will come anymore, said Steiner.
‘Didn't want to spend more on F1’;
https://www.grandprix.com/news/haas-...s-steiner.html
Guenther Steiner details ‘very short call’ as he was axed by Gene Haas
06 Feb 2024 9:45 AM
Michelle Foster
PlanetF1.com
Guenther Steiner has revealed the phone call from Gene Haas to inform him he was no longer Haas’ F1 team boss was “very short” as he didn’t feel a need to debate it with the team owner.
“He called me up,” Steiner said to Autocar. “It was out of the blue. I was like: ‘Okay, what do you want to tell me?’ “He said: ‘I don’t want to extend the contract.’ “I said: ‘In the end, it’s your decision. It’s your team and the contract is up. What can I do? Do I think it’s right or not? Whatever I say, you’ll disagree with it. So leave it at that.’ ”
“It was a very short call; it wasn’t a big discussion or anything. It was also very strange. You work with somebody for 10 years and you get a call [like that]… It’s weird. I was okay. I just move on. It’s fine. Anyway, I couldn’t believe anymore in what was happening there.”
‘Very short call’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/guenth...axed-gene-haas
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Sauber under investigation as F1 team could be forced to change name again.
Sauber may be forced to change their team name again just days after announcing another revamp for the 2024 season as Swiss authorities investigate the Formula 1 team.
February 9, 2024
By Joe Krishnan
Total Motorsport
Sauber launched their 2024 car in early February but the team could face trouble before the new F1 season begins
In Sauber‘s home nation of Switzerland, strict laws apply to all types of gambling and, more specifically, advertising for online casinos or sports betting providers is prohibited. It is this detail which had an impact on Sauber‘s decision to hold their presentation of the new C44 car in London, rather than at their factory in Hinwil, as they normally would.
However, Swiss regulators are apparently not satisfied with that concession and have initiated official proceedings against the F1 team, according to Swiss broadcaster SRF.
‘Could face trouble before the new F1 season begins’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...ge-name-again/
Sauber facing legal action in Switzerland over rebranding as ‘Stake’
RaceFans Round-up
Posted on 7th February 2024, 0:01
Written by Keith Collantine
RaceFans
Swiss-based team Sauber revealed its new branding as Stake F1 Team in a launch event in London on Monday. It acknowledged restrictions on gambling advertising in some territories mean it will use a different name at some rounds of the world championship.
However gambling advertising is also banned in Switzerland and its casino commission has initiated proceedings against the team, Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen reports. Advertising deemed inadmissible can be punished by a fine of up to 500,000 Swiss Francs (£456,000).
‘Legal action’;
https://www.racefans.net/2024/02/07/...nd-up-07-02-6/
Sauber's identity crisis
07/02/2024
NEWS STORY
Pitpass
Formerly Alfa Romeo, Sauber's latest incarnation, Stake, is facing a legal challenge as the team seeks to change its name according to host nations gambling laws.
According to Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen, Switzerland's Federal Casino Commission is deeply unhappy with the move, and while there are no F1 races in Switzerland the team is based in the country and by incorporating Stake in its name is seen as a deliberate means of attempting to circumvent the law.
"In the present case, the brands Stake and Sauber are so linked together, or the term Stake is so strongly imprinted in the minds of viewers, that we have probably crossed the red line into unauthorised advertising," said Patrick Kraeuskopf, a professor of competition law at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, according to the Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen report.
‘Identity crisis’;
https://www.pitpass.com/76977/Saubers-identity-crisis
Stake sponsorship triggers pre-season legal headache for Sauber F1 team
07 Feb 2024 11:24 AM
Thomas Maher
PlanetF1.com
At present, Stake advertising or branding on Sauber’s website is not viewable in Switzerland and other restricted countries – PlanetF1.com understands this is due to geoblocking measures taken by Sauber to ensure legal compliance in different regions.
A report by Swiss publication SRF, published on Tuesday, contains a statement from Zurich-based Patrick Krauskopf, Head of the Centre for Competition and Commercial Law: “Sponsorship would be permitted. In this case, however, the Stake and Sauber brands are so closely linked and the term Stake is so strongly imprinted in the minds of viewers that we have probably crossed the red line into unauthorised advertising.”
As a result of this, the Swiss Federal Gaming Board – the Eidgenossische Spielbankenkommission (ESBK) – is taking a closer look into Sauber’s arrangements with Stake – PlanetF1.com understands from team sources that this is a routine check to confirm compliance with advertising laws.
‘Pre-season legal headache’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/stake-...sauber-f1-team
Stake issue statement after reported investigation into F1 team name
Sauber is already facing challenges with its lead title sponsor Stake
February 7, 2024
Caitlyn Gordon
FormulaNerds
The Swiss Federal Gaming Board will now look further into Stake and Sauber’s partnership and check to make sure all regulations are adhered to. The reported consequence if found guilty would be a fine of up to 500,000 Swiss francs.
Sauber and Stake aren’t worried about the inquiry. A Stake’s spokesperson spoke to Racingnews365 about the ordeal and expressed how they are following regulations and the investigation is a routine practice: “We are in close contact with the Swiss Commission, and we are following all the regulations,” said the spokesperson.”
“It is a completely routine situation. Everything is above board, above ground, and the rules are being applied. It is the same procedure as last year with the Swiss Commission when Stake joined us as a partner. And our situation is no different to that of Williams when it had to change its livery on occasion for certain grands prix.”
‘Facing challenges’;
https://www.formulanerds.com/news/st...-f1-team-name/
Stake Sauber defends new name after Alfa Romeo rebrand
09 February 2:30PM
Author Jake Nichol
Co-author Ian Parkes
RacingNews365
It was announced on January 1st that the team would be known as Stake F1 Team for the next two seasons before Audi's '26 arrival. Further complicating matters is the fact that the chassis name is Kick Sauber in another naming rights deal, but the team cannot compete as 'Stake F1 Team' in four races throughout the year owing to gambling advertising restrictions.
For these events, the Kick Sauber name will be used but Alunni Bravi feels that the team needed to be bold for the two seasons pre-Audi and pointed to the impressions the name reveal and the launch of the striking C44 has brought.
‘Rebrand’;
https://racingnews365.com/stake-saub...-romeo-rebrand
Sauber F1 team says it’s not concerned by reported investigation into its gambling sponsorship
Feb. 7, 2024 1:39 PM PT
ASSOCIATED PRESS
U-T San Diego
HINWIL, Switzerland — The Sauber Formula 1 team says it is not concerned by a report that it could potentially face a fine in Switzerland over its sponsorship deal with online gambling company Stake.
Swiss broadcaster SRF reported Tuesday that the national gambling regulator had opened proceedings against Sauber. The team is based in Switzerland, where gambling advertising by foreign companies is restricted. SRF reported a fine of up to 500,000 Swiss francs ($573,000) was possible.
In an e-mailed statement to The Associated Press, the regulator, known as the ESBK, said it would not comment on any proceedings. It said Stake’s online gambling website was not approved to operate in Switzerland and had been on a blocked list since 2021.
‘Not concerned by reported investigation’;
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...ng-sponsorship
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FIRST LOOK: Haas’ 2024 F1 car breaks cover at Silverstone shakedown.
Haas' VF-24 F1 car has hit the track for the first time for a shakedown test at Silverstone.
11 Feb 2024
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net
Haas have become the latest team to run their 2024 F1 car ahead of the new season during a shakedown test at Silverstone. The American outfit shared a clip of the VF-24 leaving the garage as it headed out to complete its first laps around the British Grand Prix venue on social media.
It marks the first time that Haas’ 2024 challenger has been seen in public after the team released digital renders of its latest F1 car earlier this month. Nico Hulkenberg was first to get behind the wheel of the VF-24. Oh how we’ve missed that sound
‘Haas’ 2024 F1 car breaks cover’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/104415...tone-shakedown
Haas complete shakedown of 2024 challenger
11 February 10:49AM
Author Rory Mitchell
RacingNews365
The first laps of the VF-24 were completed by the team in a shakedown ahead of pre-season testing. The team completed the shakedown at the Silverstone Circuit this week, where it was sent out for its first laps on track at the hands of Nico Hulkenberg.
‘Shakedown of 2024 challenger’;
https://racingnews365.com/haas-compl...024-challenger
F1 2024 track action ramps up as Haas show off VF-24 in Silverstone shakedown
11 Feb 2024 10:17 AM
Henry Valantine
PlanetF1.com
Haas have offered a closer look at the VF-24 in posting a video on social media of their new car emerging from the pit lane at Silverstone on Sunday. A short clip posted by Haas on social media saw the VF-24 leaving the pit lane for the first time, with team principal Ayao Komatsu having confirmed the team had planned their shakedown for this day in advance.
Oh how we’ve missed that sound ��
The #VF24 has completed its first lap at our Silverstone Shakedown. #HaasF1 pic.twitter.com/si0zxLDjxg
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) February 11, 2024
‘F1 2024 track action ramps up’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/haas-f...tone-shakedown
Haas sponsor MoneyGram takes Steiner exit in its stride
17:46 Fri, 09 Feb 2024.
The Straits Times
Haas sponsor MoneyGram takes Steiner exit in its stride LONDON - Haas title sponsor MoneyGram is taking the departure of fan favourite team boss Guenther Steiner in its stride and planning to be in Formula One for the long haul, chief marketing officer Greg Hall said.
Hall told reporters at a pre-season event with new principal Ayao Komatsu and drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen that the sponsor did not get involved in racing or team decisions.
Italian-American Steiner, a star of the Netflix docu-series 'Drive to Survive' where he stood out for his blunt assessments and colourful language, was replaced by Japanese engineer Komatsu last month.
‘Planning to be in Formula One for the long haul’;
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/f...-in-its-stride
Magnussen claims Haas addressing ‘elephants in the room’ after Steiner F1 exit
Fri 9 February 2024 21:00
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer
Kevin Magnussen believes new Haas boss Ayao Komatsu is already addressing the ‘elephants in the room’ at the American F1 team since replacing Guenther Steiner. Team owner Gene Haas opted to let Steiner leave at the end of the 2023 F1 season when his contract expired. The Italian engineer had overseen the Haas entry ever since they arrived in the pinnacle of motorsport in 2016. But their troubles last year drew a change in leadership.
Haas registered their second-worst campaign in Formula 1 to date with Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg behind the wheel. Only in 2021 when the team finished the campaign without a single point had they ended a season bottom of the constructors’ standings before last year.
‘Elephants in the room’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/mag...einer-f1-exit/
-
F1 2024 season officially up and running as first car hits the track at Barcelona.
A short clip posted to the team’s official social media accounts showed the C44 heading down the main straight in Barcelona, the current home of F1’s Spanish Grand Prix which has long been renowned as a prime testing venue.
10 Feb 2024 5:00 PM
Oliver Harden
PlanetF1.com
A trackside image of the car widely circulated on social media showed the car navigating Barcelona’s final corner with its alternative Kick branding present on the sidepods.
Sauber were not the only team present at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Saturday, with the McLaren team posting an image from the track at sunrise.
However, PlanetF1.com understands the team are testing their 2022 car at the Spanish track, with the new MCL38 scheduled to be officially launched on Wednesday.
‘F1 2024 season officially up and running’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/f1-202...ar-track-stake
Zhou outlines main target in crucial F1 campaign
10 February 8:00PM
Author Rory Mitchell
Co-author Ian Parkes
RacingNews365
It will be the Chinese driver's third season on the grid, after finishing 18th in the Drivers' Championship last year and four points off experienced teammate Valtteri Bottas. A number of drivers see their contracts expire at the end of the upcoming campaign, including Zhou, but speaking exclusively to RacingNews365, he stressed: "In my ideal world, the first priority is to stay with the team and to stay in a factory team, and also what happens next year will have a big impact to Audi coming.
"So it's definitely the priority to try to do well here, to see us growing, to our progression. Of course, there are plenty of opportunities out there but the main target is to finish this season in a very strong position. It's going to be probably one of the most important years... even more important than my first rookie season. Now you have to use the knowledge and experience to extract everything you have with the car," explained Zhou.
‘Main target in crucial F1 campaign’;
https://racingnews365.com/zhou-issue...-for-f1-career
Zhou aiming to stake his place in F1 long-term with Audi
11/02/2024 at 09:32
Andrew Lewin
F1i.com
Zhou Guanyu has revealed that his main aim for the forthcoming season is to secure his place in Formula 1 moving forward. This will be Zhou's third season in F1 with Sauber, which operated the Alfa Romeo entry until the end of 2023 and now lines up under the Stake F1 brand for two seasons before its acquisition by Audi.
"Of course there are plenty of opportunities out there but the main target is to finish this season in a very strong position." Zhou's current contract with Sauber expires at the end of 2024 but he sees no reason why he shouldn't be able to stay at Hinwil in 2025.
"This season driver market is so open for half of the grid," he pointed out. "Everyone is in the same kind of boat, which is a nice thing. We all have to give everything and I think the good guys will come out on top."
‘Main aim for the forthcoming season is to secure his place in Formula 1 moving forward.’;
https://f1i.com/news/499244-zhou-aim...with-audi.html
Valtteri Bottas shares ‘what I’ve heard’ about Audi ‘behind the scenes’ at Sauber
Fri 9 February 2024 09:30
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer
Valtteri Bottas has now revealed ‘what I’ve heard’ about Audi ‘behind the scenes’ at Sauber with Stake F1 Team due to be the automotive giant’s works entry from 2026. The German brand took a stake in Sauber last January with the intention of turning the team into its factory outfit. But rumours surfaced late in 2023 regarding Audi’s commitment to the Hinwil, Switzerland squad. It was feared the manufacturer could pull the plug on the project.
