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Bottas and Red Bull win 2018 DHL Awards

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Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull may have missed out on glory in their respective championship charges this season - but DHL, the global Logistics Partner of Formula 1, made sure it wasn’t a trophy-less end to the season for them. Mercedes driver Bottas was honoured with the Fastest Lap Award in Abu Dhabi, while the Fastest Pit Stop accolade went to Red Bull…

DHL Fastest Lap Award

Bottas has had a tough time this season. While Lewis Hamilton romped to 11 victories and in doing so claimed a fifth world championship, the Finn failed to win a race all year – becoming the first winless Mercedes driver since Michael Schumacher in 2012. With the season done and dusted, he’ll now have some time to reflect on what went wrong on track over the winter- but he’ll take some solace from the fact that he’s won the DHL Fastest Lap Award for the first time...

“I’m happy to receive this trophy. It was quite a tough season for me personally, I was expecting more, but receiving this award brings back positive memories from this year. It also shows that I had a very decent pace in most of the races. I’ll find a special place for this trophy back at home,” said Bottas.

Since 2007, the DHL Fastest Lap Award has been presented to the driver with the highest number of fastest laps in a Formula 1 season, with Bottas leading the way with seven blistering laps this term. The new-for-2018 tyre compounds - with Pirelli introducing their softest-ever compound, the pink-walled Hypersoft – saw 10 lap records set during this season.

And it was also a season that saw history made, with another Finn setting the fastest ever lap in F1 history. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen lapped Monza at an average speed of 263.587 km/h (163.785 mph), demonstrating not only his prowess behind the wheel, but the incredible performance levels of the current era of F1 machinery.

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DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award

This year’s race to win the DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award went down to the wire, with Red Bull and Ferrari fighting it out for the top honours in Abu Dhabi. It was the former who came out on top, delivering the shortest service times, and consistently excellent team performance in the pits over the course of the season.

Pit stops require speed, cooperation and efficiency – attributes that are also crucial to DHL – and split-second decisions are needed for smooth stops, which are possibly the most visual evidence of why Formula 1 racing is a team sport. The DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award was established in 2015 to recognise outstanding teamwork and performance from the ‘unsung heroes’ who make a critically important contribution to the drivers’ success on the track, and this is the first time Red Bull have claimed the award.

A new points system was introduced last year for the DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award, and just like the points system for the driver and constructor championships, each team and each driver is evaluated on the basis of their respective fastest pit stop results in each of the races. The ten fastest pit stops are awarded points on a scale of one to 25: The fastest pit stop receives 25 points, while the tenth fastest receives one.

Red Bull won the 2018 prize, but Ferrari did achieve the fastest pit stop of the season at the Brazilian Grand Prix (on Sebastian Vettel's car) with a time of 1.97s, just shy of the world record of 1.92s set by Williams for Felipe Massa in 2016. All in all, there were 538 pit stops during the 2018 F1 season...

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Mercedes racing with pitot probes installed (and winning pole/the race) proves that that still have a substantial advantage over the field.

IMO Ferrari and Red Bull still have quite a ways to go. I don’t think Merc will be displaced so long as hybrids are the propulsion system of choice.

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23 minutes ago, avaldes said:

Mercedes racing with pitot probes installed (and winning pole/the race) proves that that still have a substantial advantage over the field.

IMO Ferrari and Red Bull still have quite a ways to go. I don’t think Merc will be displaced so long as hybrids are the propulsion system of choice.

I agree however saying this, one would think that RBR and Ferrari could have thought about the probes themselves also? Install at the last race so they utilize the information for next season? I'm a little baffled by the lack of thinking or initiative by the top teams.

As for Hybrids, they're here to stay I think... :( 

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ABU DHABI FORMULA 1 TEST DRIVER LINE-UP

Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.Friday 12 May 2017.World Copyright: Andy Hone/LAT Imagesref: Digital Image _ONZ4076

In the wake of the final race of the season, Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina on Sunday, Formula 1 cars will be run in anger one last time this year during Pirelli testing at the UAE venue on Tuesday and Wednesday.

There will be added interest in proceedings as several drivers will take the opportunity to try out for the teams they will race with next year.

McLaren will run both Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz, the pair will spearhead the team’s new era with Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne leaving the team after a season of hopelessness.

Sainz will be able to evaluate how bad the McLaren really is, or isn’t, compared to the Renault he has driven this past season. For rookie Norris, any mileage is good mileage.

New Ferrari youngster Charles Leclerc will be on duty on day one for the Reds, the Frenchman also marking a new era for the Italian team who have opted for a mix of youth (him) and experience, with Sebastian Vettel in the sister car.

Leclerc will now have to transform from the relative obscurity of Sauber to the hard spotlight of centre stage where the Reds always are no matter what. It would be fair to say that his life, as he knows it, will be very different from Tuesday onward when he slides into the SF71H as a fully fledged Ferrari driver.

