2024 Formula 1 Preview & Review.

[Fortitude]

TECH WEEKLY: How the Mercedes W15 was transformed from a 'bouncing handful' into a Belgian Grand Prix winner.
On the Friday of the Belgian Grand Prix even Mercedes would not have thought a 1-2 (before George Russell’s exclusion) was a likely outcome.
30 July 2024
Mark Hughes Giorgio Piola
Formula One - Official Site

The Mercedes W15, with its newly updated floor and diffuser, was proving to be a bouncing handful and definitely looked only the fourth-fastest car. On Sunday it was at least equal-fastest with McLaren.

‘Would not have thought a 1-2 was a likely outcome’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...rYB34TfqiSSuY7


Mercedes ahead of schedule with W15 exceeding F1 2024 performance targets
3 Aug 2024
Oliver Harden
PlanetF1.com

Andrew Shovlin has revealed the Mercedes W15 has exceeded expectations in F1 2024 after the team had targeted winning races only towards the end of the season. And he revealed the team had only hoped to challenge for victories and pole positions at the end of the season, with Mercedes now back to “really enjoying the racing” following their recent upturn in performance.

He said: “The main thing is the progress. Where we were in the early races in Bahrain and in Jeddah, it was difficult to look at the car and understand what it was you had to do to make it quick.”

“We could see it had certain strengths, but it also had plenty of weaknesses. The team has responded brilliantly to that challenge. We know where we want to get to in terms of performance level.”

‘Progress’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/merced...rmance-targets


Tech Analysis | How a step back on the updates allowed the W15 to win in Spa
1 August 2024
Francesco Bianchi
GPblog.com

This article looks at why the decision was a positive turning point for the Brackley team’s weekend. After achieving 2 victories in the last three races, Mercedes arrived in Spa with a new upgrade package. This included some major changes to the floor and diffuser and some minor changes (track-specific) to the front wing and the halo.

It was possible to appreciate a floor edge that had a design very similar to the one adopted by Red Bull. The previous version, in fact, was characterised by a raised profile under which five vortex generators were housed. In the new version, however, the vortex generators have become four and two small "fins" have been added (one above the other) at the beginning of the floor edge and are connected directly to the floor by a metal support, with a very similar design to the one adopted on the RB20.

‘Step back on the updates allowed the W15 to win’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/29304...win-in-sp.html


Mercedes reveal the major W15 turning point with two key upgrades identified
6 Aug 2024
Thomas Maher
PlanetF1.com

Mercedes’ Andrew Shovlin has revealed how the “not very good” baseline of the W15 has been transformed over the first half of this season. “We didn’t really bring developments to the early races of the year, so we started to pull forward developments with a new floor in Miami,” he said when asked about what had started to click for Mercedes to bring about the transformation.

“We then pulled forward a front wing that was due later in the season to [where] we had one on George’s car in Monaco. I think, by that point, you could see that we had a car that was definitely one that you could work with and improve around that time of Monaco, and then, what we have seen since then, is a pretty impressive delivery of updates to every single track.”

Now with a firmer grasp on how to rectify some of the issues that have plagued the W15, Shovlin said this has a knock-on effect in terms of making the path forward even clearer. As you solve problems with the handling of the car, the challenge actually becomes simple and you get more clarity about what you want to do next,” he said.

‘Impressive delivery of updates’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/merced...point-problems


Russell explains why Mercedes took Spa upgrade off W15
Mercedes' floor upgrade was taken off both cars ahead of qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix.
28 July 2024
Jake Nichol Ian Parkes
RacingNews365

George Russell has detailed exactly why Mercedes opted to remove the floor upgrades it brought to the Belgian Grand Prix ahead of qualifying. "We've struggled here for the last three years, and the fluctuation of all the teams from circuit to circuit is pretty substantial," he told media including RacingNews365. "It was important for us to revert back to something we know to see if it is a challenge for Spa for us, which I am pretty confident it is, as opposed to an upgrade problem.”

"The upgrades were nothing substantial, it is just part of the development of the course of the year, and it gives us time to review the data and go from there, but I am pretty confident the upgrades are working as expected. It's been three years in a row that we've been very quick at Silverstone and struggled at Spa.”

"On paper, you'd say they're not exactly the same type of circuit, but have high and low speed corners, and we need to try and understand [why we struggle at Spa]. There seems to be something inherent in the cars at certain circuits, like Red Bull always fly here, and this is always probably their strongest circuit of the season along with Austria. For us, Silverstone and Barcelona are the sort of circuits we tend to go very well at, so we need to understand that."

‘Mercedes' floor upgrade was taken off’;

https://racingnews365.com/russell-ex...pgrade-off-w15


The hidden W15 changes that have helped push major F1 breakthrough
9 Aug 2024
Uros Radovanovic
PlanetF1.com

The F1 2024 season has been a wild ride for Mercedes. They began the year as the fourth fastest team, but by the last race in Belgium, they had emerged as the fastest. At the beginning of this season, the W15 was the fourth fastest car, often lagging behind Ferrari, McLaren, and especially Red Bull. Their best result before the Monaco GP in May was P5 at the season opener in Bahrain.

The biggest visible upgrade for the W15 came in Monaco, where only George Russell tested the new front wing. The ‘legality wire’ on the last element was replaced with a more traditional approach. The new front wing had a completely different shape, with the second element being notably longer. This change allowed the W15 to generate more downforce, especially in various corners, resulting in better and more consistent track performance.

Another key but less noticed improvement was the continuous changes to the car’s floor during the season, with the most significant one at Imola. These changes were hidden from public view, but they significantly improved the W15’s performance. However, solving these tasks led engineers to better understand the ground effect concept and create a reliable and consistent floor.

‘Wild ride’;

https://www.planetf1.com/features/hi...1-breakthrough


Mercedes still confident in upgraded W15 floor despite Spa ditch
02/08/2024
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

Mercedes says it will reintroduce at the Dutch Grand Prix its W15’s upgraded floor, despite abandoning the element after Friday’s running at Spa-Francorchamps. “I think we made a drastic change in order to recover some of the performance, but we believe it wasn't the floor,” Wolff explained at Spa last weekend, quoted by Motorsport.com.

“It will be quite interesting when we put everything on the car in Zandvoort and correlate, and see what it does. Then we can be sure whether it's the mechanical bit that we thought, or if there are a few interactions aerodynamically and mechanically that didn't work.”

“I think we need to remain both feet on the ground,” he explained. “The swings of performance, you see a trend definitely that's positive on our side. With some other teams, you see a negative trend. But I don't think we should really pre-empt how the second half of the season is going to go. I think it's a tough fight, and there are four teams that are giving it everything.”

‘Mercedes still confident’;

https://f1i.com/news/515823-mercedes...spa-ditch.html


Mercedes reveals 2025 F1 car will be ‘close cousin’ of the W15
7 Aug 2024
Taylor Powling
Motorsport Week

Mercedes has revealed that the team’s 2025 Formula 1 car will be a “close cousin” of the current W15 amid the impending sizeable regulation change coming in 2026. And while he has admitted that the W15’s successor will be a “close cousin” to the current car, Shovlin has divulged that some crucial areas are still to be determined.

“We haven’t made decisions yet on does the chassis stay the same? Does the gearbox stay the same?” he highlighted. “The reality is you probably can’t change everything. We’re at a stage now where we’re trying to evaluate those to look for the best return for your spend in the cost cap.”

“However, I think, aerodynamically, our car and most people’s cars will be an evolution of what we have today – there’ll be significant changes on there but you won’t want to change the architecture of the car and take a big hit in the wind tunnel that you then have to recover – I don’t think many people will be doing that.”

‘Close cousin’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/...in-of-the-w15/

[Fortitude]

Leclerc offers honest assessment of where Ferrari stand midway through 2024 as he urges team to bring upgrades ‘as soon as possible’.
Charles Leclerc has called on Ferrari to bring more upgrades “as soon as possible” after the summer break, with the Monegasque believing that Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes all have stronger cars at this stage of the season.
6 August 2024
Formula One - Official Site

Speaking post-race, Charles Leclerc gave a frank assessment of where Ferrari stand after 14 of 24 scheduled rounds and discussed what’s needed for the races to come if they are to fight for the big prizes once more and improve on their current championship position of P3.

“I feel like we are the fourth-fastest car at the moment,” he stated. “I mean, the first part of the year for us was, for the first half, pretty positive; the second half struggling a bit more, trying to fix the issues. We are just going to try and recharge our batteries during the break, come back, try and analyse, and hopefully bring new parts as soon as possible on the car to be challenging for wins again.”