Audi originally reached an agreement to take over Sauber in late 2022 with Formula 1’s next set of technical regulations in 2026 the goal for its entry. But the Bavaria-based subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group has rarely made noise about its plans since sealing the arrangement.
“I think it’s just rumours from what I understand and what I’ve heard,” he said, via quotes by RacingNews365. “They’re still fully committed for the future. I think the cooperation will start sometime soon. I would imagine if Audi already wants to be competitive in their first year. Sauber and Audi will need to work together, but that’s all going on behind the scenes. As a driver, whatever meetings or stuff is happening behind the scenes, we are not always aware of those things. But things are starting to pick up now.”
‘What I’ve heard’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/val...nes-at-sauber/
Audi F1 update issued with Sauber cooperation set to start ‘quite soon’
10 Feb 2024 12:30 PM
Sam Cooper
PlanetF1.com
Valtteri Bottas expects the cooperation with Audi to move up a notch now that the team has transitioned from Alfa Romeo to Stake. The Audi project has been confirmed since August 2022 but the German car manufacturer will not arrive on the grid until 2026.
Bottas expects the two parties to be more closely aligned now that Sauber’s partnership with another car brand, Alfa Romeo, has ended. “A little bit more now that Alfa Romeo brand is out,” Bottas said of the work with Audi. “I think the cooperation will start quite soon, I would imagine because Audi already wants to be competitive in their first year. We’ve got Sauber and now they will need to work together.”
‘Audi F1 update’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/audi-f...er-cooperation
Valtteri Bottas ‘motivated’ by ‘what I’ve seen throughout the winter’ at Stake Sauber
Wed 7 February 2024 18:00
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer
Valtteri Bottas says he is ‘motivated’ by what the Stake F1 Team driver has seen of the Sauber squad’s 2024 car throughout the winter at their factory in Hinwil, Switzerland. “You have to be [motivated],” Bottas told Speedcafe. “It’s my job, even in the harder times. Especially when it’s a new season and, based on what I’ve seen throughout the winter – in terms of progress and all the new things – I am motivated.”
“Mentally, I feel fresh,” Bottas said. “I feel like I’ve been able to process last year. Because, in the end for me, it was a disappointment. In the end, I was expecting more. But, now, I feel like I’m 100% over that. I’m motivated and fresh for the new season to try and make a really strong year and showcase what I can do.”
“I really want to have a strong season,” the Finn continued. “Also, when you are going into a contract year, let’s say, you also want to be able to show what you can do.” Bottas is out of contract with Sauber at the end of 2024 after joining under Alfa Romeo from Mercedes on a multi-year deal in 2022. Likewise, Zhou is also out of contract after 2024. But Sauber have a big decision ahead with the team becoming Audi’s works F1 entry from 2026.
‘Motivated’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/val...-stake-sauber/
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Could this be Red Bull's surprise rival this year?
Aston Martin is the next team to unveil its new F1 car when the covers come off the AMR24 but will it be the giant killer it threatened to be early last season?
11 February 7:00PM
Author Jan van der Burgt
RacingNews365
If the team can continue the upward trend, there is no reason why they cannot be mentioned in the same list with Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes as potential challengers for silverware. More to the point, Aston Martin already showed a year ago that it can make a big step up and, so apparently has the right brains in the right places.
The name of former Red Bull aerodynamics chief Dan Fallows is often mentioned and praised, which may explain why the 2023 chassis showed some Red Bull characteristics. If the premise is correct, the team could theoretically build upon the foundation provided by the AMR23 for a long time.
Now that we're a year on, all those people should be even more in tune with each other, and don't forget, too, that this is the first new year in which the new state-of-the-art factory is fully operative. If a Formula 1 team is a puzzle of which all the pieces must fall properly into place, then Aston Martin should be able to take another significant step in 2024.
‘Will it be the giant killer?’;
https://racingnews365.com/red-bull-c...ival-this-year
Aston Martin can't rely on open goals this time
Jan 31, 2024
by Scott Mitchell-Malm
The Race
When Aston Martin takes the wraps off its 2024 Formula 1 challenger, the AMR24… … while the 2022-to-2023 step was a surprise, there were clear reasons for it. And an exact repeat is certainly not expected for 2024.
The good thing is that Aston Martin does not need to suddenly leap into race-winning and title-challenging contention. That’s a little further down the road. And since owner Lawrence Stroll set out his broad five-year plan in 2021 to eventually turn Aston Martin into a championship challenge, the progress up to now clearly supports the rhetoric that it is a team on the rise.
Still, Aston Martin needs to walk further down that path in 2024. “You always need to be a little bit careful with such plans,” team principal Mike Krack said of the Aston Martin timeline. “It’s important to have something laid out. And just not go into the dark. But I think you need to be careful because it's not always linear. You need to zoom out and see are we on the right path? Are we on the right trajectory? Judged as objectively as possible.” This season is a mighty test of whether that is indeed the case.
‘Mighty test’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/a...als-this-time/
Aston Martin Aramco announces partnership with the Financial Times
08.02.2024
Aston Martin F1 - Official Site
Aston Martin Formula One Team reveals new strategic partnership with leading news organisation, the Financial Times. The Aston Martin Formula One Team is proud to announce a new partnership with the Financial Times (FT), one of the world's leading business news organisations.
The strategic collaboration will deliver shared value for the two British brands, both of which boast a rich heritage and shared ambition for innovation. The rapidly expanding sports business sector provides the unparalleled backdrop for the FT to harness exclusive Aston Martin Aramco One Team opportunities, hosting key clients at Grands Prix across the globe.
The Financial Times logo will be proudly displayed on the AMR24, which will make its debut at Silverstone Circuit on February 12.
‘Financial Times logo will be proudly displayed on the AMR24’;
https://www.astonmartinf1.com/en-GB/...inancial-times
Aston Martin yet to reach Force India's level, claims Szafnauer
06/02/2024
NEWS STORY
Pitpass
Former Aston Martin team boss, Otmar Szafnauer believes that the Silverstone-based outfit has yet to achieve the level of performance of one of its predecessors. Speaking to the Inside Line podcast, the American claims that Aston Martin has yet to achieve the performance level of Force India.
"The significant differences are, Vijay was hands-off," he says, Vijay didn't have a son in the car either," he adds. "So there's less emotion and more objective decision-making. Both of them wanted the best on-track performance possible. They both had that drive... 'we want better, we want better, we want better'. So I experienced that from both parties.”
"Lawrence actually spent a lot more money in being able to get that performance. It's not that Vijay didn't spend, but Lawrence spent an order of magnitude more. Ironically, the performance at the end of Force India was better than they're performing today. After Aston Martin embarked on new factories and new management, I think they were seventh and fifth... we'll see what next year brings.”
‘Aston Martin yet to reach Force India's level’;
https://www.pitpass.com/76962/Aston-...aims-Szafnauer
Ageless Fernando Alonso underlines F1 ambitions with passion to 'drive faster'
Fernando Alonso enjoyed a stunning start to the 2023 Formula 1 season with Aston Martin, and the two-time world champion is looking to go even faster in 2024
18:00, Thu, Feb 1, 2024
By Andrew Gamble
Two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso has vowed to utilise his ‘hyperfocus’ to help Aston Martin as he prepares for his second season with the iconic manufacturers. Alonso finished fourth in the 2023 Drivers’ Championship, enjoying a stunning start to the campaign before Aston Martin’s advantage dissipated.
Alonso explained what is needed if Aston Martin are to return to the top of the grid in 2024. In a video on the team’s YouTube channel, the 42-year-old said: “I'm constantly thinking about ways of getting faster behind the wheel and being a better driver.”
“You rewatch some of the races (from last year) that happened as well and maybe you see different lines, different strategies for all the teams, the drivers, so that curiosity, from the driver point of view, of getting better is always there. You never stop learning and you never stop getting better, so you have to be motivated to embrace those lessons.”
‘Ageless Fernando Alonso underlines F1 ambitions’;
https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...1-Aston-Martin
Alonso still seeking to be a better driver
06/02/2024
NEWS STORY
Pitpass
The Spaniard was speaking having spent time at the Aston Martin HQ where he and the team continue their preparations for the upcoming season, the busiest in the sport's history. "To win in Formula 1 you have to be extremely focused... hyper-focused," he continues. "To make a difference, you need to give that extra commitment, that extra determination.
"Hyper-focus is definitely the word if we want to succeed in Formula 1. Hyper-focus means total dedication to what you do, to be united now, to also send a message to everyone that we are here to work 24 hours, seven days a week, and be ready for the new season. Everyone is 100 percent," he warns. "2023 was an incredible season, and 2024 is going to be even better."
“Hyper-focus”;
https://www.pitpass.com/76961/Alonso...-better-driver
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FIRST LOOK: Aston Martin’s 2024 F1 challenger makes track debut at Silverstone.
Aston Martin have hit the track with their all-new challenger at Silverstone.
12 Feb 2024
Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net
Lance Stroll has given Aston Martin’s 2024 F1 challenger - the AMR24 - its track debut at Silverstone. Aston Martin are the latest F1 team to pull the covers off their all-new car ahead of pre-season testing next week.
The launch took place at the team’s base at Silverstone on Monday morning. Stroll remains with the Silverstone-based outfit for a sixth consecutive season, partnering two-time world champion Fernando Alonso. The Canadian got the opportunity to drive the new car at Silverstone, conducting a shakedown on a set of wet tyres.
Speaking about his first opportunity in the AMR24, Stroll said: “First run in the AMR24. It’s great to be in the car. It felt good. The car looks good. I can’t wait to get back out there. There’s been a lot of hard work by everyone over the winter to build this car. Really proud of all the guys and it’s always an exciting day to get out there for the first time in the new car. It’s a good day.”
“First run in the AMR24”;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/104416...ut-silverstone
Fallows details ‘strong evolution’ of new Aston AMR24
12/02/2024 at 10:26
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com
Aston Martin technical director Dan Fallows describes the team’s new AMR24 as a "strong evolution" of its predecessor, but with key changes implemented to address past shortcomings. Aston Martin is aiming to write a more successful chapter in their Formula 1 story this season, building upon the promising foundation laid in 2023.
“We’ve made changes all over the car,” he told the media ahead of Monday’s launch. “It’s very different in many ways. The majority of the parts have changed on it, but it is still really essentially a strong evolution of last year’s car. We have kind of built on the end of AMR23.”
“The obvious things that you’ll see that are different, are things like the nose and front wing. Bodywork will be different. But there’s also quite a lot of stuff under the hood, which hopefully you won’t see! We will obviously try and keep some of that under wraps.”
‘Strong evolution’;
https://f1i.com/news/499313-fallows-...ton-amr24.html
Aston Martin's AMR24 Revealed - Their Most Important Car Yet?
12th Feb 2024, 12:53
Motorsport.com
Aston Martin has launched their new car for the 2024 F1 season, the AMR24. The team are hoping to make a step forward and challenge for wins while avoiding a mid-season slump like they experienced last year.
Their driver lineup for 2025 is uncertain, with Fernando Alonso's future potentially up in the air. The AMR24 could be Aston Martin's most important car yet. Bryn Lucas is joined by Jon Noble and Matt Kew as they discuss the AMR24 and what this season could look like for Aston Martin.
‘Aston Martin's AMR24 Revealed’;
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/video/...ar-yet/646591/
ANALYSIS: Building for the future and chasing Red Bull – What does 2024 hold for Aston Martin?
12 February 2024
Lawrence Barretto
F1 Correspondent & Presenter
Formula One - Official Site
Aston Martin’s shiny new factory is gargantuan. Strolling along the monstrous 160m ‘street’ that keeps the main building (one of three this size) connected, you can peak through giant windows that frame the incredible work going on to build a Formula 1 car, using state-of-the-art machinery and the very best tools money can buy.
If you were going to build a Formula 1 team facility from scratch with a near bottomless pit of money, this is how you would do it. But such extravagant spending comes with extravagant targets. Billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll wants a return on investment in the shape of a car capable of winning races and fighting for world championships.
“We've made changes all over the car,” says Technical Chief Dan Fallows. “It's very different in many ways. The majority of the parts have changed on it but it is really still essentially a strong evolution of last year's car. Certainly straight-line speed and making sure the car is as efficient as possible has been a big focus over the winter. And I think that is something that we've managed to achieve on this year’s car and made a step on that.”
“We've made changes all over the car”;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...ro5oK0xyo.html
What new Aston Martin tells us about key 2024 Mercedes changes
Feb 12, 2024
by Edd Straw
The Race
The Mercedes W15 2024 Formula 1 car won’t be revealed for another two days, but the launch of the Aston Martin AMR24 has confirmed one eagerly-anticipated detail of the new Mercedes: it has switched to pushrod rear suspension. Aston Martin runs the latest-specification Mercedes gearbox and rear suspension as part of the supply deal that also includes the power unit, meaning it effectively runs a rear end provided by its technical partner.
The on-track images from Aston Martin's shakedown confirms there is increased anti-squat geometry in the rear suspension. This is all about increasing the control of vertical movement at the rear, which is part of what Mercedes pointed to as a disadvantage last year in terms of platform control.
On the Aston Martin, the forward leg of the upper wishbone is mounted lower than in 2023. As the vertical angle between the forward and rear leg of the upper wishbone is significant in creating anti-squat, this represents an increase compared to last year.
