Verstappen is Fastest in FP3: Technical/Weather Issues Shorten FP1 and FP2.

The Australian Grand Prix practice sessions kicked off in dramatic fashion today. During FP1 there was a technical issue with race control and the GPS tracking system on track. The most recent reports state that it was an issue with the distribution of the tire monitoring data which resulted in FP1 being red flagged. After the restart Williams racing driver Logan Sargeant had a mechanical failure that saw his car powerless at Turn 11. This triggered a second red flag and by the time was clear there was not enough time to restart the session. Verstappen was fastest in FP1 which no one really challenging his lap times.

During FP2 Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso set the fastest time having taken advantage of the 1 hour of clear dry track prior to the rain coming in. Naturally lap times dropped after the rain and none really got another shot at race pace in dry conditions. There is currently a 40% chance risk of rain during qualifying later local time in Australia. Weather reports suggest variable weather with the risk of rain in the morning. Conditions are projected to improve into the afternoon. The rain isn’t the only worry. Multiple drivers complained over radio about tire grip in during the dry conditions. In 2022 Pirelli chose an unusual mix of the C2, C3 and C5 tire for Melbourne, but this year they have selected the C2, C3 and C4 tire compounds. We will see if the tire selection is an impact factor for qualifying in about an hour.

FP3 saw Max Verstappen on top with Fernando Alonso 0.162s behind and Alpine driver Esteban Ocon rounded out the 3rd slot with a differential 0.373s to Verstappen. Sergio Perez struggled to find pace in FP3 after a running third fastest in FP1. The top 10 drivers in FP3 were as follows:

Max Verstappen 1:17.565 24 Laps
Fernando Alonso 1:17.727 26 Laps
Esteban Ocon 1:17.938 23 Laps
George Russell 1:17.955 23 Laps
Pierre Gasly 1:18.094 23 Laps
Sergio Perez 1:18.123 18 Laps
Carlos Sainz 1:18.127 29 Laps
Lewis Hamilton 1:18.138 25 Laps
Lance Stroll 1:18.198 22 Laps
Zhou Guanyu 1:18.330 20 Laps

The STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix took place on the streets of Jeddah this past weekend and in typical Formula 1 fashion; no race can end without a little bit of controversy. Oracle Redbull Racing drivers Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez and Max Verstappen finished with the second Redbull 1-2 finish on the year and Aston Martin driver, and Formula 1 legend, Fernando Alonso showed he still has plenty in the tank racing at the top level at the age of 41 finishing in third. However, there was some controversy regarding Alonso’s third place finish. Alonso was handed a 5 second penalty at the start of the race for being slightly out of grid position lining up just to the left of the box. An early yellow flag followed by a safety car allowed Alonso to serve his time penalty while losing minimal time on track. The issue here is that Alonso was penalized after the race because the pit crew had the rear car jack lined up and touching the No. 14 Aston Martin while serving the penalty. The FIA guidelines state that a car cannot be worked on while serving time penalties. There is no doubt that the team car jack was touching the car during the 5 seconds served. At this point it was unclear whether this constituted “working” on the car or if it is a mere gray area in the pit stop penalty rules. F1.com released the following statement

After the race, and 35 laps after the incident, the FIA stewards issued a 10 second time penalty for the pit crew working on the car while serving a penalty. Just a few hours later the stewards came back with a reversal stating the following, “There was no clear agreement, as was suggested to the Stewards previously, that could be relied upon to determine that parties had agreed that a jack touching a car would amount to working on the car… In the circumstances, we considered that our original decision to impose a penalty on Car 14 needed to be reversed and we did so accordingly.”

After the race Alonso responded to the news regarding the penalty in an interview with Sky Sports F1 stating, “It doesn’t hurt much, to be honest. I was on the podium, I did the pictures, I took the trophy, I celebrated with the champagne. Now I have apparently three points less; I don’t have 15, I have 12.” Aston Martin racing wasted no time to release this tweet regarding the official P3 finish.

The race in Jeddah was otherwise uneventful compared to the drama and controversy of previous years since the circuit has been added to the Formula 1 calendar in 2021. However, speculation is flying all over the web regarding tension in the Oracle Redbull Racing camp. Sergio Perez led the majority of the race. After starting from pole and have a quick change of positions with Fernando Alonso prior to the opening of the pit window. Checo checked out at the front after an early safety car caused by Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll suffering a mechanical failure.

