In the round-up: Max Verstappen says the the new Red Bull will look very similar to last year’s car
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In brief
New Red Bull will look “exactly the same”
Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen has suggested that his Red Bull team’s upcoming car will look “exactly the same” as last year’s dominant RB19.
Verstappen joined his Team Redline simracing team mates on a stream last night playing EAFC24. Asked about how his Red Bull’s upcoming RB20, Verstappen replied “yeah, it’s going to look exactly the same.”When team mate Luke Chance observed that “everyone else who has already released their cars doesn’t have any paint on their cars,” Verstappen replied, “I’m telling you, it’s going to look exactly the same.”
Schumacher should be on F1 grid – Ocon
Alpine driver Esteban Ocon says Mick Schumacher “clearly” deserves to be on the F1 grid.
Schumacher has not raced in Formula 1 since the end of the 2022 season when he lost his race seat at Haas to Nico Hulkenberg. He will race Alpine’s hypercar in this year’s World Endurance Championship, but Ocon believes Schumacher should be racing against him and team mate Pierre Gasly instead.
“Yes, he does deserve a place in Formula 1, that is clear,” Ocon told media including RaceFans yesterday.
“Because he’s proved it. He’s a Formula 2 champion, Formula 2 champion. He’s had two years in the back in a midfield car. You need time to prove yourself in Formula 1, learn things and for sure he deserves a seat in Formula 1. He’s one of the most talented drivers out there.”
Collet joins Indy Nxt field
Former Formula 3 racer Caio Collet will join the Indy Nxt grid this season with the HMD Motorsports team.
Collet competed in the F3 championship for the last three seasons, taking three race wins and 11 podium finishes with a best finish of eighth in 2022. He took ninth in the championship last year.
“IndyCar is a goal of mine for the future but right now, I am 100% focused on Indy Nxt with HMD Motorsports,” Collet said. “I have a lot to learn, and I am thankful for the opportunity. I will put my best foot forward at achieving race wins, podium results, and the championship for both HMD Motorsports and myself.”
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Jodie Porter: ''It’s incredible. It’s the best of the sport that you can experience. Other than getting in a F1 car, which is near enough impossible unless you’re a driver, the grid is the next best thing. It’s somewhere that’s not easy to get into. It’s the closest you could ever get to all the cars and drivers at one time. It’s just a show.''
The controversial story behind Adelaide-bound F1 car (Speedcafe)
'Like the Arrows FA1, the Shadow DN9 was not an exceptional car, and its best result in 1978 was a brace of fifth places at the Swedish and British Grands Prix. Tony Southgate had designed the car while working as a consultant to Shadow and, as he was not an employee of the organisation, believed he owned the design's intellectual property. Thus, he recycled much of his previous work when it came to creating the Arrows FA1. That landed Arrows in the London High Court, which ruled Southgate did not own the design.'
''We make in the region of a quarter million parts for every year. We gather data from every one of the races, producing approximately 400 gigabytes of data from every race''.
Donington Park undergoes winter refurbishments (MSV)
'Other detail refinements include the placement of fresh artwork in the main hospitality suites, whilst visitors to Garage 39 will be able to enjoy a new centrepiece car – the Dallara IndyCar raced in 2008 by Justin Wilson. The Champ Car, which was previously on display, will move to a new home in an expanded Megastore which is moving to a larger unit for this season.'
McLaren Construction on course for £1bn turnover (Construction Index)
'Notable projects last year included ExCel London Convention centre, continuing work on developer Quintain’s Wembley Park build-to-rent estate, the Salvation Army’s new HQ, a new F1 head office facility for Aston Martin and projects for developers including British Land, Argent, Tishman Speyer, Aviva and Landsec. '
How to Train Like an F1 Mechanic (Aston Martin via YouTube)
'What is it really like to be a mechanic in the fast-paced world of F1? Together with Valvoline, join our mechanics as they're put through their paces in boot camp and dial in ahead of travelling the world together for the 2024 season.'
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 to us via the contact form.
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Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
Kicking off 2024 together 🤳 pic.twitter.com/rjqwhHZ1iF
— BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) February 7, 2024
The precision, the anticipation and then…the sound 🔊💚⁰⁰The C44 roars for the first time🔥 pic.twitter.com/yrogvUEhV7
— Stake F1 Team (@stakef1team) February 7, 2024
New season. New style numbers 🤩 pic.twitter.com/ggxpOYNvyv
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) February 7, 2024
A closer look at Alpine's new car for the 2024 #F1 season. pic.twitter.com/uTXt5LRlM6
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) February 7, 2024
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
Is the new Alpine A524 a disappointment when it comes to its aesthetics? No, feels Tristan…
Wow, I love it.
The lines at the back all match the Alpine ‘A’, the Castrol there has been outlined with a width that fits the outline of the BWT. I can’t read what the logo is at the light blue above the Alpine but the way the French flag is just a thin line below it is sublime.
Not a huge fan of the front view, but wow – this is such a huge step up from McLaren for me.
It could do with a touch less negative space or some colour trim to help its colours be a bit more visible from non-orthogonal angles but besides that, best livery so far.
Tristan
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Straightline, Sandlefish, Yogesh and Manox!
Yellow Baron
8th February 2024, 0:24
Anyone else liking this seasons start to the calender? It’s reminding me very much of around 15 years ago waking up early (west europe time) as a young fan to watch the race along with an Easter egg.
Jere (@jerejj)
8th February 2024, 5:50
To me, not really reminiscent in that way.
