THE PIT STOP issue 14
q u a r t e r l y
m o t o r s p o r t
m a g a z i n e
CONTENTS
8 18 36 56 68 IN SHORT
A TASTE OF THE FUTURE We take a look at Sebastian Vettel's test with Porsche and its Le Mans car
BRINGING HISTORICS BACK TO THE FUTURE We chat to Alex Brundle about his brand new historic motorsport team
AHEAD OF ITS TIME We take a deep dive into the Ferrari 640
HIDDEN POTENTIAL BMW's Hypercar programme and the potential it's yet to unearth
WHY SENNA'S LEGEND LIVES ON Rob Hansford examines why Ayrton Senna still holds a massive place in every motorsport fan's heart
TYRRELL SHED SAVED BY GOODWOOD
THE ABITEBOUL EFFECT Luke Barry examines the impact Cyril Abiteboul has made since joining Hyundai's WRC outfit as its team principal
DOES OCON NEED TO CHANGE HIS APPROACH? Looking at whether Ocon is costing himself a long and successful F1 career
DOWN TO THE WIRE We explore McLaren's experience of the 2024 Indy 500, 50 years on from winning the event for the first time
AN ALMOST FORGOTTEN CHAMPION A deep dive into the iconic Can-Am team Shadow and its successful 1974 season
HOW LONG CAN VERSTAPPEN'S DOMINANCE LAST?
92 104 118 132
MCLAREN TROPHY GOES STATESIDE THE PIT STOP 5
A TASTE OF THE FUTURE? WORDS BY ROB HANSFORD IMAGES BY PORSCHE
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BRINGING HISTORICS
BACK TO THE FUTURE WORDS BY ROB HANSFORD IMAGES BY PHD PHOTO
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AHEAD OF
WORDS BY ROB HANSFORD IMAGES BY PHD PHOTO & GRAND PRIX PHOTO
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ITS TIME
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“I’m still finding it hard to believe now, but it’s great. It’s just great to be back here again. “It was a very difficult [race]. I had a couple of moments through the race whereby I was wondering whether I had the right setup because initially when I was behind Riccardo, he was faster around the corners. I was quicker down the straight but I was having a job getting close to him because as soon as you get close to the car in front, you get understeer. But it worked out good in the end. And after the race, Mansell refused to elaborate on the exact reason behind needing to change his steering wheel. “Yeah I had to change tyres and also, I don’t know how, but I had a bit of a problem with the steering, which is confidential. We’ll keep to the team and I, and I had to change the steering wheel. “It frightened me a little bit because everything was going as well as to plan as could be and it was a bit of a drama I could have done without.” As a result, it was clear that some good fortune did go the way of Mansell in that race, despite his naturally
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strong pace. But that was about as good as the team’s fortunes got for some time. That was because as soon as the team descended on to Imola for the second race of the season, issues began to plague its car. The Ferrari proved to be on a par with its rivals in qualifying trim, but it was simply unable to last a full race distance. Mansell retired from the following four grands prix, three of those issues as a result of a problem with the gearbox, with the retirement in Phoenix being due to the alternator. Berger meanwhile crashed out in Imola and missed Monaco, but even upon his return at Mexico, he suffered the same fate as his team-mate, something which was also replicated in the United States. The following race was Canada, and both Berger and Mansell qualified fourth and fifth respectively. However, on race day, rain caused chaos, especially for Mansell who ended up being disqualified after a bizarre incident occurred in the pits. As the drivers took to the formation lap, the rain
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HIDDEN POTENTIAL WORDS BY ROB HANSFORD IMAGES COURTESY OF PHD PHOTO 56 | THE PIT STOP
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WHY SENNA'S LEGEND LIVES ON WORDS BY ROB HANSFORD IMAGES BY GRAND PRIX PHOTO
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SENNA DURING THE 1988 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
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THE ABITEBOUL EFFECT WORDS BY LUKE BARRY IMAGES BY HYUNDAI
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AN ALMOST CHAM
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FORGOTTEN PION
WORDS BY ROB HANSFORD IMAGES BY PHD PHOTO THE PIT STOP | 133