Innehållsförteckning för 15/03/18 från Autosport

Can Lewis Hamilton win a fifth Formula 1 world title in 2018? The strength of his Mercedes W09 in pre-season testing and the extraordinary form Hamilton was in last season suggest he could match the great Juan Manuel Fangio’s tally this year. But for fans wanting a proper championship fight, there are still reasons for hope. Red Bull’s RB14 looks potent, and if Renault can bring further engine developments Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo could be right in the game. Despite its headline-grabbing lap times in Spain, Ferrari’s true pace is unclear, but it arguably has more potential having adjusted its design philosophy this season. We assess the chances of the Big Three and all the other teams in our bumper F1 preview issue this week, with the help of…

SILVER STONE Formula 1 technical head honcho Ross Brawn believes that the new Silverstone Experience museum can play a role in safeguarding the UK’s pre-eminent position in the world of motorsport. Speaking at the official ‘green-light’ ceremony for the £19.3million attraction, which is targeted to attract over 500,000 visitors per year, Brawn said the UK needs to find a way to inspire the next generation of engineers to get involved in the sport. “There has never been a more crucial time to inspire people to take up engineering and become the next generation of engineers,” he said. Although the Silverstone Experience will celebrate the history of the track, and British motorsport in general, it will also look to the future and work closely with the Silverstone University Technical College, where…

ELECTRIC TCR SEAT will be at the forefront of another development in touring car racing after its new performance brand Cupra revealed the electric ‘e-Racer’, developed to ‘E TCR’ rules. Cupra claims the car is the first “100%” electric touring car, and is weighing up entering the e-Racer, which was displayed at the Geneva motor show last week, in selected TCR events this year to evaluate its performance compared to its petrolpowered counterpart. It is predicted that the e-Racer will be capable of reaching speeds of up to 270km/h, (170mph) and accelerate from 0-100km/h in 3.2 seconds. It will have a peak power level of 500kW – 680bhp – at 12,000rpm, close to double the power offered by the regular car. Cupra suggests that the car, which has four motors…

The depth of a special person’s influence on their peers is, sadly, never totally appreciated until they are gone. That is true of Henry Hope-Frost, who lived at full-throttle and packed more into 47 years – the past 18 with wife Charlotte as ‘co-driver’, joined later by the equally adored “three-man Junior Team” – than most only dream of. Earning a living was never ‘work’ for Henry, especially as HHF Media Ltd thrived. As a “motoring writer, broadcaster, event host and consultant with an incurable and debilitating fever”, he viewed every day as an adventure, meeting sporting icons and driving wonderful cars. Then told the world with authority and boundless enthusiasm, engaging fans globally on social media and in print. Brought up in racing – father Tim competed in a…

A man who lived and breathed motorsport Say the word ‘fever’ in motorsport company and the chances are you were talking with, or about, Henry Hope-Frost, who lost his life last week. Henry certainly had ‘the fever’. Despite interviewing a wide range of motorsport personalities, many of whom were his heroes, Henry never lost that boyish enthusiasm for all things motorsport. His vocal impressions of engines, notably a Group B Audi Quattro on the limit [we raise you Matra V12 – ed], livened up many editorial days at Autosport. His brain was like a sponge, soaking up facts and trivia for which he had almost total recall. Henry will be sadly missed by all who knew him and my thoughts go to Charlotte and the kids he absolutely adored. Keith…

AS IN THE PAST FOUR seasons, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari ended testing with a clear pace advantage over the rest. You can make a case for a number of teams leading the chasing pack, but despite embarrassing reliability problems McLaren looks well-placed to take up this position. Fernando Alonso set the third-fastest time of pre-season testing overall, behind only the two Ferrari drivers, during a qualifying simulation in the closing stages of the final day. On track the car looks relatively strong, although into the few low-speed corners the rear end was a little unstable. With a major upgrade planned for the Australian Grand Prix, after McLaren ran with what it claimed was a relatively conservative specification for testing, this could further close a large gap to the front.…

