Hello welcome to another edition of This Week, more controversy caused by Mohammed Ben Sulayem has led to more departures from the FIA as he hit out at the British media about biased coverage. Red Bull\u2019s worries about McLaren\u2019s form and whether are they at serious risk of losing this championship, \u00a0why Aston are trying to understand how McLaren has made so much progress in recent months\u2026<\/p>\n
But arguably the biggest story this week is Renault deciding to end its engine programme after months of speculation about why has one of the sports longest running engine suppliers decided to withdraw from F1\u2026 this break show there is always going to be a story in this sport.<\/p>\n
The FIA has lost two of its senior figures, with its director of communications Luke Skipper and secretary general of mobility Jacob Bangsgaard resigning. Both are said to have left the organisation to pursue other interests, but their departures come at a time when FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem\u2019s style of leadership has again been in the spotlight.<\/p>\n
In Singapore, Ben Sulayem triggered a debate about swearing and in recent days has also aimed at the British media, after suggesting that he has been \u201cconvicted\u201d by unspecified coverage.<\/p>\n
There has been no official word on the reasons for the departures of Skipper and Bangsgaard, although both were high-profile figures within the FIA.<\/p>\n
Skipper joined in 2022 as the FIA\u2019s first director of communications and public affairs. He had huge experience in the business, having previously been a director of public affairs for communication firm Weber Shandwick and the Scottish National Party\u2019s chief of staff at the UK Parliament.<\/p>\n
Bangsgaard was appointed as the FIA\u2019s Secretary General for Automobile Mobility and Tourism in 2023, having become an influential figure in mobility through being the founder and CEO of European Policy Research since 1997.<\/p>\n
Speaking later in the week, Ben Sulayem claims that he has not been treated fairly by the British media during his tenure. This follows comments made by Adrain Newey to former BBC presenter Jake Humphrey on his podcast, he stated: “there’s this sort of demonisation, both of them suffered at times, which is very unfair”.<\/p>\n
Ben Sulayem agreed with Newey’s remarks and offered his own opinion on the role the media play in motorsport. He said, \u201cI respect Max [Verstappen] because I’m a driver. I was a champion and I respect winners and champions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI see he had his share [of mistreatment], but let’s talk about me. If you look at the British media and what they did to me\u2026 For God’s sake, they convicted me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith due respect to the British media or any other media, they don’t have a vote. We are an independent, democratic federation. It’s the world of membership that elected me. The power is with the General Assembly, not with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben Sulayem will be seeking a second term in next year’s presidential election and is convinced that the federation is in a better state now than at the end of 2021, when he assumed office days after the Abu Dhabi row.<\/p>\n
He says that both the FIA and F1 are in better shape.<\/p>\n
F1 has signed a ten-year reported $1bn deal with LVMH which owns brands like Louis Vuitton and Moet & Chandon. The company has already been involved in the sport and TAG Heuer will from 2025 become the official timekeeper.<\/p>\n
Mo\u00ebt & Chandon was previously the champagne sprayed during F1 podium celebrations at the majority of races and is likely to return as part of the new deal, although it is unclear where other luxury brands under the LVMH umbrella \u2013 such as Louis Vuitton \u2013 will fit in.<\/p>\n
In announcing the deal, F1 confirmed such details would be confirmed in the new year as president Stefano Domenicali hailed a \u201clandmark\u201d partnership between the two brands.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cOur sport is founded on the relentless pursuit of excellence, a value that also lies at the heart of LVMH, so I am delighted to announce this historic partnership will begin in 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs Formula 1 continues its global growth, attracting new and more diverse audiences, the strength and breadth of LVMH makes it the perfect partner for us to work with as we look to continually enhance the experience of our fans and the heritage of our incredible sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
With claims the annual fee for having a plethora of sponsors on board will come in at the $100 million mark, the deal would be worth a potential 11-figure sum for F1.<\/p>\n
Motorsport advisor Helmut Marko is worried that the advantage McLaren has turned the sport into a \u201cwhole new world.\u201d In Singapore Lando Norris took a dominant twenty-one-second lead to close the gap further to Max Verstappen.<\/p>\n
Red Bull who dominated 2024 has now gone eight races without a win with Verstappen only taking three podiums. Verstappen and Marko had \u201ca long conversation\u201d on the phone last week on Tuesday, during which Red Bull\u2019s performance struggle compared to McLaren was brought up.<\/p>\n