After the summer break, Red Bull announced that Pierre Gasly would get the nod to partner Max Verstappen next year and on Tuesday the Frenchman will be at the wheel of RB14 for the first time.

Toro Rosso’s prodigal son Daniil Kvyat returns to action ahead of his second (or is it third?) crack at the top flight and will test for the team on Wednesday, with Sean Galeal on duty a day earlier.

The Red Bull-owned team’s new signing Alexander Albon is not on the schedule.

Lance Stroll will finally make his debut for Force India, the team his father Lawrence bought earlier this year to further his son’s career, after a year of misery with Williams.

His feedback and comparisons between the handy VJM11 and the hopeless FW41 will be interesting as both are powered by Mercedes. Notably, the Pinks at times this season were Best of Rest while the Grove outfit were more often than not consistently the worst of the worst.

Williams will field their all-new driver line-up of Formula 2 Champion George Russell and Robert Kubica – the pair sharing the car on both days.

Renault will run Nico Hulkenberg on Tuesday and promising Formula 2 driver Artem Markelov the day after. Their incoming driver, Daniel Ricciardo – on a farewell tour to Milton Keynes – will have to wait until next season to get his hands on the yellow and black car.

Haas have given their regular drivers an early break and will run Indycar driver Pietro Fittipaldi (one of Emerson’s clan) and Swiss Formula 2 midfield runner Louis Deletraz, the pair testing a Formula 1 car for the first.

Mercedes have given World Champion and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton an early vacation, with Valtteri Bottas in action for the team on both days.

Finally, Kimi Raikkonen has raised his hand and volunteered his services to his ‘new’ team Sauber who will run the veteran Finn on day one of the test. Another interesting comparison: SF71H versus C37.

2018 Abu Dhabi Pirelli Test driver line-up:

  • Mercedes: Valtteri Bottas (Both Days)
  • Ferrari: Charles Leclerc, TBC
  • Red Bull: Pierre Gasly, TBC
  • Force India: Sergio Perez (Tue AM), Lance Stroll (Tue PM, Wed)
  • Williams: George Russell (Tue AM, Wed PM), Robert Kubica (Tue PM, Wed AM)
  • Renault: Nico Hulkenberg (Tue), Artem Markelov (Wed)
  • Toro Rosso: Sean Gelael (Tue), Daniil Kvyat (Wed)
  • Haas: Pietro Fittipaldi (Tue), Louis Deletraz (Wed)
  • McLaren: Lando Norris (Tue), Carlos Sainz Jr. (Wed)
  • Sauber: Kimi Raikkonen, TBC

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10 hours ago, MIKA27 said:

I agree however saying this, one would think that RBR and Ferrari could have thought about the probes themselves also? Install at the last race so they utilize the information for next season? I'm a little baffled by the lack of thinking or initiative by the top teams.

As for Hybrids, they're here to stay I think... :( 

I think Ferarri and RBR are scratching for every ounce of performance to try to keep up. I don't think they were willing to take any hits due to the extra drag, else they fall further behind.

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MCLAREN PAYING HIGH PRICE FOR BAD DECISIONS

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It is no secret that McLaren’s decision to ditch Honda works Formula 1 engines for Renault customer units cost the Woking outfit $100-million, but the reality is that the team did not reach the heights they expected and one wonders if the change to Renault has been a total failure.

McLaren Group chairman Bahrain’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, boss of Mumtalakat investment fund which is the majority and controlling shareholder of the Woking organisation, told BBC of the Honda split, “It was an expensive decision” but added it was “in the long-term interests of the company.”

McLaren are going through the worst patch in their history. Performance is woeful, not even Fernando Alonso could do much with the MCL33 – probably the worst car ever built at Woking.

Preseason talk by members of the team who were bullish in predicting they could take on Red Bull with Renault power is now laughable. They believed their own calculations and claimed they had the best chassis in F1 last year! Broken calculator?

Since taking over team chief Zak Brown has not delivered on the sponsorship front which was meant to be his forte. The change to Renault engines (and success) would mean more sponsors it was trumpeted, wrong again.

On the management front, several heads rolled. Brown sent blameless Eric Boullier packing in July to be replaced by (pal?) Gil de Ferran, whose F1 experience is limited but had hovered in the background since the team’s foray to the Indy 500 last year. The intent now clear to all.

In retrospect, the Brazilian made no difference whatsoever to the team’s performance on track but then tech is not his domain, his role was supposed to “help” their drivers but his input made no difference to Stoffel Vandoorne’s form, while it is highly unlikely Alonso would be tapping into him for advice regarding F1.

What he has done for highly hyped rookie Lando Norris and will do for new boy Carlos Sainz remains to be seen.

Facts are, by coincidence or not, McLaren have gone backwards since De Ferran took over the role that Boullier once occupied. The team scored 44 points in the first nine races of the season with the Frenchman in the hot seat. Since his departure, under his successor, they have scored only 18 points.

