17 March 2018

Issue 227

SEASON PREVIEW
IT’S ALL ABOUT
THE PASSION

The 1000hp beasts

GrandPrix+ is brought to you by
David Tremayne | Joe Saward | Peter Nygaard

With additional material from Lise Nygaard

Leader 3
On The Grid by Joe Saward 4
Snapshots 7
Hamilton Versus Vettel 19
Abiteboul talks Renault 25
Andy Cowell 29
GP+ Season Preview 36
Amédée Gordini & Viry-Chatillon 70
Obituary: Dan Gurney 76
Obituary: Henry Hope-Frost 82
Obituary: Nick Syrett 84
Obituary: Ron Walker 86
The Last Lap by David Tremayne 88
Slide Shots 91

F1 SEASON PREVIEW
Issue 227
17 March 2018
2
Who we are
DAVID TREMAYNE
A freelance motorsport writer and former executive editor of Motoring News and Motor Sport,
he is currently the Formula 1 correspondent for The Independent and The Independent on
Sunday, and The Straits Times, a veteran of 30 years of Grands Prix reportage, and the author
of 50 motorsport books. He covered his 500th Grand Prix in Sepang in 2016, and his 500th
consecutive race in Austin that year. He is the only three-time winner of the Guild of Motoring
Writers’ Timo Makinen and Renault Awards. His writing, on both current and historic issues,
is notable for its soul and passion, together with a deep understanding of the sport and an
encyclopaedic knowledge of its history. David is also acknowledged as the world expert on
the history of land and water speed record breaking and is also passionate about Unlimited
hydroplanes. He is the British representative on the FIA Land Speed Records Commission.
A former rocket car driver, he is the driving force behind the Team DUO STAY GOLD jetcar
programme which averaged 275 mph and peaked at 297 mph while challenging the 301 mph
UK land speed record in August 2017.
JOE SAWARD
A professional motorsport writer for 35 years, the last 30 of them in Formula 1, he celebrated
his 500th consecutive race in Abu Dhabi in 2016. Starting out travelling with a tent and
a typewriter, he joined Autosport, for which he later became Grand Prix Editor. His wide-
ranging travelling led to a commission to write the best-selling “The World Atlas of Motor
Racing”, which sold 40,000 copies. A freelance for the last 23 years, he was a pioneer in
electronic media in F1, launching the award-winning JSBM e-newsletter as early as 1994.
This was followed by www.grandprix.com before he moved on to GP+, his blog Joe Blogs F1
and the Missed Apex Podcast. Joe also hosts regular Audience with Joe events for F1 fans,
believing that the sport shoud engage with its followers. Trained as an historian, Joe is also
an acknowledged expert on the Special Operations Executive (SOE), his book “The Grand
Prix Saboteurs” won the Guild of Motoring Writers’ Renault Author of the Year Award. He has
also written “The Man who Caught Crippen”, a non motor racing book. He is a Visiting Fellow
of Cranfield University.
PETER NYGAARD
A law student at Copenhagen University, when he began taking photographs at Formula 1
races, he established the Grand Prix Photo company after he graduated in 1982 and has since
attended well over 500 Grands Prix. Today he not only takes photographs but also writes
and commentates. The company covers every Grand Prix and, with contacts all over the
world, can supply photos from almost any motor race. In addition to current photography
the Grand Prix Photo archive is one of the biggest in the world, Nygaard having acquired
the work of a number of F1 photographers, notably Italian photo-journalist Giancarlo
Cevenini and France’s Dominique Leroy, plus a portion of Nigel Snowdon’s collection. Grand
Prix Photo has 25,000 photographs on its website and millions more in its offices, which are
decorated with a Tyrrell 021, which Peter acquired from Ken Tyrrell.
© 2018 GrandPrix+. All rights reserved. Neither this publication nor any part of it may
be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of GrandPrix+.
3
What we think
So, later than usual, the FIA Formula 1 World Championship for 2018 is
finally ready to kick off with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne’s
Albert Park next weekend.
Welcome to all our readers, old and new, for what looks like being
another cracking season.
Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel make some history as for the first
time two men will fight one another for a fifth title. And while Mercedes
and Ferrari can be expected to go head-to-head in a repeat of their 2017
form, testing suggests that red Bull could be right there with them.
There are also indications that the midfield fight could be between five
teams – Force India, Renault, McLaren, Haas and Toro Rosso. Perhaps six if
Williams’ testing form proves to have been an illusion.
Intra-team battles at Force India and Renault are bound to enliven
races, while everyone will want to see how much progress McLaren can
make with Renault power, and equally whether Honda can spring a major
surprise with Toro Rosso.
While the pecking order cannot yet be determined with accuracy, at
Grand Prix+ we can promise you insight and outspoken comment on your
favourite sport, and an honest take on it as we see it. All brought to your
computer within hours of each of the 21 Grands Prix finishing. And all for
the price of a few pints of beer or a cheap meal.
DT, Joe and Peter are all heading into the fourth decade of their
coverage of racing’s highest echelon, and while our respected friend
Mike Doodson will be winding down his involvement this year, we
intend to cajole the odd contribution out of him every now and then.
The Hack’s command of, and respect for, the English language remains
unchallenged.
Our enthusiasm remains undimmed, and we look forward, as ever, to
what we fervently hope will be a classic year and at least a three-horse
race. If only the Nanny State halo wasn’t so damn hideous… v
FORMULA ONE GOES OVER THE TOP...
It has been a very quiet winter, all things will dictate what we watch. And I don’t have a
considered, with most of the news problem with that. You don’t expect to go down
being simple waffle and not much really to the local football stadium and be allowed
happening. For me the biggest news was the to watch the matches for free. So why should
announcement that the Formula One group you think that Formula 1 should be shown for
has finally got everything together and is nothing? If one has to pay a modest sum to
launching its own “over-the-top” content watch each race - and you get good value for
delivery service so that fans can sign up money - then what is wrong with that?
for content via the internet, without being Unfortunately, when Liberty Media bought
required to subscribe to a traditional cable or the Formula One group it had to take on all the
satellite pay-TV company. existing contracts and abide by them. These
included some fairly lengthy TV rights contracts ON THE GRID
What does that actually mean? Well, it means
that the sport is beginning to cut out the middle
which mean viewers in a number of countries
will have to wait to get access to the new
by Joe Saward
men, and that should mean that TV coverage will
become much more affordable to fans across
the world. And that has to be a good thing
for the sport. This is not revolutionary in the
TV business, where so-called “cord-cutting”
has been all the rage in the course of the last
year, as a new streaming services such as
Netflicks, Amazon, DirecTV, Sling, HBO Now and
YoutubeTV, to name just a handful, are involved
in a fairly dramatic fight to grab as many
viewers as possible.
A lot of fans will always complain about
anything new or different. There are even a few
folk left who think that sport should be free
to watch. The truth is that free-to-air services
cannot compete any longer and unless there
are local laws which force broadcasters to sport
for free (and, frankly, politicians ought to be
spending their times on more important things
than whether or not F1 is free on television), we
all have to face up to the fact that market forces
4
services, although Liberty says it is willing to do which means that the F1 group does not between races and we are always travelling
deals with rights holders if there are deals that immediately need to have its own dedicated when the races are on, but it seems that in
can be struck, in order to try to encourage the staff, although there have been some people some countries fans are having to pay $400
growth of the sport. hired in recent months, notably my colleague or more to get access to the F1 TV feeds, and
When you take a step back and look at the Will Buxton, who was previously the pit not surprisingly the viewing figures in these
industry there are wide-ranging possibilities lane reporter of the NBC team and the NBC countries have gone through the floor, even if
for deals because pay-TV companies know that producer Jason Swales. I suspect that they will the TV companies are still favoured by the F1
if they do not do deals, they will lose viewers. be providing feature content and a dedicated teams, who seem to think that TV is now the
Piracy will be rife and no-one will be happy, pit lane feed, just for F1 TV viewers. only kind of media that matters.
so it is best to find solutions which mean that Those of us who go to the races often don’t This is very blinkered, but in keeping with
everyone gets what they want. really know a great deal about the costs of TV the relatively short-sighted views of the sport’s
To begin with there will be two simple levels because we don’t watch much TV when we are supposed promoters who don’t allow drivers to
of service with the F1 TV platform. There will be
a basic F1 TV Access, which will be available at
around $2-3 per month, or $20 if bought as a
yearly package. This will be available with live
audio and statistics, but footage of the races
will not be shown live.
Then there will be the premium service will
be called F1 TV Pro, which will cost between
$8-12 per month, depending on the market,
or $100 if it is purchased as a yearly package.
For the moment the TV Pro service will be
restricted to 40 countries around the world,
featuring 24 feeds with commentary in four
languages (English, French, Spanish and
German) with on-board cameras from all 20
drivers and a data feed. This will be free of
advertising and will have unique feeds not
available on any other platform. The service will
be immediately available in the United States,
much of South America, Mexico, Germany,
France and Belgium amongst others.
There are still many questions about how
the system will work, but it looks like the
commentary will be provided by existing
broadcasters so, for example, Swiss TV will
provide F1 TV with a German commentary,
5
be themselves, insist of recording all interviews
themselves (which means that the drivers are
never relaxed) and generally fail to promote the
great things that F1 is doing and are really only
guardsmen (and women), stopping the sport
from delivering more to the fans.
The best thing about the new service is that
it will make a lot of money. The downside is that
one does have to question whether or not it
will be objective and tell the whole story. It is ,
after all, a promotional service rather than true
media, but then in these days of “fake news” the
true media has shrunk to a tiny fraction of the
business, with the rest scrabbling for the “he
said, she said” stories and looking for scandals
where none exist. Worse still are the stay-at-
home bottom-feeders who simply rehash
everyone else’s work and produce such a flow
of content (rubbish though it may be) that
none of the real reporters can compete, unless
they are funded by Russians with unusual
business plans.
The folk at Liberty say that they are hoping to
attract around five million subscribers for F1 TV
Pro. This does not seem to be overly-ambitious
given that the sport is watched by around 350
million people each year. If you get five million
people each paying $100 a year, the amount of
money generated is pretty impressive.
They say that about 20 percent of these 350
million viewers consider themselves to be would all get a ton more money. With that sort the other available revenue streams.
serious F1 fans. That’s a group of 70 million fans of money flowing into the business there would It is absolutely the right way to go forward
and if you get $100 from each of those you end be plenty available to improve the quality of and the timing is right as well, as more and
up with revenues of $7 billion a year. If that the programming - and the promotion and more people are now changing their viewing
was to happen then Liberty would be laughing there would thus be more chance that viewers habits.
all the way to the bank, because the purchase would buy tickets to see races when F1 visits Now the key thing is to have a good, fair
of F1 would be paid off, almost instantly. The their region, and thus more money that can be show, with lots of driver able to win.... which
teams too would be delighted because they made from ticket sales, merchandising and all means a budget cap. v
6
Formula One’s Sean Bratches in action
8
Ferrari test driver Marc Gene presents
the team’s 2018 challenge
10
 HAMILTON AND VETTEL HEAD FOR FIVE
by David Tremayne

CHASING
FANGIO
Never before have two drivers both gone
after five F1 World Championships in the
same season. Thus the battle between Lewis
Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel to match the
legendary Juan Manuel Fangio’s score will
add extra spice to what could be a classic
year

