In the round-up: Ferrari CEO John Elkann says Ferrari’s results last season, which resulted in their worst championship performance for 40 years, show that they cannot rest on past glories.
What they say
Reflecting on 2020, Elkann said that despite strong results in GT racing and esports, Ferrari’s F1 performance shows it cannot rest on its laurels.2020 was also a year of celebration. Our 1,000th grand prix, the highest number in Formula 1 ever reached; our victories in the GT racing season and we reached over 2.5 million visitors in our eSports series.
But our 2020 Formula 1 results reminded us that a great past doesn’t equate to a great present or future. This painful reality, both for ourselves and our fans is that from which we must restart with humility, focusing on what will make us competitive and ultimately lead to winning.
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
aaaand @yukitsunoda07 is back on track 🤙
who else loves the sound of an @f1 car in the morning? pic.twitter.com/WA5R9ayIix
— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) February 3, 2021
A somewhat confusing #F1-related question on Monday's Only Connect, as the episode was filmed a few months before it was broadcast… pic.twitter.com/wqetxUbX9P
— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) February 3, 2021
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
More motor racing links of interest:
New circuit layout unveiled for Formula E's trip to Rome (Formula E)
"It’s always a challenge to create a new track in Formula E. It’s not a complete blank sheet of paper here, as we share a few corners with the old layout, but it’ll be a lot to learn for the teams which will require drivers and engineers to adapt quickly. With any change to a circuit, they’re forced into totally rethinking their strategy of energy consumption and management."
Rafael Villagomez to drive for HWA Racelab in FIA Formula 3 in 2021 (source)
"In Rafael, we welcome another promising young talent into our team for the coming FIA Formula 3 season. He has shown that he has the drive you need to succeed, not least with his victory in the Richard Mille Young Talent Academy contest. You need that determination in order to be successful in the fiercely-competitive FIA Formula 3 Championship."
In profile: Marcus Armstrong (Formula 2)
"I have always looked up to New Zealanders, especially when I was young and coming up through the ranks. Guys like Mitch Evans, who was in F2 not so long ago. Nick Cassidy, the guys who were around five years older than me. Brendan Hartley was a bit older, but I always followed him as well. Shane van Gisbergen is another."
Juncos Racing adds Kyffin Simpson to 2021 Indy Pro 2000 line up (Indy Pro 2000)
"Simpson will make his official debut in the Indy Pro 2000 Championship this April in the season-opener at Barber Motorsports Park. The 16-year-old will also compete on the oval at Indianapolis Raceway Park, Road America, Mid-Ohio, and the streets of Toronto."
We always endeavour to credit original sources. If you have a tip for a link to feature in the next RaceFans round-up please send it in via the contact form.
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Comment of the day
Following the announcement of his move to IndyCar, Romain Grosjean has said he has a lot to still learn in the series but is looking forward to the level. of competition – Mark In Florida says the chance to win is what’s attracting talent to the series:
IndyCar is looking good for the coming season. Grosjean getting back in the saddle again so soon really shows his spirit and mental toughness. I think that Jimmie Johnson is avoiding the ovals until he gets used to the car.
Though AJ Foyt, Mario Andretti and other old timers would have laughed at him since they regularly ran NASCAR, dirt tracks and Indy and sometimes F1. Indy isn’t what it used to be like when Roger Penske built his famous engine in 94 (‘the beast’) in collaboration with Ilmor just to win the 500. But that is the past when tobacco and alcohol money flowed into the racing community.
So now it’s not about the aero or engineering it’s about the drivers in fairly equal machines with a chance to win. I think that is what makes it compelling to watch for me. F1 already has the winner chosen before the race has started which is a massive let-down, when it’s all so predetermined. In Indy racing the guy at the back can sometimes come to the front. It makes for an exciting race.
Mark In Florida
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JohnH (@johnrkh)
4th February 2021, 1:02
Regarding the COTD, Indy car is a series peculiar to the US, there have been several attempts to run it in other countries but all failed except maybe Canada. The reason imo is the same as the reason stated by the author for his support of Indy. Basically it’s a one make race with two engine suppliers and that’s not likely to change in the future, zero innovation the cars need to have push to pass or overtaking would be non-existent other than the overtaking while cars are in the pits eyes rolling.
As for the excitement of not knowing who is going to win? Five drivers have won every championship since 2000
Scott Dixon- 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2020
Dario Franchitti- 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011
Sam Hornish Jr.-2001, 2002, 2006
Josef Newgarden-2017, 2019
Buddy Lazier-2000
One team has dominated the series since early 2000s with three others filling in the gaps.
Chip Ganassi Racing-2003, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2020
Team Penske-2006, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019
Andretti Autosport-2004, 2005, 2007, 2012
Panther Racing-2001, 2002
When you look at that it’s not a whole lot different from F1 is it. So why the push to dumb down F1 when it’s clear that restricting innovation does not improve the racing.
Keeping the budget cap while letting loose the strings on engineering development equals innovation imo.
PaulK (@paulk)
4th February 2021, 2:28
IndyCar has many issues but no one can seriously call it less competitive than modern F1 Even if the “usual suspects” teams more often than not end up ahead at the end of the year.
First, you are missing a few champions there: Pagenaud in 2016, Will Power in 2014, Hunter-Reay in 2012, Weldon in 2005 and Kanaan in 2004. But more to the point, count how many race winners there have been in Indy in the past 10 or 20 years and compare to F1.
JohnH (@johnrkh)
4th February 2021, 6:07
@paulk I apologize for missing those drivers my search only picked up multiple winners. But they all drove for one of the teams I listed, same horse different jockey.
