#1998 Australian Grand Prix

[herohimbowhore]

On This Day in F1: March 8th

Present: Saudi Arabia Day 2

History: 1998 Australian Grand Prix

March 8th, 2024 had free practice 3 and qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The big news of the day was Carlos Sainz having appendicitis and Ollie Bearman filling in for him. Now is this just another outcome of Alex Albon’s famous appendix? Or will we be seeing a new line of dominoes falling into place in the coming months? Only time will tell.

Timing remains essential to the 1998 Australian Grand Prix.

On March 8th, 1998, Albert Park (then called the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit) hosted the 1998 season opener. The race was dominated by the McLaren-Mercedes team with its two drivers taking home a 1-2 finish.

While it was no surprise that a McLaren driver took the chequered flag first, there was controversy surrounding it.

For the first half of the Grand Prix, Mika Hakkinen was leading the race. However, on lap 36, he lost the lead due to coming into the pits after a misheard call. This led to Hakkinen's teammate, David Coulthard, leading the race.

Coulthard had a 12-second lead that was reduced to 2 seconds by lap 55. On the front straight during lap 56, Coulthard let Hakkinen pass him. This move and the pre-season agreement between drivers - whoever led the first corner would win the race - drew great controversy and race-fixing allegations.

McLaren Team Boss, Ron Dennis, spoke on the controversy and claimed that someone else had tapped into their team radios which led to Hakkinen losing the lead and coming into the pits.

"We do not and have not manipulated Grands Prix unless there were some exceptional circumstances, which occurred in Australia [1998] when someone had tapped into our radio and instructed Mika Häkkinen to enter the pits."

Eventually, they would go in front of the World Motorsport Council where the verdict was "any future act prejudicial to the interests of competition should be severely punished in accordance with article 151c of the International Sporting Code." Team orders remained controversial in Formula One and were banned following the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix. It wasn't until after the 2010 German Grand Prix that they were allowed again.

In 2023, Hakkinen spoke about the 1998 Australian GP and the agreement that he had with Coulthard:

"The team said something on the radio, I was confused, I thought they asked me to come to change tyres and that was not the case. They were just giving me some different information. So I just drove through the pit lane and I of course lost the lead of the race, David got the lead."

"We were sitting on the front row, me and David – and we just made a deal. The driver who was first at the first corner when the race starts, that driver is going to win the Grand Prix. There's not going to be any fight. We had a deal, so David had to let me past – brilliant!"

_____

Previous: 2004 Australian Grand Prix

Next: Mar. 9th - Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

On This Day in F1 Masterlist

[feraltwinkseb]

David Coulthard hugs and kisses his teammate Mika Hakkinen after his triumph at the Australian Grand Prix

March 8th, 1998 - Melbourne, Australia

Source: Oliver Multhaup/picture alliance via Getty Images

[gryphon1232]

DRS Universe Info Post

Hey all! This is going to be a long post, and it's going to break down a lot of my work on the universe!

🛑What is the DRS Universe?

The DRS Universe is a connected fictional Formula One-centric universe. The history of the sport generally follows the real world counterpart, and for the most part, the world is kept as similar to the real world as possible, but things such as sponsors, drivers, teams, wins and events throughout the history of the sport are brand new.

🛑General Info/Q&A:

🛑Why does the DRS Universe Exist? I'm a very big fan of F1 and of Writing, and I wanted to mix those things together and write an F1-Based novel. I'm also a fan of creating OC's and having more control over what I write, so it was only natural that I'd make my own teams and drivers. That expanded to stuff like sponsors and some brands and companies in the universe, etc. I tried to keep the broader strokes of the sports history accurate to the real world as well, but I made new, fictional historic drivers, events, dates, etc. 🛑What is the current season? The current season as of the novel I'm currently working on (shunted) is 2023! 🛑What is Shunted about? Shunted focuses Lance Adams and Alexandre Lareaux, enemies-and-rivals turned teammates. It follows them as they navigate the 2023 season, and even worse for both of them depending on how you look at it, their newfound friendship and possible romance. 🛑Why are there 11 teams? Because more teams + more drivers + more cars on track = more fun. Also, because I wanted 11 teams, and it's my universe.

🛑What are the teams?

(This is a list based vaguely on each teams' performance throughout the 2022 season.)

Delphi Voltage Racing

Aurelia ABM F1 Team

Scuderia Rossetti

McGrath Racing

Hayworth Moore F1 Team

Cautiline-Aimé

Reinvoire GP

Pearsons Racing

Scuderia AltairShock

Modena-Roth

Hurst F1 Team

🛑Who are the drivers for the 2023 season?

(Drivers names are listed, followed by their driver number, nationality, age, birthdate, height, and first season in F1. If something hasn't been decided yet, there will be a "TBD" in that section, if a driver has won a WDC, there will be an "🏆" following their name.)

Delphi Voltage Racing:

Felix Akerson 20 • Swedish • 23 • TBD • TBD • 2020 Kennedy Grant 14 • American • 20 • TBD • TBD • 2023

Aurelia ABM F1 Team:

Annika Becker 🏆 33 • German • 37 • TBD • TBD • 2006 Émilien Rousseau 6 • French • 41 • TBD • TBD • 2001

Scuderia Rossetti:

Alexandre Lareaux 11 • Monégasque • 25 • 8/26/1998 • 5'9 • 2017 Lance Adams - 🏆 5 • British • 25 • 12/29/1998 • 5'11 • 2016

McGrath Racing:

Noah Landvin 8 • Belgian • 23 • 6/4/2000 • 5'7 • 2019 Jack Palmer 47 • Kiwi • 21 • TBD • TBD • 2022

Hayworth Moore F1 Team

Scarlette LaRosa 50 • Spanish • 22 • TBD • TBD • 2022 Beatrice Camelio 88 • Italian • 21 • TBD • TBD • 2022

Cautiline-Aimé

Connor O’Riley 77 • Irish • 26 • TBD • TBD • 2016 Owen Lancaster 76 • American • 20 • TBD • TBD • 2023

Reinvoire GP

Benjamin Accardi 4 • Australian • 32 • 5/24/1991 • 6'0 • 2013 Mateo Vassallo 44 • Mexican • 24 • 5/17/1999 • 5'8 • 2017

Pearsons Racing

Giang Mai Linh 99 • Vietnamese • 25 • TBD • TBD • 2018 Vincent Fortin 28 • Canadian • 25 • TBD • TBD • 2017

Scuderia AltairShock

Matthew Coleman 16 • British • 19 • TBD • TBD • 2022 Toru Kajima 81 • Japanese • 18 • TBD • TBD • 2023

Modena-Roth

Cláudio Amaral - 🏆 21 • Brazilian • 43 • 8/17/1980 • 5'7 • 2000 Marco De Caro 61 • Italian • 24 • 1/19/1999 • 6'0 • 2018

Hurst F1 Team

Martijn Van Hall 24 • Dutch • 36 • TBD • TBD • 2009 Charles Stafford 58 • British • 42 • TBD • TBD • 2001

I leave you with this little piece of art/graphic design I did to introduce my drivers!

