Рубрика: Autosport News

FIA lowers superlicence age, allowing Antonelli F1 opportunity

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


The FIA has updated Appendix L of its International Sporting Code to add a clause that states that, although the minimum age for the superlicence required to drive in F1 is 18 years old, special dispensation may be granted to certain drivers to receive one at 17. 

This has also affected the requirements for a free practice-only superlicence, which follows the same wording and means that Antonelli could make his FP1 debut prior to his 18th birthday on 25 August.

Article 13.1.2 of Appendix L reads: «At the sole discretion of the FIA, a driver judged to have recently and consistently demonstrated outstanding ability and maturity in single-seater formula car competition may be granted a Super Licence at the age of 17 years old.»

The Italian has been supported by Mercedes since he raced in karts, and his rapid progression through the single-seater championships has come with title victories in Italian F4 and the Formula Regional European Championship in 2022 and 2023 respectively, driving for Prema.

He stayed with Prema for his maiden Formula 2 season, although the squad has struggled to contend with the new Dallara chassis introduced for this year.

It was reported that an enquiry earlier this year had been made to the FIA about granting Antonelli a superlicence despite not yet being 18, which the FIA appears to have responded to through its changes to the regulations. 

Pepe Marti (ESP, Campos Racing),rea Kimi Antonelli (ITA, Prema Racing), Gabriel Bortoleto (BRA, Invicta Racing), Sebastian Montoya (COL, Campos Racing), ahead of the Senna memorial run

Pepe Marti (ESP, Campos Racing),rea Kimi Antonelli (ITA, Prema Racing), Gabriel Bortoleto (BRA, Invicta Racing), Sebastian Montoya (COL, Campos Racing), ahead of the Senna memorial run

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

The changes to the rules mean that Antonelli could theoretically make his FP1 debut, or even race, prior to F1’s summer break if the FIA deems him worthy of the criteria it has set out.

It had been reported earlier this season that Antonelli was being lined up to replace Logan Sargeant mid-season, hence the request to lower the minimum age to 17, but team principal James Vowles denied those suggestions.



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Alpine prioritising «professionalism» in search for Ocon replacement

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Ocon and Alpine announced prior to the Canadian Grand Prix that they would part ways at the end of 2024, in the wake of his first-lap clash with team-mate Pierre Gasly at Monaco.

Although Ocon and Gasly have a well-publicised fractious relationship, the two vowed to work together for the good of the team when partnered together at the start of 2023.

However, they have both contributed to various flashpoints throughout their 18 months as team-mates, the clash at Monaco being one of them.

Team principal Bruno Famin is thus working on finding a replacement for Ocon, as the team is also looking to retain Gasly for 2025 despite suffering from a poor start to this season.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Famin stated that his priority was not to find two drivers who already get along to avoid the Ocon/Gasly issues, but instead focus on signing «professional» drivers willing to work together.

«I think the relationship doesn’t matter. The professionalism matters. We need professional drivers,» Famin stated.

«They need to work together. It’s part of the job to be able to work with his team-mate to get the best for the team.»

Famin stated that reserve driver Jack Doohan was one of the drivers under consideration at the team; the Australian youngster was given an FP1 drive at Ocon’s expense in Montreal, but the wet conditions hampered his running.

Bruno Famin, Team Principal, Alpine F1 Team

Bruno Famin, Team Principal, Alpine F1 Team

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Doohan has been undergoing a test programme in older Alpine machinery, having taken a year out of racing after finishing third in last year’s F2 championship.

Sauber duo Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu have also been linked to the team, as has Alpine World Endurance Championship driver and Mercedes F1 reserve Mick Schumacher — although the German is believed to be an outsider for the drive.

«I think he’s an option, for sure. Jack is an option. We are preparing him. He was testing in [Austria] not long time ago and yeah, he has a quite heavy testing programme — and we’re happy with that,» Famin continued.

«Let’s see how he develops. He is one possibility among others, but he’s one possibility for sure.»

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Ocon explained that his relationship with Famin was not damaged by their decision to part ways, despite the ex-Peugeot chief’s furious admonishment of Ocon’s Monaco actions on Canal+.

«I talked with Bruno; I was at the factory for normal preparation before the weekend, and had a chat with Bruno. We were just talking about a lot of things,» Ocon said.

