F1 2019 season

Felt like a new season deserves a new thread...

It's reported in Italy that Maurizio Arrivabene has been fired. His strained relationship with Ferrari's prized asset Sebastian Vettel and cost him his job. Arrivabene got one last dig at Vettel though by replacing Raikkonen with LeClerc.

Mattia Binotto will be confirmed as new team boss

Inevitable outcome

Ferrari have signed former Mercedes junior Pascal Wehrlein as their development/simulator driver. The German is known to be close friends with Vettel and he will dovetail this new role whilst also competing in formula E.

All roads lead to Maranello for Mick Schumacher! Schumacher has joined the Ferrari young driver program. It was always going to happen the name Schumacher and Ferrari goes together like bread and butter.

Big problems for Sebastian Vettel, Charles LeClerc already gunning for him. Now his 'little brother' coming for his seat

Car launch dates so far...

Date..............................Team.................Launch venue

Monday, 11 February..........Toro Rosso..........Online

Tuesday, 12 February..........Renault..............Enstone, UK

Wednesday, 13 February......Racing Point.......Toronto, Canada

Wednesday, 13 February......Mercedes...........Silverstone, UK

Thursday, 14 February.........McLaren.............TBC

Friday, 15 February.............Ferrari................Maranello, Italy

Monday, 18 February...........Sauber...............Barcelona, Spain


Also, FOPA (Formula One Promoters Association), which represents 16 of the 21 races on the calendar, have had a meeting with Liberty to express their concerns at the future direction of the sport, with several of their members saying they will struggle to meet the costs of hosting races.

Apparently race hosting fees account for the largest percentage of F1's income.

Current contracts up for renewal after this season include Britain, Italy, Spain, Germany & Mexico.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/47040731

Sauber renamed Alfa Romeo Racing

Ferrari has signed twice axed Red Bull junior Brendan Hartley as a simulator driver.

Baku signed a new deal until 2023

Apparently Alfa Romeo have gone nuts with their car for 2019 Season. It's either going to end like Mclaren the last few years or a Brawn/Lotus type

I remember last year Ted Kravitz stating some Ferrari aero guys were moving over, and they added former Toyota, Ferrari and Audi man, Jan Monchaux, as head of aerodynamics. With Alfa’s budget, and Ferrari’s engine, I’m pretty much expecting a competitive car. There’s no way Raikkonen agreed to stay on otherwise.

Racing Point F1 tried to acquire the Brabham F1 name but failed

First look at a 2019 car as Haas unveil their entry.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.haas-unveil-new-black-and-gold-f1-livery-for-2019.3fIfnfT5NoMoLcuitzNJrt.html

Gone with a Lotus-esque black and gold scheme.

Doesn't look all that pretty IMO, but if its quick, I guess Romain & Kev won't be complaining.

It’s only the 2018 car, but looks like a John Player Special livery.

Just John wrote:It’s only the 2018 car, but looks like a John Player Special livery.

The top image is but there's a link to CGI images of this season's car...that said I'm struggling to see much difference. Its only when you get to the overhead view you notice the differences in the wing design.

Toro Rosso STR14

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Williams livery. Beyond awful  

Williams have announced ‘RoKiT’ will be their new title sponsor for 2019.

TR looks butt ugly, but apparently it "owes a lot to last season's Red Bull". They've openly admitted they'll be using the RB gearbox & suspension. Wonder if there are any other bits n' pieces from their sister team on the car?

Be interesting to see if Honda have made any progress, relative to the other engine manufacturers.

Actually think the Williams looks awesome. Never heard of Rokit, but the white-blue-black livery is very distinctive and done very nicely IMO. Just hope it goes as well as it looks.


Brief summary of what's new about the cars for this season, courtesy of Martin Brundle...

https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/f1/11563234/coming-up-in-2019

Spoiler:

dyrewolfe wrote:TR looks butt ugly, but apparently it "owes a lot to last season's Red Bull". They've openly admitted they'll be using the RB gearbox & suspension. Wonder if there are any other bits n' pieces from their sister team on the car?

