Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2018 i AUTOSPORT

This is a big year for Formula 1, most likely a defining one in terms of framing its future shape and direction of travel. We’re used, after a season of Liberty’s being at the helm, to the sport being owned by an ambitious, marketing-savvy media giant; under their tenure a far more open atmosphere has blossomed within the paddock, for which they deserve great credit. Last season, though, Liberty got a little lucky as we were treated to a right old ding-dong between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel for most of the year. When the track action’s right, it does a lot to quiet dissent, and it bought Liberty some time to begin rolling out their plans for taking F1 to the people. They unshackled social media coverage and staged…

Q1 Three other Swedes have started more GPs than Marcus Ericsson. Who are they? Q2 Which current team won six of the 16 Portuguese Grands Prix to have been held? Q3 Who was the first Russian to race in F1, when he started the 2010 Bahrain GP for Renault? Q4 Only two drivers have ever won the world championship without starting a race that season from pole position. Who are they? Q5 Where did Max Verstappen make his F1 practice debut for Toro Rosso? Q6 Jacky Ickx and which other Belgian driver have pole positions to their name? Q7 How many lights-to flag victories were there in 2017: 5, 6 or 7? Q8 True or false: Alain Prost’s 1990 win at Paul Ricard is the only time that Ferrari have…

WORRYING TIMES FOR BRITISH FANS I worry for the British Formula 1 fan. This will be the last season when he or she will be able to watch races live on free-to-air TV before the sport disappears behind a paywall on Sky Sports in 2019, with only highlights plus the live British GP required to be on a free-to-air channel. Channel 4’s three-year shared rights deal with Sky, to cover half the races live and the rest as highlights, comes to an end in November. Compared with the past decades of exclusively live F1 coverage on the BBC or ITV, the numbers have been modest in this share model. But it has at least provided access to the ordinary F1 fan who can’t – or won’t – pay to watch…

 LEWIS HAMILTON inserts an index finger into either side of his mouth, stretches his face, pokes out his tongue and goes: “BLEEEEEEEEERRRRRRGGGHHH!” “THE DAYS OF NEW-CAR ROLL-OUTS BEHIND FACTORY DOORS SEEM LAUGHABLY DISTANT AND AMATEURISH NOW” “Love it, Lewis,” purrs photographer Paul Ripke. “Now, finger up your nose please.” “WHAT?! No way man. No way! I’m not putting my finger up my nose.” He relents and places the tip of his right index digit on the very edge of a nostril. “That’s it Lewis,” Ripke encourages, popping frames with his Leica. “These will be great.” The levity is welcome as the end of a long ‘media assets’ haul approaches for Lewis, Valtteri Bottas and a host of troops from the Mercedes F1 comms and marketing machine. This is the day…

HOT.Few other words can convey so pithily last season’s developments at Force India, F1’s punchiest equipe. Retina-sizzling livery? Check. Owner fighting extradition to India? Check. Drivers not just at loggerheads in the garage but hitting one another on-track? Check. As chief operating officer, Otmar Szafnauer straddles the line between business and engineering (he’s got qualifications in both); Vijay Mallya might own the team, but Otmar runs it day-to-day, having fulfilled that beat at Honda and British American Racing before that, with a brief interregnum during which he developed the forerunner of the official F1 app. And as a resident these past 20 years of the affluent Northamptonshire locale drawn within easy reach of Silverstone, Szafnauer, like many members of the local motorsport community, is a regular diner at the venue…

Fernando Alonso 2008 Fernando Alonso was paired at Renault with rookie Nelson Piquet Jr. Result: 18-0 to Alonso in qualifying, with a best place of second to Piquet’s seventh. Mark Webber 2002 In his debut year with Minardi Webber was partnered with Alex Yoong, who he trounced 15-0, and Anthony Davidson in Hungary and Belgium. Webber won those two quallie battles as well. Michael Schumacher 1992 In his first full season at Benetton, poor Martin Brundle was on the receiving end of Schumacher’s 16-0 drubbing.…

A RAGING BULL. The fighter pure. The ultimate competitor. The fire and fury of a double world champion who looked set to become the naturally dominant successor to Michael Schumacher. Then came Vettel and Red Bull; then came Hamilton and Mercedes. Different authors, same story: total world domination. Even fired-up Ferrari and Fernando couldn’t beat that challenge – though how hard they tried from 2010-2013. It’s 11 seasons since Fernando won a world title; nearly five since he won a grand prix – romantics will remember his ’13 victory lap of the Barcelona circuit, with Alonso’s fist gripping a Bandera de España, which futtered from the cockpit. He was a hero to the Catalan throng that day; he remains a hero to his global army of fans, whose passion for…