‘Key 2024 Mercedes changes’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/a...-changes-2024/
TECH ANALYSIS: The stand-out visible changes on Aston Martin’s 2024 challenger
12 February 2024
Mark Hughes
Special Contributor
Formula One - Official Site
The Nose: The tip of the nose is now joined to the bottom flap (as on the Red Bull of the last two years) rather than the main plane below it. The small gap between the main plane and nose creates a less obstructed airflow feed to the underfloor. But making the nose shorter in this way will paradoxically have increased the weight because it must pass the same crash test. Having the same resistance to deforming within a shorter structure will require it to be more dense.
Radiator inlet/sidepod: Aston Martin has taken the Red Bull concept of the extended lip beneath the radiator inlet and enhanced it greatly. The original idea of this feature was to give the airflow a more progressive entry to the radiator inlet, reducing the spillage which results when the inlet is overwhelmed by the volume of air at high speed. In this way there is less interference from this low-energy buffeted air to the floor edges below, which play a crucial part in enhancing the performance of the underfloor.
Rear suspension: Aston takes its gearbox and rear suspension from Mercedes and we can see that Mercedes has switched from pull-rod to push-rod operation of the internal suspension rockers (the front remains push-rod). This moves the bulkiest part of the suspension internals up, creating more space to better shape the diffusers and thereby boost underfloor performance.
‘TECH ANALYSIS’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...UsmnTda3Z.html
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Fernando Alonso to Mercedes? Flavio Briatore spotted having coffee with Toto Wolff.
Could Fernando Alonso be on his way to Mercedes in 2025? His manager Flavio Briatore was spotted having coffee with Toto Wolff.
12 Feb 2024
Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net
Fernando Alonso’s manager - and former F1 team boss at Renault - Flavio Briatore has teased fans by posting a picture of him having coffee with Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff. Alonso has been mooted as a possible Lewis Hamilton replacement for 2025 following the seven-time world champion’s shock decision to move to Ferrari at the end of this season.
The Spaniard is currently with Aston Martin but is out of contract at the end of 2024. The 42-year-old is determined to add more success to his glittering CV before his F1 career comes to an end. Briatore and Wolff are known to be friends, pictured on holiday back in August 2022, so having an early morning brew isn’t unusual.
‘Early morning brew’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/104417...fee-toto-wolff
Fernando Alonso to Mercedes rumours in overdrive as manager meets with Toto Wolff
12 Feb 2024 12:53 PM
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com
Rumours of a potential Mercedes move for Fernando Alonso have gone into overdrive after his manager Flavio Briatore posted a picture of himself with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff on Monday. Alonso, currently racing for Aston Martin, is managed by long-term friend Briatore, who oversaw his title triumphs as team principal of Renault in 2005/06.
With Alonso regarded mentioned as a prime contender to replace Hamilton, Briatore’s posting of an image to his Instagram account of he and Wolff having breakfast at Pasticceria Cova Montecarlo on Monday morning will only add fuel to the fire. A simple catch-up over breakfast – or Briatore pitching Alonso for a Mercedes 2025 seat?
That will remain private between the pair for now, though various fans commented on the post to make it clear they felt this get-together had implications on Alonso’s F1 future. One fan replied: “NO! Its happening!” “What are you doing, negotiating the champion car for Alonso in 2025?” another wrote.
‘Rumours in overdrive’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/fernan...oto-wolff-meet
Alonso initially shrugged off Hamilton to Ferrari news
12/02/2024 at 15:14
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com
Fernando Alonso says his intense training schedule last week meant that the bombshell news of Lewis Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari in 2025 initially passed him by. But even after learning about his former McLaren teammate’s signing with the Scuderia, the Aston Martin driver’s first reaction was to shrug off the sensational move.
While seemingly dismissive of Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes to join Ferrari, Alonso admitted to being puzzled by the reasons behind the choice. “I didn't spend too much time [thinking about it]. I was training actually that day,” he told the media on Sunday. “I missed all the stress from everybody. So, I was just one day late on the news.”
“[It] probably was a surprise, I will not lie. But not because the change itself. It was just because, from the outside, it seemed like he was very linked with Mercedes and very loyal to them and things like that. It was a little bit unexpected. I don't know the reasons behind; I don't know anything. I don't know the story. I didn't pay too much attention.”
‘First reaction was to shrug off the sensational move’;
https://f1i.com/news/499332-alonso-i...rari-news.html
Fernando Alonso: Aston Martin detail contract offer plans as Mercedes rumours spin
12 Feb 2024 3:15 PM
Oliver Harden
PlanetF1.com
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack has revealed his intention to offer Fernando Alonso a new multi-year contract as rumours persist over a potential move to Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement.
Alonso himself claimed that Aston Martin will be his “priority” when it comes to deciding his future – but teased that he is in a “very unique” negotiation position as the only World Champion available for 2025 with Hamilton and Max Verstappen committed to Ferrari and Red Bull respectively. Asked if he has had any dialogue with Mercedes, he said: “On the Mercedes theme, no, nothing at all.”
“I know the driver market has started earlier this year than probably June or July, which is the normal timing, but this will not affect me at all in terms of preparing for the season. We have very limited testing in Bahrain. I cannot think too much about the future right now. I will have to see and wait a few races. I’m aware of my situation, which is very unique.”
‘Aston Martin detail contract offer plans’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/fernan...rcedes-rumours
Fernando Alonso opens the door to replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes
Fernando Alonso is out of contract in 2025 - the same time that Mercedes will be eyeing a replacement for Lewis Hamilton - with the Aston Martin driver backing his quality
• 12:13, 12 Feb 2024
By Samuel Meade Sports Brand Writer
The Mirror
Fernando Alonso admits he is an "attractive" candidate to replace Lewis Hamilton as Mercedes seek a replacement for the seven-time world champion. He said: “I am aware of my situation which is very unique. There are only three world champions on the grid and I am the only one available for 2025, so I am in a good position.
"On a move to Mercedes, there has been nothing at all. I know the driver market has started earlier this year, but this will not affect me in terms of preparing for the season. If I want to keep racing beyond this year, the first and only talk at the beginning will be Aston Martin.”
"I trust this project and that will be my first priority. But if we cannot reach an agreement I know that I am attractive to other teams. I will not stay in Formula One just to have fun. I am not that kind of person and not that kind of driver. Let’s see what the options are.”
‘Trust this project’;
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...ement-32105907
Fernando Alonso quizzed on F1 future as he remains ‘attractive to other teams’
12 Feb 2024 12:00 PM
Henry Valantine
PlanetF1.com
Fernando Alonso is keeping his options open as he heads into the F1 2024 season, maintaining that his “priority” if he wishes to continue beyond the end of the year would be to stay with Aston Martin. “First of all, I need to decide myself what I want to do for the future, if I want to commit my life, again, for a few more years to this sport, which I love,” Alonso told media including PlanetF1.com at the launch of the AMR24.
“But I love driving. I’ve been driving all over winter, different cars, DTM car, kart cross, rally car, go kart itself, you know. I love Formula 1, but generally I love driving. So if it’s not Formula 1, I will find myself happy in any other form of motorsport, and maybe having more time for my private life, which is also very important at this age.”
“But this is a decision that I need to do with myself. I need to think, and I need to commit to a team, eventually, and make sure that I understand that the next few years of my life, it will be that team and 100 per cent of my time. Once I do that decision I want to sit with Aston Martin and say, ‘OK, I make this decision, and I would love to continue with this project.”
‘Attractive to other teams’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/fernan...-coy-f1-future
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Ferrari’s bold new era begins with SF-24 but expectation remains high as ever.
This is a team that is etched into Formula 1 history, a team that has the whole of Italy behind it, and against it on occasion. A team about which a Hollywood blockbuster was made during the winter break.
13 Feb 2024 6:00 AM
Sam Cooper
PlanetF1.com
Regardless of where Ferrari may have finished the year before, heading into a new season the expectation is always the same – glory.
So where does expectation lie for 2024? Wrestling the title away from a team that just won 22 of 23 races seems difficult but there were signs in the backend of 2023 that Ferrari could be the best bet to do that.
Early messages out of Maranello have also been encouraging. The new SF-24 is said to be a drastic improvement on its older brother and bold design may not be confined to just the team’s livery.
‘Expectation is always the same – glory’;
https://www.planetf1.com/features/fe...2024-f1-season
Ferrari SF-24 Car Launch
13th Feb. 2024, 08:32
Motorsport.com
Watch the livestream of the Ferrari newest Formula 1 challenger, the SF-24 launch.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/video/...launch/646633/
2024 Ferrari F1 car reveal: live stream the launch at 11am
February 12th 2024
Author: Motor Sport
Live stream the launch of Ferrari's 2024 F1 car here: the SF-24 will be revealed at 11am GMT. See full details plus driver line-up and key personnel
The SF-24, due to be revealed at 11am GMT today represents the final opportunity for Carlos Sainz to win more races in red before making way for the team’s new recruit. The car will be the first to be built entirely under Vasseur’s management, and the scale of changes promised may result in some significant differences to the 2023 contender.
Tuesday 13 is considered an unlucky day in a number countries, including Spain, but Vasseur has said that superstition is the least of his concerns. ” I don’t care about this, he said at the end of 2023. “It’s a matter of downforce, it’s not a matter of the date of the month.”
‘Tuesday 13’;
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a...?nowprocket=1#
Ferrari F1 car launch 2024: Date, UK start time and design as Leclerc and Sainz unveil SF-24 ahead of Hamilton arrival
12th February 2024, 11:49 am
Joe Brophy
talkSPORT
The Scuderia were the first team to announce a launch date for their 2024 car but other details have been shrouded in mystery. The hype around the Italian team is always higher than any other, with Ferrari the oldest surviving and most successful F1 outfit.
The elaborate ceremony is set to get underway at 11am UK time. Ferrari have kept other details around the launch under wraps, but it is expected to be live-streamed across their social media channels. talkSPORT.com will then provide the best of the reaction.
‘Ferrari F1 car launch 2024’;
https://talksport.com/sport/1746515/
Ferrari tease with initial glance at 2024 F1 challenger
12 February 9:35AM
Author Fergal Walsh
RacingNews365
Ferrari has offered Formula 1 fans a first look at its 2024 Formula 1 car ahead of its official launch.
‘Initial glance’;
https://racingnews365.com/ferrari-of...-f1-challenger
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Ferrari reveals overhauled 2024 F1 car.
Ferrari has unveiled its 2024 Formula 1 car, one it's claimed is "95% new" compared to its predecessor.
Feb 13, 2024
by Josh Suttill
The Race
Ferrari said the design group "aimed to give Charles and Carlos a car that is easy to drive and that reacts predictably, with as a starting point, the positive feeling the drivers had in the cockpit over the final few races of last season".
Team boss Fred Vasseur confirmed late last year that the 2024 car would feature "95% new components", such was the scale of change over the winter. It's the first Ferrari Vasseur has properly overseen the development of, having started in his role in January last year when work on the SF-23 was essentially complete.
‘Overhauled 2024 F1 car’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/f...4-f1-car-sf24/
Ferrari SF-24 Presentation
13th February 2023, 11:15
Motorsport.com
Formula 1 challenger, the SF-24!
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/video/...tation/646666/
Check out all the pictures of Ferrari’s 2024 F1 car after sensational launch
13 Feb 2024 11:14 AM
Thomas Maher
PlanetF1.com
Ferrari is the latest team to reveal their 2024 F1 car, the SF-24, and isn’t she a beauty? Check out all the pictures of the 2024 Ferrari F1 car! Of course, with Ferrari eager to not give away too much about the technical sorcery of the car, the launch images released by the team concentrate on the aesthetics of the car.
Unlike many of the other teams who have launched so far, black/carbon isn’t in abundance – just the floor, bargeboards, some of the halo, and components of the rear wing and suspension remain without colour.
‘Sensational launch’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/ferrar...ictures-launch
New Ferrari F1 car a 'complete redesign'
13 February 12:55PM
Author Fergal Walsh
RacingNews365
Ferrari Technical Director, Chassis and Aerodynamics Enrico Cardile has revealed the new SF-24 has undergone a radical redesign from its predecessor. Ferrari launched the SF-24 on Tuesday [February 13] as it looks to improve on a disappointing campaign last year.
“With the SF-24 we wanted to create a completely new platform and in fact, every area of the car has been redesigned, even if our starting point was the development direction we adopted last year and which saw us take a leap forward in terms of competitiveness in the final part of the season,” said Cardile.
“We have taken on board what the drivers told us and turned those ideas into engineering reality, with the aim of giving them a car that’s easier to drive and therefore easier to get the most out of and push it to its limits. We did not set ourselves any design constraints other than that of delivering a strong and honest racing car, which can reproduce on the race track what we have seen in the wind tunnel.”
'Complete redesign';
https://racingnews365.com/new-ferrar...plete-redesign
New Ferrari SF-24 must be a "consistent front runner" says team boss Frederic Vasseur
The SF-24 is certainly a looker - but will it bring any silverware back to Maranello?
Published 13th Feb 2024, 14:12 GMT
By David George
National World
Ferrari's new F1 contender must be on the pace at the front of the grid immediately. That is the message from team principal Frederic Vasseur after the SF-24 broke cover at the launch reveal in Maranello. In three of the final five races last year, Charles Leclerc took pole - but only his teammate Carlos Sainz took one win away from the dominant Red Bull all season.
Now, Vasseur has called for the prancing horses to be "a consistent front runner", adding that he wanted to get the "best possible result" at every race. He said: "The longest ever Formula 1 season awaits us and Charles, Carlos and I all agree we must be more clinical and effective in how we manage the races, making bold choices."
Analysis: A beautiful car, but can it deliver? Amid the slurry of shocking liveries this season - with teams abandoning the paint and just leaving the cars as carbon fibre shells - you can always count on Ferrari to deliver a beautiful car.
