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Steve Nielson is accused of spying for F1G SINGLE COPY US $32 • UK£25 • € 30 ANNUALLY US$260 • UK£205 • € 240 TMFORMULA ONE’S BUSINESS MAGAZINE August / September 2024 Vol 9 Issue 08/09 BINOTTO IS HIRED, SEIDL IS FIRED Audi swaps a German for an Italian Max is off it’s just when The bloody fight for his servicesMEMORABILIA ONLINE AUCTION OCTOBER NOVEMBER Broad Arrow is excited to present an outstanding Swiss-based collection of over 60 helmets, most of which having been used in Formula One by well-known drivers. Highlights range from Rubens Barrichello’s race winning 2002 Indianapolis helmet to helmets used by drivers such as Jean Alesi, Daniel Ricciardo, Jacques Villeneuve, Jos Verstappen and Michael Schumacher.BusinessF1 3 TM REGULAR FEATURES Credits 4 • Letters to the Editor 4 • People Index 6 • Paddock Patter 9 • News 8 - 29 • Premature Facts 30 • Notes & Observations 32 • Lewis Webster 34 • Letter From America 36 - 37 • Motor Matters 39 • Gallery 40 - 43 • Jottings 98 COVER STORY 72 INSIGHT SPECIAL REPORT “A minute in my life I will never forget” 54 Keith Sutton is arguably Formula One’s most famous photographer. But nothing prepared him for the special minute in September 1986 when he helped make the most iconic photograph in Formula One history happen. Max Verstappen is gone from Red Bull Racing, it’s no longer a matter of if, but when. This from a driver who only two years ago was prepared to commit himself to the team for life. The discontent has been caused by the Christian Horner and Fiona Hewitson imbroglio and the blunt truth that Hewitson was far more popular with Max and Jos Verstappen, Raymond Vermeulen, Helmut Marko and Adrian Newey than Horner was. Bill Gibson was the man who enabled Ayrton Senna to shine so brightly at Monte Carlo in 1984. At the beginning of the year, Formula One teams were struggling to replace existing mechanical fuel injection with new fangled electronic engine management systems, which were causing the 1.5 litre turbo engines to be “popping and banging round the tracks. A new biography of Gibson explains how he solved the problem. 80 There are now seven English language Formula One Apps offering a plethora of information principally on mobile phones. Will Apps eventually replace parent web sites? No one knows the answer to that. Time may be up for F1’s fantasist 52 There is a journalist in the Formula One press room who continually makes high minded pronouncements, as an insider who has the ear of important people in the Formula One paddock. 90 RETROSPECTIVE The echoes of Bobby Deerfield 56 Many moons ago, there was a fictional race driver called Bobby Deerfield, in a movie about Formula One, imaginatively named ‘Bobby Deerfield’ played by the leading actor of the day, Al Pacino. The result was a movie that was neither good or bad, just tedious. Now almost 50 years later, Brad Pitt is recreating himself as Al Pacino in a repeat performance. 44 August 2024 is a vital month for the future of the Aston Martin Lagonda car company, as Geely’s option to buy the company expires. What will Eric Li Shifu do and how badly does he want the company? He certainly wants to buy but at what price? The stock market valuation or his valuation? The two figures are wide apart. Max is off, it’s just when The bloody battle for the services of Max Verstappen PROFILE Binotto hired, Seidl fired Audi Chairman Gernot Döllner has acted decisively to throw out the incumbent chief executive at Audi’s new Formula One team. Döllner has replace the hand picked German, Andreas Seidl, the choice of his predecessor and expensively recruited from McLaren Racing 20 months ago, with an unemployed Italian technocrat. It is a bet the farm decision, the result of which will not be known for two years. 