South Africa's 'only card to play' is the absence of an African F1 race - Roux

Kyalami Grand Prix circuit main straight, and pit facility. 
PHOTO CREDIT: Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit

Long, twisty, and undulating, are but a few words to describe South Africa’s journey to bring Formula One back to the African continent after nearly 31 years. 

South Africa's Grand Prix history dates back to 1934 when races were first held in East London, before a move to Kyalami in Johannesburg.

As the years ticked on, the day finally arrived, and in 1993 Formula 1 hosted its final Grand Prix in South Africa, which was won by Alain Prost in a Williams at Kyalami. But, despite the departure of F1, motorsport within the country continued to thrive, with various tin-top championships, and single-seater races continuing, including the MotoGP Championship that raced in the southern tip of Africa until 2004. 

Whilst MotoGP also departed, in came the A1 Grand Prix championship, which was first held in Durban, before moving to Kyalami, but as the years progressed, the 4.529-kilometer circuit located in Midrand, Gauteng fell into disrepair, and came close to being sold to property developers. However, a late bid from Porsche SA's CEO Toby Venter, meant the iconic circuit's future was secure. And with further investments, to the value of R100 million, Kyalami began their facility upgrade project, broadening the pitlane, constructing bigger garages, and a state-of-the-art conference facility.

With the upgrades completed, in 2016, the Kyalami Grand Prix circuit earned FIA Grade 2 certification, which means the circuit can host the FIA World Endurance Championship, as well as MotoGP, but to secure a Formula One return, Grade 1 certification is required, and to achieve this minor changes are required, mainly: run-off zones, and paddock facilities. 

Like many countries, there are governing bodies overseeing motorsport, and in South Africa,  Motorsport SA (MSA) sanctions all events in relation to rules and regulations, that emanate from the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), as well as its membership with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). This in turn means that no international event, or no acknowledged international event can take place within South Africa without MSA issuing a permit. 

The revamped 17-turn Kyalami Grand Prix circuit.
Circuit Map Credit: Kyalami Grand Prix circuit. 

Speaking to Slipstream SA about Formula 1 at Kyalami, Anton Roux, MSA Chairperson and FIA Senate Member explains the changes required to the track: “They are small. It’s not an insurmountable problem. There are other bigger challenges that we would need to overcome, but the actual circuit is not the issue. The changes to the circuit are minuscule, it’s small!"

South Africa returned to the international spotlight in 2017 when the FIA World Rallycross Championship made its debut in Cape Town at the Killarney International Raceway, and just years later, the Intercontinental GT Challenge announced the revival of the famous Kyalami 9 Hour. 

In 2023, single-seater racing returned to the African continent in the form of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, which raced in Cape Town, before it too departed, with hints of a possible return in the not-too-distant future. 

With South Africa well and truly propelled back onto the international stage, talks began regarding a potential return of Formula One to the Kyalami Grand Prix circuit, but if we were to rewind to 2011 when talks first emerged to host F1 in Cape Town, those talks never truly got off the ground despite the support of Anthony Hamilton, the father of seven-time F1 World Champion Sir Lewis Hamilton. 

However, renewed hope came in 2019, when former F1 commercial managing director Sean Bratches spoke openly about Formula One’s intentions to host a Grand Prix in South Africa, and soon after, talks were initiated to host Formula 1 at the Kyalami Grand Prix circuit, with Formula 1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali, visiting the country in 2022, where he got a taste of the 4.529-kilometer track on a hot lap with Toby Venter.

When asked by SkySports F1 about a return of Formula 1 to Kyalami, and why a deal has not been struck, Stefano Domenicali said: “Africa is still a continent that we are working very hard on. As I always said, we need to find the right partners and the right middle-term plan. What I want to avoid is that we go there for one year and then forget it. We are working, trying to find a solution for the best of the sport, for the best of the country."

Whilst initial talks proved fruitful with the South African Grand Prix (Pty) Ltd promoter, and Formula One Management (FOM), Anton Roux exclusively tells Slipstream SA that a deal to host Formula One at the Kyalami Grand Prix circuit “was incredibly close. I think everything was agreed.”

The South African Grand Prix (Pty) Ltd promoter came extremely close to sealing a deal with FOM, however, those talks were put on hold when South African President Cyril Ramaphosa deflected calls to have his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin arrested when he was set to visit the country for the BRICS summit after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March over war crimes related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the subsequent war between the two nations. And, as a member of the ICC, South Africa is theoretically required to arrest Putin under the court's warrant.

Roux explains that “to bring a Formula One event to South Africa, you need all the parties. These parties are, the Formula One organization, the FIA, an international promoter, and a local promoter for such an event. And then obviously, you can't host such an event without approval from the government, and that is on a national as well as a provincial level.”

"So all of those agreements were in place” but “what you must remember is that Formula One belongs to Liberty Media, which is a listed entity on the New York Stock Exchange.”

He adds that “unfortunately at the time our government made comments that they're not quite sure if they would arrest Mr Putin if he were to arrive in the country for the BRICS summit. There was uncertainty around that, as well as the Lady R event that took place in Simon’s Town, Cape Town, where we had a Russian ship docking in the South African Harbour.”

“And, clearly when you've got the Formula One organization, and you've got a host of countries and cities around the world wanting to host a Formula One event, we were placed at a huge disadvantage and therefore they decided to pursue some of the other options.”

Asked whether talks between FOM and the South African Grand Prix (Pty) Ltd have restarted, Roux says he “doubts if it will”. 

“Cities like Las Vegas are putting down 500 million dollars to host an event. Now, if you are the owner of the series, then you’ve got to make a decision as to where you're gonna put future events. There's a financial benefit in it, as the owner of the series. So, we have a significant disadvantage, and the only card that we've got to play is that there's no event taking place on the African continent. That's actually all we've got!”, he explains. 

Factoring in hosting costs, according to statista.com, the highest 2022 Formula One hosting fee is 55 million dollars, which equates to over R1 billion for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, to 15 million dollars for the Jewel in the F1 Crown, Monaco. So, with that in mind, it’s quite expensive to secure high-level motorsport events, which requires a lot of investment and support from the local government. 

There is a tremendous hunger for Formula 1 in South Africa, as seen at the recent Cape Town E-Prix, with thousands of fans wearing team merchandise, including MotoGP fanwear, so there is no better time to see the return of either F1 or MotoGP to South Africa.

Slipstream SA asked Roux whether Kyalami could host a MotoGP race, to which, he said: “I’ve had no discussions with MotoGP whatsoever. So, I’m not in a position to comment on that.”

