FORMULA 1

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Renault announce 2020 season launch date

Renault has become the latest Formula 1 team to reveal its launch plans ahead of the 2020 campaign.

The French marque will field Daniel Ricciardo for a second season alongside

Frenchman Esteban Ocon, who returns to racing after spending a year in a reserve role at Mercedes.

A season launch event will take place in the French capital, Paris, on February 12.

Renault revealed its plans in a post on social media with the slogan - Shared Passion, One Vision.

The Enstone-based team finished fifth in the 2019 Constructors' Championship after a difficult campaign which saw it fall one place from its 2018 finish.

In a bid to continue its plans to return to race-winning form, Renault has hired renowned engineer Pat Fry and former Williams and Ferrari aerodynamicist Dirk De Beer.

Alpha Tauri - formerly known as Toro Rosso – along with Ferrari and McLaren have also confirmed their season launch dates.

Launch dates:

Ferrari - February 11
Renault - February 12
McLaren - February 13
Alpha Tauri - February 14

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Bahrain would welcome future Saudi Arabia F1 race

Bahrain organisers say they would welcome a third Formula 1 race in the Middle East as a grand prix in Saudi Arabia looks close to becoming a reality.

Currently the Middle East has two races on the F1 calendar in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, which are separated by just 263 miles, but plans are afoot to introduce a third race in the Gulf, with Saudi Arabia reportedly close to agreeing a deal.

Whilst Bahrain is connected to Saudi by a 16-mile bridge, the Daily Mail reports that Jeddah is the most likely location for any race in the country – which is almost 800 miles west of Bahrain.

A spokesperson for the Bahrain race insisted they would therefore have no problem with a race in Saudi as it fits with their vision of growing motorsport in the region.

"Since our first race in 2004, our goal has been to grow the fanbase for motorsport in the region," they told the paper.

"We would, therefore, welcome initiatives which can support that growth and believe that a future race in Saudi Arabia would be complementary."

The reports goes on to add that the race could join the calendar as early as 2021 by using city streets, rather than a purpose built venue.

It would likely be the second addition to an already bloated calendar – which for the first time will feature 22 races in 2020 – as Miami draws closer to approving plans for a race in the Miami Gardens district surrounding the Hard Rock Stadium.

Saudi already hosts Formula E races which take place in Diriyah, just outside of the capital city of Riyadh and secured the rights to host the 2020 Dakar Rally which is currently underway.

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'Talented' George Russell will benefit from Williams' struggles – David Coulthard

Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard believes George Russell will eventually benefit from Williams' struggles, because it is giving the Britain a chance to learn without having to do it under the spotlight.

Formula 2 champion Russell joined F1 last year to spend his rookie season with Williams, however the team hit a particularly low point in an already difficult period, which has almost guaranteed that Russell would qualify on the back row every weekend alongside then team-mate Robert Kubica.

The duo have therefore had to fight one another, rather than the rest of the field. Russell enjoyed a qualifying whitewash over Kubica, qualifying ahead in all 21 races although the Polish driver finished ahead in the standings, thanks to a sole point scored in Germany.

Russell has been retained for 2020, which will likely mean another season at the back, but Coulthard isn't worried for the 21-year-old's future prospects, believing his talent and his connection to Mercedes will be enough to ensure he enjoys a long career in F1.

"I think he's a great talent who is cutting his teeth in Formula 1 largely off screen – he's so good that he doesn't even crash to get himself on television," commented Coulthard during a visit to Autosport International at the weekend.

"His talent is so strong that, with his relationship with Mercedes, I think it will be fine.

"He had a benchmark driver [Kubica] in terms of speed, and George showed consistently that the key thing was being able to qualify.

"He just showed time and time again that, irrespective of the car, when the pressure was on to deliver a lap time, he was able to do that."

Coulthard thinks Russell will benefit long-term from a couple of seasons in a lower team, which will better prepare him for a championship battle against the likes of Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Alexander Albon.

"I have absolutely no doubt that, being a little bit out of the spotlight was just really giving him a little bit of time to understand F1.

"He's a young man right now and there's no question that in a few years he'll be more able physically and mentally to take on the challenge of a competitive F1 season."

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Williams explains factors behind Nissany test driver decision

Williams says that Roy Nissany's attitude and strong work ethic were the key factors behind its decision to make him an official test driver this season.
The Grove-based outfit announced in Tel Aviv on Wednesday that Nissany will run in three FP1 sessions this year as part of a new deal it has agreed with him.

But while there are commercial benefits to the deal, with the Williams car carrying the Israel Start-Up logo on the weekends he is running, the team is adamant that boosting its finances was not the key motivating factor for hiring him.

Speaking to selected media in Israel, deputy team principal Claire Williams insisted that it would make no sense for an outfit in its position to hire someone in a test role that it believed could not help deliver the feedback required.

She said that Nissany's willingness to focus on long-run development work during the Abu Dhabi test, rather than go for headline laptimes, and the way he interacted with the engineers, impressed the team.

"We're a team on a journey back to recovery and we've got to have drivers that have the capability to understand what's going on," she said.

"There's no point putting a driver in a car that you think isn't going to do a good job for you, and particularly when you're in the position that we're in.

"So clearly we're only going to take drivers that we know are going to be able to understand what's going in the car, to translate that to help with development and Roy proved that when he did the Abu Dhabi test for us at the end of the year."

While Nissany was slowest overall on both days of last year's Abu Dhabi test, ending up three seconds slower than this teammates, Williams says that the laptimes were irrelevant because of the programme he was on.

"It was all about bringing parts for evaluation, so it wasn't about setting the time sheets on fire," she explained. "It was about doing the work that we asked him to do.

"I think that's to his credit as well because some drivers can get in the car, who have never been in an F1 car before and go: 'Brilliant. This is my opportunity to show the world what I can do.' And then they go and crash it.

"That wasn't the programme, so really the lap times from that time, shouldn't matter, and they don't matter. But what I did see and what I learned from our engineers is that he was incredibly diligent.

"He came and he spent time with the team. He was a real team player who gave it everything that he needed to. He was around and he talked to people.

"That shouldn't be underestimated how important that can be, and particularly in a team and the situation that our team is in, to have those drivers that all of our people look at and can go, 'well they are putting the effort in, so I am going to put my effort in as well.'"

Nissany said he had no hesitation in focusing on the job he was tasked with in Abu Dhabi rather than chasing headline times.

"I mean every race driver wants to see his name as high as they can on the monitor, but putting the wishes aside and putting the priorities in the right order for the long term meant that I focused on every bit of the task, every little task that the team gave me, without extra thoughts," he said.

"And without thinking about where I will be on the monitor, because it has no meaning, and the job was done well."

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Kubica: Blaming tyres "cheap excuse" for disappointing 2019

Robert Kubica says he will not use the "cheap excuse" of Formula 1's complicated Pirelli tyres to explain his and Williams' "unsuccessful" 2019 season.

Equipped with the grid's slowest car last year, Kubica struggled to produce consistent performances, particularly over one lap as he was shut out by rookie squadmate George Russell in qualifying.

The current Pirelli rubber, which has what is often described as a narrow operating window for temperature, is widely regarded as one of the key factors determining performance in modern F1 - but Kubica doesn't want to use the complexities of the tyre as an explanation.

"I think I am clever enough and good enough to understand what I should do with the tyres," Kubica told Motorsport.com.

