FORMULA 1


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CAMILLERI: DON’T PANIC BINOTTO WILL FIND A SOLUTION

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Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri has full faith in Mattia Binotto to turn around a crisis that has struck the team this season, exacerbated by another poor showing, this time at the Spanish Grand Prix where neither Sebastian Vettel nor Charles Leclerc made it on to the podium.

Instead, Vettel finished fourth with Leclerc behind him on an afternoon in which they were humbled, if not humiliated, by Mercedes and well beaten by Max Verstappen in the Red Bull.

Barcelona was meant to be a renaissance race for the Scuderia, a myriad of updates and memories of their testing “advantage” at the venue in winter was supposed to bode well for them.

But instead they were trounced, their gap to the World Champions even greater and Ferrari chief Mattia Binotto unsure what hit him as he tries to get comfortable in the hottest seat in sport, admitting that he is not sure why the SF90 is turning out to be a dud while their rivals concoct masterpiece after masterpiece.

Nevertheless, Camilleri has full faith in the engineer he and team president John Elkann appointed to the role of Ferrari team chief, in place of Maurizio Arrivabene, and that support remains sturdy according to the CEO, “Don’t panic. It’s my job to prevent it from spreading, so this is the moment to close ranks.”

“Binotto has all my support, I’m sure he will find a solution. We now have two days of important testing and we are confident that we can recover quickly. However, I don’t have a crystal ball, I can’t say when we will find a solution,” Camilleri told Gazzetta dello Sport.

Whatever the case, their star driver, Vettel has not won a race since Spa-Francorchamps last year. While Leclerc is proving to be a stone in the German’s shoe. The team also have a habit of blundering race strategies as they ponder when or not to dictate team orders to their drivers who clearly are reluctant to concede to one another.

Meanwhile, the near perfect Silver Arrows have racked up an unprecedented five one-twos in as many races, giving their drivers a huge advantage in the standings and they might as well start engraving ‘Mercedes’ on the constructors’ trophy already.

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BARCELONA READY FOR TWO DAYS OF FORMULA 1 TESTING

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Formula 1 teams remain in their garages for this week’s two-day testing at the Spanish Grand Prix venue ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix weekend in ten days time.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, twelve cars will be out on track in Barcelona, with Ferrari and Racing Point providing Pirelli also providing ‘mule’ cars for the tyre company’s testing programme.

These cars are precluded from running updates or mods while data and tyre info is restricted to Pirelli engineers. Nevertheless, they are important enough for Ferrari and Racing Point to allocate their regular drivers to the programme.

Several teams are running young drivers during the course of the two days while heavy hitters Lewis Hamilton, winner of the race on Sunday, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo are some of several current drivers sitting out the test.

Neither Williams driver will be on duty in their pitiful cars as Nicolas Latifi is down for two days in the FW42. The Canadian, who won the F2 race in Barcelona on Saturday, has tested for the team before.

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THE DAY AFTER: STELLAR SILVER ARROWS

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Cruising to their fifth consecutive one-two, Mercedes proved they’re in a class all their own at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona on Sunday.

As far as send-offs go, you could hardly ask for a better one than Dieter Zetsche got on Sunday.

His final race as both CEO of Daimler AG and owner of the second-best moustache in F1, Zetsche got one final chance to revel in the success of his Mercedes team in a race that was as underwhelming for fans as it would’ve been satisfying for him.

Not only were the Silver Arrows never tested on their way to a Lewis Hamilton-led 1-2, but in so doing managed to further cement their dominance over the sport at the venue that ten weeks earlier, had seemed to herald their decline.

Indeed, for all the good it has done them, Ferrari’s strong pre-season might as well have occurred ten years ago. The SF90 simply isn’t on the same level as the W10, and that showed itself here in the former’s significant deficit in slow corners.

That said, it’s fair to wonder if the Scuderia ever had a chance here in the first place. Once again Sunday saw some curious strategy from the pit wall, hemming and hawing with the decision to swap Sebastian Vettel with Charles Leclerc on different strategies, and vice versa later in the race.

In both cases, it seemed like Mattia Binotto and co. were too concerned with hurting their driver’s feelings to make a decision, and in so doing, indicate the team is not ready to win even if they have the car to do it.

In any case, we’re almost a quarter of the way through the season now, and this is shaping up to be Mercedes’ year, again. If there’s any silver lining, it’s that Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas continue to trade places at the top of the championship, and while it’s not the fight we wanted – nor expected – it’s the only one we’ve got.

Quick Hits

As disappointing as Ferrari have been, it really is remarkable that Max Verstappen is still ahead of both drivers in the championship. It’s hard to believe now, but this time a year ago it seemed like he couldn’t keep himself on the track!

Ferrari’s strategy blunders may have been more noticeable, but they certainly weren’t the only team guilty of being hesitant with their team orders.

Renault also made the strange decision not to let Daniel Ricciardo past Nico Hulkenberg even as the former had 10-lap younger mediums after the safety car, potentially costing them a points finish.

The race itself might not feature heavily in the next Netflix series, but something tells me whatever Guenther Steiner said in his post-race debrief certainly will!

Driver of the Day: Daniil Kvyat [as opposed to Max Verstappen who got the fans’ votes on the day]

A poor pit-stop may have meant he finished where he started, but that should take nothing away from the driver who contributed by far the most to Sunday’s entertainment.

Worst of the Day: Pierre Gasly

Another underwhelming performance from the Frenchman, especially considering he started the post-SC stint as the only one of the Ferraris and Red Bulls on soft tyres, and still finished P6, six seconds down, on Charles Leclerc. That’s simply not good enough.

Quote of the Day:

“I know it hurts being so far behind this weekend, but let’s remember we do something that we love. Grazie, grazie a tutti. Forza Ferrari sempre.” – Sebastian Vettel, trying to find the positive amidst some very stormy weather.

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HAVE RED BULL OVERTAKEN FERRARI AS THE BEST OF THE REST?

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Ferrari has a fight on its hands. Just not the one it wants because Red Bull is threatening to replace it as Formula One’s next-best team behind a dominant Mercedes after Max Verstappen outperformed Ferrari’s drivers at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Verstappen took third place on Sunday behind race winner Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.

That allowed the Red Bull driver to move past Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel into third place overall with 66 points to Vettel’s 64. Hamilton and Bottas are far in front with 112 and 105 points, respectively.

“I knew we could take the fight to Ferrari,” Verstappen said after being cheered by the large number of Dutch fans who had come to the race decked in orange T-shirts.

Verstappen and his supporters have good memories of the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit. His win here in 2016 made him F1’s youngest race winner at age 18.

While another victory was out of the question given Mercedes’ pace, Verstappen didn’t have too much trouble staying in front of the Ferraris.

“We were close to Ferrari in qualifying,” he said. “I am happy to be back on the podium and third in the championship. It is good to close the gap.”

As F1’s most successful team, Ferrari entered the season with renewed hopes of challenging Mercedes after rising talent Charles Leclerc joined Vettel in a potentially potent driving lineup.

Ferrari was faster on this same track during two weeks of preseason testing this winter and had brought in a new engine for the race.

But Mercedes was unfazed and stormed to a fifth one-two finish in as many races to further demoralize its rivals.

Vettel tried to get the jump on the silver cars at the race start from third on the grid, but the move only succeeded in making Bottas flinch and letting Hamilton go clear. After Vettel’s tires locked up, Verstappen slipped past into third place.

Even though there are 16 races left, it looks like Ferrari will likely have to wait another year to end its F1 constructors’ title drought that dates back to 2008.

“The updates we brought here to Barcelona, both on the aero front and on the engine, worked well and we are more than pleased with them, but they proved to be insufficient,” said Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto.

“Now we have to analyze and think about what did not work. And when it comes to that, as of today I don’t think we have a precise answer,” he lamented.

As for Hamilton, he said he had taken notice of improvements that Red Bull had made after switching to a Honda engine this season.

The defending champion also said he missed a better effort from Ferrari, “We welcome a battle and it would be great to fight with Ferrari and Red Bull. I prefer it when they are in the mix with us. It is much better when we can compete with another team.”

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SCHUMACHER MOVIE SET FOR DECEMBER RELEASE

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Former Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher will be the subject of a new documentary featuring unseen archive footage and rare interviews, producers announced on Sunday before the Cannes Film Festival.

The film, directed by German duo Michael Wech and Hanns-Bruno Kammertoens, was made with the blessing of the driver’s family and will include interviews with them as well as companions and competitors, the filmmakers said.

Simply titled Schumacher, the project is backed by the German’s family and is expected to hit cinemas in Germany and Switzerland in December this year.

His wife Corinna, who has rarely spoken in public about the condition of her husband and is believed to be responsible for guarding the secrecy of Schumacher’s health, is expected to be among those interviewed in the documentary.

His father Rolf, 73, is also set to appear but Schumacher himself is not expected to be in the film. A trailer for the movie will be shown at the Cannes film festival which begins this week.

Schumacher turned 50 on 3 January but has not been seen in public since a skiing accident in the French Alps five years ago which left him with severe head injuries and in a medically-induced coma.

