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Thread: 2019 F1 news/rumours

  1. #361
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    On pure pace, Ferrari’s SF90 emerged as the fastest car in pre-season testing. It was quick straight out of the blocks and enjoyed an upward curve in performance throughout the eight days to end pre-season on top of the pile.

    When it comes to low-fuel pace, the advantage was just 0.003s over Mercedes, but that gap increased when looking at long-run performance. According to our data, Ferrari were around 0.4s clear if they started the simulation with a minimal fuel load, with that gap increasing if they had more fuel onboard.

    It wasn’t all plain-sailing for Ferrari, though. They encountered a wheel rim failure, a cooling problem, an electrical fault and an exhaust issue, which collectively limited their running and mean they finished second in the mileage charts, 193 behind Mercedes. The SF90 is clearly quick. Could reliability be their weak point in 2019?

    End of season prediction: 1st

  2. #362
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    Quote Originally Posted by mizf1 View Post
    Point for the fastest lap?

    https://www.racefans.net/2019/03/06/...t-lap-in-2019/

    This could go either way, front runner with 30 sec advantage can come in and pit to get fresh tyres and do a quali style lap.
    if the lead is tight they prob won't bother, but a back marker may come in with 3 laps left to bolt on the fastest tyres to do some quali style laps to get the point
    o lordy i hope not, what a disaster that will be backmarkers getting in the way, pitting just to keep trying to get 1 point, saw people say pole should also get a point, also some said fastest pitstop should get 1.... i hope they dont ruin f1
    Last edited by mwk360; 6th March 2019 at 19:27.
    hockenheim 2018 / China 2018 : Never forget how quick Ferrari can lose it all, be humble.
    Positivity doesn't win you championships, whining about people being negative makes you blind!
    lol ignore the bitter old cows ;-)

  3. #363
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    https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/14...-williams-team


    Tech chief Paddy Lowe takes 'leave' from Williams Formula 1 team


    Williams chief technical officer Paddy Lowe is taking "a leave of absence" from the Formula 1 team, Autosport has learned.

    Lowe's future at Williams was under scrutiny following the production delays that meant the team missed the first two-and-a-half days of pre-season testing at Barcelona, and the performance of the new car when it did emerge.

    He said in Spain last week that he had not considered his position once those problems had become known, and claimed that pinning the blame on one individual or making hasty personnel changes would be unwise.

    But, one week before the F1 season begins in Australia, it has emerged that Lowe has stepped away from his role.

    A team spokesperson confirmed to Autosport that Lowe "is taking a leave of absence from the business for personal reasons".

    The team has not indicated what this means for Lowe's long-term future.

    As well as his responsibilities as technical chief, Lowe acquired a shareholding in Williams when he joined.

    The pre-season setback added to the pressure Lowe was already facing following Williams's dismal 2018 season.

    Last year's car was the first to be designed and built under Lowe's leadership, following his high-profile and expensive move to Williams from Mercedes in early 2017.

    The 2018 design had fundamental aerodynamic problems that led to the team finishing last in the constructors' championship - the worst result in Williams's history.
    hockenheim 2018 / China 2018 : Never forget how quick Ferrari can lose it all, be humble.
    Positivity doesn't win you championships, whining about people being negative makes you blind!
    lol ignore the bitter old cows ;-)

  4. #364
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    Quote Originally Posted by Greig View Post
    Agreed not a fan of the idea, unless it was fastest lap in the first half of the race or something, we will see everyone from 11th down just pitting now near the end to go for fastest lap.
    Agreed, or fastest lap from each drivers first set of tires.


    Disappointed Since 2010

  5. #365
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    wow, i feel bad for Williams....they went from BAD to Worse now.....i can't believe such things are happening to an ICONIC team like Williams.....something is NOT right in that TEAM....and is NOT just about money.....or is there????
    So 2023 started off bad, but managed to claw back some lap time come end of the year. Lets hope SF24 will give us tifosi something to smile about.

  6. #366
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    Re: Tech chief Paddy Lowe takes 'leave' from Williams Formula 1 team

    IMO, Paddy is on a "shoe-string" budget. There's only so much he can do. Unfortunate he has to take the heat for it but that's the business.

    One could make the argument though with SPRPF1T(aka Force India) and how they have managed to beat Williams in the WCC with all the drama.
    It's not how start but how you finish.

  7. #367
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    Very Good article on Seb, car development, Ferrari F1 2018 and Leclerc.

    Sebastian Vettel finished 2018 a beaten man, demonstrating equal parts realism and denial. As he reflected on where things had gone wrong, he seemed to grasp the problem. But did he have it in focus? For under different circumstances, this man could have emerged from last season as world champion.

    At the very least he should have taken his title fight with Lewis Hamilton to the final race. Instead, he meekly surrendered to 
the Mercedes driver in Mexico, with two races still to go.

    When asked about the way in which he lost the championship, Vettel would refer, in the first instance, to the stall in Ferrari's development at Singapore when a new floor dropped them off the pace for three races until the problem was rectified. Only after emphasising that point would he talk about his own errors.

    "The year I've had, I don't think I ever have any problems raising my hand if I made a mistake," he insisted. "I think knowing, as a racing driver, how quickly things can go wrong, how quickly things could have gone differently this year, yeah, I have to review a couple of things.

    "But there are other things that went wrong and don't need a lot of reviewing or overcomplicating. I know what I need to do. Certainly, here and there, looking back, I haven't been at the top of my game. So I look at myself first; I think I can be better than I was at times.

    "Having said that, we also had a lot of races where we got everything out of the car and the package and I felt that I did everything I could. 
I was happy with that. But that's how it goes, that's sometimes why you love racing and sometimes why you hate racing. For now, I 
need a bit of time just to shut things down. We have a little bit of time to digest and analyse and, yeah, I've always tried to improve things. I don't think I need to change things upside down but certainly in there I can adjust and get stronger."