"And still, it's not a driver which is choosing which way to go and how the tyres should operate, it's still teamwork.

"Of course, ultimately it is the driver who is driving the car, but we have exactly the same targets and exactly the same things operationally regarding the tyres.

"I see there is a cheap excuse for an unsuccessful season."

Elaborating on the challenges of the 2019 campaign, Kubica hinted at a lack of feedback that contributed to a "very confusing" year.

"I have my opinions on many areas where I definitely could do better, but I was not helped as well. With the circumstances we were in, it was extremely important for me to start the season with a good consistency so I could build up my comeback on this. Unfortunately, this didn't happen.

"Then there were occasions where I could perform and I did perform well, but they were hidden with some external factors. There were occasions where I definitely could've done better, and there were occasions where I didn't hear any answer, or I had no idea why we were so underperforming from day to day.

"This is something which is worse, because in order to improve you need to understand the reasons. There's no point of having a medicine for something which isn't causing your illness."

The life-threatening rally accident that had forced Kubica's original F1 hiatus left him with limited mobility in his right arm, and he described himself as driving "70 percent left-handed" in the aftermath.

But while this could've logically translated into a deficiency in high-speed corners, Kubica has dismissed this explanation, pointing to the fact that he had one of his best days of the year at a track like Suzuka.

"Sometimes we want to make people believe that Formula 1 is simple, but it is not," Kubica added. "There are a lot of factors which have a big influence on the final result, or on the numbers you see on the clock [stopwatch].

"One of the factors which is not influencing is actually my limitations in high-speed [corners].

"It is true that sometimes there were big variations, but it is also true that when you lack the grip, it is normal that you lose more in more challenging areas.

"Also you lose more when you have two-three corners in a row than only one corner, than a straight line.

"That's the fact. This is something where I'm sure my limitations are not influencing my driving, on this type of areas."

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Hamilton and Mercedes nominated for 2020 Laureus Sport awards

Their trophy cabinets must be wincing at this point, but 2019 champions Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes are in the running to scoop yet more silverware at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards, which take place on February 17 in Berlin. Furthermore, the 'Sporting Moment of the Year' category features a certain Mick Schumacher...

This is Hamilton’s sixth nomination for the top award at the so-called 'Oscars of the sporting world', following on from 2019, 2018, 2016, 2015 and 2009 – but he’s never won ‘Sportsman of the Year’. Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel are the only F1 drivers to have won it.

Could this be Hamilton’s year? He clinched title #6 with his highest points haul ever, but the line-up of nominees is stellar. He’s up against six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez, sub-two hour marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge, 2019 Masters winner Tiger Woods, Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi and world number 1 tennis player Rafael Nadal.

Mick Schumacher could follow in his father's footsteps by winning the 'Moment of the Year' award, for driving his father's F2004 around Hockenheim, 15 years after Michael's historic seventh title success in the same machine. 

Mercedes, also no strangers to tough competition, are in the running for the ‘World Team of the Year’ award against Champions League winners Liverpool, Rugby World Cup winners South Africa, NBA champions Toronto Raptors, the Women’s World Cup-winning United States Football Team and FIBA World Cup-winning Spanish basketball team.

The Silver Arrows won the award in 2018 against the likes of Real Madrid and the New England Patriots, becoming the second F1 team to have done so after Brawn in 2010, and this is their sixth nomination.

And, after her terrifying crash at the 2018 Macau Grand Prix, 19-year-old Sophia Floersch has been nominated for 'Comeback of the Year' as she returned to compete in the 2019 Macau F3 race.

Laureus is an organisation that uses ‘Sport for Good’ – helping people in 40 countries using sport as a tool to overcome violence, discrimination, and other serious disadvantages.

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LONG READ: Can Red Bull be genuine title contenders in 2020?

Red Bull’s glory days of the early 2010s when they won four consecutive double world championships on the bounce will seem like a lifetime ago for the boys and girls at their Milton Keynes base. A third-place finish in the 2019 constructors’ championship isn’t, on the face of it, enough to suggest they will end their barren run this year. But scratch the surface and you find plenty of reasons why they could well be a thorn in Mercedes and Ferrari’s side in 2020…

The 2019 campaign was different, though. Sure, they were third again, and never realistically in the championship fight after the RB15 proved tricky to unlock in the opening few races. And yes, they ended the year 322 points adrift of champions Mercedes, the deficit increasing by 84 on the previous campaign. And their tally of three victories – all courtesy of Max Verstappen – was one down on 2018.

But it was, as Red Bull chief Christian Horner declared at the start of the season, a “transitional year”. Red Bull had called time on a relationship with long-time partner Renault that had become toxic. Honda were chosen as their replacement, Red Bull offering the Japanese manufacturer a chance of redemption and the potential of race wins – and hopefully titles – after a dreadful time with McLaren.

Red Bull’s motorsport chief Helmut Marko isn’t one to be conservative and piled on the pressure with a prediction the new alliance could win at least five races (Honda hadn’t scored a podium, let alone a win, since returning to F1 in 2015). But the rest of the Red Bull operation moved to bury that hope and dampen expectations, offering Honda the chance to breathe and make the changes required.

The demand was simple: improve reliability and show consistent progress in terms of performance. If penalties were needed, so be it. Honda did just that. Buoyed by an encouraging campaign with Toro Rosso the year before, Honda had a huge winter and arrived at testing with a resilience that had been ominously absent in their previous F1 chapter.

Development was aggressive, with spec 3 – featuring a new turbo – making its debut in race eight in France (for context, rivals Mercedes introduced their third and final upgrade in Belgium, race 13). The performance improvement was clear. The step was huge. In combination with a breakthrough Red Bull had made with the tricky RB15, which made the machine more compliant, Verstappen and Pierre Gasly finally had a car that could challenge in normal circumstances for podiums – and depending on the circuit, wins.

At the following race in Austria, Verstappen got the job done, showing the kind of pace that was head and shoulders above the rest to give Red Bull victory at their home event and Honda their first triumph since returning to F1. There was a release of emotion, understandably – the tears uncontrollable. Further wins followed in Germany (albeit more fortuitously because of the wet conditions) and Brazil (this was pure performance). Had Verstappen not been stripped of pole in Mexico for an infringement in qualifying, their win tally would have almost certainly been four.

But you need to look behind the wins to see the real performance gain. For the first time since they returned to F1, Honda got through an entire season without a retirement that was down to an engine failure. That’s huge, particularly when you consider how aggressively they were developing to add performance. The foundation came from a fix to the MGU-H (which had been their Achilles' heel since 2015) in 2018 and a major step with the turbo introduced in France. Honda were also making the most of internal resources, partnering with their world-renowned jet engine division to integrate their high-performance turbine technology.

Italy’s Temple of Speed, Monza, is a good barometer for analysing Honda’s relative gains. The Japanese were full of dread heading there in previous years, but this season, things were different. Sure, Verstappen had to start from the back following penalties for engine component changes as the result of an aggressive development plan – but his performance thereafter was strong.

The Dutchman recovered to eighth, topping the maximum speed charts at the finish line with 327.7km/h, 6.6km/h quicker than the next best, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. In the speed trap, Verstappen was only 2.3km/h adrift of Vettel. In that same metric the previous year, with Renault power, Verstappen was 14.4km/h adrift of the top recorded speed.

