Formula One 2018

[Lineker]

 Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport (Mercedes)
 #44 Lewis Hamilton
 #77 Valtteri Bottas

 Scuderia Ferrari (Ferrari)
 #5 Sebastian Vettel
 #7 Kimi Räikkönen

 Aston Martin Red Bull Racing (Renault, TAG Heuer branded)
 #3 Daniel Ricciardo
 #33 Max Verstappen

 Sahara Force India F1 Team (Mercedes) (ROUND 1-12)
 #11 Sergio Pérez (Round 1-12)
 #31 Esteban Ocon (Round 1-12)

 Williams Martini Racing (Mercedes)
 #18 Lance Stroll
 #35 Sergey Sirotkin

 Renault Sport Formula One Team (Renault)
 #27 Nico Hülkenberg
 #55 Carlos Sainz Jr.

 Scuderia Toro Rosso (Honda)
 #10 Pierre Gasly
 #28 Brendon Hartley

 Haas F1 Team (Ferrari)
 #8 Romain Grosjean
 #20 Kevin Magnussen

 McLaren Formula 1 Team (Renault)
 #2 Stoffel Vandoorne
 #14 Fernando Alonso 

 Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team (Ferrari)
 #9 Marcus Ericsson
 #16 Charles Leclerc

 Racing Point Force India F1 Team (Mercedes) (ROUND 13-)
 #11 Sergio Pérez (Round 13-)
 #31 Esteban Ocon (Round 13-)

CALENDAR

26th February-1st March 2018
 Pre-Season Testing 1 (Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona)

6th-9th March 2018
 Pre-Season Testing 2 (Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona)

25th March 2018
 Round 1 - Australian Grand Prix (Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne)

8th April 2018
 Round 2- Bahrain Grand Prix (Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir)

15th April 2018
 Round 3 - Chinese Grand Prix (Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai)

29th April 2018
 Round 4 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix (Baku City Circuit, Baku)

13th May 2018
 Round 5 - Spanish Grand Prix (Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona)

27th May 2018
 Round 6 - Monaco Grand Prix (Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo)

10th June 2018
Round 7 - Canadian Grand Prix (Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal)

24th June 2018
 Round 8 - French Grand Prix (Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet) 

1st July 2018
 Round 9 - Austrian Grand Prix (Red Bull Ring, Spielberg)

8th July 2018
 Round 10 - British Grand Prix (Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone)

22nd July 2018
 Round 11 - German Grand Prix (Hockenheimring, Hockenheim)

29th July 2018
 Round 12- Hungarian Grand Prix (Hungaroring, Budapest)

26th August 2018
 Round 13 - Belgian Grand Prix (Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot)

2nd September 2018
 Round 14 - Italian Grand Prix (Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza)

16th September 2018
 Round 15 - Singapore Grand Prix (Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore)

30th September 2018
 Round 16- Russian Grand Prix (Sochi Autodrom, Sochi)

7th October 2018
 Round 17 - Japanese Grand Prix (Suzuka International Race Course, Suzuka)

21st October 2018
 Round 18 - United States Grand Prix (Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas)

28th October 2018
 Round 19 - Mexican Grand Prix (Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City)

11th November 2018
 Round 20 - Brazilian Grand Prix (Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo)

25th November 2018
 Round 21 - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi)

DRIVER SAFETY:

• Following a series of serious incidents in open-wheel racing—including the fatal accidents of Henry Surtees and Justin Wilson—in which drivers were struck in the head by debris, the FIA announced plans to introduce additional mandatory cockpit protection with 2018 given as the first year for its introduction. Several solutions were tested, with the final design subject to feedback from teams and drivers. Each design was created to deflect debris away from a driver's head without compromising their visibility or the ability of safety marshals to access the cockpit and extract a driver and their seat in the event of a serious accident or medical emergency, with a series of serious accidents—such as the fatal accidents of Jules Bianchi and Dan Wheldon—recreated to simulate the ability of devices to withstand a serious impact. The FIA ultimately settled on the "halo", a wishbone-shaped frame mounted above and around the driver's head and anchored to the monocoque forward of the cockpit. Once introduced, the halo concept is scheduled to be applied to other open-wheel racing categories including Formula 2 and Formula 3.
  • The FIA revealed plans to allow teams some design freedom in the final version of the halo. Race Director Charlie Whiting noted that the halo would be incorporated into the chassis design from its inception rather than attached once the design was completed.

