Indholdsfortegnelse for 10/02/22 i Autosport

Everyone has been talking about the opportunity the new Formula 1 rules provide for teams to jump up the order. But this week we look at the pitfalls that could catch people out. As Mercedes’ James Allison and Ferrari’s Laurent Mekies point out on page 16, the fresh regulations represent one of the biggest changes in F1 history, and there are bound to be plenty of ways to get them wrong. Alex Kalinauckas runs through some of the dangers, including the fact that the budget and development restrictions mean finding a way back to the front if you do go down the wrong path could be tricky. Most of the big grand prix teams (there are a couple conspicuous by their absence from our list) have failed to negotiate a…

FIA Ex-McLaren Formula 1 sporting director Sam Michael has been announced as the new president of the FIA’s Safety Commission, replacing Sir Patrick Head. The Safety Commission looks at accidents and safety equipment issues in all forms of four-wheeled motorsport – its highest-profile recent investigation involved Romain Grosjean’s crash in the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix. Michael (above) is of one of many appointments confirmed in a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council last week, the first to be chaired by new FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem following his election win in December. Michael started his career in F1 almost 30 years ago, working with Lotus, Jordan, Williams and McLaren before returning to Australia in 2014. He has remained involved in motorsport via the FIA’s Research Working Group, served as…

Joey Logano won NASCAR’s traditional Clash curtain-raiser to the season last Sunday – except this time it wasn’t at Daytona, but at the LA Coliseum. Logano, driving a Team Penske Ford, battled throughout the race with Kyle Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, before Busch got wide at Turn 2 with a lap remaining, forcing him to concede defeat. Austin Dillon, Erik Jones and Kyle Larson completed the top five on the made-from-scratch 0.25-mile oval. The race was hailed as a success for the debut of the Next Generation NASCAR, built by single-seater giant Dallara.…

SUPER FORMULA Le Mans 24 Hours-winning entrant Team Goh will field two cars in Super Formula this season in what is being billed as the squad’s full return to racing. Team owner Kazumichi Goh described the programme as a “proper return for the first time since 2004”, when it triumphed at Le Mans with an Audi R8 LMP1 driven by Tom Kristensen, Rinaldo Capello and Seiji Ara. Goh distinguished his latest project with previous campaigns including his name, which he explained were “not 100% Team Goh”. “This time we are serious,” he said. “It will be a multi-year programme and I have some other ideas that I cannot talk about yet.” The team will field a pair of Honda-powered Dallaras for Ren Sato and Atsushi Miyake, who are graduating to…

“I just hope that in 10 years’ time it’s different. That’s my mission. That’s my purpose here. Winning is all good, but it’s kind of the least important.” Lewis Hamilton spoke those words to Autosport as the final races of the 2020 Formula 1 season approached and he closed in on his seventh world title. He was outlining his hopes for the push for improved diversity in motorsport, something he’d instilled with his words and actions that summer amid the Black Lives Matter protests following George Floyd’s murder. If winning is ‘least important’, then creating meaningful change must be ‘most important’. The latest chapter in Hamilton’s efforts to make this happen was revealed recently. Sky has formed a partnership with Hamilton’s Mission 44 foundation, with a plan to address the…

“THE CHANGES ARE DRIVEN BY LIBERTY’S DESIRE FOR THE FIELD TO PRODUCE ROUGHLY THE SAME LAP TIMES” “There’s opportunity and of course there’s jeopardy.” Mercedes chief technical officer James Allison neatly and, as usual, very genially, sums up the problem facing Formula 1 teams every time the championship decides that its regulations need overhauling. And that has happened a fair bit in recent years. From the downforce-slashing aerodynamics revamp of 2009, to the turbo-hybrid switch five years later and then the move back to bigger, downforce-laden and faster cars for 2017, F1 reinventing its racing product is a regular thing. For 2022, the changes combine to make the latest F1 the most substantially different from what had come before for a generation. With ground-effect back via underfloor Venturi tunnels and…