Get over it Goodness, what a lot of meeping going on about the aesthetics of the halo. ‘Herald the death of spectator interest in F1’, eh? I’m much more worried about the effect on spectator interest of F1 disappearing from free-to-air channels. But the halo makes an easy scapegoat I suppose. It looks fine. Really. Now can we kindly get over ourselves? Daniele Gibney By email Fernando hears the drums With the news that Fernando Alonso will contest both the F1 world championship and the WEC this year, is this not a sign of a complete lack of faith in the McLaren team? Alonso doesn’t want another year in F1 completely wasted, and his interest in endurance racing is a sign of what’s to come if McLaren and…

THE MAIN EVENT Formula 1 first set up camp in Australia, in 1985, at the Adelaide street circuit, but after a push from Melbourne businessman Ron Walker and the Victoria state government, the event transferred to Albert Park. It quickly established itself as a favourite among drivers and fans. For visitors a party atmosphere, in a beautiful location, is guaranteed year-on-year. For those following in Europe, early alarms have become the norm at the start of a new season, but there is a peculiar charm about the experience. Fans willing to get up early over the years have been treated to some thrilling races. A temporary, technical track, with little room for error, can catch out the very best drivers, while the early autumn weather has thrown rain into the…

DRIVING FORCE SHIFTER For use with G29 & G920 Driving Force Racing Wheels (PS4 & Xbox One) Price £44.99 www.logitechg.com This add-on gear shifter is to accompany the G29 Driving Force wheel that was featured in last month’s ‘F1 Upgrades’ [F1 Racing, March]. While you can use the wheel’s paddle shifts to change gear, the bespoke shifter adds an extra dimension of realism for driving video games – particularly as the G29 kit comes with a clutch pedal. The six-speed shifter (with reverse gear) is a natural extension of the wheel, with the same high-quality design. Like the wheel it has secure, durable mounts to minimize movements during shifting. We’d recommend this for games with high-performance road and sportscars, such as those in GT Sport, but for the very quick…

NICO ROSBERG With hard-hitting views on his former rivals — including Lewis — the 2016 world champion gives us his thoughts on the season ahead (p34) STEVEN TEE As McLaren’s official team photographer, Tee enjoys a close working relationship with our cover star Fernando Alonso. Portraits on p98 THOMAS BUTLER When we took a handful of fortune cookies to Nico Rosberg (p34), Thomas shot his reaction to every question hidden inside ANTHONY PEACOCK With a fondness for fast cars and all things Italian, Anthony relished talking to Charles Leclerc about the new Ferrari Portofino (p108)…

HOW SAFETY AND TECHNOLOGY HAS RE-SHAPED F1 Lewis Hamilton was very politically correct when we spoke about it – as the world champion inevitably has to be in this world of Liberty, visibility and F1’s new and unfamiliar role on Wall Street – but there was no denying his underlying tone. He’s a racing driver, after all. So when I asked Lewis about starting a race in a big, heavy F1 car that weighs about 820kg (with a full load of fuel), this is what he said: Politically correct segment: “I’ll try to steer away from the negativity, but cars are getting heavier and heavier every year, and that obviously affects the braking zones. The brakes are on the limit and they’re not developing them because of the current rules.…

Nico Rosberg breezes into his Monaco office and immediately spots a bowl of red foil-wrapped packets. “What are these?” he says quizzically. In his absence we’ve delivered twenty handmade fortune cookies, each containing a question related to the 2018 season, to his desk. No longer constrained by the shackles of an F1 team’s PR machine, the 2016 world champion is uniquely qualified to deliver razor-sharp insights and can say exactly what he thinks – and we’re in for a treat. “This is a first for me,” he says. “To be grilled like this on my sport.” There’s just two problems: “I’ve come straight from the dentist and the right side of my mouth is numb,” he says. “And how are we going to break these cookies without making a mess?”…