AS MUCH AS WE ALL MAY LONG FOR AN EPIC FOUR-WAY title battle between Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren in Formula 1 this year, the endlessly iterative nature of the beast under stable regulations, combined with the cautious approach to engine development Renault has elected to take into the early part of the new season, means the world championship is most likely to be a resumption of last year’s battle between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. There is much at stake. To the winner will go not just the spoils, but a decisive move ahead of the other along the statistical path to greatness. Fangio awaits. Schumacher is not too much further down the road – his seven titles tantalisingly and realistically within reach, perhaps surpassable. Vettel, keen student…

AFTER WRAPPING UP HIS FOURTH WORLD TITLE IN 2017, Lewis Hamilton identified championship rival Sebastian Vettel, McLaren star Fernando Alonso and Red Bull prodigy Max Verstappen as his three strongest opponents in Formula 1. To an extent, this statement is self-evident. These four drivers all race for F1’s current biggest teams, and all gained the measure of their respective team-mates in the first season under F1’s new bigger-and-meaner aerodynamic regulations. The intra-team battle is the first one you need to win in motor racing. Defeat piles on the pressure, which is amplified when you know your seat is coveted by other promising drivers, searching for their big grand prix break. Valtteri Bottas, Kimi Raikkonen, Daniel Ricciardo and Stoffel Vandoorne all tasted defeat in that battle last season, although Ricciardo did…

McLAREN HAS RISKED SETTING ITSELF UP FOR A FALL in 2018. After three years spent blaming Honda for all its ills and talking up the merits of its chassis, it now has a race-winning Renault engine package in the back of the new MCL33. Results are a must. Given the enormous financial implications of getting rid of a free engine supplier – and backer – to bolt a Renault into the rear of a car whose papaya colouring can’t cover up a shortfall in sponsors, McLaren must at least be best of the rest outside the big three this year. If not, those who have invested so heavily in this change will want answers. Heads could roll. So when pre-season testing started off with Fernando Alonso spinning into the gravel…

WHEN McLAREN AND HONDA PARTED WAYS AT THE END of last season, then-Honda Formula 1 project leader Yusuke Hasegawa said it was a “relief”. The Japanese manufacturer had started its relationship with McLaren with dreams of returning to the glory days of the late 1980s and early ’90s, but its newera partnership with McLaren was a disaster. Unreliability and poor power characterised their three years together, with McLaren finally losing patience and cutting ties. Honda could have left F1 licking its wounds but, fuelled by its ‘racing spirit’, it has chosen to stay and fight. It’s now linked up with Toro Rosso – with an eye on a future tie-up with sister team Red Bull if it delivers results – and has regrouped and set its sights on rebuilding its…

Charles Leclerc is one of those young drivers who just oozes star quality and, once he was picked up by Ferrari’s academy, it was somehow inevitable that the Monegasque would make it to the top. His stellar junior record includes winning the GP3 and Formula 2 titles in the past two seasons, and in so doing he has leap frogged Antonio Giovinazzi in Maranello’s affections, relegating the more experienced Italian to a reserve role at Sauber. Frederic Vasseur also rates Leclerc highly. “You know it’s always difficult to compare someone in 2018 with someone who drove for you in, say, 2012,” says the Sauber boss. “I have a very good feeling with him because I know him from a couple of years. He did karts with me, and we won…

STARTS 928 | FIRST GP MONACO 1950 | WINS 224 | POLES 208 | FASTEST LAPS 237 | 2017 2ND This time last year Autosport was praising Ferrari for its aggressive approach to the new regulations. And out on the circuit, the car looked really good. It didn’t matter which tyre it was on, the balance seemed to be there. The big question was whether the development rate could be sustained throughout the season, but Ferrari was also able to keep up with that. But this year, based on trackside observation of the SF71H, Ferrari doesn’t seem to have moved on that much. On the track the car looks pretty good, but it seems to be operating on the limit. When the drivers try to push that little bit more…