66 Audi swap a German for an Italian4 BusinessF1 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Tom Rubython CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Thomas Gibson, Oliver Edwards, Jo Maxwell, Lewis Webster CHIEF CREATIVE DESIGNER & PHOTOGRAPHER Alexander L. Sargent PHOTOGRAPHERS Darren Price, Jeff Custard WEB EDITOR Brad Dias CHIEF STATISTICIAN David Hayhoe VICE PRESIDENT - LOGISTICS David Peett EDITORS AT LARGE George Roberts, Andrew Frankl, Stefan Johansson GLOBAL AMBASSADOR Maprang Suwanbubpa SUBSCRIPTIONS CO-ORDINATORS Daisy Macedward, Roger Smith FINANCE MANAGER Alex Rogers BusinessF1 Magazine is published by BusinessF1 Magazine Ltd, Billing Wharf, The Causeway, Cogenhoe, Northampton NN7 1NH, United Kingdom Tel: 00 44 (0) 1604 698881/2 Email: editor@businessf1magazine.com Website: www.businessf1magazine.com August/September 2024 Volume 9 (Issue 08/09) BusinessF1 is published every month. Title is copyright of BusinessF1 Magazine Ltd. F1 element is a recognised trademark of Formula One Licensing BV. Printed in Europe NEXT PUBLICATION DATE: The October 2024 issue of BusinessF1 Magazine is published on 16th September 2024. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Available for 12 months (12 issues) at a cost of US$280, UK£220 and €260 delivered anywhere in the world at no extra charge. Subscriptions can be ordered at www.businessf1magazine.com EDITORIAL COPYRIGHT: The contents of this magazine, both words and statistics, are strictly copyright and the intellectual property of BusinessF1 Magazine Ltd. Copying or reproduction may only be carried out with the written permission of the Publishers, which will normally not be withheld on payment of an agreed fee. ARTICLE REPRINTS: Many articles published in BusinessF1 Magazine are available as reprints by prior arrangement with the Publishers. Nor- mal minimum run for reprints is 100 but smaller quantities can be accommodated. Please con- tact David Peett - Vice President of Logistics. Webster and the Peter Principle Dear Tom, I’m sure you are not closely in touch with Lewis Webster… but if you were, you might suggest to him that instead of ridiculing the ridiculous James Vowles he sympathises with him as the poor chap, Vowles that is, is simply a victim of the Peter Principle. I studied it at university, and it applies to him very accurately. If you are not aware of it look it up. This did not, obviously, come from me as I’m anxious to return to my position unnamed and out of the headlights. Yours, Lawrie James Chapel Cottage Cottenham Park Rad Wimbledon London SW20 0DR United Kingdom Lewis Webster replies: Lawrie, I have heard of the Peter Principle and it doesn’t exactly apply to James Vowles, but near enough. Vowles, in my opinion, has been promoted way beyond his abilities to be a team principal, much less manage 800 people. For instance, his latest hires at Williams Racing, highly capable people they may be, are the wrong people for what the team currently needs. The eponymous Peter Principle was introduced by Dr Laurence J. Peter in his book called ‘The Peter Principle’ published in 1969, which argues the rather obvious point that in hierarchical organisations, employees tend to be promoted based on their performance in their current role rather than their abilities relevant to their intended role. Consequently, they rise to the oft quoted “level of incompetence”, where they can no longer perform effectively. This principle highlights the potential inefficiencies in organisational structures and the challenges of managerial competency at higher levels, straight out of the management handbook. Clearly James Vowles was great at his job as a race strategist at Mercedes-AMG, which unfortunately gave him none of the qualities to be a team principal. British GP statistics Dear Tom, Whoever wrote the pieces on the various British Grand Prix (BusinessF1 July 2024 Vol 9 No 7) clearly don’t know their history. Rob Walker was not the last private entrant to win a Grand Prix. It was Ken Tyrrell with a privately entered March-Ford 701 in Spain in 1970. And 1968 wasn’t even Seppi’s (Jo Siffert) only victory as he won in Austria in 1971. Maybe you should find someone who never ever gets beaten in Pub Quizzes to do it… I know him rather well. Yours, David McLaughlin President Bahamas Motor Sports Association Nassau The Bahamas Via email: david@forcegrandprix.com The editor replies: Only two errors in such a large feature containing probably around 