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Max Verstappen observes that team-mate Sergio Perez has settled in nicely to the team, and is more comfortable with the RB18 under the new technical regulations.

Perez signed for Red Bull to replace Alex Albon for the 2021 season, and he managed five podiums as well as a race win in what was overall a satisfactory debut season for the Mexican.

It earned him another go in 2022, and the new technical regulations have meant that everyone is more or less starting on a clean slate, and his pole position in Jeddah, coupled with two podium finishes, is evidence that he is very capable of helping to bring home the Constructors’ Championship this season.

READ: ‘I’m not a saint’ as Vettel declares his concern over the future

Verstappen has out-qualified Perez four times in the opening four rounds of the year, and has won all of the three races he has finished, so has once again established himself as the number one, but the reigning champion has been impressed by his team-mate’s start.

“I think it helps, of course, to have a year with the team and I think, of course, with the new rule changes, everyone had to start from zero really,” he said.

“It seems like he is a lot happier in the car, so that’s really good for the team.”

Team principal Christian Horner agrees, affirming that the car this year is more adaptable to both drivers, unlike previous iterations that have had proclivities – something that might ultimately have been detrimental to Albon and his predecessor Pierre Gasly.

Kimi #Raikkonen set to be reunited with fellow #F1 drivers https://t.co/QAVk7CvI9J

— Formula1News.co.uk (@Formula1newsUK) May 17, 2022

“He’s driving at a very high level. He’s more comfortable in the team this year,” he explained after the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

“I think the car suits him better this year. It doesn’t have some of the peculiarities the previous, probably three, cars of ours had.

“We are happy with the job he’s doing.”

Though it is early doors, the 48-year-old finds himself pleased with the work of the 32-year-old.

“We’ve only seen a sample of four races, so it’s still early in the year,” he added.

READ: Russell reacts to Wolff’s assessment of 2022 Mercedes: ‘That’s a bit of an understatement’

“But everyone within the team is very pleased with the job Checo is continuing to do.”

Perez is currently third in the Drivers’ Championship, 38 points behind leader Charles Leclerc and 19 adrift of Verstappen.

The post ‘Everyone had to start from zero’: Verstappen praises ‘happier’ Perez appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

At a meeting of the F1 Commission last month, grand prix racing's owners Liberty Media and teams were in agreement about a push to expand the number of sprint races to six next year.
However, the plans did not move forward after Ben Sulayem said he wanted more time to consider the impact that the extra events would have on the FIA's running of grand prix weekends.
His stance, amid ...Keep reading

The Grand Prix Trust, which helps those who have worked in F1 who are suffering financial hardship, held a reunion lunch on Monday.

Ferrari will present a sheet to the FIA detailing what they believe are every team’s expenses in the opening rounds of 2022, including the costs incurred by Red Bull’s major upgrades.

The raft of new technical regulations this season included the re-introduction of ground effect aerodynamics as well as a new $140 million budget cap.

This has to be spread between development of the cars, damage repairs, travel, freight and more and, with the evolution of the cars more complex than ever, the $5 million less that the teams have to work with compared to last season may start to run a little thin.

READ: ‘Nice’ to see Mick Schumacher in a more competitive car

A lot of the upgrades will be aimed at making the cars lighted in a bid to adhere to the 798kg weight limit this season, and with a tight stringency on money, Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto preciously asked the FIA to keep close tabs on everyone’s spending.

“The competition front shifts from now onwards: when you have two cars as similar in performance as Ferrari and Red Bull, each package will weigh because a tenth or two will make a difference at this point in the season,” he said. 

“There is a cap budget on which we are limited and I am insisting every day with the FIA or them to carry out the checks, because if these do not happen we risk to somehow offset the final result.”

FIA head of single seaters technical matters, Nikolas Tombazis, responded by assuring the Italian that the governing body has “tax experts” who will not allow any financial trickery to slip underneath them.

“Our first objective is to ensure that the championship is clean, we want those who deserve it to win,” he explained.

“Today’s regulations require much more control resources: now we have to inspect what teams do at home as well. 

“But for financial controls we have a capable team led by colleague Federico Lodi. Mattia can rest assured, we are doing everything to keep the situation under control. 

#Ferrari aiming to reduce drag with #SpanishGP upgrades https://t.co/fYCZCHC6NJ

— Formula1News.co.uk (@Formula1newsUK) May 16, 2022

“We have tax experts who check the balance sheets and the parts that are mounted on the machines to make sure we are billed correctly.”

