IGNITION
MARCH 2020
Welcome to theveryfirstissueofGPRacing,
the magazineformerlyknown asF1 Racing. That’s
ri ght, we’v ehadafacelift(seepage69for details)
and nowwe’reroaringintothe2020s withanew
name (andsubscriptionoffer,seepage126) intime
for this newFormula1s eason.
And what aseasonwehopeitwill be!Ah,hope...
the thingthat –in clichédfootballparlance –‘kills
you’. Bett er to hold noexpectations than havethem
dashed horribly ontherocksofre ality, right?
Butthisis thetimeof year forsuchfancy.Will
Lewis Hamiltonhaveit all(largely)hisownway
again, oristhistheseasonFerr arifinallygets itsact
together andsustainsatitlechallengeallth ewa y
totheend? WillRedBull-Honda come goodafter
progressingso rapidly asafledglingpartnership?
Realistically,thesearetheonlytwo directions
achallengetoMercedeswillcomefrom.Thegap
behindF1’s‘bigthree’istoobigfor a resurgent
McLaren,oritsenginesupplierRenault’sstuttering
works outfit,tobridgeinonego –especiallywhen
allteamsmusthavemorethanhalfaneyeon
seismicforthcomingrule changesfor2021.
Itwouldbeso typicalofF1tofinallyproducea
barnstorming spectaclethen tear everythingup
again, unnecessarily creatinganopportunityfor
oneclever,well-fundedoutfitto stealamarchon
the restandbakeadvantageinfortheforeseeable
future.Whendidthat last happen,Iwond er?ThefactToto Wolffisonr ecordsuggestinghis
teamcouldbehalfasecondoffthe pacenextyear
if itdoesn’tjudge thetransition correctly istelling.
It says Mercedesisalreadyworkingon nextseason,
beforethisonehasevenbegun! EvenFranzTost's
littleteamisaltready ona n80/20split.
Thatwill bethetruetest ofLibertyMedia’s
plannedshake-up– thatallteamsconvergeand
F1’s perennial‘midfielders’finallyhaveagenuine
shot atcompeting for outright honours.Inthe
meantime,the dread will bethatth e Mercedes
machinejustrollson,like somegiantout-of-control
snowb all, gatheringunstoppable speed.
Therewere signslastyear,as Ferrariflattened
outthepeakyperformance curvesofitscar
concept inthe secondhalf oftheseasonwhile Red
Bull becamemore competitivemore often,that
perhaps therelentless paceofMercedes’winning
momentum wasbeginningto slow.
ButMercedes droppedonly14points froma
possible 352across thefirsteightrace sof 2019
don’tforget. Thosefoundations ofsuccesswereso
solid, Mercedesbarelyneededto updatetheW
through thesecondhalfofthese ason.Thatmeans
while Ferr ariandRedBull werestill hurling kitchen
sinksatone another,Mercedes was mostlikely
gettinga bigheadstartonits2020preparations.
It’senough tomakeyourheartsink,isn’tit?
ButImu ststopthis .Nowisthetime for hope...New season, new hope and a new name
BEN EDWARDS
Channel 4 F1 lead
commentator Ben
Edwards is our new
columnist (p24). He's
also pretty handy in a
FormulaFord 1600...ROBERTOCHINCHERO
Motorsport.com Italy
contributor Roberto
knowsFerrari inside out.
Turn to p50 for his view
on the Scuderia'stough
task ahead this seasonANDREW BENSON
BBC Sport's chief F
writerweighs upLewis
Hamilton's career
against the driverhe
maysurpass as the
G.O.A.T this season (p38)GLENN DUNBAR
Besides photographing
George Russell (p82)
and GuentherSteiner
(p98)for us, Glenn also
shot RacingPoint's new
livery inAustria (p72)ContributorsBen
AndersonTeam
principalsDrivers Pit crew SubscriptionsEditor
Ben Anderson
President,
Motorsport
Network
James Allen
Vice Presudent
of editorial
James DickensThankstoTim Bampton, Harry Bull, Emma Carden, Russell Day,Lucy Genon, Will Hings, Clarisse Hoffman, Darren Jones, BradleyLord, James Lloyd, Vicky
Lloyd, Gemma Lusty,Adam McDaid,Stuart Morrison, Charlotte Sefton,StefanieWoerndlCirculationqueriesSeymour DistributionLtd, 2 EastPoultryAvenue,London EC1A 9PT.Tel: +44 (0)
7429 4000.Fax: +44(0)20 7429 4001. Email: [email protected]. ISSN 2633-8157 (print) ISSN 2633-
(online). EAN 07713614480012. PrintedbyWilliam Gibbons & SonsLtd, 28 Planetary Road, Willenhall,
Wolverhampton WV13 3XT.© 1996Autosport Media UK
Reproduction in whole or in part of any photograph,text or illustration without written permission from the
publisher is prohibited. Due care is takentoensure that the content ofGPRaci ngis fully accurate, but the
publisher and printer cannot accept liabilityfor errors and omissions.GPRaci ngisa member of theAudit
Bureau of Circulations.SubscriptionsGPRacingsubscriptions,Autosport Media UK, 3 Queensbridge, Northampton, NN4 7BF, UK.