The team finished sixth in this year’s championship mostly due to Alonso’s gutsy efforts. The Spaniard hauled in 50 points of the 62 points they scored this season.

With a lesser mortal in the car McLaren would have been lucky to score 20 or 25 all season. Without the ‘Fernando-factor’ they would have been ninth and only better than Williams, another once mega-force now reduced to a bottom-feeder in the Formula 1 bog.

Next year, thanks to McLaren, Honda will power the four Red Bull cars (Toro Rosso included) and only time will tell if they will be able to win races with the Japanese manufacturer.

The first year of the Toro Rosso-Honda was not entirely convincing on track in a season which was essentially test-lab for next year’s effort. But can Honda build a package to help Red Bull challenge the dominance of Mercedes or at least match Ferrari? We can only know in February…

As much as everyone at Red Bull are super motivated by the change, predictions of grandeur prevail, there is a smug confidence within the camp suggesting they know something we don’t.

But we have heard and seen this all before, not long ago, when so much was expected of the second coming of McLaren-Honda – we know how that ended.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Khalifa is wary of the possibility that Honda and Red Bull co-operative will succeed but is adamant his organisation and the Japanese company were in a failed partnership which could not be salvaged.

He explained, “On the one hand, frustrating. On the other, we are committed to this. The way we were heading, the change was bound to come. Tremendous respect for Honda but the relationship wasn’t working and so we had a civilised discussion and we decided to part ways.”

“We will see this through. Frustrating, because we are racers at heart, but you just have to power through,” added Sheikh Khalifa could learn from the Toyota F1 disaster a decade ago, which proved that throwing mega-money at a grossly mismanaged team does not buy success, instead it burns a serious hole in the pocket.

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BRAWN: F1 CAN’T GO ON LIKE THIS FOR TOO MUCH LONGER

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The gulf between the Big Three and The Rest in Formula 1 has grown, there are two clear divisions or championships (call it what you wish) at the pinnacle of the sport, a situation which sporting chief Ros Brawn insists cannot carry on unchecked.

Best midfielders are lucky to be within a second of the pole time, more like an average of 1.6 seconds and in race pace it’s not much different. One podium was all that was scored by a team outside of the top ten this year. Last year same story and the gap points between third and fourth after 21-rounds at a record high.

Brawn said of the situation, “As was the case in 2017, only once and significantly, on a very unusual street circuit like Baku, did a driver from one of those seven teams make it to the podium.”

“Two podiums from a total of 123 [across the two seasons] is unacceptable, especially when it comes with an ever-increasing technical and financial divide.”

“It’s a problem we are tackling together with the FIA and the teams because the future of Formula 1 depends on it. There are various solutions on the table and we must all accept that we can’t go on like this for too much longer.”

Of the tense F1 world championship title fight between Mercedes and Ferrari, “Their battle was certainly thrilling, however, it’s hard for the fans to truly get excited about a battle for eighth place.”

“Having said that, congratulations to Renault for finishing fourth, confirming the progress it is making and to Haas, as finishing fifth in only your third year in the sport is a great achievement,” added Brawn.

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HAAS ELECT NOT TO APPEAL FORCE INDIA DECISION

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Haas F1 Team will not appeal a decision by Abu Dhabi Grand Prix stewards to dismiss their protest over the official recognition of rivals Force India, the American outfit said on Wednesday.

Haas had argued that Force India, who went into administration in July and re-emerged under new ownership in August, had breached the rules and that the cars of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon should not be allowed to race in the season.

However, the North Carolina-based team was unsuccessful in their protest, as stewards at the season-ending race cleared Force India and recognised them as a new constructor whose cars were eligible to compete.

Haas finished fifth in the constructors’ championship on 93 points, two places above Force India, who lost all of the points they accumulated before the Belgian Grand Prix in August.

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LECLERC: OF COURSE IT WAS EMOTIONAL

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A new era for Ferrari kicked on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi as 21-year-old Charles Leclerc lowered himself into the SF71H and drove out of the pits – he was now officially a Ferrari Formula 1 driver.

Indeed the Monaco Kid has been on the Maranello payroll for some time now, but today it was official – he was a Ferrari driver – payback for all the hard work from his side and faith that the sport’s most iconic team have in him.

He is the second youngest driver in the history of the team which traditionally have chosen experienced drivers, with winning pedigree to race for them.

Not so anymore as Leclerc ousted their much loved (and last world champion) Kimi Raikkonen and will be Sebastian Vettel’s teammate in 2019, setting an intriguing dynamic within the team: youth versus experience.

On Tuesday, Vettel topped the timing sheets after the first day of Pirelli tyre testing, fast forward 24 hours and the team’s new youngster went one better, fastest on day two and quicker than Vettel was the previous day.

Leclerc said after his first official day with the Reds, “Of course it was emotional, because driving a Ferrari is special and because this was a day I had been waiting for, for so long without being sure if it would happen.”

