Latest F1 news in brief

Jean Alesi prefers 'Grid Girls'

Alesi 'not in favor' of grid kids project
Verstappen to get early feel for 2018 car
McLaren 'happier' heading into 2018 – Ramirez
Grid girl ban is 'discrimination' – Ramirez
2018 'not ugliest F1 season' – Vasseur
New owner for Sochi Autodrom
Renault Sport strengthen partnership with BP and Castrol
F1 podiums before Indy 500 return for McLaren says Zak Brown
Williams Supports Government’s Year of Engineering Campaign

Alesi 'not in favor' of grid kids project
(GMM) Former F1 driver Jean Alesi says he is no fan of Liberty Media's new "grid kids" initiative.

F1's new owners caused an international storm when it was announced that grid girls will be banned in 2018. In their place, children will hold the drivers' grid boards instead.

Former Ferrari driver Alesi weighed into the controversy when asked by Italy's Motorbox what he thinks about the introduction of Halo this year.

"I can state absolutely that I am in favor of the Halo," said the Frenchman. "It is a pity that the aesthetics of the cars will be affected, but the most important thing is the safety of the drivers.

"On the other hand, I am not in favor of either the abolition of the grid girls or the new grid kid project," Alesi admitted.

"By abolishing the grid girls, we have eliminated a well-oiled system that allowed many women to work.

"I am in favor of highlighting young athletes and drivers, but not in this way," he added.

Finally, Alesi commented on the fact that his son Giuliano has been re-signed not only by the Ferrari junior academy for 2018, but also by the GP3 team Trident.

"I expect good results," Alesi snr said. "Working with the academy is a guarantee — Giuliano can thrive without rushing."

However, when asked if he would like to see his 18-year-old son test a formula one car soon, Alesi answered: "I would lie down in front of the pit exit!

"Giuliano must only think about GP3. If he wants to sit in a formula one car, then he can jump in one at home and I'll take a picture."

Verstappen to get early feel for 2018 car

Max Verstappen

(GMM) Max Verstappen thinks he will get an idea about his chances of fighting for the title in 2018 after the very first day of testing later this month.

Mercedes and Ferrari dueled for the world championship last year, but Red Bull is tipped to join the party in 2018.

Verstappen said: "Normally you get an impression (of the car) at the very beginning of the year, but this is not the goal.

"The most important thing is to get reliability in testing so you can determine the driving characteristics of the new car," the Dutchman is quoted by Italy's Corriere dello Sport.

"But you can understand if a car is good or not already in the first day of testing," Verstappen added.

He also said he is heading into 2018 – his fourth season on the grid – feeling "more relaxed" than before.

"I'm a little more relaxed than my first seasons in formula one, because now I know what awaits me. But physically it's difficult, so I still have to train very well."

McLaren 'happier' heading into 2018 – Ramirez

Jo Ramirez

(GMM) Jo Ramirez says he senses a very different McLaren as the British team prepares for 2018.

McLaren's long-time former team coordinator told Spanish radio Cadena Cope that dumping Honda means the team now "sees light at the end of the tunnel".

"They're much happier," said Mexican Ramirez. "They are working very well with Renault engineers because the European people are more open.

"I see them enjoying the moment and doing everything with a lot of passion because they know that at the end of the tunnel they will get results again," he added.

He said the fact that Red Bull has done well with the Renault engine will both put pressure on and motivate McLaren.

"They have done enough podiums and victories with this engine that they will have to do the same, because if we listen to what Renault and Prost tell us, the engine will at the level of the Mercedes of last year," he said.

"Maybe they will even make an incredible engine while Mercedes suffers. I don't know, but there is hope," Ramirez continued.

He also backed Fernando Alonso's decision to split F1 with sports cars this year, saying the Spaniard must have "a crazy desire to sit in the car".

"(Zak) Brown is helping him because it's what Fernando wants to do. In the past we saw F1 drivers racing every weekend in other categories, so in my opinion the more time you spend in a racing car, the better."

Grid girl ban is 'discrimination' – Ramirez
(GMM) Former McLaren team coordinator Jo Ramirez has slammed Liberty Media's decision to ban grid girls.

