Formula 1 Live Ticker: FIA President under pressure?

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Starting tomorrow, we’ll be back with daily updates from the paddock in Baku. I’m really looking forward to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the Sprint.

As usual, my colleague Ruben Zimmermann will guide you through the ticker from Thursday to Monday. We’ll read each other here again next Tuesday, but I hope to see you in one of our livestreams this weekend? That would make me very happy!

Kevin Scheuren signs off and says goodbye, see you then!

Read more Formula 1 Live Ticker: Formula 1 as lucrative as never before

Tomorrow is Media Day in Baku!

We are already looking forward to the press conferences and interview sessions with drivers and team officials, as much of the guesswork will finally come to an end when the people involved comment on everything themselves.

Here is the schedule:

PC 1 (14:30 local time / 12:30 Germany)
Esteban Ocon
Yuki Tsunoda
Kevin Magnussen
Lando Norris
Sergio Perez

PC 2 (15:05 local time / 13:05 Germany)
Valtteri Bottas
Lance Stroll
Carlos Sainz
Lewis Hamilton
Alex Albon

If you want to know what the drivers have to say, you should definitely follow the Formula 1 live ticker tomorrow and tune into our first livestream of the weekend from 19:15. Christian Nimmervoll and I will then prepare all the essential information for you.

Bernadette Collins has been part of the Sky UK crew since this season. On race weekends, she can provide first-hand assessments of strategies, as she was Chief Strategist at Aston Martin until mid-2022.

In the “Sky Sports F1 Podcast,” she talked a little about how much humans still do on the pit wall, what is already calculated by computers, and whether artificial intelligence (AI) could eventually replace humans.

Very exciting quotes that my colleague Ruben Zimmermann has summarized for you!

Pirelli will supply the softest compounds for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend.

Teams have the option to choose from C3 (hard/white), C4 (medium/yellow), and C5 (red/soft). However, there are still small changes, but these relate solely to the permitted tire pressure.

Pirelli now specifies a minimum tire pressure of 23 psi at the rear and 25 psi at the front. This is 0.5 psi more at the rear and front than last year, and even 1.5 psi more than originally planned for the 2023 appearance.

As you now know, the Formula 1 podcast “Starting Grid,” which we produce in cooperation with meinsportpodcast.de, has also been available as a video on our YouTube channel for several weeks.

In the current issue, presenter Sophie Affeldt, my colleague Ruben Zimmermann, and I also discussed the creeping decline of Alfa Romeo in Formula 1.

What’s going on with Alfa Romeo or Sauber? The team from Hinwil in Switzerland is currently in limbo. Everyone is waiting for Audi’s entry in 2026. But until then? We talked about the Sauber team’s bumpy start to the season and why one has to feel that not even they themselves are really ensuring they are part of the discussion.

In the preview of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the focus is naturally also on Red Bull and Max Verstappen’s role as favorites, who could line up behind them, and why Fernando Alonso once again secured third place. The midfield offers a lot of excitement and could become the big highlight alongside the new Sprint Shootout, which, however, was not yet finalized at the time of recording this podcast.

Super Formula is Japan’s local flagship in motorsport.

While the series’ action isn’t always super strong, the driver lineup is generally impressive. Pierre Gasly can also attest to the series, having driven for Team Mugen (photo) there in 2017 and finishing second overall. With this performance, he definitively recommended himself for Formula 1, and Red Bull junior Liam Lawson is currently trying to do the same.

Could we soon see Super Formula in the support program of the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka? Masahiko Kondo, chairman of the racing series, at least opens the door in this direction:

“Super Formula is Japan’s top category, and there was a time when the series was too proud to play second fiddle to F1,” Kondo said. “We thought: ‘Why should we be second-class after F1?

“But now I think everyone’s mindset has become more flexible, and it wouldn’t be an issue anymore.”

He further states: “Tens of thousands of fans come to Formula 1 races. I think if we were able to showcase Super Formula in front of so many fans, it would be great if some of them would visit our final race [also in Suzuka], which takes place after the F1 race.

“But it’s not just up to me. We need to have many discussions, but as a fan of Super Formula, I would be happy if it happened.”

I like the idea of integrating local series into the support schedule, provided Formula 2 and Formula 3 are not present. Super Formula as part of the Formula 1 race weekend in Japan would therefore be absolutely cool, don’t you think?

In the modern world of Formula 1, everything can and will eventually be digitally usable. This also applies to the wheel covers.

Originally, there was the idea that from 2024, LEDs on the covers could display additional information for fans at the track or on TV. Pirelli’s Mario Isola once said on this topic: “If you install this [LED light] device and it works, you can do whatever you want. You can show the position, you can show logos, you can show the lap time in qualifying or something similar. There are many possibilities. You have the technology, so it’s easy to program what you want to display.”

However, the Formula 1 Commission has now rejected the idea. The reason is very simple: weight. This sensitive area of the car has already increased by 2.5 kg (front) and 3 kg (rear) due to the enlargement of the 13- to 18-inch tires. If LED systems were now added to the covers, the difficulties in operating at the weight limit would increase even further.

