FORMULA 1

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Renault has achieved its high engine targets - Taffin

Renault has achieved the “high targets” it set for the off-season development of its power unit, according to its engine chief Remi Taffin.

Renault has trailed Mercedes and Ferrari through the five-year history of Formula 1’s hybrid era, having taken only a handful of wins in most seasons with erstwhile partner Red Bull.

At stages last year it was also threatened by Honda, which made encouraging gains after years of chronic underperformance and unreliability.

Renault undertook substantial work through the winter months in its bid to close the gap on the power unit leaders, and Taffin was buoyed by on-track results correlating with dyno data.

“Everything we actually developed and measured on the dyno is the same we’ve seen on track,” he said.

“It was quite the same when we did the last few years, but this year is again where we are.

“We have set some high targets for this year which we hit.

“As always it’s the same thing: we need to go and see on track where we’ll be and have to wait for Melbourne to see that in qualifying and the race.

“So far we’re quite happy with what we achieved.”

Taffin added that Renault was also lifted by the manner in which various engine settings performed through the course of pre-season testing.

“We did try many modes,” he said. “We were happy with each of them.

“Whether it was race, quali, in-between or anything, we are quite now [knowing] what we need.

“As I said, the next step for us it to see where we are in Melbourne. We have tested everything we needed to.”

Renault engines power its own factory team and customer McLaren, having linked up with the Woking-based outfit in 2018.

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Antonio Giovinazzi: Qualifying progress a key area for improvement

Antonio Giovinazzi says getting a handle on qualifying runs is a primary personal target as he prepares for his full-time Formula 1 debut in Australia.

Giovinazzi has stepped up to a race seat with Alfa Romeo after spending the last two years testing for Ferrari, Haas and Sauber, which included a couple of 2017 race starts as a late substitute.

The Italian has repeatedly expressed confidence with the balance and potential of Alfa Romeo’s C38, but conceded that he is still striving to understand the most effective way of tackling low-fuel one-lap runs.

“I think I need to still work on qualifying,” said Giovinazzi.

“For sure I’m already in back in GP2 or F3 I was more a race driver but yeah I still need to work on qualifying.

“It’s just about taking experience, and the best experience is taking on the race weekend.

“Part of the problem is because I don’t think the C5 is the right tyre for [Barcelona].

“If you use it too hard in the first sector there’s no tyre left for the last few corners, so even from this point of view I need to learn how to manage the tyre for the whole lap, as that makes a big difference, but I’m here to learn, to gain experience and understand these things.”

Giovinazzi added: “I’m happy with the long runs, less with my qualifying effort but there will now be time to analyse it.

“But the big experience will come on the race weekend, where I’ll try to understand everything by then.”

Giovinazzi will be partnered by 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen at Alfa Romeo this season.

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Ricciardo promises "funky", "artistic" helmet design

Daniel Ricciardo is planning to use an untypical helmet design for the 2019 Formula 1 season, having trialled a concept colour scheme during pre-season testing.
Having moved away from Red Bull to join Renault over the winter, Ricciardo is free to come up with his own design for the first time in years.

In testing, he ran with a multicoloured design that had ‘test’ written across it, but he says that something special is being worked on for the Australian Grand Prix.

“This helmet has got a bit of coverage, so this has been a ‘test’ concept if you want to call it,” he said. “But I’ve been working with an Australian artist, and he has been working on it for quite a few months.

“It will come out in Melbourne, but it is certainly going to be different. It is not going to be traditional and typical with a halo and lines that mean nothing.

“I am trying to get away from the typical helmet these days, so it should be funky. It is kind of artistic in a modern way.”

Ricciardo said that with pre-season testing now wrapped up, he was especially excited to be heading to his home race for his first outing with Renault.

“There is something pretty awesome in starting the season at home,” he said. “There is added excitement behind that. For me I like being in Australia, period. It is a nice country.

“We had quite a big break since Abu Dhabi, it was a long time in which you don’t really compete, so just to compete on home soil is cool.

“And going now with a new team and arriving there with a new team that is another added bit of excitement. It is good to get started, I think.”

 

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Honda to revise "too aggressive" F1 engine packaging

The packaging of Honda’s Formula 1 engine was a “little bit too aggressive” in pre-season testing and the manufacturer is planning fixes in time for the Australian Grand Prix.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner lauded the installation of Honda’s engine as “a thing of beauty” at the start of pre-season testing at Barcelona, while Honda said it had not come at the cost of reliability.

Neither Honda teams suffered major concerns in Spain but its F1 technical director Toyoharu Tanabe has admitted he was made “nervous sometimes” as new partner Red Bull and Toro Rosso got to grips with the 2019 product.

Tanabe told Motorsport.com he was “not confident enough” with the progress that had been made, despite the manufacturer’s best pre-season performance since returning to the F1 grid in 2015.

“We don’t have a serious problem with the current installation, but we found some issues because of the tight packaging,” said Tanabe.

“The shape was a little bit too aggressive, so we need to make it a little bit different.

“It’s not a big concern.”

Honda applied some fixes at the track but will also amend the design at the factory to introduce a “permanent countermeasure” in time for the season-opening Australian GP on March 17.

“So far, it’s not serious,” Tanabe said. “It means we can be ready for the first race, with the items we have issues here.”

Red Bull’s switch to Honda engines is one of the major talking points heading into the new season, and the partnership’s initial target was to not slip back from Red Bull’s position with its previous supplier Renault.

Honda is keen to avoid early expectations and when asked if he was happy with the performance improvements, Tanabe joked: “Never happy, actually!

“Of course we have a target. And a target through the year as well.

“We are not so confident with the current achievement. Still there are a lot of areas we need to work on to catch up to the top competitors.”

