Tag Archives: Formula 1

Daniel Ricciardo Speaks Texan, Y’all

Here’s Your Daniel Ricciardo Friday-In-Texas Update

“That accent cycled through so many different accents,” our own North Carolina native Collin Woodard messaged in Slack after watching the clip. Yes, Danny Ric’s Texan still needs some work, but damn if the guy doesn’t get an A+ for effort. And for dropping a “hell boogedy” in there — he’s definitely got the vocabulary down, at least to this Pennsylvanian who’s spent all of four days in Austin over the course of his life.

Anyway, Ricciardo is entering the weekend in the appropriate attire, too. Here’s the helmet he’ll be wearing, courtesy of Jens Munser Designs:

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I need a windbreaker with “McLaren Service Plus” embroidered on the breast and the back, like, yesterday. Ricciardo will of course lap COTA in The Intimidator’s 1984 No. 3 Chevy before Sunday’s race — the culmination of his bet with McLaren boss Zak Brown for nabbing a podium (ahem, race win) this year — so it all checks out.

Oh, and yesterday, this happened:

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Ricciardo ended Friday’s Free Practice 1 session in 16th, 2.5 seconds off Valtteri Bottas’ lead time. His teammate Lando Norris fell eighth on the timing boards. The Aussie’s last race in Turkey was nothing to celebrate, as he finished 13th after stopping for new tires too early and lost two spots in the last two laps of the race.

I’d like to think his spiritual homefield advantage will work in his favor this weekend. After all, I’ve heard he draws his power from the clay under the track.

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McLaren Sold Its Iconic Headquarters For $236 Million

Illustration for article titled McLaren Sold Its Iconic Headquarters For $236 Million

Photo: Getty Images (Getty Images)

A deal has been struck for McLaren to sell its iconic headquarters in Woking, England, to a New York-based firm for £170 million, or around $236 million, it was announced Tuesday. The complex had been on the market for months.

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McLaren will remain a tenant on the 840,000 square foot campus as part of a 20-year leaseback agreement, with plans to remain there long term. McLaren is in the middle of restructuring its debt, it said last year, with the money for its headquarters part of a broader equity raise it was doing to have “a sustainable platform for long-term growth and investment.”

McLaren sold to a firm called Global Net Lease, which sounds pleased with itself.

“We are excited to announce that this world-class facility will become part of the GNL portfolio,” said James Nelson, CEO of GNL “The McLaren Group Headquarters’ state of the art buildings have won numerous awards, were designed by renowned architect Norman Foster, and are the type of mission-critical, net-leased properties that make up the GNL portfolio.”

Illustration for article titled McLaren Sold Its Iconic Headquarters For $236 Million

Photo: McLaren

McLaren had initially sought £200 million for the complex, which has a wind tunnel testing facility and several artificial lakes, in addition to production facilities for McLaren’s road cars. Construction was completed on the tech center in 2003, while the production center was added in 2011.

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And while it’s a little sad to see it go, the pandemic has not been kind to McLaren, which was forced to lay off around a quarter of its staff last year. McLaren also got a $185 million cash boost from the National Bank of Bahrain last year.

There was even some suggestion that McLaren’s cash struggles might affect its performance in Formula 1 this year, though that hasn’t been the case; Lando Norris in particular is enjoying a fine start to the season, sitting in third in the driver standings. The team’s other driver, Daniel Ricciardo sits seventh, or right in the mix for what should be a competitive year for a team that is shooting for at least one driver in the top five.

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Why Does F1 Ace And Le Mans Champ Nico Hulkenberg Drive a Porsche GT2 RS MR?

I mean, why not?

After spending your entire life racing very quick, lightweight, and unbelievably agile vehicles, your standards rise to stratospheric levels. For that reason, it grows harder and harder to enjoy a capable road car—even a very quick one—as it usually feels incredibly lethargic in comparison to that incisive single seater or prototype. For this reason, you often see F1 and Le Man aces driving dull, everyday, practical vehicles to and from the tracks; something reasonably quick like a GT-R can’t always cut the mustard.

Thankfully, there are still a few road-going vehicles that can thrill and challenge the seasoned veteran.

In this case, it’s Nico Hulkenberg’s 991 GT2 RS which gets our attention. When the world’s most desirable free agent driver arrived at this year’s Eifel Grand Prix in his silver RS, Porschephiles took notice. If the quickest production-series Porsche can find its way into Hulkenberg’s stable, it must offer something few street cars do. Well, actually, to meet Hulk’s lofty standards, it needed a little help from a reputable Porsche racing shop: Manthey Racing.

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This “emotional” purchase didn’t remain stock for long. Spurred on by Chris Harris’ Portimao review of the Manthey-tuned GT2 RS MR, Hulk shelled out the $103,000 needed for the following modifications:

  • KW 3-Way Dampers
  • Michelin Cup 2 R tires
  • new brake pads
  • lighter wheels
  • TUV-compliant canards
  • redesigned underbody floor
  • aero curtains in the wheelarches
  • a gurney flap on the engine lid
  • different wing endplates
  • a larger wing at a steeper angle
  • taller wing supports
  • a larger rear diffuser

“When you drive and the car is really at its limits, then you smile and then you know why (you purchased it),” says Hulk. Photo credit: Manthey Racing

It’s Manthey’s motorsports-bred modifications that give the driver the ability to lean on the GT2 RS in a way the standard machine, grippy as it is, simply cannot support. With shorter braking distances, greater aerodynamic grip, a more reassuring balance, and even more turn-in grip, a seasoned veteran used to the immediacy of well-tuned throughbreds can find real reward in pushing this relatively porky and semi-practical Porsche.

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