‘Honest assessment’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...xhtgz78xGy2jBI


Fred Vasseur: Next races will be “much better” for Ferrari
August 6, 2024
Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
Last Word On Sports

Vasseur: Next races should be strong for SF-24. Speaking after the Belgian GP, Fred Vasseur gave reasons to be optimistic. “To fix the bouncing is a step in performance,” the Ferrari team principal explained.

“For sure, we are pushing like hell to bring something and we will do it as soon as possible. We have also I think a good sequence of tracks for us with Monza, Baku, Singapore… I think these are good tracks for the characteristics of the car.”

“I think that the most important [thing] is to score points… to not lose points on McLaren and Red Bull, and we did it [in Belgium]. It will be the same target in Zandvoort because I’m convinced that the next three or four races after these two will be much better for us.”

“Pushing like hell”;

https://lastwordonsports.com/motorsp...r-for-ferrari/


Leclerc outlines 'big motivation' for Ferrari comeback
Charles Leclerc's Belgian Grand Prix podium ended a five-race streak without a rostrum.
4 August 2024
Nick Golding Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365

Charles Leclerc has outlined that Ferrari has a "big motivation" to rediscover its early season form and return to winning ways. Leclerc is pleased to see F1 being so exciting but would rather Ferrari be winning on a regular basis.

"It's nice for F1 on one side," Leclerc told select media including RacingNews365. "The biggest part of me wishes there was total domination by Ferrari and it will be a very boring season in that sense. But it's not, and we've still got a lot of work to do.”

"Obviously with the last few races, we are not in the momentum of fighting for wins at the moment. So we've just got to focus on ourselves. But it's true that it's good and interesting for F1 to have different winners, to have different teams developing their cars in a really good way. This makes it very interesting."

'Big motivation';

https://racingnews365.com/leclerc-ou...rrari-comeback


Where do the additional cameras sit on the Ferrari SF-24?
27 Jul 2024
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Ferrari is also one of the teams that carried an extra camera on its cars on the opening day at the Belgian Grand Prix as the FIA carried out additional tests to check the flexibility of front wings.

It emerged ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix that Formula One's governing body, the FIA would check the flexibility of front wings, using extra video footage. These additional dynamic tests kicked off at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps with further tests expected to take place after the summer break.

According to Motorsport.com, FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis set a technical directive that is referred to as TD034G to all teams. “The FIA has decided, starting from Belgium onward for an indefinite period of time, to measure the overall front wing deformation on track. The FOM forward-facing cameras are unfortunately not capable of capturing the complete front wing as a large outboard part is not covered by the angle.”

‘Additional cameras’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/25124


Vasseur shares ‘limit’ concern as Ferrari chase performance
Ferrari began the current season in strong fashion but slipped back in the pecking order as the campaign ran deeper.
10 August 2024
Fergal Walsh Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has outlined F1 teams are “at the limit” when it comes to finding extra performance. However, Vasseur understands that minor gains can have major benefits due to how close the competition is at the front of the field.

“In one hand, we are convinced and it’s obvious that for one-tenth or one-tenth and a half, you change completely the physiognomy of the weekend,” Vasseur told media including RacingNews365.

“We are all pushing to bring parts and you know that the correlation between what we are doing at the factory and the track for the bouncing is not an easy one. It was not easy for Mercedes, it was not easy for us, it was not easy for other teams from the beginning of the season.”

“At the limit”;

https://racingnews365.com/vasseur-sh...se-performance


Ferrari won't hire many new engineers says Fred Vasseur as he opens up on the changes to Scuderia's technical department
7 Aug 2024
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur insists that he is proud of the work the Scuderia has done in recent months, also stressing that he does not intend to make many changes to the Italian outfit's technical department. The Frenchman insisted several times that the Italian team has everything it needs to win the world championship again. During an interview with Sky Sport, Vasseur said that he is “very proud of the work done in the last 12 months.”

“If we compare the first 12 races of 2024 with those of 2023, we have 2-0 in terms of victories, 9-1 in terms of podiums, and we have 60% more points than a year ago.” Although Vasseur indicated that Ferrari will announce changes to its technical department, he was keen to stress the importance of the collective group of engineering minds.

“I have full confidence in this group and I was a bit disturbed to read in the press that we could hire 20 people. This sends a very negative message to those working in the company. One can imagine someone in a position within the team reading in the papers that they might be replaced tomorrow: it’s not great motivation. Certainly, it’s not the team’s goal.”

“60% more points than a year ago”;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/25139


Binotto did an excellent job at Ferrari, says Vasseur
1 Aug 2024
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur, who succeeded Mattia Binotto at the Italian outfit at the end of 2022, insists that the Swiss-Italian has done an “excellent job” in Maranello.

When asked about the Binotto's return to the paddock, the Frenchman chose to remain discreet: “Do I want to comment? Absolutely not. I focus on my team, my guys, and I completely understand that building a Formula 1 team is challenging.”

“I think it’s difficult everywhere. Mattia did an excellent job at Ferrari in the past. He was successful and made the team a winner. I wish them all the best, but it’s not up to me to comment on Mattia’s potential at Audi.”

‘Excellent job at Ferrari’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/25121

[Fortitude]

Revealed: The curious case of Aston Martin and their complex AMR24 upgrade plan.
The 2024 season so far has been a real rollercoaster, with unexpected ups and downs for teams compared to last season. For Aston Martin, it is a season that has provided more questions than answers.
05 Aug 2024
Uros Radovanovic
PlanetF1.com

Aston Martin had an underwhelming start to the season (25 points for the team in the first three races). In an attempt to fix things, their engineers brought their first major (probably the biggest this season) upgrade in Japan. Besides visible changes in the sidepod geometry, the most significant part of this package was the changes under the car and at the edges of the floor.

Will Aston Martin find a solution? It is clear that the engineers do not have a clear picture of what is actually happening with the car, and every new update brings only more questions. On several occasions, the drivers have pointed out that the AMR24 is very difficult to drive because its behaviour is simply unpredictable.

Consequently, it is almost impossible to consistently be on the edge, resulting in poorer performance. The problem they face is very complex, and although a lot of time has passed since the introduction of the new regulations, some teams are still trying to fully understand the concept. Too many technical factors must perfectly align for the floor to work efficiently.

‘Complex AMR24 upgrade plan’;

https://www.planetf1.com/features/re...4-upgrade-plan


‘We can see where we need to improve’ – Aston Martin praise Alonso and Stroll amid recent car performance struggles
15 July 2024
Formula One - Official Site

Aston Martin Performance Director Tom McCullough has praised Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll for their “very professional” attitude as the team continue to work on improvements – both in the short and long-term – following mixed fortunes so far in the 2024 season.

After a memorably strong start to the campaign in 2023, the squad have not quite been able to recapture that form this time around, with their best result so far being a P5 for Alonso in Saudi Arabia. “The drivers want to be up the front of the grid – we know that – so bringing updates to the car that don’t quite give the relative performance that you’re wanting, the drivers aren’t going to be as happy,” McCullough explained.

“The drivers love to see their name at the top and score the points. They’re very professional, working very hard in the debriefs. The good thing for us is the two of them are saying exactly the same thing about the car – the data’s saying the same thing, we can see where we need to improve. It’s just heads down now and trying to bring those parts to the car as quickly as possible.”

“Very professional”;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...bZ1fShUZodjV6R


How Aston Martin has applied some corrective surgery to its 2024 F1 car
A major upgrade from Aston Martin aims to cure recent troubles
20 Jul 2024
Matt Somerfield Giorgio Piola
Motorsport.com

Aston Martin arrived at Formula 1's Hungarian Grand Prix with a substantial update that it hopes(d) will cure some handling quirks that have hurt its form recently. A previous upgrade that made its debut at Imola delivered more downforce, but also made the car nervous on the edge, which was not ideal for Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.

The revisions that appeared at the Hungaroring are, according to its technical director Dan Fallows, aimed at delivering "a better balance, a more consistent car." That is probably why there are no big surprises nor new innovations to be found on the AMR24, with the team taking more of a corrective surgery approach this time around and trying to find more balance from the solutions it already had.

It's also a front-to-back package, with each of the components being altered as a means to complement the other. This starts with the front wing, which the team changed more extensively last time out at Silverstone and features a more loaded upper element for the challenges posed by the Hungaroring. Most of the work that has been undertaken by the team centres around changes to the floor and its ancillary components, with the floor fences, edge wing and diffuser all subject to subtle adjustments.

