Formula One unveils new paint, new tech, and new partnerships

TERYN MIDZAIN

It’s Christmas in February for Formula One (F1) fans as the teams reveal their liveries (team sponsorship motifs) for the 2023 season. To date, HAAS, Alfa Romeo Sauber, Red Bull, Williams, McLaren, Ferrari, and Aston Martin have released their new designs and colours, with Mercedes launching the new W14 Feb. 15, and Alpine on Feb. 16.

Alpha Romeo’s launch was about as standard as they come. Drivers Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas unveiled the new sleek black and red car. An improvement over their red and white standard of last year, it’s reminiscent of the 2022 car Ferrari ran; a little sibling’s emulation of the prancing stallions. Based on the still limited testing data available to the public, Alfa Romeo’s new C43 car looks the most adapted to what was learned in the 2022 season, employing a more dramatic sidepod design established by Red Bull.

Williams' traditional royal blue livery on their new FW45 is as stunning as ever and a nice constant in the racing team’s year of changes. Williams, famously known as the flashy blue car at the back of the grid, is in the strongest position to rebuild their lost legacy as a race-winning organization.

Williams also has two competent drivers: Alex Albon has shown he can score points and defend his position, and promising new second driver, Logan Sargeant, has had a consistent career in F2 and F3. With their new team principal, James Vowles in charge, the old British champions are wellpositioned, and have the right keys in the right locks to open the door to a successful rebuild.

The biggest story so far was Red Bull’s announcement at the launch of their new RB19 that they would be partnering with Ford to help build and supply Red Bull’s engines alongside Red Bull Powertrains. The decision to switch engine partners and bring the return of Ford to F1 is a telling one. It shows the growing popularity and expansion of the sport in North America. Ford has a long history in F1 and Red Bull, being the owner and engine manufacturer for the old Jaguar team that Red Bull would eventually purchase back in 2004. Alongside Ford, Red Bull showed off current two-time driver’s world champion, Max Verstappen, second driver, Sergio Perez, and put to good use the social media phenom that is Daniel Riccardo, their 2023 reserve driver

Monday brought two more car launches: McLaren introduced their new MCL60 with some key updates. The papaya orange that has been McLaren’s dominant colour in the turbo-hybrid era continues, but with more black, resembling last year’s fan favourite Singapore Grand Prix livery. Tech wise, there is a lot up in the air for McLaren, as 2022 was a major setback for the team. On paper, 2023 should be a nice start at gaining back some missing stability. Lando Norris is a consistently fast and energetic driver with a dependable car, and Oscar Piastri has the potential to be a sensational talent.

Aston Martin came out of the gates with their flashy AWR23 decked out in British racing green — an aggressive look that takes the best of all the top three cars of 2022: A Mercedes-esque front wing, deep scallops in the sidepod rears to scoop hot air into the rear wing (similar to last year’s Ferrari F1-75), and a Red Bull-inspired rear wing. This is no surprise as Aston Martin’s new technical director, Dan Fallows was previously at Red Bull until this year. The biggest “wow” moment of Aston Martin’s reveal was the virtual tour of the team’s still incomplete £200 million new facility. Owner, Lawerence Stroll and his team hope to establish a new long-lasting racing and manufacturing regime.

Ferrari’s biggest unveil on their SF-23 was mainly the red dominant livery and classic-style “Ferrari” adorning the rear wing which was a favourite of the Tifosi. Unsurprisingly, the SF-23 is not a leap from last year’s F1-75. It was one of the best cars last year and took the team to second place, so the car was never the problem. This year, Ferrari has to take care of the reliability issues and strategic blunders that cost them the championship last year.

The week gave F1 fans a taste of what they’ll be seeing on the track and how to identify their favourite teams. With preseason testing on Feb. 23-25, it’s a last deep breath before plunging into the high octane races in what’s going to be, technologically speaking, an exciting F1 season.

Seeing Eye dogs — also known as guide dogs, if they are not from The Seeing Eye school — are working dogs. Often, people confuse Seeing Eye/guide dogs and service dogs, and even I — a fully blind person with my Seeing Eye dog, Saidi — find that I am often correcting misunderstandings or educating others on the dos and don’ts of my working dog. Even though similar rules can apply to service dogs, the primary focus of this article is Seeing Eye/ guide dogs as that is where my personal experience lies, as well as the unfortunate reality that many do not know the particulars of guide dogs due to their limited experiences with them.

DON’T: Pet, feed, or distract

This is often the hardest one for people to respect. Guide dog handlers such as myself often hear the excuse that one could not resist reaching out to pet our dog, but it can be helped. Just because something looks appealing to us does not give us the right to go forth and take it, touch it, etc. So why is it often different with dogs? If we don’t let this excuse fly in other situations then it should not be a valid one in this case. The reason why this is one of the most important rules is because breaking it could put both the dog and the handler in harm's way.

For instance, if I am crossing the street and someone decides to pet Saidi, she is no longer focused on finding the curb or watching out for cars that may not stop. Or, if we are in a restaurant and Saidi had been given human food before, she may think it is alright if she snatches something off the floor or lunges for a stray tomato. This isn’t to say that my Seeing Eye dog or other guide dogs don’t sometimes get certain human foods, but it is usually in a controlled setting and not a daily occurrence.

DO: Know what the equipmen means I will often get asked why Saidi is not wearing a vest, or get told that I should get her one because the harness is not well-known. Guide or Seeing Eye dogs do not wear a vest, but in fact wear a harness when they are working.

The harness allows the handler to feel the movement of the dog’s body as they walk as well as feel the pull of the dog as it is more taught than the leash. Another piece of equipment some guide or Seeing Eye dogs have is called the gentle leader. For guide dogs, handlers use this in conjunction with the leash and collar to discourage sniffing or to make sure that we know if our pup is trying to grab food off the ground. Sometimes we don’t even attach the leash to it since putting the gentle leader on the dog is often sufficient.

DON’T: Grab us

This is important and can help avoid uncomfortable interactions for everyone involved. Sometimes handlers, including myself, are grabbed or have our dog’s leash or harness grabbed by others. Most often this is with good intentions from passers by who — in their defence — believe that they are only helping by pulling us or the dog where they think we are wanting to go. However; this can actually cause more harm and can be a scary experience; not just because one may be blind or partially sighted, but in today’s world no one automatically views being grabbed as a good intention.

The leash and harness that connects the handler and dog is comparable to a steering wheel, thus, grabbing and maneuvering it is similar to grabbing the wheel when someone else is driving. Rather than assuming someone who is blind or anyone needs help always remember to just ask. This way, the person with the dog can also provide you the best way of assisting them, whether that be through verbal directions, or if they wish to hold on to your arm.

Even though Seeing Eye/guide dogs are well trained and well behaved, they are still dogs at the end of the day, and therefore mess up sometimes. Just because these things may happen does not mean a guide or Seeing Eye dog is not properly trained. Most often the handler will either verbally correct the dog or give them a leash correction. As for accidents, sometimes animals get sick or something happens. Personally, Saidi has only had three accidents in the time I have had her.

Saidi is a golden retriever and black Lab mix and comes from the Seeing Eye school in New Jersey and has been with me for a year and a half now. We are always continuing to learn from one another and we hope that this article will help others learn more about us and guide dogs in general.