2024 Formula 1 Preview & Review.

[Fortitude]

Stroll sums up his P14 in Singapore: ‘Difficult day, difficult weekend’.
Lance Stroll came home in 14th place for Aston Martin and said he was struggling for balance and grip all weekend at the Marina Bay Circuit.
22 Sep 2024
Formula One - Official Site (Video)

‘Difficult day, difficult weekend’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/video/st...08322728887689


Stroll: Tricky qualifying ‘the story of my weekend’ in Singapore
21 Sep 2024
Formula One - Official Site (Video)

Lance Stroll qualified down in P17 for Sunday’s Grand Prix, and branded his Aston Martin AMR24 as “a very difficult car to drive”.

‘Tricky qualifying’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/video/st...14642585207899


'Difficult day' for Stroll with P14 in Friday practice
20 Sep 2024
Formula One - Official Site (Video)

Lance Stroll concedes there is a "a lot of work to do tonight" for Aston Martin after both cars finish outside the top ten in Friday's second practice session in Singapore.

'Difficult day';

https://www.formula1.com/en/video/di...28828981406586


INSIDE: How did sliders save Lance Stroll's life?
26 Sep 2024
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Sliders: "The sliders! These actually saved my life in Bahrain that weekend [in 2023], man! I couldn't put my shoes on. I was in a lot of pain. At first, it was just like, 'How am I going to be comfortable walking up and down the paddock?' And then it was like, 'Boom, some big BOSS sliders!' Actually, then I thought it was kind of swaggy, the socks and the sliders. It had a good look to it.

"Recovering from the pre-season cycling accident is one of my biggest life achievements. It was, in my mind, not really a possibility when I was lying on the ground with my broken wrists, hand, toe… I was just kind of thinking, 'This isn't good, this is really not good,' but it was an incredible recovery. I had a great team around me, doctors, physios that helped me get to Bahrain, and to come away in sixth with some points was a great achievement.”

"I showed a lot to myself more than anything else. My tolerance for pain got much higher after Bahrain and some of my ideas of what I think is possible have changed. It was incredible adversity and a very challenging moment in my life that I overcame. It was a big life lesson for me. Courage is part of what we do. To drive these cars on the limit, to face adversity and go out there and compete every weekend takes a lot of courage and that's one of the reasons why the sport is so appealing."

"The sliders!”;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/24724


Stroll cities confidence in the car as main factor to performance
28 Sep 2024
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Stroll insists that the most vital thing is to build up confidence behind the wheel as it allows a driver to push the car to the limit. "I think it's always important to have confidence when you're in the car. When you're not confident in the car, that's when you just can't like really push it and lean on it, they're not comfortable to drive."

He added that confidence allows a driver "to lean on it, to come off the brake, carry speed, get back on the power as early as possible. I think that definitely is a factor for sure when you're driving and you're talking about that confidence thing," it's still crucial to find that confidence.” Stroll claims that Aston Martin clearly faces a big challenge to improve many aspects, but he is delighted that the team has been able to capitalize on some opportunities to score points in several races.

"I think I'm happy that we've been able to score points as a team, we capitalized throughout the year and we scored some points. A lot of racing to go and, always trying to just improve in every area. Improve setting up the car to be as good as it can be, improve qualifying, improve the race, it's a never-ending evolution."

‘Confidence in the car as main factor to performance’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/25282


Guenther Steiner takes aim at ‘non-existent’ Lance Stroll with ‘weird’ trend identified
29 Sep 2024
Oliver Harden
PlanetF1.com

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner says Lance Stroll is “just non-existent” with the Aston Martin driver passing “completely under the radar” in F1 2024. And he suggested that the youngster simply goes through the motions when he does not have a competitive car at his disposal, with Stroll waiting to see if F1 2025 brings an improvement for Aston Martin.

He said: “Lance passes completely under the radar. It’s weird. You never speak good or bad about him, he’s just non-existent.” Put to him that F1 fans have just accepted Stroll being around, he added: “Exactly. I don’t think he’s a bad race car driver. I don’t know what it is. Obviously, we all know that he doesn’t need to drive a race car. He alright [financially], so maybe that’s what it is.”