Though Red Bull won four races last season with Renault, it had started the year several tenths behind Mercedes and Ferrari.

The early indications from pre-season testing are that Honda’s winter gains, which include eating into its qualifying-mode deficit, will mean Red Bull begins 2019 in a similar position.

Tanabe said: “We reviewed not 100% but [almost] every single part, and then applied slight modifications for the weight, or reliability.

“On the internal combustion engine side, [we targeted] more efficiency in the combustion era.

“We will try to gradually improve it.”

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Magnussen: 2019 regulations have made it easier to follow other cars

One of the big talking points of 2019 pre-season testing was whether the drivers would feel the effects of the revised front wings, introduced this year with the intention of improving cars’ ability to follow at close quarters to one another. And one driver who was clearly a fan was Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, who told the media that driving in the wake of other cars around Barcelona had felt ‘a lot better than last year’.

The new, simplified front wings offer a two-pronged solution to dealing with the problems of cars following each other, with the leading car’s front wing now creating less ‘outwash’ – a big contributor to ‘dirty air’ – while the taller, wider wing also helps the chasing car create higher levels of downforce, helping to keep grip levels up while following a rival.

And after two weeks of experimentation around Barcelona, Magnussen has hailed the results as a significant improvement.

“[The cars] are still very, very fun to drive,” he said, speaking on the first day of Test 2. “And I would say, I followed a car today and it really, really feels a lot better than last year.

“A lot of people were saying it wouldn’t make any difference. It’s not a big difference but I could actually follow, so it will be interesting to see. I was a lot faster than the guy I was following, and the lap that I caught him, I got past him. I must have been around two seconds faster – in which case you would have also passed him last year, I think – but feeling the car behind the other car felt different, much better… than last year, I would say.”

Pushed on what the feeling had been like in the cockpit while chasing another car, Magnussen replied: “The whole car just feels more consistent and stable behind another car, so I’m looking forward to seeing if other tracks are the same. There are always different factors that you might have overlooked, so you go to another track and it’s different. But first signs are good, I would say, in this following aspect.”

It wasn’t all positive for Magnussen, however, with the Dane’s two weeks of testing in Barcelona hampered by an ill-fitting headrest on his Haas VF-19 that pushed his head forward uncomfortably under braking. But here, again, Magnussen was happy about the introduction of another new regulation for 2019 which increases the drivers’ minimum weight to 80kg fully kitted up and including their seat – and which has permitted Magnussen to increase his muscle mass over the winter to help make him more robust in the cockpit.

“I have a problem with my neck, because the head rest is pushing my neck too far forward,” Magnussen explained, “so I’m in an uncomfortable position for braking, my head is falling forward.

“We made some changes and it’s much better [but] I’m still having to sit with my head forward a bit which is not great for your strength under braking. But I can feel on the sides [of my neck] that I’m strong. And then just generally, in my body, I’ve been telling my trainer today that it’s so nice to feel that improvement. I can see stepping onto the [scales] I’ve gained four kilos, and those four kilos have paid off, that’s very clear.”

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ALLISON COMPARES THE MERCEDES W10 WITH THE W09

MIKA: I love James' detailed videos. 

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CAREY: WE ARE MAKING CONTINGENCY PLANS FOR BREXIT

Formula 1 is implementing “contingency plans” to deal with the consequences of Brexit, including possibly basing more material on mainland Europe, its chief executive Chase Carey told reporters at the Geneva International Motor Show on Tuesday.

Several F1 teams have warned that Britain’s departure from the European Union, especially if it comes without a withdrawal agreement, will create logistical nightmares for an industry that relies on international staff and specialised goods moving in and out of Britain.

Mercedes team CEO Toto Wolff said Brexit could trigger “the mother of all messes” for his Northamptonshire-based team. Six of the 10 teams taking in the 2019 grand prix series are based in Britain.

Carey said that F1 was trying to make plans despite the uncertainty surrounding the timing and nature of Brexit, “We are making contingency plans for trying to make sure we are prepared to deal with the issues that possibly arise that would make getting people and things in and out of the UK more difficult.”

He added that he considered complications surrounding the movement of goods more problematic than possible visa issues for international staffers with British-based teams.

Currently, F1 supports teams by transferring goods predominately from Britain to various European sites, “We bring them in and out of the UK now. We obviously can bring them in and out of somewhere else.”

Some F1 teams have suggested that teams based on the continent would have an advantage if new rules complicated the import of products into Britain, especially since teams typically work on tight deadlines.

Carey declined to comment on “speculation” about competitive imbalance, “We don’t know what is going to happen anymore than anyone else.”

Britain is scheduled to leave the EU on March 29 but Prime Minister Theresa May’s divorce deal has not yet been approved by parliament, raising the prospect of Brexit being delayed.

The alternative is Britain leaving on time without an agreement, a doomsday option both sides would like to avoid.

EU and UK officials were trying to negotiate a compromise in Brussels on Tuesday that could win parliamentary support.

After purchasing F1 in 2017, US-based Liberty Media has sought to reform the business, in part through investments to reach new audiences.

The weight of those expenditures have seen F1 post losses for two consecutive years, but Carey insisted the money spent had laid the building blocks for future profits.

Over the past two years “we were building a foundation for long-term growth,” he said, and added, “I think we felt it was a sport that historically had a short-term focus. We wanted to build a foundation we could grow.”

Some of moves spearheaded by Carey — a former top executive at Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp — have been controversial, notably implementing a pay TV system for some races.

But Carey shrugged off concerns about revenue, saying new initiatives have “created some fresh momentum.”

And pointed out F1 has been “the fastest growing major sports on social media platforms” for two consecutive years, “We are certainly excited about what is ahead of us in 2019 and 20.”

