FORMULA 1

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Bottas: DAS has been in pipeline for a year

Valtteri Bottas says Mercedes’ Dual-Axis System has been in development for over a year, and is hopeful that it will give the team a performance advantage.

Mercedes fitted the DAS – which enables the steering wheel to move back and forth along the straights, adjusting the toe angle – for the final two days of Formula 1’s opening test in Spain.

Its legality was queried in some quarters but quickly clarified by Mercedes’ technical boss James Allison, while the FIA says it has no safety concerns over the device.

Mercedes dominated the first test atop the timesheets as Bottas clocked a time of 1:15.732s leaving the W11 over 1.3s faster than the next-quickest package.

“Obviously it’s very nice to be in a team that comes up with this kind of system,” said Bottas.

“It tells something about the great minds our team has and, for sure it’s not an easy thing to start to design it and making it work.

“We are still learning a lot about it and developing its potential, but I think sometimes, in certain circumstances, it can be pretty good.

“But that will be shown later on in the year, in different conditions, different tracks, how it can help us, if it can. But it’s quite impressive and it has been working fine.

“I’ve been aware of it for quite a long time, as it was not a quick project. So, the first time I heard about it was something like one year ago.”

Beyond the implementation of DAS, Bottas was lifted by the early feedback from the W11.

“I would say the main improvements are the stability we’ve had with the car,” he said.

“Actually the rear end of the car feels really stable and makes it very drivable.

“We’re still discovering many things with set-ups to find something more than last year: I would say the balance through the entire speed range, from high to low speed corners is more together than in last year’s car.

“That’s what we were aiming for and I don’t want to say much more about it. At the moment we have found no negatives compared to last year yet and that’s positive.”

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Less optimistic Binotto believes Ferrari is behind rivals

Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto says he is “not as optimistic” as he was at this stage 12 months ago, and believes the squad is behind its rivals.

Ferrari led the way in winter testing in 2019 but went on to fall behind Mercedes, and scored only three wins as it finished a distant runner-up in the championship.

Mercedes has led the way through winter testing so far in 2020, with Valtteri Bottas clocking a best time of 1:15.732 in Barcelona.

Ferrari’s quickest time so far is a 1:18.154, set by Sebastian Vettel on Thursday.

“I am not as optimistic as last year, some of the others are faster than us at the moment, I believe, how much faster is really difficult to judge and I will go through all the data in the next few days,” said Binotto.

“But I don’t think we are as fast as them at the moment.

“Do we have any concerns? Certainly, yes, when you are not as fast as you would like to be.

“But I think it is too early to define it and understand it.

“These three days have been really important for us, because at least we have collected all the data and have a clear picture and better understanding.

“What will be even more important is to understand that we are developing the car in the right direction but it is a very long season with 22 races potentially so I think there will be time to recover eventually.

“Let’s wait for next week and Australia until we assess properly the true performance of everybody.

“We should not forget the history of last year. Let’s wait until next week and wait for Australia to better understand the true picture.”

On the changes Ferrari will make to its car between now and Australia, Binotto said: “It will not differ much, not for Australia but I think there is still much potential to optimise in the current package.”

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Mercedes lifts lid on W11's other design secrets

Mercedes has lifted the lid on the "aggressive" design changes that have resulted in its new W11 being "streaks ahead" of it predecessor.
While most interest surrounding the team has revolved around its bold Dual Axis Steering (DAS) system, the team has pushed the boundaries in a host of other areas in a bid to step clear of the opposition.

In a video the team released on Sunday, Mercedes technical director James Allison said the team decided to be as revolutionary as it could with its design – even though last year’s W10 ended the campaign strongly.

“The temptation for us was just to keep polishing that one, after all it finished the season really strongly and it was developing very fast all the way through the year, so there was still lots of opportunity to make that one quicker,” he said.

“That conservative approach was very, very tempting. But in the end, we decided that wouldn’t be enough. We were feeling the breath of our opponents on our shoulders. We know their hunger and we know that if we don’t do something impressive with this car, they will eat us up and leave us behind.

“So, we decided that we would make a car that was aggressive. Despite the fact that there is no change in the regulations, we would take every part of the car and see if we could challenge ourselves to make it better.”