    Of course, a driver has to talk up the positives; it's how they reinforce their self-belief. But the reality is that the driver failings had a far greater overall influence on the outcome of last year's world championship than any perceived issue with the car. There were seven races in which Vettel made mistakes that had an effect on the championship. And five occasions when Ferrari's operational management had an impact on those situations, creating the environment in which Vettel's errors occurred.

    So what happens if you undertake a hypothetical replay of the season, removing the effects of human error? Give Hamilton back the Australia win that Mercedes' strategic error lost him, for example, and expunge Vettel's mistakes in Baku, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US, replacing them with the results he could or should have had. The result is that Vettel would have been champion, even with the technical issues in Singapore, Russia and Japan. So what went wrong for him in 2018? And how can he stop history repeating itself in 2019?

    Post-season, but before the ousting of team principal Maurizio Arrivabene, Ferrari undertook an internal audit of what had gone wrong over the course of 2018. Their conclusion was that, fundamentally, all of their problems stemmed from needing a better car, that it was not as strong as depicted in the media, and that, above all, it needed much more effective development - a particular focus for them was the floor that didn't work and simply should not have been introduced.

    Ferrari accepted that Vettel's error at Hockenheim - which caused a 32-point swing in the championship - came at the worst possible moment. But they also believe that his mistakes did not happen in isolation, and that this error, and others, arose from a feeling that he was having to force the car into places it was not quite capable of going.

    And what of the times when Vettel appeared to be overanxious (such as when he swore at his mechanics, telling them not to damage the car's floor during a pitstop in qualifying in Belgium) or questioned the team's operations (such as when asking why he was being kept behind team-mate Kimi Raikkonen despite being on fresher tyres in Germany)? Ferrari's view is that this was not Vettel losing it. He was just demonstrating his awareness that everything needed to be perfect in order to beat Mercedes.

    Yet it's easy to question this analysis. Without the lock-up that converted victory to fourth place in Baku, the crash with Valtteri Bottas at the start of the French GP, or the penalty he earned for blocking Renault's Carlos Sainz Jr in qualifying in Austria, Vettel would have ended the first 10 races of a 21-race season with a 36-point lead over Hamilton, rather than eight. Had he then gone on to win in Germany, with Hamilton in second place, Vettel would have headed into the final 10 races 50 points ahead, rather than 17 behind. And there were more mistakes to come.

    But rare is the sporting year that goes by without any errors - even if Hamilton himself pretty much managed it last year. And it is unquestionable that Ferrari did lose its way on development with the new floor, and did not manage to recover until it took it off again in Austin. After that it was faster than Mercedes in two of the last four races. So, Ferrari argues that mistakes were made by both driver and team, but that while the car was competitive it never had the sort of pace advantage shown by Mercedes from time to time - such as in Melbourne or Russia, when the silver cars were around 0.6 seconds clear of the Ferraris.


    Ferrari knows it can be a winning team, it says it has proved it. It just has to sustain that standard more often and in more areas. Yet many will not be entirely convinced by this. After all, how can you argue the case that the Ferrari car wasn't good enough, when without Vettel's mistakes he could have taken nine wins to Hamilton's eight in 2018? And could Vettel's errors be attributed to pushing too hard in a car that was not fast enough? Or did they result from the pressure of carrying a team whose management decisions he felt he could not entirely trust and rely on?

    All of this happened in the context of a year in which Ferrari lost its hugely influential president, Sergio Marchionne. The 66-year old, who died in July, was not only a powerful and dominant figure within Ferrari, he was the architect of the team's revival. The reorganisation that transformed Ferrari from being a competent but fundamentally conservative team in 2016 into one of design innovation and standard-setting in '17 had been championed by Marchionne. How far
 might the ramifications of his death extend?

    In the short term, Marchionne's influence is extending beyond the grave. Before his death, following complications during surgery for cancer, Marchionne had decided to do two key things ahead of 2019: replace Kimi Raikkonen with Charles Leclerc; and remove team principal Maurizio Arrivabene, making technical director Mattia Binotto the new team boss.

    Both of these moves have now happened just as he planned. Having installed Marchionne as president, and watched the company flourish under his leadership, both in the marketplace and out on track, it should be no surprise that the interconnected boards of Fiat and Ferrari - and Ferrari chairman John Elkann - decided to follow through with Machionne's wishes.

    Arrivabene's fan club was not extensive within the F1 paddock, nor, it seems, within Ferrari. 
It was Marchionne who imposed the strategy of not building pressure on the team through ill-advised comments in the media, but Arrivabene who interpreted that as a virtual blanket media silence. The two men also had differing approaches in public. Marchionne, true to his reputation, was bullish and direct, but respectful and engaging, while Arrivabene, on the occasions he did talk, was aggressive and curt.

    As far as Vettel is concerned, you had only to watch the body language between him and Arrivabene in unguarded moments to see the tensions. And this occasionally burst out into the open. To give just one example of this, towards the end of 2016 Arrivabene told Italian TV that Vettel needed to earn his place and salary at the team, just like anyone else.

    Mattia Binotto is highly rated as a manager and, while it is obviously as yet unknown how he will fare in his new role, it is not hard to imagine that, assuming the culture of intimidation is removed, Vettel will respond better. In recent years Vettel has at times seemed weighed down by the pressures of being at Ferrari. Where, for example, is the amusing, jokey Anglophile, who used to talk of his love for The Beatles and Monty Python? Vettel was at his best driving for Red Bull, where, yes, he had a car advantage, but where he was also left to get on with the driving. And where, more importantly, the team was run sufficiently well that he felt he did not have to worry about anything else.

