2021 F1

Horner: Red Bull being deliberately targeted, FIA to slow down F1 pitstops

Published

2 years ago

June 26, 2021

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Red Bull Racing F1 Pit-stop records

Leading world champions Red Bull Racing’s team principal Christian Horner has labeled FIA’s new regulation changes to pit-stop slow-down for safety reason as “disappointing”. Horner is also claiming that rivals had deliberately targeted his team. Because the Milton Keynes based F1 squad Red Bull Racing is holding all-time best pit-stops records in the F1 history.

Formula One governing body FIA introduces new regulations for pit stops, to be at least 0.2 seconds slower, which will be affected from Hungarian Grand Prix.

“If you can’t be beaten, then the most logical thing is for your competitors to try and slow you down,” Horner said. “And that’s obviously what’s happening here.”

“You can see there’s an awful lot of pointed activity in our direction in the moment. That comes with the territory of being competitive. An awful lot of energy is going into trying to slow the car down which is what obviously happens in a competitive business. It’s something we’re used to but I’m not losing too much sleep about it.” Horner continues

“To have to hold the car for two tenths of a second, you could almost argue it’s dangerous because you’re judging your gaps. The guy that’s releasing the car is having to make that judgement, and I think that it’s not been well thought through.

“F1 is about innovation and competition. Seeing pit stops sub two seconds is a remarkable feat and we should be encouraging it, not trying to control it, otherwise where does it stop?

“We’re going to be told which way to walk into the garage, where we should sit on the pit wall, and which buttons we should press I guess. I find it a little disappointing. It’s the duty of the competitor to ensure that the car is safe, and the penalty for a wheel not being fixed is you have to stop the car immediately.

“So it’s a brutal punishment, if you haven’t got all four wheels securely and safely fastened. So what the technical directive is trying to achieve, I’m not quite sure because I think there’s an awful lot of complexity to it. Horner added

The FIA issued a technical directive before this weekend’s Styrian Grand Prix. Red Bull Ring which comes into force at the Hungarian Grand Prix on 1 August.

An FIA spokesman said: The key point is that this is a proactive safety update, building in some required latency into the procedures in order to ensure the decisions are being taken by the equipment operators rather than being automated, and thus to protect the pit crews from incidents similar to the one seen in Bahrain a few years ago.”

Article 12.8.4 is clear that: “Devices which are used to fit or remove wheel fasteners may only be powered by compressed air or nitrogen. Any sensor systems may only act passively.”

The new technical directive notes: “For safety reasons we would furthermore expect the minimum time offset between the initiation of the jack release procedure and the OK signal to the driver given by the green light to be at least 0.2 seconds.”

Fastest F1 pitstops of 2021 championship so far

Pos	Team	Driver	Grand Prix	Time (Sec)
1	Red Bull	Max Verstappen	Bahrain GP	1.93
2	Red Bull	Max Verstappen	Azerbaijan GP	1.98
3	Red Bull	Max Verstappen	Portuguese GP	1.98
4	Red Bull	Sergio Perez	Bahrain GP	2.00
5	Red Bull	Max Verstappen	Monaco GP	2.02
6	Red Bull	Sergio Perez	French GP	2.04
7	Aston Martin	Lance Stroll	Portuguese GP	2.08
8	Williams	George Russell	Azerbaijan GP	2.13
9	Alfa Romeo	Kimi Raikkonen	Azerbaijan GP	2.13
10	Aston Martin	Lance Stroll	Spanish GP	2.16

2021 F1

What penalty do Red Bull face for breaching F1 cost cap?

Published

6 months ago

October 10, 2022

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FIA recently confirmed that, Red Bull Racing have been found guilty of violating Formula 1 budget cap for 2021.

The Official confirmation by FIA said that a “minor” breaking of the budget cap. As resulted exceeding the budget by less than 5% or $7.25m – could have big consequences if the FIA decide to punish them.