Allison said there have been ‘hundreds’ of design changes on the W11 – including new front suspension, which offers more aerodynamic opportunity, smaller sidepods to help airflow in this area of the car and a bold step with its rear suspension.

He added: “You’re not going to see all the detail, but I can tell you that the rear suspension on this car is extremely adventurous. We have put into the back, specifically on the lower rear wishbone, we have put a new geometry in there, a new geometry that gives us more aerodynamic opportunity, allows us to get more downforce on the car.”

Reflecting on the overall package compared to last year’s W10, Allison said: “We have got a car here that is streaks ahead of that one in terms of downforce.

“We have got a car here whose development slope has kicked up, is steeper than the one that we finished last year’s with, in that very, very good car from 2019. And we’ve got a car here that we hope will be fertile ground to develop strongly all the way through the 2020 season.”

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Red Bull goes own way with new suspension idea

While most attention has been focused on the Mercedes DAS system, the German car manufacturer is not the only team to be trying something different during Formula 1 testing this week.
Its rival Red Bull has interestingly made a big change to its front suspension in a bid to try to close the deficit it has had to Mercedes in slow corners.

As Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said when asked by Motorsport.com: "The Mercedes were good in that low-speed performance last year and that's one area that we needed to improve.

"I think that we have made steps – and of course, this is just the start of a process, and the car will evolve from this point onwards."

While there are plenty of new ideas that are obvious on the Red Bull, the bold change to its suspension layout is much more hidden.

Last year's challenger, the RB15, featured a multi-link upper wishbone solution that many assumed had been cast aside when the RB16 was unveiled without it.

But a closer look at the RB16 in Barcelona has uncovered the fact that Red Bull has instead switched its concept around – using the multi-link of the lower wishbone instead (#1), with the rear leg mounted down lower (#2) than the front leg (#3) .

Furthermore, the front leg of the lower wishbone has a novelty of its own too. Not only is it mounted extremely high on the chassis, affording Red Bull the opportunity to slim the bottom of the bulkhead, it's also just a single element that passes from one side of the car to the other, through the bulkhead.

The designers have also paid attention to the forward leg of the upper wishbone, which now features the cricket bat styling on the fairing.

It's a feature that we've seen employed at the rear of the cars in the past and is a geometrical anomaly that's used for aerodynamic purposes. The benefit of the entire layout comes both in terms of weight-saving, but also in helping force airflow down towards the floor and bargeboards to improve the flow around the sidepods.

Red bull Racing RB16 front detail

Red Bull have also continued to employ the pushrod-on-upright solution that they introduced last season, which undoubtedly adds another layer of complexity to their set-up work and further compounds the drivers learning curve in terms of the chassis’ behaviour.

Front-to-back changes

Red Bull has also revamped its rear suspension design for 2020, opting for a much higher upright extension (#3), whilst also raising the lower wishbone (#1) to the centreline of the wheel too.

This puts the lower wishbone inline with the driveshaft fairing (#2) behind in order that they can work together to improve airflow in the region. The main gains of this will come from a clearer pathway for the airflow over the floor into the coke bottle region.

Red Bull Racing RB16 Rear Suspension 

The team has also looked to maximise the performance of the winglets on the brake duct assembly, totally revamping their design, with a new clearer path available to the lower winglet stack.

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Car design "cloning" can be good for F1 - Horner

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has defended teams using "clone" cars in Formula 1, because he thinks they make the sport better.
Racing Point stirred some controversy this week when it revealed its new RP20 was heavily inspired by the design of last year’s Mercedes.

While some teams are not happy at the prospect of teams copying each other, Horner thinks that anything which helps smaller teams be more competitive is a bonus.

“I think collaborations do make sense,” he said. “Otherwise, how do teams like AlphaTauri and Racing Point, Haas, even Sauber [Alfa Romeo], [compete] if they couldn't buy suspensions and gearboxes? All the R&D that they're going to have to conduct themselves will be big amounts of resource.

“Of course, some teams look like they've gone further in their cloning than others, but as long as it complies with the rules, I don't particularly have a problem with it.

“For Liberty it creates a more competitive grid. For the teams it makes Formula 1 more affordable. Of course you don't want 10 cars that all look the same, but I think there's elements to the car that are transferable, like suspension and gearboxes for example, that make a lot of sense.”

