FORMULA 1

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Wolff had "quite a laugh" over reports of Verstappen talks

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says he has had "quite a laugh" with Max and Jos Verstappen over suggestions he has been calling the Red Bull Formula 1 driver.
A report in Germany quoted Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko as saying Wolff "repeatedly" calls five-time grand prix Verstappen and has done so for months.

Verstappen joined Red Bull during his first season of car racing in European Formula 3 back in 2014, having opted for that junior programme over Mercedes as he pursued a swift move into F1.

The 21-year-old said in the build-up to the Chinese Grand Prix weekend that he was surprised to read the story, and found it quite "funny" because "I never speak to Toto, he never calls me, he doesn't even have my number".

Wolff said: "We had quite a laugh about it all three of us. I haven't got Max's number and I've never spoken to him on the phone. As Max rightly said I've known Jos for a long time and I would consider him a friend.

"We talk about babies and go-karting and when do we put our babies in a go-kart together and which team are we going to set up. There is no talking about Max nor his contract. For the right reasons, Max is very committed to the Honda/Red Bull situation.

"We are committed to our drivers and we are not planning to engage in any sort of discussions and nor are Jos or Max, so I don't know where that came from."

It was suggested Verstappen has a performance clause in the new Red Bull contract he signed in 2017 that would allow him to leave the team if it does not fight for the world championship this season.

Verstappen has finished third, fourth and fourth in the first three grands prix, which has put him third in the championship, ahead of both Ferraris but 29 points behind Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton at the head of the standings.

"I can't talk about my contract," Verstappen said when asked about the supposed performance clause. "I never talk about my contract. I think it's quite normal that I cannot comment on that."

Mercedes drivers Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have finished first and second in each race so far, with Hamilton winning the last two after Bottas won the season opener.

Hamilton is signed up to Mercedes until the end of next season while the team has the option to keep Bottas for 2020 as well.

"After a day like today where we are P1 and P2 I'm not considering any other driver for the short-term," said Wolff following the Chinese GP.

"[For] after 2020 we will first discuss with Valtteri and Lewis, and once that decision is taken, we'll turn to the paddock. But hopefully the line-up stays forever."

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Kvyat: Stewards know Chinese GP penalty was too harsh

Daniil Kvyat believes the Chinese Grand Prix Formula 1 stewards accepted they were too harsh with his punishment for colliding with McLaren drivers Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris.
Toro Rosso racer Kvyat was given a drive-through penalty and two penalty points on his licence for the opening lap incident at Shanghai.

Both Kvyat and Norris eventually retired, while Sainz recovered to 14th.

"This was, I think, a normal lap one incident - one car coming from off the track, and one car being sandwiched, and me leaving space enough for one car certainly," Kvyat said.

"The other car basically caused the chain reaction, which was the car behind me, and then it was just a normal chain reaction, so I didn't see how that incident deserved a drive-through penalty, that's for sure."

He said he had discussed it with the stewards panel, on which ex-F1 racer Derek Warwick was the driver representative on this incident, and came away feeling they now doubted their decision.

"I think we found a good understanding, but we disagree on few things, and it was a very long meeting," said Kvyat. "I think they kind of understand that they were quite harsh today, I could feel it in the post-race conversation."

The stewards' statement announcing the penalty during the race pinned the blame solely on Kvyat.

"The stewards reviewed video evidence and concluded that the driver of car #26, (Daniil Kvyat), lost control of his car at the exit of Turn 6 and hit the cars to his left," it read. "He did this on his own and the stewards determined that he was wholly at fault, causing the collision."

Sainz had suggested Kvyat was at fault for lacking "patience" on the opening lap, while Norris described himself as "kind of the innocent one" in the incident. Kvyat declined to expand on his conversation with the stewards.

"I don't want to go in details, because I think we closed behind closed doors," he added. "So I think we want to respect this agreement. But I think the incident was a very basic first-lap sandwich and misunderstanding.

"It was three cars in one corner exit. It was a chain reaction, an incident, and I got hit - that's what I felt, that I got hit from behind, that's all I felt really. So for me it was pretty clear."