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MAGNUSSEN: FOLLOWING AN F1 CAR FEELS A LOT BETTER THAN LAST YEAR

Despite rules made to reduce the massive aero wake generated by Formula 1 cars in 2019, several drivers claim they felt no difference when following rivals during preseason testing in Barcelona, however, Haas driver Kevin Magnussen has given the rule changes a big thumbs up.

In the wake of preseason testing, Magnussen told the official F1 website, “[The cars] are still very, very fun to drive. And I would say, I followed a car and it really, really feels a lot better than last year.

“A lot of people were saying it wouldn’t make any difference. It’s not a big difference but I could actually follow, so it will be interesting to see. I was a lot faster than the guy I was following, and the lap that I caught him, I got past him.”

“I must have been around two seconds faster – in which case you would have also passed him last year, I think – but feeling the car behind the other car felt different, much better… than last year, I would say.”

“The whole car just feels more consistent and stable behind another car, so I’m looking forward to seeing if other tracks are the same. There are always different factors that you might have overlooked, so you go to another track and it’s different.”

“The first signs are good, I would say, in this ‘following’ aspect,” concluded Magnussen who will contest his 82nd F1 race when he lines up on the grid for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, in Melbourne on 17 March.

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HORNER: HONDA HAS STIMULATED RED BULL AND PARTICULARLY NEWEY

Adrian Newey and the entire Red Bull Racing organisation are fired up ahead of the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship because they believe Honda power will put them in the mix among Ferrari and Mercedes at the season opener in Melbourne on March 17.

This edition of the Australian Grand Prix also marks a new era for the energy drinks outfit, for the first time they are a works team, with the might of Honda fully focussed on their four cars: the two Red Bulls and the Toro Rosso pair.

A positive showing during Barcelona F1 preseason testing over the two weeks has given both teams reason to feel confident, even bullish about where they stand ahead of the new season.

Speaking to Sky F1, Red Bull chief Christian Horner revealed, “The engine change has stimulated the whole team and particularly Adrian.”

“He sees that the engine is now getting closer and closer to the performance of the front-running teams. That’s really motivated him and he’s working very hard with all the guys and girls back in Milton Keynes.”

“Hopefully we can look forward to a good season. Our job is to close that gap to Ferrari and Mercedes. It’s clear Ferrari after the second test look very strong.”

“Mercedes are going to be there or thereabouts, they’re the reigning world champions so they’re not going to be slacking. I think we have definitely closed that gap.”

“We will see not just in Melbourne, because that’s a little bit of a unique track, but look over the first three races and then ask me again then how we’re faring,” added Horner.

Typically Helmut Marko called it as he saw it, “Ferrari is the big favourite. We are about three tenths behind, Mercedes half a second. After that, it is extremely close in midfield. Only in the back, there is clarity again. McLaren and Williams are the slowest.”

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TODT: HAMILTON IN THE WORST CAR WILL NOT BE CHAMPION

FIA President Jean Todt inadvertently (or not) summed up all that is wrong with Formula 1 today, namely without the right car not even five-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton would win races.

At the Geneva Motorshow, Todt was quizzed by reporters about the prospects for F1’s three rookies on the grid starting with the season opener in Melbourne on 17 March.

Bearing in mind that the top three drivers in last year’s Formula 2 Championship have all progressed into the top flight, reigning champion George Russell will drive for Williams, runner-up Lando Norris for McLaren and Alex Albon for Toro Rosso.

Todt explained, “It depends on the car they will drive. It’s not a question of being a young driver, it’s a question of having a good car to race with or not. If they have a good car they will be competitive, if they don’t they will be behind.”

And then slipped the gem: “It’s something you should understand, the driver without a [competitive] car will do nothing. If you put Hamilton in the worst car of the field, he will not be on pole and he will not be champion.”

“You have people who have decided to step out of F1, like Alonso, because he is not able to have a winning car.”

Todt was also asked to comment about the sensational rise into the limelight of young Mick Schumacher, to which he responded, “I’m very happy, it’s Michael’s son Mick, I’ve known him since he was a baby. I love him, he’s a great character and we must leave him in peace.”

“He is proving to be a very talented driver. On top of that, he’s a very nice boy, very humble, very well-brought up. I will follow him very closely as I’ve always been doing.

“He’s a simple, honest, loyal, good boy. He’s not yet spoiled by the world,” added the FIA President, who led Ferrari during the golden Michael Schumacher era at the turn of the century.

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Ferrari promises surprise as Mission Winnow branding dropped

Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri has promised a "surprise" for fans following news that Mission Winnow branding will be removed from the SF90 for the opening race of the Formula 1 season in Australia next weekend.

Mission Winnow was dropped from the team's official name earlier this week and now the significant branding on the SF90 will be removed altogether, following an investigation by Australian authorities as to whether or not the branding falls foul of anti-tobacco advertising laws.

The logos feature heavily on the car and would therefore leave a large void when removed, but Camilleri says they will "surprise" fans when the car rolls out in Melbourne next week.

"There were problems with the health department [in Australia] and there was no time for Philip Morris to find a solution," Camilleri is quoted as saying by Autosport during a visit to the Geneva Motor Show.

"In any case, in Australia we will have a surprise for the fans on the car."

The team will also utilise their 2018 team kit as a last minute replacement for the Mission Winnow-branded 2019 kit.

It's believed the branding will return for the second race of the season in Bahrain, although Ferrari haven't confirmed this.

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Gap to Ferrari and Mercedes 'definitely closed' - Red Bull

Red Bull have "definitely" closed the gap to the leading duo of Ferrari and Mercedes according to team principal Christian Horner.

