Formula One has changed beyond recognition over the past twenty years with the FIA (formally known during the Schumacher years as the ‘Ferrari International Association’) becoming far more professional in its approach to governing the sport.

Back in the day, there was little technical expertise in the French based organisation and the scrutineering of the cars for legality was often instigated by the teams. If it was suspected another competitor was running illegal components, a team would protest to the FIA and they would look into the issue.

Of course this created animosity amongst the team which make the spats between Toto Wolff and Christian Horner seem like handbags at dawn.

 

 

 

Newey knows the paddock skeletons

Now of course the FIA has a fully staffed technical team capable of simulating the effects of their regulations, particularly in the area of car design, and their gaze is more sternly felt by the engineers who design and build the F1 cars.

Since announcing his move to Aston Martin, Adrian Newey has been telling all on a number of issues where previously he had remained silent. In his statement he revealed his reason for leaving Red Bull was because he was bored (“needed a new challenge”) and that he felt the technical team their could do without him (were now “mature).

Yet Newey knows the skeletons in the paddock closet stretching around forty years and he appears willing to spill the beans with his new found freedom. On the high performance podcast the ex-Red Bull technical chief returns the the recent days of high drama that was the 2021 Formula One season.

Having won in the USA and Mexico back to back, Max Verstappen led Lewis Hamilton with four race weekends remaining. Hamilton duly won the next three and set up a show down in the desert of Abu Dhabi. The pair were tied on 369.5 points and so the maths was simple; whoever finished ahead of the other would win the championship and Hamilton would have claimed a record eight drivers’ titles moving ahead of the legendary Michael Schumacher by one.

The reason Newey left RBR finally revealed

 

 

 

Reflections on bitter 2021 season

Of course what happened is now history as a late safety car and the race director making an unusual call for a restart saw Verstappen on fresh rubber overtake Hamilton winning both the Grand Prix and his first drivers’ F1 championship.

The year had been filled with controversy between the pair, Verstappen attempted a move on the outside of the chicane in Monza, the result his car was wedged on top of Hamilton’s Mercedes, wheels spinning millimetres form the British drivers’ head. Max was found a fault and penalised by the stewards, but Newey recalls another incident earlier in the season at Silverstone.

Heading into the British Grand Prix, Verstappen had won the previous three rounds and was 32 points ahead of Hamilton. That year whichever of the two took an early lead in the races, invariably it was that driver who took the chequered flag.

Having won the Sprint race back then this decided the grid for the Grand Prix on Sunday. As the victor on Saturday, Max was on pole and Hamilton was determined not to let him lead the first lap and disappear over the hill.

Insider: “Liam Lawson will partner Tsunoda at RB…”

 

 

 

Newey suggests FIA did not properly scrutinise Mercedes

Hamilton made a better start than the Red Bull driver and ran side by side with Verstappen through the first turn. A better run out of four allowed Lewis to be ahead briefly but Max made a move up the inside into turn six and regained the lead.

Lewis accelerated better out of the corner and coming into Copse he had a run down the inside on Verstappen. Hamilton’s front left clipped Max’s rear right wheel and sent in hurtling into the barrier at 180mph – one of the fastest corners on the calendar.

The subsequent red flag allowed Mercedes time to repair Lewis’ car and send him back out when the race finally resumed after lengthy barrier repairs. Even with a time penalty from the stewards, Lewis came home to win the race and the post race recriminations were as to be expected.

Adrian Newey now reveals his feelings that year were more tumultuous than in most seasons saying: “That 2021 championship was particularly dirty off the track. Some of it to do with bodywork and what we felt Mercedes were up to and let’s say an apparent lack of willingness from the FIA to properly investigate that was frustrating.”

All hope lost for Schumacher

 

 

 

The ‘Silverstone moment’

Mercedes had protested Red Bull’s rear wing in Monaco (these days a highly unusual action) and it appeared the team from Milton Keynes lost some momentum after the FIA’s intervention. Red Bull returned the favour and in Brazil Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from qualifying for having a slot gap greater than the rules allowed.

These were just two of the accusations flying around between the two championship contenders. Newey then turns to the incident at the British Grand Prix and admits he was livid with rage as the events in Northamptonshire unfolded.

“There was the Silverstone accident between Lewis and Max which I must admit at the time, I was absolutely incandescent with Lewis because I felt it was a deliberate professional foul.” With Hamilton winning the race and adding 25 points to his tally, he closed the gap to Max from 32 to just 7 points – a must win if he was to have a shot at the title later in the year.

“Arrogance at Red Bull” admits Newey

 

 

 

“Lucky Max didn’t get BADLY hurt”

“I think now with the benefit of hindsight and time, then I think they’d been banging wheels all the way around the lap up to that corner,” Newey reflects. “Lewis went for an opportunity which he thought was there, misjudged it, and what happened happened.

“We were lucky Max didn’t get badly hurt.”

The impact Max suffered measured 51G on the cars sensors but this didn’t resolve matters with the pair crashing again in Monza and clashing in both Brazil and Saudi Arabia, although it was on the last lap of the last race of the year – that Max Verstappen won his first F1 world championship.

Newey critical of Wolff/Hamilton psychology

 

 

 

Sacked from F1: Logan Sargeant’s next move

Where does Logan Sargeant go from here? Williams’ sacking sparks speculation over American’s future – Logan Sargeant, the 23-year-old American Formula One driver, finds himself at a critical juncture in his career. After a disappointing run with Williams, Sargeant lost his seat just a few weeks ago and his future in motorsport has been the subject of much speculation ever since.

While Sargeant himself has yet to publicly address his departure or his next steps, recent rumours suggest a new direction for the former F1 rookie… READ MORE