Towards the end of the race Checo’s racing engineer stated that he needs to run “1m:32.6s+ 4” on the team radio. It seemed that Checo assumed this meant to slow down pace and run 1:33.00 lap times until the end of the race. Teammate Max Verstappen had clawed his way from P15 at the start to P2 and was setting 1m:32.6s lap times in the closing lap; reducing the delta to Checo and ignoring team orders regarding reducing pace to ensure both cares finished in a 1-2. Checo was confused on why his team engineer was telling him to set lap times slower than Verstappen despite dominating the race and holding the fastest lap on lap 49/50 which would have secured Checo one additional championship point for the win.

However, on the final lap Verstappen found pace and was able to snatch the fastest lap away from Perez. Whether this was a direct dismissal of team order is unclear. However, what is clear is that in the post race cool down room, Perez did not appear to be thrilled that he lost the fastest lap point. Whether this adds fuel to the rivalry between the Redbull drivers is yet to be known. What is know is that Perez has been the ultimate team player in Verstappen’s key wins to secure 2 world championships. Perez also needed Max’s help toward the end of the 2022 season. Verstappen had already secured the world title and refused to give back a place that would have helped Checo in the drivers points standings. Maybe Perez is starting to think now is the time for him to be the front runner. We will follow this story as it develops in the coming races.

The Formula 1 season started in spectacular fashion with plenty of drama on track and veteran Fernando Alonso driving for Aston Martin finished race one with a podium alongside Oracle Redbull Racing drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez. One driver that didn’t have this luxury was 7 time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

After a poor showing in Bahrain, Hamilton has shed light on the disconnects that are happening behind the scenes at the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 camp. One a podcast with BBC radio 1 Hamilton stated, ”I knows what are car needs”, and to be frank its hard to argue that he is wrong in this case. Racing drivers provide car manufacturers with the ultimate litmus testing for car feedback because for those 200+ laps in practice and qualifying the driver feels every bump and vibration from putting the car through the motions. So why is there all of a sudden a serious problem at Mercedes with the W14?

It is rumored that Hamilton had input on the W14 design but that input was not taken into consideration. Now Mercedes finds themselves behind in constructors championship points to Aston Martin; a power unit customer of Mercedes’ for the 2023 season. Last year, there were things I told them. I said the issues that are with the car,” Hamilton told the BBC’s Chequered Flag podcast. “I’ve driven so many cars in my life. I know what a car needs. I know what a car doesn’t need.” He continued saying, “I think it’s really about accountability, it’s about owning up and saying, ‘Yeah, you know what? We didn’t listen to you. It’s not where it needs to be and we’ve got to work”.

“We’ve got to look into the balance through the corners, look at all the weak points and just huddle up as a team. That’s what we do,” Hamilton added. “We’re still [multiple] world champions … just haven’t got it right this time. Didn’t get it right last year. But that doesn’t mean we can’t get it right moving forwards.”

Team Principal Toto Wolff is also feeling the pressure for Mercedes’ lack of performance on track. Wolff admits that “We are lost” in a recent interview with motorsport.com “We have no doubt, when you’re starting behind by half a second, that it’s going to be difficult to catch up to such great organizations like Red Bull, or Ferrari.” Mercedes opted to pursue a new car concept at the beginning of the 2022 season and Wolff has admitted in an interview with ESPN that they got things wrong.

“I don’t think this package is going to be competitive eventually,” he said. “We gave it our best go over the winter and now we need to regroup, sit down with the engineers, who are totally not dogmatic about anything — there are no holy cows — and decide what is the development direction that we want to pursue in order to be competitive to win races.”

“We got it wrong last year, we thought we could fix it by sticking to this concept of car and it didn’t work out. We need to switch our focus on to what we believe can be the right direction — what it is that we are missing and therefore those data points from this weekend are very important.” In what seemingly is an effort to stir the pot, Helmut Marko, advisor to Oracle Redbull Racing has stated that the German manufacturer [Mercedes] have “lost their way”.

Marko believes Mercedes have taken “a step backwards” compared to 2022, and that they will find it difficult to challenge Red Bull this year due to the cost cap restrictions and design flaws which creates setbacks for a team sometimes in to the magnitude of 1-2 years.

