aroutis
07-06-20, 00:01
Εδώ συζητάμε θέματα σχετικά με τη F1. Ολοι είναι ευπροσδεκτοι αρκεί να υπάρχει ο σχετικός σεβασμός στις απόψεις του καθενός.
Promoters of the Belgian and Hungarian Grands Prix have extended their contracts with Formula 1, respectively to 2022 and 2027.
Spa-Francorchamps' original deal with F1's commercial rights holder - signed in 2018 - expired at the end of next year, but it has been prolonged by a single year as a concession made by F1 for the promoter's effort to host Belgium's flagship event behind closed gates this year.
"The maintenance of this event was made possible thanks to the work and collaboration of the Walloon Government, the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit, the RACB [Royal Automobile Club of Belgium], the FIA but also FOM, since this Grand Prix will be organised outside of the current contract and without financial contribution from the Walloon Region," said Spa Grand Prix’s CEO Vanessa Maes.
"This new model will allow the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit, an important economic tool in Wallonia, to somewhat mitigate the financial effects of this historic crisis.
"The negotiated conditions also make it possible to consolidate the place of the Belgian Grand Prix in the calendar of the Formula 1 world championship since it includes an extension of our current contract until 2022."
Hungary, which will host the third round of the 2020 F1 world championship, has struck an agreement with F1to also extend its current contract by one year until 2027.
"We have been liaising with Liberty Media how to compensate the missing profit, because the organisational cost is not lower in case of a closed event," said Zsolt Gyulay, CEO of Hungaroring Sport.
"We did our best during the discussions to get a good agreement both for the country and the sport even in these challenging times. We cannot say exact numbers, but rights fee is fragment of the one we pay in case of an open event.
"Furthermore, we have achieved an extension in our contract, so now it is valid until 2027 instead of 2026. The yearly increase of the rights fee also has been reduced, so we spared several billions of forints for the state.
"All in all, I can say that we were wise and we spared a lot."
https://f1i.com/news/374265-spa-francorchamps-and-hungaroring-extend-contracts-with-f1.html
In the round-up: The Russian Grand Prix promoters say they are prepared to hold two F1 races this year if the championship needs them to.
- - - Updated - - -
https://www.planetf1.com/news/ferrari-joins-the-list-of-teams-testing/
Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc will take to the track later this month as Ferrari join the list of teams testing ahead of the new season.
The Formula 1 drivers last drove their 2020 F1 cars back in February, testing at the Circuit de Catalunya before taking a two-week break before heading to Melbourne.
However, instead of racing, they promptly flew home when the season-opening Australian GP was called off following a positive test for a McLaren team member.
At home is where they have been ever since, waiting for a new start date to be announced.
That finally came earlier this week with confirmation that the 2020 season will begin in Austria on 5 July.
By then it will have been four months since the drivers last drove a F1 car.
Formula 1, though, is not putting on another pre-season test, instead leaving it up to the teams to make their own plans if any to give their drivers track time.
Mercedes has already announced that Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will each spend a day in a 2018 W09, running at the Silverstone circuit ‘as the team practises protocols’.
Ferrari is the latest to put on a test for its drivers with Formula1.com revealing that the Scuderia will conduct a private outing in the coming weeks, although the date and location has yet to be announced.
Both Vettel and Leclerc will be given a run in an old Ferrari.
Under F1 regulations, no teams may use their 2020 cars for the tests.
https://www.racefans.net/2020/06/06/racefans-round-up-06-06-3/
FIA tightens scrutiny of engine oil consumption and ERS tricks
The FIA has just published new technical directives ahead of the 2020 F1 season aimed at tightening the rules governing engine oil consumption and ERS power management.
The pair of new instructions are reportedly a direct result of the private agreement struck by F1's governing body with Ferrari following the former's investigation of the latter's controversial 2019 power unit.
The FIA will fit updated sensors to the power units used by front-running teams Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull that will measure the electrical power distribution of the energy recovered by an engine's ERS system.
Sensors will eventually be fitted to all cars as they become available.
The second technical directive will monitor an engine's oil consumption and ensure the latter does not breach the limit of 0.3litres/100km.
The FIA's monitoring efforts will be supported by the possibility of relying on new measurement and sealing procedures.
Ferrari's input in helping the FIA formulate its latest directives implies that they are not aimed directly at the Italian outfit.
https://f1i.com/news/374237-fia-tightens-scrutiny-of-engine-oil-consumption-and-ers-tricks.html
- - - Updated - - -
Wolff still undecided on Mercedes future beyond 2020
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff is still mulling his future with the German manufacturer beyond this season, but insists he has "the best intention" of remaining with the Silver Arrows squad.
