SUTTON

CONTENTS

FERR ARI’S F INAL ST EP TO TOPPLING MERCEDES?

That the current Ferrari team can build a car good enough to win Formula 1 world championships is no longer in doubt. The SF70H could have won in 2017. The SF71H should have won in ’18. But other factors, such as operational errors and driver mistakes, mean that it’s now a decade since Ferrari’s last (constructors’) crown. Mattia Binotto (above) replacing Maurizio Arrivabene as team boss could be the final piece in the jigsaw. His technical success has illustrated his ability to get the best out of good people, which has arguably been Ferrari’s biggest weakness in recent years.

As Edd Straw points out in our cover piece on page 16, Ferrari isn’t far away from toppling Mercedes. There are just some key areas it needs to look after in 2019.

Long before we find out if Ferrari can end its wait, the World Rally Championship will kick off in Monte Carlo. Like F1, the WRC has had some seat-swapping over the winter, most notably Sebastien Ogier returning to Citroen. He was one of the many stars who appeared at Autosport International last weekend, with the WRC launch on Saturday one of the big highlights. Look out for our season preview in next week’s issue. McLaren’s new F1 drivers Carlos Sainz Jr and Lando Norris opened the show on Saturday and appeared on our main stage. They are unlikely to be challenging the frontrunners this year, but the hiring of highly rated ex-Porsche man Andreas Seidl (p4) is a big plus. If he is allowed to make the changes required, it could be the start of McLaren’s climb out of the midfield.

There was plenty more going on in Birmingham, so turn to p34 to see our coverage of the event that kicked off the 2019 season.

COVER IMAGES

GORIA; ETHERINGTON

PIT+PADDOCK

4 Seidl leaves Porsche to join McLaren 6 Verstappen attends FE as punishment 8 Gronholm firms up Rally Sweden return 11 In the paddock: Edd Straw 13 In the paddock: Gary Watkins 15 Feedback: your letters INSIGHT 16 COVER STORY

What Ferrari has to do in 2019 RACE CENTRE 26 BMW scores own goal in Formula E 32 World of Sport: Dakar Rally; Toyota Racing Series; Dubai 24 Hours AUTOSPORT SHOW 2019 34 Introduction and stage stars 36 News round-up from the NEC 38 The pros and cons of W Series 42 The best of Live Action 44 The Esports road to Le Mans 45 Sport v entertainment with the MIA 46 Autosport International highlights 48 Motorsport Images at ASI CLUB AUTOSPORT 60 Crucial meeting for motorsport’s future 62 Ex-F1 racer sets up Ginetta team 64 New Mittell to take on Bikesports 66 Enduro to kick off Caterham season 67 Club column: Marcus Pye FINISHING STRAIGHT 68 What’s on this week 71 Introducing: Hailie Deegan 72 From the archive: 1984 Dakar Rally 74 Pit your wits against our new quiz SUBSCRIPTION OFFER 70 Save money in our January sale kevin.turner@autosport.com

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