In the round-up: BBS becomes official wheel rim provider to Formula 1 starting from this season.
In brief
BBS becomes official F1 wheel rim supplier
Japanese wheel manufacturer BBS have been named as the “official wheel rim provider” to Formula 1 and will supply all ten teams with wheels starting from this season.The deal was announced during the Tokyo Auto Salon car show. Previously, teams had been free to source wheels from suppliers, with brands including Oz and Enkei manufacturing wheels for various teams.
Formula 1 will move from 13-inch wheels used for many decades to new 18-inch, low-profile wheels in 2022. Tyre supplier Pirelli will continue to provide tyres to the world championship.
BBS will also supply standardised wheel rims to the NASCAR Cup Series as the American series also introduces a new car following an overhaul of technical regulations.
Honda unites car and motorcycle racing programmes under HRC banner
Honda have announced they will restructure their racing programmes in all motorsport in 2022, bringing their car racing activities under their existing ‘Honda Racing Corporation’ (HRC) division.
HRC has been the Japanese giant’s motorcycle racing wing for many decades now, running factory teams in MotoGP, World Superbike and MXGP motocross. Honda director, president and CEO, Toshihiro Mibe, says combining their car and motorcycle racing programmes in this way will help them “achieve mutual collaboration of the technologies and know-how” and make their motorsport operations more efficient.
“In order to fulfill the expectations of motorsports fans and Honda fans and customers all around the world, we will continue devoting our energy to motorsports, through the ‘new’ HRC that integrates our motorcycle and automobile racing activities,” Mibe says.
Honda will no longer act as official power unit supplier to Red Bull and AlphaTauri after announcing their departure from Formula 1 at the start of last season. However, Honda will provide direct support to Red Bull’s new Red Bull Powertrains division, which will use Honda designed technologies over the coming seasons.
Verstappen misses 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual pole by two thousandths
Max Verstappen missed out on pole position for the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual race by just 0.002 seconds during qualifying for today’s endurance sim race.
The current Formula 1 world champion’s final lap in qualifying in the Team Redline LMP class car was just two thousandths of a second slower than fellow Dutchman Jeffrey Reitveld in the sister Realteam Hydrogen Redline car.
Red Bull Esports number 111 Corvette took pole position in the GT class for the 24 hour race which begins at 1pm UK time.
Correa and Red Bull juniors Crawford and Edgar return to F3 for 2022
Juan Manuel Correa has announced he will contest a second consecutive season in Formula 3 following his return to the series last year.
The American driver made his return to racing in the series in 2021 after suffering serious injuries in a Formula 2 crash at Spa in 2019 which claimed the life of Anthoine Hubert. Correa finished 21st in the standings and later tested a Formula 2 car in Abu Dhabi at the end of the season.
Correa will again race for ART, joining rookie Gregoire Saucy. Red Bull juniors Jak Crawford and Jonny Edgar have also been confirmed for a second season each in this year’s Formula 3 championship.
Crawford will join Prema after racing for Hitech in his first season in the category last year, while Edgar will move from Carlin to Trident. Fellow Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar will also join the grid, racing with Hitech.
Confirmed drivers for 2022 Formula 3 championship
| Team | Driver | Driver | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prema | Oliver Bearman | Arthur Leclerc | Jak Crawford |
| Trident | Jonny Edgar | TBA | TBA |
| ART | Gregoire Saucy | Juan Manuel Correa | TBA |
| Hitech | Isack Hadjar | TBA | TBA |
| HWA | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| MP | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Campos | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Carlin | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Jenzer | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Charouz | TBA | TBA | TBA |
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
How amazing is THIS! ❤️ Awesome work, Elliott! 👏👏 https://t.co/ZtWPn1gnGS
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) January 14, 2022
We're delighted for #F12021game to be nominated for Racing Game of the Year at the 25th annual #DICEAwards! 🎉
Congratulations to all the deserving nominees 🤝 @Official_AIAS pic.twitter.com/tsjlPZV9xN
— Codemasters (@Codemasters) January 14, 2022
R8G à Paris! @LeMansVirtual https://t.co/KJQifc1mJf
— Romain Grosjean (@RGrosjean) January 14, 2022
https://www.instagram.com/p/CYtK-J0vT3C/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CYuAC3lKdqj/
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
Motor racing links of interest:
"The FIA joins the organisers and participants of the Dakar Rally in sending all its thoughts to the family and friends of Quentin Lavalée and the PH Sport team."