Whilst Horner concedes that Ferrari look to be favourite and Mercedes are "there or thereabouts", he's confident the work done over the winter at Red Bull and in Japan with new engine supplier Honda, have helped to reduce the gap between them and Red Bull.

"It's clear Ferrari, after the second test, look very strong," Horner told Sky Sports at the Geneva Motor Show, where he and technical chief Adrian Newey are unveiling a new hypercar in partnership with title sponsor Aston Martin.

"Mercedes are going to be there or thereabouts, they're the reigning world champions so they're not going to be slacking.

"I think we have definitely closed that gap. We will see not just in Melbourne, because that's a little bit of a unique track, but look over the first three races and then ask me again then how we're faring."

Honda's strong performance and evidence that they have also closed the gap to rival engine manufacturers has boosted Newey too, according to Horner.

"The engine change has stimulated the whole team - and particularly Adrian," he added.

"He sees that the engine is now getting closer and closer to the performance of the front-running teams. That's really motivated him and he's working very hard with all the guys and girls back in Milton Keynes."

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F1 drivers load up on Soft tyres for Australian GP

Formula 1 drivers have overwhelmingly loaded up on Soft tyres for next weekend’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Pirelli has tweaked its naming system for 2019, dropping the ‘rainbow range’, and instead bringing a Hard, Medium and Soft nomination to each event.

These are selected from a reduced range of five compounds, named C1 to C5, which increase in wear, grip and softness.

For the opening event of the campaign the C2 is Hard, the C3 is Medium and the C4 is Soft.

The regulations regarding sets of tyres are the same as in 2018, with drivers permitted free choice of compounds for 10 of their allocated 13 sets for the weekend.

One set of Soft tyres must be set aside for use only in Q3 while either the Medium or Hard tyres must be run for one stint of the Grand Prix, assuming dry conditions prevail.

For Melbourne 14 of the 20 drivers have opted for nine sets of Soft tyres; the exceptions are the Racing Point and Williams drivers (with eight) and the Renault drivers (with 10).

The Hard tyre has been largely rejected, with 12 of the drivers taking just the set that has been allocated to them by Pirelli.

Pirelli, Formula 1’s sole tyre supplier since 2011, will remain in its current position until at least 2023.

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Valtteri Bottas - How Mercedes’ Finnish star has reset and prepared for 2019

"At the moment, the positive thing is that the season is over." That was Valtteri Bottas's immediate reaction after finishing fifth in Abu Dhabi last November, the final race in a rollercoaster 2018 campaign for the Finn which saw him fall short of his own lofty expectations. The winter, then, has been a chance for the Mercedes star to relax, refocus, re-train and reset. How has he done it? We followed the 29-year-old to Lapland to find out...

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Toro Rosso in 2019: Best Case, Worst Case

Red Bull's sister squad finished second-bottom of the pile in 2018, but they also enjoyed moments of brilliance. So which Toro Rosso will we see this season? In the latest of our 10 individual team previews, we map out the best and worst case scenarios for the one-time Grand Prix winners...

Last year’s ranking: 9th (33pts)
Driver line-up (2018 ranking): Alexander Albon (N/A), Daniil Kvyat (N/A)

Best-case scenario

There’s plenty of cause for optimism in Faenza after a very solid winter testing programme. The STR14 completed 935 laps with very little sign of strife. Toro were the fourth fastest overall, with Alex and Daniil sixth and seventh quickest respectively. Reading too much into testing times is the proverbial Mug’s Game – but on the other hand, it’s surprising how often these entirely non-representative times turn out to be entirely representative when F1 gets to Albert Park.

So, what to expect from Toro Rosso in 2019? Given their testing form, they look a strong bet to improve on last year’s ninth place in the constructors’ championship. That seemed a touch unrealistic anyway: while the points don’t lie, they can at times be economical with the truth. 2018-vintage Toro Rosso scored in eight races (including a dazzling fourth in Bahrain), and qualified in the top ten nine times, which isn’t backmarker performance. They were hampered somewhat by their position as Red Bull’s Honda guinea pig, going through rather more engines and taking a greater number of grid penalties that would have been strictly necessary for a team simply out to maximise its finishing position every weekend.

Like Williams, they have one new driver and one returning to F1 after an absence. Alex Albon came on strong in the second half of the Formula 2 Championship last year, and he’s a dark horse to be 2019’s breakout star. A refreshed and revived Daniil Kvyat, meanwhile, brings with him the sort of experience - and podium quality - Toro Rosso usually has to live without. Allied to a more mature engine partnership with Honda and a closer relationship with parent company Red Bull, things are looking good for Toro Rosso to be mixing it at the front of the midfield in 2019.

Worst-case scenario

As always, the fortunes of Faenza are very much determined by forces beyond their control. As Red Bull’s junior team, they’ve learnt to live with having their most talented drivers lured away to the bright lights of Milton Keynes but their status as Red Bull Racing’s engineering testbed hasn’t been quite so pronounced until recently.

Last year, Red Bull were very clear that they weren’t particularly worried about Toro Rosso blowing Honda engines and, indeed, wouldn’t object if they blew a few more (in the spirit of discovery, naturally). There is considerable curiosity to see how that particular relationship continues this season. It is interesting to hear Honda suggest they may have been a tad too aggressive with their engine packaging over the winter, which suggests there may be changes afoot.

Toro Rosso have increased their collaboration with Red Bull Technology for this season, so much so they are taking many parts that were on the RB14 that finished third in the constructors’ championship last year. That could work in their favour – the 2018 car won four races no less - but could limit their ultimate potential.

