Motorsport

MAX VERSTAPPEN remains upbeat about beating Lewis Hamilton to the title – despite missing out on victory in the Bahrain GP.The Dutchman squeezed past Hamilton three laps from the end but was ordered to give the place back by race bosses.
Max Verstappen remains confident of maintaining his title challengeCredit: Getty
Lewis Hamilton went on to claim victory on opening day in BahrainCredit: Splash
And now his Red Bull team are seeking clarification from the sport’s governing body, the FIA, about track limits in the future.
Verstappen said: “Of course, I was outside of track limits when I passed Lewis, so they told me to give the position back.
“I’m disappointed but last year we’d be super happy with a race like this so it also shows how much we have grown.
“It’s still a positive start to the season, and still a long season ahead. I see it as only seven points dropped and we’ll try to do better next time.”
Red Bull boss Christian Horner said that he would speak to FIA Race Director, Michael Masi, about some urgent clarification about when cars are allowed to exceed track limits.
He added: “It was frustrating. We could see as soon as Mercedes started to push they just used that part of the track.
“We questioned with Race Control that if that’s the case, can we do it? In a nip and tuck battle, there’s a two-tenths advantage using that part of the circuit.
“So [Mercedes] did it lap after lap, the Race Director then asked them to respect the limits otherwise they’d get a black and white flag.

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The ten greatest F1 drivers of all-time – according to SunSport’s motorsport correspondent Ben Hunt

“Obviously Max ran wide on the pass there, which had been made clear before the race that if someone got an advantage by going out there, they’d have to give it back.
“He did that immediately, the team instructed him to do it following Race Control instructing us.
“With these track limit things, they’re always going to be contentious but we do need to just have a consistent situation.
“You can’t say it’s OK to use it in the race, but you can’t overtake out there. It should be black or white, it shouldn’t be shaded grey.”
The Australian also said he made it ‘very clear’ in the drivers’ briefing on Friday.

However, Masi shrugged off the incident at Turn Four and said it was all explained within his race notes, so Red Bull can have no reason to complain.
He said: “If an overtake takes place with a car off track and gains a lasting advantage, I will go on the radio and suggest to the team that they immediately relinquish that position.
“With regard to tolerance given with people running outside of the track limits during the race, that was mentioned very clearly in the meeting and the notes.
“It will always be monitored in accordance with the Sporting Regulations that a lasting advantage overall must not be gained.
“We had two people that were looking in that area at every car at every lap and pretty much every car bar one was doing the right thing within what we expected.
“There was the occasional car that had a bit of a moment or went out there but it wasn’t a constant thing.”
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Take a virtual lap of the Bahrain race track ahead of Grand Prix Formula 1 start More

MICK SCHUMACHER came home in 16th place on his Formula One debut – despite spinning off track.The son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher was always going to have a difficult season with the under-strength Haas team.
Mick Schumacher, 22, spun off in Bahrain but still finished 16th on debut – better than his legendary dad’s first raceCredit: AFP
Mick Schumacher is happy to have recovered from his spin to finish his first-ever raceCredit: Getty
Mick’s dad Michael made his debut with Jordan at the 1991 Belgian GP in SpaCredit: Getty Images – Getty
But the 22-year-old is using the season to get some F1 experience and declared he is still making progress at the back of the grid.
Schumacher ultimately finished 16th as Lewis Hamilton won a thrilling season opener having qualified second behind Max Verstappen.
He said: “I’d say I was 90 per cent happy and 10 per cent not – because of the mistake I made, the spin, at the safety car restart.
“Luckily the car was still drivable, everything was alright so I could keep going and continue to build on my experience through the race.
“Overall, I feel like I’ve learned a lot, and hopefully I’m able to convert that into something positive for the next race.”
Legendary dad Michael is arguably the greatest F1 racer ever.
But even he didn’t fare as well on his debut.
In 1991 – all of 30 years ago – Schumacher entered his first race with Jordan in Spa, Belgium.
The German legend qualified a superb seventh after learning the tricky track’s twists and turns by doing laps on his fold-up bike.
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Michael Schumacher retired in his first lap of his debut race at Spa, Belgium in 1991Credit: Corbis – Getty
The ten greatest F1 drivers of all-time – according to SunSport’s motorsport correspondent Ben Hunt

However, Schumacher retired in the first lap of the race after his Jordan suffered clutch problems.
Meanwhile, Mick’s team-mate, Nikita Mazepin saw his debut last three corners before spinning off.
The Russian said: “It was very simple – I made a mistake.
“I’m very sorry for the team as they deserved to do much better than that.”

