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🏁 Albon Stays On

🏁 Albon Stays On

Alex Re-signs with Williams, Imola Preview, Reader Question

Matthew Bailey
May 17, 2024

PLP Season 2 Edition 20

It’s Race Weekend!

This weekend we kick off our second set of back-to-back races this year, with the first European race on the calendar in every college student’s favorite study abroad location, Italia. Who knew spending 3 months in Italy could make your roommate Steve the world’s leading expert on Chianti?

And since we’re just across the pond that means lovely start times for us East Coasters (sorry West Coasters). Love having early Sunday start times that leave the rest of the day for analysis, highlights, and race debrief conversation. Along with the occasional family time, I guess. Also you may be thinking, is 9:00am really that early? Why yes. Yes it is.

FP1: Friday, May 17th @ 7:30am
FP2: Friday, May 17th @ 11:00am
FP3: Saturday, May 18th @ 6:30am
Qualifying: Saturday, May 18th @ 10:00am
Grand Prix: Sunday, May 19th @ 9:00am

Quick Question !

What do you think will happen at Imola this weekend?

Last week we asked who else was PUMPED UP by Lando’s first win, and most respondents agreed it was great to watch.

Here’s what you had to say about the race:

“It was great to see another driver on the TOP step!!!”

“As a Brit living in the USA, so thrilled for Lando.”

“Wow!!! what a fun race to watch, my wife & I were screaming at the TV, lots of fist pumps. We were getting tired of watching the same results week after week. This level of competition will help keep the sport pure.” Heck yea, love fist pumps.

“Lando will not win again this year.” I disagree… but we shall see!

Emilia-Romagna GP Preview

This Sunday we’ve got the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, or by it’s full name the Formula 1 MSC Cruises Gran Premio Del Made in Italy E Delle’emilia-Romagna 2024… but you can just call it Imola (after the city in which it resides).

Sunday we’ll get 63 counter-clockwise laps through 19 turns in a combination of fast straights, sweeping curves, and technical chicanes over changing elevation in Italy’s classic rolling landscape (close to wear Steve swears they made an incredible Sangiovese vintage in 2016). Turns 7, 9, and 12 or “Tosa”, “Piratella” and “Acque Minerali” are the most famous parts of the track, with the most technical section being “Variante Alta” at turns 14-15.

In 2020 Gasly called the track one of the best experiences he’s had in an F1 car, while Daniel Kvyat said about Acque Minerali, “the entrance is so fast, it’s so cool. It really gives you a lot of adrenaline.” Rave reviews.

With early forecasts calling for a chance of rain on Sunday combined with a lot of car upgrades being unveiled, we could be in for another good one.

What to watch for:

By getting pole on Sunday, Max can tie two records: Ayrton Senna is the only driver to ever get 8 straight poles, and Alain Prost is the only driver to start a season with 7 straight poles. Max currently sits at 7 straight, with 6 to start 2024.
Upgrades galore: Piastri is getting Lando’s winning formula this weekend, we’ll cover Ferrari and Merc changes below, and Aston bringing new sidepods, floor, diffuser, and possibly even a reconfigured rear suspension.
If Kevin “Big Pain Dane” Magnussen continues to terrorize the other drivers and gets two more penalty points, he’ll be suspended for a race and we’ll see Bearman again a lot sooner than originally thought.
It’s been 30 years since the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at the circuit, as well as two years since F1 raced there after the devastating floods in 2023. Look for tributes to these solemn anniversaries throughout the weekend.

Albon 🤝 Williams

While his name was on many team’s short lists, AA (Alex Albon, A.K.A. “Double A Battery” A.K.A. “Energizer Bunny” can’t use that since Duracell is a Williams sponsor. But seriously “Double AA Battery” works as a nickname here. Going to try to get that to catch on) has re-upped with Williams through at least 2027 on a “multi-year” deal, in accordance with the always-vague F1 contract term language.