‘Must be on the pace at the front of the grid immediately’;
https://www.nationalworld.com/sport/...asseur-4516531
TECH ANALYSIS: What’s new on Ferrari’s SF-24 with the 2024 challenger ‘a big departure’ from its predecessor
13 February 2024
Mark Hughes
Special Contributor
Formula One - Official Site
Although Technical Director Enrique Cardile classifies the new Ferrari SF-24 as ‘a big departure’ from the 2022 and ’23 cars, there is much that looks very familiar.
The aerodynamic concept change, which is at the heart of Cardile’s statement is a move away from the out-washing sidepod fronts towards what has become a more conventional undercut style. This is just the visual giveaway of a change in how the underfloor flow is distributed.
Cardile emphasises that a lot of the emphasis with the SF-24 has been to give the drivers confidence. “We have taken on board what the drivers have told us and turned those ideas into engineering reality with the aim of giving them a car which is easier to drive and therefore easier to get the most out of and push to its limits.”
‘TECH ANALYSIS’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...0IxSXpPPR.html
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Formula 1 boss has ‘had enough’ of finishing behind Max Verstappen and plans to knock him off his perch this season.
McLaren’s Zak Brown: “Second places were great last year but we’ve had enough of them to be ready for that top step.”
13th February 2024, 4:56 pm
Connor Andrews
talkSPORT
Asked by talkSPORT how distant race wins are, he said: “I don’t think they’re far away. We’ve had another good off season but you never know what the other nine teams have done.”
“We certainly have drivers capable of winning races and we certainly have a team capable of winning races and the second half of last year we had a race car that was pretty close to winning races.”
“We’ve built a faster race car in the off season so we’ll have to wait and see, we don’t know what the other teams have done but winning is certainly our ambition.”
‘Knock him off his perch’;
https://talksport.com/sport/1748518/
Mercedes W15 set to surface at Silverstone as Brackley springs for revolution
14 Feb 2024 5:00 AM
Thomas Maher
PlanetF1.com
Mercedes’ eagerly-awaited W15 will be revealed to the world at Silverstone on Wednesday morning, the car with which Brackley hopes to restore pride. Mercedes’ 2024 F1 car, the W15, will be launched at Silverstone via a digital-only reveal on the team’s YouTube channel.
The car will be shaken down with a filming day on the circuit, with photography of the car – which will be driven by Lewis Hamilton and George Russell – released by the team over the course of the day.
‘Mercedes W15’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/merced...ew-silverstone
McLaren gear up for a launch with a difference as real MCL38 set to be uncovered
14 Feb 2024 5:30 AM
Henry Valantine
PlanetF1.com
McLaren go into the launch of their 2024 challenger, the MCL38, in a unique position, in that they have already revealed what their car is going to look like this year. If that’s the case, then, why are McLaren holding a ‘proper’ launch of the MCL38 on Valentine’s Day then? Well, there’s a very good reason for that.
“We don’t have a car yet, because this car will be revealed on the 14th of February,” Stella said at the time. We have a livery now, which we love, and [it’s an] exciting time for everyone at McLaren. It’s the same for all Formula 1 teams at this time of the season really.”
The launch of the MCL38 will be the first chance for people to pore over the details of what the team’s actual car will look like ahead of the new season, and what approach McLaren have taken for the 2024 season.
‘McLaren gear up for a launch’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/mclare...launch-preview
What Hamilton wants from his new Mercedes F1 car
13 February 8:00PM
Author Fergal Walsh
RacingNews365
Hamilton will undoubtedly be hoping to end his time at Mercedes on a high, so what needs to be addressed in order for the 39-year-old to succeed? Last year at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Hamilton immediately voiced his frustrations, and a rare criticism toward the team.
"Last year (referring to 2022), there were things I told them," he said at the time. "I said the issues that are with the car, I’ve driven so many cars in my life, I know what a car needs, I know what a car doesn't need. I think it's really about accountability. It's about owning up and saying, 'Yeah, you know what? We didn't listen to you’.”
Hamilton added that the team had to address “the balance through the corners, look at all the weak points and just huddle up as a team”. He added: “We’ve got to pick up the rear end downforce particularly. The more rear we gain, the more stable the rear becomes, and the more confident I’ll be able to attack.”
‘Rare criticism toward the team’;
https://racingnews365.com/what-hamil...ercedes-f1-car
McLaren’s Championship Hopes in 2024
February 13, 2024
By: Kannon Key
Last Word On Sports
Maintain Consistency: In recent years, F1 spectators have watched a McLaren team that is lackluster one weekend become the fastest car on the grid the next. Unfortunately, they do not stay the fastest car on the grid. They ride a rollercoaster of performance during the entire length of the season, but cannot put together a win when it matters.
Conquer the Giant: Max Verstappen is the most dominant racer on the grid right now. It will take an entire team effort to overcome the Red Bull Racing team in 2024. The team led by Christian Horner dominated all season long and are projected to do it again. In F1, you have to beat the best to be the best. The most obvious path to a title in 2024 is to capitalize on the Red Bull teams’ rare mistakes.
‘Championship Hopes’;
https://lastwordonsports.com/motorsp...hopes-in-2024/
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Mercedes-AMG Unveils W15 Formula 1 Car Rocking Dual-Tone Silver and Black Like a Champ.
One visible difference between the W15 and its predecessor is the new livery, which helps mark the 90th anniversary of the Silver Arrows.
Published: 14 Feb 2024, 11:11 UTC
Sergiu Tudose
autoevolution
There are two types of No Man’s Land scenarios in Formula 1. The first is when you’re not quite the worst team on the grid, but you’re hardly good enough to keep with the midfield. The other is where Mercedes have been for these past few years – good enough to score podiums, but not to win races.
The German outfit’s weapon of choice for the 2024 F1 season is dubbed the W15 E Performance, and it features a new chassis, new gearbox casing, a more “predictable” rear axle design, and better DRS efficiency. The team worked hard to ensure that the rear axle in particular retains better control of the tires than on the W14.
Still, the magic happens underneath, as explained by technical director James Allison: “With this current generation of cars, so much of the performance comes from how the floor interacts with the road. Whether or not a car is effective is down to how well that floor is permitted to behave aerodynamically.”
‘Mercedes-AMG Unveils W15 Formula 1 Car’;
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/m...mp-229238.html
Everything that's changed on Mercedes' revamped W15 F1 car
Explaining the changes Mercedes have made to their 2024 F1 car.
14 Feb 2024
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net
Mercedes have made some sizeable alterations to their long-awaited 2024 F1 car which was presented to the world on Wednesday. Mercedes have redesigned the chassis and gearbox casing on the W15, something that was not possible during the 2023 season due to the constraints of the F1 cost cap.
“A new chassis and a gearbox were standard for every year, pre-cost cap. And there'll be several other teams who have done both things in a single year,” Allison explained. “But the cost cap does force you to pick and choose your battles, and there's no doubt that having a new outer casing as well as at the same time as having a new chassis are two big projects that are going to take a chunk of our available firepower.”
“That is what we have done this year. It does mean that in other parts of the car we have not tried to reinvent the wheel. But it has allowed us to undertake a couple of big projects without breaking the bank and we believe that this is a good and important use of our efforts.”
‘Sizeable alterations’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/104422...ped-w15-f1-car
Mercedes unveils W15
The Mercedes Formula 1 team showed its 2024 challenger before testing in Bahrain next week.
FEBRUARY 14, 2024
GrandPrix.com
Team principal Toto Wolff said, “We know we have a mountain to climb to fight at the very front. There are no miracles in this sport. But our ambition and determination are strong. Since charting this new course, development has progressed well. We had several items on our priority list for this car. We will soon see if we've made the step we've aimed for.”
Technical Director James Allison said, “The design of any car is an iterative process. And a long one at that. It stretches back to last year. A new car enables the team to make bigger alterations that are not possible during the season. These are decisions that are taken during the preceding summer.”
We feel like we have had a good winter, but F1 is a relative game and only time will tell how big a step we've made. We're focused on getting the most from the car we launch, but we are excited by the development race that will follow as the regulations are still young and opportunities abound,”
‘Design of any car is an iterative process’;
https://www.grandprix.com/news/merce...veils-w15.html
Wolff: Mercedes has 'mountain to climb' to win again in F1
14 February 11:46AM
Author Fergal Walsh
RacingNews365
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has stated that his squad has a “mountain to climb” in order to return to the front of the Formula 1 grid. Previewing his team's year ahead, Wolff said: “I am excited that we’re about to go racing again and, of course, curious and excited to see how the car will perform. I think we will get an early indication of whether we have solved some of the inherent problems that we had on the chassis side last year. We have a mountain to climb to get to the front of the field, but we are focused on doing so.”
While it hopes to maintain its position over its rivals, Wolff highlighted his desire to close the gap to Red Bull following its dominant campaign last season. “Formula 1 is a constant relative competition against the other teams,” he said. “You can have a great car, but if you're running around in circles alone, you will never know if it’s the best.”
“We were in a tough fight last season with Ferrari and McLaren, at times Aston Martin, with a big gap between Red Bull and the rest. I would hope we are in the chasing pack at the beginning of the season and hopefully a step closer to Red Bull.”
'Mountain to climb';
https://racingnews365.com/wolff-merc...in-again-in-f1
Mercedes unveil eagerly-anticipated, overhauled W15 F1 car
Mercedes' eagerly-anticipated W15 challenger has been launched ahead of the new F1 season.
14 Feb 2024
Lewis Larkam
Mercedes have revealed their eagerly-anticipated 2024 F1 challenger, the W15. The W15 - which will be driven by Lewis Hamilton and George Russell - represents a drastic change to its predecessor, the W14, which was effectively an evolution of Mercedes’ troubled 2022 machine.
"The design of any car is an iterative process. And a long one at that," Mercedes technical director James Allison explained. "It stretches back to last year. A new car enables the team to make bigger alterations that are not possible during the season. These are decisions that are taken during the preceding summer.”
Hamilton and Russell will shakedown the new W15 today at Silverstone. Whether the changes will be enough to bring Mercedes on a level par with Red Bull, who have dominated the last two F1 campaigns, remains to be seen.
‘Eagerly-anticipated, overhauled W15 F1 car’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/104421...led-w15-f1-car
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Gary Anderson's verdict on 2024 McLaren and its 'surprise' change.
For McLaren, the 2024 Formula 1 season is about keeping the momentum from 2023 - when it properly joined the battle to be best of the rest behind Red Bull.
Feb 14, 2024
by Gary Anderson
The Race
Front wing: It is a bolt-on unit, so it is an area which you might leave to develop once you see what the others have come up with.
Sidepod inlet: McLaren has gone off at a tangent to all the other cars we’ve seen so far this year by switching from a Red Bull ‘duckbill’-style inlet - also a McLaren development in 2023 - to a more forward-facing inlet
Floor edge: There are just small changes to the floor edge detail. The side view body profile is again very similar to last season.
Rear suspension: Rear suspension-wise, the layout is similar to last year. McLaren has retained the pushrod system.
Conclusion: No real pictures of the rear of the car for me to get my teeth into, but from what I can see aerodynamically, other than the radiator inlet change which I would question, it is all fairly similar to what McLaren finished with last season. McLaren will obviously focus on the aerodynamics with development updates as the team learns more about how the car responds on track to these changes, but that means starting the season on a steep learning and development curve and catching up as the season unfolds.
‘Gary Anderson's verdict’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/g...8-2024-f1-car/
McLaren boss Zak Brown sets ambitious target as they launch their 2024 challenger... with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri hoping to build on a strong end to last season
McLaren took eight podium finishes last season but failed to win a race
They are hopeful of picking up their first win since 2021 in the upcoming season
Published: 13:38, 14 February 2024
By Press Association Sport Staff
Mail Online
McLaren's car for the 2024 season made its track debut at a soggy Silverstone on Wednesday with team chief executive Zak Brown setting out a target of wins as well as podiums. 'We feel good, it's been a good winter. We're happy with the development,' Brown told Sky Sports after they launched their car. 'It feels like we've continued on our development pace from where we were in the second half of last year.
'So as long as the data is accurate I think we should start pretty strong. Of course you never know what the competition is doing but we definitely feel we've taken a step forward. I think I'd say ambition versus expect because you ultimately don't know what the competition has done and no-one's standing still,' Brown said when asked what he expected from the team.
'Our hopes, our goals, our ambition is definitely to take a step forward. We finished fourth in the championship last year but in the second half of the year we were the second or third quickest team. So our ambition is to move forward from there. We see no reason why... we can't be winning races at some point over the year. So lots of podiums and some wins or certainly the ambition.'
‘Zak Brown sets ambitious target’;
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...nd-season.html
The new directions McLaren has found with its evolutionary MCL38
14th February 2024, 12:42
AUTHORMatt Somerfield
Motorsport.com
McLaren surged up Formula 1's pecking order last year as multiple large-scale update packages helped rejuvenate a launch car that had proved to be a disappointment.
But, having placed so much emphasis on improvements last year, has McLaren reached the limit of its gains or is there still plenty of potential left in its package?
"There are a number of innovations on the car, but not all the areas we want to address have been completed for our launch-spec car," Andrea Stella said. "Those areas now become the focus of our in-season development, which is already in progress."
‘The new directions’;
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/t...cl38/10575734/
McLaren targeting wins as well as podiums, says Brown
Updated: Feb 14, 2024, 06:32 PM
The Straits Times
McLaren's new MCL38 Formula One car made its track debut at a soggy Silverstone on Wednesday with team chief executive Zak Brown setting out a target of wins as well as podiums this season.
