Formula 1 - 2017

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Behind the scenes hospitality tour with Lewis Hamilton

Three-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton gives us a behind the scenes look at the Mercedes hospitality area at the Albert Park Circuit.

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FIA to review DRS usage after Chinese Grand Prix

Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting has revealed a decision on whether to alter the DRS rules will be made after the Chinese Grand Prix.
 
There are calls to make the DRS zones longer under the new aerodynamic regulations, with the wider tyres leading to increased drag and increased downforce making overtaking harder.

However, any potential tweaks to the rules will not be implemented until after the second round of the 2017 calendar.

It's a little difficult in testing to fully assess the DRS," Whiting said. "We've had some information of course. We don't see any significant difference at the moment.
"That's why we feel we should assess it over the first two races, but it's actually not long enough [in Australia] for our needs, which is why a couple of years ago we introduced a second activation zone based on one detection point.

"In other words, you try and get the car closer to the car in front on the first bit, and do something better in the second bit.

"It seems to have worked reasonably well, but we can't actually make it any longer here anyway. So we've undertaken to assess it after the second race."

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Boullier: McLaren to work with ‘relentless intensity’

McLaren-Honda racing director Eric Boullier has promised the team will work with "relentless intensity" ahead of the China/Bahrain double-header.

Given all of McLaren's troubles over Winter Testing, a double DNF in Australia looked on the cards. Stoffel Vandoorne was able to complete the race, while Fernando Alonso was running in the top 10 before being forced to retire.

Boullier is keen to move on from the season opener, but paid tribute to both McLaren drivers for their performances in troubling times.

“The 2017 Australian Grand Prix won’t be remembered as one of McLaren-Honda's finest hours, and indeed there are precious few reasons for us to be cheerful here in Melbourne," said Boullier.

“However, I want to pay tribute to our drivers, both of whom performed superbly, albeit in very different ways. 

“Fernando’s car suffered a damaged left-front brake duct early on, but he nonetheless drove a prodigiously impressive race, wringing every last tenth-of-a-second from a compromised car on every lap, and at one stage a points finish looked to be a possibility for him.

“Stoffel had a dreadfully frustrating afternoon, losing his dashboard function early in the race – causing him to have to count his gearchanges both up and down in the absence of the usual on-dash digital readout – which problem we were able to address by bringing him in for an unscheduled system reboot. 

“He soldiered on to the finish – and, although his afternoon was a difficult and unsatisfying one, the fact that he went the distance was a consolation of sorts.

"Indeed, bearing in mind that he’s now driven the grand total of just two grands prix, I’d describe his performance as dogged and diligent: a very difficult job very well done.  

McLaren's reliability will be put through one almighty test with a double weekend of racing coming up, but Boullier has ensured the team are going to do everything they can to try and make the car competitive.

He added: “From here we'll return to Woking and Sakura, where our development work will continue with relentless intensity, with regard to chassis and power unit alike, in an effort to improve MCL32 for the Shanghai-Bahrain double-header in a fortnight's time.”

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Lessons learned for underprepared Renault

Outside the points in Melbourne, Renault MD Cyril Abiteboul concedes the team went into the grand prix lacking “mileage and preparation.”

Jolyon Palmer’s nightmare Australian Grand Prix weekend ended in retirement with the Brit parking his car on lap 15 having suffered brake issues.

His team-mate Nico Hulkenberg had a much better weekend, and Sunday afternoon, as he qualified P12 and found himself fighting for the points in the closing laps.

The German, though, lost out to Force India’s Esteban Ocon, crossing the line in 11th place.

“This first grand prix of the season under these new regulations has delivered several lessons,” explained Abiteboul.

“Our race result highlights that we were not as well prepared as our opposition and our lack of mileage and preparation, both during pre-season testing and during this weekend, meant we suffered.

“We have learnt that in this new Formula 1 era everything needs to be perfectly executed, as it is very difficult to gain track position. We needed to be stronger at the start, in our execution of our strategy, in our pit stops and with our car set-up and balance.

“Although there were very few laps of clean air to demonstrate it, we feel that our car-engine-driver combination allows us to be in the group that we were targeting to race against. At every race, we should be in a position to fight for Q3 on Saturday and to fight for points on the Sunday.

“Looking forward, our first priority for Shanghai is to improve our reliability and from there we should be in a stronger position.”

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Alonso might not see out season with McLaren - Webber

Fernando Alonso might not see out the 2017 season with McLaren-Honda, reckons ex-Formula 1 driver Mark Webber, who says the Spaniard is "a long way away from where he wants to be".

Alonso, in his third year with the Woking-based team, has endured a torrid pre-season after the Japanese manufacturer's new engine failed to live up to expectations.

The two-time champion, who was hoping to fight near the front this year, qualified 13th for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, retiring from the race with a damaged floor.

Alonso's contract with McLaren expires at the end of the year, but his close friend Webber suggested the Spanish driver's frustration could lead him to leave before the year is over.

"Maybe Fernando is not there the whole year," the Australian told Belgian broadcaster Sporza. "Maybe Stoffel [Vandoorne] has a different teammate at some point.

"Fernando might not do the whole year, you never know.

"He's frustrated. He doesn't even want to finish seventh or sixth. Maybe points for Stoffel is quite nice. Fernando is not interested in points.

"He wants to fight for the podium, so Fernando is mentally a long way away from where he wants to be," Webber added.