Austin hasn’t been a happy hunting ground generally for Red Bull, the opening sections of the Circuit of The Americas featuring high-speed rapid changes of direction similar to Suzuka’s Esses that have proved a challenge. But in 2019, they were very much in the mix. Verstappen missed out on pole by just 0.067s and then comfortably had the pace to take a podium.

Qualifying generally was much better in 2019, too. Honda delivered a qualifying mode of sorts and overall power gains have meant Verstappen has finally taken the first (and subsequently second) pole of his career. He was fastest in qualifying in Mexico, too, before being penalised – but a Red Bull driver fastest in three sessions in one year is better than the team has managed since their last title-winning season in 2013. The Red Bull-Honda relationship seems to be working.

"It’s a true partnership, and you can see what it means to Honda when they get a result, when they get a pole position and they get a victory, the emotion, the pride, the satisfaction throughout the whole business," adds Horner. "So, I think it’s a very, very different relationship to one we previously had with Renault during this V6 turbo-hybrid era."

For 2020, Red Bull not only have stability in engine supply, with Honda committing until at least the end of next season, but also in driver line-up and regulations. "So unless somebody pulls a rabbit out of a hat, then I think we're set for a really exciting year next year between Mercedes, Ferrari, ourselves," reckons Horner. "And it could be a real classic season."

Red Bull need to hit the ground running this year if they are to haul themselves into the fight, with Marko having already said the team will have "no excuses", while adding that they were already two weeks ahead of their normal schedule. "The front wing regulation change, and the tyre change over the winter, seemed to affect us perhaps more than our opponents, and of course also at that time [we were] still catching up from the power perspective. But I think from Austria onwards, we really got on top of that and the second half of the year for us has been very competitive.

"We had a very, very competitive car at the beginning of '17. That was with stability of regulations, and I think we have that again from this 2019 season into '20. You can’t gauge what others are doing but hopefully, theoretically, the Melbourne car will be an upgrade of the Abu Dhabi car. One would assume all teams will be continuing with their philosophies."

With Verstappen achieving his best-ever result in the championship, beating both Ferrari drivers to third, and new team mate Alexander Albon rewarding the team's faith in him with a strong and consistent run of results after coming in after the summer break, their 2020 car development ahead of schedule and an engine manufacturer which is stretching its legs, it's no wonder Red Bull's top brass fancy their chances of being right in the fight with Mercedes and Ferrari.

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Feature: When Jim Clark took part in the RAC Rally

We, for the most part, can rely on Fernando Alonso to keep us entertained. And he has been doing so for tangible reasons just lately, during the usually-slow January news days, by having a go at the Dakar Rally.

Alonso as is readily noted is rather a modern-day outlier in that, in a throwback, he’s one willing to take to the wheel in pretty much any motorsport discipline. Something to be thankful for.

Yet he’s not alone in making the Formula 1-to-rallying journey. Kimi Raikkonen competed in the World Rally Championship’s top class for two seasons during his F1 hiatus in 2010 and ’11, while Robert Kubica is another who has long been a fan of taking to the stages.

We also can add to the list the name of none other than Jim Clark.

As intimated, in Clark’s day the norm was for even the most decorated F1 pilots to live a peripatetic motorsport existence, jumping between cars and disciplines from one weekend to the next. But even so Clark’s range – and his ability for his star to shine through no matter what the car or the category – was extraordinary. And to a degree even underappreciated.

We all know that in addition to his towering F1 success he bagged Indianapolis 500 victory, the first non-American to do so for nearly 50 years. His saloon car exploits in the Lotus Cortina are well-documented too. As are, to a lesser extent, his Formula 2 and sportscar efforts – indeed he finished third in the 1960 Le Mans 24 Hours.

But it goes even further. Clark also did a one-off NASCAR drive in the 1967 Rockingham 500 in a Ford Fairlane, and again showed up rather well.

And it doesn’t stop there either. As Clark took part in the 1966 RAC Rally, as Rally GB was then known. What’s more, he again put in a stunning display. You could make a case that it was even Clark’s most sensational showing of all from his vast array of motorsport exploits.

Ford, which would power Clark’s Lotus in F1 from the following year with its famous DFV, offered Clark a spot in its RAC Rally line-up with one of its four works Lotus Cortinas. A model with which, as noted, Clark was familiar.

Brian Melia – vastly experienced and respected as well as a fine driver in his own right – was offered as his co-driver, and drove to Snetterton in October ‘66 – where Clark was testing the Lotus Indy 500 car – to persuade him to accept the offer. After a go in one of the Cortinas at Ford’s Boreham test track, Clark was convinced.

Graham Hill, who was joining Team Lotus as Clark’s F1 stablemate for ‘67, took part in the rally too, in his case in a Mini Cooper. His approach to the task however lingered somewhere between that of a jolly and a PR stunt, evidenced by him having a journalist as his co-driver in the shape of the Sunday Times’ Maxwell Boyd.

Hill further didn’t apparently show too much regret at retiring from the event on its second day, with a broken gearbox and cracked sump.

But Clark’s approach could hardly have stood in starker contrast. He definitely was taking it seriously. He’d tested rigorously in advance at Bagshot with his famous rally namesake Roger, plus as noted had a high-quality co-driver.

And it showed in the times. Clark stunned all during the rally with his immediate and consistent pace. He finished fifth fastest on both of the first two proper stages. All told he took three stage wins, seven more second places and four more third places, plus for the most part sat comfortably within the top 10 times of the 146 entrants.

Just how big a departure was the rally from the circuit racing Clark was used to? As noted, F1 drivers doing other things was the norm back then. Also Anthony Peacock reminds us that, in rather a reversal of today, 1966 was “the truly feral era of Formula 1,” while “the RAC Rally was as seen as something of a safe busman’s holiday for Clark compared to the widow-making weekends that formed the F1 calendar.”

Yet, on the other hand, saying this was the equivalent of today’s WRC Rally GB round does it a disservice. In 1966 the RAC Rally comprised 2400 miles and some 63 special stages over five days and three nights, with only one overnight halt. These days Rally GB has but 22 special stages over just over 1000 miles, and not to mention very little running after dark…

Then the event started at Heathrow – waved off by Jack Brabham, no less – went as far as Devon in the west, swung back via Bristol, the Severn Bridge and Wales, back across to the Lake District then up to Scotland, then, after a brief breather, back down through Yorkshire then to Silverstone.

In other words, Clark’s RAC performance is not to be underestimated. And various observers have not minced their words when praising what the Scot did. “I never knew Jim Clark was as good as that,” said Bengt Soderstrom, the eventual rally winner, also in a Cortina, and one of seven Swedes in the final top 10.

“As a debut, it was truly astonishing since back in those days rallying was so far removed from circuit racing that it was an entirely different planet,” added Peacock some years later.

“There are folk who rank his performance as highly as anything he did in Formula 1,” James Page concurred. “By any measure, it was a remarkable performance in this most specialised of disciplines.”

Sadly though Clark wasn’t able to convert his fine showing into a final result. Early on during the concluding day, and ironically having not long crossed into his native Scotland, Clark had an off which damaged his front suspension and heavily deranged one side of the bodywork.

This cost him 45 minutes while the service crew did its repairs. But Clark nevertheless was determined to resume even with the delay and having by now a very-patched-up Cortina – Jackie Stewart watching on noted the its driver’s door was barely in connection with the rest of the vehicle…

And five stages later the hobbled car, at a fast left-hander following a flat-out crest, slid into a ditch and rolled. Clark, his Cortina buried in the scenery, was now out definitively.