With that said it is refreshing to see a team principal such as Toto Wolff take responsibility for the mistakes in design and move toward more solution oriented outcomes. “We’re simply not good enough” he said. This is a true testament to the team culture at the Mercedes camp. 

Wolff continued by saying, “We need to switch our focus up to what we believe can be the right direction. What is it that we are missing and, therefore, those data points this weekend are very important. We see on the GPS where we are lacking performance, where we are good, and we just need to sort out what that is, and whether it is sticking with the sidepods on the car or the really subtle things that bring performance is a different question. But, within the group, we will embark on untreated paths.”

The 2023 Formula 1 Season will look a bit different in 2023. The FIA have released a variety of rule changes for 2023 and they are as follows.

Ride High Adjusted to Counter “Propoising” issue from 2022

“Porpoising” was a major issue for some of the teams in the 2022 Formula 1 season so the FIA made a rule change to tackle these issues an improve rideability of the cars. “Porpoising” occurs when a car’s base gets too close to the ground and causes airflow to stall and build up back pressure, forcing the car to spring upwards unpredictably. The minimum ride height of the cars has been raised by 15mm to counter act this issue. In an effort to better understand this unique problem, new sensors will also be installed to measure vertical and horizontal forces in the car floors that may be influencing the propoising motion felt by many on grid. The FIA is confident that these changed and new data gathering will improve drivability for the cars on grid and improve on track safety.

Minimum car Weight
The minimum car weight has dropped by 2 kg. We anticipate this change will be more important in the later stages of the race when fuel management becomes key. As the cars race, the weight of fuel decreases due to consumption. Too much fuel at the end of the race and your car might not be as fast because it is carrying more weight than necessary for that stage in the race. We will stay tuned to see if this technical change has any recognizable effects.

Increasing the width of the reflective surface in wing mirrors – by 50mm from 150mm to 200mm.

Roll hoops: The new rules for 2023 state that a rounded top is required on the roll hoop, which will reduce the chance of it digging into the ground during an accident. This change was influenced by Zhou Guanyu’s British Grand Prix Crash in 2022.

A trial of a new qualifying format will be implemented at two events “for the purpose of evaluating whether the revisions are suitable for subsequent championships”. It will involve mandating a certain tire type for cars for a particular section of qualifying. More details to come on this as there isn’t much known about the format at the time of publishing this article.

More Sprint Races, Double the amount in fact

Formula 1 have dubbed this change as an ‘exciting development’, as they announce there are now six sprint races in the season’s calendar – up from three last year.

Grid Penalty Clarification

The language regarding the rules on gird penalties has received minor updates:

“Classified drivers who have accrued more than 15 cumulative grid position penalties, or who have been penalized to start at the back of the grid, will start behind any other classified driver. Their relative position will be determined in accordance with their qualifying classification.”

Points changes for shorter races

An F1 rule has been written to ensure reduced points are given for shortened races this season. A rewording of the previous rules now reads: “to ensure that shorter races have reduced points even if they don’t finish with a suspended race.” This is important given the risks associated with heavy rain and wind conditions red flagging races indefinitely. Points awarded for shortened races can have major implications for championship fights. Previously the FIA explained the reduced points rule only applied when a race was suspended and did not restart.

Team member curfews Teams will be allotted less time for work around the paddock on a race weekend. All teams will be subject to the reductions so how teams use their time in the paddock will be more important.

You can find a comprehensive listing of all of the 2023 rules for Formula 1 here.

Television viewership in the United States (US) has been on the decline in recent years. Some forecast a drop of 2.8 million viewers in the United States from 2023 to 2024 in viewership. Despite this drop in interest due to the US streaming market controlling over 50% of viewership; Formula 1 saw its largest rises in viewership ever in 2022. The Formula 1 race culture is expanding into US markets and this new found interest is coinciding very well with the FIA announcing 3 US races for the 2023 season and the debut of American Driver Logan Sargeant with Williams Racing.

The first race in the US will take place in Miami for the crypto.com Miam Grand Prix street circuit 05-May 5-7th 2023. Race 2 will take place at Circuit of the Americas October 20-22nd 2023 and Race 3; the newest race addition will be in Las Vegas later in November 2023.

