Formula 1 Discussion - And favourite driver?

[Full Race Replay]

i dont get it. Another 45 mins of hambotver wouldn't make the weekend any more interesting.

 

[Coccxys]

The current qualifying format has survived as long as it has for a reason. They have managed to get the best of both worlds from this. Introducing more gimmics won't make it more interesting.

 

[The Grognard]

The current qualifying format has survived as long as it has for a reason. They have managed to get the best of both worlds from this. Introducing more gimmics won't make it more interesting.

Knowing how the previous alteration of the Quali format got canned, I think they'll run one sprint race on saturday which results in Hamilton getting punted out and the masses of Hamilton fanboys will bitch about how F1 is racist because their holy saint got speared by Mazepin or some shit. End result, immediate cancellation of all future sprint races.

 

[LiveFromNS]

Portugal’s Algarve track to host third round of 2021 F1 season​

Posted on 10th February 2021, 13:03 | Written by Dieter Rencken and Keith Collantine

The Autodromo do Algarve in Portugal will return to the Formula 1 calendar in 2021 as the venue for the third round of the championship.

The venue, which held its first Formula 1 race last year, had been widely expected to take the vacant slot left when the 2021 F1 calendar was first announced last November.

However the deteriorating pandemic situation in the country put F1’s plans in doubt. The championship previously looked into the possibility of holding an extra race in Bahrain if an event in Portugal could not go ahead.

Formula 1 is now understood to be confident the Portuguese race can take place and teams will be advised of their plans at tomorrow’s meeting of the F1 Commission. A single race in Bahrain will therefore begin the season at the end of next month, followed by a further race at Imola in April, after which Portugal’s race will be the first of three rounds in May.

One sticking point for Formula 1’s UK-based teams is that country includes Portugal on its so-called ‘red list’ of areas which are subject to travel restrictions. Those arriving in the UK from Portugal must self-isolate for 10 days.

However F1 personnel will be able to travel from Portugal to Spain for the following round of the championship which takes place one week later. Those returning to the UK will then be able to enter the country 10 days after they left Portugal.

Expected 2021 F1 calendar​

Round	Race	Circuit	Date
1	Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit	28/03/2021
2	Made in Italy and Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix	Imola	18/04/2021
3	Portuguese Grand Prix	Autodromo do Algarve	02/05/2021
4	Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Catalunya	09/05/2021
5	Monaco Grand Prix	Monaco	23/05/2021
6	Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Baku City Circuit	06/06/2021
7	Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve	13/06/2021
8	French Grand Prix	Paul Ricard	27/06/2021
9	Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring	04/07/2021
10	British Grand Prix	Silverstone	18/07/2021
11	Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring	01/08/2021
12	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps	29/08/2021
13	Dutch Grand Prix	Zandvoort	05/09/2021
14	Italian Grand Prix	Monza	12/09/2021
15	Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom	26/09/2021
16	Singapore Grand Prix	Singapore	03/10/2021
17	Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka	10/10/2021
18	United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas	24/10/2021
19	Mexico City Grand Prix	Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez	31/10/2021
20	Sao Paulo Grand Prix	Interlagos	07/11/2021
21	Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park	21/11/2021
22	Saudi Arabian Grand Prix	Jeddah Street Circuit	05/12/2021
23	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina	12/12/2021

SOURCE: https://www.racefans.net/2021/02/10/portugals-algarve-track-to-host-third-round-of-2021-f1-season/

 

[LiveFromNS]

F1 TO INTRODUCE EARLY ENGINE DEVELOPMENT FREEZE FOR 2022​

9 mins ago By Scott Mitchell

Formula 1’s stakeholders have unanimously agreed to implement an early engine freeze.
Under the existing rules, engine development was set to be halted for three seasons starting in 2023.

But a motion to bring the engine freeze forward to the start of the 2022 season was finally tabled on Thursday at a meeting of the F1 Commission and The Race understands it received unanimous support.

It means manufacturers will still have the opportunity to update their engines for new, increased-percentage synthetic fuels for 2022, while Red Bull gets its wish for development to be frozen sooner than planned.

This will allow Red Bull to take over Honda’s engines after the Japanese manufacturer’s withdrawal and not have to maintain their development.

It is unclear whether F1 will incorporate a system that artificially boosts the performance of any manufacturer that begins 2022 with a major engine deficit.

Ferrari and Red Bull were keen on this so-called method of convergence, potentially achieved by increasing fuel-flow rates, but it was met with opposition from Mercedes and Renault.

More information is expected to be communicated by F1 and the FIA today.

The meeting also included discussions over a proposal for a Saturday sprint race, which is said to have been met with a positive response but a vote did not occur. It will be discussed again at a later date.

A driver salary cap was also on the agenda but also awaits a resolution.

F1’s commitment to an early engine freeze almost certainly means the next-generation engine will be brought forward from 2026 as well.

That was a proposal all continuing manufacturers have expressed support for, depending on the regulations.

It has been stated by various stakeholders that F1 needs to find a way to reduce the cost and complexity of its engine rules, as the V6 turbo-hybrid era approaches its eighth season.

However, F1’s desire to remain relevant for automotive manufacturers and promote sustainability has created a divisive issue as there is no unanimous agreement over which technology to adopt.

Options include just carbon-neutral fuels as the sustainability focal point, allowing F1 to reduce its hybrid tech, or embracing even more hybrid power but through a simpler system.

New F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali told Sky Sports F1 last month that other manufacturers are interested and suggested F1 can appeal to new brands even if the technology itself is not directly transferable.

“We are in discussion with other manufacturers that for the moment prefer to stay quiet,” he said.

“But the good news is that there are other very important companies that are really keen to understand what is the value of using the F1 platform, not only in terms of technology,” he says.