800 facts is not too shabby, but our Chief Statistician will be mortified I can tell you. I am not sure he was alive in 1971 but still no excuse. Thank you for pointing them out. Ken Tyrrell’s status as a private entrant is debatable if probably factually true, but Siffert’s 1968 victory is regarded as the last Grand Prix victory by a genuine privateer. Poisoned? Dear Tom, I was sad to hear of your stay at the NHS, but am sure your enemies weren’t. The talk at our local club, where suspiciously too many people seem to know you, is that you were poisoned, the list of suspects being long and lengthy. Yours, Richard Partridge 38 Guildford Road Brighton Sussex BN1 3LW United Kingdom The editor replies: Yes there is a rumour going round that I was poisoned and its even possible that I was. And Richard is right, the list of suspects would have been long and lengthy. In my whole career I have only been threatened once and that was in Blackpool at a conference in 1986 when I edited a magazine called Amusement Business. The threat came from a chap, well thug, called David Coren who was managing director of a large fruit machine and video game distributor in London, who didn’t like what I wrote about him and he advised me not to step out of my hotel at night. I was right about him though and Coren ended his career as a taxi driver, where I am sure he enjoyed short changing his customers. On a brighter note, I was very surprised at the warm reception I received at the British Grand Prix, where even supposed critics and even some perceived enemies came up to wish me well. People are beginning to realise that BusinessF1 is an independent magazine that is written without bias. According to news and events, it is inevitable that people will be our friends one week and perhaps not our friends on another week. And some people will always be our friends and some people always our enemies.A Agnelli, Gianni67 Alessandri, Nerio8 Alicata, Joe18 Allen, James83 Allison, James67 Alonso, Fernando37, 48, 49, 50,98 Ambrosio, Alessandra48 Andersson, Ove17 Angelis, Elio de76 Antonelli, Andrea Kimi25, 30 Antonelli, Marco30 Arrivabene, Maurizio67, 68 Ascanelli, Giorgio9 B Baker, Adam26 Bale, Christian12 Bardem, Javier13 Bearman, David8, 30 Bearman, Oliver8, 16, 25, 37 Bearman, Will30 Beckinsale, Kate48 Benson, Andrew52 Berger, Gerhard76, 78 Binotto, Mattia28, 29, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71 Bishop, Matt22 Bodnia, Kim13 Bottura, Massimo39 Bravi, Alessandro Alunni29, 30 Briatore, Flavio27 Bridges, Jeff52 Broad, Stuart36 Brown, Zak29, 30 Bruckheimer, Jerry12-14, 36, 46-49, 52, 98 Brundle, Martin15 Buck, Nicola26 Button, Jenson30 Buxton, Will52 C Cameron, James53 Camilleri, Louis67 Campbell, Donald21 Canales, Jo8 Capito, Jost32 Caprio, Leonardo Di48 Carlin, Stephanie50 Carlin, Trevor50 Cary, Tom 98 Chapman, Clive11 Chapman, Colin11 Chilton, Grahame30 Chilton, Max30 Clancy, Rebecca18, 19 Clark, Jim11, 77 Cole, Mark97 Collins, Peter39 Condon, Kerry13, 49 Cooper, Adam52 Copeman, Sandy24 Cosman, Henning51 Costin, Mike11 Coulthard, David15, 76, 78, Cruise, Tom52 D Damon, Matt12 Dance, Charles11 Daniels, Robert49 Davies, Ken36 Deckers, Aaron17, 37 Deerfield, Bobby13 Delevingne, Poppy48 Dennis, Sir Ron52 Dentler, Matt47 Dodds, Jeff22 Döllner, Gernot28, 29, 66, 71 Domenicali, Stefano27, 28, 52, 70 Douglas, Michael37, 48 Duckworth, Keith11 Dunn, Joe10 E Ecclestone, Bernie7, 13, 52, 54, 55, 47 Elford, Martyn23 Elford, Vic23 Elkann, John67, 68, 70 Elkann, Lapo67 Enzinger, Fritz29 Ezpeleta, Carmelo27 F Famin, Bruno25, 27, 27 Farrell, Owen36 Fegel, Gary18, 19, 83, 85 Ferrari, Enzo39 Ferrell, Will52 Fittipaldi, Emerson76, 78 Firman Jr, Ralph36 Fitzpatrick, John97 Fox, Samuel92 Friesacher, Patrick76, 78 Fryer, Jenna27 G Garbett, Paul98 Gardner, Dede13 Garner, James52 Gasly, Pierre37 Gay-Rees, James30 Gibson, Bill90-94, 96, 97 Gibson, Dr William Harley92 Gomes, Kika Cerqueira37 Gomez, Dessi13, 48, 51 Goode, Graham94 Goss, Tim9, 29 Gow, Jennie36 Grant, Gregor85 Grazer, Brian12 Gregor, Ken48 H Haas, Gene8, 16, 17, 25 Häkkinen, Mika39 Hallmark, Adrian26, 51 Hamilton, Lewis13, 32, 36, 4 8, 50, 51, 52, 84 ,98 