Brad Binder lapping the Kyalami Grand Prix circuit on his KTM Factory RC-16.
PHOTO CREDIT: Red Bull Content Pool

Whilst there are no talks, excitement reached fever pitch, when in 2022, South African MotoGP race winner Brad Binder returned home during the mid-season break with his KTM Factory Racing RC-16, aiming to set a new benchmark lap time around the Kyalami Grand Prix circuit, where no official track record has been set for a modern era MotoGP bike, and with a benchmark of 1:45.00 to target, Binder set a 1:42.26. 

When asked by Simon Patterson if Kyalami is ready to host MotoGP, Brad Binder said:  “Kyalami has the best pits, I think, out of most of the tracks we go to. So, as far as the actual facility is concerned, it's insane! It'll be perfect. But, there are a couple of areas where they need to move the walls back. So, that's the main thing that can stop us from returning to South Africa. The only thing they need to do is, there are two points in particular where they need to really give us a little bit more run-off. And, if they do that, I think we can go back.”

Despite Binder's positive endorsement of Kyalami, it is worth keeping in mind that deals are not struck by the click of a finger, but what bodes well for the country is that costs could be more affordable than F1. According to MotorMatters.com: “In 2011, Motorland Aragon paid Dorna 6 million euros, rising to 7 million in 2012, for 41 million euros (which equates to R835 million between 2011 and 2012).”

Along with affordability and initiating talks come track alterations to cater to the specific needs of MotoGP, for example, and therefore, we asked Kyalami Spokesman Christo Kruger, are there any changes required to host MotoGP at Kyalami, to which, he said: “An event like MotoGP will require FIA inspection and approval. It is difficult to ascertain what changes may be required without professional telemetry simulations and analysis.”

“Kyalami is a host facility and not event promoters, so we have not reached out to MotoGP to assess the appetite/cost for a Kyalami race,” Kruger added.

QUESTION: Would you like to see Formula 1 and/or MotoGP return to South Africa? Please, let us know in the comments section! 

SuperSport confirms motorsport broadcast deals for the 2022 season.

South Africa-based pay-tv service, SuperSport has formally confirmed it's motorsport portfolio for the 2022 season. 

The South African/African motorsport community can look forward to eleven different championships this year, with a few additional broadcast deals are yet to be confirmed. 

As per previous seasons, Formula 1 coverage will be provided by SkySports F1. 

Fan favourites, MotoGP, Formula E, and IndyCar will also remain on the platform this year, whilst junior series, FIA Formula 3 will not be broadcast live, instead, a highlights package will be aired a few weeks after the live event.

Having failed to secure broadcast rights last year, the Race of Champions is back on SuperSport this year (live this weekend) after a deal was announced last week.

So, which championships have been secured, and which deals await official confirmation?

Rights secured for 2022:

    • Australian Supercars

    • DTM

    • Extreme E

    • Formula 1 (including F2 and F3 – not live)

    • Formula E

    • FIA World Endurance Championship

    • IndyCar

    • LeMans 24

    • MotoGP (including Moto2 and Moto3)

    • NASCAR

    • Race Of Champions ‘22

    • WSeries

    • WSBK 

Broadcast deals yet to be announced:

    • ETCR 

    • WTCR 

    • World Rallycross

The Broadcast Schedule for 4 to 6 February 2022:

Friday, 4 February 2022:

12:30 – 15:30 - Kyalami 9 Hour '21: Local Support Race (SS Motorsport)

15:30 – 17:55 - Kyalami 9 Hour '21: Kyalami 9 Hour Qualifying (SS Motorsport)

17:55 – 21:00 - Kyalami 9 Hour '21: Kyalami 9 Hour Pole (SS Motorsport)

Saturday, 5 February 2022:

08:30 – 12:55 - Kyalami 9 Hour '21: Local Support Race (SS Motorsport)

12:55 – 21:00 - Kyalami 9 Hour '21: Kyalami 9 Hour Race (SS Motorsport)

13:00 – 16:00 - Race of Champions '22: ROC Nations Cup (SS Action)

Sunday, 6 February 2022:

13:00 – 16:00 - Race of Champions '22: Race Of Champs (SS Motorsport)

Sunday/Monday, 7 February 2022:

00:00 – 00:55 - NASCAR Cup Series Build Up ‘22: The Coliseum (SS Motorsport)

00:55 – 03:00 - NASCAR ‘22: The Coliseum (SS Motorsport)

*Schedule subject to change without notice.

Formu1a.uno - Ferrari Power Unit: In Maranello, we are also very happy with reliability.

PHOTO CREDIT: Scuderia Ferrari

When track conditions changed radically with 4 laps to go, the hardest thing for a driver is to make the right decision in a perspective that is neither short nor long. It seems evident that in the case of Sochi, between lap 48 and lap 49 the watershed - it is appropriate to say - was formed between making the shot or losing it.

Above all, the drivers' who remained screwed were clearly Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso, and Charles Leclerc. A single denominator but with rather different causes.

The Spaniard and the Ferrari driver were together with Perez on the medium tyres (C4), which gave significantly higher confidence than those who traveled on the hard (C3) like Norris or Sainz.

The softer tyres have a lower or better operating window, in wet conditions, it is easier to regain temperature if you lose it on the surface. It is clear that this is not eternal if the temperature does not rise again or worse still drops.

Raikkonen himself - who did it all right - soon realized that the hard tyres no longer worked. At that point he decides to enter to "try something different, discarding the soft and definitely wanting the intermediate". 

This is also because the Alfa Romeo C41 does not have a high dose of downforce coupled with a good mechanical grip.

What could have been a sort of advantage - for those who found themselves recovering thanks to the yellow tyres - turned out to be a boomerang on balance. He may have fooled the drivers awareness by confusing more than one wall. Everyone hoped to stay on track.

Of those on the C4 (tyre), only Verstappen and Bottas gained a lot by going to the pits.

The first was somehow forced by the low downforce adopted that was making him work harder than others anyway. For the Finn, nothing to lose and some data to offer in the Hamilton box.

Speaking of Alonso and Leclerc, both were in strong recovery until lap 49 in mixed conditions. From the driver's point of view in that circumstance, it is very difficult to decide what is best for himself in the medium term, the drivers cannot read what is beyond the stretch of track they are facing.

In essence, it is always the team that has the most information in perspective. At that juncture, it was understood that the last 4 laps would be infinite.

In a way, we can think that even the high downforce has helped some cars rather than others not to collapse immediately. Leading the most instinctive pilots to remain undecided.

Nor was Norris the clear example, his  "No!", extremely dry, was instinctive because at that moment he wanted the car to hold.

Being in the lead, instinct can tell you not to stop as long as you keep the car on the track but in this case, the clarity of the Mercedes and the experience of Hamilton have won.

A question to ask is not whether some should have gone along with the box as Hamilton and Verstappen did, because the answer in hindsight seems obvious. Rather because the pits - with people lapping 10 seconds beyond the crossover time between slicks and intermediates - were unable to talk and take the drivers by the hand or impose themselves in the right way.