   

Tough year not bad for Vandoorne

Webber, a nine-time grand prix winner who retired from the sport at the end of 2013, believes Alonso's teammate Stoffel Vandoorne is in a different situation and could still benefit from a difficult season.

Vandoorne, competing in his first full season in F1 this year, finished 13th in Australia, two laps down.

"It's a tough situation, the car and the team are not there," Webber added. "But in a way he can still do the learning in the background, so it's not a bad scenario for him to learn the first season in Formula 1 because the radar is not on him.

"The radar is on the team and the politics and the problems with Honda.

"He has such good pedigree in junior categories, I think there's still good currency for him. You can't have two years like this, but he will be okay."

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Sainz wants to sort handling issues after "weird" Australian GP

Carlos Sainz says Toro Rosso needs to address the handling of its Formula 1 car for the Chinese Grand Prix after lacking confidence in a "weird" Melbourne season opener.

The Spaniard started and finished the Australian Grand Prix eighth, while Daniil Kvyat ensured the team started the year with both cars scoring points by finishing ninth.

Sainz was passed on his out-lap by Sergio Perez for seventh, and though he caught the Force India again later in the race, he reckoned he lost out through strategy and the car's performance.

"It was a pretty weird race," he said. "When we stopped we returned ahead of Checo [Perez], who tried to undercut us, but later flew past us on the straight. When you are lacking top speed so much it's hard to defend yourself.

"Then I had to let my teammate through because my team asked me to, although he had to stop again, so we missed out on seventh place by a bit."

He added: "The cars let you show maybe a bit more of your potential in a certain race weekend when you're feeling particularly comfortable with the car.

"Honestly speaking, it hasn't been my case for the whole weekend, only on Friday was I at 100 percent feeling with the car.

  

"I lacked a bit of confidence so I couldn't really extract everything but it's a balance situation that hopefully we'll sort out for China."

Sainz said he had no problem moving aside for Kvyat, who was on an alternative strategy, because he was not sure he could have passed Perez late on without the delay anyway.

He also thinks Toro Rosso has work to do to get itself at the front of the midfield battle, having identified fifth place in the constructors' championship as its 2017 target.

"Williams showed that especially in race pace they're one step ahead," he said. "The Haas, I don't know how they would've done with the soft, and the ultra-softs they were maybe a tenth faster a lap.

"Then it's us, I do believe we are faster than Force India, but they were that tiny bit cleverer than us with an [attempted] undercut."

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DANIEL RICCIARDO KEEN TO MOVE ON FROM HORRIBLE HOME F1 RACE AT 2017 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

Daniel Ricciardo wants to move on from a “frustrating” and disrupted home event at the 2017 Australian Grand Prix where he crashed in qualifying and then could not compete due to reliability problems before and during the race.

The 27-year-old was set to start 15th after Red Bull changed his gearbox following his Q3 crash, but a gearbox sensor issue prevented him from taking the start and when he did get going, two laps down, a sudden fuel pressure problem ended his race after 25 laps.

Ricciardo had completed a demanding schedule in the run up to the race – including a mammoth 14-hour stint of media sessions and sponsor events on the Wednesday before the Grand Prix.

“It’s been a long week,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s been fun, but I feel bad for everyone, bad for the fans obviously – I believe there’s more people here supporting me than the others.

“It just kinda snowballed from [Saturday]. The five-place grid penalty sounded bad enough but we had other issues. We were laps down, but getting some information – it was valuable track time.”

After the race Ricciardo paid tribute to his fans and explained that their support – even after all his difficulties over the weekend in Melbourne – would help him bounce back.

He said: “Not the weekend I wanted at home. For all these things to happen at my home race that’s probably the most frustrating thing. I feel for the fans. I’m sure they would have loved seeing me in action, but I feel super grateful for everyone that came this weekend and supported me.

“Even when I stopped they were still cheering and shouting my name. That goes a long way and it makes me stand here now feeling a lot better than if I didn’t have that so I definitely appreciate their support.”

Although he was unlucky with the reliability problems on his RB13 during the race at Albert Park, Ricciardo could not explain his qualifying crash, which happened when he lost the rear of his car going through the right-hand Turn 14 on his first run in Q3.

He said: “It was a little bit weird, when I turned in I felt the rear was a little bit light, but it kind of snapped a little bit later. I didn’t get the impression that it was going to go, and then it was like ‘oh yeah it’s going’. I tried to catch it, but it was too late.

“I had a quick look at my replay and at the data and I was pushing but I didn’t actually enter the corner any quicker than I did on my Q2 lap. I wasn’t overdriving to an extent where I feel it influenced it more than I should have.

“Nothing really stood out, I didn’t have a problem basically. There was no puncture, anything strange like that, I just lost the rear. Because we’ve got a bit more downforce on the car, because they’re more loaded, when they go, they seem a bit harder to bring back.”

Ricciardo is not the first F1 driver to endure bad luck and challenging weekends at a home race. His compatriot, Mark Webber, never finished higher than fourth at Albert Park, and Jenson Button’s best result at the British Grand Prix was also fourth.

But a philosophical Ricciardo, who lost a second place finish at the 2014 Australian Grand Prix when he was disqualified because of a fuel flow rate transgression on his car, described how he planned to use the disappointment of last weekend as extra motivation for the next race in China.

He said: “Sure I’m disappointed now but it is what it is. I’ve been here before so I’ll wake up tomorrow and be motivated to get ready for China.”

