GP Racing - UK (2020-04)

IGNITION

APRIL 2020

Iexpectedtowr itewithsomethoughts reflecting

onthe earlyracesofthe newseason. By rights,you

shouldbereadingthiswith F1 havingjust held its

firstVietnamGrandPrix.

Instead,thefirsteightgrands prixof20 20have

beencalledoff, 2021’snewr ulesdelayed fora year

andF1 has broughtforwarditstraditionalsummer

shutdownast hecoronaviruscrisistakes hold.

ThisF1 season potentiallywon’tstartuntil June ’s

CanadianGP,atthe earliest.

Ofcourse,thisis ara pidlyescalatingsituation,so

by the timeyoudigest thisdispatchfrommyown

isolationbunker –Ihaven’t(tomy knowledge) yet

contracted COVID-19butam workingfromhome

followingacom panydirectivetostayawayfromthe

office –t heremight wellhaveb een even morebad

newsforF1fans.

Thedecisiontocanceltheseason-opening

AustralianGrandPrixmerehour sbeforeFriday

pra ctice wasdue to begin cameverylateinthe

day,butwasultimatelythecorrectcall.Once a

McLarenteammembercontractedthevirusand

thatteam pulled out,adominoeffectwas inevitable

as Formula 1’sbubble burst.

Aschismemergedamongtheteamsoverwhether

toraceonornot(seepage16 forour specialreport),

whileF1itselfwascriticised foraslow reactio n to

the crisisasit unfolded in Melbourne.But theright

decision was reachedin theend.Theteamshold

thebalanceofpower inF1, andcorporate sensitivity

andsocialresponsibilityeventually wontheday.

Theupshotis therewill sadlybenoF1 races for

us toenjoyfortheforeseeablefuture,soifyoustill

want toget your fixastheworldisolatesyoucould

do worsethan watch (orre-watch) thefirsttwo

seasonsoftheDrive toSurvivedocu-series

onstreamingserviceNetflix.

LukeSmithanalys es indetailtheimpactNetflix

hashadonF1 over thepasttwoyears(see page42),

andwe alsoincludeformer F1 commentatorJames

Allen’sexpertreviewof seasontwo(page48),which

launched attheendof February.

Netflixhadbegunfilmingathird seasonbefore

coronavirusscupperedeveryone, andit will

be interestingto seehowte nsionwith existing

broadcasters–whopayapretty pennyfor the

privilege–anddriversunhappywith howthey

havebeenportrayed(MaxVerstappen)affects

future outp ut.

Butfo r now,thereisnod oubt Netflixdeserves

praise forcoveringFormula1i nafreshwayand

bringingittonewaudiences,somethingF1hasbeen

desperatetodo fora while.Dani el Ricciardo,for

one, isco nvinced Netflixhasdonewonders forhis

own profileinthe US.

That’sjustas well, because F1isgoing toneed

newandengaged fans morethanever when 2020’s

racing finally does getunderway –wheneverthat is.

Uncertain future for F1's 2020 season

DAMIEN SMITH

Aston Martin’sValkyri e

(p30)brings F1’s no-

compromise approach

to the road. No space

for ourformer editor-in-

chief’s kids, though...

JAMES MANN

Always onthe hunt

for unusual carsto

photograph, James

found aquirky double

grand prix winnerfor

us this month (p80)

LUKESMITH

He’s Autosport and

Motorsport.com’s new

F1 reporter. See p42for

Luke’s investigation into

the effects of Netflix’s

presence inthe paddock

MATTYOUSON

Well-connected in the

Red Bullworld, Matt

triedto make sense

of what’s goingon with

Scuderia AlphaTauri's

two drivers (see p70)

Contributors

Ben

Anderson

Team

principals

Drivers Pit crew Subscriptions

Editor

Ben Anderson

President,

Motorsport

Network

James Allen

Vice President

of editorial

James Dickens

ThankstoJames Allen,Tim Bampton, Harry Bull, Russell Day,Lucy Genon, Will Hings, Clarisse Hoffman, Darren Jones, BradleyLord,Vicky Lloyd, Gemma

Lusty,VanessaReffay,Charlotte Sefton

CirculationqueriesSeymour 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. Duecare is taken toensure that the content ofGPRacingisfully accurate, but the

publisher and printer cannot accept liabilityfor errors and omissions.GPRacingisa member of theAudit

Bureau of Circulations.WeabidebytheEditors’Code of Practice and are committed toupholding the

highest standards of journalism. If you think we haven’t met those standards and wanttomakea

complaint, contact 0203 405 8100.AutosportMedia UKLtd is a part of Motorsport Network LLC

Partners

@BenAndersonF

AustraliaMexico

Poland Turkey

GPRacingis

published monthly in

the above territories.