    How all this plays out under Ferrari's new leadership will be revealed as events unfold over the course of 2019. But these issues provide a backdrop to the season; a context for Ferrari's situation that does not apply at Mercedes, where Hamilton has grown ever more comfortable - especially since the departure of former team-mate Nico Rosberg. Equally, whether intended or not, there is an implicit conclusion to Ferrari's analysis: it realises that it will need a better car even than it had in 2018 to make up for what, on the evidence of the last two seasons, is a shortfall in the cockpit.

    Vettel moved to Ferrari with the ambition of emulating his childhood hero Michael Schumacher and winning at least one world title with them. But he is in danger of following in the footsteps of a more recent predecessor - Fernando Alonso. All three men spent their first four seasons at Ferrari falling short of the title. Will Vettel's destiny echo that of Schumacher - who won in his fifth year, ending a long drought for the team - or Alonso, who, overwhelmed by frustration, quit at the end of his, having lost faith that the team could deliver for him.

    Both Alonso and Vettel were involved in two close title fights in their first four seasons at Maranello. But it is here that the parallels end. Alonso came within four and three points of his rival in 2010 and '12. The closest Vettel has managed, despite a car significantly and demonstrably closer on performance in '17 and '18 to Hamilton's Mercedes than Alonso's was to Vettel's Red Bull, was 46 points in '17. He was a massive 88 adrift by the end of last season. In Alonso's case, the shortfall was very clearly 
in the machinery - he overachieved in less-than-competitive cars. Vettel has underachieved in more competitive ones.

    Meanwhile, just as Hamilton's situation within his team has started to become more settled, Vettel's is facing increasing upheaval. Raikkonen has now departed, a team-mate who was not only reliably slower than Vettel, but also obediently compliant on the few occasions the team needed him out of the way. In Raikkonen's place comes Charles Leclerc, an ambitious rookie racer, showing every indication of being a potential future superstar. The 21-year old is a Ferrari protege. His arrival is sure to change the dynamic within the team, and there will inevitably be questions as to whether Leclerc can do to Vettel what Daniel Ricciardo did at Red Bull in 2014 - namely arrive and start beating the nominal team leader - and how Vettel and Ferrari would respond to that.

    Of course, it's easy to speculate about that, but much harder to actually do it. As drivers go, Vettel is still a class act. But if Ricciardo can do it in a situation in which Vettel was coming off the back of four consecutive world titles, it seems justified to question whether the talented Leclerc will do the same thing after four seasons in which Vettel's reputation has been anything but enhanced. Five years at any team is a long time, especially if the dominant emotion is one of frustration at constantly falling short. Vettel has one more year remaining on his contract after 2019. Whether he stays on at Ferrari any longer is likely to depend on his and Leclerc's performances over the next 18 months.

    On the positive side, Vettel heads into 2019 as the lead driver of the team that certainly had the fastest car for much of last season and, all things being equal, he should definitely be looking forward to another solid title campaign in which he has a very good chance at equalling Hamilton's haul of five world championships. But while he has the opportunity to make it work, the reality is that he provokes as many questions as answers. He's clearly very fast, but equally obviously fragile and prone to making errors under pressure. Can he turn things around? Can Ferrari provide him with the environment in which that's possible?

    "For now I need a bit of time just to shut things down," Vettel said, as he headed off to spend the winter break at home with his partner and children in Switzerland. "I don't know. It's a bit like skiing; maybe you learn something overnight before you go on the slopes again the next day. Obviously our night, it would help to hibernate. But I think we have a little bit of time to digest and analyse. I don't think I need to change things upside down but certainly in there I can adjust and get stronger."

    Leclerc: Vettel's greatest threat?

    Ferrari's second tweet of 2019, right after wishing their 2.2 million followers a happy new year, was to welcome Charles Leclerc to the team. Their third, posted the next day, celebrated his achievements.

    Leclerc, Ferrari announced, had never finished lower than second in any championship throughout his junior career. And he had won eight of those titles over the course of 10 years. It was a reminder of the impeccable credentials that have earned the Monegasque a Ferrari seat in only his second year in F1, following his stellar debut with Sauber in 2018.

    Leclerc comes from a racing family. His late father, Herve, competed in Formula 3, and was best friends with Philippe Bianchi, father of the former Manor driver Jules Bianchi, who died of injuries sustained in a crash at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. Jules Bianchi was Charles Leclerc's godfather, although being only eight years older he was more like a big brother. Leclerc has talked frequently about the help Jules gave him as he made his way through the junior categories. It was Jules who introduced Leclerc to his influential manager Nicolas Todt, son of FIA president Jean. Todt opened the doors, and Leclerc has pushed them wide apart.

    It is extremely unusual for Ferrari to promote a driver into its team so early in their F1 career. Leclerc is the least experienced driver they have taken on since Gilles Villeneuve was given a seat after just one race for McLaren back in 1977. But former Ferrari engineer Rob Smedley sums up what so many feel about Leclerc's promotion.

    "He's a guy with great talent and a huge future - probably the biggest talent we've had come into the sport in a while," Smedley notes. "It's a pleasure to watch him. As long as Ferrari manages it correctly, he will be a huge success."


    https://www.autosport.com/f1/feature...ate-schumacher
    It's not how start but how you finish.

  8. #368
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    Quote Originally Posted by jgonzalesm6 View Post
    Very Good article on Seb, car development, Ferrari F1 2018 and Leclerc.

    Sebastian Vettel finished 2018 a beaten man, demonstrating equal parts realism and denial. As he reflected on where things had gone wrong, he seemed to grasp the problem. But did he have it in focus? For under different circumstances, this man could have emerged from last season as world champion.

    At the very least he should have taken his title fight with Lewis Hamilton to the final race. Instead, he meekly surrendered to 
the Mercedes driver in Mexico, with two races still to go.

    When asked about the way in which he lost the championship, Vettel would refer, in the first instance, to the stall in Ferrari's development at Singapore when a new floor dropped them off the pace for three races until the problem was rectified. Only after emphasising that point would he talk about his own errors.