Wolff's management contract with Mercedes expires at the end of the year and rumors of the Austrian's impending exit from the championship-winning team, of which he is a shareholder, started swirling recently.
Wolff denied the gossip which he believes was sparked by his personal investment in beleaguered sport's car manufacturer Aston Martin.
"I have bought a few shares in Aston Martin as a financial investment. I believe in the brand. I think that the strategy that is being deployed makes sense," he told members of the media on Wednesday.
"Tobias Moers, the new MD, is a guy that I've known since a long time. And I believe that he can turn around this business.
"There's a very strong group of shareholders that are backing Aston Martin today that will not let it down. And therefore, I've decided to be part of that group.
"My executive functions are unchanged. I'm at Mercedes, I'm the team principal and I am a shareholder. And it's clear that when there is no other headlines out there, that the Aston Martin thing caused some waves.
"But I'm planning with Mercedes. I have the best intention to stay here. And that is unchanged."
Wolff also dismissed reports of a difficult and strained relationship with Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius who took over the reins of the automotive group in 2019 from Dieter Zetsche.
"With Ola, I had quite a laugh when these rumours came up then that there was some dysfunctionality in our relationship," he added.
"We are on the phone many times every single week, and he's very involved. He's a very good sparring partner for myself that I wouldn't [want to] miss, in the same way Dieter was."
Still, Wolff's future with Mercedes beyond 2020 remains uncertain. The Austrian believes he can still "add a lot" as the manufacturer's representative in F1, but admits a few question still need to be thought over.
"I need to question myself," he said. "I don’t want to be a team principal that goes from great to good without realising that he’s maybe not adding as much any more to the team as he did in the beginning.
"I still feel that I can add a lot, but of course I’m contemplating about my future. I’m in discussion with Ola about how that goes.
"It is not a simple employment contract, but it involves a shareholding. But we’re in the midst of the process in carving our joint future, and therefore I don’t want to stick to some particular wording, whether that’s team principal or managing director.
"And to be honest with you I haven’t taken any decision yet, because we haven’t even started racing. So all these agreements and discussions are happening as we speak."
https://f1i.com/news/374210-wolff-still-undecided-on-mercedes-future-beyond-2020.html
- - - Updated - - -
From La stampa
After the scandal of the fuel burning on pre-season and the settlement that launched a series of questions by other teams, it was clear that this year’s Ferrari SF1000 lacked engine power that supposed came from that gray area of the rulebook.
La Gazzetta dello Sport is now informing that Ferrari has already regained that deficit and will introduce the first engine upgrade of the season, regaining from 20 to 30BHP, that would equal (or even surpass) what they had at their peak last year. Ferrari would like to realise this 'with the help of a new cylinder head, in which the combustion chamber is 'warm''. As a result, combustion should be optimised and that gives the extra bit of power. Furthermore, the SF1000 would be equipped with improved software regarding the hybrid system. The existing software would have been rewritten and is now being finished.
Gearbox flexing
After pre-season on Barcelona, the Italian noticed that the gearbox was flexing under stress that ultimately would damage the gearbox itself and other components. This issues on the gearbox come from a radical redesign introduced on the SF1000, which makes the gearbox smaller and lighter making the ‘Coke Bottle’ more efficient.
Motorsport is reporting that this flexing on the gearbox is causing some minor changes to the rear suspension, giving the infamous understeer Ferrari has been dealing with it. However, this issues are already been addressed by the Italian team, the solution is adding reinforcements of carbon fiber thus adding weight and losing a really small percentage of aerodynamic efficiency.
New nose for the SF1000
Ferrari has been using the same concept of nose since 2016 with the SF16-H and has seen little to none updates to that area. Some of the upgrades that the nose has revived over the years are some ‘Gills’ reminiscent of the 2017/18 McLaren’s and the now famous cape introduced on Singapore last year, which helped massively the SF90.
Giorgio Piola is reporting that Ferrari will indeed upgrade the nose, changing its form. Earlier in the year, this nose design change was talked about and it was supposed to have a Mercedes-esque design that never came to life. Now, Giorgio is retaking the information about the nose, but mentioning that is expected that the new nose will be similar to the RedBull one, being narrower and smaller in general.
