Brendan Lines.     July 8, 2020 02:50pm

Formula 1 three time World Champion and legend Sir Jackie Stewart is no stranger to fighting for change, his charity Race Against Dementia has today launched two new dementia research Post-doctoral Fellowships in partnership with Dementia Australia.

Known as a force for change in Formula 1 safety during his time as driver, Stewart is now a leading voice and fundraiser in the area of dementia research.

“A key priority for Race Against Dementia is to form strong alliances with research centres of excellence globally and by establishing this fellowship we recognise Australia among this group and hope to attract the best and brightest researchers in this field,” he said.

The effects of dementia are very close to home for Stewart, his high school sweetheart and wife of 56 years Lady Helen Stewart, was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2014.

Helen Stewart congratulates her husband Jackie on his 1968 Dutch Grand Prix victory at Zandvoort with a kiss, – Image Schlegelmilch & raceagainstdementia.com

Helen supported her husband all through his career as a Formula 1 driver, speaking to ABC’s RN Breakfast, Stewart said Helen worked as timekeeper and lap counter for him.

“She had a brain on her at that time that was quite extraordinary, she would take twenty six Grand Prix cars going around the circuit on one split second stop watch overtime and do a lap chart at the same time,” he said. 

Stewart spoke candidly about the challenges of his wife’s illness and how that relates to the gap in care and research in the area of dementia.

“Dementia is really a terrible burden on a family and not too many folk can afford what I’m putting into making sure Helen is cared for in the proper fashion,” he said.

“It costs more money to look after dementia patient than it does for the combined total of cancer and heart disease, for a dementia patient at home it’s considerable pressure on a family.”

Sir Jackie and Lady Stewart attending the 2009 Italian Grand Prix – Image: raceagainstdementia.com

Stewart had planned to make the announcement at an event organised by Melbourne property investor Craig Joel who has worked with Stewart on similar events in the past.

But the Australian Grand Prix’s cancellation in March this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the fundraiser.

The Chair of the Dementia Australia Research Foundation, Professor Graeme Samuel AC, honoured Stewart’s pledge and acknowledged Mr Joel’s commitment to supporting Australian dementia researchers.

“We too acknowledge Mr Joel for his enthusiasm and generosity of time and spirit to help to make this programme a reality,” Professor Samuel said. “And we are absolutely delighted to launch the fellowship powered by Sir Jackie’s vision and commitment to dementia research.

“These fellowships form part of the Dementia Australia Research Foundation’s 2020 grant round, with over AUD $1.7 million in funding on offer for early-career researchers.”

“Two, three-year dementia research fellowships of AUD $405,000 will be awarded, in biomedical, clinical or psychosocial areas of dementia research. Fellowships include a generous salary as well as funding for project expenses.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic Formula 1 has backed health initiatives as part of Project Pitlane for the manufacture of respirators, the sport has now responded to Stewart’s call.

“We are using Formula 1 as a good example of problem solving, we’re lined up with McLaren and Red Bull to get our PhD’s to see how quickly change occurs in Formula 1 faster than any activity in the world today,” he said.

For Dementia Australia Grant information: https://www.dementia.org.au/research/grants

For Race Against Dementia information: https://www.raceagainstdementia.com/

Brendan Lines July 8, 2020 09:30am

Formula 1’s comeback king Robert Kubica will make his on-track debut in anger with Alfa Romeo for this Friday’s FP1 at the Styrian Grand Prix in Austria.

The 35-year old Polish driver will get back into an F1 cockpit on a Grand Prix weekend for the first time since driving for Williams in 2019.

“I am looking forward to returning to action this weekend, especially after the long break the whole world of motorsport had to observe. My objective, as always, is to provide as much data as possible for our engineers and to give them my feedback from within the cockpit,” he said.

“This weekend will be quite a new experience for everyone, racing in the same venue we were on just a few days ago, so it will be a matter of refining all the data we collected over the course of the Austrian Grand Prix and testing the adjustments we want to make to the cars.”

Kubica getting familiar again with the C39 – Image: Alfa Romeo Racing

Kubica scored Williams its only world championship point last season at the German Grand Prix.

However, it wont be the first time the Pol will drive Alfa’s C39, as he completed laps for the team’s pre season testing at Barcelona earlier this year before the lockdown period.

Kubica’s F1 career came to a grinding halt in 2011 after a horrific rallying accident in Italy which almost completely severed his right hand, just as a move to Ferrari was on the cards.

Although his return with Williams as a test driver in 2018 and full-time grand prix driver in 2019 was heralded as one of the sports greatest triumphs over adversity in modern times.