“I just tripped over the border,” noted Clark. “I analysed the accident and I knew what I had done wrong halfway through the second roll. I wouldn’t do it again.”

Even after this we got further measure of the man. Clark’s modesty as a person ranked alongside his majesty as a driver and, rather than stomping off after his retirement, he borrowed another Cortina and followed the service crew the rest of the way so to help out where he could. Then after the rally’s conclusion he treated everyone to dinner.

Prior to that, at the end of the first day, Clark had even claimed, almost certainly inaccurately, that the car would have been quicker if Melia was doing the driving. Later Clark’s Christmas card that year showed a picture of the dented Cortina with the caption: “Car by Ford and Lotus; coachwork by Clark”.

And even this mere few days of rallying effort led to a tangible legacy of Jim Clark the rally star which lives on, in the Jim Clark Rally, based in his hometown of Duns. It has run most years since 1970 as a highly-popular event and it returned to the schedule last year.

The 1966 RAC Rally was though to be the last time spectators in Britain witnessed Clark in anything other than an F1 car, as his tax arrangements meant that from the following year he had to minimise his time in the UK.

It also precluded a second go at the RAC Rally. And the tragedy that awaited in Hockenheim’s damp Formula 2 race less than 18 months on ensured that we never again got to witness Clark apply his magic on the rally stages, just as he did so often on the circuits.

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Vietnam unveils first photos of pit/paddock complex

Vietnam Grand Prix organisers have released the first images of its newly completed pit and paddock complex, ahead of its debut Formula 1 race in early April.

The Hanoi street circuit features a 300m long pit building which has been purpose built for F1. It overlooks the start/finish straight, with the design inspired by Hanoi's famous Imperial Citadel of Thang Long as well as the Pavilion of the Constellation of Literature – the symbol of Hanoi - 'representing this proud nation's long history and strong cultural legacy'.

The three-story structure is now complete with just over two months until lights out for the first ever Vietnam GP. The circuit itself is nearing completion too, with grandstands under constructions and landscaping to ensure it blends into the local surroundings.

 

Ms. Le Ngoc Chi, CEO of the Vietnam Grand Prix Corporation, was thrilled to announce the building’s completion: "This is an important moment in the development of the Hanoi Circuit and another vital milestone in the lead up to Vietnam’s first ever Formula 1 race weekend.

"Like the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long and the Pavilion of the Constellation of Literature which have inspired the Pit Building’s design, we hope this structure will become another iconic Hanoi landmark.

"With the track itself nearing completion and grandstands starting to go up as the event draws ever closer, the excitement levels for the Formula 1 VinFast Vietnam Grand Prix 2020 are rapidly growing. We are ready and we look forward to seeing you in Hanoi very soon."

The 5.607km circuit features 23 corners and is described as a hybrid design, fusing a street circuit’s characteristics with a permanent track layout, the first of its kind to be developed in partnership by Tilke Engineers and F1’s own Motorsports Division.

MIKA: Zzzzz..... No offence, but this race is going to be boring. 

Very much like China and Malaysian Grand Prix IMO.

I mean, it's a Tilke track, say no more.  

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Another Canadian billionaire dips his toes into F1

Motorsport Week was one of a select group of media which travelled to Israel to attend the press conference involving Williams and Roy Nissany. But another prominent attendee caught the attention on Wednesday.

The announcement of Roy Nissany joining the Williams Formula 1 team barely caused a ripple in the environment in which the championship operates, but it was big news from an Israeli perspective.

The press conference took place in Tel Aviv’s innovative Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea.

A handful of international media were flown out to the event in Israel but were significantly outnumbered by the throng of local written press and TV crews, who hung on every word of Nissany and deputy team boss Claire Williams.

The packed auditorium was more reminiscent of a major Formula 1 announcement than a test driver deal, with several dignitaries – including the son of the ex-Prime Minister after whom the building is named – present on the front row. He also spoke glowingly during the press conference.

But one intriguing figure joining the press conference was the vocal and charismatic Sylvan Adams.

He was introduced and present on the five-person panel as the President of Roy Nissany Formula 1 Management.

Adams’ profile has grown in recent years courtesy of his desire to promote Israel on the world stage.

Adams’ father, Marcel, of Romanian heritage, survived the holocaust in the Second World War, emigrated to Canada and founded real estate company Iberville Developments in the late 1950s.

Sylvan, an Israeli-Canadian, eventually took over the business, before handing control to his own son in recent years, and his estimated worth is over $1bn.

You only need to have a passing knowledge of the championship’s recent history to join the dots between Canada, wealth and Formula 1.

Lawrence Stroll has been involved in Formula 1 for a couple of decades and his prominence has grown through the acquisition of Racing Point mid-2018, with son Lance now one of its drivers.

Michael Latifi, father of 2020 Williams Formula 1 debutant Nicholas, invested £200m into McLaren in mid-2018 through the Nidala company that he controls.

But what of Adams?

Alongside philanthropic ventures, funding scholarships in education and medicine, growing Israel’s profile has been one ambition.

Having taken up cycling in his 40s Adams, as co-founder, is heavily involved in the UCI team Israel Start-Up Nation. After rising through the lower ranks the team will this year compete on the World Tour, including the iconic Tour de France, after acquiring the licence of another squad. In 2018 Adams was influential in bringing the Giro d’Italia – another of cycling’s blue-riband events – to Israel. The opening three days of action took place in the country, the first time it launched outside of Europe, while in 2019 he was involved in the Eurovision Song Contest, which was held in Tel Aviv after Israel’s 2018 victory. Adams was key in luring Madonna to perform the interval act while he also donated to the country’s space exploration programme.

"The Giro provided proof of concept that bringing such events to Israel can reach ordinary people all over the world,” he told the Globes news agency in early 2019. “The Giro gave us an opportunity to show these audiences the real Israel, the country that people don't know. What I want to do is create a fund backed by Israeli and Jewish philanthropists from all over the world, raise $100 million, and bring events here, such as the Eurovision, for example, or Formula 1.”

Ah, Formula 1. Back to January 2020 and the Williams event in sunny Tel Aviv.

“I happened to meet this young man Roy at a cycling event where we were presenting the team,” said Adams on stage on Wednesday.

“I met this impressive young man who told me a little bit about his racing career. I guess one thing led to another and here we are.”

Nissany has so far had a moderately successful record in racing, peaking with victories in the 2016/17 Formula V8 3.5 championship, prior to a challenging year in Formula 2 in 2018. A wrist injury denied Nissany a full-time 2019 drive but he will return to the grid in 2020 with Trident.

“The fast track plan here is for Roy to be an actual F1 driver as early as 2021,” said Adams, while wary of the high benchmark this sets.

“Of course he has a few hurdles to accomplish before he is selected to be one of the two drivers.

“Remember this is one of the exclusive sports in the world, there are only 20 Formula 1 race car drivers, and there’s 750 people working on two cars.

“I’ve been to the campus at Williams. I know how hard Williams is working to climb back up to the top, and I know with the best talent in the industry, both engineering side and now the test driver side, that they will have every chance of getting there.

“To see the Israeli flag on the car and Roy being beamed to 350-400 million television viewers every couple of weeks is going to be quite something, I’m getting goose bumps even talking about it.”

Adams stressed that he is not interested in acquiring a Formula 1 team, or setting up his own, but is regarding the new venture as more than just a short-term box-ticking operation.

