Pileup crash jams Monaco streets before F1 race
Before Oscar Piastri and Formula 1 hit the streets of Monaco, a huge pileup crash at turn one takes out 12 drivers at the start of Formula 2's feature race.
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News.com.au
10 hours ago
- News.com.au
Piastri: 2 driver strategy still the way
F1: Oscar Piastri speaks ahead of the Barcelona Grand Prix about his fight to become world champion against teammate Lando Norris.
ABC News
14 hours ago
- ABC News
F1 begins stricter front wing testing on cars as McLaren leads championships
Motorsport's governing body is enforcing a new rule change, beginning at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, that potentially could have major ramifications for leaders McLaren, and world championship front-runners Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. From this weekend until the end of the season, the FIA is tightening the restrictions on the flexibility of every car's front wing. The new testing is reducing the deflection allowance of the front wing by 5mm, in a move described by Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur as a "game changer". On an F1 car, all aerodynamic parts of the bodywork, except the DRS flap on the rear wing, must be immobile and rigid. To be specific, Article 3.2.2 of the sport's technical regulations states: "All aerodynamic components or bodywork influencing the car's aerodynamic performance must be rigidly secured and immobile with respect to their frame of reference … Furthermore, these components must produce a uniform, solid, hard, continuous, impervious surface under all circumstances." However, there have been rumours that some teams have been able to exploit this rule. By coincidence, the discussion about some teams having flexible wings came to the fore following last year's Spanish Grand Prix, when it was becoming clear that McLaren had caught the previously dominant Red Bull in performance. Last year, McLaren's rear wing was causing a stir with teams believing it was not conforming to regulations. The FIA tightened up the rear wing regulations at this year's Chinese Grand Prix. Now the focus is on the front wing, which has also caused some consternation in the F1 paddock. To put it simply, some believe teams may have manufactured a front wing that could deform under aerodynamic load at high speeds. That aerodynamic force allegedly could change the shape of the front wing to reduce drag on the car. The wing could then snap back into its original shape when the car slows down, maximising downforce through corners. Starting this weekend, the FIA will introduce a tougher test on front wings. The previous test would apply a load of 1,000 Newtons (around 100kg) in a downward direction on two points of the wing. The wing was allowed to deflect up to 15mm when the force was applied to each side of the wing, and 20mm when applied to just one side. The new testing reduces these deflection allowances to 10mm when force is applied on both sides, and 15mm when applied on one side. The FIA announced the front wing clampdown at the start of the year, giving teams until the Spanish Grand Prix to have front wings that will conform to the new testing requirements. Whether the more rigid front wings will have any effect on F1's pecking order will be closely watched this weekend in Barcelona. "This can be a game changer for everybody because we don't know the impact on every single team of the new regulation," Vasseur said during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend. McLaren drivers Piastri (161 points) and Norris (158 points) are the top two in the drivers' championship standings after eight rounds, with Red Bull's defending world champion Max Verstappen (136 points) the only other driver to mount a challenge so far. McLaren's team principal Andrea Stella at the start of the season told UK broadcaster Sky Sports that McLaren would need to make adjustments to conform to the new front wing regulations, but insisted in February that is would not be a "headache". "We don't have to make many adjustments at all for the start of the season. There will be a small adjustment required from race nine," he said. The time for adjustments has come, with McLaren the team with most to lose if they have been able to exploit F1's front wing regulations for the past two seasons.
News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
Verstappen hoping rule change can propel his title charge
Max Verstappen returns to the scene of his maiden Formula One victory chasing his fourth consecutive Spanish success this weekend with his Red Bull team hoping a rule change will end McLaren's supremacy. The four-time world champion triumphed on his Red Bull debut as a teenager at the Circuit de Catalunya in the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix and will hope another win, his fifth in Spain, will propel him into the thick of the title race. The 27-year-old Dutchman is 25 points adrift of championship leader Oscar Piastri and 22 behind his McLaren team-mate Lando Norris, who their rivals believe could be hampered by the introduction of strict front wing flexibility tests. "It's a significant change," said Red Bull boss Christian Horner of the requirement for much stiffer front wings. "There will be some effect and, of course, the teams have anticipated this so it may well be neutral. Or it may affect tyre degradation. It doesn't make life easier!" McLaren's excellent aerodynamic car, designed to enable their drivers to manage tyre-wear and deliver fast times, may be more hit by the tightening up of the rule than others. "But we don't know how it will affect them," added Horner. Formula One announced the clampdown on so-called 'flexi wings' in January. - 'Game-changer' - The change left the teams with time to prepare and may have a dramatic effect on performance and the outcome of the season. "With 16 races left, there is a long way to go," said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. "The team is pushing to find performance and this weekend's updated front wing technical directive will provide another level of intrigue." After a dismal pointless weekend in Monte Carlo, Wolff expects an upturn from his 'silver arrows' drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. Ferrari's Fred Vasseur said: "This can be a game-changer for everybody because we don't know the impact on every team." McLaren have won six out of the eight races this year and sit 172 points clear of Mercedes in the teams' title race, but know the 'mixed' Spanish track, where there are as many slow corners as fast, may be a challenge for their car. But after strong results everywhere this season, except on the high-speed tracks at Suzuka and Imola where Verstappen won for Red Bull, they will be under scrutiny and pressure. As will Ferrari after an inconsistent and mostly disappointing start to the season as seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton continues to seek his first win with the team at a venue where he has won six times – a record he shares with Michael Schumacher. Two Spanish drivers will take part this weekend: Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, due to start his 410th race at the age of 43, and Carlos Sainz, 30, of Williams, set for his 215th race. Their presence has maintained the sport's relatively-new modern popularity and the growth of big crowds at Spanish Grands Prix. Furthermore, Sainz, born in Madrid, is an ambassador for a future race near the capital, from 2027, while Alonso fulfills a similar role for the Catalan track, which runs out of contract next year – a conflict that enables them to reflect Spain's most classic and enduring sporting rivalry. str/nr
