The French manufacturer took the decision as long ago as November 2022 to push on with an aggressive revamp of its F1 car for the 2024 season. The heavily-revised A524 was unveiled at a launch event at the team’s Enstone factory on Wednesday, with technical director Matt Harman suggesting that the only carry-over component from […]
Last year teams were locked into choices made after FP1 as the cars were in parc ferme for main qualifying, the shootout, the sprint and the grand prix. That meant an uncompetitive car couldn’t be improved with set-up tweaks, and also led to issues like the excessive plank wear that led to Lewis Hamilton and […]
Bastianini made headlines throughout the 2022 season as he guided his satellite Gresini Ducati to four victories and a series of podium finishes, earning a place in the factory team for the following season. Much was expected from the Italian as he joined the same team as reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia last year, but an […]
Albon and Williams excelled in 2023 on circuits that suited the low-drag FW45, which competed towards the front of the midfield on low-downforce circuits like Monza and Montreal, but had too many weaknesses to be an all-round contender throughout the season. Having sampled his new kit in the Grove simulator, Albon has been encouraged that […]
The Spaniard had hoped to extend his Ferrari contract beyond the end of this year, having set a target of getting it sorted before the campaign got underway at the Bahrain Grand Prix. But developments took an unexpected turn when Ferrari instead swooped for seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton to become Charles Leclerc’s team-mate from 2025. […]
However, it has failed to leverage the kind of performance that results in consistent performances, which is something it hopes to resolve with the arrival of the A524. Taking those ideas and joining up the rest of the dots will undoubtedly be a tall task, but early signs all point to them achieving those goals, […]
Renault has also introduced a similar position at its power unit base in Viry, promoting Audrey Vastroux, who has been with the organisation for 18 years. The new roles are part of an ongoing restructuring that followed the departure of team principal Otmar Szafnauer last summer. Alpine vice-president of motorsports Bruno Famin took Szafnauer’s job, […]
Sargeant struggled through his rookie year with Williams, having an early tendency to overdrive a difficult to handle FW45 to keep up with team-mate Alex Albon. While the Floridian made gains through the latter half of the year, which saw him rewarded with a second year, he still only ended the season with just one […]
KTM had a relatively low-key showing in Malaysia as the new MotoGP season began in earnest with a three-day test this week, with Ducati stealing the limelight with a series of record-breaking lap times. Binder could put up no challenge to either the factory or the satellite Desmosedici riders as he ended up a distant […]
As well as RB moving away from being just a training ground for junior drivers, the squad has been open about forging closer ties with sister squad Red Bull that extends to a technical alliance. PLUS: How the renewed Red Bull influence is presence in RB’s new F1 car It was never likely that this […]