Perhaps all this mass of data that is analyzed today, and F1 in which it seems you are afraid of being responsible for a decision, takes away from the authority of those who once decided bad or good. There seems to be a strange tendency for the more instinctive pilots to disobey. Sometimes with good reason. However, in the long run, it is something that can sow panic when a yes or no is really needed.

Mercedes and Red Bull are certainly the most solid in this and it has been seen. Which brings greater clarity.

Ferrari also remains a little too often in the middle. In some cases, even the driver needs to feel greater determination behind him to trust with greater serenity.

Also because not even Michael Schumacher yesterday, or Lewis Hamilton today, could have won some races at the limit if they had not had clear indications.

Basically, the trivially fundamental sensations of the driver should never tarnish or, worse, overrule the overall gaze that the team has to assert with dozens of screens in front of its technicians.

In McLaren, they will certainly talk about it (the above).

Ferrari: the power unit went beyond expectations.

Ferrari closed the weekend with a light and dark result. Carlos Sainz' podium mitigated the disappointment on the other side of the garage.

Both the Spaniard and Leclerc started very well from their respective positions at the start, closing a great first lap.

Sainz started well using the important tow of the McLaren (this time with a lot of wing) and commanded most of the first stint until he had graining on the front. The problem largely due to having forced the pace too much in the first phase - with 100 kg on board - to take space from Norris and not be in DRS range.

Probably with the update used by his companion he would have had more comfortable management, i.e. more gradual than the average compound requires compared to the harder one.

Nonetheless, on a green and cold track, the worst conditions for the front of the SF21, the fears of Paul Ricard now seem quite distant.

A fresh power unit made its debut in the Leclerc's car with the first version and technology of the 2022 hybrid. Also in terms of reliability, which was the most 'problematic' issue at the counters.

Overall, what confirmed the PU4 was the possibility of maintaining the energy for longer than the old one. In short, a question of efficiency.

According to the GPS data, the difference between the two Ferraris was on average almost 2 tenths only in sector two, the stretch with continuous extensions and braking where it is important to recharge energy. Leclerc also showed certain ease of approach on rivals with greater aerodynamic efficiency. Consumption is now also 'breathing', in favor of a more thorough use of the heat engine.

The last sector in dirty air prevented the Monegasque in the first stint from passing a train of cars much slower than him and showing us his real pace for most of the race, which in free air could have been not far from Norris.

In Maranello, the contribution given by the new unit will be analyzed but it is quite clear that, as Binotto clearly said, it will also be mounted "as soon as possible" on Sainz' Ferrari, that is, in all probability, in less than two weeks in Turkey.

Written By: Giuliano Duchessa

Photo Credit: Scuderia Ferrari

Orginal Link in Italian: https://www.formu1a.uno/power-unit-ferrari-a-maranello-molto-contenti-anche-dellaffidabilita/

How Mercedes has (technically) overturned the World Championship in two Grand Prix.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport/Steve Etherington

There is a World Championship. Far from being taken for granted in this modern era of Formula 1. Hamilton versus Verstappen (195 to 187 points) and Mercedes against Red Bull (303 to 291 points). To the sound of reversals and changes of hierarchies. Beautiful!

After a start to the season that showed us Red Bull's superiority even though the first race went to Lewis Hamilton, thanks to a better understanding of the W12 and a few too many problems in making the updates brought to the track by Red Bull and the power unit work from Honda, the Mercedes car has returned to the level, if not ahead, of the RB16B between Portugal and especially Barcelona.

At Portimao, Red Bull brought a hefty aerodynamic update to the track that struggled to get to work properly.
Illustration By: Rosario Giuliana

However, in the following month of racing (or a little more), Red Bull managed to overturn the world championship, thanks to some aerodynamic updates brought to the track that also made it possible to fully exploit the potential of the Portimao package; not to be underestimated then, the recovery in terms of power thanks to the second Honda power unit introduced in the French Grand Prix.

More power and more reliability. Thanks also to the change of specification of one of the macro-components of the PU subject to quota, the turbocharger it's believed, approved by the FIA after the competitors, including Mercedes, had also given their approval.

Only with further updates between Monaco and Baku did the situation improve, with the RB16B taking off against the W12.
Illustration By: Rosario Giuliana

Steps forward that have allowed the Japanese engineers to compete on equal terms, and even slightly more, with the Mercedes PU.

Always focusing on Honda, after the Verstappen accident at Silverstone, there was a strong concern for the Power Unit.

After being sent to Japan, replacing some non-quota components, it had been checked at the counter with the "ok" for its use in the Hungarian Friday  Free Practice; in the event of a negative result on some component, plan B were already in place to use the first power unit with the replacement only in case of battery problems, the most 'worrying' element, and the control unit.

On the other hand, the Hungaroring track, although it has become more power-sensitive with the current cars than a few years ago, is not so stressful for the macro components of the power unit and above all the horsepower of difference between PU 1 and PU 2 would have much less impact than in Spa-Francorchamps or Monza, two of the next three circuits (Belgium, Holland, and Italy) on which it will race.

The good results obtained in Friday's Free Practice allowed Verstappen to keep the best performing second unit (that of Silverstone) in his RB16B.

However, after a disappointing qualifying (all Mercedes front row), a further cold shower arrived for the Dutchman: a 'worrying' crack was found on the engine. Keeping that ICE in the car for the race meant taking too much risk.

But so Plan B was blown. Blame parc ferme and the upgrade in terms of turbocharger specification. In fact, to avoid a penalty on the grid, it was necessary to mount elements of the same specifications used in qualifying.

Could Honda have just replaced the ICE, keeping the second turbocharger unit and MGU-H in the car? Surely. However, this choice is never made because the 'reserve' ICE engines arrive on the track already with the turbocharger and MGU-H motor-generator mounted and checked, this to allow a faster replacement and with fewer subsequent checks.

Updates in a key part of the car for Mercedes at Silverstone. The goal is to improve rear flows and consequently aerodynamic efficiency.
Illustration By: Rosario Giuliana

Moving on to Mercedes, after the Austrian double-header the mood was not the best. They knew they still had a few cartridges to fire, but they felt cornered as never happened in recent seasons; even more so than those fought against Ferrari. Red Bull seemed in full control of the world championship, both with Verstappen in the Drivers' and the team in the Constructors'.

But the Silverstone - Hungary brace has (again) changed the cards in this splendid world championship. 

"We have a number of things that will make our car faster in the next races. We hope that they prove to be enough," former Technical Director, James Allison from Austria, said.

They arrived in the next GP, at Silverstone, expanding a setup window that up until that Grand Prix was quite small. But the results had not yet been fully hoped for on the track. The first weekend of the Sprint Race is also in the way, with only one hour of free practice available before entering 'qualifying'.