DANIEL RICCIARDO is starting a year that will define the rest of his life in Formula 1. And it could be the most important of his life, as the Australian seeks not only to fend off the growing challenge of Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen, but do so while making the first big career choice he has ever faced. Ricciardo has been a member of the Red Bull driver programme since 2008 but he is out of contract at the end of 2018. It is the first time in a decade – and the first ever since he made it to F1 – that he has been free to make up his own mind about where his destiny lies. Does he stick or does he twist? And on what factors…

MERCEDES Lewis Hamilton v Valtteri Bottas Chicken Tikka Masala A popular dish with a rich and slightly sweet sauce. Less spicy than before. FERRARI Sebastian Vettel v Kimi Räikkönen Lamb Passanda Mildly spiced with a nutty, creamy sauce. RED BULL Daniel Ricciardo v Max Verstappen Chicken Jalfrezi Hot-fried with chillis for a fresh taste and unpredictable heat. FORCE INDIA Esteban Ocon v Sergio Pérez Chicken Phaal Our hottest offering, in a thick and spicy sauce. Curry connoisseurs liken it to chewing on a live hand grenade. WILLIAMS Lance Stroll v Sergey Sirotkin Beef Dopiaza The dopiaza name roughly translates as “double onions”, so although this curry is only medium-hot it can all end in tears. RENAULT Nico Hülkenberg v Carlos Sainz Lamb Madras An old favourite on the menu, now…

After a conservative first year with F1’s new regulations, not only have Pirelli tweaked all of the compounds for 2018, but there are also two new options: the pink-coloured hypersoft and orange-coloured superhard. The hypersoft slots in at the aggressive end of the range (see above) and promises to be a second a lap faster than the ultrasoft, which itself has been revised to go half a second a lap faster than in 2017. “For 2018 we have moved all the range one step softer,” says Pirelli’s racing manager, Mario Isola. “The target is to have more than one stop; added to the development of the cars, we’re ready to see new records.” Along with the usual two wet compounds, Pirelli will again make available three dry-weather tyres at every…

WHY VISIT? Montréal is a sports-loving city that fully embraces the grand prix when the event is in town. The track is located on a man-made island, the Île Notre-Dame, in the middle of the St Lawrence river and is easily accessible by the underground metro system – it’s a veritable model for sustainable city-centre racing. The race is always action-packed because the narrow track has a lot in common with a street circuit – it’s lined by unyielding concrete walls that instantly punish any mistake made by the drivers. Most races feature at least one appearance by the Safety Car. If you’re a Lewis Hamilton fan, then you should consider Montréal as must-visit grand prix. He scored his first Formula 1 victory at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve and has won…

A new season dawns The first test at Barcelona was beset by bad weather, which punctuated running for every team. But when I looked at the forecast, there was a chance the sun would appear on the morning of the second day. In the last couple of years it’s been impossible to stand in the spot where I took this shot, because they had removed a lot of the Armco barriers, but they were back in place this year. I’m looking back towards Turn 10, the tight left-hander at the end of the back straight, and just as Sebastian Vettel came into view, the sun broke from behind the clouds and cross-lit the scarlet Ferrari. After that there was very little sunshine for the rest of the test. Where Barcelona,…

05.02.18 Liberty announce ‘grid kids’ initiative for all grands prix 07.02.18 FIA tighten boundaries on ‘oil burn’ engine tricks 15.02.18 Robert Kubica reveals he will drive for Williams in FP1 in Spain, Austria and Abu Dhabi 19.02.18 Ex-McLaren aerodynamicist Doug McKiernan joins Williams as chief engineer 20.02.18 McLaren to switch fuel supplier from Castrol to Petrobras in 2019 20.02.18 Formula 2 driver Jack Aitken named as Renault’s reserve 22.02.18 Force India deny they are up for sale 23.02.18 FIA issue new directive on engine equality for customers 27.02.18 F1 launches new web streaming service…

TESTING IS THE FIRST CHANCE TO RANK THE TEAMS As this issue hits the newsstands or floats through the ether to your tablet, the teams are busy packing the freight that is bound imminently for Australia and the opening round of what promises to be an exciting season. While the fans deplore the hiatus of the winter, for those involved in the research, design and production of the new cars, that break is never long enough. Anyone watching the documentary on McLaren’s fraught winter of 12 months ago (if you haven’t seen the series, it’s worth taking a month’s subscription to Amazon Prime) will realise that no end of Gantt charts, machine shop loading schedules and optimism do not guarantee a smooth car build. Whatever the trials and tribulations of…

