Pre-Season Test #1 - Day #1 - LINE-UP

PRE-SEASON TEST #1 - DAY #1 - LINE-UP

Test Location: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya - Montmelo, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

MERCEDES-MERCEDES: Valtteri Bottas (AM) / Lewis Hamilton (PM)

FERRARI-FERRARI: Kimi Raikkonen

RED BULL RACING-TAG-HEUER: Daniel Ricciardo

RENAULT-RENAULT: Nico Hulkenberg (AM) / Carlos Sainz (PM)

FORCE INDIA-MERCEDES: Nikita Mazepin

WILLIAMS-MERCEDES: Lance Stroll (AM) / Sergey Sirotkin (PM)

SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO-HONDA: Brendon Hartley 

HAAS-FERRARI: Romain Grosjean

McLAREN-RENAULT: Fernando Alonso

SAUBER-FERRARI: Marcus Ericsson

*Subject to change

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Written By: Amy Hawk

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McLaren Reveal 2018 Car & Papaya Livery

(Image credit to: McLaren F1 Team)

    McLaren has revealed its first Renault powered Formula 1 car, the MCL33, complete with iconic papaya orange livery.

    The new car has been described as an evolution of its predecessor, but important changes needed to be made for the significantly different engine that would be powering the car.

    After three frustrating seasons with Honda, McLaren switched to Renault for the 2018 F1 season. Though regulations state the front and rear engine mounts must be the same for each manufacturer, the architecture of the Renault engine is different from that of the Honda.

    “Making the switch has a big impact on the installation of the engine,” said Tim Goss, McLaren’s chief technical officer (chassis). “The advantage of the Renault layout means that we can push the engine forwards, but then you have the compressor at the back of the engine, so you’ve got to get the outlet pipes forward without impacting the packaging.

    We had to redesign the back of the chassis, the gearbox bell-housing, the rear suspension and the cooling layout. That was two weeks of intense effort to get right. But it was something we were somewhat prepared for, because we knew it might happen, and it’s amazing what people can do in such a short space of time when the chips are down and you’ve got a really clear mission.”

    Having taken just 133 points from the past three seasons, McLaren hopes the change of engine manufacturer will lead to a change of fortune and enable drivers Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne to fight closer to the front of the field.

    But racing director Eric Boullier warns the team will still face a tough challenge.

    “We are under no illusions that it will be difficult to splinter the hegemony at the front, and that the midfield will be full of well-funded, experienced outfirts with plenty to prove.

    We are humble about the challenge ahead, but feel we’ve prepared well, have a solid package that we can build upon and exploit as the season progresses, and have two excellent drivers who will make the difference in races.”

    Whether the MCL33 will be a turning point for McLaren remains to be seen, but the car undoubtedly marks a new chapter in the team’s history. 

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring

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Ferrari Launch 2018 Car

(Image credit to: Scuderia Ferrari)

    Ferrari has revealed its latest Formula 1 car, the SF71H, ahead of preseason testing.

    Its unchanged driver line-up of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, as well as development driver Daniil Kvyat and Antonio Giovinazzi, were at the launch at the team’s base in Maranello.

    One year into the current set of technical regulations, Ferrari’s 2018 challenger is built on what the team learned last season. It is similar to its predecessor, the most successful Ferrari in recent years, but has a longer wheel base and a revised cooling system.

    Unsurprisingly, Ferrari has stuck with the traditional red livery, including on the mandatory halo head protection device, with the absence of white features differentiating it from its immediate predecessors.

    Also absent is the Santander branding – which has featured on Ferrari machines since 2009 – as the Spanish bank has opted to end its F1 sponsorship deals.

    Like all engine manufacturers, Ferrari has focused on durability this winter as drivers are limited to just three power units this season.

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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Mercedes Launch 2018 Car

(Image credit to: Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport)

    Mercedes has launched its 2018 Formula 1 challenger, the W09 EQ Power+, at a filming day at Silverstone.

    Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton both got a small taste of the new machinery, completing 100km of the British track between them.

    After a successful 2017, the new car is an evolution of its predecessor, with no major change in design philosophy.

    “We like some of the character traits from our diva,” said team principal Toto Wolf. “The W08 was the fastest car on the grid, scoring the highest number of pole positions and winning the most races last year. So we were careful not to lose the car’s main strength just to overcome the difficulties.”