«There’s no awkward moment, there is no damage between our relationships altogether. Everything has been discussed, and we move on, and we keep racing to try and do the best we can.»

Additional reporting by Jonathan Noble



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Sauber fix for F1 struggles «not rocket science»

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


The Hinwil-based outfit is the only team not to score points in the current campaign, having seen its qualifying performances drop since the start of the season.

Bottas had been running well in mixed conditions in Montreal before pitting «one lap too early» to switch to slicks as the track surface dried, eventually finishing 13th, 10 seconds adrift of Pierre Gasly in the last of the points-paying position.
With five cars retiring — three of which were regular points finishers in Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez — an opportunity was missed for Sauber to get on the scoreboard, especially with rivals Alpine securing two top-10 spots.

«We still have work to do,» said Bottas.

«We need to keep bringing upgrades and make the car faster. It is not rocket science, we just need more bits.»

On whether an update package was on its way for the Spanish Grand Prix, the Finn replied: «We have small things but a very high downforce track, a different track to here. I think it is going to be close, as we have seen. The next step is to get back to Q2 and then we can fight a bit better.»

Team-mate Zhou Guanyu endured a testing weekend with his struggles behind the wheel of the C44, which included two red flag-inducing incidents in practice.
Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber C44

Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber C44

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

His fortunes didn’t turn around in time for qualifying and with a back-row start facing him, he joined Bottas in commencing the race from the pitlane.

Eventually finishing as the only driver lapped by race-winner Verstappen, the Chinese driver conceded: «Just struggling across the different compounds. At the halfway stage of the race, I was a bit out of the race anyway, so a bit lonely.

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«We have something already planned back at the factory to check everything, make sure we are starting a little bit more from scratch. These two weekends, I feel like something is not clicking right and this weekend, all these mistakes, they never happened before.

«So we try to understand all of our issues and have some plans for the next race.»

Asked if it was just the rear of the car he was lacking confidence with given his crashes earlier in the weekend, Zhou said: «It is everywhere, to be honest, just four-wheel sliding. There is not a massive limitation, we are just lacking grip. It is quite simple but not an easy one to get progress.»



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Was Magnussen’s Canadian GP assessment correct after early heroics?

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From 14th on the grid, Magnussen found the extreme wet tyre particularly potent in the first six laps when the circuit was at its most slippery, and carved his way up to fourth by the end of lap three.

That put him in touching distance of the top three but, as the circuit began to dry out, the crossover point between intermediates and wets began to close in.

In measuring Magnussen’s early tours versus those of Oscar Piastri, whom the Dane had passed for fourth, that crossover point arrived on lap six: Magnussen set a 1m34.673s, Piastri a 1m33.060s, which prompted Haas to bring Magnussen in on the following lap for intermediates.

So, one might think that it was the right call for Magnussen to come in — he’d now started lapping slower than the cars ahead. A slow pitstop rather hurt his chances and cost him track position, but he shook out in 13th nonetheless to at least make a position.

«It was looking good,» he explained post-race. «We took the right choice on the full wets — but then I think we pitted off onto the inter too early because we ended up having to take another inter. We could have stretched that full wet, to then go on to the inter and stay on it instead.

«On top of that, we had a very slow pit stop. It felt like we had some opportunity there — but didn’t get anything out of it.

«We didn’t try and take any crazy gamble or anything. We just did what we felt was right for the conditions. And it looked okay, so I think we did the right thing there to begin with but — then didn’t back it up with the right decisions thereafter.»

Haas tried to go longer with Nico Hulkenberg’s stint, and the German hung on until lap 12 having made his own ascent up the field to seventh. After the sixth-lap cross-over, Hulkenberg was lapping between 1-1.5 seconds slower than Daniel Ricciardo behind, before the Australian eventually took back control of eighth on lap 11.

Alex Albon, Williams FW46, Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24, Logan Sargeant, Williams FW46

Alex Albon, Williams FW46, Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24, Logan Sargeant, Williams FW46

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

But Hulkenberg was battling a car he noted was «not fully healthy», so it stands to reason that Magnussen might have been able to have gained a few tenths over his team-mate’s range of times in the 1m34s. It seemed like Haas had timed its Magnussen stop to limit the damage of the time taken to pit while the field spread was sufficient, but the slow stop cost about five to six seconds and the timing meant that Magnussen needed to stop again under the safety car.