While there is no suggestion that Racing Point has breached the regulations with its design, McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl has called for strict policing of team collaborations to check that rules are followed.

“To be honest, I think the rules are pretty clear of what is allowed and what is not allowed and of course it's important already now in '20, that these rules are followed,” he said.

“There's limitations for each team of what you're allowed to do for example on the CFD side or in terms of wind tunnel hours. I assume that it's already properly policed now, that not one team for example is doing work, which then gets transferred to another team, because it would clearly not be within the regulations.”

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Albon: New Red Bull "more usable" than 2019 car

Alex Albon says the Red Bull’s 2020 Formula 1 car feels “more usable” and is a “step forwards” compared to its design from last year.
Red Bull’s RB15 was a demanding car for its drivers to master, but did score three wins with Max Verstappen during the 2019 campaign.

Albon, who is starting his first full season with Red Bull after being promoted from Toro Rosso mid-way through 2019, offered his thoughts on the new RB16 after setting the 13th-quickest overall time in the first pre-season test at Barcelona earlier this week.

Verstappen’s C3 effort on the first day of test gave Red Bull the sixth-quickest time of the three-day event.

“I'd definitely say it's more usable - in terms of you can really feel the car,” Albon said when asked for his thoughts on the new Red Bull. “It feels nicer to drive - it really does.

“I think there [were] always areas last year where we felt the car was a little bit weak in some places.

“But, with Max and I, we have quite similar feedback comments. So, coming over the winter it was kind of clear what direction we wanted to go in.

“Coming already straight into the first test, the car definitely feels better in them areas. So, we've made a step forwards.”

Verstappen said that “overall” the RB16 “feels a bit more connected”.

“But that was also the target, so there was no real surprise there,” he continued.

“I think already towards the end of the season we were working towards that, and already last year testing some ideas for this year.

“So it was what we targeted already from the winter onwards. Once I jumped in the car it was like that.”

After the first test, there is a sense that Red Bull is yet to show its hand regarding the potential of its new car, while Ferrari has said “the others are faster than us at the moment”.

When asked what areas of the RB16 Red Bull still needs to work on, Verstappen said: “Well, it can always be better, right?

“So in every area you try to look for things to improve, but I mean that's the whole year you are like that.

“So now for this week it was just all about just doing a lot of laps, it's not about just nailing the set-up because then you keep changing the car every single run.

“Sometimes it's better to not touch it, but scan out a bit of the car and make sure that you do the amount of laps – that you're really stressing the car.”

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Mercedes questions Ferrari’s downbeat F1 testing assessment

If you were to base your expectations for the 2020 Formula 1 season on the face value of the opening week of testing, the outlook would be bleak.
Mercedes swept to a one-two finish on Friday as both Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton closed out the opening test with performance runs, closing on the track record set last year.

Amid the buzz of its dual-axis steering system debut, the underlying pace of the Mercedes W11 looks fierce as ever.

Contrasting Mercedes’ strength was Ferrari’s understated start to testing as it ended the test 2.6 seconds off the pace. While the team stressed there was no intention to chase outright performance in the opening week, the gap to the front has still surprised most.

But Mercedes knows all too well how quickly things can turn around. The team looked in big trouble at the end of the opening test in 2019, only to roar back in the second week with an extensive update package that paved the way for its double title win.

In a feature recapping the opening test published by Mercedes on Friday evening, the team looked to give a clearer picture of the pecking order, but remained largely coy.

“No-one wants the egg on their face of claiming that they are faster than another team, because they can never know for certain what was hidden or what is coming next,” the piece reads.

“For example, will Red Bull bring a significant upgrade package to the second test?

“Why have Ferrari spent this test running their PU consistently at much lower levels than their partner teams?”

The final line is the stand-out point: as per Mercedes, the Ferrari power unit is nowhere near turned up to its full potential yet.

It’s an assessment that tallies up with the data. A close look suggests Ferrari may have been running its power unit as much as one second per lap off the pace - meaning the gap at the front is far from representative.

Ferrari’s top speed on the opening day (192.9 mph) was 7.2 mph down on the best set by customer team Alfa Romeo, and 9.3 mph off on Thursday. On the final day, Vettel popped up with a 204.4 mph recording at the speed trap - soon followed by his engine failure.