Only two men in history have won five Formula
1 World Championships. Juan Manuel was
the first, in 1951 and then 1954-57 inclusive,
Michael Schumacher the second, in 1994 and
’95, then from 2000 to 2002. The German then
added two more, in 2003 and 2004 to take the
record to seven.
Alain Prost managed four (1985, ’86, ’89 and
’93), but retired at the end of his final successful
season.
Now, Lewis Hamilton’s 2017 success has
brought him level with the four titles won by
Sebastian Vettel, in 2010 to 2013.
Thus, for the first time, that has set up a
season in which two drivers are aiming for a
fifth title.
Fangio’s first came with Alfa Romeo, his
second and third with Mercedes, his fourth with
Ferrari and his fifth with Maserati.
Vettel won all of his with Red Bull, but has
since decamped for Ferrari.
Hamilton won his first, in 2008, with
19
McLaren, his others with Mercedes, to whom he
switched in 2013, in 2014, ’15 and ‘17.
In the manner of most current drivers,
neither Lewis nor Seb claim to be interested in
records. Those are the kind of thing you tend to
look back upon, rather than forward to, when
you are still an active driver, locked into the
white-heat of competition.
“It’s funny,” Lewis said at the launch of the
Mercedes W09 at Silverstone in February, “I saw
something in the last few days about being up
with Fangio and that is an exciting
prospect, but honestly when I
left Abu Dhabi and when I’m with
my family, I don’t have a single
thought about racing. It helps that
I had no one reminding me that I’m
a four-time champion – so I went
back to reality.
“Then I went into the new
year, started training, and you
ask, ‘Why are you training? What
are your goals?’ It’s not as simple
as writing it down – you have to
find out where you’ll find your
20
determination and drive.”
Most drivers, while they
enjoy the training that is such an
essential part of their life, regard
it as a chore and find a way to get
through it. In his case, music helps.
As do active sports such as the
snowboarding he’s been doing
over the winter, and surfing which
he admits he isn’t very good at but
which he is getting more and more
into. At the launch he looked fit,
relaxed and… hungry.
Mercedes rarely falls into
the pre-season trap of boasting
what it will do, and this year
is no exception. And with few
head-to-head runs against Ferrari
and Red Bull during the tests in
Barcelona, it’s hard to predict
exactly what to expect. But when
all the vagaries such as fuel loads
and tyre compounds and engine
modes and lap times have hashed,
dished and been adjusted to cater
for them, the general feeling is
that Mercedes is still the top dog.
Indeed, in a team video, technical
director James Allison was so
bullish that he said the W09 would
wallop the W08 in a fight and that
the new car was better in every
respect. Our course, one would
expect it to be, just as the Ferrari
SF71H is better all-round than the
SF70H, but it’s the manner in which
Allison speaks on the video that
betrays the underlying confidence
in the Silver Arrows camp.
“It’s been a really positive test,”
Lewis said last week. “We got
through everything, reliability has
been great. We’re happy with the
information that we’ve got.
“It’s still difficult to know exactly
where we are in comparison to
Red Bull and Ferrari and we won’t And Allison added: “I think we finish winter testing feeling like difficulties and feel that we have in
fully know that until we get to the can look back on these two winter we’ve explored the car and the the car a good, strong foundation
first race. But I feel like we’ve got tests with some satisfaction, having tyres. on which to build our 2018
as much information as we could designed, planned and then “We know that we put a good campaign. Both drivers seem to
in order to equip us with the best executed a very complex series of amount of kilometres on to it like the car, it responds well to set-
data to go to the season opener.” tests with some competence. We without any significant reliability up changes and has shown a good
21
turn of speed.”
Ferrari, meanwhile, have
continued the caginess that passed
as public relations in 2017. The
launch of the SF71H was fairly low-
key, and nobody seemed inclined
to ask Seb how he felt about going
for a fifth title.
But his underlying thought
process was there in his words after
winning in Brazil last year.
“Overall, I think it was very
positive this year. Nobody
expected Ferrari to be that strong,
for us to be that strong. We made
the biggest step, there was a lot of
talk about other people, but in the
end we were there from the start
and also until the end. We are two
races to go, we are in a position to
fight for victory, we won here, two
cars on the podium. I think there’s
a lot of positives. Of course if you
miss out it sort of sucks, there’s
no other way, but you have to be
fair as well. We hadn’t been very
competitive last year, we hadn’t
been very good developing the car
and we’ve made massive progress
this year, so even if you look at the
chance that maybe you missed,
you have to give credit to all the
people, to all the team for the step
that we made.
“I think we can all feel that we’re
getting stronger so hopefully we
can carry that strength into the
next couple of years, not just next
22
year, not just the winter but also the
future. Because I think our objective
is to bring Ferrari back properly, to
get there and dominate. That’s what
we want to do.”
Unusually, Kimi was the chatty
one when it came to the reds’
testing, in which they came away
with the fastest time overall on
hypersofts which smashed the old
lap record dating back to Felipe
Massa in 2008.
“I’m sure if we want to go
faster, we can, but it doesn’t mean
anything here,” he said. “In two
weeks everybody will know where
everybody is. Until then, we are
only guessing like we were before
testing started. There’s always
things to improve, and if we want
to go faster we can.”
Seb, meanwhile, said he didn’t
23
agree that Mercedes and Red Bull
had been the real pacesetters in
testing, and suggested that the
former might have been struggling
to generate optimal temperatures
on the softer Pirellis.
“Our competitors - Mercedes
and Red Bull - used one type of tyre
for their race distance simulations,
which is something you can’t do
in a Grand Prix,” he said. “This has
an impact on the strategies and
ultimately on the result.
“We’re starting from a good
base with our SF71H car. Now we’ll
have to work on development to
further explore and improve its
potential. I have a lot of confidence
in our team, I know how skilled
and committed the guys in
Maranello are. We, too, did a good
job in terms of mileage, totalling
some 4323 km of running. I have
a personal best of 188 laps in one
day, which is 875 km and a total of
nearly 3000 km.
“We didn’t experience any
major issues with the car, and I
had fun driving it. I can’t wait to
be in Australia, because once we
get on track there, we will all be
driving and racing under the same
conditions. And I have confidence
in our car.”
Assuming that Lewis and Seb
remain the top dogs all year,
whichever of them wins a fifth title
they are likely to want to go on
24
further, chasing a sixth and maybe
a seventh to equal Schumacher.
Seb as much as admitted that in his
post-Brazilian GP comments about
domination, while Lewis is close
to agreeing another three-year
contract with Mercedes…
Given all that, and the
likelihood that Red Bull is going
to disturb their fight and thus add
an extra twist to it all at times,
the 2018 fight for the World
Championship could be every
bit as intense as 2017’s, but with
reheat… v
 INTERVIEW: CYRIL ABITEBOUL
by Joe Saward

RENAULT’S BIG YEAR

It was two and a half years ago,
in September 2015, that Renault
announced the intention to
return to Formula 1 with its
own factory team, buying the
troubled Lotus F1 Team (which it
had previously owned between
2000 and 2010). The goal was to
take the French brand back to
the forefront of the sport using
its own name, as the four World
Championships won by Red Bull
between 2010 and 2013 had
offered the company little in the
way of publicity. It would need
several seasons to rebuild.

In 2017 the team moved up from

ninth to sixth in the Constructors’
Championship.
“Last year was successful in
many ways,” says Cyril Abiteboul,
Renault Sport Racing’s managing
director. “It was the second year
in our rebuilding and a further
step towards our long-term plans
and aims. 2016 was all about
recruiting, investing, bringing in
new sponsors, new talents and
25
building our brand. Over the
past year I’ve seen progression in
many areas: ninth to sixth in the
standings – in many races we were
often the fourth fastest team on
the grid. This is a testament to our
drive, commitment and adherence
to a very ambitious plan. It was a
quantified progression towards
what we want to become and
challenging the top teams.
“We have everything to be
positive about this year. We have
two very talented and ambitious
drivers. Last year Nico (Hulkenberg)
gave us exactly what we needed
with his experience, knowledge
and ability to lead both on and
off track. Carlos (Sainz) joined us
at the end of the season and he
bought something fresh, and he
scored points to help us in the
Constructors’ battle. Without that
we wouldn’t have finished where
we finished.
“Our headline target is to show
continued progression through
results. We want to be able to
showcase our progression in
every regard; power unit, chassis,
operations, drivers. Everything
must improve and we must
continue to grow. We want to
demonstrate this in many different

26
ways, from the teams we will be
directly racing against, to the gap
to the leaders, including also our
fan base and the respect that our
team will inspire in the way we
behave on and off track.”
Compared to the big teams in
F1, Renault still has a fairly modest
budget but Abiteboul says that this
is not a problem - at the moment.
“There is only a certain amount
of money that you can use and that
is proportional to the size of your
structure,” he says. “If I had had $10
27
million or $20 million more last
year I would not have been able to
make use of it because of the size
of the team. Now we have more
people and more facilities. That
means more ideas and more costs
and the one limiting factor is the
financial resources and we must
plan to increase that and not just
think about Renault funding.
“There is the prize fund, there is
merchandising and there are the
regular sponsors. We will never be
able to compete with the teams
with bigger resources. We know
that. Frankly, in the short term, we
need to be smarter in the way we
are leveraging the fact that we are
a works team and Viry and Enstone
must work better together than
Viry and Milton Keynes or Viry and
Woking.
“We hope that our two
customer teams (Red Bull Racing
and McLaren) will have the best
possible service, but we need to
28
be much more efficient than any
other team. We are very lucky to be
one of the three car makers who
are fully involved in F1, but we
know we cannot beat the others in
terms of resources so we have to
be smarter and be more agile and
in the longterm we need to think
about Formula 1, so there is a more
level playing field.
“We know that and that is going
to be a big discussion in 2018.” v

INTERVIEW: ANDY COWELL
by Joe Saward
AMAZING
ENGINES
The managing director
of Mercedes-AMG High
Performance Powertrains has
been responsible for the F1
engines which have won the last
four World Championship titles
- in both the Drivers’ and the
Constructors’ categories. It is a
pretty spectacular achievement.
And now Andy Cowell wants to
do it all again, with the new M09
EQ Power+.
29
This year one might argue that
there are no major regulation
changes, but such is the progress
these days (and the budgets) that
Mercedes has what amounts to yet
another all-new engine.
“The amount of change on the
power unit for this year is quite
considerable,” Cowell explains, “and
it’s driven by a number of new
requirements.
“The biggest challenge we’ve
got is lifting our durability limit
by racing just three engines per
driver per championship and two
ERS systems. That’s a 40 per cent
increase in the life of the hardware
compared with last year. We have
focussed on trying to increase
the life of the equipment without
losing performance.
“We also wanted to change
the packaging of the power
unit for the benefit of overall car
performance. We’ve been working
very closely with our colleagues
in Brackley, trying to understand
the best overall integration in the
chassis, the transmission and the
aerodynamic surfaces. We’ve also
been working on combustion
efficiency and friction reduction in
partnership with Petronas.”
Ironically, the reduction in the
number of power units was driven
by the desire to reduce costs for
the smaller teams.
“Right now, we’re seeing
quite a significant development
investment, “ Cowell admits,” but
further down the line both the
works and the customer teams will
be better off. If an engine lasts 40
per cent longer, you don’t need to
make as many units for the same
amount of development running.
This will have a positive impact
on the performance development
work we have to do at the factory,
but it will also reduce the supply
price to customers and the cost
of us racing over 21 races of a
Formula 1 Championship. So we
will all benefit from it once it is
implemented.
“If we go back 14 years, we
first introduced the idea of the
V10s and then V8s having to last
a whole Grand Prix weekend and
we ultimately ended up with
eight V8 engines per driver per
Championship. All of that has
helped to contain costs.”
Fourteen years ago was when
Cowell joined the company then
known as Mercedes-Ilmor, as
principal engineer for the FQ
30
V10 engine project. He arrived
from Cosworth, where he had
been principal engineer on the
company’s F1 programme for three
years. He had been at Cosworth
since the start of his career, joining
the celebrated firm as a graduate
trainee, straight from university.
He moved up the ladder to do
two years leading Cosworth’s
Ford F1 programme with Stewart
Grand Prix, but then spent the
2000 season working in Munich
with BMW Motorsport on its F1
engines, before going back to
Northampton.
Today he is a Fellow of the
Institution of Mechanical Engineers
and of the Royal Academy of
Engineering.
After joining Mercedes-Ilmor
he was chief engineer for the V8
project before being put in charge
of all engine projects, including the
KERS hybrid system, which was first
raced in 2009. He then moved up
to be Engineering and Programme
Director for Mercedes-Benz High
Performance Engines from July
2008 to January 2013 and finally
became managing director of
the company at the start of 2013,
overseeing the development of
the PU106A V6 Hybrid Power Unit,
which went on to power the 2014
World Championship winning
Mercedes F1 W05 Hybrid.
He’s been into racing as long as
he can remember, his father having
competed in sprints and hillclimbs
when Andy was a child.
He remains an enthusiast at
heart and is keen to tell the world
about the incredible technology
that is being created in Formula 1.
“Formula One is about
having this blend of technology
development, great ingenuity
31
and great human performance
at the circuit,” he says. “It’s driving
progress, accelerating the future,
and at the same time provides
entertainment. That’s the awesome
nature of F1.”
Most of all, he wants the fans to
understand the extraordinary leap
that Formula 1 has made in terms
of thermal efficiency since the new
engine rules began in 2014.
Thermal efficiency (for those
who don’t know) is a figure that
compares the measured energy
that goes into an engine (in
chemical form, in fuel) with the
horsepower that comes out.
This figure has crept slowly
upwards for more than a century,
but two years ago, the best
engines were still only at about 35
percent thermal efficiency.
In the space of two years, the
modern F1 engines have lifted that
figure to 50 percent and the engine
teams still see huge potential
for further gains. They are also
excited about how many of their
concepts can be applied to road
car development.
Cowell believes (quite rightly)
that the progress that has been
made in thermal efficiency is
remarkable, given how long it took
the industry to reach 30 percent.
“I think that going into 2014
we all said: ‘Wouldn’t it be great if
F1 could produce power units with
greater than 40 percent thermal
efficiency,” he says, “but at the
same time there were many, many,
very experienced people who
32
thought that was ridiculous. In
the end, all the manufacturers in
F1 achieved that very quickly and
the journey over these last four
years - for all the manufacturers -
has been continuously remarkable.
The full-throttle time has increased
by 30 percent and, on top of that,
the durability requirement for
the power units has increased
significantly, going from five
per season down to three,
which increases the kilometre
requirement for each engine”
Cowell says that there are no
such things as miracles in Formula
1 and that the gains have been
the result of hard work and good
brains. He also mentions that
getting 1000 hp from one of the
engines is quite possible, although
no-one believed that this would
happen with the current engine
regulations.
“I think the thermal efficiency,
the peak power, the amount of
electrical energy produced, the
compact nature of the power
units and the driveability are
all remarkable,” he says. “If back
in back in 2012 you could have
looked forward five years and
seen what is now being done, you
would conclude that it has been
a truly remarkable half decade of
achievement.
“This highlights very well the
achievement of this industry,
and not just over the last five
years, but over the last umpteen
decades: the achievements of
the Cosworth DFV and the step
change that it brought, ground
effect aerodynamics, active
suspension systems, carbon fibre
technology, high-revving engines,
the original turbo V6s and the
safety improvements. There are
a group of people attracted to
doing technological development,
competing with one another but
when their work is combined there
have been some tremendous steps
forward. We must not lose sight of
the DNA of the industry - which is
to make the impossible possible.
33
 “We can get 1000 horsepower
on the track if that is what we
want to do, but our goal is to win
races and championships not to
win a dyno-derby. If we wanted to
go for maximum possible power
the engine would be completely
different. What we are doing is to
optimising every single system
to come up with the fastest race
car to win the races. It’s not about
having the best aero, the best
tyres, the best thermal efficiency
or whatever, it is about optimising
the car for each individual circuit
and for the best championship
result. Perhaps at some tracks
getting 1000 horsepower is what
you would want to do. In any
case, it does not require a change
34
of the engine hardware to do it.
There is nothing remarkable in
achieving this, it is just optimising
everything.”
Cowell says that the work
being done at Brixworth is very
useful for the new Mercedes AMG
Project 1 hypercar project - and for
the work that Mercedes is doing
in preparation for its entry into
Formula E, which is scheduled to
be in Season Six, starting at the
end of 2019. But he admits that
translating the F1 technology to
the average internal combustion
engine is not that simple.
“It is difficult to directly
translate what we are doing across
to the average internal combustion
engine,” he explains. “We have
the benefit of the MGU-H, which
means that we have speed control
of the compressor and the turbine.
The compressor means that we can
optimise the efficiency around a
narrower operating point.
“Road car engines spend most
of their time at low loads and the
performance aspect of a road car
engine is how it accelerates up
to a higher load, but it doesn’t
spend much time there. We can
provide boost through corners
and with direct injection we can
deliver oxygen into the cylinders
before the driver is on the throttle,
so we have instant power. The
combustion efficiency is directly
relevant and so the work that has
been done to understand knock
limits, for example, and to optimise
the thermodynamic performance
of the engine, inlet, exhausts,
camshaft profiles, combustion
initiation methods, they are all
directly transferable.
“We do a lot of friction reduction
work on the high revving engines
and that’s transferable, although
it is probably only a continuation
of work that has been done in this
respect in the last two decades.”
Cowell says that the 2018 engine
has “zero carry over”.
“With the engine allocation
dropping to three units per driver
for the season, the continual
combustion development, the
friction reduction and learning
about how to remove the heat
means there is not much to carry
over. “
How will Mercedes do this year?
“We are trying to stay humble
and just keep doing the
fundamental work we have always
done,” he explains. “There is no
secret formula to what we do. It is
35
plain, honest engineering work. If
there’s an idea of how to reduce
friction or improve combustion
efficiency, we discuss it in our
forum in a very forthright way.
The sources of all ideas are human
creativity, passion and enthusiasm.
We have got thousands of ideas,
and we use experience and
calculations to try and filter it down
to the ideas that we perceive to
be winners. Then we embark on a
development journey, using test
rigs, development engines, single-
cylinder research engines and so
on to prove the theory. That’s our
way of doing things, how we try to
stay ahead.
“In a little over nine months, we
will know if we succeeded.” v
SEASON PREVIEW
by David Tremayne & Joe Saward

