2018 FORMULA 1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
Dun….dun dun dun dun dun dun da dun duuuunnnnn….
The 2018 Formula One World Championship is GO!
Calendar files
https://www.formula1.com/sp/static/f1/2018/calendar/ical.ics
Teams and Drivers
Team
Constructor
Chassis
Power Unit
Drivers
Scuderia Ferrari
Ferrari
SF71H
Ferrari
Germany Sebastian Vettel
Finland Kimi Räikkönen
Sahara Force India F1 Team
Force India-Mercedes
VJM11
Mercedes M09 EQ Power+
Mexico Sergio Pérez
France Esteban Ocon
Haas F1 Team
Haas-Ferrari
VF-18
Ferrari
France Romain Grosjean
Denmark Kevin Magnussen
McLaren F1 Team
McLaren-Renault
MCL33
Renault R.E.18
Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne
Spain Fernando Alonso
Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport
Mercedes
F1 W09 EQ Power+
Mercedes M09 EQ Power+
United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton
Finland Valtteri Bottas
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer
RB14
TAG Heuer
Australia Daniel Ricciardo
Netherlands Max Verstappen
Renault Sport Formula One Team
Renault
R.S.18
Renault R.E.18
Germany Nico Hülkenberg
Spain Carlos Sainz Jr.
Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team
Sauber-Ferrari
C37
Ferrari
Sweden Marcus Ericsson
Monaco Charles Leclerc
Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda
Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda
STR13
Honda RA618H
France Pierre Gasly
New Zealand Brendon Hartley
Williams Martini Racing
Williams-Mercedes
FW41
Mercedes M09 EQ Power+
Canada Lance Stroll
Russia Sergey Sirotkin
2018 FIA Formula One World Championship® Race Calendar
1 Australian Grand Prix Australia Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne 25 March
2 Bahrain Grand Prix Bahrain Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir 8 April
3 Chinese Grand Prix China Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai 15 April
4 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit, Baku 29 April
5 Spanish Grand Prix Spain Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona 13 May
6 Monaco Grand Prix Monaco Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo 27 May
7 Canadian Grand Prix Canada Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal 10 June
8 French Grand Prix France Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet 24 June
9 Austrian Grand Prix Austria Red Bull Ring, Spielberg 1 July
10 British Grand Prix United Kingdom Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone 8 July
11 German Grand Prix Germany Hockenheimring, Hockenheim 22 July
12 Hungarian Grand Prix Hungary Hungaroring, Budapest 29 July
13 Belgian Grand Prix Belgium Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot 26 August
14 Italian Grand Prix Italy Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza 2 September
15 Singapore Grand Prix Singapore Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore 16 September
16 Russian Grand Prix Russia Sochi Autodrom, Sochi 30 September
17 Japanese Grand Prix Japan Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka 7 October
18 US Grand Prix United States Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas 21 October
19 Mexican Grand Prix Mexico Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City 28 October
20 Brazilian Grand Prix Brazil Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo 11 November
21 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi 25 November
Tyres
Full Wet - Blue
Intermediate - Green
Super Hard - Orange
Hard - Blue (unlikely to be on track at the same time as the full wet)
Medium - White
Soft - Yellow
Super Soft - Red
Ultra Soft - Purple
Hyper Soft - Pink
Tyre supplier Pirelli will provide teams with two new tyre compounds in 2018. Each of the 2017 compounds is scheduled to be made softer, with a new "hypersoft" tyre becoming the softest of the nine and a new "superhard" tyre to be the hardest. The rules dictating which tyres are available were relaxed to allow Pirelli to supply a wider range of compounds. Previously, Pirelli had to provide sequential compounds; for example, ultrasoft, supersoft and soft. In 2018, Pirelli is able to supply compounds with two steps of difference between them; for example, the ultrasoft, supersoft and medium tyres. Pirelli will also be required to manufacture an additional tyre compound that is not intended for competition. This tyre will be supplied to teams for use in demonstration events to prevent teams from using demonstration events as informal—and illegal—testing.
