April 28, 2024 · 1:32 pm

Ocon: Too early to judge Alpine F1 upgrades

Esteban Ocon says it is too early to judge the upgrade package trialled on his Alpine A524 Formula 1 car at the Chinese GP.

The Enstone team was able to fast track one set of new parts for Ocon’s use in Shanghai, while his team mate Pierre Gasly stayed with the standard car.

Ocon started 13th and had a solid race to 11th in the main event, while Gasly was not far behind him at the flag.

Ocon conceded that it was and the team’s his best race of 2024 thus far, but he remained cautious on the overall impact of the changes.

“I think happier and a bit disappointed at the same time not to be in the points,” he said when asked by this writer about his race.

“We ended up through 2.3 seconds away from the points, which is difficult to swallow, given the job that we’ve done this weekend.

“I think it was fully maximised. I feel like this race has been my best driving race of the whole season, I was very happy with how I managed everything.

“And there was clearly nothing left on the table. So to not have that reward is a little bit sad, but it’s going in the right direction, a small step at a time.

“I think both cars made a good step forward, well inside the top 15. Of course, a lot has happened this race. So difficult to give conclusions exactly on where we would have ended up if everyone was there.

“But we will keep pushing, and hopefully we have one more shot of being close to the points in Miami.”

Ocon stressed that the team would have to conduct a proper analysis of how the upgraded car compared to rivals in the Shanghai event.

“I think we need to dig in exactly on what has been better,” he said. “I think for sure the weight has been an improvement.

“On the rest, I think we need further analysis to exactly see if it has brought a clear performance advantage, because I think both cars were in good shape in that weekend on that side.”

Regarding future prospects he added: “At the moment, we haven’t scored one point this season. So it’s early to say. But it’s our best finish of the year with both cars.

“We need to be careful what we read into it, we need to be careful also, who was there in that race? There’s been many things happening, and lot of contenders that are in the back.

“So that’s the other thing, that we need to be careful on. But on the same time, I feel like it’s been a very strong weekend on the operational side, and on my side driving, and I’ve been happy with that. So we keep going.”

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April 28, 2024 · 11:24 am

Wolff: Mercedes F1 team must focus on low-speed performance

Toto Wolff says that his Mercedes Formula 1 team has addressed the high-speed issues with the W15, and now has to focus on low-speed performance.

The team is currently lying a distant fourth in the World Championship behind Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren, with drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell making clear their frustration at the poor form.

Wolff cited a solid performance over the Japanese GP weekend as evidence that the car is at least competitive at tracks with faster corners.

“I think we absolutely achieved that,” said Wolff. “In the high-speed we were super competitive also in Suzuka through the Esses, say and night to what we had before. The drivers were speaking about the best car they had so far in those last two and a half years. But then we really didn’t perform in the low-speed.

“So you’re gaining half a second in the high-speed, you’re losing half a second in the low-speed, and that the equation is back to zero. So that is something which we need to improve.

“We’re beyond the point of understanding, we just need to improve now, that is what it needs to come to. And we have all the facts on the table. We know what we tweaked in order to solve the high-speed, we know where the car was before, to be quick through the slow-speed.

“And now we just need to bolt the car together that does both of them. And as before, we’ve seen those moments of performance. But overall, we’re just not good enough at this stage.”

Wolff suggested that Mercedes was flattered last year by other teams underperforming, indicating that the competition is now consistently stronger.

“I think the cars were difficult all along these last two years,” he said. “The advantage that we had is that McLaren was not racing us for most of the, let’s say, first half of the season. So they weren’t that competitive.

“Ferrari wasn’t the as quick, and dropped the ball on several occasions. And that’s why we were a regular podium contender, and closest to Red Bull.

“Now that these teams have picked up the performance levels, this is a relative game, and suddenly what was good enough for third last year is just good enough for sixth. And that’s why it’s tough.

“The car is as difficult as it has been in the past, tricky for the drivers. When we discussed it George said it was the most tricky qualifying car that he’s had so far. So overall, in a way, same symptoms.”

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April 26, 2024 · 8:39 am

Hulkenberg leaves Haas F1 team to join Sauber and Audi

Hulkenberg is on his way to Audi. Photo: @tinnekephotography

Nico Hulkenberg is to join the Sauber Formula 1 team for 2025 and thus be a key part of the transition into full Audi identity the following year.

The German has long been linked with a future at Sauber/Audi, having previously driven for the team for a single season in 2013, when he scored points on 10 occasions and finished 10th in the World Championship.