ARE WE IN FOR
A GENUINE
THREE-HORSE
RACE?

It can be taken as a given that

Mercedes and Ferrari will be
going head-to-head again in
2018, but is Red Bull going
to make it a three-way battle
and get in the way of Lewis
Hamilton’s and Sebastian
Vettel’s aspiration to match Juan
Manuel Fangio’s five titles?

36
 Haloes are in, grid girls are gone.
Germany and France are back.
Stand by for Formula 1 2018, in its
second year under Liberty Media’s
reign.
But before we go into the racing
side of things in more detail, let’s
have a quick recap on what’s
different technically for 2018. The
answer is plenty, though some of it
is quite subtle.
First, of course, is the
mandatory addition of the
protective cockpit device known
as the halo, which has split opinion
more than anything since the days
of turbocharged engines.
First mooted in 2015, the
versions seen in various tests since
then were not the real thing but
a means of assessing such factors
as visibility. Now the real versions,
weighing between 14 and 15 kg,
have given designers plenty of
headaches incorporating them
into the chassis. The halo must
withstand a maximum downward
load of 116 KN, and a maximum
sideways load of 93 KN, which has
made the 2018 chassis crash tests
the toughest ever.
Team have already started
experimenting with small curved
winglets atop their haloes, and that
is likely to continue all season in
search of small advantages.
The minimum weight has risen
from an already heavy 722 kg in
37

2017 to 728 kg, to help the teams
with the halo. But the extra 6 kg
is less than half the weight of the
halo, meaning that teams will have
less ballast to play with, and that
heavier drivers will against suffer a
penalty for what nature gave them.
Also on the chassis side, the
closing of an aerodynamic
loophole has done away with
the controversial shark fins and T
wings. The former helped airflow
over the rear wing, while the latter
did the same and also contributed
38
a modicum of downforce.
The FIA wasn’t keen on a
growing trend for steering input to
generate changes in the ride eight,
for aerodynamic benefit, so there
is now a maximum allowance of
5 mm when the front wheels are
steered lock-to-lock.
On the engine front, each driver
must now get through the season
with just three engines rather
than four. Thus, with the extended
number of races, each power unit
must do at least seven.
One little hidden rule change
is that oil burning practises have
been tightened up. In the past
these embraced having valves in
the oil system which enabled a
measure of lubricant to find its way
into the combustion chambers
so that the power units had
something other than the 105 kg
allowance of fuel to consume. This
enabled some teams to ramp up
their power for the final session of
qualifying, so it will be fascinating
to see whether this crucial
redefinition evens things up in Q3.
In conjunction with that, thee
sporting regulations governing
grid penalties have been changed
slightly in an effort to make things
less ludicrous. Now if a driver gets
15 grid penalty points at a race he
automatically goes to the back of
the grid just on that score, and if
more than one driver is penalised,
their order at the back will be
decided by the order in which
power units are changed.
As far as tyres are concerned,
Pirelli has introduced two further
dry-tyre compounds, so we now
have seven of them instead of
five, plus the two wet-weather
compounds. All of the compounds
have gone one step softer, and
the more aggressive approach
is intended to generate more
degradation and thus more pit
stops, plus greater strategic
opportunities. Whether this
achieves the aim of spicing up the
racing or just makes things more
difficult for the casual viewer to
follow, remains to be seen.
Thus we have, in descending
order of softness: hypersofts (pink
39
sidewalls); ultrasofts (purple);
supersofts (red); softs (yellow);
mediums (white); hards (blue)
and superhards (orange), plus
intermediates (green) and wets
(blue).
“After an uncertain start with
bad weather last week, pre-season
testing eventually turned out to
be very productive with more
representative conditions this
week, just as we expected,” said
head of car racing Mario Isola
after the two pre-season tests in
Barcelona.
“The teams were able to
comfortably complete more than
100 laps each per day, helping
them to prepare for the season
ahead and gather information on
the 2018 tyre range. Of the P Zero
slick tyres, all the compounds were
tried out from the hard to the new
pink hypersoft, with a new all-time
lap record established on the
hypersoft.
“During the final day of testing
last week, wet conditions that
eventually dried out enabled the
teams to also assess the wet-
weather tyres and crossover points.
The biggest change was the fact
that the track has been resurfaced
this year, making it smoother with
more grip. Most importantly of all
though, the teams are satisfied
with the data that they have
collected.
“From our side we now
also have a good idea of the
performance differences between
the compounds at this point of the
season, with around 0.7 seconds
between the ultrasoft and the
hypersoft, which corresponds to
our expectations.
“The next stop is the Australian
Grand Prix, which will give us our
first look at the 2018 tyres in a
competitive context.”
So what about the racing?
Of course, Mercedes and Ferrari
will be attacking one another
again, each having built on the
lessons they learned in 2017. In
Mercedes’ case, that was how to
deal with a car that, while generally
the fastest, had diva characteristics
that the team in Brackley has
40
been at pains to minimise. In
Ferrari’s, the search has been for
more consistent performance on
the fastest tracks, and improved
reliability.
A crucial cornerstone of
this particular duel is that
both reigning champion Lewis
Hamilton, and arch-rival Sebastian
Vettel, are aiming to equal Juan
Manuel Fangio’s record of five
world titles, which will add a huge
buzz to their inter-team fight.
Red Bull began 2017 slowly but

added pace all the way through
and scored two victories in the
final stages of the season courtesy
of Max Verstappen. The new Aston
Martin-sponsored RB14 looked
very quick in testing and opinion
is divided on whether the team
pipped Ferrari as runner-up to
Mercedes in what Ron Dennis used
derisively to call the Winter World
Championship.
What is for sure there is that
Daniel Ricciardo will be on his
mettle, in what could be his last
season with the Milton Keynes
team, to prove that he is as quick
as his upstart Dutch team-mate.
Behind these three, the upper
midfield battle looks fascinating,
with Renault, Haas, McLaren, Force
India and Toro Rosso all showing
promise that they can fight for the
remaining points.
On testing form, questions
remain about how competitive
both Williams and Sauber will be,
but beyond such intriguing issues
as the intra-team clashes between
41
CIRCUIT DE CATALUNYA
WINTER TESTING
TIMES AND TYRES
Hypersoft, Ultrasoft, Supersoft, Soft
1 S Vettel Ferrari 1:17.182
2 K Raikkonen Ferrari 1:17.221
3 F Alonso McLaren 1:17.784
4 D Ricciardo Red Bull 1:18.047
5 C Sainz Renault 1:18.092
6 K Magnussen Haas 1:18.360
7 P Gasly Toro Rosso 1:18.363
8 L Hamilton Mercedes 1:18.400
9 R Grosjean Haas 1:18.412
10 V Bottas Mercedes 1:18.560
11 N Hulkenberg Renault 1:18.675
12 S Vandoorne McLaren 1:18.855
13 B Hartley Toro Rosso 1:18.949
14 E Ocon Force India 1:18.967
15 C Leclerc Sauber 1:19.118
16 S Sirotkin Williams 1:19.189
17 M Ericsson Sauber 1:19.244
18 R Kubica Williams 1:19.629
19 S Perez Force India 1:19.634
20 M Verstappen Red Bull 1:19.842
21 L Stroll Williams 1:19.954
22 N Mazepin Force India 1:25.628
Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez at
Force India, and Pierre Gasly and
Brendon Hartley at Toro Rosso (not
to mention how strongly Honda
has come back after its annus
horriblis in 2017) these two teams
will generate plenty of interest in
the driving department.
Williams will have promising
rookie Sergey Sirotkin challenging
sophomore Lance Stroll, and the
quiet Russian did plenty in his GP2
42
days to suggest he has plenty to
offer. At the same time, Williams
has also brought the great Robert
Kubica (below) back, effectively
giving him the chance as test and
reserve driver to demonstrate
whether he is genuinely worthy of
a fulltime drive in 2019. After his
hugely impressive fight back to
fitness, everyone (except perhaps
Sergey and Lance) wants to see
BobKub complete one of the
sport’s most heroic comebacks.
Then there is the arrival in F1
of dominant 2017 F2 champion
Charles Leclerc, whom many
believe is a new Alain Prost.
As far as the British are
concerned, this is the first
year since 1955 in which the
season started with only one
representative on the grid, but the
progress of George Russell and
Lando Norris (respectively proteges
of Mercedes and McLaren) will also
bear watching very closely for the
future.
It’s going to be a gruelling year
43
with a 21-race schedule, and there’s
a big welcome back for the Grands
Prix in Germany (at Hockenheim)
and France (at Paul Ricard). To see
two traditional, European races
back on the calendar is a definite
fillip for the sport.
The weather did its best to
screw things up in Barcelona, but
though that might have been
frustrating for the teams it creates a
fascinating scenario for Melbourne
in which nobody can be absolutely
sure of the order for the second
year running. At least, not until
qualifying on the Saturday… v
Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport CAR NUMBERS Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda

44 Lewis Hamilton 10 Pierre Gasly

77 Valtteri Bottas 28 Brendon Hartley

Scuderia Ferrari Haas F1 Team

5 Sebastian Vettel 8 Romain Grosjean

7 Kimi Raikkonen 20 Kevin Magnussen

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Williams Martini Racing McLaren F1 Team

3 Daniel Ricciardo 18 Lance Stroll 2 Stoffel Vandoorne

33 Max Verstappen 35 Sergey Sirotkin 14 Fernando Alonso

Sahara Force India F1 Team Renault Sport F1 Team Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team

11 Sergio Perez 27 Nico Hulkenberg 9 Marcus Ericsson

31 Esteban Ocon 55 Carlos Sainz 16 Charles Leclerc
44
Mercedes AMG
Petronas Motorsport

The 2017 season was a pretty close

run thing, with Ferrari stumbling in
the end with reliability problems
towards the end of the year.
Sebastian Vettel too must take
some of the blame because of
self-induced incidents in Baku and
Mexico. Ferrari won only five of the
20 races, but this was a big step
forward. Mercedes won 12, nine
for Lewis Hamilton and three for
Valtteri Bottas.
The Brackley team seems to be
as solid as ever and the pre-season
testing was remarkable as the
two drivers completed 1,040 laps
of Barcelona, in what amounted
to only seven days of testing, an
average of 148 laps a day - more
than two Grand Prix distances. The
3,100 miles covered was just 65
miles short of the total achieved in
the eight days running up to the
2017 season.
The new car looked solid as
a rock in terms of reliability and
it was fairly clear that there was
no real attempt going on to set
quick times. The team never
used hypersoft tyres. There is,
therefore, no reason to suggest
that Mercedes will be beaten in
2018 - unless its rivals have done a
better job.
In 2017 the major problem for
45
Mercedes was the chassis rather
than the engine and the focus of
development has been to get a car
that is easier to set up at all circuits.
In 2017 the Ferrari was much more
consistent overall, if not the match
for the Mercedes when it was
on full song. This year's engine is
effectively new but the team has
such a record of reliability that it is
hard to imagine that it will all go
horribly wrong.
Lewis Hamilton is driving better
than ever and seems to be at
ease with himself and with the
world, while Valtteri Bottas came
back from a difficult patch in the
middle of last year to finish 2017
in a strong fashion, which set
Hamilton's alarm bells ringing.
The two have been busy
training through the winter and
the battle between them should
be interesting to watch. Bottas
has learned a great deal in the last
12 months and so he should be
stronger. There are still questions
about his long term future as
Valtteri has only a one-year deal,
and there is much talk of the team
looking at - and talking to - Daniel
Ricciardo. Valtteri also needs to
watch out for Esteban Ocon and
George Russell, both of whom are
being prepared to step into the
top team as and when they are
required. But, worrying about that
will not change the situation and
all Valtteri can really do is to remain
focussed on what he has to do
and win as many races as possible.
The relationship between the two
drivers is very good and so there
are none of the disruption that
make it a less than comfortable
place in the Hamilton-Rosberg era.
We will have to see if this
extraordinary team can continue
with its run of success in the fifth
season of the the 1.6-litre hybrid
turbo Formula 1 era. They have
won 63 of the 79 races since the
engine rules changed, just shy of
80 percent, but Ferrari was strong
last year and if the Italians make
another step forward then there
really is going to be quite a fight
ahead, particularly if Red Bull is
able to wade into the action once
again... The sport needs there to
be solid competition in order to
draw in more viewers and it would
be better if that came from other
teams, rather than between the
two team-mates.
Lewis Hamilton has still to
commit to race in 2019 but this
year’s target is to win a fifth World
Championship and equal Juan
Manuel Fangio. It is clear that Lewis
is beginning to look at what his
world could be like post-F1 and
Mercedes will want to know quite
early in the season that he will be
staying on in 2019, so Lewis needs
to make up his mind. JS
46
 Mercedes AMG
Petronas Motorsport