“I am pleased about that and with the work we did. Our entire programme was based on comparison testing between this and next year’s tyres. For me, it was important because I also got to know the team better, although some were no strangers to me, given my time with the Ferrari Driver Academy.”

“Over the next few weeks, I will work to be in the best possible shape and to learn from everyone in the team and my team-mate. I can’t wait for next season to start…” added the young man who will become the 109th Ferrari driver when he lines up on the Melbourne grid next year for the 2019 F1 season opener.

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KVYAT: IT’S GREAT TO BE BACK

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The last time he hopped out of a Toro Rosso after the United States Grand Prix, Daniil Kvyat could not have believed he would be back with the team that have treated him like a yo-yo over the years and yet again given him another crack at the big league.

Speaking at the end of his first day back in Formula 1 action for the Red Bull junior team, Kvyat said, “I think today was a very positive and good day as we covered 155 laps, which is about three Grands Prix in one day.”

“To be honest, I felt comfortable and confident straight away in the car which was great. What’s important about today was we were able to test a good amount of tyres for next year, gathering a lot of useful information and data for the team. I’m feeling really comfortable here and it’s great to be back, I’m really looking forward to next year!”

After being axed last year by Red Bull, Kvyat was snapped up to do simulator work for Ferrari. A role he has had to give up to return to the grid next year.

Team chief Franz Tost said of his charge’s first day back at the team, “We were all more than happy to see Daniil back in Toro Rosso for the second day of testing, and he was able to immediately show a good performance.”

“With all of the new data we’ve gathered, the engineers have a valid platform on how to prepare and run the tyres next year. We’re already looking forward to the next season, Daniil and Alex [Albon] are very competitive drivers and we can’t wait to see them on track.”

Kvyat was a product of the Red Bull junior driver programme and was promoted to Formula 1 for the 2014 season with Toro Rosso.

He impressed enough to get promoted to the senior team alongside Daniel Ricciardo, his rise had been rapid but when he stepped up to Red Bull in 2015 he proved to be inconsistent and erratic, no match for Ricciardo. Four races into 2016 he was demoted back to Toro Rosso.

But the Russian failed to improve and was first dropped after the 2017 Singapore Grand Prix, and finally given his marching orders after a one-off appearance for the team in Austin that year. At the time the damage appeared terminal, but clearly not.

Ironically the driver who stepped up to replace him last year, Brendon Hartley, was the man Kvyat now replaces at the Faenza based outfit.

MIKA: DON'T BLOW IT and have another meltdown!

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Red Bull's late season surge "confusing" - Ricciardo

Red Bull's late season surge

Daniel Ricciardo admits that Red Bull Racing's surge of form in the latter part of the 2018 F1 season was "confusing" as there was no obvious explanation for the improved pace of the RB14.
Red Bull had pinned its hopes on a good race in Mexico, because the high altitude closed the gap between Renault and the main opposition.

However, the team was competitive at most venues in the last part of the season, suggesting that the its chassis development had outpaced that of Mercedes and Ferrari.

"This sport is so confusing at times," said Ricciardo. "Even Brazil I was amazed at the pace we had.

"At the start of the race I was coming through the pack, and normally you damage your tyres, but at that point I could still see I was faster than the Ferraris and the Mercedes.

"It was hard to overtake, but I knew we had the pace. I don't know if we got it right or the others got it wrong, but we've certainly been fast the last few races."

Asked if his departure to Renault meant he wasn't given full details about updates, he said: "Well, I probably wouldn't know anyway!

"This sport's so complex. But for sure they know their strengths. I think the aero this year has come on really strong, but even the whole geometry, suspension of the car.

"Things like this, you watch the other onboards of the other cars and see the other drivers' helmets move a lot, and ours are quite still.

"I think everything, the whole compliance of the car they've really nailed this year. I don't know the details but I think that's also one of the strong points of the team."

Max Verstappen stressed that the key was that Red Bull's updates generally worked as planned.

"We always improve the car, and I think every update we have put on the car has been working," he said. "So that's of course great, and I think other teams have struggled with putting new parts on the car which have immediately worked.

"So, I think in Brazil I was surprised in the race we were that quick, because I could see already after one lap, two laps, it was really easy to follow them, while everyone was in tyre saving mode.

"Mexico was definitely our target, we were still not sure how much we were gonna lose on the straight. I was quite happy that we could of course even it out."

Team boss Christian Horner acknowledged that the team made big steps after the August break.

"We made some good progress and development with the car," said Horner. "Really since just after the summer break we've managed to [improve].

"At Spa we were on the podium, we should have been on the podium at Monza, Singapore we were strong, Russia we were strong, obviously Japan, Mexico, Texas, there's been a strong sequence of podiums there.

"So we did make a lot of progress with the car in the second half of the year, and the car was very strong at the beginning.

