F1 News TheFoxPosts.com

Toto Wolff believes Mercedes' Formula 1 problems were so ingrained in 2022 that the budget cap had no impact over the poor performance. Despite entering the season as the eight-time consecutive world champions, Mercedes stumbled with their W13 design - suffering a magnitude of problems. Originally the team believed the aerodynamic porpoising was the key factor behind its slow start to the season, but soon uncovered a fundamental design flaw with the car, believed to relate to the floor which could not be fixed in-season. As a result, the team continued to try and make best of the W13, with George Russell claiming his first, and Mercedes ' only win of the season in Brazil while Lewis Hamilton went winless for the first time ever in his F1 career. In years gone by, teams would have been able to throw as much money as required at the problem to rectify it during the season, but owing to the $140 million budget cap in place, this was not possible. However, Wolff beli...

Max Verstappen believes that Red Bull's penalty for breaching the cost cap will "hurt" them, but has backed the team to maintain their momentum. The 2022 F1 season proved to be a dominant one for Verstappen and the Milton Keynes-based squad; Verstappen claimed his second World Championship with four races to spare, while Red Bull clinched the Constructors' Championship for the first time since 2013. However, one potential dampener on the year was the confirmation in October that the outfit would be punished for breaching the 2021 budget cap. Red Bull were ordered to pay a $7 million fine, along with having to forfeit 10 per cent of their aerodynamic development allowance. Despite this, Verstappen feels that his team have the right factors in place to be able to cope with the impact, given their level of competitiveness in 2022. Verstappen assesses impact of cost cap pena...

Aston Martin boss Mike Krack has dismissed any concerns over the recent four-week gap in the F1 calendar having an impact on the team's momentum. The squad had a strong start to the 2023 season, with Fernando Alonso claiming three consecutive podium results in the opening races. Lance Stroll, meanwhile, bounced back from a pre-season cycling accident to finish in the points in Bahrain and Australia, putting the team in P2 of the Constructors' Championship. Following the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix, a break in the schedule has taken place ahead of the upcoming race in Azerbaijan, but Krack is not worried about the impact of this. Calendar break does not change Aston Martin plans When asked if the four-week gap in the calendar had come at a bad time following Aston Martin 's run of success, Krack told media, including TheFOXposts.Com : "Yeah, but it's the same for everybody. "It does not really change anything [in] our ...

Daniel Ricciardo admits that Red Bull's 10 per cent loss of their aerodynamic development allowance as a result of breaching the 2021 cost cap is a "serious number", but the punishment is one he expects the team to be able to manage. The penalty was confirmed in October, alongside the Milton Keynes-based squad having to pay a $7 million fine due to the breach. Various responses emerged across the paddock, with team boss Christian Horner arguing that the loss of aerodynamic development could cost them "up to half a second per lap", while Ferrari's Laurent Mekies expressed concerns over whether the punishment would have enough of an impact . Ahead of his return to the squad as a reserve driver for 2023, Ricciardo has given his take on the issue. Ricciardo reflects on Red Bull penalty "You can't deny that it doesn't hurt, because, when you...