Asked in an interview with Formel1.de what his driver told him then, Marko mentioned: \u201cWell, that Lando’s dominance is alien, especially on medium tyres \u2013 he took nine-tenths to one second per lap from us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if our car had been, let’s say, optimised, he couldn’t have driven those times on the medium. And we’re all wondering how he did it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Norris takes nine-tenths to one second per lap from us, then it’s a whole new world. And don’t forget, in the second stint, [Charles] Leclerc was just as fast as Lando or almost a bit faster. So for us, I would almost say that second place was like a victory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marko says the car firstly needs a wider operating window with the Red Bull massively impacted by temperature changes, more speed and front-end bite. He also conceded if the current performance and performance of McLaren continued this title battle was likely over \u201cwith the performance we currently have\u201d.<\/p>\n
Lewis Hamilton revealed he has struggled with mental health issues for most of his life due to being bullied at school and the pressure of racing. The Englishman is statistically the most successful driver of all time with the most wins, poles and podiums, but he n says he had “some really difficult phases” since his teenage years, admitting he has “struggled with mental health through my life”.<\/p>\n
Hamilton also experienced racism as a child growing up in Stevenage, telling Sunday Times: “When I was in my 20s, I had some really difficult phases. I mean, I’ve struggled with mental health through my life. Depression, from a very early age, when I was, like, 13. I think it was the pressure of the racing and struggling at school. The bullying. I had no one to talk to.”<\/p>\n
Following a period of soul-searching amid the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Hamilton began waking at 5am to meditate before going for a run. He said, \u201cI would struggle initially to calm my mind. But it’s a really great way of getting in touch with myself, my inner feelings, understanding what I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
CEO and team principal Toto Wolff says it’s time to stop \u201cflirting\u2019\u201d with Max Verstappen now the teams driver lineup is sorted. Following Hamilton\u2019s departure to Ferrari and the controversy around Christian Horner he held several conversations about a switch for 2025.<\/p>\n
But with the talks going nowhere, and Mercedes increasingly impressed with junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli\u2019s progress in testing this year, the interest in a Verstappen swoop fell away. Ahead of this year\u2019s Italian Grand Prix, Mercedes announced that Antonelli would step up as Hamilton\u2019s replacement with hopes is the start of a long-term relationship.<\/p>\n
With Antonelli slotted in alongside George Russell, Mercedes has talked of a driver line-up that it expects to have in place for years, which is why Wolff sees no need to be active with Verstappen anymore. Asked about his approach to Verstappen, he told Motorsport.com, \u201cWe’re sitting back. I think I’ve expressed it before, and we have a similar view also from Max’s side: you’ve got to put faith in your drivers or in your team.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to give it the maximum support you can to make it a success. And only if things go really wrong, you will consider other opportunities. For me, it’s like flirting outside whilst you’re making your relationship work. It doesn’t work, I’m not flirting outside. Only if I want to have a change, or consider a change, I would seek a conversation. And it is the same on his side. We’re pretty aligned in our values on that I think.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Antonelli is seen as the long-term future of Mercedes it has raised questions about George Russell\u2019s long-term future, with speculation that the Englishman could be a target next year for Red Bull when his contract ends next year. But Wolff sees Russell as an integral part of Mercedes for years to come, and thinks he will revel in the fresh challenge of going up against the young Antonelli.<\/p>\n
Wolff added, \u201cGeorge has a similar trajectory in terms of karting and junior formula, and George was the first Mercedes junior that joined us. He’s still our Mercedes driver. We don’t make a big difference [between him and Antonelli]. Emotionally, we give them the same support. Nothing changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery top driver in F1 knows that he needs to compete against their team-mate, whether he’s young or old. George’s team-mate has been Lewis Hamilton, the greatest driver of all time, for three years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says the small upgrade for Austin will be the team’s last of the season. The team are in contention still for the constructors despite being seventy-five points behind McLaren who took the lead in Singapore with seven races to go, but this small upgrade is however primarily focused on next years car.<\/p>\n
