In the round-up: Alexander Albon says that differences in performance between teams will be more clear on bumpier tracks on the F1 calendar.
In brief
Bumpier tracks will reveal teams’ true performance – Albon
Alexander Albon says that tracks with bumpier surfaces or that are more reliant on kerb use will show how well teams have adapted their cars to the new regulations.After the first pre-season test in Barcelona, which is one of the smoother circuits on the calendar, Albon says he thinks teams that comparatively lack downforce on their cars will struggle more at street circuits or at tracks that require more aggressive use of kerbs.
“I think tracks like Singapore, for instance, Austin – it’s going to get tricky,” Albon said. “I think that’s when you’re going to really see compromises between cars that have got downforce, but are on the edge and vice versa, maybe some have a bit less but are a bit more forgiving.
“I can’t imagine Baku, for instance, is going to be very easy around there on the street track as well. So Barcelona was almost, I think, I don’t want to say an ‘easy’ test for the cars, but I think we’re going to see the true difficulties of the cars when we go to different circuits.”
Aston Martin “working hard” to bring updates to Bahrain test – Krack
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack says that the team will bring updates to the AMR22 to the second pre-season test in Bahrain.
After the first three day test in Barcelona, Krack says the team has learned enough to bring a first set of upgrades to their car for the second test.
“For Bahrain, obviously we have analysed in depth what happened in Barcelona in terms of the new regs, in terms of tyres, in terms of also our new structure, because we have already made quite a lot of adjustments even before my time,” Krack said. “So taking a bit of rust off, everyone.
“Bahrain will be a matter of bringing updates to some of the stuff we have learnt. Obviously, the time in between is not very, very long. Plus, you have all the logistics to get everything done to Bahrain, but we are working hard to bring some improvements to the car from what we have learned.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
#F1Testing in Bahrain is just around the corner, but our journey started over a month ago…
Tap below to join Joe Micklewright, Garage Support at @AstonMartinF1, to discover what was on our Bahrain packing list.
— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) March 6, 2022
What's in the garage? 👀 pic.twitter.com/2tDqnm0nqt
— iRacing.com (@iRacing) March 6, 2022
@dubs.life John Deer is zooomin #f1 #silverstone @F1 #drivetosurvive
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Verstappen reflects on last year's 'crazy' F1 season (Daily Mail)
"What happened to Michael (Masi) is very unfair. The FIA were pressurised (by Mercedes) into making a decision. I wrote a message to him about it."
Fifties Formula One star Tony Brooks hits 90 (Tameside Correspondent)
"We raced on ordinary roads and, if you lost control, you finished hitting a lamppost, telegraph pole, wall or maybe end up in a ditch or hedge. In our day, you first had to deal with the hazards of the roads and then the 20-30 competitors. It was totally different and far more dangerous than today when it is so safe."
First Look - Formula 3 Returns To The Track (Formula 1 via YouTube)
"Formula 3 is back! Take your first look of all the 2022 cars on track in Bahrain."
Antonio Giovinazzi Shows EVERY Item He Needs To Go Racing! (Formula E via YouTube)
"From race-suits to helmets, gloves to bottles and everything else in-between, join Dragon Penske driver Antonio Giovinazzi as he talks through all the crucial items that help him race."
We always endeavour to credit original sources. If you have a tip for a link relating to single-seater motorsport to feature in the next RaceFans round-up please send it in via the contact form.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Comment of the day
This weekend’s Caption Competition winner is @f1-observer!:
“Hey guys, when you said they had tweaked the safety car rules I didn’t think they meant all lapped cars may overtake.”
F1 Observer
Thanks to everyone who came up with caption idea this week and a special mention to guitargraham, kartguy07, and FlyingLobster27 who all came up with particularly good captions.
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Fahadalam007 and Emma Brooks!
RandomMallard
7th March 2022, 0:07
Agree with Albon. The bumpier tracks will be a test I think both of the new regulations themselves (how will ground effect be affected by the bumpier surface) and the teams (how well have they adapted). Will be very interesting to observe I think
That quote from Brooks just goes to show how crazy things were in that era of F1.
Congrats to F1 Observer and the other runners up!
Jere (@jerejj)
7th March 2022, 10:20
Bumpier tracks will probably indeed reveal true performance.
A single-seater is in the garage.
The first time a TikTok post has appeared on a round-up. I like the Silverstone replica, though.
Like RBR didn’t pressure Masi at all.
Proesterchen (@proesterchen)
7th March 2022, 11:44
If we’re already talking about “true performance”, one might wonder just how crappy that car will be across the season.
Zann (@zann)
7th March 2022, 12:21
I keep trying to like Max, he keeps making it difficult. It’s not long since Horner was talking about Masi running a souk and how they were missing Charlie and not getting any presents. Their only reality seems to be blinkered self interest, and bitching ungraciously about their competition. Max gushing about his team and in the next breath saying how easily he’d have won in a Mercedes.
