Month: January 2020

Formula One supporters could lose one of their venues this year with the recent infection of Coronavirus. It’s been confirmed by F1s governing body that they’re determining the associated risk with the Chinese Grand Prix. This evolving situation is being monitored, and if the virus cannot be destroyed before March 1st, all Formula International Association events will be terminated in China. Extreme efforts are being taken to guarantee the prompt destruction of Coronavirus, which means there’s still some hope that this circuit will remain in the 2020 season.

The Chinese Grand Prix is used by multiple variations of motorsport under the FIA. The 1st yearly event in with Formula E on March 21st. That’s why there has been a deadline on March 1st for the decision making process. The Formula International Association confirmed that if termination procedures for the Coronavirus are completed by March 31st, then the Formula Two and Formula One races would continue onwards. Most motorsport analysts are praising this level of the condition by the FIA, even with their event located in Shanghai. This metropolis is 800km away from the Wuhan District, but can still prove to be a concerning location for F1 Drivers and Teammates.

The World Health Organization

Detailed information regarding the Coronavirus has been provided hourly to international reporters. It’s known through Chinese health authority’s association with the World Health Organization, that confirmed cases of Coronavirus have exceeded several thousand citizens of China. These infections have spread through fifteen democratic nations worldwide, including Canada and the United States of America. The World Health Organization is having extensive delegations on Thursday, January 30, 2020. Conversations will determine if Coronavirus is a global health emergency, which would immediately demand the assistance of the world’s best medical scientists. Considering that the Coronavirus has infected less than 1% of the worldwide population, most believe that it won’t be classified as GHE.

The Formula One Association is hoping that outbreak strategies will destroy the Coronavirus. There are also concerns that the FIA might potentially have to terminate the Bahrain Grand Prix and Hanoi Grand Prix, which was slated to have its grand opening throughout 2020. We’ll keep our readers informed of any cancellations to the F1 2020 Calendar. It should be noted that multiple other sporting events have been terminated in the wake of Coronavirus. This included the World Indoor Athletics Championship. Their activity was 500km away from the Wuhan District and has now been postponed for twelve months.

Major League Baseball has experienced their most prominent allegations of cheating in history. This follows after the Houston Astros were found implementing sign-stealing technologies, giving them a huge advantage over the competition. It resulted in them winning the World Series in 2017. It’s now being revealed that other team in Major League Baseball had suspected that the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox had been cheating for time. Brain Cashman from the New York Yankees informed MLB reporters that they’d been implementing techniques to stop sign-stealing from opposing organizations. The Yankee’s general manager engaged every tactic possible to limit the stealing of signs, with evolutions in their strategies increasing to account for cheating opponents. Information regarding sign-stealing followed after Mike Fiers became the whistleblower, with him previous playing for the Houston Astros.

Brain Cashman didn’t express the extent of their protection that the New York Yankees had in the 2017 campaign. This was when the Houston Astros had most actively implemented their sign-stealing protocols, which remained active throughout the last two seasons. Information revealed after these allegations noted that the Boston Red Sox had cheated their way to the 2018 World Series victory. This would mean two organizations cheated their way to success, with the Yankee’s failing for two consecutive seasons. Brain Cashman can’t help but feel that Major League Baseball should strip the world championship titles from 2017/2018.

The Frustration Grows

Multiple individuals connected to the New York Yankees have expressed their disappointment to the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox. This follows after they’d been eliminated the last three seasons, twice by the Houston Astros and once by the Boston Red Sox. Both teams cheated their ways into defeating the New York Yankees. This prompted Aaron Boone, the Head Manager for the Yankees, to demand greater enforcement from governing officials in the Major League Baseball association. Boone demanded that significant steps be taken to ensure clean and fair games amongst competitors. Hopefully MLB associates will take Aaron Boone’s advice and finally put an end to cheating in baseball. It should be noted that cheating with steroids, illegal baseball bats and illegal gloves have previously occurred in MLB history.

There hasn’t been any confirmation that the Houston Astros or Boston Red Sox will be stripped of their world championship titles. MLB Associates must act quickly to enforce fairer gameplay amongst athletes, especially after their considerable battle against Bernie Sanders and Minor League Baseball.

The Ferrari Driver’s Academy has selected Arthur Leclerc for a position in Formula Regional. Prema Racing confirmed this announcement, with the younger brother of Charles Leclerc being signed after graduating the Ferrari Junior Program. Notable moments in this family’s history include Charles becoming the youngest professional racer to win a Grand Prix, which occurred at Belgium in 2019. Arthur Leclerc has a considerable level of training before he can obtain placement in Formula 2 for Prema Racing, where Mick Schumacher currently resides.

Arthur Leclerc became a noticeable driver for Prema Racing after being positioned to join Sauber Junior. The nineteen-year-old driver competed in the 2019 FDA Trails, ultimately racing in the German Formula Four circuit. He’d acquire several podiums in his first stint in F4 and place third in the championship standings. This prompted the promotion to Formula Regional, with his next stop being F2. The Ferrari Driver’s Academy maintains nine drivers in their lineup. Those individuals include Mick Schumacher, Giuliano Alesi, Callum Illot, Enzo Fittipaldo, Gianluca Petecof, Robert Schwartzman, Marcus Armstrong and Dino Beganovic. Subsequently, this young competitor has considerable competitor, unlike his brother Charles.

