Formula 1 racing driver Max Verstappen has told a Dutch newspaper that he won’t miss former Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo. Jeez Max, tell us what you really think.
“No, I won’t miss him,” the 21-year-old told Algemeen Dagblad. “He was fun and pleasant to have as a team-mate. That doesn’t happen often and perhaps it won’t happen again. But will I miss him? I believe Daniel will miss what he had here.”
Hmm, okay then. So, not so much a backhanded insult as a dig that the Australian’s next port of call in the F1 circus — that of mid-fielder Renault — might not bear as much fruit as Ricciardo hopes.
Maybe there is a bit of engine supplier loyalty at play in Verstappen’s comments, too. He went on to say in the interview
that he thinks Ricciardo is leaving Red Bull at the wrong time, just as it switches from Renault
power to works partner Honda. Not that that supplier arrangement has gone well lately for other teams, namely McLaren.
“Honda’s whole attitude and the plans they have, it’s totally different compared to what we were used to with Renault,” he said. “With Renault we always had to push. It always had to come from us, and it was usually ignored. Now it is the other way around,” he said.
On-track disasters aside, Verstappen’s incoming team-mate, ex-Torro Rosso racer Pierre Gasly, will just be glad to be somewhere closer to the podium during 2019. Let’s hope that Honda’s engine tech is up to the challenge.
Craziest shooting brake racer reborn?
When it comes to unmistakable race cars (unmistakable for their design that is, rather than their livery), you might be thinking the remarkable six-wheel Tyrell P34 is just about the wackiest racer devised.
In terms of open wheel racing, it possibly still is. But when it comes to sports cars, Ferrari’s 1960s-era 250 GT SWB “Breadvan” racers cut a unique silhouette on the circuit. These things were long and low, with a snub “Kamm” tail at the back, designed to help separate air flowing from the roof at speed without creating drag. The fastest shooting brakes in the West, in other words.
Now a London-based designer has drawn inspiration from the Breadvan Fezzas and plans to revive the design, albeit with a 1990s Ferrari 550 Maranello as the base.
Niels van Roij Design has revealed preliminary sketches for what it calls its Breadvan Hommage. Why a 550 Maranello? Van Roij says that the 550 is the “logical starting point” because it was the first Ferrari since the Daytona that was built using the same basic blueprint as the 250 GT; a V12 engine out front, stirred along with a manual gearbox.
The Breadvan Hommage is an echo of the original 250 GT SWB. In fact, only the windscreen from the 550 donor car will remain untouched.
Van Roij’s project will be formed from aluminium and work has already begun to separate the 550’s rear end from its chassis. We should hopefully see the results of this reinterpretation of race car weirdness mid-year.
Suzuki Jimny pick-up? Yes please
We can’t wait for the next-gen Suzuki Jimny to arrive. The motoring media has gone gaga for the diminutive 4x4 in territories where it has already made an appearance. It’ll be New Zealand’s turn later this year and we can assume the little Jimny will be just as much a head-turner here as elsewhere.
And, as if it couldn’t get any cooler, the prospect of a Jimny pick-up truck became slightly more set in stone this month when the manufacturer displayed an awesome Jimny Sierra truck at the 2019 Tokyo Auto Salon.
Whetting the world’s appetite for some fun-sized ute action? Here’s hoping, although Suzuki was quick to point out the truck was a styling exercise rather than a hint at any production model.
As far as concepts go, the Jimny Sierra pick-up is simple. It’s a Jimny with the rear end cut off and a modest load bed inserted. Based on an unmodified Jimny platform, it remains perfect for any city-based DIY type at 3.5m long and 1.7m wide. You can forget about using it to take that motocross bike out to your local forest track.
Still, it’s an awesome thing, especially as shown in Tokyo last week, with its gold paint, wood panelling and retro hubcaps. We seriously think it needs to be built. And if not, is there any way The Good Oil can obtain a scale model of one, please?