Vettel explained that Ferrari had not been looking to stretch the legs of its power unit - and said it may not look to do so at all through testing.

“You can play around a lot with engine modes, etc. I think right now the target is not to prove the maximum power of the engine, the target is to do as many laps as possible,” Vettel said.

“I think then ramping up the engine and so on, it's probably not something you want to do in testing and certainly not to show everyone. It's not on the agenda as far as I know.”

Vettel’s comments tie in with the understated message Ferrari has put out throughout testing, acting as the polar opposite to the hype that built around its performance in testing last year.

“We changed the approach to the testing and the programme,” team principal Mattia Binotto explained.

“We focused the first session – so all three days – in trying to map the car [in] various aero configurations, various mechanical configurations, without really trying to optimise the set-up and look for overall performance.”

But Binotto conceded he was uneasy about where Ferrari stood against its rivals: “It’s true last year I was more optimistic at that stage, because the lap time was easy to find out. It seems a bit more difficult.

“Our competitors are apparently very strong, but I think we should not forget the history of last year and let’s wait first for next week and Australia to better understand the true picture.”

But even with its times capturing the headlines at the front of the field, Mercedes has also been keeping things in perspective.

Valtteri Bottas was quietly satisfied with his first week of running, noting decent improvements in the new W11 car.

“It’s been a good feeling. No massive balance issues with the car, the behaviour has been pretty good, and I feel we’ve made good improvement every day with the car,” Bottas said.

“Even though there were no massive problems, there’s always things you’re fine-tuning with the balance, balance through different speeds and types of corners. We’ve been getting that better and better, towards where it should be.

“In general, it’s been quite good. But to say more than that as this point is a bit too early.

“But there are no real negatives compared to last year yet, so it’s positive.”

Mercedes may be leading the pack, but so long as Ferrari keeps its cards close to its chest, intrigue over the true pecking order at the front will remain - potentially until lights out in Melbourne on March 15.

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Paddock Pass: Watch Will Buxton and the drivers reflect on the first week of F1 pre-season testing

Pre-season testing kicked off in Barcelona on Wednesday as all 10 teams arrived to put their 2020 challengers through their paces for the first time.

But who was quick? Who was on the back foot? Who was happy with their programme and who is already looking at how they can catch up at next week's second session?

To find out all that and much more, watch Paddock Pass as Will Buxton runs through each team's progress through the week – and you'll hear from the drivers to get their take on where they are in the pecking order after the first three days of testing.

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Ocon predicts record-breaking season in ‘impressive’ 2020 F1 cars

Renault’s Esteban Ocon has declared himself shocked by the speed of 2020 machinery on his F1 return, after the first week of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Ocon, who spent 2019 on the side-lines as Mercedes’ third and reserve driver, got his first taste of his new Renault R.S.20 during a filming day at Barcelona on Monday, before the Frenchman clocked up 190 laps across three days of Week 1 of pre-season testing.

And after a period spent “getting the rust off” (in his own words) Ocon couldn’t hide his excitement at the performance of the current cars.

“It's impressive these new cars, I have to say,” said Ocon. “The amount of grip I feel now, I think I've never felt it before… I never went that fast in some corners before. It feels good, it's definitely exciting, because [the cars] are just going to get faster and faster, so we are going to probably break all the records I reckon this year, of lap times.”

As to the performance of his own car in particular, Ocon said the R.S.20 felt “well-born”, while rejecting claims that his height meant that he was uncomfortable in the car, after TV images during the week had appeared to show his helmet positioned high up in the Renault’s cockpit.

“I feel very comfortable,” he said. “We worked on the position the whole winter… I'm legal and I have a really good position in the car.

“So far the testing went really good,” he added. “The car feels very good to start with, it feels well-born, it feels predictable. I think it's a solid base.

“Sometimes you step in cars, and you think, 'Ah, there is an issue they've been trying to solve for the whole winter'. There isn't any… of that at the moment. It feels pretty healthy.”

Ocon and team mate Daniel Ricciardo will now regroup ahead of Week 2 of pre-season testing in Barcelona, with Renault having lacked mileage compared to some of their midfield rivals in Week 1, after suffering a number of minor issues on the new, slim-nosed R.S.20.

