Tag: F1

25th January 2019

Select Car Leasing – Why are Finns so good at motorsport?

Another Formula 1 (F1) season draws to its conclusion and it’s another Drivers’ Championship win for Lewis Hamilton. It’s also been another year that has seen strong representation from Finland on the leaderboard, with Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton’s teammate, sitting in 4^th position with one race to go while his compatriot, Kimi Räikkönen is placed just above him in 3^rd. The continuing trend of Finnish drivers succeeding in motorsport got us thinking – just how has a nation of only 5.5m people managed to have such a strong influence on the motorsport world?

Select Car Leasing investigated some of the key reasons behind the incredible rise of the Finnish nation over the years. Here are five ways that have been crucial to Finland’s ascent to becoming a motorsport powerhouse:

– Sisu… The ancient Finnish art inspiring its drivers

– Forest roads & Harsh winters… These allow for drivers in Finland to hone their skills and pave the way for successful motorsport competitors

– Putting the population through its paces… Finland has one of the hardest driving tests in the world

– Folk racing… The Finnish pastime which tests drivers endurance and encourages competition on the road

– The art of the ‘Scandinavian flick’… How a unique driving style has caught on all over the world

However, it’s not just F1 that Finn’s have been dominating, the list grows into the World Rally Championship (WRC), with 4 of Finland’s own competing in the 2018 Championship, namely Esapekka Lappi, Jari-Matti Latvala, Teemu Suninen and Kalle Rovanperä. Two of which, Lappi and Latvala, occupy 4^thand 5^th place in the championship respectively.

This isn’t a new phenomenon, though. Finland have enjoyed considerable success over the years in motorsport and boast a rich history and driving tradition. Finland is home to many of the most famous drivers in the sport’s history, including 1980s icon Keke Rosberg.

On average, Finns are the best at F1.

The United Kingdom has had the most individual winners and overall wins in the F1 Drivers’ Championship, but that’s hardly surprising considering a population which reaches over 65m people. The win rate by nation tells a more interesting story about how inhabitants from this sparsely populated land, which kisses the edge of the Arctic Circle, lead the line. For every 1.375m people, Finland has won a title, making it a clear leader across all nations home to a championship winner. Austria is the closest competitor to Finland with a title win for every 2.193m people. In comparison, the UK win rate is over 1 in 4.7m people.

Finland also tops the charts when it comes to individual winners, with 3 Finn’s winning an F1 Championship throughout history, that’s 1 in 1.834m.

*All population data is from 2017.

*Rates are calculated by dividing the population of a country by the number of winners / wins.

Finns top the charts for WRC

Finland’s story in WRC is a similar one. They hold the highest individual and overall win rates of the competition, eclipsing most other nations. Finland has had a huge 7 different winners of the WRC trophy throughout history. That’s over double the second-placed nation France.

Their overall win rate by population is also untouchable, with 1 in 393,021 winners of the competition – over 4m more than their nearest competitor, France, who despite becoming the superpower of WRC in recent years, still lag behind the Finns.

*Rates are calculated by dividing the population of a country by the number of winners / wins.

*All population data is from 2017 except West Germany (1990).

Finns love motorsport

Motorsport started to become popular in Finland in the early 1950’s, due to the birth of rallying competitions. Ten years later, Finnish drivers were dominating the world of rally, with the likes of Timo Mäkinen, Pauli Toivonen and Rauno Aaltonen regularly picking up podium positions and rally wins.

Moving forward into the 1980’s, the success of Keke Rosberg, who was the first Finnish winner of the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship in 1982, catapulted the sport into the limelight in Finland. This legacy is still evident today by the amount of Finn’s who have participated in the two biggest motorsports in Europe.

When comparing how many Finn’s have been a driver in F1 compared to their population, we found that Finland had the 7^th highest participation rate in the world when discounting micronations such as Monaco and Lichtenstein.