For this reason, Mercedes considered what the novelty package showed as 'encouraging'. In Hungary, the missing potential was unlocked through better understanding.

Updates studied in the wind tunnel mainly between March and April, given that since May the world championship winning team has spent full time on the 2022 project.

The low-downforce rear wing used by Mercedes at Silverstone. It is the consequence of the positivity of the updates brought to the track, even if they have not shown their full potential.
Illustration By: Rosario Giuliana

But this was not the only novelty, as always anticipated by the English engineer: "We are also planning updates regarding the power unit, in terms of 'delivery'. The engineers are working to allow the power unit to express something more." 

In Hungary,  Mercedes brought an electronic upgrade to the track focusing on its power unit, as well noted by FUnoAnalisiTecnica in the onboard analysis. Nothing new from the hardware point of view but only a more 'unique' mapping that has allowed the world champion team to return to command on the engine side.

According to a competitor, this step forward was also possible due to a track that was not so stressful for the macro components of the drive unit. It will be interesting to see, and Spa-Francorchamps is already a good track for that if Mercedes is so aggressive on the 'unique mapping' even on more critical tracks for the engine; however, considering the allocation advantage Hamilton could have over Verstappen if the # 2 Honda power unit is inoperable.

According to the information, Formu1a.uno has collected, Mercedes could count on an advantage of 10 HP over Honda and 25 HP over Ferrari at the Hungaroring. 

The latter, as anticipated two months ago, will bring an update to its power unit on the track in the second half of the season which, according to what has been collected, should halve the current gap with Mercedes. This is the goal.

In conclusion, if the steps forward made by Mercedes on the engine side, we associate those made at Silverstone on the aerodynamic side plus the introduction of the new rear Pirelli tyres, one more variable and to be taken into account in such a sensitive F1, we can understand how this 2021 world championship is a real roller coaster. Not only of emotions but also of performance.

Written By: Piergiuseppe Donadoni

Illustrations By: Rosario Giuliana

Original Link: https://www.formu1a.uno/ecco-come-mercedes-ha-ribaltato-tecnicamente-i-mondiali-in-due-gran-premi/

Formu1a.uno - How did Leclerc's Ferrari engine get irreparably damaged?

PHOTO CREDIT: Scuderia Ferrari

In addition to the damage, the insult is not only the retirement of Charles Leclerc who labeled the Hungarian Grand Prix as "an important opportunity", but, after in-depth checks in Maranello on Monday, Scuderia Ferrari announced that the second power unit is irreparably damaged.

From the press release: "After the checks carried out yesterday (Monday) in Maranello on the SF21 number 16, it emerged that the engine was irreparably damaged in the impact at the Hungaroring with Lance Stroll's Aston Martin and can no longer be used".

The third power unit of the three available will be mounted in the SF21 of the Monegasque driver at Spa-Francorchamps before incurring a penalty.

Something already planned at this point of the season, given that Spa and Monza (this year will be run after Holland) are very demanding tracks on the power unit. All this, however, having the first and second power unit available for the classic rotations on Friday free practice, considering the two remaining weekends with the Sprint Race (Monza for sure, then Austin?) Where it will be impossible to carry them out.

However, no longer having the second engine available for these rotations, which had only covered just over 1500 km, and with PU 1 over 4300 km, Charles Leclerc could incur a penalty on the grid in the second part of the season when he installs the fourth power unit and, as often happens, the fourth turbocharger group and MGU-H.

But let's understand how the power unit installed on the SF21 of the Monegasque could have been irreparably damaged.

Everything arose from the strong impact between the left front tire of Stroll's Aston Martin and the right sidepod of Leclerc's SF21 in turn 1 which caused the cooling system to break. This led to a major leakage of liquid, as can also be seen from the image above.

The Monegasque driver who was unable to see the damage in his mirrors tried to continue until his SF21 spun and the engine fell silent at the entrance to turn 2. Having continued with the engine not cooled, even in the few hundreds of meters that divide the first two curves of the Hungaroring, has generated devastating consequences on the power unit.

Something similar also happened to Sergio Perez, albeit in a more contained way (at least initially), so much so that the Mexican driver managed to get up to the straight between turns 11 and 12 where he had to give up, parking his "croaking” RB16B after the order given via radio from the pits (they had noticed the important anomaly).

Valtteri Bottas' serious braking error in turn 1 had in fact caused him to break the “right” cooling system of the Honda PU, which could very easily have suffered the same damage as its Italian 'sister'.

"He lost all the water immediately. We will have to investigate in more detail, but the first reports say that the engine will be difficult to use in the future," said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

An innocent Leclerc, who sooner or later will have to serve a penalty of at least 10 positions on the grid, is contrasted by a Stroll who will be behind "only" 5 positions at Spa. The same situation is also between Perez and Bottas. It is strange to write it, but the two innocent drivers will pay a higher price than those who awkwardly generated the accident.

Then there is a question of money for the 'repairs' of the damages. These accidents obviously enter into the calculation of the millions of dollars (145 this year) available to the teams from the budget cap, thus going to 'limit' even those who suffer them without 'blame' as in the case of the duo Red Bull and Leclerc in Hungary.

Recall that Mercedes has chosen to skip a day of testing on Pirelli 2022s to compensate for the extra cost caused by the accident between Bottas and Russell in Imola.

The Milton Keynes and Ferrari team would like F1 managers to discuss how to account for this 'crash' damage.

"Accidents like the ones we have suffered in the last two GPs have not been foreseen and it is something that needs to be examined in more detail by the FIA," Horner said.

The British team would like these 'accident' costs to be excluded from the 145 million cap budget.

Scuderia Ferrari, on the other hand, is of the opinion that the teams of the drivers who caused the accident should pay for the damage. Mercedes in Silverstone, Mercedes and Aston Martin in Hungary. This is also to make the drivers more responsible.

Both solutions are complicated to implement, the Scuderia Ferrari one even more so. Who would determine what is the cost of repairing a particular damaged car? According to Red Bull, the Silverstone accident cost $1.8 million but it is not certain that for another team the estimated figure will be the same.

In addition to this, which components would be considered truly damaged and which not? And what about the engines? On the other hand, above all competing teams (Mercedes and Red Bull in this case they are) would do everything to increase the expense to turn over to the other team, if the Ferrari solution were used.

The inspection should then take place piece by piece, with the FIA ​​as supervisor. However, the latter we have already seen how often it does not have the ability to do it correctly.

In conclusion, it is rather difficult to find a solution that does not leave room for too many interpretations, always deleterious in a very regulated system such as F1 which instead, even more so with the budget cap, should grant more freedom.