- - - Updated - - -
Leclerc a mix of Schumacher and Raikkonen, says Alfa team manager
Charles Leclerc's ex-Formula 1 team manager says the Ferrari driver has a mix of characteristics from world champions Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen.
Leclerc made his F1 debut with Sauber in 2018 before being promoted into a race seat with Ferrari after just one year.
The Monegasque youngster starred throughout last year, winning two races and finishing fourth in the drivers' standings ahead of four-time world champion team-mate Sebastian Vettel.
Leclerc was rewarded with a new long-term contract at Ferrari, keeping him at the team until the end of 2024.
Long-serving Sauber team manager Beat Zehnder worked with Leclerc through the 2018 season and immediately felt aware he was dealing with a special talent.
"It was a very good season, it was a very interesting season working again with a young kid," Zehnder told Autosport in an interview for a series celebrating 50 years of Sauber in motorsport.
"We've done this before, but for the first time in a long time, we had a newcomer, a very special driver with a very special attitude.
"I've never seen a driver like Charles before, and it was again very rewarding for all the work we had, for all the difficult times we had, to work with a kid again.
"I've always said that for me, from his speed, he's Kimi Raikkonen, and from his working attitude, he's probably Michael [Schumacher].
"Give him a good car, and he's going to be world champion, definitely."
Zehnder has been part of Sauber's motorsport programme since 1987, working with Schumacher in the early part of his career when he raced sports cars before making his F1 debut.
Zehnder and Raikkonen first met in 2000 when the young Finn was preparing for his rookie F1 season with Sauber in 2001, before linking back up in 2019 upon Raikkonen's return to Hinwil, with the team rebranded as Alfa Romeo Racing.
Leclerc's potential was also recognised by experienced Sauber team-mate Marcus Ericsson, who was not surprised to see the 22-year-old fare so well against Vettel at Ferrari.
"I could tell straightaway that this guy is special, this is a special talent," Ericsson told Autosport.
"When I saw him joining Ferrari and going up against Vettel, I knew he was going to be super-competitive - but maybe not that he was going to be as good as he was, only in his first year with Ferrari.
"I could tell that he is a very, very special driver and talent. He's definitely helped me to show what kind of driver I am.
"I think especially when he went on and the way he drove last year with Ferrari, [that] has also helped me I think in a way."https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/149816/leclerc-a-mix-of-schumacher-and-raikkonen--alfa-boss
Promoters of the Belgian and Hungarian Grands Prix have extended their contracts with Formula 1, respectively to 2022 and 2027.
Spa-Francorchamps' original deal with F1's commercial rights holder - signed in 2018 - expired at the end of next year, but it has been prolonged by a single year as a concession made by F1 for the promoter's effort to host Belgium's flagship event behind closed gates this year.
"The maintenance of this event was made possible thanks to the work and collaboration of the Walloon Government, the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit, the RACB [Royal Automobile Club of Belgium], the FIA but also FOM, since this Grand Prix will be organised outside of the current contract and without financial contribution from the Walloon Region," said Spa Grand Prix’s CEO Vanessa Maes.
"This new model will allow the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit, an important economic tool in Wallonia, to somewhat mitigate the financial effects of this historic crisis.
"The negotiated conditions also make it possible to consolidate the place of the Belgian Grand Prix in the calendar of the Formula 1 world championship since it includes an extension of our current contract until 2022."
Hungary, which will host the third round of the 2020 F1 world championship, has struck an agreement with F1to also extend its current contract by one year until 2027.
"We have been liaising with Liberty Media how to compensate the missing profit, because the organisational cost is not lower in case of a closed event," said Zsolt Gyulay, CEO of Hungaroring Sport.
"We did our best during the discussions to get a good agreement both for the country and the sport even in these challenging times. We cannot say exact numbers, but rights fee is fragment of the one we pay in case of an open event.
"Furthermore, we have achieved an extension in our contract, so now it is valid until 2027 instead of 2026. The yearly increase of the rights fee also has been reduced, so we spared several billions of forints for the state.
"All in all, I can say that we were wise and we spared a lot."
https://f1i.com/news/374265-spa-francorchamps-and-hungaroring-extend-contracts-with-f1.html
In the round-up: The Russian Grand Prix promoters say they are prepared to hold two F1 races this year if the championship needs them to.
- - - Updated - - -
https://www.planetf1.com/news/ferrari-joins-the-list-of-teams-testing/
Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc will take to the track later this month as Ferrari join the list of teams testing ahead of the new season.