    "The year I've had, I don't think I ever have any problems raising my hand if I made a mistake," he insisted. "I think knowing, as a racing driver, how quickly things can go wrong, how quickly things could have gone differently this year, yeah, I have to review a couple of things.

    "But there are other things that went wrong and don't need a lot of reviewing or overcomplicating. I know what I need to do. Certainly, here and there, looking back, I haven't been at the top of my game. So I look at myself first; I think I can be better than I was at times.

    "Having said that, we also had a lot of races where we got everything out of the car and the package and I felt that I did everything I could. 
I was happy with that. But that's how it goes, that's sometimes why you love racing and sometimes why you hate racing. For now, I 
need a bit of time just to shut things down. We have a little bit of time to digest and analyse and, yeah, I've always tried to improve things. I don't think I need to change things upside down but certainly in there I can adjust and get stronger."

    Of course, a driver has to talk up the positives; it's how they reinforce their self-belief. But the reality is that the driver failings had a far greater overall influence on the outcome of last year's world championship than any perceived issue with the car. There were seven races in which Vettel made mistakes that had an effect on the championship. And five occasions when Ferrari's operational management had an impact on those situations, creating the environment in which Vettel's errors occurred.

    So what happens if you undertake a hypothetical replay of the season, removing the effects of human error? Give Hamilton back the Australia win that Mercedes' strategic error lost him, for example, and expunge Vettel's mistakes in Baku, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US, replacing them with the results he could or should have had. The result is that Vettel would have been champion, even with the technical issues in Singapore, Russia and Japan. So what went wrong for him in 2018? And how can he stop history repeating itself in 2019?

    Post-season, but before the ousting of team principal Maurizio Arrivabene, Ferrari undertook an internal audit of what had gone wrong over the course of 2018. Their conclusion was that, fundamentally, all of their problems stemmed from needing a better car, that it was not as strong as depicted in the media, and that, above all, it needed much more effective development - a particular focus for them was the floor that didn't work and simply should not have been introduced.

    Ferrari accepted that Vettel's error at Hockenheim - which caused a 32-point swing in the championship - came at the worst possible moment. But they also believe that his mistakes did not happen in isolation, and that this error, and others, arose from a feeling that he was having to force the car into places it was not quite capable of going.

    And what of the times when Vettel appeared to be overanxious (such as when he swore at his mechanics, telling them not to damage the car's floor during a pitstop in qualifying in Belgium) or questioned the team's operations (such as when asking why he was being kept behind team-mate Kimi Raikkonen despite being on fresher tyres in Germany)? Ferrari's view is that this was not Vettel losing it. He was just demonstrating his awareness that everything needed to be perfect in order to beat Mercedes.

    Yet it's easy to question this analysis. Without the lock-up that converted victory to fourth place in Baku, the crash with Valtteri Bottas at the start of the French GP, or the penalty he earned for blocking Renault's Carlos Sainz Jr in qualifying in Austria, Vettel would have ended the first 10 races of a 21-race season with a 36-point lead over Hamilton, rather than eight. Had he then gone on to win in Germany, with Hamilton in second place, Vettel would have headed into the final 10 races 50 points ahead, rather than 17 behind. And there were more mistakes to come.

    But rare is the sporting year that goes by without any errors - even if Hamilton himself pretty much managed it last year. And it is unquestionable that Ferrari did lose its way on development with the new floor, and did not manage to recover until it took it off again in Austin. After that it was faster than Mercedes in two of the last four races. So, Ferrari argues that mistakes were made by both driver and team, but that while the car was competitive it never had the sort of pace advantage shown by Mercedes from time to time - such as in Melbourne or Russia, when the silver cars were around 0.6 seconds clear of the Ferraris.


    Ferrari knows it can be a winning team, it says it has proved it. It just has to sustain that standard more often and in more areas. Yet many will not be entirely convinced by this. After all, how can you argue the case that the Ferrari car wasn't good enough, when without Vettel's mistakes he could have taken nine wins to Hamilton's eight in 2018? And could Vettel's errors be attributed to pushing too hard in a car that was not fast enough? Or did they result from the pressure of carrying a team whose management decisions he felt he could not entirely trust and rely on?

    All of this happened in the context of a year in which Ferrari lost its hugely influential president, Sergio Marchionne. The 66-year old, who died in July, was not only a powerful and dominant figure within Ferrari, he was the architect of the team's revival. The reorganisation that transformed Ferrari from being a competent but fundamentally conservative team in 2016 into one of design innovation and standard-setting in '17 had been championed by Marchionne. How far
 might the ramifications of his death extend?

    In the short term, Marchionne's influence is extending beyond the grave. Before his death, following complications during surgery for cancer, Marchionne had decided to do two key things ahead of 2019: replace Kimi Raikkonen with Charles Leclerc; and remove team principal Maurizio Arrivabene, making technical director Mattia Binotto the new team boss.

    Both of these moves have now happened just as he planned. Having installed Marchionne as president, and watched the company flourish under his leadership, both in the marketplace and out on track, it should be no surprise that the interconnected boards of Fiat and Ferrari - and Ferrari chairman John Elkann - decided to follow through with Machionne's wishes.

    Arrivabene's fan club was not extensive within the F1 paddock, nor, it seems, within Ferrari. 
It was Marchionne who imposed the strategy of not building pressure on the team through ill-advised comments in the media, but Arrivabene who interpreted that as a virtual blanket media silence. The two men also had differing approaches in public. Marchionne, true to his reputation, was bullish and direct, but respectful and engaging, while Arrivabene, on the occasions he did talk, was aggressive and curt.