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BROWN: ALONSO CAN STAY WITH MCLAREN FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS

Amid clear indications that Fernando Alonso is reaching the end of his tether with he situation at McLaren, largely due to a woefully inadequate Honda power unit, the team’s chief Zak Brown has showered the Spaniard with praise and an offer to remain with the team for the next five years.

Speaking to Spanish media Brown, after a highly disappointing Australian Grand Prix for the team, said, “He’s very motivated and fit — he has five years ahead of him if he wants it. I’m very keen for him to stay and I think he will if we give him a car.”

“No one is more desperate to win than Fernando. He has behaved impeccably. He has said what he feels because the facts are the facts and he is the best driver in the world,” added Brown.

The American no doubt speaking with reference to Alonso’s headline grabbing criticism of Honda after preseason testing and during the weekend in Melbourne.

Indeed his good friend Mark Webber has suggested that Alonso will not see out the whole year should the situation remain the same.

For now Alonso insists that he is in it for the long haul with McLaren, and said on the eve of the season opener in Australia, “I have to go? And where am I going? What would I do at home? I start cooking or I’d be on the couch watching TV? The solution is to work hard and demand a response from the team.”

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HORNER: THE GAP APPEARS LARGER THAN IT IS

In the wake of a disappointing weekend in Australia, Red Bull team chief Christian Horner remains upbeat and pointing to the fact that Albert Park Circuit has not been kind to his team over the years and is adamant they will close the half second gap to the pace setters before Round 2 in China.

Daniel Ricciardo endured weekend to forget. In retrospect the crash he suffered during qualifying, coupled to a technical issue that kept him in the pits two laps into the race simply erased him from the proceedings.

Max Verstappen qualified fifth and had a subdued afternoon to finish in fifth place. During the late stages of the grand prix he reeled in fourth placed Kimi Raikkonen, but the teenager had nothing in his arsenal to mount an attack.

Speaking to De Telegraaf, Horner reflected after the race in Melbourne, “We will somehow have to find over half a second in order to compete at the front again.”

“On this track we have not been competitive for years. To be honest I do not think we’re very far behind. The gap appears larger than it is. After all, we are dealing with new regulations. In such a situation quick progress can be made. And we at Red Bull ample room for further developing [the RB13].”

“For every race we will have updates. Ferrari has a strong winter behind them, in terms of chassis and engine they have made great progress. But the season has twenty races. It makes no sense to draw conclusions after just one race. We have only just begun,” added Horner.

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Romain Grosjean: New Haas F1 car has 'huge potential'

Romain Grosjean says the Haas Formula 1 team’s new car for the 2017 season has “huge potential” despite retiring from the first round in Australia.

Both VF-17s failed to reach the chequered flag in Melbourne. Grosjean exited the race with a water leak and new team-mate Kevin Magnussen pulled off with suspension problems late on.

Grosjean put in a strong performance in qualifying to line up sixth on the grid and held seventh before retiring on lap 13.

Nevertheless, the Frenchman was encouraged by the pace of the Haas through the weekend and believes the team has leap-frogged Williams.

“I suddenly lost a lot of power,” he explained. “I told the guys, then the next thing I knew I had to slow down the car.

“We’re all disappointed to lose a seventh-place position, but the car was there in qualifying sixth.

“The start wasn’t ideal, so we need to improve that. I felt I was faster than the Williams, so there’s huge potential in the car.

“I guess the key for us is to keep the momentum and get the consistency we didn’t have last year, where I’d be fifth in Bahrain then 19th in China.

“I really want to improve on that and get more consistency in terms of results. If we do that, then I’m sure there are going to be plenty of races where we can score good points.”

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Bizarre plot to steal Enzo Ferrari’s corpse is foiled

Italian authorities have foiled a plot by a gang of organised criminals to steal the body of automotive legend Enzo Ferrari from its resting place in Modena.

Italian investigators reported that the gang were planning to ransom the body of the Formula 1 marque patron after stealing it from the San Cataldo cemetery.

In a sequence of raids by 300 military and police personnel, 34 arrests were made across Italy. The gang – which is connected with drug and gun smuggling activities – was based in Orgosolo in Sardinia, with other members from Emilia, Lombardy, Veneto and Tuscany also placed in custody.

Their plan was to steal the coffin of Ferrari, who died at the age of 90 in 1988, and take refuge in the Apennine Mountains while demanding a ransom from the Ferrari family or company.

One of the gang had already scoped out the daring raid on the tomb, and the plot involved using two cars and a van.

But following a request by the regional anti-Mafia directorate, the military swooped before the plan could be carried out.

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Alonso says no time for 'coffee break' with new F1 cars

Formula 1 drivers can no longer afford a 'coffee break' to react to errors, claims Fernando Alonso, with the new generation of cars demanding an instant response to avoid crashes.

With F1’s new wider and faster cars having earned rave reviews - with reports of cornering forces peaking at 8G - Alonso believes that drivers are facing an all-new scenario compared to the previous generation of machinery.

“When you lose the car a little bit on the rear end especially, it’s difficult to recover because you are fast on the corners,” said Alonso.

“So you have half a tenth of a second to react. Last year you had four seconds - in the corner you could take a coffee in those cars!

“Definitely you are in a different category and are more in the direction of F1. I’m happy that an F1 car goes faster in the corners than a GP2 or a Japanese [Super] Formula, many other categories that were faster than F1 in the corners.”