ESPN reports the average Formula 1 viewership hit 1.21 million viewers in 2022 which reflects a 28% increase compared to the prior year. Younger viewers were up significantly. Viewers aged 12-17 were up 49 percent over 2021, averaging 36,000 viewers per race and persons aged 18-34 averaged 238,000 viewers per race, up 43 percent over 2021, and persons aged 25-34 averaged 169,000 viewers per race, up 46 percent over 2021. Formula 1 is contracted to appear on ESPN until 2025 and the organization will be looking to continue to capitalize on this new wave of viewership.

In 2023 Americans will also have another reason to watch. American Logan Sargeant signed with Williams Racing last year after coming off of a notable performance in Formula 2 with Carlin Motorsport finishing 4^th in the championship. Sargeant will be racing alongside teammate Alex Albon who is a 4 year veteran in Formula 1. Sargeant will be a rookie in the field but he has also made it very clear that he is not afraid to forge his legacy in his maiden campaign. In an interview with Racer Sargeant said, “I think at the end of the day, I have to trust myself”, referring to whether Albon was providing any mentorship. “I have to trust my instincts and what I feel. I plan to not   on him (Alex Albon) too much, I feel like I have to stand for myself and go through the hard times and the good times and experience all the different things and ultimately that’s what’ll make you better. I want to make this transition as quick and easy as possible – I know there’s going to be challenges, but hopefully I can get on top of it quickly.”

With ownership of the Haas F1 team by American Gene Haas and rumors flying surrounding Andretti Autosports’ bid for entry into Formula 1. It’s looking like America will be invested heavily and you can be rest assured those investing in the America audience will want to capitalize on this new found interest.

With the start of the 2023 season right around the corner, expectations will be high and the audience in the US will be larger than ever. The stage has been set for Formula 1 to expand exponentially in the US market and we will keep you up to date on the developments that come out of this jam packed 23 race calendar.

After a 20 plus year absence, Ford is returning to Formula 1 racing with Oracle Redbull Racing. Ford has a rich legacy in Formula 1. Their previous stents with Lotus and Graham Hill resulted in 10 constructors’ championships and 13 drivers’ championships. They are no strangers to the grueling technological and hefty financial investment it takes to produce competitive power units at the highest level of auto racing.

In a press release by FIA, Jim Farley, President and CEO, Ford Motor Company, commented: “Ford’s return to Formula 1 with Red Bull Racing is all about where we are going as a company – increasingly electric, software-defined, modern vehicles and experiences. In 2026, Formula 1 will be operating under new regulations requiring more electric focused cars and sustainable fuels. In June of 2022 Ford invested 3.7 billion in its electric vehicle (EV) programs which marked a pivotal point in their future for research and development.

There will be limitations to this arrangement. Due to the FIA’s ruling deeming Ford not being considered a new power unit manufacturer, this partnership will not retain all of the  budget advantages afforded to teams who utilize new power unit manufacturers. Redbull powertrains previously would have received this advantage but due to the partnership with Ford they will lose out on 10% of resources or about $2.5 million in development. Whether or not this loss will have a noticeable impact is yet to be determined. However, Formula 1 fans around the world are welcoming Ford back to the sport and we are looking forward to seeing how they perform with Redbull Racing.

For more information on the new 2026 FIA power unit regulations click here.

Lewis Hamilton is arguably one of the most popular and influential motorsport icons in history. The seven time world champion remains competitive in the field and many are asking if he still has unfinished business after falling short of the world title the last two years to Max Verstappen of Red Bull F1 Racing team. It is no surprise however that his accomplishments continue to command large salaries. Hamilton’s contract with Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team expires in Dec 2023 leaving the task to secure a seat after the 2023 season paramount if Hamilton wishes to extend his legacy to an 8^th world championship. Hamilton and Mercedes Petronas have reportedly both expressed interest in retaining their current relationship however contract structure and pay appear to be a looming hurdle for the team and Hamilton to sort out.

It is rumored that Hamilton has been offered a £120 million salary over two years that would extend his presence as a racer in F1 until 2025. This contract would also include 25 million per year in salary for an ambassador role for a 10 year engagement. The deal sounds lucrative for the 7 time world champion and with the start of the 2023 season, Hamilton will want to get this contract signed as soon as possible to secure his seat and chance at extending his legacy. We will keep you updated on the developments surrounding the final contract.

In the interim keep your eye out for the Netflix series Drive to Survive set for release February 24, 2023. You can read more about here.