Gregoire Saucy has been a familiar name in the junior single-seater ranks in recent years, but few would have picked him as one to watch amid the young prodigies and Formula 1 junior team stars. All that changed in 2021. The merger of Formula Regional and the Formula Renault Eurocup produced the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, and a grid flooded with talent, highlighted by a handful of youngsters already backed by F1’s biggest names. Prema pair Paul Aron and Dino Beganovic represented the Mercedes and Ferrari junior programmes respectively, while R-ace GP fielded Hadrien David, a former Renault F1 protege, and Isack Hadjar, whose form in 2021 prompted his addition to the Red Bull Junior team. But none of them could put up a fight against Saucy. The…

RACE OF CHAMPIONS PITEA (SWE) 5-6 FEBRUARY For all that the first Race of Champions trip to Sweden’s frozen north offered a new and unpredictable challenge, there was a strangely familiar theme following two frantic days of action in Pitea. Back in 2003, Sebastien Loeb missed out on a first World Rally Championship title at the hands of Petter Solberg. The Frenchman did, however, find some consolation by claiming his first ROC victory in Gran Canaria, the last time the ROC raced on anything on anything other than stadium asphalt. It was therefore appropriate that both Loeb and Solberg tasted the victory champagne in Sweden 19 years later; Loeb matched compatriot Didier Auriol’s record with his fourth main event win, while Solberg secured Team Norway’s first Nations Cup success alongside…

MOTORSPORT UK FIA-specification high-tech light panels will be rolled out at an increased number of UK circuits this year, following an agreement between Motorsport UK and the British Motor Sports Training Trust. At present, the lights that display marshal flag signals are only installed at Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Donington Park. But, following funding from the BMSTT and Motorsport UK, the panels will now appear at circuits including MotorSport Vision venues Snetterton and Oulton Park, British Automobile Racing Club tracks Thruxton and Croft, and Scottish circuit Knockhill. All circuits of at least FIA International Grade 3 will have the systems, developed by EM Motorsport. The panels, which Motorsport UK intends to have installed at all circuit racing venues in due course, have become widespread at tracks worldwide in recent years…

GT4 SUPERCUP Ginetta GT5 Challenge frontrunner James Taylor has been named as the Team Hard Scholarship winner for 2022. The 20-year-old won the 2018 Ginetta Junior Scholarship and went on to be crowned 2019 Winter Series champion, before just missing out on the GT5 Challenge title in 2020 to Josh Malin. Taylor stepped back from racing last year but took part in the Team Hard shootout, where he faced Time Attack driver Simon Griffiths and Scottish Formula Ford racer Michael Macpherson. The trio each got behind the wheel of a GT4 Ginetta G55, after earlier driving a Volkswagen Golf, and Taylor secured the prize of a fully funded season in the G55 in the Ginetta GT4 Supercup this year. “We entered thinking that I wouldn’t be racing this year yet…

HISTORIC RALLYING The 2022 British Historic Rally Championship got off to a storming start on Sunday when Matthew Robinson took the major spoils in the forests of Yorkshire. On a day when hailstorms and blustery snow showers made conditions even more difficult than usual, Robinson and Sam Collis were peerless in their Ford Escort Mk2. They set the pace on all six of the day’s forest special stages to score a resounding win, with three quarters of a minute in hand over the similar car of Nick Elliott and Dave Price. “I think it was probably one of our better performances,” said Robinson. Indeed, it was a perfect start for the Yorkshireman, who has his best ever chance of lifting the BHRC title in a season when his preferred gravel…

The Citroen 2CV is probably not the first car that springs to mind when it comes to club motorsport machines. And yet the 2CV has formed the basis of a successful one-make series that is now heading into its 33rd season. The 602cc engine may only just creep up to speeds of 80mph, but the 2CV has proved to be a hit on track. One driver who took part in the very first UK race back in 1989 was Pete Sparrow. He has raced 2CVs ever since, winning last year’s title, and his love of the cars remains undimmed. He grew up around 2CVs because his father worked for Citroen and would regularly choose 2CVs – along with Amis and Dyanes – to bring home and use for next to…