IF THERE’S ONE THING THAT LAST year’s MotoGP season taught us, it’s to not make bold predictions for the season ahead based solely on winter testing. The story of the 2017 pre-season was clear: Yamaha new boy Maverick Vinales topped every test and looked to be the clear favourite going into the campaign. It was a tag he lived up to initially, with wins in the first two races, before his challenge crumbled later in the year, leaving plenty of observers perplexed – not to mention Vinales himself. This time around, after nine days of testing at Sepang, Buriram and Losail, there’s nobody sitting in a similar position. And with so many riders looking like possible contenders – if not for overall honours, then at least for wins and podiums…

IT WAS 40 YEARS AGO NEXT MONTH that a 28-year-old Canadian with an unorthodox path into a top echelon of open-wheel motorsport signalled that he was a star of the future with a brilliant drive that ended in a frustrating DNF. That man was Gilles Villeneuve, who dominated the first half of the Formula 1 Long Beach Grand Prix – only his seventh race at this level – until an overambitious manoeuvre on a backmarker sent him into a wall. No-one would want to heap pressure on Robert Wickens by trying to compare his talent with one of the greatest drivers in history. But make no mistake, this 28-year-old Canadian (he turned 29 two days after the race, on Tuesday) sent an even bigger shockwave through the IndyCar paddock last…

BRITISH GT British Formula Ford and Formula Renault BARC champion Scott Malvern will switch to a Mercedes AMG GT4 for this season’s British GT Championship. Malvern and team-mate Nick Jones will enter their third British GT4 campaign with one of the new German machines, which will be run by reigning GT3 champion Team Parker Racing. “The Mercedes really is a huge step up for us,” said Malvern, who previously drove a Porsche Cayman with Jones. “We tested the car at Portimao over the winter and it’s clear that Mercedes has worked closely with its factory teams and drivers. “The Porsche hid a lot of what we were doing last year. Nick is improving constantly, but it’s hard to be noticed when your machinery isn’t quite quick enough. “This year we’ll…

BRDC BRITISH F3 Carlin Motorsport has been given special dispensation to run a fourth car in BRDC British F3 this season, opening the door for Billy Monger to race in the series. The series’ rules state that teams can only run three cars, but Monger’s unique circumstances – both his legs were amputated after a Formula 4 crash last year – have prompted the exception. Group operations manager Giles Butterfield from MotorSport Vision, which operates British F3, said: “The Billy Monger situation is utterly exceptional in our opinion and we’re very keen to help his rehabilitation. Obviously there are unknowns, such as how is he going to get on, how is he going to fund it. But everyone is hoping the effort and money to make the fairytale come true…

SILVERSTONE CREVENTIC 24 HOURS MARCH 10-11 There are no Creventic overall race winners. Positions are given within classes, so the Simpson Motorsport Ginetta G58 Prototype was technically in a race of one, not against the GTs. But try telling Mike Simpson, Steve Tandy and Bob Berridge that, as they beamed after a stunning comeback chase of the ROFGO Racing Mercedes GT3 to be first home in the inaugural Silverstone 12 Hours. That team spirit was reflected in a prank played on Berridge in the final stint. “We kept telling Bob he was in second at the end,” Simpson grinned. “He got out of the car all cheesed off!” As the only two P2 cars present, the Simpson Ginettas were expected to dominate. And one of them – driven by Andreas…

INDYCAR The short answer to this crucial question has been answered in spades by the repeated errors from veterans as well as rookies over the course of the opening weekend of the IndyCar season in St Petersburg. And they weren’t necessarily huge errors, either: there were time-losing fumbles under braking, and too-vigorous applications of throttle, and they sent the standard grid order into a tombola drum. Yes, seven-time St Pete polesitter Will Power was on the front row, and there were a couple of rookies at the back, but in between – and just ahead of Power – were surprises galore. As discussed on page 87, Robert Wickens is no ordinary rookie. In fact the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver has a morevaried resumé than most of his new-found rivals in…

