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Alpine Sporting Director Notices Positive Change in Fernando Alonso Since Horrendous McLaren F1 Phase

Published 07/01/2021, 4:29 AM EDT

F1 is just weeks away from welcoming the new version of race weekend, with the inclusion of a sprint race at the British Grand Prix. The teams did come to a consensus with F1’s ideology. But, apparently, not all grounds were covered during the talks.

And now, there seems to be tension building up amidst threats from Aston Martin and several other F1 teams. The British outfit, in particular, are looking to quit one of the practice sessions in a bid to save their clutches for the sprint race.

Why? Well, Aston Martin’s sporting director, Andy Stevenson, reckoned that their clutches last only up to 300 km. Hence, with the addition of 100 km through sprint race, reliability becomes a huge risk during the main race.

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What did Aston Martin say?

As reported by Auto Motor Und Sport, Andy opened up that their clutches require maintenance beyond 300 km. He further claimed that the team would have built a much reliable clutch during the winter break had they known sprint races were going to be a part of 2021.

“These clutches were built for a different purpose. They need new washers and maintenance after 300 kilometers. If we had known what to expect before the season, we would have built different clutches,” he said.

“If we had have to drive with a clutch for a whole weekend without refreshing, we cannot guarantee that it will hold up. If the FIA doesn’t give in, we might have to skip a training session. That can’t be in the spirit of the inventor.”

Aston Martin did request Mercedes for their fairly new clutch model, which has the capability of running up to 700 km without much maintenance. However, the Brackley outfit denied the request, citing a shortage of units to cover both teams.

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Alpine and McLaren F1 demand answers from the FIA

Apart from Aston Martin, two other teams have voiced out against the negatives of hosting sprint races – McLaren and Alpine. The latter’s operations manager, Alan Permane, was quite annoyed with the FIA.

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The FIA opined the teams do fewer starting exercises during practice sessions to prevent clutch wear. Alan responded, “That has nothing to do with the number of starts. It’s just wear and tear. The clutch is constantly in use. The gear changes are the problem, not the starts.”

As of now, the FIA haven’t acknowledged the teams’ request to change the clutch midway through the race weekend.

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The teams will be discussing with the FIA over the weekend at Austria this weekend. So, will they find a compromise out of the talks?

Watch Story: What Are Sprint Races & Where Will They Be Held?

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Written by:

Rohit Kumar is an F1 author at EssentiallySports. He has been an ardent follower of the racing series since 2007, with his love for the sport coinciding with his love for Kimi Raikkonen. He is also an ardent follower of Sebastian Vettel and Aston Martin Racing.

Alpine Sporting Director Notices Positive Change in Fernando Alonso Since Horrendous McLaren F1 Phase

What did Aston Martin say?

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Alpine and McLaren F1 demand answers from the FIA