    Like with all 2018 cars, the most notable differences are the lack of shark fin and T-wing and the addition of the halo head protection device, but the technical regulations have remained largely the same, which technical director James Allison believes allowed the team to make a more elegant car this year.

    “Last year’s regulations were brand new and we weren’t quite sure which direction they would take us in,” he said. “So last year’s car had a certain amount of wiggle room to adapt if we found that we needed to move around certain aspects of the car.

    This year, being a little more confident of what we’re aiming for, we’ve been able to commit more fully to certain concepts. So we have the packaging much tighter and have taken things to more of an extreme.”

    Since the change in engine regulations ahead of the 2014 season, the Mercedes power unit has been dominant. Though the manufacturer has never been able to stand still when it comes to engine development, “substantial” changes in the regulations have led to significant updates this winter.

    “The amount of change on the power unit for this year is quite considerable and driven by a number of requirements,” said Andy Cowell, managing director of Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains.. “The biggest challenge we’ve got is lifting our durability limit with the challenge of racing just three engines per driver per championship and two ERS systems.

    That’s a 40 per cent increase in the distance that the hardware needs to do for this year compared with last year. We focused on trying to increase the life of the hardware without losing performance.”

    He added that the team also worked to increase combustion efficiency and reduce hardware friction.

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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Sauber Unveil 2018 Car

(Image credit to: Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team)

    Sauber Formula 1 team has opted for a new aerodynamic concept as it aims to be competitive in the 2018 Formula 1 championship.

    The team has lagged behind the rest of the field in recent years but, with the new C37, Sauber believes it will able to fight for position this season.

    Drivers Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc will also have the 2018 Ferrari power unit behind them, which technical director Jorg Zander believes will help drive improvements this season.

    “The 2018 challenger is the result of the hard work that everyone in the factory has put in over the last few months,” he said.

    "Speaking about the C37, the car philosophy is much different to that of the C36. The aerodynamic concept has changed significantly, and the C37 has seveneral new features in comparison to its predecessor.

    We are positive that the new concept offers us more opportunities and will help us to make improvements during the course of the season.

    The 2018 Ferrari engine will also give us a boost in terms of performances. We hope that we will make progress with the C37 and that we are more competitive compared to 2017.”

    The launch of the C37 also signals the return of the Alfa Romeo brand to F1. The Italian car manufacturer, a sister brand of Ferrari, will partner Sauber for the 2018 season. It’s logo features on the engine cover, with the red and white livery symbolic of what Sauber hopes will be a new era for the team.

    "Our target ahead of 2018 is clear: we have to catch up with the field and continue improving our performance during the course of the season,” said team principal Frederic Vasseur.

    "We have put lots of energy and commitment into the development of the C37. I want to thank our partners and fans for their continuous support. The return of Alfa Romeo to Formula 1 sets another milestone in the team’s history, and I am proud that such a historic brand has chosen us for their return to the sport. We are eager to start the 2018 season as the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team.”

    Vasseur also defended the teams’ choice in driver line-up. While the squad is bringing young talent into the championship in the form of Leclerc, many fans have criticized Sauber for retaining Ericsson, who hasn’t scored in F1 since 2015. Vasseur highlighted Ericsson’s importance to the team.

    “I am convinced that Marcus and Charles form the perfect driver line-up, with one being an experienced driver and one a promising rookie.

    Marcus is going into his fourth season with us. He is a valuable part of the team, and we benefit from his experience and precise technical feedback.

    As for Charles, he has proven his talent in prior categories and deserves to be on the Formula 1 grid this season.”

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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Renault Reveal 2018 Car

(Image credit to: Renault Sport Formula One Team)

    Renault Formula 1 team has launched its 2018 car, the R.S.18, ahead of the 2018 F1 championship.

    Now in its third season in F1 as a manufacturer, Renault is aiming to continue to improve after finishing sixth in the constructors’ championship last season.

    The R.S.18 is a development of the team’s 2017 car, with a focus on improved suspension and aerodynamic down force.

    “We have everything to be positive about this year,” said team boss Cyril Abiteboul. “We have two very talented and ambitious drivers. Last year Nico [Hulkenberg] gave us exactly what we needed with his experience, knowledge, and ability to lead both on and off track. Carlos [Sainz Jnr] joined us at the end of last season and he brought something fresh, and he scored points to help us in the constructors’ battle. Without that we wouldn’t have finished where we finished.