733 kilograms, the new minimum weight for car and driver to allow for the addition of the halo 28 Toro Rosso driver Brendon Hartley’s official permanent Formula 1 number 4 races in 2018 are scheduled to be 53 laps long: France, Italy, Russia and Japan 3977.62 The race miles needed to complete every lap of every GP in 2018 45 The total of penalty points at the start, shared between 13 of the 20 drivers 41 The combined age of Williams’s driver line-up (Sirotkin 22, Stroll 19) 1 fewer power unit per driver for the year, down from 4 to 3 3 Frenchmen on the 2018 grid – Esteban Ocon, Romain Grosjean and Pierre Gasly – making it the best-represented country 25 The number of consecutive points finishes Lewis Hamilton…

Time, it’s said, passes very quickly for those who wait. Not so for those waiting to secure an interview slot with either of Ferrari’s world champion drivers, since those opportunities present themselves only rarely – and when they do, the window creaks open but feetingly. Thus F1 Racing arrives for our brief encounter with Kimi Räikkönen armed with a wad of question cards, but mindful of Shakespeare’s rumination on time’s fickleness: Time is like a fashionable host/That slightly shakes his parting guest by the hand/And with his arm outstretch'd, as he would fly/ Grasps in the comer. With lunch beckoning, a deadline that is inviolate in Ferrari’s unreconstructedly Italian world, will we be able to ask all our questions? Or will our legendarily reticent interviewee motor his way fat-out through…

CV BRENDON HARTLEY Toro Rosso racer Age 28 Born Palmerston North, New Zealand 2017 World Endurance champion with Porsche; Le Mans winner; joins Toro Rosso for final four GPs 2014-16 Competes with Porsche in WEC, winning the title with teammate Mark Webber in 2015 2012-13 Drives in European Le Mans Series; completes a day’s testing for Mercedes 2010 Racing in Formula Renault 3.5, he is dropped from the Red Bull Young Driver programme 2009 Appointed Red Bull’s and Toro Rosso’s test and reserve driver 2008 Drives in British F3 and takes a podium at the Macau Grand Prix 2007 Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup champion Unless Niki Lauda threw a rattlesnake into Lewis Hamilton’s cockpit just before the start, it’s difficult to imagine anyone having a more exciting 2017 United States…

YOUR BOOKING INCLUDES • A great choice of hotel accommodation with daily breakfast • Weekend General Admission ticket • Welcome bottle of wine in room • Merchandise pack including bag, sun cream, poncho, pen, earplugs, ticket wallet and lanyard • Service charges and taxes YOUR BOOKING DOESN’T INCLUDE • Return circuit and airport transfers • Thomas Cook Sport representatives (Thomas Cook Sport will provide an itinerary and contacts before departure, but there will not be a Thomas Cook Sport representative in resort) Please note: Owing to the location of the track, public transport is the best option for race goers. The Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve is serviced by the Montréal subway system (STM) with the Jean-Drapeau metro situated at the track. Optional Extras (at a fee) • Upgraded ticket Please…

THE MAIN EVENT While Sepang was the first of Hermann Tilke’s new-era venues to join the Formula 1 calendar in 1999, the Bahrain International Circuit initiated a flurry of Tilke-designed additions from the 2004 season onwards. His company has now built or modified 12 tracks on the 2018 F1 calendar. One of the most successful and popular of that generation, the Bahrain International Circuit, twists through the Sakhir desert, an environment that requires teams to develop mitigating strategies against the dust and heat. A state-of-the-art floodlight system was installed for the circuit’s 10th anniversary in 2014 when Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg memorably scrapped for victory. It has been a night race ever since, following in the footsteps of the Singapore Grand Prix and the twilight Abu Dhabi round. Bahrain…

My original helmet design was done in 1982 by a guy called Brian Smith, who my father used to sponsor in long-circuit karting. He’d retired after an accident at Cadwell Park and was now acting as my mechanic. I did my first race with just a white helmet, then the next time out I got it out of the bag and found he’d painted a Saltire on it – with ‘Budgie’ written on the front. That was my nickname… I kept the basic design throughout my whole racing career, although it went through a few modifications. At Williams the Segafredo logos weren’t especially well integrated into the fag – the ‘halo’ McLaren came up with later was more elegant. But then again Frank Williams had been to a Catholic boarding…