Be interesting to see if Honda have made any progress, relative to the other engine manufacturers.

Im not sure it's changed from last year the Toro Rosso but it will be a RB heavy car since they can do that now and save a lot of money like Haas did makes sense for them to do it even if screws other people over.

Renault RS19

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Mercedes W10

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Red Bull RB15

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SportPesa Racing Point F1

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McLaren MCL34

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Alfa Romeo testing at Fiorano

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Alfa has the nicest livery. Probably a good thing, as being slow we'll be able to see it for longer.

What is with the RB front wing? Is it just quirky photos (the size reduction front to back suggests an almost fish-eye lens) or is it really twice the size of the rest of the car?

Alfa Romeo livery is just a testing edition

Further RB on-track

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Racing Point looks nice...just wish they'd moved away from the pink livery...but if BWT are still their main sponsor, I guess that wasn't going to happen.

McLaren looks very nice. Just praying they will actually be competitive this year.

Alfa looks gorgeous...they should keep their test livery, as I can't imagine the race one will look better (guess we'll have to wait and see). Bit of chat about their front wing, which looks rather different to the designs on the other cars.

RB looks like it got whacked with the ugly stick, but anything that has input from Adrian Newey is gonna go well, so...


For the tech geeks among us, here's a video from Autosport that gives a close-up view of the McLaren, showing all the design features from front to back.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/141511/video-an-upclose-look-at-mclaren-mcl34

Ferrari SF90

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Really glad Ferrari ditched the white parts of the 2018 livery. Might be trivial but the black is more hidden.

That McLaren livery is awful, I get that the orange is historical in their history which I have no issue with. But orange and blue? Just doesn’t work.

Thumbs up for the Merc...has some nice flowing lines. Thumbs down for the Ferrari...definitely not one of their prettier designs.

Nathaniel Jacobs wrote:
That McLaren livery is awful, I get that the orange is historical in their history which I have no issue with. But orange and blue? Just doesn’t work.

Actually those colours do go together very well...normally. I think it would work better if they'd blended them, similar to the Williams livery, instead of having hard borders between the colours. Either that or gone with blue pinstriping / detail, instead of the big blocks / geometric shapes.

Lots of things in the air as the new season begins with testing.  Will Ferrari now have a significantly greater advantage than the Mercedes this year - they have certainly been progressing into becoming the fastest car over the past two years.  Red Bull were as good as the Ferrari and the Mercedes towards the end of last season - suggesting they have the best bodywork.  Have Honda now bridged the gap and will Red Bull be competitive from the start?  Reliability and penalties may play a significant role especially for Red Bull.   Good to have the iconic name Alfa Romeo back in the sport but can they be competitive?

Alfa Romeo

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Just John wrote:Alfa Romeo

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Hmm...its okay, but not nearly as eye-catching as the test livery IMO.


Williams already hitting problems. Car still not ready, so will be missing the first day of testing. Hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

If nothing else, the Ferrari looks really nice.

I like the McLaren also.

Everything else isn't a vast change, bar Haas paying tribute to Grosjeans lotus days

Williams not running until Wednesday now.

Given car (including engine) reliability is going to be heavily penalised this season - would there be a case for Williams to pull out of F1 this season if there is too much uncertainty over the car heading into the new season? How do the smaller teams survive given the costs involved in sustaining a season of racing plus the necessary developmental costs. I mean if it is going to be certain that Williams will end up at the bottom of the pile with uncertainty over reliability - is it really worth it?

Fairly sure you have to have raced for 2 consecutive seasons to get prize money

GSC wrote:If nothing else, the Ferrari looks really nice

I like the black, unfortunately the matte paint job looks slightly orange. Prefer the scarlet red, but given it’s reduced weight by 1.7kg, can see why they’ve gone for performance gain.