Olivier Panis walked into the proverbial lion’s den when he joined Jacques Villeneuve at BAR in 2001. The 1997 world champion had psychologically destroyed his previous two team-mates and, as a team shareholder, was BAR’s unquestioned number one. Yet 1996 Monaco Grand Prix winner Panis remembers his two years alongside Villeneuve fondly, and cites the Canadian as “the perfect team-mate” above Martin Brundle, Jarno Trulli and Cristiano da Matta. “I knew him a bit from the past,” explains Panis, who almost beat Villeneuve’s Williams to win the 1997 Spanish GP while at Prost. “I respected Jacques a lot, but Jacques respected me a lot as well. I had already some experience and I was a winner of a GP and maybe this helped.” For Panis, their strong relationship was important…

FORMULA 1 Haas kicked off Formula 1’s 2022 launch season last week by unveiling its car design via a series of renders ahead of its on-track debut later this month. The Haas VF-22 is the first produced by the American-owned team out of its new design office in Maranello, and offers a sign of what the new cars will look like this year following the overhaul of the technical regulations. The team opted against developing its car last year so it could place full focus on the new regulations for 2022, which offer a significant change in the aerodynamic concept in a bid to allow for closer wheel-to-wheel racing. This year represents the return of ground-effect to F1 via a change in the floor designs, while the new cars will…

FORMULA E Envision Racing has signed a multi-year agreement to run Jaguar powertrains from the next Formula E season, affirming its commitment to the series ahead of the introduction of its upcoming Gen3 regulations. Envision has been an Audi customer team since the beginning of FE’s Gen2 regulations in the 2018-19 season, and was on the hunt for a new supplier following the German manufacturer’s departure from the championship. Jaguar answered the call and will hence supply a customer FE squad for the first time. “We have secured a fantastic partnership with Jaguar, which is really exciting for us,” said Envision team principal Sylvain Filippi. “For me, the most important thing was to make sure that once we commit to the sport, we also find ways to stay at the…

INDYCAR Ex-Formula 1 driver Max Chilton has called time on his IndyCar career but insists that he’s not quitting racing and is hoping to compete in the World Endurance Championship. Chilton switched to the US scene in 2015 with Carlin in Indy Lights, before moving up to IndyCar the following season. When Carlin – part-owned by Chilton’s father Grahame – moved into IndyCar in 2018, it did so with Chilton. He has raced for the team since then, although since 2020 has avoided oval races apart from the Indy 500. Chilton revealed his IndyCar exit in the wake of the announcement that he will help McMurtry Automotive develop its Speirling EV track car (pictured). “I’d love to do LMDh,” he said. “I’d love to do Le Mans again, that’s what…

EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES Jack Aitken and Pietro Fittipaldi, who both made Formula 1 substitute appearances at the end of the 2020 campaign, will race in the European Le Mans Series this season. They will dovetail their reserve F1 roles with Williams and Haas respectively for the TF Sport-run Racing Team Turkey and Inter Europol Competition respectively. Aitken (above) moves over to LMP2 after an injury-interrupted season with the Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini squad in the GT World Challenge Europe last year. The 26-year-old will race the Turkish-flagged ORECA-Gibson 07 together with Salih Yoluc and Charlie Eastwood in place of Harry Tincknell. “Delighted to make my debut in both ELMS and LMP2 with Racing Team Turkey this year,” he said. “It’s something that I’ve been wanting to do for a…

MotoGP’s 2022 pre-season is under way, with two days of testing at the Sepang International Circuit in the books and three final days at the new Mandalika track in Indonesia this weekend still to come. And already it looks like Yamaha’s and Fabio Quartararo’s title defence is off to a difficult start. While Honda, Ducati and Suzuki have seemingly taken major steps forward with their challengers, the tone permeating Yamaha’s test was one of frustration. Quartararo came into 2022 unhappy with how the M1 had progressed – or hadn’t – in November’s two-day test at Jerez. Back then he told French media that he would not be signing anything with Yamaha for 2023 until he’d seen tangible progress in Malaysia. Well, that doesn’t seem to have happened – and, typically,…

1934 ALFA ROMEO A clean sweep of the three European Championship grands prix in 1932 proved that state-owned Alfa Romeo was operating at its peak. And with little else to prove as the Great Depression remained, the manufacturer retired from racing for 1933. The cutting-edge works Tipo Bs weren’t initially offered to customer team Scuderia Ferrari, but Luigi Fagioli and Louis Chiron still bagged Enzo Ferrari a brace at the tail end of the grand epreuve campaign. Tazio Nuvolari, meanwhile, was left unconvinced and switched allegiance to Maserati. Some of the larger entries were creeping towards a tonne, leading to the 1934 introduction of the 750kg dry weight limit. The idea was to deter larger capacity engines and reduce speeds. Bugatti was already in decline to leave a spending war…