Although there remains some scepticism about the impact that the new cars will have on racing - and especially overtaking - Alonso says he is not too concerned.

“The cars are much more fun to drive, the cornering speed is back to what an F1 car should be,” he said. “I think the fans will love that feeling of watching the cars from the grandstand going to that speed into the corner.

  

“Also on television I think they look better. I think we’re still missing the sound of F1 that was part of the DNA of the sport, but I guess that will not come any more.

“I think we’re in a good position for the sport, and I think we have good years in front of us in terms of show and in terms of excitement, driving these cars.

“I read that maybe the DRS zone will be reconsidered after the first couple of races, so everyone is working in the same direction of making F1 spectacular again. I think we are in that direction – I’m happy.”

Alonso says he’s happy too that 2017 regulations have delivered cars where the driver can make the difference - citing the disparity in performance between experienced and less experienced drivers apparent in several teams.

“Definitely I’m much more happy now,” he said after qualifying. “We saw even today, we see also the teams, how they split the drivers – always one experienced driver, one rookie maybe behind.

“In these kinds of circuits, narrow, bumpy, where you have to push the car, it’s not easy to get into the speed. So I think the cars are definitely tougher to drive and more difficult to drive.”

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Drivers say Renault can have fourth fastest F1 car in 2017

Renault can have the fourth-fastest car in Formula 1 by the end of the 2017 season, according to its drivers Jolyon Palmer and Nico Hulkenberg.

Renault has targeted fifth in the constructors' championship this year, its second since returning to F1 with a works team.

It is part of a tight midfield battle with Williams, Force India, Toro Rosso and Haas, with 11th-placed Nico Hulkenberg narrowly missing out on a point in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

McLaren's ongoing issues with engine partner Honda have opened the door to a smaller team being best of the rest behind Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull this season.

Palmer told Motorsport.com Renault's resources as a manufacturer can move it to the head of the midfield group over the course of the season.

"The target was top five but where we're starting is quite close to that," he said. "It's very, very tight – Williams is a little bit ahead, but we've got the resource to move through the year and aim for that fourth spot.

"Maybe not in terms of final position, but at least in terms of performance in the latter part of the year."

The Briton said he was eager to see the progress Renault can make with its first completely-new F1 car, after running a revised version of Lotus's 2015 machine last year.

"You can visibly see what's going on in the factory and there are points of downforce coming all the time," he said. "It's quite exciting. That's where as a team we're in quite a strong position – I know what's coming for us.

"I can't speak for everyone else but we should be making progress."

  

Hulkenberg: Down to Renault to earn fourth

Haas driver Romain Grosjean qualified sixth in Melbourne, while in the race Williams, Force India and Toro Rosso all scored points in Melbourne.

Hulkenberg accepts Renault is "at the back of that bunch" at the moment, but agreed with Palmer that fourth is a realistic target.

"It is close," Hulkenberg said. "The race is on basically between all those teams. I think it is realistic but we need obviously to do the right things and in terms of the development, bring the right parts and use the right tools to go there."

He stressed Renault could not take its status as a works team for granted in the development race.

"It's definitely a benefit to have more and bigger resources," he said. We have to make them work as well, it's not just about quantity – it's about quality.

"We'll have to prove we can do it."

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Todt: Lack of passing a price worth paying for better F1 cars

FIA president Jean Todt believes a lack of overtaking in Formula 1 this year may be a price worth paying for faster and more spectacular cars.

One of the downsides of the new generation of F1 cars is that drivers have found it much more difficult to pass their rivals.

Lewis Hamilton went as far as suggesting after the Australian Grand Prix that the current situation was the worst he had experienced in his 10-year F1 career.

"It is fundamental to the way the cars have been since I've been in Formula 1 but it's probably worse now than it's ever been," he said about overtaking difficulties.

"It's definitely not going to be better – it's going to be the same for the rest of the season."

Speaking to selected media ahead of the Australian GP race, Todt acknowledged that there was likely to be less passing in 2017, but did not believe that it was something too negative for the sport.

  

"Overtaking has always been a problem in motor racing," explained Todt. "I remember races 20 or 30 years ago, when a car with fresh tyres that was three or four seconds quicker could not pass a car with old tyres, because overtaking was difficult.

"Clearly we can figure out that overtaking will be even more difficult this year. But we have tried to find ways to make overtaking easier with DRS and other technologies.

"Maybe the new regulations will make overtaking more difficult, but maybe it was the price to pay by having wider cars with more aerodynamics."

The FIA is set to reconsider the length of DRS zones after the Chinese Grand Prix when it has a better idea about just how difficult overtaking is.

Todt has also suggested that longer term maybe F1 needs a rethink of its aero concept to ensure that future cars can follow each other more closely.

"It's something that we need to address when we are going to speak about future regulations, about whether it is a good compromise."

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Melbourne Grand Prix podcast: Australian Grand Prix review

The latest Autosport Podcast looks back on the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, starting with the crucial strategic decision that allowed Sebastian Vettel to win.

Autosport Magazine editor Kevin Turner, F1 Racing Executive Editor Stuart Codling and Autosport Editor-in-Chief Edd Straw debate whether this was a race Ferrari won or one that Mercedes lost.

There's also a discussion of the relative merits of the other Mercedes and Ferrari drivers, Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen, as well as a look at the midfield battle.