Mercedes F1 W09 EQ Power +

GP+ Team rating 5

GP+ Driver ratings
44 Lewis Hamilton 10
77 Valtteri Bottas 9

47
Scuderia Ferrari

Last year was a good year for

Ferrari with Sebastian Vettel
winning five races, but when one
considers that Lewis Hamilton won
nine, it seems rather extraordinary
that Vettel was in the hunt for the
title until the last part of the season
- even more so because Hamilton
scored in every single race.
The truth is that Vettel’s two
non-finishes were disastrous for
Ferrari and as Kimi Raikkonen has
not really been in the hunt since he
returned to Maranello in 2014, the
team won no titles - which was not
a great state of affairs when, in the
overall scheme of things, one has
the fastest car...
The choice of Raikkonen as
Vettel’s team-mate remains bizarre
as it means that Sebastian is never
really under pressure from within.
Perhaps someone at Maranello
has decided that the German
driver cannot cope with strong
competition from a team-mate and
is best left to work on his own, but
that pretty much condemns Ferrari
to not winning the Constructors’
Championship.
The fact that team gets a pile
of extra money whether it wins
the title or not is a nice bonus and
offsets the need to compete for
the Constructors’ Championship,
which is not good for the show and
48
simply adds to the ammunition
that can be fired at Ferrari with
regard to its unfair advantages in
F1. They don’t like being told this,
but the truth is often painful...
Nonetheless, Ferrari has done a
good job in the last 18 months and
one must salute that achievement.
Much of the credit for this must go
to the chief technical officer Mattia
Binotto, an engine man who has
been in charge of the whole F1
project in recent times.
As was the story in 2017, Ferrari
covered fewer miles in testing than
Mercedes, with a total of 929 laps,
which is slightly under 90 percent
of what Mercedes achieved in
the seven days of running. This is
a slightly better result than last
year when the team was 400 miles
behind Mercedes.
The fact remains that since
the new formula began in 2014,
49
Ferrari has won only eight races,
compared to Mercedes’s 63. Red
Bull has also won eight, but Ferrari
ought to be doing better than it is,
particularly when one considers
the company gets more than
Mercedes every year whether it
wins or loses.
When you boil it all down, Ferrari
is important to Formula 1 because
it is a celebrated brand, but the
Italian team has not won a World
Championship since 2008, and the
last F1 World Champion to win a
title with Ferrari was in 2007.
If Ferrari cannot win when it
has all of its unfair advantages,
then it does not deserve to have
them. People want change and
Ferrari is under pressure, so we
can expect a lot more sabre-
rattling about Ferrari quitting F1.
Would it really do it? Only if ego
outweighs logic. JS
 Scuderia Ferrari
Ferrari SF71-H

GP+ Team rating: 5

GP+ Driver ratings:
5 Sebastian Vettel 9
7 Kimi Raikkonen 8

50
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
The Red Bull team was there or
thereabouts last season, but not on
a consistent basis. The team quietly
blamed the Renault engines and
said that the chassis was better
than the car suggested - which
was probably true. The team did,
however, make a rather slow start
and had to catch up, with whispers
suggesting that Adrian Newey was
51
spending too much of his time on
the Aston Martin Valkyrie and not
enough time on the F1 car.
It is interesting to note that the
team has had a very quiet technical
reshuffle in recent weeks, which
suggests that it is beefing up
the management in F1, in order
to allow Newey the freedom he
wants. He remains chief technical
officer of the team but Frenchman
Pierre Waché has now been
named technical director. The
other major players remain in their
positions with Rob Marshall as
chief engineering officer and Dan
Fallows as the head of charge of
aerodynamics.
Much will obviously depend on
the performance of the Renault
engines this year, as this was a clear
disadvantage in 2017, with the
chassis having to make up for the
horsepower gap.
If Renault has managed to get
more power (and more reliability)
then Red Bull should be worth
watching.
In the pre-season testing in
Barcelona, the team did not seem
to have been going for lap times
with Daniel Ricciardo almost a
second off Sebastian Vettel’s best
time, using the same tyres. Max
Verstappen was way down the
order. The team completed a total
of 783 laps, which was a solid effort
but nothing compared to the
Mercedes 1,040 laps. the future with a supply of unit, badged as an Aston Martin. parties is funded from royalties
It is notoriously difficult to Renault engines until the current The supercar company is looking on the car sales, which bring in
judge how the teams are doing commercial agreements finish, at at ways to fund such a project and considerable cash.
in the testing, but it seems that the end of 2020. However, if the may work with other F1 entities to Whether Red Bull can win
Ricciardo was hugely impressed Honda engine shows promise with create a base engine from which the World Championship with
with the new car, but chose to play Toro Rosso, Red Bull could take they can then all diversify. a customer engine remains to
things down - so as not to raise over those engines. In the longer Red Bull continues to design be seen, but in 2021, if all goes
expectations. term it is clear that the plan is for road cars for Aston Martin and the to plan, it will have its own
Red Bull is well placed for the team to have its own power sponsorship deal between the two manufacturer. JS

52
 Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer RB 14

GP+ Team rating 5

GP+ Driver ratings
3 Daniel Ricciardo 9.5
33 Max Verstappen 10
53
Sahara Force India F1 Team
Regular readers will know how
much respect I have for Force India,
and the way that Otmar Szafnauer
and Bob Fernley run the biggest
little team in F1, and I see them
being right there in the midfield
fight behind the top three yet
again. The long-awaited change
of team name is expected at any
minute, and it may free up more
financial backing when the outfit
distances itself from Vijay Mallya
and his ongoing troubles.
Testing was not perceivably
great for the team, but it has not
been one to grandstand before
the start of a season since its days
as Jordan, when Eejay was always
looking to rustle up the extra
dollar.
Two of the things that have
always really impressed me about
Force India are its unflappability,
and its ability to introduce
upgrades that are well thought-
out and which usually deliver
and move it ahead. Both are key
products of its admirable stability,
which should be the envy of
every other team in the paddock.
54
These boys really know how to
spend their money wisely and
to maximum benefit, without
worrying about unnecessary frills
and self-aggrandisement.
So I am confident Andy Green
and his fellow engineers will have
learned what they needed to about
the VJM11 and all its little foibles
in Barcelona, and are taking the
steps they need to make sure they
can fight strongly against the new
challenges they can expect from
Renault and McLaren, and possibly
from Haas and Toro Rosso.
Besides these fundamental
advantages, others are the
Mercedes power unit, and the
drivers. Sergio Perez remains
bewilderingly under-rated and is
one of the most consistently quick
guys out there, though at times last
year he went back to his old ways
and got a bit unruly when team-
mate Esteban Ocon started giving
him a hard time on track. The lanky
Frenchman is all set to go into orbit
this year with his eyes hungrily
set upon Valtteri Bottas’ Mercedes
seat for 2019, so the intra-team
battle between them will again
be a source of great excitement.
Especially as Sergio will also be
doing all he can to attract the
attention of the top teams.
Last year, of course, they
clashed a lot, notably in Baku and
Spa, giving Szafnauer and Uncle
Bobby the headache of getting
them settled back down while
still allowing them to race one
another. This they did with great
skill and not a little diplomacy, for
which everyone should be grateful.
Expect the need for more of the
same at times in 2018.
Another huge plus in 2017 was
the reliability of the VJM10: Ocon
finished in every race up until
Brazil, and scored points in all the
others apart from Monaco. Perez
did something similar, retiring with
damage in Baku and finishing 13th
in Monaco. That was one hell of a
record, and a tribute to both team
and drivers. In 16 of the 20 races,
they scored double points finishes.
So while it will face tremendous
pressure while trying to retain the
fourth place it won in 2017, don’t
expect the Silverstone team just
to roll over because some of the
big boys got new toys. There’s
no visible beanstalk outside the
factory, but it is the home of giant-
killing in F1. So don’t write off the
chances of engineering ability and
impeccable organisation securing
the team further honour this
season. DT
55
Sahara Force India F1 Team
Force India Mercedes VJM11

GP+ Team rating: 5

GP+ Driver ratings:

11 Sergio Perez 8.5

31 Esteban Ocon 9

56
Williams Martini Racing
Things are not easy at Williams
with the news that title sponsor
Martini is not going to renew its
support in 2019. The team needs
to invest for the future, but it has
had to compromise because the
money supply has been a problem.
However, Williams now has a new
technical structure, headed by
Chief Technical Officer Paddy Lowe,
who has been joined at Grove
by fomer Ferrari aerodynamics
chief Dirk de Beer; a new vehicle
dynamics chief in Barney Hassell,
from McLaren; and a new chief
engineer (also from McLaren) in
Doug McKiernan.
The FW41, is the work of a team
57
led by experienced chief designer
Ed Wood, but the testing has
not really given much away. The
team was heavily criticized over
the winter for its choice of Sergey
Sirotkin alongside Lance Stroll,
which many see as a line-up of two
pay-drivers. Sirotkin may surprise
a few people this year as he has
shown good pace in the junior
formulae. Robert Kubica is also
onboard as the team's test driver
and while he has much experience,
it is fairly old experience. However,
he was a top driver in his day and
that must help the team. The last
couple of years have seen the team
slip from third in the Constructors'
to fifth and the danger is that as
Renault and McLaren both move
up the ladder, Williams will be
pushed further downwards.
The biggest problem is that
it has been beaten too often by
Force India, which has the same
Mercedes engines, but far less in
the way of facilities than Williams
has on offer.
In the testing in Barcelona the
team did not feature at the top end
of the times, although Sirotkin's
best time on soft rubber would
theoretically translate into a
competitive lap on hypersoft tyres.
Williams needs a good year
because without any major results,
it is going to be very difficult to
find a backer to replace Martini,
58
and if the team slips further down
the ladder in the Constructors'
Championship, it will also get less
prize money.
The team is, however, building
up its advanced technology
division in order to create a stable
long-term business, without being
totally dependent on F1. JS
Williams Martini Racing
Williams-Mercedes FW41
GP+ Team rating: 4
GP+ Driver ratings:
18 Lance Stroll 8
35 Sergey Sirotkin 8
Renault Sport F1 Team

If 2016 was a very tough season finally seems poised for a big push of things enhanced by the arrival of enough to run the turbocharger
for Renault, as it came back to forward. Few dispute that the ‘secret weapons’ Marcin Budkowski at the speed intended for its 2017
its old F1 stomping ground as a R.S.17 was the fourth fastest car by from the FIA, and aerodynamicist counterpart, which was an all-new
manufacturer and team owner and the end of 2017, so the aim from Pierre Machin, from Red Bull. concept, then there could be a
continued as an engine supplier, Bob Bell and Nick Chester has been A revised MGU-H will be the significant boost in horsepower.
2017 also brought its challenges. to build on that, with technical side key; if it can be made reliable The R.S.18 has addressed its
It began to find some rhythm,
albeit initially with only one of
its cars as Jolyon Palmer had
the season from hell and was
eventually replaced by Carlos Sainz
from Texas onwards.
Finance was always a problem,
however, but while Renault as
an organisation doesn’t have
the budgets available to either
Mercedes or Ferrari, it has the
same racing spirit. That made it
tough at times to put up with Red
Bull’s continual harping about
the RE17 power unit, whose
performance did not match either
of its main rivals. And then there
was the unreliability of its MGU-H,
which pretty much consumed all
available units before season-end
and led to Franz Tost at Toro Rosso
all but publicly accusing the Regie
of giving his team second-rate
units in order to pass his in the
Constructors’ stakes (which it did in
the finale in Abu Dhabi).
2018 is a new ballgame, and
though there is evidence in
various departments of the need
to conserve funding, Renault
59
predecessor’s shortcomings and
the team had a decent, if not
outstanding, couple of tests in
Barcelona.
There are several fascinations
here.
Let’s start with the battle it will
face not just with Red Bull – which
seems to have taken a step forward
vis a vis its position with Mercedes
and Ferrari – but also with a very
hungry McLaren equipe. Cyril
Abiteboul should be praised for
agreeing to give such a strong
competitor a supply of engines,
and I can’t wait to see how the
individual performances of each of
these teams pans out as the season
progresses.
Reliability will be a key issue,
and was what cost Renault the
chance of beating Williams and
Force India in 2017. Matching
Mercedes and Ferrari on that score
alone, let alone horsepower, is a
huge challenge for a manufacturer
said to be operating on 85% of
their budgets.
The other thing to watch very
closely will be the intra-team fight
between Nico Hulkenberg and
Carlos Sainz.
The German has long been
vaunted as a driver who deserved
a factory ride, but in his time at
Force India he got beaten quite
convincingly by Sergio Perez. His
60
move to Renault gave him the
platform to show what he could
do, and he rarely had much trouble
with Palmer.
Sainz, meanwhile is a hungry
young Turk who quickly outgrew
Toro Rosso once Max Verstappen
had moved on. He showed well
against the Dutch prodigy, and
was getting itchy feet watching his
progress while Toro Rosso fell into
its usual rut of starting well then
fading as others out-developed it.
Since a great start in Texas in which
he beat the Hulk, the situation was
reversed for the remaining races,
but just like Perez and Esteban
Ocon at Force India, you can
bet the two will be scrapping all
season. Which is just what a team
like Renault needs. Two hungry
young lions desperate to leave
their mark, both knowing that
their futures depend on showing
strongly.
Abiteboul knows full-well
that Renault should have
challenged for fourth place last
year, that reliability let it down
horribly, and that P4 must be
the minimum target this time
around. If the R.S.18 retains the
fundamentally decent R.S.17’s
good aerodynamics, handling and
ride quality, has more poke and
doesn’t break down, that could
happen. DT
Renault Sport F1 Team