Then there are the drivers. While there is much to recommend Albon and Kvyat, you could argue that they’ve only come back into the fold because the cupboard is bare. Of the 2019 rookies, Albon has the least F1 testing experience, while with Kvyat, it very much depends if Toro are getting the Daniil they sent to Red Bull or the one who returned after being unceremoniously booted out to make way for Max Verstappen.

Stat Bomb

Toro Rosso have sampled three of the four hybrid engines on offer in F1 – the only team to be quite so changeable – and this is only the second time they’ve kept one for two consecutive seasons.

In and Out

Daniil Kvyat has, in effect, swapped places this year with Brendon Hartley, taking a Toro Rosso seat after a year as a Ferrari reserve/simulator driver. Alex Albon, a former Red Bull Junior, comes in to replace the promoted Pierre Gasly. On the technical side, Toro are promoting deputy technical director Jody Egginton into the top job, following James Key’s departure for McLaren.

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Williams in 2019: Best Case, Worst Case

The tenth-best team in 2018, and late to party in pre-season testing, Williams face an uphill task in 2019 - or do they? In the first of 10 individual team previews, we map out the best and worst case scenarios for the nine-time constructors' champions.

Last year’s ranking: 10th (7pts)

Driver line-up (2018 ranking): George Russell (N/A), Robert Kubica (N/A)

Best-case Scenario

For Williams, to borrow a phrase from a well-known song, the only way is up. 2018 was an undoubtedly torrid year for Sir Frank’s famous old outfit, finishing dead last and rarely troubling the scorers. It wasn’t what one would have expected from a team that’s been close to the top (and occassionally at the very front) of the field since the start of the hybrid era.

The FW41 struggled with unpredictable handling in the corners and stubbornly refused to do what Williams’ wind tunnel model suggested it should do. Robert Kubica even said at one stage he was embarrassed to drive it – which isn’t a phrase usually to be heard from a reserve driver gunning for promotion. The silver lining for Williams is that it can’t get worse because there isn’t anywhere worse than last.

Despite a less-than-flawless pre-season testing period, there’s still a positive buzz around 'next-gen' Williams this year, and while the car hasn’t looked particularly rapid, during the second week it managed to rack-up very respectable mileage. While its total of 567 laps is the lowest of anyone, it did 479 of those in the second week, which equates to a very respectable double-race-distance every day. The hope is that it's a car that’s a bit behind with its development, rather than a car with underlying issues. And let's not forget that it's still fitted with a Mercedes power unit - the engine-to-have since 2014.

It’s not what Williams’ new driver pairing would want, but it might be a blessing in disguise. George Russell and Robert Kubica have very little expectation placed upon them at this stage. They, like the car, will be improving with mileage. In Russell, Williams have one of the hottest rookie prospects in years, while Kubica is a sharp, experienced operator who can give the team a level of mature feedback it quite possibly lacked last year. While the pre-season hasn’t got off to a spectacular start for Williams, they have the foundations to come good as the year progresses.

Worst-Case Scenario

Can it get any worse....?

Stat Bom

Robert Kubica’s last Formula 1 race start was the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In Melbourne he’ll just get in under the wire for the longest gap between races. That record stays with Jan Lammers, whose lost weekend in F1 lasted a full ten years. Lammers appeared in the 1982 Dutch Grand Prix and then not again until the Japanese Grand Prix of 1992. The Dutchman was kept busy during the interval, winning 24 hour races at Le Mans and at Daytona.

In and out:

It’s all change at Williams for 2019, with 2018 drivers Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin off to Racing Point and Renault respectively, Formula 2 Champion George Russell recruited and reserve driver Robert Kubica promoted. Behind the scenes, Paddy Lowe remains Technical Director, but Chief Designer Ed Wood and Head of Aerodynamics Dirk de Beer have departed, as has Head of Vehicle Performance Rob Smedley. It isn’t just the livery that’s different at Williams this season…

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WILLIAMS TECHNICAL DIRECTOR LOWE TAKES ‘LEAVE OF ABSENCE’

Williams has confirmed that Chief Technical Officer Paddy Lowe has taken a leave of absence from the Formula 1 team, with just over a week to go before the opening round of the 2019 season.

Lowe, who re-joined Williams from Mercedes in early 2017, has overseen a slump in form at the operation, as it slipped to last in the Constructors’ Championship.

It scored just seven points last season amid fundamental flaws with its overhauled FW41.

It entered 2019 with a refreshed driver line-up in the form of Robert Kubica and George Russell while UK-based communications firm ROKiT replaced Martini as title partner.

But delays in readying its FW42 meant the team did not participate in pre-season testing until the afternoon of the third day.

Williams completed the least mileage across the course of the two tests and its car was comfortably the slowest, with both Kubica and Russell finishing at the foot of the timesheets.

Russell conceded that Williams is currently Formula 1’s slowest team while Kubica revealed that he had completed only 20 per cent of his ideal pre-season programme.

Lowe stressed during testing that he did not feel his job was under threat and urged Williams to remain as a unit, believing it will emerge stronger from its current setback.

But on Wednesday evening a short Williams statement confirmed that “Paddy is taking a leave of absence from the business for personal reasons.”

No further information was supplied.

It ostensibly leaves Williams without a technical director just eight days before the opening Grand Prix of the season gets underway in Australia.

Lowe is a director at Williams but it is unclear whether he has a shareholding in the company.

MIKA: Classic Williams, throwing good people under the bus and not addressing the Elephant in the room being Claire Williams lack of leadership. This team has been performing dismally much longer than Lowe has been at the team for two seasons, so I just shake my head in further disappointment at a once mighty team.

The leadership needs to change IMHO and then the rest will follow. It's certainly not great that we are yet to have a single race of the season and we can in all honesty, write this team off for the season. Well.... I know I have.

