McLaren’s F1 Quest, Formula E and Daytona Preview

Getting to the top of F1 can take a long time. The size of modern teams and the nature of the rules mean that changes in the rules of competition are less common than they used to be.

The much-touted new rules should do something about that in the coming seasons, but it’s likely that the leading teams will stay on top, even if they have to work harder for wins and titles.

Ferrari and McLaren are the most likely candidates when it comes to picking those with the best chance of challenging Red Bull and Mercedes. We’ll cover Ferrari in the next issue (February 3), but this week McLaren is in the spotlight.

The legendary team’s recovery from ninth place in the 2017 Constructors’ Championship has been impressive. The last step to becoming a title contender is the hardest, but the team knows what they need to do – and are making changes to strengthen their hand. Award-winning journalist Luke Smith hears from the key figures, including supremo Zak Brown, in our in-depth cover story.

Top 10 McLaren Formula 1 Drivers Ranked

Another famous name returned to the top last weekend. Sebastien Loeb should be on every fan list of the greatest rally drivers of all time and at the age of 47 the Frenchman clinched his record 80th WRC victory in an epic Monte Carlo Rally.

His battle with Sebastien Ogier was a reminder of the competition we’ve seen too little of in the past decade – and was a good start to the Rally1 era. Tom Howard was there to witness the brilliant fight and speak to the main contenders.

The Formula E season starts this weekend in Saudi Arabia. Matt Kew looks at Stoffel Vandoorne’s chances of finishing Mercedes’ championship lead and Jake Boxall-Legge singles out the other big storylines.

Gary Watkins talks to the best British drivers who could win this weekend’s 24 Hours of Daytona, while Stephen Lickorish dives into how Porsche selects its junior drivers in our national section.

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