TermiOnTrack #F1 Newsbites – April Edition. #Formula1
Nico Hulkenberg announces his return to Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber and future factory Audi Formula 1 driver. Image credit to Audi AG. F1 Newsbites April Edition, Formula 1 Newsbites, F1 News 2024, Formula 1 News 2024.
F1 Newsbites April Edition – Hi fellow F1 fanatics, we are back with F1 Newsbites – April Edition! Let’s take a look at the latest from the world of Formula 1!
Driver Transfer Market – Hulkenberg switches from Haas to Sauber/Audi on multi-year deal
We start the April edition with Nico Hulkenberg announcing he will be leaving Haas following a two-year spell with the Kannapolis/Banbury outfit to return to Sauber on a multi-year deal as the Hinwil based-squad transitions into the Audi factory team from 2026 onwards when Formula 1’s raft of new rules and regulations comes into full effect.
The German becomes the iconic manufacturer’s first signing as it enters the pinnacle of motorsport. With experience of over 200 Grands Prix, Hulkenberg is an important signing to help build on the continuing successful development of the team. Alongside his commitment with Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber in 2025, he will be closely involved with the development of Audi’s first Formula 1 car for the 2026 campaign.
“We are very pleased to welcome Nico back here in Hinwil from 2025 and to compete with him in Formula 1,” explained CEO of Sauber Motorsport AG and future CEO of Audi F1 factory team Andreas Seidl. “With his speed, his experience and his commitment to teamwork, he will be an important part of the transformation of our team – and of Audi’s F1 Project. “Right from the start, there was great mutual interest in building something long-term together. Nico is a strong personality, and his input, on a professional and personal level, will help us to make progress both in the development of the car and in building up the team.” Seidl concluded, credit to Sauber Group for the quote.
Hulkenberg himself stated on his new deal: “I’m returning to the team I worked with back in 2013 and have fond memories of the strong team spirit in Switzerland. The prospect of competing for Audi is something very special. When a German manufacturer enters Formula 1 with such determination, it is a unique opportunity. To represent the factory team of such a car brand with a power unit made in Germany is a huge honour for me.” Hulkenberg concluded, credit to Sauber Group for the quote.
Hulkenberg returned to Formula 1 last campaign with MoneyGram Haas F1 Team following a three-year absence from the sport. The German currently is 13th in the World Driver’s Championship standings with three top 10 finishes from the opening five rounds of the 2024 campaign.
MoneyGram Haas F1 Team Principal Ayao Komatsu added: “I’d like to extend my thanks to Nico for his contributions to the team in the time that he’s been here with us – he’s been a great team player and someone we very much enjoy working with. His experience and feedback have proved invaluable to us in terms of improving our overall performance – a fact that’s clearly evident in both his qualifying and race performances in the VF-24 this season. There’s lots more racing to go this year so we look forward to continuing to benefit from his inputs throughout the remainder of the 2024 season.” Komatsu concluded, credit to Haas for the quote.
Hulkenberg’s move back to Sauber, the team where he previously raced for in 2013, with the Hinwil based-squad – who have fielded Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu for the past three seasons – soon to be officially taken over by German manufacturing giant Audi. Who will be Hulkenberg’s team-mate in 2025 and potentially beyond?
F1 Newsbites April Edition – Ferrari and HP Announce Title Partnership
On April 24, Ferrari and HP Inc. announced a historic multi-year title partnership deal, Connecting to of the world’s famous companies, the alliance features a shared commitment to advance sustainable innovation and create purposeful technology across the Scuderia Ferrari team, whether it be in Formula 1, Esports and the Driver Academy.
In addition, the HP logo will make it’s debut on the Maranello marque’s SF-24 entries ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, when the team will start competing as Scuderia Ferrari HP, the Scuderia Ferrari Esports Team and the Scuderia Ferrari car driven by Maya Weug in the all-female F1 Academy championship, launched last year, will also race with the newly-updated moniker.
Ferrari and HP are committed to accelerate sustainable innovation whether it be through sport or technology. The brands will work together to expand educational initiatives within their communities and teams and create a long impact for generations to come.
As part of their alliance, the integration of HP’s high performance products and services, including adaptive devices and PC’s, conferencing technology, and printing capabilities, will allow Scuderia Ferrari HP and other racing teams within the Scuderia fold to speed their training precision and optimise it’s strategic decision making both on and off the circuit.
Ahead of the upcoming Miami Grand Prix, representatives from both companies will be present for the unveiling of Ferrari’s special livery, which will debut in a unique edition specifically designed for Miami.