Again, when we discount the micronations of Monaco, Andorra and San Marino, who will naturally have a high participation rate by population due to their citizenship not reaching 100,000 people respectively, Finland are second, only behind Estonia. The consistency of Finland’s participation in these two motorsports is unmatched by any other major nation in the world and shows how much F1 and WRC is loved in the country.

So why exactly are the Finns so good?

There are several key reasons that have been attributed as to the reason why Finn’s are so good at motorsport:

The Finnish art of Sisu inspires all its drivers.

Sisu has no direct translation to English but can be roughly translated to simply “go”. However, it has a much deeper meaning to the Finnish people. Often described as a form of inner strength and perseverance through adversity, many of their drivers such as Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Räikkönen are famous for their cool, calm and collected persona.

Speaking on the mentality of Finn’s, former Ferrari driver Mika Solo said: “Our mentality is very good for racing – never give up. We’re very stubborn, jealous and selfish people. So, you’d rather do well yourself than let somebody else do well. Everyone is very calm – not a lot of mistakes. I don’t know why it is, but I am the same. Emotional things don’t affect what I do at all.”

Most of the country is made up of forest roads

In total, Finland’s road network stretches to approximately 454,000 kilometres (km). However, if you discount 78,000 km of highways and 26,000 km of municipal streets, that leaves around 350,000 km of private and forest roads for Finn’s to navigate, according to the Finnish Transport Agency.

Many of these roads are quiet, often not illuminated by street lights, poorly maintained and could be mistaken for most rally stages on the WRC calendar. They act as perfect proving grounds for many aspiring Finns to hone their driving skills!

Finland has incredibly long winters.

Finnish winters are typically long and dark. Snow begins falling in November and typically lasts until at least May. During these winter months, the poorly maintained private and forest roads, which make up most of the countries transport network, become submerged with snow, which would make driving for the average European extremely difficult.

The quality of many of these roads over the winter periods make rally stages look like a piece of cake!

Finns start driving early

In order to prepare their children for these driving conditions, parents tend to start them off early, making use of the many private and deserted back roads throughout Finland to improve their driving. There are also a vast array of approved driver training tracks and facilities which can be partly attributed to the popularity of motorsport. The school of hard knocks is serving Finns well in motorsport, when speaking on driving in Finland, Kimi Räikkönen said: “You really have to be a good driver to survive in Finland. It is always slippery and bumpy.”

The country has one of the hardest driving tests in the world.

Once these young drivers become 18 and begin to think about taking their driving test, they have a mountain to climb. The challenging road conditions in the country mean that driving assessments must be stringent to avoid accidents in challenging circumstances. The Finnish driving test is one of the hardest in the world, with the possibility of students having to demonstrate their skid control or even their driving ability at night.

Finn’s must undertake 18 hours of practical lessons, and 19 hours of theory before they qualify to take a driving test. Drivers are then given a 2-year interim license which requires them to undertake advanced driving classes, often using a simulator. Only once that’s complete will they be awarded a full license.

Folk racing takes place all over Finland and is a great starting point.

Folk racing is an extremely popular past time in Scandinavia, originating from Finland. Known as Jokamiehenluokka or “everyman’s class”, it’s a relatively inexpensive form of motorsport in which competitors turn old or unused vehicles into racing machines for little expenditure.

Races are typically operated on special gravel or tarmac tracks in secluded locations. To ensure that folk racing is accessible for all, there are rules on the amount competitors are able to spend on their vehicles. The fixed price is €1400, or £1,240. It’s been known for drivers as young as 14 to compete. This makes it the ideal training ground for Finn’s wanting to gain experience before they enter the world of professional motorsport.

The older generation teaches the young how to succeed.

Finnish youngsters benefit from excellent role models, with Finnish drivers rarely involving themselves in controversy. They also conduct themselves excellently on and off the track. With so many great Finn’s of the past, it makes sense that they should impart their wisdom to the younger generation. For example, former F1 World Champion Keke Rosberg has mentored both Mika Häkkinen and Jyrki Järvilehto.