‘Corrective surgery’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/h...-car/10636462/


'We know': Mike Krack responds to claims Aston Martin ‘lost’ with latest F1 car updates
4 August 2024
Rory Mitchell
F1 Oversteer

It has been a season of mixed fortunes for Aston Martin so far, having failed to achieve the heights they did last year after being one of the closest teams to Red Bull. Fernando Alonso achieved six podiums and came close to winning races with the outfit, whereas now they have not come close to any and struggled to even break into the top five.

Mike Krack believes Aston Martin is not ‘lost’ with car upgrades. Aston Martin brought a raft of upgrades to their car at the Hungarian Grand Prix which included a new front wing, halo, floor body and edges, diffuser and rear beam wing. Krack believes the upgrades provided the team with the performance they were looking for, and countered recent reports suggesting that it was “lost” while bringing more parts to their car.

“The updates that we fitted in Hungary are working. It’s not just a case of this making the car faster for the rest of this season, it’s also having the knowledge that we understand our platform and know how to develop it,” said Krack. “A journalist who, perhaps, hadn’t been looking at the context, asked me if we were still lost. I replied that lost implies you don’t know where you are, don’t know what to do. We know the updates are working, so we we’re not lost. Had the updates not worked, then, we’d have been lost, because that would imply we didn’t understand our car very well.”

‘Aston Martin is not ‘lost’ with car upgrades’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/mik...1-car-updates/


Aston Martin defiant: AMR24 is on “good development path”
July 23, 2024
Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
Last Word On Sports

Upgrades to the AMR24 fall short. Aston Martin introduced a significant upgrade package in Budapest last weekend. However, unlike when other teams introduce new components, news of upgrades from Aston rarely generate excitement. Simply put, the team’s consistent failure to make meaningful improvements with upgrades has created a pessimistic attitude towards their updates. This sceptical approach was validated by the AMR24’s poor performance, with Alonso and Stroll fighting with midfield teams like VCARB – rather than top teams.

Aston Martin’s pace still significantly dips from qualifying to race day, which is a fundamental issue. That said, the picture painted by senior personnel at the Silverstone-based outfit is very different. Engineering director Tom McCullough gave his breakdown on Aston’s latest package. “It’s a relative game, everyone is developing. This [the upgrades] is quite a large amount of parts for us in the car,” es.motorsport.com quotes him as saying.

“But we have more to come as well, and we are only halfway through the year. So we have to keep developing. We’re in that tight battle at the moment. We want to close the gap to the four teams in front. And that can only be achieved by bringing more parts than them and elements that make a bigger difference in lap time. So that’s the goal. We’re on a good development path now, but it’s relative to everyone else.”

‘Aston Martin defiant’;

https://lastwordonsports.com/motorsp...elopment-path/


Aston Martin faces ‘challenge’ to split resources between 2025 and ’26 F1 car
10 Aug 2024
Dan Lawrence
Motorsport Week

Aston Martin Technical Director Dan Fallows has admitted his team and its competitors face a challenge balancing efforts on 2025 and ’26 Formula 1 car development. To balance that against making sure next year’s machines are as good as can be, Fallow was asked if an extra push was being made this year on development to start 2025 on the right note.

“Yeah, I think we’ll see that,” Fallows told media including Motorsport Week. “But I’m sure lots of teams will do the same thing, but we’re absolutely focused on trying to make sure we can get AMR25 into the best shape as possible early on. It’s going to be a challenge for everybody but trying to split your resources, particularly next year when we can do work on both is going to be a big challenge. How much effort you put into the ’25 car, how much you divert resource to that.”

“The last thing you want to do with engineers is to give them two problems at the same time because they start forgetting which car they’re working on and things like that. It’s important for us to make sure that they have that clarity of purpose so they know exactly what they’re working on. But we have to be very adaptable in terms of moving resource around.”

‘Balancing efforts on 2025 and ’26 Formula 1 car development’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/...and-26-f1-car/

[Fortitude]

Mekies: RB reversed F1 updates that made its 2024 car slower.
RB boss Laurent Mekies has disclosed the team has now reversed “most” oi the Formula 1 upgrades it introduced in Barcelona which ended up making its car slower.
13 Jul 2024
Taylor Powling
Motorsport Week

“The big picture is that we had to reverse most of the Barcelona upgrade. Not all of it, but most of it, and unavoidably it cost us performance,” Mekies told Autosport. “We were hoping to add performance compared to where we were in Canada and Monaco, and instead of that we have to backtrack.”

“We certainly understand why we didn’t go faster with it. There is some question over why it actually made us slower, because we think that’s what it did. The beauty of these cars is that they are extremely complex. It’s all down to the very last details and second order of things, stuff that we weren’t looking at a few years ago.”

“I would say we have a fairly clear idea of what we want for the next package. Are we 100% sure? No, absolutely not. It’s a work in progress. It will take us some time.”

‘RB reversed F1 updates’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/...24-car-slower/


Ricciardo: RB F1 updates haven't cured high-speed weakness
Ricciardo feels struggles at through high-speed corners remains a focus point for improvement
Aug 5, 2024
Ewan Gale Ben Hunt
Motorsport.com

Daniel Ricciardo has conceded RB still has to work on finding a solution to its car's weaknesses despite adding upgrades at the Belgian Grand Prix weekend. The Australian has rediscovered his form as of late, picking up three points finishes in the last six races after initially struggling to match team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.

Speaking before Russell's disqualification was announced, Ricciardo admitted that "I didn't really know my position during the race" but believed he would be on for a shot at points until Alpine's Esteban Ocon caught and overtook him late on. "I really thought we would have ended up in the points," he said.

‘Updates haven't cured high-speed weakness’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/r...ness/10641403/


Ricciardo pinpoints RB’s biggest weakness with 2024 F1 car
1 Aug 2024
Taylor Powling
Motorsport Week

Daniel Ricciardo has pinpointed high-speed cornering as the main weakness upon which RB can improve with its 2024 Formula 1 car going into the remaining rounds. “I know there’s some kind of quick cars not too far ahead. So I really thought we would have ended up in the points.”

“So when I had Ocon behind me, I think that’s when I knew I was 10th and I was like, oh, I really thought I was maybe ninth because I knew that holding him off was going to be tricky. I think he was strong all weekend and also he just came out on a fresher tyre. So obviously, you try and say, all right, let’s fight.”

“But I knew it was going to be tricky. I tried to stay with him, but yeah, it was a shame. But look, I’ll put it this way: I think we had a really good race. I just think some other drivers also had a really good race and that’s that.”

‘RB’s biggest weakness’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/...h-2024-f1-car/


2024 F1 mid-season driver rankings #13: Yuki Tsunoda
8th August 202
Will Wood
RaceFans

Yuki Tsunoda is in uncharted waters that no Red Bull-affiliated driver has ever been in over the almost 20 years that the brand has been a major player in Formula 1. Although he headed into the summer break with an underwhelming showing in Spa, at least RB excused him by suggesting he had been nursing a problem in the race. But having ten more points than his team mate after the first 14 rounds reflected that he has been doing the better job.

No driver has ever gotten a fourth consecutive season in Red Bull’s second team to begin their F1 career until Tsunoda this season. And after his team activated the 2025-season option on his contract, Tsunoda will remain at the team now known as RB again into next year.

The only way Tsunoda would have convinced Red Bull to keep him as a race driver in their ecosystem is if he had demonstrated he had improved as a driver over the last 18 months. And so far, in his first full season racing alongside a much more experienced, multiple grand prix winner in Daniel Ricciardo, Tsunoda has more than held his own.

‘Uncharted waters’;

https://www.racefans.net/2024/08/08/...-yuki-tsunoda/


Tsunoda on relationship with Marko: 'That's why I moved to Italy'
7 Aug 2024
Tygo Bekkema
GPblog.com

After the race weekend in Hungary, there was much talk about Max Verstappen's sim race. The Dutchman was gaming on the simulator until 3 a.m. on the day of the race. Among others, Red Bull team advisor Helmut Marko spoke out about it. That Marko is emphatically concerned with what his drivers do off the track was also confirmed by VCARB driver Yuki Tsunoda.

Before the weekend in Belgium, the Japanese driver was asked about to what extent Marko is interested in Tsunoda's activities outside race weekends. The 24-year-old driver made no bones about it in his answer. "Yeah, he's [Marko] obviously, he's quite interested in all sorts of stuff, that's why I moved to Italy," Tsunoda says.