FORMULA 3 Now it’s official – the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council last Friday gave the green light for the new-for-2019 single-spec Formula 3 to come under the promotional umbrella of the Formula 1 group of companies, and that means it will race on the grand prix support bill. Long-time GP2/GP3 promoter Bruno Michel – whose company is part of the bundle taken over by F1 owner Liberty at the end of 2016 – will therefore be in charge of the new F3, just as he is of the renamed Formula 2. As a result, GP3 will bow out after nine seasons at the end of this year, but it can arguably be said that – with the new-look F3 running to the same philosophy as GP3 – Michel has…

EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES NIO Formula E driver Oliver Turvey has emerged as a contender for a return to the LMP2 ranks in 2018. The class winner at the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours has been tested by the United Autosports squad ahead of a possible European Le Mans Series drive. Turvey would take the vacant seat in one of United’s Ligier-Gibson JSP217s alongside Hugo de Sadeleer and Will Owen, although team boss Richard Dean has admitted that there is still some way to go before the deal comes to fruition. “We tested Oliver because I’ve always rated him and wanted to give him a run,” said Dean of the outing at Motorland Aragon last week. “I’d like to get him in for the ELMS, but there is still a…

EVOLUTION HAS BEATEN REVOLUTION IN THE 2018 Formula 1 pre-season. The Mercedes W09 is not a dramatic change from its predecessor, but it is a clear step forward and shares one thing in common with its four ancestors in the V6-turbo-hybrid era of grand prix racing: it has raised the bar. And it is seriously fast. What’s more, it’s reliable too. For the fifth consecutive year, Mercedes completed more miles than any other team in testing. We’ve become so accustomed to the latest Silver Arrow hitting the track, running reliably and working well that it’s easy to forget just how remarkable a job this team is doing. “We think we have learned that we are starting on a solid footing,” says Mercedes technical director James Allison. “It has been reliable,…

RENAULT BLOWN REAR WING Exhaust-blown aerodynamic components are nothing new. As I always say, you should never forget what you have learned. For the V6-turbo era, the exhaustexit size and position were defined in the regulations, meaning it was more or less in the middle of nowhere and had little effect other than to help energise the airflow on what was called the saddle wing (also known as a “monkey seat”). This was a small aerodynamic section placed just above the exhaust exit. This in turn helped the performance of the rear wing. For 2018, regulation changes meant the saddle wing was eliminated and in regulation 5.8 the exhaust-exit location was tightened up, with the intention of eliminating any potential for exhaust blowing on the rear wing. As you can…

Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel are part of a rare club of drivers to have won four or more F1 world championships. Here’s how they all stack up statistically, including each driver’s ‘strike rate’ (expressed as a percentage) based on achievements versus number of seasons and races completed in F1. Michael Schumacher sets the gold standard in all categories except pole positions – in which Hamilton surpassed him – but Juan Manuel Fangio’s efficiency may never be bettered. MICHAEL SCHUMACHER Titles 7 (36.8%) Wins 91 (29.7%) Podiums 155 (50.7%) Poles 68 (22.2%) Starts 306 JUAN MANUEL FANGIO Titles 5 (62.5%) Wins 24 (47.1%) Podiums 35 (68.6%) Poles 29 (56.9%) Starts 51 ALAIN PROST Titles 4 (30.8%) Wins 51 (25.6%) Podiums 106 (53.3%) Poles 33 (16.6%) Starts 199 SEBASTIAN VETTEL Titles…

ESTEBAN OCON GETS STRAIGHT TO THE POINT. “I THINK it’s one of the most important years of my career,” he says. “After learning a lot last year everybody is waiting for me to confirm this year. It’s what my bosses are looking at.” The affable 21-year-old grins, and continues: “But I’m quite relaxed. We’ve had a good preparation over the winter, just fixing the details I thought were not great last year. I feel more than ready to start the year. With the experience coming in I should be starting stronger.” Ocon is indeed facing a very important second full season in Formula 1. There is nothing promised at the end – very little is in F1 – but the Frenchman knows he is auditioning for the seat every driver…

