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☆ Formula One under scrutiny over balance between safety and entertainment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Ian Ransom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Stewards had hoped racing would decide the winner but the carnage only served to trigger a third red flag and a processional win behind a safety car for Red Bull's Max Verstappen. DAMAGE BILLSStriking the right balance between safety and sport has long challenged Formula One, which moved to tighten its safety car rules after controversy hit the title-deciding 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Officials no longer have such discretion but the application of safety car rules continues to flummox drivers and team bosses alike. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said he was not sure when to expect a standard safety car versus a virtual one or a red flag after incidents. "Standing starts are the most vulnerable part of any grand prix and we did three of them," said Red Bull boss Christian Horner.

☆ Long April break gives F1 time to take stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Alan Baldwin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) - Formula One teams will welcome more than their drivers the breathing space provided by a long April break in a record 23-race season. "I don't want to have that break, because you know which race was missing from that break," said Alfa Romeo's Guanyu Zhou, the sport's only Chinese driver. "You will use it (the break) just to prepare for the next race in a better way and review the first three races. "For the race team, there's an opportunity to have a little bit of rest because the rest of the season will be tough." The break provides more time also for teams to work on upgrades and add spares after a bruising weekend for some in Australia.

MELBOURNE, April 2 (Reuters) - World champion Max Verstappen and team mate Sergio Perez were among drivers to criticise the officiating at a chaotic Formula One Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, which finished under a safety car after the race was restarted three times. Red Bull's Verstappen told reporters the decision to restart the race from the grid a second time, for what should have been a two-lap sprint to the finish, led to multiple collisions that took four cars out of the race. "They (race officials) created the problems themselves at the end of the day." F1 has boomed in popularity after a thrilling 2021 season was decided by a controversial officiating decision on the final lap of the last race. "The whole point of red flagging, it feels like it was just to put on a show," McLaren's Lando Norris, who finished sixth, told reporters.

☆ Team by team analysis of the Australian Grand Prix
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

ASTON MARTIN (Fernando Alonso 3, Lance Stroll 4)Alonso's third third-place finish in three races for the team he joined this season from Renault-owned Alpine. The Spaniard started fourth, dropped to fifth but was third by the second red flag. Russell pulled up with his car flaming at the rear on lap 18, triggering a virtual safety car. He had fought back from 11th after pitting during the second safety car period, just before the first red flag. The German was fourth at the final red flag but the positions were reset to the previous grid because no sector had been completed.

☆ Verstappen wins Australian Grand Prix after red flag chaos
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Ian Ransom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Verstappen wins his second race of the seasonHamilton finishes runner-up ahead of AlonsoRace interrupted by red flags, crashesMELBOURNE, April 2 (Reuters) - Max Verstappen was crowned Australian Grand Prix winner on Sunday after two late red flags and a slew of crashes threw the race into chaos before the Red Bull driver was allowed a processional victory lap around Albert Park. That allowed Verstappen to claim his second win of the season ahead of Hamilton with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso third. Red Bull have now claimed all three grand prix wins in the new season, a record for the team, resuming their dominance after their runaway success in 2022. The Dutchman now has 69 points in the championship race, 15 ahead of team mate Sergio Perez. Verstappen opened up a big gap before the late red flags saw the race turn from procession to drama and back again.

☆ Piastri blames inexperience for qualifying setback
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MELBOURNE, April 1 (Reuters) - McLaren's Formula One rookie Oscar Piastri blamed inexperience for a disappointing qualifying on Saturday ahead of his home Australian Grand Prix debut. The 21-year-old Melbourne-born driver will start 16th in Sunday's race, with British team mate Lando Norris set to line up 13th. Piastri had already been reprimanded, his first in Formula One, after final practice for a breach of the practice start procedures. "After he slowed down considerably, the team warned him to complete the lap before attempting a practice start and therefore he did not go through the full practice start procedure. "The driver candidly admitted his mistake and recognised that this could have resulted in a dangerous situation on the track."