Matt Bishop on sexuality, social media and working with Sebastian Vettel (Ellie Does F1)
"Not only are they (Lewis and Seb) brilliant multiple world champions and super-successful on track, but off track, because they don’t just talk the talk, they walk the walk. They have taken onboard the mission of using their platform – the platform that Formula 1 gives them – to further and promote good causes that they think are very important to them."
Michelle Gatting On Iron Dames, Karting, And Women In Motorsport (Formula Amelia)
"The project of Iron Dames is growing, and in the future, we are going to see women in Hypercars; we might see a woman in Formula 1 in the next five or ten years, and I hope that we can say that Iron Dames was a factor in that."
Motorsport UK seeking applications for 2022 FIA Karting Academy (British Kart Championship)
"Motorsport UK is seeking applications to represent the nation in the 2022 FIA Karting Academy Trophy, a prestigious international championship for 12-14-year olds."
F1 fans all make same Simpsons joke after Aston Martin hire Team Principal 'Mike Krack' (Daily Star)
"Unfortunately for new Aston Martin boss Krack, F1 fans have made a cheeky comparison between his name and the ones Moe usually yells out on the hit sitcom The Simpsons."
We always endeavour to credit original sources. If you have a tip for a link relating to single-seater motorsport to feature in the next RaceFans round-up please send it in via the contact form.
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Comment of the day
With Aston Martin becoming the first team to set a launch date for their 2021 car, @skipgamer is starting to get excited about the year ahead…
Probably the team who’s car I’m least interested in seeing, but I’m still very excited to see any 2022 contender! Bring on the new era of big covered rims and ground effects! Can’t wait!
@skipgamer
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Ed!
RandomMallard
15th January 2022, 0:31
Looking forward to that Virtual Le Mans. I enjoyed the 2020 edition (when it wasn’t red flagged for server crashes).
Glad to see Correa still racing. Last season wasn’t exceptional results wise, but it was still an enormous achievement.
Not sure about the idea of standardised wheel rims.
Can confirm I did in fact make that Simpsons joke yesterday (not on RaceFans tho as someone had already beaten me to it).
And finally, RIP Quentin. 20 years old is far too young for anyone. Rest well…
RandomMallard
15th January 2022, 0:33
I’ll add great news for Correa on the same day as great news for Robert Wickens. Recently rewatched his Indycar debut in St Pete in 2018. Pole position in difficult conditions, then dominated the race until a contact and a spin with a couple of laps to go ruined the dream debut. Real talent Indycar lost, but great to see he’s back racing
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
15th January 2022, 0:32
“Awesome work, Elliott! I clearly didn’t do this myself”
Yaru (@yaru)
15th January 2022, 5:06
Great work on a great driver.
Vokad
15th January 2022, 3:03
Somebody get Jeffrey Reitveld in the RB sister car ASAP!
Vokad
15th January 2022, 3:04
Impressive training conditions by Leclerc.
Didn’t he have Covid a few weeks ago?
Vokad
15th January 2022, 3:09
It broke Mike Krack laughing with the dailystar article.
Vokad
15th January 2022, 3:12
In order to win, we need to unite all of Aston Martin’s divisions, says Mike Crack in late declarations.
frood19 (@frood19)
15th January 2022, 6:42
The link to that Matt bishop article is wrong at the moment. It takes you to a page on this website.
Will Wood (@willwood)
15th January 2022, 9:13
Thanks, I’ve fixed it now!
Jere (@jerejj)
15th January 2022, 8:59
Nice school project.
Mike Krack, Mike Rotch. Slightly similar-sounding last names, yes.