Tristan (@skipgamer)
4th February 2021, 4:09
What are you smoking? That couldn’t be more different from F1. No team has dominated, certainly not for 7 years in a row. 3 of the 4 teams have only won back to back once. That speaks to incredibly close competition compared to F1.
Tristan (@skipgamer)
4th February 2021, 4:10
I missread chip ganassi, apologies. Still, even one of the teams winning 4 on the trot is nothing compared to the state F1 is in.
JohnH (@johnrkh)
4th February 2021, 6:21
@skipgamer Chip Ganassi Racing has won nine championships in 20 years that’s dominant. Five constructors have one in F1 since 2000 and seven different drivers compared to ten in Indy. My point is the championships are spread among a small number of entrants, in fact doesn’t Indy have several more teams than F1 making the percentage smaller?
anon
4th February 2021, 7:58
@johnrkh you could also note that Panther Racing, which is the last team that wasn’t one of the big three of Andretti, Ganassi or Penske, also no longer exists (it closed down 6 years ago).
JohnH (@johnrkh)
4th February 2021, 10:20
Thanks anon I was not aware of that I’m not actually an Indy fan.
S
4th February 2021, 6:43
Some people really do try hard to make up arguments as to why F1 is ‘better than’ Indycar or any other series…
This one fails to convince too, sadly.
They are just different – and we can all be thankful for that.
And let’s face it – F1 only ‘works’ because it has no direct competition.
JohnH (@johnrkh)
4th February 2021, 10:18
S I’m not trying to say that F1 is better, I’m trying to get across the point that the dominance will happen simply because the best drivers in the best engineered cars in the best run teams will nearly always win. Indy is very restricted compared to F1. Yet F1 are going down the path of constantly changing regulations and imposing restrictions when Indy shows that does not work.
S
4th February 2021, 11:54
I get your point.
F1’s regs aren’t really much more free and open than Indycar’s – that’s why they are suffering the same problems.
I’m the first to argue for opening up F1’s technical regs – but simply doing that, in itself, won’t solve the problem.
Technical regulations define the machinery, but the sporting regulations define the racing – and that is where F1 needs to look for such improvements.
ColdFly (@)
4th February 2021, 7:39
Great statement in your comment @johnrkh.
I noticed that most replies focussed on comparing competitiveness, whereas the difference lies in a totally different area which a true F1 should know immediately. F1 is an engineering series attracting the best drivers, rather than a pseudo spec series.
F1 is not a quest to find the best driver until after the season when we all start ranking them.
S
4th February 2021, 8:59
If they dropped the WDC pretense, perhaps more viewers would appreciate the engineering aspect. Though that engineering aspect is minimised already by the excessively restrictive technical regs, and the overall image is hindered by the official F1-sponsored worshipping of the drivers. A certain one in particular.
I do agree with the final statement in @johnrkh post though.
The budget cap is the perfect mechanism to reopen the technical regs somewhat.
But F1’s thinks the opposite…
Jimmi Cynic (@jimmi-cynic)
4th February 2021, 20:19
– @coldfly
Zing!
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
4th February 2021, 12:32
@johnrkh I think it’s simpler than that.
Indycar is a populist series.
What is popular in one part of the globe is not what is popular in another. So, to be optimally popular in one country automatically makes a series less attractive to populists elsewhere.
While Indycar has some cues that are globally attractive, local populist series are more likely to gain traction in a given locality than a “foreign” populist series, because some of the cues, more or less by definition, differ from place to place. (For example, there’s a reason BTCC hasn’t tried to host rounds in the USA…)
This also may explain why Canada was the one exception to the rule: Canada and the USA have a lot of shared culture (with variations on each side of the border). This makes it easier to get a following for a populist USA series in Canada, because there’s already a lot of people sharing preferences.
JohnH (@johnrkh)
4th February 2021, 5:58
@skipgamer Four teams in 20 years.
Jere (@jerejj)
4th February 2021, 7:34
A confusing question indeed.
Dave
4th February 2021, 9:44
Re F3: Still no Petecof?
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
4th February 2021, 12:34
He has no useful budget and therefore is unlikely to be able to obtain a F3 seat. Hence the loss of Ferrari Driver Academy backing, as far as I know.
Roger Ayles (@roger-ayles)
4th February 2021, 13:05
Regarding COTD. @johnrkh @paulk @skipgamer @coldfly @alianora-la-canta
Indycar would be much better if they could get back to how it was during the CART era when the series was not only way more popular but also seen as a real alternative to F1.
They need to bring back Chassis competition, Allow teams to do more development work, Allow tyre competition, Encourage more engine suppliers & just generally bring back the extra technical, development, excitement & stuff that was present during the CART era when you had a field full of different looking cars rather than (For the 500) 33 identical spec chassis that do nothing but make the series significantly less interesting.
Right now it’s sadly just a slightly bigger lower spec category thats helping the Dallara monopoly & anyone that was a fan of Indycar’s through the 70s/80s/90s will know that it used to be so much more than that & also used to be way more popular.
I think the only people that talk up how ‘great’ Indycar is now are those who don’t know how actually truly amazingly great the series once was before Tony George’s power grab in 1996. Yes it’s probably in a better place than it was during the peak of the split through the 2000’s but it is nowhere near been as good as it was when it was CART & I see zero sign’s that it will get back to that peak anytime soon sadly.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
4th February 2021, 16:28
Can Romain last until Laguna or will the corkscrew fizzle Grosjean out.