Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2017 i AUTOSPORT

Who will remember the scrappy race for a P9 finish that confirmed Lewis Hamilton as 2017 world champion? Probably not too many F1 Racing readers, I’d venture – unless they’re ardent fans of dominant race winner Max Verstappen of course. It was a flaccid title conclusion to a season that has been positively thrilling for two thirds of its duration – that is until lap 4 of the Japanese Grand Prix, when a spark-plug failure on Sebastian Vettel’s SF70H ushered him into retirement and simultaneously banished his title hopes to the realms of ‘mathematical possibility’. What a reversal! Vettel had led the drivers’ world championship for 12 uninterrupted rounds, from Melbourne to Spa. But since the summer break and Hamilton’s win in Belgium, he and Mercedes have been dominant, winning…

MAGNIFICENT MACAU: A RACE IN A MILLION It was a cold October afternoon on that bland estate. Rally-jacket weather. Fogged-up windows. A draught coming from somewhere under the dash. It was easy to find the house, though. Look for the Alfasud Ti. Can’t miss it. I parked and walked towards the door, noting the shattered mirrors on both sides of the Alfa but their frames still intact. I smiled, imagining him blasting the ’Sud through a gap just wide enough to catch the frames by a millimetre both sides. I rang the bell. “Sorry,” said Ayrton, T-shirt tucked neatly into his jeans, as was his way. “I’m just on the phone. Sit down. I’ll be with you in a minute.” The small living room was neat and sparse. A few…

Alberto Ascari Dorino Serafini Raymond Sommer Luigi Villoresi José Froilán González Piero Taruffi Peter Whitehead Giuseppe Farina André Simon Piero Carini Mike Hawthorn Umberto Maglioli Robert Manzon Maurice Trintignant Eugenio Castellotti Paul Frère Harry Schell Peter Collins Juan Manuel Fangio Olivier Gendebien Luigi Musso André Pilette Alfonso de Portago Cesare Perdisa Wolfgang von Trips Phil Hill Cliff Allison Jean Behra Tony Brooks Dan Gurney Richie Ginther Willy Mairesse Ricardo Rodriguez Giancarlo Baghetti Lorenzo Bandini Ludovico Scarfiotti John Surtees Nino Vaccarella Mike Parkes Chris Amon Jonathan Williams Jacky Ickx Andrea de Adamich Derek Bell Pedro Rodríguez Ignazio Giunti Clay Regazzoni Mario Andretti Nanni Galli Arturo Merzario Niki Lauda Carlos Reutemann Gilles Villeneuve Jody Scheckter Didier Pironi Patrick Tambay René Arnoux Michele Alboreto Stefan Johansson Gerhard Berger Nigel Mansell Alain Prost Jean…

WHEN EXACTLY DID IT BEGIN, THIS MYSTICISM, THIS MAGIC? There must have been a time when Ferrari – yes, even Ferrari – were just another racing team and car constructor. But at what point did the legend take root? Whenever it was – be it early in Alberto Ascari’s pomp, or perhaps later when John Surtees was the anointed one, but surely earlier than Niki Lauda’s brash era – it would have been the racing cars that sowed the fertile seed. Enzo Ferrari never really cared about the road cars he built, not in the way he lived and breathed for the racing machines that bore his name. After all, going racing was all he had ever wanted. The founder’s involvement in the sport that would define him dated back…

Perhaps you’d be surprised to learn that in a corner of one of the world’s busiest cities, there’s a statue devoted to patience. At all hours of the day and night, Tokyo’s Shibuya district is a hectic blur of humanity orbiting a major road junction and public transport hub. As folk dash to and from the hundreds of trains that rattle through the station every day, they pass a clump of trees within which stands a stone statue of a dog. His name is Hachikō and he stares, longingly, at a green railway carriage. The story of this dog is now part of Japanese folklore. In the 1920s, Hachikō would wait at Shibuya station every day for his owner, Professor Ueno, to return from work at Tokyo University. One evening…