Qeki (@qeki)
15th January 2022, 9:21
English language is stupid. BBS is the official wheel supplier and Pirelli makes the official wheels. BBS is also the official rim maker but only Pirelli makes the official tyres.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
15th January 2022, 9:44
BBS is Japanese?! I could swear it’s a German company. Recheck?!
S
15th January 2022, 11:12
BBS is indeed German, but they do have a manufacturing partnership and facilities in Toyama, Japan.
Perhaps it’s meant that BBS Japan will be supplying F1, not Germany.
antybuc
17th January 2022, 14:45
I thought the same. BBS is german brand. Enkei is japanese.
jlb
15th January 2022, 9:47
Standard rims. Oh my godness.
hunocsi (@hunocsi)
15th January 2022, 12:37
They didn’t want teams to have a development war on the covered rims and diminish the easier to follow principle they set out on with the new rules, there was a good article on Autosport about it. Whether it’s good or bad is hard to say.
RocketTankski
15th January 2022, 13:32
Apart from car number 9 – which gets gold spinners :-)
Keith
15th January 2022, 18:55
Repeat: “F1 is not a spec series, F1 is not a spec series. F1…”
amian
15th January 2022, 11:05
“Previously, teams had been free to source wheels from suppliers, with brands including Oz and Enkei manufacturing wheels for various teams.”
So how does that work now? F1 teams look to be forced to terminate contracts with their suppliers now. Unless they had known about this a long time ago and made appropriate settlements in advance, could that be troublesome now?
S
15th January 2022, 11:16
Given that the wheels won’t even be visible under the awful covers, there’s probably not much sponsorship/partnership money left in it anyway.
And whatever money BBS is paying for exclusive rights will end up in the championship payouts anyway. After Liberty take their 50%, of course.
Pozzino (@pozzino)
15th January 2022, 11:29
it’s been known by teams for more than a year. And yes, lost income from sponsorship deals, and the wheels are more expensive than bespoke designs from typical manufacturers like OZ racing
Sonny Crockett (@sonnycrockett)
15th January 2022, 11:12
BBS?
Wow, reminds me of a Golf GTi I used to have in the early 90s!
erikje
15th January 2022, 17:59
Probably with one broken rear light as was custom with vw from thar era.
StefMeister (@stefmeister)
15th January 2022, 15:51
Moving towards a standard wheel supplier isn’t on it’s own that big a deal but it is 1 more thing in a growing list of bits which have been made standard with a push to add more things to that list going forward & it’s just something i’m really uncomfortable with as it goes against an aspect of F1 which I not only really enjoy but which I also see as a key part of F1.
That been competition & the freedom for teams to select suppliers or construct components which they feel best suits there package to maximise it’s performance.
Competition not just between teams, drivers & strategists but also between engine suppliers, Tyre suppliers, Brakes, suspension, cooling, wheels, gearbox, electronics & more. I just enjoy seeing different designs, different interpretations & ideas which perform in different ways & have different strengths & weaknesses which offer & create variety & again are picked because a team thinks it’s the best for there package to fully maximise there performance.
Robert
15th January 2022, 18:30
I agree with this in general terms, I want to see development and different designs and manufacturers of components on track. On the other hand, I think the only way we will ever see that again is by standardizing some components in order to free up everything else. Having a completely open formula would be unreasonable with today’s technology and wealth of racing knowledge. A set of “a few” restrictions makes things more fun, but restricting “every single little tiny detail” and still pretend teams can build their own machines makes things boring. I would be for a formula where performance and safety is controlled by standard components in a few key areas. That could include wheel and tire assemblies, safety cells, and even ICE’s, if that meant vastly more freedom of the overall layout, hybrid systems, suspension, aerodynamics and so on.
This move to standard wheels does not bother me in itself. But the ongoing trend of limiting more and more of the design freedom is a problem, it severely takes away from my personal interest in the sport. I’m still dreaming of a future where the stakeholders realize that they can free things up now, if the budget cap rules are actually working.
On a further side note, one way of getting more component manufacturers in would be to allow teams to make their own version of these “standard components” if they like. But if they do, they would have to homologate them a year in advance and sell them to every other team that wants to use them, at a standard price equal to that of the “standard component” they are replacing.