The Results of the 2023 Formula 1 Chronex Australian Grand Prix:

[coimbrabertone]

Suzuka in April Feels Wrong

So, this weekend F1 will race at Suzuka. Suzuka is an amazing circuit, the esses at the beginning of the lap, trying to take Degner 1 as fast as possible but knowing the gravel trap is right there at the edge of the circuit, and then hard on the brakes for Degner 2, under the bridge, and up and to the right into the hairpin where Kamui Kobayashi seemed to overtake just about everyone in 2012. Spoon curve, the infamous 130R, and the Casio triangle at the end of the lap, Suzuka really is something special.

The only problem is, Raikkonen's 2005 charge (admittedly I was too young to properly enjoy that but it's literally the back to front challenge meme in real life), Kamui's 2012 podium as a Japanese driver, even Vettel's heartbreaking sparkplug failure in 2017, not to mention the historic Prost and Senna collisions...all of those happened at the end of the season, or close enough to it anyway. This year, Suzuka is in April, the fourth round of the 2024 Formula One season.

Now of course, there's a reason for this - the geography of an increasingly bloated F1 calendar - but first, let's just establish why the Japanese Grand Prix being at the end of the season is so important.

The first Japanese Grand Prix, held in 1976 and 1977, marked the first time a world championship race was held in Asia, and it was the finale too, the place where the championship would be decided. The 1976 race in particular, covered in the excellent 2013 movie Rush, saw Niki Lauda pull into the pits in dangerously wet conditions - this was the same year as his Nürburgring crash - which allowed James Hunt to charge up the field and seal his only world title.

The first Fuji trip would only last two years, but in 1987, F1 would find its home in Suzuka. It was the penultimate race - Adelaide, Australia was now the finale - but nevertheless, Suzuka was still the place where titles were decided. In 1988, Senna came from behind in the wet to beat Prost, in 1989 Prost would close the door on a charging Senna in the Casio triangle on lap 47, taking Prost out. Senna cut the chicane rejoining the track, got disqualified, and handed the title to Prost. In 1990, Prost now in a Ferrari, got a better start than Senna's polesitting McLaren, but Senna's wouldn't give an inch, and they didn't even make it past the first corner this time. Senna would seal the 1990 title. And it continued, Senna over Mansell in 1991, Hill over Villeneuve in 1996, Hakkinen over Schumacher in 1998...it was the track where history was made.

That being said, it's position in the calendar started to change as F1 expanded its Asia-Pacific presence from just Suzuka. From 1987-1995, it was paired with the Australian Grand Prix at Adelaide, in 1999 and 2000, it was paired with Malaysia, and from 2004-2008, it was paired with China. After that, the calendar more or less formed two flyaway blocks, with Australia-Malaysia-China-Bahrain at the beginning of the season, and a Singapore and Suzuka towards the end, paired with an everchanging host of flyaway races that included Abu Dhabi, Brazil, South Korea, and India. In 2009, Suzuka was the third to last race, come 2011, it was fifth to last.

The real blow to Suzuka as an end of season race, however, was the emergence of an American block of races late in the season. It started with Austin in 2012, and by 2015, we had Austin and Mexico back-to-back followed by Brazil, making for three western hemisphere races in a row. Las Vegas in 2023 made a fourth, with Abu Dhabi having long ago bought the season finale slot. All of this means that, in 2023, there were a whole two months of racing after Suzuka.

Thus, figuring that history is dead, F1 has decided to move Suzuka to April, so that, much like 2004-2008, it's back-to-back with the Chinese Grand Prix. Which means F1 will now have Baku and Singapore as a doubleheader in 2024...yeah.

For something meant to cut down on F1's travel related CO2 emissions, they really did just decide to make the entire circus fly over the entirety of the Asian continent in a week. Good job.

What the race does succeed in, however, is reminding us of the last time F1 raced in Japan in April, the 1994 and 1995 Pacific Grand Prix. A rare moment of two races in the same country for F1, when in addition to the end of season trip to Suzuka, there was an early season trip to the T1 Circuit in Okayama. It's a pretty neat track, I've raced it on Ride 4, probably better for bikes than cars though.

So yeah, not much for the environment, but it does remind us of an obscure race nobody has ever heard of, so there is that.

[lovelytsunoda]

welcome to wherever you are (the lore behind the verse)

'sup guys, here is the long awaited post about the very real lore behind the welcome to wherever you are series! i am a big fan of music from the eighties, specifically rock and new wave. i was really inspired to write this series shortly after learning about the life and times of inxs, a band i have loved since i was a kid listening to 'the stairs' for the first time. this is a very niche special interest area, and i feel like sharing the lore would really add to the series. so, without further ado, the real life history behind one of my favorite reader inserts. the lore is under the cut :)

y/n elodia heaven hutchence, was two years old when her father, australian rock god, michael hutchence took his own life in a sydney hotel room. while his death occurred in 1997, and lance stroll was born in 1998, i have adjusted (and been purposely vague) about his time of death to make the ages for the story line up. she was raised by her single mother, and eventual stepfather paul, with the help of her father's ex-bandmates, kirk, gary, tim, andrew and jon. of the four, she's closest to kirk for reasons she can't explain.

given her father's popularity in australia, comparisons were not easy to escape. she leads a very private life, away from the prying eyes of the gossip magazines. every few years, she carefully composes a statement that she releases to the press, giving minor, inconsequential life updates.

now, it is important to note that while the basis of this au is based in real life, almost all of it is fiction. the true story of michael hutchence and the people he left behind, including daughter tiger lily, is sad.

here is a link to an article by the new zealand herald that talks about his downward spiral, brought on by a massive brain injury he suffered in the early nineties. as a result of this injury, he was left unable to smell or taste. he also lost his ability to regulate his emotions, and was prone to angry outbursts, a sharp change from a man who friends had said was calm, lively and full of spirit.

helpful links about the life and legacy of michael hutchence: inxs wikipedia page, michael's wikipedia page, podcast episode on michaels death, inxs' first interview since the death of micheal hutchence

to this day, saxophonist and guitarist kirk pengilly maintains that micheal spoke to him in a dream just days after his death, with the singer saying ‘I’m alright now, you don’t need to worry about me any more’

it's stated that micheal had a fear of not being loved, and a confirmed fear of growing old. i'd like to think that these are traits baby hutchence shared with her father until she met lance.

despite being australian by birth, micheal was buried in los angeles, where his mother lived. he is buried in the same cemetery as matthew perry. baby hutchence has never visited his grave.

lance and y/n would have met through a friend. and by friend, of course I mean kirk. kirk and his wife would have gone to a grand prix, and when kirk first laid eyes on lance, he had a gut feeling that he was a good fit for yn.

their first date would have been low key, on the beach at sunset. a picnic followed by a trip out on tim’s boat (before tim lost his fingers in a fishing accident).

they were married two years later. andrew thought they were rushing into it too fast. gary and kirk thought that when you know, you know (they also have four divorces between the two of them, so what do they know?)

all y/n and lance knew was that they were truly and madly in love, and that’s exactly where our au starts.

for those who want the full inxs story, please consider watching ‘never tear us apart’.