Hamilton, Robin98 Hamlyn, Peter36 Hammond, Richard37 Hawkridge, Alex94 Henry, Alan52 Herbert, Johnny39, 76, 78 Heseltine, Michael85 Hewitson, Fiona72, 73, 75 Hill, Damon11 Hill, Graham11 Hirakawa, Ryo17 Hoffmann, Oliver28-30, 69 Horner, Christian9, 20, 21, 30, 34, 71-79, 97 Howard, Ron12 Hulkenberg, Nico8 Humphrey, Jake32 Hunt, Ben18 Hunt, James12, 14 I Ide, Wendy48, 49 Idris, Damson13, 46, 48, 51, 53 J Jagger, Sir Mick20 James, Paul29 Jones, Amber36 Judd, John95 K Kaji, Masaya16, 17 Kaneda, Hiro95 Kay, Jay37 Kayo, Samson13 Keeble, Simon30 Keller, Marthe13, 44, 47, 53 Kelly, John9 Key, James9 King, Mollie36 Kleiner, Jeremy13 Komatsu, Ayao16, 17, 25, 32 Kosinski, Joseph13, 14, 46-51, 53, 98 Kruger, Ehren51 L Lambert, Adam48 Latifah, Queen48 Lauda, Niki12, 14 Leclerc, Charles68, 70 Leggott, John92 Lord, Phil94 M Maffei, Greg27 Magnussen, Kevin8 Maguire, Tobey48 Malone, John12, 22, 47, 49 Mansell, Nigel55 Marko, Helmut72-75, 78, 79 Marshallsay, Graham30 Marsh, Paul11 Mason, Brian94 Mateschitz, Dietrich34, 72, 73, 75, 79 Matthews, James25 Mazepin, Dmitry27 Mazepin, Nikita8 McGuire, Alex15 McNish, Allan92 McQuarrie, Chris49 McQueen, Steve52 Mekies, Laurent36 Menzies, Tobias13 Meo, Luca de7, 27, 30 Mészáros, Sándor16, 17, 37 Michel, Bruno32 Mintzlaff, Oliver74, 75 Moers, Tobias48 Morricone, Ennio14 Morris, Matt29 Mosley, Max52, 68 Mundy, Harry93 Murdoch, William92 N Nakajima, Kazuki17 Newey, Adrian7, 20, 21, 23, 34, 69, 71, 72, 75 Newey, Harrison20, 21 Newman, Paul52 Niles, Sarah13 Norris, Adam30, 39 Norris, Lando7, 36, 98 Nygaard, Peter52 O Oakes, Oliver27 Ocon, Esteban8, 16, 17, 25, 32 Oliver, Malcolm93 Oman, Chad13 P Pacino, Al13, 44, 45, 47, 52 Palmer, Andy46, 47, 48 Palmer, Jonathan36 Panoz, Don95 Paul, Aaron52 Pearce, Joshua51 Pegg, Simon37 Perez, Sergio8, 72, 84 Peterson, Ronnie78 Phillipe, Maurice11 Piastri, Oscar7, 32 Piquet, Nelson55 Pitt, Brad12, 13, 45, 46, 48, 49, 51, 53,98 Pollack, Sydney44, 47, 52 Prodromou, Peter29 Prost, Alain55, 90, 94 R Rakowski, Bryan22 Rampf, Willy9 Rausing, Finn29 Redgrave, Vanessa92 Reichmann, Marek50, 98 Reynard, Adrian96 Ribeiro, Lais48 Rindt, Jochen11 Roberts, Simon29 Rochefort, Simon39 Roebuck, Nigel52 Rouse, Andy94 Russell, George25 Ryder, Sam36 S Sainz, Carlos29, 30, 70 Sargeant, Daniel25 Sargeant, Harry25 Sargeant, Logan8, 25, 30 Saward, Joe52 Schiff, Naomi15 Schumacher, Michael76 Schumacher, Mick8 Scott, Ridley14 Seidl, Andreas9, 28-30, 66, 69, 71 Senna, Ayrton30, 32, 54, 55, 73, 77, 90, 91, 52 Shufu, Eric Li44, 45, 47, 50, 51 Siffert, Jo11 Simpson, Don47 Spinelli, Mike18, 19 Stallone, Sylvester7, 52 Steiner, Guenther8, 22, 32, 52 Stella, Andrea7, 29, 32 Stewart, Mark36 Stroll, Lance48, 50 Stroll, Lawrence26, 44, 46, 47, 48, 50, 51 Sutton, Keith8, 23, 54 Sutton, Max8 Szafnauer, Otmar27 T Thow, Penni13, 52 Thynne, Piers29 Tisshaw, Mark20 Todt, Jean67, 68, 69 Todt, Nicolas70 Tremayne, David52 Turner, Peter Blake9 V Vasselon, Pascal17 Vasseur, Fred28, 29, 70 Vermeulen, Raymond72, 74, 75, 77 Verstappen, Jos72, 73, 75, 76, 78, 79 Verstappen, Max32, 72, 75-79, 84 Vettel, Sebastian68, 70, 76 Vigna, Benedetto70, 71 Vowles, James25, 32, 37 W Walkinshaw, Tom94 Wallfisch, Benjamin14, 98 Wallis, Barnes92 Watkins, Sid52 Watt, James92 Watters, Kevin98 Williams, John14 Wilson, Mark47, 48 Wolf, Eric76, 78 Wolff, Toto30, 37, 50, 76, 78,79 Y Yoovidhya, Chalerm74, 75,79 Z Zeta-Jones, Catherine48 Zimmer, Hans14, 98 Zoi, Mike8, 85 6 BusinessF1 PeopleIndex The October issue of BusinessF1 is published on 16 th September 2024Tom Rubython Editor-in-Chief Editor’s Letter 7 BusinessF1 A s Adrian Newey succinctly discussed in last month’s MotorSport Magazine, there is no longer any “visual differentiation” in Formula One. Visual differentiation has now completely disappeared. How many people would be able to differentiate between the cars if they were all painted solid white, I venture nobody, not even James Allison and Adrian Newey would be able to differentiate their own cars, given only 10 seconds to do so. As Newey puts it, visual differentiation has almost completely disappeared from Formula One car design in the past ten years. Cars stripped of their colour schemes are