SPORTING REGULATION CHANGES:

• The number of pre-season test days will be reduced to seven, while the mid-season test held in Bahrain in 2017 will be moved to Barcelona.
• The rules governing starting procedures will be changed for 2018, granting race stewards the power to issue penalties for improper race starts even if a driver's start does not trigger the automated detection system. The changes were introduced following a series of incidents throughout 2017; during the Chinese Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel positioned his car too far across his grid slot to be detected by the detection system; while at the Austrian Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas's start was called into question for his reaction time despite the detection system recognising it as legal.
• Drivers will be required to wear gloves containing biometric sensors which record their vital signs in order to better assist marshals and recovery crews in assessing their condition in the event of an accident.

TECHNICAL REGULATION CHANGES:

• Drivers will be limited to three complete engines (down from four in 2017) for the whole season. Despite protests from several teams, the FIA decided to implement the rule for 2018.
• The FIA banned the use of "shark fins", a carbon-fibre extension to the engine cowling aimed at directing airflow over the rear wing. The use of "T-wings", a horizontal secondary wing mounted forward of and above the rear wing, will be banned.
• The FIA will introduce further restrictions against the practice of oil burning, where engine oils are burned as fuel to boost performance. The practice, which was first used in 2017 saw teams burning as much as 1.2 litres per one hundred kilometres. For the 2018 championship, this figure will be revised down to a maximum of 0.6 litres per one hundred kilometres.
• Tyre supplier Pirelli will provide teams with two new tyre compounds in 2018. Each of the 2017 compounds will be made softer, with a new "hypersoft" tyre becoming the softest of the seven. A new "superhard" tyre will also be introduced. The hypersoft compound will be marked by a pink sidewall, while the superhard will be orange. The hard compound, which previously used orange markings, will instead become pale blue.

[Gazz]

So nobody uses a tyre over Medium all season and we get 20 place grid penalties for engines before Monaco? Nice.

[JasonM]

Yeah, having to keep an engine alive for 7 races is mental. And if you look at this past year, pretty sure only one driver of the entire grid didn't take a single grid penalty, and that was Esteban Ocon surprisingly enough. Even the Mercedes drivers had issues throughout the season, and they were arguably sitting on the most reliable engine in history.

I don't see how three engines are going to lead to a better F1, in fact it's just going to piss even more people off as entire grids will be neutralized because everyone's got penalties so nobody loses out.

[Lineker]

It is bonkers. With Formula E now doing its bit for green racing on a reasonably high level, the time has come to force through a return to the V8's, and a sensible amount of allowed engines per season.

Robert Kubica completed 100 laps in his first run in a 2017 Williams during the post-Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Pirelli Formula 1 test.

The Polish driver set a best lap of 1m41.296s on the softs to finish eighth fastest before vacating the car so Lance Stroll could run in the final couple of hours.

Kubica tried a range of the Pirelli tyres, initially focusing on shorter performance runs before turning his attention to longer runs.

Autosport understands Williams was pleased with the feedback and data gathered after getting through the planned programme smoothly.

Kubica will get a couple more hours of running on Wednesday at Yas Marina, taking over from Sergey Sirotkin in late afternoon.

The intention is that Kubica will run the hyper-soft, ultra-soft, super-soft, soft and medium at some stage over the two days to gain more experience of the new generation of tyres.

Williams chief technical officer Paddy Lowe, performance chief Rob Smedley and Kubica's management team of Nico Rosberg and Alessandro Alunni Bravi followed the 2008 Canadian GP winner's progress at Yas Marina.

The team has made clear that the test is designed to get a definitive answer on whether Kubica is ready to make a full F1 return in 2018, seven years after the horrific rally crash that interrupted his career.

FIA president Jean Todt said recently that the governing body was satisfied that F1's medical tests would accurately determine whether Kubica was fit to compete.

Kubica is the favourite to replace Felipe Massa at Williams next season and line up alongside Stroll.

He faces competition from Sirotkin, who has emerged as a late contender for the second seat at Williams.

Daniil Kvyat and Williams reserve Paul di Resta are also in contention, but Pascal Wehrlein is now considered a long shot.

Williams is expected to discuss drivers next week and hopes to be able to make an announcement before Christmas.

[Adam]

Sauber are becoming Alfa Romeo Sauber due to a new title sponsorship with the Italian car manufacturer.

So they're now called ARS.

[Gazz]

Let's just hope the Ferrari engine is called the 'Enzo Hybrid Light Only Engine'...

[Katsuya]

Not to keep on shovelling fuel in to the Kubica hype train, but everyone else set their fastest time on the Hypersoft tyre - so the fact he was still 9th quickest is pretty impressive. Will be interesting to see what happens today when he gets the Hypersoft tyre.