Toro Rosso enters this season with the least-experienced driver line-up on the grid. Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley have at least made a rolling start to their Formula 1 careers, thanks to late-season cameos with the team last year, but they have not yet started 10 GPs between them. Such inexperience is nothing new for a team that’s used to running rookie line-ups. In 2015, Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jr had started zero F1 races coming into the season, and they didn’t turn out badly… But the crucial difference then was that Toro Rosso had more space to focus on driver development. This year, it must contend with inexperienced drivers, a completely new engine, an untested works partnership with Honda, plus winter upheaval within its own aerodynamic department. So…

AUSTRALIAN GP Melbourne 1610 TV Sky Sports F1 BAHRAIN GP Sakhir April 8 1810 TV Sky & Channel 4 CHINESE GP Shanghai April 15 1410 TV Sky AZERBAIJAN GP Baku April 29 1610 TV Sky & C4 SPANISH GP Barcelona May 13 1510 TV Sky MONACO GP Monte Carlo May 27 1510 TV Sky & C4 CANADIAN GP Montreal June 10 1410 TV Sky FRENCH GP Paul Ricard June 24 1610 TV Sky AUSTRIAN GP Red Bull Ring July 1 1510 TV Sky & C4 BRITISH GP Silverstone July 8 1410 TV Sky & C4 GERMAN GP Hockenheim July 22 1510 TV Sky HUNGARIAN GP Hungaroring July 29 1510 TV Sky BELGIAN GP Spa August 26 1510 TV Sky & C4 ITALIAN GP Monza September 2 1510 TV Sky SINGAPORE…

STARTS 244 | FIRST GP AUSTRALIA 2005 | WINS 55 | POLES 58 | FASTEST LAPS 54 | 2017 3RD Red Bull has done a good job with the RB14, but not quite good enough. A portion of that will be down to the disparity in performance of the Renault power unit compared with the Mercedes, but that’s what Red Bull has got to work with. Renault will be hoping to introduce improvements throughout the season and run the engine package less conservatively, and if it can do that it should make a difference. But Renault seems uncertain about when its upgraded ERS package will be introduced; the date could easily slip back to the second half of the year. The car looks pretty good on the track and Red…

STARTS 341 | FIRST GP GREAT BRITAIN 1977 | WINS 35 | POLES 51 | FASTEST LAPS 31 | 2017 6TH Renault has been building what had been a grossly denuded ‘Team Enstone’ back to the kind of resource level that’s required to challenge for race wins. Now it’s time to see if that investment has been as transformative as expected. The big challenge for Renault is to be ahead of McLaren, the latest addition to its customer roster, and over pre-season testing it just about achieved that. Red Bull is a team that has been operating at a very high level for quite a few years, so it’s reasonable to expect it to remain out of touch this year. That won’t stop Renault trying to beat all its customers,…

A WIN? FORGET IT. NOT GOING TO happen. That was the verdict before the start of last week’s Rally Mexico. And the verdict came in French. From Sebastien. But which one? Ogier or Loeb. Take your pick. They were of the same mind. Those hoping for a return to civil war were wide of the mark. Partly because the Sebs had moved on from the bitterness and acrimony that reigned through 2011. And partly because of their individual situations. “This rivalry is a bit behind us now, but it’s been reactivated by the fans and maybe some of the media,” said Ogier. “The truth is, we’re not really in the same race this week. We don’t have anything to prove to each other and the targets we have are a…

THERE ARE ROOKIES AND THEN THERE are rookies. Robert Wickens’s open-wheel career, even before his six years spent in DTM (winning in all but one of those seasons) reveal a strong resumé showing his adaptability. Five wins in Formula BMW USA, one in Atlantics, one in A1GP, one in Formula 3 Euro Series, two in Formula 2, three in GP3, six in Formula Renault 3.5… So to that extent, his pole at St Petersburg wasn’t a surprise, especially given the ever-changing track conditions. But even so, just four weeks earlier, he had told Autosport that he was struggling to get the most out of a fresh set of tyres. Piers Phillips, general manager at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, who also calls strategy for Wickens, felt vindicated. “I told Honda, I told…