[maranello]

MELBOURNE, 1998 — Ferrari drivers Eddie Irvine and Michael Schumacher in front of a giant picture of Eddie Irvine ahead of the Australian Grand Prix. (Photo by MichaelCooper/Allsport)

[crystalracing]

Video ideas

How bad was Max Verstappen's dad in F1?

The story of the Japanese Kimi Raikkonen (Tora Takagi)

Why Ocon & Gasly's rivalry means nothing (Peterson, de Angelis, Heidfeld & Fisichella)

How unlucky was Fernando Alonso's F3000 rival in F1 & Indycar? (Bruno junquiera)

How unlucky was Senna's local rival in F1 & Indycar? (Raul Boesel)

When did Fernando Alonso peak in F1?

How 2003 Australian Grand Prix changed F1 forever

How bad was Kevin Magnussen's dad in F1?

Why have Japanese & Asian drivers never won in F1?

How 1999 French GP nearly led to F1's greatest underdog champions (Frentzen & Jordan)

How Ronnie Peterson's death changed F1 safety forever

How Niki Lauda's crash changed F1 completely

How AJ Foyt vs Mario Andretti made Indy 500 America's most famous car race

How great was Audi in 1930s F1?

Why the greatest Italian driver would destroy today's F1 stars (Tazio Nuvolari)

How bad was Nelson Piquet Jr in F1?

How good was Johnny Herbert in F1?

How unlucky was Lewis Hamilton in 2012?

How a politician nearly became Argentina's 2nd F1 champion (Reutemann & FISA-FOCA war)

How Ferrari destroyed Vettel for good

How great was Kimi Raikkonen in F1?

How good was Kimi Raikkonen's hero in F1 (James Hunt)

How good were BAR-Honda in F1?

How good were BMW in F1?

How Ford Cosworth changed F1 forever

How Lotus & Colin Chapman changed F1 forever

How Ayrton Senna's death killed off independent F1 teams

Why Lewis Hamilton is wrong about diversity in F1 (Story of Prince Bira)

How McLaren redefined professionalism in F1 (Lauda, Prost & Ron Dennis)

Why Paul Tracy wrongly lost 2002 Indy 500 (CART vs IRL)

How Gilles Villeneuve’s death nearly ended Ferrari & F1 (FISA-FOCA war)

How Prost & Senna made F1 so popular (how the media reported on their rivalry)

Was Keke Rosberg lucky to win 1982 F1 championship?

How Nico Rosberg's 2016 championship win changed F1

How Toyota changed F1 for worse (and ruined independent teams)

From Jordan to Aston Martin: victory against all odds

The story of F1's forgotten Robocop (Alessandro Nannini)

What Fernando Alonso's success taught F1 about marketing (Spain)

How Daniel Ricciardo redefined marketing in F1

The story of how the Finnish Ayrton Senna (Kimi) became an internet meme

How the Japanese Lance Stroll heralded the rise of F1 pay drivers (Satoru Nakajima, Pedro Diniz, Montermini, Ghinzani, Tarquini, Schneider, Dalmas, Zunino & Rebaque)

How a Brazilian backmarker was sacrificed for Michael Schumacher (Roberto Moreno)

How good were Michael Schumacher's team-mates in F1?

How bad was Michael Schumacher at Mercedes?

Why Sergio Perez proves how midfielders are overrated in F1 (Fisichella, Johansson, Bottas)

How a Belgian prisoner handed Michael Schumacher his F1 break (Bertrand Gachot & Jean-Marc Bosman)

Why we will never see a race like 1996 Monaco GP again

How 1997 Canadian GP destroyed France's next superstar (Olivier Panis)

Why Juan Pablo Montoya was feared by Schumacher, Alonso & Kimi (old school)

How Jacques Villeneuve changed F1 social media without even trying

How Mansell & Piquet became tabloid heroes & villains in F1

How a fat Australian set Williams on the path to F1 glory (Alan Jones)

How 1984 Monaco GP redefined rookies in F1 (Senna & Bellof)

How Brazil's original Senna changed F1 & Indycar for better & worse (Emmo Fittipaldi, his team sucked & he became the first foreign Indycar champion)

How 1989 Ferrari reworked F1 car design

How Jenson Button made rookies hot property in F1

How 1998 Belgian GP lost Jordan another Schumacher (how Ralf left for Williams)

Who was better: Hakkinen or Raikkonen?

Who are Ferrari's true rivals in F1? (Clue: themselves)

Why the French Fernando Alonso should have won 7 F1 world titles (Prost)

How the death of Helmut Marko's friend changed F1 forever (Jochen Rindt)

How 1999 Malaysian GP changed F1 forever (new circuit, title fight, Schumi's return from injury)

Why F1 flopped in America before Liberty Media (DTS, poor tracks, 2005 Indygate, few American drivers, NASCAR & Indycar)

Why are there no more Fangios in F1 from Argentina nor South Africa?

How F1 contributed to the rise of Russia & Putin (Max Mosley, Life F1, Hungarian GP, China, Middle East & Marussia, Midland)

How an Australian farmer upset the odds in F1 (Jack Brabham)

How a fat Italian redefined F1 team management (Flavio Briatore)

How a motorcycle dealer made F1 popular (Bernie Ecclestone)

How Red Bull & F1 made each other BIGGER brands

Why F1, Ferrari & Mercedes are synonymous with each other

Aston Martin & Honda: A recipe for F1 disaster?!