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THIS is the car Mercedes hope will win Lewis Hamilton a record eighth Formula One world title.The W12 has been designed as an evolution of last year’s model, which won Hamilton 11 of the 16 races he entered in 2021, taking 10 poles and 14 podiums.
Take a look at the new car the F1 legend will be racing in this seasonCredit: Getty
Lewis Hamilton is hoping to record an eighth Formula One world title win in the new W12 carCredit: Daimler AG
However, this year, there have been attempts from the sport’s rulemakers to slow him down and strip him of downforce.
Here, James Allison, the Technical Director of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, takes us through the changes.
What are the biggest challenges for the upcoming season?
“Without a doubt, the biggest difference is the introduction of the cost cap. This new rule requires us to manage our resources very judiciously through the year.
“We won’t be able to fly through the season introducing update after update any more, but instead will have to bring a more limited number through the year, making sure that we spend our cost cap dollar as wisely as possible on our upgrades.
“We also have some significant modifications to the aerodynamic regulations for this year, plus new tyres and changes to how much we’re permitted to use the wind tunnel.
“All these things stack up to be quite a big change, very far from the carryover year that it was expected to be.”
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What can you tell us about the new car? What has been the main focus of development for W12?
“By far and away the biggest area of technical development has been adapting to the new aerodynamic rules.
“2021 brings a profound set of changes that affect the performance of the floor. If you’re looking to slow a car down, which is effectively what the regulation changes were intended to do, modifying the floor is by far the easiest and cheapest way of achieving your objective.
“The floor is such an important aerodynamic component that small geometrical changes bring large reductions in performance.
“Once the rules had been established, our task was to figure out how to recover the losses brought by the changes.
“The rest of the aerodynamic work has been the normal fare of seeking out aerodynamic opportunity across every square centimetre of the car with particular attention to finding places where we can invest extra weight into fancier aerodynamic geometry.”
There are four major aerodynamic changes. What’s the first key aero change?
“I’ll explain the triangular cut-out on the edge of the floor first. This is located just in front of the rear wheels, reducing the area and shape of the floor.
“It may not look like a big change, but the way the floor and the rear wheels interact is critically important to the performance of the car. So, removing this part of the floor has a big impact on downforce.”
James Allison explains everything about the new car to SunSportCredit: Getty Images – Getty
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Where is the second aero change located and what’s different on the W12?
“It’s related to the rear brake ducts, which for several seasons have featured a proliferation of winglets that are mounted on the brake ducts and point inwards towards the centreline of the car.
“These winglets generate a little bit of downforce in their own right, but their far more important role is to guide the interaction between the rear tyres and the floor, helping the floor to produce far more downforce than the winglets could ever manage on their own.
“The span of these winglets has been reduced by a few centimetres so they don’t overlap as much with the floor as they used to, thereby reducing the performance of the car.”
What’s the third area of aerodynamic change?
“The third change is at the back of the car around the diffuser area.
“When we are designing the diffuser, we are trying to expand the air as much as we can while keeping the air attached to the surface of the diffuser. More expansion means lower pressures under your car, which means more suction pulling the car to the road, which means more downforce.