And there's more McLaren-Honda talk too, with Fernando Alonso suggesting the Australian GP was probably his best race.

But what's next for the team? We also discuss the new-generation of Formula 1 cars and the kind of racing that has been created.

MIKA: I'm trying new ideas on the forum such as inserting podcasts etc, hope it all works out

 

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Red Bull denies Formula 1's trick suspension ban caused poor form

Red Bull Racing insists Formula 1's ban on trick suspension systems did not play a role in it trailing Ferrari and Mercedes at the Australian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo were around half a second off the pace in Melbourne, struggling with set-up issues and a lack of power in their Red Bull-Renaults.

Ahead of pre-season testing, the FIA issued a tough clampdown on sophisticated suspension systems that prompted Mercedes and Red Bull to remove concepts they had been evaluating for 2017.

But when it was suggested to Red Bull team boss Christian Horner that this ruling had proved particularly costly for his squad because it had a more sophisticated device, he replied: "I don't believe so.

"The suspension system that was outlawed was something that we looked to develop over the winter.

"And, to be honest with you, even if we had the ability to run it, it wouldn't earn a place on the car because of the weight involved.

"We are running effectively as we've run in previous seasons."

While Ricciardo endured a weekend to forget at his home event - with a crash in qualifying, a pre-race gearbox sensor issue and then a terminal fuel cell problem - Verstappen could manage no better than fifth.

That was a disappointing start to a year in which many had tipped Red Bull to emerge as the main threat to Mercedes.

Horner remains hopeful that the margin to the front can be closed down quickly, especially with Renault planning a significant engine update.

"Mercedes weren't that far away - I think probably half a second," he said.

"Ferrari have been very impressive here and probably had the quickest car.

"We definitely had the third quickest car here and we've got to find a good half a second to get into that fight with the cars ahead.

"Max was pushing Kimi [Raikkonen] hard all race, but we didn't have the pace of [Sebastian] Vettel or [Lewis] Hamilton.

"It's still early days. The regulations are still very immature.

"We've chosen a different concept. I believe there's really good development potential in the concept that we have.

"There's a lot of positives to take out of Australia, at a track where we have not been competitive for the last couple of years.

"I'm sure that we can build on this over the coming races."

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F1 OVERTAKING CRISIS – WHY LISTENING TO F1 DRIVERS IS BAD FOR THE RACING

Although the Melbourne weekend was largely positive for Formula 1, it revealed one serious threat that hangs over the series this year, which is the problem with overtaking.

Melbourne is not a typical race track and we need to see the cars on circuits like Shanghai and Bahrain, but already some things are painfully clear.

There were just 5 overtakes in the whole race, compared with 37 last year and while the new aerodynamics have a large part to play in this, there isn’t much that can be done to improve the difficulty of following another car now the season has begun.

However there are strong calls behind the scenes in F1 for Pirelli to review its selection of tyres to bring the softer compounds and increase the variables in the racing.

For Spain, for example, it has nominated Soft, Medium and Hard. No team will use the hard and so the race will be processional with largely similar strategies. If it was the softer compounds, there could be more variability. Valtteri Bottas did a stint of over 20 laps in testing in Barcelona on Ultra Soft tyres, which is an ideal opening stint length for a race, so they can’t be that ‘ultra’ soft after all!

All the signs are that in listening to the F1 drivers, who wanted tyres they could ‘push’ on, the sport has suffered; it has had a detrimental effect on the overtaking as the cars are all doing basically the same thing, rather than mixing it up and having big performance differences at various stages of the race.

So the drivers are happy, they are having fun. But the racing has suffered and actually the drivers from 6th place downwards have all suffered because they have no chance of getting a big result now. The low degradation tyres are another thing that keeps the top teams ahead.

Because the Pirelli tyres barely degrade over a long stint and the compounds are closer together there is no differential in pace. We saw degradation of half a second over a long stint on some compounds where last year the same run and compound would have seen the performance drop by five seconds a lap. Those offsets are where overtaking happens, when cars are jumbled up on different strategies.

At the same time the changeover in regulations from 2016 to 2017 has seen the wealthy top three teams open a huge performance gap to the rest, thanks to much greater levels of downforce.

The finishing gap on Sunday between the fifth placed Red Bull of Max Verstappen and sixth place Felipe Massa in the Williams was 55 seconds, which is basically 1 second per lap.

The Haas car qualified in 6th place at Melbourne and was 2.6% off the Mercedes in performance terms. In 2016 a 2.6% delta would put you 14th on the grid. So you can see that the field has opened up, which is bad for the racing, it’s more like it was in the 1990s. What kills F1 is the separation of the field and it’s this area that should be Ross Brawn’s number one priority to fix with the FIA in the long term plan for the next set of regulation changes.

It means that the leading cars have a pit stop in hand over the rest by around Lap 12 so there is nothing the midfield cars can do to get involved in the action, no scope for a Sergio Perez, for example, to get a podium by clever strategy or taking a chance on a Safety Car.

F1 is now an A race and a B race. This will carry on through the year.

More worryingly, the sport is dependent on the Ferraris and Mercedes staying on the same pace through the development race this season – and hopefully Red Bull joining in once they stabilise a couple of problems on aerodynamics and engine, which they will do by Russia or Spain at the latest.