 

[avaldes]

I'm a little surprised Ferrari didn't go to a narrow nose. It sure seems like Mercedes have considerably more tuning options with the narrow nose. You can see Red Bull and Renault especially went in that direction. Yes there is more of a structures design challenge, but it sure seems to be worth it. Through the years racing success in F1 has been particularly sensitive to the nose. The nose shape affects the wing, the flow under and around the car. It just seems like Ferrari are being stubborn by not going in that direction.

[Baccy]

Will F1 ever have cool sounding engines again? V10... I'll settle for a V8?

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33 minutes ago, Baccy said:

Will F1 ever have cool sounding engines again? V10... I'll settle for a V8?

I don't know about "Cool sounding" perhaps artificial?

As for 10's and 8's, those days are log gone my friend. I am sad to say.  

[avaldes]

Oh to hear V10's or V8's again! I agree that pending a major change in leadership direction, the FIA is dictating that Formula One is not just a racing class, but a part of global politics. I have brought this up before and it is amazing how successful NASCAR is with pushrod engines, and NHRA is with nitro fueled dragsters. The engine formula has to appeal to the fans and I think F1 has missed the boat.

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Ferrari says first test engine issue no concern

Ferrari says the problem that affected its running during last week’s opening Formula 1 test is “no cause for concern” after evaluating the setback at its Maranello base.

Sebastian Vettel came to a halt on the morning of the final day of the opening test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Ferrari undertaking an engine change on the SF1000 thereafter.

Vettel returned to the circuit after lunch to recommence Ferrari’s test programme.

Ferrari revealed on Monday that the problem was “traced to a non-structural problem with the lubrication system.

“It’s not a cause for concern and work to correct it is already underway.”

Ferrari finished as only the eighth-fastest team during a subdued first test in which senior figures were keen to stress that it adopted a radically different programme after 2019’s mis-steps.

Vettel insisted that Ferrari has unearthed more downforce with the SF1000 compared to its predecessor while Charles Leclerc pointed to the greater set-up flexibility as one step in the right direction.

In looking ahead to the second test Ferrari said that it “will start working on performance runs”, as well as qualifying and race simulations.

Formula 1’s second three-day test will begin at the Spanish Grand Prix venue on Wednesday.

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McLaren has had best start for years, says Seidl

McLaren has made its best start to a new season in “many, many years” according to its boss, with more updates planned for the MCL35 at this week’s second test.

McLaren rose to finish as Formula 1’s midfield pace-setters in 2019, claiming fourth in the Constructors’ Championship, with Carlos Sainz Jr. logging a podium in Brazil.

It came after years of underperformance amid sub-par chassis, inconsistent development, and an abortive relationship with power unit supplier Honda.

McLaren completed the fourth-most laps through the first test and Team Principal Seidl was boosted by the squad’s early progress with the MCL35.

“We are really, really happy with how it went so far for various reasons,” he said.

“If you look at the number of laps and the reliability that we have shown so far, it is by far the best start in many, many years for McLaren going into a winter test.

“It is simply a great reward and a sign for the team that all the hard work that we have put in in the last month in order to make this step is paying off.

“I am also very happy that we could already tick off a lot of boxes on our job list. Without having this reliability we could not go through the run plan every day.

“We focus on ourselves, not lap times. We continuously bring new parts for the car as well with deliveries from the factory back home.

“So far the car is doing what we expect from it. So it is great to see this correlation.”

Looking ahead to this week’s second test, which begins on Wednesday, Seidl said: “We have a programme lined up continuously bringing new parts to the track in order to get as much performance out of the car as possible before we head to Melbourne.

“In terms of performance so far, it is still early days. We are happy with what we’ve seen so far. The car is performing as intended, so we don’t have big question marks on this.”

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Bottas wants Mercedes '21 talks expedited, more "internal"

Valtteri Bottas wants to avoid dragging out contract negotiations with Mercedes over a new deal for 2021, believing there was “too much unnecessary talk” outside the team last year.
Bottas has signed one-year contract extensions in each of the past three years with Mercedes, and is currently a free agent for the 2021 season.

Mercedes publicly considered replacing Bottas with junior driver Esteban Ocon for 2020, but ultimately deciding to re-sign the Finn at the end of August.