The film is in post-production, with international rights sales to be launched at the Marche du Film, a business event held in parallel to the cinema showcase on the French Riviera that kicks off on May 14.

Schumacher remains motor racing’s most successful driver, with a record 91 grand prix wins. He won his first two titles with Benetton in 1994 and 1995 before five in a row with Ferrari between 2000-2004.

In January his family released a statement saying he was in the “the very best of hands”.

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Daniel Ricciardo says 'awesome' Zandvoort won't be an exciting race

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The return of the Dutch Grand Prix next year, which is expected to be confirmed on Tuesday, will see Formula 1 cars back at Zandvoort for the first time since 1985, but Renault's Daniel Ricciardo fears it won't be an exciting race.

The Australian described the circuit as "awesome" and requiring "big balls" to drive it at speed due to the tight and twisty nature of the layout, however he says that won't necessarily create an exciting race as overtaking will be difficult unless changes are made to widen the circuit.

"I raced there in F3 and I remember it keeps your eyes open. The track to drive on is pretty awesome. It is high-speed, it is old school, [you need] big balls," he said when asked about his feelings of racing at Zandvoort next year. 

"From a driving point of view it is fun. But how fast it is, and how narrow some places are, I don't think it would be that exciting for overtaking. Just my initial feeling, I think with the speeds we go now, following another car would be very difficult. So that is my reservation with it, I think it could be a very processional race.

"Otherwise the track is cool, but we will see. I'm a bit torn because to drive on it would be fun but to race on it would be...with the width of the cars now, it is probably like a street circuit through some of the places, and then all high-speed through the middle...we will see but I think it would be tricky to make an exciting race."

Ricciardo also share his opinion on the news that Sao Paulo could lose its race to a new circuit in Rio de Janeiro after president Jair Bolsonaro declared the move would happen in 2020.

"I've never been [to Rio]," he added. "But that would be nice. Sao Paulo, the track, I've never been that excited by it. I don't know the plans in Rio. I've never been to the city so I'd just be for it because is sounds fun. Maybe the circuit could be a bit more exciting than Interlagos. For now with my limited knowledge I am for it."

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Renault was "strike breaker" for 2020 testing - Mercedes

Renault was "strike breaker" for 2020 testing - Mercedes

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has revealed his team only volunteered to carry out 18-inch tyre testing this year after "strike breaker" Renault agreed to take part.
All 10 teams were offered the chance to create a mule car for initial track testing of the new 18-inch tyres by converting a 2018 chassis.

Most were reluctant to commit resources to such a project within 2019, and consideration was given to postponing any testing until 2020.

However, once Renault agreed to Pirelli's request to build a car for this season, Mercedes felt it had no choice but to participate, along with McLaren.

Ferrari has opted out, citing a lack of resources and time, while Red Bull Racing does not have a 2018 car available, due to its change of engine supplier.

"It was a very difficult decision," Wolff said when asked by Motorsport.com. "Because on the one hand you need to understand that Pirelli needs the testing, on the other hand it wasn't resource that was planned to spend in 2019.

"So we were hoping that all tyre tests for 18-inch rims would be delayed to 2020, and we made it clear that if all teams agreed to postpone it, that would be the best outcome, but if a one single one would jump on it, we would also. Renault was the strike-breaker, and then it was McLaren and us."

Renault F1 boss Cyril Abiteboul made it clear that gaining any knowledge it can about tyres is a priority for the French manufacturer.

"It was a proposal offered by Pirelli to all teams," Abiteboul told Motorsport.com. "It was also a request from Pirelli, and I think we have a duty to make sure Pirelli has the capacity to do a good job.

"When we look at the importance of tyre understanding, frankly we are behind. Most of the difficulties that we've had from the start of the season are due to the change of construction that we have underestimated.

"It's another demonstration that we need to improve that massively. How can I say that and not accept what we've been offered to do for 2021? It's very straightforward."

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Zetsche deserves "all the credit" for Mercedes F1 success

Zetsche deserves "all the credit" for Mercedes F1 success

Outgoing Mercedes CEO Dieter Zetsche deserves "all the credit" for the manufacturer's enduring dominance in Formula 1, says team principal Toto Wolff.

Zetsche has been the head of Mercedes' parent company Daimler since 2006 but is stepping down from his role this month.

He attended the Spanish Grand Prix and joined Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas on the podium as he collected the winning constructors' trophy.

Mercedes re-entered F1 with a works team in 2010 and since the V6 turbo-hybrid era began in 2014 it has won five consecutive title doubles in F1, and finished first and second in the first five races of 2019.

When Zetsche entered Mercedes' motorhome at Barcelona "to say goodbye" while Wolff was conducting his post-race media debrief, Wolff said: "I need to say a word about you. This is officially your last race as CEO.

"There are not many CEOs that have empowered a group of people like you did, leaving us on the long leash, letting us represent this fantastic brand. And we did it with pride and with great responsibility.

"You went through a storm in 2010, 11 and '12 when the car was going backwards and even in '13 it was not always great. And you stuck to Formula 1 as a CEO of Daimler like no other corporate has ever done, and now we are harvesting this. It's great to see you up there. You deserve all the credit. You have built the structure."

Hamilton's third win of the season and a bonus point for fastest lap lifted him to the top of the standings, seven points clear of Bottas.

The Briton has won four of his five world titles since joining Mercedes in 2013 but has known Zetsche since he was a teenager because of his long-running support from the manufacturer as an engine supplier.

Dr Dieter Zetsche, CEO, Mercedes Benz Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG F1, 2nd position, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1, 1st position, and Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 3rd position, on the podium

"He's been a massive supporter of mine since I was 13," said Hamilton. "Ultimately he was there in the decision-making process of whether to take me on as a kid.

"When I went to McLaren he was part of the decision-making process of whether I got the Formula 1 drive in 2007. Then joining this team, again, and every year from then we've had to re-sign. This is his last race with us and I just want to say a big thank you to him."

Hamilton also said he found the inspiration for his victory in the form of support from an unwell fan.

He shared a video he had been sent by a young child on social media and said the boy, Harry, was his "spirit angel" as he defeated Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.

"I was super inspired by this young kid that sent me a message, Harry," said Hamilton. We've sent him a card and a cap, and before the race I was chilled but was looking for some inspiration, something to grab onto. I dedicated today's race to him."

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Alfa Romeo targeting test improvements after ‘disappointing weekend’

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While their midfield rivals at Haas and McLaren flourished, the Spanish Grand Prix proved to be a demoralising event for Alfa Romeo, with Kimi Raikkonen finishing as their best-placed driver in P14, two places up on team mate Antonio Giovinazzi.

Raikkonen’s afternoon got off to a disastrous start when he fell from his P14 grid slot to last after slewing wide and into the gravel at Turn 4, while Giovinazzi – having started at the back of the field after taking a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox swap – failed to make a soft-hard-soft, two-stop strategy work for him, as he finished behind his team mate for the fifth time in as many races.

Explaining his adventure-filled first lap, Raikkonen said: “It was very slippery on the mediums and I almost spun into Turn 3, but just tried to go for it.

“I almost managed to stop on the edge of the tarmac, then once I’d dropped the left wheel in the gravel, it took a while to get back.

“But I think after that, we never really had the speed. I mean, in the end we had the same speed as the guys in front but there’s only so much you can do with that.

“So not a good weekend, but luckily we have a few days of testing next week and hopefully we can figure out what’s going on.”

The result – which marked the first time this year Raikkonen has failed to score points – rounded off a weekend where the team had never really looked in contention in the midfield. And along with Raikkonen, it is also something Team Principal Fred Vasseur plans to analyse closely when the team tests at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

“It’s important for the two days of testing ahead that we honestly assess our performance and get back to where we stood so far this season,” said Vasseur.

”It was a disappointing weekend where we never managed to express our potential. It is difficult to find some positives.

“Circumstances didn’t help and with Antonio’s grid position and Kimi falling to the back in the opening lap, our race was effectively compromised. I would say that today’s result belittles our real level: everything seemed to go against us this weekend.”

Alfa Romeo’s first point-less weekend of the year means they drop from sixth to seventh in the standings, having been overtaken by Haas after the American team’s first double points haul of the year in Spain.

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Kvyat: Pit stop drama cost us good points haul

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Daniil Kvyat equalled Toro Rosso’s best result of the season with ninth place in Barcelona, but the Russian believes a pit stop error cost him at least two positions in the Spanish Grand Prix.

On a circuit that is notoriously hard to overtake on, Kvyat was in fine form around the sweeps of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as he pulled off a number of moves including a pass on Kimi Raikkonen around the outside of Turn 4.

After getting ahead of Kevin Magnussen, Kvyat looked capable of ensuring Toro Rosso finished best of the rest but a slow pit stop, where the tyres were not ready, under the Safety Car demoted him behind the two Haas drivers. He recovered one place from Grosjean to end up ninth.

“It was entertaining, a lot of action,” Kvyat said. “There were many overtakes, I overtook both Haas on track, overtook Kimi, [Daniel] Ricciardo, a very good performance from me and from the team. But there was a bit of miscommunication, probably. I don’t know exactly what happened but we lost a lot of time in the pits because the tyres unfortunately weren’t ready.

