2018 Preview : Andrew Racing

Andrew Racing have been a staple in the main FF1M series since 2002 when they began life with a more informal team name and a team logo that took a few seconds to scribble on Microsoft Paint. In a way, it characterises the team boss’ more relaxed approach with seasons varying from solid to slump. Last season was anything but lax with them recording their best finish to date.

Best Season: 2017

Since the introduction of the new engine formula for 2014, Andrew have been one of the more reliable teams in terms of finishing races with less than 10 retirements per season despite the added unreliability of being a customer team. Their initial run on Megatron didn’t work out with last in the championship, but switching to Climax has transformed the team into a far more serious outfit. Consistency and reliability in 2016 tempted Andrew to run a B-spec version of their AP-16 chassis for 2017 and continuous improvements to the engine meant that the strong partnership of Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne were able to showcase their talents.

Although not the most regular of podium visitors, Andrew were in the points in nearly all races with Mugello and Macau the only times they failed to score points. The high point came at Suzuka, one of their best circuits with three wins previously in 1988, 2002, and 2016 courtesy of Ricciardo. In a race of very high attrition, both Andrew drivers kept their cool with Ricciardo taking back-to-back Suzuka wins with Vergne making it the team’s first double podium finish since the one-off race in 1950. By the end of the season, they had amassed enough points to overhaul Mitchell for runner-up in the Teams Championship.

Worst Season: 2006

Like Ajay Motorsports, Andrew Racing’s worst season came in 2006, largely as a result of the previous season’s decline. A rule change for 2005 resulted in an increased power range for turbo runners at the expense of more varied unreliability to help naturally aspirated runners to be more competitive. Andrew were running turbo Ferrari engines for 2005 and appeared to make a conscious decision to keep the power output low for the majority of races. It paid off at a wet Nurburgring where Christijan Albers finished on the podium, but as the naturally aspirated engines continued to develop, the turbo runners dropped back and Andrew struggled for more points finishes.

A change was therefore required for 2006, a switch to naturally aspirated Honda engines, but the engine was brand new as the Japanese engine manufacturer were missing from the 2005 season and therefore behind on development. Furthermore, the car had fallen behind on technological developments compared to other teams and the result was that the team qualified for just five out of the 17 races thanks to the introduction of pre-qualifying. Albers did what he could and only once qualified on the back row, but Luca Badoer was hopelessly off the pace having last raced in 1997. Monaco was his best… or least worst performance… being 1.7 seconds off his teammate in qualifying and finishing 17th. To date, this remains Andrew Racing’s only season where they didn’t score points.

Present day

Having experienced their best season to date, Andrew theoretically look to be in even better shape for 2018. They have carried over the AP-16 chassis and added extra development to their C-spec version. They have retained the ultra-reliable Climax engines that have served them well over the past three seasons, but they have also signed German superstar Sebastian Vettel, who rediscovered his brilliant talent in the final two races of 2017 with two dominant performances. One significant difference is a switch from Firestone to Goodyear tyres. Across 2017, Goodyear appeared to have a quicker soft tyre for qualifying with Firestone’s medium compound having the edge in race trim. If Andrew overcome this uncertainty, then a championship challenge could be a reasonable target.

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