It was expected that rain was due before the race’s mid-point, although answering Magnussen’s suggestion will be made with the benefit of hindsight. Perhaps hanging it out until lap 15 would have negated the need for an extra stop under the safety car for new inters, that call-in eventually shuffling Magnussen down back to 14th.

Let’s take a look at how the wet tyre strategy could have played out, without that seventh-lap stop, and we’ll do the same for Hulkenberg and his lap 12 pitstop — although his lap times will require less in the way of extrapolation.

At the end of lap six, Magnussen was 4.76s clear of Piastri. Assuming he could continue at the same pace, Piastri would have needed two or three more laps to mount a pass on pure pace, although the need to back off onto the wet parts of the circuit might have hindered that slightly.

Regardless, Magnussen was not really racing the McLaren driver; this is purely an experiment to determine if Haas could have managed points. Thus, comparing the laps of Ricciardo, Lance Stroll, Charles Leclerc, and Yuki Tsunoda is perhaps more worthwhile as a point of reference.

Here’s what we’ll do: ‘tare’ Magnussen at the end of the second lap, and work out the relative gaps of those cars who battled for points at the lower end of the top 10. Next, his recorded lap time from lap seven will be deleted and the delta over his previous lap extrapolated to the end of the lap. He was approximately 0.36s up before the braking zone for Turns 13/14, so we’ll take that off his sixth-lap 1m34.673s.

For ease, we’ll transpose in Hulkenberg’s lap times from lap eight to lap 11; although he was over a second slower per lap than Magnussen, this was due to him spending longer in traffic. By the time Hulkenberg had got up to seventh he was more consistently in the 1m34s after the battling Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton pulled clear, which is much more representative of the wet tyre pace, although his calculated 12th lap is much slower given his weird approach to the hairpin.

We’ll apply that to his own times but, for Magnussen, we’ll instead more steadily degrade his times in line with the drying track performance. It’s hard to know what the performance deltas per lap will be, as Pirelli does not so readily supply that information, but estimating is half the fun.

Here’s where we are when we build up the lap time picture with conservative estimates for laps 12-15. (All figures in seconds)

Lap Magnussen Ricciardo Stroll Leclerc Tsunoda Hulkenberg
2 (delta) 0 4.291 5.428 7.908 9.01 6.155
3 96.134 100.559 100.688 99.247 99.935 96.651
4 93.993 97.504 97.302 97.813 97.475 95.053
5 94.529 97.388 97.044 96.358 95.882 96.104
6 94.673 96.684 96.655 96.3 96.646 96.178
7 94.313 93.997 93.695 94.541 94.176 96.158
8 94.17 93.341 93.549 93.768 93.491 94.17
9 94.267 92.518 92.85 92.791 92.88 94.267
10 94.671 93.382 92.786 92.094 92.028 94.671
11 94.672 93.504 94.245 94.16 94 94.672
12 94.872 90.514 91.2 93.158 93.494 96.172
13 95.072 90.251 90.255 90.52 90.362 95.072
14 95.272 88.964 89.446 89.171 89.622 95.272
15 95.472 88.743 89.017 88.868 89.266 95.472
SUM 1232.11 1221.64 1224.16 1226.697 1228.267 1246.067
GAP 0 -10.47 -7.95 -5.413 -3.843 13.957
GAP to P1 54.594 44.124 46.644 49.181 50.751 68.551
STOP 79.594 44.124 46.644 49.181 50.751 93.551

Based on the lap deltas, Magnussen appears to fall 10 seconds behind Ricciardo which puts him 13th before his stop — exactly where he ended up after his pitstop. Hulkenberg is a further 14 seconds behind his own team-mate, although this gains him one position and puts him 18th — marginally ahead of Zhou Guanyu. This is all pre-pitstop however and, assuming a 25-second stop, both Haas drivers would end up some way adrift at the back — Magnussen is 79.594s off the lead, with Hulkenberg 93.551s away.

Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38

Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Fresh intermediates for 10 laps would reward them with some lap time, although their real-world pace on fresh inters was not much quicker overall than that of Logan Sargeant’s. And, if the plan is to save tyres to ensure they’re in decent nick for the second downpour, it’s hard to see it changing. So, assuming pace is stagnant, the gaps will remain the same.

However, this is the key bit: how much do they get back from not stopping under the lap 25 safety car?