“So we lost a potential P7, which is a pity but we will learn from it and there is no need for any dramas, obviously. It was a very good but also a little bit of a frustrating day. It will be learned from I’m sure. We slightly missed out.”

Despite the lost positions, Kvyat was keen to focus on the positives of Toro Rosso’s performance throughout the weekend, advancing to Q3 and then scoring points.

“Usually we get a quick pit stop, but it was a very long one because tyres weren't there. I was just hoping that we don't lose too many positions. Luckily we lost only (two). We just finished ninth, grabbed two valuable good points and everything is looking pretty good for the next races, so we'll just keep pushing.”

And Kvyat is confident Toro Rosso had the strongest package in the midfield on Sunday, as he still passed Romain Grosjean and put pressure on Carlos Sainz following the pit stop error.

“We were the fastest midfield team I think - I overtook Grosjean and I was catching Carlos. It was quite close with Carlos, maybe another lap we would get him but after the Safety Car restart he had the soft tyres on which meant he had a better warm-up so he was able to overtake me. But then when my tyres warmed up again I was able to catch him again but I just ran out of laps again.”

While Kvyat was still able to pick up points, team mate Alexander Albon was not so fortunate as he dropped out of the top ten after being held up by the Kvyat delay in the pits as the team attempted a double stop.

“It was a frustrating race to be honest,” Albon said. “Bad start, good first lap and we stuck to our strategy which was a two-stop. We were looking strong and the Safety Car came out which was even better for us. I was just managing where I was, I was quite happy with where we were, but unfortunately the pit stop then put us back.

“We’ll have to have a look at it. Definitely P8 and P9 was possible, we should have been there, but instead we’re P9 and P11. So it’s frustrating for all of us. We’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

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JUDGE: MR. STOREY IS NOT A CREDIBLE OR RELIABLE WITNESS

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Rich Energy has lost a High Court case in the United Kingdom regarding the originality of its logo design which appears to have been copied, then slightly modded from what was a registered bicycle brand.

Whyte Bikes took Rich Energy to court claiming the start-up energy drinks company had copied the stag logo/badge of the bicycle manufacturer which had created and established the brand back in December 2008.

Rich Energy CEO William Storey and his logo designer StaxoWeb Ltd denied copyright infringement, claiming their own logo was designed without any reference to, or to the knowledge of, the Whyte Bikes design.

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Judge Melissa Clarke summed up her decision, “What is sought, amongst other things, is an injunction which would require the removal of the logo of the First Defendant, Rich Energy Limited, from the Formula 1 race car and website of the Rich Energy Haas Formula 1 motor racing team.”

The stag logo appears on the cockpit, halo and front wing endplates of the Haas VF19 as part of Rich Energy’s title sponsorship of the American team.

Judge Clarke ruled that Rich Energy had produced a copy of the Whyte Bikes logo which infringed their copyright, which gave Whyte the right to an injunction and damages or an account of Rich Energy’s profits. “I am satisfied that some of Mr. Storey’s evidence was incorrect or misleading and that he was involved in the manufacture of documents during the course of litigation to provide additional support for the Defendants’ case.”

“I do not accept either Mr. Storey or Mr. Kelly as credible or reliable witnesses and I treat all of their evidence with a high degree of caution.”

“I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that both Mr. Kelly and Mr. Storey have lied about not being familiar with C’s Device (Whyte’s logo). I find it more likely than not that they were familiar with it, and that they directly and knowingly copied C’s Device in designing D1’s Device (Rich Energy’s logo).”

Following the court decision, Rich Energy tweeted: “Today the judgment was released in the claim brought by (Whyte Bikes) against us in respect of our stag logo. We are disappointed with the judgment and the findings of the judge which run counter to our submissions. We are considering all of our legal options, including appeal.”

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GORDON MURRAY: I NEED MERCEDES TO LOSE TWO RACES THIS YEAR

McLaren MP4/4 Gordon Murray

Gordon Murray, the Formula 1 design legend who oversaw the sport’s most successful car to date, hopes for purely personal reasons that someone can beat Mercedes at least twice this season.

The South African was technical director at McLaren in 1988 when Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost won all but one race, 15 of 16, with 10 one-two finishes, 15 pole positions and 10 fastest laps.

That achievement remains the closest any team has come to a perfect year, although Mercedes almost did it in 2016 with 19 wins and 20 poles out of 21.

Even three decades later 72-year-old Murray, who also designed the 1990s McLaren F1 supercar and is now promoting a flat-packed plywood-bodied vehicle for the developing world, still feels a proprietorial pride.

“I need Mercedes to lose two races this year,” he told Reuters laughingly at the Royal Automobile Club launch of a two-volume, 948-page opus that covers in detail his 50 years of car design. “Every season I go: Please don´t win two races. It doesn’t look like it this year.”

In 1988 McLaren lost only at the Italian Grand Prix, an emotional victory by Ferrari’s Gerhard Berger a month after the death of Enzo Ferrari.

“Alain Prost had an electrode fall off a spark plug, which I´ve never had in all my years in racing, and Ayrton (Senna) tripped over a backmarker in lapping,” recalled Murray. “Otherwise it would have been a clean sweep.”

Mercedes have won the first five races in one-two formation this year, with five times champion Lewis Hamilton leading Valtteri Bottas three times and looking a cut above the rest.

They have been on pole four times, with a fastest lap each, and people are increasingly asking if they can go all the way.

The closest Mercedes have come to losing so far was in Bahrain, when Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led from pole position but was denied victory by a late engine problem.

“They (Ferrari) threw the race away,” said Murray. “They should have won that one. But they (Mercedes) need to lose two races (for me) to keep my record. So I´m watching. They´ve got a good chance to do it, I have to say.”

Steve Nichols was chief designer of the McLaren MP4/4 car but Murray can claim significant ownership, having brought plenty of ideas from Brabham where he also produced the unique and highly controversial BT46B with a large fan at the rear.

The MP4/4 was 1-1/2 seconds a lap quicker than rivals but Murray said the year stood out also for work done behind the scenes.

“I went through a failure list from the previous era before I arrived and found out why things were failing and fixed that and introduced post-race meetings and analysis tools… they didn´t have anything,” he said.

“So it wasn´t just the design of the car and the drivers. We had the perfect year. I made the cars very reliable.”

Murray still follows Formula One, and was at the Bahrain Grand Prix, but feels it needs to do “something fundamental” to create more excitement and better racing.

“They really have to,” he said. “It´s a drivers´ championship first and foremost.”

Murray would like to see less downforce, with tiny wings front and back, and more design freedom in the centre of the car. “We just had so much fun in the days when you could think of an idea, build the parts the next week and go a second and a half a lap quicker at the next grand prix,” he said.

“These days its hundreds and hundreds of hours in the wind tunnel and then a tiny little front wing change and you find two-tenths of a second. I find that really difficult to get excited about.”

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ILOTT UNSCATHED AFTER 200KPH CRASH IN HIS FIRST F1 TEST

Callum Ilot crash

Callum Ilott walked away unscathed from a 200kph crash in his maiden Formula 1 test outing on Tuesday at Circuit de Catalunya.

The 20-year-old, who is a member of the Ferrari driver academy, ran off the track at the high-speed third bend in Barcelona, before crashing into the barriers.

Ilott sustained extensive damage to the front of his Alfa Romeo and took no further part in the running.

“After the big crash in Turn 3, the most important thing is Callum Ilott is fine and injury-free,” said Alfa Romeo on Twitter.

The Briton had recorded 41 laps before the incident, which happened shortly after the lunch break.

Prior to his crash at one of the fastest sections of the Circuit de Catalunya, Ilott posted to Twitter: “First F1 miles on the clock and a morning full of positives.”

The young driver is currently competing in Formula 2, the feeder series to Formula 1. He scored his first podium in Spain on Sunday for finishing third.

Valtteri Bottas meanwhile, topped the time charts on the opening day of this week’s F1 test. The Mercedes driver finished 1.4 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

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BARCELONA TEST DAY 1: MERCEDES WELL AHEAD

Bottas

Mercedes dominance continued through into the first day of testing in Barcelona today, as Valtteri Bottas topped the timing screens at the end of the day with the fastest lap by 1.4 seconds to the next best using the softest tyre available on the day.

The Finn managed to get through 131 laps, almost two Grand Prix distances two days after teammate Lewis Hamilton won the Spanish Grand Prix at the same venue. Although times were largely irrelevant, this did not stop the World Champions strutting their stuff. Bottas was a tenth shy of the pole-winning time he set on Saturday.

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was second quickest using the C2 Pirelli compound, also covering 131 laps during the course of Tuesday.

Nicholas Latifi, the Williams reserve driver, covered the most distance with 134 laps but was also the slowest, while Ferrari development driver Callum Ilott tested for Alfa Romeo but crashed heavily in the afternoon, escaping injury but damaging the car.