Hulkenberg is well known to Sauber CEO Andres Seidl, the pair having worked together at Porsche in 2015, when he won the Le Mans 24 Hours.

“The signing of Nico is the next milestone for Audi’s F1 project,” said Seidl. “With his speed, his experience and his dedicated teamwork, he will make an important contribution to Audi’s entry in 2026 as early as next year.

“Right from the start, there was great mutual interest in tackling a project of this uniqueness together. Nico is a strong personality, his determination and desire on a professional and personal level will help us to make progress both in the development of the car and in building up the team.”

Hulkenberg said: “I’m returning to the team I worked with back in 2013 and have fond memories of the strong team spirit in Switzerland. The prospect of competing for Audi is something very special. When a German manufacturer enters F1 with such determination, it’s a unique opportunity. To represent the factory team of such a car brand with a power unit made in Germany is a great honour for me.”

He added: “It‘s a big project with high ambitions and a huge challenge, a challenge that I am very much looking forward to. The conversations with Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffmann were very trustful, characterised by a lot of appreciation and mutual understanding regarding the common goals.”

Shortly before the Sauber announcement Haas confirmed that Hulkenberg will leave at the end of the 2024 season.

“I’d like to extend my thanks to Nico for his contributions to the team in the time that he’s been here with us,” said team boss Ayao Komatsu. “He’s been a great team player and someone we very much enjoy working with.

“His experience and feedback have proved invaluable to us in terms of improving our overall performance – a fact that’s clearly evident in both his qualifying and race performances in the VF-24 this season.

“There’s lots more racing to go this year so we look forward to continuing to benefit from his inputs throughout the remainder of the 2024 season.”

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April 25, 2024 · 7:46 am

Gasly “impatient” to get Alpine F1 upgrade in Miami

Pierre Gasly says he’s impatient to get the Alpine upgrade package that his team mate Esteban Ocon trialled at the Formula 1 Chinese GP.

Logistical constraints meant that only Ocon could use the new parts in Shanghai, with encouraging results.

Ocon finished just outside the points in 11th, while even with the standard package Gasly was 13th, despite having lost some time early on with a pit stop delay.

“It’s just a couple of kilos lighter, more aero, more points of downforce all around,” Gasly said of the new package. “Most important is that is working. We saw it from the first session. A bit impatient to get it, but I know from Miami onwards, I’ll be on that package.

“And we’ll keep working, because we still want more than what we are seeing. So we still need to find more performance.”

Expanding on the weight saving he added: “It was actually even more than we expected. So it was a nice surprise arriving here. The car was overweight at the start of the year. And now we’re getting definitely close to where is our target.”

Gasly said he was encouraged by how both cars performed in Shanghai, with even his unmodified A524 showing improved performance.

“I’m actually quite pleased, because from every race since the start of the year that’s probably one of the closest from the top 10 we finished,” he said.

“On my side I knew it was going be difficult, looking at the performance in the first four races. Without the upgrade this weekend, I knew it was going to be tough.

“But in the end, we still managed to make it to Q2, did a good sprint race, quali and race. And today we actually managed to overtake a couple of guys, and be in the mix. Obviously not everything was smooth, there were a couple of moments which we need to review, which didn’t go as good as they should have been.

“But I think all-in-all, I’m just looking forward to being in Miami, and get that upgrade. And looking at Esteban, he’s not that far from the top 10. So it’s definitely positive to see it’s bringing us closer to the points.

“But obviously, we’ve got to keep working. The gap still big, and we’ve got to close it, and keep bringing new parts on the car.”

Gasly is convinced that the team is now going in the right direction after its troubled start to the 2024 season.

“The first few races we felt so much on the backfoot, we can’t really attack, we can’t really defend our position,” he noted. “Whereas it [the upgrade] just brings us a couple of tenths, which means we can be slightly closer, we can be a bit more in the mix.

“And on days like today we can see that we’re actually not that far from the points. There is a big gap with the top five. So it seems like at least for the next couple of months, we’ll be fighting for small points.

“But yeah, it will be crucial, and definitely make a big difference at the end of the year. Definitely looking forward to be in Miami.”

Gasly also conceded that a mechanic changing the right rear tyre was lucky to escape injury in the pit stop drama.

“Quite scary, actually,” he said. “The light went green, so I dropped the clutch, but then it went red straight away. And then I saw in the mirror that the wheel wasn’t on. The mechanic is fine, which I was a bit scared of.

“Obviously we’ve had a couple of instances this year where I’ve lost some time in the box. So I’m sure we’ll review exactly what’s happened, and improve it for next time.”