Nevertheless, the current number 12 in the world championship does not fail to speak up for Verstappen with regard to sim racing. "Well, if that's true, driving sim racing until midnight or whatever, late night, before the race, it's probably the same for all of us. I mean, yeah, he's still performing well, so it doesn't matter," he said.

'That's why I moved to Italy';

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/29385...mut-marko.html


Will Ricciardo still be in F1 in 2025?
Be it either RB or Red Bull, will Daniel Ricciardo still be racing in F1 next season? Let us know in the latest RacingNews365 poll.
8 August 2024
Samuel Coop
RacingNews365

Daniel Ricciardo finds himself in a precarious position with Yuki Tsunoda already confirmed for next season and Liam Lawson waiting in the wings. Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has said a decision on the latter driver will be announced in September, so it will not be long before the racing world and Ricciardo has more clarity on his future.

‘Precarious position’;

https://racingnews365.com/will-ricci...-in-f1-in-2025

[Fortitude]

Haas boss shares the 'absolutely fundamental' keys to its recent success.
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has explained the driving forces behind Haas' renaissance this season, as the American squad continues to rise up the F1 pecking order.
11 August 2024
Samuel Coop Ian Parkes
RacingNews365

Speaking exclusively to RacingNews365, Komatsu explained the changes at Haas that have laid the groundwork for its success this term. "Working as a team," the 48-year-old responds when asked what he feels has gone well during his short tenure at the helm of the American outfit. The atmosphere is very positive, and it was positive even before we got any results. Approaching pre-season testing in Bahrain, I felt like people started working together."

To Komatsu, at the heart of the problem was a lack of open, honest conversations and transparency, things he agreed needed changing when he took on the team principal role. "I've always said, if objectives are not clear, people aren't sure why we're doing certain things, why there are certain priorities," he explains. "So, start from clear objectives, what do we want to achieve? And a strategy, how are we going to achieve those objectives? Once those two things are communicated clearly, then everybody knows these are the things we want to achieve, let's say, during winter testing, first part of the season, second phase of the season, etc., etc., then there is a strategy.”

'Keys to its recent success';

https://racingnews365.com/haas-boss-...recent-success


Exclusive: Why Haas is investing now with unprecedented recruiting spree
Improved F1 results compared to 2023 have led to Haas team owner deploying additional resources
09:34 Sun, 11 Aug 2024
Alex Kalinauckas
Motorsport.com

Ayao Komatsu says Haas is currently enacting a recruitment drive “never seen before” in its Formula 1 history, after convincing owner Gene Haas and his key lieutenant to make fresh investment. This was after Haas had finished last in the 2023 constructors’ championship and its owner did not want to provide more capital until the team had shown it could improve with what it already had – an approach that frustrated Steiner.

Komatsu, however, always insisted that Haas should be able to do exactly this, and with its VF-24 challenger, the team has gone on to already score 56% more than its points haul in 2023, with 10 races left in the current campaign. As a result, the ex-Lotus chief engineer approached his bosses about starting a new recruitment drive – something that Motorsport.com understands had previously been rejected – after the 2024 Australian GP, where Haas had scored its first double points finish since the 2022 Austrian GP.

‘Unprecedented recruiting spree’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/w...pree/10643337/


Haas reveal changes that sparked 2024 resurgence
August 8, 2024
Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
RacingNews365

When Komatsu was first announced as Haas team principal, there were doubts about how far he could impact performance. It was widely believed that a fundamental change in spending was necessary for Haas to improve its results. However, the Japanese engineer was adamant that procedural changes could have a bit impact.

Komatsu has outlined some of the changes that have been introduced: “I think when everyone knows how they’re contributing, that promotes teamwork as well. Also making clear there’s no blame culture. So when certain things are not working – we’ve got to get to the bottom of it. But there’s no witch-hunting. We’ve got to get to the bottom of it. Because if we don’t, we’re not going to solve it.”

“But just making it clear that it’s not about saying – ‘you’ve done this wrong’. So again, having that clear message and then making that safe space for everyone. So they can openly admit that [there is a mistake], and we can move forward. That’s the key. It’s easier said than done. But I think we just have to continually do this process. To make sure it becomes the culture of this team.”

‘2024 resurgence’;

https://lastwordonsports.com/motorsp...24-resurgence/


‘It's the first time in Haas's history’ – Out-going Magnussen reveals crucial factor behind team’s success in 2024
06 August 2024
Formula One - Official Site

Kevin Magnussen has admitted that Haas’s form in the 2024 season has come as something of a surprise, with the team currently sitting in seventh place of the constructors’ standings despite expecting to be at the rear of the pack. There have been mixed fortunes for the American outfit in recent years, having scored no points at all during a challenging 2021 campaign before progressing to finish eighth in 2022.

“I think, coming into this year, we thought we were going to be the last team on the grid and we haven't been, so I think it's been a positive surprise,” Magnussen explained during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend. There's always, when you look back at this stuff, things you could have done better, but I think everyone can say that, so I feel like we've had a good first half of the season.”

One factor that Magnussen believes has been particularly positive is the performance of the updates that Haas have brought to their car so far. “The second half I think, with the couple of upgrades we've had this year, they've actually worked, and it's the first time in Haas's history that we brought upgrades to the car that made it faster!” the 31-year-old said.

‘Crucial factor’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...BTe5ccs3vMe3Pa


Komatsu happier with Haas culture change than beating 2023 points tally
3rd August 2024
Will Wood
RaceFans

Despite Haas scoring over double the points in the first half of the 2024 season than they did throughout last year, team principal Ayao Komatsu says he’s more pleased by the culture change he has enacted at the team. “It’s not just the number of points, because obviously the points and the sporting results, you have to rely on the other people’s performance,”

Komatsu explained in a video uploaded to the team’s YouTube channel. “So I always focus on what we can control, which is just us as Haas F1 team – how are we going to improve the team? How are we going to improve our performance? How will we improve the way we go about racing?”

“So yes, 27 points is great – it’s more than we ever had last year – but more than that, I think the very encouraging thing is how we are working together as a team. Honestly, we’ve started to work like a team now. Which wasn’t the case up until the end of last year. So for me, that’s the biggest positive and for sure that’s the good sign that we are going in the right direction.”

“We’ve started to work like a team”;

https://www.racefans.net/2024/08/03/...nd-up-03-08-7/


Hulkenberg urges Haas to ‘regroup and refresh’ over summer break
2 Aug 2024
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

Nico Hulkenberg was left ruing a difficult weekend at Spa-Francorchamps as Haas endured a torrid time in the Belgian Grand Prix. “Very difficult,” Hulkenberg said of Sunday at Spa which he concluded a lowly 18th at the tail end of the field. “Just no pace, no harmony, no rhythm.”

“I don’t know, I just didn’t get off on the right foot with the car this weekend and we didn’t manage to find a sweet spot with all the different sessions. We need to look into a little bit why, but to some extent I think just forget this weekend, regroup, refresh over the summer break and go again. Yeah, I think especially on my side. Kevin looked a bit better and obviously he pulled off a one-stop which was not bad and decent. But still overall we need to look into our low-downforce performance.”

Like his teammate, Magnussen felt that Haas was in need of a reset during F1’s upcoming summer break. “This track, we thought it was going to be good for us, but we’ve been surprised many times and this is the worst race we’ve had in a while so, yeah, looking forward to the summer break. I think everyone is, and then coming back to more races where we’ll score some more points.”

‘Regroup and refresh’;

https://f1i.com/news/515797-hulkenbe...mer-break.html


Bearman admits he feels like an 'intruder' at Haas as he 'steals' car
20 Jul 2024
Toby Nixon
GPblog.com

Oliver Bearman will make his full-time Formula 1 debut with Haas next year. The young British star participated in FP1 yesterday with the American outfit but has admitted that he sometimes feels like an 'intruder' at the team. This is due to the fact that he takes some of the weekend's running away from Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen.

Bearman's running is essential as it prepares him for his rookie season. The Brit already proved he can perform in F1 earlier this year as he finished seventh at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. On that occasion, the 19-year-old replaced Carlos Sainz after the Spaniard suffered from appendicitis. "It's not my car yet, it's still their car, and I'm stealing it a little bit on some weekends. So I'm sure they'll be happy that I won't run in practices and they can keep focusing on their weekend because for sure it doesn't help either of them, whoever's car I jump in," Bearman said.

