FORMULA 1 will use grid kids in 2018 after the sport decided to stop using grid girls before races.
The youngsters will be young karters and aspiring racing drivers selected by each grand prix’s national sporting authority and 20 at each event will have the chance to stand alongside the drivers on the grid before the race.
The grid kids will be selected on merit or via a lottery system, with F1 bosses saying it will make the build-up to races “more relevant and interesting for fans, especially the younger ones”.
Explaining the decision, F1 commercial chief Sean Bratches said: “This will be an extraordinary moment for these youngsters: imagine, standing beside their heroes, watch as they prepare to race, the elite of the elite in motorsport, to be there, alongside them in those precious few minutes just before the start
“What an unforgettable experience, for them, and their families. An inspiration to keep driving, training and learning so that they can dream of one day being there themselves. What better way to inspire the next generation of Formula 1 heroes.”
Hungarian grid girls stand at the red carpet during the drivers’ parade.Source: AFPGrid girls line up for the pit lane walk ahead of the Italian GP.Source: AFP
FIA president Jean Todt added: “Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport and the dream of every young racer competing the junior series that make up the FIA’s single-seater pyramid, from karting all the way to F1.
“We are therefore delighted to bring that dream a little closer by giving the future champions of our sport the opportunity to stand alongside their heroes on the grid in the build-up to the race start.”
Child mascots have long been a common feature in football, with youngsters accompanying players on the walk from the tunnel to the pitch in World Cup and European Championship fixtures.
F1’s decision to end the longstanding practice of using walk-on models has proved hugely contentious with former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone among those to criticise the move.
Sebastian Vettel said he believes he can win another Formula One world title as his new Aston Martin team unveiled their car on Wednesday ahead of a return to the grid.
Vettel, a four-time world champion for Red Bull, endured a miserable end to his six campaigns with Ferrari, finishing 13th in the 2020 standings.
The 33-year-old German is ready to move on to the next chapter of his career with Aston Martin – the historic British name returning to Formula One for the first time since 1960.
“It is not a secret that last year I wasn’t at my happiest,” Vettel said at Aston Martin’s launch, where the rebranded Racing Point team revealed its British racing green livery.
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“I know it wasn’t to my standards, that I was below myself, but I am very much at peace with it. I think I have another world championship in me… I am not too old and I still have a long time in me.”
Vettel, whose career tally of 53 grand prix wins has been surpassed only by fellow multiple world champions Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, was positive about his move.
“Things are different here than Ferrari because the team is growing,” he said.
“It is not about the fancy looks and the fancy chairs in the office but the work done behind the scenes and from what I have seen the people are very talented.”
The iconic colours will be back on the F1 grid (Photo by Dominic FRASER / various sources / AFP)Source: AFP
Team principal Otmar Szafnauer has cautioned that it will be three to five years before Aston Martin are in a position to challenge for world championships.
But Vettel said a team backed by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, whose son Lance is Aston Martin’s other driver, may get there sooner after F1 chiefs introduced budget caps to ensure greater competition.
“Formula One is changing and maybe you don’t need those three to five years anymore,” Vettel said.
“Maybe it will shrink and the hope is that everyone will be closer to the top and not just finish on the podium because the guys at the front retired or crashed.”
The new Formula One season starts in Bahrain on March 28.
The next great V8 rivalry will be born in Bathurst this year with the first completed Camaro to be revealed at Mount Panorama in October.
Set to take on the Mustang and create the next generation rivalry which will form the foundation of a sport, News Corp Australia can reveal the first Chevrolet Supercar will be completed in time for a Bathurst 1000 unveiling.
With components already being designing and constructed, the Camaro is part of the “Gen 3” program which will make the sport both more accessible and less expensive.
As part of News Corp Australia’s look into the biggest issues facing the sport, Supercars CEO Sean Seamer revealed the Bathurst 1000 was being targeted for the Gen 3 unveiling.
The Camaro will first be tested on tracks including Queensland Raceway before being unveiled to the public with a Mount Panorama hot-lap.
“At this stage I think we will be looking at the middle of the year (to test) based on the feedback that I have got from the committee,” Seamer said.
“It’s one of those things – you want to bring it to life, but you can’t rush it.
“Right now the middle of the year is the target.”
Seamer said the Gen 3 plans were progressing “very well” with his expert team navigating through the difficulties presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Obviously there is a tremendous amount of work to be done and continues to go on,” Seamer said.
“But the team and the committee and everyone involved has made the most of last year in particular, but also the extended break that we have had between races, this has been quite a long off-season by our standards, finishing at Bathurst at the end of October,” Seamer said.
“The time has been put to good use and they are flat out working through it.
“We are looking at making sure the transition is successful with the two platforms that we have got and now working towards a third manufacturer for the following year (2023).”
The firm charged with designing the new Supercar’s Camaro is confident of putting the revolutionary car on a racetrack by the end of the year.
“We continue to work with Supercars to try and ensure that what we put on track next year is what we have promised everyone,” said Triple Eight Race Engineer owner Roland Dane.
“I think the fans will gravitate towards the Chevrolet next year. The feedback that we have had has been overwhelmingly positive and continues to be.”
Also in charge of the Red Bull Ampol Racing, Dane said Chevrolet could replace Holden and become Ford’s next great rival.
“I think the demise of the Holden brand in the new car market here is unfortunate,” Dane said.
“But it has happened and it’s old news now and everyone has moved on.
“The Holden brand continues to hold a place in the hearts of many Australians as being something that they have grown up with and enjoyed etc and I’m sure that we’ll get plenty of Holden fans going forward even as we start racing Chevrolets.
