KEVIN HARVICKS HAPPY HOUR

Trending

NFL

NCAAFB

NBA

NASCAR

MLB

NCAABK

MLS

EPL

PGA

The World Rally Championship is set to drop hybrid power from its Rally1 cars, beginning from next season.

The future of hybrid power in the WRC’s top class has proved to be a long-running saga this year with the debate re-ignited following a mid-season change to the hybrid unit user guide from control supplier Compact Dynamics.

Prior to last month’s Central European Rally, the future of hybrid power in Rally1 was put to an FIA e-vote. Today the matter was discussed during a WRC Commission meeting where Motorsport.com understands it was agreed to remove hybrid power from Rally1 cars, starting from next year. 

This decision is however yet to be officially ratified by the FIA, which is likely to happen at the next World Motor Sport Council meeting.

This is the second U-turn over the use of hybrid power, introduced alongside the new Rally1 regulations in 2022, this year.

In February, the FIA’s working group formed to “evaluate and recommend the future direction of rallying” proposed to remove hybrid power as part of raft of changes for 2025.

However, WRC teams pushed back against the changes, resulting in the current Rally1 regulations staying put for 2025 and 2026 in what was seen as a U-turn from the FIA.

But the future of hybrid power came under the spotlight again following the introduction of Compact Dynamics safety guidelines at the Acropolis Rally Greece in September.  

The new regulations stipulate that if the 130kW hybrid unit suffers three shock errors over 15G or one over 25G, it has to be stripped apart and sent back to the supplier for a full repair that can take months to complete. Previously these units could be reset on site during a rally. 

Teams believe the change will significantly raise hybrid unit repair costs, with M-Sport-Ford arguing it would no longer be financially viable for the team to continue.

“It is not a request to remove it for what it is, it is a request to remove it because we can’t actually repair and run them at an economic price for M-Sport. We are talking a few extra million euro to do it and that is not something we can deal with,” M-Sport team principal Richard Millener told Motorsport.com at last month’s Central European Rally.

Rich Millener, Team principal M-Sport Ford Rally

Photo by: M-Sport

Speaking at last month’s penultimate round of the championship, Toyota and Hyundai bosses both admitted they would support measures to remove hybrid if it meant it would ensure the current level of participants for the future.

“We will never actively or proactively request to remove the hybrid from WRC. Having said that, we also need to be pragmatic and recognise the fact that the WRC community is a small community, and as any small community, we need to look after one another,” said Hyundai’s team principal Cyril Abiteboul.

“So if there are any steps that must be taken in order to guarantee participants and competitors at the events we will accept to take those steps.”

Toyota’s Jari-Matti Latvala added: “Performance-wise, the cars are pretty good even without it. But it shouldn’t get too difficult for the teams, and if there is a risk that teams cannot be in the World Rally Championship because they are running out of units, then it shouldn’t be that way.”

McLaren has continued to push developments of its MCL38 at the back end of the Formula 1 season, as it knuckles down to try to secure the constructors’ championship.

And while its rivals pretty much steered clear of any upgrades in Brazil for what was the third race of a triple-header, it was interesting that McLaren elected to bring a new rear and beam wing arrangement.

McLaren’s approach on this front has been fascinating this year, as it is head and shoulders ahead of its competitors in terms of the sheer scale of development that has been undertaken in this area.

The team has introduced seven different rear wing configurations to cope with the different downforce and drag characteristics that each venue demands.

New options were added to the pool in Saudi Arabia, Imola, Monaco, Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands and now Brazil.

Of course, it would all be for nothing if the designs did not combine well with the beam wing solution that is also fitted to the assembly.

That is why we have even seen it arrive with several beam wing options alongside each new rear wing specification to trim the car accordingly.

In fact, the development of the beam wing has been even more extensive, with 12 new options added to its pool during the season so far.

There were new beam wings at the Saudi Arabian, Miami, Emilia-Romagna, Monaco, Belgian, Dutch, Singapore and United States Grands Prix, whilst three solutions were introduced at Silverstone.

These include everything from more traditional two-piece designs to single elements and numerous bi-plane style arrangements.

McLaren MCL38 beam wing comparison, Brazilian GP

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

In terms of the new Brazilian GP rear wing design, the most obvious difference is the shape of the mainplane.

This element forms more of a V-shaped profile where it tapers outward and upwards from the deeper central section.

The leading edge, seen in the main image, is also more steeply rolled than its closest kin within the family of solutions available.