This is what the teams had to say after day one at Circuit de Catalunya:

Mercedes

Report: Following the Spanish Grand Prix, Formula One teams have remained in Barcelona for this year’s second in-season test. Valtteri Bottas was back behind the wheel of the Mercedes W10, completing 131 laps on the opening day. The team focused on expanding its understanding of the W10 as well as completing some aero data collection. Mercedes-Benz Power Units completed a total of 2,300 km today.

Valtteri Bottas: “Today’s test day has been really good. We completed a lot of laps and learned a lot. Our programme focused on the tyres and setup. We collected lots of data over the race weekend in similar conditions to what we had today in terms of temperature and wind, so it was nice to do some setup comparisons. There were some new mechanical test items on the car too which were interesting to try out. Everyone did a really good job after a long weekend, so it’s been another successful day.”

Andrew Shovlin: “We’ve had a trouble-free day with Valtteri and got through most of the programme. The number of test days is so limited now that you always end up with a very busy programme and it’s important that everything arrives on time with it being our last chance to test this season. We’ve had a number of developments on the chassis and Power Unit side which we can hopefully bring to the race car over the next few races.”

“We’ve also done some work on setup for the softer compounds that will be appearing in Monaco and Montreal, along with some longer run work. We have Nikita in the car tomorrow, he’s worked with us over the past few months but this will be his first run in the W10 and we have a busy day of testing lined up for him.”

Ferrari

Two days on from the Spanish Grand Prix and Scuderia Ferrari was back on track for the first of two days of testing in Barcelona. Charles Leclerc was on duty working for the team, while Sebastian Vettel was running another SF90 for a Pirelli tyre test.

Sebastian did 58 laps in the morning, setting a best time of 1’18”425. Charles worked on a comparison and development programme. The Monegasque driver took to the track trying some updates and running comparison tests to continue gathering data and information relating to the car’s handling. Charles did 66 laps, the best in a time of 1’17”322, using the C3 tyres.

Both SF90s were on track again in the afternoon, working until the end of the nine hour session. Sebastian completed a further 75 laps, making a daily total of 133, equivalent to 619 kilometres. Charles did a further 66, for a total of 132. Sebastian’s best time was the one he set in the morning, whiles Charles got down to a 1’16”933 on the C2 compound tyres. Quickest was today was Valtteri Bottas in 1’15”511.

On Wednesday, Leclerc will switch to working on the Pirelli programme, while replacing him for Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow’s work will be Antonio Fuoco. The Italian is one of a group of drivers working in the simulator and this will be his third track test for the team after having already completed a total of 856 laps at the wheel of a Ferrari. The first was in Spielberg in 2015 and then here in Barcelona in 2016.

Charles Leclerc: “It was a positive day, overall. We completed a total of two race distances and collected a lot of data which we will analyse to understand our car even better. We are pushing to continue making improvements and I look forward to being back on track tomorrow.”

Red Bull

Report: Just two days after taking his third points finish of the season at the Spanish Grand Prix, Pierre Gasly was back in action at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya today as Formula 1’s second in season test of 2019 got underway. The French driver enjoyed a strong outing at the Montmeló track, posting a total of 118 laps as the Team continued development work on the RB15.

Pierre Gasly: “It was a busy day in the car and we managed to get through lots of test items. Today was all about trying to establish a direction for the races to come and also to extract a bit more performance from our package. We had what looks like a transmission issue right near the end of the session, which is being looked at now, but we still managed to get a lot of laps done.”

Simon Rennie, Group Leader Simulator Engineering: “There are always things you’d like to try with the car that just aren’t possible on a race weekend, so based on what we learned during the race weekend here in Spain, the plan today was to look at a variety of set-up concepts that we believe will aid general performance across the rest of the season.”

“That meant a pretty intense schedule for Pierre and for everyone in the garage as we worked through those changes, but we managed to get a lot done and we acquired some good data. In the morning Pierre ran on the C2 compound that was nominated as the medium tyre last weekend.”

“Then, in the afternoon, he spent a short period on the C1 compound for some aero runs before focusing on the C3 tyre up until the stoppage. We’re looking into the cause of that now, but we’ll certainly be up and running again for tomorrow’s session.”

Haas

Report: Pietro Fittipaldi accumulated 103 laps over the course of the day with a best time of 1:18.326 at the 4.655-kilometer (2.892-mile), 16-turn track – placing him seventh overall from 13 entrants at the test. A productive morning netted 57 tours from a series of eight timed stints with Fittipaldi recording his fastest time before the lunch break of 1:18.643.

The afternoon program saw Fittipaldi cycle through a variety of Pirelli compounds over a further 46 laps, duly banking his quickest time just minutes out from the checkered flag on lap 98. Kevin Magnussen, fresh off his seventh-place points scoring run in Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix, assumes steering duties Wednesday to conclude the test.

Fittipaldi: “It was a good day with a lot of miles. The car ran well, it was really reliable, so thank you again to the team for the great job there. We made full use of the test trying different things throughout the day and the pace was good too – I was really happy about that. It was good over both short and long runs, the balance of the car felt great. We’ll definitely be able to learn a lot from the day. I felt good in the car, it’s been a great day.”

Toro Rosso

Daniil Kvyat: “It was a productive first day of testing as we covered all of our programme and test items we had planned for today. The team worked flawlessly, and we had really reliable and consistent running which is what we wanted. We can put a big tick in the box for this test and hopefully we will learn a lot from it, so we can bring some new ideas to races in the near future.”

Guillaume Dezoteux, Head of Vehicle Performance: “We had a very good first day of testing here in Barcelona. The good weather and faultless running from the car and Daniil allowed us to complete our programme. We were focused on aero data gathering in the morning, following the introduction of a new package during the race weekend just passed.”

“We then worked on different setup directions on the C3 tyre compound to optimize and further understand our car and Daniil’s requirements. In the afternoon, we continued our setup work on the C3 and performed some long runs for tyre optimization using the harder C2 tyre compound. We completed the day with a couple of short runs on the C4 tyre compound, which is one step softer than the soft tyre we used here during Qualifying.

“It is great to be back testing as it offers more opportunities to learn and secure clear answers about the car. Race weekends are often more difficult with limited running, variable tyre allocation, track evolution, and sometimes drivers learning a new track layout. It is always more difficult to be brave and try significantly different configurations. Now we will review all the data with our colleagues in Faenza and Bicester, and prepare the car for Alex’s run plan for the final day of 2019 in-season testing tomorrow.”

McLaren

Carlos Sainz: “Today has been a positive day of testing for us as we managed to complete the whole programme planned for my morning session in the car. We went through some set-up items that we had doubts about after the weekend, and found some interesting results to explain why we weren’t completely happy with our qualifying and race performance.”

“We also validated some new aero parts that we brought here this weekend. We’ve got the data we need to take back home. That will help us understand what we did well this weekend and what we need to work on for Monaco. Overall, I’m happy with the work done.”

Lando Norris: “Today was a decent day. We got through everything we wanted to do today which was positive. We also went through a few things to confirm the results from the weekend before starting some preparation ahead of Monaco. We didn’t do a huge number of laps this afternoon but from what we did, we got everything we needed and managed to learn a lot.”

Andrea Stella, Performance Director: “Today has been a useful day of testing because we could complete our programme, which was split between Carlos and Lando, without any issues or delays. The test coming after the race gives us the opportunity to make some direct comparisons with the race weekend.

“In particular, we tested a few things on car set-up that helped us understand the behaviour of the car in qualifying and in the race, and we also acquired some useful information for the coming races.

“We conducted some aerodynamic tests to learn more about the aero package that we took to the Spanish Grand Prix, in addition to some further aerodynamic developments that we are considering for future introduction. We also gathered some information which will be very useful for the development of the car.”

Racing Point

Report: The team completed a successful first day of testing in Barcelona with Nick Yelloly behind the wheel of the RP19. Sergio Perez was also on driving duty in a second car completing a Pirelli testing programme.

Brad Joyce, Head of Trackside Performance: “It has been a positive first day of testing. Nick focussed on aerodynamic work and car familiarisation to ensure the feedback he gives in the simulator is accurate. He did a solid job putting plenty of laps on the board and setting baselines for future development. This is the last in-season test so it is important that we learn as much as we can to guide development for the rest of the season.”

“Sergio was in a second car completing work for Pirelli, which also went smoothly. Track conditions were good – similar to those we saw over the race weekend – and between the two cars we clocked up 229 laps. We hope to have another productive day tomorrow.”

Williams

Dave Robson, Senior Race Engineer: “Picking up where he left off in Bahrain, and following some more very strong results in F2, Nicholas drove extremely well all day today. This allowed us to complete almost all the tests that we had planned. Over 134 laps, we completed a series of test programmes as we evaluated some new components and began some preparation for Monaco.”

“Today we used mostly the C2 tyre compound, which was the Option tyre at the race weekend. Tomorrow we will use a more varied range of tyre compounds as we continue our test programme and complete Nicholas’s preparations ahead of his upcoming FP1 outings in Canada and France.”

Nicholas Latifi: “It was a productive day and we completed the greatest number of laps. The sessions ran smoothly, and we were able to get through our programme, despite the few red flag interruptions. Days like these are important for me to ensure that I am comfortable in the FW42 and understand what it is capable of ahead of my upcoming FP1 outings. I look forward to getting back in the car tomorrow for further testing in Barcelona.”

