This week, our writers have been dispelling Formula One myths, finding out if long-running manufacturers are scared by the progress of Chinese start-up brands, and whether there's demand for vegan interiors at the very top end of the price spectrum.
No foul play over F1 team radio
Rumours that F1 teams swear in pit-to-car radio comms to make sure those messages aren’t broadcast to other teams turn out to be unfounded. Bernie Collins, head of race strategy at Aston Martin F1, said: “Team to team, nothing is filtered. So we’d still get that language and it wouldn’t prevent it [a radio message] going to another team.”
No fear from Nissan as China grows
Slow and steady wins the race – or does it? Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida thinks lengthy vehicle development times are giving Chinese start-ups the edge, because they react to the market far more quickly. “Do we do that as a Japanese enterprise? It’s not the same,” he admitted. “We do lots of testing and experimenting before we hit the road. They do have the speed to market, which we need to learn in the future.”