“I think that one of the biggest challenges that automotive manufacturers have today is to be [viewed as] younger. There is this kind of fight between the old school of OEM [original equipment manufacturer] and the new OEM that are coming in the mobility side.

“We are not part of the mobility side, in terms of what we want to achieve as a sport. But I think that OEMs can use that platform to also change the fresh image they may need for the future.”
SOURCE: https://the-race.com/formula-1/f1-to-introduce-early-engine-development-freeze-for-2022/

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

Yeah, great. An engine freeze. Fantastic.
So whatever we'll see through early 2022 will be what we get for 3 full seasons, most likely Merc dominance throughout...
If Ferrari doesn't pull a decent engine out of their ass this year, they're going to be fucked for a long time. Their engine is barely able to operate a chicken rotisserie, let alone a racecar, I'm almost expecting them to try and do some fuel-fuckery once again.

And frankly, seeing how Ferrari treats their drivers, I certainly don't mind watching them fumble their way through the midfield for another couple years. It's just a shame that it comes at the expense of Leclerc and Sainz. One can only hope both manage to jump ship asap if Ferrari actually ends up as weak as I think they might.

 

[The quiet boi]

Alonso got hit by a car while cycling.

Broken jaw according to Benson


Andrew Benson

@andrewbensonf1

Replying to
@andrewbensonf1
Hearing from sources close to Alonso that he has a broken jaw and will be taken to Bern, where there is a specialist unit for such injuries

 

[The Grognard]

Well that's him out of this year. Who's gonna be his replacement?

 

[New Fag]

Well that's him out of this year. Who's gonna be his replacement?

Well of course we hope for George Russell, but I'm sure Alonso will be fit-ish by end of March especially with all the money they can throw at it.

Alpine and ex-Alpine drivers below, where Alpine and Renault are interchangable

1. Lungard - finished 7th in F2 slightly behind the more experience Zhou and beating his fellow rookie teammate FDA's Armstrong.
2. Pistari - won F3 as a rookie and beating his teammates who had a bit more open wheel experience, would be racing at Perma with Swartzman in this years F2.
3. Zhou - if you consider Illot to be a bit bland this is his teammate from the 2020 F2 season, actually had a more impressive F2 rookie year, I'd say they went backwards.
4. Collet - too early but looks promising.
5. Martins - same as Collet.
6. Jack Atkins - wild card ex academy driver with a little F1 experience, F2 results ain't great but he didn't do a bad job at subbing last year.
7. Hulkenberg - another wildcard, sat in for a couple races in 2020 with good performance, also recent Renault driver.
8. Albon/Kyvat - lot of F1 experience but a redbull loan, doubt it unless bringing big money.
9. Romain Grosjean - forgot about him, experience + marketing, but has a Indy seat.

In my opinion 1>2>7>6>9>8>rest.

Edit: didn't realise Hulk won the inaugural season of A1 GP, I went to one of the UK races.

 

[Full Race Replay]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/motorsports/f1-drops-rainbow-branding-in-updated-we-race-as-one-initiative/ar-BB1dzdrK

https://archive.ph/Ta5F3

Spoiler: F1 drops rainbow branding in updated We Race As One initiative

Formula 1 has announced it will drop the rainbow branding from its We Race As One campaign after updating its objectives for the initiative in 2021.

The campaign was intended to acknowledge the worldwide battle against COVID-19 and the fight against discrimination across the world, using the rainbow as “a symbol used internationally in the recent crisis to bring communities together”.

The branding featured on teams’ cars and on trackside hoardings, but will now be dropped ahead of the 2021 season after F1 outlined its plans for We Race As One on Wednesday.

“This season the rainbow will no longer feature alongside the #WeRaceAsOne platform,” a statement from F1 reads.

“While the COVID-19 pandemic is still an ongoing battle, we are focussing the platform on the three core pillars of our Environment, Social and Corporate Governance strategy.

“Those pillars are sustainability, diversity and inclusion, and community. These areas are a priority for the sport where progress has already been made but with more commitments to be delivered in coming months and years.”

F1 used time before each race last year to allow drivers to make a gesture against racism, with the majority of the grid opting to take a knee before the start of each race. The slot will be kept in the schedule for 2021.

“We plan to include a moment before the start of each race this season to show our united support for important issues and will be discussing this with the drivers and the teams ahead of the start of the season,” the statement reads.

F1 also outlined where the focus of the series will lie in its We Race As One campaign, furthering diversity and inclusivity within motorsport, as well as helping its environmental push.

F1 hopes to create “a clear path towards sustainably fuelled hybrid engines” in 2021, as well as reducing the amount of single-use plastic in the paddock, and alter freight methods, as well as switching to remote operations in some cases to eliminate the amount of freight being taken to races.

Another goal is to “roll out internships and apprenticeships within Formula 1 for under-represented groups to provide access to a promising career in the sport”, as well as “funding scholarships for talented engineering students from diverse and underprivileged backgrounds with work experience opportunities at F1 and the Teams during their studies.”

F1 will include W Series among its support series at eight grands prix this year, and has included a growth in awareness of the category, as well as the FIA’s Women in Motorsport initiatives, as part of its plans for 2021.

“Our We Race As One platform was very effective at raising the awareness of socially important issues and our steadfast commitment to make a positive change,” said F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali.

“We are very proud of it and the teams have embraced it fully. While our commitment through words to tackling issues like sustainability and diversity in our sport are important, it is our actions that we will be judged on.

“We have already made good progress on our sustainability plans and you will see strong actions being executed this year across all three of our WRAO pillars. We know we must continue to move forward on these issues and the whole sport is united in doing this in the months and years ahead."

I knew, in general, it would be awkward when these sports leagues were dropping their progressive imagery from summer 2020 in 2021 or so. Even though this social justice agenda will remain with w series and more inclusive intern programs and stuff at least it will be less obnoxious.

