Mercedes CEO and team principal Toto Wolff remains confident that Lewis Hamilton will sign a new contract with the team before the start of the 2023 season. The seven-time champions current deal signed this time last year expires at the end of the year, both Hamilton and Mercedes have expressed intent to extend it.<\/p>\n
Hamilton has been travelling during the off-season, most recently sharing videos of himself running alongside penguins and a sea lion in Antarctica. Wolff told Sky Sports, \u201cAs for contract discussions, we have a full year to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
“We are so aligned – in the last ten years, our relationship has grown. It’s just a matter of him physically being back in Europe, sticking our heads together, wrestling a bit, and then leaving the room with white smoke after a few hours.”<\/p>\n
A major talking point ahead of the new season has been how drivers will react to the FIA’s announcement that they will not be allowed to use the sport’s platform to make statements for their own “personal agenda”.<\/p>\n
President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said earlier in January that drivers will need prior written permission from the sport’s governing body to make “political, religious and personal statements” from next season, following an update of the International Sporting Code.<\/p>\n
Unless the FIA grants approval in writing, drivers who make such statements will now be in breach of the rules.<\/p>\n
Hamilton has been one of the most vocal drivers in the sport, standing up for human, LGBTQ+ and BAME rights. Wolff said he has yet to discuss the new rules with Hamilton, but is optimistic the laws will not be as “harsh” in practice as they appear on paper.<\/p>\n
Wolff said, \u201cWe haven’t talked about the political situation because he’s in his off-season and I think it’s important to shield yourself from F1. This is what I’m very much doing, helping to shield. Once he’s back, these things will certainly be discussed with a positive mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n
He says the sport needs to see how this pans out, saying that the sport is about uniting people and not making politics.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Pierre Gasly says he had to \u201cput emotions aside\u201d when deciding to leave his Alpha Tauri \u201cfamily,\u201d and make the step up to Alpine this season. The Frenchman was signed to replace Fernando Alonso after he decided to join Aston Martin and then failed to secure Oscar Piastri after the FIA ruled in McLaren\u2019s favour.<\/p>\n
It marked the first F1 move outside of the Red Bull umbrella for Gasly, who has spent the entirety of his F1 career with AlphaTauri and its predecessor, Toro Rosso, with the exception of a half a season for the senior Red Bull team in 2019.<\/p>\n
Gasly led the team to only the second victory in its history at Monza in 2020 before helping it secure its biggest F1 points haul to date the following year. The Frenchman has previously spoken of the comfort he felt within the small, family atmosphere at Faenza, and conceded that it was \u201cfor sure\u201d one of the hardest things to give up.<\/p>\n
Gasly told Motorsport.com, \u201cLooking at a career, you need to be quite pragmatic. I know where I want to go, I know what I want to achieve in Formula 1. You\u2019ve got to put emotions aside, and just look at it in a very pragmatic way: what are the best chances for me to reach my target?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I was mainly driven by performance, and being in a place and in a car that would allow me to perform even better.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Frenchman had his first taste of the team at the Abu Dhabi test, and said in the aftermath of the running he could immediately tell why the team had finished fourth in the constructors\u2019 championship.<\/p>\n
The move comes after a difficult season for AlphaTauri that saw it slump to ninth in the standings, with Gasly recording only six points finishes and a best result of fifth in Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n
He says following the buzz of his move to Alpine, there was \u201cthis emotional part which comes in mind\u201d as he prepared to leave AlphaTauri \u2013 although it did not impact his decision.<\/p>\n
Gasly said, \u201cI would not say that it affects the decision. Clearly, I spoke already with all the team, all the engineers, all the mechanics. For me, they have been all my family my entire time in Formula 1. I spent what, five years, 90% of my time in Formula 1 with these guys.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously it\u2019s going to be a big change, a big change for them as well to welcome a new driver when for the last five years, they have seen me coming [back at the] end of February, test in Barcelona, and see me leaving in Abu Dhabi.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella believes that Oscar Piastri’s lack of Formula One experience won’t hold the team back as it continues its push to catch the sport’s top three players.<\/p>\n
Piastri replaces fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo who was dropped by the team, after failing to match Lando Norris over their time as teammates. Piastri has a lot to learn, Stella is confident that the team can look to Lando Norris as it hones the 2023 car.<\/p>\n
Stella told Motorsport.com, \u201cI think the important point is to have continuity with Lando, he keeps the kind of reference. It’s a reference that we know very well, because we have gone through the development of Lando together with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has certainly been a development from a technical point of view, from a driving point of view, race craft point of view. So I think we know this very well. It will become a frame of reference for Oscar as well. And this is in terms of not only Oscar’s performance himself, but also understanding the car.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stella stressed that modern teams rely heavily on data, while drivers still play a role in development. Saying that they still want to improve some things, and to do that they rely on drivers to play a role in development. In F1 he says you get a good idea from the numbers you’re competitiveness.<\/p>\n