☆ Verstappen fastest in first practice at Australian Grand Prix
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Ian Ransom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MELBOURNE, March 31 (Reuters) - Formula One world champion Max Verstappen topped the timesheets for Red Bull before taking a late spin at Albert Park in an eventful first free practice at the Australian Grand Prix on Friday. The Dutchman lapped the lakeside circuit in one minute, 18.790 seconds, nearly half a second quicker than second fastest Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, as two red flags disrupted the session. A second red flag cut the session short by a few minutes as Williams rookie Logan Sargeant came to a halt on track-side grass with an apparent power failure. Verstappen finished his session with a bit of drama, taking a big spin at turn four to ruin his tyres. But he squeezed in a fast lap between the red flags to sandwich himself between Verstappen and Perez's times.

EV made up almost 12% of all car sales in Singapore last year, up from almost 4% in 2021, according to the Land Transport Authority. Still, EVs represented just 1% of cars on the road, a Reuters analysis of ownership data found. In Singapore, a small island with an extensive public transport system, only about 12 cars are owned per 100 people. Over the past decade, the number of Ferraris (RACE.MI) in Singapore has grown by 67% and Lamborghinis by 38%. ($1 = 1.3264 Singapore dollars)Reporting by Xinghui Kok; additional reporting by Kevin Krolicki; Editing by Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Perez wins Saudi GP as Verstappen goes from 15th to second
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Alan Baldwin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"That safety car again tried to take the victory away from us in Jeddah but not this time," said Perez, who started on pole last year but was caught out by a safety car deployment and ended up fourth. "I was on for victory last year so finally I got it," added the Mexican, who now has five career wins and finished 5.355 seconds clear despite the safety car cutting his early advantage. It took Perez four laps to take charge with the Mexican meeting no resistance as he swept past for the lead, but he could not relax. When the safety car period ended on lap 20, Verstappen was pushing Russell for third and took the place three laps later. Verstappen went second, 5.6 seconds behind Perez, at the half-distance but the gap stayed constant with the Red Bulls in a race of their own.

☆ Verstappen completes practice sweep in Saudi Arabia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 18 (Reuters) - Formula One world champion Max Verstappen completed a dominant hat-trick of top times in practice for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Saturday. Mexican team mate Sergio Perez was second fastest, but a considerable 0.613 seconds slower than Verstappen's best effort of one minute 28.485 on the soft tyres. Apart from Perez, Alonso was the only driver within a second of Verstappen. McLaren's Lando Norris was seventh, and Australian rookie team mate Oscar Piastri eighth, a mere 0.008 behind. Verstappen apologised after lifting off the throttle on track and forcing Norris, coming up fast behind, to swerve around him.

☆ Perez on pole in Saudi Arabia as Verstappen hits trouble
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Alan Baldwin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"You really feel the Formula One cars coming alive in this place and maximising that lap was very important," said Perez of what was also his second career pole. "Every session was going really well, every time we were on the track the car was working really well. Mercedes' George Russell and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz will share the second row with Canadian Lance Stroll fifth for Aston Martin and Esteban Ocon sixth for Renault-owned Alpine. Seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton, winner in Saudi Arabia in 2021, will start seventh for Mercedes. "It was really, really on the limit," he said.

☆ F1 Red Bull Car Simulator on Sale for $120k, More Than a Porsche 911
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Red Bull and F1 unveiled its RB18 simulator on Tuesday – based on Max Verstappen's winning car. It's made "using the same process" as the real F1 car – but still costs more than a Tesla Model S Plaid. F1 and Red Bull unveiled the RB18 car simulator on Tuesday, with "The Champions Edition" retailing for £99,999, or around $120,000. The price of the simulator means it is more expensive than many real high end cars. Second-hand supercars from F1 rivals like Ferrari or McLaren might also be bought for less than the RB18 simulator.

☆ Here's what's inside the nearly $125,000 gift bag given to Brendan Fraser, Steven Spielberg and other Oscar nominees
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

But on top of critical acclaim and higher earning potential, there's another benefit to getting an Oscar nod: the gift bag. "There's nothing like a first time nominee's enthusiasm about getting this gift bag," Fary says. Because of the large quantity of products that is being gifted, Distinctive Assets delivers everything packed into two suitcases. What's included in this year's 'Everybody Wins' gift bag? Director Steven Spielberg has received numerous "Everybody Wins" gift bags for past Academy Award nominations.