"We lost ground around Montreal time when engine upgrades were introduced. We fell back from Mercedes and Ferrari, but after the summer break we managed to get into a competitive position again."

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Sainz feels recharged at McLaren after “killing” rivals in finale

Sainz feels recharged at McLaren after âkillingâ rivals in finale

Carlos Sainz made his track debut for McLaren in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday – just three days after claiming he “killed” the midfield opposition to finish sixth and secure best-of-the-rest honours for the first time in 2018.
In his last outing for Renault, Sainz started with a free choice of tyres having qualified 11th, and a marathon 37-lap first stint on ultrasofts saw him climb up the order to beat drivers who had started ahead on hypersofts.

Sainz made it clear that it was the perfect way to sign off at Renault and head to his new team.

“We’re opening a new chapter with a great result,” he said. “I’m going to McLaren with a great feeling, saying thanks to Renault after all this year-and-a-half, with full motivation and fully recharged.

“It was a very big result for us. P4 [in the championship] was our target, and today we just simply killed the opposition with that P6, and finished in style. Saying goodbye to Renault with this result was exactly what I was after.”

Speaking after today’s testing in Abu Dhabi, where he was fifth quickest in the McLaren-Renault MCL33, Sainz said: “Going out of the garage today on my first day as a McLaren driver was pretty much a dream come true. When I finally completed my first run I felt extremely good, and I must say it’s been a very straightforward day.

“The team has made me feel at home from lap one and from day one yesterday when I started working with them. I did a lot of laps today and I’m grateful to the team for giving me such a reliable car to be able to initiate me in this new chapter and new style of car.

“From the first lap to the 150th lap, I enjoyed them all; the feeling was good and we’ve been able to end the season in the best way possible. As soon as I got out of the box I felt comfortable in the car.

MIKA: Sainz may have killed the competition in the midfield, but I wonder if McLaren will continue to "Kill" driver reputations and careers with poor race cars?

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Force India says "mistakes" allowed McLaren to beat it

Force India says

Force India boss Otmar Szafnauer says that mistakes in the last few races of the Formula 1 season allowed rival McLaren to beat it in the standings.
Sergio Perez finished eighth in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, while an oil leak – believed to be from a pipe unrelated to Mercedes – led to an eventual retirement for Esteban Ocon.

The Silverstone-based team had to forfeit all its constructors' championship points after it changed ownership, starting again from zero at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Despite that, Force India finished 10 points shy of McLaren, and just four ahead of Sauber, after strong scoring by Charles Leclerc in recent races boosted the Swiss team's total.

"I think sixth was possible, but we just made some mistakes in the last few races," Szafnauer told Motorsport.com.

"Singapore was a big one, and we had a brake failure in Mexico. So that cost us sixth.

"There were points in the race today when we were mathematically ahead of McLaren, as before we pitted we were running fifth and sixth, but you've got to wait until the end.

"We're happy-ish. I think from where we were in Spa, sixth was achievable, but seventh is not bad. In Spa we were last, so to come back to seventh was pretty good."

Szafnauer also paid tribute to Ocon, who put in another feisty drive on his last outing with the team.

"He had a great race. He had some great battles with [Max] Verstappen again, clean ones, and I think at one point he avoided Verstappen running into him.

"Had he stayed on his natural line, Verstappen would have hit him. We'll miss him, but he won't be gone forever."

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TORO ROSSO: WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK BRENDON FOR HIS HARD WORK

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It took them long enough, or perhaps spurred on by Honda, Toro Rosso have come out and thanked Brendon Hartley for his services for the team after they ditched him in favour of Alexander Albon to partner their ‘prodigal son’ Daniil Kvyat.

Hartley, a two times WEC World Champion, was given a year and a bit to prove to his paymasters that he was the real deal with a future in Formula 1, but he underdelivered when it mattered while his teammate Pierre Gasly impressed enough to get promoted to Red Bull, while Hartley was axed from the programme.

Shortly after the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Honda thanked the 29-year-old for his services in a heartfelt way, pointing to his technical input as a strong trait.

Toro Rosso Statement:

Following the recent announcement that Alexander Albon will join Scuderia Toro Rosso to race alongside Daniil Kvyat in 2019, we would like to thank Brendon Hartley for his campaign with the team.

After a hugely successful sports car career, Brendon returned to Red Bull’s F1 family, making his Formula 1 debut with Toro Rosso at the 2017 United States Grand Prix.

Brendon has played an important role in the development of our partnership with Honda and his experience and feedback has proved highly beneficial. We wish Brendon all the best for the future.

Scuderia Toro Rosso Team Principal, Franz Tost, said: “We would like to thank Brendon for his hard work with the team. It was not an easy task to move from sports cars to Formula 1, especially at short notice.”