4 GP RACING APRIL 2020

Advertising

IS POWEREDBY

Group

managing

editor

Stewart Williams

Executive editor

StuartCodling

Art editor

FrankFoster

Head

photographer

StevenTe e

Columnists

Pat Symonds

Mark Gallagher

Nigel Roebuck

BenEdwards

Rodi Basso

Photo agency

Motorsport Images

Director, global

client success

Sunita Davies

Production

controller

BenWebster

Editorialtel

+44 (0)20 3405 8100

Email:help@asm.

secureorder.co.uk

Customer hotline/

back issues

0344 848 8826

Digital marketing

manager

Kaye Benfield

UK sales manager

Ben Fullick

SubscriptionsGPRacingsubscriptions,Autosport Media UK, 3 Queensbridge, Northampton, NN4 7BF, UK. Email: [email protected]: 0344 848 8826. OverseasTel +44 (0)1604 251 454. GPRacing, ISSN2633-

8157 (USPS 25186) is published monthlybyAutosport Media UK, 1 EtonStreet, Richmond, TW9 1AG, UK. The US annual subscription price is US$68.37. Airfreight and mailing in the USAbyagent named WN Shipping USA,

156-15, 146thAvenue, 2nd Floor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA.Periodicals postage paid at Brooklyn, NY 11256. USPostmaster: Send address changestoGPRacing, WN Shipping USA, 156-15, 146thAvenue, 2nd Floor, Jamaica,

NY 11434, USA. Subscription records are maintained atAutosport Media UK, 1 EtonStreet, Richmond, TW9 1AG, UK. Air BusinessLtd is acting as our mailing agent.

IGNITION

APRIL 2020

Iexpectedtowr itewithsomethoughts reflecting

onthe earlyracesofthe newseason. By rights,you

shouldbereadingthiswith F1 havingjust held its

firstVietnamGrandPrix.

Instead,thefirsteightgrands prixof20 20have

beencalledoff, 2021’snewr ulesdelayed fora year

andF1 has broughtforwarditstraditionalsummer

shutdownast hecoronaviruscrisistakes hold.

ThisF1 season potentiallywon’tstartuntil June ’s

CanadianGP,atthe earliest.

Ofcourse,thisis ara pidlyescalatingsituation,so

by the timeyoudigest thisdispatchfrommyown

isolationbunker –Ihaven’t(tomy knowledge) yet

contracted COVID-19butam workingfromhome

followingacom panydirectivetostayawayfromthe

office –t heremight wellhaveb een even morebad

newsforF1fans.

Thedecisiontocanceltheseason-opening

AustralianGrandPrixmerehour sbeforeFriday

pra ctice wasdue to begin cameverylateinthe

day,butwasultimatelythecorrectcall.Once a

McLarenteammembercontractedthevirusand

thatteam pulled out,adominoeffectwas inevitable

as Formula 1’sbubble burst.

Aschismemergedamongtheteamsoverwhether

toraceonornot(seepage16 forour specialreport),

whileF1itselfwascriticised foraslow reactio n to

the crisisasit unfolded in Melbourne.But theright

decision was reachedin theend.Theteamshold

thebalanceofpower inF1, andcorporate sensitivity

andsocialresponsibilityeventually wontheday.

Theupshotis therewill sadlybenoF1 races for

us toenjoyfortheforeseeablefuture,soifyoustill

want toget your fixastheworldisolatesyoucould

do worsethan watch (orre-watch) thefirsttwo

seasonsoftheDrive toSurvivedocu-series

onstreamingserviceNetflix.

LukeSmithanalys es indetailtheimpactNetflix

hashadonF1 over thepasttwoyears(see page42),

andwe alsoincludeformer F1 commentatorJames

Allen’sexpertreviewof seasontwo(page48),which

launched attheendof February.