The Formula 1 drivers last drove their 2020 F1 cars back in February, testing at the Circuit de Catalunya before taking a two-week break before heading to Melbourne.
However, instead of racing, they promptly flew home when the season-opening Australian GP was called off following a positive test for a McLaren team member.
At home is where they have been ever since, waiting for a new start date to be announced.
That finally came earlier this week with confirmation that the 2020 season will begin in Austria on 5 July.
By then it will have been four months since the drivers last drove a F1 car.
Formula 1, though, is not putting on another pre-season test, instead leaving it up to the teams to make their own plans if any to give their drivers track time.
Mercedes has already announced that Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will each spend a day in a 2018 W09, running at the Silverstone circuit ‘as the team practises protocols’.
Ferrari is the latest to put on a test for its drivers with Formula1.com revealing that the Scuderia will conduct a private outing in the coming weeks, although the date and location has yet to be announced.
Both Vettel and Leclerc will be given a run in an old Ferrari.
Under F1 regulations, no teams may use their 2020 cars for the tests.
https://www.racefans.net/2020/06/06/racefans-round-up-06-06-3/
FIA tightens scrutiny of engine oil consumption and ERS tricks
The FIA has just published new technical directives ahead of the 2020 F1 season aimed at tightening the rules governing engine oil consumption and ERS power management.
The pair of new instructions are reportedly a direct result of the private agreement struck by F1's governing body with Ferrari following the former's investigation of the latter's controversial 2019 power unit.
The FIA will fit updated sensors to the power units used by front-running teams Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull that will measure the electrical power distribution of the energy recovered by an engine's ERS system.
Sensors will eventually be fitted to all cars as they become available.
The second technical directive will monitor an engine's oil consumption and ensure the latter does not breach the limit of 0.3litres/100km.
The FIA's monitoring efforts will be supported by the possibility of relying on new measurement and sealing procedures.
Ferrari's input in helping the FIA formulate its latest directives implies that they are not aimed directly at the Italian outfit.
https://f1i.com/news/374237-fia-tightens-scrutiny-of-engine-oil-consumption-and-ers-tricks.html
- - - Updated - - -
Wolff still undecided on Mercedes future beyond 2020
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff is still mulling his future with the German manufacturer beyond this season, but insists he has "the best intention" of remaining with the Silver Arrows squad.
Wolff's management contract with Mercedes expires at the end of the year and rumors of the Austrian's impending exit from the championship-winning team, of which he is a shareholder, started swirling recently.
Wolff denied the gossip which he believes was sparked by his personal investment in beleaguered sport's car manufacturer Aston Martin.
"I have bought a few shares in Aston Martin as a financial investment. I believe in the brand. I think that the strategy that is being deployed makes sense," he told members of the media on Wednesday.
"Tobias Moers, the new MD, is a guy that I've known since a long time. And I believe that he can turn around this business.
"There's a very strong group of shareholders that are backing Aston Martin today that will not let it down. And therefore, I've decided to be part of that group.
"My executive functions are unchanged. I'm at Mercedes, I'm the team principal and I am a shareholder. And it's clear that when there is no other headlines out there, that the Aston Martin thing caused some waves.
"But I'm planning with Mercedes. I have the best intention to stay here. And that is unchanged."
Wolff also dismissed reports of a difficult and strained relationship with Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius who took over the reins of the automotive group in 2019 from Dieter Zetsche.
"With Ola, I had quite a laugh when these rumours came up then that there was some dysfunctionality in our relationship," he added.
"We are on the phone many times every single week, and he's very involved. He's a very good sparring partner for myself that I wouldn't [want to] miss, in the same way Dieter was."
Still, Wolff's future with Mercedes beyond 2020 remains uncertain. The Austrian believes he can still "add a lot" as the manufacturer's representative in F1, but admits a few question still need to be thought over.
"I need to question myself," he said. "I don’t want to be a team principal that goes from great to good without realising that he’s maybe not adding as much any more to the team as he did in the beginning.
"I still feel that I can add a lot, but of course I’m contemplating about my future. I’m in discussion with Ola about how that goes.
"It is not a simple employment contract, but it involves a shareholding. But we’re in the midst of the process in carving our joint future, and therefore I don’t want to stick to some particular wording, whether that’s team principal or managing director.