This is a win for both parties, with Williams landing what many view as one of the more talented drivers on the grid (aside from the obvious top dawgs). Albon gets continuity and some more guaranteed years, and shows that he believes in the direction that James Vowles is taking the team. He’s really turned his reputation around in short order after being dropped by Red Bull in 2021. Now he will have the chance to continue to prove he drive with the big boys, as long as Williams can give him a better car.

Alex posted the news on X saying “New contract, same passion, same goal! I really believe in this team and the journey we are on together. The potential is there, so let’s get to work.” There’s potential for sure. Should be a fun team to watch develop throughout the length of his new contract.

It’s been a disappointing year so far, but I’d bet the farm (ok maybe not the farm, but at least a few pigs and a couple cows) that Williams moves to the top of the midfield over the next year or two. Would be fun if they can turn the car around and land Antonelli for a year or two before he’s called up to the Varsity squad (That squad being Mercedes. Though they’re starting to look like the Eden Hall Academy Warriors Varsity team that lost to the all-Mighty-Ducks on fresh scholarship Eden Hall Academy JV team in D3: The Mighty Ducks. A truly incredible film. Though a JV team beating Varsity in hockey is about as realistic as Sargeant winning that WDC this year. Sorry Logan.

Reader Question - Who Acts as a Team’s Weatherman?

With rumored rain ahead of Sunday’s race, one reader wants to know: do teams have dedicated meteorologists, or will a venue provide some sort of weather forecasting? Rain is an obvious one, but also temperature will affect track conditions and thus tires, air pressure affects car performance, and wind direction and speed also has a big impact on how a car will handle on track.

Teams themselves will have dedicated weather equipment to track changing conditions, the suppliers of which are ruled on by the FIA. Because of course they are. But it’s in the interest of fairness. Look for wind instruments on top of a team’s pit wall, radar tracking incoming storms displayed on their monitors alongside telemetry data, and guns to read track temperature. To cover other parts of the track, they may place additional instruments or have spotters calling in changing conditions. I’ve even heard of teams sending people miles upwind to try and watch for storms and rain coming in. Stinks to be that guy, can’t even watch the race.

Down the Grid

🥇Max Verstappen [136]: Says he’d rather win by a big margin than fight wheel to wheel: “I’ve raced so much in my life in close combat. I enjoy a lot more if we can actually nail the car and are 100% sure that we can win…but, of course, that’s not what fans want to hear.” He also said he wants to compete in other racing series, and won’t stay in F1 until he’s 40.

🥈 Sergio Perez [103]: Not focused on his lack of contract for next year, hinting there might be some other options. But with Albon signed, that’s a plus for him to stay where he is.

🥉 Charles Leclerc [98]: Bryan Bozzi will take over as his race engineer, who was previously his driver performance engineer. He replaces Xavi Marcos who will move to a new role in the team. People liked to criticize Xavi for his “we’ll get back to you” and strategy mix-ups on the radio, though everything has been pretty smooth since Vasseur took over.

4️⃣ Lando Norris [83]: Check out Lando’s quickly-deleted social media post for Max on his birthday. Max caught in an odd pose here 🤣

5️⃣ Carlos Sainz [83]: On his yet-to-be-signed 2025 contract: “It’s not moving too quick. When I have it, you’ll know.” 😎

6️⃣ Oscar Piastri [41]: Believes Lando’s pace in Miami win is an “encouraging sign” for this weekend, where he’ll receive the remainder of the upgrades that his teammate got last week.

7️⃣ George Russell [37]: Taking a 100 year old Mercedes for a spin in the Italian countryside

8️⃣ Fernando Alonso [33]: On 2026 regulation changes, “You never know what is going to happen in 2026. We want to be the Mercedes of 2014 or we want to be the Red Bull of 2022. And I think a lot of teams are hoping for that.” Nail the new regs and you have a huge head start.

9️⃣ Lewis Hamilton [27]: Vasseur says his impact next year will be felt not just on the track, noting the experience and feedback he’ll bring even before the season starts.

