Why can’t we just have paint?
Seriously. This has gotten ridiculous. I get it, it’s all in the name of “saving weight” to get down to the minimum of 798kg, but it’s quite interesting to think that these teams are so close to the limit, that a few grams of vinyl wrap to ensure that more than 80% of the car is covered is too much. Meanwhile, we see the top teams have no issues with ensuring that their car doesn’t remain bare carbon. Research and optimization costs huge money, and so does time. The average weight of 3m 1080 Vinyl, which is one of the most popular automotive wrap products on the market is 150g/sqm. On average, a normal hamster weighs about 200g. Looking at all of the released images for the 2024 liveries to date, it’s very apparent that many teams are very, very heavy cars if they have to shave off that much weight to only carry naked carbon.
There are a few things that I think F1 needs to do going forward. Primarily, the cars have to have more than 80% coverage for the livery. Exposed carbon can be done well, the SF-23 is an example of how to use it. On the other hand, we have Sauber, who’s gone with one of the worst liveries in more than a decade. Secondly, the minimum weights need to come up an additional 2-3kg. Formula 1 has put such severe weight limitations into the regulations while expecting significant reliability of parts, it’s caused this as a knock-on effect. I’d much rather have slightly heavier cars that look good for the TV product and in-person than continue to devolve into this atrocious fad. Unfortunately, we are stuck with this until the next set of regulations.
Everyone should be happy that Ferrari, Mercedes, Aston Martin, Red Bull, and their junior team have all chosen to have a proper livery and not some chopped-up, forgettable design.
I’m speaking about you, McLaren, and Sauber. It’s just awful.
The flip side to this is seeing what has happened within the WEC. Alpine and Ferrari specifically have crafted beautiful liveries, including a very yellow Ferrari for Robert Kubica and his co-drivers. And despite all of my whining about the naked carbon .. Ferrari has still found a way to use it to enhance the appearance of the car. We know that it’s not done for performance purposes here though, it’s all being done in terms of design. Having a balance of performance formula has allowed for this and despite its hate by some, it’s allowed us to have gorgeous cars and phenomenal racing without having to worry about every single gram.
Christian Horner
This could not be a bigger mess.
I mean, no one knows what has happened or what is happening other than an ongoing investigation. Numerous allegations have been thrown around about an abusive workplace, others have said that it may have been non-consensual inappropriate imagery that was sent to office staff. What we do know is that this is a very poor look for the brand of Red Bull as a whole and I cannot see how they can work through this other than a likely slog through the UK court systems and a quiet settlement.
What seems to be interesting is that there is a fairly consistent rumor about Horner leaving Red Bull, but it’s only coming from a handful of outlets that have widely been dismissed as tabloids.
De Telegraaf, a Dutch publication, is the original reporter on this investigation about Horner’s management style being “aggressive”. Subsequently, they’ve since reported that Horner is accused of sexual misconduct. They are seemingly the only ones to be reporting this though, and I think it’s very reasonable to wait this out.
Despite rumors, Horner seems to have no intention of stepping down and is continuing business as normal. He’s been present to lead the team through the initial testing sessions in Bahrain, and they’ve picked up right where they left off at the close of 2023.
I have no idea what to make of this. Red Bull is known to be a tough place to work and compete, they have incredibly high standards and with that comes very high expectations at every single level. But there are fine lines between high standards and abusive work practices. There are limits to how far you can push staff. I have confidence that working at Red Bull is likely to be a very, very stressful environment. And when you have these expectations, and you demand perfection at every step, it’s easy to see how things can devolve from highly cohesive teams into singling out people who may not be at the same level.
The tradeoff though, is that you can be part of a franchise that wins a ton. And that feels great, but it may not be worth it long term, and it’s entirely plausible that Horner has just pushed too hard.
As for the sexual misconduct allegations, who knows? If he did it, throw him out, charge him with crimes if necessary, and do the right thing. He should get no protection because of who he is.
As F1 Fans and for the sport itself, we should expect a rapid resolution on this, we should demand it. Flavio Briatore was nearly banned for life for his role in the “Crashgate” scandal. This was later appealed and won, lifting the ban in 2013.
I don’t think it’s a stretch to do the same to Horner should he be found guilty of these accusations.
Red Bull has built a rocket.
Have they successfully sorted out the “Zero Pod”? Adrian Newey is a genius when it comes to aerodynamics, nobody is questioning that. But how is it possible for him to have made this work when Mercedes tried for two seasons placing the entire weight behind it as a team and it failed?
Early season testing has found them more than a second clear of their closest rival in McLaren while turning nearly double the laps. Max put in an impressive 142 circuits in Wednesday’s testing session, and McLaren with Lando Norris managed to complete just 72.
Comparatively, the 2023 preseason test never saw the RB19 with such a performance gap.
Yes, it’s testing. And yes, the gap will probably be closed as the sessions wear on and the season kicks off, but I have no question that Red Bull will likely jump out to a very early, dominant lead in the Drivers and Constructors Championships.