now indistinguishable, even to the trained eye. There is now absolutely no point in Formula One carrying on as it is. The arguments for making it a same-chassis formula are now overwhelming because as far as the fan is concerned it already is. I am not advocating this because I hate same- chassis series, but it is what Formula One is sleepwalking into so why not embrace it and the cost savings it will bring. Of course, a same-chassis formula is not the same as a same bodywork formula. As a non-technical person, it would seem to me that the ideal solution is a same-chassis Formula with complete freedom on bodywork and wings. Newey doesn’t advocate that, but he does advocate something radically different to what is going on today and people like him should be listened to. Otherwise, Formula One will eventually face a competitor which does get it. L ando Norris came of age at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Whatever the merits, and the rights and wrongs of it, when he handed back the lead of the race to Oscar Piastri, he showed himself to be an honourable person, a good person, who does the right thing, even though in reality it was the wrong thing for him. Andrea Stella is the baddie in all this. When the world championship is at stake, his job is to support his number one driver to the hilt and make sure the number two supports the number one. Now McLaren will likely win the Constructors Championship, but it won’t win the Driver’s Championship and come November they will know how that feels. The inevitable conclusion was that the drivers don’t really race any more, they just manage their tyres, hence the non-stop chit chat about tyres. This is how it is in the bubble of the Formula One paddock. We know for sure that fans aren’t much interested in tyres or tyre management and the characteristics of black rubber. Ask the average motorist what make of tyres they have on their car, less than 20 percent will be able to answer. That is how much interest people have in their tyres. Drive to Survive has proved that. The truth is that the vast majority of fans are not really interested in the technical side of the sport, despite what everyone thinks or rather what the groupthink is. How often are tyres mentioned on Drive to Survive? Never, or hardly ever. Why never? Because viewers would quickly get very bored. O n pages 56 to 65 of this issue you will read a little bit about the debacle surrounding the making of the ‘F1’ movie that will finally be released in cinemas in 2025 and later on Apple+. Of course the real story is far worse than the words on those pages, but we have to be mindful of legal action, that would almost certainly follow any story that told the whole truth. The core problem is that the people involved love wasting money on things that don’t matter (read the story). As it is, the film has a better chance than it did in 2023, because the Producers and Directors have learnt a lot about themselves and are a little humbled by the 2023 mess they created - but not much. Bernie Ecclestone, with ‘Bobby Deerfield’ still fresh in his mind, threw Sylvester Stallone out of the Formula One paddock back in 2000 and Stallone fell into the arms of Indycar which resulted in the worst motor racing movie of all time. Everyone is now in too deep for this to happen and I am assured by Formula 1 Group (F1G) insiders that there is now a proper script and that the movie, if not great, will at least not be embarrassing. Let’s hope so. T oyota is coming back to Formula One, but it seems that Renault after 47, mainly glorious years, is in the departure lounge. If it closes down its engine facility at Viry- Châtillon, then it is effectively over and the team will be sold. It is the inevitable consequence of Renault chief executive Luca de Meo and his incompetent management of the team for the past four and a half years. This time there is no coming back. Haas do cut-price deal for Ocon teammate Bearman buys his way into Formula One G ene Haas, owner of the Haas F1 team has reversed the policies of former team principal Guenther Steiner and put the second seat in his Haas F1 team up