Honda

Report: The big crowds have disappeared, but all ten teams were back at work at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit for the first of two days of testing. Pierre Gasly was driving for Aston Martin Red Bull Racing and Daniil Kvyat was on duty for Scuderia Toro Rosso. There were big mileages from both men; the Russian doing 121 laps and the Frenchman 118.

Everything ran smoothly on the PU front, which meant the teams were able to get on with their own programmes, while on the Honda side we worked towards the next race in Monaco, but also looked at more long term development items. Tomorrow, we have a change of drivers: in the Red Bull is the English youngster Dan Ticktum, while Alex Albon is in the Toro Rosso.

Masamitsu Motohashi, Honda F1 Deputy Technical Director: “It has been a productive first day of testing here in Barcelona. Using testing PUs fitted on Monday, both Gasly and Kvyat completed a high mileage, allowing us to acquire plenty of data.”

“This is particularly useful as we have the figures from only a few days ago over the Spanish Grand Prix weekend to use as a benchmark. Some of our work was aimed at tuning the PU elements for the next race in Monaco. We also carried out routine tests as well as doing some long-term development work and we went through our programme as scheduled.”

Report in progress…

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VERSTAPPEN: I WANT TO WIN BUT THAT IS NOT ACHIEVABLE NOW

Max Verstappen

Although Max Verstappen acknowledges that Red Bull with Honda power has improved greatly this season but at the same time he is under no illusions that victories are coming any time soon as the might of Mercedes remains the benchmark.

After finishing third in the Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen told his website, “Qualifying was quite good, we were close behind Ferrari. Mercedes was way too quick, but generally, we could be quite satisfied.”

“Of course, personally I always want to win and finish first, but that is not achievable now. In the end, we were on the podium after the race, so that is fine.”

Verstappen also reflected on the race in Barcelona, “The start was quite good. In front of me three cars went together into the turn. I thought: let’s wait and see what happens.”

“After that I was stuck for a little while, but I ended up in a good position out of the corner and could take the outside of turn three.”

“Sebastian Vettel found himself in the dirty air of Valtteri Bottas and lost a lot of downforce. I passed both cars on the outside, so I was able to take my own line. Because of this I ended up on the podium.”

Monaco is expected to level the playing field somewhat and is a venue where the Red Bulls can strut their stuff but, at the same time, Mercedes have the best package at the moment and are likely to carry this momentum over to the Principality despite the tricky nature of the glam street track.

While Verstappen laments his lack of firepower to take on the Mercedes juggernaut, he might spare a thought for his former teammate Daniel Ricciardo who is nowhere and far worse off with Renault.

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Mercedes has "good ideas" to improve record-breaking W10

Mercedes has "good ideas" to improve record-breaking W10

Mercedes says that there are still ‘good’ steps to come from its car and engine, despite it already having a sizeable advantage over its rivals.
On the back of the German car manufacturer’s record-breaking start to the season, which has seen it deliver five 1-2 finishes, few believe there is any chance of anyone beating Mercedes to the world championship this year.

And with Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas clear of their challengers in Spain, talk of further gains with the W10 suggests the Silver Arrows could maintain their dominance for a while yet.

Asked by Motorsport.com about how much more there is to come from the engine and car, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said: “There are steps on the power to come, but with mature regulations it's not those immense steps that we have seen in the past. But still some really good work that is being done for engine number two.

“In terms of unleashing more performance of the chassis, I think we still have good ideas. It's still just the fifth race with these new regulations and more potential to unlock.

“This is also why we decided to go that way. We felt that with the front wing concept we have followed there is more potential long-term, maybe with the risk of a short-term struggle.”

Ferrari’s failure to beat Mercedes so far this year, and it falling short of expectations in Spain, has left the Italian team admitting that its own car concept may be wrong.

For while its lower-drag front wing solution may have worked well initially, the more limited scope it has to work with downforce improvements could now be holding it back.

If that proves to be the case, and Ferrari needs to switch to the Mercedes concept, then it could take months for the team to revise things and get its season back on track. By then, the world title fight could be totally over.

For now, though, Mercedes is still not getting carried away with its success – as it thinks closest rivals Red Bull and Ferrari have what it takes to be a threat.

“Both teams have the right resources and have tools that could easily make them rebound,” said Wolff. “We've seen a weekend in Barcelona now that was probably one of the strongest that we've had in seven years. But we are swinging a little bit with the news. 

“If we have a strong weekend from Ferrari in Monaco, everybody will say 'this stopped Mercedes, at least it's the end of the Mercedes dominance of this year'.”

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McLaren goes down Ferrari wing concept route

McLaren goes down Ferrari wing concept route

McLaren introduced its biggest upgrade of the season so far at the Spanish Grand Prix – which include a move towards the Ferrari front wing concept.
Having done the first four rounds with a relatively conservative wing design, the Woking-based team has now drifted into the camp occupied by Ferrari and Alfa Romeo.

To do that it has created an anhedral arrangement to boost the outwash profile of the front wing flow.

In Giorgio Piola's illustration, the new design is on top, with the old wing below.

The older specification used the outboard section a lot more to develop downforce and, while the difference in sections either side of the flap adjuster can be seen, it's nowhere near as aggressive in intent compared to the new design.

Here, the mainplane has been changed to fold downwards at the end, sitting much lower on the endplate. This means there's less scope to use the lip on the inside of the endplate to generate any outwardly-moving vortices, placing the onus more on the footplate - which has also been reprofiled to better control those rotational flows underneath.

But that outwash effect is concentrated on the top side, whereas the wing elements on the outside are mounted closer together.

Carlos Sainz Jr., McLaren MCL34

This means the inboard section has to create the lion's share of downforce, and the top three elements extend further down to redefine the vortex produced by the tips. The flap adjuster and tyre sensor have also been moved.

As well as the wing, McLaren introduced a completely reshuffled bargeboard package linked up with a new set of turning vanes to better deal with the wake pouring off the front tyres.

Along the top edge of the bargeboard, the intertwining scale-like pieces pointed at a greater desire to pull airflow downwards toward the sidepod undercut, and the turning vanes were far less spartan compared to those used so far - increasing the tyre wake management opportunities for the aerodynamicists.

 

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Dutch Grand Prix: What you need to know about F1’s spectacular new beachside race

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Max Verstappen will have not one but two home Grands Prix from 2020, with the Netherlands’ historic and iconic Zandvoort making a popular return to the Formula 1 calendar after a 35-year hiatus…

The stunning venue, which is situated just metres away from lush sandy beaches and dunes, has previously held 30 Dutch Grands Prix - but hasn’t hosted F1 since 1985, when McLaren’s Niki Lauda was victorious.

Fruitful negotiations between Formula 1 and Dutch Grand Prix – a partnership formed by SportVibes, TIG Sports and the Circuit Zandvoort – have yielded an agreement that will run for at least three years, with the race joining Vietnam as the second new race on the 2020 calendar.

The FIA and Formula 1’s Motorsports team are now working closely with the circuit and the KNAF (the Dutch motorsport federation) on tweaking the track design to ensure its suitability for F1 cars and to encourage overtaking ahead of its spectacular return…

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What do the drivers say?

“It will take a good pair of courage,” smirked Romain Grosjean when asked for his thoughts on the Dutch circuit, which he raced on in F3. “I think it’s a circuit we need, it’s very different to a modern track.”

Zandvoort is renowned for its fast sweeping and narrow turns and being very unforgiving – a combination that really excites the grid. “I quite like those crazy circuits,” added Grosjean. “I remember in F3, it was challenging.”

Valtteri Bottas, who became the first driver to win two of the famous F3 Masters races held at the venue – in 2009 and 2010 – reckons it is “really great for F1” that Zandvoort is back on the calendar.

“I have many good memories from racing there in Formula Renault and Formula 3,” says the Mercedes driver. “It’s a cool track, there’s quite a bit of elevation change, many high-speed corners and quite technical in places – like the last sector – so there’s a bit of everything.

“It’s an old-school track. That is what I love about it – it penalises mistakes. So it’s going to be fun. Even in F3 races, there were so many spectators and a great atmosphere, so it’s going to even bigger with F1.”

Part of the reason this race is likely to be a sell-out is because of Verstappen, who is half Belgian and half Dutch and competes under the latter’s flag. He has reinvigorated interest in F1 in his homeland since bursting onto the scene with Toro Rosso in 2015.

Since then he has made a huge name for himself, winning five Grands Prix and taking 24 podiums courtesy of an exciting brand of driving that takes no prisoners.

His loyal fan-base, bedecked in orange, have followed him across Europe – turning out in huge numbers at Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps and Austria’s Red Bull Ring. It’s certain they will pack the joint out.

“I’m very excited for the Dutch Grand Prix to return,” said Verstappen. “You’ll see a lot of Dutch fans around the track, in the dunes as well. I’ve done a bit of driving there before, it’s a beautiful and historic track, so it’s definitely going to be a good one.

