GP Racing UK July 2022

Bouncing issue causing continued team strife The seasons change, but the fundamentals of Formula 1 never really do. Abu Dhabi and the rancour of 2021 is gradually receding, and Red Bull anyway has new fish to fry this year thanks to resurgent Ferrari, but off-track the battle is still very much on with Mercedes – and the FIA. Last month, Stuart Codling’s excellent Flat Chat column detailed concern among drivers – voiced eloquently by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz – that he and his colleagues are being bounced into oblivion by F1’s new generation of ground effect cars, which also afflicted his predecessors 40 years ago. The day before Canadian GP practice, the FIA issued a technical directive and pledged to convene a special technical panel with F1’s teams to “define measures that will reduce…

OLEG KARPOV Oleg sat down with Max Verstappen this month, for our exclusive cover feature (p30), and also played chess with Mick Schumacher (p56) MATT KEW Autosport's Formula 1 editor Matt takes a look at the form of the three home drivers ahead of the upcoming British Grand Prix (p40) STUART CODLING Codders has had a chat with F1 returnee Alex Albon (p48), and has also crafted a piece on the Red Bull RB5 for our NTWAC feature (p74) DAMIEN SMITH Damien concludes his superb series on the history of Brabham, detailing the team's final success before its slide into oblivion (p64)…

It was a storming drive from Max Verstappen to win the Canadian Grand Prix – one of those races where just as you’re starting to think the outcome is a bit of a formality, something happens to disrupt those expectations. Although from a purely functional point of view, as a photographer this puts you in a quandary: you want to watch the last couple of laps unfold but you have to get to the podium to shoot that… Speaking of the podium, this was a peculiar one to shoot because the organisers have put in a balcony with glass panels on the front. Is it a health and safety thing? The reflections were pretty terrible. Where Montréal, Canada When 3.55pm, Sunday 19 June 2022 Details Canon EOS-1DX MkII 70-200mm lens, 1/2000th @ F2.8…

Ferrari’s form in Baku seemed much better than expected, given the track configuration favoured Red Bull... on paper. It was good for the championship to see Charles Leclerc stick it on pole position, less so to watch both Ferraris grind to a halt and make it much less of a race. Rewind to Saturday. There’s a lot to like about Baku from a photographic point of view. The timing of the quali session, in the early evening, gives you this lovely shaft of light on the section between Turns 10 and 11. It picks out the foliage overhanging the circuit and casts a nice shadow from the car. Plus the Ferrari is a fantastic shape, especially from this angle. Where Baku, Azerbaijan When 6.17pm, Saturday 11 June 2022 Details Canon EOS-1DX MkII 70-200mm lens,…

It’s no secret that I’m a huge Fernando Alonso fan. I’ve had the privilege of working with him, on and off, since his early days as part of Renault’s driver development scheme. So it was fabulous to see him seizing the moment on Saturday in Montréal when the weather was changeable and the levels of grip thoroughly uncertain. He’s still got it. What a pity the race came unglued for him – I’m not sure this stop came at the right time. This is a classic panning pitstop shot with a very slow shutter speed, about as low as you’d want to go, to set up the motion blur. The Alpine is really good for shots like this because the colours of car, crew and driver really pop. Where Montréal, Canada When 3.06pm,…

You might have seen a similar angle to this if you follow the various Formula 1 correspondents on social media: I was able to gain access to a balcony in the building where the media centre is located, the advantage being a little bit more height and not having to shoot on a cameraphone through a grubby window pane. What a grim afternoon this was looking at this point. When you’re out there you’re not necessarily plugged in to everything that’s going on, so the scenario with the starting procedure wasn’t all that clear. What was obvious was how difficult the conditions were – check out all that spray just as they were trundling round! Where Monte Carlo, Monaco When 3.19pm, Sunday 29 May 2022 Details Canon EOS-1DX MkII 16-35mm lens, 1/800th @ F8…