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KVYAT: THE YEAR WITH FERRARI WAS VERY POSITIVE

Daniil Kvyat makes a return to the Formula 1 grid after a season and a bit lay-off in which time the 24-year-old found refuge as a Ferrari development and simulator driver, heading to Austalia for the season opener the Russian is adamant that the time at Maranello was invaluable.

Kvyat’s story is well told, groomed by Red Bull through his junior career through to Formula 1 with Toro Rosso and then on to the senior team. Accident prone, erratic but undeniably quick he was demoted back to Toro Rosso, then replaced by Pierre Gasly, then a one race return and followed by dismissal from the energy drinks driver programme.

Now he is back for another crack at the big time with Toro Rosso, thankful of his time with Ferrari.

Kvyat told El Mundo Deportivo ahead, “The year with Ferrari was very positive: it was nice to work in such a different environment, they treated me well, but I have the hunger to race in Formula 1 and this opportunity has arisen.”

“Not everything can always be easy, sometimes there are highs and lows and 2018 has helped me, it has made me hungrier. Formula 1 is like that, you always have to do well: maybe if you are a World Champion you can also have a bad spell, but when you are in the midfield you must always be at the top of your game.

“You can not afford three or four bad races. I have a great team around me and it has helped me to digest the past, understanding what I have to do to improve myself as a person and as a driver.”

Kvyat’s temperament was dodgy early on in his second season with Red Bull, unable to match Daniel Ricciardo the Russian became increasingly desperate and one incident too many resulted in a humiliating demotion which led to him sliding to the sidelines last year.

Ahead of his return to the F1 grid, for his 73rd Grand Prix start, the ‘new’ Kvyat explained how he has matured, “The only thing I can say is that I’ve changed a few things in my way to prepare for the races and in my work, I really hope this can lead to an improvement in my driving.”

“I feel positive pressure. Obviously, you always have to have a certain level of pressure, otherwise you would not be human. It is important to have it, but close to me I feel a very positive atmosphere in the team.”

“My approach will be different, I have changed some things in my way of preparing races and my work. And I strongly hope that it will lead to an improvement in my driving.”

“What have I changed? We will see. I do not want to say too much. I do not want to reveal anything, I want to make myself clear on the track,” added Kvyat who along with Toro Roso rookie teammate Alex Albon enjoyed a strong F1 preseason of testing in Spain.

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ALONSO: YOU WILL ALWAYS SAY ‘YES’ BECAUSE F1 IS F1!

Fernando Alonso has told Rubens Barrichello that if he gets an offer to drive for a race-winning Formula 1 team he will gladly return to the pinnacle of the sport, from which he walked away at the end of last season.

Speaking during an informal video interview with Barrichello, former F1-driver turned jack-of-all-trades, on the Acelerados YouTube channel, Alonso said of a possible return to the top flight, “You will always miss Formula 1 because they are the fastest cars on the planet.”

“If you have the opportunity to drive for a top team, the possibility of winning, you will always say ‘yes’ because F1 is F1!”

The reason the Spaniard left the pinnacle of the sport, at the height of his prowess, was that he had no guarantee of a winning car and was sick and tired of toiling hard for nothing, at the wrong end of the grid, with McLaren.

The reality remains that only three teams are likely to win races this year:

• Red Bull is out of the question because of the Honda connection, remember how the Spaniard trash talked their engine not too long ago… and the Toyota connection?
• Mercedes have Esteban Ocon first in line and waiting in the wings should a seat open up at the Silver Arrows;
• Ferrari have promoted Charles Leclerc to partner Sebastian Vettel, and are hardly likely to welcome the polemic driver back as the team set on a new era of grooming young drivers for the future.

Nevertheless, Alonso has a busy year ahead, “Indianapolis is the priority this year, I’ll do the remaining World Endurance Championship (WEC) races, Le Mans again, but my head is set in Indianapolis.”

“Trying to win that race, I know it’s the hardest of the three Triple Crown races because I’ve grown up in F1 and if you have a good car, you can win the Championship.”

“At Le Mans with the Toyota last year we had a very good chance of winning because we had a better car, but Indianapolis is difficult,” acknowledged the double F1 World Champion.

Alonso will not be at the start of a Grand Prix season for the first time since 2001, instead he will be racing for Toyota Gazoo Racing at the 100 Miles of Sebring during the same weekend of the Melbourne F1 season opener on 17 March.

 

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RENAULT GO MOST AGGRESSIVE ON TYRES FOR MELBOURNE

Renault have taken the most aggressive tyre approach for the 2019 Formula 1 season-opening Rolex Australian Grand Prix 2019, selecting 10 sets of soft tyres for both of their drivers at the for the season-opening round in Melbourne.

New for 2019, Pirelli will supply five tyre compounds (C1 the hardest to C5 the softest) across the 2019 season, selecting three compounds for each Grand Prix weekend. The Italian company has chosen the C2 (hard), C3 (medium) and C4 (soft) rubber for Melbourne’s upcoming Grand Prix. Teams must choose 13 tyre compounds for each of their drivers.

Renault have selected the most attacking approach, running both Daniel Ricciardo and his teammate Nico Hulkenberg with 10 sets of the red-marked C4 tyres across the weekend. The duo will split strategies on the hard and medium rubber, with the Australian receiving an additional set of medium tyres, and one less set of hard tyres compared to Hulkenberg.

Meanwhile, at the sharp end of the grid, both Mercedes and Ferrari will arrive in Melbourne with nine sets of soft tyres. New Ferrari signing Charles Leclerc is the only driver of the four assigned with an extra set of white-banded hard tyres.

Further down the grid, Racing Point F1 Team have elected to take a more conservative approach, picking only eight sets of soft rubber for each of their drivers. Both Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll, in contrast, take on two and three sets of the hard and medium tyres respectively.