Have Red Bull ruined their rookies' F1 careers? (Answer: No)

How Ferrari crushed the F1 career of their last Italian driver (Ivan Capelli)

Why Alfa Romeo failed in F1 again (50s & 80s, brand image and Ferrari)

How a Frenchman dominated Indycar & flopped at Red Bull F1's B team (Bourdais)

Why Silverstone, Monaco & Monza mean EVERYTHING to F1

He won Le Mans 6 times & Dakar, but never a F1 title (Jacky Ickx)

How sacking a Spanish backmarker helped Lewis Hamilton in F1 (de la Rosa)

How an American's tantrum led to Red Bull domination (Scott Speed)

How Jules Bianchi's death killed off the independent F1 teams forever

Why Lewis Hamilton DOMINATES F1 social media

How Max Verstappen became the antithesis to Lewis Hamilton in F1

How McLaren & Kimi Raikkonen nearly wrecked each other in F1

Why was Mika Hakkinen rated as Schumacher's greatest rival in F1?

How 2007 damaged Fernando Alonso's F1 career

Why did Mario Andretti's son fail in F1?

How Senna & Berger became the original F1 social media pals

How a lost diamond made Jaguar quit F1 (2004 Monaco)

How this Ferrari legend became a voice for disability (Clay Regazzoni)

The Damon Hill of WRC: the tragic tale of Richard Burns

[dan6085]

Top 20 F1 races that are widely considered as some of the greatest of all time, based on their historical significance, drama, and excitement:

1. 1979 French Grand Prix - this race is famous for a memorable battle between Gilles Villeneuve and René Arnoux, who exchanged positions multiple times in a thrilling duel.

2. 1984 Monaco Grand Prix - regarded as one of the greatest drives in F1 history, Ayrton Senna drove a masterful race in wet conditions to secure his first Monaco win.

3. 1985 European Grand Prix - a dramatic race that saw Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna and French driver Alain Prost battling for the championship. Senna emerged victorious after a controversial collision with Prost.

4. 1986 Mexican Grand Prix - a classic race that saw Nigel Mansell in the Williams-Honda chasing down Ayrton Senna's Lotus-Honda in the closing laps, with Mansell setting the fastest lap on the final lap of the race.

5. 1987 British Grand Prix - a thrilling race that saw Nigel Mansell win his home Grand Prix in front of an ecstatic crowd after a tense battle with his teammate, Nelson Piquet.

6. 1991 Australian Grand Prix - a dramatic race that saw Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell battle for the championship in a rain-soaked racethat was eventually red-flagged due to weather conditions. Senna was declared the winner, securing his third championship.

7. 1993 European Grand Prix - a race remembered for Ayrton Senna's stunning opening lap, where he went from fifth to first in just a few corners in the rain.

8. 1994 Australian Grand Prix - a race that marked the end of the tragic 1994 season, which saw the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger. Damon Hill won the race and the championship, becoming the first son of a world champion to win the title himself.

9. 1996 Monaco Grand Prix - a wet race that saw Olivier Panis score his first and only F1 victory after the leading cars of Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill, and Jean Alesi all retired.

10. 1998 Belgian Grand Prix - a chaotic race that saw a multi-car pile-up at the start and a dramatic last-lap collision between Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard, with Schumacher confronting Coulthard on the track after the incident.

11. 2000 Japanese Grand Prix - a title-deciding race that saw Michael Schumacher win his first championship with Ferrari after a tense battle with Mika Hakkinen.

12. 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix - a race that saw F1 legend Michael Schumacher and up-and-coming driver Kimi Raikkonen battle it out for the win ina thrilling race that went down to the wire.

13. 2005 Japanese Grand Prix - a race that saw Fernando Alonso secure his first championship in a dramatic race that saw multiple lead changes and a late-race charge from rival Kimi Raikkonen.

14. 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix - a race that marked the end of Michael Schumacher's career, with a tense battle between the German and Fernando Alonso for the championship. Alonso ultimately won the title, while Schumacher finished his F1 career with a podium finish.

15. 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix - a race that saw Lewis Hamilton secure his first championship in a dramatic final lap, passing Timo Glock in the closing stages to finish fifth and secure the title by a single point.

16. 2011 Canadian Grand Prix - a race that saw Jenson Button score a stunning victory after battling back from last place, with multiple safety car periods and a red flag adding to the drama.

17. 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix - a race that saw Sebastian Vettel secure his third championship in a tense battle with Fernando Alonso, with Vettel finishing sixth to secure the title by just three points.

18. 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix - a race that saw Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg battle it out for the win in a thrilling wheel-to-wheel battle that went down to the wire, with Hamilton ultimately emerging as the victor.

19. 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix - a wet race that saw MaxVerstappen and Lewis Hamilton battle it out for the win in a dramatic race that saw multiple lead changes and a red flag period. Verstappen ultimately emerged as the victor.

20. 2019 German Grand Prix - a race that saw Max Verstappen secure a stunning victory in wet and treacherous conditions, with multiple drivers crashing out and a dramatic fight for the podium positions.

These races are considered among the greatest of all time due to their historical significance, the drama and excitement they provided, and the memorable moments and battles they produced. Each of these races had a unique story and left a lasting impression on F1 fans and the sport as a whole.

[f1]

Hes a very strong team mate to learn from Piastri excited to work with Norris at McLaren

Oscar Piastri is confident that he will be able to forge a positive working relationship with Lando Norris, and drive McLaren up the Formula 1 grid, when the pair join forces for the 2023 season. Piastri, who boasts an impressive junior record including Formula Renault Eurocup, Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles, has taken the place of fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo at the Woking operation over the winter. READ MORE: ‘A pretty special one’ – Piastri hails ‘awesome’ first day with McLaren at Abu Dhabi test While the 21-year-old former Alpine protege will be making his F1 debut, Norris, 23, is preparing to enter his fifth season, having firmly established himself at McLaren and within the sport. Asked about the prospect of partnering Norris on Australian Grand Prix podcast In The Fast Lane, Piastri said: “I don’t know Lando that well. I’ve spoken to him a couple of times very briefly and we’ve got a few mutual friends in common. But yes, I’m looking forward to getting to know him, both personally and professionally. “I think our junior careers have been quite similar. He’s obviously proven as well in F1 that he’s a very capable driver and a strong driver as well. Piastri made his first public outing for McLaren at the 2022 post-season test in Abu Dhabi “I’m looking forward to being able to show what I have, but also there’s undoubtedly going to be things to learn along the way, and I think Lando’s a very strong team mate to be able to learn from. I think it’ll be a good working relationship. “We’re both quite similar in age, we’ve got a few friends in common, like I said, so I’m confident that we’ll be able to work well together and hopefully bring the whole team more towards the front of the grid – that’s the aim.” READ MORE: McLaren rookie Piastri explains why he chose #81 as his race number for 2023 Piastri is optimistic that, alongside Norris, he can push McLaren towards a more successful future, with the team last winning the constructors’ title back in 1998, and Lewis Hamilton remaining their last drivers’ champion from 2008. “A lot of McLaren’s history and quite a lot of their winning and championships was either when I was very young or wasn’t born at all, so of course that’s something I want to – hopefully with the rest of the team – try and get back to those ways, and get back further towards the front,” the Melbourne native commented. This feature is currently not available because you need to provide consent to functional cookies. Please update your cookie preferences Oscar Piastri's best moments so far “It’s something that I do have at the back of my mind, that I’m joining a very prestigious team, with a lot of success, and a great pedigree – that’s exciting. Ultimately, they offered me a fantastic opportunity to be on the F1 grid. “I think the team is very motivated to try and get back further towards the front, as am I. I don’t want to be in F1 to make up the numbers, I want to do as well as I can and hopefully win a few things along the way. READ MORE: ‘He’s a true professional’ – Piastri thanks Ricciardo for reaching out after McLaren driver market drama “I think, for me, that’s the biggest thing I’m looking forward to firstly... getting on the grid, but also trying to write a new chapter of success for myself and also for the team.” McLaren recently finished as high as third in the constructors’ standings, placing behind Mercedes and Red Bull in 2020, but the team slipped to fourth in 2021 and fifth in 2022, having been edged out by Piastri’s former outfit Alpine. via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