Written By: Piergiuseppe Donadoni and Giuliano Duchessa

Original Link: https://www.formu1a.uno/come-ha-fatto-il-motore-ferrari-di-leclerc-a-danneggiarsi-in-maniera-irreparabile/

PHOTO CREDIT: Scuderia Ferrari

Formu1a.uno - Interview with Giovinazzi: "The 2022 Alfa is in the wind tunnel but I have already tried it on the simulator."

Photo Credit: Alfa Romeo/Xavi Bonilla/DPPI

From the Budapest circuit, the Hungaroring, where the Hungarian GP will take place this weekend, Antonio Giovinazzi gave us a few minutes of his time for an interview.

Liberty Media and the FIA presented their 2022 Show Car at Silverstone: where are you at? Have you had the opportunity to try the new car on the simulator or at least see something more defined?

Antonio Giovinazzi: "We have seen that the 2022 cars are very different from the current ones. We expect cars that are able to follow each other better and that allow for more exciting races thanks to a greater number of overtaking. The whole team has been fully projected towards 2022 for a few weeks now."

"The car is in the wind tunnel. In the simulator, I tried it a little, only once, but from September I think I'll go there more often."

Are you satisfied with what has been achieved this season 2021 or did you expect something more?

Giovinazzi: "We are the team that has earned the most compared to last season, despite starting from a regulation that greatly limited the development of the cars. We are in that phase where the top ten does not come so easy but we are close. This year there are few retirements and so it is more difficult to score points for those behind. However, we are satisfied with the work we have done. The goal between now and the end of the season is to get more points than the 2 we have now."

Regarding 2022: will it be more important to have the attitude of the test driver, a role that you know very well among other things, or the instinctive side?

Giovinazzi: "A little bit of both. When the change of rules is so great, instinct is also important; if you feel at ease with the machine right away, then it is much easier to test and improve it. If, on the other hand, you start from a very distant base from the one you need, the season also starts uphill, and recovering is very difficult. I hope that the change of regulations will benefit some drivers or teams because there may be a surprise and that is what we would like to see next year."

What impressions did the Sprint Race have on you? Do you think this is the right way to go for F1?

Giovinazzi: "It was a demanding weekend because at the end of Friday we only had one free practice session to go directly into qualifying. The second free practices were very tiring because we almost did a Sprint Race, so many laps.

It was a very long weekend at a circuit like Silverstone, very tough, especially for the neck. It wasn't easy. On the Sprint Race, someone took a risk starting with the Soft, gaining positions; for the rest, it was a little train especially in the central part of the grid. We'll see. Maybe on a track where you can overtake more, it could be an ideal format. In short, it will depend a little on the slopes. In conclusion, it was neither very positive nor negative, somewhere in between".

In the current season, we have seen a very good C41 (car) right from the tests, a car that is easily understood in its behavior, with a strong point that is aerodynamic efficiency: where do you have to work to be able to constantly fight in the top ten? What do you expect from Hungary?

Giovinazzi: "The Hungaroring is a style of corners and speed is very similar to Monte Carlo. Obviously, Monaco is a street circuit so it is completely different for other technical factors. If we take that GP, at least from my side of the box, we have had the best weekend of this season.

We hope to go better than Silverstone, reminding us that here in Hungary qualifying is very important and also the first lap because it is very difficult to overtake.

As for the car, we are all very close. We still have 2-3 tenths of a second left, then it depends on the circuit. Unfortunately, the development on the C41 is finished so we will have to try to invent something, on the tires that are very sensitive to temperatures, but also try to be perfect with strategy, pit stops, and more because if we are not perfect this year, with the fact that there are few withdrawals, it is difficult to score points. We must be perfect."

What will your future be like?

Giovinazzi: "I can't tell you anything yet. In the end, it will be a decision by Alfa Romeo, but also by Ferrari for sure. Being a Ferrari driver, we'll see. I'll do my best to stay here again next year."

What is the aspect where you think you have improved the most since entering F1?

Giovinazzi: "I have improved a little everywhere. First of all the experience: the first year, when you arrive in F1, it is very difficult, even more so for me who entered after being stopped 2. With a few races, a few laps, when you start racing, competing, you learn from the body, you understand better how to manage the race, the tires, save fueling [how to manage the kg of fuel in the various stages of the race]. It becomes more 'normal' and you can focus only on yourself trying to drive better. I think this is the factor that has helped me the most. For the rest, I think that in qualifying in the first year I was very fast while in the race I improved a lot."

The Ferrari engine has improved: what contribution has it given to your car?

Giovinazzi: "The new Ferrari Power Unit has given us an important help. However, the team's work on aerodynamics and the other macro parts of the car was also useful so it's all one".

How did you feel with the new rear tires introduced at Silverstone?

Giovinazzi: "From the point of view of the balance and the feeling of the driver it was very similar. I didn't notice huge differences."

Monaco and Baku have been your best weekends of this 2021: why does it come from the fact that you particularly like the two tracks or was the car adapting better?

Giovinazzi: "They are two city circuits so instinct and above all confidence are also very important. Especially in Monaco, from the very first free practice sessions I felt very comfortable with the car and I believe that especially when you are on a street circuit, having a car that immediately gives you a good feeling, allows you to push lap after lap and get a better result."

How did you experience the Europeans in a team that has various nationalities inside?

Giovinazzi: "We played the second match against Switzerland, in short, against my team. Then we found Austria, and we were right in Spielberg to compete. It was great, also because I believe that no one expected that Italy could reach the final and above all win it.

They came from a world championship where we did not qualify, from a difficult time for Italy due to Covid. We have shown that we are a people that never give up and that in the face of difficulties fight and get up stronger than before. It was a great demonstration for everyone, not only for football, for sport, but for the people who have suffered a lot in the last 2 years. Seeing the national team win was a great rematch."

Looking at the calendar, what are the Grand Prix that could be favorable to your car?

Giovinazzi: "One of those could have been Singapore, but unfortunately we won't be racing. However, this year is difficult: in circuits that we expected to go fast maybe we went less fast than another circuit where we thought we were in more difficulty and vice versa. It is very difficult because you have to find the right tire window, be at the right time with the wind. What I can tell you is that I can't wait to do the Monza Grand Prix because it's my home Grand Prix and that's what I look forward to most".

Written By: Giuliano Duchessa and Piergiuseppe Donadoni

Original Link: https://www.formu1a.uno/intervista-a-giovinazzi-lalfa-2022-e-in-galleria-del-vento-ma-lho-gia-provata-al-simulatore/

Photo Credit: Alfa Romeo Orlen

Formu1a.uno - The reasons for Scuderia Ferrari's excellent performance at Silverstone.

PHOTO CREDIT: Scuderia Ferrari

The Silverstone weekend had to clarify the values ​​on the track, showing which car was the best between Mercedes and Red Bull. That didn't happen because Max and Lewis found themselves fatally in the position where, for various reasons, neither of them would back out.