Backmarkers Williams will also head to Melbourne with the same approach. George Russell takes on the most sets of medium tyres amongst anyone in the field – running the weekend with four sets at his disposal. His teammate Robert Kubica instead takes on an extra set of the hard compound.

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VETTEL’S FIFTH SEASON AT FERRARI IGNITES SCHUMACHER DEJA VU

Every Ferrari driver feels a heavy burden of expectation, ahead of the season opener in Melbourne the pressure is mounting more than ever on Sebastian Vettel as the German enters his fifth year with Formula 1’s most successful and glamorous team.

The comparisons with great compatriot Michael Schumacher, who had to wait until his fifth year at Maranello in 2000 before ending a long title drought for the Italian constructor, are being ramped up again.

Ferrari, who last won a title more than a decade ago, have sent hopes soaring with Vettel fastest in testing and Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton suggesting the Italians could be half a second quicker.

Vettel, hunting his fifth crown, was naturally wary of fuelling the hype when asked at the start of testing whether the pieces were in place for him to emulate the success of his seven-times world champion predecessor.

“It doesn’t feel like five years to be honest, but that’s what it is,” said the 31-year-old, who joined in 2015 as a four-times champion from Red Bull and is now the same age as Schumacher was 19 years ago.

“Overall the progression is there, the team is developing and closer together year by year so I hope that this year we get to have a lot of fun — and fun means to win a lot of races and then ultimately you are fighting for the championship.

“That’s obviously what we want but at this point it’s very far away,” added the German, who won five races last year in a championship that slipped away after costly errors by both him and the team.

Schumacher started the 2000 season with a new team mate in Brazilian Rubens Barrichello and Vettel begins the campaign in Australia on March 17 with Charles Leclerc a fresh face in the adjoining garage.

There the comparisons end, however.

Just 21, Leclerc is the youngest Ferrari driver since Mexican teenager Ricardo Rodriguez in 1961 and one whose career has been nurtured and fast-tracked by the team — unlike Barrichello who joined in his late 20s after seven seasons elsewhere.

The Monegasque may take time to settle in but he is fast, engagingly fluent in Italian and — unlike 39-year-old Finnish world champion predecessor Kimi Raikkonen — the face of the future.

“It’s going to be a big year for Sebastian, I think,” commented 2009 world champion Jenson Button. “Charles seems such a happy-go-lucky guy, very relaxed, and I think the team are really going to take to him.

“And that sometimes can hurt the other driver.”

Leclerc, combining the two most potent symbols of Formula One as a driver from Monaco in a Ferrari, has so far shrugged off the pressure.

“I’m just focusing on myself and trying to erase and delete what everyone is expecting from me,” he told reporters last month.

Whether he can pose more of a challenge to Vettel than Raikkonen is one of the new season’s intriguing questions, with big implications for the German if the newcomer matches him for speed.

In the short term, Vettel is likely to be favoured, however.

“Obviously the two will be free to fight… but certainly if there is a big situation at the start of the season, Sebastian is the one who’s got more experience,” said new team boss Mattia Binotto as testing ended last week.

“Many years he’s with us, he’s already won championships, so he’s our champion.”

The appointment of Binotto, a former technical head who joined Ferrari in 1994 and a year before Schumacher, re-aligns the team with their racing roots and has already had a notable impact on raising morale and openness.

Ferrari were closed and aloof under predecessor Maurizio Arrivabene, a marketing man drafted in from sponsor Philip Morris, with some insiders talking of a climate of fear at Maranello while he was in charge.

“The team is the same, obviously apart from the team principal, but the team and the foundation are the same,” said Vettel.

“We have a team that is working, we have been able to produce a winning car for the last couple of years so I think it would be madness to change everybody and move too many things around. But certainly we had our difficult moments.

“Obviously he (Binotto) has been around a long time and knows everybody… so far I think everybody has a smile on their face, focused and happy to come in for work and do their job.”

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McLaren is understanding problems better – Lando Norris

McLaren rookie Lando Norris believes the team has a better handle on its problems, and how to rectify any setbacks, compared to its 2018 approach.

McLaren endured a difficult last season amid fundamental aerodynamic flaws with its MCL33, and it finished an uncompetitive sixth in the Constructors’ Championship.

Norris sampled the MCL33 during various tests and post-summer practice sessions, as he prepared for his full-time 2019 role while also assisting the team with its understanding of the problems.

The British youngster reckons McLaren has managed to address some of those setbacks in the production of its MCL34, and thinks early progress at tackling lingering problems provides encouragement.

“It has been a pretty big change overall and some of the areas where we had a big weakness we’ve strengthened,” explained Norris.

“I’m not saying it is perfect at all as there are still weaknesses but overall I think we have a better package to begin the season with.

“It is not perfect, there are still problems, still things we suffer with, but I think we understand them and when we do add things to the car or change them to help the car in a positive way, where we struggled last year, we’ve done better to move forward.

“In those things the biggest problems we’ve had we’ve been able to move forward in some areas which is the main thing.”

Norris will be the third-youngest driver to start a race in the history of Formula 1 when he lines up on the grid in Melbourne next Sunday.

Only fellow competitors Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll graced the grid at a younger age and Norris insists he feels ready to make the step up to the championship.

“If I compare to how prepared I felt coming into [testing] compared to how I feel now I feel I am in a much better position in terms of knowing what I need to be doing and what I need to do to achieve a good result if I get the opportunity in Melbourne,” he said.

“From that side of things I feel much more confident and I feel I can do the job I need to be doing when I get to the first race.

“I just want to get the first one out of the way and I’m sure I’ll gain more confidence going into the first part of the season.