☆ McLaren a potential customer for Red Bull, says Horner
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Alan Baldwin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MANAMA, March 3 (Reuters) - McLaren boss Zak Brown visited Red Bull's factory to discuss a potential Formula One power unit supply when the engine rules change in 2026, Red Bull Racing principal Christian Horner said on Friday. They have also been linked to a return to their former suppliers Honda, who have a partnership deal with Red Bull until 2026. Horner told reporters at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix that Brown had been a visitor to Red Bull Powertrains in Milton Keynes. News of Brown's visit raised some eyebrows given apparently strained relations between the American and Horner last year when Red Bull were found to have breached a budget cap. Without naming Red Bull directly, Brown spoke at the time of excessive spending being effectively cheating.

☆ F1 team bosses have their own light-bulb moment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Alan Baldwin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The late McLaren boss Teddy Mayer liked to compare Formula One drivers to interchangeable light-bulbs, declaring "you plug them in and they do the job", and nowadays the same might be said for team principals. The Frenchman is on his third different team, after stints at Sauber and Renault. "It shows also that the role of the team principal is maybe sometimes also a bit over-rated because if you can change it so quickly and there is no big impact, it tells also something. Sauber, with Swedish billionaire Finn Rausing as chairman of the board, will become the Audi works team from 2026. "But other than that we must not forget that F1 teams have developed into big organisations where the owners are not any more the team principals... some have engineers as team principals, some have more an old-fashioned rule."

SummarySummary Law firms Laid-off workers can't sign away labor rights, board saysDecision overrules Trump-era precedentFeb 22 - The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that laid-off workers cannot be required to sign agreements that contain confidentiality clauses and other provisions that could deter them from exercising their rights under federal labor law in exchange for receiving severance. The board in a 3-1 decision on Tuesday overturned a pair of Trump-era rulings that said severance agreements only violate federal labor law when employers engage in other unlawful conduct when asking workers to sign them. The NLRB's Democratic majority said those rulings were misguided and "granted employers carte blanche to offer employees severance agreements that include unlawful provisions." The board said it was illegal for the company to offer the workers severance agreements that included confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions because they could be discouraged from filing complaints with the NLRB or publicizing labor disputes. He said there was no evidence that the decisions tossed out by the majority had led the board to uphold illegal severance agreements.

☆ FIA seeks to clarify free speech rules after driver backlash
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Alan Baldwin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

read moreMcLaren's Lando Norris suggested the FIA was treating drivers like schoolchildren. "Participants can express their views on any political, religious or personal matter before, during and after the international competition, in their own space, and outside the scope of the international competition," it said. "On an exceptional and case-by-case basis, the FIA may authorise a participant to make a statement at an international competition that would otherwise be prohibited," it added. The FIA said drivers could not make political, religious and/or personal statements during the pre-race parade, anthem and post-race procedures. Examples included unapproved statements or comments relating to "any military conflict or political dispute between nations, regions, religions, or communities".

☆ Alpine set out season goals and bring on Zidane
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Alan Baldwin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Alpine launch new A523 car in LondonSet goal of defending fourth place and closing gap to top threePresent soccer great Zidane as brand ambassadorLONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Renault-owned Alpine set out their goals for the Formula One season on Thursday before unveiling French soccer great Zinedine Zidane as a surprise signing. "I am very happy to be here today and happy to be part of the Alpine team," Zidane told the surprised audience in a former newspaper printing site in London's Docklands. "The gap to third was big and we've got to close that gap," said team principal Otmar Szafnauer. Ocon is in his fourth year at the team while Gasly has joined from Red Bull-owned AlphaTauri. The 23-race season starts at the Sakhir circuit on March 5, with pre-season testing there next week.

☆ McLaren a money-making machine? We are profitable, says Brown
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Alan Baldwin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"I don't know about money-making machine but we are now a profitable Formula One team," he said. "(We are) very fortunate that we brought in new shareholders that enabled us to do things like the wind tunnel and the simulator. Brown became chief executive of McLaren Racing in 2018 as part of a major restructuring of the second most successful team in the sport in terms of wins. McLaren Racing are part of the McLaren Group, which includes the supercar manufacturer and is majority-owned by Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat. The papaya orange and blue car has been designated the MCL60, a break from previous naming convention, to mark the anniversary of the founding of McLaren Racing by New Zealander Bruce McLaren in 1963.

