Honda quit too early – Yamamoto
Honda’s F1 boss Masashi Yamamoto says the Japanese manufacturer has withdrawn from the sport too early and hopes the brand will one day return. In October 2020 they announced they would withdraw at the end of 2021, following a seven-year return with McLaren, Alpha Tauri and Red Bull.
That prompted Red Bull to bring the engine development in-house at its Milton Keynes campus, attracting staff from Honda and various rival teams to spearhead the new Red Bull Powertrains division.
After years of struggle with McLaren, Honda ultimately made drastic improvements to its engines, which allowed Red Bull to compete with the dominant Mercedes team and enabled Max Verstappen to claim the 2021 world championship in a dramatic title showdown with Lewis Hamilton.
Asked by Motorsport.com, if Honda had quit too early just as it started reaping the rewards of its labour, Yamamoto agreed with that sentiment.
He said, “Personally yes, I agree. But this is obviously a company decision and I understand which way the company wants to go, so in the end, we have to accept that. But we always have the imagination, so we hope one day Honda will return to F1.”
Yamamoto admitted he was sad to see Honda go, he said that there was great “satisfaction rather than relief’ to claim the drivers’ championship with Verstappen, meaning Honda ultimately achieved its targets and won’t leave with unfinished business.
He said when the decision was made, they knew they needed to push for 2021. As they took a different mindset giving everything to perform in the time they had left. Yamamoto says they were focused on winning the championship and met that target in the time frame they set themselves.
Yamamoto added Honda will still provide support for what he called a “challenging” effort by Red Bull to successfully run the engines in-house, with the 2022 specification of the engine the final one designed from Honda’s Japanese plant in Sakura.
Ferrari announces launch plans
Ferrari has announced they will launch their 2022 car on Thursday 17th February. Last month team principal Mattia Binotto said in December the team was planning to launch its new car in mid-February before the start of pre-season testing.
But Ferrari has now formalised its plans by announcing on social media that it will unveil the 2022 car on 17 February, one month from today. The Italian manufacturer is the second team to announce its launch plans.
Ferrari is yet to reveal a name for its 2022 car, but the team will enter the new season looking to build on an encouraging 2021 campaign.
Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc scored five podiums and two pole positions to help lift Ferrari to third place in the constructors’ championship, bouncing back from the team’s worst campaign in four decades years in 2020. Although it failed to win a race, the team made a step towards Red Bull and Mercedes, on pace and operations.
From the latter part of 2020, Ferrari has focused on the regulation changes saying there could be “zero compromise” for this season. They also opted against developing its 2021 car, hoping to make significant gains this season.
McLaren announce launch plans
McLaren has announced they will launch their 2022 car, the MCL36, online and Sky Sports on the evening of Wednesday 11th February. The Woking team is the third team to announce its launch date going for the day after Aston Martin.
The second week of February for all the teams suggest that they are planning to run shakedown “filming days” ahead of the start of official testing in Barcelona between 23rd and 25th February.
The Woking-based car manufacture will launch all four of its teams in IndyCar, F1, Extreme E and eSports for 2022 at the event.
In a column, on the team website McLaren CEO Zak Brown indicated that 2022 will be a big year for the organisation. He wrote, “Built on six decades of heritage, McLaren enters the new season with our racing credentials underpinned by rigorous planning and strategic investment. In F1 we will soon be unveiling our new car, built to reflect the significant changes in technical regulations.”
“We have acquired the Arrow McLaren SP IndyCar team and we’ll also be breaking new ground in electric technology thanks to our all-new Extreme E programme. For many reasons, everyone at McLaren is excited by the opportunities that lie ahead this year.”
He says the pandemic has been challenging for everyone, as they adapted to the difficulties that have affected everyone across the globe.
Looking ahead to the F1 season, Brown was bullish about the prospects for the year saying that they will build on the foundations of the teams recent progress. He added that they return to the front as well as ambitious and determined while being realistic.
Prost leaves Alpine advisory role
Four-time world champion Alain Prost has left his advisory role with Alpine as part of the ongoing management shake-up. Last week the French manufacturer announced a restructure following its first full season under the brand of Alpine.
Prost has had an on/off relationship with Alpine parent company Renault since he drove for the original works F1 outfit in 1981-83. He was engaged as a consultant and ambassador to the Enstone team when it returned to full Renault ownership in 2015.
He took on a more formal role in 2019 when he was appointed as a non-executive director of the UK company behind the team, as a direct replacement for Renault Group executive Thierry Bollore. His twelve-month contract has effectively not been renewed
Already last week it was announced that executive director Marcin Budkowski, who served as de facto team principal, has left the team. Rossi is currently running the team himself temporarily. It has been reported that Aston Martin former team principal Otmar Szafnauer will take up a role, after leaving the British team last week.
Its also been reported that water treatment company BWT is set to become a main sponsor of Alpine, suggesting that its traditional pink colours will be part of the team’s livery this year.
Advantage to being oldest driver – Alonso
Fernando Alonso insists that he sees his age and experience as an advantage heading into the 2022 season. The Alpine driver celebrated his fortieth birthday at last years race in Budapest and following the retirement of Kimi Raikkonen is now the oldest driver on the grid.
The two-time champion made his debut with Minardi in 2001, before becoming test driver for his current team when it was Renault in 2002, he then started the first of three stints at the team in 2003. He has also driven for McLaren in 2007 and 2015 – 17, as well as Ferrari 2010 – 2014, with his second stint at Enstone in 2008 – 2009.
Alonso cited the knowledge of low-profile racing tyres gained in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota in 2019 and 2020 as a specific example of the benefits of his extended career.