Email: [email protected]: 0344 848 8826. OverseasTel +44 (0)1604 251 454.
GPRacingis published monthlybyAutosport Media UK, 1 EtonStreet, Richmond, TW9 1AG, UK. Airfreight
and mailing in the USAbyagent named Air BusinessLtd, c/oWorldnet Shipping Inc., 156-15, 146thAvenue,
2nd Floor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA.Periodicals postagepaidat Jamaica NY 11431. Subscription records
are maintained atAutosport Media UK, 1 EtonStreet, Richmond, TW9 1AG, UK. Air BusinessLtd is acting as
our mailing agent.WeabidebytheEditors’Code of Practice and are committedtoupholding the highest
standards of journalism. If you think we haven’t met those standards and wanttomake a complaint,
contact 0203 405 8100.AutosportMedia UKLtd is a part of Motorsport Network LLCPartners@BenAndersonFAustraliaMexicoPoland Turkey
GPRacingis
published monthly in
the above territories.4 GP RACING MARCH 2020
AdvertisingIS POWEREDBY
Group
managing
editor
Stewart Williams
Executive editor
StuartCodling
Art editor
FrankFosterHead
photographer
StevenTe e
Columnists
Pat Symonds
Mark Gallagher
Nigel Roebuck
BenEdwardsPhoto agency
Motorsport ImagesDirector, global
client success
Sunita DaviesProduction
controller
BenWebsterEditorialtel
+44 (0)20 3405 8100Email:help@asm.
secureorder.co.uk
Customer hotline/
back issues
0344 848 8826
Digital marketing
manager
Kaye BenfieldUK sales manager
Ben FullickIGNITION
MARCH 2020
Welcome to theveryfirstissueofGPRacing,
the magazineformerlyknown asF1 Racing. That’s
ri ght, we’v ehadafacelift(seepage69for details)
and nowwe’reroaringintothe2020s withanew
name (andsubscriptionoffer,seepage126) intime
for this newFormula1s eason.
And what aseasonwehopeitwill be!Ah,hope...
the thingthat –in clichédfootballparlance –‘kills
you’. Bett er to hold noexpectations than havethem
dashed horribly ontherocksofre ality, right?
Butthisis thetimeof year forsuchfancy.Will
Lewis Hamiltonhaveit all(largely)hisownway
again, oristhistheseasonFerr arifinallygets itsact
together andsustainsatitlechallengeallth ewa y
totheend? WillRedBull-Honda come goodafter
progressingso rapidly asafledglingpartnership?
Realistically,thesearetheonlytwo directions
achallengetoMercedeswillcomefrom.Thegap
behindF1’s‘bigthree’istoobigfor a resurgent
McLaren,oritsenginesupplierRenault’sstuttering
works outfit,tobridgeinonego –especiallywhen
allteamsmusthavemorethanhalfaneyeon
seismicforthcomingrule changesfor2021.
Itwouldbeso typicalofF1tofinallyproducea
barnstorming spectaclethen tear everythingup
again, unnecessarily creatinganopportunityfor
oneclever,well-fundedoutfitto stealamarchon
the restandbakeadvantageinfortheforeseeable
future.Whendidthat last happen,Iwond er?ThefactToto Wolffisonr ecordsuggestinghis
teamcouldbehalfasecondoffthe pacenextyear
if itdoesn’tjudge thetransition correctly istelling.
It says Mercedesisalreadyworkingon nextseason,
beforethisonehasevenbegun! EvenFranzTost's
littleteamisaltready ona n80/20split.
Thatwill bethetruetest ofLibertyMedia’s
plannedshake-up– thatallteamsconvergeand
F1’s perennial‘midfielders’finallyhaveagenuine
shot atcompeting for outright honours.Inthe
meantime,the dread will bethatth e Mercedes
machinejustrollson,like somegiantout-of-control
snowb all, gatheringunstoppable speed.
