Formula 1 2017 preview: Offseason recap - MotorSportsTalk

The gap between the end of the 2016 Formula 1 season and the start of the 2017 campaign perhaps feels like the least ‘offseason-y’ offseason of recent times.

Since the checkered flag dropped in Abu Dhabi and Nico Rosberg claimed his maiden drivers’ title, a huge amount has happened.

So here’s a run-down of all that has happened over the winter.

November 27 – Nico Rosberg clinches his maiden F1 world title in Abu Dhabi, finishing second in the race to win the championship by five points. Felipe Massa makes what was planned to be his final F1 start.

December 2 – Rosberg announces his immediate retirement from F1 in a press conference ahead of the FIA gala in Vienna, Austria.

December 11 – Hamilton and Wolff enjoy an “amazing” meeting regarding plans for the 2017 season. Hamilton says Mercedes will have “the strongest partnership” to defend its titles. BBC Sport reports that Valtteri Bottas is Mercedes’ prime target and has already tabled an offer for the Finn.

December 15 – Mercedes confirms that it will make no announcement regarding Rosberg’s replacement until January 3 at the earliest. Claire Williams says that Williams was open to letting Bottas leave, relying it could find a suitable replacement.

December 20 – Reports suggest that Massa has agreed to come out of retirement and return to Williams for 2017, paving the way for Bottas to leave the team.

December 30 – Massa posts on Instagram that he is back “training hard” in America.

January 3 – The earliest date for an announcement from Mercedes passes.

January 6 – Manor – the team Wehrlein raced for last year – enters administration, raising doubts over the team’s future and place on the 2017 grid.

January 10 – Mercedes confirms Paddy Lowe will leave the team after three years.

January 15 – Claire Williams says she expects to make an announcement about Bottas’ future within a week.

January 16 – Pascal Wehrlein is officially announced by Sauber; photos of Bottas in Mercedes team gear leak online; Williams confirms Massa will return; finally, Bottas is announced officially at Mercedes.

January 19 – Mercedes signs British youngster George Russell to its junior program.

January 20 – Liberty Media offers shares to F1 teams ahead of takeover.

January 22 – Pascal Wehrlein pulls out of the Race of Champions’ second day through injury.

January 23 – Liberty Media completes its takeover of F1, ousting CEO Bernie Ecclestone and ending his 40-year rein at the helm of the sport. Chase Carey becomes CEO, appointing Sean Bratches and Ross Brawn into top roles.

January 26 – Renault names BP/Castrol as new fuel and lubricants supplier.

January 27 – Manor confirms it will close after failing to find a buyer, costing over 200 jobs.

February 4 – Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne calls on Liberty to make F1 more entertaining.

February 7 – McLaren confirms that racing CEO Jost Capito has left the team after just five months.

February 9 – McLaren team manager Dave Redding confirms he will move to Williams.

February 10 – BP/Castrol also becomes McLaren’s new fuel and lubricants partner; Ferrari forced to postpone a private Pirelli test after Sebastian Vettel suffers a crash.

February 16 – Mercedes announces that ex-Ferrari man James Allison will become its new technical director; the FIA responds to “malicious” reports regarding the sale of F1; McLaren marketing chief Ekrem Sami leaves the team; Dirk de Beer becomes Williams’ new aero chief.

February 17 – Williams releases renders of its new car, the FW40.

February 20 – Sauber presents C36 car, celebrating 25 years in F1.

February 21 – Renault reveals R.S.17, targets top five finish in the championship.

February 22 – British youngster Lando Norris joins McLaren’s junior program; Force India reveals VJM10 car for 2017.

February 23 – Mercedes unveils 2017 F1 car, completes filming day.

February 24 – McLaren and Ferrari unveil their cars. McLaren’s takes the most note for a bright orange livery.

February 26 – Red Bull, Haas and Toro Rosso reveal their 2017 runners.

February 27 – Pre-season testing begins in Barcelona.

February 28 – Sauber appoints Tatiana Calderon as its new development driver.

March 2 – The first test ends with Valtteri Bottas as the fastest driver. Williams and McLaren endure difficult runs, while Mercedes and Ferrari steal a march on the field.

March 4 – McLaren denies there are any fundamental issues with the Honda power unit.

March 7 – Test two begins.

March 8 – Fernando Alonso blasts Honda, says its power unit has “no reliability” and “no power”.

March 9 – The FIA announces that GP2 will be known as Formula 2 from 2017.