“If the car is not [good enough] to [reach] the podium or something, he’s just like: ‘Yeah, I just get by. Who cares? I wait until next year’s car comes and see if that is better.’ I don’t know. I don’t know the guy, never spoke with him, so I have no idea. But he’s one of these guys who is rarely spoken about when he’s in the points. It’s less spoken about when he’s not in the points. He’s just there.”

‘Non-existent’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/guenth...d-non-existent


Former Williams team boss admits missed opportunity with Stroll “drives me nuts”
25th September 2024
Keith Collantine
RaceFans

Williams admitted she regrets missing the opportunity to keep Stroll within the Williams fold when she ran the team. “It drives me nuts because Lawrence was with us,” she told Business of Sport. Lance Stroll made his Formula 1 debut at Williams in 2017, through the financial support of his father. However Williams struggled the following year and Lawrence Stroll took the opportunity to buy Force India, moving his son there in 2019.

He has since spent heavily on the team, funding a massive upgrade of its facilities and hiring a raft of senior staff from rivals including star designer Adrian Newey. Stroll rebranded his team as Aston Martin in 2021, the year after the Williams family sold its team. “There is not one day when I ever, ever have the emotion that I’m pleased that we sold Williams,” she admitted. “No, never. I never, ever think that.”

“Everyone will probably go ‘oh, she’s so dramatic’ and whatever, but I will live with the heartbreak of losing it every single day. Because it wasn’t a decision that we made as a family to sell because we’d had enough of Formula 1 or wanted to cash out. We all wanted to stay in it. It was our life for ever, that was the plan. I wanted to run the team for my son or my nephews.”

‘Missed opportunity with Stroll “drives me nuts”.’;

https://www.racefans.net/2024/09/25/...rives-me-nuts/

[Fortitude]

No Formula 1 for Zhou and he can no longer enter this class either!
For weeks, Guanyu Zhou said the same story. In short, his entire focus was on finding an F1 seat for 2025, and he was not looking at options in other classes.
30 Sep 2024
Ludo van Denderen
GPblog.com

It is now fairly clear that there is no place for the Chinese driver in Formula 1, as almost certainly Valtteri Bottas will get the seat Zhou was aiming for at Sauber. Meanwhile, Zhou has realised that his F1 adventure is coming to an end for the time being and so he is now looking around. Formula E - long seen as the most logical next step, as China's electric car market is the largest in the world - is also no longer an option for Zhou, according to GPblog.

All seats for next season have been filled, apart from the two seats at ERT. However, this Chinese team plans to extend the contracts of Sergio Sette Camara and Dan Ticktum for another season. Time is slowly running out for Zhou anyway, as top seats are currently being filled in most classes. "Wherever I go, I need to make sure that the door in F1 doesn't close at that time because I think a lot of drivers still make their comeback," said Zhou, who realises a decision has to be made.

"I am not worried about my racing career. I'm thinking about my Formula 1 career more than that, which is really nice to have. As a kid growing up, to get other very top teams in other series poaching, I think was a good thing," Zhou added before saying living the dream changed that view. "I want to stay here many more years."

‘F1 adventure is coming to an end for the time being’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/30415...formula-1.html


Zhou fielding 'several very good' offers outside F1
Zhou Guanyu has said he has "several very good" opportunities outside F1 if he cannot secure the seat at Stake alongside Nico Hulkenberg for 2025.
29 Sep 2024
Samuel Coop & Ian Parkes
RacingNews365

Regardless of what subsequently lies in store for Zhou, he claims to have a variety of options to draw upon if he cannot secure his desired contract renewal at Stake.

"At the moment, all I can say is that there's already several very good chances, teams in other series [that have] approached me for a drive for next year," the Chinese driver told media including RacingNews365.

"But, at the moment, of course, I want to still get the Sauber seat, and if by any chance, I don't have that, we have to think about the rest [of the options available]."

'Several very good';

https://racingnews365.com/zhou-expre...ultiple-offers


Sauber seat speculation: Which driver will secure the 2025 spot?
There is one spot open at Sauber for their final full season next year before becoming Audi for 2026
September 26, 2024
Hannah May
FormulaNerds

Current drivers, Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas have yet to secure contracts for 2025. The team and drivers have had a difficult season, yet to score any points and experiencing issues with pit stops at the beginning of 2024. According to F1 Oversteer, it is rumoured that Zhou may be offered the role of reserve driver.