"We feel good, it's been a good winter. We're happy with the development," Brown told Sky Sports television. "It feels like we've continued on our development pace from where we were in the second half of last year.”
"We see no reason why... we can't be winning races at some point over the year. So lots of podiums and some wins or certainly the ambition."
‘McLaren targeting wins’;
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/f...ums-says-brown
McLaren Debuts New MCL38 F1 Car, a Papaya Orange Red Bull Hunter Meant for Greatness
Published: 14 Feb 2024, 12:27 UTC
By: Sergiu Tudose
autoevolution
McLaren has just unveiled the MCL38, the team’s brand-new challenger for the upcoming 2024 FIA Formula 1 Championship. Much like its predecessor, the MCL38 is predominantly Papaya Orange, with heavy black (or anthracite) accents.
Back to the MCL38, the new car looks like an evolution of the MCL37, and we’re 100% certain that these launch images don’t represent the final specification. We do see some sidepod trickery going on, while the floor, as seen here, is most certainly generic. “Before we hit the track for competitive sessions, we have a lot of work to do, including putting the MCL38 through its paces during the Bahrain pre-season test,” said team principal Andrea Stella.
“The team has done a good job over the winter, and we are confident we can hit the ground running, but we know we have important tasks at hand before the season starts. There are a number of innovations on the car, but not all the areas we want to address have been completed for our launch-spec car. Those areas now become the focus of our in-season development, which is already in progress.”
It’s precisely those innovations that seem difficult to spot, but we should get a closer look once the MCL38 hits the track at Silverstone later today for a short run.
‘Some sidepod trickery going on’;
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/m...ss-229243.html
McLaren offer first glimpse of MCL38 on track
14 February 4:31PM
RacingNews365
McLaren has offered the first glimpse of its MCL38 heading out to track ahead of the 2024 Formula 1 season. The team took part in a shakedown at Silverstone where Lando Norris drove the car around the National Loop section. Team Principal Andrea Stella insisted that there remains "a lot of work to do" ahead of the opening race of the season after the launch of the MCL38.
‘First glimpse of MCL38’;
https://racingnews365.com/mclaren-of...mcl38-on-track
Lando Norris sets bold McLaren target for F1 2024 after first MCL38 laps
14 Feb 2024 3:47 PM
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com
While battling Red Bull straight out of the blocks in F1 2024 may be a stretch, Lando Norris has targeted keeping pace with Mercedes and Ferrari after his first laps at the wheel of the McLaren MCL38. Following the launch of McLaren’s F1 2024 car, Norris got the opportunity to put it through its initial paces in a shakedown run at Silverstone, home of the British Grand Prix.
Speaking to the official Formula 1 website after the MCL38 shakedown, where a maximum of 200km of running was permitted, Norris said McLaren are coming into the F1 2024 campaign “prepared as we should be” for “the first time in a while” as he set out a bold yet realistic starting point.
“Compared to the last few years, I think we’re in a much better position,” said Norris. “So good for myself, good for the whole team, just for the confidence, the motivation for everyone. You never want to go into a season not expecting to kind of do well, and I think for the first time in a while we’re coming in here just prepared as we should be as a Formula 1 team.”
‘Bold McLaren target for F1 2024’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/lando-...cl38-shakedown
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Red Bull F1 2024 Season Launch.
Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 team unveils their 2024 Formula 1 World Championship challenger, the RB20.
20:30 Wed, 14 Feb 2024
Motorsport.com
Join defending triple World Champion, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez from the Red Bull Technology Campus in Milton Keynes.
‘RB20’;
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/video/...launch/646762/
Max Verstappen's Red Bull claim appears correct as 'new car' spotted for first time.
Max Verstappen is building up to the new F1 season, in which the Dutchman looking to win his fourth successive championship, with the star being given the chance to drive his new car on Tuesday.
• 17:19, 13 Feb 2024
By Jacob Leeks Sports Reporter
The Mirror
Max Verstappen's tip about the livery of Red Bull 's car for the 2024 season appears to have been proven correct. The new car, named the RB20, has been pictured on track at Silverstone as the team gears up for its official launch on Thursday. Verstappen and team-mate Perez were able to give the new challenger a shakedown on Tuesday to get some lap-time before the launch.
Those pictures show the RB20 looks strikingly similar to the team's previous dominant car. That will come as little surprise to Verstappen, who had told fans during a live stream: “Oh yeah, it’s going to look exactly the same.” One of his friends responded: “Well no, everyone else who has already released their car doesn’t have any paint on their car, just carbon.” But Verstappen reiterated his claims, stating with a chuckle: “Yeah I tell you, it’s going to look exactly the same."
‘'New car' spotted’;
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...l-car-32117347
Can anyone in F1 catch Red Bull in 2024?
Feb 14, 2024, 09:14 AM ET
Laurence Edmondson, F1 Editor
ESPN.com
How do you beat a team like Red Bull? That's the question facing Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Aston Martin this season, and the one Formula One desperately hopes will be answered in order to inject some excitement back into its championship after two dominant championship victories for Max Verstappen.
Red Bull won 21 of 22 races in 2023, and in Verstappen's hands the all-conquering RB19 rarely looked under threat. Based on the results of the past two seasons, the current set of technical regulations, which were introduced in 2022 and will run until the end of 2025, appear to belong to Red Bull, just as the previous sets dating to 2014 belonged to Mercedes and the early 2000s belonged to Ferrari.
There is hope for Red Bull's rivals… It might sound like wishful thinking given that Red Bull shifted its focus from 2023 to 2024 relatively early in its campaign last season in order to focus on another big step this year, but some rival engineers believe the law of diminishing returns could apply to Red Bull's progress. If they're right, development of this year's RB20 could plateau while those behind are still making big gains.
‘Wishful thinking’;
https://www.espn.com/racing/story/_/...-red-bull-2024
Max Verstappen hits the track at Silverstone with RB20 ahead of Red Bull launch
13 Feb 2024 11:46
Thomas Maher
PlanetF1.com
Red Bull hit the track for a shakedown filming day at Silverstone on Tuesday, ahead of the launch of the new RB20. The eagerly awaited Red Bull RB20, the successor to RB19 – F1’s most dominant car ever – will be unveiled at a special launch ceremony at Milton Keynes on Thursday, February 15th, with PlanetF1.com in attendance.
Ahead of that launch, Red Bull has headed to Silverstone to carry out a filming day shakedown of the new car which, for this year, allows teams to carry out 200 kilometres of driving with the latest spec F1 cars in order to carry out filming and promotional work.
The cars must be fitted with special Pirelli tyres which prevent the teams from being able to exploit the filming day for any sort of performance learning, with the only advantage of running such shakedowns being able to ensure the car is firing up and all systems are communicating properly.
‘RB20 hits the track at Silverstone’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/red-bu...-1-silverstone
Max Verstappen’s Biggest Challengers for the 2024 F1 Season
10:23 Wed, 14 Feb 2024.
Toby Reynolds, Emile Nuh
Sports Gazette
On this podcast, Toby is joined by the Sports Gazette’s Motorsport Editor, Emile Nuh, to discuss the upcoming 2024 F1 season and who Max Verstappen’s biggest challengers could be.
Together they look at Mercedes’ chances at getting close to Red Bull in Lewis Hamilton’s last season, whether Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have what it takes to become World Champions and if McLaren can continue their upward trajectory from last season, as well as some predictions for the season ahead.
‘Max Verstappen’s Biggest Challengers’;
https://sportsgazette.co.uk/9-max-ve...son-emile-nuh/
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Carlos Sainz to Audi? “They’re years away, I see him on the phone to Toto Wolff”.
“The reality is, I can see him going to Aston Martin. I can see him on the phone to Toto. He wants to be winning now, he’s in his 30s, he can’t wait for years for Audi to get there.” Karun Chandhok
11 Feb 2024
James Dielhenn
Crash.Net
“…this isn’t a sport about making friends.” Karun Chandhok. “Ultimately Carlos has been booted out of one of the top three cars on the grid. A car that gave him victory at the Singapore Grand Prix. That’s bad news.”
“Audi? They are not going to arrive and be at the front of the grid. It’s years away. Everyone is connecting him to Audi because of the connection with his dad.”
Martin Brundle added: “I’m a big fan of his, Carlos Jr. I think he’s got the tenacity of his dad. I don’t think he’s got the speed of Leclerc, but he’s always there at the end of a grand prix. He’s very smart. The way he won in Singapore was outstanding. He’d be a great catch for Aston Martin or for Mercedes. He’s got to be on their list.”
“On the phone to Toto Wolff”;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/104414...one-toto-wolff
Sainz’s options for 2025 are open following Hamilton joining Ferrari.
But where does Sainz go moving forward? According to Formula 1 journalist, Lawrence Barretto, many teams have shown interest in Sainz.
21:03 Sat, 10 Feb 2024.
Alejandra Guajardo Lozano
FormulaNerds
Mercedes: First up, Mercedes. A straight swap between the two teams would probably be the best option for Sainz. A seat in a team that dominated between 2014 and 2020 is a clear top spot for the Spaniard.
Aston Martin: Aston Martin have been a team with a vision for the future. The Silverstone-based outfit gave us a demonstration of their determination in the 2023 season, where they finished fifth with 280 points. This is a significant improvement from 2022, where Aston Martin just managed to score 55 points and get seventh place.
Sauber: Currently undergoing a rename, the team has bigger plans ahead. The 2026 season will see Sauber transform into Audi. The Spanish driver has been a strong contender for a seat on this team. Many rumours sparked on this topic, with Carlos Sainz Sr., who recently won Dakar with Audi, even speaking on the matter.
Red Bull: Sergio Perez was voted as most likely to defeat Verstappen, his teammate, at the start of the season. This hope disappeared when Max went on to win the next 17/18 races, leaving Perez winless and struggling. With the Mexican’s contract ending in 2024, the team might look for options to replace him.
‘Sainz’s options’;
https://www.formulanerds.com/news/sa...ining-ferrari/
Carlos Sainz had time to ‘digest’ Lewis Hamilton news
February 13, 2024 12:21 PM
Field Level Media
The Wichita Eagle, Kansas City
Carlos Sainz acknowledged he was surprised to learn that Lewis Hamilton will be taking his seat in 2025, but the Spaniard said he was aware of the move ahead of Ferrari's announcement on Feb. 1.
"Everyone was surprised in a way with what happened and from my side, I got to know the news a bit earlier than everyone else," Sainz told reporters at Ferrari's launch of its SF-24 car on Tuesday. "It's true that I have had some weeks to reflect, to prepare and also get ready for the car launch and the first race of the season.”
"So it gives you a bit of time to digest it, to take your own conclusions and to focus on the 2024 season and the race ahead. But the fact it was a surprise to the whole F1 world is no news and it was obviously also for me. There's plenty of options out there and there is time to take an important decision in the next few months," he said.
‘Time to ‘digest’’;
https://www.kansas.com/sports/nascar...mainstage_card
There are plenty of options, says Sainz
14/02/2024
NEWS STORY
Pitpass
Asked about the future, having been strongly linked with Audi, he said: "My next team I don't know yet, and I have a bit of time now to decide where that will happen. There's plenty of options out there and it's time to take an important decision in the next few months. As much as I said I wanted to get my future sorted before the first race, now the scenario has changed quite a bit as you can imagine," he admitted. "It is going to be probably a longer process ahead of me.”
"Probably my most important three or four years of my career," he continued, "where I want to make sure I'm in the right place at the right time. I want to make sure I pick the right next destination for me so I want to take my time to think about it, to listen to all the options, have a look at all the options. Then I can just feel calm that when I take the decision I have given myself enough time with enough information.”
"Having said that, it is impossible to separate one thing from the other. I have a good management team that also will take care of that so my focus always will be Bahrain this year and I'm going to start the year as strong as I can, putting all my effort into being quick straight from the go. The other thing will sort itself out as time goes by.”
“I want to make sure I'm in the right place at the right time”;
https://www.pitpass.com/76996/There-...ons-says-Sainz
Sainz says he has 'plenty of options' when he leaves Ferrari in 2025
Published: 16:12, 13 February 2024
By Associated Press
Mail Online
MARANELLO, Italy (AP) - Carlos Sainz Jr. believes he has "plenty of options" in Formula 1 next year when he leaves Ferrari to make way for Lewis Hamilton, the Spaniard said Tuesday.
"There's plenty of options out there" for 2025, Sainz said as Ferrari launched its 2024 car Tuesday, adding he had some advance notice that Hamilton was taking his Ferrari seat but was surprised all the same.” Sainz said he plans to take his time before signing for any other team.
'Plenty of options';
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap...rari-2025.html
Does Sainz have anything left to prove in his final Ferrari year?
13 February 2:54PM
Author Fergal Walsh
RacingNews365
Sainz's value: Sainz’s performances over the last number of years have placed a solid reputation on his head. Last year, he ranked sixth on RacingNews365’s end-of-season driver rankings. Consistent point-scoring form and using his machinery to the best of his abilities kept his stock high and ultimately landed him a spot at F1's most lucrative team.
Sainz's strategic calls and interventions over the radio also showcase his maturity and understanding of a race situation, even amid the pressure to perform. That performance level should be enough to attract several teams to the possibility of adding him to their arsenal, and there will likely be no shortage of suitors chasing his signature. But where could he end up?
An obvious candidate is Mercedes, who is looking to resurge itself back to title contention following two years of disappointment. A direct swap between Hamilton and Sainz would be a solid landing spot for Sainz, but Mercedes may have other ideas over who it wishes to fit into the drive… Whatever fate befalls Sainz, there will be no shortage of interest for a driver that has long proven his worth in F1.
