The car has been plagued by bouncing, especially with low fuel in qualifying, while its weakness in high-speed corners relative to rivals was very apparent in Saudi Arabia. Shovlin suggests that the team will try different approaches at the upcoming Australian GP as it continues to hone the car. “There’s definitely data that we’re picking […]
Tag: F1
Vettel sent Bearman ‘good luck’ message ahead of Saudi Arabian F1 debut
When full-time Scuderia driver Carlos Sainz required surgery for appendicitis, team reserve driver and FIA F2 racer Bearman was called upon to partner Charles Leclerc from FP3 onwards. The two-time Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award finalist narrowly missed out on a Q3 appearance in qualifying before lining up in 11th. He finished the […]
Aston Martin F1 car still “two or three tenths” off McLaren, Mercedes
At the season-opener in Bahrain, Alonso qualified sixth but slipped to ninth behind the Mercedes and McLaren drivers in the race, finishing 74 seconds adrift of winner Max Verstappen. Alonso qualified fourth for the Saudi Arabian GP, but he soon lost a place to Oscar Piastri’s McLaren. He then remained in fifth place for the […]
RB F1 car “among those which look the least” like 2023 Red Bull
Issues over the partnership with Red Bull and RB, the former AlphaTauri team, have rumbled on in recent months, with McLaren’s Zak Brown particularly vocal over the potential issues arising from one entity owning two F1 teams. Brown’s concerns stem from much more than staff transferring between the two teams and thereby sharing IP, and […]
RB has identified a few flaws with 2024 F1 car
The Australian was classified 16th in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, one spot behind team-mate Yuki Tsunoda – who was tagged with a five-second penalty for an unsafe release. Ricciardo was stymied in Jeddah by a 41-second pitstop due to an issue fitting the rear tyres as the team attempted a double stack during a safety car period. He […]
Hulkenberg will “return the favour” to Magnussen for Jeddah F1 help
Hulkenberg was one of several cars to stay out under an early safety car in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, a strategy which backfired for McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton as a necessary second safety car never materialised. Hulkenberg also needed to make a green flag pitstop, which would have normally dropped him out […]
F1 went wrong way in obsessing over dirty air, says Allison
With F1 looking like it is heading to its third year of single team dominance, there have been questions asked about whether the rules revamp that took place from 2022 has ultimately failed. The bold changes aimed at making the racing more exciting and closing the field up have not delivered all that had been […]
Why Aston Martin could beat Mercedes in F1 race to sign Verstappen
Just a few weeks ago it seemed inconceivable that he would leave the dominant team of the ground effects era and potentially hand a championship-winning car to someone else. However the Christian Horner saga has turned the F1 world on its head and exposed tensions within the camp. The full details have yet to emerge, […]
Vasseur downplays future Ferrari F1 chance for Bearman
The Frenchman says that the 18-year-old should concentrate on his F2 programme and make the most of the Haas FP1 running that he has lined up. Ferrari has no vacancies for the immediate future as Charles Leclerc’s contract was recently extended, while Lewis Hamilton will join from Mercedes for 2025 on a multi-year deal. Ferrari […]
Racing F1 rivals showed Alpine weaknesses
The opening two rounds of the season in Bahrain and Jeddah confirmed what pre-season testing had suggested, as Alpine struggled at the back of the field with the slowest car. In the latter race, from 17th on the grid, Ocon passed Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas at the start and, after the safety car period, he ran […]