 

[The quiet boi]

Further statement on Alonso, fractured upper jaw, expected to be fully operational for the beginning of the season

 

[Coccxys]

How long before Hamilton and the racebait brigade starts reeing about the weraceasone being expanded to cover more than just his grift.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

How long before Hamilton and the racebait brigade starts reeing about the weraceasone being expanded to cover more than just his grift.

View attachment 1915933

It's more likely that he'll inject himself into this and claim centre front to make sure everyone knows that he's a negro vegan.

 

[LiveFromNS]

Anyone watching the 500? I just downloaded the Clash and Duels and going to have a quick watch through and see if it peaks my interest any. I used to love Nascar in the early 90s, now not so much. But its another race! LOL
Some articles of interest and for your enjoyment to kick off the weekend!

Spoiler: ALFA ROMEO CONSIDERING FORMULA E SWITCH

ALFA ROMEO CONSIDERING FORMULA E SWITCH​

14 hours ago By Sam Smith

The likelihood of Alfa Romeo or Maserati joining the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship grid in the near future is growing.

Both marques are now part of the recently formed Stellantis group that brings the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA groups under one umbrella, and the brands in the new structure are starting to consider their future programmes.

Although it is far from being formally decided, The Race understands that serious consideration is being given to either Alfa or Maserati entering Formula E during its new Gen3 tech era.

Alfa is known to be reviewing its title partnership with the Sauber Formula 1 operation and has no formal commitment there beyond the end of the upcoming 2021 F1 season.

The legendary Turin based manufacturer, which won the first ever world championship grand prix, has given its name to the former Sauber team since 2019.

The recent embedding of former Peugeot CEO Jean-Philipe Imparato into a similar position at Alfa Romeo has caused speculation among some of Formula E’s executives that Alfa’s motorsport focus could be transferred from F1 to Formula E. Such a move could be formalised by early 2022.

Imparato, who attended Formula E’s first Paris E-Prix in 2016, has gone on record in the past arguing that electric powertrains are a crucial criteria for future motorsport programmes.

“Asking for €200million (£175m) for a future motorsport programme is completely mad,” he told Autocar in 2019. “Motorsport is dead unless it’s electrified.”

The FIA and Formula E are currently forming a cost cap plan for the series’ next rules set from 2022 onwards.

Formula E has also set out new procedures that incentivise manufacturers to stay for the full four-season Gen3 duration.

This is in an attempt to stop scenarios such as Audi and BMW’s recent decisions to pull out of the championship with a season of the Gen2 rules set remaining.

Registered Gen3 manufacturers will have to continue paying the €300,000 registration and homologation charge until the end of the rules cycle in 2026.

Alfa is expected to unveil an all-electric SUV this year utilising a version of the PSA derived ‘eCMP platform’ concept.

To be in Formula E for the start of the Gen3 rules in the 2022/23 season, Alfa would have to commit before the end of next month when the registration deadline is set.

So far only Mahindra and champion brand DS Automobiles – now part of Stellantis along with Alfa – have officially committed to Gen3, though Nissan is believed to be close to an announcement and Mercedes and Porsche are expected to sign up too.
The March deadline is believed to be too tight a timeline for any Alfa plans.

Instead the likelihood is that if a second Stellantis brand commits to Formula E it would enter as a manufacturer for the championship’s 10th season in 2023/24.

This would mean that brand has until the end of next January to formalise an official manufacturer entry.

If the new entrant wanted to tie up with an existing, experienced, independent Formula E team, the primary option would be with sometime DS partner Envision Virgin, which The Race has learned is currently actively pursuing links with a major manufacturer for Gen3.
Although Maserati is believed to be less likely for a Formula E entry than Alfa, it is also understood to have developed relationships with key championship executives recently.

The luxury brand is producing the new Maserati GranTurismo and GranCabrio electric models this year and is heavily marketing its ‘Folgore’ philosophy to electrify its range of cars, which also includes a fully electric version of the MC20 design (pictured above).

With DS Automobiles committed to Formula E until at least 2027, the arrival of Alfa Romeo or Maserati would mean two Stellantis brands competing against each other.

Asked if he could see other Stellantis brands looking at Formula E in the future, DS Performance director Xavier Mestelen-Pinon told The Race: “I can imagine that other brands could be interested in the future with Formula E.

“I don’t know who or when but for sure brands must consider it because today we know not only for the car manufacturer but also for partners they need to have a zero carbon series to promote their brand.

“Also, it is not only for the car manufacturer but also for the partner. Like Total for example from our side. So the world of automotive and motorsport is taking a sharp turn.”
Stellantis did not respond to The Race’s request for comment this week.
SOURCE: https://the-race.com/formula-e/alfa-romeo-could-switch-from-f1-to-formula-e-maserati-also-in-frame/

Spoiler: WHAT WOULD ALFA ROMEO EXIT MEAN FOR SAUBER’S F1 TEAM?

WHAT WOULD ALFA ROMEO EXIT MEAN FOR SAUBER’S F1 TEAM?​

8 hours ago By Scott Mitchell, Edd Straw and Mark Hughes

Whether Sauber continues its commercial tie-up with Alfa Romeo beyond the 2021 Formula 1 season has consequences for various elements of the team.

Sauber’s team has been ever-present in F1 since making its debut in 1993 but the name disappeared from the official entry list in 2019 when it signed a title partnership deal with Alfa Romeo.

That relationship has extended beyond just the team name and livery, albeit not by much in a sporting or technical sense, and Alfa is linked to various elements of the team in different ways.

Our F1 writers explore what it might mean if the deal does end in 2021.