Notably, the tip section of the rear wing also differs from other designs in this downforce range, with a squarer profile, like the one used on its highest downforce option.

These design differences are likely the result of an acceptable efficiency trade-off between two of its other specifications, as the reduction in height across the mainplane’s span provides the necessary downforce and drag for the circuit characteristics, whilst also providing more of a benefit when DRS is deployed.

Meanwhile, the shape of the lowermost beam wing element has a reverse tapering in the central section to discreetly mirror the geometry of the mainplane above.

The difference in beam wing layout to the corresponding rear wing selection can be seen in the comparison above.

But while McLaren ran its new rear wing for sprint qualifying and the sprint on Saturday, when it came to the trickier wet conditions posed by qualifying and the race it opted for its higher downforce arrangement.

Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin feel there is no reason why they should be “enemies outside the track” as they fight for the 2024 MotoGP title.

For a second season in a row, Bagnaia and Martin have been in a class of their own in MotoGP, with their championship battle set to culminate in next week’s Barcelona finale.

Their rivalry has taken place against the backdrop of Pramac rider Martin being snubbed for a promotion to the factory Ducati team next year, with six-time champion Marc Marquez instead being chosen for the coveted seat alongside Bagnaia.

While the changes instigated by Ducati made Martin lose faith in the Borgo Panigale marque and forge a new career path with Aprilia from 2025, he hasn’t allowed that decision to have any impact on his relationship with Bagnaia.

The Italian, too, has returned the favour, with both repeatedly emphasising the respect they have for each other as rivals.

Speaking again about the matter after engaging in an epic early battle for victory in the Malaysian GP, Bagnaia reiterated his intention to maintain a cordial relationship with his championship rival.

“For me it is very easy [to maintain harmony with Martin] because I’m not the type of guy that wants to be rude outside of the track and then need to be rude inside of the track or to be aggressive – pushing out and being the one that doesn’t respect rivals,” he said.

“I have never been like this and I will never be like this. If in case Jorge will start to do it, I will change, but Jorge is more or less the same as me. 

“Surely, respect is the main thing and will always be like this from my point of view. So I don’t understand why we need to be enemies outside of the track, not speak to each other and be rude. I prefer [it] like this.”

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Dorna

Both Martin and Bagnaia raced for Aspar Mahindra in Moto3 back in 2015 and have been a part of the grand prix paddock ever since.

That helped establish a solid foundation to their relationship, with the intensity of a title fight not enough to put a dent in the respect they have for each other on and off the track.

“We [have] known each other since 2015. We were really close friends in the past,” Martin said. “Now we no longer have that relationship but we are good to each other. 

“As he said, it’s no sense to [be enemies]. We can fight, you saw on Sunday, it’s an amazing battle for history. 

“Maybe not the last laps, but it was amazing [overall] and then we can speak about it. I think we both enjoyed it. 

“And as he said, if it’s like this in the future, for me it will be perfect, and I hope it will be like this always.”

For the first time since the pair started sharing the Formula 1 grid, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly joined each other on the podium of a grand prix, capitalising on a bold strategy in a wet Interlagos classic to finish second and third behind the untouchable Max Verstappen.

It was a huge boost to Alpine, the team gaining three places in the constructors’ championship and finally getting a tangible reward for the hard work of its crew after a bruising season with the underperforming 2024 car.

The scintillating Sao Paulo classic was not just season-defining for Alpine: on a human level, it will also forever define Ocon’s and Gasly’s at times fraught relationship.

Growing up close to each other in eastern Normandy, Ocon and Gasly crossed paths as kids and became best friends, spending lots of time together racing go-karts.

As they moved up the ladder their relationship soured, seemingly beyond repair, and therefore Gasly joining Ocon as a team-mate at Alpine for 2023 raised some eyebrows in the paddock. Ocon admitted “we are never going to be best friends” at the time, while Gasly acknowledged his relationship would be vastly different to the one he enjoyed with Yuki Tsunoda before.

Esteban Ocon, Alpine F1 Team, 2nd position, Pierre Gasly, Alpine F1 Team, 3rd position, celebrate in Parc Ferme

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Naturally there have been some flashpoints on track, just like Ocon had with some previous team-mates – Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez – and both drivers fought their corner hard over team strategy as you would expect any F1 racers to do.