Adrian Hancox (@ahxshades)
8th February 2024, 8:24
Unfortunately not for me – the first two races being on Saturdays and I will be travelling for both. first races I will not have watched live for well over a decade.
notagrumpyfan
8th February 2024, 10:08
F1TV with VPN could help you in such cases.
Just make sure you don’t listen to the radio/TV before replaying the race ;)
Adrian Hancox (@ahxshades)
8th February 2024, 11:50
Yes – there are ways to watch after the fact, and I know what my approach will be already. I am just annoyed that I will not be seeing them live for the first time in such a very long time.
ryanoceros (@ryanoceros)
8th February 2024, 16:56
The first two races are going to be on Saturdays?? I didn’t know. Any others with this format? I didn’t like it last year when they tried it.
stefano (@alfa145)
8th February 2024, 2:01
I appreciate the Sauber logos staying still inside the factory
Jere (@jerejj)
8th February 2024, 5:51
Maybe, but becoming a full-time driver again is getting more & more difficult because neither has he achieved anything nor has vast experience in F1.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
8th February 2024, 6:37
with jos and marko trying to give horner the boot, can rbr survive in 2025 ?
Jungle
8th February 2024, 7:48
What is Jos’s beef with Horner?
Mr Fabulous (@mrfabulous)
8th February 2024, 7:00
Ironic that there is absolutely no connection whatsoever between McLaren Construction Group and F1 – other than they built Aston Martin’s production facility :-)
Bob C.
8th February 2024, 13:30
I learned that on holiday in London, when I surprised my wife by stopping somewhere on Oxford street, bent over laughing embarrassingly loud. I had just spotted a sign on some scaffolding that said “Mclaren group: we apologize for any inconvienice“.
Well, it was in 2015 – GP2 engine and all – so it did seem rather appropriate
MacLeod (@macleod)
8th February 2024, 7:46
Funny how he did says the RB 20 LOOKS the same which doesn’t mean it’s the same car.
MacLeod (@macleod)
8th February 2024, 7:49
Under the bonnet it could be total different .. the floor was the target for this year and some suspension adjustments to handle the curbs beter. (strange message was posted while typing…)
Asd
8th February 2024, 11:34
Who cares if it’s the same car or not? The fact is that it looks the same and that’s the only thing that matters.
The lack of a new appearance is boring and very disappointing.
Edvaldo
8th February 2024, 11:52
Well, RB19 did look the same as 18 too. they launched the car and i thought it was just them showing some new sponsors on the old car, but it was the new car.
I collect F1 models and didn’t even bother buying RB19 as i already had RB18.
Asd
8th February 2024, 13:41
@Edvaldo
I also collect models, although pretty much exclusively buy cars from the 1970s-1997 era when comes to F1.
But when I wanted to get a current car last year, I bought the RB18, because it’s better looking than the RB19.
Most people might not notice or care, but there were meaningful differences.
MichaelN
8th February 2024, 9:44
The grid is the best place to experience F1 (as per the CNN article)?
Why… all the cars are standing still and there’s a huge crowd making it hard to see anything. One might as well go to a automotive museum.
Just goes to show people can be taught to like anything if you pretend it’s “exclusive” and that it makes them more special than the fans in the stand… who get to see the cars race at speed, hear the engines, and actually, you know, watch the race.
Coventry Climax
8th February 2024, 11:18
In the article’s photographs, she poses with ‘celebrities’, and the last five of her words quoted here are “It’s just a show.’ Says it all, as far as I’m concerned.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
8th February 2024, 13:49
MichaelN,
Couldn’t have said it better !
The luxury goods industry generates billions by employing the exact principle of making items appear exclusive, reserved only for special VIP individuals. Good for them; there are numerous individuals eager for attention who won’t hesitate to spend extravagantly to satisfy their egos.
ryanoceros (@ryanoceros)
8th February 2024, 16:59
The grid walk would be much better for the majority of people watching F1 (on TV) without the vapid dbags taking up space. They have no purpose on the grid keep them off the grid! It’s going to cause a security problem if they keep this up.
Coventry Climax
8th February 2024, 11:24
I wonder how much Ocon was paid to say what he did about Mick. Mick has proved nothing, apart from being a top notch car wrecker. His first F2 season was very mediocre at best, and his second the same, for the first half, until a very dubious ‘resurrection’ suddenly ocurred. He belongs in F1 as much as peanutbutter in lemon sorbet icecream. Sure, there’s the oddball that likes it.
Moi
8th February 2024, 17:56
Ocon will support any driver he feels he can easily beat.
Mog
8th February 2024, 19:28
Both Ocon and Schumacher managed by Toto and work currently for Alpine.
Mayrton
9th February 2024, 10:25
I do not see it either. Neither of them belongs in F1. It is time we get better drivers. FIA should act and create an academy that is not just for women but for all talents out there, not just the ones with parents that have sufficient cash. I can’t believe I am still watching the Ocons, Strolls, Gaslys, Magnussens, Hulkenbergs, Sargeants, Tsunodas, Guanyus of this world while there are only 20 seats available for 8 billion people.
BasCB (@bascb)
9th February 2024, 12:25
Thanks for giving us that CotD Keith, Tristan. It made me go back to the Alpine car and look beyond the sheer bareness of it. And yeah, I agree, the parts they DID add in colour are actually done really nicely to make a good design, good job Alpine, this is not a mess (even though it IS rather much black)