This episode cannot fail to leave a mark between them. The big question is how they will act in the next side-by-side fight and whether they will trust each other again. The contact that took place at Copse is the result of growing tension and a difficult attempt that Hamilton could make, especially after what happened in Imola. It is a move that naturally requires the opponent's willingness to allow a lot of space. Verstappen is not that driver yet but he was also the one who had the most to lose.

The over 100 kg onboard load contributed to complicating the assessment. Plus it was clear that the day had not yet come when Max would start calculating. Looking back, who knows if, with a 33-point lead in reverse, would Lewis have done it. A race accident resulted, even if a 10-second penalty against Lewis should not be considered wrong given the greater responsibility of the British driver.

After the red flag, which saved Hamilton from retiring due to a damaged rim. Leclerc had taken the lead at the time of the red flag, taking pole on the grid for restart (a standing start).

Lewis' W12 was great, certainly better, but not dominant. During the sprint race, we saw essentially equal performance on C2 tires and relatively low tanks between Red Bull and Mercedes. An interesting signal for Brackley - combined with the excellent qualifying on Friday - who seems to have begun to understand how to make aerodynamics work better, in terms of efficiency.

Should the possibility of racing with less wing worry Red Bull?

No. Mercedes went very aggressive with the aerodynamic set-up also to close the gap that had been created with the RB16B in the qualifying of the last rounds, especially from that French GP which is the real point of discontinuity in this world championship. And trusting in the fact that the Sprint Race was a race that was run with low fuel tanks and with no tire management problem (considering the Medium as the perfect compound to be able to push 100% for the entire 100 km).

It half worked. Pole for Hamilton with Bottas very close to Verstappen who could have been even 3 tenths from the seven-time world champion in the 'strange' qualifying late afternoon on Friday. The error at the start of the Hamilton Sprint Race thwarted everything.

On the other hand, in Mercedes, there was some more concern for the first race stint, with a full load (fuel). Lewis also knew it, especially after the Sprint the day before. Hence his aggressiveness in taking a position 'at all costs' so as not to let his rival run away. Without Verstappen, it seemed quite predictable to overtake the Ferrari after a lap or two, and instead, Hamilton showed that in the first stint of the race the W12 was not great.

Leclerc kept the lead until the stop managing a good gap of 2 seconds which was actually 12 with Lewis penalized. The reason why the plan was to delay the pit as much as possible without the undercut's concern.

Updates in a crucial area, the central section, of the car for Mercedes in the UK. The goal was to improve rear flow.
Illustration By: Rosario Giuliana.

We have no counter-proof, however, in Mercedes, they are convinced that Red Bull is still ahead. The updates (in the Netherlands there will be other small 'tweaks' James Allison revealed) have been positively evaluated even if the full potential has not yet been extracted. The W12 came close to Red Bull but less than expected in the race, mainly for two reasons: the only hour of free practice did not allow for much work on the setup and, as understood, these updates could be more effective on other types of tracks,  more than efficiency. Silverstone with this type of cars, which generate a lot of loads seen, is less so.

How strong was Leclerc and how weak was the W12 in the first phase of the race?

Some data in comparison suggest. The pace of Leclerc, and potentially also of Sainz, although the Spaniard is slightly underdog on front Limited tracks, was better than that of Bottas by 3-4 tenths on averages enough to keep him with a certain calm behind after the help of Norris. Another sign that the fuel-laden W12 has struggled enough.

But why was the SF21 strong on a circuit where on paper it might not have been?

There are a few reasons: both Leclerc and Sainz had good feelings from FP1, a sign that the setup brought by Maranello was already quite centered. Quite a constant this season, so much so that Leclerc had emphasized it at the entrance to the weekend.

Ferrari arrived better prepared than others so much so that in the Sprint race Leclerc was only 4 tenths from the top while McLaren was no closer than 7 tenths. Considering the horsepower deficit, the performance of the papaya team was rather disappointing.

Something in the preparation at Woking went wrong. It should be emphasized in this sense that their Fridays were not always ideal. A McLaren that appeared not brilliant even if it lost a few points and that is consoled by Ricciardo in recovery, predictable on a layout that does not have tight radius corners.

The floor update brought by Red Bull to Silverstone.
Illustration By: Rosario Giuliana.

The SF21 with the same HP is obviously worse than the RB16B and the W12 in terms of aerodynamic downforce (the front is missing, which cannot be changed with the tokens already used for the rear), nevertheless it showed an interesting growth in this aspect and in handling. The balance on harder compounds which until now had created some operating problems.

The Paul Ricard was a weekend of external conditions, the rain between qualifying and the race on all but also smooth asphalt and low temperatures, not favorable associated with completely wrong choices in terms of set-up. The front (end) went completely into crisis, the rear also, albeit to a lesser extent. In the UK the conditions were different: the asphalt was completely different, more abrasive, the track much more rubberized and the temperatures much higher.

Almost the opposite to France, so much so that the two GPs are hardly comparable. This is why Leclerc spoke with good reason of "Paul Ricard's problems not yet resolved" after Silverstone. Should the conditions in France recur, the SF21 would not be that of Silverstone, it would suffer more, however with different set-up choices much less than what was negatively admired a few weeks ago.

The new floor that debuted for Free Practice in Austria race 1, and was used throughout the weekend on both SF21s in Austria race 2, has been confirmed for the Silverstone GP.
Illustration By: Rosario Giuliana.

Maranello's car is not the best in insertion or in long-distance bends in support, where it suffers from understeer, but it has an excellent behavior when changing direction, which has had its importance in some sections where the time is set. The tokens spent on the rear suspension are paying off and the car is continuing to work well and improve in traction. It is no coincidence that Binotto spoke of 'good prospects' for the rest of the season.

On the C2 (tire) the performance was excellent both in terms of wear and temperature control, something not entirely seen on Hamilton's Mercedes, accentuated blistering on the front left and overheating of the rear. On the C1, on the other hand, the W12 has perfectly centered in the window of use expressing itself at its best, since Bottas has also significantly improved his performance even if not at the level of being able to resume Leclerc.

Finally, it must be considered that the British one was the first Grand Prix with the new rear compound similar to the one that will be used for the production of the 18-inch tire for 2022. No team reported obvious problems of adaptation, but it was an additional variable added, to be carefully checked in the next appointments.

Could Ferrari win it?

The Monegasque driver could also have done it if Sainz had had a better weekend. When he stopped he was 20 seconds behind his teammate; had he been closer, not impossible with a good qualifying and without the pit stop problem, he would have helped in the strategy by preventing Hamilton from recovering too quickly in the second stint. Or conditioning it in some way on the pace or on the tires. Something similar to Spa 2019 - in that case with Vettel - could have happened.

