F1 Insiders Est. 2012
The 2017 regulations promised wider and lower cars, wider tires, and an end to the much debated “token” engine development system. Late last year the first predictions were made concerning laptimes: team managers and Pirelli already estimated that the cars would go 4-5 seconds per lap quicker. The Barcelona tests gave a glimpse of what … Read more
The spirit at the McLaren team is getting damp. The new car is just not where they expected it to be. The MCL32 was hailed by many as the new possible savior. New CEO, new livery, new engine in the back, and new talent behind the wheel. (Well ok, some older talent as well!) Days … Read more
In all violence of the Barcelona test, there is some sad, final news from Manor Racing. On February 13th we were informed that the deal with Capital GF was called off. However, the whisper of a deal was kept alive, and we even found reports that (ex) employees of Manor were directly contacting Capital GF … Read more
Speed, speeder, speediest? The regulations changes promised higher speeds and faster times. What have we seen? Specialists predicted times to go down 4 to 5 seconds per lap. Does Barcelona data support this? Faster: absolutely. 4-5 seconds: not yet.. Although TJ13 (and you the jury!) are still out on the looks, the new regulations have made … Read more
Valtteri Bottas was signed by Mercedes and many expect the Finn just to be the number 2 of the team. Although Lewis Hamilton has won more championships, he fought long and bitter with Rosberg who stubbornly refused to be a compliant team-mate to Hamilton. Yesterday Bottas showed a glimpse of a new chapter of rivalry … Read more
Fernando Alonso has seen some difficult times at McLaren. However, he still remains highly motivated and hasn’t given up dreams of success. For the introduction of the new McLaren MCL32, the team’s title-stormer , Alonso was interviewed by La Marca. “It’s fantastic to see it complete the first time, yesterday they were still developing parts. … Read more
Sebastian Vettel’s start at Ferrari has been rocky. Ferrari is a record holder in all senses: most races driven, most wins etc. Unluckily they could be considered a record holder in inconsistency for the last several years: ups and downs follow each other at a record pace. The last 2 years haven’t proven as fruitful as Vettel … Read more
We are only a week away from the first 2017 car introductions. The kick-off will be by Sauber on the 20th of February. Expect to see much news due to these regulatory changes. Broader and lower: we expect the cars to be spectacular and aggressive-looking. The last 2 months before the reveal are a hectic period. The … Read more
2017 engines: a token improvement? The token development system was introduced together with the launch of the V6 1600 cc turbo engines. The target was to control engine development cost. Without going into all details of the token system , it was designed to make it more difficult to introduce eleborate updates, and thus … Read more
It can still be done, getting Manor on the grid in Australia. Time, however, is ticking. TheJudge13 is getting cramps from holding our collective fingers crossed. Whether currently silence is good or bad: the sitation is too complex to estimate. We are still informed that Capital GF and investor lawyers are still working to get … Read more