“It’s a very challenging track, old school, a bit like Suzuka – it was designed by the same person. With F1 cars it’s going to be really quick. I’m looking forward to it.

“It’s nice to have a home race. I have one already in Spa, as I’m half Belgian and half Dutch so it’s going to be a lot of fun to have the two.”

Lando Norris, who also raced there in F3, is excited by the challenge Zandvoort presents. “It’s a fun track, especially in qualifying,” he said. “There’s not a lot of room for error. Sometimes, it can bite you. But it’s cool to be on edge. In an F1 car, I think it will be a pretty insane track.”

Why is F1 returning to Zandvoort?

Zandvoort is steeped in F1 history, having hosted 30 Grands Prix – only eight venues have hosted more. The likes of Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark and Alain Prost have all tasted victory there. Now, the grid of 2020 will get the chance to add their name to that illustrious list. But why return now?

“There are many reasons,” said F1 boss Chase Carey. “We’re excited to grow this sport in new markets like Vietnam but it is important to continue to build the foundation of the sport in Europe, which is the home of F1. It’s where it was built. So to go back to Zandvoort, which has such a rich history, is very important to us.

“The Dutch have a great passion, they are very excited. Their fans have been an incredible part of our sport. The sea of orange in places like Austria and Spa has been wonderful. Max is a star in our sport. Clearly he adds a dimension of excitement to the opportunity to race in the Netherlands.

“It’s a multi-year deal. We are looking forward to building a partnership, which we think will be very special.”

What happens next?

Although a race date has not yet been formally confirmed, work will quickly get underway at Zandvoort. “There is now a lot of preparation needed to bring the circuit up to the required safety standards to host a Formula 1 race,” said FIA President Jean Todt, “and we will work towards this together with Formula 1, KNAF – the Dutch ASN – and the circuit organisation.”

“The circuit and infrastructure will be modernized within a few areas, with the work completed well ahead of the race in 2020,” added Jan Lammers, a veteran of 23 Grand Prix starts and now Dutch Grand Prix Sporting Director. “In addition, the municipality of Zandvoort has recently invested heavily to improve access to the municipality and the circuit.”

So, a lot of work to do - but the excitement is already building!

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Perez looking forward to Monaco after ‘weekend to forget’ in Spain

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Lance Stroll ended his Spanish Grand Prix in the gravel, having made contact with the McLaren of Lando Norris. But finishing the race in Barcelona didn’t appear to make his team mate Sergio Perez any happier, as the Mexican struggled to a lowly 15th place – leaving him looking forward to this week’s test sessions at the same circuit to provide some answers for his team’s dramatic pace deficit.

The weekend wasn’t auguring well for Racing Point when the team locked out the eighth row of the grid in qualifying, with just the Williams pair and the Alfa Romeo of Antonio Giovinazzi behind them – and with Stroll having failed to make it out of the first segment of qualifying for the ninth Grand Prix in a row, having crashed his RP19 in Free Practice 1.

Their pace didn’t improve come race day either, Stroll’s fastest lap of the Grand Prix slower than both of the Williams’, while Perez lost out in the final third of the race to both Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen as he eventually fell to 15th. And despite admitting on Saturday that Barcelona had “never been our best circuit over the years, so I'm not too concerned”, Perez was still hungry to get to the bottom of Racing Point’s pace issues over the coming weeks.

“It was a tough weekend, all in all,” he said. “Unfortunately it was as expected in the race – the whole race was difficult for us, but I’m looking forward to Monaco.

“It’s a weekend to forget, [but] luckily we have some testing on next week so hopefully there we can analyse and see what we can do better for the coming races.”

“We simply didn’t have the pace to challenge for points in the closing stages,” agreed Racing Point Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer post-race. “It’s one of those races where track position is especially important and it was difficult to make much progress...

“We will take this one on the chin and focus on learning more about the car in the test... so that we can come back stronger for Monaco and beyond.”

Perez will be out on track in the RP19 on the first day of testing in Barcelona as he tries out prototype tyres for Pirelli, alongside Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. Stroll planned to take over that role on the second day, while the team’s simulator driver Nick Yelloly would be Racing Point’s ‘regular’ runner across both days of the test.

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Ferrari, Red Bull max out on softs for Monaco

Ferrari, Red Bull max out on softs for Monaco

Ferrari and Red Bull have opted for the maximum available 11 sets of the C5 Pirelli tyre for the Monaco Grand Prix, with Formula 1 teams widely favouring the softest compound.
The street race in the Principality will mark the first appearance of the C5 compound, the softest in Pirelli's 2019 range, in a grand prix weekend.

With tyre wear minimal in Monaco, and qualifying being more important than at any other venue in the calendar, teams have largely forsaken the harder C3 and C4 tyres in favour of the C5.

Red Bull pair Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly, as well as Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel, will each have 11 sets of the soft available in Monte Carlo, leaving them with just a single set of the medium C4 and the hard C3.

The two teams are the only ones on the grid to make such an extreme selection, with most outfits – including the championship-leading Mercedes team – selecting 10 sets of softs.

For Mercedes pair Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton, this will provide them with an additional set of the medium instead.

Williams and Racing Point have selected the fewest number of soft-tyre sets on the grid at nine for each of their drivers, with Williams opting for a field-high three sets of the medium.

Renault and Haas are the only outfits to split selection between their drivers.

Monaco GP tyre selections

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BARCELONA TEST DAY 2: MAZEPIN MAKES IT LOOK VERY EASY

Nikita Mazepin

Nikita Mazepin underlined the superiority of the Mercedes W10 when he topped the timing screens on the second and final day of Formula 1 testing at Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.

The Russian, who has had previous experience in F1 testing with Force India, was in the silver cockpit for the first time in what is believed to be his induction programme which will include running a 2017 car in select private tests as he is groomed by his billionaire father for F1.

As George Russell did in Bahrain when he tested for the World Champions, Mazepin ended the day quickest of all suggesting anyone who drives the silver cars will be at the sharp end of proceedings, so good is their car.

The Russian 20-year-old, competing in F2 this season with ART Grand Prix, also completed more laps (128)  than any other driver on the day. Notably, he was using the softest tyre available and his time of 1:15.775 compares to Valtteri’s best effort of 1:15.551 set a day earlier, in similar conditions.

In other words, the W10 is plug-and-play even for a driver of Mazepin’s capabilities and inexperience. Of course, no discredit to him at all but he made it look very easy.

Beyond the above comparison, lap times revealed nothing on a day in which each team ran separate and independent programmes.

Teams report from day two of in-season testing at Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona:

Mercedes

Report: 20-year-old Russian racer Nikita Mazepin completed his first day of testing at the wheel of the Mercedes W10, logging 128 laps in Barcelona. The team continued with aero data collection and power unit work on Wednesday, completing a long run programme in the morning before moving to single lap runs in the afternoon to allow Nikita to gain experience on the three softest tyre compounds. Mercedes-Benz Power Units completed a total of 1,946 km today.

Nikita Mazepin: “Today was incredible. Being a part of this team, even just for this day was very special for me. It’s every young driver’s dream to drive a car like this and today mine came true, so I’m really happy. Importantly it was a successful day on track too, we gathered most of the data we set out to collect, we didn’t encounter any problems and from my side I felt I could deliver consistently throughout the day – which is important for the team. In the afternoon we were competitive on the performance runs and the car felt great. Everyone in the team is working so hard and you can feel that when you sit in this car.”

Ron Meadows, Sporting Director: “It’s been another successful day here in Barcelona and we managed to complete all of the programme we had planned. We spent the first three-quarters of the day focused on aerodynamic and Power Unit development testing, before switching to one-lap performance runs, working through the different specifications of the tyre with Nikita. He did a really superb job today, just as we expected he would.”

Red Bull

Report: Dan Ticktum was behind the wheel for the second and final day of the Barcelona test, completing a total of 79 laps. Taking over from Pierre Gasly, who ran yesterday, Dan continued development work in the RB15 running on both the C2 and C3 tyre. Today’s running was Dan’s second day in the RB15, having made his testing debut last month at Sakhir in the test that followed the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Dan Ticktum: “I think for the Team, data-wise, we got what we wanted as today was about executing a specific run plan rather than setting purple sectors. We had a driveline issue this morning which cost us a few hours but the running that we did get was positive. There will be more feedback later in the week, but overall, at the moment, everyone’s satisfied.”

Simon Rennie, Group Leader Simulator Engineering: “It was a full programme of aero testing today. Some of that was about understanding the car that we have, and the rest was assessing future developments. The issue that we had at midday kept us in the garage for a few hours and it was a shame to lose that time but the running we had was very useful.”

“Dan had a good day. As was the case in Bahrain, he did everything we asked him to do. There were many complicated procedures to master and he did them all faultlessly. It was interesting having him back in the car six weeks on from the Bahrain test, as he was able to relate to us the areas in which he felt the car has improved since the start of April.”

Ferrari

Report: Scuderia Ferrari added a further 247 laps to their total. Antonio Fuoco and Charles Leclerc were driving today. The Italian was working for the team, while the Monegasque driver was carrying out tyre development work for Pirelli.