Personal connections and relationships can also be a large factor in determining success. Professor Matti Urrila, who specialises in the physiological coaching of athletes and has worked with Marcus Grönholm and Mika Häkkinen recently said “As a result of our drivers’ success, Finland has an abundance of expertise in how to become a World Champion in Formula One, for instance. Beginning with sponsorship and connections, there is a very realistic understanding of what it takes. And that puts Finland in quite a unique situation”.

Pioneers of the Scandinavian flick.

The Scandinavian flick, or Finnish flick, is a technique used in rallying to negotiate difficult corners. As the name suggests, the move originated from Scandinavian rally drivers during the 1960’s who mainly drove front-wheel-drive cars. They would approach the corner slightly outside of centre. Before entering the corner, they’d then swing to the outside of the road before immediately turning in the correct direction. While doing this, the driver taps the brake pedal, causing a shift in weight to the front of the car. The “flick’ part refers to turning the steering while in the correct manner so that the car exits the corner at peak efficiency.

This method of tackling corners went against the historical consensus on how to deal with corners. The Finnish flick serves as just one more example of Finland’s contribution to motorsport and the innovation that they bring.

[ Select Car Leasing’s original article can be found here: https://www.selectcarleasing.co.uk/news/finland-motorsport.html ]

22nd January 2019

F1 2019: Finally the year of Prancing Horse?

Ordinarily, we go into F1 seasons asking the cliché question of whether Lewis Hamilton achieve greatness this year. The truth is that this question has been rendered absolutely redundant – he has already well and truly done that. The question as we go into a new season in Formula One is: will Hamilton retain the championship crown this year and further cement an already-undeniably brilliant legacy, or will 2019 finally be the year of the Prancing Horse?

Certainly, Ferrari’s progress has been very telling. In 2015 Mercedes, on average, out-qualified Ferrari by 0.7 seconds – a mammoth margin – but Ferrari were right on par with their German counterparts in 2018, often beating them to top spot.

The same could be said about 2017 too, and there were many occasions – particularly in the early going of the season – when we thought that it might just be the year of Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel, only for Hamilton and Mercedes’ prowess and excellence under pressure to shine through and steal the show, leaving the Italian giants empty-handed.

What has generally gone wrong for Ferrari is a combination of cruel luck, self-inflicted damage, and moments of utter stupidity and notable madness. In races such as Singapore 2017 and Germany 2018, Vettel has completely lost his cool and cracked under pressure – something not to be expected of a man who so impressively took four titles under the immense pressure of a field adorned at one stage by five other world champions.

Vettel’s errors in races like Italy, Japan, USA, France and the aforementioned Germany had a quite frankly shocking impact on the complexity of what turned out to be a remarkably one-sided championship battle last year. After the Japanese Grand Prix, it was calculated that Vettel would have been 13 points ahead of Hamilton in the lead of the title race at that stage had everything gone to plan. Instead, he was instead 67 behind. Of course then, we could bring up Hamilton’s DNF in Austria, or the untimely Virtual Safety Car (VSC) in Australia, which saw Vettel snatch the lead away from Hamilton that day. It makes for painful reading for Vettel.

Yet, while toiling in the misery of once again losing out to Hamilton in the championship battle, Vettel will have to take heart from the fact that, aside from the mistakes, the Ferrari might just be fundamentally better than the Mercedes, and provided Ferrari can maintain their rousing progress with the car. 2019 may just be Ferrari’s best chance yet of winning their first silverware since way back in 2008 when they won the Constructor’ title.

While all the talk is about Vettel and Hamilton, though, let’s not forget the dark horses (or dark arrow in the instance of one of them) of Valtteri Bottas and Charles Leclerc.

Bottas is on a quest to find some much-needed form if he wants to be able to compete for the World Championship this year and step out of the imposing shadow of team- mate Lewis Hamilton. The Finn, who has looked somewhat innocuous in the title race for the past couple of seasons, knows that this is last chance saloon if he is to seal a drive with the champions for 2020.