BRITISH GT Joe Osborne will dovetail his attack on this year’s British GT Championship with development work on McLaren’s forthcoming 720S GT3 racer after being signed by the British manufacturer. Osborne will share a 570S GT4 with regular team-mate David Pattison in British GT this season as part of a three-car entry by the Tolman Motorsport team. Tolman has also been contracted to run the extra two 570S GT4s for McLaren’s young drivers. Michael O’Brien will share one car with Charlie Fagg, while Jordan Albert pedals the other with Lewis Proctor. Osborne has landed his first full factory role, joining Ben Barnicoat as the Woking company’s newest works-driver recruits. “It’s a chance I’ve been working for all my life and I’ve never been so excited, or in such good shape,…

Were you to think of a motorsport series furthest from 24-hour endurance racing, then the crash-bang British Touring Car Championship would be near the top of the list. So what was triple BTCC champion Matt Neal doing taking part in the Creventic 24 Hours at Silverstone? “With the Synchro guys really,” he said. “It’s a bit of solidarity, doing it all together with the Honda brand. I haven’t done a 24-hour race in a long time, so it’s great to come back and do it with the guys.” Neal drove a Honda Civic in the A3 class, with Alyn James and Dan Wheeler. Endurance racing isn’t unfamiliar to Neal – and not just from his four Bathurst appearances, the most recent a decade ago when he shared a Supercheap Autos…

For a Formula 1 driver, Kimi Raikkonen has a fairly wide-ranging CV thanks to his adventures during his grand prix racing sabbatical. In comparison, Felix Rosenqvist’s resumé simply blows those efforts away. The Swede has compiled a mammoth 23 championships during his career – some merely cameo or guest outings – thanks to his junior single-seater stint and more recent moves into sportscars and Formula E. Back in 2009, at “the start of my international adventure”, Rosenqvist rocked up at the Snetterton finale of that year’s Formula Palmer Audi season. Racing in the car that Josef Newgarden had taken to two wins in a one-off at the season-opener at Brands Hatch, he matched the American’s victory tally. “It was my third year in cars – I’d done two years of…

FORMULA E Formula E’s anticipated move to the full Monaco Grand Prix circuit has been hailed as “important” and “mega” news for the series. FE will finally switch to the Formula 1 layout for the 2018-19 season after two races on an adapted, shorter design. And 2015-16 champion Sebastien Buemi, who a year ago was part of the call for the full track to be used, said it was necessary as the current layout is too small. “It’s amazing, it’s important – it shows a strong message,” he said. “It shows we’re able to go longer and we’re strong. It [the current track] was so small that next year you’d go below 50 seconds – it might be 22 cars next year and 24 the year after. It’s impossible.” Felix…

FORMULA 2 British motorsport golden boy Lando Norris topped the times during the first pre-season test of the brand-new Formula 2 car at Paul Ricard last week as category returnee Carlin finished one-two. McLaren Formula 1 reserve Norris (above) set his time on the second morning of the three days, with team-mate Sergio Sette Camara finishing 0.161 seconds adrift. Norris, the reigning Formula 3 European champion, topped the first three of the six sessions over the test. ART Grand Prix pair George Russell and Jack Aitken made it three F2 rookies in the top five overall, with Alexander Albon splitting the duo for DAMS. Albon (twice) and Russell also topped sessions. Aitken had one of the more dramatic moments of the test, as his car caught fire on the first…

Looking at the fastest times set by each car over the course of the eight days of testing paints a misleading picture. This does not factor in fuel loads, which will have varied, and there are some dissenters from the majority that set their quickest times using the hypersoft. For reference, the average step from soft to supersoft according to Pirelli was 0.4s, then a further 0.6s to ultrasoft, and then 0.7-0.8s to the hypersoft – although these numbers varied from team to team. THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF people who will disagree with this analysis of the competitive order based on pre-season testing. And I hope I am wrong. job. Performance, reliability and tyre degradation all look to be under control with the W09. The only little fly in…