The 2017 season is set to be the biggest development arms race the sport has seen, due to wide open scope on the aerodynamics and a token free system on engines. And if one of the top teams gets a step over the rest, for example if the stage two Mercedes engine from Spain onwards gives them a half a second of performance margin over Ferrari, then the viewers will soon switch off.

Brawn and the FIA will have to step in if that happens and effect a short term solution to the problem for the good of the sport.

So what is the problem with the overtaking?

There was concern at the end of last season about the new regulations and the idea that the turbulent air from these higher downforce cars would make it hard for a car to follow another and pass. At the same time the extra downforce means braking distances are shorter. The idea with these rules was to make the cars much faster over a lap as the drivers complained that they were not a challenge to drive and 17 year old Max Verstappen was able to compete straight away, which older drivers found depressing.

The other idea was to give the drivers tyres on which they could push hard throughout, as in the Bridgestone and Michelin days. But the overtaking then, such as it was, came from the refuelling levels and also the offset in performance between two tyre companies.

With robust tyres that have low degradation and low wear the cars basically will qualify and race in car pace order.

Was this Melbourne specific or will we also see it in China?

Melbourne is a particularly difficult track for overtaking, as there are no long straights, braking distances are shorter this year and the track is lined with walls.

Fernando Alonso had a top speed of just 290km/h in the horsepower-challenged McLaren Honda and managed to keep Esteban Ocon behind him for most of the race, despite the Force India having top speed of 317km/h. That will not happen in Shanghai.

The Chinese track is better, thanks to the 1.170km main straight and the Drag Reduction System on the rear wing, which sheds drag when a car is within a second of the car in front. This year, with cars that have more downforce and therefore more drag, the DRS will be more powerful in China. We expect to see a speed boost of over 20km/h and cars will pass on the straights. There were 28 overtakes last year of which 16 were on the DRS straight. We’d expect to see that and more this year.

Driver Reaction

Following last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, several Formula 1 drivers offered their thoughts on the lack of overtaking moves witnessed in the Melbourne race.

Perez expressed his belief that a driver now needs to be two seconds quicker than the car in front to pull off a move. Hulkenberg described overtaking in 2017 as “almost impossible”.

Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas highlighted the problem with the turbulent air as a particular concern for the chance of a pass.

He said: “Even in the years before it’s been difficult to follow once you get within one and a half, or one second, just because of the turbulent air which messes up the aerodynamics of the car and that way we don’t have that much grip.

“Now, as more of the grip from the car is relying on the aero, it’s a bigger effect. And the cars are wider so I think there’s more turbulent air so now it’s more like two seconds or even two and a half because you actually feel quite a big effect from the car in front and that way in the corners it’s more difficult to follow.”

Hamilton, who had expressed his concerns about overtaking before the start of season, outlined his belief that strategy battles and pitstops would produce the main passes in 2017.

He said: “It’s always generally been tough to follow. I hope that doesn’t mean for the rest of the year that it’s more of a train.

“I don’t know if it was exciting for you guys to watch, but for me personally I want to be closer up with the cars and doing more close wheel-to-wheel battling. It’s really through strategy and pitstops that we are racing right now.”

But Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, who finished fourth at Albert Park last weekend, urged caution on the overtaking issue.

He said: “It’s only one race and this circuit is far from let’s say a normal circuit. Some circuits will be more easy, some more harder in a year. We have to see how it goes in the next races.”

[OZCUBAN]

1 hour ago, MIKA27 said:

BROWN: ALONSO CAN STAY WITH MCLAREN FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS

Amid clear indications that Fernando Alonso is reaching the end of his tether with he situation at McLaren, largely due to a woefully inadequate Honda power unit, the team’s chief Zak Brown has showered the Spaniard with praise and an offer to remain with the team for the next five years.

Speaking to Spanish media Brown, after a highly disappointing Australian Grand Prix for the team, said, “He’s very motivated and fit — he has five years ahead of him if he wants it. I’m very keen for him to stay and I think he will if we give him a car.”

“No one is more desperate to win than Fernando. He has behaved impeccably. He has said what he feels because the facts are the facts and he is the best driver in the world,” added Brown.

The American no doubt speaking with reference to Alonso’s headline grabbing criticism of Honda after preseason testing and during the weekend in Melbourne.

Indeed his good friend Mark Webber has suggested that Alonso will not see out the whole year should the situation remain the same.

For now Alonso insists that he is in it for the long haul with McLaren, and said on the eve of the season opener in Australia, “I have to go? And where am I going? What would I do at home? I start cooking or I’d be on the couch watching TV? The solution is to work hard and demand a response from the team.”

I doubt that Alonso will be there 5 months let alone 5 years and it's not without precedent ?

[OZCUBAN]

On 28/03/2017 at 7:25 AM, MIKA27 said:

FIA to review DRS usage after Chinese Grand Prix

Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting has revealed a decision on whether to alter the DRS rules will be made after the Chinese Grand Prix.
 
There are calls to make the DRS zones longer under the new aerodynamic regulations, with the wider tyres leading to increased drag and increased downforce making overtaking harder.

However, any potential tweaks to the rules will not be implemented until after the second round of the 2017 calendar.

It's a little difficult in testing to fully assess the DRS," Whiting said. "We've had some information of course. We don't see any significant difference at the moment.
"That's why we feel we should assess it over the first two races, but it's actually not long enough [in Australia] for our needs, which is why a couple of years ago we introduced a second activation zone based on one detection point.