Srdjan Mandic (@srga91)
15th January 2022, 21:13
@stefmeister
I disagree. Competition should stop at a point, when it gets too complex or professional and manufacturers spending an enormous amount of money (be it on wheel rims, tyres, electronic parts etc.) on development. Even now, with the budget cap in place, the big manufacturers could outsource hundreds of millions of development costs to their suppliers. How could the FIA possibly police that?!
We’re not in the 80’s anymore, when a private team would come up with a clever or unique design, possibly partnered by a new tyre manufacturer who builds a competitive product. Those days are long gone. Since the early 2000s, the manufacturers have ruined F1 with their expertise and money, resulting in private teams becoming almost extinct, because they weren’t backed by a big car manufacturer.
I’ll give you an example on the bad influence of competition: In 2004 Ferrari effectively became Bridgestone’s factory team, because all but Sauber plus the struggling Jordan and Minardi switched to Michelins. Bridgestone realized the best choice to get good publicity was to help Ferrari, respectively Michael Schumacher, win the title. So they built tyres, perfectly suited to MSC driving style. This resulted in the other customers and partly even Barrichello struggling, especially in qualifying. Sauber realized that this only benefitted Ferrari and jumped to Michelin the following season.
I heard a similar story regarding Michelin and Rossi, when Rossi would tell the Michelin technician after Friday practice what kind of tyre he needs exactly. Then, Michelin would immediately manufacture that tyre, according to Rossis’s preferences and he would get that tyre on Sunday morning before warm up.
Robert
16th January 2022, 16:10
The thing is, F1 is one of the few places of top level motorsport where technology development is and always has been part of the competition. If the goal was only close racing and full focus on the drivers, then one-make series is the way to go. Give everyone the same equipment. But that’s not F1.
For me, the issue is that they are trying to go half-way, teams must design their own cars but the regulations are so tight that the cars are virtually the same anyway. Why bother with having 10 groups of people designing the same things?
I already ruled out one extreme, going one-make style with no car development at all. The other extreme would be to let development completely free, that we also agree would not work today. So can we go half-way? Currently what they try to do is limit development by regulating everything down to a very small scope of freedom. That is boring from a fan perspective, and from an engineers perspective, and it still cost the same but for a smaller result. What I suggest is to go half-way by using standard parts for key aspects regarding safety and perhaps big performance differentiators such as ICE’s and tires etc, but freeing up the development scope for all other parts. That would not be more expensive, but it would result in something more interesting, possibly useful for purposes outside of F1, and open up for cars to be different again.
Srdjan Mandic (@srga91)
16th January 2022, 20:54
I agree. F1 never has been a spec series and shall never become one. Who wants to watch drivers battling each other in equal machinery should watch F2, F3 etc.
I will reserve judgement on the new cars until they actually break cover at winter testing, to see if they really look that similar to each other. If they really do, then that’s not the right path for F1, I believe.
However, right now I don’t see another option for F1. They can keep letting the manufacturers dominate the sport or make the rules so tight that their big budgets don’t have a massive impact on performance. By going for the latter option and adding a sort of budget cap (though the current one doesn’t go far enough and definitely needs further adaptations, i.e. driver salaries, leasing costs for engines and every kind of development costs included), Liberrty and the FIA have at least taken some influence away from the big players. I also like that the technical regulations regarding the front wing keep the designers from directing the airflow around the tyres and giving the car behind dirty air. They should definitely keep that concept for the next regulation change (if it actually works, which remains to be seen).
Let’s see what happens in the upcoming years and then with the next big regulation change in 2026 with the new, hopefully simpler PUs. As I already mentioned, the FIA needs to implement further budget restrictions in order to achieve a level playing field among competitors and without any(!!) exceptions. Then they can free up the technical regulations again. In an ideal scenario, teams would have to build almost every part of the car themselves, except for PU, gearbox and possibly rear suspension. Plus F1 desperately needs an independent PU supplier, to stop manufacturers running satellite teams, instead of them being ‘real’ competitors (i.e. Aston Martin, Alpha Tauri or Haas).