A shame, really, I personally would have found this gadget quite nice.

Read more Formula 1 Live Ticker: Today new weekend format?

Yesterday, it was finally announced what the Formula 1 weekend will look like when there’s a Sprint on Saturday. In just a few days, we will experience the new plan in Baku, which is as follows:

Friday
Free Practice (60 min.)
Qualifying for Sunday’s race

Saturday
Sprint Shootout (Q1: 12 min./medium tires, Q2: ten min./medium tires, Q3: eight min./soft tires)
Sprint Race (17 laps or 60 min.)

Sunday
Main Race (51 laps)

On social media, the feedback was diverse. Many fans like that this Shootout now exists on Saturday because it’s not just a simple practice session. Others believe it’s boring that it’s just the normal qualifying with a few minutes less.

You are welcome to send us your direct feedback via Twitter, Instagram, or our contact form, just as Timo did.

He writes: “Regarding the ‘extended Sprint’: can’t the teams now also encounter bigger component problems? A qualifying session generally has more wear than a practice session (if you have to drive many laps). Furthermore, there’s an extremely high risk of, for example, crashing the car during the Sprint Shootout and then missing the Sprint. The same applies there for a Sprint accident and the main race.”

Well Timo, you’ve got a good point there. It’s no coincidence that the Formula 1 Commission also decided yesterday that internal combustion engines (ICE), MGU-Hs, MGU-Ks, and turbochargers can be changed a fourth time without penalty. I assume this addresses your point precisely, because it is exactly as you describe. As for crashing the car, drivers must, of course, be urged to create as little work as possible for their teams, while still providing good racing.

Mohammed bin Sulayem is not an unchallenged FIA President, that much can be said. The 61-year-old official from Dubai has had to endure quite a bit during his tenure, which began in December 2021.

Be it the critical remarks towards women, which, according to the FIA, are no longer his current views. Or the desire for drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel to focus on racing instead of spreading messages that have nothing to do with motorsport. In winter, he also became agitated about Saudi Arabia’s potential offer to buy Formula 1 from Liberty Media, for which he even received a cease and desist letter from Liberty’s lawyers.

I have summarized a brief overview of the problems in a video that I would like to recommend to you again today:

Mohammed bin Sulayem has already come under fire in a sexism debate in recent months.

Old postings on his website have surfaced, in which bin Sulayem wrote down a few things he didn’t like. Among other things, women were part of these thoughts. “Women who think they are smarter than men are not, in reality,” he once wrote.

Even then, there were initial voices questioning whether bin Sulayem was still tenable as FIA President, as he was also heavily criticized for other reasons.

The sexism debate could now flare up again, as Shaila-Ann Rao, former interim Secretary General of the FIA, accused bin Sulayem of sexist behavior in a letter before her departure. Rao was in office for six months.

Bin Sulayem praised Rao at the time with the words, “She was a great help to me. You could see how intelligent she is when it came to preparing important decisions for me.” Was it perhaps not such a pleasant interpersonal situation between the two after all?

The FIA takes these allegations very seriously, as reported by the “BBC,” and is following internal protocol, but has not yet found any breach of the organization’s ethical code. No investigation is currently underway, as no direct complaints against bin Sulayem have been received by the Senate, and therefore no referral to the FIA Ethics Committee has been made.

However, it is clear that things will not quiet down for Mohammed bin Sulayem for the time being.

I love to reminisce, as you all know by now.

The first #OnThisDay content comes from the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola 1998. The race was actually quite unspectacular. David Coulthard celebrated his fourth Grand Prix victory, winning ahead of Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine in the Ferrari.

The biggest story at the time, however, was certainly the X-Wings, which Ferrari adopted from Tyrrell for the first and last time at this race, as Tyrrell had already introduced this innovation in 1997. After the race weekend in Imola, these were banned by the FIA.

Further impressions of this not-so-beautiful wing construction can be found in the photo gallery!

Photo Gallery: Banned Formula 1 Innovations: Tyrrell’s X-Wings

Before we discuss the sexism allegations and potential investigations against FIA President Mohammed bin Sulayem later this morning, let’s start the day with something lighter.

Could you say off the top of your head which driver in the current Formula 1 field has how many podiums? And to make it even more interesting, which driver finished first, second, or third how many times?

If not, the graphic below might help you directly. If so, then you are true experts and have my greatest respect!

Morning, dear Formula 1 fans,

Race action will finally start again soon. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix casts its shadow, not just since the new Sprint Qualifying was introduced yesterday. This Wednesday, we will certainly also address the reactions to it in the Formula 1 live ticker. Kevin Scheuren warmly welcomes you.

For questions, suggestions, or complaints, you can use our contact form. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, and for questions, our Twitter hashtag #FragMST is available. Let’s go!

You can read yesterday’s ticker again here!

Read more F1 Live Ticker: Imola, the Update Festival?