WILL IT STAY WITH FERRARI?​

While the Alfa Romeo sponsorship and Ferrari engine-supply deals are related, they are not interdependent. This means there’s every chance that if Alfa Romeo does part company with Sauber, the Ferrari supply deal will remain.
https://the-race.com/formula-e/alfa-romeo-could-switch-from-f1-to-formula-e-maserati-also-in-frame/
As it stands, Sauber has not finalised an engine supply deal with Ferrari for 2022 and beyond, although it is widely expected to do so. But it has been linked with a switch to Renault power and the company would be keen to have a customer team to supply beyond the works Alpine team.

Now that the engine freeze has been agreed and Red Bull and AlphaTauri’s deals to run Honda technology on a continuation basis, this means Renault has averted the risk of having to supply those teams.

This means it could redouble its efforts to get Sauber on board, although Ferrari appears the more likely option at this stage.

WHAT WILL SAUBER’S OWNERSHIP DO?​

Sauber’s existence was threatened in the mid-2010s by financial challenges that led to staff not being paid.

It owes its survival to a takeover by Longbow Finance, a Switzerland-based investment firm that comprises some Swedish billionaires, including Finn Rausing, connected to then-driver Marcus Ericsson.

Rausing is also said to have been responsible for bailing Sauber out of its contractual mess in 2015 when the team turned up to the season opener with three drivers.

There is no doubt that the Alfa sponsorship and recruitment of Robert Kubica’s Polish backer Orlen have helped shift the financial burden of running the team since then.

And if the Alfa deal does end, scoring a new major commercial partner will presumably be a major priority to ensure that the team is self-sufficient.

But with F1 introducing its first-ever budget cap in 2021, rejigging its financial redistribution model, and supposedly poised to become more competitive with new technical rules from 2022, this is an opportunity for previous investment to finally pay off.

That will manifest itself in one of two ways. Either the likes of Rausing will believe this is the time to sell, because an F1 team is an attractive business proposition probably for the first time in history, or they will see this as the chance to benefit from owning it.

While Alfa is a more luxurious identity for its F1 team to adopt, even running as Sauber again would allow the current ownership to build its franchise value as one of only 10 entries in a championship that should go from strength to strength in the coming seasons.

But whatever the ownership, Sauber’s F1 team should remain on firm ground with or without Alfa.

2022 SEATS UP FOR GRABS​

Sauber has not confirmed either driver beyond this season and should the Alfa Romeo deal not continue that increases the likelihood of an overhaul or next season.

It’s understood that retaining Antonio Giovinazzi this year was requested by Alfa Romeo at a time when its ongoing involvement this year was not yet confirmed because of a desire to have an Italian driver in the team. Had that not been the case, Ferrari is believed to have favoured placing one of its younger drivers in the seat, potentially Formula 2 runner-up Callum Ilott.
https://the-race.com/formula-1/the-drivers-challenging-schumacher-to-be-ferraris-next-leclerc/
The evergreen Kimi Raikkonen turns 42 this year and is out of contract at the end of the season. While he could continue and would remain a solid option for next year, should he want to remain in F1, he’s also a salaried driver and therefore alternatives could appeal more.

Given Alfa Romeo is expected to have another difficult season, it will continue to be a team that has to choose from the driver options remaining once the stronger teams have made its deals. What’s more, it could have to opt for drivers with a budget to replace the value of the Alfa Romeo deal if it is discontinued.

But if it has free choice, there will be appealing options both in terms of any drivers who are dropped by more competitive teams, or bringing in juniors affiliated with other teams such as Ferrari Academy members Robert Shwartzman and Illot or even Alpine-contracted Guan Yu Zhou.

A NON-SPORTING LOSS​

Scoring the Alfa deal was part of the Sauber recovery in the Longbow era and came a few months after it installed Frederic Vasseur as team principal.

Significant investment was made under Vasseur’s stewardship, expanding staffing levels by more than a quarter. Alfa’s backing has played some part in that.

Vasseur has spoken enthusiastically about the impact the Alfa commitment had inside the team, too. He believes it has motivated staff, made it more attractive to outside hires, and played a part in getting a driver of Kimi Raikkonen’s calibre onboard after he lost his Ferrari drive.

This has always seemed like an alliance that relied on non-sporting gains (which we’ll come onto shortly) so any loss will be felt off-track, and wouldn’t necessarily tangentially affect it on-track either.

It’s not that Alfa’s not been an actual team partner, but putting roadcars in the Sauber windtunnel means the automotive company has got something out of it technologically in a way that’s never been reciprocated (and never looked likely to).

The Sauber renovation under Vasseur has been augmented by Alfa’s presence, but it hasn’t been reliant on it.

And given this has always remained a Sauber operation on the sporting and technical side, a return to the Sauber name would reflect reality more fairly.

THE END OF AN UNEASY IDENTITY?​

The Alfa-Romeo sponsorship of the Sauber team has always sat a little uneasily. It’s almost disrespectful of Alfa’s glorious heritage and a confirmation really that as a brand it has become a plastic facsimile of its former self.

For the last couple of decades its road cars have been largely restyles of ordinary Fiats – though with occasional glorious exceptions like the 159 Quadrifoglio which harks back to the marque’s glory days as one of the most revered sporting brands in the world – and the slapping of Alfa-Romeo livery on another team’s cars just reinforces the sense that it is now only a badge.

It’s a kind of cynical use of the brand, a cashing-in, but a reflection of the company’s commercial failure when it was an independent. Alfa-Romeo is the company which gave birth to Ferrari, which produced the era-defining P2 and P3 grand prix cars in the pre-war years, which blitzed the first two years of the F1 world championship with the Alfetta in 1950-51, which produced a range of impossibly stylish and appealing sporting road cars, with sophisticated and exotic engineering.