Lewis was able to catch Ferrari in time due to the ease with which McLaren passed and of course thanks to the team order given to Bottas.

Towards Hungary.

According to what has been learned from Formu1a.uno sources, in view of Hungary, Ferrari has begun to be more aggressive on the power unit front in terms of energy recovery.

As already reported, according to the original plans there was room to implement the performance of the hybrid part from Hungary through new specifications improved in reliability that could guarantee a small step forward in terms of energy storage and use, namely the possibility to be able to spend it a little longer during the lap. It is a very important work in view of 2022 because the introduction of fuel with 10% ethanol seems to reduce the power of the ICE on the bench by about 5% with the same consumption.

In Budapest everyone will have to go with maximum downforce levels; with a normal weekend, we will have more elements to interpret how much improvement the Mercedes has been compared to its rival, with a Ferrari that will arrive with the lights off but will want to be fighting for something more than the 'normal' positions.

Written By: Giuliano Duchessa and Piergiuseppe Donadoni

Illustrations By: Rosario Giuliana

Original Story Link: https://www.formu1a.uno/ecco-i-motivi-della-ottima-prestazione-ferrari-a-silverstone/

Formu1a.Uno - Many updates on the Aston Martin AMR21 but the goal remains fifth in championship.

PHOTO CREDIT: Aston Martin Racing

Among the teams most disappointed by the first third of the 2021 season is certainly Aston Martin, who did not expect to be practically cut out of the fight for third place in the constructors' fight.

At the advent of the home Grand Prix in Silverstone, the balance is quite negative compared to expectations, with the “big green” in the constructors' standings in sixth place, behind AlphaTauri. The goal will be to gain a position in the constructors, fifth, against AlphaTauri. Nothing else more.

Not only does the performance on track fall short of expectations, but also the effect of the car on TV. Depending on the light, the Aston Martin is easy to confuse with a Mercedes, also due to a 'technical' similarity that certainly doesn't help.

The British Racing Green seen in recent months is not convincing so much so that it is being re-evaluated for the Aston Martin next year. You don't want to change color but just make it more visible. One possibility would be to make the paint metallic but that would require a few more grams of weight, always precious in these modern F1 cars.

Returning to a more technical discourse, the leap in performance that took place in 2020 with the RP20 (when the team was still racing under the name of Racing Point), had laid the foundations for 2021 certainly more prosperous in results.

The freezing of the macro-components, and the fact of being able to use the 2020 Mercedes gearbox and suspension without spending tokens, were factors that could have a positive effect on what was the goal that vanished last season, i.e. the third constructors' place.

With this year's AMR21, the performance difficulties faced by the Silverstone team are evident, as Vettel and Stroll's car fails to generate sufficient downforce, finding itself fighting every GP for the lowest positions in the midfield, straddling the points area.

Excluding some tracks and particular situations, such as Monaco and Baku, the car does not allow the two drivers to get into the top six frequently, as happened in 2020. We know that the cuts in the floor, diffuser, and above all rear brake duct single-seaters born with a low-rake concept, such as Mercedes and Aston Martin.

The technical approach in interpreting the floor cuts was quite aggressive on the part of Aston Martin, and the single-seater designed by Andrew Green was the one that presented the most interesting solutions to the floor. Wavy edges in the middle area like Mercedes, Z-cut with different flow deviators were the aspects that emphasized the technical choices on the AMR21.

Illustration By - Rosario Giuliana

However, after the first race, it was immediately understood that it would not be easy to repeat the 2020 season in terms of results, and that to recover the gap from McLaren and Ferrari, with 2022 on which to focus the development work and add the budget cap, would not have been feasible in the short term.

In these last Grand Prix, Andrew Green's car has not failed to place technical innovations on its car, and together with Red Bull. Aston Martin is the team that has introduced the most important innovations. However, according to the team, the wind tunnel has already been working full-time on the 2022 car for a few weeks. The innovations that have been brought to the track and which will, albeit smaller, brought to the track up to the Hungarian GP, derive from tunnel/CFD sessions carried out weeks ago. 

To improve the extraction of air from the lower part of the rear, the sides (sidepods) in the Imola Grand Prix had also been revised, with a more downwash shape of the bodywork to bring more air to the bottom and to the upper part of the diffuser.

The subject of updates was precisely the flat floor, already revised in Portugal, and which in Austria 2 showed a different shape of the vortex generators on Lance Stroll's car.

Illustration By - Rosario Giuliana

During the same weekend, a new diffuser and new bargeboards were seen, which work in synergy with the new floor.

Specifically, the flow deviators have been revisited in the upper part, with the aim of better laminating the airflow coming from the front, to be directed precisely in the bottom area. A sort of double horizontal profile was created with the two “boomerang” elements, to better accompany the flow towards the sides. This package will also be available to Sebastian Vettel at Silverstone.

Illustration By - Rosario Giuliana

The lack of rear load is one of the elements that characterizes both Mercedes and Aston Martin, precisely due to the intrinsic characteristics of the two single-seaters.

Both teams are forced to adopt fairly loaded wings at the rear, to try not to unbalance the car.   In the case of Mercedes, the W12 has a front that allows the drivers to bring a lot of speed into the corner, while Aston Martin has a few more difficulties.

With this in mind, we have seen among the Austrian innovations a new front wing, this time reserved for both standard-bearers of the green team. A small aerodynamic trick, which included a modification in the higher spoiler, to which the rope was simply increased.

Illustration By - Rosario Giuliana

Aston, like Mercedes, also tried to work on the rear wing in the Austrian GP. Stroll and Vettel performed an "aerodynamic comparion" with a spoon rear wing (already tested in Imola) during the Austrian free practice, to try to gain top speed in the first sector of the Red Bull Ring. However, this solution was definitively discarded for a more loaded wing, precisely because of the difficulties mentioned above.

Illustration By - Rosario Giuliana

Finally, the final result was worse than that of race 1, with both drivers out of the points (Stroll 13th - Vettel out due to contact with Raikkonen), also due to a strategic choice, that of starting on Soft, which did not give the hoped-for benefits.

Almost mid-season it is difficult to think that there could be a change of course, by virtue of the fact that these could be the last major updates of the cars.

On the technical front, Aston Martin has also moved into the engineering market in the last month, bringing Luca Furbatto, former head of Alfa Romeo Sauber chassis, to its ranks, who will hold the role of “Engineering Director” for 2022.

Also Purchases by Red Bull, close 'only' 35 km from the Aston Martin factory, with Dan Fallows and Andrew Alessi joining the team. The first, a heavy name and who will become Aston Martin's new Technical Director, however, has a two-year contract with Red Bull, which is working to delay the sale as much as possible.