Bottas joined Alfa Romeo for the 2022 season. He signed a multi-year deal and drove alongside Zhou, who was a rookie driver in 2022. Both drivers remained with the team when they rebranded to Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber. If the team choose to part ways with Zhou at the end of 2024, will they keep one of their drivers to partner with Hulkenberg for 2025?

‘Zhou may be offered the role of reserve driver’;

https://www.formulanerds.com/opinion.../?nowprocket=1


Sauber's reserve driver quits Formula 2 season early for new challenge
28 Sep 2024
Ludo van Denderen
GPblog.com

Zane Maloney will not finish the current Formula 2 season, after the Sauber reserve driver signed a contract with the new Lola Yamaha ABT team that will compete in Formula E. As the latter class will begin their new season in Mexico on 7 December, Maloney will be present there and therefore will not compete at the Abu Dhabi event in F2.

‘Sauber's reserve driver’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/30383...formula-2.html


Mattia Binotto: Audi will have a ‘gap to recover’ with F1 engine
30 Sep 2024
Taylor Powling
Motorsport Week

Sauber Motorsport boss Mattia Binotto has admitted Audi is braced to have an initial “gap to recover” once it debuts as a Formula 1 power unit manufacturer in 2026. “I’ve been visiting Neuberg in the last days and weeks” Binotto said.

“The engine is progressing well, running on the dyno, some long distances so far already performed. I think here as well, it’s a learning process. We are competing with other organisations where manufacturers are settled down,” he accepted. “Certainly, all the experience is pretty important and valid.”

“So while I think the organisation there [at Audi] is great, the facilities are great, the programs are going ahead, still there is a learning curve, which needs to be done. So I’m expecting initially to have a gap to recover. How big it will be, I think that you can never know.”

‘Gap to recover’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/...ith-f1-engine/

[Fortitude]

Sorting out his Sauber future ‘high on the priority list’ for Bottas after P16 finish in Singapore.
Sauber’s point-less run continued in Singapore, but Valtteri Bottas is now focussed on confirming his plans for next year with the team yet to decide who will partner new signing Nico Hulkenberg in 2025.
22 Sep 2024
Formula One - Official Site

‘Sorting out his Sauber future’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/video/so...06982251440405


Valtteri Bottas sends ‘high priority’ message to Audi with F1 future still unclear
Valtteri Bottas is keen for his F1 future to be sorted during the upcoming break.
25 Sep 2024
Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net

Speaking to F1TV after the race in Singapore, Bottas outlined his hopes for the upcoming break. “First of all, try to find performance, evaluating what exactly is going to be the upgrade for Austin, which is very much needed,” Bottas said.

“And sorting things out for the future, that’s obviously high on my priority list because it’s starting to feel almost like Christmas time, you know it’s getting close so better get it sorted.”

‘High priority’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/105646...-still-unclear


Bottas keen to get his future ‘sorted’ after ‘slightly better’ weekend for Sauber in Singapore
25 Sep 2024
Formula One - Official Site (Video)

The second seat at Sauber, alongside Nico Hulkenberg for next season, is still unoccupied, but an announcement is thought to be made sooner rather than later with multiple candidates on the table. Whether Bottas or Zhou sign a contract extension, or new boss Mattia Binotto takes a chance on a younger driver like Franco Colapinto, still remains to be seen.

Reflecting on their P15 and P16 finish in Singapore, Bottas said it was “still not an easy day like expected, and also no help from safety cars”. “I just had an issue with my brakes at the beginning of the race,” he added. “They overheated and I started locking up, so lost some time there. If I look at the race, I don’t think we would actually do much different.”

“We could also work together as a team at the end of the race to keep Gasly behind and that was good, so I think we maximised today.” With an “important” three-week break ahead of the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Bottas outlined his aims as the sport heads into the final part of the season.

‘The second seat at Sauber’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...26CFL9ZBIAY0u0


‘My understanding’: When Sauber are expected to announce Valtteri Bottas as their second driver for 2025
25 Sep 2024
Ben Evans
F1 Oversteer

Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber to give them their full name, appear to have chosen Hulkenberg’s teammate and speaking on the Pit Talk Podcast, journalist Mat Coch gave more details about their decision. Bottas has been waiting for a long time to see if he would be handed another Formula 1 contract.