This occasion is a true homecoming for Kubica, as he now will go a full-circle driving for Alfa previously in it’s former guise as BMW-Sauber.

It was with Sauber Kubica took his his debut and only F1 victory to date at the Canadian Grand Prix in 2008.

Kubica will replace Alfa driver Antonio Giovinazzi for FP1 and will add much needed development to the car says Alfa Team principal Frédéric Vasseur.

“I am looking forward to seeing Robert in the car on Friday. A driver with his experience always comes up with valuable feedback and he’ll be able to help us continue learning about our car,” Vassuer said.

“Robert was with the team last weekend, of course, and so he is fully aware of everything that was discussed in the engineering meetings and during each session: it’ll be a chance for him to experience the car by himself and, armed with that knowledge, help us progress further.”

Kubica’s valuable feedback comes as the team will want to improve on its mixed bag of results from last week’s Austrian Grand Prix with a 9th place for Giovinazzi and a DNF for Kimi Raikkonen.

Feature image above: Robert Kubica – Image: Alfa Romeo Racing

Brendan Lines July 6, 2020 02:00am

Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas lead from pole to the chequered flag taking first place in a drama filled Austrian Grand Prix, surprise podium finishes went to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (second) and McLaren’s Lando Norris (third).

Formula 1 fans have waited long enough to go racing and the opening round of 2020 did not disappoint to excite as multiple incidents, safety cars and penalties kept up a high rate of attrition in the Austrian Grand Prix right to the final lap — only 11 cars out of 20 starters went the full distance.

Bottas lead from the start, setting a scintillating pace to break away from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who was promoted to second on the grid as Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton took a three-place grid penalty prior to the race.

But an electrical issue that triggered Verstappen’s Red Bull to go into anti-stall ruined the Dutchman’s day retiring on lap 13.

There was further disappointment for Australian Daniel Ricciardo who retired on lap 16 with an engine cooling issue.

Hamilton hunted his way through the pack from fifth eating into Bottas’ six second lead.

The first of three safety cars for the race came when Haas’ Kevin Magnussen had a right front brake failure and left the track at Turn 2.

Mercedes took the opportunity to pit Bottas and Hamilton in a well disciplined text book double-stack during the safety-car period.

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Mercs as vibrations from hitting the unforgiving curbs of the Red Bull Ring wrecked havoc on both cars gearbox sensors to the point of being critical — both cars were ordered to take less than ideal lines to avoid the curbs.

The second safety car came on lap 51 after Williams’ Gerorge Russell retired with engine failure, bringing Racing Point’s Sergio Perez and Red Bull’s Alex Albon into contention against the Mercs.

Albon pitted for soft tyres and was able to take third off Perez, just before a third safety -car period.

Albon’s gamble on the softs was paying off as his Red Bull posed a threat to Hamilton, Albon’s dive around Hamilton’s outside resulted in an incident reminiscent of Brazil 2019 — eventually Albon’s day was done when he ran foul of a similar electrical issue as teammate Vertappen and was forced to retire.

Hamilton was handed a five second penalty for causing the incident with Albon.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc turned around his slow qualifying into race pace, combining tyre strategy and opportunity to progress to third place in the closing stages. His teammate Sebastian Vettel posted a forgettable tenth that included spinning out at Turn 2 trying to avoid contact with a Racing Point.

But it was the battle for fourth between Perez and Norris that went down to the line, as Norris managed to pass Perez in the closing laps then went on to post the fastest lap of the race on the final lap.

Norris’ all-in last lap to take fourth had the added benefit of closing the gap to the leaders to be awarded third after Hamilton served his five-second penalty, which also promoted Leclerc to second.

Bottas kept clear of incident and the unpredictability behind him to remain victorious taking valuable points, an ideal start to what is for now a season that will be uncertain as to exactly how it unfolds in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Formula 1 returns to the Red Bull Ring for the Styrian Grand Prix next week.

Full results below:

