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.
Shane van Gisbergen has undergone successful surgery on a collarbone injury sustained in a mountain biking accident.
Van Gisbergen, who won both races of the 2021 season opener in Bathurst last week, suffered the accident on Saturday morning.
The Red Bull Ampol Racing driver had a plate inserted during the routine procedure in Brisbane on Saturday afternoon.
It marks an unfortunate blow to the Kiwi’s title charge, with van Gisbergen slated to return for the Penrite Oil Sandown SuperSprint in a fortnight.
Van Gisbergen completes Bathurst double
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Van Gisbergen will not carry out driving duties for Triple Eight at next weekend’s Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS event at Phillip Island.
However, according to a team statement, the 31-year-old is expected to “recover well” in time for the Sandown event.
“Shane van Gisbergen is recovering from successful surgery on his collarbone after a mountain biking accident this morning,” the statement read.
“The Red Bull Ampol Racing driver had a plate inserted during the routine procedure in Brisbane this afternoon and is expected to recover well.
“Van Gisbergen was due to race in the debut round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS series next weekend at Phillip Island.
Courtney smacks the wall
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“While medically he would likely be able to do so, the decision has been made to wait until the Sandown SuperSprint in two weeks to return to the wheel to allow more time for a smooth recovery.
“Jamie Whincup will take his seat alongside His Highness Prince Jefri Ibrahim in the no. 888 AMG GT3 Evo.”
Van Gisbergen recorded a maximum 300-point haul at Mount Panorama last weekend, with Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Chaz Mostert 33 points adrift in second.
This story originally appeared on Supercars.com and is reproduced with permission.
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.”
