Lewis Hamilton Breaks Months Of Silence
Follow all the latest Formula One news and updates on a potentially significant day as the F1 Commission meets in London to discuss the controversial end to last season’s title race between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Hamilton is awaiting the results on an inquiry into how the closing stages of the race were allowed to unfold, after race director Michael Masi decided to permit some but not all cars to pass the safety car, setting up a final-lap shootout as Max Verstappen overtook him on fresh tires to win the title.
Today is the day when the findings of Formula One’s investigation into Abu Dhabi Grand Prix are set to be presented, but the results may not be published until the eve of the 2022 season in Bahrain in March. It has been reported that Hamilton’s future in the sport hinges of the outcome of the F1 Commission’s inquiry into the controversy, although the 37-year-old has returned to Mercedes ahead of the team’s car launch later this week. AlphaTauri will become the latest team to unveil their 2022 car today, as Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda reveal their new car, with Williams, Ferrari and Mercedes all set for their car launches later this week.
Follow all the latest Formula One news and updates below:
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Gasly eager to test out new AT03 for 2022
Alpha Tauri driver Pierre Gasly scored a strong ninth-place in the drivers’ championship in 2021, and regularly challenged rivals in faster machinery in qualifying. Now the Frenchman is eager to see how the AT03 handles on track.
“This year sees a huge change to the car as, due to the new regulations, the look and design is completely different, so the team has had to start from a clean sheet of paper,” the 25-year-old said. “We won’t know the true performance of the AT03 until we get it out on track at pre-season testing in Barcelona but so far, I think it looks great and I am very excited to get this new season started.”
Dan Austin14 February 2022 11:37
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Use of render hides Alpha Tauri aerodynamic choices
The AT03 was revealed via a video render in the form of a trailer that half revealed the new car, and half promoted the team’s namesake fashion brand.
That means that the team has taken a leaf out of Red Bull’s book and shown off what appears to be a ‘showcar’ version of its 2022 challenger, which allows it to hide any aerodynamic choices from its rivals ahead of the first pre-season test beginning at Barcelona on 23 February.
The team’s logo features prominently on the front wing.
(Scuderia Alpha Tauri)
The livery design features the same color palette as the team’s 2020 and 2021 runners.
(Scuderia Alpha Tauri)
Dan Austin14 February 2022 11:22
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Alpha Tauri unveils new 2022 F1 car
Well, that launch was actually very short.
The shots of models in Alpha Tauri branded gear gave way to the very first images of the AT03 very quickly indeed.
The livery Alpha Tauri are going with for 2022 is largely similar to the design from last time out, with an upper white blue color block topping a field of navy which drops towards the nose. The Italian flag is incorporated for the first time though on the tips of the front wing endplates, reflecting the Faenza-based squad’s heritage.
The first image of the AT03.
(Scuderia Alpha Tauri)
Going with a trailer rather than a full event with the drivers taking part is fairly rare, but that’s what Alpha Tauri have clearly deemed best!
Dan Austin14 February 2022 11:11
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Alpha Tauri car launch underground
The launch event for the AT03 is underground, beginning with a fairly bizarre CGI sequence with sci-fi undertones.
Then the crazy graphics fade away and yes, we do indeed have a fashion show. Just what everybody was waiting for.
Dan Austin14 February 2022 11:07
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Alpha Tauri about to launch new car
Alpha Tauri’s launch event for its new AT03 car about to get started in a minute or so.
The event will no doubt feature comments from drivers Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda as well as the reveal of the team’s newest challenger, while a fashion show element is also likely. The team was renamed Alpha Tauri by its parent company Red Bull in order to promote its fashion brand of the same name, having previously been known as Toro Rosso.
The team has teased images which suggest it will incorporate the design of the Italian flag into its livery for 2022.
Dan Austin14 February 2022 10:59
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Norris backs Masi over “human mistakes”
McLaren driver Lando Norris has thrown his support behind under-fire Michael Masi, saying “human mistakes” are natural even at the top of level of motorsport.