It appears as though Sauber are going to stick with the Finn and are expected to confirm that he’ll stay with the team before the United States Grand Prix. Providing an update on the Formula 1 driver’s market, Mat Coch said: “Yeah, Franco Colapinto, or as I’ve dubbed Ayrton Colapinto because he looks so much like Ayrton Senna, it’s frightening, kind of similar in pace too, the kid is rapid.”

“I think he’s going to miss out; it’s just too late in the day. It’s a little bit like Liam Lawson last year. He came in and shone, but it was just too late in the day to seal the deal for next year but watch for Colapinto I think he’ll certainly feature for 2026 conversations. My understanding is that Valtteri Bottas, if he has not signed the contract as we’re recording this, it’s pretty much done and the announcement will be made before COTA [Circuit of the Americas in Austin].”

‘Ayrton Colapinto’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/whe...iver-for-2025/


Bottas backs himself to remain in F1: 'Better than at Mercedes'
28 Sept 2024
Kada Sarkozi
GPblog.com

Valtteri Bottas is yet to sign a contract for the 2025 Formula One season, but the driver from Finland hopes to remain at Stake F1, the team that is owned by Audi. He has also declared that he is performing better than he did at his previous team.

The Finn believes based on performance, he is driving better than he did at his last employer as he hopes to secure a seat for 2025. "I feel like, yes, especially in qualifyings this year, I haven't felt any signs of being worse. If anything, you keep getting better with experience. You gain more consistency, more confidence”

“You can solve different issues in a different way. You can adapt to the car the more time you spend in the sport. I feel actually I'm driving better than what I did at Mercedes, but obviously it's not that visible," Bottas revealed.

'Better than at Mercedes';

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/30381...-mercedes.html


'Didn't want': Valtteri Bottas has now ‘given up’ on key Sauber contract demand ahead of re-signing for 2025
27 Sep 2024
Ben Evans
F1 Oversteer

Bottas is expected to be announced by Sauber sooner rather than later and journalist Julianne Cerasoli, speaking on her YouTube channel, explained more details about the Finn’s situation. Valtteri Bottas is the most experienced option available to Sauber but that hasn’t helped him in his quest to score a championship point this year. He’s no longer in a particularly strong bargaining position either, meaning he’s had to give up one of his key demands in order to stay on the grid in 2025.”

Talking about the driver predicament at Sauber, Cerasoli said: “With the information that we have, the Bottas contract is not signed, but it is written and is in the phase of going back to the lawyers. These Formula 1 contracts are quite complex, so, that’s one thing if something goes back now. There was also the thing where Bottas didn’t want to sign for just one year. He has now given up putting his foot down about it”

“From Sauber’s perspective, having Bottas for a year instead of Gabriel Bortoleto, it was really between the two, Franco Colapinto wasn’t talking to Sauber. In their optics, it makes more sense that. This will make more sense to McLaren, as they would not release him from the contract and what Bortoleto’s own management imagine is the best thing for him is to stay in the McLaren academy, perhaps become a McLaren reserve driver next year.”

“Bottas didn’t want to sign for just one year”;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/val...ning-for-2025/


Valtteri Bottas wary of potential Ricciardo-style F1 exit
Valtteri Bottas has admitted that he’s had to learn to live with uncertainty surrounding the end of his F1 career.
1 October 2024
Mat Coch
Speedcafe

Bottas is out of contract at year end, though expected to remain with Sauber alongside Nico Hulkenberg for next season. The potential however remains that his contract isn’t extended, and the coming six races mark the end of his F1 career.

“I think that the ideal scenario would be that you decide when it’s time,” Bottas told Speedcafe when asked about not necessarily being able to end his career on his own terms. That’s ideal, but it’s not how the sport sometimes works.”

“There’s many elements. There’s a lot of politics, you name it. It’s a difficult sport on that, but I just hope that eventually I can pull the trigger, let’s say, not the other way around. But you never know.”