“His consistency over the final four races of 2017 earned him a 2018 race seat and, while ultimately we were not able to continue into 2019, he has been a key part of the team and aided the development of the Honda powertrain. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”

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RICH ENERGY TEASE WITH BLACK & GOLD LIVERY FOR HAAS

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Black & Gold will be back in Formula 1 next year as Rich Energy revealed a livery option for the Haas cars they will sponsor next year.

The colours hark back to the iconic JPS Lotus era, black cars with gold piping are etched in Formula 1 history. The likes of Mario Andretti, Ronnie Peterson, Emerson Fittipaldi, Jackie Ickx, Elio de Angelis, Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna had spells in black and gold.

The first time the black and gold livery broke cover was for the 1972 season as John Player Team Lotus and the final season in 1986 on the Lotus 98T. Overt tobacco sponsorship has since been banned.

The energy drinks company wrote on Twitter:

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Final designs yet to be decided but we are really looking forward to the new @rich_energy inspired livery with our partners the brilliant @HaasF1Team #F1 #HaasF1 #richenergy #getRich #partnership @castleairltd @westhamwomen @ATRacing99 @7RobLee

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VETTEL VERSUS LECLERC: LET THE GAMES BEGIN AT FERRARI

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As Ferrari hail in a new era of youth with highly-rated Charles Leclerc becoming the youngest driver in a red cockpit for the first time since Ricardo Rodriguez raced for the team in 1961, a move that will could make or break their star driver Sebastian Vettel.

By his own admission Vettel accepted that at times he failed the team by not bringing his A-game when it mattered this season and, as a result, a very good chance of dethroning the might of Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton went begging.

Now, after the Pirelli test in Abu Dhabi, with Leclerc ending the final day faster than all, including teammate Vettel who was three tenths slower a day earlier in the same car.

Needless to say, lap times are irrelevant at such tests, but inevitably this did trigger the first of what will be many chapters in the Vettel versus Leclerc tale that has started to unfold.

Luigi Perna, F1 correspondent for La Gazzetta dello Sport, gave a prelude to the Vettel-Leclerc ‘box-set’ in a discussion with Formula Passion.

They asked him: Will the arrival of Leclerc to partner Seb at Ferrari in 2019, instead of Kimi Raikkonen, further destabilise the German?

Perna replied, “I look at it from a positive perspective. The arrival of Leclerc can be an extra stimulus for Vettel, helping to raise the performance bar for both. This is not to say that Raikkonen was not fast enough compared to Seb and that Charles will be.”

“It is more a question of hunger, motivation and even ambition. Leclerc is young, he wants to make his name immediately and to show all his worth, as it should be for a talented young driver who aspires to become world champion.”

“It is not a question of arrogance, as the Monegasque driver explained, but that of determination and belief in his own abilities. A character trait that unites the best.”

“The chance to drive for Ferrari, the team with the most prestigious history in F1, alongside a four times world champion, this is a big jump for Leclerc.”

“At the same time, I think Vettel will bring out the best of himself to remain the number one in the team and avoid the risk of being overshadowed by the new kid. He has the pride and talent to do it.”

“Together they could provide the much needed added value for Ferrari next season because they potentially represent one of the strongest driver partnerships in the world, provided that  are managed intelligently.”

“They must avoid internal battles and bumping on track as happened with Hamilton and Alonso at McLaren [in 2007] or more recently between Verstappen and Ricciardo at Red Bull. Both should be primed to win races for the team and aim to win both drivers’ and constructors’ titles.”

“Harnessing Leclerc’s talent and preventing him from going for wins, putting him in the background so as not to disturb Seb would be a very serious mistake.”

“On that note, I was struck by what Maurizio Arrivabane said, which is, that Leclerc will gain experience best by learning from Vettel. I hope it’s a way to protect him, and not to load him with too much pressure. Whatever the case when you drive for Ferrari the pressure comes by itself.”

Perna concluded, “It is no secret that Vettel would have preferred to continue with Kimi, a teammate of whom he is a friend and who has never created problems, that for him would have been the most comfortable thing.”

“But as President Sergio Marchionne had rightly surmised, a shock was needed and perhaps it will be healthy for Seb.”

It would be fair to say that Vettel and Raikkonen had good a relationship during their partnership in red, but it was also clear that the German was number one in the team and the Finn often playing second fiddle until, of course, he learned at Monza his services were no longer required.

And notably, the #5 Ferrari never won a race after that!

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WILLIAMS CONFIRMS DEAL WITH KUBICA BACKERS PKN ORLEN

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Poland’s leading fuel and energy corporation PKN Orlen will have major branding presence on the Williams FW42 to be driven by Robert Kubica and George Russell in the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship.

PKN Orlen, who are backing Kubica’s return to the Formula 1 grid, are reportedly dishing out around $25-million (of the $30-million) required for two seasons with the team so that Poland’s favourite race driver can prove he still has the right stuff for the top flight.