[race-week]

The History of the Mercedes F1 Team

I was inspired by the videos Sky showed during testing of the histories of Aston Martin and Alpine during testing so I thought I would do Mercedes, as this team has one of the weirder histories in F1, bear in mind I have just used the results from the train from Tyrell down to the present-day Mercedes team - so the two championships the original Mercedes team have aren’t included

Constructors Championships: 9 

(1971, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)

Drivers Championships: 11 

(1969, 1971, 1973, 2009,  2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) Jackie Stewart (3), Jenson Button (1), Lewis Hamilton (7), Nico Rosberg (1)

 Race victories: 148

Pole positions: 147

Fastest laps: 109

Tyrell Racing (1968 - 1998)

First entry: 1968 South African Grand Prix Races entered: 465 entries (463 starts) Constructors Championships: 1 (1971) Drivers Championships: 3 (1969, 1971, 1973) - Jackie Stewart Race victories: 33 Pole positions: 19 Fastest laps: 27 Final entry: 1998 Japanese Grand Prix

Eventually, in 1998 and in the face of dwindling form and ill health, Ken Tyrell sold his team to British American Tobacco, the team becoming British American Racing.

British American Racing and BAR Lucky Strike Honda (1999 - 2005)

First entry: 1999 Australian Grand Prix Races entered: 118 (117 starts) Engines: Supertec, Honda Constructors Championships: 0 (best finish; 2nd 2004) Drivers Championships: 0 Race victories: 0 Podiums:15 Points: 227 Pole positions: 2 Fastest laps: 0 Final entry: 2005 Chinese Grand Prix

At the end of 2005, Honda obtained 100% ownership of BAR from British American Tobacco, completing their ambition to become a full F1 manufacturer team. In addition, Jenson Button's Williams contract was bought out for US$30 million, and Button signed a multi-year contract with Honda.

Honda Racing F1 Team (2006 - 2008)

First entry: 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix Races entered: 43 Engines: Honda Constructors Championships: 0 Drivers Championships: 0 Race victories: 1 Podiums: 4 Points: 106 Pole positions: 1 Fastest laps: 0 Final entry: 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix

Honda suddenly exited the sport at the end of the 2008 season, unwilling to continue the Brackley-based team's $300 million budget and staff of 700 during the global economic crisis.

The team continued to work on the Honda RA109 for the 2009 season while Honda attempted to sell the racing team.

Ross Brawn bought the team for £1 in order to keep the team in the sport   

Brawn GP Formula One Team (2009)

First entry: 2009 Australian Grand Prix Races entered: 17 Engines: Mercedes Constructors Championships: 1 (2009) Drivers Championships: 1 (2009) - Jenson Button Race victories: 8 Podiums: 15 Points: 172 Pole positions: 5 Fastest laps: 4 Final entry: 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

On 16 November 2009 it was officially announced that Daimler AG in partnership with Aabar Investments had purchased a 75.1% stake in Brawn GP (Daimler AG: 45.1%; Aabar: 30%).

It was rumoured that the partnership paid £110m for the 75.1%. The team would be rebranded as Mercedes GP for 2010. The remaining 24.9% stake is Ross Brawn's in partnership with Nick Fry. The team used the Brawn GP base in Brackley for its operations and Brawn stayed on as team principal until the end of the 2013 season.

 Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team (2010 - Present)

First entry: 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix Last entry: 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Races entered: 227 Engines: Mercedes Constructors Championships: 7 (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) Drivers Championships: 7 (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) - Lewis Hamilton (6) Nico Rosberg (1) Race victories: 106 Podiums: 219 Points: 5685 Pole positions: 120 Fastest laps: 78

[herohimbowhore]

On This Day in F1: March 9th

Present: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

History: 2003 Australian Grand Prix

On March 9th, 2024, the second race of the season occurred. In its 4th running, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix had its first repeat winner with Max Verstappen taking the chequered flag first.

Notable moments of the race included:

Kevin Magnussen's 20 seconds of penalties and his defense that allowed teammate Nico Hulkenberg to pit for new tyres and remain in the points.

Daniel Ricciardo's very long pit stop

Ollie Bearman's great race where he scored points on debut and is currently P10 in the F1 standings while remaining dead last in F2.

On March 9th, 2003, Formula 1 was in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix.

Australia was the opening race of the 2003 season and the debut of new rules following Ferrari's dominant 2002 season.

Michael Schumacher put his Ferrari on pole position, but he did not go on to win the race or finish on the podium. Schumacher missed the podium by approximately 3 tenths.

Instead, the podium consisted of:

David Coulthard in P1, taking his 13th and final victory in Formula 1

Juan Pablo Montoya who finished P2 after starting in P3

Kimi Raikkonen took the final step of the podium after starting in the pit lane

Of the 20 entrants, only 11 finished the race with Jos Verstappen down 1 lap from the race leader.