    As far as Vettel is concerned, you had only to watch the body language between him and Arrivabene in unguarded moments to see the tensions. And this occasionally burst out into the open. To give just one example of this, towards the end of 2016 Arrivabene told Italian TV that Vettel needed to earn his place and salary at the team, just like anyone else.

    Mattia Binotto is highly rated as a manager and, while it is obviously as yet unknown how he will fare in his new role, it is not hard to imagine that, assuming the culture of intimidation is removed, Vettel will respond better. In recent years Vettel has at times seemed weighed down by the pressures of being at Ferrari. Where, for example, is the amusing, jokey Anglophile, who used to talk of his love for The Beatles and Monty Python? Vettel was at his best driving for Red Bull, where, yes, he had a car advantage, but where he was also left to get on with the driving. And where, more importantly, the team was run sufficiently well that he felt he did not have to worry about anything else.

    How all this plays out under Ferrari's new leadership will be revealed as events unfold over the course of 2019. But these issues provide a backdrop to the season; a context for Ferrari's situation that does not apply at Mercedes, where Hamilton has grown ever more comfortable - especially since the departure of former team-mate Nico Rosberg. Equally, whether intended or not, there is an implicit conclusion to Ferrari's analysis: it realises that it will need a better car even than it had in 2018 to make up for what, on the evidence of the last two seasons, is a shortfall in the cockpit.

    Vettel moved to Ferrari with the ambition of emulating his childhood hero Michael Schumacher and winning at least one world title with them. But he is in danger of following in the footsteps of a more recent predecessor - Fernando Alonso. All three men spent their first four seasons at Ferrari falling short of the title. Will Vettel's destiny echo that of Schumacher - who won in his fifth year, ending a long drought for the team - or Alonso, who, overwhelmed by frustration, quit at the end of his, having lost faith that the team could deliver for him.

    Both Alonso and Vettel were involved in two close title fights in their first four seasons at Maranello. But it is here that the parallels end. Alonso came within four and three points of his rival in 2010 and '12. The closest Vettel has managed, despite a car significantly and demonstrably closer on performance in '17 and '18 to Hamilton's Mercedes than Alonso's was to Vettel's Red Bull, was 46 points in '17. He was a massive 88 adrift by the end of last season. In Alonso's case, the shortfall was very clearly 
in the machinery - he overachieved in less-than-competitive cars. Vettel has underachieved in more competitive ones.

    Meanwhile, just as Hamilton's situation within his team has started to become more settled, Vettel's is facing increasing upheaval. Raikkonen has now departed, a team-mate who was not only reliably slower than Vettel, but also obediently compliant on the few occasions the team needed him out of the way. In Raikkonen's place comes Charles Leclerc, an ambitious rookie racer, showing every indication of being a potential future superstar. The 21-year old is a Ferrari protege. His arrival is sure to change the dynamic within the team, and there will inevitably be questions as to whether Leclerc can do to Vettel what Daniel Ricciardo did at Red Bull in 2014 - namely arrive and start beating the nominal team leader - and how Vettel and Ferrari would respond to that.

    Of course, it's easy to speculate about that, but much harder to actually do it. As drivers go, Vettel is still a class act. But if Ricciardo can do it in a situation in which Vettel was coming off the back of four consecutive world titles, it seems justified to question whether the talented Leclerc will do the same thing after four seasons in which Vettel's reputation has been anything but enhanced. Five years at any team is a long time, especially if the dominant emotion is one of frustration at constantly falling short. Vettel has one more year remaining on his contract after 2019. Whether he stays on at Ferrari any longer is likely to depend on his and Leclerc's performances over the next 18 months.

    On the positive side, Vettel heads into 2019 as the lead driver of the team that certainly had the fastest car for much of last season and, all things being equal, he should definitely be looking forward to another solid title campaign in which he has a very good chance at equalling Hamilton's haul of five world championships. But while he has the opportunity to make it work, the reality is that he provokes as many questions as answers. He's clearly very fast, but equally obviously fragile and prone to making errors under pressure. Can he turn things around? Can Ferrari provide him with the environment in which that's possible?

    "For now I need a bit of time just to shut things down," Vettel said, as he headed off to spend the winter break at home with his partner and children in Switzerland. "I don't know. It's a bit like skiing; maybe you learn something overnight before you go on the slopes again the next day. Obviously our night, it would help to hibernate. But I think we have a little bit of time to digest and analyse. I don't think I need to change things upside down but certainly in there I can adjust and get stronger."

    Leclerc: Vettel's greatest threat?

    Ferrari's second tweet of 2019, right after wishing their 2.2 million followers a happy new year, was to welcome Charles Leclerc to the team. Their third, posted the next day, celebrated his achievements.

    Leclerc, Ferrari announced, had never finished lower than second in any championship throughout his junior career. And he had won eight of those titles over the course of 10 years. It was a reminder of the impeccable credentials that have earned the Monegasque a Ferrari seat in only his second year in F1, following his stellar debut with Sauber in 2018.

    Leclerc comes from a racing family. His late father, Herve, competed in Formula 3, and was best friends with Philippe Bianchi, father of the former Manor driver Jules Bianchi, who died of injuries sustained in a crash at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. Jules Bianchi was Charles Leclerc's godfather, although being only eight years older he was more like a big brother. Leclerc has talked frequently about the help Jules gave him as he made his way through the junior categories. It was Jules who introduced Leclerc to his influential manager Nicolas Todt, son of FIA president Jean. Todt opened the doors, and Leclerc has pushed them wide apart.

    It is extremely unusual for Ferrari to promote a driver into its team so early in their F1 career. Leclerc is the least experienced driver they have taken on since Gilles Villeneuve was given a seat after just one race for McLaren back in 1977. But former Ferrari engineer Rob Smedley sums up what so many feel about Leclerc's promotion.

