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.
Formula One: Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Qualifying: 12am Sunday (AEDT) — Live
Fresh from his record 92nd career win last Sunday, Lewis Hamilton will be the centre of attention again this weekend when his Mercedes team aim to seal a record seventh constructors title.
But he’ll have to overcome a radical new weekend schedule – with no Friday running and just one practice session on Saturday – which puts plenty of additional pressure on every team in the paddock.
In addition to leading the ‘silver arrows’ bid for unprecedented glory at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Hamilton was emotional over his first F1 race at Imola – the site of legendary Ayrton Senna’s death on May 1, 1994.
“Obviously, the history of 1994 is something we always remember,” Hamilton said. “I went ‘round today and it was a really special lap, just going round and seeing this historic track, passing the harsh reminder of where Ayrton crashed …
“It is very surreal still for me, when I go to places where you know that the greats of the past have raced like the tunnel at Monaco or Silverstone …
“Earlier on, I was in an area where many years, 26 years ago, Ayrton was here doing what he loved, as I am.
“So, in one way, that’s heartwarming, to know that I was able to be here and do what he was doing 26 years ago, but otherwise it’s just another race.”
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Ricciardo sent spinning in Q2
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As the F1 circus returns to the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari for the first time in 14 years, and for Italy’s 100th F1 race, Mercedes need 11 points to confirm their record seventh straight title win.
As last Sunday’s Hamilton-Valtteri Bottas one-two at Portimao was a fourth this year and they average more than 36 points per race, that may seem to be a formality.
But, without any scheduled practice on Friday ahead of the sport’s first official two-day race weekend, the teams will all be under extra pressure to hit the ground running on Saturday morning (local).
The race will be the third Grand Prix to be held in Italy this season.
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Fernando Alonso will step up his preparations for a return to Formula One next year with a two-day test in Bahrain next week, his Renault team said Friday.
The former two-time world champion will try out the R.S.18 model from the 2018 season, having driven an F1 car for the first time in nearly 18 months in Barcelona in mid-October.
Alonso, 39, had not been in an F1 car since a test session for McLaren in Bahrain in April 2019 and had not raced one since the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, also with McLaren, at the end of his 17th season.
The Spaniard won his titles in 2005 and 2006 with Renault, and will rejoin the team for the 2021 season when it will compete as Alpine, the French manufacturer’s sports car brand.
Since leaving F1, Alonso has won the Le Mans 24 Hours twice as well as the endurance world championship title, all with Toyota.
This year he competed in the Dakar rally, finishing 13th, and drove for a second time in the Indianapolis 500 finishing 21st. He retired in his first Indy appearance in 2017.
Not content with dominating Down Under, Scott McLaughlin is set to be the top dog in America within three years.
That’s the time frame for success Team Penske has placed on their newest IndyCar recruit.
“Tim Cindric (Team Penske President) said a couple of top tens, top 15 next year, maybe push the top five bracket in ‘22 and then if we can challenge for wins and potentially a championship in my 3rd year that would be good progression,” McLaughlin told Fox Sports’ Loud Pedal Podcast.
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The 27-year-old admits he has a lot to learn but isn’t shying away from the Penske predictions.
“I’ve certainly got a lot of time but at the same time … I’ve got everything I need here; I’ve got a big resource, a great team, I’ve got great engineers and a great car, there’s not really any excuses apart from being a rookie,” McLaughlin said.
It’s been a whirlwind two weeks for McLaughlin, whose American dream was finally confirmed just days after he concluded his Australian career at Bathurst where he was formally crowned Supercars Champion for the third consecutive season.
“I definitely knew that I was shifting to the US but I didn’t know whether I was going to be on a full-time program and if they had the budget to do it,” McLaughlin said.
“I’d done everything that I’d wanted to do in Supercars and had this opportunity with probably the world’s best motorsport team, especially in the US, to come across and be a part of something … to be able to start as a rookie again and learn a completely different discipline it’s really refreshing and I’m just really excited.”
McLaughlin crashes on debut
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The preparation has been a long one with the New Zealand native noticeably transforming his body over the last 12 months in readiness for the physical demands of top-level, open-wheel racing.
McLaughlin revealed he has lost 11 kilograms since his IndyCar test in January.
“I was fat, I was a big unit,” McLaughlin admitted.
“I’ve lost a huge amount which was cool … I certainly feel good.
“Cardio wise I’m no dramas, I think I just need to get a little more stronger in my shoulders … my neck seemed pretty good, but oh man they’re so physical, there’s nothing like it, you’ve got to do laps.”
The 2019 Bathurst Champion also this week completed rookie testing at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which he subsequently passed, allowing him to enter qualifying for the time-honoured Indy500 in May.
The top speeds on the oval circuit are upwards of 360km/h surpassing those produced by the V8 Mustang he leaves behind which reaches almost 300km/h on Bathurst’s Conrod Straight.
“Definitely the fastest I’ve ever been and that’s average speed. I think we hit close to 225 mph (362 km/h) at one point today which is just crazy,” McLaughlin said.
“It’s race trim so it’s similar race pace to what they did this year and it’s just mind blowing the feeling you have.
“You head down into turn one and there’s like a 90 degree turn and all you can see is wall and you just have to trust to hold the thing flat, and turn it in which is crazy, it’s really cool.”
McLaughlin’s move to the States coincides with Team Penske’s withdrawal from Supercars and its partnership with Dick Johnson Racing (DJR).
“It’s sad but it’s a business decision, it’s something that they had to do. I think COVID has struck everyone hard including Roger (Penske) himself and the Penske organisation,” McLaughlin said.
“They’re exiting in a pretty nice way, it’s not like they’re just dropping the tools and leaving, there’s a lot of intel, a lot of Penske help that was at DJR that will continue to be used.”
McLaughlin has an open-ended arrangement to return to Bathurst as a co-driver for DJR who’ll have an all-new line-up next year with Anton de Pasquale and Will Davison replacing McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard, but which one he partners with at Mount Panorama remains to be seen.
“I’d love to just drive in the 17 – whoever that’s going to be driving that car I don’t know – but I’d love to go back to my old car and my old crew,” McLaughlin said.
“It’s a pretty special number in my place in Australia along with DJ and I really take a lot of pride in driving that.”
Despite expectations of a successful career in the States, the record-breaker hasn’t ruled out a full-time return to Supercars.
“Depends how I go,” McLaughlin said.
“If I go like a busted arse over here I’m going to have to come somewhere.
“I’m planning on not (leaving), I plan on trying to forge a career here … Ideally I’d love to stay here until I retire, but if not I’ll come back to Australia.”
In his absence McLaughlin believes compatriot Shane van Gisbergen can keep the Supercars title in Kiwi hands.
“If it’s not a DJR car, I think Shane’s pretty strong,” McLaughlin said.
“He’s coming in with a lot of confidence, obviously winning Bathurst that’s a big thing for him to get off his back. He’s going to be strong, he’s going to be dangerous and I think he’ll be tough to beat,” McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin won’t return to Australia this summer. Instead, he’ll remain in the States setting up his new home in Charlotte, North Carolina – a 25-minute drive from the Team Penske headquarters.
He’ll return to the track on Monday for further testing at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.