for sale. It has been bought by London insurance millionaire, David Bearman for his son 19-year-old Oliver Bearman. Haas changed his policy on rent-a-drivers at the end of 2021. Up to then, drivers at the team had been employed on a salary. In 2019, the team employed two rent-a-drivers called Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher who paid around $35 million collectively for their drives. That had been the plan for 2020 until Covid saw the recall of Kevin Magnussen as a salaried driver, when the Ukraine war sanctions forced Mazepin out of the team. After that, Steiner reversed the policy and employed two salaried drivers, Nico Hulkenberg and Magnussen for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Steiner also disobeyed Haas in 2024 by re-signing Hulkenberg and Magnussen against his wishes. The decision cost the team a large sponsorship contract from Stellantis for 2024 and beyond. Now with Steiner gone, Gene Haas has got his way with a half-way house; a salaried number one driver in the shape of Esteban Ocon and a rent-a- driver number two, in the shape of Oliver Bearman. No one knows how much David Bearman is paying for his son to drive the car, but it is believed to be in the region of $12-$15 million. There were apparently many enquires from young drivers’ parents about the drive, but Bearman’s membership of the Ferrari Academy swung it for him. The current going rate for a Formula One drive is $38 million which Logan Sargeant is paying at Williams. It is believed to have cost David Bearman around $35 million so far to get his son through to Formula One, which consisted of funding him through the junior series and for two years in Formula 2 and membership of the Ferrari Academy which is not cheap. Bearman can afford it. He founded Aventum Group which is a major re-insurance broker in London. It is highly profitable and reported EBITDA of $31 million in 2023 on commission income of $1.25 billion for the year ending June 2023. He paid himself a salary of $1.7 million last year. Bearman’s motto is: “If you want to go fast – go alone. But if you want to go far - go together.” In a separate development, Haas F1 has been ordered by the Swiss courts to repay $21 million that Nikita Mazepin’s father Dmitry, paid for his drive in 2021. David Bearman has funded his son’s rise to Formula One. All hands to the pump to get Mexican back on form Sutton assists in Perez revival K eith Sutton and his son Max have been co-opted to assist Sergio Perez in regaining his form. The first step in the process was a visit by Perez to Sutton’s new Wellness Centre near Silverstone before the British Grand Prix. More sessions are planned. The Chapel Wellness Centre run by Max Sutton offers a full range of recuperative services, including yoga. When Keith Sutton sold his photographic business to Mike Zoi in 2017, he embarked on a major construction project and completely refurbished its former headquarters and spent $1 million on creating a wellness centre which serves the motor racing community. Since opening two years ago, it has helped many drivers get out of what Sutton call “funks”. Sutton said: “It was real pleasure to welcome Checo back after the Chapel’s transformation. He last visited in different circumstances when we were the Force India team photographers. We have worked hard to keep up our ties with the motorsport industry and with our strategic location so close to Silverstone, we look forward to welcoming current and emerging drivers to use our studios in the future.” Max Sutton, co-founder said: “It was always our ambition two years ago to become the go-to space for driver training when they are racing or testing at Silverstone. We are fortunate to have the support of the Technogym founder, Nerio Alessandri to help further our ambitions. We can help any driver get back to peak form.” Max Sutton, Sergio Perez with Perez’s performance coach Jo Canales. Sergio Perez with Max and Keith Sutton at the Chapel Wellness Studios in Towcester near Silverstone News BusinessF1 8PA in limbo 10 months after initial complaint Hewitson spends summer “twiddling her thumbs” on full pay