“I keep saying that I have many interesting projects in the pipelines,” he said.

“It is very exciting that Williams had confidence in Roy, and I can say I have confidence in Williams, absolutely iconic team that has had so much success in the sport.

“We are planning this as a long-term relationship. So no Formula 1 teams for me, I’m happy to be part of the Williams family.”

For her part, Claire Williams commented that Adams “seems an extraordinary individual. I know that he has very clear ambitions on what he wants for his country and what he wants to achieve, and you know the first step of that is bringing an Israeli driver into Formula 1.

“And that’s a very proud moment for us that we’ve helped him to realise that.”

There is the chance that holding a major event in Tel Aviv, shining a spotlight on the city and country, means this is the zenith for Adams: getting an Israeli into an official capacity at a Formula 1 team.

These are early days. Both Williams and Adams were keen to stress the nascent nature of the partnership while for Nissany himself the deal is unlikely to result in a 2021 F1 seat, given his limited results and Super Licence requirements (he needs a top three finish this year).

But for Williams, and potentially F1, it opens the door to a previously untapped market, and if this is indeed the start of a long-term partnership then Adams could be a name to keep an eye on judging by his previous ventures.

MIKA: Classic Williams pretty much the past decade. Investing in people who are backed by money and not necessarily talent. 

Russell is an exception, however even time will tell on that.

[MIKA27]

W Series joins Formula 1 support bill for US and Mexico City rounds

The final two rounds of W Series will take place as part of Formula 1’s support package, at the United States and Mexico City Grands Prix respectively.

The second season of the women-only single-seater series will now comprise eight races, with Austin and Mexico City joining the already confirmed six events that will support the DTM championship.

The races will take place on Saturday 24 and 31 October respectively, with the final race likely to determine the title-winner, which in 2019 was Williams-backed racer Jamie Chadwick.

Formula 1 chief Ross Brawn said: “We are delighted to welcome W Series to two such spectacular events of the 2020 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, such as those at Austin and Mexico City.

“In just one year, W Series has contributed significantly to increasing interest in the topic of diversity and inclusion in motorsport.

“The ability for the great crowds, who traditionally attend the Austin and Mexico City Grands Prix, to see these talented female drivers up close will definitely further raise the awareness of the importance of inclusion and diversity in motorsport.”

Catherine Bond Muir, Chief Executive Office for W Series said: “Interest and enthusiasm for W Series was enormous in our first season in 2019, among media and fans alike, and the addition of two all-new W Series races on the Formula 1 platform will inevitably increase that enthusiasm and interest.

“Commercially, too, following the successful recent announcement of W Series’ new multi-year sponsor-partnership with ROKiT Phones, the fact that W Series will be even bigger and better in 2020 than it was in 2019 will make the return on investment for our future sponsor-partners better and bigger too.

“A lot of work has gone into stitching the W Series/Formula 1 deal together, but above all I want to thank W Series’ drivers, the brave and talented young women who captured the imagination of the sporting world last summer.

"Mark my words: they’ll do so again this year, from May to October, all over the world.”

[MIKA27]

Williams motivated to prove critics wrong over F1 slump

Williams' Deputy Team Principal Claire Williams says it is a “point of frustration” that the progress the squad believes it has made with its 2020 car cannot yet be publicly displayed, as it bids to arrest its Formula 1 slump.

Williams regressed to the rear of the 10-team Constructors’ Championship in 2018 and repeated the position last year, as it drifted further away from the midfield pack.

Neither George Russell nor team-mate Robert Kubica made it out of Q1 and it scored just a solitary point, courtesy of Kubica at the rain-hit German Grand Prix.

Williams identified correlation and design issues early in 2019 and enacted structural changes in the hope of halting its decline and lifting itself back towards the midfield.

“I think everyone knows, as I’ve talked about it until I’m blue in the face, the amount of work behind the scenes,” Williams said about progress for 2020, during an event in Israel.

“It’s still for me a point of frustration that we’re not able to invite everyone in [to the factory] and show everyone the transformation that has taken place at Williams.

“What I’ve always said is it’s going to be a journey, we started it last year, we started seeing the grass shoots, if you like, in the latter half of the year when we were closing the gap steadily but there’s only so much you can do in the course of a season anyway.

“We set ourselves some really tough targets over the winter around aero in particular, about finding performance, and then on some mechanical issues as well and those have been going well.”

Williams went on to explain that “we all just want to come out and show that we’ve done a good job and for people to be able to turn round and go: 'OK, right. We got it wrong, Williams weren’t on their way out and two years didn’t need to define them and look what they’ve done.'"

Williams’ 2019 woes began prior to the start of the campaign as its FW42 suffered production delays, meaning it was not ready in time for the start of pre-season testing.

Williams is adamant that a new approach for 2020 means it can hit the ground running with its FW43, while also pointing to year-on-year progress regarding the FIA’s mandatory crash tests, having endured numerous failures 12 months ago.

“The key target now is getting the car to the test on time, at the lights when they go green, if not before,” Williams asserted. “I have absolute confidence that will happen.

“As everyone knows, we brought in a whole new planning function last year that works from the start of the process, to the beginnings of the start in aero, right to the end of car assembly.

“We’ve built ourselves a huge amount of contingency. There's time to ensure that if something does go wrong, you know we’re OK and we’ve got some cover there.

“One of the first signs of success for us over the winter was we passed all our crash tests, most of which we did at the first attempt. Rather than last year, where we failed many of them, even at the sixth attempt we were failing them, which obviously puts even more pressure into your system, because then you’re having to deal with why you failed the crash test rather than worrying about getting the parts out.

“So, that’s been a good milestone for us over the winter.”

[MIKA27]

‘Senna’ writer’s feature film ‘Heroes’ released on Motorsport.tv

BAFTA and SUNDANCE-winning writer and producer Manish Pandey’s next epic to be available from 16 January 2020: Four legends of motorsport share their love of four wheels growing up, their successes, failures, personal struggles and life-threatening accidents.

London, UK – 16 January 2020 – Motorsport Network is pleased to announce that Manish Pandey’s feature-length motorsport epic movie ‘Heroes’ is to be released for a global audience on Motorsport.tv from 16 January 2020.

Heroes, which is Motorsport Network’s first film commission, brings together legendary drivers from F1, Le Mans 24 Hours and rallying who share never-before-heard stories of triumph and tragedy. The film will be available to view on an TVOD basis on Motorsport Network’s OTT platform Motorsport.tv.

Written and directed by Manish Pandey, who wrote the multi award-winning Senna movie, the 111-minute film features two-time Formula 1 world champion Mika Hakkinen, former Ferrari grand prix ace Felipe Massa, nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen and Michele Mouton, still the only woman to have won World Championship rallies. All four also share their intimate memories of competing alongside seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher, whose story is also told.

Across ten chapters the interweaving narratives of the motorsport stars are featured with both archive and first-hand testimony. One of the underlying narratives is the human fragility of drivers and Heroes has officially partnered with the Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière (ICM), one of the world’s leading brain and spine research institutes, which has enjoyed an enduring relationship with Formula 1.

James Allen, Motorsport Network President, said: “The response to Heroes has been overwhelmingly positive and through watching Mika, Felipe, Michele and Tom share their big breaks, successes, failures, personal struggles and life-threatening accidents you cannot help but be moved. Manish’s skill as a writer and director really has crafted something special and we look forward to sharing our film with motorsport and non-motorsport enthusiasts alike.”