Turning 22 might not sound too old, but in the ultra-competitive world of junior single-seater racing it’s positively middle-aged when the F1 demand for youth is so high. Gregoire Saucy was the oldest full-time driver on the grid in his title-winning Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine campaign, and of the confirmed drivers on the 2022 FIA F3 grid he is younger only than ART stablemate Juan Manuel Correa. But as Sebastien Loeb demonstrated recently on the Monte Carlo Rally by becoming the oldest driver to win a World Rally Championship round at the age of 47, it’s the numbers on the stopwatch that count, not the number of birthday candles you blow out. “I think age is just a number!” laughs Saucy. “OK, I am a little bit older…

INTERCONTINENTAL GT CHALLENGE KYALAMI (ZAF) 5 FEBRUARY ROUND 3/3 Ferrari and Audi divided Intercontinental GT Challenge title honours for 2021 between them as the ASP Mercedes squad won the postponed Kyalami 9 Hours season finale last Saturday. AF Corse Ferrari pair Come Ledogar and Alessandro Pier Guidi were crowned drivers’ champions at the end of the three-round series, while Audi claimed the manufacturers’ prize. But it was the ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3 shared by Raffaele Marciello, Jules Gounon and Timur Boguslavskiy that came out on top in South Africa, beating the Ferrari 488 GT3 of Ledogar, Pier Guidi and Miguel Molina by 15 seconds. The battle for second behind the Mercedes ended up deciding the destination of the drivers’ title. The chances of Ledogar and Pier Guidi took a blow when…

GOODWOOD Goodwood has revealed that the theme for the Festival of Speed this year will be ‘The Innovators – Masterminds of Motorsport’. The event will celebrate the designers and creators behind some of the most revolutionary cars and concepts. There will be a strong emphasis on the future and the ‘Electric Avenue’ will feature for a second year, while those attending will have the opportunity to get behind the wheel of cars from several electric vehicle manufacturers. The Duke of Richmond said: “The theme allows us to celebrate some of the greatest achievements in history, while highlighting the event’s focus on future technology. “Just as race-inspired innovations such as four-valve engines, monocoque chassis and turbocharging have shaped the cars we drive in the real world, so electrification, autonomy and other…

TURISMO X A Mazda Demio road car will be awarded as a prize to the outright winner of the inaugural Turismo X championship. The MotorSport Vision Trackdays series – previously known as the MSVT Supercup – has been rebranded for 2022, when it will introduce a new qualifying shootout format and sprint races. The decision to choose a Demio as the prize car is inspired by the original Gran Turismo video game, released 25 years ago, in which a similar version of the Japanese compact car was virtually awarded to players early in the game. Turismo X coordinator Stuart Garland said: “I’m genuinely delighted that we’re in a position to offer something a little different, with a prize car for our overall champion this year. “We’ve toyed with the idea…

The new-for-2022 GB3 Championship car made its racetrack debut last week at Silverstone, with several teams in action. The Tatuus-Mountune machine, which will produce more power and downforce than its predecessor, had only previously been run in shakedowns at Bedford Autodrome. Carlin, Chris Dittmann Racing, Douglas Motorsport, Fortec Motorsport, Elite Motorsport and Hillspeed all tested the new model of car. Two more drivers have also been confirmed for the 2022 championship, with British F4 race winners Joel Granfors and Zak Taylor both making the step up with Fortec. It takes the total number of confirmed GB3 drivers for the season so far to 17.…

EUROPEAN GT4 GT Cup squad Greystone GT will expand into the GT4 European Series with Richard Distl and Alain Valente. The Silverstone-based team competed in the GT Cup for its inaugural season of racing last year, and most recently took GT4 success at the Gulf 12 Hours in January with Iain Campbell, Oliver Webb and Jamie Clarke. The squad will now compete in three out of six rounds of the European series with a McLaren 570S GT4. Distl and Valente will form a Pro-Am partnership and will contest the mid-season events at Paul Ricard and Misano, as well as the Barcelona finale. Team principal Mark McLoughlin said: “To launch a multi-race programme in a series as intensely fought as the GT4 European Series, and to be attracting drivers from across…