And not many drivers can say that just their 22^nd race in their F1 career was in Ferrari colours, but this is a stat that Charles Leclerc will be able to proudly exult. The Monegasque enjoyed a remarkable first season with Sauber last year, earning him a spot with the Maranello team and swapping places with Kimi Raikkonen. He is largely tipped for greatness in the sport, and the godson of Jules Bianchi would like nothing more than to prove to Ferrari that he will not bow down as Vettel’s sidekick, and that he himself can be the brave gladiator who finally topples Hamilton and Mercedes.

With that being said, let’s bring a Bull into the Colosseum, shall we? The Austrian beast with Japanese racing history racing through its veins certainly cannot be counted out, as Red Bull seek to finally mount a serious title challenge with Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly, putting an end to the mere satisfaction of a couple of race wins.

This could be one of the most exciting seasons we’ve ever seen in Formula One. It’s certainly bubbled up nicely, but will there be an explosion of life into the championship battle when the lights go out in Australia?

[Featured image credit – Ferrari Media]

15th January 2019

Formula E Attack Mode: Worth the Hype?

Announced in 2018, Formula E’s Attack Mode was set to create yet more excitement and variety up and down the grid in the 2018/19 season. The official Formula E website describes the mode as an opportunity for drivers to ‘race harder, giving them the edge to keep ahead of the competition’. The mode can be activated at different points in the race; drivers are given an extra 25kW (12%) of power, however the duration and number of times a driver can activate the mode is not fixed. FIA officials determine these details one hour before the race, keeping team strategists, drivers and fans guessing.

But as fans are just getting to grips with the Gen2 cars, is this new feature a step too far in trying to keep the series interesting?

Seeing it in action for the first time in Ad Diriyah, you might be forgiven for thinking you were watching a real-life version of Mario Kart. Indeed, fans have criticised Formula E mastermind, Alejandro Agag, for ‘dumbing down’ the feature by likening it to a video game, suggesting that gimmicks such as this one make Formula E an easy target for cynics of new racing formulas.

Some fans have likened Attack Modeto a joker lap in Rallycross and, indeed, it’s easy to see the similarities, as drivers are forced to move away from the racing line in order to activate the feature, before re-joining the race with the added boost. But even this could throw up problems, with dirty tyres and unsafe manoeuvres to attack, and re-join the race. Okay, so that part is down to the reliability of the drivers, but is it really worth the drama where we have plenty already?

Watching Attack Mode in action for the second time in Marrakesh, you could say that the feature really didn’t add much to the race. Drivers such as Jean Eric Vergne were able to steadily work their way up the grid, providing the fans with a couple of interesting overtakes, most of the action wasn’t really a direct result of the Attack Mode feature.

As the use of Attack Mode is mandatory for each car, drivers are forced to use the feature to simply tick a box. Ultimately, as we saw in Marrakesh, drivers chose to use their final Attack Mode during a safety car towards the very end of the race, which arguably contradicts the whole point of the feature’s introduction.

If this is the case, why was it introduced?

Perhaps FE bosses are keen to avoid the same accusations their counterparts in F1 are currently receiving, that the racing simply isn’t entertaining enough. However, when compared to Formula 1, realistically Formula E is in the infancy of what it can achieve. Even from the very first race in 2014, Nick Heidfeld managed to crash his way, quite literally, into the news headlines by ploughing his Venturi into the barrier. Since then, Formula E has continued to provide fans with entertaining races, enhanced by the FanBoost feature that was introduced from the very first season.

Daniel Abt (Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler), Valencia pre-season testing – Credit: LAT/Formula E

With that in mind, what of the FanBoost?

At the moment, Formula E have no plans to alter or get rid of the FanBoost feature that allows fans to vote for their favourite driver, giving them a further two ‘boosts’ on track. With some critics labelling the FanBoost a mere popularity contest from the beginning, the introduction of Attack Mode where all drivers are given at least one boost before the race even starts, it opens up the question of where FanBoost really fits in this new feature.