From that to a paint job on a Sauber is sad. If the new owners of the brand, Stellantis – the biggest car conglomerate in the world – are serious about reinvigorating its credibility, the current F1 arrangement probably doesn’t have a place.
SOURCE: https://the-race.com/formula-1/what-would-alfa-romeo-exit-mean-for-saubers-f1-team/

Spoiler: First details of Red Bull’s new operation to run ex-Honda engines – and aim for works status in 2025

First details of Red Bull’s new operation to run ex-Honda engines – and aim for works status in 2025​

Posted on 12th February 2021, 6:30 | Written by Dieter Rencken

Although Thursday’s Formula 1 Commission meeting – the first under new president and CEO Stefano Domenicali and the first under the 2021-2025 Concorde Agreement – voted unanimously to freeze power units for three years from 2022 until the end of 2024, the finer points about the timing and technicalities of the freeze have yet to emerge.

The freeze had been requested by Red Bull Racing and its sister team AlphaTauri, whose engine partner Honda will leave the sport at the end of this season. As outlined here previouslythe teams faced two options: persuade Honda to cede its intellectual property rights to Red Bull to enable them to operate their own power unit programme, or acquire customer engines from an existing team, likely Renault, although Ferrari was also mentioned.

However, the former option would only be viable should F1 chiefs impose an engine freeze through to the switchover date to a new sustainable and cheaper engine formula, which has been brought forward a year to 2025 following today’s vote. Red Bull had argued that a freeze was vital to enable them to continue using Honda hardware as they lacked full engine development capabilities.

Following an interview conducted by associate F1 media outlet Motorsport Magazin with Red Bull F1 adviser Dr Helmut Marko, RaceFans can disclose that Red Bull executives plan to register a new company, which will formally acquire Honda’s F1 engine programme and support the energy drink company’s two F1 teams from Milton Keynes.

“That entity will be Red Bull Powertrains,” Marko told the German publication. “Building Eight, one of our existing buildings, is being adapted into an engine shop. Everything is happening, now it’s starting.”

Although Honda currently runs its F1 operation from a base in Milton Keynes, Marko explained this is geared towards hybrid drive technologies rather than Honda’s internal combustion engines, which are developed and serviced by its Research and Development facility in Sakura, Japan.

Thus, Red Bull will establish its own support operation on the Red Bull Technology Campus to optimise and service the engines during the three-year period. Austrian specialist powertrain company AVL, which has worked closely with Red Bull on various projects, has been contracted to support the programme and supply the necessary hardware.

“The excavators can now start rolling,” said Marko.

He believes the in-house programme will cost the same or slightly more than a customer deal over the three-year period. “We do some maths and calculations about the costs,” he said, “It is a one-time investment in the building and, above all, in test benches.

“But the operating costs will not be higher than if we had bought an engine elsewhere. It may cost more, but not significantly so.”

During the final seasons of Red Bull’s partnership with Renault the watch company TAG Heuer held the naming rights to the power unit and had its brand emblazoned across the engine cover, which Marko hopes could be a precedent.

“Of course, [the sponsor] could not be another car manufacturer, but it could be some other interested company.”

The former F1 driver believes the engine programme will provide significant performance benefits by being tailored specifically for the Red Bull and AlphaTauri chassis – which have both draw common components, as permitted by the regulations, from Red Bull Technology.

“We will be supplying an engine that is coordinated with the chassis people, which will be optimised on both sides,” he said. “If we had got an engine from Renault, for example, we would be forced to [compromise] our chassis, radiator and other components around that design.”

Red Bull will continue to receive full Honda support in 2021. The Japanese manufacturer has also pledged to develop their power unit through to the end of their tenure despite no updates being permitted during the current season. Thus Red Bull hopes to go into the homologation period in early 2022 – final details still to be formalised by the FIA – with an engine that has been fully developed.

“[This freeze] is good news not only for us, but for the whole of Formula 1 in general,” believes Marko. “It reduces costs considerably.”

He also told Motorsport-Magazin that Red Bull is hopeful of acquiring full works status from 2025 by enticing another manufacturer into the sport. According to sources an entry by Porsche was widely discussed during today’s commission meeting.

The German company has attended a number of engine working group sessions recently, and parent company VW has historically enjoyed close motorsport links with Red Bull.
SOURCE: https://www.racefans.net/2021/02/12...nda-engines-and-aim-for-works-status-in-2025/

 

[Full Race Replay]

Anyone watching the 500? I just downloaded the Clash and Duels and going to have a quick watch through and see if it peaks my interest any. I used to love Nascar in the early 90s, now not so much. But its another race! LOL
Some articles of interest and for your enjoyment to kick off the weekend!

Spoiler: ALFA ROMEO CONSIDERING FORMULA E SWITCH

ALFA ROMEO CONSIDERING FORMULA E SWITCH​

14 hours ago By Sam Smith

The likelihood of Alfa Romeo or Maserati joining the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship grid in the near future is growing.

Both marques are now part of the recently formed Stellantis group that brings the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA groups under one umbrella, and the brands in the new structure are starting to consider their future programmes.

Although it is far from being formally decided, The Race understands that serious consideration is being given to either Alfa or Maserati entering Formula E during its new Gen3 tech era.

Alfa is known to be reviewing its title partnership with the Sauber Formula 1 operation and has no formal commitment there beyond the end of the upcoming 2021 F1 season.

The legendary Turin based manufacturer, which won the first ever world championship grand prix, has given its name to the former Sauber team since 2019.

The recent embedding of former Peugeot CEO Jean-Philipe Imparato into a similar position at Alfa Romeo has caused speculation among some of Formula E’s executives that Alfa’s motorsport focus could be transferred from F1 to Formula E. Such a move could be formalised by early 2022.

Imparato, who attended Formula E’s first Paris E-Prix in 2016, has gone on record in the past arguing that electric powertrains are a crucial criteria for future motorsport programmes.

