🚨 Spa Stays Til 2025

Hey there, pole-sitter! 👋

A warm welcome to all the new members who've jumped on the F1 thrill ride with us this week. Strap in because we've got a pit lane packed with updates for you.

🚦 Andretti Ambitions: Andretti's got their eyes on that 11th grid spot, but man, the road there seems to be filled with more chicanes than Monza. Will they find a straight path to join the grid?

🚀 Rising Star Alert: With Oscar Piastri's stellar performances, everyone's whispering the same question: Could Oscar pull a Max on Lando soon? Time will tell!

🛣️ Spa Stays: Good news! Spa isn't going anywhere. But who's raising their hand for more teams and fewer races? Let's find out.

 😣 Andretti's F1 Entry Hurdles

Michael Andretti's dream of entering Formula 1 in 2025 might be delayed as his power unit deal with Renault has expired.

Why it matters:

• The power unit is an essential component of an F1 team.

• Renault, the French car manufacturer with a preliminary deal with Andretti, has changed its priorities.

• The potential new F1 team by Andretti could be left hanging if they don't secure another deal soon.

What we are hearing:

• Andretti got FIA approval to join F1 but awaits FOM's nod.

• Cadillac engine for Andretti might be delayed until 2027.

• If successful, Renault might have to supply Andretti due to F1 rules (Appendix 6)

• Appendix 6 of the FIA Sporting Regulations gives the FIA entitlement to request the factory team with the fewest customers, which at this point is Alpine/Renault, who only supply themselves, to supply a “New Customer Team” – provided the conditions of entry are met.

• Discrepancy exists in the rules' interpretation between FIA and FOM.

Read more

📅 Spa Stays Till 2025

The Belgium GP at Spa-Francorchamps is sticking around on the F1 calendar until at least 2025.

This decision came after discussions about the South Africa Grand Prix didn't pan out. With a cap of 24 races per season, Spa was almost edged out, but with Imola's future up in the air, it got a green light.

📊 Recent Spa Stats:

• Added two new grandstands that boosted seating by 10,000.

• 2023 had a turnout of 380,000 fans over the weekend.

• This is a bump up of 20,000 from 2022.

The race is a big business for the Wallonia area in Belgium. Vice-President and Minister for the Economy of Wallonia, Willy Borsus, said the race brings in about €41.8 million to the region (after they've paid all their bills), and that number's only getting bigger. - Read more

📊 More Teams, Less Races

In a recent interview, FIA President Ben Sulayem shared surprising views on the direction he believes F1 should take. Ben Sulayem is at odds with Formula One Management (FOM). While he's pushing for expanding teams in the sport, FOM doesn't necessarily agree.

Last week, the FIA gave a thumbs-up to Andretti's bid to join as the 11th F1 team. However, FOM still has to sign off on this.

He's keen on encouraging car manufacturers to join F1 and his endgame is to fill all 12 team slots.

Some believe having too many teams will make the grid crowded. But Ben Sulayem thinks otherwise.

He believes teams are protective of their share in the sport. While he gets their concerns, he reminds everyone that the FIA's priorities differ.

Next year's F1 season is slated to be packed with a record 24 races. That's two more than this year, which saw cancellations due to COVID-19 in China and flooding in Imola. - Read more

🟠 Is Piastri the Next Verstappen at McLaren?

The dynamics between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at McLaren feels like déjà vu – reminding us of what happened between Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull a few years back.

Oscar Piastri landed a spot at McLaren, and not many expected him to make big waves in his rookie season. Yet here he is, showing impressive growth, even snagging his first pole position and win in F1.

When Max joined Red Bull, Daniel was the main man. But over time, young Max got into his groove, and by 2018, he was leading the show. This pushed Ricciardo to try his luck elsewhere with Renault.

Now, the question is: Could Oscar pull a 'Max' on Lando?

Why Piastri might outperform Norris?

📈Piastri’s Growth: Oscar Piastri's trajectory has been pretty remarkable, from Formula 3 to dominating the F2 championship and now holding his own in F1.

😎Cool under pressure: In the recent race in Qatar, Piastri held off challenges from both Verstappen and Norris. He seems to handle pressure better than Norris, who can get a bit emotional on the track.

📙Still Learning: Piastri's already giving Norris a run for his money in his first season. If he continues on this trajectory, Norris might have to watch out.