Three drivers stayed out on the same set of inters during the safety car: Tsunoda, Valtteri Bottas, and Esteban Ocon. Collating an average of their lap 25 times, we get a ‘stay out’ lap of a 1m52.613s, over 10s quicker versus the pit-in time that the Haas drivers actually managed (2m09.198 for Magnussen, 2m03.974 for Hulkenberg).

But that 10 seconds isn’t enough to bring the Haas duo back into play — an end-of-lap 15 stop appears to be too late. The two basically lose a pitstop by staying on the wets for longer as the intermediates are several seconds per lap quicker, and they would need to gain that back plus change for staying out.

What about stopping on lap 12 and staying out under the safety car?

Lap Magnussen Ricciardo Stroll Leclerc Tsunoda Hulkenberg
2 (delta) 0 4.291 5.428 7.908 9.01 6.155
3 96.134 100.559 100.688 99.247 99.935 96.651
4 93.993 97.504 97.302 97.813 97.475 95.053
5 94.529 97.388 97.044 96.358 95.882 96.104
6 94.673 96.684 96.655 96.3 96.646 96.178
7 94.313 93.997 93.695 94.541 94.176 96.158
8 94.17 93.341 93.549 93.768 93.491 94.17
9 94.267 92.518 92.85 92.791 92.88 94.267
10 94.671 93.382 92.786 92.094 92.028 94.671
11 94.672 93.504 94.245 94.16 94 94.672
12 94.872 90.514 91.2 93.158 93.494 96.172
SUM 946.294 953.682 955.442 958.138 959.017 960.251
GAP 0 7.388 9.148 11.844 12.723 13.957
GAP TO P1 34.843 42.231 43.991 46.687 47.566 48.8
+L12 STOP 59.843 42.231 43.991 46.687 47.566 73.8

After his actual stop, Hulkenberg emerged onto the track in 19th place. The lap before the safety car, he was nine seconds behind Bottas who did not stop. Assuming the same gap, albeit one that was compressing as the safety car started to back up the field, Hulkenberg could at best have hoped to sit 16th as the stops shook out, still behind Bottas who ultimately did not register any points.

Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24 battles with Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24

Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24 battles with Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

It might have worked out for Magnussen, however; an end-of-lap-12 stop would have put him somewhere between the Saubers, although fresh intermediates might have got him ahead of Bottas and knocking on the door of Gasly. That puts him in Ocon territory when the stops come, offering a shot at ninth or 10th when the race shakes out into its final order.

Perhaps, then, Magnussen has a point — literally and figuratively. Had his stint on the extreme wet been extended by five laps and not hindered by slow pitstops, he’d have likely presented a much more compelling prospect to add to Haas’ points tally for the season.

But, to quote Italian celebrity chef and TV personality Gino D’Acampo: if his grandmother had wheels, she’d be a bike. Extrapolating from incomplete data, especially in a wet race, is often folly — but Haas might have been better served to keep Magnussen on the wets for a few more laps…



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Wolff warns FIA the «ship has sailed» for F1 2026 engine tweaks

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Amid the backdrop of the FIA admitting that its draft 2026 technical rules are going to need refining to make cars faster, one possibility that has emerged to help things is in tweaking the engines.

As part of a push to secure the headline 50-50 split of power input from the ICE and electrical energy, fuel flow limitations have been imposed.

So, one easy way to deliver more power and reduce the reliance on battery energy would be to increase these limits.

Speaking at the Canadian Grand Prix, the FIA’s single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis suggested that the manufacturers could be open to modifications.

“If there are some tweaks needed, I’m quite confident the PU manufacturers would help and be collaborative,” he said.

Under the terms of the F1’s 2026 power unit regulations, however, any change requires unanimous support of the manufacturers who have committed to enter.

And even before any suggestions of potential changes have been seriously considered, some car makers have made clear there is no room for manoeuvre because work is so far advanced on the 2026 engines.

Watch: The Future of Formula One — First Look at The 2026 F1 Regulations

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said: “On the power unit side, the ship has sailed.

“There are teams that feel they are on the back foot, and there are other teams that will feel, and OEMs, that they have done a good job. That’s the normal kind of wrestling on regulations.

“I think on the chassis side there are tweaks that are possible that we need to do. But, on the engine side, the process is far too advanced.” 

Alpine team principal Bruno Famin admitted it would be difficult to make changes now, with manufacturers having already worked on the new power units for several years.