Some important stats from this race include:

The first time that Michael Schumacher missed out on a podium since the 2001 Italian Grand Prix

The first time that neither Ferrari finished on the podium since the 1999 European Grand Prix

The end of Ferrari's streak 53 consecutive podium finishes

The podium domination by Michelin tyres (Coulthard and Raikkonen's McLarens used Michelin tyres, as did Montoya's Williams) for the first time since the 1984 Portuguese Grand Prix

The first time that no car using Bridgestone tyres finished on the podium since the 1998 Italian Grand Prix

_____

Previous: Mar. 8th - 1998 Australian Grand Prix

Next: Mar. 22 - Australia Day 1

On This Day in F1 Masterlist

[formula-one-thoughts]

2020 Belgian Grand-Prix

Well I think we can safely say that 2020 was not a vintage year for the Belgian Grand Prix. One of the world’s greatest racetracks just didn’t deliver this time round (though I’m certainly not complaining – any racing is good racing in the time of Corona!). Not only were we looking forward to the track itself, but the promise of rain had given extra cause for excitement. Now, I’ve learnt not to be too optimistic when the possibility of a wet weather race is mentioned, and to secretly and silently wish for a downpour rather than voicing my hopes out loud for fear of jinxing it. But with the forecast stating a 100% CHANCE OF RAIN for Sunday, I foolishly allowed myself to believe that we may have a classic race akin to 1998, or at least a mix of tyre strategies necessitated by changing conditions across the track. Alas, it was not to be (though it did of course rain after the race!)

It’s not often that a team finishing 13th and 14th on pace is the major talking point following a grand prix. But when that team is the (once) mighty Ferrari, things are slightly different. How on earth did they go from easily the most dominant car around the circuit last year to one of the slowest? How were they the only car to be slower (1.317 secs to be precise) in FP2 this year than last year? Hmm, well it’s looking more and more like it might have something to do with the 2019 Scuderia engine not being 100% legal. The other Ferrari powered cars suffered too last weekend, yet Raikkonen managed to finish ahead of both of the works team cars, an achievement he was characteristically nonplussed about. But to fall so monumentally from grace to behind the Alfa suggests other issues also – their chassis is far from perfect and the fraught internal politics of the team at the moment can hardly be helping them out. Add to that a team of strategists seemingly incapable of making strategy calls and you have the perfect storm.

A team who have made considerable gains since last year are Renault. It seems like since they gave up protesting the pink Mercedes and started to focus on their own car they have really found their form! Ricciardo though has attributed their good fortunes to a set-up improvement; shall we just call it a combo of the two? In all seriousness though, it seems the team are experiencing the breakthrough they needed, not only with Danny Ric showing the skill and talent we all know he possesses, but also through Esteban Ocon really starting to show up at the last few races. Though we would have all loved to see a Max vs Daniel battle, and admittedly we did for about 15 seconds, Cyril Abiteboul will be very happy with the Australian’s second consecutive 4th place finish and extra point for fastest lap. With their haul of 23 points being the team’s greatest ever at a grand prix weekend, they will surely be feeling positive about their chances in the extremely tight midfield battle, where only 9 points separate McLaren in 3rd and Renault in 6th.

Whilst Ricciardo was a strong contender for driver of the day, that honour went deservedly to Pierre Gasly, whose performance so far this year has been consistently impressive, reminding everyone why he was promoted to Red Bull in the first place. Taking the risk to start the race from 12th on the hard tyres, he stormed through the field, passing cars left, right and centre who were on the speedier soft compound. A highlight of his charge, and a highlight of the race itself, was his sensational pass on Perez through Eau Rouge. Having been mightily squeezed by the Mexican he stuck to his guns and pulled off the overtake of the race. His strategy was sadly hampered by the safety car coming out on lap 11, but he still managed to fight his way through the pack after a late pit stop to finish a very respectable p8. It must have been an unbearably difficult weekend for Gasly at times, with the memory of the tragic accident that took the life of Anthoine Hubert, one of his best friends, still fresh. The Frenchman was honoured respectfully and with heart across the F2 and F1 paddocks, and it brought more than a few tears to my eyes to see Juan Manuel Correa return to Spa to remember his fellow racer. Gasly was driving with his dear friend in mind, putting on a performance that Anthoine would have loved and that was a wonderful tribute to an amazing talent and human being gone far too soon.

Come the chequered flag, the top three positions were occupied by… you guessed it! Hamilton, Bottas and Verstappen, the 1st and 3rd place drivers bemoaning the lack of excitement the race provided, both for themselves and the fans. This is shaping up to be Max’s best season yet. With a top three result in every race he’s finished this season he has hardly put a foot wrong, and though the gap between him and Valterri in the drivers championship is only 3 points (the Dutchman in 2nd, the Finn in 3rd), it’s increasingly looking like he’s the only driver Hamilton has cause to worry about. Elsewhere in the race, a heart stopping crash involving Giovinazzi and Russell fortunately resulted in no injuries. Russell was a sitting duck and there was nothing he could have done to avoid colliding with the wall as he swerved out of the way of Giovinazzi’s wheel. What could have been a very nasty incident indeed was yet another example of how impressive the sport’s safety measures have become (though we have seen a few too many wheels detaching from cars this season). Finally, I strongly recommend you check out the Racing Point social media channels. Whilst they might not have been as strong as they hoped on track in Belgium, they are killing it online, an absolute highlight being the adorable cartoon posters they have created for each race so far. The details on the Spa one were too good, ranging from Roscoe Hamilton at the wheel of his dad’s car, the bright yellow overalls of the two Jordan drivers standing out on the podium, and Sebastian and Daniel enjoying a game of ping-pong! 10/10.

What did you think of the 2020 Belgian Gran Prix? Who impressed you and who disappointed? And what are your predictions for this weekend’s first of three visits to Italy? Let me know!

[kevrocksicehouse]

Peter Weir helped spearhead a New Wave of Australian cinema. A few films that have come from down under since then.

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith. D: Fred Schepisi (1978). This story of an aborigine who tries and fails to “assimilate” with the white Australians who raise him but then exploit his half-caste status and goes on a violent crime spree. It’s like “Invisible Man” turning into “Native Son.”  A great film from a director who never made a bad one.

High Tide. D: Gillian Armstrong (1988). Judy Davis is a backup singer for a third-rate Elvis Impersonator who finds herself stranded in a shabby beach town where years before she abandoned her now teenage daughter. Within this soapy premise Davis and Armstrong fashion an affecting story of a woman emerging from years of self-hatred and self-abuse. And the scene of her drunk on a bathroom floor singing “Dark Eyes” is one of my favorite Dylan covers.

Strictly Ballroom. D: Baz Luhrmann (1992). A rebellious hoofer wants to bring Ballroom Dancing into the modern age and defies his legendary dancer parents and the all-powerful Australian Federation to try to win the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix Dancing Championship (which sounds really funny when said in an Australian accent). He also finds love. Can a film be called a parody when its director loves the clichés he’s sending up this much? Luhrmann spent his career trying to answer this question.

Babe. D: Chris Noonan (1995).  A young pig purchased partly for Christmas dinner is adopted by their dog who trains him to herd sheep. This great children’s story that is surprisingly unsentimental about the food chain was nominated for several Oscars and won for its ingenious talking animal special effects. A charmer.