'Intruder';

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/29024...r-at-haas.html

[Fortitude]

Sanchez: Alpine has ‘fair amount’ in the pipeline for 2024 F1 car.
Alpine has managed to make gradual inroads since that low point to embark upon a four-race points streak between the Monaco and Canadian Grands Prix.
13 Jul 2024
Taylor Powling
Motorsport Week

Alpine’s Executive Technical Director David Sanchez has revealed the side is working in the background towards introducing a “fair amount” to its 2024 Formula 1 car. “The car is largely similar to earlier this season. We took out a large amount of weight, now we have the weight limit,” Sanchez told F1.com.

“The progress I would say, since Imola onwards, we’re getting to know more of the car, how to get more out of it, and that’s been the trend. Now in the meantime, we’re working at the factory on how to make it better, bring more parts and moving further forwards.”

Asked whether Alpine had the pieces in place to make strides up the pecking order, Sanchez answered: “I would think so. It was something which for me was a big curiosity when I turned up at Enstone. The site has grown a lot since the last time I was there. I would say all the ingredients are definitely in place, now it’s about us at the factory making the most of everything and focusing on the car.”

“We’re working at the factory”;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/...r-2024-f1-car/


Next Alpine F1 upgrade package will be basis of 2025 car, says Sanchez
JULY 26, 2024
Adam Cooper's F1 Blog

Alpine Formula 1 executive technical director David Sanchez says an update package due after the summer break will form the basis of the team’s 2025 machine. The Spa package includes a low-drag rear wing, but it wasn’t used in initial running in FP1.

“So from what you see today, all the changes are full season upgrades I would say, non-track specific,” said Sanchez. “It’s only a new rear wing, which is not on the car for now, which is track specific. The rest, which is a front wing evolution, bodywork, rear brake duct, is for everywhere.”

“So the wing which we may try, depending on conditions, is the one which we may race here, in Monza, and in Vegas.” Asked if the Spa updates had been brought forward he said: “I wouldn’t say it’s been fast-tracked. But for sure, it’s been pushed very hard through the system.”

‘Basis of 2025 car’;

https://adamcooperf1.com/2024/07/26/...-says-sanchez/


TECHNICAL: How has Alpine changed its car at Spa?
4 Aug 2024
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

While some of the teams' upgrade packages introduced at last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix were 'only' circuit-specific, Alpine's developments went beyond simple Spa-specific solutions. For last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, the team brought an extensive set of upgrades.

Part of the upgrades package was a revised front wing geometry which allowed the low-downforce setting to be more aero-efficient than with the previous design. "Compared to previous specification, the new front wing features different profiles to give the ability to cover the full balance range required for lower downforce races," the team noted.

As part of ongoing development and not specific to flowing, high-speed Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Alpine introduced a new engine cover which has enabled a more efficient internal cooling route. The team explained that "as part of our normal development cycle, this new engine cover is designed to improve our overall cooling efficiency by reviewing the channelling of the internal airflow."

‘Extensive set of upgrades’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/25140


Alpine: Next F1 upgrades will shape 2025 development direction
7 Aug 2024
Taylor Powling
Motorsport Week

Alpine Executive Technical Director David Sanchez has revealed the team’s next upgrades will be tailored towards the direction it will take with its 2025 Formula 1 car. Sanchez, who was appointed earlier this season to head Alpine’s revamped technical structure, explained that the intention is to have those parts remain on the A524.

Asked whether the developments had been accelerated, Sanchez replied: “I wouldn’t say it’s been rushed. But for sure, it’s been pushed very hard through the system. I think the number one issue is for everyone to find more downforce and try to eliminate some of the anomalies that we might see with the current car,” he added.

“So this package is mainly intended for more downforce. So this is a first step in the pipeline. We have another one that will be bigger and that will be the basis for next year. So we will do more on this year’s car. We’ve been working on this one [for Spa] since day one. The other one is an extension, using a little bit more time to go further.”

‘2025 development direction’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/...ent-direction/


Gasly admits Alpine made the ‘right choice’ to overhaul the 2023 design
Gasly has stated that Alpine are not in "Formula 1 to be satisfied with sixth"
August 12, 2024
Oliver Brindle
FormulaNerds

Alpine driver Pierre Gasly has praised the French team for operating at a ‘better level’ in 2024 despite sitting eighth in the Constructors’ Championship. As reported by Motorsport.com, Gasly said: “I think it’s performance-related. Last year the team felt that it got to the end of the development with their car concept.”

“As we missed our targets, they’re like, ‘do we want to go for another year where we know we’ll probably be stuck to where we are?’ And they said, we want more than that, so, we’ll try something else.” However, Gasly still feels the team is heading in the right direction and claims 2025 will see “something good coming out of it.”

“Unfortunately, it didn’t pay out with the directions that you know they took with the car concept we have this year, but nonetheless, I still think the way the team’s operating is at a better level than when I arrived,“ Gasly said. “So, it’s a matter of bringing that performance onto the car, which is obviously not easy, but I know we’ve got good directions already for next season, which will put us in a better place and with the sort and processes and the people and what they’ve built and kept working, I can feel that there’ll be something good coming out of it.”

‘Right choice’;

https://www.formulanerds.com/news/ga.../?nowprocket=1


Mekies: Alpine dropping engine programme ‘bad news’ for F1
5 Aug 2024
Dan Lawrence
Motorsport Week

RB boss Laurent Mekies expressed his displeasure with Alpine’s plans to withdraw as a Formula 1 power unit manufacturer, stating that it’s “bad news” for the series. “I think it’s always a bad news when you lose an OEM,” he said.

“And of course, from what Bruno is saying, the OEM will stay as a team, but obviously, one of the big targets of these new regulations in 2026 was to attract more OEMs.”

This means in 2026 there will only be five OEMs as opposed to the original six (Mercedes, Ferrari, Honda, Audi and Red Bull) and Mekies believes this to be a negative development for the sport.

‘Bad news for F1’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/...d-news-for-f1/


Why Alpine should be the most popular team in F1
With Renault set to withdraw from F1 as a power unit manufacturer, rivals should be beating down the door at Enstone.
4 August 2024
Mat Coch
Speedcafe

With new power unit regulations coming into force, there are significant benefits involved in simply having more engines on the grid. The simplest is a greater rate of data gathering, information that can be used to improve the power unit. With running in F1 so heavily restricted, a simple way to increase is via customer relationships.

Between its factory team, and two confirmed customers, Mercedes will have power units in six cars; three times the number of Honda and Audi, and two cars more than Ferrari and RBPT/Ford. It's a point not lost on those on charge at Brackley (where the Mercedes F1 team is based), and presumably Brixworth (where HPP is located) – nor its customers who also stand to gain.

‘Beating down the door at Enstone’;

https://speedcafe.com/why-alpine-sho...ar-team-in-f1/


Angry Alpine F1 engine staff could strike?
AUGUST 5, 2024
GrandPrix.com

We did not see this coming, union representative Karine Dubreucq, who works at Viry, told L'Equipe. "This is a stab in the back - pure betrayal.

We have developed engines here that were good enough to become world champions many times, and now that's not possible anymore? she added. They didn't even wait for the test bench.

‘Stab in the back - pure betrayal’;

https://www.grandprix.com/news/angry...ld-strike.html

[Fortitude]

Williams prepping tri-route upgrade to boost 2024 campaign.
Williams is gearing up for a significant update package as it looks to turn its fortunes around in the second half of the 2024 Formula 1 season.
09/08/2024
Phillip van Osten
Motorsport Week

In contrast to the outfit’s 2023 design, which excelled on specific track types, the FW46 has lacked performance across all circuits. To address this, Williams is focusing on three key areas: aerodynamics, suspension, and weight reduction, a significant weakness that has impacted the team’s results in the first part of the year.

"We have updates coming up this summer break - I hope in Zandvoort and I hope again in Baku or the race after Baku which is Singapore," Vowles said in Spa. "What I can tell you is there are substantive numbers that should add up to us being back in a position of fighting for points.”

"It's achieved through a number of things. It's aerodynamic updates, you're going to see a suspension update, and you're going to see weight coming off the car. So it's fundamentally three core routes wherever we're doing this.”

‘Tri-route upgrade’;

https://f1i.com/news/516132-williams...-campaign.html


F1 News: Williams switched focus to 2025 car months ago
August 8, 2024
Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
Last Word On Sports

Early focus on next year’s car. F1 is often an exercise in balance and compromise, with teams working on a combination of short and long-term goals. With the budget cap, teams are under additional pressure to prioritise and decide how their resources will be allocated. For James Vowles, however, it is clear the factory in Grove must divert its energy to the future.

