New panels ‘storm in teacup’
Composite bonnet and roof not an advantage, says van Gisbergen
Kiwi driver and Supercars championship leader Shane van Gisbergen thinks the debate around the 2018 Holden’s composite panels is a storm in a teacup.
The 2016 series champion dominated the opening round in Adelaide but rivals complained about an unfair weight advantage the new 2018 ZB Commodore had over rivals.
It features lightweight composite panels on the bonnet and roof as opposed to steel panels used on the Fords, Nissans and old Commodores. But van Gisbergen said those views are ill-informed.
Dale Budge
Brendon Hartley is set to embark on a new chapter in his racing career as he counts down to Sunday’s Formula 1 Grand Prix season opener in Melbourne.
The 28-year-old New Zealander was handed a shock Formula 1 debut at the end of last year but already feels more comfortable heading into this season.
“It is definitely a new beginning,” Hartley said. “Last year was a perfect preparation for this. I was thrown in the deep end. Although I’ve been preparing all my life, I was very unprepared for that moment. Now, having all these months to prepare, this is my big opportunity to prove that I deserve to be in Formula 1 and that I have a future career there.”
His Toro Rosso team made the off-season switch to Honda engines and the initial two-week pre-season test in Barcelona yielded strong results.
“We are starting to get a bit of few rounds what it’s really like. Adelaide isn’t really an aerodynamic circuit, so we’re not too sure.
“It is pretty similar [to last year’s car]. It gets done with all the parity testing and it didn’t feel like it had big downforce. It felt less in some corners. But the way it drives, it’s a lot smoother and a lot less attitude through the corners, so that makes it easier to drive and set up.
“You don’t really know until you get to a place with faster corners like Melbourne this weekend or Phillip Island — that’s when we’ll get the true picture of how good it really is.”
This year, Supercar races during the F1 weekend will count as championship rounds but van Gisbergen isn’t expecting the racing to differ. There are a lot of drivers that tried and never succeeded. It’s a really tough midfield battle this year as well, as it was last year.
“We can talk about the big three teams – it’s pretty clear they are going to be the top three again but then the battle behind is very fierce and very close.
“Those last point-scoring positions are hard to come by.”
There is likely to be a lot of support for the Palmerston North product in Melbourne.
“I’m fully expecting there to be a few Kiwis there and I ran into familiar faces in Melbourne this morning getting my coffee and breakfast,” he said.
“When I was home over summer, every second or third person I chatted to said they were coming. Hopefully they’ve brought a few New Zealand flags.
“It’s the closest I’ve driven to home in a long, long time.”
Hartley is in action on the track for the first time on Friday, with two 90-minute practice sessions.
“Everyone races flat out there anyway. Maybe you try some stuff with the set-up you might not have done.
“As a race track, it’s good — being an F1 circuit, it’s so wide, there are heaps of passing opportunities. Also, it’s very hard on tyres, so that makes it quite good in terms of strategy — you can use them early, or you can save them for later in the race.”