Ocon landed a seat at Renault, having served as Mercedes’ reserve driver through ’19.

Bottas said he felt the team could learn from last year’s negotiations and keep discussions internal through 2020, conceding it had distracted him through the middle of the season.

“I learned and the team also said they learned about how we handled that,” Bottas said. “It was a bit too much unnecessary talk outside the team. Everything should have just been kept internal.

“I think it makes things easier, and for sure [we] learned that the earlier the decisions were made last year, it’s always better. If you have to drag it on for August, September, then it kind of builds up and becomes more of a distraction.

“If things are done a couple of months earlier, then it makes it a lot more simple, because all the speculation only ramps up. For sure we learned, and hopefully we can do something before that, but we will see.”

While Bottas is eager for an early resolution to talks for next year, he said it was too soon to start negotiations with Mercedes as the team prepares for the new season.

“Naturally you want to start talking quite early on, but at this point of the year, there is no point really. It’s too early,” Bottas said. “We’re pretty busy on focusing on performance.

“But we have a good relationship with Toto [Wolff] and everyone in the team, so when it’s time, we can talk about things openly.

“I’m sure we also both ways learned last year about how we did it and communicated etc, and for sure it can be done a bit smoother and with less things happening around, headlines etc.”

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Teams urge FIA to properly police staff rotation

The FIA has been urged to ensure that Formula 1 teams are not illegally sharing information between each other by rotating staff.
The focus on team co-operation has been thrust back into the spotlight with Racing Point having taken inspiration from Mercedes' design to create its RP20.

But while there are no suggestions that the team has breached the rules with its car, the Silverstone-based outfit says it is actually concerned about other teams going beyond what is allowed by pooling together resource.

Racing Point technical director Andy Green said: "The bit that really upset and still upsets us about what goes on, is the transfer of information that can and does happen between the big team and the small team. That is circumventing the regulation. That's the bit we don't [like]."

Following close analysis of the Haas model when it entered F1, restrictions were put in place to ensure that personnel could not swiftly move around teams and transfer intellectual property.

But Green suggests that the rules may not be strictly followed by all teams, and that some information could still be getting moved around

"It was brought to a head in Abu Dhabi I think a couple of years ago, with people rotating from one team to another, from the big team to the small team, back to the big team again," he said.

"That's the bit that upsets us. That's the bit that we would never contemplate doing, and never will.

"I think it makes sense for us to be supplied with some hardware, but it's only a limited amount of hardware, this is not the whole car hardware, this is just some parts beyond what we've always had from Mercedes, so I think it's taking that and turning it to our advantage, and doing what is best for us. But what we don't like is when people try to circumvent the regulations.

He added: "We all know what was happening. And whether it's still happening or not, who knows, because we don't get a straight answer."

McLaren boss Andreas Seidl says there are no suggestions that Racing Point has breached the rules with its design, but he has concerns over the longer term impact if teams are able to get around restrictions on sharing information.

"I assume that everything that is happening there [at Racing Point] is legal and allowed by the regulation, so there's no point to complain about it," he explained.

"What is a lot more important for us as McLaren, is that looking into '21 and beyond, we need to make sure that by, let's say, cooperation of two teams, you do not go around the rules and, for example, increase your resources by, for example, personnel rotating between two teams.

"I am confident that FIA and Formula 1 is aware about that, and that is important for us.

"When the budget limitation is coming in, we need to make sure that it's actually a limitation and it's the same limitation for everyone.

"It doesn't matter if you have a cooperation with other teams – which is okay and is also allowed by the regulations on certain topics – but when it comes down to the things like monocoque, aerodynamics and do on, where you're clearly not allowed to work together. It is important for me this is properly policed from '21 onwards."

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Electrification complicating Honda's Red Bull contract talks

Honda has opened talks with Red Bull about extending its future in Formula 1 beyond 2021, but says its situation is complicated by the financial pressure on its parent road car company because of moves to electrification.
Global car manufacturers are facing tough business conditions because of regulatory clampdowns on the number and type of petrol and diesel cars they can sell.

The legislation is forcing them to embark on a push towards electric vehicles where the investment required is huge and profit margins are much less.

The situation is further complicated by governments worldwide trying to outlaw the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid engines cars by 2040 at the latest.