Despite still working on a few updates for the remainder of this year, the focus at Williams is now unequivocally on next year and beyond: “We’re also investing in 25, so our car in the wind tunnel is not the 2024 car,” motorsport.com quotes him as saying. It’s been the 2025 one for quite a few months. The reason why we’re doing this is not because I believe in 2025.”

“But I want to get the 2026 car in the tunnel as soon as possible, but still have a sensible 2025 season. Everything we’re doing is basically forward borrowing against getting everything as quickly as possible into 2026. With the additional resources, we now have team members focused on ’24, ’25 ’26, and a little bit of ’27 as well at the same time.”

‘Switched focus to 2025 car’;

https://lastwordonsports.com/motorsp...ar-months-ago/


Williams want to be ahead of the curve: 'Working on the 2026 and 2027 car'
5 August 2024
Editor: Kada Sarkozi
GPblog.com

The current Williams car is not where James Vowles also wants it to be, it is something the British team principal has acknowledged. "I think there was more we could have achieved if the car was on the weight limit. We're still overweight today, but there are updates coming. We have updates coming after the summer break. I hope in Zandvoort, and then I hope again in Baku or the race after Baku, something that brought up, which I think is Singapore. In our worlds now, in the world of Formula 1, they're big steps," he explained to GPblog among others, although he also underlined these are just plans at the moment.

"What I can tell you is there's substantive numbers that should add up to us being back in a position of fighting for points and it's achieved for a number of things. It's aerodynamic updates, you're going to see a suspension update, and you're going to see weight coming off the car. So it's fundamentally three core roots whereby we're doing this we're also investing in '25," Vowles added.

"Our car is not a '24 car in the wind tunnel, it's been '25 for quite a few months and that won't surprise you." He continued: "I want to get the '26 car in the tunnel as soon as possible, but have a sense of the '25 season. That fundamentally what we are doing, everything we are doing is basically forward borrowing against getting everything as quickly as possible into '26. Within our team, we've separated the team out now with the additional resource. We have team members focused on '24, '25, '26 and a little bit on '27 as well at the same time. And that's a change for Williams," Vowles declared.

'24, '25, '26 and a little bit on '27’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/29364...velopment.html


'A little strange': Claire Williams shares why she finds Drive to Survive appearances ‘tough’
9 August 2024
David Comerford
F1 Oversteer

In a hugely significant moment for the sport, the Williams family left Formula 1 following the 2020 Italian Grand Prix. While the iconic team still bears their name, Dorilton Capital are now in charge. Claire Williams saw this as a necessary sacrifice to secure the team’s future. She was in charge on a day-to-day basis, even though she was technically deputy team principal under her father Frank.

They lost ground in the next couple of years but remained in the top five until a dismal 2018 season. Following the departure of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa, they scored just nine points across two campaigns. With James Vowles now in charge, Williams remain a long way from their ultimate objectives. But the overall health of the operation looks far greater.

‘Necessary sacrifice’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/cla...arances-tough/


Formula 1 2024 Summer Break Report: Williams
12 Aug 2024
Dan Lawrence
Motorsport Week

Vowles summed it up well at Spa-Francorchamps when he told select media including Motorsport Week that “I think we’re in a situation where there’s no doubt about it we’ve underperformed in this first part of the season.

“We’re in a situation where I think we’ve gone well with the chassis technology and what we’re doing here. You can’t unlearn what you’ve done. You can’t change what you’ve done. The car’s a lot lighter than it has been.”

“But we have to recognise as well that the competition is fierce this year and that with just a few points to our name, that’s not a good reflection of where we would like to be. As strange as this sounds, I’m not worried about it. I’m not worried about it because I’ve said from the beginning, I said last year as well, everything we are doing is investing in ‘26 and beyond.”

‘Summer Break Report’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/...port-williams/


Williams using McLaren’s progress as an ‘aspiration’ in F1 revival
5 Aug 2024
Taylor Powling
Motorsport Week

But while McLaren spent its wilderness period in amongst the midfield, the Grove-based squad has tended to be positioned towards the rear during recent campaigns. Nevertheless, Vowles, who has hired close to 250 people at Williams since last term, has acknowledged McLaren’s unprecedented revival has shown what is possible.

“I think my view of the world is this. Our journey is different to McLaren in many regards, but has similarities to what you’re pointing out,” he told Motorsport Week. “McLaren was about five to eight years for turning it around and I’ve said it here many, many times. What we have is probably a bigger problem than McLaren in many regards.”

“But you already have a complete template for what a team took to get itself back into winning ways. So in that regard, yes. And with British, with heritage, all those regards, absolutely yes. But it’s a different set of problems to what we have there. I have the joy of having Pat [Fry, Chief Technical Officer], who’s been at both, who can absolutely share what’s there.”

‘Hired close to 250 people at Williams’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/...in-f1-revival/


James Vowles spills the beans on Williams factory discussion with F1 approach challenged
11 Aug 2024
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com

Williams team principal James Vowles remains committed to an F1 2026 focus being the right way, with this long-term thinking even questioned at the Williams base. Vowles revealed that even back at Williams’ Grove base, he was recently questioned on whether sacrificing present performance is really the right way to go about it. His stance was not moved.

“It’s simply because I’m investing in 2026. I’ve got to do the transformation. To do a transformation means that I’m asking individuals to compromise. That’s okay. I’m completely comfortable with it.”

“Even in the factory the other week, there was a question over ‘are we really happy spending this amount of time working on the future, to have to compromise now?’ And I’ll say the same to you, I am 100 per cent sure it is right, because I don’t want to be 7th, 8th or 9th.”

‘Sacrificing present performance’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/james-...ach-challenged

[Fortitude]

Audi: Binotto and Wheatley combination “a decisive step” for F1 project.
Audi CEO Gernot Dollner says that the addition future team principal Jonathan Wheatley to the company’s Formula 1 outfit alongside recently announced COO and CTO Mattia Binotto is “a decisive step” ahead of the marque’s entry in 2026.
AUGUST 1, 2024
Adam Cooper's F1 Blog

The German manufacturer has now clarified how the twin leadership roles will be split, with both men reporting to Gollner, who is chairman of Sauber Motorsport AG. Audi says that Binotto “takes over the operative management of Sauber Motorsport AG at the site in Hinwil and the technical development of the future racing cars.

“In this role he is the overall technical interface between the development teams in Hinwil and Audi Formula Racing GmbH at the Audi site in Neuburg an der Donau, which is responsible for development of the power unit.”

“With the appointment of Jonathan and Mattia we have taken a decisive step towards our entry into F1. I am convinced that with the two of them, we have been able to combine an extremely high level of competence for Audi. Their experience and their ability will help us to get a foothold quickly in the tough competitive world of F1.”

“Decisive step”;

https://adamcooperf1.com/2024/08/01/...or-f1-project/


HALF TERM REPORT: Kick Sauber – As the wait for points continues, can changes at the top help the team to move forwards?
12 August 2024
Staff Writer: Anna Francis
Formula One - Official Site

The first half of 2024 did not go the way that Kick Sauber would have hoped, with the squad still holding the unfortunate statistic of being the only team yet to score a point. Can small signs of progress on the track – and leadership changes made off it ahead of Audi’s takeover – translate into more performance going forwards? Here’s their half term report…

‘HALF TERM REPORT’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...ULHHDQ0iWLxvHW


Is Binotto to Audi a good choice? 'It won't be easy for him'
12 August 2024
Corwin Kunst
GPblog.com

"I believe Mattia is a good choice. I worked with him for a long time at Ferrari and before that we were friends, so I know him quite well. He understands the business language and knows how to set up the right structure and create the right processes. I don't want to say it's easy for him, because nothing is easy in Formula 1. But at least he knows how to go about it," Steiner explains his position at SRF.

Yet there was also criticism of Mattia Binotto, who eventually left after a long tenure at Ferrari. During his time as team boss of the Italian team, things also went wrong, including the strategy and the lack of further development of the cars. Steiner does not really care about that and also points to the fact that Binotto was always the technical man first, and only later moved on to the role of team boss.

"We all make mistakes and when he was given the position of team boss, he had to learn the first few years the painful way. And you learn from mistakes you don't repeat. He needs to focus on what comes in 2026. He needs to build a structure so that Audi in 2026 is not in the same situation as Sauber is in now."

‘Binotto to Audi’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/29443...e-of-audi.html


Binotto will speed up the improvement of Audi's F1 project, claims Bravi
10 Aug 2024
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Kick Sauber Team Representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi insists that the vast experience of former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto will speed up the build-up process of Audi's F1 project. As part of the management shake-up, Audi announced ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix that Andreas Seidl will leave its F1 project. Departing from McLaren, the German started in his role for Audi in January last year.