EVERY YEAR I TRY TO PICK THE SAME SPOTS AROUND the Circuit de Catalunya at Barcelona to watch the pre-season tests. It’s a great track to walk around and watch at close quarters because you can see a whole range of corners and areas where cars show their strengths and weaknesses. Fast corners, slow corners, changes of direction, braking and traction – they can all be judged by your eyes and ears and, pretty much every year, my list matches up with the lap times because there’s nowhere to hide. Has Mercedes swapped diva for dominance? LAST YEAR FERRARI LOOKED LIKE it was a real match for Mercedes in pre-season testing, and when we got to Melbourne that proved to be the case. This year, however, the Brackley squad seems…

Until he puts pen to paper and announces the deal, speculation will continue to swirl about Lewis Hamilton’s next move when his current contract with Mercedes runs out at the close of the 2018 season. Both parties say it’s only a matter of time before they reach agreement, telling reporters gathered at the pre-season launch of their new car at Silverstone that they hoped to have something finalised before the Australian Grand Prix. So we can presume Hamilton will shortly extend his immediate F1 future with his current employer. They have enjoyed such impressive sustained success together, why change? “I’m really excited about extending with the team and staying here,” Hamilton says. “Toto [Wolff] and I have been talking for a while. Obviously, once I left in December I was…

“I’M HAPPY TO BE WORKING WITH NICO – HE’S PROVED TO BE ONE OF THE FASTEST OUT THERE” FOR CARLOS SAINZ, LAST YEAR’S move to Renault was the ideal opportunity to further his career after three seasons at Toro Rosso. The French team is on the rise and the combination of Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg should be a formidable one. But Sainz is still contracted to Red Bull – and he could be called back for 2019 if he’s needed. ADAM COOPER How important was it for you to get a head start with Renault at the end of last year? CARLOS SAINZ It was very important for me. I never did an actual test in the car in the whole four races, but at least I could race it,…

AROUND 18 MONTHS AGO SAUBER WAS DEAD ON ITS FEET, teetering towards a potential financial collapse, with no obvious route to recovery. Now the Swiss team is heading into the 2018 season with full technical support from Ferrari, sponsorship from premium road-car brand Alfa Romeo, and, in Charles Leclerc, one of the hottest young prospects of recent times in the cockpit. It’s been a dramatic turnaround, one that began with the sale in late 2016 to a consortium led by Swedish Tetra Pak billionaire Finn Rausing, also the main backer of driver Marcus Ericsson. Last summer the new owners parted company with longtime boss Monisha Kaltenborn, who had saddled the team with an uncompetitive 2016 Ferrari power unit, and had been pursuing a future with Honda. In her place came…

THE ‘HALOISTS’ – THE FIA, OTHER SAFETY CRUSADERS, and Fernando Alonso – believe its introduction is a no-brainer. Halo is demonstrably safer than no halo, so there is no reason to prevent it. Consequences be damned. The anti-halo brigade – many fans, Nigel Roebuck and Kevin Magnussen – froth with fury. To them, it is an aesthetic abomination that devalues the spectacle of Formula 1; indicative of a ‘nanny-state’ attitude that is tearing the fearless heart from the body of grand prix racing. That the halo improves safety is not in dispute. The contention concerns whether this improvement is necessary and worth the cost elsewhere. ‘Drivers won’t be able to see properly’; ‘they won’t be able to get in and out of their cars quickly’; ‘it’s too heavy and makes…

STARTS 226 | FIRST GP BAHRAIN 2006 | WINS 1 | POLES 1 | FASTEST LAPS 1 | 2017 7TH Toro Rosso was probably the surprise of the test, or at least the Honda part of the equation was. The new partners seem to be very much at home with each other and that can only be a positive sign. Most encouragingly, Toro Rosso completed the third highest number of laps, behind only Ferrari and Mercedes. Early on in testing the car seemed to be showing signs of a front-end problem. As testing progressed the team seemed to have dialled it out, but towards the end of the second week the drivers looked like they were finding it a handful once again. That’s a concern from a chassis perspective; when…