He added: “I had a bit of a moment with Alex [Albon] at the start as well, kind of being pushed wide. So there are a couple of areas where we’ve lost time, and we’ll review. But with the car that we had today, honestly, I’m already glad we finished 13th.”

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April 24, 2024 · 6:14 pm

Allison: “No pleasure” for Mercedes F1 team in China

Mercedes Formula 1 technical director James Allison says that his team can take “no pleasure” from a Chinese GP weekend during which the tricky W15 simply wasn’t good enough.

George Russell finished sixth and Lewis Hamilton was ninth in Sunday’s main event as the Brackley outfit was outperformed by Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari, although second place for Hamilton in the Saturday sprint provided some encouragement.

Nevertheless overall it was a disappointing event for the Mercedes team, which is bringing an upgrade package to the upcoming Miami GP.

“It’s no pleasure at all to be taken from a weekend which even though competently executed and well driven by both guys, no pleasure at all when the hardware itself is not where it needs to be or should be,” said Allison in a team video.

“That’s of course the challenge that we face in the coming races, to try and move both the setup of the car and also the pieces that we bring to the car so that that’s improved.

“We’ve got upgrade packages coming to the car, but also components that we hope will rectify the underlying balance that is causing us difficulty.

“Much as it’s painful to talk in this way after a weekend like this, I just have to remember that there’ll be races in the future when we’ve executed those things, when we’re back more on the front foot, and when we’re progressing where the pleasure of talking about it will be massive. And that day can’t come soon enough.”

Allison said that the team continued to learn lessons about the difficult W15 in China.

“Every weekend you go to you learn things,” he said. “It’s one of the truisms of F1, it is a learning race, and although you have a factory full of tools, you have a load of computational power, a load of people who are thinking about it, there is no place to learn about the car better than with the car at the track, doing what it’s designed to do.

“We head from China, one of the most famously front-limited circuits, to Miami, a track that is more in the rear-limited end of the spectrum.

“And our challenge will be to make sure we don’t try and replay China at a Miami that is a very, very different beast, and wants different things from the car than China will.”

Intriguingly Allison says that the team has realised that the best way to make use of the new sprint weekend parc ferme rules is to take setup risks for the shorter event, and potentially then rein things in for qualifying and the main race.

 “We face the enjoyment of another sprint weekend with this second go of having two bites of the cherry,” he said. “And we definitely learned during this weekend that if you’re going to be ambitious, be ambitious in the sprint race, and then tune it down for the main race rather than the opposite way around.

“And hopefully we’ll land a car in a better place, that the upgrades that we’re going to bring to Miami serve us well in a grid that in qualifying at least is really close.

“Around the part of the battle we’re fighting a few hundredths can make a difference sometimes, and a couple of tenths would make all the difference in the world. So looking forward to seeing how that all plays out.”

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April 24, 2024 · 3:25 pm

Hulkenberg: “Good reaction” from Haas after F1 sprint frustration

Nico Hulkenberg says that his Haas Formula 1 team had a “good reaction” in Shanghai following a disappointing sprint event.

Hulkenberg qualified for the Saturday morning sprint in 13th and slipped back to 19th after struggling with tyre degradation.

The team took advantage of the new parc ferme rules to make changes for the afternoon’s main qualifying session, in which the German earned ninth place.

In Sunday’s Grand Prix he finished 10th and the best of the rest behind the cars from the top five teams.

It was his third score in five starts in 2024, following a 10th place in Jeddah and a ninth in Melbourne.

Asked by this writer if he was satisfied with his Shanghai weekend Hulkenberg said: “Definitely, especially after how it went yesterday morning [in the sprint], and also Friday in the sprint quali. A very good reaction, and recovery.

“It just shows that everything has to be perfect for us to put ourselves in that position, and we did that, two close-to-perfect sessions.

“And one point is all that’s available obviously, with one of the top five teams’ cars not being where it should be. And that’s all there is at the moment.”

Hulkenberg admitted that while the post-sprint setup changes worked the car could have been even better.

“I think always with more time you would still continue working and try to improve it,” he said. “But with the limited time and running, that’s what you have.

“Just the race felt very, very static from where I was sitting, and these cars it gets incredibly difficult to follow.

“I think the FIA should look into that again, because the dirty air effect is close to what it was again in 2019- 2020. And obviously that’s not great for racing and for dynamic action.”

Regarding the next event he said: “Miami is a super nice venue, a very special one for sure, one of our three home races. So we go there with good vibes, and expect a hot weekend, and see what we get.”