Netflixhadbegunfilmingathird seasonbefore

coronavirusscupperedeveryone, andit will

be interestingto seehowte nsionwith existing

broadcasters–whopayapretty pennyfor the

privilege–anddriversunhappywith howthey

havebeenportrayed(MaxVerstappen)affects

future outp ut.

Butfo r now,thereisnod oubt Netflixdeserves

praise forcoveringFormula1i nafreshwayand

bringingittonewaudiences,somethingF1hasbeen

desperatetodo fora while.Dani el Ricciardo,for

one, isco nvinced Netflixhasdonewonders forhis

own profileinthe US.

That’sjustas well, because F1isgoing toneed

newandengaged fans morethanever when 2020’s

racing finally does getunderway –wheneverthat is.

Uncertain future for F1's 2020 season

DAMIEN SMITH

Aston Martin’sValkyri e

(p30)brings F1’s no-

compromise approach

to the road. No space

for ourformer editor-in-

chief’s kids, though...

JAMES MANN

Always onthe hunt

for unusual carsto

photograph, James

found aquirky double

grand prix winnerfor

us this month (p80)

LUKESMITH

He’s Autosport and

Motorsport.com’s new

F1 reporter. See p42for

Luke’s investigation into

the effects of Netflix’s

presence inthe paddock

MATTYOUSON

Well-connected in the

Red Bullworld, Matt

triedto make sense

of what’s goingon with

Scuderia AlphaTauri's

two drivers (see p70)

Contributors

Ben

Anderson

Team

principals

Drivers Pit crew Subscriptions

Editor

Ben Anderson

President,

Motorsport

Network

James Allen

Vice President

of editorial

James Dickens

ThankstoJames Allen,Tim Bampton, Harry Bull, Russell Day,Lucy Genon, Will Hings, Clarisse Hoffman, Darren Jones, BradleyLord,Vicky Lloyd, Gemma

Lusty,VanessaReffay,Charlotte Sefton

CirculationqueriesSeymour 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. Duecare is taken toensure that the content ofGPRacingisfully accurate, but the

publisher and printer cannot accept liabilityfor errors and omissions.GPRacingisa member of theAudit

Bureau of Circulations.WeabidebytheEditors’Code of Practice and are committed toupholding the

highest standards of journalism. If you think we haven’t met those standards and wanttomakea

complaint, contact 0203 405 8100.AutosportMedia UKLtd is a part of Motorsport Network LLC

Partners

@BenAndersonF

Australia Mexico

Poland Turkey

GPRacingis

published monthly in

the above territories.

4 GP RACING APRIL 2020

Advertising

IS POWEREDBY

Group

managing

editor

Stewart Williams

Executive editor

StuartCodling

Art editor

FrankFoster

Head

photographer

StevenTe e

Columnists

Pat Symonds

Mark Gallagher

Nigel Roebuck

BenEdwards

Rodi Basso

Photo agency

Motorsport Images

Director, global

client success

Sunita Davies

Production

controller

BenWebster

Editorialtel

+44 (0)20 3405 8100

Email:help@asm.

secureorder.co.uk

Customer hotline/

back issues

0344 848 8826

Digital marketing

manager

Kaye Benfield

UK sales manager

Ben Fullick

SubscriptionsGPRacingsubscriptions,Autosport Media UK, 3 Queensbridge, Northampton, NN4 7BF, UK. Email: [email protected]: 0344 848 8826. OverseasTel +44 (0)1604 251 454. GPRacing, ISSN2633-

8157 (USPS 25186) is published monthlybyAutosport Media UK, 1 EtonStreet, Richmond, TW9 1AG, UK. The US annual subscription price is US$68.37. Airfreight and mailing in the USAbyagent named WN Shipping USA,

156-15, 146thAvenue, 2nd Floor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA.Periodicals postage paid at Brooklyn, NY 11256. USPostmaster: Send address changestoGPRacing, WN Shipping USA, 156-15, 146thAvenue, 2nd Floor, Jamaica,

NY 11434, USA. Subscription records are maintained atAutosport Media UK, 1 EtonStreet, Richmond, TW9 1AG, UK. Air BusinessLtd is acting as our mailing agent.