Ferrari are now going to give the FIA a detailed list of how much each team has spent in the first ew rounds according to the governing body’s list of how much each upgrade should cost, according to a report by Formu1a.uno.

This is not to be misinterpreted as a dig at Red Bull, but rather an assistance to the FIA to help them correlate everyone’s expenditure and refine how the spending is monitored.

READ: Can Ferrari overturn their pace deficit to Red Bull in Spain?

Binotto has recently theorised that Red Bull will eventually have to “stop developing” due to the money they have already spent on development this season.

It now appears that Red Bull have only spent just over $6 million of their estimated $36 million development allowance in 2022, and Dr Helmut Marko’s retort came in the form of an observation of Carlos Sainz’s crashes, which he said “can’t be cheap.”

The post Ferrari to present expenditure of each team to FIA appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Red Bull junior Juri Vips will drive for the team in first practice in Barcelona on Friday, while Robert Kubica will return at Alfa Romeo.

The Estonian, who is competing in this year’s Formula 2 championship, will take over Sergio Perez’s car for the Friday morning session at Barcelona.
Vips’ opportunity with Red Bull comes as part of a new regulation introduced by the FIA to help ensure more mileage for young drivers.
For 2022, teams have to run a rookie driver – who has not participated in more than two F1 races – ...Keep reading

Race directors have become a hot topic since the controversy of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year, which resulted in F1 race director Michael Masi being removed from the role.
This season, F1 has been rotating its race director position between Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas, who had worked in the role in DTM and the World Endurance Championship respectively.
Freitas is set to take over ...Keep reading

The 2022 season hasn't gone according to 'El Plan' for Fernando Alonso so far. But the two-times world champion doesn't look ready to hang up his helmet yet.

With Barcelona having already held a pre-season test earlier this year, teams will have plenty of data to compare with. This is particularly important in 2022, with F1 having introduced new generation of cars this year that require heavily on ground effect.
Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have won the Spanish GP for the last five years in a row, but judging by the pecking order in recent races ...Keep reading

In the round-up: Budget cap will make continuous development "very hard" for Red Bull - Horner • Alpine to sponsor French GP • Bolukbasi and Correa return

Pancake Swap, one of the largest decentralised crypto exchanges in the world, is looking to sign a sponsorship deal with the McLaren Formula 1 Team, according to a report by Crypto Intelligence.

The decentralised exchange is at the forefront of decentralised finance (DeFi), and this development comes amid crypto projects collectively spending hundreds of millions of dollars per year on sports sponsorship deal.

It is currently unclear how close Pancake Swap are to inking a sponsorship agreement with McLaren, and an estimate of the value of the deal is yet to be provided.

READ: Mercedes ‘still don’t understand’ W13 ahead of major upgrades

McLaren has had a number of sponsors from the crypto and blockchain space, including the likes of Tezos and Bitci.

The Woking-based team ended their partnership with Bitci, a Turkey-based crypto exchange, ahead of the 2022 season getting underway, while Tezos has stayed on as a sponsor.

Several other Formula 1 teams have inked lucrative sponsorship deals with cryptocurrency companies.

For example, earlier this year, Red Bull announced a $500 million sponsorship deal with Oracle, and a $150 million partnership with Bybit.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner hailed the partnership with Bybit, saying they share the team’s “passion to exist at the forefront of technological innovation.”

“I’m delighted to welcome Bybit to the team,” he said.

“It’s fitting too that, as we enter a new generation of competition of F1 in 2022, with an advanced and potentially game-changing new philosophy of cars taking to the track, that Bybit also exist at the cutting edge of technology.

“They share the team’s passion to exist at the forefront of technological innovation, to set the competitive pace and to disrupt the status quo.

“Allied to that is Bybit’s commitment to enlivening the fan experience in F1 through digital innovation.

“This is also a key mission for the team and Bybit’s assistance will help us build a deeper more immersive and unique connection with the team for fans around the world,” Horner added.

The post Pancake Swap eyeing sponsorship deal with McLaren appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has conceded that his team have still not gained a full comprehension of the car that has struggled for performance so far in 2022.

The new technical regulations saw a return to ground effect aerodynamics, and the subsequent “porpoising” as the floor of the car bounces off the track surface has been a perennial thorn in the Silver Arrows’ side.

Their performance has been soundly outmatched by both Ferrari and Red Bull, who have won all of the first five races between them through Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen.

READ: Wolff ‘really happy’ with ‘respectful’ Mercedes drivers

The best result of the season has been third for Mercedes after Hamilton achieved it in Bahrain, before team-mate George Russell managed the same result in Australia.