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April 24, 2024 · 1:19 pm

Ferrari confirms HP title sponsorship deal

Ferrari has confirmed a lucrative title sponsorship deal with HP Inc as yet another US tech giant takes advantage of the sport’s growing profile.

Henceforth the Italian team will be known as Scuderia Ferrari HP, with the cars and drivers carrying the logos.

The team had already revealed that it will be using a special blue-focussed livery over the Miami GP weekend, where the new partnership will be formally launched.

The HP deal also encompasses the Ferrari Esports team, and the Driver Academy, including the F1 Academy car driven by Maya Weug.

HP or its subsidiaries have been involved with F1 on and off for decades, including recent deals with Red Bull Racing, Mercedes, Alfa Romeo/Sauber and Renault. It also had a long connection with Jordan.

The Maranello outfit says that “HP and Ferrari are committed to accelerate sustainable innovation whether through technology or sport. The companies will also work together to expand educational initiatives within their teams and communities, and create a lasting impact for generations to come.”

The deal is the latest of several to be put together on the watch of team principal Fred Vasseur, who worked with HP at Sauber.

“Our founder passed on to us his continuous will to progress,” said Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna.

“From this stems our drive to innovate on the road and on the track, as well as our commitment to a sustainable future, from carbon neutrality to the education of the younger generation.

“In HP we have found the same values, which make it an ideal partner. We look forward to starting our collaboration and facing new opportunities and challenges together.”

HP CEO Enrique Lores said: “With technology, performance and exceptional craftsmanship fuelling the future, the partnership between HP and Ferrari is a natural fit.

“Both brands are built on rich histories that have endured the test of time. Through this unique collaboration, we also have an opportunity to reach new audiences, drive business growth, and create lasting impact for our shared clients and communities.

“Together we will leverage the global stage of racing to accelerate sustainable innovation.”

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April 24, 2024 · 5:52 am

Russell: Mercedes F1 team has to “keep working on the basics” with W15

George Russell admits that his Mercedes Formula 1 team has to get back to basics and focus on adding more downforce to the difficult W15.

Russell got ahead of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz on the first lap of the Chinese GP, but he ultimately lost out to both on his way to sixth at the flag.

With Lewis Hamilton recovering to ninth from his 18th starting position it was not a great Sunday for the team, although a solid performance in the Saturday sprint was something of a boost.

“It was probably the highlight, the first lap and getting ahead of the Ferraris,” said Russell when asked by this writer about his start.

“But I think P6 was a fair result, and a fair representation of where we are as a team right now. It’s been a good weekend, having this format to be able to try different things between the two races.

“In both races the performance was very similar. So we just need to go back to the factory, keep working on the basics, which is putting more downforce on the car.”

The advantage of the new sprint weekend and parc is that teams can try different set-ups in both races, potentially coming away with more knowledge of how their cars work in race conditions and in traffic.

However Russell conceded that Mercedes still has a lot of catching up to do.

“The fact is, Red Bull are still a long way ahead of everybody. And I think it was only probably only yesterday in the sprint race that we really saw their true potential, Verstappen pulling a second on everybody comfortably.

“So yeah, we shouldn’t kid ourselves. We’ve got of course a lot of work that we need to do to close that gap with them, and get in the fight with Ferrari and Lando.”

Asked if he would have had the same outcome in the main race if he’d stuck to the sprint set-up he said: “I think it would have been the same. I think that’s good learning in itself. We’ve had two different set-ups this weekend, both of which produced very similar lap times and performance.

“So the work needs to be back at a factory and ultimately in F1, the more downforce you have, the faster you’ll go. And the setup is the cherry on the cake.”

Russell admits that it’s about getting the basics right.

“I think we’ve understood enough so far that we just need to add downforce,” he said. “We’ve changed philosophies, we’ve changed concepts quite a few times now, over the last two years.

“My personal view is no matter what concept you’re on, you just need to have as much downforce as possible. And you’ll deal with the limitations thereafter. So yeah, let’s see. In Miami we’ve got some upgrades coming to the car. Let’s see what we can achieve there.

He added: “I think there is no silver bullet, and we just need to keep on adding performance, and focusing on the basics, which is in the wind tunnel, which is the CFD, just adding downforce and maybe sometimes it’s as simple as that.”

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April 22, 2024 · 2:30 pm

Carlos Sainz: “It was a bit wild and all over the place…”

Carlos Sainz says that he faced a struggle to tame his Ferrari on the way to fifth place in the Formula 1 Chinese GP, admitting that at times “it was a bit wild and all over the place.”