Unlike Formula 1, Formula E features cars, teams and drivers on a more even playing field. The series already offers unpredictable racing and fans haven’t exactly been crying out for the series to be made more ‘interesting’ in the same way F1 fans have. Perhaps Formula E bosses are keen to avoid the same criticism, however with the addition of Attack Mode, it is difficult to know exactly what audience they are attempting to appeal to.

With only two races down, the true value of Attack Mode remains to be seen. If bosses expected Attack Mode would make for an explosive opener to the 2018/19 season, they were sorely mistaken.

The next E-Prix will take place in Santiago on 26^thJanuary.

11th January 2019

Brundle: F1 needs “massive step” to improve show

Martin Brundle has said that Formula One needs to make a much bigger step than is planned in 2019 to improve the racing show.

Speaking about the 2019 season’s new aerodynamic regulations, the F1 veteran said he is unsure whether the changes will produce any real improvement in the number of on-track overtakes.

“A more simple front wing makes sense to me, [but] I think it needs a much bigger step. A massive step, actually. I can’t really see why we’ve done an interim 2019 because the cost is massive in terms of a brand new car for everybody.

“The big teams tell me they were going to do a new car anyway, but the small teams don’t. They have a lot of continuity of certain things like the chassis.

“It all looks like a lot of money spent, so if they’re not side-by-side and nose-to-tail more often, then it’s money wasted.”

Charles Coates, Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool

Brundle added that as well as its aerodynamic regulations, F1 needs to address the size of its grid to deliver a better show in the future:

“Back in the day, a Carlin, a DAMS, or an ART would have migrated into Formula One like Eddie Jordan did, for example, or Paul Stewart Racing with the Stewart team. Now we’ve got 20 [cars], and that’s more likely to become 18 than 22 from what I’ve seen at the moment. I see that as quite a peril.

“Ross Brawn used an expression, ‘We pulled up the drawbridge’. He’s absolutely right. We’re on a little Formula One island spending a lot of money to run 20 cars, and the drawbridge is up and I don’t see anybody waiting on the other side to come on. That’s a huge issue they need to address for the 2021 regulations.”

11th January 2019

Coulthard: McLaren needs to find “right people” to bounce back

David Coulthard has said that McLaren needs to focus on getting the “right people” together if it is to return to winning in Formula One.

Speaking about McLaren’s current form, Coulthard said: “Success doesn’t come from a name above the door, otherwise McLaren would still be winning Grands Prix. It’s about the people within, the culture and the investment within the company. That creates that winning culture.”

His comments followed McLaren announcing on Thursday that Andreas Seidl, the former Porsche WEC boss, will join the team during 2019 as their managing director. Seidl’s appointment marks the latest in a series of high-profile changes at McLaren, including the signing of Toro Rosso technical director James Key.

Coulthard also stressed that McLaren’s performance can’t be solved by simply increasing the team’s budget:

“Money isn’t always the answer to success. If you look at Toyota, what they invested in F1 and they didn’t actually win a Grand Prix.

“It’s about having the right amount of money and the right amount of people. The car doesn’t design itself, the car doesn’t drive itself.”

Fellow F1 veteran Martin Brundle has echoed Coulthard’s belief. Speaking at Autosport International, Brundle said: “Andreas Seidl is obviously a very successful man in the Porsche world and his CV speaks for itself. Quite clearly they see him fitting in alongside Zak [Brown] and Gil [de Ferran].

“It seems a sensible appointment to me that’s got structure and some kind of plan around it.

“It takes time to rebuild momentum. A team is made up of a number of ingredients and it takes time for it to all come together.”

11th January 20198th February 2019

W Series – David Coulthard: W Series can be a platform

W Series ambassador David Coulthard wants the all-female championship to be a springboard into a professional racing career for more women.