From this point of view, the head of Aston Martin F1 Lawrence Stroll is trying to move towards 2022. The experience and competence of the technicians will be fundamental, as we will basically all start from a blank sheet in the project of the next machines. year. “In our team, there are already highly valued engineers, but they are still few compared to large teams. This is why we are still on the market, even if I believe that next year we will be able to have our say in anticipation of further growth thanks to new purchases ” .

Written and illustrations By Rosario Giuliana

Co-Author: Piergiuseppe Donadoni

Original Link: https://www.formu1a.uno/tanti-aggiornamenti-sulla-aston-martin-amr21-ma-lobiettivo-rimane-la-quinta-posizione-mondiale/

Formu1a.uno - Analysis: McLaren-Norris super binomial, why does Ricciardo struggle?

PHOTO CREDIT: McLaren Racing

The McLaren is not losing enamel. Lando Norris will long remember the MCL35M as the first car that, not only did he understand perfectly, it allowed him to hit that very subtle balance that allows him to stay on the limit for as long as necessary, avoiding mistakes. In addition to Sir Lewis Hamilton's radio certificate of esteem, “Such a great driver, Lando”, the Englishman claimed an extraordinary front row and the podium, probably the most deserved of the year.

He is making the difference in the fight with Ferrari up to now, in addition to the horsepower and the efficiency of the Mercedes Power Unit: 40 hp more than the drivers in red are more than compensating for Daniel Ricciardo's delay.

Nonetheless, Seidl, someone who has a deep knowledge of racing, does well not to underestimate Ferrari for the still long and uncertain continuation of this season. He knows perfectly well that many points have been left on track by the Italian team, sometimes due to small errors, others unfortunate as in Imola.

But it's fair to say that McLaren and Lando Norris were there when they had to. When those in front had a hard time. We have not only seen it in Austria, “which we have to be realistic, but it was also a suitable track for our car” according to Seidl. Norris took advantage of practically every gap from the start, setting the season very well with the team right from the tests.

In the last qualifying session, he was the driver who earned the most between Q2/Q3 about 7 tenths. Were it not for the accentuated understeer in the last two corners, he could also have claimed pole position.

The MCL35M is a super-efficient car that doesn't put a lot of energy on the tyres unless you decide to 'smash' them with setup. The C5 Soft 'disposable' compounds have certainly helped, on a track, albeit a demanding one also for the traction phase, but with fewer heating problems than the front ones compared to Baku, with the MCL35M being able to make the most of the extra. grip offered.

The Englishman brings his McLaren to impressive levels as well as his trend, which even shows a slight approach to Mercedes while Red Bull took off on the W12, on average 2 tenths ahead in the Austrian events.

The continuous innovations introduced by Red Bull and McLaren are working, while for Brackley, it is now evident that the optimization of the W12 is not enough, so much so that the first real updates for the car of the world champion team will arrive at Silverstone.

Aside from a more normal performance in Spain, Lando has developed very well every weekend. If a positive result was expected in Austria for the characteristics of the track that greatly rewards efficiency, the Monaco podium, taking advantage of Leclerc's debacle and Bottas' problem, it seems, is the photograph of this first part of the season.

The new floor brought to the second Austrian race by McLaren. 7 flow diverters have been added to move the Y250 vortex more externally.
Illustration By: Rosario Giuliana

Ferrari and McLaren are very close, but the Woking team made no mistakes and are deservedly ahead.

We know the MCL35M is a very effective car on the straight, it is not so much the one with the highest speeds, but it is the one that reaches them first, even if traction is not the real strength, especially towards the SF21. After an initial and more uncertain phase of understanding, which also happened to Red Bull, the updates have improved the car's loading points, making it more consistent especially in the distances and out of corners when the track allows you not to jump on curbs or bumps.

Stability was affected in a positive way, automatically also the ease of balancing it. This would have helped Norris to boost performance and Daniel to get closer to finding a car with more load in the medium-slow sections.

The new rear endplate used by the MCL35Ms in France.
Illustration By: Rosario Giuliana

In this phase, McLaren seems to have reached a 'beneficial' efficiency, not too far macroscopically to the Ferrari SF90. Clearly, the regulatory aerodynamic cut has flattened the differences with a W12 that has seen the strengths of the 2020 car eliminated.

Why does Ricciardo struggle? In the ninth race, a new driver, especially if he is of high profile and experienced like him, should be able to be quite close to any teammate but this was not the case for the Australian.

The new front wing was used by McLaren in Spain.
Illustration By: Rosario Giuliana

The good race at the Red Bull Ring only partially redeemed the disappointing qualifying but above all, it gave us some more information on why the difference is so great.

According to the data collected, Daniel still loses a lot compared to Norris in the slow medium corners. The more the corner is high speed, the more the difference with Norris becomes thinner. It is mainly a matter of interpretation.

“We have made some important steps forward from the start of the season to now, but to get the most out of our car we need a special driving style which is not natural for Daniel. For this reason, it fails to be effective,” Seidl said a few weeks ago.

Ricciardo has certainly not unlearned anything, but he has driven all high-downforce, high-rake cars throughout his career; Red Bulls were undoubted, as was Renault, especially the one from two years ago, albeit with a lot of drag. The MCL35M, on the other hand, is very different and uses a much less pushed rake setup, slightly lower than last season's MCL35.

Before the Baku GP, the Australian spent many days in the simulator trying to take a step back and figure out what was wrong with his driving style. “I'm trying to adapt it to make the car work better. Sometimes it's frustrating to see that what you've been doing for years with other cars doesn't work, but as I said, I'm taking a step back and I think this has led me to understand a few things about how to better interpret the car”.

This corner approach aspect is something that requires a substantial change of approach. In Austria, we saw Norris bring a lot of speed into the corner by often sacrificing the apex of medium-slow corners by clearly prioritizing wider and faster sliding. This minimizes traction as much as possible which is not the strongest point of McLaren, unlike Ferrari. Take full advantage of mid-corner stability, further improved with the latest updates, rather than letting yourself be slowed down by a vain search for agility when entering and exiting. Then let the aerodynamic efficiency and the Mercedes power unit, does the rest on the straight.

Ricciardo otherwise seems to feel better using the curbs more, closing the car more to straighten it quickly on the way out, a bit like Leclerc drives the SF21 with corner set a lot to V-shaped and less to U. But with the MCL35M it doesn't work. It's a question of feeling, style, habit and obviously trust.

The key can be to trust the car a lot more when driving, modifying some of its fundamental preferences even using a little more 'dirty' load than Lando if necessary and a little better understeer. An even stiffer and more drag car could help.

Written By: Giuliano Duchessa and Piergiuseppe Donadoni

Illustrations By: Rosario Giuliana

Original Link: https://www.formu1a.uno/analisi-binomio-mclaren-norris-super-perche-ricciardo-fatica/