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It's conscionable nether 2 weeks earlier the United States Grand Prix from 18-20 October - the archetypal of six races to determine the destiny of the drivers' and constructors' championships.
BBC F1 analogous Andrew Benson answers your questions astir the cardinal topics successful the sport.
We saw Max Verstappen instrumentality a grid punishment successful Spa for changing his engine. Will Lando Norris (or Max) person to bash the aforesaid successful the remaining races? - William
There is nary confirmation connected either broadside yet - teams support these sorts of things to themselves until the past imaginable moment.
There is said to beryllium a anticipation Verstappen volition person instrumentality different motor earlier the extremity of the play - and truthful get a five-place grid penalty. But that is not confirmed.
With Norris determination has been nary proposition of it. He has not had a punishment yet. He has utilized each his permitted 4 engines already - but the aforesaid is existent of each driver.
RB helped Red Bull successful Singapore. Could the different Mercedes-powered teams bash the aforesaid for Lando Norris? Do Mercedes adjacent attraction if a lawsuit squad wins? – John
However, RB person not admitted that was the crushed for Ricciardo going for it - they said they wanted him to spell retired connected a precocious if it was to crook retired to beryllium his past race, which it did.
Obviously, determination was a grade of cynicism astir that explanation, and this was raised arsenic a constituent of interest by McLaren astatine past week’s gathering of the F1 Commission.
The cardinal constituent present is that the narration betwixt Red Bull and RB is precise antithetic from that betwixt Mercedes and McLaren.
Red Bull and RB are owned by the aforesaid company, portion McLaren are simply a lawsuit of Mercedes’ motor arm. Other than that, McLaren and Mercedes are competitors, and they dainty each different arsenic specified connected track, which is not the lawsuit with Red Bull and RB.
Mercedes accidental it is “a large constituent of pride” for the squad astatine their F1 motor basal - known arsenic HPP - that they are successful contention for a title win, and constituent retired that they are “the lone power-unit shaper for whom customers person won titles successful caller history”. This is simply a notation to Brawn successful 2009.
They add: “But the precedence is the works squad and that’s the task we are each moving to marque arsenic palmy arsenic it tin be."
Isn't the thought of a Renault Mercedes an implicit farce and indicative of a implicit and embarrassing nonaccomplishment astatine Renault HQ? – Jonathan
This is simply a question astir the Renault Group's determination to wantonness its F1 motor programme adjacent twelvemonth and marque its squad - known since 2021 arsenic Alpine - usage lawsuit engines from 2026.
On the look of it, the determination does look to defy accepted F1 logic and reasoning.
Most successful F1 would admit that being a shaper of some chassis and engines gives a squad a theoretical competitory advantage, due to the fact that the 2 designs tin beryllium integrated astatine source.
Being a customer, by contrast, forces a squad to instrumentality immoderate motor layout its spouse comes up with. Which mightiness not acceptable successful with what that squad ideally wants from its car layout.
The astir palmy teams successful F1 past - Mercedes betwixt 2014-21 and Ferrari from 2000-04 - decidedly benefited from this arrangement.
The adjacent champion accepted concern is for a squad to person a mill motor deal, wherever the squad and shaper enactment successful harmony successful the aforesaid mode but are abstracted entities - specified arsenic Red Bull with Renault from 2010-13 and with Honda since 2019.
The past clip a squad won a title without 1 of these 2 arrangements was Brawn successful 2009, and earlier that you person to spell backmost to the Cosworth epoch and Keke Rosberg’s drivers’ rubric for Williams successful 1982.
By abandoning its motor programme, Renault is giving up this theoretical advantage.
But determination is different broadside to the argument, and that revolves astir some the absorption F1 rules person taken successful caller years and Renault’s existent situation.
Certain requirements person made it easier for customers to acceptable engines into their cars without excessively overmuch compromise - specified arsenic defined mounting points.
And the chassis regulations person been made much restrictive, truthful it’s harder for teams to find an advantage.
And look astatine what’s happening this twelvemonth - McLaren, a lawsuit of Mercedes, are starring the constructors’ title with six races to spell and favourite to triumph it against Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes, who each acceptable 1 of the supra models.
And past determination is Renault’s ain conundrum, wherein their motor section has been down passim the epoch of turbo hybrid engines since 2014 and shown nary signs of becoming afloat competitive.
In that situation, Renault absorption person concluded that buying Mercedes engines - a woody that has not yet been confirmed but is expected to hap - is not lone a batch cheaper but besides apt to marque the squad much competitive.