    "He's a guy with great talent and a huge future - probably the biggest talent we've had come into the sport in a while," Smedley notes. "It's a pleasure to watch him. As long as Ferrari manages it correctly, he will be a huge success."


    https://www.autosport.com/f1/feature...ate-schumacher
    Excellent analysis!


    Disappointed Since 2010

  9. #369
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    So most pundits I'm reading are saying to be wary of the Ferrari... so why is it that I'm more wary of the pundits right now?
    Rest in Peace Leza, you were a true warrior...

  10. #370
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tony View Post
    So most pundits I'm reading are saying to be wary of the Ferrari... so why is it that I'm more wary of the pundits right now?
    Because we have been tricked by Merc too many times, they are professional liars and sandbaggers. Also, we are used to not being at par-or better than Merc since the turbo era began....we have become complacent. Hopefully us Tifosi can be reprogrammed this year after a dominant Ferrari season!
    ~FORZA FERRARI~

  11. #371
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    Quote Originally Posted by ferrari1.8t View Post
    Because we have been tricked by Merc too many times, they are professional liars and sandbaggers. Also, we are used to not being at par-or better than Merc since the turbo era began....we have become complacent. Hopefully us Tifosi can be reprogrammed this year after a dominant Ferrari season!
    hehe I usually agree with you, and i have to say 100% agreed again

    i dont remember a single 1-2 finish last year strangely in a supposedly "fastest car" for 1st half of the season...

    hopefully we get some this year
    hockenheim 2018 / China 2018 : Never forget how quick Ferrari can lose it all, be humble.
    Positivity doesn't win you championships, whining about people being negative makes you blind!
    lol ignore the bitter old cows ;-)

  12. #372
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    https://formula1.ferrari.com/en/seba...-of-the-fives/


    Nice from Ferrari

    Seb the King
    Sebastian, king of the fives

    7 Mar 2019
    Vettel is the best Ferrari driver with this number

    Maranello – The history of sport is made of numbers, and Formula 1 is no exception. Since 2014, drivers in the top motor racing class have been free to choose their race number. Since then Sebastian Vettel has picked number five, which he decided to keep on his arrival at Scuderia Ferrari. He wanted five for many reasons: it was the number with which he won lots of kart races in 2001; it was the number on his livery when he won his first World Championship; it is a number with which many past greats such as Michael Schumacher and Nigel Mansell won.

    Distinguished predecessors. Sebastian has contributed to the fortune of the number five and over the years has become the most successful driver with it on the nose of his Ferrari. With 13 victories and 81 races, Vettel has also surpassed Michael Schumacher, who used the number five in the 1997 and 2006 seasons. The first Ferrari with that number to compete in a Grand Prix raced on 18 July 1953 at the British Grand Prix. Alberto Ascari, at the wheel of the Ferrari 500, started from pole and won the race.

    The others. The five has appeared on a Ferrari in at least one race in 17 different seasons and has competed in 191 races with 33 wins, 102 podiums, 28 pole positions, 30 fastest laps and 83% of races concluded in the points. Other drivers who have raced a Ferrari with the number five include Fernando Alonso (39 GPs), Felipe Massa (17), Clay Regazzoni (9), Phil Hill and Jacky Ickx (2).
    hockenheim 2018 / China 2018 : Never forget how quick Ferrari can lose it all, be humble.
    Positivity doesn't win you championships, whining about people being negative makes you blind!
    lol ignore the bitter old cows ;-)

  13. #373
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    tyre nominations for spain & canada
    hockenheim 2018 / China 2018 : Never forget how quick Ferrari can lose it all, be humble.
    Positivity doesn't win you championships, whining about people being negative makes you blind!
    lol ignore the bitter old cows ;-)

  14. #374
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    Pirelli asked teams to build special "mule car" for 2021 tyre testing. Teams agreed that only Williams would be allowed to supply such a car. Engineers worried about unfair advantage. But with Williams apparently being far behind it would be okay. #AMuS

    ...still sounds kinda unfair to the rest, plus merc engine car getting free tyre testing aw well
    hockenheim 2018 / China 2018 : Never forget how quick Ferrari can lose it all, be humble.
    Positivity doesn't win you championships, whining about people being negative makes you blind!
    lol ignore the bitter old cows ;-)

  15. #375
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    Alfa Romeo will not use their new floor and new rear wing (brought in testing week 2) for the #AusGP (the results of the updates didn't meet the expectations).

    Instead Alfa Romeo will go for the Test Week 1 configuration for Melbourne.
    https://t.co/UrbNYTtvad

    really antsy when i see updated parts not meet expectations or not work and it being a ferrari powered car, we need these guys up there, as well as their updates working. Hope simone figures it out

    ---
    edit +
    That does not mean that the updates introduced in test week 2 will be completely rejected.

    Alfa Romeo will review and test the new floor and new rear wing during the testing that will happen after the Bahrain Grand Prix.

    #F1
    hockenheim 2018 / China 2018 : Never forget how quick Ferrari can lose it all, be humble.
    Positivity doesn't win you championships, whining about people being negative makes you blind!
    lol ignore the bitter old cows ;-)

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    For those who are interested, a very interesting article about what is going on at Williams (PS - it’s not good):

    https://www.omologatowatches.com/blo...-edge-williams

  17. #377
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    Quote Originally Posted by jragona View Post
    For those who are interested, a very interesting article about what is going on at Williams (PS - it’s not good):

    https://www.omologatowatches.com/blo...-edge-williams
    It's unfortunate for the state of affairs Wiiliams is in. They went from a top 5 team in the WCC points (3rd in 2014, 3rd in 2015, 5th 2016, 5th in 2017) to 10th in 2018. That 100hp advantage from that AMG PU at the start of this hybrid formula obviously helped along with the token system......until it ended 2016 into 2017....and 2018 the engine manufacturers caught up, sort a, with the AMG PU. It's not just the PU but car development throughout the season which takes money....alot of it.