The six-round series will support the DTM across Europe this season and will see 18-20 drivers, who will be selected based on their racing record, competing for a $1.5m prize fund, with the winner earning $500,000.

Coulthard, who won 13 Formula One Grands Prix, feels the championship can help women progress further up the motorsport ladder.

“If we create a platform that puts more professional women into motorsport, being paid to compete at whatever level that happens to be, then this will have played its part.

“Hopefully this will create more of that aspirational route where women can look at it and say “If I can get to W Series level, show my skills and win the championship, I’m not paying for this and getting a prize fund, a $500,000 cheque for the winner, and go on to the next level.”

The series launched in the autumn of last year and Coulthard hopes that the attention received from the media and the general public can change the perception that motorsports is not for women.

“Motorsport’s always been open to boys and girls at karting level to men and women so hopefully this series will with the help of media like yourself, put more of a spotlight on that. There will inevitably be a big interest in the six races in the championship, a big interest in the winner and hopefully that creates more of a focus and an opportunity for the general public to say “it isn’t largely about men, it’s largely about everyone.” If we can do that and have more professional female racing drivers, I think that’s great.”

The 47-year-old Scotsman says the series had in mind female drivers that had struggled to secure sponsorship and clearing the route to professional careers for women.

“Obviously there are questions over whether it’s segregation in as much that there’s only women in the championship, I can understand that question, but we see this as a platform and an opportunity on an aspirational level for families trying to make that decision where there has been a much clearer route from amateur to professional for boys and men compared to for girls and women.

“For sure the existing route has only allowed a few women to come through and make professional careers, and some of them have come from quite fortunate backgrounds. Money in motorsport has often spoken. We want to neutralize the need for families to be wealthy because you don’t pay to enter W, you enter on the basis of incredible talent and being selected.”

Coulthard, who drove for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull in a 14-year Formula One career, was prepared for a mixed reaction but feels critics should accept the series provides an opportunity for others.

“In life people have opinions, I’m prepared for that every day of my life. I take a view that I don’t agree with everyone does in life but as long as they’re not breaking the law, I admire people who have the courage of their convictions and a goal and they work towards that goal. What I always find a little disappointing, with the reaction to W Series and everything else in life, where someone says “That’s not how I would have done it, therefore I don’t believe in that way of doing it and I don’t think anyone should do that,” because they haven’t done it that way, they think that nobody should do it that way.

“When you take that into other areas of the world we live in, that becomes quite dangerous in some ways. The reality is, for those who have come up a different route and don’t see this as an aspirational route, I respect their point of view, but please allow others the opportunity that they may not have been afforded before, to explore this route into professional racing. Time will tell whether this is a credible and sustainable route to bringing more women into motorsport.”

10th January 2019

Mercedes’ 2020 seat: Could Bottas yet be retained?

2018 was a torrid year for Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas. A season plagued with bad luck and inconsistent performances left him without a win and fifth in the championship, while team-mate Lewis Hamilton dominated to take the title for a fifth time. Bottas was out-qualified by an average of 0.3 seconds over the course of the season, a fairly substantial margin in pace that is something of a cause for concern.

2018 was at times a humiliating season for Bottas, much like 2017, as he was constantly out-performed by his team-mate and made to play second fiddle. However, there may yet be hope of him keeping his seat for 2020.

Despite being out-qualified 28 times in 41 races by Hamilton and out-raced 26 times in races they have both finished, Bottas has taken seven poles and three wins from his first two seasons with Mercedes, and has helped them to two victories in the Constructors’ Championship. Most drivers will be made to look average when partnered with Lewis Hamilton, but Bottas has in fact done a fairly solid job – he has at times made himself look world-class.

Of course, “solid” is not quite going to be enough when trying to keep a long-term place at a team at the very top of Formula One, and Bottas is a smart man so he will be under no illusions about this, but there is certainly a talent that, if exploited in the right way, can take him into potential title contention.