Manish Pandey, writer and director, said: “As a filmmaker, of course, you dream of creating something very special. And ‘Heroes’ is very special, quite unlike any documentary, out there.  But you also want to reach as many people as you can - and with the powerhouse of Motorsport Network speaking to motor racing fans this a dream for any filmmaker.”

[BrightonCorgi]

17 hours ago, MIKA27 said:

Another Canadian billionaire dips his toes into F1

Motorsport Week was one of a select group of media which travelled to Israel to attend the press conference involving Williams and Roy Nissany. But another prominent attendee caught the attention on Wednesday.

The announcement of Roy Nissany joining the Williams Formula 1 team barely caused a ripple in the environment in which the championship operates, but it was big news from an Israeli perspective.

 

An Israeli GP would be awesome.  All sponsors operate in Israel, so it makes sense from a commercial perspective.  It's already Gulf rich and now a possibility of Saudi GP.  Like half the races will be in the Middle East lol.

[MIKA27]

Lawrence Stroll edging closer to £200m Aston Martin stake - Report

Lawrence Stroll, co-owner of the Racing Point Formula 1 team and father of driver Lance Stroll, is closing on a deal to acquire a major stake in the British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Marton, according to reports.

Aston Martin has seen its shares dive in recent months following uncertainty over Brexit and falling demand for its products. Its shares are trading at 452p, which is much lower than the 1700p they opened at when listed in October 2018.

That has seen the value of the company drop significantly to just over £1 billion, making it ripe for a takeover.

Two parties were believed to be interested in taking a major stake in Aston Martin, but a report by Bloomberg suggests China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. – which owns Volvo and Lotus – has backed out of the deal, leaving Stroll as the sole interested party.

It's believed the Canadian billionaire could invest £200 million, though Aston Martin requires a cash injection of £400m to secure its future according to Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Stroll hasn't commented on the reports, but it's believed he would consider rebranding the Racing Point F1 Team under the Aston Martin banner if the deal goes ahead.

It's not known how such a deal would impact Red Bull, which counts Aston Martin as its title sponsor with the two companies sharing a technical partnership.

[MIKA27]

Update from Zandvoort as work continues on F1 track

Update from Zandvoort as work continues on upgrading the circuit ahead of the return of the Dutch Grand Prix later this year.

[MIKA27]

Saudi Arabia unveils plans for F1 race in 2023

Saudi Arabia has unveiled plans for a purpose-built circuit in a new entertainment and business development outside of the capital city, Riyadh.

The Qiddiya circuit has been designed by ex-Formula 1 driver Alex Wurz and it is hoped it will be completed by 2023.

There is currently no commercial agreement between Formula 1 and circuit officials, but Saudi Arabia has expanded its sporting portfolio in recent years, including in motorsport.

Formula E currently has a 10-year deal to race in Saudi Arabia, the Race of Champions has been held in the country, while this month's Dakar Rally moved to the state.

Saudi Arabia's best hopes of holding an F1 race rest with this new development and chief executive officer Mike Reininger is hopeful the government will succeed in its negotiations with Liberty Media.

"We're building a facility in the hope there will be a deal struck and there is a race here in Saudi," he told the BBC.

"The formalisation of a race is not for us at Qiddiya. It is outside the confines of the project itself. But we are building a facility that will be able to host a really world-class event as one of the signature items we will have on offer here at Qiddiya as we open in 2023."

The track will be built to FIA Grade One standard and will therefore be capable of hosting both F1 and MotoGP.

During the launch event, several current and former drivers were present including Romain Grosjean, Nico Hulkenberg, Damon Hill, David Coulthard and former MotoGP rider Loris Capirossi.

The development is set to include a drag strip, rallycross and rally stages, a motorsport business park as well as sports stadiums, a golf course, accommodation, shopping and hotels.

Formula 1 currently races in nearby Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates while MotoGP's season-opener is held in Qatar.

[MIKA27]

Todt: Complaints about growing F1 calendar are wrong

FIA President Jean Todt says people who work in Formula 1 should not complain about the calendar expanding in future, and instead acknowledge how fortunate they are to be involved in the sport.
The 2020 F1 season will feature a record 22 races, with Vietnam and the Netherlands joining the schedule and only Hockenheim dropping off it, and the regulations allow for a future expansion to 25 events.

That has prompted concerns about the strain put on those who travel to all the races, with teams looking at ways of rotating staff.

F1 CEO Chase Carey has acknowledged what he calls “wear and tear” on personnel is a potential issue, which is why race weekends are being shortened from 2021, with fewer activities on Thursdays. However, Todt has downplayed such concerns.

“I think it will be a long process before being close to 25 races,” said Todt. “Probably so much emphasis on speculating and assessing 25 races, and at the moment we should concentrate on 22, which is the situation.

“Now about what it does represent, here I may have a different point of view. I really feel that, and I include myself, we are so blessed to be in a world where we love what we do. We have the passion. We are privileged. Whoever is in F1 is privileged.

"Of course, you have some duties. When I was in other positions [as Ferrari team principal], I was working 18 hours every day, seven days, six or seven days a week, because I had passion, I wanted a result.

"Then of course, the family, if you have a beloved family, they will understand. And you don't do that for all your life.”

Todt indicated that his visits to developing countries in his road safety and United Nations roles have opened his eyes.

“Believe me, I do a lot in the other activities in my life, where I see people, if they are blessed, they get $30 a month. Being blessed in certain countries. So we should not forget that.

“We should be decent, and thinking that it does happen. You have an eight billion population [globally], and you have 800 million people [not able] to eat, to drink, to get a vaccination.

“We're here to talk about F1, but we must not close our eyes and forget what is happening, for other people, for other communities.

"I feel again, we have to be blessed, and all those who are in F1, with much higher salaries, incidentally, than any other business, should be very happy. It doesn’t mean that it’s not hard working and all that, but simply assessing the position.”

[MIKA27]

All Access with Red Bull's Alex Albon

 

[MIKA27]

The inspiring journey from F1 in Schools participant to McLaren graduate

Discover how Mary Aldersley made it from F1 in Schools, the non-profit organisation that promotes STEM education and careers for those aged nine to 19 through Formula 1, to becoming an operations graduate at McLaren, working in race team logistics.

[MIKA27]

Fernando Alonso no longer ambassador for McLaren

Two-time Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso is no longer an ambassador for the McLaren organisation.

Alonso competed in Formula 1 for McLaren, as reigning champion, in 2007, before making a return to the squad in 2015, as it began a relationship with engine supplier Honda.

But McLaren-Honda’s troubles restricted Alonso’s on-track results in Formula 1, and his focus began shifting towards winning motorsport’s Triple Crown, which encompasses the Monaco Grand Prix, Indianapolis 500 and Le Mans 24 Hours.

Alonso competed for McLaren – in association with Andretti and Honda – at the 2017 Indianapolis 500, and joined Toyota for the World Endurance Championship in 2018, winning the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Alonso continued to race for McLaren in Formula 1 in 2018, after Honda was ditched as engine partner in favour of Renault, before stepping back from a seat at the end of the campaign.

Alonso nonetheless remained affiliated with the squad in 2019 as an ambassador, testing the MCL34 in Bahrain last April, and also attended several grands prix.

But his direct involvement was gradually phased out, with new boss Andreas Seidl affirming his commitment to racers Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lando Norris, while ex-Williams driver Sergey Sirotkin was recruited as reserve, a role he also held at Renault.