“For 2021, the inboard set of strakes, the ones nearest the centre line of the car, have been reduced by 50mm sawn off so that they don’t sit as close to the ground as before.
“By making the fences shorter, they are less effective at controlling the rate of expansion of the air. All things being equal, this makes it harder to be greedy with the diffuser expansion, and so it reduces the downforce on the car.”
The W12 has been designed as an evolution of last year’s modelCredit: Daimler AG
And what’s the fourth and final aero change?
“This is related to the edges of the floor, near the bargeboards and the radiator air intakes.
“In recent seasons all the cars have sported an array of slots on the floor in this section of the car, almost looking like a venetian blind.
“For 2021 the rule has changed, requiring us to seal those slots up. This reduces our ability to create downforce.”
The tyres are changing for 2021, can you tell us about them and their impact on the cars?
“Pirelli’s 2019 tyre development programme was aimed at improving the durability of the tyres.
“The teams tested some proposals in 2019, but eventually rejected what was offered. As a consequence, we went into 2020 with effectively a two-year-old tyre against a backdrop of ever-increasing performance in the cars.
“Not surprisingly, last year saw the tyre at the limit of its capabilities. Pirelli has responded to this by producing a new racing tyre for 2021.
“The new tyre is a lot more durable than the 2020 tyre. It is a little slower, owing to the trade-off for more durability, but it is consistent and should give us trouble-free racing.”
Lewis Hamilton is F1’s biggest earner
CAR DETAILS
Chassis
Monocoque: Moulded carbon fibre and honeycomb composite structureBodywork: Carbon fibre composite including engine cover, sidepods, floor, nose, front wing and rear wingCockpit: Removable driver’s seat made of anatomically formed carbon composite, OMP six-point driver safety harness, HANS systemSafety Structures: Cockpit survival cell incorporating impact-resistant construction and penetration panels, front impact structure, prescribed side impact structures, integrated rear impact structure, front and rear roll structures, titanium driver protection structure (halo)Front Suspension: Carbon fibre wishbone and pushrod-activated torsion springs and rockersRear Suspension: Carbon fibre wishbone and pullrod-activated inboard springs & dampersWheels: OZ forged magnesiumTyres: PirelliBrake System: Carbone Industries Carbon / Carbon discs and pads with rear brake-by-wireBrake Calipers: BremboSteering: Power-assisted rack and pinionSteering Wheel: Carbon fibre constructionElectronics: FIA standard ECU and FIA homologated electronic and electrical systemInstrumentation: McLaren Electronic Systems (MES)Fuel System: ATL Kevlar-reinforced rubber bladderLubricants & Fluids: PETRONAS Tutela
Transmission
Gearbox: Eight speed forward, one reverse unit with carbon fibre maincaseGear Selection: Sequential, semi-automatic, hydraulic activationClutch: Carbon plate
Dimensions
Overall Length: Over 5000mmOverall Width: 2000mmOverall Height: 950mmOverall Weight: 752kg
Power Unit Specification
Type: Mercedes-AMG F1 M11 EQ PerformancePower Unit Components:Internal Combustion Engine (ICE)Motor Generator Unit – Kinetic (MGU-K)Motor Generator Unit – Heat (MGU-H)Turbocharger (TC)Energy Store (ES)Control Electronics (CE)Internal Combustion Engine (ICE)Capacity: 1.6 litresCylinders: SixBank Angle: 90No of Valves: 24Max rpm ICE: 15,000 rpmMax Fuel Flow Rate: 100 kg/hour (above 10,500 rpm)Fuel Injection: High-pressure direct injection (max 500 bar, one injector/cylinder)Pressure Charging: Single-stage compressor and exhaust turbine on a common shaftMax rpm Exhaust Turbine: 125,000 rpm
Energy Recovery System (ERS)
Energy Store: Lithium-Ion battery solution of minimum 20 kg regulation weightMax energy storage/lap: 4 MJMax rpm MGU-K: 50,000 rpmMax power MGU-K: 120 kW (161 hp)Max energy recovery/lap MGU-K: 2 MJMax energy deployment/lap MGU-K: 4 MJ (33.3seconds per lap at full power)Max rpm MGU-H: 125,000 rpmMax power MGU-H: UnlimitedMax energy recovery/lap MGU-H: UnlimitedMax energy deployment/lap MGU-H: Unlimited
Fuel & Lubricants
Fuel: PETRONAS PrimaxLubricants PETRONAS Syntium
Performance:
Top speed: 360km/h – 223mphAcceleration: 0-100km/h in approximately 2.6seconds More