2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Friday – Steve Etherington

Furthermore, if you look at contract situations, Bottas may yet be reasonably unchallenged in terms of that second Mercedes seat. Max Verstappen is signed by Red Bull until 2022, Daniel Ricciardo has just signed for Renault, and Sergio Perez would be a very distant candidate for the seat after his contract with Racing Point F1 runs out. It is highly possible, however, that the Mexican will extend this contract anyway.

Lance Stroll is yet to show the racecraft and pace necessary to drive for a top team, but Mercedes protégé George Russell may be a threat provided he has a positive season with Williams up against the returning Robert Kubica.

And let’s not forget Esteban Ocon, the Frenchman unceremoniously dumped out of F1 for 2019 by a dastardly combination of money and politics. He is a Mercedes test and reserve driver for next season, and will undoubtedly be vying for Bottas’ seat for next year – an in-house battle if you will.

Bottas’ seat beyond this year is far from safe and his performances will need to be better, but Mercedes team principalToto Wolff will be fully aware of the prodigious talent that the Finn has, as we watch the intense battle for Mercedes’ second seat in 2020 unfold this year.

Featured image – 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix, Sunday – Paul Ripke

7th January 2019

Binotto To Take The Reins at Ferrari?

Reports from Italy have suggested that Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene is soon to be replaced by technical director Mattia Binotto ahead of the 2019 F1 season.

The news was announced in Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, and has since been reported on the official F1 website. This comes after Ferrari suffered yet another defeat from the German powerhouse Mercedes AMG, losing both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles in the 2018 season.

It is thought that tensions had begun to rise between Arrivabene and Binotto in the last season, however this was denied in true Ferrari fashion, with the team declaring that, “The rumours about Mattia are fake news”. Arrivabene said in a previous interview, “It is an attempt to try to create problems where there are no problems”.

2018 Italian Grand Prix – Maurizio Arrivabene

Binotto has worked his way up through the ranks, joining the Ferrari test team in 1995 as a Test Engine Engineer, before being appointed Chief Technical Officer in 2016. He has also held the positions of chief engineer, head of engine and KERS within the team.

Some racing critics have argued that Ferrari lost the championship due to poor strategy and technical errors, and so perhaps Maranello have decided a change in leadership is the answer.

At the moment, these reports are merely speculation, however, confirmation is expected to come as early as Monday 7^thJanuary.

Featured image – Ferrari Media

20th December 2018

Zak Brown: “There is a lot to be excited about” in 2019

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has said he believes fans of the team have “a lot to be excited about” in the 2019 season, after a challenging 2018 campaign.

McLaren finished sixth in the constructors’ championship on 62 points, with the highlight being a fifth-place in the Australian Grand Prix courtesy of Fernando Alonso. Team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne had a best finish of P8, which came in the Mexican Grand Prix.

In a year when they believed their new Renault power-unit would propel McLaren up the order, it is difficult to call 2018 anything but a disappointment for them.

“2018 was a difficult year,” Zak Brown said, “but one where we’ve implemented a lot of change. We’ve learned a lot, we understand the mistakes we’ve made, and we’ve worked hard to make sure we don’t replicate those moving forward. We did finish sixth in the championship, so on paper it was a step forward from 2017, but it certainly wasn’t a season of the calibre that anyone at McLaren or our fans would have expected.”

Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
Tuesday 27 February 2018. Zak Brown
World Copyright: Steven Tee/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _R3I3944

Brown is optimistic about the team’s chances in 2019 though, highlighting in particular the numerous personnel changes they have made. “We’ve brought in Gil de Ferran,” he said, “who brings an unusual mix of a racer’s instinct with strategic acumen, promoted Andrea Stella to lead our performance development and analysis group, brought back Pat Fry as engineering director to lead the design of the MCL34, and of course appointed James Key as our technical director to give us the singular technical leadership that has been missing.”