The best of the Brits Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton, who has now elevated himself above all other British drivers with a fourth world title. And now the arguments can begin: is he better than Stewart, as good as Prost, and will he eventually beat all of Schumacher’s records? Those debates will always be subjective, regardless of what the statistics say. Pure numbers don’t necessarily mean that A is better or worse than B, but it would be churlish of Lewis’s detractors to deny that he is a fantastic talent who has taken his performances to another level in a car that has not always been the best on the grid. Here’s to titles five, six and seven! Richard Walsh London, UK An outrageous injustice What more has this…

YOUR BOOKING INCLUDES: • Return flights: London/Manchester-Barcelona • Return coach transfers to your selected hotel • Choice of hotels with breakfast included daily • Race-day (Sunday) general entrance ticket • Drinks reception on Friday night • Race-day return coach transfers to the circuit from your hotel • Service charges, taxes and ATOL WHERE TO STAY H10 Marina A ten-minute walk from the Olympic Port and the city’s beach bars and restaurants, this hotel features bright, modern rooms with satellite TV and air-conditioning. Facilities include a gym, spa, free Wi-Fi and a rooftop pool and sun terrace. Silken Gran Hotel Havana This luxurious and centrally located four-star hotel is a short walk from Las Ramblas and Plaça de Catalunya. It features an impressive roof terrace with a swimming pool and a…

JAMES MANN Over the past seven decades, Ferrari have consistently built beautiful racing cars. Check out James’s stunning pics on p41. RICHARD WILLIAMS As a biographer of the great Enzo Ferrari, who better to write the authoritative story on the enduring appeal of Ferrari? It starts on p32. STEVEN TEE Fernando Alonso asked F1R photographer Steven Tee to capture an ambitious stunt in the centre of Tokyo. Find out more on p72. JAMES ROBERTS It’s been a busy month for Jimmy, who quizzed Max Verstappen on p78 and interviewed driver manager Nicolas Todt on page 82.…

13.10.17  Former Red Bull protégé Brendon Hartley is drafted into Toro Rosso for the US GP and beyond 17.10.17 Robert Kubica completes a test in a 2014 Williams chassis at the Hungaroring 19.10.17  Fernando Alonso extends his McLaren contract to the end of 2018 20.10.17  Derek Warwick steps down as president of the British Racing Drivers’ Club 20.10.17  Max Verstappen extends his Red Bull contract to 2020 23.10.17  Daniil Kvyat dropped from Toro Rosso racing driver line-up 24.10.17  Liberty Media float possibility of dropping Friday practice and expanding calendar beyond 21 races 28.10.17  Bernie Ecclestone claims Mercedes and Ferrari colluded on engine development and F1 politics 31.10.17  FIA releases details of post-2020 F1 engine rules framework…

FAILURE IN F1 IS COSTLY – BUT SADLY INEVITABLE It is a well-worn aphorism that in order to finish first, first you must finish. As with most words of wisdom, this is a remarkably apt truth wrapped up in a concise manner. F1 is a team sport and one that relies heavily on technical excellence. It is a test of man and machine and, from time to time, machines, like men, will fail. For some reason in sport, the occasional failure of man while performing at the limit is deemed acceptable and even inevitable. Logic suggests that the very act of failure is proof of the extreme limits to which the sportsman pushes himself. Conversely it seems that anything other than zero defects is inadequate when it comes to the…

As Ferrari celebrate 70 years since their first racing car, the 125 S, rolled out of the workshop, its 1.5-litre Colombo V12 singing of great deeds yet to be recorded, we thought we’d look back at some of the greats who have raced for the Prancing Horse in F1 since then. To narrow the criteria we asked our own readers, plus the members of FerrariChat.com, the world’s largest online community of Ferrari enthusiasts, to nominate one driver from the 38 who have won a Formula 1 world championship grand prix. Thousands took part in the online vote to determine the greatest Ferrari race winner of all time. Here’s the list from 38 to 11, and then, in more detail, the top ten... 38-11 Giancarlo Baghetti Maurice Trintignant Luigi Musso Piero…