Throughout the 80s and 90s, the now 76-year-old Mexican was a leading figure in F1.

Ramirez now hits out at Liberty's decision to ban grid girls, replacing them with 'grid kids' from 2018.

"F1 is losing its way. They try to change something for the sake of changing," he told Spanish radio Cadena Cope.

"It would have been enough to dress them a little more modestly but in many countries they were wearing the national costume," he added.

"This (ban) is a discrimination against women — tomorrow they will be prohibited from coming into the circuit altogether. In my opinion, the grid girls offended no one," said Ramirez.

2018 'not ugliest F1 season' – Vasseur

Frederic Vasseur

(GMM) Frederic Vasseur has played down two of the biggest controversies in F1 at present.

Many believe that the introduction of the 'Halo' and the banning of 'grid girls' means that 2018 could be a particularly ugly season at the pinnacle of motor sport.

"They are two different things," Sauber boss Vasseur told the Swiss newspaper Blick.

"The grid girls are replaced by grid kids and I like that," the Frenchman said. "And Halo is about safety, and in a serious accident we will be very grateful for it."

So when asked if Liberty Media is destroying the DNA of F1, Vasseur answered: "Nothing has changed on the track so far. Only in marketing.

"Even the new start times will not turn F1 upside down."

As for the Swiss team he leads, Vasseur said the Hinwil factory is working overtime to put the 2018 car together ahead of the first test in just under three weeks.

"We will be faster, but in 2017 we were far behind," said the Sauber team principal.

"We want to fight in the midfield but we must not forget that this is a long-term project."

Vasseur said 50 new staff are being added to the workforce of 420, amid great optimism about the new title sponsorship by Ferrari-linked Alfa Romeo.

"They identify with us and want to keep Sauber as a brand," he said. "It is probably the first time since the BMW time that Sauber has such a good opportunity."

New owner for Sochi Autodrom

Sochi

The Sochi Autodrom, which hosts the Russian Grand Prix, looks set to get a new owner.

The circuit, which is located in the Olympic Park at the edge of the Black Sea, is currently owned by the local administration under the guise of Center Omega,

However, according to reports in the Russian media the circuit, which has hosted Russia's round of the world championship since 2014, is about to have a change of ownership.

"The racetracks are being handed over, terms and conditions are currently being discussed," a spokesperson for the circuit told Tass.

According to the Russian government's website the track will become state owned or passed to a non-commercial organization, once certain legislation amendments have been prepared, in order that it is exempt from VAT.

The new owner will also be charged with popularizing the sport.

The contract to host the race, which was first signed by Vladimir Putin and Bernie Ecclestone in 2010, is held by South Russia's Krasnodar Territory and runs to 2025, the original deal having been extended last season.

In 2017, Center Omega, the Russian auto sport federation and VTB – the state-owned bank which is the title sponsor of the Grand Prix – registered Rosgonki (Russian races) whose aim is to organize future Grands Prix at the track. pitpass

Renault Sport strengthen partnership with BP and Castrol
Renault Sport, BP and Castrol have extended their partnership by a further five years strengthening their technical partnership on both the road and the race track.

After one season together both parties are happy to continue their ongoing relationship which will see both BP, Castrol and Renault collaborate on fuel and lubricant supplies extend into the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance as well as other new technologies and projects.

JérÃ´me Stoll President of Renault Sport Racing said: "We are tremendously proud to announce this significant strengthening of our relationship with BP Castrol after laying strong and stable foundations together in 2017.

"BP and Castrol are at the cutting edge in their respective fields and a partnership of this scope, breadth and duration highlights the intents and goals of both parties."

McLaren will also see the benefit of this partnership due to taking on Renault power units for the 2018 season, this comes after a separating from Honda at the end of 2017.

Tufan Erginbilgic CEO of BP Downstream added: “We look forward to our continued relationship in Formula 1 and to exploring a wider global co-operation with the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance including the further joint development of advanced mobility solutions and new technologies."

Nico Hulkenberg will continue with the team for a second season while being joined by Carlos Sainz Jr for his first full season at the French manufacturer after joining at the United States Grand Prix in 2017 to replace the outgoing Jolyon Palmer.

