🏁 AlphaTauri's Name Drop

PLP Season 2 Edition 4

34 Days Until the 2024 Season Opening Weekend

The hot stove offseason continues with another spicy week. Among the stories we’ve got today, Netflix also confirmed that Drive to Survive Season 6 (a.k.a. The Guenther Farewell Tour) will officially return on February 23rd - which is also the last day of preseason testing. I can barely contain myself. Soon…

Speaking of everyone’s favorite Italian former principal of the only American F1 team, I started Guenther’s book Surviving to Drive this week. It delivers right off the bat with the first line: “It probably won’t surprise many people that I am starting my book with a swear word but all I can say is, thank fok that season is over!” Fok. Love it. I’ll drop a review when I finish the book, which will hopefully be before the season starts. I am a notoriously slow reader.

Quick Quiz!

Answer revealed at the bottom ⬇

Last Week: 82% were correct with Toro Rosso. Though I think we can all agree that Rood Stier is definitely better than what AlphaTauri came up with... Anyone have any contacts at Red Bull? We should write a letter to suggest the change.

AlphaTauri’s New Name is.. Not What We Thought

Not to be outdone by Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, AlphaTauri’s official name rebrand was dropped this week. And the name is… drumroll please… Visa Cash App RB. Huh. That’s uh… something, I guess. And according to the team, RB does not stand for Racing Bulls, and VCARB has been the internally adopted acronym. Just as the dust was settling from “Stake F1 Team” befuddling race fans everywhere, the team formerly known as AlphaTauri said hold my beer.

The rebrand coincides with an effort internally to shed the “Red Bull junior team” status and become more competitive - all while the team plans on building a greater presence at the big bull’s Milton Keynes campus (and the new logo still has a bull on it??? Mixed messages). Numerous other teams have called out the close relationship between the two this past season, with the connection being stronger than a typical supplier-customer agreement.

The reaction from F1 fans has been poor on this news, to say the least. Can’t say I disagree. While change is always going to get some resistance (life lessons ✨), this one just… ain’t it (as the kids say). Bit of a stinker I’m afraid. You’ve got iconic manufacturers like Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren.. and now Visa Cash App RB. At least the logo and colors look cool… Actually looking forward to the livery reveal on this one which drops on February 8th.

Hola Madrid, Adios Barcelona?

We covered the rumor a month ago, but this week it was confirmed: Madrid will be hosting a street race starting in 2026. A reported 48M Euro per year fee was paid to secure the 10-year contract that will see racing in Spain’s capital through 2035. With the announcement, the natural thought is the current Spanish GP in Barcelona could be cooked with it’s contract expiring in 2026. But F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says not so fast - ensuring the Circuit de Catalunya race still may have a future on the calendar - with discussions already underway to see if collaboration with Barcelona can continue.

If you remember the possible track designs that were floating around, the settled circuit looks kinda similar to Option #2 covered in our December 15th edition. The track will be based around the IFEMA Madrid exhibition center, close to other high-profile sporting arenas in the area. The 20-turn 5.474 km track will have an estimated lap time of 1m32s, combining long straights, fast sweeping section, as well as tight chicanes. It will utilize both public roads and private land, so part permanent and part street circuit, similar to Miami. With this set up, the track will feature two short tunnel sections (Love a good tunnel. Full of mystery and intrigue. We need more tunnels.), a possible banked turn 10, and “serious speed” section through turns 13 to 17.

Unlike VCARB, reaction across F1 fans has been mixed - “purists” really don’t seem to like street circuits. Personally I like the different challenge and style of racing they present, as long as there is a good mix of street and traditional on the calendar. Although it is interesting we have a record number of street circuits in an age where the cars have never been bigger. But ask any knowledgeable race fan and they’d probably agree that while the current Spanish GP track is fine, it’s not particularly special or known for great racing action. New tracks are always exciting so best we give this one a shot before we judge too harshly.

Leclerc Contract Confirmed

In another edition of “we reported on this rumor over a month ago but the news is now confirmed this week”, we have the official announcement from the Scuderia that the team has agreed to contract terms with Charles Leclerc. The rumors at the end of last year were 25M euro, growing to 50M euro over the 5 year life of the contract. However, at this time the actual terms of the contract have not been revealed and the team is simply reporting an extension “beyond the 2024 season”. Part of Charles’ statement reads “My dream remains that of winning the World Championship with Ferrari and I’m sure that in the years ahead, we will enjoy great times together and make our fans happy.” Can you imagine…

This is a no-brainer move by Ferrari. One of if not THE fastest driver on the grid over one lap. Locking him up is the right move. Love his all or nothing, completely on the edge driving style that is a threat to take pole position in any given weekend. Now we just watch for Sainz contract news… any day now…

Ferrari: Year in Review

Ok listen, if you’ve been a reader for a few months now, it may come as no surprise that we here at the Pulse are indeed… Ferrari fans. Maybe not quite Tifosi level, but we pull for the Prancing Horse. Is it because there is Italian blood in our family history? Or that we’re a fan of the country, cuisine, and culture? Or is it that we’re gluttons for race day punishment? Is it simply their incredibly good looking driver pairing?