Renault R.S. 18

GP+ Team rating: 4.5

GP+ Driver ratings:

27 Nico Hulkenberg 8.75

55 Carlos Sainz 8.5

61
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Helmut Marko’s brutal approach
to driver development backfired
badly last year when Red Bull
ran out of drivers after Carlos
Sainz left for Renault and Marko
decided that Daniil Kvyat had had
sufficient chances and need to
be let go. The problem was that
Red Bull’s only driver ready for F1
was France’s Pierre Gasly. This led
Red Bull to take the interesting
decision to give New Zealand’s
Brendon Hartley another chance,
as he seemed to have developed a
great deal more maturity with the
Porsche factory team.
Both men have shown promise
and so it will be interesting to see
62
how they get on.
The team’s decision to go with
Honda is interesting and will save
Red Bull a great deal of money, but
it remains to be seen if it will result
in better performance. Testing
suggests that the latest engine from
Honda is rather more reliable than
the units last year and that the levels
of power available are not bad at all.
The downside of this is that it could
lead to Honda deciding to run its
own team in the future, to avoid the
kind of public embarrassment that it
suffered in the course of the divorce
from McLaren.
In recent years Toro Rosso has
become more and more focussed
on its technical departments in the
UK, leaving the Italian end of the
operation to do manufacturing
and running the race team.
“The 2018 car is a bit of an
evolution in some areas,” says
technical director James Key.
“However, we have completely
redesigned a lot of the areas at the
back of the car and the way the
suspension works because that
was something which was not a
strength in 2017, but we identified
those concerns and addressed
them in the 2018 car. The aero side
is, in some areas quite different
to the 2017 car, in others it’s an
improvement of what we had. “
63
The new car ran well in testing
in Spain with a total of 822 laps
completed. The best lap times
were good enough for the
midfield, which is likely to be
very competitive in 2018, so it
is hard to know where the team
will end up. JS
Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda
Toro Rosso-Honda STR 13
GP+ Team rating: 4
GP+ Driver ratings:
10 Pierre Gasly 7.5
28 Brendon Hartley 7.5
Haas F1 Team
So, Gene Haas and Guenther
Steiner are done with their tricky
sophomore year, and are moving
ahead into their third intent on
getting right into the midfield
fight with Renault, McLaren, Force
India and Toro Rosso. At times Haas
showed some strong form in 2017,
as it built on the firm foundation it
had laid in its rookie season, and
the driving combination of Romain
Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen
gelled nicely. The consistency of
keeping the same pairing will only
help in 2018.
One of the main aims with the
64
VF-18, besides improving speed
and reliability, has been to alleviate
the continual brake problems of
which Grosjean more than anyone
else seemed to complain. It still
remains to be seen, when the
switch from Brembo to Carbon
Industrie products saw the problem
continuing, whether the Frenchman’s
driving style is part of it.
After starting 2017 well, with
eighths in China and Bahrain,
Haas lost pace and had to wait for
Magnussen’s seventh in Baku and
Grosjean’s sixth in Austria, and the
other aim for 2018 is to enhance
consistency to maintain optimum
pace. If the Banbury team can

manage that, it should be able to
score well, though the expected
improvement from McLaren
should inevitably move the Woking
team ahead.
However, if you took
Magnussen’s best supersoft lap
in Barcelona and deducted the
delta lap improvement that Pirelli
say the hypersofts were worth
there, the Dane’s time was pretty
stunning. Nobody but the team
knows exactly what specification
the VF-18 was running in right
65
then, but it will be interesting to
see how that potential translates in
real life in Melbourne.
With Sauber tightening its
links with Ferrari, Haas seems
determined to go its own way.
Keeping Grosjean and Magnussen
Haas Team
Haas Ferrari VF-18
GP+ Team rating: 4
GP+ Driver ratings:
8 Romain Grosjean 8
20 Kevin Magnussen 8
is a sign that Gene won’t be pushed
into taking on the Giovinazzis
of the world no matter who his
engine supplier is, but whether
than independent streak comes
back to bite him remains to be
seen. DT

McLaren Formula 1 Team
It’s a sign of McLaren’s changed
circumstances that this time last
year racing director Eric Boullier
was busy telling everyone who
would listen what a crap year it
was going to have, because of the
lamentably poor performance
of Honda’s RA617H engine even
before the pre-season tests had
begun, while this time this year
he’s telling everyone who will listen
that McLaren hasn’t forgotten
how to build good cars and that
everything will be fine.
The common factor: appalling
fortune in testing at Barcelona.
Last year all manner of things
went wrong, from a split oil tank
(faulty design by Honda) to engine
and MGU-H failures (ditto). This
year, ironically, has been the same,
despite the crucial move from
66
Honda to Renault power. But for
Fernando Alonso’s performance
on the final day, when he set a
time half a second off Raikkonen’s
Ferrari on the same hypersoft
Pirellis, this might be another
doom and gloom story. Instead,
it’s a wait and see tale, because the
number of silly things that stopped
McLaren this year, which ranged
from an improperly secured rear
wheel in the first five laps of testing
to cooling, battery and turbo
problems, were more worthy of a
team just starting out in F1, rather
than its second-longest survivor.
But let’s be positive, given
that encouraging sign which,
like Ferrari’s, was clearly secured
in qualifying, or very close to
qualifying, trim.
The best thing about the
McLaren MCL33 from the outside
is the return to proper papaya
orange instead of last year’s
Arrows/Marussia halfway house.
It looks much nicer, much cleaner,
though the worst thing is the clear
lack of sponsors on the car, at
least during the tests. That must
be worrying, notwithstanding the
Bahraini shareholders’ willingness
to keep funding the operation.
It’s what the team calls an
“ambitious” car, which means
that there are novelties in the
rear suspension, and the design
of the shrink-wrapped bodywork
is aggressive. That’s a good sign,
that in its new engine partnership
the team has not settled for a safe
means of exorcising the ghosts
of the Honda years. It also means
that there are things that will need
sorting initially, so it might be a
while before the car starts to show
its true potential. But it genuinely
seems to be there and should
enable the team to run firmly in
what promises to be a massive
midfield scrap.
“So far we had minor issues but
I think that was because we didn’t
do a good enough job to prepare
the car,” Boullier admits candidly.
“We were a little bit stretched in
terms of lead time and delay - but
these are our issues. Very quickly
we are going to get back to
normal.
“And if you want to be
competitive you have to be a bit
aggressive and ambitious. Is it too
much? I don’t think so.”
McLaren is expecting its
reliability to be suspect in
Melbourne, given its loss of testing
mileage. “Not 100%,” Boullier says,
“because we have not run as much
as we wanted, so there will be a
higher risk of failure somewhere.
Nevertheless, we had only minor
issues, which were all different. A
good rebuild of the car for Australia
will help us to fix a few issues.”
One should not under-estimate
the harm done to the team during
the last three barren years. Its
psyche seems to have survived
intact - you would expect nothing
else from such genuine racers - but
inevitably it will take time to rebuild
to the point where some things
once again become second nature.
“Like anything you don’t do it in
one day and there are maybe a few
glitches,” Boullier adds. “We have
not lost our capability of designing
fast cars and I hope you will see it
on track soon.”
67
Inherently, the MCL33 looks
good and there were times in
2017 when even the Honda-
powered MCL32 was showing
great handling. So if the car/engine
combintion is halfway decent, you
know that Fernando Alonso will
get strong results. The Spaniard
knows his clock is ticking and he is
on a mission to remind doubters
(if there could possibly be such
people) that he would be winning
championships in the right car. He
is still as hungry as ever, and while
he’s unlikely to fight for a third
title this year, he could have an
influence at times in the battle for
a fifth between his old team-mate
Hamilton and Vettel.
Stoffel Vandoorne struggled
initially in his first season of F1, but
showed much improved pace in
the latter half. He needs to keep
up that rate of improvement,
and challenge Alonso, if he is to
maintain his billing as one of the
sport’s next great stars.
With no illusions and no excuses,
it will be fascinating to see how
quickly Jonathan Neale, Zak Brown
and Boullier can steer a once-
great team back into respectable
contention. And whether the
MCL33, with the same engine
as Red Bull, can get anywhere
near the RB14. If it can, we could
be in for a lot of fun, especially
if Hulkenberg and Sainz can get
Renault’s R.S. 18 up there with
them. DT
McLaren F1 Team
McLaren Renault MCL33
GP+ Team rating: 4.5
GP+ Driver ratings:
14 Fernando Alonso 10
47 Stoffel Vandoorne 8.5

Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team
If the Sauber team was just a
website, right now when you
logged on it would have one of
those ‘under construction’ signs
displayed on the screen.
It is a very different entity since
Joe’s favourite sparring partner
– the Man with No Name – took
control from dear old Peter Sauber.
2017 was a hard rebuilding year
after Longbow Finance SA took
over from Sauber Holding AG
68
in July 2016. Longbow, with its
affiliations with the Swedish
Tetra Pak company owned by
the Rausing family, who back
Marcus Ericsson, soon dispensed
with Monisha Kaltenborn, and
eventually ART founder Frederic
Sauber F1 Team
Sauber Ferrari C37
GP+ Team rating: 3.5
GP+ Driver ratings:
9 Marcus Ericsson 7.5
16 Charles Leclerc 7.5
Vasseur was persuaded to raise the
management chalice to his lips.
Whether it proves to be poisoned is
something we will doubtless learn
in 2018. As a former employee with
great respect for what Peter built
up, and fan of both Vasseur and
 rookie Charles Leclerc, I sincerely
hope that does not prove to be the
case.
The young Monegasque
replaces Pascal Wehrlein, which
is one of those tough breaks you
often see in F1 when one flavour
of the month gets replaced by
another. The German deserved
better, and many believe he should
have stayed in Ericsson’s place,
but there were times in 2017
when Marcus got the hammer
down and had some great dices
with his team-mate. And I still
remember him passing Raikkonen’s
Ferrari in Malaysia one year – in a
Caterham…
One of the fascinations here
will be to see whether Leclerc can
assert himself over Ericsson, and if
so how quickly he can do so. And
how much of an improvement the
Sauber C37 proves to be. It has
to be a lot better than the C36,
if only because it has the latest
Ferrari power unit thanks to the
interesting new alliance which
has brought the great Alfa Romeo
name back into the sport’s highest
echelon.
Sauber has fewer inbuilt
excuses for not getting closer to
the midfield this year, but its form
thus far in testing suggests that
there is a way to go before that
happens. Over to you, Fred. DT
69
 The heritage of racing, brought to you by