    Our headline target is to show continued progression through results. We want to be able to showcase our progression in every regard: power unit, chassis, operations, drivers. Everything must improve and we must continue to grow.

    We want to demonstrate this in many different ways, from the teams we will be directly racing against, to the gap to the leaders, including also our fan base and the respect that our team will inspire in our way we behave on and off track.”

    Renault has also put considerable effort into improving its engine, which it will supply to Red Bull and McLaren in 2018.

    Last year, the Renault power unit was less than reliable, with a number of drivers suffering engine failures over the course of the season.

    With the reduction in the number of components available to drivers in 2018, Renault has focused on improving reliability, boasting in a press release that “The power unit has realized a very strong programme on the dyno in Viry-Chatillon to maximize performance and improve reliability”.

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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Red Bull Launch 2018 Car With Testing Livery

(Image credit to: Aston Martin Red Bull Racing)

    Red Bull Racing has launched its 2018 challenger at a filming day at Silverstone.

    The Milton Keynes based squad usually reveals its latest car as late in the winter break as possible, but opted for an earlier launch this year to better prepare for preseason testing.

    Like the latest Williams, the RB14 appears to feature something similar to the now out-lawed shark fin on the engine cover, Red Bull is keeping with tradition in revealing as little as possible.

    The new car sports a special camouflage livery but the familiar red, blue, and yellow colour scheme is expected to return after pre-season testing. 

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring

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Williams Shows Off 2018 Car

(Image credit to: Williams Martini Racing)

    Williams has launched it’s “new approach” challenger for the 2018 Formula 1 championship, the FW41.

    The first Williams to be fully designed under new technical chief Paddy Lowe, the car boasts a new aerodynamic philosophy, with a number of significant differences to its predecessor.

    Apart from the compulsory halo head protection device, the Williams features a fin running along its engine cover – not too dissimilar to the now banned shark fins of last season.

    “It’s very exciting to be giving everyone the first look at the FW41,” said Lowe. “The car has many new features, most of which are not all that obvious, but externally the team has pursued a very different aerodynamic concept which has allowed us some significant progress in aerodynamic performance.

    All Formula 1 cars are an evolution of what has gone before to some extent, but the FW41 does involve a number of departures from the directions that have been pursued in the past.

    Overall, the philosophy we are starting to see emerge is a new approach to the collaboration between aerodynamics and design to achieve the optimum working result.”

    Lowe added that developments from the Mercedes power unit also shaped the car’s packaging.

    Mercedes is understood to have pursued a different engine concept to previous seasons.

    Williams will field the youngest driver line-up on the grid this season, with 19-year-old Lance Stroll joined by rookie Sergey Sirotkin in 2018.

    The pair are hoping to improve on Williams’ disappointing 2017 performance, when the team finished fifth in the constructors’ championship and was unable to challenge Force India in fourth.

    “With a season under my belt with the team, I can’t wait to get back on track and see what the new car is like,” said Stroll.

    “Until we are on track we will not know what the competition has been doing, but I am very optimistic about the car the team has built.

    Last year was a steep learning curve for me and now I can’t wait to see what 2018 has in store.”

    Sirotkin added: “I’ve been in the simulator regularly, going through different set-ups with the car, different tracks, seat fittings and also a lot of engineering meetings and factory tours to meet everyone.

    I’ve been having fun with all the guys from different departments. It’s busy times, but I am really enjoying it. I’m getting ready for the season in the best possible way.”

    The FW41 will get its first on track outing at preseason testing, which will begin in Spain on February 26th.

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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Haas Reveals 2018 Car

(Image credit to: Haas Ferrari F1 Team)

    Haas Formula 1 team has become the first to pull the covers off its 2018 challenger.

    The team revealed images of their third F1 car, the VF-18, which it describes as a refinement of its 2017 car.

    With no major changes in regulations, much of the car appears similar to that of last year’s entry, with the most notable exceptions being the inclusion of the halo head protection devise and the absence of the shark fin and T-wing aero devices.

    “The biggest part of the car’s evolution was the addition of the halo,” said team principal Guenther Steiner. “It took quite a bit of study by the aerodynamicists, but the designers had to work hard to modify the chassis so the halo could survive the mandated loads.