“We need to be careful because on the chassis side, almost nothing is done — because there is no regulation,” he said. “But on the PU, we have two years of work.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, whose squad will be powered by its own engine from 2026, felt there was still time to make meaningful changes – but was aware of Mercedes’ resistance.

Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing, in the team principals Press Conference

Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing, in the team principals Press Conference

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

«There is always one that doesn’t want to change,» he said. «But that is down to the FIA. As I say, it is never too late.

«They have all the knowledge and simulations. You have got to look at what is best for F1 at the end of the day and what will produce the best racing. So, trust in them and FOM to make the right calls. Whether that is required or not, they have got all the knowledge to know.»

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How Red Bull has taken another leap with F1’s rear wing trend

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The semi-detached rear wing tip solution is one example of this right now – as rivals clearly saw the potential on offer when Aston Martin and Alpine simultaneously debuted original versions of the two slightly different solutions in Monaco last year.

All teams have been in search of means to recover some of the losses that the regulations imposed on them at the rear, as the endplate and flap juncture are very different when compared with how they were shaped in the past.

This was for good reason though, as teams had become extremely adept at managing the tip vortex to increase downforce and reduce drag. While good for car performance, this was troublesome for a trailing car as it had an impact on the overall wake profile.

Designers cannot unlearn what they already know though and they quickly realised that if they could unravel some of the limitations that the regulations seemed to impose on then, while introducing some of their old ideas in a new way, they could recoup some lost performance.

Just over a year on from the arrival of these two solutions, there’s still a healthy dose of development being carried out on the now quite divergent development branches that have emerged.

Alpine A523 rear wing side comparison

Alpine A523 rear wing side comparison

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The main route that’s been taken by most of the teams has the Alpine design at its core, with a metal bracket angled in opposition to the endplate and inboard of the juncture.

However, as the teams have iterated their designs, there’s been a move towards an elongated lower tip, which is drawn down over the bracket and mainplane’s edge. There has also been a reshaping of the tip section to provide assistance to the upper flap.

These optimisations, along with a remodelling of the endplate cutout, are all designed to help with the trade-off between creating more downforce and reducing drag, while being mindful of how powerful DRS is when deployed.

Sauber mono pillar, Monaco vs Canada

Sauber mono pillar, Monaco vs Canada

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Sauber introduced new rear wings into its pool at both Monaco and Canada, as the team made the switch from a double mounting pillar arrangement to a single element.

Interestingly, the Swiss-based outfit hedged its bets, as the solutions, which are on either end of the downforce spectrum, have two different semi-detached tip sections. The higher downforce variant follows in the footsteps of the Aston Martin design, while the lower downforce offering follows the Alpine lineage.

Meanwhile, Mercedes is another interesting case study, as it pursued the Aston Martin direction during 2023 but made the switch to the Alpine concept for 2024 (inset, below).

Mercedes W15 rear wing Imola comparison

Mercedes W15 rear wing Imola comparison

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The German manufacturer introduced an all-new variant into the mix at Imola, as it developed a forward reaching, outboard-mounted solution.

The overarching goal of the design is clear, as it looks to trade drag for the given downforce level of the wing in use. However, it is a more creative interpretation, which is only natural given the time with which the designers have now had with these regulations and this particular design feature.

Red Bull also made changes to the RB20’s rear wing design in Canada, as it continues to hunt for ways to improve efficiency, which is especially important given that the chasing pack are now hot on its heels.

Red Bull RB20 rear wing tip

Red Bull RB20 rear wing tip

Photo by: Uncredited

Its latest design was quite interesting though, as it added a small vane on the top corner of the mainplane and endplate juncture that was also angled parallel to the tip section’s mounting bracket.

The new vane also sits inline with the lower tip of the tip section (see inset), which was also modified as part of the overhaul and will take advantage of the vane. These both alter the behaviour of the airflow in that region.

Keen to ensure that the wing was performing as its simulation tools had predicted, Red Bull doused the RB20’s rear wing elements in flow-vis paint during Free Practice 1, with the streamlines created in the oil-based paint providing a snapshot into the airflow’s behaviour over those surfaces.

Red Bull Racing RB20 rear detail

Red Bull Racing RB20 rear detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

It’ll be interesting to see if, how and when the other teams begin to apply a similar logic to their own semi-detached tip section solutions, given every single team on the grid has either had or is currently running one.