"In other words, you try and get the car closer to the car in front on the first bit, and do something better in the second bit.

"It seems to have worked reasonably well, but we can't actually make it any longer here anyway. So we've undertaken to assess it after the second race."

I reckon drivers should be allowed to use DRS any time they wish 

[capitalpg]

Just had the opportunity to watch the race, and what a great way to kick off the season!

I realize it's the first race & track that suits Ferrari, but it's nice to see red atop the podium. Interesting to see how Ferrari performs in the coming weeks. Lack of overtaking or not, Ferrari appears to have taken several steps forward on the offseason.

[MIKA27]

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE CONFIRMED AS F1 AUSTIN HEADLINE ACT

Singer Justin Timberlake has been confirmed as the headline act at this year’s United States Grand Prix as organisers seek to build on the crowd-pulling success of Taylor Swift’s appearance at the 2016 race.

Timberlake, whose Oscar-nominated song ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’ won him a 10th Grammy Award, will appear on stage on Saturday 21 October at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas (COTA) after qualifying.

Last year’s race ended a trend of declining audiences and drew a record crowd of 269,000 with Swift’s first concert of the year watched by some 80,000 people.

“Last year did what we hoped it would do, which is not only enhance an already great event but also give us the chance to expose a lot of new people to the sport,” COTA chairman Bobby Epstein told Reuters. “And it worked.

“I think where we saw a big change was in the average number of tickets sold per transaction, which told me that families were buying. And so I think we’ll see that continue.”

The 2017 F1 season, which began in Melbourne last weekend, is the first with the sport being run by American company Liberty Media, which took control of Formula One in January.

Liberty replaced CVC Capital Partners as the sport’s commercial rights holders, with Chase Carey ousting 86-year-old Bernie Ecclestone as commercial supremo.

F1 has long struggled to get a foothold in the American market, so hopes are high that Timberlake’s performance can build on last year’s successful race weekend.

Bad weather hit the track’s revenues significantly in 2015, with Saturday’s final practice taking place behind closed doors due to flooded conditions and qualifying moved to the Sunday.

Epstein said COTA would refund 105 percent of the value of any three-day reserved seat ticket purchased by July 4 if more than two inches of rain falls in the 24-hour period before the start of the race.

In addition, the ticket would still be good for the race.

[MIKA27]

EPSTEIN: LIBERTY MEDIA SHOULD OWN SOME CIRCUITS

United States Grand Prix promoter Bobby Epstein says it would make sense for Formula One’s new American owners Liberty Media to buy some circuits as part of their long-term strategic plans for the sport.

The Circuit of the Americas (COTA) co-founder and chairman whose Austin, Texas, track is the country’s sole purpose-built F1 facility, told Reuters he would be happy to do a deal “at the right price”.

Speaking ahead of tickets for the Oct. 22 race going on sale on Friday, he added, however, that there had been no discussions with Liberty.

“I do think it makes a lot of sense for them to own some circuits. It would have to be part of any long-term strategy for them,” said Epstein, whose race is the only U.S. round on the current calendar, in a telephone interview. “I see a lot of logic and business reasons for them to own some circuits.”

Formula One’s previous business model, which the new owners have said they want to change, has been based on television revenues and circuits paying significant hosting fees with an annual escalator.

Austin’s annual fee has been reported at around $33 million, with $25 million coming from state subsidies based on a formula for calculating how much economic activity the grand prix generates for Texas.

COTA drew a record three-day crowd of 269,889 last year, thanks mainly to singer Taylor Swift holding her long-awaited first concert of the year on the Saturday night.

This year’s race has Justin Timberlake lined up as the headline act.

“I think all of the circuits struggle under the current environment,” said Epstein. “If they (Liberty) change it and help the circuits survive, are they better off owning the circuits than making concessions?

“Are they actually giving up profitability by not owning the circuits? If they (the circuits) are going to make money from an F1 race, then F1 might as well own that profit.”

Several of Europe’s oldest circuits, such as Silverstone which has been looking for a buyer, struggle to make money while Germany is off the calendar this year for financial reasons.

Liberty completed their takeover in January, ousting 86-year-old supremo Bernie Ecclestone and replacing him with Chase Carey, who has appointed Sean Bratches as managing director for commercial matters.

Asked directly about the possibility of Liberty buying circuits, Bratches said only that there were “a number of different models that can be pursued”.

Formula One is seeking to expand in the Americas, with talk of adding street races in U.S. “destination cities” like Las Vegas, Miami, Los Angeles and New York and treating each race like a Super Bowl with events through the week.

Epstein said Austin had pioneered that formula since the debut race in 2012. He said the circuit now wanted to establish an all-year Formula One presence and estimated 50,000 people a year could be drawn to the circuit by an interactive garage experience.

“Watch parties”, where fans gathered for broadcasts of other grands prix, and track tours were also popular.

Epstein suggested COTA could become the “brand-building headquarters for F1” in North America and a permanent home while other races came and went.

“Since you can’t move this circuit, and you can’t duplicate it, it can always be counted on to be there,” he said. “I think the goal would be ‘Let’s get the show on the road’.

“You can rotate it (Formula One) through different cities so that you are continuing to expose the sport.

“It’s not likely that anyone else is going to build and spend that kind of money on a permanent course in the United States.”

[MIKA27]

GIOVINAZZI READY TO STEP UP AND REPLACE RAIKKONEN?