No name Bertie wrote:Given car (including engine) reliability is going to be heavily penalised this season - would there be a case for Williams to pull out of F1 this season if there is too much uncertainty over the car heading into the new season?  How do the smaller teams survive given the costs involved in sustaining a season of racing plus the necessary developmental costs.  I mean if it is going to be certain that Williams will end up at the bottom of the pile with uncertainty over reliability - is it really worth it?

Well Williams are used to adversity and being the underdog, financially and technically. They've scraped by on low budgets for years, so this isn't really a new situation for them.

Don't know if you managed to catch the documentary at the weekend - Williams: A Different Kind of Life (also the title of the book written by Frank's wife Virginia). It paints a very stark picture of how Frank started out as a parts supplier & car builder, before finally putting his own team together. The first Williams team was actually bought out by their title sponsor & re-named...which probably hurt even more as they started to enjoy success after that.

After a fit of depression, he found another sponsor and put another team together, which initially struggled for several years, before finally tasting success in the late 70s - early 80s. Had another lull until the 90s, when Mansell, Hill & Villeneuve won titles with them.

Its a hell of a watch. Highly recommend it, if you can find it on catch-up, or elsewhere. Was really surprised to learn that he put himself in a wheelchair (almost killed himself) by driving like an idiot in a normal road car. :o

Saw it at the weekend, he comes across as a cold, heartless, egotist. Didn’t really know too much about Frank, but he didn’t come across as a nice individual whatsoever. Pretty much prioritised racing, over his family, and cheated on his wife on various occasions. As for the crash, you could see he would end up either paralysed or dead at some point, given how reckless he was behind the wheel. Felt sorry for his wife, and Claire Williams after watching the documentary.

Basically, without Patrick Head, Frank was pretty much a failure in F1, purely making up the numbers. Williams are a joke outfit, and have been for a long period now. Don’t see it changing anytime soon.

Yep - I really felt for his wife and kids too. I mean I know F1 is a hugely time-consuming business, but you did get the impression he didn't much care for them at all.

I think he even said as much at one point, that racing was the most important thing in his life...and his family came somewhere after that.

I just really hope the team can turn things around with Claire at the helm. For one thing, F1 could do with seeing some successful women in the sport and secondly, it would be great for her to show her dad she can continue the family legacy.

Unfortunately it doesn't look like thats going to happen anytime soon. Just saw this on the BBC live text:

The car is still at the team’s factory in Grove, Oxfordshire, and the current hope is that it will be ready to fly to Spain late on Tuesday.

That means it is unlikely at this stage that the car will run first thing Wednesday morning, but the team are hoping to get it out on to the track at some stage that day.

The delay is leading to speculation about the future of chief technical officer Paddy Lowe, who joined from Mercedes in 2017 and is ultimately responsible for the car.

Just as concerning for Williams, insiders say the car does not look like it will be quick when it does finally hit the track.

Sources say the car is projected to be as much as two seconds slower than last year’s, which was already the slowest on the grid.

Rule changes to front wings have reduced downforce but many teams have clawed a large part of it back.

If the word from inside the team is accurate, Williams could be facing a season adrift of the rest of the field.

As someone who enjoyed watching Mansell & Hill winning for them, that makes pretty painful reading.

Tyres...somewhat simplified for this season. Down to 5 compounds from 7. Only 3 will be available at each race. Also just 3 colours...



So the 2 white sets I guess are "Hard" and "Super Hard" and the 2 red sets are "Soft" and "Super Soft".

Still too many, if you ask me. Dunno whats wrong with just 3 compounds.

Despite the Family issues his daughter seems to have acquired the passion of her father as she is now an integral part of the Williams team ... and I am sure his family were well provided for in terms of financial security and opportunity.  Anyway it all seems like an interesting story of one mans passion and dedication, creating something out of nothing.