Renault is set to launch the new R.S.18 car on February 20.

F1 podiums before Indy 500 return for McLaren says Zak Brown

Zak Brown

While McLaren may seem happy for their star driver Fernando Alonso to pursue a career course that will see him racing more than just Formula 1 cars in the coming two years, steering the Woking squad into entering more series to follow Alonso is not on the agenda, for the time being!

So says team boss Zak Brown when he explained to Racer Magazine why McLaren would not be repeating their Indianapolis 500 entry this year with the Spaniard, or indeed anyone else at the wheel.

Brown was adamant, despite the new field levelling universal body kits, that all his efforts would be focused on Formula 1 and not going down the IndyCar route.

"No. I think the cars look great. I think the cars look really good, but [it's] too soon. With all that we've got going on in Formula 1, while the mechanics and engineers and all that are 100 percent focused, the minute me or Jonathan Neale or John Allert or Eric [Boullier] are not spending 100 percent of our time on Formula 1 that starts becoming a distraction for us."

Clearly it would seem that his bosses (TAG’s Mansour Ojjeh and Mumtalakat’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Essa Al-Khalifa, who jointly own McLaren) have directed the flamboyant American to use his well-known core talents towards finding more sponsorship money for the team!

"I've got to find more partners for our Formula 1 team, so any moment I'm trying to find an IndyCar team is a moment I'm not spending on trying to fund the Formula 1 team, which is priority number one."

In going down this path, any ambitions that either Brown or McLaren may have had in the short term, to return to Indianapolis or even Le Mans, must now be put onto the back burner until the silverware starts returning to the F1 trophy cabinet.

"So I think before we leap into any of these other racing series, we've got to get back on the podium in F1. As a fan of McLaren and as a racer I want to do them all this year, but as a business we've got to lay out a 10-year strategy and why we're doing it, how we're doing it, how it's sustainable.

"With all that's going on, not only with our Formula 1 team but Formula 1 as a whole, we need to be spending all our time on making sure whatever happens in 2021 we're in a good place. So I don't think any of those other series are around the corner."

Williams Supports Government’s Year of Engineering Campaign

Frank WIlliams

Williams is delighted to be supporting the Year of Engineering in 2018 that was launched in January.

The Year of Engineering 2018 is a year-long, cross-Government campaign aimed at raising the profile of engineering amongst 7 to 16 year olds and widening the pool of young people that consider engineering as a career.

The Williams Group, which includes WILLIAMS MARTINI RACING and Williams Advanced Engineering, has engineering at its core. Over 40 years ago, Frank Williams and Patrick Head came together to form one of the greatest Formula One teams of all time.

Today, Williams continues to race in the FIA Formula One Championship, as well as transferring much of the technology learned from 40 years at the pinnacle of motor racing to other applications through Williams Advanced Engineering.

Williams has long supported the promotion of STEM subjects and practical technical education with its various educational programs. Initiatives like the Williams Engineering Academy, Autosport Williams Engineer of the Future award, and various internships and apprenticeships give students a head start towards a career in Formula One, technology and engineering.

Human Resources Director, Nicola Salter, commented: “For 40 years, Williams has been at the forefront of engineering innovation. Many of the sport's legendary engineering figures began their career at Williams so we know the importance of nurturing and developing engineering talent. To inspire, encourage and attract a new generation of engineering stars, we are delighted to be supporting the Year of Engineering, the Government’s campaign to promote engineering from a young age, which we believe could kick start a skills revolution."

Minister for the Year of Engineering Nusrat Ghani said: “Engineers – whether they are working on cutting-edge technology in motorsport, or other areas such as energy or artificial intelligence – are vital to the lifeblood of our economy. Through the Year of Engineering, we want to show young people and their parents the immense creativity, opportunity and value of the profession. By working with partners like Williams to bring young people face to face with inspiring role models and experiences, we can send a clear message that engineering careers are innovative, varied and a chance to shape the future of this country."

Over the course of 2018, Williams will be working with the Department for Transport across its Year of Engineering campaign with a range of content, events and support. As the Williams Group grows, we are always actively recruiting for full time positions, apprenticeships, internships and work experience. For more information, please visit here.