Watch: Canadian GP Race Review — Wet and Wild Vs Cool and Calm



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10 of the most memorable Silverstone moments

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F1 makes its debut – 1950

Giuseppe Farina, Alfa Romeo 158, Luigi Fagioli, Alfa Romeo 158

Giuseppe Farina, Alfa Romeo 158, Luigi Fagioli, Alfa Romeo 158

Photo by: Motorsport Images

The first-ever world championship F1 race was held at Silverstone on May 13, 1950, with a 21-car grid including nine British drivers. Reg Parnell was the top home hope in the class-leading Alfa Romeo 158, alongside team-mates Juan Manuel Fangio, Nino Farina and Luigi Fagioli. A crowd of 200,000 flocked to the former airfield and saw Farina and Fangio battle it out, but when the Argentine retired eight laps from the end, Farina took the win, with Parnell flying the flag on the podium in third.

Duel of legends – 1969

Jochen Rindt, Lotus 49B Ford, leads Jackie Stewart, Matra MS80 Ford

Jochen Rindt, Lotus 49B Ford, leads Jackie Stewart, Matra MS80 Ford

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Scotsman Jackie Stewart had won four out of five races in 1969, but he crashed his Matra in qualifying and started second alongside Jochen Rindt’s Lotus. The pair raced away from the field and enjoyed a spectacular slipstreaming contest until Rindt was forced to pit due to a rear wing failure. He charged back but then ran out of fuel, leaving Stewart to claim an ultimately comfortable victory, an entire lap ahead of second-placed Jacky Ickx.

Woodcote pile-up – 1973

Clearing work after the first lap and the mass crash following the start. Roger Williamson's March 731 Ford sits to the left while Wilson Fittipaldi's Brabham BT42 Ford limps away and Graham Hill pulls across to a halt in his Shadow SN1 Ford

Clearing work after the first lap and the mass crash following the start. Roger Williamson’s March 731 Ford sits to the left while Wilson Fittipaldi’s Brabham BT42 Ford limps away and Graham Hill pulls across to a halt in his Shadow SN1 Ford

Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch / Motorsport Images

A dramatic crash at the end of the first lap in 1973 eliminated 11 cars from the race. The incident occurred at Woodcote corner when fourth-placed Jody Scheckter spun across the track and bounced back into the middle of it. As the field flew through at racing speed some avoided the stricken McLaren but others could not, and carnage ensued. Brabham driver Andrea de Adamich came off worst, with a broken ankle that ended his career, and the cars were stopped a lap later. The restarted race was eventually won by Ronnie Peterson in a Lotus.

Mansell sends a dummy – 1987

Nigel Mansell, Williams FW11B Honda

Nigel Mansell, Williams FW11B Honda

Photo by: Motorsport Images

No fan of Brit Nigel Mansell will forget the magical moment in 1987 when he got one up on his bitter rival and team-mate, Nelson Piquet. Having qualified just 0.07s slower than the Brazilian, the legendary ‘Red 5’ Williams driver followed within two seconds for lap after lap in the race until a wheel balance came loose and he had to pit. The stop put him 28.4s back with 29 laps to go but, cheered on by his adoring fans, he hunted Piquet down and sold him a dummy into Stowe corner — soaring past to take the lead with three laps left. The sound of the crowd was deafening.

Senna goes side-saddle – 1991

Ayrton Senna, McLaren receives a lift back to the pits from Nigel Mansell, Williams FW14 Renault

Ayrton Senna, McLaren receives a lift back to the pits from Nigel Mansell, Williams FW14 Renault

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Mansell was on top again at Silverstone in 1991, starting from pole and dominating the race to claim another popular victory. His only challenge had come from Ayrton Senna early in the race, but ultimately Senna couldn’t challenge and after Mansell’s easy win he picked up his McLaren rival on the cool-down lap in show of sportsmanship after the Brazilian ran out of fuel. The sight of Senna sitting side-saddle on the Williams as it made its way back to the pits is one of F1’s most iconic and enduring images.

Schumacher and Hill collide – 1995

British GP

British GP

It was Michael Schumacher versus Damon Hill for the title in 1995 and they came to blows again at Silverstone after colliding in the Australian decider the previous year. Hill started from pole but Schumacher moved to the front after his one-stop strategy bettered his rival’s two-stopper. Hill, however, had fresher tyres and closed in to challenge for the lead, but when he dived up the inside at Priory, the pair crashed and both spun out. Despite the disappointment the fans still got to cheer a home winner, as Schumacher’s Benetton team-mate Johnny Herbert came through to take his maiden victory.