Max Verstappen, who won a second F1 championship in weird conditions in Japan on Sunday, clinched the 2021 F1 title after late and controversial drama involving the safety car in Abu Dhabi.

The cost cap breaches penalty ranges from a public reprimand to a financial penalty or secondary level sporting penalties.

• Public reprimand
• Deduction of Constructors’ Championship points awarded for the Championship that took place within the Reporting Period of the breach;
• Deduction of Drivers’ Championship points awarded for the Championship that took place within the Reporting Period of the breach;
• Suspension from one or more stages of a Competition or Competitions, excluding for the avoidance of doubt the race itself;
• Limitations on ability to conduct aerodynamic or other Testing; and/or
• Reduction of the Cost Cap

Red Bull hint they will appeal FIA decision

The statement, released on their social meadi page read: “We note the findings with surprise and disappointment. Our 2021 submission was below the cost cap limit so we need to carefully review the FIA’s findings as our belief remains that the relevant costs are under the 2021 cost cap amount.

“Despite the conjecture and positioning of others, there is of course a process under the regulations with the FIA which we will respectfully follow while we consider all the options available to us.”

2022 F1

Verstappen won his second F1 World Championship

Published

6 months ago

October 9, 2022

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Max Verstappen won the rain hit Japanese Grand Prix and he secure his second world title as well. The Dutchman takes the full 19 points and his teammate Sergio Perez made second place, following the Charles Leclerc receives five seconds penalty, who crossed the line just ahead of Perez… but final corner cutting was given his time penalty.

Verstappen: It’s crazy

“It’s crazy. Very mixed emotions,” he said.

“Looking back, what a year we’ve had so far. It’s been incredible. It’s something I could never have imagined. After last year, fighting until the end, and then having such a good car again this year. I’m so thankful to everyone who has been contributing to this success.”

… More to follow

2023 F1

Nyck de Vries secures 2023 AlphaTauri F1 race seat

Published

6 months ago

October 8, 2022

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The Dutch racing driver Nyck de Vries sealed AlphaTauri F1 racing seat as replaced the Alpine-moved Pierre Gasly for 2023 F1 season.

27 years old, former F2 and Formula E world Champion’s demand has been raised, after he made an extraordinary performance at Monza for Williams racing team, who finished ninth on his F1 debut.

“I’m extremely excited to be joining Scuderia AlphaTauri for 2023 and I want to thank both Red Bull and the team for giving me the opportunity to drive in F1,” the Dutchman said.

“After Formula 2, I took a slightly different path with motorsport, but F1 has always been my dream and I’m grateful to be able to fulfil it.

“I’ve had a lot of chances to experience the 2022 car this year and I think that has put me in a great position for the upcoming season, I hope this has helped to prepare me for what is to come.”

“After Formula 2, I took a slightly different path with motorsport, but F1 has always been my dream and I’m grateful to be able to fulfil it.

“Having spent most of my teenage years in Italy for karting, I’ve always felt at home there, so for me, it’s great to be joining an Italian team, that already has a real family feel,” he added.

“I’m looking forward to meeting everyone and to start to build our relationship before the next season.”

AlphaTauri team head Franz Tost also gave his full care to De Vries, point out: “We are pleased to start a new chapter with Nyck, who’s very much welcome at Scuderia AlphaTauri.

“He is a very highly skilled driver, as he won in all the categories he competed in, with many races and championships under his belt.

“His last big success was winning the Formula E World Championship, and this is clear evidence that he is a very competitive driver, who deserves a seat in F1.

“I am looking forward to seeing him in our car and I’m confident that with Yuki and Nyck we will have a very strong driver lineup for 2023.”

The Austrian also paid praise to Gasly, who has spent at least part of every season at the team since his debut in 2017.

“AlphaTauri had a very successful time with Pierre,” he said.

“We will never forget his fantastic victory in Monza and his podium finishes in Brazil and Azerbaijan.

“I want to thank Pierre for all the effort he’s put into the team in the last years, and I wish him all the best for his future.”