"In order to reach this goal, there has been also a new leadership team that has been put in place with Mattia Binotto, that has been appointed as a CTO and COO, reporting directly to the Audi AG CEO, Gernot Döllner. So I think that this is a very important, again, proof of the commitment of Audi into the F1 project. Mattia has a proven track record.”

“He has a vast experience, more than 25 years in Formula 1, having led important project, first as an engine a leader of the engine department at Ferrari, then of course overviewing the technical department until his appointment as a team principal in 2019. So I think that is an important decision that give again the sign of the Audi commitment and that should help the team to bring our team up to the F1 speed in terms of decision process, in terms of leadership, and I think it is an important and good move for all our team.”

‘Speed up the improvement’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/25112


Bottas did not immediately expect Binotto's arrival: 'Went pretty fast'
10 August 2024
Corwin Kunst
GPblog.com

Indeed, Bottas speaks to GPblog and others of "sudden" news coverage. "Quite sudden news. I believe everything happened pretty quickly, but obviously those high-level decisions, we as drivers and many of the team members don't know really what's going on behind the scenes. But yeah, quite unexpected, but obviously welcoming Mattia to the team. And at the same time, I want to thank Mr Seidl and Mr Hoffman for their contribution to the team.."

Now that Binotto has taken the helm, operational matters are undoubtedly going to change. "It's a bit of a reset again," Bottas acknowledges. " It's not a secret that when there's a new leadership, it will always take a bit of time, first of all. Mattia needs to know what are the weaknesses, what are the strengths, what are the priorities for short- and long-term improvements, and that's going to take a bit of time."

‘Reset again’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/29419...o-arrival.html


Audi explains how Binotto and Wheatley will act together at its F1 team
3 Aug 2024
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Mattia Binotto and Jonathan Wheatley will together head the new management team at Sauber Motorsport AG, Audi has now confirmed as the German manufacturer explaines its new management structure. The Ingolstadt-headquartered manufacturer claims that "they will jointly take responsibility for the success of the racing team. There is a clear division of duties, and responsibilities have been individually defined."

As COO and CTO, Mattia Binotto takes over the operative management of Sauber Motorsport AG at the site in Hinwil and the technical development of the future racing cars. In this role he is the overall technical interface between the development teams in Hinwil and Audi Formula Racing GmbH at the Audi site in Neuburg an der Donau, which is responsible for development of the power unit.

By July 2025 at the latest – Jonathan Wheatley will complete Audi’s new management team for Formula 1 in the role of Team Principal and management spokesperson. He will focus above all on the racing performance of the future F1 factory team, on operational management of all race events, and on representing Audi at Team-Principal level in matters relating to Formula 1.

New management team’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/25196


Audi questioned for signing Binotto: 'He has more to prove'
3 August 2024
Sophia Crothall
GPblog.com

Audi have made a string of decisions in recent weeks, as they prepare to enter the Formula 1 grid in 2026. Most recently, the team announced the signing of Jonathan Wheatley as the team principal. Before that though, they confirmed the appointment of Mattia Binotto. Former racing driver Johnny Herbert has criticised the German team for this decision.

Has Audi made the right choice signing Binotto? Herbert has therefore questioned this decision: “I was pretty surprised that Andreas [Seidl] had been pushed aside with regard to the speed and development of Audi ahead of 2026. His reputation was high. But there has obviously been a shift in emphasis at Audi," he said on the website Topoffshoresportsbrooks.com.

Binotto held the role of team principal at Ferrari between 2019 and 2022. During this time, Ferrari lost out on Constructors titles to both Mercedes and Red Bull. For this reason, Herbert has wondered why he was appointed at Audi: “Binotto did not quite achieve enough at Ferrari so he has more to prove than Andreas did. I am not sure it is the right thing," he concluded.

‘Surprised’

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/29331...o-signing.html

[Fortitude]

Red Bull chief praises unique Verstappen: 'Nobody drives like him'.
Pierre Waché, technical director at Red Bull Racing, says that this unique characteristic of Verstappen also makes for unique - and very welcome - feedback.
12 August 2024
Nicole Mulder
GPblog.com

Max Verstappen's overcapacity in a Formula 1 car is a hotly debated topic. Thus, the Dutchman regularly notices things during racing, for example on the big screens along the track. Verstappen previously received high praise from Waché. The technical director compared the three-time world champion to sports legends such as Roger Federer and Michael Jordan, pointing out that the Red Bull driver can do things 'that no one else can'.

Waché stressed that because of his unique driving style, Verstappen can also provide the team with unique feedback. "It gives him the capacity first to free some brain capacity to drive at the same time and analyse what he needs and what he wants," Red Bull's technical chief explained to Crash.net.

"His feedback is very interesting, because he operates the car at the limit, how nobody else is using it," the 49-year-old Frenchman added. That is not to say, by the way, that only Verstappen's feedback is important, he stresses. "The feedback from both drivers is very important to how we develop and how we improve."

‘Max Verstappen's overcapacity’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/29456...-feedback.html


What Red Bull discovered about the RB20’s issues this season during private Max Verstappen test
12 August 2024
Ben Evans
F1 Oversteer

For the third season in succession, Red Bull Racing enter the summer break in the lead of both championships. Max Verstappen is on course to win his fourth straight Drivers’ Championship unless he suffers from a real disaster, however, the team standings are looking slightly more precarious.

A report from the Italian outlet Formu1a.uno has shared more information about the lengths Red Bull are going to as they try to fix these problems. Verstappen has demanded perfection from Red Bull and has been working behind the scenes to try and help the team make significant steps forward. That’s included taking part in a behind-closed-doors test at Imola driving the RB18 – Red Bull’s 2022 car – and comparing the results to this year’s vehicle.

Red Bull have potentially identified three reasons why their upgrades aren’t working this season with Verstappen having to drive at his limit to try and win races. It’s left Sergio Perez in a precarious position as he simply can’t extract the same amount of pace out of the RB20 as his teammate. The report from Formu1a.uno talks about a private test Verstappen took part in at Imola in the RB18.

‘Private Max Verstappen test’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/wha...rstappen-test/


Red Bull: Refining RB20 to suit Perez will mean quicker car overall
13 Aug 2024
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

The team's focus is now on developing the car in a way that suits both Perez and Verstappen, which they believe will lead to a faster car overall according to technical director Pierre Waché.

“What we want is the quickest car, but in a way that can be used by the drivers, that is the main aim,” explained the Frenchman. “If we make the car quicker in a way that Checo can use it, that means that both drivers will be able to extract the maximum out of it.”

“Even if both drivers have different needs or preferences, the requirements for the car are still very similar,” he added. “Fundamentally it’s the same. For sure there can be differences in driving styles, but we will not use the development of the car for that. We will use the set-up of the car.”

‘Refining RB20 to suit Perez’;

https://f1i.com/news/516309-red-bull...r-overall.html


Red Bull reveals correlation issues with their RB20 while Horner puts the blame on the outdated wind tunnel
13 Aug 2024
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Expanding on the team's current struggles, technical director Pierre Waché echoed Horner's words, explaining that some performance issues are linked to the team's old wind tunnel.

“Some aspects related to the fact that we are not achieving the performance we had assumed are related to the correlation,” Wache noted. “We are using a rather old wind tunnel and as a result of our last placements in the championship we have fewer hours available than our opponents.”

Wache insisted that the team was not taken aback by the improved form of its rivals, claiming that the stable regulation was always going to lead to a convergence in performance across the field. “For the third year in a row, the regulation has remained identical and therefore the margins for improvement are reduced. We expected the growth of rivals since 2023, but now it has materialized.”

‘Blame on the outdated wind tunnel’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/25225


Patient Verstappen stresses ‘loyalty’ as Red Bull prepares for 2026
13 Aug 2024
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

Max Verstappen has once again underscored the importance of "loyalty" to Red Bull when discussing his Formula 1 future, particularly with the significant rule changes looming in 2026.

“I would have to say that in some places the cars might be a little bit slower in terms of lap times, but I would also have to say that when new rules come in it’s always difficult to predict whether the impact will be positive or negative,” he told Formula.hu.

“Personally, I prefer to take a middle position and say let’s wait and see what happens. I was the same way with the current rules, watching: is this going to be good, is this going to be bad? Fortunately for me, it worked out very well as the team became competitive, but with the new rules you really never know.”