“Asking for €200million (£175m) for a future motorsport programme is completely mad,” he told Autocar in 2019. “Motorsport is dead unless it’s electrified.”

The FIA and Formula E are currently forming a cost cap plan for the series’ next rules set from 2022 onwards.

Formula E has also set out new procedures that incentivise manufacturers to stay for the full four-season Gen3 duration.

This is in an attempt to stop scenarios such as Audi and BMW’s recent decisions to pull out of the championship with a season of the Gen2 rules set remaining.

Registered Gen3 manufacturers will have to continue paying the €300,000 registration and homologation charge until the end of the rules cycle in 2026.

Alfa is expected to unveil an all-electric SUV this year utilising a version of the PSA derived ‘eCMP platform’ concept.

To be in Formula E for the start of the Gen3 rules in the 2022/23 season, Alfa would have to commit before the end of next month when the registration deadline is set.

So far only Mahindra and champion brand DS Automobiles – now part of Stellantis along with Alfa – have officially committed to Gen3, though Nissan is believed to be close to an announcement and Mercedes and Porsche are expected to sign up too.
The March deadline is believed to be too tight a timeline for any Alfa plans.

Instead the likelihood is that if a second Stellantis brand commits to Formula E it would enter as a manufacturer for the championship’s 10th season in 2023/24.

This would mean that brand has until the end of next January to formalise an official manufacturer entry.

If the new entrant wanted to tie up with an existing, experienced, independent Formula E team, the primary option would be with sometime DS partner Envision Virgin, which The Race has learned is currently actively pursuing links with a major manufacturer for Gen3.
Although Maserati is believed to be less likely for a Formula E entry than Alfa, it is also understood to have developed relationships with key championship executives recently.

The luxury brand is producing the new Maserati GranTurismo and GranCabrio electric models this year and is heavily marketing its ‘Folgore’ philosophy to electrify its range of cars, which also includes a fully electric version of the MC20 design (pictured above).

With DS Automobiles committed to Formula E until at least 2027, the arrival of Alfa Romeo or Maserati would mean two Stellantis brands competing against each other.

Asked if he could see other Stellantis brands looking at Formula E in the future, DS Performance director Xavier Mestelen-Pinon told The Race: “I can imagine that other brands could be interested in the future with Formula E.

“I don’t know who or when but for sure brands must consider it because today we know not only for the car manufacturer but also for partners they need to have a zero carbon series to promote their brand.

“Also, it is not only for the car manufacturer but also for the partner. Like Total for example from our side. So the world of automotive and motorsport is taking a sharp turn.”
Stellantis did not respond to The Race’s request for comment this week.
SOURCE: https://the-race.com/formula-e/alfa-romeo-could-switch-from-f1-to-formula-e-maserati-also-in-frame/

Spoiler: WHAT WOULD ALFA ROMEO EXIT MEAN FOR SAUBER’S F1 TEAM?

WHAT WOULD ALFA ROMEO EXIT MEAN FOR SAUBER’S F1 TEAM?​

8 hours ago By Scott Mitchell, Edd Straw and Mark Hughes

Whether Sauber continues its commercial tie-up with Alfa Romeo beyond the 2021 Formula 1 season has consequences for various elements of the team.

Sauber’s team has been ever-present in F1 since making its debut in 1993 but the name disappeared from the official entry list in 2019 when it signed a title partnership deal with Alfa Romeo.

That relationship has extended beyond just the team name and livery, albeit not by much in a sporting or technical sense, and Alfa is linked to various elements of the team in different ways.

Our F1 writers explore what it might mean if the deal does end in 2021.

WILL IT STAY WITH FERRARI?​

While the Alfa Romeo sponsorship and Ferrari engine-supply deals are related, they are not interdependent. This means there’s every chance that if Alfa Romeo does part company with Sauber, the Ferrari supply deal will remain.
https://the-race.com/formula-e/alfa-romeo-could-switch-from-f1-to-formula-e-maserati-also-in-frame/
As it stands, Sauber has not finalised an engine supply deal with Ferrari for 2022 and beyond, although it is widely expected to do so. But it has been linked with a switch to Renault power and the company would be keen to have a customer team to supply beyond the works Alpine team.

Now that the engine freeze has been agreed and Red Bull and AlphaTauri’s deals to run Honda technology on a continuation basis, this means Renault has averted the risk of having to supply those teams.

This means it could redouble its efforts to get Sauber on board, although Ferrari appears the more likely option at this stage.

WHAT WILL SAUBER’S OWNERSHIP DO?​

Sauber’s existence was threatened in the mid-2010s by financial challenges that led to staff not being paid.

It owes its survival to a takeover by Longbow Finance, a Switzerland-based investment firm that comprises some Swedish billionaires, including Finn Rausing, connected to then-driver Marcus Ericsson.

Rausing is also said to have been responsible for bailing Sauber out of its contractual mess in 2015 when the team turned up to the season opener with three drivers.

There is no doubt that the Alfa sponsorship and recruitment of Robert Kubica’s Polish backer Orlen have helped shift the financial burden of running the team since then.

And if the Alfa deal does end, scoring a new major commercial partner will presumably be a major priority to ensure that the team is self-sufficient.

But with F1 introducing its first-ever budget cap in 2021, rejigging its financial redistribution model, and supposedly poised to become more competitive with new technical rules from 2022, this is an opportunity for previous investment to finally pay off.

That will manifest itself in one of two ways. Either the likes of Rausing will believe this is the time to sell, because an F1 team is an attractive business proposition probably for the first time in history, or they will see this as the chance to benefit from owning it.

While Alfa is a more luxurious identity for its F1 team to adopt, even running as Sauber again would allow the current ownership to build its franchise value as one of only 10 entries in a championship that should go from strength to strength in the coming seasons.