Asked by Motorsport.com about his new position as the sport’s senior driver, “On the age, I feel good, honestly I feel an advantage. When I come to a circuit, I know the circuits. Now everyone is testing this 18-inch tyre, and I know very well these tyres from the WEC.”
“There is exactly the same behaviour on the tyres, and the same way you have to drive the tyre, which is very different. So all the things that I am facing, for other people are live for the first time, and for me, it’s a second or third time. So this is good.”
Alonso admitted that continuing at a high level required some sacrifices, especially with the busy calendar, this years calendar is currently scheduled to see twenty-three races.
He says that means three hundred days away each year, and that requires a lifestyle that allows you to dedicate yourself to the sport. Adding “I’m in a moment in life that I want to dedicate my moment in time to F1, it’s fantastic. I think I only see advantages. And then, physically, I think the cars of today are not very demanding.”
Flexibility and adaptation key for 2022 – Latifi
Nicolas Latifi says that being flexible and able to adapt will be key to making progress this year when the new regulations are introduced. The Canadian believes that learning to focus on those qualities was the biggest lesson he took from the 2021 season.
In his second season in the sport, Latifi s hawed clear signs of improvement during his second year, he was closer to teammate George Russell on pace. He also scored points in Budapest finishing ahead of Russell and his first Q3 appearance at Spa saw him finish ninth after the race was abandoned.
This season he will be partnered by former Red Bull driver Alex Albon, who was his F2 teammate at DAMS in 2018. Williams team boss Jost Capito has made it clear that there is no number one and that both drivers will have an equal chance to help move the team forwards.
Latifi told Motorsport.com, “The biggest lesson learned is just how important it is to be able to be flexible and adapt, depending on situation, the way the car’s handling. Especially if it’s not the way to your liking, which from a lot of things I’m hearing people saying about [the 2022 cars] can very much be the case, with a potentially more difficult car to drive.
“I think as a driver adaptation is one of the most important skills and qualities you have to have. Because you know that there are sometimes situations when things are not as you expect when you’re not able to predict exactly what the car is going to do, with the way the track conditions are.”
The Canadian says that adaptation is the biggest thing and nothing was ever perfect in F1, saying you need to adapt to the way the car wants to be driven which may not be to your liking. Latifi says also it might not be something you have experienced before or something hammered into him.
Latifi believes that he made good progress in 2021, and can continue that momentum into the coming season. Adding “I think whenever you’re going from your rookie year into your second year of any sport, but I guess in F1 and just racing in particular, there’s probably always going be the biggest improvements and biggest gains on all aspects.”
Vasseur confident of a good relationship with Bottas
Alfa Romeo team principal Fred Vasseur says he is confident that previously working with Valtteri Bottas in junior categories will help strengthen their understanding and trust at Alfa Romeo.
Vasseur will reunite with Bottas for 2022 after leaving Mercedes. Vasseur previously worked with Bottas at his ART Grand Prix in both Formula 3 and GP3. Bottas won the 2011 GP3 title, since rebranded as F3, with ART which put him on course to make his F1 debut in 2013.
Vasseur felt confident that his prior relationship with Bottas would help lay the foundations for working together again in F1, similar to how he had previously worked with Charles Leclerc before his successful season at Sauber in 2018.
He told Motorsport.com, “It’s important to have a good personal relationship, full trust, and a good understanding of the other. I saw it with Charles in the past: when you work together in the junior series, you know the guy for a long, long time.”
“You don’t need to speak too much to understand what he is expecting. The relationship that you can build in the junior series is completely different to the relationship in F1. We are much more in contact.”
Vasseur believes that the team will help Bottas to flourish out of the shadows of Lewis Hamilton, on a multi-year deal. Bottas helped Mercedes to secure five contractors titles in his time with the team, as well as finishing twice as runner up in the driver’s championship.
While the Finn struggled to match Hamilton across the course of a season, many of his wins came in dominant displays where he outclassed the rest of the field. Asked if he had seen signs of such dominance in junior categories, Vasseur replied, “When you want to find positive factors in the junior series, you can always find them.”
Abu Dhabi could be Raikkonen’s last race ever
Kimi Raikkonen says his final Grand Prix last month in Abu Dhabi could “very easily” be the last professional outing of his career. The former champion retired last month twenty-one years after making his debut with Sauber, now Alfa Romeo, having started three hundred and forty-nine races.
Raikkonen revealed shortly after announcing his plans to retire in September that he was yet to consider any future racing opportunities, instead of wishing to spend some time with his family and to step away from motorsport to begin with. In an interview published on Monday speaking before that race, Raikkonen admitted that could be the final time he raced professionally.
He said “It could be, very easily – but then, on the other hand, it could be that I’m completely wrong. That’s why I haven’t made any plans. I don’t want to make plans, because, for the first time in a very long time, my work schedule doesn’t dictate the whole life – in the past my life, and now also the family’s as well.”
Raikkonen said there “could be anything” in his future, and felt confident that he would receive approaches to race. But he was clear in his need to take a break from racing in the short term.
He said there will be things that would pop up, and if it makes sense he would be open to do it, after having time off.
Upon leaving F1 at the end of 2009 to take a sabbatical, Raikkonen took part in a number of rallies, including twenty-one rounds of the World Rally Championship, and even made two NASCAR appearances in 2011 before returning to F1 for the 2012 season.
But Raikkonen said he was now in a “completely different” situation compared to his previous F1 exit, meaning he could not commit to a similarly busy racing schedule. Rallying he explained takes up a week with all the prep, but seemly suggested he was at a stage in his life where he didn’t want to commit to a full season.