    Williams downfall is that there are 2 ways to adapt in this hybrid formula that I have noticed:

    1.) the HAAS philosophy (outsourcing everything) - HAAS outsource's the PU (Ferrari) including the front & rear wing, chassis & floor thru DALLARA.

    2.) the SPRPF1T(aka Force India) philiosophy (sponsorship in quantity...not quality) - Wiliiams sponsorship philosophy is go for the big money. What is should of done is go for the small money but get the sponsorship money in quantity to equal or be greater than the big money. This is what SPRPF1T does well and if you see their sponsorship wall, it is literally littered with sponsors. This is what has made them successful and be consistent in the WCC points....top 5 in this hybrid formula era.

    Both HAAS and SPRPF1T have about the same personnel as Williams, more or less, and don't have an aero engineer of the likes of Paddy Lowe (ex MB engineer) yet they have survived and have beaten this once iconic team in F1.

    If not on the track and paddock where F1 spits you out and kicks you by the wayside, the area of adapting by these 2 appoaches (HAAS or SPRPF1T) SURELY should have been addressed at Williams early on. If they wanted to keep their independency, they (Williams) should have taken the SPRPF1T approach.
    It's not how start but how you finish.

  18. #378
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    [AutoBild]

    Ross Brawn about Ferrari and Vettel - 08/03/2019

    "The new peace will help Vettel"

    Before the start of the Formula 1 season in Melbourne, Formula 1 sports director Ross Brawn talks about Ferrari, Mercedes, the new rules and electric drives.


    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D1HiFICV4AAQOZR.jpg

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D1HjZLmVsAM8Q46.jpg

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D1Hk8ngVAAAu-tI.jpg

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D1HorqOUYAcf5CJ.jpg



    Ross Brawn about Charles_Leclerc : "I have spoken to people from the Ferrari team and they are impressed with his approach and attitude."

    However Ross Brawn does not think that Leclerc will be able to outshine Vettel in his first F1 season:

    "Tbh I would be surprised if that would happen. Vettel is already very good."
    It's not how start but how you finish.

  19. #379
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    More standard parts coming from 2021 onwards...

    FIA approves push for standard parts in F1
    https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f...parts/4348992/

    The FIA has underlined its push for standard parts in Formula 1 from 2021 after the World Motor Sport Council approved the issuing of further invitations to tender.
    It's just goes to show F1 as we know it is going to be killed off. It's not an exaggeration to say that both Jean Todt and Ross Brawn only used Ferrari as a stepping stone to further their future careers. The goal was always to take over the FIA and wrestle F1 out of Bernie's control and introduce socialism to the pinnacle of motorsport.

    Still no word from either Ferrari or Mercedes regarding all of this.

  20. #380
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    Quote Originally Posted by 512 TR View Post
    More standard parts coming from 2021 onwards...

    FIA approves push for standard parts in F1
    https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f...parts/4348992/



    It's just goes to show F1 as we know it is going to be killed off. It's not an exaggeration to say that both Jean Todt and Ross Brawn only used Ferrari as a stepping stone to further their future careers. The goal was always to take over the FIA and wrestle F1 out of Bernie's control and introduce socialism to the pinnacle of motorsport.

    Still no word from either Ferrari or Mercedes regarding all of this.
    TBH, they're trying to help the '" smaller teams." Look at Wiiliams. They are on the verge of going into administration and key people are "jumping ship." Maybe it's Williams fault but yes, there are others teams like Williams that are surviving and whom are'nt "rooted" into the sport (40 years) but have a strategic plan to survive.

    Otherwise, these standard parts will get costlier and F1 will have a 2 or 3 teams on the grid.
    It's not how start but how you finish.

  21. #381
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    So instead of some sort of cost control and opening the rules we get standardised cars... Should this still be called F1?

    Why oh why we can't have a cost cap (100 - 150 millions), just basic directives like "here is 100l of fuel per race, create an engine that will last minimum of 3 races" and "here are the diameters of the car, min and max weight, here is the area, where no turbolent air has to be, do your best". Obviously there would have to be defined areas for safety, but this should be enough. If you'll build a V10, V4 with quad turbo, with or without help of an electric engine (you have to fit into the weight limit)... this could make the F1 interesting again. And every season, everyone would have a chance to be the best, if they would have the right idea. Having rules like that would IMO even create a development race, that COULD lead into creating new technologies (bateries, materials, etc...).

    "If he can't do it with Ferrari, well, he can't do it." - John Surtees

  22. #382
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    Quote Originally Posted by jgonzalesm6 View Post
    TBH, they're trying to help the '" smaller teams." Look at Wiiliams. They are on the verge of going into administration and key people are "jumping ship." Maybe it's Williams fault but yes, there are others teams like Williams that are surviving and whom are'nt "rooted" into the sport (40 years) but have a strategic plan to survive.

    Otherwise, these standard parts will get costlier and F1 will have a 2 or 3 teams on the grid.
    It has to be about survival of the fittest. It's either that or socialism. F1 shouldn't be about hand-outs. If Williams and the likes can't survive this day in age they can always step down to F2. And if F1, itself, doesn't survive the management of Liberty and the governing of FIA the maybe that's the way it has to be, and should be. Nothing lasts forever. Anyway, it won't be F1 from 2021 onwards any way you slice it.

  23. #383
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    By 2021 it will be called f1 but only in name every thing else will be a memory .The rise and rise of formula E is of great concern to liberty lets see how long they hang around for there are many external pressures starting to build watch this space.

  24. #384
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    If they make the fire extinguisher standard then that will be the final straw for me and F1 will be no more, outrageous!!!!
    Forza Ferrari

  25. #385
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    Quote Originally Posted by 512 TR View Post
    It has to be about survival of the fittest. It's either that or socialism. F1 shouldn't be about hand-outs.
    Thats fine saying that, but a bit hypocritical when Ferrari get more money then anyone else without even winning. Maybe if the money was divided fairly Williams wouldn't be struggling.