But whatever the ownership, Sauber’s F1 team should remain on firm ground with or without Alfa.

2022 SEATS UP FOR GRABS​

Sauber has not confirmed either driver beyond this season and should the Alfa Romeo deal not continue that increases the likelihood of an overhaul or next season.

It’s understood that retaining Antonio Giovinazzi this year was requested by Alfa Romeo at a time when its ongoing involvement this year was not yet confirmed because of a desire to have an Italian driver in the team. Had that not been the case, Ferrari is believed to have favoured placing one of its younger drivers in the seat, potentially Formula 2 runner-up Callum Ilott.
https://the-race.com/formula-1/the-drivers-challenging-schumacher-to-be-ferraris-next-leclerc/
The evergreen Kimi Raikkonen turns 42 this year and is out of contract at the end of the season. While he could continue and would remain a solid option for next year, should he want to remain in F1, he’s also a salaried driver and therefore alternatives could appeal more.

Given Alfa Romeo is expected to have another difficult season, it will continue to be a team that has to choose from the driver options remaining once the stronger teams have made its deals. What’s more, it could have to opt for drivers with a budget to replace the value of the Alfa Romeo deal if it is discontinued.

But if it has free choice, there will be appealing options both in terms of any drivers who are dropped by more competitive teams, or bringing in juniors affiliated with other teams such as Ferrari Academy members Robert Shwartzman and Illot or even Alpine-contracted Guan Yu Zhou.

A NON-SPORTING LOSS​

Scoring the Alfa deal was part of the Sauber recovery in the Longbow era and came a few months after it installed Frederic Vasseur as team principal.

Significant investment was made under Vasseur’s stewardship, expanding staffing levels by more than a quarter. Alfa’s backing has played some part in that.

Vasseur has spoken enthusiastically about the impact the Alfa commitment had inside the team, too. He believes it has motivated staff, made it more attractive to outside hires, and played a part in getting a driver of Kimi Raikkonen’s calibre onboard after he lost his Ferrari drive.

This has always seemed like an alliance that relied on non-sporting gains (which we’ll come onto shortly) so any loss will be felt off-track, and wouldn’t necessarily tangentially affect it on-track either.

It’s not that Alfa’s not been an actual team partner, but putting roadcars in the Sauber windtunnel means the automotive company has got something out of it technologically in a way that’s never been reciprocated (and never looked likely to).

The Sauber renovation under Vasseur has been augmented by Alfa’s presence, but it hasn’t been reliant on it.

And given this has always remained a Sauber operation on the sporting and technical side, a return to the Sauber name would reflect reality more fairly.

THE END OF AN UNEASY IDENTITY?​

The Alfa-Romeo sponsorship of the Sauber team has always sat a little uneasily. It’s almost disrespectful of Alfa’s glorious heritage and a confirmation really that as a brand it has become a plastic facsimile of its former self.

For the last couple of decades its road cars have been largely restyles of ordinary Fiats – though with occasional glorious exceptions like the 159 Quadrifoglio which harks back to the marque’s glory days as one of the most revered sporting brands in the world – and the slapping of Alfa-Romeo livery on another team’s cars just reinforces the sense that it is now only a badge.

It’s a kind of cynical use of the brand, a cashing-in, but a reflection of the company’s commercial failure when it was an independent. Alfa-Romeo is the company which gave birth to Ferrari, which produced the era-defining P2 and P3 grand prix cars in the pre-war years, which blitzed the first two years of the F1 world championship with the Alfetta in 1950-51, which produced a range of impossibly stylish and appealing sporting road cars, with sophisticated and exotic engineering.

From that to a paint job on a Sauber is sad. If the new owners of the brand, Stellantis – the biggest car conglomerate in the world – are serious about reinvigorating its credibility, the current F1 arrangement probably doesn’t have a place.
SOURCE: https://the-race.com/formula-1/what-would-alfa-romeo-exit-mean-for-saubers-f1-team/

Spoiler: First details of Red Bull’s new operation to run ex-Honda engines – and aim for works status in 2025

First details of Red Bull’s new operation to run ex-Honda engines – and aim for works status in 2025​

Posted on 12th February 2021, 6:30 | Written by Dieter Rencken

Although Thursday’s Formula 1 Commission meeting – the first under new president and CEO Stefano Domenicali and the first under the 2021-2025 Concorde Agreement – voted unanimously to freeze power units for three years from 2022 until the end of 2024, the finer points about the timing and technicalities of the freeze have yet to emerge.

The freeze had been requested by Red Bull Racing and its sister team AlphaTauri, whose engine partner Honda will leave the sport at the end of this season. As outlined here previouslythe teams faced two options: persuade Honda to cede its intellectual property rights to Red Bull to enable them to operate their own power unit programme, or acquire customer engines from an existing team, likely Renault, although Ferrari was also mentioned.

However, the former option would only be viable should F1 chiefs impose an engine freeze through to the switchover date to a new sustainable and cheaper engine formula, which has been brought forward a year to 2025 following today’s vote. Red Bull had argued that a freeze was vital to enable them to continue using Honda hardware as they lacked full engine development capabilities.

Following an interview conducted by associate F1 media outlet Motorsport Magazin with Red Bull F1 adviser Dr Helmut Marko, RaceFans can disclose that Red Bull executives plan to register a new company, which will formally acquire Honda’s F1 engine programme and support the energy drink company’s two F1 teams from Milton Keynes.

“That entity will be Red Bull Powertrains,” Marko told the German publication. “Building Eight, one of our existing buildings, is being adapted into an engine shop. Everything is happening, now it’s starting.”

Although Honda currently runs its F1 operation from a base in Milton Keynes, Marko explained this is geared towards hybrid drive technologies rather than Honda’s internal combustion engines, which are developed and serviced by its Research and Development facility in Sakura, Japan.

