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I M AG E S X P B Making the most of the opportunityto change SOME SEASONS ARE ONES OF SEISMIC CHANGE, SOME of stability. It’s always the way in Formula 1 and, with the last major rule change in 2014 now an increasingly distant memory and the 2017 changes to look forward to, it’s difficult to know what to expect from the coming season. The odds are on status quo, with Mercedes still leading the way and Ferrari snapping at its heels. But while Ferrari won’t make as substantial a step as it achieved from 2014 to ’15, it can edge up on the Silver Arrows. It’s what we need to happen to make a real fight of the season and, from what we’ve seen, when Mercedes is put under pressure strange things can happen! Looking further ahead to the much-vaunted 2017 F1 rules, there is a lot to be concerned about. Promises have been made about faster, more spectacular cars and spectacular racing. They will certainly be quicker, and from the work being done inside teams it’s clear that the magical six seconds laptime reduction is eminently possible. They will look maybe slightly cooler, certainly more swoopy. But better and more spectacular? There’s a real danger that the assumptions made are wide of the mark. This is something F1 needs to be very mindful of during the coming months. There is still time to take a serious look at the final form of the rules. For if the outcome resembles the emperor’s new clothes, it won’t be long before the fanbase sees that F1 is not, to extend the metaphor, wearing anything at all. EDD STRAW EDITOR edd.straw@haymarket.com @eddstrawF1 FREE AUTOSPORT ENGINEERINGSUPPLEMENT What to expect from the cars, the drivers, the engines F12016REVEALEDF12016REVEALED 73 DAYS TOGO! Jan 7 2016 UK £3.70 CAN $8.99 COVER IMAGE Alan Eldridge COVER STORY – F1 2016 6 Introduction 8 The development war 10 A new American challenge from Haas 12 What’s new for this season? PIT+PADDOCK 16 Nissan’s WEC pullout explained 18 Ford’s World Endurance line-up revealed 19 Tough start for Dakar Rally 20 Feedback: your letters 21 Ben Anderson: in the paddock FEATURES AND REPORTS 22 Porsche’s year: World Endurance review 32 Interview: Williams new boy Lance Stroll AUTOSPORT INTERNATIONAL PREVIEW 36 Ready for Birmingham 38 Solberg’s stunt-driving masterclass 42 At home – in the Williams motorhome 44 Shedden’s amazing BTCC season CLUB AUTOSPORT 57 Triple Eight quits British GT 58 Phoenix Park resurrection planned 60 Mallory Park Plum Pudding meeting 61 Humble Pye FINISHING STRAIGHT 62 What’s on 64 From the archive 66 Bucket list: club racing’s holy trinity AUTOSPORT SUBSCRIPTION OFFER 35 Get a FREE Monster Powerbank ALSO INSIDE AUTOSPORT ENGINEERING Our 28-page guide to the latest cutting-edge technology on and off the track FIND US ON autosport.com twitter.com/autosport facebook.com/autosport instagram.com/autosportdotcom/ youtube.com/AUTOSPORTdotcom at the Apple App Store digitalmagazine.autosport.com Apple News JANUARY 7 2016 5

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I M AG E S

X P B

Making the most of the opportunityto change

SOME SEASONS ARE ONES OF SEISMIC CHANGE, SOME of stability. It’s always the way in Formula 1 and, with the last major rule change in 2014 now an increasingly distant memory and the 2017 changes to look forward to, it’s difficult to know what to expect from the coming season.

The odds are on status quo, with Mercedes still leading the way and Ferrari snapping at its heels. But while Ferrari won’t make as substantial a step as it achieved from 2014 to ’15, it can edge up on the Silver Arrows. It’s what we need to happen to make a real fight of the season and, from what we’ve seen, when Mercedes is put under pressure strange things can happen!

Looking further ahead to the much-vaunted 2017 F1 rules, there is a lot to be concerned about. Promises have been made about faster, more spectacular cars and spectacular racing. They will certainly be quicker, and from the work being done inside teams it’s clear that the magical six seconds laptime reduction is eminently possible. They will look maybe slightly cooler, certainly more swoopy. But better and more spectacular? There’s a real danger that the assumptions made are wide of the mark.

This is something F1 needs to be very mindful of during the coming months. There is still time to take a serious look at the final form of the rules. For if the outcome resembles the emperor’s new clothes, it won’t be long before the fanbase sees that F1 is not, to extend the metaphor, wearing anything at all.

EDD STRAW EDITOR edd.straw@haymarket.com

@eddstrawF1

FREE AUTOSPORT ENGINEERINGSUPPLEMENT

What to expect from the cars, the drivers, the engines

F12016REVEALEDF12016REVEALED

73 DAYS TOGO!

Jan 7 2016 UK £3.70 CAN $8.99

COVER IMAGE Alan Eldridge

COVER STORY – F1 2016 6 Introduction 8 The development war 10 A new American challenge from Haas 12 What’s new for this season? PIT+PADDOCK 16 Nissan’s WEC pullout explained 18 Ford’s World Endurance line-up revealed 19 Tough start for Dakar Rally 20 Feedback: your letters 21 Ben Anderson: in the paddock FEATURES AND REPORTS 22 Porsche’s year: World Endurance review 32 Interview: Williams new boy Lance Stroll AUTOSPORT INTERNATIONAL PREVIEW 36 Ready for Birmingham 38 Solberg’s stunt-driving masterclass 42 At home – in the Williams motorhome 44 Shedden’s amazing BTCC season CLUB AUTOSPORT 57 Triple Eight quits British GT 58 Phoenix Park resurrection planned 60 Mallory Park Plum Pudding meeting 61 Humble Pye FINISHING STRAIGHT 62 What’s on 64 From the archive 66 Bucket list: club racing’s holy trinity AUTOSPORT SUBSCRIPTION OFFER 35 Get a FREE Monster Powerbank

ALSO INSIDE AUTOSPORT ENGINEERING Our 28-page guide to the latest cutting-edge technology on and off the track

FIND US ON

autosport.com twitter.com/autosport facebook.com/autosport instagram.com/autosportdotcom/ youtube.com/AUTOSPORTdotcom at the Apple App Store digitalmagazine.autosport.com Apple News

JANUARY 7 2016

5

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