"And to be honest with you I haven’t taken any decision yet, because we haven’t even started racing. So all these agreements and discussions are happening as we speak."
https://f1i.com/news/374210-wolff-still-undecided-on-mercedes-future-beyond-2020.html
- - - Updated - - -
From La stampa
After the scandal of the fuel burning on pre-season and the settlement that launched a series of questions by other teams, it was clear that this year’s Ferrari SF1000 lacked engine power that supposed came from that gray area of the rulebook.
La Gazzetta dello Sport is now informing that Ferrari has already regained that deficit and will introduce the first engine upgrade of the season, regaining from 20 to 30BHP, that would equal (or even surpass) what they had at their peak last year. Ferrari would like to realise this 'with the help of a new cylinder head, in which the combustion chamber is 'warm''. As a result, combustion should be optimised and that gives the extra bit of power. Furthermore, the SF1000 would be equipped with improved software regarding the hybrid system. The existing software would have been rewritten and is now being finished.
Gearbox flexing
After pre-season on Barcelona, the Italian noticed that the gearbox was flexing under stress that ultimately would damage the gearbox itself and other components. This issues on the gearbox come from a radical redesign introduced on the SF1000, which makes the gearbox smaller and lighter making the ‘Coke Bottle’ more efficient.
Motorsport is reporting that this flexing on the gearbox is causing some minor changes to the rear suspension, giving the infamous understeer Ferrari has been dealing with it. However, this issues are already been addressed by the Italian team, the solution is adding reinforcements of carbon fiber thus adding weight and losing a really small percentage of aerodynamic efficiency.
New nose for the SF1000
Ferrari has been using the same concept of nose since 2016 with the SF16-H and has seen little to none updates to that area. Some of the upgrades that the nose has revived over the years are some ‘Gills’ reminiscent of the 2017/18 McLaren’s and the now famous cape introduced on Singapore last year, which helped massively the SF90.
Giorgio Piola is reporting that Ferrari will indeed upgrade the nose, changing its form. Earlier in the year, this nose design change was talked about and it was supposed to have a Mercedes-esque design that never came to life. Now, Giorgio is retaking the information about the nose, but mentioning that is expected that the new nose will be similar to the RedBull one, being narrower and smaller in general.
- - - Updated - - -
Leclerc a mix of Schumacher and Raikkonen, says Alfa team manager
Charles Leclerc's ex-Formula 1 team manager says the Ferrari driver has a mix of characteristics from world champions Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen.
Leclerc made his F1 debut with Sauber in 2018 before being promoted into a race seat with Ferrari after just one year.
The Monegasque youngster starred throughout last year, winning two races and finishing fourth in the drivers' standings ahead of four-time world champion team-mate Sebastian Vettel.
Leclerc was rewarded with a new long-term contract at Ferrari, keeping him at the team until the end of 2024.
Long-serving Sauber team manager Beat Zehnder worked with Leclerc through the 2018 season and immediately felt aware he was dealing with a special talent.
"It was a very good season, it was a very interesting season working again with a young kid," Zehnder told Autosport in an interview for a series celebrating 50 years of Sauber in motorsport.
"We've done this before, but for the first time in a long time, we had a newcomer, a very special driver with a very special attitude.
"I've never seen a driver like Charles before, and it was again very rewarding for all the work we had, for all the difficult times we had, to work with a kid again.
"I've always said that for me, from his speed, he's Kimi Raikkonen, and from his working attitude, he's probably Michael [Schumacher].
"Give him a good car, and he's going to be world champion, definitely."
Zehnder has been part of Sauber's motorsport programme since 1987, working with Schumacher in the early part of his career when he raced sports cars before making his F1 debut.
Zehnder and Raikkonen first met in 2000 when the young Finn was preparing for his rookie F1 season with Sauber in 2001, before linking back up in 2019 upon Raikkonen's return to Hinwil, with the team rebranded as Alfa Romeo Racing.
Leclerc's potential was also recognised by experienced Sauber team-mate Marcus Ericsson, who was not surprised to see the 22-year-old fare so well against Vettel at Ferrari.
"I could tell straightaway that this guy is special, this is a special talent," Ericsson told Autosport.
"When I saw him joining Ferrari and going up against Vettel, I knew he was going to be super-competitive - but maybe not that he was going to be as good as he was, only in his first year with Ferrari.
"I could tell that he is a very, very special driver and talent. He's definitely helped me to show what kind of driver I am.
"I think especially when he went on and the way he drove last year with Ferrari, [that] has also helped me I think in a way."https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/149816/leclerc-a-mix-of-schumacher-and-raikkonen--alfa-boss