Kubica’s well-documented journey from nearly severing his arm in a rally accident in 2011 to a seat in F1 in 2019, is the stuff of legend. Only time will tell if this will have a ‘lived happily ever after’ ending or not…

There were several pay drivers with an eye on the Williams seat, others in the loop included the likes of Esteban Ocon, Artem Markelov, Sergey Sirotkin and even Sergio Perez at one stage.

With Formula 2 Champion Russell chosen on merit by the Grove outfit, they made it clear a driver with a budget was required as the team’s title sponsor Martini have now departed, thus the combination of Kubica and PKN Orlen ticked all the right boxes.

Press Release:

Williams Racing has today announced a partnership with PKN Orlen, a leading player in the fuels and energy market.

PKN Orlen prides itself on innovation and technology whilst retaining a strong focus on value creation. The customer-orientated petrochemical business is present in over 90 countries, spread across six continents.

As part of the agreement, PKN Orlen will have branding on the rear wing, nose, intake system and both mirrors of the FW42. In addition, their logo will appear on the drivers’ helmets, driver and mechanics overalls and on team kit.

Claire Williams, Deputy Team Principal, commented, “We are pleased to announce that PKN Orlen will partner Williams Martini Racing for the 2019 season. Williams stands for technology, innovation and top-class engineering, and these synergies with PKN Orlen will help drive our partnership forward.”

Daniel Obajtel, CEO and President of the Management Board of PKN Orlen said, “Cooperation between PKN Orlen and Williams Martini Racing starts a new era for motorsports in Poland, as well as building the global reach of our brand. It is worth remembering that Orlen Group has assets in five countries in Europe and North America today. Our products are available in over 90 countries around the world. This means that we are looking for global communication channels to establish an international position. Involvement in Formula One racing is one of the most effective ways to promote our brand through sports sponsorship, and we are delighted to be entering the sport with Williams. With the team having just announced Robert Kubica as a race driver for 2019, the only Pole to have participated in Formula One, we want to accompany him on his journey back to the top.”

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Zero-tolerance track limits would "demean" F1 - Whiting

Zero-tolerance track limits would

FIA F1 race director Charlie Whiting says that the kerb before the final corner in Abu Dhabi reduced the need for penalties that he believes "demean" the sport.
While there was some controversy about the kerb's height – and the way it crumbled when cars ran over it – drivers generally accepted that it did its job.

Whiting said it was a good example of using a kerb to ensure that drivers could not gain by running wide, and thus there was no reason to regularly assess penalties.

"I'm not one for saying every time goes over the white line they should be penalised," Whiting explained when asked by Motorsport.com.

"If that's zero tolerance. Because as I've probably said countless times, leaving the track is not a penalty. Gaining an advantage from leaving the track is.

"We want to try to make sure that every time a driver leaves the track he doesn't gain anything from it, and preferably he loses time doing it.

"I think on that basis that kerb between Turns 20 and 21 has worked very well. I'm pretty sure you can ask any driver if he can gain anything by going onto that kerb, he'd say 'No.' That's exactly the sort of thing I think we should have.

"Generally, what we want to do is make sure the track enforces the limits.

"And we don't have to resort to marshals or judges of fact reporting every time a car goes over the line. It's something that is dreadfully tedious, and I think it demeans the sport."

Whiting said that it wasn't always straightforward to introduce similar kerbs.

"It's not very easy sometimes to implement those things on circuits where you have motorcycle races, and that is why that kerb, unusually, is permanent.

"Normally we have to ask them to put down temporary ones that they can take up for bike racing. These are the sorts of problems we have to face on many different circuits.

"In Barcelona there are four corners with kerbs like that, but they all have to come out for MotoGP.

"It involves a lot of work for the circuits to change it from one spec to the other, and trying to find a solution that works for both is very difficult, but we have managed it with the double kerbs.

"They are quite punishing for cars. The bikes are happy with them. So we've got something the circuits don't have to change."

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The early verdict on Pirelli's crucial 2019 changes

The early verdict on Pirelli's crucial 2019 changes

Pirelli is hopeful it has addressed several key areas that impacted Formula 1 races negatively in 2018 after the teams gained experience with their 2019 tyre compounds this week.
Abu Dhabi's two-day tyre test was an opportunity for all 10 teams to trial the new compounds, all of which have a revised construction and thinner tread.

The consensus among drivers was that the 2019 tyres did not feel significantly different to 2018 that is because the fundamental changes are not based primarily on peak performance.

Pirelli was already confident that its efforts to contain blistering that blighted several races this year would be successful, and has been buoyed by feedback of the new hypersoft tyre.

The softest compound in Pirelli's range suffered extreme graining this year, which made it difficult to use in the race.

Pirelli F1 boss Mario Isola said: "The first feedback is that the new hypersoft is a good tyre. In terms of performance it's very similar to the current hypersoft. It looks like the level of graining is reduced.

"That's exactly the target of this very soft compound."

Pierre Gasly, Red Bull Racing RB14

Temperature issues

As previously reported by Motorsport.com thinner-tread tyres will be used at every race in 2019 to combat overheating and blistering issues.