‘Solid reputation on his head’;
https://racingnews365.com/does-sainz...l-ferrari-year
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EXCLUSIVE: Red Bull’s Pierre Wache on the team’s 2024 – ‘We didn't do an amazing job last year’.
In his role as Technical Director of Red Bull Racing, last year saw Pierre Wache oversee the most dominant season in the history of Formula 1. But the Frenchman believes there’s still more to come from his team in 2024…
Greg Stuart
Senior Editor
Formula One - Official Site
All of that success makes what Wache says, when asked about the success of Red Bull in 2023, all the more surprising. “We did a good job – but we didn't do an amazing job,” says the Frenchman, with no hint of irony.
“I think we identified multiple weaknesses in [RB]18” – Red Bull’s previously-dominant car in 2022 – “and we pushed for [the RB19] to solve them. We didn't solve all of them, but fortunately the team were able to reduce the weaknesses we had and be able to deliver on track.”
“The strength of our car is also the weakness of the competitors, because I'm not sure we expected to be alone there,” he chuckles. “What I mean is, when you look at the lap time and the behaviour compared to [2022], some people went backwards more than forwards.
‘He chuckles’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...KEufyUQr1.html
The big question mark hanging over Red Bull in 2024
15 February 1:00PM
Author Jake Nichol
RacingNews365
There are three important factors when it comes to determining how successful a Formula 1 team will be in the coming season. One, and perhaps the most important, is the car itself. Have you been able to find improvements here and enhance performance there to keep yourself ahead of the competition, especially coming off the back of a season where you won 21 of 22 races, got 860 points and left the rest scatching their heads about what to do next?
For Red Bull heading into 2024, it has two of the three ticked off and will be of no concern. Given the pace advantage it held in 2023, Red Bull's rivals will not be able to make up all of it in one winter. Chunks can certainly be taken out of the advantage, but closing the chasm in one go would need a miracle from Mercedes, Ferrari or McLaren and an implosion of a scale rarely seen by Red Bull. As for the drivers, one of them has just come off the most dominant campaign by any driver in history with 19 wins, 575 points and 1,003 laps led.
Like Rubens Barrichello, Mark Webber and Valtteri Bottas before him, Perez is realising that in a straight fight, he is not going to beat the all-time great across the garage over the course of a season. That is not what Red Bull need him to do. Perez's job is to simply be the number two, finish on the podium and hoover up when the car or Verstappen fail. F1 is now in the Verstappen-era, and Perez will not be the driver to break the now three-time World Champion, and the vultures are circling to grab the most prized (and poisoned) seat in F1, alongside Verstappen. The seat at Red Bull is Perez's to lose, and to retain it, he must win the battle with himself by losing the war.
‘Big question mark’;
https://racingnews365.com/the-big-qu...d-bull-in-2024
Marko worried about F1 rival discovering special trick
FEBRUARY 15, 2024
GrandPrix.com
Dr Helmut Marko admits it's possible one of Red Bull's closest rivals could beat the dominant Formula 1 team this year with a "special trick".
Insiders believe Mercedes has discovered a loophole so that the uppermost flap of the front wing is technically connected to the nose - with a single, thin carbon wire. Wolff, however, doubts Red Bull can be caught and overtaken with just a single year-on-year introduction of a new car. “There are no miracles in sport”, he said.
However, Red Bull's Marko is wary. “What we can say now is that our new car is an evolution of last year's car, and we had the best package”, the energy drink brand's top F1 consultant told Osterreich newspaper. “If we eliminate the few weak points, not much should go wrong. But who knows - maybe a competitor has found a special trick during development”, Marko added.
‘Special trick’;
https://www.grandprix.com/news/marko...ial-trick.html
Wolff: No ‘crystal ball’ for Mercedes timeline to beat Red Bull
15/02/2024 at 10:24
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com
The launch of Mercedes’ 2024 contender has created a buzz within the Brackley squad, but team boss Toto Wolff admits he lacks a "crystal ball" to predict when they can dethrone reigning champions Red Bull. Mercedes unveiled its heavily revised W15 design on Wednesday at Silverstone, a static launch that was followed by shakedown runs at the track for George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
"There are no miracles in the sport. On the other hand, our ambition is strong. It is Red Bull and a very successful car that are the benchmark we are aiming to beat. I do not know when that will happen, we do not have any crystal ball. But we will know soon enough how far ahead they are and the task in front of us."
‘Red Bull and a very successful car that are the benchmark we are aiming to beat’;
https://f1i.com/news/499566-no-cryst...l-unclear.html
Should Red Bull be worried yet? Our verdict on 2024 rivals
Feb 15, 2024
The Race
“Ferrari's lack of ambition won't worry Red Bull” Mark Hughes.
“Ferrari might be missing a trick” Scott Mitchell-Malm.
“Mercedes' aggressive changes have potential” Mark Hughes.
“... but Mercedes isn't getting ahead of itself” Matt Beer.
“McLaren gives rivals reasons to fear it” Scott Mitchell-Malm.
“McLaren has all the right ingredients” Matt Beer.
“No free pass will hurt Aston Martin” Ben Anderson.
“This time it might keep up” Josh Suttill.
“RB won't worry Red Bull - but might nip at rivals” Scott Mitchell-Malm.
“Red Bull isn't standing still...” Gary Anderson.
‘Our verdict on 2024 rivals’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/r...in-mclaren-rb/
2024 Red Bull F1 car launch: live stream the RB20 reveal at 7.30pm
February 15th 2024
Motor Sport Magazine
Live stream Red Bull's 2024 F1 car launch this evening. Watch the reveal at 7.30pm here, plus driver line-up and key personnel
‘Red Bull 2024 F1 car live stream;
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a...?nowprocket=1#
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Video: The car that should scare Red Bull's F1 rivals.
Secrecy and innovation have been cornerstones of Red Bull's approach to the Formula 1 pre-season schedule since the start of the ground effect era in 2022.
Feb 15, 2024
The Race
That made a full-scale launch of the bona fide 2024 Red Bull, and the fact it emerged with ideas that look similar to the ones now abandoned by Mercedes, hugely surprising. Such a shift in concept caught even its drivers off-guard, so is this just the start of rival teams' realisations that their fears about RB20 were well founded?
Our video looks at what's new on the car for 2024 and why it was such a handy time for Red Bull to buck its trend of not showing a real car given the RB20's striking details helped prevent the launch from being overrun by the controversy surrounding team principal Christian Horner.
‘The car that should scare Red Bull's F1 rivals’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/s...are-f1-rivals/
Red Bull launch 'brave' and 'innovative' RB20 for 2024 season
Feb 15, 2024, 08:00 PM
Laurence Edmondson, F1 Editor
ESPN.co.uk
Red Bull says it has "pushed the boundaries" with the design of its new Formula One car, the RB20, as it prepares to defend its position as the dominant force in Formula One for a third year running. Red Bull design chief Adrian Newey insisted the new car is an evolution of last year's RB19, but a number of visual design changes -- including a couple of features reminiscent of last year's Mercedes -- suggest the team is still finding significant gains in its wind tunnel.
"We can see rival cars have been influenced by RB19, and we're expecting other teams to converge," Horner said. "I think the team have done a wonderful job on RB20, they haven't sat on their laurels and you can see that they've pushed the boundaries with the car. We'll only see when we get on track what the relative pecking order is for the start of the season.”
"There's some great innovation on the car as well which will no doubt get scrutinized over the coming weeks. Creativity has been strong in the team and you can see that in some of the solutions that they've come up with. It's not a conservative evolution, there's some great innovation on this car."
'Brave and innovative RB20’;
https://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id...rmula-1-season
Red Bull's RB20 - F1's "Brave" New Benchmark?
22:06 Thu, 15 Feb 2024.
Motorsport.com
Red Bull has finally unveiled their 2024 challenger, the RB20, closing out F1's launch season. Given their 2023 domination, the RB20 is set to be F1's benchmarker, but has Red Bull developed their car enough to fight off fresh competition? Can Max Verstappen continue his crushing momentum? And does Sergio Perez need to prove himself in 2024? Steph Wentworth chats with Alex Kalinauckas live at Red Bull's factory, as well as Jake Boxall-Legge, to discuss whether the RB20 really can be F1's next top car.
‘F1's "Brave" New Benchmark’;
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/video/...chmark/646832/
F1 Podcast: Our take on Red Bull launch and design surprise
Feb 15, 2024
The Race
The latest edition of The Race F1 Podcast is brought to you from the Red Bull RB20 2024 Formula 1 car launch in Milton Keynes.
In the first part of the podcast, Edd Straw is joined by special guest and Dutch TV commentator Nelson Valkenburg. He offers a view from the Netherlands about the launch of Max Verstappen's new car…
We then hear from Gary Anderson, a long time ago technical director of this team in its earlier guises as Stewart and Jaguar, who takes a close look at a car that has surprised him. Finally, Mark Hughes gives his take on the event and the direction Red Bull has gone in with the car.
‘Our take on Red Bull launch’;
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/r...-rb20-podcast/
MAX: 'THE RB20 LOOKS GOOD, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY IT NEEDS TO BE QUICK'
Published on 15 February 2024
by Niels Hendrix
Verstappen.nl
Max: “The RB20 looks good, but at the end of the day it needs to be quick” Looking at his brand new car, the Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20, which Max Verstappen will race in 2024, the three-time Formula 1 world champion says: “It\'s always exciting to launch a new car and see the work everyone has put into it. It\'s a good day.”
Max continues: “I\'m excited to get back in the car to find out how competitive our car is this year. We of course had an incredible year last year. We won so many races and broke quite a few records along the way. It will be hard to achieve something similar, but that is not entirely the goal. Of course we want to win races and win the championship, but that doesn\'t necessarily mean breaking records.”
Max realizes that he is in a special environment: “I am entering my tenth year as a Red Bull driver and for me it is like a second family. I grew up here at Red Bull and I am excited for the future, what we can achieve together.” Verstappen is not yet making any predictions: “The RB20 looks good, but at the end of the day it needs to be quick. That’s what we have all been working on.”
'THE RB20 LOOKS GOOD’;
https://news.verstappen.com/en/article/5366/
Verstappen hails “aggressive” new RB20 as Red Bull mimics Mercedes
Formula 1
Posted on 15th February 2024, 20:10
Written by Keith Collantine
RaceFans
“I’m happy with the direction they chose,” Verstappen told media including RaceFans at the launch. “I saw the drawings at Abu Dhabi, at the last race, and I was like, wow, that’s quite different in a way. They’ve not been conservative, let’s say like that.” Verstappen said Red Bull’s ambitious approach is “what I like about the team.”
“We had a great package, but they took the chance to be innovative and go all out, I would say, and try to make it better. Of course, time will tell if it’s really, really good. But from what I see within the team, everyone is just happy with what they have achieved in the wind tunnel. But then again, we don’t know. You can’t control what the other people do.”
He does not believe the team has taken a risk with its design changes. “I think it’s controlled aggressiveness,” said Verstappen. “Everyone is just happy, it doesn’t seem like it’s a question mark, like they’re not entirely sure.” The reshaped engine cover on the RB20, which resembles the design used by Mercedes last year, is one distinctive feature of the new car. “I would still call it a Red Bull style,” said Verstappen.
“I’m happy with the direction they chose”;
https://www.racefans.net/2024/02/15/...mics-mercedes/
Red Bull round out launch season with the RB20
15th February 2024
by Emer Hedderman
FormulaSpy
While the livery continues in the usual Red Bull colour scheme, the RB20 design has changed from last year’s incredibly dominant RB19. Instead of continuing with what had brought a phenomenal amount of success – 21 of last year’s 22 rounds were won by Red Bull – Adrian Newey, the Chief Technical Officer, and his design team haven’t rested on their laurels.
“You have to keep pushing,” Newey said. “We’ve made some improvements to the car in all areas: mechanical, vehicle dynamics and aerodynamics. Is that enough? Who knows? We still have to see.” The team’s Technical Director, Pierre Waché, added: “We just try to identify where we can gain performance on the car. Try to also understand the weakness for the driver. And after that just an evolution of what we did in the previous year.”
Perez believes that the dramatic change in concept, moving from a known dominant car to an unknown, is a “brave” move from the team and shows their hunger to keep pushing boundaries. “You can see that the team has done an incredible job,” Perez said. “We’ve gone very aggressive with the concept, so I’m looking forward to it. I think it just shows the hunger in this team, we had such a dominant car last year you wouldn’t imagine us changing the concept so much. I think it’s really brave from Red Bull to do that.”
‘ “You have to keep pushing,” Newey said’;
https://formulaspy.com/f1/red-bull-r...the-rb20-83962
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TECH ANALYSIS: Why Red Bull’s aggressive RB20 is likely to have alarmed their F1 rivals.
Anyone expecting Red Bull to have made relatively few changes to the car, which last year broke all records of success in F1 history, should have known better. The RB20 is a very aggressive looking upgrade, one which departs from the bodywork trends the team initiated back in 2022.
Mark Hughes
Special Contributor
Formula One - Official Site
Just as everyone has converged towards what Red Bull came up with in the first year of these regulations, so Red Bull has taken what appears to be a big evolutionary step. The most distinctive part of all in a design which seems to have minimised surface area all round is the upright radiator inlet which sits tight inboard and running to the bottom of the chassis.
In addition to the changes to the cooling layout, the re-siting and miniaturisation of the radiators has also allowed the rear upper bodywork to be very short, ramping down at a sharp angle, creating lots of volume ahead of the rear wing. That short length is matched by the sidepod, creating more volume there to enhance airflow around the diffuser.