VIDEO GAME KARTKRAFT RRP £30.99 (AVAILABLE ON PC) As the name suggests, KartKraft is a virtual simulator focused on, well, karting. After three years in a public development stage, the full version was released just a few weeks ago for PC-based racers. The game’s primary focus is recreating the visceral experience of driving a kart at speed, and in that respect it eclipses its goals. Things get off to a great start – the kart models are highly detailed and tracks photo realistic. Anyone who has thrashed around Whilton Mill in a rental kart will feel right at home, minus nursing bruised ribs the following day! A gloriously intuitive photo mode is also included to help show off players’ creative side. The priority for any racing simulator is to accurately…

FORMULA 1 Formula 1 bosses are pushing for a compromise solution of hosting just three sprint races in 2022, amid the ongoing dispute over costs. Discussions to expand to six sprint races this year hit a snag, with the leading teams pushing for greater financial allowances to be made under the cost cap to cover any possible expense from the added races, such as crash damage. The idea of lifting the cost cap does not have support outside F1’s top three squads, which has left talks at a bit of an impasse because a rule change over sprints needs support from eight teams. Ahead of the 14 February meeting of the F1 Commission, Liberty has put forward a compromise package that will cut back on the idea of having six…

WEC/LE MANS 24 HOURS BMW has ambitions to take its new LMDh prototype to the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2024 as part of a World Endurance Championship programme. The German manufacturer announced its return to frontline sportscar racing last June as an IMSA-focused factory programme, but an expansion into the WEC and the sale of customer cars are on the table. Outgoing BMW Motorsport boss Mike Krack, who will take up his position as team principal at the Aston Martin Formula 1 squad this month, has revealed that discussions have already started with Le Mans organiser and WEC promoter the Automobile Club de l’Ouest for 2024, the 25th anniversary of its triumph in the French enduro with the V12 LMR (pictured). Krack described a factory programme in the WEC…

FORMULA 3 Reigning GB3 champion Zak O’Sullivan has been recruited by Williams as a Racing Academy driver and will contest the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Carlin. O’Sullivan finished runner-up in the British F4 championship with Carlin in 2020 and stayed with the team to dominate GB3 last year. He took seven wins and was selected as a finalist in the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award, which he won at the Autosport Awards last Sunday. For the grands prix that are not supported by F3, O’Sullivan will be on hand for simulator work to assist Williams race drivers Alexander Albon and Nicholas Latifi, and help on car development. “After the last round of GB3 we had some interest and went to their simulator for assessment,”…

Welcome shot in the arm for Formula Ford MSV’s announcement of a £20,000 prize fund for the top teenager in the National Formula Ford Championship to go towards a funded GB4 season is a real shot in the arm for the category. FF1600 provides, without doubt, the finest single-seater racing anywhere, and this prize fund will hopefully attract more youngsters. So many drivers, both current and past, have said that by driving these cars, it really helps with their racecraft down the line. If more young career drivers make FF1600 their go-to start in formula car racing, the cottage industry that supports it will flourish even further as well, and that can’t be a bad thing. Wouldn’t it be great to see large grids of cars at each round of…

Sunday afternoon brought a mass outbreak of panic among the motorsport fraternity. As attendees at the Autosport Awards opened their wardrobes, they found layers of dust lining their tuxedos and posh frocks from disuse since December 2019. Some frenzied wiping later, suited and booted, they were ready to assemble in the Great Room of the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane. It was great to be back. COVID saw to it that the 2020 Awards were held in an online format, and the pandemic’s lingering aftershocks led to a two-month delay for the 2021 edition. But a great effort from the Awards team resulted in a resounding success. The Awards are ever-evolving, and this (or last!) year’s featured the inaugural Gold Medal, incorporating the established Gregor Grant Award. Jean Todt…

