All the latest news from the racing world!
F1
Air displays have been banned from F1 races, on the ground of sustainability, due to the fuel they use and the way they pollute the atmosphere. This won’t be a major change for an F1 weekend, and probably won’t be missed too much, even though it does help build the excitement before a race. At the end of the day, it is a waste of money when you only see it for 5 seconds.
It has been strongly rumoured for a while that the first test of the season at Barcelona will be held behind close doors, not even with TV coverage. This was confirmed today, and is a shame for a sport which wants to promote the new era of the series. The original rumour said it was because Bahrain held an exclusivity clause on testing, which forced F1’s hand, but other people are saying it is to avoid too many issues being shown on TV. I doubt this though, as it isn’t like we are entering a new engine era, which is normally where the issues arise. At the end of the day, we should count ourselves lucky we get so much information of testing anyway, and I am sure they won’t be able to keep the test too secret.
IndyCar
Chevrolet believe that this will be the year when they stop the run of wins for Honda as manufacturer champions. Previously, the Detroit giant had won it six years in a row, but has not been able to match the Japanese company recently. It is important for them to fight back this year, and could make the title fight even closer.
Graham Rahal says he will likely take over the running of RLL Racing ‘some day’, as he gets aware of his age, and the pressure of the team on him. He has had a successful career, with 6 wins, but has never been able to really fight for a title, other than in 2015. He should be a great team boss if he does take over, as he is a clever and knowledgeable person.
MotoGP
Marc Marquez has been cleared to ride in pre-season testing at Malaysia and Indonesia, which takes place in February. He has tested on Honda bikes recently, without any issues, so this result was expected. It is crucial that he gets his year off to a smooth start, as he could well be in the thick of a title fight from the outset.
Other News
Hyundai have said they will double their efforts to solve the issues that plagued them in the opening round of the season in Monte Carlo. It was a humbling weekend for the team, who with the departure of Ogier from full time racing, should have seen this as an opportunity to capitalise on, and take control of the championship.
DTM has announced a complete ban on team orders for 2022, which is a pretty pointless move, as history shows that teams will always find a way around it, and it will end in a mess. The risk of exclusion from the championship though, could cause teams to think twice about elaborate code words. I just hope the series can come out of this crisis point them seem to be in, with a lack of manufacturers in the sport.
-M
Meaning of Motorsport 