F zuiko 38mm f1 8

(CNN) As Lewis Hamilton celebrated his victory at last season's Styrian Grand Prix , a member of the Mercedes team grabbed Stephanie Travers and told her she was wanted for the podium ceremony. "My first reaction was: 'Are you sure? I don't think you've got the right person -- it's not me!'" she recalls. "But it all happened so quickly and before I knew it, I was walking up onto the podium." As is customary, Mercedes chooses a team member to go up and collect the Constructors' trophy on behalf of them and Petronas, Mercedes' fuel partner, after each race win. It was a poignant moment for Travers -- a trackside fluid engineer -- to be selected, as she became the first Black woman in history to stand on a Formula One podium. "I still can't put it into words for you," she tells CNN's Amanda Davies. "It was such a surreal moment for myself and a momentous occasion for myself and my family. I didn't have time to inform my family beforehand, but my … [Read more...] about ‘I still can’t put it into words’: Stephanie Travers on the ‘surreal’ moment she became the first Black woman on an F1 podium

And despite the hours spent in their wind tunnels and on sophisticated CFD modelling, the aerodynamicists won't be completely confident that they've got their sums right until their new machines have completed a decent amount of testing in Bahrain later this week. Teams are always keen to pursue correlation between their real cars and the tunnel, which is why they often focus on gathering aero data at the first test. However, on this occasion there are specific concerns because one of the key areas of bodywork change – ahead of the rear tyres – is notoriously difficult to model with the desired level of accuracy. Teams that have completed a filming day or shakedown already have some data, but 100kms was not sufficient to obtain all the answers, especially for those who only ran in the wet. For Mercedes and Haas, who haven't conducted a filming day and whose new cars won't hit the track until Friday, the Bahrain test is potentially even more important. Ferrari is in a … [Read more...] about The aero uncertainty facing F1 teams ahead of testing

Bottas is entering his fifth season racing for Mercedes in 2021, having helped the team win the constructors’ championship in each of his past four years alongside Lewis Hamilton. But the Finn has always been re-signed on rolling one-year contracts at Mercedes, with his existing deal set to expire at the end of this season. With teammate Hamilton also on a one-year deal currently, Mercedes has maximum flexibility in the driver market for 2022 with two vacant seats. Following a protracted negotiation period over his 2019 contract, Bottas said last year that he wanted a quick resolution to talks, with a new deal for 2021 being announced in early August. But heading into the new season, Bottas said he was in no hurry to open talks over a deal for 2022, acknowledging the advantage the team has by keeping two seats free. “I’m honestly in no rush for that,” Bottas said following the launch of Mercedes’ new W12 car ahead of the 2021 season. “I kind of get it. If … [Read more...] about Bottas in “no rush” to discuss new Mercedes F1 contract

As part of F1's long-term sustainability push, F1 has outlined some key targets that it wants to achieve alongside an effort to become carbon neutral from 2030. These include a vision for F1 events to be rid totally of single-use plastic and to ensure that 100% of all waste is reused, recycled or composted. While grand prix racing's chiefs have laid out a 2025 deadline to achieve that, F1 has elected to make a big step this year with efforts to dramatically cut back on its own single-use plastic bottles in the paddock. From the first test in Bahrain this weekend, and for all grands prix this year, F1's official staff will not be able to use single-use plastic bottles. Instead, F1 has arranged for more water refill stations around the Bahrain circuit, paddock, offices and garages to all personnel can refill any water containers. Furthermore, any remote cameramen and other staff working out on track will be provided with camelback pouches that contain enough water … [Read more...] about F1 to stop using single-use plastic bottles in 2021

Four-time F1 world champion Vettel has joined the rebranded Aston Martin team for 2021 following a difficult final season with Ferrari, replacing Perez. Vettel finished a lowly 13th in the championship for Ferrari, scoring just one podium and barely one-third of teammate Charles Leclerc's points total. Recurring errors by Vettel in recent years led to questions about how much Ferrari's cars suited his driving style, which has been said to be dependent on a stable rear end. But Aston Martin technical director Andrew Green said there were zero concerns about accommodating Vettel with its new AMR21 car, believing his driving style is not as extreme as that of Perez. "Yes, [Vettel] does have his own personal driving style, but that's no different to the driving styles that we've seen from other drivers," Green said. "I'd say [it's] not as extreme as the driver he is replacing, who had a very extreme driving style which was very difficult to get right at all tracks. It … [Read more...] about Vettel’s driving style not as extreme as Perez – Aston Martin