WITH SO MANY BIG names out of contract for 2019, predictions of another hectic MotoGP silly season were rife late last year. But as the new season gets under way, most of the major players were either already signed or looking virtually certain to stay put. Maverick Vinales was first to nail his colours to the mast in mid-January with a new two-year factory Yamaha contract, while Valentino Rossi (left)hinted in Qatar that another deal for him to continue racing in 2019 and ’20 was imminent. Ducati has made it clear it wants to keep Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo, which means the only real question mark among the ‘big three’ factory teams is Honda, where Alberto Puig’s arrival as team boss over the winter has prompted rumours of a…

NASCAR CUP PHOENIX (USA) MARCH 11 ROUND 4/36 Kevin Harvick won his third consecutive NASCAR Cup race, becoming the first driver to do so since Joey Logano achieved the feat during the 2015 playoffs. Harvick’s victory in his Stewart-Haas Racing Ford came after a late four-way battle for the lead with the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas of Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, and Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet man Chase Elliott. Over the final 20 laps Harvick and Busch eventually became the only two contenders; Harvick edged out Busch with Elliott taking third. The victory capped a controversial week for Harvick after he was handed a 20-point penalty and the loss of seven playoff points because his car’s rear window was flexing during the preceding weekend’s race at Las Vegas. “This organisation…

@AS_National GOODWOOD MEMBERS ’ MEETING Double British Touring Car champion Jason Plato will race a Ford Mustang Boss 302 in the Gerry Marshall Trophy at Goodwood this weekend. The Members’ Meeting race for Group 1 touring cars of the 1970s and early ’80s has traditionally been dominated by Ford Capris, Rover SD1s and Chevrolet Camaros. Now Plato will give the five-litre V8 its debut with owner and historic racer Craig Davies. “It’s absolutely monstrous, it’s tricky to drive,” said Plato after testing the Alan Mann Racing-built Mustang at Goodwood earlier this week. “We didn’t really have a set-up and it was wet. There’s enough power to put a smile on your face, but enough to give you a bit of fear too. With a car like this the power-to-grip ratio…

HSCC SUPER TOURING Racelogic boss Julian Thomas is gunning to join the Historic Sports Car Club Super Touring series this summer, having acquired a 560bhp Rouse Sport Group A Ford Sierra RS500. Thomas purchased the car – originally driven by Guy Edwards and Andy Rouse in period – from dealer Duncan Hamilton, still in Kaliber livery. “I worked with Andy Rouse on his Toyota Carinas [when the turbocharged Sierras were outlawed and British Touring Cars adopted two-litre atmospheric engine regulations for 1991],” said Thomas. “I bought it as Edwards’, then discovered it had Rouse race history, which is pretty cool. After Guy crashed Andy’s regular car in qualifying at Silverstone in June, Andy put this one – rebuilt following Guy’s Thruxton shunt – on pole. He finished third behind Robb…

WITH A FRESH NEW CONTRACT THAT will keep MotoGP on BT Sport until 2021, the broadcaster has added several new elements to its coverage of the championship for the coming season. Replacing Julian Ryder in the commentary box alongside former 500cc rider Keith Huewen will be BT Sport pundit Neil Hodgson – the 2000 British and 2003 World Superbike champion. The duo will commentate on all 19 of the MotoGP races, whereas the booth roles for Moto2 and Moto3 will change throughout the year. “We are sharing more of the commentary than we’ve done in the past,” says Huewen. “For MotoGP, Hodgy will do his grid walk then he’ll come and join me, a bit like the Martin Brundle of MotoGP. For Moto2 and Moto3, we’ll share it out. I…

WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN? WHO AM I? This earnest trailblazer was renowned for his testicular commitment and overtaking prowess. From saucy beginnings his career was almost over before it started after digging in in the garden of England. But channelling the power of Italian mountains he overcame adversity – a common theme in his career – and attracted the attention of a sacred flower. This led to his big break, although it would take a move to a more recent champion, where the sun was rising on a new dawn, for success to arrive. Having come close twice, there was an emphatic run to the title, which this individual followed up in unprecedented style over the pond. An Indian summer came down under, but the less said about the final…