Alonso nonetheless returned to Indianapolis, donning McLaren’s colours, but a sequence of incidents and setbacks resulted in Alonso missing the cut to make the 33-car grid for the race.

McLaren confirmed to MotorsportWeek.com on Monday that Alonso’s ambassadorial role with the organisation expired at the end of last year, with nothing yet confirmed for 2020.

Alonso, who recently finished 13th with Toyota at his first attempt of the gruelling Saudi Arabia-based Dakar Rally, is poised to return to Indianapolis this May for his third crack at the event.

McLaren’s revived IndyCar team will field Patricio O’Ward and Oliver Askew through the 2020 campaign, which begins in St. Petersburg in March, while Alonso has been linked to a berth at the Honda-powered Andretti squad for the Indianapolis 500.

[MIKA27]

F1 announces exit of commercial boss Bratches

Formula 1 has confirmed that commercial boss Sean Bratches is to leave his full-time role at the organisation in order to spend more time with his family.
Bratches' exit, which was reported by Motorsport.com last week, will officially take place at the end of the current month, although he will remain affiliated with F1 in an advisory capacity.

Rumours of the 59-year-old’s departure first surfaced late last year, and at the Abu Dhabi GP F1 Chairman and CEO Chase Carey confirmed that his future would be discussed in the weeks after the final race of 2019.

Having made his name with ESPN, Bratches was appointed managing director of commercial operations when Liberty took over F1 three years ago in January 2017, and was part of a three-man management team alongside Carey and Ross Brawn. His main focus has been growing income from race hosting fees, sponsorship and broadcasting deals.

He worked from a base on London and he was finding it increasingly hard to justify time away from his wife and family in Connecticut, with travel to races adding to his busy schedule. Bratches has four sons, aged 29, 28, 26 and 25. The youngest, Clay, has special needs.

“The past three years at Formula 1 have been an incredible journey, one which I have enjoyed thoroughly,” said Bratches. “I want to personally thank the team at F1 for their extraordinary efforts and dedication, they are the best of the best and I am confident they will continue to serve fans and deliver on the strategy we have set in the years ahead.

“I am proud that I leave F1 in a better position than when I joined in 2017 and I know that the foundation we have put in place as a team will continue to serve our fans around the world and reach new audiences.”

“Sean has transformed the commercial side of F1 and a testament to his work is shown in our momentum and growth as a business,” said Carey. “I am pleased Sean will continue to be an advisor for us from his home in the US, he will always be part of the F1 family and I look forward to his ongoing advice and counsel.”

[MIKA27]

Latifi to race with Rosberg's number in 2020

Nicholas Latifi has revealed he will use number six when he makes his Formula 1 racing debut with Williams in 2020.
The Canadian, who replaces Robert Kubica in the Grove-based team's line-up, will sport the same number asused by former world champion Nico Rosberg when the German won his title with Mercedes in 2016.

Rosberg retired from F1 after winning the title, but his number was not available for the following two seasons, as per the sporting regulations.

"A driver's career in Formula 1 will be deemed to have ended if he does not participate in an Event for two entire consecutive Championship seasons," the rules state, meaning Rosberg's number was already available for the 2019 season.

Latifi's decision to use number six had nothing to do with Rosberg, however.

"I'm sure you're all wondering what number I've decided to choose for the upcoming Formula 1 season," Latifi said in a video shared on Twitter by Williams.

"I decided to choose number six. The reason I chose this is because I'm from Toronto, and Toronto is known as 'The Six', basically, because if you're from there, your area code for your phone number is either 416 or 647.

"It's a bit silly, but it kind of stuck, so I decided to choose that."

Latifi, 24, will race alongside George Russell this year after finishing second in the championship in Formula 2 in 2019.

[MIKA27]

The insider’s guide to… Technical Directors

A Formula 1 car might be the work of a 1000-strong team of designers and technicians but at the top of the engineering pyramid are the sport's technical directors, and it's on the strength of their ability to make the big calls that a team succeeds or fails. No pressure, then...

Formula 1 is a sport that evolves rapidly, driven by the constant pursuit of more speed and innovation through technology. However, the application of that technology doesn’t simply affect the car, it affects also the organisation responsible for building the car. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the changing role of the technical director.

The term itself is a sign of the times. In a bygone era, when an F1 team was a handful of people, the technical department might have been a designer with one or two assistants. But gradually, as teams grew, the role became that of a chief designer with a room of assistants, and finally, as the science of building F1 cars evolved into an engineering discipline in its own right, the technical director arrived, overseeing the work of the chief designer. Today, F1 teams might be made up of a dozen departments that must harmonise to create a competitive car.

The most successful in their field attained a degree of fame uncommon in engineering circles as they became synonymous with their famous cars, and garnered cult-like followings that worshipped the idea of the inspired virtuoso endowed with the spark of genius. Today, the role has changed again as the extraordinary complexity of an F1 team’s work and the rapidity with which it must be conducted preclude the indulgence of a wunderkind.

James Allison is Mercedes' Technical Director – a role he views as open-ended

Wide ranging responsibilities

James Allison, Technical Director at Mercedes, laughs when asked to describe what he and his peers do. “Hang around and look pretty? Take all the credit? Blame everyone when things go wrong?” It is, he suggests, a very open-ended question. “Quite seriously, I think you would struggle to get a consistent answer, because there are 10 teams and 10 individuals, all of whom do this job in their own style.

“In general terms, the technical director is responsible for making sure the car is legal, safe, fast and reliable,” he adds. “He or she tries to marshal all of the technical resources the company is able to provide, to maximise the possibility that you’ll win a championship in any given year. Or, if you’re a smaller team, to get the maximum amount of points conceivable with the resources available. However, no single person can be responsible for those things, except in a titular sense, because the scope is massive. You just can’t have the breadth of professional knowledge to be an expert in every field of what is a famously complicated sport.

“And so, the task is divided across many willing shoulders. My role – I guess – is to coordinate with those folk to try and find consensus among them where it’s not self-evident what the path forward should be. On occasion, I make single decisions because they just require somebody to make a decision. That job is like many managerial jobs, in that it requires the setting of objectives, and putting in place the resources to follow those objectives.”

Allison began his F1 career at Benetton, when Roberto Moreno (above) and Michael Schumacher were driving for the team in 1991

“Of course, when I put it like that it sounds like the worst job in the world – and yet it’s the most brilliant, thrilling, rush of a job,” he continues. “More than anything else, an F1 team is a team. It’s the team part of it that you revel in every single day of your working life. The technical director has the privilege of sitting in an influential part of that team, and having the pleasure of seeing things working well – or having the responsibility of trying to turn the corner if things aren’t working well. It’s an amazing, fortunate, demanding, fun job.”

How times have changed

Allison began his F1 career in 1991 in Benetton’s aerodynamics department, and took a peripatetic route through F1 with stints at Larrousse, Benetton again and Ferrari, before occupying the senior position at Renault, Ferrari and now Mercedes. His early years in the business coincided with the era in which technical directors acquired rock star-like veneration among the public – something that has since changed.

“It really is a different job now,” he says. “When the teams were smaller, they tended to be run in a very autocratic style by someone with an extremely strong personality – which is the polite way of saying a horrendous bully. Teams would labour under the whip of one person whose vision would be stamped on every part of the car.