Max Verstappen doesn’t hesitate. His whole demeanour, whether he’s inside the cockpit of a racing car or talking to friends, journalists or engineers, is fat-out. He’s not a man to dwell on an idea: there’s no doubt in his mind about where he wants to go next – be that out on track or over the course of a conversation. We catch up with Max ahead of what will turn out to be an eventful weekend for him. During the Malaysian Grand Prix, not only will he leave his teenage years behind as he turns 20 (his birthday lands on the same day as qualifying, 30 September), but he’ll also scoop the second grand prix victory of his career. But all that is currently still to come. This interview is…

Remember where you heard the name first. Brazilian karter Caio Collet, 15, is tipped to be a star of the future. He is primed to become the first of a new generation of Brazilian racers, and already has a host of achievements to his name. “I know it’s a cliché to say that he’s the ‘new Senna’, because we’ve heard that before, but I heard many good things about him and he’s done very well in his career so far,” says Todt. After winning karting titles in his home town of São Paulo, Collet joined the CIK-FIA World Championship (KF Junior) in 2015 and was ‘best rookie’ and third overall. He was sixth in the CIK-FIA European Championship (OK-Junior) in 2016. “I wanted to help Caio as I don’t see…

The dazzling pre-race buildup to the 2017 US GP revealed much about how Formula 1’s new owners intend to develop the sport into a global racing spectacle. But the race itself, though entertaining, told the same old story: Mercedes domination; Ferrari capitulation. QUALIFYING “It felt for a moment like I was dancing with the wind,” said Lewis Hamilton, as he described the intensely intimate sensation of taking his Mercedes W08 downhill from the Turn 1 peak of the Circuit of The Americas through those thrillingly fast sweepers from Turns 2 to 9. Then he caught himself, momentarily embarrassed at how easily he’d reached for lyricism in trying to explain quite how it is that he and his car have attained a peak of performance beyond the reach of any rival.…

SIX of Formula 1’s 16 multiple champions – Alonso, Ascari, Clark, Häkkinen, Senna and Vettel – claimed all their titles while driving for just one team 6 YEARS The record number of years between first and second titles – shared by Graham Hill (1962 to 1968) and Lewis Hamilton (2008 to 2014) 100% of all tyre manufacturers involved in winning a championship have won more than one title FOUR different engines (Alfa, Maserati, Mercedes and Ferrari) were used by Juan Manuel Fangio during his five title-winning seasons 2 multiple champions – Jackie Stewart and Alain Prost – did not race again in F1 after winning their final world championship SIXTEEN constructors’ titles have been won by Ferrari – the most won by any team 24 YEARS, 99DAYS Sebastian Vettel’s age…

LIFE TO THE LIMIT: MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY Author Jenson Button Price £20 www.blinkpublishing.co.uk The 2009 world champion spent 17 seasons as a Formula 1 driver, earning respect and admiration both for his ability in the cockpit and his conduct out of it. Jenson Button’s well-known story is an eventful one, but at the heart of his story, and this book, is his relationship with his beloved and much-missed father, John, who passed away in 2014. Without ‘Papa Smurf’, Jenson would never have got anywhere near an F1 car, and the best parts of this book concern this special father-son relationship. On the subject of the Old Man, Jenson gets closest to lowering the barriers with an honesty that is genuinely touching. Away from John’s loving influence the book is a little light…

C7 RAPIDE CHRONOGRAPH AUTOMATIC Price £1,495 www.christopherward.co.uk Founded in 2004 by friends Chris Ward, Mike France and Peter Ellis, this Swiss watchmaker offers quality timepieces at reasonable prices. The brand’s latest chronograph, the C7 Rapide, is inspired by the motorsport world’s shared values of technical precision and innovative design. It features the Valjoux 7750 movement, one of the most dependable mechanical chronographs available. It also has a themed dial design housed within a four-piece case, and comes with four different strap options. HUBLOT TECHFRAME FERRARI 70 YEARS TOURBILLON CHRONOGRAPH Price $127,000-$158,000 www.hublot.com This new collection, in three editions, celebrates Hublot partner Ferrari’s 70th anniversary. The design is from Maranello, with Prancing Horse styling on a skeletal, modular, three-component structure with two lateral push buttons in P485 Ferrari red. It’s driven…