Schumacher’s cheeky stop-go – 1998

Michael Schumacher, Ferrari F300 makes his stop and go penalty

Michael Schumacher, Ferrari F300 makes his stop and go penalty

Photo by: Motorsport Images

McLaren’s Mika Hakkinen had the 1998 race in control after starting from pole and building a significant lead over title rival Schumacher, but a safety car closed the field up on lap 50 and the German took advantage to grab the lead at the restart. He was given a stop-go penalty for passing Alexander Wurz under safety car conditions, but the team cleverly minimised the disadvantage by serving it on the very last lap – and the Ferrari driver crossed the finish line in the pits to take his first of three Silverstone victories.

The priest protest – 2003

Track invasion by religious activist and former priest Neil Horan. The safety car was deployed and Horan was arrested for aggrevated trespass. Mark Webber, Jaguar, Jacques Villeneuve, BAR seen in action.

Track invasion by religious activist and former priest Neil Horan. The safety car was deployed and Horan was arrested for aggrevated trespass. Mark Webber, Jaguar, Jacques Villeneuve, BAR seen in action.

Photo by: Gary Hawkins

The 2003 race was made memorable for non-racing reasons when, on the 11th lap, priest Cornelius Horan ran onto Hangar Straight dressed in a kilt and holding a banner about the bible. Luckily, a brave marshal managed to clear him from the circuit before the field of cars flew past. The incident also turned the race on its head, drawing out the safety car close to the pit window and shuffling the pack. That put many of the usual front-runners out of the picture and Rubens Barrichello climbed from seventh to pressure Kimi Raikkonen into a mistake and take the win.

Rainmaster Hamilton – 2008

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren MP4-23 Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren MP4-23 Mercedes

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

This was Lewis Hamilton’s first victory of an incredible eight (so far) at Silverstone and it was a masterclass in rain racing. A deluge soaked the track before the start, but when the lights went out it was drying out and everyone was on intermediate tyres. Hamilton moved from fourth to first off the line, but his McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen snuck back past as several drivers spun out on the sodden track. It was just five laps before Hamilton was back in the lead and he took control, combining driving skill and clever tyre strategies to end up more than a minute ahead of second-placed Nick Heidfeld’s BMW Sauber by the finish.

Three-wheeled wagon — 2020

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W11 with a puncture on the final lap

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W11 with a puncture on the final lap

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Silverstone hosted two races in the COVID-affected 2020 season, with the British Grand Prix followed a week later by the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix. The first event saw drama in the closing stages as several cars, including the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas, suffered serious tyre failures. Hamilton, who had built up a comfortable lead over Max Verstappen, was told to look after his tyres but on the final lap he suffered a puncture and as his Dutch rival hunted him down. Despite having just three functioning wheels on his car, he somehow managed to keep going and crossed the line to secure an incredible victory.

And now for 2024…

The British Grand Prix will take place this year from 5 July – 7 July and no doubt bring the same drama and excitement we’ve come to expect from this track. Will Max Verstappen reign supreme again, can a British driver return to the top step of the podium or will we see a surprise new race winner this year? MoneyGram is giving one lucky fan and their guest the chance to soak up the iconic Silverstone atmosphere this year as part of the MoneyGram Silverstone Dream Weekend competition. With VIP hospitality, round trip travel, accommodation, MoneyGram Haas F1 Team merchandise and more available to the winner, it is a truly incredible package. To enter, just answer ‘What drives your dreams?’ at dreams.moneygram.com.

The Silverstone Dream Weekend with MoneyGram Haas F1 Team competition is for residents of the UK only. Entrants must be of majority age. The competition opens on May 26, 2024 and closes on June 23, 2024. The prize draw will be made on June 26, 2024 and the winner will be notified on June 27, 2024



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Mercedes late-race pace proves Canada F1 victory wasn’t thrown away

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Lando Norris had fought his way to the front in mixed conditions early in the race, working his way past eventual race winner Max Verstappen and polesitter George Russell.

But Norris and the team turned down the option to immediately respond to the first safety car of the race, after Logan Sargeant shunted his Williams at Turn 6, and instead toured slowly behind Bernd Maylander’s Mercedes while his rivals opted to switch tyres.