Team Changes
- McLaren terminated their engine partnership with Honda and instead signed a three-year deal for power units supplied by Renault.
- Toro Rosso parted ways with Renault (allowing McLaren to finalise their agreement with Renault) and came to an agreement to use Honda power units in 2018. As part of the deal, Red Bull Racing agreed to loan Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz Jr. to Renault's works team.
- Sauber renewed their partnership with Ferrari, upgrading to current-specification power units after having used older-model power units in 2017.
Driver Changes
IN
Pierre Gasly [Toro Rosso]
Brendon Hartley [Toro Rosso]
Charles Leclerc [Sauber]
Sergey Sirotkin [Williams]
OUT
Pascal Wehrlein [Sauber]
Daniil Kvyat [Toro Rosso]
Jolyon Palmer [Renault]]
Philipe Massa [Williams] - Retired
MOVED
Carlos Sainz Jr. [Toro Rosso to Renault]
Technical Regulation Changes
- Engine suppliers will be required to provide all teams using their engines with an identical specification of power unit. The change was introduced to ensure parity after Mercedes' works team was observed to have access to additional performance settings that were not available to their customer teams.
- The quantity of power unit components a driver may use during the season was reduced from four complete power units during the entire season in 2017 to a new system where each of the power unit components is considered separately.Therefore, in 2018, each driver will be permitted to use up to three each of internal combustion engines (ICE), heat motor generator units (MGU-H), and turbochargers (TC); and two each of the kinetic motor generator units (MGU-K), energy stores (ES), and control electronics (CE).
- Restrictions against the practice of oil burning, where engine oils are burned as fuel to boost performance, were also introduced. The practice, which was first used in 2017 saw teams burning as much as 1.2 litres per one hundred kilometres. For the 2018 championship, this figure was revised down to a maximum of 0.6 litres per one hundred kilometres.The rules were further amended to restrict teams to using a single specification of oil, which must be declared before the race. These oils are subject to stricter definitions of what is considered "oil" in order to prevent teams from using exotic blends designed to boost performance. Teams are also required to inform the stewards of the mass of oil in each oil tank before the race.
- Further changes to the technical regulations require the temperature of air in the plenum chamber—adjacent to the turbocharger—to be no more than 10°C above the ambient air temperature. The rule was introduced in a bid to stop teams from artificially heating or cooling air for possible performance gains. Active control valves, which electronically regulate the flow of fluids between power unit components, will also be banned.
- The FIA banned the use of "shark fins". The use of "T-wings", a horizontal secondary wing mounted forward of and above the rear wing, was also banned.
Sporting Regulation Changes
- Following widespread criticism of the grid penalty system in 2017, the FIA introduced a revised set of regulations for 2018. In the event that a driver changes a power unit component, they will still be subject to a five- or ten-place grid penalty depending on the component being changed; however, should they then replace a second component, they will be moved to the back of the starting grid. If multiple drivers are moved to the back of the grid, their starting positions will be determined by the order that components were changed based on the most recent change made by each driver.
- The rules governing starting procedures will be changed for 2018, granting race stewards the power to issue penalties for improper race starts even if a driver's start does not trigger the automated detection system. The changes were introduced following two incidents during 2017; at the Chinese Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel positioned his car too far across his grid slot to be registered by the detection system; while at the Austrian Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas's start was called into question for his reaction time despite the detection system recognising it as legal.
- The FIA introduced tighter restrictions on racing licences issued to drivers taking part in free practice sessions. Candidate drivers will be required to complete a minimum number of Formula 2 races or earn twenty-five superlicense points over a three-year period. The changes were introduced to address concerns about drivers who would not be able to meet the standards required to compete in Formula One having access to Formula One cars.
- The schedule of a Grand Prix weekend will change, with the start time of most European races pushed back by one hour in a bid to try and accommodate a larger television audience. All races will start at ten minutes past the hour so as to allow broadcasters the opportunity for pre-race coverage when their broadcast of the race starts on the hour.
