💢💢Red Bull on The Back Foot, Can McLaren Take Advantage?

Good morning. Another lonely weekend without a Grand Prix. It’s just as well, this season is shaping up to be the heart pounding thriller that we all needed from F1. But, like going to the gym after some time off, we have to ease back into Formula 1 being this exciting again. Our hearts may not have been able to handle a triple header.

We have one more week until we go racing again, except K Mag because he was a naughty driver and he has to skip the next one.

-Jake Williamson

🌎 Bendy Front Wings

Red Bull seems to not like being behind the pack that it once led. Now that they have fallen back, they have start to look closer at their nearest competitors technical details. One area of concern for the Red Bull leadership is the flex in the front wing, specifically on the McLaren and Mercedes.

From early in the season, there has been concern over the amount of flex in the front wings on cars and recently Christian Horner (RB team boss) has leveled an indirect accusation of breaching the rules at some of the other teams.

In response to the claims, the governing body of F1 have been studying the front wings during grand prix weekends. Since the Belgian round of the championship, the FIA has been monitoring the movement of front wings with cameras to determine if the current flex tests are fit for purpose and need revising. The FIA are quick to tell the teams that by fitting a front facing camera and measuring front wing flex, they are gathering data on the effectiveness of their tests and not searching for team to punish. These two things seem to go hand in hand, but this is the official statement.

Are the wings allowed to flex?

Yes. No protrusion from a machine that harnesses the power of aerodynamics is expected to be completely rigid. So, the FIA allows a bit of travel at the wing tips. They are allowed to move up and down 5mm each way.

This has turned out to be advantageous for teams because the added flex in the wing reduces drag in a straight line, for reasons only a PHD can understand.

FIA’s verdict

“All front wings are currently compliant with the 2024 regulations.”

This is an unequivocal answer to the legality question. The FIA will most likely run their front wing tests through Singapore but will not result in further action.

🚀Headline Sprint

Ferrari closes the door for Newey: Scuderia Ferrari have scooped a key signing from Mercedes for the technical team. Loic Serra will be leaving his role as Performance Director at Mercedes to join Ferrari as head of Chassis development starting October 1st. In short, Serra will be responsible for chassis project engineering, vehicle performance, aerodynamics, track engineering, chassis operations departments. In other words, this guy will be in charge of a lot of important bits on the Ferrari cars. We all sort of know where Adrian Newey will be signing (Aston) but this story out of Maranello seals the deal.

Speaking of Newey: Adrian Newey, the technical wizard behind some of the dominant Red Bull cars as of late seems to have been elevated to aerodynamic god status the way people are talking about him lately. Many of considered Newey the sole reason for Red Bull’s meteoric rise to glory and, subsequently, their downfall. It’s painfully obvious how much Red Bull is struggling with their RB20 and many have linked Newey’s departure to that downfall. A point that team principal, Christian Horner, vehemently denies. "I think we would have had all of these issues, because the issues were already there, and one man's input could never be so dramatic, so quickly," says Horner. It’s hard to argue his point. Adrian Newey is a cog in a machine and the timing of RB’s downfall and Newey’s departure should just be chocked up to coincidence.

🛞 Audi Faced with Dilemma

Having one of the best looking liveries on the formula 1 grid is about all that Stake Sauber A.K.A Audi F1 has going for it. You can’t deny this car looks good. But, dear lord it is slower than a middle aged snail.

It’s no wonder why Audi doesn’t want their name slapped on this car right away. You see, Audi owns this team but won’t be rebranding the cars until 2026 when the new era is ushered in. Audi will be providing the new car, new engines, and a brand new direction for the team at that point. But, there is much to do behind the scenes.

After some shake ups at the top, Audi brought on Mattia Binotto who used to run Ferraris F1 team as well as their technical departments. Binotto will be doing similar work for Audi because they recognized that the team needs someone who has experience running a works team, which is to say a team that manufactures their power units and chassis. Although Binotto won’t be joining Audi as the team principal, he will be responsible for putting this puzzle together in a way that leads to success for the German Manufacturer.

When Binotto was brought on board, he inherited Nico Hulkenberg for one of the driver positions for 2025. He also inherited the conundrum of choosing who will join Hulkenberg for 2025, and most likely into the new engine era.