Why Norris might hold his ground?

🎂 Age & Experience: Unlike the age and experience gap between Max and Ricciardo, Norris and Piastri are almost peers. Norris isn’t that much older than Piastri and has been in F1 longer. This might play in Norris's favor.

⬆️ Norris's Potential: Let’s not write off Norris. He's still evolving as a driver, and we've yet to see his full potential.

↔️Performance Gap: While Piastri has had some standout moments, there's still a noticeable performance gap between the two, like in Japan, where Norris had a nearly 20-second lead over Piastri.

Read more

🛑 Bridgestone's F1 Return Halted

Pirelli was confirmed as the F1 tyre provider until the end of 2027, with Bridgestone being passed over again. This deal covers F1 and its junior circuits, Formula 2 and Formula 3.

Bridgestone had been a key player in F1 for 14 years before leaving in 2010. This year, as they celebrated their 60th anniversary, they hoped to make a comeback.

Why It Matters:

• The tire supplier choice impacts car performance, team strategies, and driver safety in F1.

• Bridgestone's potential return with innovative solutions could have shifted the racing dynamics.

• Sustainability in racing is becoming increasingly relevant, and suppliers like Bridgestone are focusing on it.

What We're Hearing:

• Bridgestone proposed their advanced ENLITEN technology, aiming for better efficiency and performance.

• Feedback from the F1 community on Bridgestone's proposal was positive, indicating stiff competition for the contract.

• Despite missing out this time, Bridgestone remains committed to innovation and may eye future F1 opportunities.

Go Deeper:

Stefano Domenicali, F1's president, hasn't ruled out a future tire war. Even though Pirelli beat out Bridgestone for the contract until 2027, many fans are nostalgic for the old 'tire wars'.

Having just one tire supplier is a relatively recent trend in F1. Domenicali explained that sticking with a single supplier was mainly to keep costs down. While he's open to multiple suppliers in the future, cost control remains a priority. - Read more

🏎️ Top 5 F1 Drivers with Unique Tracks Wins

1. 🏆 Lewis Hamilton

• 🛣️ 31 different track

• 🌍 7 world titles and 103 race wins

• 📅 Dominated 2014-2020 (except 2016, shoutout Nico Rosberg!)

2. 🚀 Max Verstappen

• 🛣️ 24 tracks

• 🥇 Recently clinched his 3rd straight world title

• 🔮 Only 25 years old

3. 🥉 Michael Schumacher

• 🛣️ 23 tracks

• 🌍 7 world titles across two stints in F1

• 📉 Recently overtaken by Verstappen

4. 🏁 Alain Prost

• 🛣️ 22 tracks

• 🌍 4 world championships

• 🔥 Fierce rivalries, especially with Ayrton Senna

5. 🏎️ Sebastian Vettel

• 🛣️ 21 tracks

• 🌍 4 world titles from 2010-2013

• 🌅 Retired in 2022

Moving F1's whole setup from one country to another is absolutely crazy!

Each of the 10 F1 teams shells out $100 million, travels enough miles to circle the Earth three times (75,000 miles!), and hauls 1,500 tons of gear.

In 2023, the original F1 race calendar had 23 races spread over 20 countries on five continents. That meant teams endured 240 hours in the air and hopped across 10 time zones.

F1 Logistics in a nutshell

Logistics in F1 refers to the immense task of moving teams, cars, equipment, and even broadcast gear from one global location to another, often in a matter of days.

With a calendar that spans multiple continents and over 20 races, F1 logistics is a gargantuan task that requires detailed planning, coordination, and execution.

The Basic Process of F1 Logistics

1. Planning: The logistics are planned 18 months in advance to avoid mistakes. DHL, the logistics partner of F1, must help each of the 10 teams travel to and from their individual HQs. F1's logistical team, in collaboration with individual racing teams and partners, charts out the movement schedule.

2. Packaging: Teams use specialized containers to pack their equipment. These containers are designed to protect the gear, especially the sensitive and expensive parts, from damage during transit.

Before the season starts, teams load five shipping containers with non-critical race weekend equipment. These containers are sent by boat from one overseas location to the next. Specifically:

👉 Bahrain travels to Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Brazil.

👉 Australia heads to Japan.

👉 Azerbaijan container moves to Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

👉 Miami gear goes to Canada, Austin, Mexico, and Las Vegas.