FORMULA REGIONAL ASIAN DUBAI (ARE) 5-6 FEBRUARY ROUND 3/5 Ferrari protege Arthur Leclerc was already leading the Formula Regional Asian Championship standings heading into the second of three successive weekends in Dubai thanks to his consistency, but he hit top form this time out to extend his advantage at the top. Leclerc’s exploits were part of a superb weekend for the Prema-run Mumbai Falcons team, whose three drivers all won a race apiece, and finished 1-2-3 in the opener. This one was won by Sebastian Montoya, who fended off a spirited start from Hitech-run Red Bull Junior Isack Hadjar. The Frenchman was caught asleep at the restart after a safety car, and had to close back in on Montoya, but he and third-placed team-mate Leonardo Fornaroli were each penalised five…

PORSCHE CARRERA CUP GB New Porsche GB Junior Adam Smalley has chosen Redline Racing as the team he will drive for when he makes his Carrera Cup debut this year. The reigning Ginetta GT4 Supercup champion will link up with the Redline squad that has enjoyed plenty of success over the years, including powering Dan Cammish to a record-breaking third title last season and taking 2016-17 Junior Charlie Eastwood to the crown. Smalley says that the team’s proven Porsche track record was a key factor in selecting Redline, with which he enjoyed a productive test in Portugal at the end of last year. “If you look back through Redline’s history, they’re the most successful team in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB,” he said. “What Dan Cammish did last year showed…

FF1600 Leading Formula Ford 1600 team Low Dempsey Racing has changed its name to Ammonite Motorsport ahead of the 2022 season. The fabled squad was created in 1989 by Cliff Dempsey and dubbed Dempsey Racing, and became one of the most successful teams in FF1600 racing across three decades. Dempsey sold the squad to Andy Low in 2020, when it was rebadged as LDR. “The time as Low Dempsey Racing really fitted well, especially as Cliff was still involved, but we just felt like the time was right to rebrand,” said Low. The squad has also revealed the four drivers it will field in National Formula Ford this year. Andre Lafond and Colin Queen will continue in the category and will be joined by Brin Kinch, who made FF1600 appearances…

HITECH BRITISH F4 DRIVERS Hitech GP has recruited British Formula 4 podium finisher Eduardo Coseteng and Formula Ford 1600 graduate Daniel Mavlyutov as the first drivers for its maiden British F4 campaign this year. Coseteng finished 12th in the standings last year with Argenti Motorsport, while Mavlyutov made his car racing debut at the end of last year in the Formula Ford Festival, but failed to progress from his heat in that event or the subsequent Walter Hayes Trophy. SCHMITZ HONOURED Sabine Schmitz was posthumously awarded the Lord Wakefield Challenge Trophy at the British Women Racing Drivers’ Club awards dinner on Saturday. The double Nurburgring 24 Hours winner, who died of cancer last year, was honoured for outstanding female achievement in motorsport. RUTHERFORD REMEMBERED A new award has been announced…

OBITUARY Bristolian David George, who died last weekend aged 83, entertained generations of enthusiasts at Castle Combe as competitor, commentator and, in retirement, instructor/host at the resident racing school. A founder member of the White Horse Motor Club, the model glider-flying quantity surveyor won on his Combe sprint debut in 1962 and started racing his 985cc Mini Cooper S in 1965, winning that July. From 36 starts there until 1969, he scored 13 podiums and three outright victories – one on 30 July 1966, while most of the country was watching England win football’s World Cup. George won on his Goodwood debut too – from pole – at the 69th Members’ Meeting in April 1966. He returned in July for the venue’s last contemporary event, but a broken wheel stud…

Exhaust, brakes and lights aglow, the Moretti Racing Ferrari 333 SP driven by Mauro Baldi makes a stirring sight during the 1998 Le Mans 24 Hours (and for those who witnessed this machine racing in period, an unforgetably symphonic V12 soundtrack). The #3 car, shared by ex-F1 racer Baldi with Didier Theys and Momo founder and gentleman racer Gianpiero Moretti, finished 14th overall and third in class, but 1998 was still a highlight for the Ferrari trio: three months earlier they’d won the Sebring 12 Hours and in January, joined by Arie Luyendyk, they were victorious in the Daytona 24 Hours. For classic Le Mans DVDs head to dukevideo.com/lemans For more great photographs, visit motorsportimages.com…