The 22-year-old said he wants more consistency in decision-making from the stewards, but that Masi has his overall backing.
“It’s still a tough one to answer but I think the obvious thing we all want is consistency,” Norris told reporters at the McLaren launch event. “When something is inconsistent like that weekend is when people get annoyed and frustrated.
“You see us make mistakes as drivers. It’s easy for people to see that and it’s the same with them, right? It’s human to make mistakes. I support Michael and I think a lot of other things he did were great last season, or the past few seasons we’ve been working with him.
Dan Austin14 February 2022 10:47
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Vettel believes Aston Martin will benefit from Krack’s arrival
Sebastian Vettel says he believes Aston Martin will benefit from the arrival of his old race engineer Mike Krack as team principal for 2022.
The Luxembourg-native has replaced the outgoing Otmar Szafnauer, who has been strongly linked with a move to rivals Alpine for the new season.
Four-time world champion Vettel previously worked with Krack at BMW when the German manufacturer was in F1
“It’s been a while since we worked together,” said Vettel told Sky Sport in Germany. “I think he went his own way and went through a lot of stations and learned a lot. I think a lot happened to me too.
“That’s how it is, that’s what happens sometimes. Then you meet again. I hope we can both benefit from each other in that regard.
“I believe the team will absolutely benefit from his attitude, from his knowledge. Not just as an engineer, but I think overall he has had a lot of different experiences. And I think that can only help us to broaden our horizons at this point in time.”
Dan Austin14 February 2022 10:33
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McLaren to run 2022 F1 car at shakedown event before testing
McLaren will run their 2022 Formula 1 challenger in a shakedown event close to the start of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
The first test of pre-season get underway on 23 February, but teams are allowed to run so-called ‘shakedown’ drives in order to capture footage and photography of their cars for media and sponsorship reasons. Shakedowns are limited to two sessions per season, and Aston Martin have already used one of theirs at Silverstone last week.
“Similar to probably every other team, we’re also planning to do a filming day very close to the start of the official test in Barcelona,” team principal Andreas Seidl told Motorsport.com. “That’s in the schedule. [We] still have a lot of boxes to tick in the next week to be finally ready for that.”
Dan Austin14 February 2022 10:19
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McLaren could fly or flounder with radical suspension system
McLaren are using a radical new suspension system in the design of their 2022 Formula 1 challenger, and the setup could either lead to great success or a significant backwards step, according to a key figure in the team.
Technical director James Key said the squad has “either got it really, really right or…” by reversing the positions of its pull and push rods thus time around.
“So it’s a pull-rod front suspension [and push-rod rear]we saw that in past years,” Key told The Race.
“It will be pretty obvious when we run the cars, and you can’t really copy it very easily! So it will be interesting to see who else does that. I see the Aston Martin is the other way around, for example.
“The whole suspension layout is about aerodynamics. At the front, it’s the only thing you’ve got to play with between the entrance of the floor and the front wing, and depending on how you treat the front wing and where the entry to the floor needs its load condition will kind of set out what you think the best front suspension geometry is.
Dan Austin14 February 2022 10:04
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Ricciardo jokes about being a “spectator” in Abu Dhabi
Ricciardo also joked about his role as spectator on the last lap in Abu Dhabi, when he was the next car in line behind the Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen fight.
“Yeah, it was a privilege!,” he said at the McLaren launch event. “I wasn’t in the race, it wasn’t a great Sunday for me. I was really a spectator on that last lap.”
The Australian’s radio message to the McLaren pitwall after the cars crosses the finish line and Verstappen won the championship exemplified the feelings of many drivers.
“I’ve got no idea what they did with letting cars through,” he said on the cooldown lap. “Obviously, I wasn’t really in that anyway, but it seems strange. I’m glad I’m not a part of whatever just happened. It seemed pretty f***** up.”
Dan Austin14 February 2022 09:51