Honda is currently only committed to F1 until the end of next year, after it extended its contract with Red Bull and AlphaTauri by just a single season.

And although its sights are set on its most successful season in F1 since it returned to the grid in 2015, Honda has admitted that the main issue for its future is not what it achieves on track, but how wider issues for the global car market affect its finances.

Speaking exclusively to Motorsport.com, Honda’s F1 managing director Masashi Yamamoto said about the discussions about the future: “We are speaking to Red Bull about the continuation after 2021.

“But the other thing we have to consider is the whole car industry is facing a very difficult situation because of electrification.

“Many companies have to invest a lot, so we have to kind of think about the business side and how efficient we can run the program. That's the point.”

Yamamoto’s comments about the impact of regulatory restrictions comes just a few weeks after Renault non-executive board member Alain Prost voiced fears about government restrictions on what road car companies could do.

“We even don't know what technology we are going to have in the next 10 years in the automobile industry,” he said. “There's a lot of stupid regulation going on. We're going to kill the automobile industry in Europe. It is absolutely stupid.”

While the enforced move to electric cars could make Formula E more attractive for manufacturers like Honda in the short term, Yamamoto said that F1 remained Honda’s priority.

“Obviously we are interested [in FE] and we are continuing and collecting the information,” he said. “But at the moment we just focus on F1 and we don't have any plan to participate in Formula E. We have to focus on F1.”

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Latifi: Not all problems solved at Williams

Nicholas Latifi says that his Williams Formula 1 team has not yet fully addressed all the issues that it faced with last year's car.
Williams had a generally promising first test with the new FW43 in Barcelona last week, although Latifi lost valuable track time with a Mercedes engine issue on Friday.

The Canadian rookie acknowledged that the Grove team has made a significant step since its disastrous start to the 2019 season, but he cautioned that more work has to be done.

"There definitely some positive signs," he said. "There's still some negative things with the car, some things that we still have to try and sort out, some issues, let's say, characteristic carrying over from last year, so not all the problems are solved. We'll have to find out come qualifying."

Asked by Motorsport.com about the turnaround since this time last year, he agreed that the team is in a much stronger position.

"It sounds silly to say but just the fact that everything was ready on time and waiting on the light to go out on the first day of testing was a huge psychological boost for the team, especially after what happened last year.

"From my first impression of the car when I was driving on day one, I feel could for sure it's a step forward, which is great to feel as a driver because you can tell all the hard work that guys were doing over the winter, the guys and girls back in the factory, was paying off.

"So how much of a step forward it is? For sure all the other teams have made a step forward, we'll find out come the first few races. We just have to wait and see."

Latifi says his initial feedback tallied with that of teammate George Russell.

"Even from last year when I drove side by side with him in FP1s or when I was in the tyre tests, rookie tests, I was always kind of very in line with what the race drivers were saying.

"And speaking specifically about this day and a half I've driven so far, I'm pretty much mirroring exactly what he's feeling. This I guess is good for the team, that they have a uniform direction to push the car."

Asked to quantify his goals for his rookie season Latifi said his initial aim would be to match Russell's pace.

"I think it's still honestly quite difficult to set some, let's say, target goals in terms of positions and things like that, just because I think until the end of the second test, we're not exactly sure where we're going to be as a team in the competitor running order.

"That being said, obviously in F1 your biggest benchmark is always your team mate because you're in the same car. I have a very good team mate in George, so I'm looking forward to getting to race side-by-side and go up against him and see how I can fare against him.

"So I would say the goal right now is just to get on his pace as soon as possible. Obviously, coming into F1 as a rookie, for sure he'll have an advantage in the first races. I just hope we get there as quick as possible."

Latifi acknowledged Russell's suggestion that he is the well prepared for a rookie. However he pointed out that he has less opportunity to test this year.

"I would say like my overall F1 experience definitely is giving me an advantage coming in as a rookie.

"At the same time I will say this is probably the most difficult year to come in as a rookie with regards to testing, two less test days, no more in-season test days, no more rookie test days.

"So the track time leading up to the first few races is definitely down. But I feel as well prepared as I could be really, coming into my first full season."

