Vettel’s “new” Aston Martin causes trouble!

3:27 p.m

Aston Martin: Red Bull continues to have doubts

According to the FIA, everything is admitted with the right things. But Red Bull has doubts about the legality of the AMR22. “You now have to clarify how this incredible copy came about,” demands Helmut Marko on ‘Sky’.

“Copying is not forbidden,” he knows. “But you also have to take into account that seven people were poached from us and that our chief aerodynamicist was drawn to Aston Martin for a disproportionately high fee,” he recalls.

“There are still some facts that we are checking. We will investigate the matter in detail,” he announces, explaining: “It’s not just Dan Fallows. There is evidence that data was downloaded.”

In any case, Marko doubts that Aston Martin copied the Red Bull without data. His question: “Can you copy without documents and then get such a detailed copy of our car?”

So things are far from over!

3:36 p.m

ADAC GT Masters this weekend in Spielberg

The ADAC GT Masters sets the perfect mood for the race in Barcelona this weekend. The German GT Championship will hold its races on Saturday and Sunday at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. The start is always at 1:00 p.m. so that the races do not overlap with Formula 1.

The races will be broadcast live on free TV on the Nitro channel. You can find out how the first training session in Austria went today here!


3:32 p.m

Official statement

At the same time, Red Bull also published an official statement on the subject, stating that they had taken note of the FIA’s verdict “with interest”. Between the lines, however, it is quite clear that one is not yet satisfied.

Here is the short statement in its entirety:

“Oracle Red Bull Racing have noted the FIA’s statement with interest. While imitation is the greatest form of flattery, any replication of design would obviously need to comply with the FIA’s rules around ‘Reverse Engineering’. However, any transfer of IP should have taken place that would clearly be a breach of regulations and would be a serious concern.”


3:16 p.m

Krack downloads updates

The Aston Martin team boss downplays the importance of the update on ‘Sky’. You constantly bring new parts to the car. This upgrade is now clearly recognizable, but the bottom line is that it is only “another step” in the development.

He also emphasizes once again that the concept for the update had been in the drawer for a long time.


3:05 p.m

dig?

At the Red Bull pit wall, all employees had a green Red Bull can in FT1. Coincidence or a deliberate allusion to Aston Martin? Either way pretty funny!


3:00 p.m

FT1: Closing time!

And with that, the first session of the day is over. There were no more improvements at the front, so the best time goes to Leclerc ahead of Sainz, Verstappen and Russell.

Meanwhile, trouble threatens Vips, who stopped Russell in a scene. There is also an investigation going on. In two hours we continue with FT2. Here is the overview:

training report

result


Photos: F1: Spanish Grand Prix (Barcelona) 2022, Friday



2:52 p.m

FT1: Alonso is threatened with trouble

The Spaniard is said to have stopped Hamilton. This will be examined after the session. So Alonso could bring trouble with the stewards again. He’s had enough of that…

Meanwhile, the last few minutes are already running. Is there another attack on the best time?


2:48 p.m

FT1: tests

Not only Williams is in FT1 with FloViz color. For the teams, it’s all about verifying that the new parts resonated as expected. Meanwhile, Leclerc screwed the best time down to 1: 19.828.

Ferrari double lead in front of Verstappen for the moment. Behind are Russell, Alonso and Hamilton. Mercedes can’t keep up with the top 3 at the moment. But let’s wait and see.

As a reminder: Russell set the fastest time in Miami on Friday, but was in no man’s land on Saturday. Maybe this time it’s the other way around…


2:42 p.m

FT1: New engines

Both Mercedes drivers are in Barcelona with a new engine. The first change this year. In addition, Zhou got a new MGU-K, Vettel a new energy storage.

Verstappen and Ricciardo are now the only two drivers who have not yet replaced any of the six engine components this season.


2:37 p.m

FT1: Softs

On the track, more than half of the session is already over. The soft tires are now unpacked at the front and Sainz hits a 1:19.907, which clearly catapults him to the top.

Verstappen can’t quite keep up at first, he’s a good 0.2 seconds down on P2. But the end of the road will not be reached with these times.


