Formula 1: Pre-Season News and Gossip

You’re Going to Lose that Grid Girl

‘Grid Girls’ will no longer be used in Formula 1 races from the start of the 2018 season in March.  Director of Commercial Operations Sean Bratches said the change comes after the Formula One Group “looked at a number of areas which we felt needed updating so as to be more in tune with our vision”. Last week the Professional Darts Corporation also said female promotional models would no longer be used at their events, in a move which received the applause of the Women’s Sport Trust.

Formula E Plans Daring Overtake

The founder of Formula E, Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, is confident his series will overtake Formula 1 as the biggest racing championship in the world within 20 years. A shift in government attitudes against combustion engines in favour of electric cars could be pivotal in the growth of the Formula E series in years to come. “Formula E will be the main motorsport championship because it is the championship that is connected to the industry”, says Agag. The Formula E season continues in Mexico City on March 3rd.

Bottas Admits Overthinking Hurt Form

Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas has admitted that overthinking hurt his form in 2017, his first season with the Mercedes team. While teammate Lewis Hamilton battled with Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel for the championship last year, Bottas fell off the pace. “You can easily overthink things and then it becomes less natural driving”, said Bottas in an interview with Motorsport. Bottas also says he “learnt massively from those difficult races”, and believes he will be “a much more complete, much quicker driver” in 2018.

The 2018 Formula 1 Championship season starts in Australia, March 23rd – 25th.