🔟 Yuki Tsunoda [14]: TP Mekies thinks he made a “huge step” in performance this season. He continued, “He can execute weekends with absolutely zero mistakes” and also praised Yuki for “dealing with the low points” better. AKA not screaming expletives on the radio every race. Good Yuki.

11. Lance Stroll [9]: Krack on why he isn’t “criticized in public” like Alonso is sometimes: “The Lance that we know in the team is a different Lance that may exist in the public perception.” We’re due for another good Lance radio message.

12. Oliver Bearman [6]: Will drive FP1 for Haas this weekend. While he’s a top candidate to replace the exiting Nice, TP Komatsu says “But, of course, he needs to perform in F1-that’s clear.”

13. Nico Hulkenberg [6]: Says TP Komatsu “gave everything” to keep him at Haas for 2025. He’ll continue to receive upgrades and give feedback, though the team will not keep him in the loop on their development plans for next year’s car.

14. Daniel Ricciardo [5]: Marko squashes rumors he’d be replaced by Lawson this weekend, but doesn’t rule out the possibility in the future.

15. Esteban Ocon [1]: On navigating Imola: “The circuit in Imola is very fast and flowing and also very technical in places, particularly with riding the kerbs and traction. You always try to keep the minimum speed up through the corners and you need to balance being aggressive over the kerbs without unsettling the car.”

16. Kevin Magnussen [1]: His race tactics have helped Haas score points, at the cost of penalty points for himself. With 9 infractions so far in 2024, 2 more penalty points will result in a race ban. He’ll be at 10 until some start to expire in March of next year.. so potentially another shot for Bearman this year if Kev continues to get spicy.

17. Alex Albon [0]: Had “huge” floor damage in Miami after he ran over the bollard on lap 50 that Max dislodged much earlier, costing him 1 second per lap. Kicking a bollard while it’s down? Shameful! Also, how the heck did he hit it 28 laps after Max? Seems like they should have retrieved it…

18. Zhou Guanyu [0]: Rumor is he’s an option Haas is considering for next year, with K-Mag’s seat possibly not secure. This is a bit unexpected… let’s see if talks pick up in the coming weeks.

19. Pierre Gasly [0]: Will wear a special Ayrton Senna helmet on the 30th anniversary of his passing

20. Valtteri Bottas [0]: Bravi confirmed that his race engineer switch was made by Sauber CEO Andreas Seidl ahead of the Audi takeover. Remember Bottas got a penalty for impeding Piastri in Miami… typically the responsibility of the race engineer to give the driver a head’s up when another is coming.

21. Logan Sargeant [0]: “Just looking for those last tenths” as he says it’s been going well from a pace front, but needs to minimize mistakes. As the Antonelli rumors still fly around..

Constructor’s Corner

🥇Red Bull [239]: Amid Newey’s departure and (silly) Max rumors, Horner insists that “Max is very happy in the team, he’s got a wonderful group of engineers around him, he’s got a great car. It’s not about contracts, it’s about being content, and I think that’s the same for any driver.” Facts… Max has said it himself too. He ain’t going nowhere.

🥈Ferrari [187]: Call it the Hamilton Effect, as they announce Loic Serra and Jerome D’Ambrosio have been poached from Mercedes. Serra will lead Chassis Performance Engineering, and D’Ambrosio will be Deputy Team Principal. Cut to Fred rubbing his hands together and laughing manically. Darth Vasseur strikes again.

🥉McLaren [124]: TP Stella stresses the need for continued upgrades to fight RBR consistently: “We do believe that we are on a strong trajectory, but at the same time, I think this wasn’t necessarily a strong weekend for Red Bull.” He added another step of the same size should put them in regular striking distance.

4️⃣ Mercedes [64]: Need to work on consistency across a weekend to get the most out of their upgrades, the second half of which they are bringing this weekend (new rear wing and beam wing) after they were happy with their floor upgrades in Miami. Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin: “The car from session to session can behave quite differently and until we get on top of that, we are always going to blunt the benefit that we can get from these type of updates.”

