The shock resignation of senior design engineer David Sanchez last week triggered a wave of speculation that Ferrari could face fresh departures.There were rumours that race director Laurent Mekies was looking at leaving, and even suggestions that Ferrari could be forced to take back Haas technical chief Simone Resta if it lost further design personnel.Clarifying the situation ahead of the …Keep reading
On race morning of the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix earlier this month, Ferrari detected an anomaly in Leclerc’s power unit control electronics and decided to replace it with a new set.But on the lap 40 of the Sakhir race, Leclerc pulled over with a loss of power and it soon emerged that the control electronics were again to blame for Ferrari’s first DNF of 2023.After analysis in …Keep reading
F1 is pushing ahead in abandoning fossil-based products from 2026, as it makes the commitment for cars to be fuelled by 100% sustainable fuel.The move forms part of a joint effort for the series to be carbon neutral by 2030, as well as hoping that the championship’s best brains can come up with a drop-in fuel that will then be available to the public to help reduce pollution in the wider …Keep reading
With Jost Capito gone after his short tenure in charge, new recruit James Vowles now has the reins of the team, and the Sakhir result represented a pretty good start for the new boss.Vowles would be the last man to claim any responsibility for the strong performance in the season opener, simply because he hadn’t had time to make his mark, having started at Grove just a few days before the …Keep reading
A poor adaption to the new-for-2022 ground-effects regulations left Williams uncompetitive last season to wind up bottom with eight points – compared to 35 for AlphaTauri in ninth.That led to the high-profile departure of CEO and team principal Jost Capito after his two years at the helm. He was followed out the door by long-time Volkswagen Motorsport ally Francois-Xavier Demaison, who was …Keep reading
Aston Martin stunned the paddock with its promising pace during winter testing, which was confirmed in the Bahrain Grand Prix as Alonso scored a podium on his first race for the Silverstone-based team.The season opener at Sakhir showed that Aston, which finished seventh in the 2022 Constructors’ Championship, has bridged the gap from the midfield to the frontrunners and that it can …Keep reading
The Spaniard classified fourth in the season opener and was 48s adrift of runaway winner Max Verstappen at the flag, while team-mate Charles Leclerc retired with a power unit electrical failure on lap 39 of 57.That comparatively poor performance prompted new team principal Fred Vasseur to defend the 2023 car, insisting that an imperfect set-up was responsible for the pace deficit rather than a …Keep reading
The Milton Keynes-based squad was handed a 10% reduction in aero development time for this season, as well as a $7 million fine, after it was found to have breached the cost cap on its way to helping Max Verstappen win the 2021 drivers’ title.While it believes it has limited the impact of the sanction so far in developing its RB19, it is under no illusions that things will get harder from …Keep reading
Certainly, the first two contests on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit haven’t been short of talking points. See Verstappen clipping the wall in 2021 to scupper his hitherto sensational Q3 lap before the title battle with Lewis Hamilton took another heated turn, as the protagonists repeatedly went wheel-to-wheel between red flags before their infamous collision.Then, last year, after the very …Keep reading
Chester, who took over from James Allison as technical director at the Enstone team in 2013 when it was known as Lotus, remained in charge of the squad’s technical operations until 2020.Thereafter, he joined the Mercedes Formula E squad where he was part of the team’s back-to-back drivers’ titles in 2020-21 and 2021-22, and remained there for its initial transition to McLaren.In Andretti’s …Keep reading