The dilemma

This is the tough part for any team. When faced with a fresh start and no obvious star driver, do you bring in a fresh face with a potential for greatness? Or, do you bring in another experienced driver to help take the team to the next level?

Audi’s answer to this seems to already have been answered by aggressively, and publicly, pursuing Carlos Sainz. By signing a driver like Sainz, Audi could have hoped to capitalize on his vast track experience and take advantage of the many years he has left in F1. However, as you know, Sainz decided to turn the other cheek and join the scrappy team at Willams.

So, it’s back to the drawing board for Audi.

Mattia reflects on the task at hand when asked about choosing a driver, “This is a project which is looking to a long term objective, so [the question is] what's the best for us from now to the final goal?”

Who are on the list?

Well the obvious answer here is Valterri Bottas. His vast knowledge and racing experience are championship level and he clearly has what it takes to bring a team to the top of the grid given the right equipment. Even Lewis Hamilton will tell you the car matters in this equation. So, if Audi can sort a proper car, Bottas seems to be the right choice.

However, if this truly is a 5 year vision, Audi may want to sacrifice in the short term and go with a younger driver like their reservist, Theo Pourchaire or Gabriel Bortoleto both from F2.

No matter what Audi decides to do for their second seat in 2025, it is clear that they have a lot of work to do from a technical perspective. We are unlikely to see any major performance boost from the Sauber team in 2025 with the new engines coming so soon after. We may have to wait for 2026 to render a verdict on the German motoring giant’s progress.

🏎 C Story

Words of defeat from Rosberg: 2016 World Champion, Nico Rosberg, has made the bold claim that Red Bull will claw their way back into the title contention in the coming weeks. After pointing out that they were podium quality in Zandvoort, Rosberg points to the horrible 6.2 second pit stop at Monza as a symbol of their doomed Monza run. “Red Bull never mess up their pit stops. They are perfect in their pit stops. So that’s like, almost symbolic, that even the pit stop went wrong,” says Rosberg. Red Bull haven’t been on the backfoot like this in quite some time. They seem to have a pile of issues all coming to fruition at this critical point in the season and the team doesn’t have the ability to turn it around quickly. Rosberg may be right about them sorting their business soon, but don’t hold your breath on a Red Bull domination for 2024.

Formula 1 has free pick of sponsors: Lenovo joins Formula 1 as another official global sponsor. From 2025 onwards, two Grand prix will be given the Lenovo title as part of the deal. In addition Lenovo will be increasing their commitment to aiding F1 in the technology realm. Together, we’re not just shaping the future of technology and motorsport, but we’re also ensuring that cutting-edge technological advancements benefit all, creating unforgettable experiences no matter where they are in the world,” says Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing. Apparently, Lenovo will be creating opportunities to collaborate in artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Lenovo joins a list as long as my arm of potential sponsors as the F1 spectacle grows in popularity thanks to renewed media attention. Motorsport is having a bit of a moment right now and we hope it lasts for many years to come thanks to new sponsors like Lenovo.

💨 Hot Laps

McLaren wants to bring a new floor upgrade but seem to be hesitant after Red Bull’s monster car issues.

Williams launches an engineering academy with Komatsu to nurture the next generation of technical talent.

Kevin Magnussen’s race ban may have been too harsh and calls into question the lack of consistency in handing out penalties.

Red Bull admits Norris was had a contract on the table to join the Austrian team before moving to McLaren F1.

Miami GP president wasn’t sold on the sprint race format for the new American race.

🛞Marbles

Random links from the authors not always car related

✅EV: The global demand for EVs has waned and the latest victim is Volvo as it scraps it’s complete EV transition by 2030.

✅Name: See your name spelled out in satellite imagery!

✅Travel: This site helps you prepare for the types of plugs you will need for your next trip abroad.

✅Depths: Take a look at the latest photos from the Titanic wreckage.

✅Frozen: How can a volcano freeze the Earth twice over? Check this video out for more.

🤯Brain Food

Can you name the F1 world champion from the following years?

1995

2002

2008

📖Answer

1996 - Damon Hill

2002 - Michael Schumacher

2008 - Lewis hamilton

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