Dark City. D: Alex Proyas (1998). A man wakes up with amnesia, framed for a murder. This noir premise becomes Kafkaesque as it slowly turns to pure science fiction, incorporating ideas that would later show up in a purer action movie, The Matrix. This is better though. Moodier. Scarier.

[coimbrabertone]

Champ Car: the World Series that Actually Was.

There's the old joke that Europeans always throw around, that we Americans invent our own sports that only we play, and then we call it the World Series. Now, nevermind that the baseball World Series features playing talent from all across the world - Shohei Ohtani, the top player right now, is Japanese, for instance - because there was an American sport that truly was a world series.

Champ Car.

The Champ Car story begins in 1978, when, following a plane crash that led to the deaths of eight top USAC - United States Auto Club - officials, Dan Gurney wrote the White Paper, calling for massive reforms. Dan Gurney was not only a team owner in CART, but his All-American Racers - under the guise of Anglo-American Racers - bad previously competed in Formula One.

In the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix, Dan Gurney won in his own car, the Eagle Mark 1, also known as the T1G. This beauty of a car, with its Weslake V12 engine, marked the only time that an American car with an American driver won a Formula One race.

When that guy says that your series is fucked, it's fucked.

So, Dan's White Paper led to the creation of CART - Championship Auto Racing Teams - which marked the team owners taking control of the series and organizing it on their principles. For more detail on this era of CART, I recommend Elizabeth Blackstock's Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys podcast, which recently did an episode on this.

For our purposes, the important thing to note is that, by the late 80s, CART was doing business as the "CART PPG Indy Car World Series" and began putting on events inside the US, but also outside of it. Toronto came first in 1986, there was a failed attempt to race in Fuji in 1989, a successful race in Surfers Paradise, Australia, from 1991, and a race in Vancouver from 1990.

There was a problem, however.

The reason that the Fuji race in 1989 failed was because the FIA intervened against CART racing outside of North America. CART's attention soon shifted to Surfers Paradise, where the FIA put pressure on the Confederation of Australian Motorsports to prevent Surfers Paradise from going ahead. Nevertheless, by 1991, CART was able to put on the Gold Coast IndyCar Grand Prix, which would soon become a mainstay on the CART calendar.

Shortly afterwards, CART and the FIA would reach a settlement: Surfers Paradise would be grandfathered in, CART had freedom to race anywhere they wanted in North America, but everywhere else in the world, CART would be restricted to ovals.

The first of these international ovals came at the 1.9-mile trapezoid known as "Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway" at Jacarepaguá, the former Formula One track in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This came in 1996, as CART was experiencing the split, where the Indy Racing League broke away and took the Indy 500 with them.

In 1998, backed by Honda, Indycar would see another international oval in the form of Twin Ring Motegi, finally giving the series its race in Japan.

The loss of the Indy 500 seemed to mark CART doubling down on the international expansion, because in 2001, two additional international ovals followed: Lausitzring in Germany and Rockingham Motor Speedway (no relation to Rockingham Speedway, formerly known as North Carolina Motor Speedway) in the UK. Additionally, the 2001 season opener was on the Fundidora Park street circuit in Monterrey, Mexico.

Between Monterrey, Motegi, Toronto, Vancouver, Germany, Rockingham, and Surfers Paradise, seven of the series' twenty events were held outside of the US. It was supposed to be eight of twenty-one, however, the Rio 200 was cancelled in 2001 and the event never returned.

2001 was generally a season of disasters for CART, as its showpiece European doubleheader of Germany and Rockingham was overshadowed first by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and then by Alex Zanardi's paralyzing crash at the Lausitzring.

2001, between various disasters, teams defecting to the IRL to get into the Indianapolis 500, and the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement placing stricter limitations on tobacco advertising, marked the beginning of the end for CART.

However, two things happened.

First, the European Commission's Competition Directorate began a probe into the FIA in 1999, accusing them as acting as a monopoly on motorsports. They believed that the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone were using Formula One and their other series to block competitors, prevent rival series, and prevent contracted circuits from hosting competing events. By 2001, the FIA and EC would settle, and the FIA would no longer have a monopoly on motorsports.

In the short term, this allowed CART to replace the struggling Rockingham event with a "Champ Car London Trophy" at Brands Hatch for 2003, in the long term...well, I'll get to that in a moment.

Second, after the 2003 CART season, the series went bankrupt and it was eventually bought out by a trio of team owners, Gerry Forsythe (Team Player's), Kevin Kalkhoven (PK Raving), and Paul Gentilozzi (Rocketsports) who rescued the series. Buying a supply of Ford's Cosworth engines, they put together the Champ Car World Series as a successor to CART.

The 2004 CCWS season consisted of fourteen races, of which, Monterrey, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and Surfers Paradise, were outside of the United States.

In 2005, Vancouver was replaced by Edmonton.

In 2007, Montreal would be replaced by Mont Tremblant, additionally, a Belgian race at Zolder and a Dutch race at Assen were added. Monterrey was lost, but it was not seven events in the US, seven outside.

The 2008 Champ Car World Series that never was, was due to add Jerez to the calendar, making for six US races to eight outside of the United States.

Instead, however, Champ Car merged with the IRL to create the modern Indycar series.

In 2008, Edmonton was retained, Surfers Paradise was a non-championship finale, and there was also the race at Motegi, which had joined Honda in defecting from CART to the IRL in 2003.

In 2009, Surfers Paradise would go away, but Toronto would return.

Motegi would persist until 2010, but the oval would be damaged in the 2011 Japanese earthquake and the resulting tsunami. A final race in 2011 - appropriately called "Indy Japan: the Final" - would instead be held on the Motegi road course, as seen in MotoGP.

Edmonton would last until 2012.

From 2010-2013, Indycar put together its own overseas race, the Sao Paulo Indy 300 on a street circuit in Anhembi Parque. Thus 2014 was the first time since 1990 that there was not an Indycar race of some form outside of North America.

To make up for this, 2014 had three doubleheader races, at Belle Isle, Houston, and in Toronto.

Since then, there was an attempt to return to Brazil in 2015 at the other Autodromo Internacional Nelson Piquet, this one in Brasilia, but that one failed to materialize.

Likewise, there was supposed to be an Indycar exhibition race at Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina in either 2024 or 2025, however, the controversial President Javier Milei slashed government spending, which ultimately killed not only the Indycar Argentina event, but also the long running Argentinian Motorcycle Grand Prix in MotoGP.