THE HOUSE
THAT AMÉDÉE
BUILT by Joe Saward

It is not an elegant factory. It was a basic
square box when it was first built, at the end
of 1960s. It was cheap and not very cheerful,
a one-storey workshop, but for the men who
worked with Amédée Gordini, it was a huge
step forward. Over time the factory grew to
two storeys and then spread along the land
that Gordini had acquired. Worthy architects
have attempted to make it look a bit sexier...
to fit the Formula 1 image a little better.
70
When all is said and done, F1 teams are
utilitarian by nature. If you have money to burn,
you can build a technology palace like McLaren
has done, or you can buy a fancy campus, as
Williams did. But most of the F1 factories have
just grown up over time, with extra
bits tacked on, willy-nilly as and
when they were required.
Ungainly though it may be,
the Usine Amédée Gordini, as it
is known, has given the town of
Viry-Châtillon a reputation the
world over, as the headquarters of
Renault’s Formula 1 efforts, dating
back to the days of Renault Sport,
when the factory produced cars
and engines.
Today the facility produces
only engines, in fact it only does
the development work, as the
manufacturing has long been sub-
contracted to Mécachrome, while
the chassis are made at Enstone in
71
71
England.
Today, Viry-Châtillon is a fairly
typical Parisian suburb, with
apartment blocks, and street
upon street of small houses, each
with a small garden. The town
as a chateau in its own parkland,
but it is now surrounded by
supermarkets and fast food joints.
Once the village of Viry was
out in country, on a hillside
overlooking the low-lying area
where the River Seine met the
much smaller Orge. Through what
were then meadows ran the main
road south from Paris to Italy. This
would be rechristened the Route
Nationale 7 by Napoleon and in
time, before the autoroutes came,
it was the major road that people
took to get from the capital to the
Côte d’Azur, known as the Route
des Vacances (the Holiday Road).
Viry-Châtillon is an odd place
in that it was once two separate
villages, each associated with
a different river: Viry-sur-Orge
and Châtillon-sur-Seine. After
the French Revolution they were
pushed together into a single
commune.
It would remain a quiet place
until the early years of the
Twentieth Century when the flat
land below Viry was chosen to
be the world’s very first properly-
organised aerodrome. It was called
Port-Aviation and opened in 1909.
For the next 10 years it would
become the centre of the flying
world. Before he flew the English
Channel Louis Blériot flew laps
around the airfield to see if he
could make the distance. Soon a great idea to have a motor racing forefront of motor racing in the
afterwards Adolphe Pégoud organisation in the commune and 1930s, 1940s and 1950s were all
became the first man to fly an so offered Gordini land on which Italians: Ettore Bugatti, Tony Lago, as the foreman of the firm was a
aircraft upside-down and later the to build a new factory - despite Amedée Gordini, and Henri- youngster called Edoardo Weber,
first to loop the loop. the fact that Gordini had moved Theodore Pigozzi, the man who later to become the inventor of
The rapid development of workshops only five years earlier. funded most of Gordini’s activities. the celebrated Weber carburetor,
aero-engines during World War Gordini knew a good deal when Gordini grew up not far from who encouraged Gordini to look at
I would ultimately spell the end he saw one and so uprooted his Modena, in a small village where automobiles.
for Port Aviation because the operation for a second time. his parents were tenant farmers. World War I then intervened but
more powerful aeroplanes found It is a supreme irony that the At 12 he was apprenticed to a Gordini came back from the war
it increasingly difficult to use the four men who kept France in the blacksmith, but he was fortunate as a hero with a string of medals
airfield because of the hills around
it. It was abandoned and the
buildings torn down to make way
for new housing.
Viry-Châtillon might have
remained just another anonymous
suburb of Paris were it not for
the mayor Henri Longuet, who
decided that the town should
become a sporting centre. He was
a powerboat racer, a European
champion, and after organising
boat races on the Seine, he began
work to create a watersport centre,
by acquiring a series of old gravel
pits that had been dug out and
flooded in the 1930s. He followed
up by creating a string of sports
facilities, including a swimming
pool, an ice rink, football fields and
tennis courts.
Longuet knew the celebrated
engine builder Amedée Gordini
as a result of his powerboat racing
activities. He thought it would be

72

and in 1920 moved to Milan to work at Isotta
Fraschini, where the chief engineer was an
inspiring character: Alfieri Maserati.
Two years later he decided to go it alone and
built his own racing car, using a SCAT chassis
and a Hispano-Suiza engine. This was driven
by an up-and-coming youngster called Tazio
Nuvolari. Gordini would follow Nuvolari to
Chiribiri but then in 1925 when he decided
he would move to Paris in order to further his
own racing career. Things did not go well and
he ended up working at a garage in Saint-
Cloud, with the Isotta-Fraschini agent in France,
Joseph Cattaneo, a well known racer and
engineer, who specialised in selling luxury cars.
Gordini worked for Cattaneo for a number
of years but then moved on and opened his
own workshop in an old stable, opposite the
Sunbeam Talbot Darracq factory in Suresnes.
His plan was simple. He would develop
existing machinery for racing, on the basis
that this would be good publicity for the car
companies involved - and they would support
him. This worked well and Gordini landed the
support of Pigozzi, who had started a business
assembling Fiats for the French market. It was
73
Jean-Pierre Wimille in
action in a Gordini in 1947
called the Société Industrielle de Mécanique et
de Carrosserie Automobile, otherwise known
as Simca.
By the mid-1930s Pigozzi had bought a new
factory in Nanterre, which had been used by
the Donnet-Zedel automobile company. He
began to manufacture a copy of the Fiat 500
Topolino which was called the Simca 5.
The Fiat 1100 would be revamped to become
the Simca 8 and Pigozzi was very happy to fund
Gordini’s racing efforts as it helped him to sell
more cars.
When World War II came Gordini moved
his business to a garage at 69 boulevard
Victor, opposite the Porte de Versailles
exhibition centre. The facilities and staff were
requisitioned to service German vehicles and
Gordini was forced to work with the Germans.
After the liberation Gordini went back to
racing and won the the very first motor race
after the war - the Coupe Robert Benoist in
the Bois de Boulogne in August 1945, driving
one of his own Simca-Gordinis. He would
soon become a big player in French racing,
thanks largely to a relationship with Jean-Pierre
Wimille, who raced for Gordini when he was not
busy with the factory Alfa Romeo team. Sadly,
Wimille would be killed in a Simca-Gordini in
Argentina at the start of 1949.
In the immediate post-war era Bugatti
effectively disappeared and Gordini was able to
recruit a number of important members of staff,
including design engineer Antoine Pichetto,
who became the head of the Gordini’s drawing

office and Robert Aumaitre as his
chief mechanic.
Talbot-Lago company would
lead the way for France in Formula
1, but when the regulations
changed to Formula 2-spec cars
in 1952, Gordini took over the
mantle, developing his own
chassis and engines, based on
Simca machinery. His drivers were
the best France had to offer: Jean
Behra, Maurice Trintignant, Robert
Manzon and André Simon.
There were a variety of
successes, but usually Ferrari was
quicker, although in 1952 Behra
won Simca-Gordini’s most famous
74
Maurice Trintignant
in a Gordini at
Reims in 1951.
victory in a non-championship F1
race at Reims.
Gordini earned the nickname
“Le Sorcier” (the Wizard) for his
ability to find horsepower from
an engine, but he understood
very well that if you want to
more power from an engine, you
need money. Pigozzi stopped
funding him in 1956 and by the
end of 1957 the firm had run
its last race as an independent.
Gordini wanted to keep the dream
alive and managed to get an
introduction to Fernand Picard, the
head of the design department at
Renault.
 Gordini did exactly what he had done with
Simca and proposed to take Renault production
cars and modify them for competition and so
generate interest in the marque. Picard liked
the idea and the Renault marketing men were
keen as well, as the firm had a rather staid and
dull reputation. Gordini would soup up the cars
- and the image of the company.
The first collaboration was the Dauphine
with a modified engine and a completely new
gearbox. This model enjoyed some success in
rallying, but it was really not until Gordini went
to work on the Renault 8 that the business
really took off. The boxy cars were not very
glamorous but Gordini’s version became hugely
popular, not just on race tracks and rally stages,
but also on the roads.
Demand was such that Gordini needed to
expand and so acquired a piece of land at
Noisy-Le-Roi (near Versailles) and at the end
of 1963 built a new factory to house the gang
from the boulevard Victor.
Gordini was by then coming to retirement
age and saw that the future would be to sell
the business to Renault. The chance of a bigger
new factory - offered by Longuet - was a bonus.
The Gordini engineers, including many
names who would become famous in later
years with Renault F1: Giuseppe Albarea, Marc
Bande, Alain Marguet, Igor Bourimoff, François
Castaing and Jean-Pierre Boudy, moved to Viry-
Châtillon in February 1969.
Gordini rapidly sold the remaining shares
in his business to Renault and, with funding
coming from the Elf fuel company, the Renault
adventure in Formula 1 began... v
75

OBITUARY: DAN GURNEY
by David Tremayne
FAREWELL TO
THE BIG
EAGLE
Daniel Sexton Gurney… How
strange has it felt these past
few months, how utterly
discombobulating, that there is
no longer the comforting feeling
that, way to the west down in
Santa Ana, the Big Eagle was still
there in his nest, doing stuff. Just
being Dan Gurney, legend. Being
one of those presences that had
76
always been there, somewhere
in my head and heart, ever since
I first became aware of Formula
1 back in 1964.
They say that it’s unwise to
meet your heroes. And I remember
one of our last conversations,
when I stopped by at All American
Racers in 2015 to talk again to Dan
about Jim Clark, and just to hang
out. Partway through, I mentioned
that, and how it was so important
to me that when we did finally
meet for the first time, in Suzuka in
the late Eighties, he would be the
man I had perceived him to be as
a kid. That he should live up to my
expectations.
“And did I?” he asked.
“No,” I replied, and his smile
turned to a look of consternation. I
let the pause go on for a few more
seconds, then added: “You far
exceeded them.”
Dan was so much more than a
truly great race driver. In his later
life you could still see the youthful
smile of a genuine all-American
hero, the young fellow in the older
man’s face that reminded you of
all those cheerful photos from
his career, in which his luck was
so often not that dissimilar from
Chris Amon’s. Chris had cornered
the market in that as far as F1
was concerned, but there were
times when Dan came pretty
damn close. When a steering
wheel might break, or his car
run out of fuel or sparks, when
the fuel injection or the engine
malfunctioned, or a driveshaft
broke just when victory was within
his grasp. Had he raced in the
modern era, in today’s hyper-
reliable cars, assuredly he would
have doubled or tripled his score
of four Grand Prix triumphs from
86 starts. At the very least. Yet still
there was that broad, handsome
smile. He was a hero, there was
never any question of that. But
he never acted like he thought he
was. He was just Dan Gurney in his
own mind. No frills, no pretensions.
What you saw and heard was
what you got. A tall man with film
star looks who would give you
everything he had in his heart
when he sat in a race car cockpit.
And who, it must be admitted,
was an inveterate fiddler on the
hoof. Dan would fret and worry
about set-up endlessly, always
seeking elusive perfection.
At the Goodwood Festival of
Speed one year – when Charles
March had come out with the
ultimate throwaway line about
being awoken that morning “by
Dan driving the Eagle past my
bedroom window…” – I asked Dan
how it felt to drive the beautiful
Eagle Weslake once again.
“Well,” he drawled, “it coulda
done with another turn or two
on the rear bar…” whereupon he
looked slightly sheepish as his
former mechanic Jo Ramirez and I
convulsed into laughter.
Dan, who died of complications
arising from pneumonia on
January 14th, was one of America’s
- the world’s - finest racing drivers,
and the one rival Jim Clark
respected the most.
Extraordinarily, he was a winner
in Formula 1, Indycars, endurance
and CanAm sportscars, and
NASCAR and TransAm saloons.
But he was also an entrant, a
constructor of his famed Eagle
cars and Alligator motorcycles, an
innovator and a campaigner. And
without his courage, commitment
and talent in the immediate
aftermath of Bruce McLaren’s
death on June 2nd, 1970, when
he kept the spirit and the flame
alive by winning the first two
CanAm races without Bruce, the
eponymous team that continues Arciero’s 4.9-litre Ferrari. he finished second to team-mate for a disastrous year with BRM.
to race in F1 today might never “There were relatively few Tony Brooks, and ahead of fellow He left the Bourne team to join
have survived its darkest hours. Ferraris around the world at that countryman and stablemate Porsche for 1961, only to see Phil
He was born in Port Jefferson, stage,” he explained, “so I was able Phil Hill, who hailed from Santa win the World Championship with
New York, on April 13th, 1931, but to draw some attention through Monica. Then he took third in Ferrari in 1961, and Graham Hill
when his father retired as an opera entrant Luigi Chinetti that led to Portugal and fourth at Monza, and do likewise with BRM in 1962. But
singer and moved the family to me being asked to try out for the he and Brooks shared fastest lap in that latter season he scored his
California, that lit the motorsport Ferrari factory. My first Formula 1 in their Ferrari Testa Rossa in the first Grand Prix win for Porsche, in
spark via an early interest in race I was sitting there at Rheims Goodwood Nine Hours. the French race at Rouen, before
Bonneville drag racing, and with no more than 22 races For Dan, Ferrari was just the joining Jack Brabham’s eponymous
positioned him perfectly to make completed…” start, though by ill chance he new team for 1963. There he
his name in west coast sportscar In only his second Grand Prix, often left a team just when it came established himself as Clark’s
racing, most notably with Frank on the banked Avus in Germany, good. For 1960, he left Ferrari strongest rival, and in 1964 he
77
won again in France, and then in
Mexico, while becoming known as
a front-running driver who suffered
appalling luck.
For 1966 he went his own way,
with his own glorious Weslake V12-
engined Eagle Grand Prix car, just
as Brabham embarked on two title-
winning seasons with himself and
his new partner Denny Hulme, who
took over the seat Dan used to fill.
But he remained philosophical,
acknowledging that he wanted
something more than just to race
for other team owners.
“I don’t think there was a lot of
dwelling on that situation, in my
opinion,” he said during that visit
in 2015, when we were talking of
his fortunes at Indianapolis, or the
photo on the corridor wall at AAR
of him sideways in his USAC Eagle
on his way to his third win in a row
in the Rex Mays 300 at his beloved
Riverside, when a driveshaft broke
with two laps to go. He always had
that positive outlook, and didn’t
dwell too much on that side of
things.
“Life is full of luck,” he said.
“Sometimes you make your own
and sometimes… I mean, if you’re
in there, yeah, only one person
gets to win.”
He was that one person as he
took his Eagle to victory in the
non-title Race of Champions in
March 1967, and then the Belgian
GP at Spa in June, a week after
he and his Texan buddy A.J. Foyt
had driven a factory Ford MkIV to
victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours
endurance classic. That was where
Dan became the first man to spray
victory champagne, soaking Ford
top brass in a celebratory display
of elation that would become de
rigueur.
He raced regularly in the
78
Indianapolis 500 from 1962-1970,
and it was at his urging that Colin
Chapman, Lotus and Ford got
together there to exploit the rear-
engined revolution that led directly
to team-mate Jim Clark’s victory
in 1965. Dan himself would win
seven times from his 28 Indycar
starts, but never at the Brickyard.
But his Eagles won in 1968 with
Bobby Unser, in 1973 with Gordon
Johncock, and again with Uncle
Bobby in 1975. And he was a prime
mover in the creation of CART to
replace USAC as the governing
body in Indycars.
He raced a McLaren in F1 in
1968 when the Eagle F1 effort
folded, and his unexpected return
with the team in 1970 came
about because of Bruce’s death
and an urgent call-up from team
boss Teddy Mayer. His three races
yielded a strong sixth place in
the French GP, and his final World
Championship point.
But it was his performances in
those opening two rounds of the
CanAm Championship that were
stellar. The first race fell at Mosport
Park in Canada, just 12 days after
Bruce’s death. Team-mate Denny
Hulme was racing while still
nursing burns he had suffered
on his hands at Indianapolis, and
Gurney had never driven the
McLaren M8D before. But he rose
magnificently to the occasion and
put it on pole position, then won
that race and the next, at St Jovite,
two weeks later. The victories
were exactly the boost that the
shattered team needed, and Denny
went on to win the series title.
Bruce’s death, and that of
Piers Courage in the Dutch GP
in between the CanAm races,
weighed heavily on the F1 circus. “I
remember my wife Evi and I were