Renault main enforcement Luca de Meo says the squad person go "invisible", external arsenic a effect of their diminution successful competitiveness and that Renault were down successful technology.
But the determination besides throws distant astir 50 years of past and expertise, careless of Renault’s committedness to acceptable up an “F1 monitoring unit” which “aims to support employees' cognition and skills successful this athletics and stay astatine the forefront of innovation”.
Many successful F1 judge that it looks similar the Renault squad is being streamlined to marque it easier to sell, though De Meo denies this. Renault F1 enforcement advisor Flavio Briatore also says they don’t privation to chopped jobs astatine the UK F1 base astatine Enstone.
Following the swearing debate, bash teams person to talk English connected the radio? Wouldn’t it marque much consciousness for the Alpine guys to talk French? – Will
To premix languages, English is the lingua franca of F1. Everyone uses it arsenic the default, adjacent teams from countries wherever the autochthonal connection is antithetic and successful which the 2 drivers talk that language.
This is due to the fact that the athletics has a British halfway - astir teams are British; it was tally for a agelong clip by a Briton (Bernie Ecclestone), and present by an American company. The information that the governing assemblage is based successful France and Switzerland has nary effect connected this.
It is simply a precise planetary athletics - teams employment drivers and unit from each implicit the world. And English is simply a benignant of default 2nd connection everyplace for each the reasons we each cognize about, to bash with past and the power of the US now.
The default connection utilized for quality conferences and truthful connected is besides English, adjacent if, for example, a French writer is asking a French operator a question. Although abstracted quality conferences are often organised by teams for drivers and journalists from the aforesaid state truthful they tin talk their ain connection together.
So, astatine Ferrari, for example, each engineering meetings are conducted successful English, adjacent though the squad is Italian and some Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz talk Italian. Team main Frederic Vasseur does not, incidentally.
Alpine is simply a somewhat antithetic concern due to the fact that the squad is fundamentally British - it is based successful Enstone successful Oxfordshire - adjacent if it has a French proprietor and 2 French drivers (for now).
So, no, it would not marque much consciousness for the Alpine drivers to talk French implicit the radio, for example.
Not lone that, but determination are plentifulness of radical successful F1 who talk much than 1 language, truthful galore radical would beryllium capable to recognize anyway, truthful it’s not similar what they were saying would beryllium a secret. And of people you tin curse successful immoderate language, and it would inactive beryllium violative to some.
What’s the likelihood of Lewis Hamilton being capable to bash post-season investigating for Ferrari successful Abu Dhabi? - Laura
Zero. Hamilton is nether declaration to Mercedes until the extremity of the year, and they accidental helium cannot trial for Ferrari astatine the extremity of the season, arsenic they person a batch of promotional and farewell enactment to bash aft 12 years unneurotic - and 18 with Mercedes engines.
With F1 broadly arranging races by geography, wherefore is Canada successful the mediate of the European season? Is that apt to change? – JJ
F1 has for immoderate clip wanted to determination the Canadian Grand Prix to May truthful it coincides with the Miami race, to debar this other travel crossed the Atlantic successful the mediate of the ‘European season’. This is for sustainability and logistical reasons, and due to the fact that it is elemental communal sense.
Commercial rights holders Liberty Media/F1 person been pushing the Canadian organisers connected this for immoderate years, and proceed to bash so. But truthful acold Montreal has refused to determination its date.
The Canadians reason that the risks with the upwind are greater successful Montreal successful May, that they request clip to physique the way successful the parkland connected the Ile Notre Dame aft the extremity of the agelong Quebec winter, and that the aboriginal June day works for the metropolis successful presumption of the remainder of its societal calendar.
F1 continues to propulsion connected this, with peculiar accent connected the information that having Miami and Canada 5 oregon six weeks isolated successful the mode they are, with European races successful between, does not truly enactment successful a athletics that is trying to spell net-zero c by 2030. But truthful acold determination is an impasse.
This taxable is mixed successful with different issues with the Canadian Grand Prix. In caller years, determination person been expanding complaints astir galore aspects of the organisation successful Montreal - postulation management, parking, and different logistics issues.
After this year’s race, F1 made it wide to Montreal that this was nary longer acceptable, and organisers were asked to travel up with a program to amended things for adjacent twelvemonth and beyond.
That concern remains ongoing, but it’s not hard to spot however F1 mightiness determine astatine immoderate constituent to usage the contented of the day of the contention arsenic leverage connected this topic.
English (US)