Stella made it clear that Piastri has the ability to learn and develop as a driver as he gains more track miles. Adding, \u201cThe journey we want to take with Oscar is also an independent journey. He’s certainly very talented. And we want him to use his references, references from the car, references even from what we learned with Daniel and so on.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Allan McNish believes that the new engine rules for 2026 offer Audi a \u201cgood runway\u201d for its preparations to join the grid. The German manufacturers announced at last year’s Belgian Grand Prix, that it would enter the sport for the first time in 2026 when the new power unit regulations are introduced.<\/p>\n
The F1 entry will see Audi link up with Sauber, which currently races under the Alfa Romeo banner. Audi will supply engines to the Swiss-based squad and take a majority shareholding to form its works F1 operation. The new regulations will place more emphasis on electric power and sustainable fuels, and will also coincide with a new cycle of technical regulations for the chassis.<\/p>\n
The former F1 driver and team principal of the car manufacturers Formula E team, turned commentator and journalist, felt the shift in the engine regulations for 2026 made it a \u201cgood time\u201d for Audi to join the fold.<\/p>\n
McNish told Motorsport.com at Autosport International on Saturday, There\u2019s always a point where all the stars align. That\u2019s clearly the point now with the technical regulations, and it\u2019s where the company is. \u201c<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd 2026 with the base regulation change, that allows a good runway for preparations. It is definitely exciting. Everybody is buzzed about it. But at the same time, there is a lot of work to be done between now and the real buzz, which is the first race.\u201d<\/p>\n
Audi has been expanding its base in Neuburg to incorporate a new 3,000-square-metre building that will be home to the test benches for the power unit development.<\/p>\n
McNish said the current focus for Audi lay on the early stages of the power unit development, given its tie-up with Sauber won\u2019t officially begin for three more years, but that there was already a growing sense of excitement about the F1 project.<\/p>\n
He says that every day there is an new face coming in telling you what they are doing, and there is a real momentum behind the project.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Pat Symonds plans to continue as F1\u2019s chief technical officer for \u201ca good while\u201d after delaying his planned retirement in 2022. The Englishman has been helping with developing the regulation changes which were introduced last year.<\/p>\n
At the end of 2021, it emerged that Symonds and F1 managing director Ross Brawn were both set to leave their roles at the end of the 2022 season once the new technical regulations had completed their first year.<\/p>\n
While Brawn stepped away from F1 and retired from motorsport, Symonds has remained with the organisation after opting to postpone his planned retirement. Speaking at Autosport International, Symonds said \u201cI had a plan to retire last summer. I actually handed in my year\u2019s notice. You have to think about these things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy notice was accepted, and then Stefano [Domenicali, F1 CEO and president] got to hear about it, and he was like, no, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a good idea! So I\u2019m still here, still doing it, and I still will be for a good while yet\u201d<\/p>\n
Symonds will be the most experienced figures from FON\/Liberty Media to work on the technical regulations, alongside the FIA who will be led by head of single-seaters Nikolas Tombazis, to put together the regulations.<\/p>\n
Last year\u2019s technical overhaul was the first to enjoy significant involvement from F1 as a commercial rights holder, with Liberty Media eager to improve the on-track product and create more racing action.<\/p>\n
While Red Bull dominated last year, the biggest shake up to the regulations in decades was designed to make it easier for cars to race wheel-to-wheel and attempt overtakes by reducing the amount of dirty air that cost downforce. Was largely achieved in the midfield, with the majority of drivers praising the improved feel of the cars when in battles.<\/p>\n
Symonds was previously part of a technical working that formed the regulations for 2009, but said it was like \u201ca college project compared to what we did for 2022.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Gunther Steiner says the comments made about Haas and Ferrari\u2019s relationship in the early 2022 felt like “a broken record.\u201d The American team opted not to develop its 2021 car and failed to score points, before making a brilliant start to 2022 with Kevin Magnussen finishing fifth in Bahrain.<\/p>\n
But the upswing in form from Haas led to scrutiny from other teams, including McLaren, which raised concerns about the relationships between so-called A- and B-teams in F1. Since they entered the sport in 2016, the team has had a technical partnership with Ferrari since joining the grid in 2016, taking a number of listed parts as permitted by the regulations.<\/p>\n
The American team always maintained that its door was open for the FIA to conduct any checks if there were genuine concerns about the relationship, although no formal complaint was made. Steiner says after years of these questions about the partnership, \u201cyou get used to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He told Motorsport.com, \u201cIf you are good, you are a copycat; if you are doing bad, nobody cares. It’s like, alright then, keep on saying it, we have heard this before. It’s a broken record. It doesn’t do anything to me. I couldn’t care less about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Magnussen’s fifth-place finish in Bahrain stood as Haas’s best result of 2022, the team enjoyed a largely successful season as it finished eighth in the championship with thirty-seven points.<\/p>\n
Haas announced a new title sponsor, MoneyGram, last week. The added financial boost is set to take Haas up to the budget cap moving forward, and while Steiner said the team was “never in a bad position”, he said the arrival of MoneyGram would put it on a more even playing field.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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