Whatever the case, we do our best to be unbiased. But even with a very close P3 finish in the Constructors’ last year, it’s hard not to be disappointed. Ferrari has the history, the brand, legendary drivers in its ranks, and all the resources to be a dominant force in F1. But lately, it seems like they can’t get out of their own way. Their biggest rival isn’t Red Bull or Mercedes, it’s… Ferrari. While this sentiment has become a bit of a trope, last season under Vasseur does feel like an improvement over 2022’s comedy of errors.

Ferrari was Max’s biggest threat to steal pole last year, with Charles notching 5 to Carlos’s 2. Unfortunately once the race started you knew how it would likely play out, with the team lacking the race pace to hang on to the top position. Except for Singapore that is - a track that was very poor for the champs and a race that saw a strategy masterclass from Sainz, who held on from pole for the victory - securing the only non-Red Bull win in perhaps the highlight of the entire season. While the season started a bit slow for Leclerc, he found consistency later on and took 6 podiums and P5 in the driver’s championship. Sainz was only 6 point behind for a P7 finish, taking 3 podiums of his own. With only 6 points separating 4th through 7th, a tough end to his season (Vegas which was out of his control, and poor quali in Abu Dhabi) likely left him a bit frustrated.

While many times you see these drivers making their own strategy calls (and often to great effect, Carlos in Singapore and Leclerc’s bold call to try to secure P2 in Abu Dhabi, even if it came up short), it does seem like overall the team saw improved decision making in 2023. Obviously you need the car to compete, so as always a lot hinges on off season progress - but give these guys a top car and either of them can bring the fight to Max. Some would argue Leclerc has the better shot but Sainz pace was not far off all year. You have to believe a team as storied as Ferrari can ascend to the top of the field once again…

• Highs: Sainz Singapore win, driver strategy calls, Monza battle

• Lows: Austin DQ, Vegas drain cover, Abu Dhabi finale to miss P2

• “I believe the best is yet to come and I can’t wait for this season to start, to make further progress and be competitive every race.” - LEC

• “I will renew if…I feel that I am valued. That as a driver…is the main priority. I am convinced that if we both want to, we will reach an agreement on a duration that I am happy with.” - SAI

Down the Grid

Tech Talk

• While not car tech, check out this example of what could be possible for future race watching with virtual reality. This set up would be incredible. Having a 3D track view of 20 cars at once would make it a lot easier to visualize track position and strategies that call for getting into clean air. Plus it looks freakin’ sweet.

• A nice comparison from @FDataAnalysis between cars at Formula 1/2/3/4 levels. Horsepower is 1000/620/380/160 respectively, with top speeds being 350/335/300/250 km/h.

• Ferrari’s SF-24 is expected to feature many innovations, including reworking the aerodynamics around the headrest and halo, and wide body work at the rear more similar to the Red Bull concept. The Rosario Guiliana image below highlights what we may see from the updated Ferrari - note the red arrow showing the widened area around the exhaust on the Red Bull, designed to better eliminate heat 🔽

Off the Grid

• Mick Schumacher: “F1 will always remain the dream”, as he prepares to drive Alpine’s A424 hypercar in the World Endurance Championship for 2024.

• “Whatever it Takes” documentary from AlphaTauri (pre-name change) on the evolution of the team [Movie]

• If you’re a gaming fan, or have young kids, or simply exist on this earth you’ve probably heard of minecraft - a mining/building game (think virtual legos, in a sense) where players with way too much time on their hands have made some truly grand creations. Take these models of Bahrain and Monza as examples, constructed via 1×1 virtual blocks of different types 🔽

Phew, the news was fast and furious this week. And to think I was afraid there wouldn’t be enough to cover in the offseason.

Found this gem that must have been released the beginning of last season (sorry Nyck). Just look at ‘lil Yuki. And Lance has seriously not aged a day 🔽

Questions? Comments? Did we get something wrong (never 😁)? Let us know ▶ [email protected]