He said \u201cWe all know that we already started the development of the next car, and we try to do our best to have small upgrades at the next one [race]. I think it will be probably the last one for everybody; that will be true for us, but it will be true for the other teams. Now it’s so tight overall in the last four or five, six races, if you have a look on the grid, it may get tight and every single bit can make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carlos Sainz says his goal for the final six races is to achieve one more win with the team. Sainz in his three years with the team has taken three wis for the team and is keen to stand on the top step as a Ferrari driver one more time.<\/p>\n
He explained to F1.com, \u201cObviously it\u2019s at the top of my list to try and win at least once again with Ferrari before I leave. It\u2019s in my head, not because I\u2019m leaving at the end of the year with Ferrari, but because I always try to win every race that I go to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the same time, it\u2019s still one-third of the season left. It\u2019s quite a lot actually when you think about it, and there\u2019s three Sprints, plenty of the season left to go, so let\u2019s go race by race.\u201d Ferrari has had a up and down season and is currently third in the constructors.<\/p>\n
Aston Martin says it would be \u201cfoolish\u201d not to investigate McLaren\u2019s alternative approach when it comes to upgrades. McLaren over the last eighteen months has always gone forwards where as others including Aston Martin have either stayed where they are or haven\u2019t moved any closer to those ahead of them.<\/p>\n
Rather than seeking performance gains through multiple major car upgrades, it has instead stuck with a floor design that it first unleashed at the Miami Grand Prix. Having a known package has allowed McLaren to focus more on optimising its car each weekend, and fine-tuning the MCL38 into a regular race winner.<\/p>\n
Such consistent on-track performance is in contrast to rivals like Aston Martin, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes who have all faced headaches when upgraded floors have triggered balance or other car performance headaches. Team principal Mike Krack suggested there could be bigger performance gains from smaller tweaks rather than big upgrades.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cIf you compare the pace, and you see when have they [McLaren] made a step, and you can correlate that with some upgrades that are declared as we never have the full picture, there is some correlation where you can say, \u2018okay, this is what it has been changed, and what has it potentially done\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you see, for example, the Zandvoort upgrade, it’s a bit here, a bit there, a bit there. You see how fine and complex these cars have become, so I think it would be foolish not to look at it.\u201d Krack is also drawing on Mercedes making a step forwards after getting a handle on the handling and balance of their car.<\/p>\n
Krack also said this week that they can’t just sit back and wait for Adrian Newey to join the team before thinking they can make big progress. The team signed Newey after he announced his departure from Red Bull to design.<\/p>\n
Newey\u2019s task is to design the car for 2026 when the regulations change, but after slipping back this season Krack says that the team needs to make progress before his arrival.<\/p>\n
Asked by Motorsport.com, how hard it was balancing the excitement for Newey and the 2026 project against its current difficulties, Krack said: \u201cVery hard. Absolutely. But I think we should also use \u201825 as an opportunity to show Adrian what we can do. I think that should serve as a motivation for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pushed on the potential danger of people sitting back and simply waiting for Newey to get going, Krack said: \u201cIf I identify that one, it will not be for long.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Newey has already visited the Aston Martin factory and spoken to senior staff, his input remains limited because he is still under contract to Red Bull. Krack says that the way they have fallen from fighting for podiums in the first half of 2023 to where they currently are fighting on the edge of the points was not good enough.<\/p>\n
Renault has confirmed they will end its works engine programme at the end of next season, ending its almost fifty-year involvement as a manufacturer. On Monday the French manufacturer announced its engine plant in\u00a0 Viry-Chatillon would be transformed into “an engineering centre of excellence” by the end of 2024.<\/p>\n
The decision comes ahead of the introduction of new engine regulations to F1 in 2026, with the Renault Group-owned Alpine team now expected to agree to a deal to have their power units supplied by Mercedes.<\/p>\n
Renault has been an engine manufacturer in F1 since 1977 and apart from 1987-88 and 1998-2000 has been involved in the sport for nearly half a century. It is understood that the Alpine team will be supplied by Mercedes from 2026.<\/p>\n
A statement said, \u201cAs a result of the consultation process with the employee representatives, during which discussions were constructive and an independent assessment was conducted, Alpine’s management confirms its project to transform the site into a centre of engineering and high-tech excellence by late 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFormula 1 activities at Viry, excluding the development of a new engine, will continue until the end of the 2025 season.\u201d The decision follows months of speculation about the future of the engine programme and follows protests by unions in recent weeks in Paris and Monza. But this has no effect on the decision of the board to end the programme which has been expected for months.<\/p>\n