They appeared to have a better handling of the bouncing in Miami after they introduced upgrades that helped streamline the car and make it more effective in a straight line, but circuits that require more downforce with quicker corners like the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona will require a more fundamentally balanced car.

This is something that the Brackley side will try to achieve with another upgrade ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend, but developing a car is a lot easier when you understand what is wrong with it, and Mercedes do not.

“We still don’t understand our car. We had a really good day at Friday practice in Miami and were among the fastest,” Wolff told Sport24 Auto.

#Latifi axe rumours discussed amid Mercedes driver’s appearance https://t.co/2Siuv2kyPM

— Formula1News.co.uk (@Formula1newsUK) May 17, 2022

“On Saturday everything was suddenly different again. Minimal changes in the set-up have a big impact.”

One of the “few highlights” of the season so far for Wolff has been the dynamic between Hamilton and Russell, and he has enjoyed seeing them work collaboratively to help the team work their way out of the tricky spot they are in.

“I enjoy seeing them working together, the level is high from both of them,” explained the Austrian. 

“And that has put us in a decent situation in the Constructors’ Championship, so I couldn’t wish for any better pairing.

READ: Horner indicates $200 million entry fee is not enough

“I’m really happy about the two of them, how they interact, how respectful they are with each other.”

Mercedes are 62 points behind leaders Ferrari in the Constructors’ Standings, the furthest back they have been since 2013.

The post Mercedes ‘still don’t understand’ W13 ahead of major upgrades appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Max Verstappen has started the 2022 season in emphatic fashion, having won every race he has finished so far this year.

His third victory of the year at the recent Miami Grand Prix saw the Dutchman close to within 19 points of championship leader Charles Leclerc.

The Red Bull Racing driver has demonstrated the same pace and determination which took him to the 2021 World Championship, despite the new generation of cars.

READ: Important to avoid ‘verbal abuse’ between Hamilton and the FIA

Verstappen continues to strive for personal improvement, as he admitted to the media that the way he approaches a Grand Prix weekend hasn’t changed since winning the title last year.

“I think naturally every year you want to try and be better, but you need a car for that as well. Luckily, we have a very competitive car,” said Verstappen.

“From my side nothing really changes.

“You try to do the same, you want to be as consistent as you can be, try not to make mistakes and eventually try to get the best result possible every single weekend.

“You analyse every single race weekend and you try to be better again the weekend after but, from my side, the feeling as well is pretty similar.”

With Verstappen revealing “nothing really changes” having won his first title, it appears his team-mate for next season will also be remaining the same.

Sergio Pérez told the media in Miami, that following the Grand Prix he had begun talking to the team about a renewal for next season.

The Mexican is currently without a contract for 2023, but has started the new season well.

Verstappen spoke out in support of his current team-mate, insisting that the Mexican is “a lot happier” this season.

“It seems like he’s a lot happier in the car, so that’s really good for the team,” Verstappen said.

“Of course, I think it helps to have a year with the team, and I think the new rule changes also helped, because everyone had to start from zero.”

Since joining Red Bull in 2021, Pérez has claimed victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as well as seven podiums along the way.

Most recently, Pérez clinched his first-ever pole position, at this year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The Mexican driver has been a superb team-mate to Verstappen in his short-time at the team, having played a prominent role in the Dutchman’s championship win last year.

Pérez currently sits third in the standings on 66-points, 19-points behind his team-mate and 38-points behind Leclerc.

The post Verstappen claims rule changes helped Perez get closer to him appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Find out how and when to stream and watch the 2022 Miami Grand Prix on May 20-22

It’s been a lean few years at Alfa Romeo, the team scoring just 21 points in total across both the 2020 and 2021 seasons. But things look to be on the up-and-up for the Hinwil squad in 2022…

When F1 arrives in Barcelona this weekend, expect to see a raft of upgrades on the cars throughout the field, which could just tinker with 2022’s pecking order.

The 2022 Formula 1 calendar will now run to 22 races rather than the originally planned 23, following the decision not to replace the Russian Grand Prix.

Esteban Ocon is now a Formula 1 race winner with a contract at Alpine that’s set to keep him at the team until at least the end of 2024. But as he recalls in the latest episode of our Beyond The Grid podcast, just a few years ago, things weren’t looking quite so rosy…

The Spanish Grand Prix returns on May 20-22 but will it be rain or shine at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this weekend?

With Max Verstappen bearing in on Charles Leclerc ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, the two title fighters weigh in on their respective positions and how they feel about being there.