In the first four hours of track time, Charles did 73 laps at the wheel of his SF90, with a best time of 1’18”666, while Antonio did 66 laps. The Italian did not push too hard on the opening laps, as he got to grips with the actual car, having covered a very high mileage in the simulator.

It was Fuoco’s first drive in a current machine, as his last test dated back to 2016, when the technical specification of the cars was quite different. Antonio ran both the C2 and C3 tyres, while trying some specific components in a series of short runs, to continue the car’s development programme, which allowed him to make a first-hand comparison with driving in the simulator. His best time was a 1’18”182.

After the lunch break, Leclerc continued the development work for the sport’s sole tyre supplier, some of it already looking at 2021, while Fuoco concentrated on some long runs, which helped him get a good understanding of the SF90. Charles covered a total of 127 laps (591 km), with a best time of 1’17”349. Antonio did 120 (559 km) and also tried the C4 compound tyres. His best lap was a 1’17”284.

Over the two days of testing, Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow did a total of 512 laps, equivalent to 2,383 kilometres. The team will be back in action on Thursday next week when free practice starts for the sixth round of the season, the Monaco Grand Prix, which is also Charles Leclerc’s home race.

Antonio Fuoco: “It was a positive day. We completed various tests and ran a total of 120 laps. In terms of the programme, we concentrated on short runs with different tyre compounds in the morning followed by longer runs in the afternoon and performance runs at the end of the day.”

“The car felt really good to drive. It will be important for us to analyse the data we collected today, as well as the correlation with the simulator, given that I do a lot of work in it. I really enjoyed the day and would like to thank the team for this opportunity.”

Haas

Report: Building on the 103-lap tally set by test driver Pietro Fittipaldi on Tuesday, Magnussen clocked 46 laps by the mandatory lunch hour – the Dane ending the morning session fastest overall with a best time of 1:18.101, set on the Pirelli P Zero C3 tire. An extensive afternoon run plan added a further 60 laps as Magnussen circulated exclusively on the C3 rubber to conclude testing at the 4.655-kilometer (2.892-mile), 16-turn track. His pre-lunch hot lap remained his fastest placing him seventh overall from 13 drivers participating.

Kevin Magnussen: “I was happy to get a lot of laps on a test like this straight after a race weekend. It’s really useful to be able to evaluate everything back-to-back. We’ve tried some interesting stuff and gathered a lot of data to go through. We’re not chasing a lap time, we’re giving specific feedback, gathering data. Some things were good, some not so, but it’s testing, so we’re trying stuff that’s not necessarily going to make you faster – you’re just getting information to help you make progress. Overall though, it’s been a productive test day. I’m happy.”

Toro Rosso

Alexander Albon: “I think it was a very productive day as we completed all the runs we had planned. We learned more about the updates we brought here for the weekend and how they were working – I’m sure we will be able to take a lot of the things we learned from the test to the next races. On my side, I’m understanding more how I want the car to be and where I want the setup for Qualifying. All in all, we got a lot done today.”

Guillaume Dezoteux, Head of Vehicle Performance: “Today we had a productive day again in Montmeló. Alex took over from Daniil and completed some very important aero data gathering that kept us busy for most of the morning session. Before lunch time, despite the two red flags, we managed to perform a couple of short runs on the C3 tyre compound for further tyre optimization.

“The wind picked up in the afternoon which made the car more inconsistent and difficult to drive for Alex. We focused on suspension setup to explore different approaches on the C2 rubber which was working well for him during the race. We followed this sequence by a couple of test items on the C3 compound and finally moved to the C4 to conclude on performance runs.

“We can be very happy how the in-season tests went for us. Both cars and the PU ran reliably, the drivers didn’t make any mistakes and the team has been able to bring home a huge amount of data to analyse. Obviously, it is a challenge to stop testing that early in the season with 16 races still to go, but we are looking forward and we will do our best to improve our package from the data gathered here.”

Honda

Masamitsu Motohashi, Deputy Technical Director: “We had another useful day of testing, following a similar programme to yesterday. That means we worked on some items aimed at long term development, while also looking at PU settings that we might run in Monaco, where practice starts in a week’s time. Our PU worked smoothly over the two days and we completed a total of 231 laps with Scuderia Toro Rosso. Monaco GP is next on our agenda, so we’ll be analysing all the data we gathered here to make further improvements for this event.”

McLaren

Sergio Sette Camara, Test and Development Driver: “Driving the McLaren Formula 1 car was an amazing opportunity for me today. I was able to learn some new procedures, see how the car felt and do a few flying laps. It’s a shame we had to cut the day short, but from my side I learned a lot and I’m really happy to have had the chance to drive a car like that. Thank you to everyone at McLaren for the experience and I hope to be able to repeat it again in the future.”

Oliver Turvey, Test and Development Driver: “It was great to be back in the car for my first run this year. With all the simulator work I’ve been doing with the team, it’s great to get a feeling for the actual car and give some feedback to the race engineers at the track. It’s also helpful for correlation with the simulator, which we can work on when I get back to the factory. This test has been useful for the rest of the season as we continue to develop the MCL34.”

Andrea Stella, Performance Director: “Today was another useful day of testing with Oliver and Sergio at the wheel. Both of them adapted very quickly to the car and did a good job in helping us to complete our test programme, together with providing some interesting feedback on the behaviour of the car.

“The programme was once again fundamentally focussed on gathering data on the aerodynamics of the car and some set-up items in preparation for the coming races. The day’s running ended slightly earlier than planned due to an issue with the car that we are currently investigating. Despite this, it was a smooth couple of days.”

Racing Point

Racing Point F1 Team completed a second and final day of running at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with Nick Yelloly once again on track in the RP19. Lance Stroll was behind the wheel of a second car to support the Pirelli testing programme.

Brad Joyce, Head of Trackside Performance: “Conditions have been a bit more challenging today, with higher winds creating a dusty circuit and making things a little less straightforward. Turns three, nine and twelve in particular have been very tricky. Nonetheless, it’s been a useful session.”

“Lance has driven the Pirelli car today and completed the full programme for them. With Nick in the test car, we focused on long-term aero development and correlation work. He’s done a good job – driving well, giving accurate feedback and not putting a foot wrong. Monaco is a very different circuit to Barcelona, but we’ve gathered a lot of data during this test which will be useful next week and for the races beyond.”

Alfa Romeo

Report: Two pre-season test sessions, a filming day, a full race weekend and two post-race test days after we first set foot at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in 2019, it is finally time to pack our things and leave Spain for the remainder of the year (on a professional basis, at least. We’re not telling you where to spend your holidays).

The final of these 15 days of on- and off-track action was a solid affair – surely less headline-grabbing than yesterday’s, but we’ll take that. We like our C38 in one piece and our mechanics look a lot more relaxed than they did 24 hours ago (what a splendid job they did, getting the car back into shape for today’s running!).

Kimi Räikkönen: “It was a pretty good day in the car. After yesterday’s issues we had to change our testing programme slightly but we managed to go through all the different things we wanted to try. We had the chance to work with different compounds, we worked on the set-up and we put a few different parts on the car, so it was a busy day. I feel that if we did the race weekend again, we’d be stronger than we were.”

Williams

Dave Robson, Senior Race Engineer: “We had a successful and productive morning completing over 50 laps and gathering useful information on some test components. The morning running came to an end just before the allotted lunch break when the car unexpectedly stopped on the start-finish straight. Resolving this issue took a little while but the team worked hard and diligently to ensure that we could return to the track and complete the most important afternoon work.”

“Our in-season testing campaign is now over for 2019 and our attention will return to learning during Free Practice sessions at race weekends. Nicholas has done a superb job throughout this test and this has been crucial to our testing programme. We now look forward to having him back in the car in Canada where he will continue to assist our development programme.”

“The trackside team have worked extremely hard over the last week or so in Barcelona and they can now look forward to a few days of rest before we move on to Monaco for Round Six of the Championship.”

Nicholas Latifi: “Day two from a driver’s point of view was more interesting than day one. I got to trial some of the softer compound of tyres, I used the C3, C4 and C5 which is fun to push a bit more. I tried some new development items that were brought to the car. In F2 we normally make a few balance changes, whereas this was putting something completely new on the car. It was interesting to see how that affected the car and for me to give feedback to the team.”

“Unfortunately, we had a problem that cost us one or two runs at the end of the morning and delayed our afternoon session by a few hours. However, we were still able to get back out and do some high fuel running which is good for my experience. Overall, I am pleased with the two days of testing and I look forward to my next outing with the team for FP1 at the Canadian Grand Prix.”

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MARKO: WE TOOK ONE STEP FORWARD BUT MERCEDES TOOK TWO

1-vettel-leclerc-verstappen-15-May-19-4-56-59-PM.jpg

While Mercedes powered off into the distance at the Spanish Grand Prix, Red Bull also made progress so much so that team consultant Helmut Marko is confident that they are now ahead of Ferrari but admits he is alarmed by the pace shown by the World Champions in Barcelona.

On Sunday, the Silver Arrows racked up their fifth one-two in as many races this season. They were in another league all weekend, at least a second faster than their rivals in race and quali guise no matter what the stats say.