Antonio Giovinazzi was for many the hero of the Australian Grand Prix weekend, where the young Italian impressed in his Formula 1 debut and may well have put himself in line to replace Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari if the Finn retires at the end of the season.

The GP2 Series runner-up, and recently appointed reserve driver, received a last minute call up by Sauber, on the eve of the race to replace injured Pascal Wehrlien.

He then went on to nearly make it into Q2 during qualifying, after only an hour of running in the one hour morning session, and then 24 hours later finished 12th.

Sauber team chief Monisha Kaltenborn was impressed, “A very impressive performance from Antonio during his first Formula One race. He showed his potential as well as what the car is capable of.”

And so was former Ferrari team principal Cesare Fiorio who declared on RAI radio, “How Antonio performed in Melbourne was exceptional, after-all he only heard he was down to replace the Sauber driver on Saturday morning!”

“I have followed his progress for about five years and he is definitely the best talent we have at the moment [in Italy] and he is clearly ready for Formula 1. Ferrari did well to sign him up as a reserve and I hope they will give him a chance,” said Fiorio.

With 38 year old veteran Raikkonen nearing the end of his F1 career, Fiorio suggests that Ferrari consider promoting Giovinazzi, “[Raikkonen] had an embarrassing 2014 season with Alonso and a bad one in 2015 compared to Vettel, however he did recover last year.

“But by the end of this season he will be a 38 year old driver and I think then it’s time for him to bring his adventure at Ferrari to an end,” added Fiorio.

Problem is Ferrari have never had much luck with Italian drivers in the modern era.

Giuseppe Farina won the first ever F1 world championship for Ferrari and Alberto Ascari did  the double in 1952 and 1953, but since then no Italian has won a F1 world title, let alone one driving for Ferrari.

Michele Alboreto in 80 starts for the Scuderia, won three times in the eighties.

More recently, in 2009, Giancarlo Fisichella was drafted in to replace injured Felipe Massa – whose first replacement, Italian, Luca Badoer proved to be a flop – but the well liked ‘Fisi’ had a an underwhelming five races with the team before he called it quits.

Some claim that Italian drivers at Ferrari are jinxed, while others point to the pressure of racing for a team under huge scrutiny, with a massive global fan base which also carries the hope of a nation. In the end all this is perhaps too pressure much for an Italian driver to succeed at Maranello.

With a new era of promoting from within, namely Italian engineers and technicians, perhaps Giovinazzi will be an exception to the rule…

[MIKA27]

McLaren links up with Amazon Prime for 2017 documentary

McLaren has linked up with Amazon Prime for a new multi-part series about the team's preparations for the 2017 Formula 1 season, with the documentary set to be available later in the year.

Documentary-makers followed McLaren across the pre-season period, being given unparalleled behind-the-scenes access, as the team prepared its MCL32 for the new campaign, as well as charting Stoffel Vandoorne's build-up to his first full campaign in Formula 1.

The as-yet-untitled series will be available to over 200 territories on Amazon Prime in autumn 2017.

"At McLaren, we want to showcase and celebrate every element of Formula 1," said McLaren chief Zak Brown.

"We understand and appreciate that Formula 1 fans are always keen for greater levels of access, insight and information, and this series will give them the most intimate and honest access to a modern Formula 1 team that’s ever been seen.

“While we wanted to show the technology and expertise that go into building these machines, we also wanted to show the passion, commitment and effort of the hundreds of people at the McLaren Technology Centre whose efforts take us racing every season.

“Ultimately, Formula 1 is a very human story; and my true hope is that the series successfully captures the honesty and humanity of living, working and racing in Formula 1."

McLaren failed to score a point in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, with Vandoorne finishing as the final classified runner in 13th position, following Fernando Alonso's late retirement.

[MIKA27]

Sauber: Wehrlein criticism ‘awful and appalling’

Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn has strongly defended Pascal Wehrlein's late withdrawal from the Australian Grand Prix.

The German told his team after Friday's practice session that he did not feel fit enough to complete a full race distance after missing out on a vast majority of pre-season due to a back injury sustained at the Race of Champions in January.

His decision saw Ferrari test driver Antonio Giovinazzi return to the car at the last-minute and drew plenty of plaudits for his performance given his limited time on track.

The main accusation thrown at Wehrlein was that he should have let the team know earlier if he had any doubts, but Kalteborn believes he deserves credit for admitting his doubts in the first place.

"He just needs time," Kaltenborn told Motorsport.com.

"I think it is really awful how people think they have any sort of competence to say anything about him.

"They just have their weird views from wherever they come and have no authority at all to judge over anyone.

"I think it is rather appalling how people think they can judge this and they should look at themselves first.

"It takes a lot for someone so ambitious to openly admit and say, 'Guys, in these circumstances, I cannot cover the entire race distance'.

"So one should rather appreciate that kind of openness and honesty, which is not easy to maintain with the kind of pressure these guys have."

Kaltenborn also insisted the team had no indication whatsoever that Wehrlein would ultimately opt to pull out of the race.

MIKA: It takes a big bloke to admit he is unfit, especially seeing it's Pascals new team, race 1 for the season... I say good on him because not only will he recover quicker, it also allowed for Antonio Giovinazzi to showcase his talent which is qhat F1 should be about. Here we have a driver who otherwise would have been sitting in the background, fans unaware of his talents and instead having the likes of Lance Stroll and rick dad to come in and take real talents place.