This year the helmet is pink, with a bubble effect, because of our sponsor, the water company BWT. It works well because it co-ordinates with the car and our overalls. My favourite colour is yellow, and the helmet used to be all yellow because I like to be seen in the car. Colour aside, I try to keep my style consistent. I’ve had the Mexican fag on top for many years because I’m proud to represent my country. The fag is prominent, and everything else is worked around it. The design is very Mexican in terms of shapes and colours, and my logo is on the back. The design is done by Uffe Tägström, who paints for a few other drivers including Kimi Räikkönen. He’s based in Finland, so we…

Q1 Which driver returned to the F1 grid for one race this season after a four-year absence? Q2 When was the last time the title-winning driver did not come from the team that won the constructors’ championship? Q3 Who scored more points over the course of their Formula 1 career: Jolyon or Jonathan Palmer? Q4 What percentage of the grid received penalties for power unit and/or gearbox changes at the Italian Grand Prix this year? Q5 Where and when did Caterham last appear on a Formula 1 grid, and who were their drivers? Q6 How many times have Ferrari won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: 0, 1 or 2? Q7 Lotus, Alfa Romeo, Williams and Ferrari were the last four F1 teams that which driver raced for? Q8 True or…

FERRARI STILL HAVE A HOLD ON F1’S FUTURE At the root of all Formula 1’s current ills are two intertwined issues that arose because of former commercial rights holder CVC Capital Partners’ designs on a Singapore stock exchange listing: an inequitable revenue structure that rewards participation instead of performance, and dysfunctional regulatory processes that permit one team, Ferrari, to veto putative rule changes, even if they are put forward after majority agreement. A series of bilateral agreements between Formula One Management, now owned by Liberty Media, and a select group of teams ensures they not only benefit preferentially from F1’s billion-dollar revenues, but also decide whichever motions are escalated to the F1 Commission via the Strategy Group. They also form a major voting force in that oxymoronically titled committee upon…

There’s a compelling reason why Ferrari enjoy – for now at least – a preferential share of the commercial takings of F1, beyond what’s due to them from their placing in the constructors’ championship. Dozens of teams have come and gone, leaving barely a ripple. But what would F1 be like without Ferrari, a marque that’s been part of the fabric of the sport since day one? It’s unthinkable. Win, lose or funk, cars bearing the Prancing Horse insignia are infused with a dose of Enzo charisma, even now, almost three decades after the founder’s death. Enzo Ferrari lived to race: he built and sold road cars only to fund the Scuderia, and his team lives on because of that passion, regardless of modern corporate niceties. There have been crashing…

“IT WAS A FANTASTIC RELIEF TO GET CARLOS HERE FOR THE FIRST SESSION AND TO SEE THAT ALL OF THE EFFORTS AND CONTRACTUAL DISCUSSIONS WERE WORTH IT”CYRIL ABITEBOUL THERE was no trace of a smile on the face of the young Spaniard, who had just done something, first time out, that had taken his predecessor 24 attempts to achieve: reach Q3 in qualifying. Not only that, but Carlos Sainz, on his first race weekend for Renault F1, at the 2017 US Grand Prix, would start in P7, profiting from the demotion of Max Verstappen, who’d been slapped with a 15-place penalty for changing engine parts. Would it be uncharitable also to mention that Sainz would start at CoTA 12 places ahead of his team-mate, the hard-charging qualifying ace Nico Hülkenberg?…

Whether it’s the turn of phrase or the mannerisms, there is an unmistakable similarity between Nicolas Todt and his father, Jean. But you’re less likely to bump into the former-Ferrari-bossturned-FIA-president in the Formula 1 paddock. Now it’s Nicolas who is a regular presence, helping to manage some of the world’s top drivers. For the past 14 seasons, Todt Jr has been working with Felipe Massa. He guided him through his rehabilitation back into F1 after Massa was dropped by Sauber in his wild rookie year. He was also there during Massa’s oh-so-close world title campaign in 2008. And he was in the wings again during Felipe’s recovery from that near-fatal accident in Hungary a year later. When GP2 was established as a feeder category to F1 in 2004, Todt entered…