[MIKA27]

F1's US expansion "clearly taking longer than we hoped"

Chase Carey has downplayed the impact of the delays to the planned Formula 1 race in Miami, but conceded to feeling frustration over its “ongoing complexity”.
Since its takeover of F1 in 2017, Liberty Media has been eager to grow the series in the United States, with plans for a grand prix in Miami being worked on over the past two years.

Opposition has led to a number of changes to the proposals. The current plan sees the circuit avoid public roads around the Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium, as well as avoiding on-track action during school hours.

The project is still facing protests from a number of local groups, most notably at the Super Bowl, which was held in Miami at the start of February.

But a major victory was scored earlier this month when commissioners did not vote down the proposals, allowing the Miami Dolphins’ owners to proceed with plans to build the circuit within its grounds.

Speaking to Motorsport.com at the BHMSE conference in Baku, F1 CEO and chairman Carey conceded he felt some frustration over the delays, but said building the series’ profile in the United States has always been viewed as a long-term project.  

“We knew the US was going to take time. On one level, yes, it is clearly taking longer than we would have hoped,” Carey said.

“I think it’s frustrating on one level because we’ve spent as much time and there seems to be always some degree of ongoing complexity.

“I think the reality is that the US for us, to really build it, it’s a five-year-plus timeframe. We said all along the US isn’t going to change our world in two to three years.

“The goal is really in five to 10 years from now, the US becomes a meaningful market for us. In that context, 12 months it isn’t that big a deal, but that doesn’t mean it’s not frustrating as you continue to go through it.”

Talk of additional F1 races in the United States has intensified following Roger Penske’s purchase of Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Penske confirmed at the time of the acquisition he would assess the possibility of bringing F1 back to Indianapolis, which hosted the United States Grand Prix between 2000 and 2007.

Carey remained coy on any talks with Penske, but said he was aware of the interest and spoke warmly of the circuit’s place within global motorsport.

“I know the Penskes, I’ve had contact with the Penskes, I knew them before they bought Indianapolis,” Carey said.

“But again I probably wouldn’t comment on conversations. I’m aware of the interest.

“It’s obviously an iconic track for world racing. It’s part of the Triple Crown, Monaco, Le Mans and Indy, so it speaks to what that track means. It’s a special track for the motorsports world.”

[MIKA27]

F1 2020 team guide: Can Haas bounce back after nightmare 2019?

Last season was the most difficult yet for the Haas F1 team since they joined the Formula 1 grid in 2016.

After two eighth-place finishes in the constructors' championship in their first two seasons, they jumped up to an impressive fifth in 2018, only to slip down to ninth in 2019, as they struggled to understand their car throughout the season.

And after such a troubled year, the pressure is on for Team Principal Guenther Steiner – who has become something of a celebrity after his starring role in the Netflix documentary series Drive to Survive – and his squad to perform in 2020, with owner Gene Haas watching the team's form closely.

[MIKA27]

Williams F1 Team | 2020 Formula 1 Team Guide

They had a difficult season in 2019, but Williams are hoping to get back on track in 2020 with their driving line-up of F2 graduates George Russell and Nicholas Latifi.

[MIKA27]

F1 2020 team guide: Will Mercedes make it seven from seven in 2020?

Mercedes are already on a record-breaking run in Formula 1, having won the last six drivers' and constructors' championships in a row – but there has been no let up in focus at the team's Brackley base over the winter as they look to extend their incredible run of form in 2020.

And with an unchanging line-up of key personnel from Team Principal Toto Wolff to Technical Director James Allison and drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, hopes will be high for the Silver Arrows again this year.

Can they make it seven from seven constructors' titles? And will Hamilton take his seventh drivers' championship to match the great Michael Schumacher? Check out the video above to see where the team are ahead of the new season.

[Baccy]

I don't care if Lewis takes 10 titles in current era, I still would not consider him the caliber of Schumacher. Michael drove in a different era altogether. Not only were the cars drastically different but there were far less races in a season. I don't mean any disrespect to Hamilton but to me it's an unfair comparison...

[Lotusguy]

I don't care if Lewis takes 10 titles in current era, I still would not consider him the caliber of Schumacher. Michael drove in a different era altogether. Not only were the cars drastically different but there were far less races in a season. I don't mean any disrespect to Hamilton but to me it's an unfair comparison...

Plus the points scoring system was different as well.