  26. #386
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    Quote Originally Posted by paolo lalli View Post
    By 2021 it will be called f1 but only in name every thing else will be a memory .The rise and rise of formula E is of great concern to liberty lets see how long they hang around for there are many external pressures starting to build watch this space.
    I find formula E boring as i can only watch for 5 min or so. I need the sound that's what kills it for me. I personally don't think it will last. I know it's the future but not everything lasts.

  27. #387
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    Quote Originally Posted by mwk360 View Post
    hehe I usually agree with you, and i have to say 100% agreed again

    i dont remember a single 1-2 finish last year strangely in a supposedly "fastest car" for 1st half of the season...

    hopefully we get some this year
    Mercedes won the media war last year.
    Its time to take revenge in that arena too.

    Its a blatant lie that the Ferrari was the better car over the season. I wish it was, but it wasnt.

    Proof: Vettel is said to be the most consistent qualifier last year, putting together the best sectors out of his car when it mattered. Lets look at the results.

    Yes, he took 3 poles out of 4 in the start of the season when Mercedes had not yet figured out their car.

    After race 4 in qualifying.

    Lewis- Vettel : 10-2
    Mercedes- Ferrari : 12-3

    Its not even close, Mercedes was the dominating car, not by much time but it was still dominating.

    Its time for Ferrari to step up its media game, Mercedes already claims to be 0.5s behind, looking for a stunning comeback, making them heros but should really be favorites after 10 straight championships.

    Ferrari needs to set their own narrative:
    Mercedes huge favourites with 10 straight championships, we will put up a huge fight and be the Rocky Balboa against the Heavy weight champion, Mercedes backed by major heavy dollar stashed megacompany ready to buy success at all costs while we fight back with red fiery passion as a comparatively small nische sportscar maker. A David vs Goliat fight, size vs passion, money vs quality.

    We will take on that fight, any day, we will work towards success together, in the end we will know we fave it our all whatever rhe result we'll be proud to be in the fight.

  28. #388
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    Quote Originally Posted by erikejw View Post
    Mercedes won the media war last year.
    Its time to take revenge in that arena too.

    Its a blatant lie that the Ferrari was the better car over the season. I wish it was, but it wasnt.

    Proof: Vettel is said to be the most consistent qualifier last year, putting together the best sectors out of his car when it mattered. Lets look at the results.

    Yes, he took 3 poles out of 4 in the start of the season when Mercedes had not yet figured out their car.

    After race 4 in qualifying.

    Lewis- Vettel : 10-2
    Mercedes- Ferrari : 12-3

    Its not even close, Mercedes was the dominating car, not by much time but it was still dominating.

    Its time for Ferrari to step up its media game, Mercedes already claims to be 0.5s behind, looking for a stunning comeback, making them heros but should really be favorites after 10 straight championships.

    Ferrari needs to set their own narrative:
    Mercedes huge favourites with 10 straight championships, we will put up a huge fight and be the Rocky Balboa against the Heavy weight champion, Mercedes backed by major heavy dollar stashed megacompany ready to buy success at all costs while we fight back with red fiery passion as a comparatively small nische sportscar maker. A David vs Goliat fight, size vs passion, money vs quality.

    We will take on that fight, any day, we will work towards success together, in the end we will know we fave it our all whatever rhe result we'll be proud to be in the fight.
    10000% agreed, great post.

    The problem is I think Binotto and co. don't want the Maranello workers to be attacked by Italian media by attempting to be level headed, thats why since 2017 even Seb and MA always spoke positives, car looks good, we'l see what we can do in the race, we should have a chance to win come sunday etc etc even when merc were half a second faster.

    But i really hope Ferrari does what you suggest. Most non gullible people know that its all a ruse by mercs to look like glorious underdogs that outdeveloped and drove ferrari in the coming weeks
    hockenheim 2018 / China 2018 : Never forget how quick Ferrari can lose it all, be humble.
    Positivity doesn't win you championships, whining about people being negative makes you blind!
    lol ignore the bitter old cows ;-)

  29. #389
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    2019 F1 news/rumours

    Anyone watching the Netflix series? Really enjoying the politics part!! Ferrari and Merc should have allowed Netflix to record them anyways nice one without them too...
    Last edited by roddick_andy; 9th March 2019 at 06:11.

  30. #390
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    Quote Originally Posted by evo_spook View Post
    Thats fine saying that, but a bit hypocritical when Ferrari get more money then anyone else without even winning. Maybe if the money was divided fairly Williams wouldn't be struggling.
    I'm sure you are aware of the fact that Ferrari really don't need the extra money they get from FOM for all the years in the sport. Called the "long- standing team payment". Although obviously money never sucks so everyone will take them. Williams also receive a bonus for being, well, Williams. Called "the heritage payment". I believe it's $10 million off the top. If Williams is in a hole today it's not because of lack of funds. They simply just manage the funds they have in a terrible manner. They are the 5th richest team with the worst car so something is wrong at Williams, not in the sport.

    When I wrote "hand-out" I wasn't talking about money. I was talking about dumbing down the sport so the lesser teams can close up the gap. Like standard parts. Standard parts will be charity. That's the same way socialism works, to level the playing field in any society (companies, contracts, gender, race etc). What it ultimately leads to, and have every time in history, is for that society to crumble as the system runs out of other peoples money to uphold the notion of an equal system for all. It ruins everything from top to bottom. Every single time, because it's not a natural state.

    Now, Liberty, FOM and FIA obviously have the right to the sport and can do anything they wish with it. If they want to kill F1, they can and they will. So for the future it might be a good idea for Ferrari and Mercedes (and others) to dust of the old plans for GP1.

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