Speaking of the development of their 2019 car, Brown added, “Everyone is working extremely hard. We have a good understanding of what we need to do to improve our race car. The changes we’ve made over the last five or six months, both in our structure and leadership, are already in play and beginning to take effect.

“We need to get back to the basics, come out with a stronger car next year, and continue on the rebuilding journey to get us back to winning races. 2019 should be another step forward in that direction.”

With Fernando Alonso retiring from F1 and Stoffel Vandoorne moving to Formula E, Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris will be driving for McLaren next year. Sainz made the move to McLaren from Renault, whilst Norris will be making his F1 debut.

Featured image – Mark Sutton/McLaren

12th December 201816th June 2020

ThePitCrewOnline Exclusive: The training of F1 driver | Interview with Michael Italiano – Daniel Ricciardo’s performance coach

F1 and other racing series aren’t only about driving a car. Before getting behind a steering wheel the driver must have done a lot of activities. The physical training is one of the most important of them. Michael Italiano, Daniel Ricciardo’s performance coach, spoke to us by answering questions asked by Julia Paradowska about the physical preparation of the racing driver.

Julia Paradowska: Why is physical training so important for the drivers?
Michael Italiano: Racing is a very demanding sport physically and mentally. The drivers need to be physically fit in order to withstand the G-forces during a race and the constant loading from the cars whether its braking, accelerating or turning. In saying this, it’s important the drivers include regimented cardio and strength training to keep their body in prime condition to race at their peak performance. If an athlete is not physically conditioned to drive they won’t be strong enough to withstand the G-forces the cars produce during a race. They will also fatigue, once fatigue sets in a driver won’t be able to control the car as efficiently as he’d like. These side effects make a big difference in a sport like Formula One where every tenth of a second counts.

JP: How does the training program vary during the season? – Ie. Training during race week and training during a non-race week.
MI: Training varies quite a lot depending on the time of the year. During pre-season (January) training is fairly intense as your main goal is to get the driver into peek condition and prepared for the first race of the season. Training during race week again is dependent on whereabouts in the world we are. All factors play a part, time zone, weather, humidity, altitude to name a few. To give you a slight idea we would normally train up until the Wednesday of a race, nothing too intense. Mainly to switch everything on, get moving and loosen up feeling good before he (Daniel) jumps in the car on Friday. This routine would change slightly if we had back to back races, we would focus more on recovery with the short break and flight times in between.

JP: Which round of the 2018 season was the hardest for you and Daniel to train and prepare for and why?
MI: Probably the triple header mid-year. It was a crazy 3 weeks, I’m glad F1 have decided on no triple headers in 2019. It’s asking a lot physically and mentally of the drivers. Not only are they driving the car for three days each week, they have media and team commitments outside the race track, then you add in all the flying and transport to and from hotels. There wasn’t much time for recovery and training, you have to be flexible in these situations and make do for what time you have to prepare your athlete.

JP: In addition to physical training, you also work to enhance and develop the psychological ‘mental’ fitness. How important is this aspect of the training?
MI: Personally, very important. How a driver can stay so immensely focused during a two hour race error free its extremely impressive. If their mind is distracted, fatigued or unfocused this will hinder their driving ability substantially. Sports psychology has really developed over the last five years and I’m a big believer in getting the mind in a positive and affirmative state before a race. How you do that is very dependent on the athlete’s character and your relationship with them. Mental training can be anything from working on a daily winners mindset, race day mindset, mindset out on the track during a race, what are you telling yourself, how you deal with particular actions or issues during a race emotionally, understanding mood profiling and what level should a drivers intensity be at during qualifying or race.

JP: How did you get interested in F1?
MI: I got interested in Formula 1 through Daniel. Being a Perth kid, knowing a Perth boy coming through the ranks and eventually making it to the F1 level was very inspiring. I followed his journey at a young age and developed the love for the sport through my eagerness to see Daniel succeed.

Follow Michael’s Journey
Website: michaelitaliano.com/
Instagram: instagram.com/michaelitaliano/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/michael-italiano