    The total minimum weight of the car increased because of the halo, and there’s a higher centre of gravity simply because of the halo’s position. But everyone is in the same boat.

    The regulations stayed pretty stable between 2017 and 2018, so the VF-18 is an evolution of our car from last year. It’s less about reinvention and more about refinement. You see elements we had from last year on the car this year.

    Our 2017 car was actually pretty good but we didn’t always get the best out of it, and that’s what we aimed to change in 2018. We got the car as light as possible to carry more ballast. We were able to do a better job of putting the weight where we wanted it.”

    Haas finished eighth in last year’s constructors’ championship, just six points behind Toro Rosso and 10 points behind Renault. Drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, who continue at the team in 2018, finished 13th and 14th in the drivers’ championship.

    Once again, the team will be using parts provided by Ferrari, who also supply the team with engines. Team founder Gene Haas says the team will use Ferrari as a bench mark going into its third season in F1.

    “It’s no secret we use a lot of Ferrari equipment, so we’re using them as our baseline,” he said. “We need to be within a half-second of the Ferraris in order for us to be competitive.

    We weren’t last year. I would say we were a second to a second-and-a-half slower than the Ferraris. Overall, we were maybe two seconds off the pole qualifiers, so we need to knock a second off that if we really want to be competitive.

    We’ve eliminated a lot of variables where we knew we were weak, and we knew where we needed to focus. We need to be able to go to the majority of the races and put the car don on the track and be fast. We’ve focused on what it’s going to take to get the cars to be consistent and to close that gap between the top cars.”

    Last year, Haas had at least one car retire from seven of the 20 races, including a double retirement in Australia at the start of the year.

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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Alonso Enters WEC For 2018

ALONSO TO COMPETE IN WEC AND F1 IN 2018

    McLaren’s Fernando Alonso continues his fight for the Triple Crown of motorsport as he joins Toyota Gazoo Racing for the 2018-19 World Endurance Championship.

    Alonso,  who has already driven the Toyota in the end of season test last year, will compete in every WEC race that doesn’t clash with his F1 commitments, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

    “I’ve never been shy about my aim of winning motorsport’s ‘Triple Crown’ – the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indy 500, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans,” he said. “We tried for Indy last year, came close, but just missed out.

    This year, I have the chance thanks to McLaren to race for the win at Le Mans. It is a big challenge – much can go wrong – but I am ready, prepared and looking forward to the fight.”

    Alonso made it to the closing stages of the Indy 500 last season, but was forced to retire when his Honda engine failed 21 laps before the chequered flag.

    He’ll be racing with Honda’s Japanese competitor this season, but that won’t rule out a late problem in his Le Mans campaign. Last year, both Toyota cars were running at the sharp end of the field when they retired within 20 minutes of one another.

    Toyota is expected to be one of the front runners this season, and Alonso will have experienced team-mates in the form of Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima.

    Alonso added that adding to his F1 success is still his main priority.

    “In no way will this challenge take away from my main target of Formula 1 with McLaren,” he said. “In 2018, my aim is to be competitive at every grand prix, and I feel sure that we are closer to achieving that.”

    McLaren boss Zak Brown believes Alonso’s WEC fight will help his F1 performance.

    “It’s no secret that Fernando has wanted to contest the Le Mans 24 Hours,” he said. “And I think everybody within our organisation appreciates that a motivated, hungry and happy world-class driver such as Fernando is a formidable asset for any team in F1.

    Last year, we came to the joint decision to go racing with Fernando at Indy 500 rather than at the Monaco Grand Prix, but we’ve always said that we would consider each opportunity on a case-by-case basis, and we both know that in 2018, our core priority is success in Formula 1.

    Like Fernando, at McLaren we’re racers at heart, and our team is built on a brave heritage of competing and succeeding in different forms of the sport. Equally important is the confidence that nothing detracts from our number one goal of Formula 1.

After proper evaluation, we are satisfied that this campaign does not do that, and the McLaren’s best interests prevail.”

    Alonso made his endurance debut last month competing in the Daytona 24 Hours. The United Autosport car ran competitively early in the race, but tyre blow outs and mechanical problems dropped it back. The team finished 35th and 90 laps down.

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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