In other news, Toro Rosso have effectively added a front wing on the top of their Halo to improve aero. I'm guessing that there's probably an exploit here that the rules haven't banned yet, but they will...

[JasonM]

8 minutes ago, Katsuya said:

Not to keep on shovelling fuel in to the Kubica hype train, but everyone else set their fastest time on the Hypersoft tyre - so the fact he was still 9th quickest is pretty impressive. Will be interesting to see what happens today when he gets the Hypersoft tyre.

In other news, Toro Rosso have effectively added a front wing on the top of their Halo to improve aero. I'm guessing that there's probably an exploit here that the rules haven't banned yet, but they will...

Pretty sure teams are free to design halo's where they feel fit, as long as the structure is properly sound and secure.

[Gazz]

Kubica was 0.5 quicker than Sirotkin and 0.1 quicker than Stroll in the latest test.

[MDK]

VROOOOOOOOOOOM

[Katsuya]

Interesting little tidbit: the third race of 2019 will be the 1,000th F1 race. 

[GA!]

4 minutes ago, Katsuya said:

Interesting little tidbit: the third race of 2019 will be the 1,000th F1 race. 

There's racing in F1? Since when?!

[Lineker]

Lucky China (probably).

[Katsuya]

Alfa Sauber have confirmed Leclerc and, unfortunately, Ericsson.

[JasonM]

40 minutes ago, Katsuya said:

Alfa Sauber have confirmed Leclerc and, unfortunately, Ericsson.

Ericsson was always a lock to stay at Sauber, seeing the major shareholders of the company are also his racing sponsors. He is their boy, so it would've been a shock if they had dropped him.

Of course this leaves Wehrlein out of the field, and I honestly don't see Williams going for him even if they pass on Kubica. The best he can hope for is a reserve/test drive somewhere, or giving up on his F1 aspirations and seeking his chances in Touring Car races again, or maybe Formula E (but that's a long shot with the season having just started).

Wehrlein has been impressive given the cars he's had to drive, but at the same time he's not a slam dunk talent when there are more exciting prospects around him. (Leclerc, Markelov, de Vries, Russell, etc.) In a way, Wehrlein hasn't done much to truly set himself apart from the pack... He's basically the next Timo Glock, or Nick Heidfeld.

Edited December 2, 2017 by Jasonmufc

[Katsuya]

I can see Wehrlein heading up Mercedes Formula E next year.

[Lineker]

Giovinazzi is the third driver and if (read: when) Ericsson fails to deliver, I think they will eventually pull the trigger and make a change there. 

Beautiful livery though!!

[JasonM]

Maybe a bit too much white, but that's an absolutely lovely livery!

[Lineker]

Quote

Formula 1's grid penalty system will be tweaked for next season in a bid to make things less confusing for fans, the FIA has announced.

There has been growing unease about the extent of grid penalties this year, with F1 motorsport director Ross Brawn claiming recently that they were making a "farce" of grand prix racing.

The situation has become even more tense because of concerns that penalties could increase next year because F1 is going down to three engines for the season.

Following discussion at the FIA's World Motor Sport Council on Wednesday, a new structure was announced that should get rid of the headaches fans have faced in trying to work out final grids when a host of penalties have been handed out.

From now on, any driver that earns a 15-place grid penalty, which is the equivalent of taking two extra new elements for the first time, will have to start from the back of the grid.

A statement issued by the FIA said: "The change to the power unit penalty system was also approved, whereby if a driver incurs a penalty exceeding 15 grid places he will be required to start the race from the back of the starting grid.

"If more than one driver receives such a penalty they will be arranged at the back of the grid in the order in which the offences were committed."

The FIA also briefly outlined other changes being put into the regulations for 2018.

These include:

• Regulations relating to procedures for starting or resuming a race behind the safety car
• Changing the event timetable to increase flexibility
• Ensuring that testing of previous cars may only take place on tracks currently holding an FIA Grade 1 or 1T licence
• Provision for demonstration events in previous cars which does not constitute testing. No such demonstrations may exceed 50km in length and only tyres manufactured specifically for this purpose by the appointed supplier may be used
• Changes to ensure that oil cannot be used as fuel
• Introduction of a detailed specification for oil
• A minimum weight and volume for energy storage (batteries)
• Changes to position of cameras and wing mirrors to accommodate the halo

[JasonM]

sooo, they changed semantics with the penalties, or basically nothing at all?

I mean, the only thing they basically changed is that Fernando Alonso will no longer have '45 place grid penalty' next to his name, and instead will have 'Start at the back of the grid', as will 6 other drivers on any given weekend...