“I think my aim, for now, is to make sure I am comfortable and confident going into race one and that I come out the same way.”

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Charles Leclerc: No nerves, but no target ahead of Ferrari debut

No nerves. No particular target. That’s the approach Ferrari newcomer Charles Leclerc is taking as he gears up for his first start in red overalls at next weekend’s Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

Leclerc has been part of Ferrari’s junior scheme since 2016, taking back-to-back titles in GP3 and Formula 2, and put in sufficiently eye-catching displays during his rookie Formula 1 campaign with Sauber to earn a Ferrari seat for 2019.

Leclerc finished pre-season testing as the third-fastest driver, with his best time just 0.010s down on Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel, as the pair were split by Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.

“Nervous? No,” said Leclerc on the upcoming Australian Grand Prix. “Obviously the aim is to do the best job possible.

“I think we’ve done a good job during the tests. As I’ve said, the road is still long and to start a new adventure with a new team always takes a bit of time.

“But I hope to be as ready as possible. I will train hard, still, in the next few weeks just before Australia physically and try to be sure to be at my best mentally also to try and do the best result possible.

“But in terms of result, I don’t have any particular target.”

Leclerc’s arrival at Ferrari also means he is working with more people compared to at Sauber, and also faces the challenge of working alongside four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel.

““To be completely honest for now we have had the same feedback on the car,” said Leclerc.

“We are driving quite differently for now then we will see at the first race in qualifying. We have different driving styles but in the end the feedback is the same so that’s good for the team.”

“But I can learn from him a lot: how he works with the team, Ferrari is a big team with many people.

“So yeah, I still need to get used to so many people and yeah just the way he works with the team and his feedback is also extremely good so these things I can definitely learn from him.”

Should Leclerc win a Grand Prix this year then he is set to be the third-youngest to do so in the history of the championship.

Only Max Verstappen (aged 18) and current Ferrari team-mate Vettel (21) have won a Grand Prix before the age of 22 – a milestone Leclerc will not reach until October.

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Hamilton critical of reduced free TV presence

Five-time world champion Lewis Hamilton says it does not make sense for Formula 1 fans to be blocked or deterred from watching races by the reduction of free-to-air television coverage.

F1's broadcast deal with Sky means UK-based fans need a subscription to the broadcaster's dedicated channel to watch every grand prix live this season.

The UK's free-to-air options have now been reduced to highlights and live coverage of the British Grand Prix, which Hamilton said is "definitely not cool".

While he said he does not understand the move to pay TV and that it is "not my job to come up with the answers for that", Hamilton said he was not convinced by the move.

"The more people you have at the grand prix, the more atmosphere it is," he said.

"It is the fans that makes the sport what it is, so the more you block them or deter them the worse the business is going to be for the people that own it.

"But that is nothing to do with me. When the fans do come or the people that I do get to meet at the races, I try to utilise the opportunity to connect with them."

Hamilton said he grew up watching F1 races on the BBC "and it was awesome".

He also expressed sympathy for fans being hit by increased costs to follow grands prix, and said he doubts the number of viewers is going to increase.

"It is bloody expensive nowadays with everything you have in your home, with all your insurance and all the things you do end up paying," he said.

"And on top of that you have to pay for TV and for a TV licence, which is ridiculous.

"[I am] pretty sure that number is not going to change, because the economy, it is a difficult time for everyone particularly now, so it is a shame that the fans are not getting to see as much."

Sky Sports has been the only channel allowed to broadcast live coverage of every F1 weekend in the UK since 2012.

It took advantage of cost cuts that forced the BBC to renegotiate a deal that should have made it the exclusive home of F1 until the end of 2013.

While Sky Sports F1 showed every race live, the BBC had the right to broadcast 10 races live and the remaining events as highlights – a deal Channel 4 took over from 2016 to 2018.

Sky recently announced its channel will broadcast IndyCar races live this season as a supplement to its F1 coverage.

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Verstappen hadn't been so excited "in a long time"

Max Verstappen says he has not been so excited "in a long time" ahead of the start of Red Bull's first Formula 1 season with Honda power.

Verstappen's Red Bull team will use Honda engines in F1 this season after finally splitting from long-time partner Renault.

Speaking exclusively to Motorsport.com, Verstappen said his excitement to kick off the new Red Bull-Honda alliance started well before the two promising weeks of official pre-season testing at Barcelona that have just been completed.

"I was very excited to do the filming day at Silverstone," Verstappen said. "I just wanted to get out and feel how the engine was behaving.

"The night before, I almost didn't sleep. I haven't been that excited in a long time."

Verstappen has been praised by Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko for a more mature approach to pre-season, which Marko said contributed to Red Bull's best-ever testing programme.

Addressing his happier demeanour through testing, Verstappen said: "I'm just a lot more excited.

"It's a new project with Honda and trying to understand everything is very important.

"Testing is there to get you prepared in the best possible way for the beginning of the season because you don't have a lot of time once the season starts to really adjust a lot of things."

Verstappen was critical of Renault during the dissolution of Red Bull's previous engine partnership, because he was disappointed by the French manufacturer's failure to close the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari.

That gave way to the seven-time grand prix winner, and senior Red Bull figures, talking up the move to Honda and what it would mean for the team.

While expectations are being kept in check now the new season is approaching, Verstappen said the positivity remains high behind-the-scenes.

He said there had been no issues integrating Honda's engineers into the Red Bull team and was impressed by Honda's "incredibly focused and calm" working manner.

"It's a very fresh start and everybody is just looking forward to starting to work together and achieve great results," said Verstappen.

"There's a very positive vibe in the team, and maybe it's good just to have fresh motivation to do well.

"I think everyone's very much looking forward to getting started, and not only this year, but the year after."