After the season, all kits return to their team's headquarters for the winter. Choosing boats over planes for these shipments is a big money-saver for teams.

Transportation:

💨 Air: F1 relies on cargo planes, each carrying around 100 tons of freight. For races close together on the calendar, air freight is essential to ensure everything arrives on time.

⛵Sea: Some equipment, especially less urgent items, might be shipped by sea for races spaced further apart or when the next race is far away.

🚚 Land: Trucks play a crucial role, especially in Europe, where races might be just a few hundred miles apart.

On-site Setup: Once the equipment arrives, a flurry of activity ensues to set up everything from the pit garages to the hospitality tents. Timing is crucial, as teams have a few days to get everything race-ready.

How Do F1 Teams Prepare for the Race?

Before the Sunday GP even finishes, teams are already getting a head start on packing for the next race.

In fact, some parts, like engines, get packed up as early as Saturday since there's just no time to swap them out before the big race.

The big breakdown plan kicks off on the Thursday before the race. Believe it or not, these teams work so efficiently that they can leave no trace of their presence just eight hours after a race ends.

If there are two weeks between races, teams have just ten days to move and set up. But if races are back-to-back, a mere three days to prepare everything at the next spot.

Everyone on the F1 team chips in to help pack up. From taking apart garage walls to packing up tons of tech gear (and so many cables), it's all hands on deck. After the race, cars are taken apart – but only after the official F1 folks give them the thumbs up.

DHL: F1’s key logistics player

DHL is like the pit crew for Formula 1's logistics. They've been with F1 for nearly 40 years, handling everything from team gear and tires to food and fun stuff. They use trucks, planes, and boats to ensure everything gets where it needs to be on time.

Quick DHL Stats:

🐘Teams ship weight equivalent to eight elephants per race.

💰Annually, each team moves 50 tons of cargo, costing over $8 million.

✈️DHL planes travel 130,000km each season with up to seven Boeing 747s per event.

🚚 300 trucks race-to-race would stretch over 5km!

📮Teams send 660 tons by air and 500 tons by sea annually.

📦 DHL’s cargo boxes are tailor-made for efficient airplane storage.

👭🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Around 100 people handle logistics, including DHL staff, team members, and local aides.

🔝Teams' top-priority gear fills three pallets.

What is F1’s Impact on the Environment?

Formula 1 aims to achieve Net Zero by 2030, and DHL, its key partner, is instrumental in this mission.

DHL introduced 18 biofuel-powered trucks for the European F1 season, which will result in significant carbon savings compared to diesel trucks. These trucks use HVO100 hydrotreated vegetable oil as fuel, aligning with European directives to ensure no competition with food production.

The switch to these trucks aims for a carbon saving of at least 60%. Ellen Jones, F1’s Head of Sustainability, highlighted that while racing accounts for less than 1% of their carbon footprint, two-thirds is from travel and logistics.

F1's remote broadcasting initiative since 2020 has also helped reduce carbon emissions. Activities once performed at the track now occur in the UK, reducing travel and its associated carbon footprint.

Formula 1 emphasizes the importance of collaboration in achieving sustainability goals and views each action, whether big or small, as a step toward a more sustainable future.

🏆 Formula 1 and Indycar champ, Nigel Mansell sold over 300 items from his racing memorabilia for over £2 million. - Read more

💰 Former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone pleads guilty to a £400 million fraud. - Read more

🗯️ Martin Brundle is getting some heat for his comments on standing up for races in extreme weather, even though there's a growing debate about their safety. - Read more

🏄 Lewis Hamilton just spilled the beans about his retirement plans. - Read more

🤕 Why does Helmut Marko's remarks about Sergio Perez harm Red Bull? - Read more

💥 5 times Lewis Hamilton collided with his teammates. - Read more

🤑 Red Bull F1 team reports a turnover rise to £385m in 2022. - Read more

🟠 McLaren advances sustainability efforts for United States GP. - Read more

🆕 AlphaTauri CEO says team has selected new 'identity' for 2024. - Read more

🇺🇸 Scheduled 20-22 October

Circuit of the Americas

1️⃣ Circuit length: 5.513km
2️⃣ Number of laps: 56
3️⃣ Lap record: 1:36.169 Charles Leclerc (2019)
4️⃣ Corners & DRS: 20 corners with 2 DRS zones