talking to Jochen [Rindt] after he
won at Zandvoort,” Dan said. “He
said it was so easy to win races
like that, and that he was going
to hang in there even though the
Lotus was an unknown entity as far
as reliability was concerned, and
that if he made it to win the World
Championship he was going to
retire and concentrate on his other
businesses.” Rindt died at Monza
in September, becoming F1’s only
posthumous champion. By then
Dan had made a decision of his
own.
“I certainly didn’t feel like I was
going to quit driving any more,
but I felt as though in order to be
satisfied with how well you did
you were going to have to spend
sufficient time doing it. In the end,
if you don’t have 100 percent desire
to do that, say you only have 99 or
98, that’s a good enough reason to
79
stop. That’s what happened to me
in Formula 1.
“I did those last Grands Prix
out of respect for Bruce and
because of Denny’s burns. Plus
part of stopping was being lonely,
because a lot of people I had
respect for weren’t there any more,
and life was just becoming more
and more complicated, having to
make some decisions even though
I didn’t want to. But in the end, it all
boiled down to desire.”
Eventually he retired officially
from racing on October 4th, 1970,
with 37 major auto race wins to his
credit. “You know,” he grinned, “the
mind plays fascinating tricks. You
forget all the things you’d rather
not remember, and just remember
all the good things.”
At the height of his fame in
the Sixties, Car & Driver’s David E
Davis started a spoof ‘Gurney for
President’ campaign that actually
started to gain a little traction,
to his amusement. Fans quickly
slapped stickers on their rear
bumpers, proclaiming allegiance to
the cause.
Besides the champagne ritual,
in 1968 he was the first F1 driver
to wear a full-face helmet, when
he donned the original Bell Star
at Brands Hatch during the 1968
British Grand Prix. And in 1972 he
developed what became known
throughout racing as the ‘Gurney
flap’, a 90 degree horizontal lip
on the trailing edge of a wing
which, when tested at the Phoenix
International Raceway oval by
Bobby Unser on one of the Eagle
Indycars, proved to have such
stunningly beneficial effects that
it was eventually widely copied in
all sorts of categories and remains
a key aerodynamic tool to this day
(see GP+ Issue 177, USGP).
Eagles continued winning in
Indycar races up until 1981, before
Dan withdrew from the series in
1986 and went on to enjoy great
success with Toyota in IMSA before
returning briefly to CART/Indycars
as Toyota’s factory team in 1996.
“It’s true that I have gone my
own way, but that’s just the way it’s
been,” he said, acknowledging his
greatest characteristic of fiddling
endlessly. “I think the challenge
has always been something that
means a lot, and you like to try and
do things in a way that’s a little bit
out of the ordinary. It’s a lot of fun!”
Later that spirit led him to the
Alligator motorcycle, stillborn
plans in 2002 to return to F1
with an all-American team, in
conjunction with his old friend Phil
Hill, and in 2011 to him helping
to bring the highly innovative
DeltaWing race car to life at Le
Mans. More recently, All American and Evi took me into the Eagle and his children are determined to May 2015. But he rallied, and while,
Racers has been heavily involved museum, with so many mouth- complete in his name. as Evi Gurney admitted, “he won’t
manufacturing the landing legs for watering cars on display that Not long after I got home from be racing you around the ‘shop!”
Elon Musk’s SpaceX project. highlighted Dan’s extraordinary the LA/Austin/Mexico City trip, he was nevertheless still nimble
That day in 2015, Tuesday career. He disappeared while a parcel arrived containing two when visitors called, and would
October 20th, just before the US Evi and I talked, but she told books from Dan via Amazon: Sir frequently pop up at ‘coffee and
Grand Prix in Austin, when we me that he was only a couple Stanley Hooker’s Not Much of an cars’ events around Orange County.
hooked up in Anaheim for what of doors down in his ‘man cave,’ Engineer, and Angle of Attack He never lost his racer’s spirit.
would prove to be the last time and that he’d invited me to go – Harrison Storms and the Race On-track his speed, skill and
and talked about Jim, we were and hang out. So, throughout to the Moon by Mike Gray. Both honourability were outstanding;
both wet-eyed by the time Evi the afternoon we talked about subjects we had discussion that off-track he was also a gentleman
came through to tell us that lunch racing and engineering and afternoon… Pure class. and a sportsman.
was ready. Yet that was also a everything else and he proudly Dan had been taken ill at After being beaten by the
happy occasion, at the time and showed me the new engine he was Indianapolis while he and his rookie Giancarlo Baghetti in the
retrospectively. Afterwards, Dan developing. The engine that Evi Eagles were being honoured in 1961 French GP, he admitted that
80
he got plenty of flack from some
quarters even though his Porsche
was no match for the Italian’s
Ferrari Sharknose. His summary
of their duel typified his strong
principles regarding driving
etiquette.
“It was interesting, because I
felt it took a lot just to be there in
a position just to get beaten. I had
plenty of time to try and do it either
way. If I would slipstream, come off
the last turn behind him, I couldn’t
get by him until after the start/
finish line. If I came off ahead of
him, he could get by before we got
there! So I was divided. I hoped that
if he made a little ooh-ooh and I got
into the last turn first, which is what
I did on the last lap, that he might
just make a little bit of an error or a
bigger one. But he didn’t!”
There were those who asked
why he hadn’t tried blocking
Baghetti, but that just plain wasn’t
Daniel Sexton’s style. in a big way. And these people funeral on April 10th, 1968, James to know that I was held in good
“I could have moved over on that did sort of take that approach Clark Snr took Dan to one side and esteem and I was considered pretty
him, but it was one of the things usually weeded themselves out in effectively told him that he had doggone good by the guys that
I was honour-bound not to do. a big hurry.” been the only rival his son feared. were running at the time.”
I don’t know where that stops. Small wonder that he and Jim Dan never forgot that remark, the Yet he never sought to brag
You either do it or you don’t Clark, who shared similar beliefs, highest accolade anyone could about it and would only tell that
do it. Some people won’t do it. had such a tight relationship that have received. story to friends, whom he knew
Once it starts why then, hey, it’s Dan regarded them as “more than “I was drowned in tears,” he would understand what it meant
Katy bar the door! You can do brothers”. admitted. “That was very precious to him in his heart. That told you
whatever you want to do. It was “He and I had a doggone good to me. I managed not to win a everything you needed to know
dangerous enough back then that relationship,” he said, “I held him in World Championship and I didn’t about an extraordinary man whose
if somebody did that, somebody the highest regard.” win the Indy 500, so something friendship was a privilege. v
definitely was going to get hurt The feeling was mutual. At Jim’s like that meant a good deal to me,
81

OBITUARY: HENRY HOPE-FROST
by David Tremayne
ONE OF OUR OWN
Fever! If you were to play one of
those word association games
using people’s names, I’m sure
that’s the one that would most
readily spring to mind with
our friend Henry Hope-Frost,
who left us after a head-on
collision with a car while riding
his motorcycle on the A286 on
his way home from his beloved
Goodwood on the afternoon of
Thursday, March 8th.
82
Fever! That was how he
described his utter passion for all
things motorsport.
Henry was one of us. Passionate
about the sport since he was a
little kid (well, a pretty tall one,
actually), he wrote about all
things motoring and motorsport,
but he was also a very powerful
broadcaster, event host and
media consultant whose innate
enthusiasm and knowledge always
brought that bit extra, something
special, to any of his business
relationships.
You only had to read his daily
Twitter feeds to appreciate how
hardcore a fan he was, dyed-
in-the-wool in the manner of
another friend, Stuart Dent, both
founts of knowledge in so many
arcane ways. The regular driver/
car combinations, fresh each day,
always triggered your own happy
memories: Jody Scheckter in the
Tyrrell six-wheeler, Clay Regazzoni
in a Ferrari 312B… But the
incredible thing was the breadth
of his fervour and knowledge.
There were rally cars and vehicles
from other categories too. Henry
probably knew more about our
sport on an overall basis than
anyone else I can think of.
I loved the story of how he was
‘asked’ to leave the famed Stowe
School near Silverstone because
of his penchant for repeatedly
bunking off lessons so that he
could go and watch cars running
at the track. That minor incident
didn’t hold him back; instead he
went to King’s School in Bruton,
and thence to Brunel University,
where he graduated in business
and modern languages. And
that was where he refined his
complete intolerance of those
whose grammar fell short of the
high standards he always sought
to enforce; it was another passion
we both shared. Oddly, though we
saw one another only infrequently
given the different nature of our
involvement in the sport, we
had spoken by phone only the
previous Thursday, when he was
about to host an evening with
Derek Warwick at the RAC Club
in Pall Mall. Henry had been as
amusing, helpful and full of joie de
vivre as ever, and our conversation
was some small consolation seven
days later.
He had cut his journalistic teeth
the old-fashioned, time-honoured
way. Back in the old days you
either worked for Motoring News
or Autosport. He started working
for the latter in 1993, initially in
the advertising department which
bred the likes of Dent, then on the
path of journalism which helped
him to forge the reputation that
led to so many great interviews.
He set up his own business, HHF
Media, in 2015, leading to notable
successes for a number of clients,
not least Lord March’s Goodwood
Festival of Speed and the annual
Autosport International Show
where so many fans came to know
him as ‘The Voice of Autosport’.
The strength of his contacts,
allied to the lasting friendships that
were a product of his enthusiasm
and personality, plus his insatiable
ability to remain up to date with
all the news and gossip, saw him
create his own unique niche as
he mixed with all the movers and
shakers, from bosses to drivers and
mechanics, while also maintaining
a keen interest in those who were
on their way up. More than one
driver would describe an interview
with him as being more like a
conversation with an old mate.
That said everything about the
man.
A flood of moving tributes
included these tweets.
Damon Hill @HillF1 said:
Shocked and saddened to hear
of the sudden loss of the lovely
@henryhopefrost Our thoughts
are for his family at this terrible
time. @GoodwoodRRC #f1
#henryhopefrost
Jenson Button @JensonButton
said: So sad that such a great man
lost his life yesterday in a road
accident. U could always tell how
passionate Henry Hope-Frost
was about motorsport when he
interviewed you, it felt so natural
like you were having a good old
chinwag with ur closest mate.
Sending love to his family.
Nigel Mansell CBE @nigelmansell
said: Sad sad day for all, Henry
Hope Frost extraordinary loss
to the world, vibrant so much
knowledge and fun man. Our
condolences and love to his family.
Just so shocked to hear the news.
RIP
Oliver Gavin @olivergavin said:
83
Henry Hope Frost - Mr Fever. His
enthusiasm and passion for our
sport was infectious. You’d usually
be greeted by “alright Chief?” -
And his massive smile. Tragic and
devastating news of his passing.
We’re all going to miss you Chief.
#RIPHHF #fever
Williams Racing @WilliamsRacing
said: We’re shocked to hear the
terrible news about our dear friend
and colleague Henry Hope-Frost.
Our thoughts are with his friends
and family. #Fever
Toby Moody @TobyMoody said:
This is how and why we had fun
at Goodwood commentating with
HHF. We’re all going to miss you
Chief.
Darren Turner @
DarrenTurner007 said: Whenever
you spent time with Henry you
always walked away smiling and
more in love with our sport. Filled
with knowledge, enthusiasm and
passion but more importantly just
the most genuine man. #RIPHHF
#fever
And Goodwood Road&Racing
@GoodwoodRRC said: All at GRR
are devastated by the passing of
our good friend, colleague and
incomparable pitlane maestro @
henryhopefrost. We will miss him
dearly and our thoughts are with
his family and friends.
On the final day of the F1 test
at Barcelona somebody had the
lovely idea that everyone who had
known him should gather outside
Mercedes’ hospitality unit during
the lunch break. The area was
packed as a memorial photograph
was taken.
Henry was 47, far too young as
he left his wife Charlotte and the
three young boys he adored. His
passing is yet another reminder
that we should follow his example,
and pack as much as we can into
the days each of us is given.
Farewell, Chief. v