‘Learnt to live with uncertainty surrounding the end of his F1 career’;

https://speedcafe.com/bottas-ricciardo-style-f1-exit/

[Fortitude]

Dejected Gasly admits ‘fundamentally we’re just too slow’.
Pierre Gasly cut a downbeat figure after he finished 16th in Singapore – and said Alpine need to make “huge steps” to catch back up to the top 10 runners.
22 Sep 2024
Formula One - Official Site (Video)

‘Fundamentally we’re just too slow’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/video/de...07095707363606


‘We are not quick or competitive’ – Gasly offers grim assessment as Alpine fail to score for third straight race
25 Sep 2024
Formula One - Official Site

Alpine might have had a more straightforward race in Singapore than the one they managed in Azerbaijan, but both drivers come home outside the points for the third straight race weekend.

He started on the mediums like most of the field, but ran an exceptionally long first stint before bolting on the softs late on – too late to make much of an impression and climb back through the order. “A very difficult and frustrating race for us in the end,” Gasly said afterwards. “We are just not quick or competitive enough at the moment.”

“The lack of pace forced us to try some different strategies in the hope of improving our end result. We stayed out long on the Mediums on the first stint and lost a lot of time to cars we were racing at the start. The plan then was to disrupt some cars behind in the hope to benefit Esteban to get something from the race.” That plan didn’t work out, although Esteban Ocon managed to finish two places higher than he started, coming home in 13th.

‘Grim assessment’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...BNOYIiE9sac7ei


Gasly frustrated at being “sacrificed” to help Ocon
25 Sep 2024
Adam Cooper's F1 Blog

Pierre Gasly was left frustrated at the Singapore GP after being “sacrificed” to help the race of Alpine Formula 1 team mate Esteban Ocon. “Today, I got sacrificed, left out on track to block the others and try to help Esteban to catch up,” he said when asked by this writer about his race.

“Fundamentally, we are just too slow, and it forces us to try some interesting strategies. When you’re lapping five second off the pace the last 10 laps, not much point. But I understand we try to help one car in a way, because we are obviously not able to fight on pure pace for the top 10.”

Asked if he was surprised to be given soft tyres at his stop he said: “I was just surprised to be in the first place to be left out like that. I think, obviously I started out of position, made my way back, I think we were running three or four seconds behind Esteban.”

“Sacrificed”;

https://adamcooperf1.com/2024/09/25/...-to-help-ocon/


Gasly fires blow at Alpine’s recent woes
The French team have endured an underwhelming 2024 season
September 26, 2024
Freddie Cotton
FormulaNerds

Following last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, Gasly cut a frustrated figure in the media pen. The French driver was on an alternate strategy at the Marina Bay Circuit, which failed to reap him any rewards as he sank to a 17th place finish in Sunday’s race. Since his P9 finish in Zandvoort, the 28-year-old has not only failed to score any points, but has also struggled to get anywhere near the top ten finishers.

“The lack of pace forced us to try some different strategies in the hope of improving our end result. We stayed out long on the Mediums on the first stint and lost a lot of time to cars we were racing at the start. The plan then was to disrupt some cars behind in the hope to benefit Esteban to get something from the race.”

“The reality is three races ago [in Zandvoort] we were ninth place and at the last three races we have been far away from the top 10. We have to find some performance and there is a lot of work ahead of us to improve our current level.”

‘Gasly fires blow’;

https://www.formulanerds.com/news/ga.../?nowprocket=1


Gasly jealous of Norris and Verstappen but delighted for F1: 'I'm enjoying’
30 Sep 2024
Matt Gretton
GPblog.com

Pierre Gasly has voiced his opinion on Formula 1's current status. Despite not being in the battle himself, he believes it is "great" that the sport has a four-team fight at most race weekends. The Frenchman also highlighted the gap to the midfield.

The French team had aspired to be at the top of Formula 1 but instead have to watch on from afar. Still, the Frenchman enjoys watching and is glad an intense battle can happen in Formula 1. "Well, first of all, I wish I'd be part of it," Gasly laughed. "But then, as a fan of the sport, I think it's great. I think F1 is in a very good spot at the minute," believes the Frenchman, who has only scored eight points this season.

His former team, Red Bull Racing, are fighting with McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes. "I'm really enjoying the four-team battle because that's how I think the sport should be. Having three, four-teams fighting for race wins every weekend, everybody enjoys that. As a sport, I think it's great," Gasly reiterated.

'I'm enjoying’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/30414...f1-battle.html