That follows a successful, albeit controversial, use of thinner-tread rubber at three grands prix in 2018.

Blistering occurs when the temperature of the tyres surpasses a certain threshold and this phenomenon happens more easily with thicker tread, which retains the heat and can cause chunks of the tyre to be torn from the surface.

This week's running was not particularly useful to testing the targeted 2019 improvements because the Yas Marina circuit lacks the high-speed corners that put high lateral stress on the tyres, the primary cause of blistering this year.

However, Pirelli conducted tests at Barcelona, Silverstone and Suzuka while developing the '19 compounds, so is confident it has met this demand.

What Yas Marina is good for is assessing how the tyres cope with overheating because of its many traction zones.

Drivers complained that sliding around while following other cars caused the surface temperature of the tyres to rise uncontrollably.

The hope is that changes to the tyre, combined with F1's front wing changes to make it easier for drivers to follow, will help ease this problem.

"We tried to design new tyres with the target to help with this effect, to reduce the overheating," said Isola.

"We received some estimations from the teams on the level of downforce expected [from their new wings] but not the influence of the turbulence from the car in front.

"This is information we don't have. But hopefully, with the new wings, it should be better."

Louis Deletraz, Haas F1 Team VF-18

Pirelli shelves the supersoft

Pirelli has also almost finished balancing its range of tyres next season.

It had already confirmed it would stop using a seven compound range (from softest to hardest) of the hypersoft, ultrasoft, supersoft, soft, medium, hard and superhard.

Next year it will nominate a 'hard', 'medium' and 'soft' tyre for each weekend – picked from a range of five compounds, depending on what is suitable for each track.

As well as a revised hypersoft to improve graining, Pirelli has altered all other compounds except the soft.

It needs to choose which ultrasoft compound to homologate by December 1. Pirelli ran two versions this week, with the softer of the two possibly too close in performance to the hypersoft, as it works to make a decision.

The medium and hard tyre will be slightly softer for 2019. This is to increase more strategic variety by equalising the performance gap between the compounds.

What was previously known as the supersoft has been eliminated because Pirelli deemed it was too close in performance to the ultrasoft.

As well as deciding which ultrasoft to homologate by December 1, Pirelli is closing in on a December 6 deadline to select its compounds for the 2019 season opener in Australia.

The teams will need to make their selections for pre-season testing for Barcelona and Melbourne, plus a draft selection for the rest of the first five grands prix, by December 13.

Artem Markelov, Renault Sport F1 Team R.S. 18

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Thank you all for reading the thread. :2thumbs:

Another season is over, pretty hard to believe how fast it has flown by.

Looking forward to seeing how much different next season turns out, I don't think it will be a massive change really, will be interesting to see moreso the change in drivers heading off to different teams. Biggest one for me will be to see if Charles Leclerc gives Vettel a run for his money. If he does, Seb might end up being Driver 2 in the team.

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VERSTAPPEN: IF HONDA FAIL THERE’S ALWAYS A PLAN-B

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One thing you cannot accuse Max Verstappen of lacking confidence, the 20-year-old Formula 1 superstar has sung the praises of Honda and welcomes Red Bull’s new engine era with relish but at the same time has revealed that if all fails there is a Plan-B.

In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Verstappen made a cryptic revelation when asked what would happen if Honda do not deliver next season (they haven’t for the past four years) the Dutchman replied, “There’s always a Plan-B.”

The fact, Verstappen suggests, that there is even a Plan-B, for Red Bull or himself, is an interesting disclosure and will probably come as news to Honda.

Before the cryptic quip, Verstappen said, “I really like this team and I’m sure we can build the fastest car ever. We only need an engine that can deliver at the top. Next year we must try to go for it and set the stage for 2020 with the goal to fight for the title.”

Time will tell if Honda will deliver the horsepower and reliability that Verstappen so craves. For now, by all accounts from within the camp, the Blues have reason to be optimistic.

During the interview the subject of Charles Leclerc’s move to Ferrari was broached by reporter Marco Belloro, the two drivers have crossed swords sporadically during karting and junior single-seater series’ in the past.

When asked if the Scuderia’s 21-year-old can challenge for the title next year, Verstappen replied, “It depends on the car he will have at his disposal. If it’s good enough, then he will be able to challenge for the championship.”

“I think I would have been able to fight for the championship already in my first year [with Red Bull] if I had a capable car. The age factor does not matter when you have the best car, you will always fight at the front and you’re safe from the elbowing in the midfield. The faster the car is, the easier it is for the driver”

“I remember Charles was very fast already in karts, but he was not the main opponent, especially in my last year of racing. We fought for the win two or three times, but we were really very young.”

“It is beautiful that we are driven by the same desire to excel,” added Verstappen who like Leclerc is expected to be at the forefront of Formula 1’s new generation of stars.

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