☆ Alonso hopes he can win with Aston Martin - eventually
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Alan Baldwin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Alonso has joined from Renault-owned Alpine on a multi-year contract -- believed to be two years plus an option -- and with his hunger undiminished. But at the same time we want to have a good car to start with and to work and develop that car throughout the season. Alonso has done a record 355 and is the oldest current driver on the grid. "We are looking forward to be fighting for world championships in the future. "We plan this year to make a step and next year make another step and the year after until we're winning and ultimately fighting for world championships."

☆ Mick Schumacher to double up as McLaren F1 reserve
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"Welcome to the family, Mick," McLaren said on Twitter, pointing out also that new team principal Andrea Stella was previously performance engineer to Michael Schumacher at Ferrari. McLaren had a reserve-sharing agreement with Renault-owned Alpine last season, when Australian Piastri was Alpine's third driver. McLaren then won a contract dispute with Alpine for Piastri to race for them this year. Mercedes and Williams shared Nyck de Vries as reserve last season, with the Dutch driver now due to race with Red Bull-owned AlphaTauri. McLaren also have 2021 IndyCar champion Alex Palou contracted to a reserve role where the Spaniard's schedules allow.

☆ Formula 1: Audi buys minority stake in Sauber ahead of 2026 F1 entry
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Amar Mehta | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A show model Audi Formula 1 car on Aug. 26 2022 in Belgium after announcing its participation in the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium. Audi's entry into Formula 1 has moved a step closer after the German car manufacturer acquired a minority stake in Sauber. The purchase comes three months after Sauber confirmed they would become Audi's strategic partner when the German marque enters Formula 1 in 2026. On Jan. 14, Andreas Seidl replaced Vasseur as Sauber's chief executive after the latter joined Ferrari , and will oversee Audi's entry into F1. In a statement sent to Sky Sports, an Audi spokesperson said this is a "key milestone" for the German's F1 entry in 2026.

☆ Wehrlein takes the Formula E lead with a double in Diriyah
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 28 (Reuters) - Porsche's Pascal Wehrlein won his second Formula E race in two days in Saudi Arabia to take the lead in the electric world championship on Saturday. The German beat his British rival Jake Dennis, driving for Porsche-powered Avalanche Andretti and making more overtakes than anyone else, by 1.252 seconds in a repeat of Friday's top two at the Diriyah street circuit. "Our race pace is incredible, again today we had the perfect strategy," said Wehrlein, who started fifth on the grid and became only the fifth Formula E driver to win both races in one weekend. "This weekend will be one I will never forget," added the former Formula One driver, who finished second to Dennis in this month's Mexico City opener. Wehrlein now has 68 points to 62 for Dennis, with Envision Racing's Sebastien Buemi a distant third on 31.

☆ 2023 McLaren Artura: Run Silent, Run Lean
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Dan Neil | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DAY The 2023 McLaren Artura ($263,550, as tested), first in a series of new cars promised by the British house of speed, is built on the McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture (MCLA) structure and powered by plug-in hybridized V6s. The Artura’s twin-turbo, 3.0-liter V6 and axial-flux e-motor join forces to produce a maximum 671 hp/531 lb-ft.LAST WEEK, for the first time this winter, it snowed in Woking, in southern England. At 9 a.m. on Tuesday, the artificial lake in front of the McLaren Technology Centre was steaming and fringed with ice, the cattails frozen stiff. Groundskeepers were out spreading more grit on the campus roadways—a reasonable precaution, as McLarens aren’t generally hailed for their all-weather traction. There—warm, dry and defrosted—waited our test car, a McLaren Artura, frocked in a glittery, wintry white.

Bought from McLaren by private equity firm Greybull Capital in 2021, McLaren Applied has adapted an efficient inverter developed for F1 racing for EVs. Fry says McLaren Applied is working with around 20 carmakers and suppliers, and the inverter will appear in high-volume luxury EV models starting January 2025. NO TIME TO LOSESome suppliers like Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Actnano have had long relationships with EV pioneer Tesla (TSLA.O). Coakley said CelLink was working with U.S. and European carmakers, and with a European battery maker on battery wiring. But it has now also developed battery packs, electric powertrains, e-axles and is working with around 20 customers, including carmakers and an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft maker.

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