This radical reworking of the upper bodywork are all in service to maximising the performance of the component we cannot see – the underfloor. With a more powerful airflow around the sidepods and along the floor edges, the geometry of the venturi tunnels will have been re-optimised – something which will surely strike dread in the opposition ahead of the season.
‘RB20 is likely to have alarmed their F1 rivals’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...IW1JkheZS.html
WATCH: Revealing the secrets of the upgraded Red Bull F1 car
16 February 11:30AM
Author RacingNews365 Staff
RacingNews365
Red Bull launched a new-look Formula 1 car earlier this week as it goes in the hunt for another year of championship success. Max Verstappen expressed his surprise over the car's direction and praised Red Bull for not being conservative with its approach.
The car will no doubt be heavily scrutinised by rival teams when it hits the track at pre-season testing next week. Below, you can see our initial analysis of the RB20.
‘Revealing the secrets’;
https://racingnews365.com/watch-reve...ed-bull-f1-car
MPH: New F1 cars resemble old Red Bull, but Newey's changed the game again
February 16th 2024
Author: Mark Hughes
Motor Sport Magazine
Just as the other teams were converging towards the sort of car which Red Bull produced two years ago and developed last year, the Milton Keynes outfit itself then appeared to move the game on, with an RB20 that redrew the lines. Ironically some of those lines bear a certain similarity to the original Mercedes reaction to these regulations but which Mercedes itself has now abandoned. However, the car around the similar vertical radiator inlet and high cooling shoulders is very different.
[Explanations of other team launches…] Then the RB20 happened. The suspension was much the same. But virtually nothing else was. A slim vertical radiator inlet, sited low and hugging the chassis sides, exposed a simply enormous undercut for the front of the sidepod. That sidepod itself was way smaller than before and the whole rear bodywork of the car stopped very short, revealing lots of volume for the airflows to the rear wing and diffuser to exploit. How had this been possible?
Where could the radiators be housed within such a small area? The coolers previously higher up around the centreline have been miniaturised and incredibly intricately shaped so as to be moved down – and that has seemingly opened up a whole new window of airflow-enhancing body design, enabling the underfloor to do even more powerful magic. That’s the theory anyhow. Testing in Bahrain begins next week and we’ll see if this storyline has a further twist in the tale.
‘Then the RB20 happened’;
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a...?nowprocket=1#
Red Bull Unveils Shocking New RB20 F1 Car With 2023 Mercedes-AMG Design Elements
Published: 16 Feb 2024, 08:44 UTC
By: Sergiu Tudose
autoevolution
Red Bull Racing just unveiled its all-new Formula 1 car for the 2024 season, and to everyone’s shock and amazement, the so-called RB20 appears to feature a couple of design ideas that ended up being discarded by Mercedes-AMG last year.
We’re just as shocked as you are, frankly. Look at those long cooling gulleys that run backwards from the halo over the entire lengths of the engine cover. It’s pretty much the same design used by Mercedes on the W14 last year – the German outfit kept this look even after abandoning their ‘zeropod’ sidepod design.
This isn’t the only similarity between the RB20 and one of the Mercedes cars, because the former also comes with a vertical sidepod radiator inlet, kind of like what we saw on the old W13 – back when Mercedes first introduced their ‘zeropod’ design. What on Earth should we make of this? This design philosophy clearly didn’t work for Mercedes, so will it work for Red Bull? Are they that confident? Perhaps.
‘We’re just as shocked as you are’;
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/r...ts-229334.html
Unpicking the secrets of Red Bull’s brave new F1 sidepods
Red Bull is Formula 1’s trendsetter going into 2024 as rivals looked to emulate its design, but it’s moved the game on yet again.
UPDATEDFEB 16, 2024, 12:40 PM
AUTHOR: Matt Somerfield
Motorsport.com
Rival teams have been offering up their own renditions of the underbite inlet and undercut solution that Red Bull has developed over the last two seasons.
But Red Bull has ditched the underbite on the RB20 and has an overbite arrangement instead, with that high panel now forming an extension for the sidepod’s upper surface, while the inlet finds its home down below, married to a very generous undercut.
“What inlet?” you might ask, and you’d be right to do so, as the renders released by the team are devoid of one. But based on the images seen of the RB20 being shaken down at Silverstone it could just be made out that there was a vertical inlet beside the chassis.
‘Unpicking the secrets’;
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/r...gain/10576379/
Verstappen: New RB20 designed with ‘controlled aggressiveness'
16/02/2024 at 08:12
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com
Reigning F1 world champion Max Verstappen commended Red Bull’s engineers for designing the team's 2024 RB20 with a measure of “controlled aggressiveness”. While claiming that its new contender is an evolution of last year’s RB19, Red Bull have opted for several bold design choices, the team even daring to move away from several significant trends it initiated under F1’s ground effect rules and which its rivals are only starting to embrace.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner pointed to RB20 incorporating some “absolutely exquisite detail”. “There’s some great innovation in the car as well and it will no doubt get scrutinised over the coming weeks," Horner said. "Creativity has been strong in the team and you can see that in some of the solutions that they’ve come up with. It’s not a conservative evolution.”
‘Controlled aggressiveness';
https://f1i.com/news/499621-verstapp...ssiveness.html
Red Bull insists it isn't baiting with Mercedes-style RB20 solutions
Red Bull says its shift towards Mercedes-style solutions on its new RB20 Formula 1 car was not to stir the pot with its rival, but purely about chasing more performance.
UPDATEDFEB 16, 2024, 12:55 PM
AUTHORJonathan Noble
Motorsport.com
The Milton Keynes-based squad raised some eyebrows at the unveiling of its 2024 F1 challenger on Thursday night as it emerged with several concepts that Mercedes has previously used and abandoned.
This includes the full-length engine gulleys that are reminiscent of the 2023 Mercedes, plus an extreme version of sidepods that is not totally removed from the zero-pod concept that its German manufacturer competitor raced before abandoning.
Horner said that while the car did have some evolutionary aspects from its 2023 challenge, a lot of big changes had been made. "I think there's great innovation on the car as well that no doubt will be scrutinised over the coming couple of weeks," he said. "I think creativity has been strong in the team. You can see that in some of the solutions that they've come up with. So, it's not a conservative evolution. There's some great innovation."
‘RB20 Formula 1 car raised some eyebrows’;
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/r...ical/10576271/
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Lewis Hamilton and George Russell "confrontation" likely as two F1 champions agree.
Lewis Hamilton is set to leave Mercedes for Ferrari next year and both Jacques Villeneuve and Jenson Button believe his impending switch could cause problems this season.
• 09:37, 13 Feb 2024
By Matthew Cooper Sports Writer
The Mirror
Villeneuve, who won the world title in 1997, believes "there is something wrong" inside Mercedes and he is expecting to see some "confrontation" between Hamilton and Russell this year. When asked by Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport what will entertain F1 fans this season, he replied:
"See how Mercedes will handle the confrontation between Russell and Hamilton. Inside Mercedes, there is something wrong. Lewis no longer believes in the engineers, he no longer believes in Toto. The team, after all the space and freedom they gave him, didn't expect such a farewell. It was Mercedes that created Hamilton's image. They believed he would remain an ambassador for life."
Fellow former world champion Button has echoed Villeneuve's comments, suggesting the timing of Hamilton's announcement could cause some internal problems. "It's a big deal and I cannot wait to see how he goes in the Ferrari," he said. "The weird thing is that it is quite an early call, though, to mention it this early on. It's a year before he'll be stepping into the Ferrari, so how is that atmosphere going to be at Mercedes? It's not easy. What do they hold back from Lewis? I mean, he knows the ins and outs of this team very well anyway but, when they get down to the nitty-gritty, are there going to be certain things they hold back from Lewis? Possibly.”
‘Confrontation likely’;
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...cedes-32112054
Wolff: Mercedes will treat Hamilton and Russell equally in 2024
Hamilton will leave the team at the end of the 2024 season, spending over a decade with the Brackley-based outfit
February 3, 2024
Nathan Hartley
FormulaNerds
Transparency is key: Wolff has already emphasised that there is no grudges against himself and Hamilon. The Austrian boss admitted that he already knew that Hamilton would leave for Ferrari eventaully. However, he was shocked at the timing of the announcement. Despite already knowing that the seven-time world champion is leaving, Wolff believes that transparency is the most important aspect for 2024:
“I think what I’ve always tried to do as a team principal, and all of us at Mercedes, is to be transparent, and fair. And nothing’s going to change in that respect in 2024. We owe it to our principles and our racing intent, how we go about, and we will respect that. And I will be sure that the drivers will respect it.”
“In terms of the development going forward, I think this is something which we need to look at. The regulations stay pretty much the same. And when it comes to 2025, we will evaluate later in the season what it means in terms of technical information, but that’s not something that bothers me at all.”
‘No grudges’;
https://www.formulanerds.com/news/wo...ually-in-2024/
Wolff: Mercedes will be fair to Hamilton and Russell in F1 2024
Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff says that the team will be fair to both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell as it enters the former’s final season in the camp.
UPDATEDFEB 3, 2024, 3:19 PM
Motorsport.com
Wolff says he has no concerns about potentially having to block the flow of information on future development to Hamilton, suggesting that it’s too early to make a call on how that process might work. Logic suggests that Hamilton will henceforth be frozen out of any discussions on 2026, when the new F1 regulations come in.
“In terms of the development going forward, I think this is something which we need to look at. The regulations stay pretty much the same. And when it comes to 2025, we will evaluate later in the season what it means in terms of technical information, but that's not something that bothers me at all.”
“We have engineers that leave us and go to other teams and the notice periods are sometimes as short as six months. So I don't have any doubt in Lewis' integrity, in terms of sharing information. And in that respect, we want to make sure that this is a successful season for both drivers, and a successful season for Mercedes, and all of us will give our utmost to achieve that.”
‘No concerns about potentially having to block the flow of information on future development to Hamilton’;
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/w...2024/10571744/
F1: Toto Wolff backs 'leader' George Russell to succeed at Mercedes after Lewis Hamilton's exit to Ferrari
PUBLISHED 05/02/2024 AT 14:34 GMT
BYARAMIDE OLADIPO
TNT Sports
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has backed George Russell to become a "leader" and the main man for the team after Lewis Hamilton moves to Ferrari for the 2025 season. The announcement that Hamilton would join Ferrari next year sent shockwaves around the sport but Wolff is confident that fellow Englishman Russell can be the face of Mercedes in the near future.
"With all the Lewis discussion, something that has not been talked about enough is George," Wolff said, per Sky Sports. "George has the potential to be the next lead driver in the team. He is of the generation of Lando [Norris] and [Charles] Leclerc and some of the others. I couldn't wish for a new team leader when Lewis leaves, no doubt about that."
"We have such a solid foundation, such a quick, talented and intelligent guy in the car that we just need to take the right choice for the second driver, and that's not something I want to be rushed in," Wolff added. "I guess that a few contracts have been signed a few weeks ago that we would have looked at that could have been interesting but timing here beat us a bit."
‘Toto Wolff backs 'leader' George Russell’;
https://www.tntsports.co.uk/formula-...95/story.shtml
Martin Brundle backs ‘brilliant’ George Russell to pick up Lewis Hamilton ‘mantle’ in 2025
10 Feb 2024 10:00 AM
Henry Valantine
PlanetF1.com
Martin Brundle believes George Russell is “ready to pick up the mantle” Lewis Hamilton will leave behind at Mercedes in 2025 after he moves to Ferrari. Team principal Toto Wolff has also expressed his belief in Russell as a potential team leader at Mercedes once Hamilton departs, with the younger Briton having taken the team’s only victory of the ground effect era so far.
While former team boss Eddie Jordan was not quite sure whether or not Russell would be ready to lead Mercedes in 2025, Brundle does not feel the same way. “I don’t think so, because nothing’s forever, is it?” Brundle said on Sky Sports News when asked if Mercedes would feel ‘let down’ by Hamilton joining Ferrari. “You don’t sign a contract and one of the clauses is, ‘We will never leave you’, and the other side of it is, ‘We will never fire you or take somebody else.’
“It’s a moving thing in any sport, as you know, so I think it might just energise both sides. Mercedes have George Russell, what a brilliant young talent he is, and he’s really ready for the future. They can bring somebody else in now whether it’s a [Carlos] Sainz, an [Alex] Albon, they’ve got access to Esteban Ocon, for example. Let’s see who else they’re looking around at, but I think both Ferrari and Mercedes must see this like a reset and an opportunity.”
‘Martin Brundle backs ‘brilliant’ George Russell’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/martin...amilton-mantle
George Russell’s F1 credentials questioned: “Lewis Hamilton had too much on him”
Is George Russell the right driver to deliver Mercedes world championship success? Eddie Jordan doesn't think so.
09 Feb 2024
Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net
Legendary F1 team boss Eddie Jordan has questioned George Russell’s credentials of being Mercedes’ team leader when Lewis Hamilton departs at the end of 2024. Russell will become the de facto number one driver when Hamilton joins Ferrari next year. The former Williams driver out-scored Hamilton during his first year with the team in 2022, becoming only the third driver to do so - alongside Jenson Button (2011) and Nico Rosberg (2016).
2023 was trickier for Russell, who slumped to a disappointing eighth in the championship standings. Speaking on the latest episode of the Formula for Success podcast, Jordan is unsure Russell is capable of winning a world championship in the next couple of seasons. "Let’s be honest, George Russell has won one Grand Prix," Jordan said. "Do I think he can be a world champion next year or the year after? I just think that Lewis had too much on him.”
"When Lewis didn’t quite have the car that he wanted at the beginning of the year, George was able to drive around that. Lewis didn’t bother because, not that he didn’t bother, but he just didn’t feel that the car was good enough to be able to do the job."