after suspension A ccording to friends, Fiona Hewitson is spending the summer “twiddling her thumbs” after being left in limbo following her suspension from her employment as Christian Horner’s PA at Red Bull Racing. She has not been sacked and there is currently no intention to sack her. Fiona Hewitson was suspended on full pay from her job at Red Bull Racing on Monday 4th March 2024. She was escorted from the Red Bull Racing campus in Milton Keynes, England when she reported for work that day and told not to return until she was notified. Apparently, no reason was given for her suspension. Since then, Hewitson has remained inactive and has spent time in the United States of America where she had many friends from her days in IndyCar racing. She has been drawing her $80,000 a year salary for the last five months and this is likely to continue for some time. Hewitson was Christian Horner’s personal assistant (PA) had made complaints about his conduct in October 2023 directly to Red Bull GmbH which went through its own internal procedures. It initially found in favour of Hewitson but this was rejected after Horner requested an external independent investigation. The independent investigation found in favour of Horner and concluded that Hewitson was “dishonest”. Afterwards Hewitson appealed and it is believed that she won the internal appeal, although no statement has been made by Red Bull Gmbh and it is now believed that no statement will be made as there is no obligation for Red Bull to release the results of the appeal. Hewitson herself is not allowed to reveal the result as a result of signing an internal Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) at the outset of her complaint. Sarah McAtominey of Goodwin Procter (UK) LLP was appointed to act for Fiona Hewitson five months ago. John Kelly of Harbottle & Lewis has been acting for Christian Horner personally since Hewitson first made her compliant. Peter Blake-Turner of Blake Turner LLP is believed to be acting for Red Bull Gmbh. Red Bull Racing currently does not have solicitors acting for it. Fiona Hewitson is currently enjoying her summer, suspended on full pay. Sarah McAtominey of Goodwin Proctor is Fiona Hewitson’s solicitor. John Kelly of Harbottle & Lewis has represented Christian Horner from the start. Peter Blake Turner of Blake Turner LLP represents Red Bull GmbH in London. Followed him in and now likely follows him out James Key likely to follow Seidl out of Audi J ames Key, the 52-year-old technical director of the Sauber team and technical director designate of the new Audi F1 team, will almost certainly be following his boss Andreas Seidl out of Sauber and Audi at the end of the current season. Key followed Seidl out of McLaren at the beginning of 2023 and has designed the Sauber C44 car, the slowest of the 2024 pack of Formula One cars. He was also responsible for the McLaren-Mercedes MCL60 which was also very slow when it first launched in 2023. The MCL 60 was later developed into a competitive car by the arrival of former Red Bull technical chief, Rob Marshall at McLaren. Key will likely find it hard to find another job after two successive failures and may take the opportunity to retire early. He began his career at the Jordan team in 1998 as a data engineer. He graduated to a race engineer and spent a year in aero and then vehicle dynamics, eventually becoming a member of the senior Jordan management team. He became Technical Director in 2005, one of the youngest in the sport at the age of 33. He left Jordan in 2010 to join Sauber replacing incumbent Willy Rampf as Technical Director. He didn’t like living in Switzerland and in 2012 joined Scuderia Toro Rosso as Technical Director, replacing Giorgio Ascanelli. In 2018 he joined McLaren Racing as Technical Director replacing Tim Goss. In early 2023 he walked out of McLaren James Key will likely shortly exit his fifth technical directorship in 19 years. with Andreas Seidl to join him at Sauber for his fifth role as Formula One Technical Director in a 26 year career in Formula One and 19 years after he first became a technical director. News BusinessF1 9Next >