Ferrari’s Chief Executive Officer Benedetto Vigna, Scuderia Ferrari HP’s Team Principal Frederic Vasseur, drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz and HP’s CEO, Enrique Lores will be in attendance.
Ferrari’s CEO Vigna explained: “Our founder passed on to us his continuous will to progress. From this stems our drive to innovate on the road and on the track, as well as our commitment to a sustainable future, from carbon neutrality to the education of the younger generation. In HP we have found the same values, which make it an ideal partner. We look forward to starting our collaboration and facing new opportunities and challenges together.” Vigna concluded, credit to Ferrari for the quote.
HP CEO Enrique Lores commented: “With technology, performance and exceptional craftsmanship fuelling the future, the partnership between HP and Ferrari is a natural fit. Both brands are built on rich histories that have endured the test of time. Through this unique collaboration, we also have an opportunity to reach new audiences, drive business growth, and create lasting impact for our shared clients and communities. Together we will leverage the global stage of racing to accelerate sustainable innovation.” Lores concluded, credit to Ferrari for the quote.
F1 Newsbites April Edition – Ferrari to release special blue livery for Miami Grand Prix
Scuderia Ferrari HP will unveil fresh and unexpected colours to further amplify the excitement of the Miami Grand Prix. Azzurro La Plata and Azzurro Dino – blues that reference Ferrari’s rich heritage and remain cherished by the Tifosi.
The two shades of blue will feature on Ferrari’s 2024 challenger, the SF-24, exclusively for the Miami Grand Prix and unveiled directly from Miami.
These colours rekindle memories of the past, historic victories, iconic figures and skilled mechanics from Maranello who proudly wore then during the early triumphs of the Cavallino Rampante.
The lighter blue, Azzurro La Plata, which is the national racing colour of Argentina, echoes the colour worn by legend Alberto Ascari during his most successful campaigns. The two-time Formula 1 World Champion usually wore the famous blue jersey accompanied by a matching helmet, which he noted as his lucky charms. The same colour was also used for the drivers’ racing suits in the 1960’s, including those of John Surtees, Lorenzo Bandini, Ludovico Scarfiotti and Chris Amon. Niki Lauda’s racing suit during his first year with the Scuderia was also in blue, as were the shirts worn by the Maranello-marque.
The other famous blue Ferrari is reviving for Miami is Azzurro Dino, a deeper shade of blue worn by several drivers in the past, notably by Arturo Merzario and Clay Regazzoni, the latter was the most recent to don the historic blue in the 1974 Formula 1 World Championship season. From that point onwards, the driver’s racing suits changed from blue to red, with occasional switches to white.
The colour selection also serves to pay homage to the connection between Ferrari and it’s racing history in the United States. It marks the 70th anniversary of the Prancing Horse’s presence in America where the iconic Rosso Corsa – a red synonymous with Italian racing machines since the 1920’s – was culminated by the US’s white and blue livery for the final two Grands Prix of the 1964 Formula 1 World Championship season, a combination, which was also used on some other Ferrari racing machinery by the North American Racing Team (N.A.R.T) founded by importer Luigi Chinetti. On some N.A.R.T cars, the blue of the wheel rims was joined with a red livery to create a sweet colour combination.
The launch date of this special blue livery for the SF-24 has yet-to-be-announced.
F1 Newsbites April Edition – Adrian Newey set to leave Red Bull?
According to some sources, it broke last Wednesday that legendary star designer Adrian Newey is expected to announce his departure from Oracle Red Bull Racing soon with the Briton being employed by the Milton Keynes based-outfit since 2006.
Newey was said to be unhappy with the power struggle in the team and did not want to be completely pushed into the RB17 Hypercar Project.
The famous engineer’s heart still lies in the world of Formula 1. Even though Newey no longer designs every screw on the car on his drawing board, he is still the legendary mind behind the concept of the seven world championship winning cars from the famous racing outfit.
The question still lies whether Newey can leave Red Bull, with the Briton’s contract running until the end of the 2025 campaign.
Then the RB17 Hypercar should be running on the tracks with the first sales meetings also held with potential customers.
According to rumours, Newey wants to be free for new challenges and projects by the end of the year.
The technical genius is the most chased person in the F1 market at the moment, as the engineer, who began his Formula 1 career in 1980 with Fittipaldi, is more than an aerodynamics guru.
