Alpine’s form was one of the main question marks after pre-season testing, in which it didn’t set fast times on Pirelli’s softest compounds.But the race weekend revealed only a glimpse about Alpine’s true place in the pecking order as both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly ran into issues.Ocon qualified ninth but then faced three time penalties in the race before he retired.Gasly started …Keep reading
The 2009 F1 world champion and Sky TV pundit says that Sakhir was only one sample venue, and that the balance of power may change at other circuits as the season unfolds.Button, whose entry into the NASCAR Cup with a three-race programme of road courses was announced yesterday, says the Bahrain season opener was a “great” race to watch.He noted that a “pretty special” battle between …Keep reading
Matters were not made easy for him as a shorter DRS zone, and Aston Martin’s relative lack of straightline speed, meant there was no chance of easily passing on the straight.Instead, Alonso pulled off some great overtaking moves, which included a brilliant dive down the inside of Lewis Hamilton at the tricky Turn 10.These passes were possible because Alonso knows that one of the strengths …Keep reading
Upon his arrival at the team in 2019, McLaren’s former boss Andreas Seidl pushed for the construction of a new state-of-the-art wind tunnel and simulator after the Woking team’s ageing infrastructure had fallen behind compared to that of its rivals.The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant delays in both projects, with the latest deadline shifting to the summer of 2023.Seidl’s replacement …Keep reading
The new design, which is intended to clean up the airflow to the wing, triggered a DRS issue when it was trialled on the final day of testing.When it was tried again in the Friday FP1 session, TV coverage showed it oscillating in dramatic fashion, and it was quickly replaced with a standard twin-pylon wing for the remainder of the weekend.Veteran Ferrari engineer Jock Clear, who …Keep reading
Mercedes introduced its widebody chassis blister solution as part of a larger package of updates for the W13 at last season’s British Grand Prix, and it continues to use the solution this year too.The blister pack, which was added to the sides of the Alfa C43’s chassis in Bahrain – it hadn’t featured during testing – amplifies the aerodynamic effect that all of the teams are trying …Keep reading
Team boss Toto Wolff promised at the car’s launch last month that a revised sidepod design was already on the way, one that would the car move away from the ‘size-zero’ design carried over from last year’s W13.After a disappointing performance in Bahrain, Wolff suggested that the concept of the car wasn’t working, and Shovlin has confirmed that the team will have to look beyond changes to the …Keep reading
Sanchez, who has effectively been in charge of the design and development of Ferrari’s F1 cars for the past two seasons, has been at Maranello for more than 10 years.He originally joined the squad from McLaren in October 2012 as principal aerodynamicist, before replacing Dirk de Beer as chief aerodynamicist in 2016.The Frenchman was then promoted to lead the entire aerodynamics department …Keep reading
The former world champion squad endured a disappointing Bahrain Grand Prix last weekend as it found itself behind main opposition Red Bull and Ferrari, and it was also leapfrogged by Aston Martin.Its struggles have left the German car manufacturer pondering a complete change of car concept as it believes it needs to do something different to get back to the front of the grid.While the …Keep reading