‘Importance of "loyalty" to Red Bull’;

https://f1i.com/news/516290-patient-...-for-2026.html


Verstappen sick of judgement: 'I just care a lot'
13 August 2024
Nicole Mulder
GPblog.com

Max Verstappen has always expressed his feelings over the radio, but recently the Dutchman has been heard getting frustrated more often than usual. Verstappen points out that frustration is simply part of top-level sport, but that in Formula 1 - unlike other sports - everything is broadcast publicly, meaning drivers are cirticised for what they say.

Even after the Belgian Grand Prix, Verstappen was again confronted with his own radio messages towards race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. "Of course, things get broadcasted as well, right? I mean, if everything will be broadcasted in other sports, you might hear a lot of stuff," he stressed in conversation with F1TV.

The world championship leader continued: "I just care a lot. I want to always get the best out of myself, get the best out of the team. And yes, of course, that brings frustrations. I mean, I think it's normal to be frustrated when things are not going how you would like it to be. And, then after the race, you analyse everything and you move on."

‘I just care a lot';

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/29455...ons-in-f1.html


Horner with emotional story about Mateschitz: 'He's still heard that'
6 August 2024
Nicole Mulder
GPblog.com

Red Bull Racing are currently working hard to develop their first engine, a collaboration between Red Bull Powertrains and Ford. Christian Horner reveals an emotional detail about the new line of Formula 1 power units being produced in Milton Keynes. It has everything to do with Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who passed away in 2022.

Red Bull are facing a big change. Honda are leaving as their engine partner and will team up with Aston Martin from 2026 onwards. Red Bull Powertrains will produce their own powerplant for the first time in its 20-year history, joining forces with US manufacturer Ford.

At the Red Bull Campus in Milton Keynes, Horner talks about the first internal combustion engine Red Bull Powertrains ever made. "The fire-up of this V6 was in August 2022. Dietrich Mateschitz was able to hear this first ever Red Bull engine just before he passed away. After his death, we decided to label all our engines as DM, so Dietrich will always be at the heart of Red Bull cars," the 50-year-old Briton told Autosport.com and others.”

‘DM engines: Dietrich Mateschitz will always be at the heart of Red Bull cars’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/29377...bull-ford.html

[Fortitude]

McLaren is heading towards an inevitable F1 fallout.
McLaren has a blockbuster F1 driver line-up in its stable - but the Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri partnership could be heading towards disaster.
14 August 2024
Fergal Walsh
RacingNews365

McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have both become grand prix winners this season as they pursue the Woking-based squad’s first title since 2008. But as they spearhead McLaren’s journey back to winning ways, there is the ever-present danger of the situation boiling over.

McLaren is currently riding a strong wave of form and is enjoying the journey it is on as it fashions itself into a contender. But soon that journey of recovery must end and it will declare itself a consistent front-runner against the veteran winning set-ups of Red Bull and Mercedes.

When it does, can Norris and Piastri be trusted to race with their heads rather than their hearts? Both drivers are locked in place at McLaren for the next handful of years and the team can pat itself on the back for managing to form such a formidable line-up. However, successfully navigating any intra-team rivalry that now seems likely to appear would be an even greater achievement.

‘Boiling over’;

https://racingnews365.com/mclaren-is...ble-f1-fallout


Why Norris's toughest F1 rival isn't Verstappen
Aug 14, 2024
Edd Straw
The Race

Piastri’s victory at the Hungaroring and stronger race than Norris’s in the Belgian Grand Prix prior to the break means talk of the Australian being on top has been prevalent. It’s premature to argue this constitutes a decisive swing in his favour, but it’s illustrative of a pair of drivers grappling to cement themselves as the focal point.

The advantage of experience will gradually fade. You can therefore look to Piastri’s peaks as an effective measure and there have been times where his edge over Norris has been hidden, for example by the grid penalty for impeding Kevin Magnussen at Imola or the timing of the safety car in Miami having run second.

Secondly, there's the question of whether there’s a trend in Piastri's favour. You could argue there’s a gentle one, although it's inconclusive. He outperformed Norris in Hungary, outraced him at Spa and at times was the faster McLaren driver in the damp conditions at Silverstone before the team's decision not to double-stack at the first round of pitstops cost him a shot at victory.

‘Norris's toughest F1 rival’;

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/l...rival-mclaren/


Piastri highlights ‘exceptional’ support behind F1 success
Oscar Piastri has described McLaren’s senior leadership as “exceptional” while offering insight into the key players in his F1 success.
13 August 2024
Mat Coch
Speedcafe

Team principal Andrea Stella has been credited with much of that turnaround. The Italian took over from Andreas Seidl in December 2022 and quickly restructured the technical team; the same staff who developed last year's season-starting MCL60 transformed it into a podium contender. In truth, the foundation for the current success pre-dates Stella's promotion though he has done wonders for its confidence during his time in charge.

Throughout those increasingly tense closing stages of the Hungarian GP, at no point did Stella interject with either driver. Instead, he empowered race engineers Will Joseph (Norris) and Tom Stallard (Piastri) to manage the situation with their drivers and deliver the best result for the broader team. “Andrea has been a pivotal part in McLaren's success, and my success in F1,” Piastri noted

“Firstly, I think his background in the sport helps a lot in terms of experience, in terms of race-winning experience, championship-winning experience. He knows what it's like, which helps, but I think more so than that, just the natural leadership that he has is remarkable. It's been very nice working with him as a team principal.”

“Exceptional”;

https://speedcafe.com/piastri-highli...nd-f1-success/


Oscar Piastri reveals broken rib injury - which he won Hungarian GP with
Oscar Piastri was nursing a broken rib before the F1 summer shutdown, he has revealed.
12 Aug 2024
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net

Oscar Piastri has revealed he was struggling with a fractured rib towards the end of the first half of the 2024 F1 season.

First part of the season done.
First GP victory.
First broken bone.
Rib’s enjoying the break �� pic.twitter.com/xee5myxNTP
— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) August 11, 2024

Given the timing of the X-ray, it suggests the 23-year-old Australian was still in some discomfort when he claimed his maiden F1 victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix, which took place two weeks later. Piastri has enjoyed a strong start to the 2024 season and currently sits fourth in the drivers’ championship heading into the second half of the campaign.

‘Rib’s enjoying the break’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/105334...n-hungarian-gp


Piastri delivers McLaren 'momentum' boost
Oscar Piastri has secured four podiums in the 14 completed F1 rounds this season.
12 August 2024
Nick Golding
RacingNews365

Oscar Piastri believes he is gaining "momentum" and has overcome areas he struggled with last season, highlighting his improvement in F1. The McLaren driver sits fourth in the drivers' championship and became a race winner in Hungary, where he overtook Lando Norris into the first corner in a pivotal move.

"I think definitely the last few races have been very strong from my side," Piastri told media including RacingNews365. "I think the whole season's been pretty good. A couple of weekends in the middle of the year were a bit tricky. Japan and China mainly were pretty tough and obviously Barcelona, but I feel like all the other races have been quite strong.”

"Just we've had a lot of things that haven't been going our way in some ways. Whether it's interesting track limit penalties or crashes or mistakes, there's always been just things and I feel like the last few races I have been able to tidy it up."

'Momentum';

https://racingnews365.com/piastri-de...momentum-boost


Why McLaren Rushed Stella's Contract Extension
AUGUST 14, 2024
GrandPrix.com

McLaren has announced that Team Principal Andrea Stella has also signed a multi-year extension of his contract, the team making sure the Italian, who has had a huge impact in the performance of the squad, is not going to go anywhere any time soon.

“With multi-year extensions already agreed with Lando, Oscar, and now Andrea, we can confidently continue on our quest to become World Champions.” As we’ve pointed out on a number of occasions, things have changed a lot in the way teams are run in the last decade or so.

‘Rushed Stella's Contract Extension’;

https://www.grandprix.com/news/why-m...extension.html


McLaren set to ‘cash in’ on development gains in back half of 2024
13/08/2024
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella believes his team is ready to “cash in” on the development work accrued during the first half of the 2024 Formula 1 season. However, Stella remains cautious about how this will influence the rest of the season.

“In terms of the ATR, I’m not sure,” commented the Italian. “Effectively Red Bull have taken trackside more developments so far, in terms of physical parts delivered when you look at the submission, than what we have done.”

“But definitely, I can talk for McLaren, we seem to now be in condition to cash in some of this development that we have accrued, and I would expect that for the second part of the season we will have at multiple times some new parts.”

‘Cash in’;

https://f1i.com/news/516295-mclaren-...f-of-2024.html