March 10 – Pre-season testing comes to a close. Kimi Raikkonen ends as the quickest driver for Ferrari; 1964 world champion John Surtees dies at the age of 83.

March 16 – Paddy Lowe joins Williams as chief technical officer, having left his role at Mercedes earlier in the winter; Mika Hakkinen becomes McLaren ambassador; reports suggest McLaren has approached Mercedes regarding an engine supply.

March 18 – Manor’s remaining F1 assets are listed for auction.

Follow @LukeSmithF1

Vicki Golden has earned a career worthy of a thousand stories and 805 Beer tells at least one of them, as “Inverted Perspective” premiered March 30 on the company’s website and YouTube channel.

Golden did more to break the glass ceiling in SuperMotocross than she ever thought possible. She knows this because riders have never felt the need to explain any of her accomplishments with the disclaimer, “for a girl”.

At this point in Golden’s career, she’s been the first woman to finish top 10 in AMA Arenacross Lites, the first woman to qualify in the Fast 40 in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the first woman to compete in freestyle Moto X competition, earning a bronze medal by doing so.

Her love for moto came from childhood while she watched her dad and brother ride. By seven she was on her bike and making waves throughout Southern California.

Golden, 30, is still madly in love with the sport and has no plans on moving away but her career is already one to talk about. 805 Beer’s film series wanted to do exactly that.

“I’m taken aback by it all,” Golden told NBC Sports about the documentary. “It’s just crazy to see your story, it’s one thing to live your life and battle everything that comes about but it’s another to just sit there and talk about it.”

805 approached Golden about the feature by asking, “Do you even realize that what you do, and your story is special?”

Golden took the question as a blank canvas to map out the highs and lows of her career and life.

Women in SuperMotocross: Jordan Jarvis knows how tough it is

The title “Inverted Perspective” came from a brainstorming session with Dominick Russo and it highlights Golden’s outlook on the sport of SuperMotocross and her life in general.

“My whole life, my whole career was thinking differently and looking at things that shouldn’t be done and aren’t there, while being able to make a place for myself, where no one thought there should be a place,” Golden said. “It’s inspiring someone to think in different ways. It sums up my life.”

*Vicki Golden is not “fast for a girl”; she’s just fast. – 805 Beer*

While Golden is no stranger to the spotlight, this was the first time she’s been fully involved with the storytelling and creation of a feature about herself.

“It’s not like a full new experience,” Golden said. “Obviously, you get your standard questions about your upbringing and accomplishments, but I’ve never really put into perspective things that happened in my past with my dad and putting that to light. Also, certain other things that maybe got overlooked in previous interviews or films. I wanted to touch on these and Dom wanted to create a story. It’s just cool to see it come to light, it’s a nearly impossible thing to tell somebody’s life story in 40 minutes.”

Golden’s father was left paralyzed after an ATV accident, robbing him the opportunity to ride again. This happened a few months before the father-daughter duo was set to compete in the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals when Vicki was 12. While she might have been unable to grasp the severity at the time, it’s something she carries with her. Golden continues to ride in his honor.

Years later, an accident in 2018 nearly sidelined the then 25-year-old Vicki when a freestyle accident almost resulted in the amputation of her lower leg.

Women in SuperMotocross Ashley Fiolek is building community

Golden 805 Beer — *Vicki Golden has ridden a variety of disciplines in SuperMotocross, which gives her a unique perspective. – 805 Beer*

“Inverted Perspective” highlights her father’s diligence in helping Vicki continue with her career and the kindness and strength he carried while fighting his own battle.

“My dad was the entire reason that I started riding in the first place,” Golden said. “So, to honor his memory and to honor what we went through and how hard he pushed to keep our dream alive and keep everything going – in that sense then, it was really special to be able to honor him and talk about him.”

The 40-minute feature was filmed entirely in black and white, a stark contrast from the oversaturated world of motocross where the brighter the suit the easier it is for fans to find their rider and follow him in the race. By filming in monochrome Russo and Golden had the chance to focus on the race and track from a different perspective.

“It was cool to be able to film it differently,” Golden said. “It created a challenge in the sense of what was going to be more visually impactful for the film.

“I couldn’t be here without the companies that back me but at the same time, it’s not like the logos or colors disappeared, it’s just different lights shed on different spots. It’s just a cool way to do it and to take color away and still be impactful. When you think of black and white, you think of old school, the OG way of doing things.”

Read more about SuperMotocross