Therewere signslastyear,as Ferrariflattened
outthepeakyperformance curvesofitscar
concept inthe secondhalf oftheseasonwhile Red
Bull becamemore competitivemore often,that
perhaps therelentless paceofMercedes’winning
momentum wasbeginningto slow.
ButMercedes droppedonly14points froma
possible 352across thefirsteightrace sof 2019
don’tforget. Thosefoundations ofsuccesswereso
solid, Mercedesbarelyneededto updatetheW
through thesecondhalfofthese ason.Thatmeans
while Ferr ariandRedBull werestill hurling kitchen
sinksatone another,Mercedes was mostlikely
gettinga bigheadstartonits2020preparations.
It’senough tomakeyourheartsink,isn’tit?
ButImu ststopthis .Nowisthetime for hope...New season, new hope and a new name
BEN EDWARDS
Channel 4 F1 lead
commentator Ben
Edwards is our new
columnist (p24). He's
also pretty handy in a
FormulaFord 1600...ROBERTOCHINCHERO
Motorsport.com Italy
contributor Roberto
knowsFerrari inside out.
Turn to p50 for his view
on the Scuderia'stough
task ahead this seasonANDREW BENSON
BBC Sport's chief F
writerweighs upLewis
Hamilton's career
against the driverhe
maysurpass as the
G.O.A.T this season (p38)GLENN DUNBAR
Besides photographing
George Russell (p82)
and GuentherSteiner
(p98)for us, Glenn also
shot RacingPoint's new
livery inAustria (p72)ContributorsBen
AndersonTeam
principalsDrivers Pit crew SubscriptionsEditor
Ben Anderson
President,
Motorsport
Network
James Allen
Vice Presudent
of editorial
James DickensThankstoTim Bampton, Harry Bull, Emma Carden, Russell Day,Lucy Genon, Will Hings, Clarisse Hoffman, Darren Jones, BradleyLord, James Lloyd, Vicky
Lloyd, Gemma Lusty,Adam McDaid,Stuart Morrison, Charlotte Sefton,StefanieWoerndlCirculationqueriesSeymour DistributionLtd, 2 EastPoultryAvenue,London EC1A 9PT.Tel: +44 (0)
7429 4000.Fax: +44(0)20 7429 4001. Email: [email protected]. ISSN 2633-8157 (print) ISSN 2633-
(online). EAN 07713614480012. PrintedbyWilliam Gibbons & SonsLtd, 28 Planetary Road, Willenhall,
Wolverhampton WV13 3XT.© 1996Autosport Media UK
Reproduction in whole or in part of any photograph,text or illustration without written permission from the
publisher is prohibited. Due care is takentoensure that the content ofGPRaci ngis fully accurate, but the
publisher and printer cannot accept liabilityfor errors and omissions.GPRaci ngisa member of theAudit
Bureau of Circulations.SubscriptionsGPRacingsubscriptions,Autosport Media UK, 3 Queensbridge, Northampton, NN4 7BF, UK.
Email: [email protected]: 0344 848 8826. OverseasTel +44 (0)1604 251 454.
GPRacingis published monthlybyAutosport Media UK, 1 EtonStreet, Richmond, TW9 1AG, UK. Airfreight
and mailing in the USAbyagent named Air BusinessLtd, c/oWorldnet Shipping Inc., 156-15, 146thAvenue,
2nd Floor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA.Periodicals postagepaidat Jamaica NY 11431. Subscription records
are maintained atAutosport Media UK, 1 EtonStreet, Richmond, TW9 1AG, UK. Air BusinessLtd is acting as
our mailing agent.WeabidebytheEditors’Code of Practice and are committedtoupholding the highest
standards of journalism. If you think we haven’t met those standards and wanttomake a complaint,
contact 0203 405 8100.AutosportMedia UKLtd is a part of Motorsport Network LLCPartners@BenAndersonFAustralia MexicoPoland Turkey
GPRacingis
published monthly in
the above territories.4 GP RACING MARCH 2020
AdvertisingIS POWEREDBY
Group
managing
editor
Stewart Williams
Executive editor
StuartCodling
Art editor
FrankFosterHead
photographer
StevenTe e
Columnists
Pat Symonds
Mark Gallagher
Nigel Roebuck
BenEdwardsPhoto agency
Motorsport ImagesDirector, global
client success
Sunita DaviesProduction
controller
BenWebsterEditorialtel
+44 (0)20 3405 8100Email:help@asm.
secureorder.co.uk
Customer hotline/
back issues
0344 848 8826
Digital marketing
manager
Kaye BenfieldUK sales manager
Ben Fullick