Place 1	Driver Valtteri Bottas	Team Mercedes	Laps 71	Laps lead 71	Total Time 1h30m55.739s55.739s	Fastest Lap 1m07.657s	Pitstops 2	Points 25
2	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	71	0	+2.7s	1m07.901s	3	18
3	Lando Norris	McLaren-Renault	71	0	+5.491s	1m07.475s	3	16
4	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	71	0	+5.689s	1m07.712s	2	12
5	Carlos Sainz Jr.	McLaren-Renault	71	0	+8.903s	1m07.904s	3	10
6	Sergio Pérez	Racing Point-Mercedes	71	0	+15.092s	1m08.305s	2	8
7	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri-Honda	71	0	+16.682s	1m09.025s	2	6
8	Esteban Ocon	Renault	71	0	+17.456s	1m08.932s	2	4
9	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	71	0	+21.146s	1m08.796s	3	2
10	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	71	0	+24.545s	1m08.623s	3	1
11	Nicholas Latifi	Williams-Mercedes	71	0	+31.65s	1m09.662s	3	0
12	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri-Honda	69	0	+2 laps	1m09.135s	3	0
13	Alex Albon	Red Bull-Honda	69	0	+2 laps	1m08.432s	3	0
	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	53	0	DNF	1m09.031s	2	0
	George Russell	Williams-Mercedes	49	0	DNF	1m09.317s	1	0
	Romain Grosjean	Haas-Ferrari	48	0	DNF	1m10.228s	2	0
	Kevin Magnussen	Haas-Ferrari	24	0	DNF	1m10.72s	0	0
	Lance Stroll	Racing Point-Mercedes	19	0	DNF	1m10.326s	1	0
	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	16	0	DNF	1m10.61s	1	0
	Max Verstappen	Red Bull-Honda	10	0	DNF

Brendan Lines July 4, 2020 08:40am

Friday’s FP1 and FP2 sessions at the Austrian Grand Prix have given fans the first glimpse of Formula 1 cars driven in anger in 2020, as the ‘slumbering bear’ of F1 awoke from its lockdown hibernation, the Styrian Alps were a happy hunting ground for Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton who topped both sessions closely followed by teammate Valtteri Bottas.

A green track and cloudy conditions were a cold slap in the face to the reality of Formula 1, as Red Bull were quick to try and stamp out both Mercedes drivers deploying the new DAS (Dual Axis Steering) system first seen at Barcelona testing under much scrutiny.

After FP2 Red Bull’s Christian Horner formally submitted a protest to the FIA regarding the legality of DAS claiming it is part of the W11 suspension system and not wholly part of the steering system, both teams met with the FIA stewards later on Friday night.

The protest has this morning been thrown out by the FIA, the FIA’s verdict read:

“Therefore the stewards consider DAS to be a legitimate part of the steering system and hence to satisfy the relevant regulations regarding suspension or aerodynamic influence,” therefore Red Bull’s protest is “rejected as it is not founded.”

Lewis Hamilton in the all black W11 – Image Mercedes AMG F1

The Austrian GP hasn’t been too kind to Mercedes in the past, as an overheating Power-unit wrecked havoc for both cars in 2019. This time around there were some bugs for Mercedes to work out earlier in the day, a telemetry issue for Hamilton and a gearbox issue for Bottas stymied his early run.

But despite its early niggles the W11 looks quick out of the box, as Hamilton went over half-a second faster than rivals Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Sergio Perez (Racing Point) who were third fastest across the sessions respectively, but Hamilton is taking Friday’s result with a pinch of salt.

“It was looking good out there today, but you can never take too much from practice. You never know what power and fuel other teams are running. So we will take today’s result with a pinch of salt, try and improve the car tonight and come back for the fight tomorrow,” he said.

Racing Point impressed with its RP20, contentiously labelled the ‘Pink Mercedes,’ as Sergio Perez kept at the pointy end going fifth fastest in FP1. And third in FP2, Perez says there’s still a bit to play out closing the gap to the big teams.

Third fastest in FP2 Sergio Perez – Image: Racingpointf1.com

“It’s been an interesting day. Everything is really close out there, especially on such a short track. The car feels good and I’m happy. In the factory, the team has done a tremendous job and we have a car underneath us that is working well. There’s still a lot of work to do – tonight and tomorrow morning – but we are in decent shape. The margins are extremely close, so it’s going to be really important to put together some really tidy laps in qualifying tomorrow,” he said.

Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo posted top ten fastest finishes across both sessions, despite spending most of FP2 in the garage the Aussie’s best finish was fifth in FP2 with a 1:04.972 just over half a second adrift from Hamilton, but hot on the heels of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Perez.

Ferrari’s pace was very reflective of their doubts coming out of pre-season testing as Vettel and teammate Charles Leclerc barely put a dent on the top ten in FP1, but Vettel’s pace in FP2 improved going fourth fastest with a 1:04.961.

Further back in the field it was a forgettable day for Alpha Tauri, as Daniil Kyvat spun in both sessions struggling with the balance of the new AT01 and teammate Pierre Gasly couldn’t get a clean lap on the Option tyre.

Romain Grosjean sat out FP1 with a brake fluid leak and did not post a time, while teammate Kevin Magnussen was able to peak at ninth fastest in FP1, for FP2 the Haas cars ran high-fuel race simulations finishing 15th and 16th fastest.