‘George Russell’s F1 credentials questioned’;
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/104413...d-too-much-him
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Leclerc and the Tifosi: Hope ignites at Fiorano.
And perhaps, just perhaps, this season, the dream will finally become reality.
11:51 Thu, 15 Feb 2024.
F1i.com
After Tuesday’s shakedown run at Fiorano, Charles Leclerc ventured out – as is the tradition – to meet a group of Tifosi that had assembled behind the fences to witness the track debut of Ferrari’s SF-24 charger. For the Monegasque, beyond the autographs and selfies, the encounter was another reminder of a shared dream.
Since Kimi Raikkonen's triumphant 2007 season, the Prancing Horse has been tantalisingly close yet agonizingly out of reach of the ultimate prize. Drivers like Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel shouldered the expectations, but the dream remained elusive.
As Leclerc steps onto the grid, the cheers of the tifosi will propel him forward, a constant reminder that he carries not just the weight of his own talent, but the collective hope of an entire nation yearning for a return to the pinnacle of motorsport.
‘Hope ignites at Fiorano’;
https://f1i.com/images/499569-lecler...t-fiorano.html
Charles Leclerc encouraged by ‘healthier’ SF-24 after first shakedown run
14 Feb 2024 7:30 AM
Henry Valantine
PlanetF1.com
While too early to tell if it’s competitive, Charles Leclerc said the Ferrari SF-24 felt “healthier” on its opening shakedown laps compared to last year’s challenger, which was “very difficult to drive” early on.
“This year, the car feels healthier and in a better place. On the other hand, and I want to push on the point, that doesn’t mean anything on the competitiveness of the car because if other teams have done bigger steps forward in terms of lap time gains, then it can be an easier car to drive, but if it’s not fast enough, it won’t be fast enough on track.”
“So in terms of competitiveness, it’s very difficult [to say]. In terms of actual feeling of the very first laps, I will say I’ve had a better feeling this year than I did last year.”
‘Healthier SF-24’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/charle...rst-impression
Leclerc on SF24 track debut: ‘The car feels healthier’
14/02/2024 at 07:19
Michael Delaney
F1i.com
Charles Leclerc says that Ferrari’s new SF-24 “feels healthier” and is already “in a better place” than its predecessor after sampling the Scuderia's new design on Tuesday at Fiorano. The Monegasque had noted “a significant step forward” when he first experienced the SF-24 in Maranello’s simulator.
Despite a run that lasted just a handful of laps, and with a car equipped with “cameras stuck all around it”, Leclerc provided an equally positive first impression, although assessing the car’s level of performance was impossible.
"Looking back at the previous year, I think you always need to wait two or three races to understand how strong of a package you have on different tracks, because sometimes you can have a very strong package on one track and then you get to another one and you are struggling much more," Leclerc explained.
‘The car feels healthier’;
https://f1i.com/news/499443-leclerc-...healthier.html
Leclerc claims he has a ‘better feeling’ about the SF-24 ahead of its Bahrain debut
Leclerc spoke about the improvements made between last year's car and the new SF-24 after its first shakedown run in Fiorano
February 14, 2024
Oliver Brindle
FormulaNerds
Leclerc is hoping for improved drivability: At the start of the 2023 season, the SF-23 struggled with its race pace and increased tyre degradation. Alongside this, Leclerc has revealed how the car’s sensitivity to wind direction made it increasingly difficult to “extract the maximum out of the car.”
“There was obviously a clear input from us drivers, which was the drivability of the 2023 car, which was extremely sensitive to wind direction changes, to outside conditions changing and that was making it very, very difficult for us to extract the maximum out of the car,” added Leclerc. “Because as soon as one of these elements would change slightly, the behaviour of the car was completely different. There’s been a lot of work and, based on the simulator, we’ve done a significant step forward on that.”
“Based on the reality, it’s still very early days to tell. I’ve done three laps this morning, but three laps with cameras stuck all around the car and not really pushing to the limit, so too early to say.” We will be able to get the first look at if the Ferrari has solved some of its technical issues with the significant changes they have made towards their design at pre-season testing in Bahrain, which will get underway at 7 am GMT (10 am local time).
‘Better feeling about the SF-24’;
https://www.formulanerds.com/news/le...bahrain-debut/
‘Leclerc to be more aggressive and Ferrari aiming to attract Mercedes personnel’
Total-Motorsport.com take a closer look at what to expect from Ferrari ahead of the 2024 Formula 1 season
February 14, 2024
By Joe Krishnan
Total Motorsport
Ferrari were the only team to defeat Red Bull in 2023 and they fell just three points short of beating Mercedes to second in the Constructors’ Championship. Frederic Vasseur will spend his second season in charge of Formula 1’s most famous team and all eyes will be on how Carlos Sainz handles the knowledge that Lewis Hamilton will replace him in 2025.
Joe Krishnan: Expect a more aggressive Leclerc. I think we’re going to see a less forgiving and more aggressive Leclerc this year. He’s fighting to prove he’s still Ferrari’s main man ahead of Hamilton’s arrival and, having failed to convert any of his five pole positions from last year, he has work to do.
Jasmine Hughes: Ferrari will look to attract Mercedes personnel: Ferrari appear to be coming at this season with a fresh mind and an almost-clean slate, with team principal Vasseur having described the 2024 challenger as “95% new”. Ferrari will want to avoid painting Hamilton’s audacious decision as a mistake, but equally, will seek to depict itself as a worthy destination for any Mercedes personnel it might hope to poach along with Hamilton.
‘Ferrari were the only team to defeat Red Bull in 2023’;
https://www.total-motorsport.com/lec...des-personnel/
Leclerc provides reason for long-term Ferrari commitment
16 February 1:50PM
Author Nick Golding
Co-author Ian Parkes
RacingNews365
He was considerably more vocal on the radio and clearly disgruntled at some strategic calls, yet his love for the manufacturer remains seemingly untouched. Leclerc believes in not only what Ferrari is trying to do but also in their pursuit of having the fastest car. "Well, of course, it's part of my decision," Leclerc told select media including RacingNews365.
"I think not only because it feels like a family, but most of all, because they were the first people to believe in me straight from even before I got to Formula 1. They gave me the opportunity to get into Formula 1, they gave me the opportunity of being a Ferrari driver, and getting a car that was good enough to get my first pole position and my first win.”
"But more than anything, I think what made me sign for a longer contract is because I believe in the project. Otherwise, I wouldn't have done that. So I believe in the project fully. I love Ferrari, that's for sure, and I think that's clear to everybody. But most of all, I believe in the project, and I believe we have the best chance in order to become the best car on the grid in the next years. So this is why I renewed with Ferrari."
“I believe in the project”;
https://racingnews365.com/leclerc-pr...ari-commitment
Leclerc: Two or three wins in 2024 ‘not my target’
15/02/2024 at 16:51
Michael Delaney
F1i.com
Charles Leclerc admits his ambitions with Ferrari this season go beyond a few wins but concedes that the true potential of the Scuderia will only be revealed after the first race. when asked if he would be satisfied with two or three wins as part of his team’s progress, Leclerc's response was resolute.
“No, it’s not enough,” he quipped. “I want to win as many races as possible, and we will do the count at the end of the year, to also understand where we’ll be after the first race to understand how competitive are.”
“It’s very difficult to draw a picture of where we’ll stand after the first race, it will depend on that as well, but two or three is not my target, I want to win as many races as possible. 2023 for me was no victories, I cannot wait to be back on the top step of the podium and together with Ferrari, especially. So I’m fully motivated.”
‘Two or three wins in 2024 not my target’;
https://f1i.com/news/499583-leclerc-...my-target.html
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Max Verstappen speaks out on suggestions Red Bull have copied Mercedes.
Max Verstappen dominated the 2023 season in the RB19, but the RB20 appears to take some inspiration from rivals Mercedes' old design.
14:27, Fri, Feb 16, 2024
By Harry Smith
Daily and Sunday Express
Max Verstappen has batted away any claims that Red Bull have copied elements of Mercedes’ last two challengers with their design of the RB20. The reigning champions attracted some interest on Thursday when they unveiled a new car that had engine gulleys similar to those on show with the W14.
Dismissing any comments suggesting that Red Bull had copied their long-time rivals, Verstappen said: “I would still call it a Red Bull style. But I know what you mean. I'm quite happy with the direction that they chose.
“I saw the drawings I think in Abu Dhabi, the last race, and I was like, 'wow, that's quite different in a way'. They've not been conservative, let's say it like that. I think what I like about the team is that we had a great package, but they took the chance to really go all out, I would say, and try to make it better.”
'Wow, that's quite different in a way';
https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...-Bull-Mercedes
Max Verstappen responds to comments on his RB20’s Mercedes looks
16 Feb 2024 12:30 PM
Michelle Foster
PlanetF1.com
Unveiling the RB20 that features some elements that are reminiscent of the Mercedes F1 cars, Max Verstappen says it’s still a “Red Bull-style” car.
The car, though, does continue with last year’s RB19’s downwash sidepod solutions further toward the rear of the car with the front end similar to the championship winning car. “I would still call it a Red Bull-style. But I know what you mean,” Verstappen told the media, including PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher, when the Mercedes-style parts were pointed out.
His team-mate Sergio Perez agrees it does draw inspiration from the Mercedes, but that’s a positive sign from Red Bull’s designers. Asked if he was surprised by the W14 elements on his RB20, the Mexican driver replied: “Yes! A bit! “But at the same time it just shows how much this team is looking to move forwards and pushing all the boundaries. It’s really great to see.”
‘ “Red Bull-style” car’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/max-ve...mercedes-looks
Max Verstappen responds to Lando Norris saying no top driver wants to be his team-mate
Max Verstappen has given his take on Lando Norris' comments
12:42, Fri, Feb 16, 2024
By Amos Murphy
Daily and Sunday Express
Verstappen is widely considered the best driver in the world right now and he is expected to make it four World Championships in a row this season. The 26-year-old appears untouchable in the world of F1, which has led to claims Verstappen wouldn’t be a good team-mate to race alongside.
“I think if I look back at myself four years ago compared to now, just a bit more calm, a bit more experienced,” Verstappen told Sky Sports. “In some scenarios that can definitely make a bit of a difference, probably winning a championship helps as well.
“But it would be quite exciting I think to have my four-year-old younger self team up against my current one. I’m not afraid of a challenge and I think it’s cool to race the best in the world. But again, also from his [Norris’] side, I don’t know what’s going on in the team there.”
‘What’s going on’;
https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...n-Lando-Norris
Max Verstappen on why Lando Norris should remain at McLaren after Red Bull links
17 Feb 2024 12:15 PM
Thomas Maher
PlanetF1.com
Max Verstappen has responded to Lando Norris’ shying away from joining Red Bull while the Dutch driver is embedded within the team.
Verstappen said he could see the reasoning behind Norris’ preference not to go up against him, but put it more at the feet of Norris being comfortable within the McLaren environment rather than the British driver being afraid of going up against him.
“But from his [Lando’s] side, I don’t know what’s going on in the team there,” he said. “And when you feel really happy and confident with the people you are with, and they’ve [McLaren] been on a positive trajectory, you also think to yourself: ‘Maybe I don’t need to leave and I can make this a success.'”
‘Lando Norris should remain at McLaren’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/max-ve...-red-bull-link
Max Verstappen admits ‘never say never’ on leaving Red Bull for F1 rival
Sat 17 February 2024 08:00
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer
Max Verstappen admits ‘you should never say never’ about leaving Red Bull but he is not interested in joining Ferrari ‘at the moment’ after Lewis Hamilton quit Mercedes. The Scuderia stunned the paddock at the start of February by announcing that Hamilton will replace Carlos Sainz next year. Ferrari have awarded the 39-year-old a multi-year contract to race in red after he initiated his escape clause to leave Mercedes following the 2024 season.
“In my life, I know from my experiences so far that you should never say never,” Verstappen has admitted, via quotes by Motorsport-Total. “But, for me, it’s not even in my head now.” The Dutchman continued: “I get it, it’s a nice brand that has achieved a lot in this sport. But, at the moment, my head is only with this team. That’s what I spend my time on.
“Everything else is secondary… I don’t want to sound disrespectful or anything like that. I have a lot of respect for the Ferrari brand but I’m very happy where I am at the moment. I’m comfortable in my environment, so there’s nothing for me that I want to change.”
‘You should never say never’;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/max...-for-f1-rival/
Max Verstappen predicts ‘awkward, weird’ F1 2024 season for Lewis Hamilton
17 Feb 2024 7:00 AM
Oliver Harden
PlanetF1.com
Max Verstappen believes Lewis Hamilton is in for an “awkward” and “weird” last season with Mercedes in 2024 ahead of his big move to Ferrari. And Verstappen reckons his relationship with the team – and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff – will change as his exit nears. According to the Times, he said: “I think it must have been leaked because to announce something that big that early in the season.”
“I think for sure, for the rest of the year, I would say it’s a little bit awkward. Even though you have had a lot of success together, you can’t be included into everything anymore. For sure he has a great relationship with everyone, especially Toto, but at one point Toto for sure will tell him: ‘Look, I know we’ve had all this success, but you can’t be part of certain meetings any more.’”
“That is normal in F1. It’s probably a bit weird. But you are professional enough to deal with that. It’s not like they are suddenly enemies. He has achieved so many great things with them. They are still behind him. It’s just [that] you know at one point you can’t share certain stuff. But once he’s sitting in the car they will of course go flat out for him.”
‘Awkward, weird F1 2024 season’;
https://www.planetf1.com/news/max-ve...lewis-hamilton