By the time Norris stopped a lap later, he found himself back behind the Red Bull and Mercedes.

Asked whether there was any reason other than the timing of the first pitstop that contributed to Norris missing out on a second win of the season, Stella replied: «Not later in the race.

«I think later in the race, things unfolded… Mercedes should have finished ahead of Lando.

«So if anything, we maximised what was available after the safety car. Without the safety car, then I think Lando could have accumulated such a large advantage that then we could have tried to make it to the end on the dry tyres.»

Andrea Stella, Team Principal, McLaren F1 Team, in the Team Principals Press Conference

Andrea Stella, Team Principal, McLaren F1 Team, in the Team Principals Press Conference

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

But suggesting even a large gap wouldn’t have guaranteed victory as the track dried out, Stella added: «I think Mercedes, they could have caught up — because they were a few tenths of a second faster than us.

«We really needed a decent advantage to make it safely to the end. But obviously, this is a little bit academic because in a race like this [with] two or three safety cars… you have to assume they will happen and also, the weather was around.

«We knew that it was going to be a race decided by various scenarios and ultimately, I think we are happy with the results.»

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Norris had stretched out a sizeable gap over Verstappen and Russell in the first stint, with the McLaren coming alive around 15 laps in.

The Briton and team-mate Oscar Piastri began lapping over a second faster than the squad’s rivals as the track dried and everyone remained on intermediates.

Strategy was complicated by the threat of further rain just before the midway point of the race and when explaining how his drivers extracted so much performance, Stella referred to the second weather front.

«We knew that it would not have been easy to make it to the rain expected around lap 30 initially, it would have been difficult for the intermediate tyres to survive that long,» he explained.

«So because we had no pressure, we started to save the tyres very, very early, even when [it] kind of wasn’t necessary, trying to find the cold patches or wet patches to make sure that the tyres stayed in good condition for when the track would have been more challenging.

«There’s no magic, it’s just the position we were in the first stint meant that we could apply this strategy with no loss — because we didn’t have pressure from behind.»

Watch: Canadian GP Race Review — Wet and Wild Vs Cool and Calm



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Aston Martin cautious over return to form despite strong F1 Canada result

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


In a wet-to-dry Montreal classic, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll finished sixth and seventh respectively, both drivers executing a solid race to finish behind the inherently quicker cars from Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren.

It was a big boost for the Silverstone-based squad after going backwards during the first third of the 2024 season relative to its nearest rivals. RB appeared to have leapfrogged it in the pecking order, but by outscoring the Faenza team by 10 points in Montreal, Aston has strengthened its grip on fifth place.

But ahead of a return to more traditional European venues like Barcelona, the Red Bull and Silverstone, Aston Martin is not getting ahead of itself on whether or not it has solved the tricky handling characteristics and changing balance of its AMR24, which will be much more exposed on high-downforce circuits with longer and faster corners.

«It would be premature to say we have understood everything,» team principal Mike Krack cautioned.

«I think we have a lot of work to do still. But obviously, it was a step in the right direction this weekend.

«There are different and difficult circuits coming up, so we need to sit down and see what is the best possible package for the races to come, because they will be very intense.»

Stroll was convinced Aston’s Montreal performance was track-specific because of its emphasis on aerodynamic efficiency and performance in slower corners.

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

«The track definitely suited our car» he said. «We’re quick in a straight line, not so much downforce, efficient, good DRS switch, all these things, which is good for Canada.

«The car is still maybe going to be more difficult come Barcelona and Budapest and these kind of long corners.»

«We capitalised on a weekend where the car was pretty strong all weekend. And we’ll see in Barcelona, a very different kind of track, what we can do there. I think we are [solving our issues] but it’s not an overnight change.»

Alonso teased new upgrades for his Spanish GP home race that he hopes will further turn around Aston’s fortunes, although he too feared Barcelona would be a more difficult weekend for his squad.

«On paper, we were happier with Montreal than Barcelona, we think that this track was going to be better for us but let’s see if we have a nice surprise,» he added.

«I know the team is also working very hard to bring some new things for Barcelona, so it’s going to be a very interesting weekend. Let’s see if we can score points again with both cars, which obviously is the thing that we are looking at at the moment.

«The last few months were very productive for us in terms of understanding the cars so I’m very confident.»



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