2:27 p.m

Aston Martin claims innocence

By the way: Aston Martin emphasizes that the new concept was not stolen from Red Bull. In fact, it had been in the pipeline for many months.

A statement that seems credible, because Mercedes also developed two concepts for this year. At the first test in Barcelona, ​​the W13 still had sidepods.

By the second test in Bahrain, these had disappeared. At Aston Martin, it apparently just took a little longer to finalize the other concept.


2:24 p.m

FT1: Problem with Vettel?

Three drivers haven’t set a time yet: Vettel, Bottas and Magnussen. While there is no problem with Alfa Romeo and Bottas has already completed six laps, the other two drivers are currently in the pits.

Vettel has only completed two laps, Magnussen only one. That still looks like a problem. At the front, Verstappen has reduced the best time to 1:21.876.

At this very moment, both Vettel and Magnussen are coming back! Let’s keep our fingers crossed that everything fits now.


2:18 p.m

FIA acquits Aston Martin

We’re going away from practice for a moment because the FIA ​​has just released a statement about Aston Martin’s “green Red Bull”. It reveals that an investigation was launched after it was found that the AMR22 was very similar to the RB18.

In this investigation, both teams had fully cooperated with the FIA ​​​​and the result was ultimately an acquittal. Aston Martin did not violate Article 17.3 of the Technical Regulations, which prohibits so-called “reverse engineering”.

The full statement is available here:

“The FIA ​​carried out a routine pre-event legality check of the planned aerodynamic upgrade of the Aston Martin team for the 2022 FIA Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix. During this process, it became apparent that a number of features on the Aston Martin resembled those of another competitor.”

“The FIA ​​therefore launched an investigation to check compliance with Article 17.3 of the Technical Regulations, and in particular the topic of ‘Reverse Engineering’ and potential illicit IP transfer.”

“Both teams collaborated fully with the FIA ​​in this investigation and provided all the relevant information. The investigation, which involved CAD checks and a detailed analysis of the development process adopted by Aston Martin, confirmed that no wrongdoing had been committed, and therefore the FIA considers that the Aston Martin aerodynamic upgrades are compliant.”

“Article 17.3 specifically defines and prohibits ‘Reverse Engineering’, ie the digital process of converting photographs (or other data) to CAD models, and prohibits IP transfer between teams, but equally, this Article permits car designs getting influenced by those of competitors, as has always been the case in Formula 1.”

“In the analysis we carried out we confirmed that the processes followed by Aston Martin were consistent with this Article’s requirements.”


2:12 p.m

FT1: Also Williams in red

Did Williams overdo it and change the paintwork of the FW44 based on Albon’s hair? Of course not, the car is just smeared with FloViz paint. Among other things, Williams has a new rear wing with them this weekend.

The purpose of the color is to make the air flow in this area of ​​the car visible. We know that from the test drives in winter. Verstappen is at the top after the first few minutes with a 1:22.394.


2:03 p.m

FT1: It’s getting full right away

Vettel is the first driver out on the track, but a long line forms right behind him. Sure, because especially the teams with updates want to collect as much data as possible here.

All 20 pilots are already on the slopes! About the times: In the winter, Hamilton was the fastest man here in the test with a 1:19.138. That should be much faster this weekend.

Because the cars are much more mature now than they were then.


1:53 p.m

FT1: Open the session ticker now!

It’s about to start with FT1 and you know the game: Here at this point there is only the most important information, pictures and voices for the next 60 minutes. You can get the complete coverage in our session ticker.

Stefan Ehlen is currently on vacation, so Norman Fischer will be taking care of him this weekend (and next). Let’s see how the Friday drivers in particular are doing now!


1:46 p.m

weather

It doesn’t look like rain this weekend – but after a similar bad heat as in Miami. Around a quarter of an hour before the start of FT1, the air temperature is almost 29 degrees, the asphalt is even glowing at a good 44 degrees!

As in previous years in Spain, Pirelli unpacked the three hardest tire compounds for the weekend. Our weather forecast for the entire weekend can be found here!

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