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It’s time to bring you up to date on the key talking points from another busy day in the Formula 1 world.
Lewis Hamilton’s impending shock move to Ferrari understandably continues to dominate the headlines, and although Ferrari has reportedly left the door open for any Mercedes defectors, Hamilton’s long-time racing engineer Pete Bonnington appears to have A stumbling block has been discovered.
We’ve only scratched the surface with today’s major headlines though, so let’s dive into the action…
Gardening break could delay Pete Bonnington’s move to Ferrari
It was widely reported in the Italian media that Hamilton would not arrive at Ferrari alone. He is expected to venture out with other colleagues at Mercedes.
However, if one of those allies is Hamilton’s race engineer Bonington, affectionately known as “Bono”, then the customary gardening leave that existing senior team members must abide by could mean Hamilton will be left without him Start your life with Ferrari.
“One complication is that Bonington must stay at Mercedes until the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi on December 8 and then be unable to drive for Ferrari at the beginning of 2025, meaning the so-called The transition is very tense in terms of ‘gardening leave’,” reports sport.de.
read more: Things get more complicated as Lewis Hamilton’s close friend has links to Ferrari
Carlos Sainz talks Lewis Hamilton’s future with Ferrari and F1
Sainz found himself ultimately collateral damage in Hamilton’s move to Ferrari, meaning he will need a new home on the F1 grid from 2025.
Sainz confirmed in an interview with Sky Italia that he sensed the writing was on the wall, although he was not worried about where his career would go.
“I know my value as a driver, so when I look to the future, I’m very calm,” he said.
read more: Carlos Sainz opens up about Lewis Hamilton’s big decision and F1 future
Red Bull and Christian Horner set date for investigation meeting
Red Bull Racing’s parent company Red Bull GmbH confirmed to PlanetF1.com on Monday that it had launched an internal investigation into team principal Horner “after becoming aware of certain recent allegations”.
PlanetF1.com has now learned that Red Bull GmbH and Horner are scheduled to meet on Friday, February 9 regarding the investigation, with Horner denying any wrongdoing.
read more: Date set for meeting between Christian Horner and Red Bull following misconduct allegations
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Your questions answered: Everything you need to know about Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari
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The ‘radical’ F1 C44 is not a Red Bull copycat
The F1 2024 launch season is now in full swing and with the Stake F1 era up and running with the launch of the C44 Challenger in central London, PlanetF1.com joins other select F1 media to interview Technical Director James Key.
As part of an in-depth discussion, Key explained why Stake has resisted the temptation to produce Red Bull knockoffs despite their dominance in 2023, and addressed a range of other topics around the reveal of the “radical” C44.
Q: How tempting is it to copy Red Bull?
JK: “The thing about aerodynamics is you can see what everyone else is doing, but it’s so subtle.
“If we went out with a Red Bull front wing, the car wouldn’t go faster and would probably be slower because the rest of the car is incompatible.
“So you can’t just copy a car, we saw maybe last year Aston Martin produced a car that was very similar to the Red Bull because it wasn’t exactly the same but very similar and the performance was a little bit better, but it’s not.” t was suddenly brought to the front.
“They did their thing over the winter and took a big step forward. So you have to control your own destiny and if you try to get someone else to do it for you and you just take a snapshot, that’s never going to work. .everything needs to become compatible.
“It’s not the geometry that’s important, it’s the physics of the flow around those geometries, and you can create that in a variety of ways.
“So you have to be your own boss in that regard, which is why we came out in ’22 and looked at the huge difference between the top three teams, which is probably a good indicator. They are their own bosses, ultimately. Their performance levels were very close. When Mercedes had a good day in the early stages, everything was fast.
“So they skin it in a different way, but you can still produce performance, so if it was as simple as copying Red Bull, everyone would look like Red Bull and we would all be P1.”
read more – Explained: Why the “Radical” Stake F1 C44 Isn’t a Red Bull RB19 Knockoff
Alex Albon distances himself from Mercedes/Red Bull rumors
F1’s “silly season” is now fully up and running and it is widely believed that Williams driver Albon could play a key role in the dominoes continuing to fall.
Mercedes and Red Bull suddenly emerged as potential destinations, although Albon focused on driving and left all that to his management team.
Williams team boss James Vowles told media including PlanetF1.com that Albon’s contract with Williams was set to expire at the end of 2025, but Albon shared his thoughts on the matter shortly after. view.
“If I said there have been some issues and general discussions, I would deny that (sic),” he said at the FW46 team press conference in New York on Monday.
“But, to be honest, personally, it’s not my specialty. It’s more management, and my focus is driving.”
read more: Mercedes/Red Bull rumors swirl, Alex Albon talks F1 future
Read next: Lewis Hamilton expected to avoid Sebastian Vettel’s key mistake at Ferrari
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