Thus, Red Bull will establish its own support operation on the Red Bull Technology Campus to optimise and service the engines during the three-year period. Austrian specialist powertrain company AVL, which has worked closely with Red Bull on various projects, has been contracted to support the programme and supply the necessary hardware.

“The excavators can now start rolling,” said Marko.

He believes the in-house programme will cost the same or slightly more than a customer deal over the three-year period. “We do some maths and calculations about the costs,” he said, “It is a one-time investment in the building and, above all, in test benches.

“But the operating costs will not be higher than if we had bought an engine elsewhere. It may cost more, but not significantly so.”

During the final seasons of Red Bull’s partnership with Renault the watch company TAG Heuer held the naming rights to the power unit and had its brand emblazoned across the engine cover, which Marko hopes could be a precedent.

“Of course, [the sponsor] could not be another car manufacturer, but it could be some other interested company.”

The former F1 driver believes the engine programme will provide significant performance benefits by being tailored specifically for the Red Bull and AlphaTauri chassis – which have both draw common components, as permitted by the regulations, from Red Bull Technology.

“We will be supplying an engine that is coordinated with the chassis people, which will be optimised on both sides,” he said. “If we had got an engine from Renault, for example, we would be forced to [compromise] our chassis, radiator and other components around that design.”

Red Bull will continue to receive full Honda support in 2021. The Japanese manufacturer has also pledged to develop their power unit through to the end of their tenure despite no updates being permitted during the current season. Thus Red Bull hopes to go into the homologation period in early 2022 – final details still to be formalised by the FIA – with an engine that has been fully developed.

“[This freeze] is good news not only for us, but for the whole of Formula 1 in general,” believes Marko. “It reduces costs considerably.”

He also told Motorsport-Magazin that Red Bull is hopeful of acquiring full works status from 2025 by enticing another manufacturer into the sport. According to sources an entry by Porsche was widely discussed during today’s commission meeting.

The German company has attended a number of engine working group sessions recently, and parent company VW has historically enjoyed close motorsport links with Red Bull.
SOURCE: https://www.racefans.net/2021/02/12...nda-engines-and-aim-for-works-status-in-2025/

It boggles me that red bull somehow gets all this money from selling energy drinks that it thinks it can become a works team, but best of luck to them because they're my favorite team to watch in the race (not to mention im a Verstappen fan)

Something about formula e rubs me the wrong way. It seems cool to have a league of electric cars, especially if they can get the cars to be able to race on actual tracks instead of all street circuits. However, their youtube channel is pushing climate change imaging so the whole league comes off as gimmicky.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

Something about formula e rubs me the wrong way. It seems cool to have a league of electric cars, especially if they can get the cars to be able to race on actual tracks instead of all street circuits. However, their youtube channel is pushing climate change imaging so the whole league comes off as gimmicky.

That I could live with, but the gimmicky nature of their rules with boost-zones, fan-boosts and all that shit, now that's fucking cancer. It feels more like a video game, and not a good one, either. The virtual Formula 1 league seems more legit than actual Formula E races. Like you could just hold the Formula E races online and you'd barely lose any appeal of the original sport whatsoever.

Wonder if Lewis would ever drive in Formula E, given his usual song and dance, you'd think it's right up his alley, but since he's all talk, I doubt he'd ever participate in a sport where he can't milk his pro-climate-conservation bullshit like in F1 (let alone racing in a sport or team where he actually has to put in effort to pull off record after record).

 

[Friendly Primarina]

we are focussing the platform on the three core pillars of our Environment, Social and Corporate Governance strategy.

“Those pillars are sustainability, diversity and inclusion, and community.

Sigh... did a diversity hire write this?

 

[WhiskeyZuluLima]

Anyone watching the 500? I just downloaded the Clash and Duels and going to have a quick watch through and see if it peaks my interest any. I used to love Nascar in the early 90s, now not so much. But its another race! LOL
Some articles of interest and for your enjoyment to kick off the weekend!

I enjoyed the Clash, Blaney and Elliot went too hard at the end - but I would have done the same in both cases, especially since it wasn't points paying. By running the road course, NASCAR probably saved the Clash from what it was becoming.
I've seen the first Duels race, I'm waiting until I'm not quite so tired to watch the second one - those V8s making constant noise is very comfy.
The truck race was quite good from what I've been told (I wait until NASCAR post the races to YT within 3 or so days of the race running, it's delayed but free so sod it) and I presume the Xfinity race will have been good fun last night. Depending on how today goes, I might try to watch the 500 live tonight.
I did actually run in one of iRacing's Daytona 500s this weekend, it was a mess and it made me miserable. Finished in the top 10, but 15 laps down - should tell you all you need to know about it.

 

[LiveFromNS]

I watched the clash and duels last night. Yes, you could see that last lap fail was going to happen in the clash! They were Ok races, but as I said Nascar kind of lost its lustre for me.

I just download torrents or find them on YT for races I don't catch live. I have been watching SkyF1 pirate livestreams for last number of years as I got rid of TV/Cable a good 6 years ago now. I have the last 3 F3 Asian races to watch then I am caught up with the backlog.

I doubt I will watch the 500 live, probably grab a torrent tomorrow since its a holiday here tomorrow and watch it in 20 minutes by fastforwarding or skipping through it.

 

[Coccxys]

Mclaren and Alpha Tauri cars have been revealed.

Much of the same for Mclaren:



The Alpha has changed a bit since last season



I like the new paint job there, F1 always needs more colour and while it's not bright it's better than just painting it white and calling it a day.

I'm most looking forward to see what Aston have done with their car as some of the early concept art looked great. I just hope they haven't dulled it down since then. Say what you want about that pink paint job for racing point at least it stood out.