Having survived a crash in qualifying the Spaniard started seventh, and lost a place to George Russell at the start.

Like team mate Charles Leclerc he eventually ran a one-stop strategy, but despite the safety car periods helping out it wasn’t easy for him to stretch out the life of his hard tyres. The red cars crossed the line in fourth and fifth, with the Monegasque driver ahead.

“It just hasn’t been a very good weekend for us as a team,” said Sainz when this writer asked him about the outcome.

“I think we were just not strong enough this weekend, P6/P7 in quali, and clearly also lacking a bit in the race, just with a clear lack of pace compared to the McLaren of [Lando] Norris.

“And in the end P4/P5 given how bad the start went for both cars and how early I had to pit for the hard to then one-stop from there, P5 is actually a good result, given the circumstances.”

Sainz admitted that the car wasn’t easy to drive at times.

“I particularly struggled with the front today,” he said. “In low-speed corners I was just understeering like crazy. We were having to run the kerbs a lot to turn the car, driving around in a very unnatural way in some places.

“When you look at the onboard it was a bit wild and all over the place, going on the sand and grass in some places. It was quite crazy how much we were struggling today.

“But when I saw the track map and I drove the car in the sim I kind of saw that this was going be a tough weekend for our car characteristics.”

Sainz’s Shanghai race included at one point a fraught battle with the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll.

“Honestly, I think everyone struggled a bit to overtake in general this weekend,” he said. “I think it’s starting to get to a point where these cars are tough to follow, tough to get in a position to overtake, and you have to do some of those dive bombs if you want to get it done.

“In that case, I overdid it a bit, but I was going to pass him the straight after anyway. So yeah, we were trying to recover honestly the places we lost at the start, which were a bit too many.”

Sainz says admits that the team needs to find some performance in the coming weeks.

“Clearly we need some upgrades if we want to be a bit more competitive in these sorts of long duration-type corners,” he said.

“I think here and Suzuka, we need something. In terms of maybe circuits like Australia, we’re better off. There are going to be circuits where the Red Bull is going to be clearly ahead anyway, and the McLaren is going to be stronger.

“There’s going to be other circuits like Australia where I think we’re going to be up there. So it’s very circuit dependent. But clearly, if we want to be stronger at circuits like China, we need a better platform for this kind of track.”

Asked if the package currently scheduled for Imola will make a difference he added: “I hope so, that’s the plan. Let’s see if it actually works like that, to try and make Red Bull’s life more complicated. If not, they’re walking off with many wins this season again.

“Miami, I have a better feeling than here. Not an Australia, but I think Miami should be a bit better for us.”

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April 22, 2024 · 2:06 am

Toto Wolff: Mercedes W15 is still “full of surprises”

Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff admits that this year’s W15 is still “full of surprises” as its form continues to fluctuate from race-to-race.

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton could not better sixth and ninth in China, the latter having worked his way up from 18th on the grid.

Hamilton had a much stronger sprint event on Saturday, even leading briefly before losing out to Max Verstappen.

Nevertheless overall it was a disappointing weekend for the Brackley team, which now has its sights set on an upgrade package that will be introduced at the upcoming Miami GP.

“I think what you’ve seen today with P6 and P9 is not satisfying,” said Wolff after the Shanghai race. “We’re trying to manage our expectations, knowing that the car is full of surprises.

“It was in a good place on Saturday, much better, we were able to – apart from maybe Max – be there, benefiting of course from the battle behind us.

“And it shows that when you’re able to run more in clean air, when you’re at the front, that the performance is better. But today probably with P6 we’ve maximised what the potential of the car was, and that’s just not good enough. And we all know that.”

He added: “I think the car is a difficult car to set up, and difficult car to drive. And that’s why you have these oscillations in performances, in my opinion.

“And I think where Lewis’s car was today was certainly far away from the optimum, and then he’s driving it on the knife’s edge. This where we are. And let’s say for Miami, we are bringing some new bits. It will be interesting to see how they’re going to perform on the car.”

Hamilton started Sunday’s main event on the soft tyre, although he didn’t get much performance out of it.

“The theory said he should have a strong start with the softer rubber,” said Wolff. “And the grip just wasn’t there on the soft, and I would more put it down to our own performance, that we couldn’t really make the steps that we expected. And obviously then it becomes very difficult.”

Wolff insisted that the Ferrari-bound Hamilton is not losing faith.

“I think that Lewis is a pro and has behaved in that way until now,” he said. “Trying to keep his morale up, and the morale of the team, even if the results don’t come. So I think I have no doubt that this is going to last.”

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