F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Tyres and aero key to improving F1's show - Horner

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner says tyres and aerodynamic specifications are central to improving Grand Prix racing's spectacle in the future.

Last week, Formula 1 offered a glimpse of the prospective design that - among other things - should allow for closer racing and a tightening of the entire field from 2021.

The car shown and tested in the wind tunnel featured more fluid lines and a much simpler front wing package compared with current designs.

F1 concluded the first half of its season with a series of thrilling races which saw Red Bull's Max Verstappen trounce Mercedes' supremacy twice, in Austria and in Germany.

While chaotic weather conditions played a significant part in the unexpected outcome of the race in Hockenheim, Horner believes unpredictability could become more frequent in the future with the right set of rules.

"We saw great racing at Austria as well and even at Silverstone," Horner told Motorsport.com.

"The tyres play a crucial role in all of that, so getting the tyres right, getting the aerodynamics right is going to be important so the drivers can follow each other and race hard against each other.”

"We understand what has created the good races," added Horner.

"Some of it is the circuit, some of it is the tyres. The cars are enormously complicated, and I think we can definitely make them less complex.

"I think what we want to achieve is more races like the ones we’ve seen [after France]."

Alfa Romeo Racing's Fred Vasseur also believes that F1 can replicate in the dry the amazing and unforeseen racing that took place last month at the German Grand Prix.

"If mechanically they reduce the gap between the midfield and the top teams you will have some events, perhaps not 50%, but some events in the season where something like [the German GP] can happen," said Vasseur.

"The feeling would be huge for the teams, spectators, drivers, to have this possibility in mind. So far it is not the case.

"The top six could have a crash on the first lap, come back to the pits, change the nose, change the rear wing, come back and they are still able to lap us.

"You have no expectations beyond just to be P7. But I feel it is getting less the case."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.

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