Kimi Raikkonen says ‘it’s way too early’ to say where Alfa Romeo stands , Raikkonen went 15th and 19th fastest across both sessions with a 1:06.365 and 1:06.278 respectively, while teammate Antonio Giovinazzi placed 14th.

Williams debutant Nicholas Latifi struggled with his Williams under braking at turns one and three, while George Russell peaked a 17th fastest with a 1:06.495 in FP1.

FP3 begins 7.30pm local time tonight.

Brendan Lines   July 3, 2020

Formula 1’s 2020 season finally begins this weekend in Austria after the cancellation of the Australian Grand Prix in March. The sport’s ‘new normal’ looks very different to the world we knew just before the COVID-19 pandemic, so just how are the teams adapting to the return of racing at the Red Bull Ring this weekend?

If we flashback to March, the Friday morning of the Australian Grand Prix the paddock remained as ‘normal’ as possible despite the confusion outside the gates of Albert Park from madding crowds, Formula 1’s bubble had burst.

Since then, there has been a seismic shift in just about every corner of the sport’s regulations, finances and calendar just to be in Austria this weekend.

Notably, teams united to manufacture respirators under the Project Pitlane initiative, the ‘we race as one’ campaign, and now Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton call for more diversity and inclusion in the sport. 

While team personnel and drivers would be quite used to a world of lockdown measures by now, a Grand Prix weekend usually awash with colour and celebration is now a vacuum, the Formula 1 paddock is a very different place today — here’s how each team returns to the paddock in 2020.

 

Mercedes leading the push for diversity

As political discussions around Black Lives Matter (BLM) has entered the paddock, it’s in a way inevitable as Formula 1 is now not the ‘bubble’ it once was and in a way politics have always been part of the sport, we’re just having a larger more relevant discussion now.

Lewis Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas’ all black overalls in support of BLM movement – Image: Mercedes AMG F1

World Champion Lewis Hamilton returned to the grid with a renewed purpose for greater diversity and inclusion in the sport, raising the discussion with f1.com the minute he arrived at Spielberg.

“The callout [on Instagram] was really for everyone in this industry,” Hamilton said.

“There are so many great jobs [in Formula 1], there are so many opportunities, but none so far, or very, very few opportunities, have been [given] to minorities, so I think we do really have to push, and more needs to be done for sure.”

“I won’t stop pushing till we really see change,” he added. “Seeing one person of colour added to the paddock is not diversity, and so we’ve really got to dig deep, and really try to pull together and do what we can to shift this, and I think it starts with education,” He said.

 

Still testing times for Ferrari

Since coming out of hibernation Ferrari are still unsure of their outright pace after a disappointing testing period way back before the Australian GP, driver Charles Leclerc said to autosport.com:

“I think after the testing, we more or less knew that we were not where we wanted to be, especially on the qualifying pace,” he said.

“Then there’s been this whole situation with coronavirus, everything was closed.

“Once they reopened, we re-analysed the data with the small amount of time we had, and I think we decided to make a step back to try and analyse from where the issue is coming from first, to then work on the issues.

“That’s where we’re at the moment. We have tried a different route for Budapest,” he said.

Sebastian Vettel with Ferrari team members look over the Red Bull Ring circuit – Image AP

While team mate Sebastian Vettel who was the centre of ‘silly season’ during lockdown, Vettel revealed just before coming to Austria there was never a contract put to him for 2020.

“We never got into any discussions, there was never an offer on the table and therefore, there was no sticking point,” he said.

 

Red Bull: Business as usual

Red Bull come into Austria as hot favourites as driver Max Verstappen took victory and put engine partner Honda back on the podium in 2019. Verstappen and team mate Alex Albon are taking a very business as usual approach, despite the new season, towards Red Bulls home race at the ‘Ring.”

Max Verstappen speaks to the media in Austria – Image: Redbullcontentpool.com

“It’s again, especially now, a bit of a different season, so we just need to get started, we need to work on the car and I need to get comfortable again in the car. Hopefully that won’t take too long, and then we’ll see. We’ll of course try to win every single race but at the moment, it’s a bit difficult to say,” Verstappen said to f1.com.

McLaren flush with positives

Earlier in the week a loan from the National Bank of Bahrain (NNB) eased the financial pain of the pandemic for the moment, the air of positivity has been reflected on the teams MCL35 livery carrying a ‘We Race As One’ design.