Williams stopped being relevant when Frank Williams selected Pastor Maldonado's open cheque book. Claire Williams compounded the error by firstly taking Laurence Stroll's money then taking Sergei Sirotkin's money.

There's talk that the Williams 2019 car is TWO seconds slower than last years car.

Just to save some respect Williams should sell up and live of their past glories

As a Ferrari fan it was really nice to see Vettel lead the lap count. Lap times irrelevant but miles in the bank.

Can't wait for LeClerc's debut tomorrow

Too stubborn, or too proud, but Williams’ resilience to remain independent and go up against the manufacturers, has seen F1 move on without them. Not being ready for testing is utterly embarrassing. I’d imagine if they’re the slowest car this year, then a decision will be made. Agree, they need to sell, or alternatively they could align with Mercedes, and forge a new working relationship with them, similar to Ferrari and Sauber. Going alone is not the option anymore, they don’t have the personnel, or finances to compete anymore.

I agree that the downfall of "great people" is often not knowing when to sell up or to change.  Maybe with Williams it would have been better to have gotten out of the game a few years ago - or just focus on producing and selling commercial sports cars.

Nathaniel Jacobs wrote:Williams stopped being relevant when Frank Williams selected Pastor Maldonado's open cheque book. Claire Williams compounded the error by firstly taking Laurence Stroll's money then taking Sergei Sirotkin's money.

There's talk that the Williams 2019 car is TWO seconds slower than last years car.

Just to save some respect Williams should sell up and live of their past glories

No name Bertie wrote:
I agree that the downfall of "great people" is often not knowing when to sell up or to change. Maybe with Williams it would have been better to have gotten out of the game a few years ago - or just focus on producing and selling commercial sports cars.

Just John wrote:
Too stubborn, or too proud, but Williams’ resilience to remain independent and go up against the manufacturers, has seen F1 move on without them. Not being ready for testing is utterly embarrassing. I’d imagine if they’re the slowest car this year, then a decision will be made. Agree, they need to sell, or alternatively they could align with Mercedes, and forge a new working relationship with them, similar to Ferrari and Sauber. Going alone is not the option anymore, they don’t have the personnel, or finances to compete anymore.

Certainly from a business / financial standpoint that might make sense.

But don't you think its a damning indictment on the state of F1, when one of its most decorated teams is reduced to this?

Also, when the sport cannot attract new teams to join, the last thing it needs is yet another team to leave.

McLaren have only been able to ride out their own storm, thanks to being bankrolled by Bahrain's national bank.


Half the rest of the teams are being reduced to being second teams of Ferrari or Red Bull.


When F1 is reduced to a spending competition between the top teams, the sport will be truly dead (its been pretty close to that already for some time).

It was a hell of a lot more interesting when there were more independent teams. This is why there needs to be a massive shake-up in the regulations, to limit "co-operation" between teams and spending caps (provided they can be effectively enforced) to stop the likes of Mercedes, Red Bull & Ferrari winning by simply throwing money at their cars.

F1 needs to make itself more accessible to new entrants, by lowering things like entry fees, agreeing on new cheaper engines and relaxing the design regs, so that innovative and different designs are permitted...not forcing everyone down the same narrow development paths.

Anyway, rant over.

*gets off soap box*

Hi dyrewolfe - both views can be true.  Although F1 should make it easier for smaller teams to compete and to break into the sport - in reality it hasn't happened and hard headed leaders in charge of small niche businesses and specialised industry need to accept the realities.

One of the selling points of F1 is having big manufacturers of sports cars competiting against each other and pushing the technology accordingly.  For example despite the criticism directed at Ferrari, without Ferrari in F1, F1 would lose a lot of its shine and uniqueness.

Team performance rises and falls, Williams had the 2nd best car on the grid in 2014. By all accounts their issues stem from following a massively flawed concept last year when designing the car. Not sure you can really blame a lack of funding for that when McLaren have done similar in recent years.

F1s biggest issues remain the racing being mostly a procession and locking the sport behind pay to view walls.