5️⃣ Aston Martin [42]: As they prepare for a Honda partnership in 2026, of course Yuki’s name has been floating around. Honda CEO Koji Watanabe has said they hope to “keep an eye” on Tsunoda, as they prepare to make the switch from supplying Red Bull to Aston. Yuki to Aston would make A LOT of sense… but with Fernando around for at least another two years, good luck getting any switch past Papa Stroll..

6️⃣ RB [19]: Alan Permane, Racing Director on this weekend: “It’s very much our home race and we will have the pleasure of seeing a lot of our factory staff in the grandstands over the weekend. The circuit features very high-speed changes of direction, plenty of elevation change and some tricky kerbs to master. A compromise between a stiff car for the high speed and some compliance to ride the kerbs is required. Pirelli are bringing their softest tires in the range which is one step softer than has been used here in the past.” This is great insight. Thanks Alan!

7️⃣ Haas [7]: The ghost of Guenther refuses to go away. Now, the team is counter-suing Steiner of alleged trademark infringements via pictures included in his “Surviving to Drive” book. This feels pretty petty, and is clearly a retaliation from the former bosses original suit. Good book though, a lot of interesting inside info.

8️⃣ Alpine [1]: Fresh off the season’s first point, TP Famin admits “We have not improved fast enough. Others have done a better job and now we need to change the mindset”

9️⃣ Williams [0]: TP Vowles said the team is in contact with “four or five” drivers about next season, while squashing rumors that Antonelli will make an appearance this year and saying the focus is on improving their car.

🔟 Kick Sauber [0]: Seidl on transformations within the team as they prepare for a full Audi takeover: “It is important to mention that the transformation will not only be about growth. It would be naïve to believe that by simply having more financial resources available and becoming a bigger team we automatically fight with the top teams.”

Tech Talk

The FIA is investigating a new lightweight halo for 2026 to help reduce total car weight. The proposed titanium alloy halos would have to pass strict strength tests. The reduction? A whopping1kg, or 2.2lbs. The goal is to reduce total weight by 40-50kg, or 88-110lbs for the new regulations, so every bit helps I suppose…
F1 Tech Weekly: How Ferrari’s upgrades to put RBR under pressure (great song): The Scuderia is bringing major aero upgrades including an “overbite” radiator inlet, a deeper undercut at the front of the sidepod, and an enhanced cooling outlet on the side of the engine cover. We finally get to see what these much hyped upgrades can do this weekend.
Take a look at McLaren’s upgrades that helped propel Lando to his first P1 finish. Those sidepod tweaks sure go a long way huh?

Easier to tell the differences when the versions are side by side 📸 @RosarioGiuliana on X

Off the Grid

Fresh off a double victory in the F1 Academy races held in Miami, Abbi Pulling has made history by becoming the first ever woman to win an F4 race.
What happens to F1 tires after races? [Video] Thank you Mike for the submission! The all important tire.. a pivotal piece of F1 car performance. Too cold and they won’t grip enough, too hot and they’ll degrade too fast. A delicate balance! Amazing how many are torn up through a full season. 28,800 by my count (don’t check my math pls).
Brad Pitt’s F1 movie budget has reportedly surpassed $300M. Guess I’ll have to see it twice now to help out.
Max realized during a racing live stream that he’s also racing the iRacing Nurburgring 24 Hour this weekend. Believe it or not, it’s not the first time he’s gone virtual racing in a weekend where there also was a real live F1 race. Guys a machine!

Question (My Answer)

Leclerc with the win. Book it!

Enjoy the race errbody, we’ll see premium subs on Monday for a recap and be back here again next Friday to preview everyone’s favorite tax haven, Monaco. Bingo below for premium subscribers as well 🔽

C’mon Charles! We believe ! 📸 @f1trollofficial on X

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