In How to Build a Car, the Red Bull’s chief technical officer is refreshingly honest on Ayrton Senna, his design process and the aim of ‘disruptive technology’As a Pink Floyd-loving public schoolboy in the mid-1970s, Adrian Newey found a clever way around his headmaster’s ban on platform-soled shoes. The relevant rule stipulated that if you could pass a penny on its end between the ground and the sole of the shoe, it was illegal. Newey reacted by glueing a strip of aluminium between the heel and the sole, thus reducing the gap while maintaining the desired height of the shoes. “No prizes for spotting the connection between that and what I do now,” the technical chief of the Red Bull...
The Briton had to be at his best to shake off his Ferrari rival and seal fourth title; Force India and Max Verstappen showed mettle; changes needed in 2018Lewis Hamilton produced an exceptional performance to secure his fourth – and what he admitted was his most challenging and most rewarding – title. With competition from Sebastian Vettel in a Ferrari that was at least on a par with the Mercedes and at certain circuits the better car, the British driver had to be at his best and successfully bring together every facet of his craft. Hamilton had to cope with a demanding car, struggling to find set-up and with the pressure of being behind until the 13th round. Major errors...
After two grands prix wins this season, the young and fearless Red Bull driver has shown the conviction to be challenging soon for the F1 world titleFor a young driver in his third season in Formula One and just out of his teens, it might seem an unfeasibly early time to be anointing Max Verstappen as a future world champion. Yet within hours of ensuring his own position among the greats with a fourth title, Lewis Hamilton singled out the 20-year-old as the future of F1. It was a champion’s endorsement of a champion in waiting, one who firmly believes he is ready to take over from the old guard. Related: Max Verstappen: ‘My biggest critic is my dad. Everything...
Spaniard won Monaco GP twice, made his Indy 500 debut and will compete in a prototype in 2018 Daytona 24 Hours as a stepping stone to Le MansIt has taken the best part of a season but Fernando Alonso may yet throw off the fug that has engulfed him come Formula One’s final round in Abu Dhabi. Certainly closing the curtain on McLaren’s disastrous relationship with Honda will give the Spaniard reason for a sigh of relief but there is a strong likelihood that events even sooner may prove enough for Alonso to revel in racing again.He is expected to undertake a test in Bahrain on Sunday of Toyota’s TS050 Hybrid after the conclusion of the World Endurance Championship, as...
The F1 world champion proved his hunger remains while Ferrari fought back but Valtteri Bottas, the quality of racing and the future of the Brazilian Grand Prix are a concernAfter making his only major error of the season with a crash in qualifying at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton said he wanted to redeem himself in the race. Finishing in fourth place after starting from the pit lane was better than he expected. It was a performance acknowledged by the Mercedes executive director, Toto Wolff, who said: “It was the best fourth place I’ve ever seen. If you consider starting from the pit lane and ending up 5.4 seconds behind the leader, it’s quite an astonishing drive.” In doing...