George Russell says it is \u201cincredibly exciting\u201d to be partnering with Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes this season. Speaking on Sky Sports’ new magazine show following his brief return to the UK before this weekend\u2019s opening race in Bahrain, he said spending his time on the simulator “correlating data” to understand Mercedes’ new W13 better.<\/p>\n
The Englishman was announced as Lewis Hamilton’s 2022 team-mate in September last year, having signed a long-term contract. After three seasons in Formula 1 with Williams, Russell joins the team that won a record-setting eighth consecutive constructors’ championship in Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n
Talking about partnering Hamilton, he said, \u201cIt’s obviously incredibly exciting. The team here are so humble and motivated to try and achieve even more success. The points and the championships from previous years don’t benefit you when you start a new season.\u201d<\/p>\n
The regulation changes means that Mercedes believe they are behind Red Bull and Ferrari, however, there has been speculation based on history over the last decade, that Mercedes may bounce back. The manufacturer has downplayed this but its rivals aren\u2019t discounting the threat from Mercedes.<\/p>\n
Russell added, \u201cYou’ve got to get down to business, try and get on top of this and make some changes before the opening race this weekend. The biggest difference this year [to others], not just for us but for a lot of people, was that it is a very bumpy ride during testing – literally speaking.\u201d<\/p>\n
He says it\u2019s a new experience for everyone, but the goal was always the same.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Pierre Gasly says he was \u201csurprised\u201d to battle with Lewis Hamilton during testing in Bahrain last week, but took optimism it will be easier to follow other cars this year. The feedback from drivers following the regulation changes designed to reduce dirty air to make overtaking easier has been largely positive.<\/p>\n
On the final day of testing, the Frenchman spent several laps trying to scrap with Hamilton giving them both the chance to see what it was like running close to another car. Gasly admitted he did not expect to have been able to fight Hamilton like that, but took heart from the scrap that the changes have been for the better.<\/p>\n
He told Motorsport.com, \u201cI was quite surprised to be fighting with Lewis for a couple of laps, it was entertaining. It was interesting also the follow and just to get some data and feeling following other cars.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it’s clearly better than last year, which makes me quite optimistic in terms of racing for the season. We know on our side we have quite a lot of work to do to improve the performance, improve the car balance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hamilton and Mercedes appeared to struggle in the second test in Bahrain, despite bringing several upgrades. With Hamilton admitting that Mercedes weren\u2019t in a position to fight for wins, but Gasly isn\u2019t appearing to be a sceptic of that statement.<\/p>\n
Adding \u201cClearly you could see Lewis was struggling as well. They do have some work to be fighting right at the top. It’s only testing, so it’s part of the test and exploring how to get the best out of the car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile Hamilton agreed that it was easier to follow other cars this year, he did not a couple of areas in which they felt worse than in 2021.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Saturday evening Hamilton said he believes that everyone was sliding around, believing there was less grip than before and the tyres were worst this year, but long runs are easier.<\/p>\n
The seven time champion added, \u201cthe positive, so far following behind another car looks a lot better, which is I think hopefully the right direction. I hope we can maybe get some better tyres at some stage, or maybe they work better in places it’s not so hot, maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl has called for the FIA to review technology partnerships between the manufacturer and customer team. The subject of so-called “B teams” has a been a recurring topic in recent years.<\/p>\n
The introduction of a budget cap and the new regulations this season has reopened the debate about the benefits of sharing with partner teams. The relationship between Haas and Ferrari has been contentious among rivals since the US-owned team first arrived in the sport, and it has been in the spotlight again since the new VF22 first appeared.<\/p>\n
Although Seidl didn’t want to talk about that specific case, making it clear that McLaren, who have no other alliances with Mercedes than the power train, want the situation clarified. He told Motorsport.com, \u201cIn the team are very busy with ourselves this week so I can’t speak specifically about the two cars of Haas and Ferrari for example.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it’s not a secret that in general definitely these relationships that can exist within the regulations, how they are in place at the moment is a concern for us. That’s why we are definitely of the opinion that moving forward we should put steps in place that F1 is actually a championship again of 10, 11 or 12 true constructors.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom our point of view F1 should be to be a championship of 10, 11 or 12 teams competing where the only things you should be allowed to share are actually the power units and the gearbox environments, everything else, you have to do yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seidl says as soon as you go down that route you change what F1 is about, once you start transferring IP which is relevant to performance. He says McLaren are bringing this up with other teams that have the same concerns, and are hoping that there can be policing of this at some point.<\/p>\n
New Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer expressed specific concerns about teams sharing wind tunnels, and a possible informal transfer of information. During the test in Sakhir, speaking on the F1TV\/Sky Sports coverage Szafnauer said, \u201cThe worry is that those who share wind tunnels can have a coffee together,” he told F1 TV. “And especially if they’re partners and say over coffee, how did that go, the latest floor that you tried? Don’t go in that direction, not so good.”<\/p>\n
Although his previous team Aston Martin shares the Mercedes wind tunnel Szafnauer insisted that there has been no transfer of ideas in that case. Saying \u201cDefinitely didn’t happen at Aston\/Mercedes because we had robust processes in place.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Aston Martin\u2019s performance director Tom McCullough says that the team is already working on a completely different version of its AMR22 in the wind tunnel. The British manufacturer was the first team to unveil its 2022 and shake it down on track at a Silverstone filming day.<\/p>\n
When the team launched last month, chief technical officer, Andrew Green made it clear at the time that having launched so early the team was ready to investigate ideas from other new cars, and that the AMR22 was likely to change rapidly through the season. This process has already started, with the lessons from Barcelona.<\/p>\n
McCullough told Motorsport.com, \u201cWe had no idea that that was coming. We don’t share any of that kind of information. Rear suspension, gearbox, engine hydraulics, that’s the stuff that we’re sort of sharing. So the whole radiator package cooling side of things has nothing to do with our knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI started seeing it on social media the day before, a lot of people were talking about it. And that was the first time I heard about it.\u201d He pointed out that everyone has a different interpretation of the sidepod, which is a powerful area for controlling the aerodynamics.<\/p>\n
Aston Martin has taken a more traditional sidepods. However McCullough admits that the team is prepared to pursue alternatives as it develops its car. He says all the team has done is try a lot of different parts, concepts and sidepods as well have having upgrades.<\/p>\n
He says that the six days of testing was the toughest he has been involved with, saying you need to map and understand the car, you’ve got to try to get the maximum performance out of the car<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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