Safety Regulation Changes
- Following a series of serious incidents in open-wheel racing in which drivers were struck in the head by debris, the FIA announced plans to introduce additional mandatory cockpit protection with 2018 given as the first year for its introduction. The FIA ultimately settled on the "halo", a wishbone-shaped frame mounted above and around the driver's head and anchored to the monocoque forward of the cockpit. Once introduced, the halo concept is scheduled to be applied to other open-wheel racing categories including Formula 2 and Formula 3. Following criticisms over the aesthetic value of the device, the FIA revealed plans to allow teams some design freedom in the final version of the halo, with the device being incorporated into the chassis design from its inception rather than attached once the design was completed. The mandatory crash tests that each chassis must pass were adjusted to include a new static load test. In order to simulate a serious accident, a tyre was mounted to a hydraulic ram and fired at the crash structure; to pass the test, the chassis and the mounting points for the halo had to remain intact. In order to prevent teams from exploiting the halo for aerodynamic gain and potentially compromising its purpose, the FIA banned teams from developing their own devices and instead required them to purchase pre-fabricated models from approved suppliers.
- Drivers will be required to wear gloves containing biometric sensors which record their vital signs in order to better assist marshals and recovery crews in assessing their condition in the event of an accident.
Betting Odds
Drivers Championship 2018
1.83 Lewis Hamilton
4.50 Sebastian Vettel
7.00 Max Verstappen
11.00 Valtteri Bottas
13.00 Daniel Ricciardo
26.00 Fernando Alonso
41.00 Kimi Raikkonen
101.00 Carlos Sainz Jr
101.00 Nico Hulkenberg
101.00 Stoffel Vandoorne
251.00 Esteban Ocon
251.00 Sergio Perez
501.00 Lance Stroll
751.00 Sergey Sirotkin
1001.00 Brendon Hartley
1001.00 Charles Leclerc
1001.00 Pierre Gasly
1501.00 Kevin Magnussen
1501.00 Marcus Ericsson
1501.00 Romain Grosjean
Constructors Championship 2018
1.44 Mercedes
4.33 Red Bull
5.00 Ferrari
34.00 McLaren
101.00 Renault
151.00 Haas
201.00 Force India
501.00 Toro Rosso
501.00 Williams
1001.00 Sauber
2018 FORMULA 1 ROLEX AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
Melbourne
Lap data
Lap length 5.303km (3.295 miles)
Race laps 58
Race distance 307.574km (191.118 miles)
Pole position Left-hand side of the track
Lap record* 1’24.125 (226.934 kph) by Michael Schumacher, 2004
Fastest lap 1’23.529 (228.553 kph) by Sebastian Vettel, 2011
Maximum speed 312kph (193.868 mph)
DRS zone/s (race) First and second straight
Distance from grid to turn one 380m
Full throttle 61%
Longest flat-out section 843m
Downforce level High
Fuel use per lap 1.66kg
Time penalty per lap of fuel 0.051s
UK Times
Friday 23rd March 2018
Australian Grand Prix Free Practice 1: 12:00-13:30 (UK time: 1:00-2:30)
Australian Grand Prix Free Practice 2: 16:00-17:30 (UK time: 5:00-6:30)
Saturday 24th March 2018
Australian Grand Prix Free Practice 3: 14:00-15:00 (UK time: 3:00-4:00)
Australian Grand Prix Qualifying: 17:00 (UK time: 6:00)
Sunday 25th March 2018
Australian Grand Prix: 16:10 (UK time: 6:10)
Previous Winners
2017 Germany Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Albert Park
2016 Germany Nico Rosberg Mercedes
2015 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2014 Germany Nico Rosberg Mercedes
2013 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Lotus-Renault
2012 United Kingdom Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
2011 Germany Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
2010 United Kingdom Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
2009 United Kingdom Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes
2008 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
2007 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari
2006 Spain Fernando Alonso Renault
2005 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Renault
2004 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari
2003 United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes
2002 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari
2001 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari
2000 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari
Videos
Hamilton on board 2017 pole lap
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mtjC9DozXs
2015 vs 2017
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RViaJ-XxYt0
Drivers’ Chosen Tyres