Next best turned out to be Max Verstappen who had no answer for the pacesetters but was the proverbial “stone in the shoe” for Ferrari as he split Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc in qualifying and then a day later went one better than of both of them in the race to score a notable podium for Honda power.

Speaking to Salzburger Nachrichten, Marko summed up the weekend for his team, “We are heading in the right direction, now we have to keep fighting. We are happy to have taken the first step, now we are ahead of Ferrari. Everything went well for Max, he delivered the maximum.”

While Red Bull may have ticked Ferrari off their to-do-list, Mercedes are another matter altogether as the World Champions found half a second between Baku and Barcelona with their package. They topped the pecking order after qualifying in Azerbaijan by three-tenths of a second. Two weeks later, in Spain, that gap was eight-tenths of a second.

During the race after 20 laps, eventual winner Lewis Hamilton had a 12 second lead over Verstappen, 15 seconds on Leclerc and over 20 seconds gap to Vettel. Thereafter the gap stabilised, but that early spell revealed the firepower in the silver cars when it needed to be unleashed.

Notably, after the safety car spell (caused by the collision between Lando Norris and Lance Stroll) there were still 15 laps to go, with drivers able to bolt on fresh rubber, the Ferrari duo and Verstappen opted for the mediums. At that stage of the race, neither Ferrari were quicker than the Red Bull who had a slight edge.

While Verstappen was happy to be on the podium, he made it quite clear who held all the aces, “Mercedes is faster than us in all respects.”

Marko agreed, “We took a step forward, but Mercedes appear to have made two.”

The Austrian doctor scoffed at comparisons to the era in which Red Bull dominated the top flight, “We were never nearly so dominant. There were also two or three changes in the regulations each year that served to hold us back, but nobody seems interested in doing that at the moment.”

Reading between the lines, the Red Bull chief is unrealistically implying that the powers that be should devise a way to reel in the massive advantage that the German team has at the moment.

However, if that means somehow restricting their mighty PU, how would that affect Williams and Racing Point who as clients supposedly use the exact same package? Ironically both Mercedes-powered teams bottom of the pecking order after the weekend in Spain.

Marko added, “We know where we lose time, we are not losing overall, but rather in specific slower corners, but it is significant. It’s alarming how fast were through the slower corners and we know that Monaco is all about slow corners.”

He was, of course, referencing the next round in Monte-Carlo where last year Daniel Ricciardo won the sport’s most glamorous race where, traditionally, Red Bull have been strong and will be quietly hoping that the legendary street circuit will play in their favour again.

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IT’S OFFICIAL, FERRARI ARE IN CRISIS!

leclerc-binotto.jpg

It’s official, Ferrari are in crisis! Italian media have officially declared a crisis at Maranello after the team’s dismal start to the season coupled to their disappointing Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday where they may have dropped to third in the pecking order and way behind Mercedes.

Post-Barcelona stats show that in qualifying the Reds were short eight-tenths of second to the pole-winning time set by Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas and, a day later, Sebastian Vettel was 20 seconds behind race leader Lewis Hamilton on lap 18 of the race. Had the safety car not concertina-ed the field late on in the contest the deficit might have been over a minute.

Needless to say, this did not go down well with the Italian media, who not long ago were baying for the blood of Maurizio Arrivabene, are now questioning the wisdom of putting Mattia Binotto in charge of the world’s most famous race team.

In Spain, after locking out the front row in qualifying, Mercedes went on to power to their fifth one-two finish of the season – Hamilton first and Bottas second – neither bothered by challengers while Ferrari were only good for fourth and fifth with Sebastian Vettel followed home by Charles Leclerc.

Since Sunday evening the headlines in Italy were ruthless as they trumpeted: “Spanish siesta”, “Red Bull the thorn in the side of Ferrari” and “Mercedes and Red Bull grow, Ferrari remains stagnant with all its updates” to mention a few.

Editorials were all pretty scathing but at the same time showing respect by tipping their hats to Mercedes and the powerhouse team they have become under Toto Wolff’s watch.

Daniele Sparisci wrote in Corriere Della Sera, “The red crisis is profound and, in Barcelona, it exploded in all its gravity. The return to Europe was to be the turnaround, instead it was the lowest point of the season.”

Corriere Dello Sport led with the headline “Ferrari Crisis” and wrote: “Total domination by Mercedes in Spain, they have managed a fifth consecutive double win in five Formula 1 races. Ferrari suffer another knockout blow. The world championship is slipping away from the drivers of Maranello.”

Formula Passion summed up: “Despite the many new updates brought to Barcelona, Ferrari could not even make it to the third step of the podium.”

But it was Ferrari insider Leo Turrini, Italy’s F1 poet of sorts, who asked the most pertinent questions: “Who will the Binotto report to tonight? To himself? To Elkann? To Camilleri? But then, who is Camilleri? The truth is that… there is no one. And with this in mind, we can understand everything that is wrong.”

MIKA: NO offense, but there are too many Italians managing this team, not enough Ross Brawns, Jean Todts etc. Bring back the old days and have other non Italians manage/ Engineer the team. 

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STOREY: WE HAVE 90-MILLION CANS BUT THEY ARE NOT FILLED

william storey, rich energy

Interesting observations made by a judge sitting in the Whyte Bikes versus Rich Energy copyright case have emerged about the Haas title sponsor who have been ordered to change their stag logo which was deemed copied from the logo used by the bicycle manufacturer.

In the dock for copying the logo were “the Second Defendant, Mr William Storey, the director and sole
shareholder of the First Defendant [Rich Energy]. The Third Defendant, Staxoweb Limited,
is a digital marketing company founded by Mr Sean Kelly, who is a childhood friend of Mr Storey.”

Judge Melissa Clarke summed up her findings on Tuesday, “What is sought, amongst other things, is an injunction which would require the removal of the logo of the First Defendant, Rich Energy Limited, from the Formula 1 race car and website of the Rich Energy Haas Formula 1 motor racing team.”

The stag logo appears on the cockpit, halo and front wing endplates of the Haas VF19 as part of Rich Energy’s title sponsorship of the American team.

She added, “I do not accept either Mr. Storey or Mr. Kelly as credible or reliable witnesses and I treat all of their evidence with a high degree of caution.”

In section 33 of her final judgement, the Judge made some telling observations regarding Storey and Rich Energy, “Mr Storey provided different and inconsistent accounts of the development of D1’s Device, which also conflicted to a large extent with the evidence of Mr Kelly.”

“He often did not answer questions directly, preferring to make speeches about his vision for his business or alternatively seeking to evade questions by speaking in generalities or in the third person plural. He only answered several questions when I intervened.”

“He had a tendency to make impressive statements, which on further investigation or consideration were not quite what they seemed.”

“For example, when Mr Wyand in cross-examination tried to understand his evidence about the sales figures of Rich Energy drinks, and put to him that he had been quoted in the press in February 2019 as saying that the First Defendant had produced 90 million cans, Mr Storey explained that it had produced 90 million cans, but had not yet filled and sold them.”

“He said he would have to check the figures, but in 2018 he thought the First Defendant had filled and sold “circa 3 million cans” of Rich Energy drink.”

To put this into perspective, Red Bull sold 6.8-billion cans of their fizzy drinks in 2018, which amounted to €5.541 billion in turnover for the organisation that fields two teams in Formula 1.

If Rich Energy sold 3-million cans as Storey claimed, at €2.00 per can, that’s €6-million income for the start-up but in reality a pittance in a sport which gobbles up money like a vacuum cleaner on steroids.

Red Bull sells 3-million cans every four hours, every day of the year…

Haas_car_1.jpg?v=1557829391

Inevitably many questions arise, including:

  • How much are Rich Energy paying Haas for title sponsorhip?
  • Where is Rich Energy finding the money to pay Haas?
  • Are Haas actually getting paid by Rich Energy?
  • Where is the warehouse with the 90-million empty Rich Energy cans?
  • You [reader] ask away in the comments below.

Judge Clarke continued, “In another example, he stated in an impassioned fashion that he was “not in the business of trying to create a world-class business by taking any inspiration from anybody else whatsoever”, but his own written evidence was that his starting point when thinking about developing a logo was to carry out logo research on High Court Approved Judgment: ATB Sales Limited v Rich Energy Limited and Ors what other drinks companies were doing, and to carrying out internet searches on stag head logos used by other companies.”

“For reasons which I set out below, I am satisfied that some of Mr Storey’s evidence was incorrect or misleading and that he was involved in the manufacture of documents during the course of litigation to provide additional support for the Defendants’ case,” concluded the Judge.

In the wake of the judgement, Whyte Bikes released a statement which included: “The result is that Rich Energy’s logo has been held to infringe the copyright in the Whyte logo, entitling ATB to an injunction and damages or an account of Rich Energy’s profits.”

“Whilst the Rich Energy drink has proved almost impossible to find or purchase the visibility of the Rich Energy brand has recently increased, coming to the attention of F1 viewers as a result of their sponsorship of the Rich Energy Haas F1 Team, whose cars both feature multiple applications of the copied Whyte Bikes logo.”

MIKA: HAAS should sever ties with this scam ASAP!

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