MCL35’s We Race As One’ livery – Image: McLaren Media

Before arriving in Austria CEO Zak Brown penned an open letter to fans on McLaren.com, the letter read:

“As racers we are relieved and excited by the prospect of F1 roaring into life, but we should not shield ourselves from reality.”

“F1’s #WeRaceAsOne initiative is something we have been working on together with F1 for some time, to honour and thank those who have led the frontline response to Covid-19, and to support those who are being particularly badly affected by this terrible disease.”

 

Renault and Ricciardo begin ‘last dance’

For Australian Daniel Ricciardo it is the beginning of his final dance with Renault as he moves to McLaren in 2020.

But the Aussie’s focus is getting back to business placing Renault higher up the grid.

Daniel Ricciardo speaks to the media outside the Renault garage – Image: Renaultsport.com

“It’s about getting back to business. We’re all so excited to go racing again. We’ll get on with it and give it our all as we know the season is going to be shorter than usual and very fast-paced,” he said.

Where is Renault looking to replace Ricciardo? Teammate Esteban Ocon says he would be “very happy” if that new team mate was two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

 

Racing ‘Point’ of difference

The change to Aston Martini 2020 was the big noise out of Racing Point. Racing Point are also an active voice in brining change to the world in providing safe drinking water for communities across Gambia, as sponsor BWT will build a well in the villages of Gambia for every time drivers Lance Stroll or Perez achieve a top 10 race finish.

Racing Point’s RP20  will also carry the #weraceasone on it’s livery.

#weraceasone features on the RP20 – Image: Racingpointf1.com

 

A shot in the arm for Williams

The climb back to being competitive hasn’t got any easier for Williams over the lockdown as part of the team was sold resulting in it’s title sponsors gone, but returning to the grid  in Austria is just the ‘shot in the arm’ the team needs says Race Engineer Dave Robson.

“Since returning from shutdown however, we have worked hard to ensure that the whole operation is equipped and ready for the start of the new season. There will be nerves and concerns every time the car runs, but it is that shot of adrenalin, and feeling of excitement and jeopardy, that reminds us that we have missed the action so much,” he said.

Nicholas Latifi will finally make is long awaited debut for a rookie season like no other  joining teammate George Russell.

Williams debutant Nicholas Latifi – Image Williams Racing

New look Alpha Tauri finally rolls out  

The former Toro Rosso outfit still had not debuted under it’s new guise, it’s AT01 is proving a fan favourite already with it’s striking livery.

Alpha Tauri mechanics roll out the AT01 at the Red Bull Ring – Image Redbullcontentpool.com

Driver Daniel Kyvat says with limited testing the team is yet to gauge it’s outright pace. 

“As to how we will get on, it’s hard to say. In terms of track data to look at, we only have what we acquired in Barcelona in the winter. We will turn up in Austria with a good plan to tackle the Red Bull Ring and then we will see. It’s a track I like, with an old-skool layout featuring plenty of fast corners and I’ve always enjoyed racing there. We will be there for quite a while with the two races back to back and it’s a nice place to be, in the countryside so it means we can put in some training time in the fresh air,” he said.

 

Alfa Romeo taking every chance

Stealing points from the mid-field contenders has been Alfa’s ‘MO’ and it probably won’t change coming into Austria, but it seems for driver Kimi Raikkonen it’s his son who has been getting the better of his dad racing karts during the lockdown.

 

Alfa Romeo on track at 2019 Austrian GP – Image 

“He’s been getting a bit faster and with rental karts I cannot keep up anymore, so I need a bit more horsepower!” joked Kimi speaking to The Race.

But with a truncated calendar and the possibility of more races announced soon Raikkonen says Alfa will have to take every chance.

“With so many races in so little time, we need to make the most of every event and score points every time we get the chance. It’s hard to tell where everyone stands, but we will find out soon enough,” he said.

 

Haas rebuild from disappointing 2019

Since it’s dismal 2019 and fallout with it’s title sponsor adding insult to injury, Haas have gone back to the drawing board, but just how well it’s re-build goes could be helped by driver and now builder Kevin Magnussen.

Kevin Magnussen speaks to the media in at Thursday’s lock-out press conference – Image Hassf1team.com

“So it’s been interesting to see what you actually find interesting when you’re forced into not doing anything.”

“I built a playhouse for my niece in the summerhouse that my wife’s family has in Denmark,” he said.

But returning to racing with no fans Magnussen says will be an adjustment.

“The atmosphere will obviously be different, not as good, but I’m personally very excited to get back in the car and get back to racing. I hope the fans will be able to have fun watching us on the telly,” he said.

Practice 1 for the Austrian Grand Prix begins 6.30pm local time tonight.