Champ Car was a flawed series. It was the spectre of CART dragging out the American open wheel racing split for another four years. In those four years, Sebastien Bourdais won the championship each time, him and his Newman/Haas Racing team often seeming like the only competent team in a sea of Brazilian paydrivers and Formula One rejects.

That being said, it marked the high point of Indycar racing overseas and, despite only existing for four years, managed to build a completely new car - the Panoz DP01 - to replace its aging Lola B02/00 chassis.

There is a lot that modern Indycar is doing right - the return of ovals with doubleheaders at Iowa and Milwaukee in addition to the Gateway race, and now the season finale at 1.3-mile Nashville Superspeedway is great - however, one area where it is supremely lacking is international events.

The 2024 NTT Indycar Series has drivers from all over the world - my last blogpost was about a Kiwi doing 234.2 miles per hour around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - but it does not have the schedule to back it up. The fact that one of the most popular stars in the series in Pato O'Ward is literally from Monterrey, Mexico and the series hasn't even seriously considered going back there is downright foolish.

NASCAR is making moves to potentially go to Montreal, Canada and Mexico City, Mexico as early as 2025. If NASCAR, with exactly two foreign drivers - Daniel Suarez and Shane Van Gisbergen - beats Indycar to international expansion, then the Penske Entertainment regime will have truly failed.

And that makes me sad, because like I made clear in the last blogpost, Team Penske is an amazing team with so much history and so many successes.

I just wish their series ownership was as successful as their race teams.

[crystalracing]

New light has been shed on one of the greatest controversies in Formula One history – whether or not Michael Schumacher cheated his way to his first world championship in 1994.

Ayrton Senna famously went to his grave believing Schumacher’s Benetton team was using traction control to minimise wheel-spin under hard acceleration, which had been outlawed from the start of the 1994 season.

Senna was killed after crashing during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, with some believing he pushed his Williams beyond the limit in a desperate attempt to stay ahead of the illegal car of Schumacher.

Senna had retired on the opening lap of the previous race in Japan, and before returning to the pits, stood trackside to observe his rivals, becoming suspicious about the legality of his main rival’s car after hearing the engine note under braking.

“Senna himself was convinced that there was something different about Schumacher’s car,” former Williams team manager Ian Harrison told Autosport in 2014.

“Whether there was or not I don’t know, but Senna was utterly sure there was.���

The suspicions gained further credibility in 2011, when Schumacher’s teammate from 1994, Jos Verstappen, claimed the German was using banned electronic driving aids.

Now a new theory has emerged, which some former F1 figures believe puts Schumacher in the clear.

A just-published book – 1994: The Untold Story of a Tragic and Controversial Season, floats the idea that Schumacher’s technique of braking with his left foot could have fooled Senna into thinking the Benetton was illegal.

Left-foot braking was new to Formula One in 1994, but Schumacher was quick to adapt and telemetry traces from later in his career showed how he used his right foot to maintain 10-15 per cent throttle even while braking with his left foot. This method kept the car stable and allowed the aerodynamics to work more efficiently.

Willem Toet, the Australian-raised Head of Aerodynamics for Benetton in 1994, believes it was Schumacher’s technique that Senna mistook for illegal traction control.

“I think it was the use of left-foot braking combined with the throttle which would have made the strange noise,” he said.

“It would have been strange to hear the engine working in those places on the track.

“That’s what I believe is the most likely scenario.”

Mark Blundell drove for Tyrrell in 1994, and agrees that left-foot braking “became a trend at that stage,” and “it would have made a different sound.”

Suspicions that the Benetton was illegal reached fever-pitch midway through the 1994 season, after the sport’s governing body, the FIA, seized the black box that contained the engine management software.

An independent analysis of the source code revealed Benetton had software “capable of breaching the regulations,” and although the team admitted the existence of the code, it claimed it was redundant and could not be activated by Schumacher.

The rules at the time only prevented the use of traction control, not the existence of software that might be used to implement it. As the FIA had no proof it was being used, no action was taken.

A mechanic for Senna’s teammate Damon Hill also revealed that engine supplier Renault were convinced Benetton were using traction control based on analysis of audio recordings. Team owner Frank Williams has since confirmed that Senna wanted to lodge an official protest, but Williams chose not to.

In a season full of controversy, the championship went down to the final race in Adelaide. With Schumacher just a single point in front of Hill, the pair were battling for the lead of the Grand Prix when they collided as Schumacher returned to the track after briefly losing control, putting both drivers out and handing the German the title.

Although many felt Schumacher had deliberately caused the collision knowing his damaged car wouldn’t have been able to finish the race, Hill’s team declined to protest.

“We at Williams were already 100 per cent certain that Michael was guilty of foul play,” said technical director Patrick Head.

“We seriously considered lodging a formal protest there and then, on the grounds that it had been so blatant.

“Because 1994 was the terrible year it was – in other words, because Ayrton Senna had been killed in one of our cars – we didn’t really think it would have been right for Damon to win the world championship that year, especially if he’d done so in court, so we didn’t protest.”

Although stewards investigated the crash and took no action, FIA boss Max Mosely later revealed in his autobiography that he felt otherwise.

“My private view was that Michael was very lucky not to be penalised and thus lose his world championship.”

It brought an end to a season of acrimony, although accusations he cheated his way to the 1994 title would dog Schumacher for the rest of his career.

“I would never use an illegal system,” Schumacher said in 1998.

“I know in 1994 that we didn’t have anything illegal, but there was so much talk it became like the truth.”

And as the 25th anniversary of that terrible season approaches, perhaps this new book brings us one step closer to uncovering what really happened.

[f1]

RISE OF THE ROOKIE: Mark Webbers journey from dirt bike rider to F1 championship contender

Upon entering the sport in 2002, Mark Webber became the 16th Formula 1 driver from Australia, before becoming a nine-time race winner and a championship contender during his years with Red Bull. Webber started out riding motorcycles as a child before making the switch to karting as a teenager. And after taking part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1998, Webber made his first F1 test for Arrows in 1999 at the Circuit de Catalunya. After two years as a reserve driver for Benetton, the Australian was given the Minardi seat in 2002, before making the switch to Jaguar for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Following two years driving for Williams, Webber made his way to the up-and-coming Red Bull Racing team and won his first race in Formula 1 at the 2009 German Grand Prix. READ MORE: Which driver has racked up over €35,000 in fines so far in 2022 – and who’s been reprimanded the most? Webber could never quite win that elusive Formula 1 World Championship, but did get close in 2010, as the title battle came down to the final race in Abu Dhabi, although it was his team mate Sebastian Vettel – with whom he shared a sometimes turbulent rivalry – who came out on top. Take a look back at Webber’s journey with Aramco Presents: Rise of the Rookie in the video player above. via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com