He is one of the few who understands the overall view of the car. Nobody in the sport understands much about the optimal use of tyres, importance of car setup and mechanics than Newey. The Briton built his knowledge in the early phase of his career as a racing engineer.
The rumours about Newey leaving Red Bull are not new, that’s why the race to chase the signature of F1’s most famous technical mind who designed world championship winning cars for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull is intensifying.
Experts are stating that Ferrari will be his next move as Newey was recently spotted in Bologna Airport. If true, then Team Principal Frederic Vasseur would have put together a dream team with recently signed seven-time world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton, current driver Charles Leclerc and design legend Newey.
Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team was also looking a signing Newey, This would have the advantage for the Briton as he could continue to work in England. However, the technological genius has found a second home in South Africa and has already worked partially remotely within the Red Bull fold.
For double world champion Fernando Alonso, that would be the jackpot finally driving under an Adrian Newey-designed car. Could this be why the Spaniard renewed his contract with the Silverstone based-outfit?
Mercedes AMG Petronas have also remained silent on the subject of Newey. The former dominant world champions could really use the mastermind in Newey to reignite their potential future title push as nobody understands ground effect cars like the Briton does.
This could be also the understanding that seems to be lost in the Brackley design office.
Newey could also be the final piece to the puzzle of championship leader and three-time world champion Max Verstappen being lured over to the Silver Arrows.
Mercedes AMG Petronas CEO and Team Principal Toto Wolff seems hesitant at the moment with the fear that such a signing could trigger unrest into the Brackley/Brixworth squad.
Either way, Newey would not be able to start until the 2026 campaign at the earliest when Formula 1’s new raft of rules and regulations come into effect with new power-trains and completely new cars. And Newey has shown on many occasions that his competence and expertise has always paid off when everyone had to design cars from scratch.
F1 Newsbites April Edition – Ricciardo hit with three grid-placed penalty for Miami GP
Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula 1 Team’s Daniel Ricciardo was given a three grid-placed penalty for the upcoming Miami Grand Prix weekend after race stewards deemed his Safety Car restart breached the regulations at the Chinese GP.
The Australian’s race ended early after being hit was Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll before a Safety Car restart, with the major damage sustained at the rear of his RBPT-Honda-powered VCARB01 entry forcing him to retire.
However, Ricciardo was called into the race stewards office at the end of the Chinese Grand Prix over a separate incident involving MoneyGram Haas F1 team’s Nico Hulkenberg, with the RB driver found guilty of overtaking the German whilst running behind the safety car.
Race officials consulted both drivers and team representatives, also reviewing marshalling/positioning system data, video, timing, team radio and onboard camera video evidence before making the decision.
The FIA’s statement read: “The driver of Car 3 [Ricciardo] admitted that he overtook Car 27 [Hulkenberg] deliberately, but he explained that he felt that he could do so because Car 27 had overtaken him under Safety Car before on lap 28. We note that Car 27 was permitted to overtake Car 3 on lap 28 because of Article 55.8. There was no justifiable basis for Car 3 to overtake Car 27 while the race was under Safety Car conditions. We accordingly imposed a 10-second timed-penalty on Car 3. As Car 3 was unable to serve the penalty due to retirement, we imposed a three-grid place penalty for the next race in which the driver participates.”
This means Ricciardo, who was also hit with two penalty points, will take the grid drop for the next round at the Miami Grand Prix.
F1 Newsbites April Edition – Championship Points and 2025 Pre-Season Testing the talking points at latest Formula 1 Commission meeting
On Wednesday April 25, the second meeting of the Formula 1 Commission took place with Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and FIA Single-Seater Director Nikolas Tombazis in attendance.
The topics discussed at the meeting included alterations to the world championship points allocation, amendments to the 2025 Sporting and Technical Regulations and Pre-Season Testing, with options presented by the Sporting Advisory Committee.
Championship Points – Commission Members discussed the proposal for changes to the points system, as described in 6.4 and 6.5 articles of the Sporting Regulations. It was agreed that more analysis of the proposed changes was required with a view to a proposal to be presented to the F1 Commission in July.
2025 Pre-Season Testing – After discussions during the recent Sporting Advisory Committee, it was agreed that a proposal for the 2025 Pre-Season Testing Dates/Venues will be presented by Formula One Management for consideration by the Formula 1 Commission.
Rear-Facing Cameras – It was agreed the introduction of rear-facing cameras would be brought in for the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix onwards. A number of small changes was also approved for the Sporting and Financial Regulations.
***All regulatory changes are subject to approval by the World Motor Sport Council***
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