“A good team would have an autocrat who made good decisions and a bad team would have a similarly autocratic figure who made bad decisions – but that model simply doesn’t work anymore. Once you scale the team up above a certain size, however much bandwidth a person has, they can’t cover that much ground. The organisation gets logjammed by the inability to make decisions – because the apex predator just can’t make enough of them quickly enough.”

"It’s a matter of trust: you need to trust the people around you, and provide them with the support they need," says Alfa Romeo's Jan Monchaux

Maintaining the forward momentum of such a large organisation is often likened to conducting an orchestra, or a circus performer who keeps the plates spinning.

“That’s a good analogy,” says Jan Monchaux, Alfa Romeo’s recently installed Technical Director. “Making sure all the plates are spinning – which is not always the case – is the first job. After that, every week, perhaps every day, you want to get them spinning a bit quicker.”

Monchaux is Alfa’s former Head of Aerodynamics, having previously worked in F1 for Toyota and Ferrari, before a stint with Audi Sport. He explains that the role of technical director is more resource allocation and people management than it is making a direct technical impact.

“Twenty years ago, the technical director would have had perhaps 40 people working for him,” he says. “Now it’s 10 times bigger, and every discipline within that goes into more and more detail. Even as head of aero, it would be a lie to say I was an absolute expert in every area of our aerodynamic programme.”

Handling the heat

Monchaux argues the technical director can’t indulge in micromanagement. He enjoys the busy kitchen metaphor. “It’s like the chef who decides to open a restaurant. He’s going to struggle to cook himself: he needs to rely on cooks that understand his philosophies and the way he would cook. That’s how I see things here. I’ll give some direction, and impart some philosophies. I’m not going to tell people how to solve problems. Many of them are more clever than I am, so why should I get involved in that level of micromanagement? It’s a matter of trust: you need to trust the people around you, and provide them with the support they need.”

In this model, the technical director becomes the ultimate arbiter, making key decisions because somebody has to. F1 tends to be driven by data – but decisions can still rely heavily on experience and instinct.

“That’s not even rare,” adds Allison. “We’re lucky to have tools that are definitive: engine dynos will tell you if you’ve got horsepower, wind tunnels will tell you if you’ve got better, more efficient aerodynamics – but all that really tells you is the status of the hardware you possess today. What they can’t do for you is to choose between the three or four avenues of potential development ahead.

Ex-McLaren and Ferrari engineer Pat Fry has been brought in by Renault as part of a raft of senior management changes

“We won’t do all of them, because that would dilute our effort, so it’s really a matter of judgement: how many projects should we have in the air at one time? How do we split our resources? How many big, bold things with a high chance of failure should we do, compared to the myriad small, unambitious things that will move us forward – but only by a whisker?”

‘Technical director’ has a different meaning from team to team. For some it is the ultimate technical authority, in other teams responsibilities are divided among a number of senior personnel.

Renault's split responsibilities

In 2019, Renault had two technical directors: Rémi Taffin in Viry-Châtillon, France, responsible for engine development; and Nick Chester, in Enstone, England, responsible for the chassis. Chester has now left the team with Pat Fry and Dirk de Beer among Renault's recent appointments. Enstone itself operated in a different way to other factories, with Chester answerable for the car, but Executive Director Marcin Budkowski is responsible for the wider aspects of the team’s operations that, in other teams, would be folded into the technical director’s mandate.

“I joke that Nick’s designing the car and I’m designing the organisation,” said Budkowski. “My role today is mostly about building a strong organisation. It’s a management role with a remit beyond technical, covering the operational side as well: production, procurement, delivery.”

Budkowski started his career as an aerodynamicist at Prost GP, before moving to Ferrari, then McLaren and most recently the FIA, latterly as head of the authority’s technical department. Today, he works to put in place the tools that allow other people to add performance to the car.

“I’m in charge of everything related to the production and delivery of the car,” he says. “All the technical and operations departments – as well as human resources – are on my list of responsibilities. It ranges from recruitment of key roles and changes in the organisational structure: promoting people or moving them around into different roles; changing the way departments operate. It can be in budget allocation, whether that’s short term or long term. I do get involved sometimes in the major technical decisions guiding the car design but I try to let the people directly involved decide those things. I’m not close enough to it on a daily basis but obviously I take a keen interest because it’s my background.”

Technical directors still have a burning passion for the sport, feeling frustration and joy at their own work

The modern technical director role

There isn’t a requirement for a technical director to be an F1 fan – indeed there may be advantages to viewing the sport without the prism of passion – but the desire to go racing and to taste success demonstrably burns in everyone we speak to.

“We’re all here because we love racing – we wouldn’t be able to cope with the pressure and the hours and the sweat and the tears the job demands if we didn’t,” says Budkowski, adding that it’s a big factor in deciding to show up at the circuit. “Realistically, travel takes a lot of time and my added value is mostly at the factory – but there’s a massive desire to be at the track and be in contact with the cars, the drivers, the mechanics. If you’re at the factory, you don’t have that exposure. You could almost forget you work in racing. The day-to-day tasks of building and managing a team are all very interesting – but you want to go racing.

“It’s massively frustrating when the performance is disappointing but the joy is in remembering that you’re extremely lucky. F1 was my passion as a teenager and being able to work in something you’re passionate about is a very privileged position to be in.”

It’s a point of view echoed by Monchaux. “Right now, our team needs more effort and more work to be done behind the scenes on the process side, adding efficiency to the way we approach problems, and looking into how quickly and economically we solve them. Travelling to races, especially at this time of year, means missing a lot of time at the factory – and yet I really do not want to lose contact with the track.

Do modern technical directors have the power of those such as Mauro Forghieri (left), who was responsible for Niki Lauda's two championship-winning Ferraris?

"Going back to the kitchen analogy, the trackside activity is the point at which the food leaves the kitchen to be served to the diners. Maybe the chef should stay in the kitchen most of the time – but occasionally you have to venture out to see how the restaurant works.”

In terms of public perception, we are, perhaps, beyond the point of peak technical director. The collaborative nature of the role has replaced the eccentricities of previous generations, to the extent that ownership of a current car is rarely attributed with the same freedom that would be applied to the creations of a Mauro Forghieri, a Patrick Head or even the earlier work of Adrian Newey.

The responsibilities are just as great, and the burdens no less heavy, but the modern sport requires a team player rather than a virtuoso.

[MIKA27]

Refreshed Hamilton fires warning to rivals: 'I'm going to be a machine in 2020'

Lewis Hamilton has sent a warning to those rivals looking to knock him off his perch this year, posting on social media that he’s going to be “on another level” as he readies himself for a tilt at a fourth-straight world title in 2020.

If he does win again, of course, he’ll equal Michael Schumacher’s record of seven world championship crowns – and the reigning champion has suggested his preparation so far has been ideal.

The recently turned 35-year-old - now one of the oldest drivers on the F1 grid - wrote on Instagram: “I am at peace when I’m here [at home], can focus and build my mind and body so that I can come back year on year. I’m going to be a machine this year, on another level than ever before!”

For Hamilton to raise his level, he'll neeed to go some. Last season the British driver scored 11 wins and 413 points - his highest tally ever. This season he can not only match Schumacher's championship tally, he could surpass the great German's long-standing race wins record, entering 2020 just seven behind.

Score points in Australia, meanwhile, and Hamilton will set a new marker for consecutive races in the points, breaking his own 33-race record.

A message of intent from the world champion then, who seems to be thoroughly enjoying his off-season...