: STEVE ETHERINGTON; ANDY HONE; LAT ARCHIVEBOTTAS KNOWS
WOLFF WILL
ND THE FIRST
HALF-SEASON
DECIDING WHETHER
TO PICK DANIEL
RICCIARDO OR
ESTEBAN OCON FOR
2019 INSTEAD
“
Bottas began the season
under pressure after crashing
in qualifying for Australia;
other drivers are in the frameThe start of the season has thrown up a host of
interesting topics to feed the 2018 F1 narrative.
First of all Valtteri Bottas, whose Mercedes contract
runs out this year. He increased the already substantial
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for the Australian Grand Prix. Not a good start, when
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deciding whether or not he should pick Daniel Ricciardo
or Esteban Ocon instead for 2019, and that Bottas’s
level of performance will be a crucial
determining factor.
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but that did not stop grumbling about
what many people perceive to be the
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Ferrari: Fernando Alonso and Christian
Horner both referred to the Haas as a
“2017 Ferrari” in Melbourne.
Team boss Gunther Steiner was not
amused by the jibes, pointing out that the
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wheelbase of the 2018 Ferrari, dictated
by suspension components bought from
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Steiner says the critics “talk without intelligence and
without knowledge. If they have a problem with that,
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McLaren and Williams, meanwhile, are both having
to come to terms with not delivering on their own
performance expectations.
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Red Bulls, but admitted his position owed much to
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MCL33 appeared to be close to a second off the Red Bull,
with which chassis McLaren last year claimed they had
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engines, which was the cause of the reliability problems
that hit them in testing.
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chassis designed under the technical lead of Paddy Lowe,
was dispiriting. Lance Stroll said he was “not racing out
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in their driver choice. With drivers so lacking both in
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Williams ever understand the true potential of their car?The world of motor racingis all the poorer following
the untimely death of journalist and broadcaster
Henry Hope-Frost in a motorcycle accident shortly
after the previous issue of F1 Racing was printed.
As a life-long motorsport fan he was quite literally
living the dream. He’d been expelled from the
prestigious Stowe School for serial absenteeism,
sneaking out of lessons to watch Formula 1
cars testing at nearby Silverstone, drawn almost
magnetically by the screech of racing engines. This
‘incurable fever’ for the sport made him an incredibly
knowledgeable and enthusiastic journalist.
‘H’ joined F1 Racing’s sister magazine Autosport
in 1993, initially on the ad sales team before
transferring to the editorial desk as a sub editor,
where he demonstrated an intolerance of slack
grammar almost equal to his love of all things
motorsport. Pity the poor junior journalist who filed
copy littered with hanging participles, misplaced
apostrophes or mangled prepositions, for they
would be lampooned mercilessly.
Henry also worked on F1 Racing and McLaren’s
in-house magazine Racing Line before launching
his career as a freelancer, a journey in which he
connected with fans and motor racing grandees
alike through his effervescent and knowledgeable
commentary at Goodwood’s annual Revival and
Festival of Speed meetings, and through hosting at
the Autosport International Show.
Wickedly funny and great company, Henry was
also a committed family man and F1 Racing extends
its deepest sympathies to Charlotte and the ‘HHF
three-man junior team’. Henry’s friends have set up
a crowdfunding page to look after them:
http://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/friendsofhenryhope-frost03
SPRING OF
DISCONTENT
HENRY HOPE-FROST
1970-2018
OBITUARY