OBITUARY: NICK SYRETT
by David Tremayne
THE GUV’NOR
Nick Syrett, who died on Boxing
Day at the grand age of 84 after
a lengthy battle with cancer, was
one of the giants of the sport in
the Sixties and Seventies.
Syrett, a big man in every sense,
was attracted to motorsport
through his family connection with
Bertie Kensington-Moir; the latter
was one of the famed Bentley Boys
of the Twenties and Thirties and
was Syrett’s uncle. His nephew’s
interest was further piqued by the
happenstance of his parents living
close to the famed Brooklands
concrete saucer in Weybridge.
Syrett completed his
mandatory National Service with
the Royal Air Force, then joined
the travel department at the RAC.
It was here that he met many of
84
Britain’s senior racing drivers, who
needed assistance with carnets
when they raced their cars abroad.
He became particularly close with
Britain’s first World Champion,
Mike Hawthorn (pictured with a
capped Syrett in the background,
congratulating a triumphant
Stirling Moss).
By 1957 he had moved deeper
into the sport, taking on the role
of club secretary at the British
Racing and Sports Car Club
(BRSCC). Before long he had been
promoted to executive director,
and in that position he acted as
Clerk of the Course at many of
the Club’s races at Brands Hatch
throughout the Sixties. He was also
invited to become an associate
member of the British Racing
Drivers’ Club (BRDC) in 1967.
Syrett worked very closely
with circuit boss John Webb, that
unsung, far-sighted entrepreneur
who ran the place from 1961
onwards on behalf of Grovewood
Securities, who bought it in 1960,
via its offshoot Motor Circuit
Developments. Snetterton and
Oulton Park also became part of
MCD.
Together, Webb and Syrett
supervised the development of
the venue, which included staging
the British Grand Prix for the first
time in 1964, and every other
year thereafter. Other major new
international events included the
Guards Trophy Group 7 sportscar
race and the Race of Champions
in 1965, and the BOAC 500 World
Championship sportscar in 1967.
It was during the 1970 running
of the latter, which had become
a 1000 kms event, that Syrett
underlined the iron fist manner
in which he ran his races. His
toughness had given rise to his
nickname of ‘The Guv’nor’, and
he had Pedro Rodriguez black-
flagged. The little Mexican was
driving a JW Automotive Gulf
Porsche 917 in the atrocious
conditions, and had perhaps
unsurprisingly missed seeing a
yellow flag being waved in the
spray by Syrett himself on the top
straight where Barrie Smith had
shunted his Lola T70 MkIIIB on the
opening lap.
When Pedro pulled into the
pits as instructed, he sat staring
impassively ahead while Syrett
poked himself into the cramped
cockpit and read him the riot act.
The moment the big man had
slammed his door closed, Pedro
took off and launched into the
greatest performance of his career
and arguably the most remarkable
mastery of wet weather ever
witnessed. Where that other
rainmaster Vic Elford took his
Porsche Salzburg 917 round
corners such as Druids in confident
oversteer bites edged like a 50p
piece, Pedro’s performance was
other-worldly. He drove on another
level altogether, with one seamless
slide after another. He climbed
back from 12th to second by the
15th lap and went on not just to
make up the lap he had lost in
the pits, but to beat Elford and
co-driver Denny Hulme by another
five. It was a classic case of don’t
get angry, get even.
In 1967 Webb and Syrett also
created Formula Ford, which would
become hugely popular across the
world and a key starting category
for many future World Champions,
and introduced the highly popular
Formula 5000 version of America’s
5-litre stock-block Formula A
category in 1969.
Well ahead of the marketing
trend that would later become
de rigueur, Syrett was master of
ceremonies at monthly Midnight
Film Show nights in London’s
Empire Cinema in Leicester Square,
enlisting the likes of stars such as
Graham Hill as his guest speakers.
The death of Jo Bonnier at Le
Mans in 1972 brought a change
of direction. Jackie Stewart was
taking over the Swiss racer’s role as
president of the Grand Prix Drivers’
Association, and invited Syrett to
become its secretary.
He eventually quit to run a
restaurant, and then in 1982
took over the management of
the Winchester House Club, a
gentlemen’s club in Putney. He
remained there for the next 35
years, simultaneously satisfying
his passion for sport by umpiring
cricket matches. Upon retirement,
he continued with the second
sport that he loved until the early
months of 2017. v
 Ron Walker, the man who
OBITUARY: RON WALKER established the Australian
Grand Prix in Melbourne died in
by Joe Saward January at the age of 78, after a

R.I.P
long tough battle with cancer,
including experimenting with
new treatments that helped
to advance understanding

BIG of the disease and possible

cures. Walker was a larger than
life character, who rose from

RED lowly beginning in suburban

Melbourne in the late 1940s to
become a big player in the city’s
real estate development - and in
its politics.
Known as “Big Red” because of
his height and a shock of red hair,
he found a kindred spirit in Bernie
Ecclestone and over time did more
business with him, while also
becoming an influential member
of the Formula 1 Commission.
Walker was the son a cinema
manager and started his first
businesses when he was still
in his teens, washing cars and
manufacturing dish-washing
detergent, before becoming a
newspaper salesman. He gravitated
towards property development
and as his fortune began to grow,
he became involved in Melbourne
politics as well.
He was elected to the city
council in 1969 and served as
the city’s Lord Mayor between
1974 to 1976. He soon became a
prominent figure in the Australian
Liberal Party, and would eventually
become the honorary national
treasurer of the organisation from
1987 to 2002. In 1988 he was
appointed to lead Melbourne’s bid
for the 1996 Olympics Games.
This led to a close relationship
with Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett
and after the Olympic bid failed
the two turned their attention to
trying to snatch the Australian
Grand Prix from Adelaide.
They did a deal with Ecclestone
in 1993 and the race moved to
Melbourne three years later.
87
In addition to being the
chairman of the Australian
Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC),
Walker would become head of
the Melbourne Major Events
Company, which delivered the
Commonwealth Games to the city
in 2006.
His real estate business
continued to flourish with a
company called Hudson Conway,
which he set up in the 1970s
with partner Lloyd Williams. This
developed the Crown Casino,
which opened in 1997 and
helped to transform Melbourne’s
Southbank.
Walker went on to become the
chairman of the Fairfax Media’s
company between 2005 and 2009.
The Victorian State Premier
Daniel Andrews, said “whether
feared or revered, Ron was
someone who you never forgot.
It’s in great part thanks to him that
we are now known as the sporting
capital of the world.”
Melbourne has changed
enormously since the 1980s and
much of this was due to Walker’s
constant drive to bring major
events to the city and to think big.
The Economist Intelligence Unit
today publishes an annual Global
Liveability Ranking, which ranks
140 cities for their urban quality
of life. Melbourne has been the
number one ranking in the survey
for seven years, from 2011 to 2017.
John Harnden, the current
chairman of the AGPC said that
Walker’s legacy in Melbourne is
unparalled, while Mark Webber
called Walker “an incredible man”.
Ron was given a state funeral in
Melbourne in January. v
HALOES, WARTS, CHAINSAWS AND GONE GIRLS
So, how many fans will come to look back on
Formula 1 2018, and mentally separate the
sport into pre- and post-halo eras?
Seeing my first F1 car of the year, the
Mercedes W09, finally brought it home that
the halo is here to stay. And, as a purist, that
saddens and depresses me so much.
I’m tired of hearing the old lines trotted out.
“If it saves one driver’s life, then it’s worth it.”
Yes, fundamentally, you’d be stupid to argue
against that one. But then so would limiting
cars to a maximum speed of 100 mph instead
of 230+. Or running every race at an updated
version of Nivelles, with run-off areas wider
than a south London barrow-boy.
I’m hopeful of securing a sponsorship deal
whereby I receive £50 so long as I don’t strike
anyone every time I hear them say, “We’ll get
used to it in no time, and soon won’t even
notice it’s there.”
Like hell we won’t. Imagine how you’d feel
if your other half came home one day with an
incurable wart on the end of their nose… You’d
still love them, but it would still be there as an
ugly reminder of what used to be.
While I don’t disagree with the fundamental
concept of the device and its function, I ask
yet again why it has to be so hideous looking.
A cross between Chris Evans’ spectacles and a
zimmer frame.
I’ve written far too many obituaries of racing
drivers in the past three decades. Many of them
were people I respected hugely, several were
good friends who I continue to miss. I’ve seen
the effect on their families, and been to many of
their funerals. So I have no wish to see anyone
hurt or killed.
But I’ve also walked away from my own
accident around 250 mph, so I know a little
about risk. Enough to understand that it
should be left to the individual to make the
determination in some cases.
The HANS system was a case in point.
Looking back on the prejudice against that, I
find it faintly silly. Anyone can see what a step
forward that was, just like decent rollhoops,
safety belts, one-way fuel system valving
and super-strong chassis with deformable
structures. That’s progress, and it was a good
job that each development became mandatory.
But, to me, the halo is an ugly compromise,
rushed through without a thought of what
effect it might have on a sporting public which
believes that racing should retain a degree
of risk to differentiate it from other sports.
It should have been left up to each driver to
decide whether he wanted one, those who
rejected it signing a waiver to exculpate the
FIA in the event of an accident associated with
head injuries.
Stirling Moss and Niki Lauda need no
introduction – even people outside the sport
know who they are and what each went
through during stellar careers. Both risked
life and limb many times, because that was
88
THE LAST LAP
by David Tremayne
what they did back in their day. Neither denies
progress, but both believe that a degree of risk
remains essential, and who would dare dismiss
their opinion, given their pedigree?
The difference between the halo and so
many other safety measures is the effect it has
on aesthetics, which is game changing when it
comes to the essence of F1. Open cockpit, open
wheels.
Frankly, since the days of those ghastly
stepped noses back in the early 2010s, I have
become increasingly irked by the FIA’s refusal
even to consider how important it is that the
modern F1 car looks right. It should be sleek
and sexy, but it isn’t, and the refusal to pay even
lip service to appearance has seemed derelict.
I have my reservations about just how much
research the FIA put into the screen, which
was the alternative developed by Red Bull and
rejected out of hand by Sebastian Vettel after of the movement against them, think again. happened by. The two drivers quickly saw a
a single lap of Silverstone last year. And that’s Dating back to 1975, former racer and BMW photo opportunity and invited them to pose
why I am extremely interested to see what motorsport boss Jochen Neerpasch didn’t with them on the bonnet of the victorious
happens with the similar system currently reckon them much, either. race car. Then somebody suggested that the
being investigated by Indycar. Just like the cars As I read recently in Allan Moffat’s excellent roof would be a better vantage point, but they
with their latest aero kits, which stop them autobiography, Climbing the Mountain, back forgot about the girls’ high heels. Neerpasch
looking so much like superkarts, the Indycar then he was invited by Neerpasch to take was not amused by the resultant damage to his
screen (right) looks like a much more elegant Ronnie Peterson’s place in a works BMW 3.0 precious machine…
and well-thought-out solution to me. CSL, alongside Brian Redman, Hans Stuck and Some of you who read this may choose to
The fact remains, however, that when you Sam Posey. It was the likable Canadians first perceive me as a misogynist, which would be
choose to get into a really fast car with the race outing in anything other than a Ford. They grossly incorrect as most of my closest and
intention of maxing it out, you come to some won, heading home a dozen Porsches and a most trusted friends are women. In reality, I’m
sort of deal with yourself on a spiritual level. couple of Ferraris. Afterwards, Allan and Brian somebody who remembers how it felt when
You either decide to accept a particular level of were standing in the pits when two grid girls individuals were allowed to make up their own
risk, or you don’t. And if you don’t, you need to
get out and do something else.
Niki is blunt and endearingly outspoken,
and has an infinitely greater right to his opinion
than me, and I agree wholeheartedly with him.
You shouldn’t expect to earn upwards of $10m
a year without having to accept a degree of risk,
and that risk is what generates the respect that
makes drivers heroes to the fans. Driving round
in cars with contraptions that resemble the bars
that lock you into your seat on a rollercoaster
will surely dilute that respect-for-risk-taking in
many minds.
It cheered me no end at the Mercedes
launch when Toto Wolff said he’d love to take
a chainsaw the device on his cars… It was
gratifying to hear that not everyone in F1 is
toeing the party line.
The ejection of grid girls is another of those
modern developments designed to show how
equality-minded everyone is nowadays. But if you
think that all of the modern-day protestors and
the right-on types who run the sport (and are at
the mercy of public opinion) were in the vanguard
89
minds what to do with their lives, and how they though it might later be an idea to open it up to somebody takes upon themselves the right to
would go about it. include those who don’t, but who might become draw the distinction between what is right for
I disagree with the perceived wisdom that hooked once they’ve experienced the thrill. woman to do in racing and what isn’t, especially
grid girls, by the very nature of their job, are But I’m much more cynical about the FIA’s when those actually doing the now redundant
being exploited. I’ve always believed that it is new initiative - The Girls On-Track Karting jobs didn’t seem to have any problem with their
something they are doing by choice. They were Challenge - which is designed to get more occupation.
neither cajoled into it, nor exploited. The system women into the sport. It makes me wonder why Freedom of choice? Whatever’s that? v
that had been in place for many years was run
professionally and properly. They were well
cared for by the people who were employing
them, and treated with dignity and respect.
This wasn’t like the old Motor Shows of
the Sixties, with a bunch of sad men drooling
embarrassingly over half naked women
draped over mundane family cars. In many
countries F1’s grid girls were dressed in
national costumes. Last year in Mexico their
spectacularly colourful make-up and attire
were designed at great expense to embrace
the annual Day of the Dead celebrations (right).
That added a welcome cultural element to the
whole thing, which was a huge improvement
on the dubious razzmatazz stirred up at the US
Grand Prix in Austin the previous week.
A significant number of grid girls regarded
their role as an important entry on their cv, a
positive step in their developing career.
It’s difficult to blame Liberty Media for
making the change. These days you have to
be very aware of majority views in the world,
whether you agree with them or not, or risk
condemnation in the court of social media.
Once a pressure group decides on the new
mores, public entities tend to be obliged to
adopt them.
The replacement, the Grid Kids initiative, is
interesting, and I quite like the deal that those
chosen have to have an active interest in racing,
90
 Barcelona 2018
Barcelona test

Lewis
ain
A cold Rom 18
o n a 2 0
Barcelona 2018 Barcel

K-Mag
Fernando in orange
 THE NEXT GP+
WILL BE PUBLISHED
FROM MELBOURNE
ON MARCH 25

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