Prema Racing

The Technical Director for the Ferrari Driver Academy confirmed this announcement. Marco Matassa expressed that his organization is pleased to welcome Arthur Leclerc and Dino Beganovic to the academy. Marco said that their lineup of drivers would compete across four variations of Formula racing. This includes Formula 2, Formula 3, Formula Regional and Formula Four. Matassa noted that this would be one of the most competitive seasons to date with the Ferrari Driver Academy/Prema Racing. Ultimately, the objective of the academy is to assist these individuals in their growth and success in racing.

The Sporting Director with the Ferrari Driver Academy also spoke during the press release announcement. He said to reporters that they’re always scouting for the most talented drivers in lower-league racing. Laurent Mekies noted that Arthur and Dino were the best of their respective categories. Going forward, this academy maintains two drivers in each single-seat FIA league. Supporting their growth as racing drivers and educational development as individuals is the primary purpose of signing on with this academy. It’s expected that Arthur Leclerc will inevitably make it to Formula Two and potentially Formula One.

The Challenges

Arthur Leclerc will struggle to obtain a placement with Prema Racing in the next two years for Formula Two. Mick Schumacher currently drives with this organization, with his development as a racing driver being more critical than any other. This is because of his relation to Michael Schumacher. Even though Arthur is related to Charles Leclerc, he can’t hope to overcome the popularity of Mick Schumacher. Subsequently, until Schumacher can obtain a seat in Formula One, don’t expect to see Arthur Leclerc in Formula Two.

The announcements coming for the 2020 Season of Formula One are being released now. Developments regarding alterations in drivers, tracks, pre-season testing, and rules have begun to be announced. Below we’ve provided insight regarding the three most significant announcements throughout last week. The first notable announcement was released by the FIA earlier this week. Governing over the Formula 1 motorsport, this organization provided the practice and qualifying times for 2020. These scheduled times extend to the circuits themselves, which include the Vietnam and Zandvoort Grand Prix’s. Both of these circuits are brand new to the F1 lineup, with Vietnam being staged at the Hanoi Circuit.

This new race is slated to start at 14:10, with Zandvoort in the Netherlands beginning at 15:10 weeks later. This announcement from the FIA expressed that the United States and British Grand Prix’s will begin an hour then than in 2019. The full list can be viewed in detail under the Formula One official website.

Formula One 2020 Pre-Season Testing

Before any of these upcoming 2020 races can begin, the ten teams operating in F1 must start pre-season testing. Testing will begin in Spain, Barcelona on February 19th. This gives the crews less than four weeks to determine all the significant problems with their 2020 vehicles, as the upcoming season begins on March 15th. The British Broadcasting Company -Sports Edition will be providing live commentary on the testing periods of Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull.

It should be noted that this will be the first time that Formula One enthusiasts will see the 2020 designs. Photographers like Kym Illman will showcase First-class pictures of these vehicles. One of the best aspects of the 2020 cars is that drivers are provided with increased control. This applies to the race starts, with drivers managing 90% of the torque going forward. Greater control and command of the clutch paddles are maintained, allowing for more speed down the 1st straight of any race.

Chequered Flag Returning in 2020

The final development that was announced this week regarded the Chequered Flag. Throughout the 2019 season, new regulations were implemented. These rules determined that the flag would be replaced with a light panel, marking the races end to drivers. The last season saw the flag waved once by the former F1 Champion, Jean Alesi. Unfortunately, issues following the Japanese Grand Prix saw the light panel work against the direction of operators. This prompted F1 and the FIA to bring bag the chequered flag, which was confirmed through social media outlets.

Max Verstappen, one of the youngest and most formidable drivers in the Formula One Drivers Championship, is now being compared to Ayton Senna. This comes after Masashi Yamamoto spoke with reporters at Autosport Magazine. Here, the manufacturer began to praise the young athlete for his capabilities on and off the track. Yamamoto pointed to Senna’s Honda logo, which was placed in the same area for Verstappen because of their likeliness as drivers. This praise comes after Max acquired three podium victories for Honda Racing, marking their first wins in thirteen years in the sport.

This Austrian driver has set records similar to Gerhard Berger, one of the former top winners in the Honda F1 Racing history. However, there isn’t anybody that’s had more podiums for Honda than the outstanding Ayrton Senna. In his career, he won thirty-two Grand Prixs and earned three world titles in the process between 1987 to 92. All of these factors haven’t diminished the power Verstappen hold’s over Honda’s growth and he is quoted with being one of the most significant factors for Honda Racing in Formula One.

Yamamoto’s Comments

Yamamoto speaking with Autosport clarified that Verstappen might be young but maintains some of the best driving grid-wide. He noted that its similar to watching the Young Senna throughout his beginning days. Max pays the same respect to Honda Racing, remaining loyal with them and Red Bull Racing. Subsequently, there’s a good chance that he will be one of the few drivers to stay with the same team for upwards of ten years or longer. Honda Racing’s Yamamoto mentioned that the respect shown creates emotion amongst the engineers, making us want to create a more significant engine for him. However, Yamamoto made sure to clarify that all four drivers with Honda F1 Racing are essential to the program.

Since Honda Racing partnered with Red Bull in 2019, Max Verstappen has created an intense and close relationship with their brand. He indicated that the Austrian driver displays a significant passion for growing the research and development sector, which has made their relationship stronger within the last fourteen months. Yamamoto mentioned the thousands of people working at the Honda factory and how Max has gotten to know a large percentage of them. This included walking through the wind tunnel, where all employees lined up and received high fives from the infamous driver. It’s this commitment towards Honda that made them dedicated to F1 for the next four years going forward.