In 2023 there was a collision in Melbourne, in their fourth race together, and this year the pair also came to blows when Ocon lunged down the inside of Gasly in Monaco, damaging both cars and angering both Gasly and Alpine’s management. Soon after Ocon announced his departure from the team, signing with Haas for 2025, which defused some of the tension but also seemed to acknowledge that Ocon’s arrival at the Enstone team hadn’t really worked out for either party.

But while the pair has always maintained they work well together off-track, it feels like their wholesome podium in Brazil has further thawed their once frosty relations. They didn’t just revel in their hard-earned success on the back of an abysmal year with Alpine, but the perilous wet race in Interlagos appeared to unlock a warm feeling of nostalgia to better days. A time when they were also racing at the front in fraught conditions, as 10-year-old prodigies of Normandy’s go-karting scene.

As the pair gave a joint interview in front of broadcaster Viaplay’s cameras, Ocon turned to his fellow Norman: “Do you remember when we were driving in Anneville in the rain?”, to which Gasly revealed their race had brought back the same memories.

“Yeah, even in the snow! We were driving in the snow and the rain. It’s the same as it was back in the day when we were the only ones showing up at the track in the rain, freezing cold. But it was all worth it.”

“It paid off today,” Ocon nodded after his car control in the Brazilian rain yielded him second. “When we did that formation and the in-lap, that was the first thing that came to my mind. What a beautiful story, that.”

Even back when Gasly joined Ocon at Alpine last year, the significance of their unlikely pairing was not lost on them. Two kids from the same part of France – Gasly from the Rouen area and Ocon from the nearby town of Evreux – both making it through the complicated journey to Formula 1 to end up as team-mates.

Now they have another fond memory to look back on after their careers, when perhaps their rivalry will be a relic of the past.

“This is the moment of a lifetime,” said Gasly. “As kids from where we came from, to end up as team-mates was already against all odds, but to end up on the same podium…

“Nobody knows our story, it’s something personal to us. But regardless of everything that happened, a day like today makes it very special.

“It’s a beautiful story.”

McLaren says that guiding Lando Norris to the drivers’ championship was never ultimately its main target – as it has always been more focused on the constructors’ crown.

Norris had a golden opportunity to close down Max Verstappen’s points advantage in the Brazilian Grand Prix, starting on pole position with his rival down in 17th on the grid.

Yet, a combination of a lack of pace in the wet, driving errors, brake lock-up problems and a badly timed red flag meant the Briton finished sixth – with Verstappen producing a sensational performance to win.

That result has left him 62 points adrift of Verstappen with only three rounds remaining.

While the Brazil outcome is a disappointment for Norris in personal terms, McLaren says it changes nothing in its approach, because the team was only ever really thinking about the constructors’ battle anyway.

Asked by Motorsport.com about how the Brazil result would impact the approach to the final races, and whether it would actually take some pressure off Norris, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said: “In terms of the constructors’ championship, I don’t think it changes anything.

“It was always our priority. Even when there was a call to be made to support one driver or the other, it was always secondary to maximising the constructors’ championship.”

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Lubomir Asenov / Motorsport Images

Stella did not feel that the potential of being in a title battle had much of an impact on Norris’s performance at Interlagos, as he felt both team and driver knew it was a bonus to be in the fight in the first place.

“When it comes to the drivers’ championship, I don’t think for Lando there was any particular pressure,” he said.

“We were enjoying this quest, even though sometimes from the outside it may come across like there is an error here or there maybe.

“It is like when we locked the tyres with the car like we had [in Brazil] I am not looking at the driver, I am looking at why the car keeps locking the front tyres in conditions like this. I don’t think pressure was a significant factor at all.

“Mathematically we are still in the [drivers’] championship, but I think for Lando and for Oscar, we will go to the next races trying to win the races.

“The last two venues should be quite good. Vegas will be potentially more of a Ferrari track, and then we will see. It is all to play for, and the constructors’ championship remains and has always been our priority.”

Norris himself has always played down thoughts of the title, thinking it was ultimately a long shot to come from so far back.

Asked how hard the Brazil result was to digest now that the title dream was all but over, he said: “Quite easy. I did all I could today. That’s all. Max won the race. Good on him. Well done, but it doesn’t change anything for me.”

While Norris lost ground in the drivers’ championship in Brazil, McLaren managed to extend its constructors’ advantage over Ferrari by seven points to 36 points – which makes it increasingly likely that the battle will go all the way to the final round in Abu Dhabi.