Renault\u2019s withdrawal ahead of the 2026 season means the sport has lost a manufacturer when the regulations have attracted Honda, Audi and Ford.<\/p>\n
Team principal James Vowles has claimed that Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz will be the best driver line-up on the grid next year. The claim came on F1\u2019s Beyond The Grid Podcast and despite Ferrari having Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc with McLaren retaining both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Vowels said:\u00a0 \u201cIn \u201925, I think we will have the best driver lineup on the grid. I mean, Franco\u2019s doing a brilliant job. What he doesn\u2019t have is the experience that Carlos will come with, but he\u2019s doing an outstanding job. I think from the perspective of not just driving the car, but leading the team forward, we\u2019ll have the best line-up on the grid. That will help motivate and push us forward. There are good developments ongoing, just as a continuation of \u201924 to \u201925.\u201d<\/p>\n
These claims are based on his strong results against Norris who he out scored in his first two years at McLaren and Leclerc in his first year at Ferrari. Vowles also pointed to his matching of Max Verstappen when they both made their debuts for what is now RB in 2015. The Williams boss says that Sainz through the challenges from Verstappen during that season in what was their first season.<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cSo it\u2019s not that he hasn\u2019t been challenged throughout his career. He\u2019s been challenged all the way through and held his own.\u00a0 But it\u2019s not just that that I\u2019m basing it on. It\u2019s not in the car, it\u2019s out the car.:<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the short space of time that I\u2019ve got to know him properly, he drives the team forward. He wants to spend every minute of his time that he can do to make this team more and more successful.\u00a0 And that\u2019s a combination that is not necessarily available up and down the grid.<\/p>\n
Red Bull CEO and team principal Christian Horner has revealed that motorsport Helmut Marko wanted Daniel Ricciardo out of the RB seat after the \u00a0Spanish Grand Prix. The Australian’s career appears to be over after RB chiefs decided to replace him with Liam Lawson for the remainder of this season<\/p>\n
It brings to an end a hugely successful career for the Australian, who won eight races for the Red Bull and McLaren teams. While there has been some criticism aimed at Red Bull for not allowing Ricciardo to see out the season, Horner has offered some fresh insight into the battle he faced to even keep him in the RB seat up until now.<\/p>\n
Speaking to F1\u2019s official podcast, Horner said that the lack of consistency was the trigger for his exit with Marko having his patience tested earlier in the season. He said, \u201cHe [Ricciardo] started the season roughly, and then Miami was a weekend of two halves. The Friday and Saturday morning was fantastic, and it looked like the Daniel of old defending against the Ferraris and outdriving the car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut then the Saturday afternoon and the Sunday were disastrous. So even around Barcelona, Helmut wanted him out of the car, and there was already a lot of pressure on him there. By the time we got to Montreal, it was actually dear old Jacques Villeneuve who got him properly wound up by giving him a hard time, and it definitely fired him up, because the way he drove the car that weekend, he grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and put together a very strong race weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Horner said Ricciardo\u2019s fate was effectively sealed by him not hitting the peaks of form that his bosses wanted from him to show he deserved a return to Red Bull. Although Sergio Perez\u2019s repeated frustrations left his position in doubt, Ricciardo never did enough to be an automatic candidate to slot in as replacement.<\/p>\n
He also says he did everything he could to give Ricciardo time so he could have been in a position to pick up the pieces if Sergio Perez didn\u2019t deliver. Lawson has been brought into see if he should have a full time seat next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Analysis and a round-up of the weeks news stories, looking at what they mean for F1, both on and off track <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12330,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,18],"tags":[2234,664,754,2213,1996],"class_list":["post-13964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-analysis","category-this-week","tag-2234","tag-f1","tag-formula-one","tag-news-analysis","tag-this-week"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13964"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13966,"href":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13964\/revisions\/13966"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}