The Supercars Gen3 Red Bull Camaro will be unveiled in October.Source: Supplied
“I don’t see that as an issue, the hangover from Holden fans. To be honest, our fan base across the country has become much broader than just Ford and Holden, but they do like to gravitate towards the brands when it comes to watching the racing.
“And we are going to continue that with Chevrolet, which is a very aspirational brand in this country. So I don’t see it as impediment, I think it is only going to add to the excitement.”
Holden great and “Car of the Future” mastermind Mark Skaife predicted the new rivalry between Chevrolet and Ford would be able to sustain the sport.
“I keep trying to think of the helicopter view of what Gen 3 stands for and to me it stands for three things: it stands for affordability, it stands for aspiration and it stands for authenticity,” Skaife said.
“So what we are trying to create is a car that looks very much like the car that we see in our showrooms and that we love, we are trying to create a next generation that is not a Ferrari or a Lamborghini or a McLaren or a whatever.
Davison not just here to make up numbers
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“It’s not unachievable, it’s an aspirational car that is essentially affordable.
“Really it’s about being part of that brand and having the brand association. Even if you’re a young person, you just love the look of the Camaro.
“I was a little bloke and I used to watch Bob Jane in a Camaro, Allan Moffat in a Mustang. They were the name plates for me that I thought, ‘Oh, wow’.
“If we can provide the same wow factor in the modern era, I see no reason why we can’t make it work.”
The Mercedes Formula One team despite seven successive constructors titles possesses the “same fire, hunger and passion” says team principal Toto Wolff as when he arrived in 2013.
The 49-year-old Austrian’s remarks came as the team launched its car for the 2021 season, one which they hope will culminate in Lewis Hamilton winning a record eighth drivers’ title.
The Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance builds on the solid base of its predecessor but includes considerable aerodynamic changes alongside improvements to areas as such as the suspension, cooling system and Power Unit.
But like their crafty rivals in Red Bull, the heavyweight team wasn’t giving everything away about its new design, not divulging where it had both allowable development ‘tokens’ on major changes to the car.
“There are some parts of the car that you can change token-free, for example the power unit, the cooling systems, the suspension and of course all of the aerodynamic surfaces,” said technical director James Allison.
“We have spent our tokens, but we won’t reveal how we used them just yet. That’ll become clear in good time.”
Mercedes revealed two weeks ago that it was battling some ‘issues’ with its engine ahead of the new season, but today’s announcement said the team had worked hard to fix problems that reliability plagued them in 2020.
“We have got some issues with the power units,” engine chief Hywel Thomas said in February.
But Thomas at the launch said: “In 2020, we used an aluminium structure which wasn’t as reliable as intended, so we’ve introduced a new alloy for the engine block … We’ve got a big challenge in 2021 with 23 races on the calendar, we will need to ensure that the reliability of the power unit is spot on. We’ve worked hard on that area and hopefully it’s paid off.”
And he delivered a stern warning to the team’s rivals, declaring: “We’ve got some completely new innovations that will be in the racing PU (Power Unit) for the first time.”
It will be seen on the track for the first time in pre-season testing in Bahrain on March 12.
Bahrain kicks off the season with their Grand Prix on March 28.
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One of reigning champion Lewis Hamilton’s crusades has been to promote and develop more diversity in the sport.
As a result the black base livery remains for a second season “to underline the team’s commitment to improving diversity and inclusion within the team and our sport”.
Wolff said the team had set itself targets to back up its words with actions. “We’ve set ourselves the goal of at least 25 per cent of all new starters coming from under-represented groups for the next five years,” he said.
“The latest step is a joint foundation that we will create together with Lewis to improve all aspects of diversity in motorsport.
“All of these measures are encouraging, but we know that real change takes time and we’re at the start of a very long journey.”
F1 world champions Mercedes unveiled their new car for the 2021 season: British driver Lewis Hamilton (L) and Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas (R) posing with Team Principal and CEO Toto Wolff (C).Source: AFP
– ‘Magnificent duo’ –
Meanwhile Alpine – the rebranded Renault outfit – also unveiled its new-look car, after a fifth-place finish in the constructor’s championship last season.
Daniel Ricciardo, who moved to McLaren after a fifth-place drivers’ championship finish with Renault in 2020, is replaced by two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso.
Alonso, who was world champion in 2005 and 2006 with Renault, returns to Formula One after leaving McLaren two years ago.
The 39-year-old Spaniard was absent from Tuesday’s launch after undergoing surgery on his broken jaw after he was involved in a road accident while cycling in Switzerland last month.
In a statement, however, he said he was happy to be back in F1. “I’m very motivated heading into this new chapter with Alpine and it’s of course very special to be back with the team that I achieved so much with in the past,” he said.
Alonso in December alongside his 2006 F1-winning Renault.Source: AFP
Luca De Meo, CEO of Groupe Renault, described the new Alpine line-up as a “magnificent duo”.
“Fernando Alonso, he has come back home 20 years after he made his debut with us,” said De Meo.
“He’s a two-time world champion and an international star.
“He brings us his speed, tenaciousness, his will, his talent, his experience, his commitment.
“Esteban Ocon is a star in the making. He brings his talent in full ascent as well as his fighting spirit and cool head, his humility and consistency.
“We can expect some beautiful podium finishes from him.” The chassis of the new A521, built in Enstone in the UK which will be the team headquarters, is an evolution of last year’s RS20 with the team saying they have developed and improved “every part that has not been homologated”.
The most striking difference a complete change in livery. No longer the familiar yellow and black but instead red, white and blue, deliberately chosen to reflect both the French and British flags.
“It’s a team with French and British heart, French passion and British grit,” said Ocon.