Robbie (@robbie)
7th March 2022, 15:50
@zann To me it doesn’t sound like you are trying to like Max. “It’s not long since Horner…” has nothing to do with Max.
“Their only reality seems to be blinkered self interest, and bitching ungraciously about their competition.” Could be attributed to many teams and people, including Mercedes throughout last season.
“Max gushing about his team and in the next breath saying how easily he’d have won in a Mercedes.” That was more of a shot at LH than anything.
I think if you really want to pay attention to Max you will realize how grateful he is and level headed. How much of a racer he is. How much of a straight shooter he is…one example being his unwillingness to help Netflix create their false narratives in his opinion. He tells it like he sees it and isn’t interested in anything but the reality. Doesn’t like to play the woulda, coulda, shoulda game. And he’s incredibly gifted.
I think if you want to you can easily try a little harder to like Max without creating a storyline of your own with some mixed messages that don’t add up to anything.
Zann (@zann)
7th March 2022, 16:45
Of course Horner, Helmut and Max are connected @robbie, haven’t you noticed? They share the same values. And yes they have a certain appeal, just not to me. So I’d prefer to like them, but not saying I’m trying really hard, why should I? I’m the fan, they’re the ones chasing my approval :) And now Max making out Mercedes got Masi sacked unfairly, lol, when we all know if Masi hadn’t handed him the championship he’d have been saying the exact opposite and complaining bitterly.
Robbie (@robbie)
7th March 2022, 16:58
@zann Nah they don’t need to chase your approval. Nor would they win that battle anyway, for you have already decided on that, and thats fine. For you I guess it is ok if TW blames Masi’s decision on RBR, and when Max TW had a hand it it too, then he’s the bad guy.
Zann (@zann)
7th March 2022, 18:05
They want me to buy their fizzy drink don’t they @robbie, get a Honda and buy lots of their crypto currency and all that. But they’ve blown it! It’s Monster and a Merc for me. Silly them :) And no I don’t agree with Toto that Red Bull persuaded Michael Masi to change his mind, I think it was someone like Ross, but Toto can’t say that, with F1/FIA being run a bit like the Kremlin with no dissent as Christian found out at Qatar.
Robbie (@robbie)
7th March 2022, 18:39
@zann Lol fair enough. Personally I don’t think Masi was swayed by any one team nor by Ross Brawn, and he was acting primarily on the ‘let them race’ basis and perhaps thought he’d be in more ‘trouble’ for finishing the season under a caution, but of course I’m speculating.
Zann (@zann)
7th March 2022, 19:22
Yes MM was doing “Let Them Race” @robbie but initially – that was why he was leaving the lapped cars in place, to save a lap of SC. Also it’d have been more of a race with 5 lapped cars in between. So he changed from “Let them race” to “Here you are Max baby help F1 make more dollaz!” And so now of course Max is his huge fan, all of a sudden, and Mercedes are his bad guys for not wanting the race director to be quite so suggestible, weak and lacking integrity.
Robbie (@robbie)
7th March 2022, 19:28
@zann Nah you’re being a little too conspiracy theory here, and I’m not sure why a Max win meant more dollars than an 8th title for LH would have.
Zann (@zann)
7th March 2022, 20:16
Have you seen “Sir Lewis Hamilton and Zendaya seated front row for Valentino’s Womenswear Fashion show in Paris.” @robbie? That’s Lewis. Wonderful, yet weird. Max on the other hand dates a racing driver’s daughter, and at the end of a race he goes and … does more racing! He is Mr Simple and Straightforward. Also Max is blond and young.
So they have different appeal, and also a LOT of people were bored with Lewis, and an 8th championship only adds a bit when he’s already won far more F1 races than anyone in history. So F1 could add more Max fans, and casual fans, and DTS drama fans, by simply taking the opportunity when it fell into their lap.
And all the other so-called explanations for what MM did fall flat when you realise his INITIAL decision was to finish under green, with drama, and he was used to saying no to teams all the time. Of course it wasn’t Max’s fault, and he was close enough for the option to be there. But it was definitely the boss calling, once you assemble what we know.
Jim Sharpe (@jms90h5)
7th March 2022, 13:50
Even more than bumpy tracks, I think how each car handles the higher curbs without trading significant downforce will be a key differentiator. I don’t have much hope for actual white line track limits this season, but perhaps the aero penalty of running really wide might actually help.
Anthony
7th March 2022, 21:22
One of the new race directors (Eduardo Freitas) is very tough on track limits so I really hope we see this consistently through the season. All tyres outside the white line = penalty. See https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/svgieg/eduardo_freitas_is_at_yas_marina_circuit_this/
Marcus
7th March 2022, 16:21
Presumably the real test for the cars on bumpier tracks and kerbs will be who has the strongest floor, or who can cope better with floor damage. If the various little details and features on the floor are so crucial to generating and maintaining ‘predictable’ downforce, then it’ll surely be difficult to maintain downforce when some of those features are damaged riding over a kerb. I also assume that unlike say replacing a front wing, you can’t quickly repair floor damage during a race.