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Hulkenberg: Renault giving away points with poor reliability

Nico Hulkenberg says that his Renault Formula 1 team has to find fixes soon after he suffered a second consecutive retirement with an MGU-K issue in the Chinese GP.

After Hulkenberg and teammate Daniel Ricciardo lost valuable points when they both stopped in the closing laps of the Bahrain GP, Renault supplied its drivers with the upgraded MGU-K spec that was already used by McLaren's Carlos Sainz at Sakhir.

While Ricciardo had a trouble free run to seventh place and his first points of 2019 Hulkenberg retired after completing just 15 laps with a loss of power. The team believes that it was a result of a software issue related to the change of MGU-K spec, and that the revised hardware itself is not suspect.

Hulkenberg has cautioned that the French manufacturer has to solve its problems.

"It's not good news," said the German. "We really have to get on top of these things, because we're costing ourselves results, experience and points. I think we know that we have homework to do on that side. We need fixes rather sooner than later."

Hulkenberg tried to resolve the problem by making adjustments suggested by his engineer, but to no avail.

"It happened a couple of laps before I stopped, but we couldn't fix it, so the team asked me to park the car.

"I lost power and it didn't go anywhere. It looks like it's related to the MGU-K again, unfortunately. So it looks like we have more work to do there."

Hulkenberg admitted that he was probably set for a difficult afternoon anyway after losing out to Sergio Perez at the start, leaving him in ninth place on the less favoured soft tyres. He then dropped down the field after an early stop.

"It wasn't looking entirely OK. Unfortunately I lost a position to Checo during the first lap, and then just sitting in traffic was really tough for me.

"Following another car today was impossible, you were just sliding. We all kind of had the same pace, so it was really difficult. Then I pitted, a slow pit stop, and I came out on traffic, so it would have been a difficult recovery anyway."

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Mercedes: China double-stack was Wolff's idea

The original idea for the stacked pitstop for Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton in the Chinese Grand Prix came from Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, the team has revealed.
The Brackley-based outfit had been left with a strategy headache after Red Bull's decision to pit Max Verstappen for a second stop during the Shanghai race triggered a domino effect for the cars ahead to prevent being undercut.

With Sebastian Vettel responding to Verstappen's move, Mercedes knew that it too needed to cover Vettel with both its drivers who were running 1-2 on the track.

However, with Hamilton and Bottas running close together, if Mercedes had pitted Bottas first to head off the Vettel threat, then there was a risk that he could overtake Hamilton for the lead – which would have been unfair on the race leader.

Following a bit of quick thinking, Wolff himself came up with the suggestion of stacking the drivers in the pits, something that is rarely done during full race conditions.

After Wolff proposed the idea, team strategist James Vowles confirmed the plan would be tough but possible, before sporting director Ron Meadows gave it the green light.

Speaking on Mercedes' regular post-race YouTube debrief, the team's trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin said: "It was actually Toto who suggested that we do a stacked stop.

"That then becomes a discussion between James Vowles and Ron Meadows. Ron is the sporting director and he is just checking that he is comfortable with the gap between the cars, that we can get the pit crew ready to do the stacked stop and have both sets of tyres in the pitlane.

"James is the one who gets the final decision on this and he decides to go ahead with it."

Shovlin admitted that there were risks associated with the stop, especially because stacked stops are not something that can easily be practiced for.

"You don't have two cars to practice with," he explained. "We do have a pitstop car and we can practice getting both sets of tyres out, we can practice doing two stops in succession but you can never quite get the same situation with the car rolling into the box.

"It is quite difficult for the rear jack man as he has to get out of the way when the first car leaves and then get into position when the second one comes in.

"The choreography is quite tricky, there is a bit more to organise. Having that many tyres in the pitlane is a bit of a risk, so you have to make sure the right tyres go on the right car. But it is something we do as much preparation for as we can."

He added: "You try not to do them unless you have to because if you have any problem with the first car, it also impacts the second – and you can go from being first and second in the race to third and fourth in no time. It isn't something you do every day, but on the occasions it makes sense it is a really tool to have in your tool set."

Such was the swiftness with Mercedes' procedures that Bottas' pitstop was actually quicker than Hamilton's – and he lost less than half a second in total pitlane compared to his teammate despite having to briefly wait.

How Mercedes' double-stack stop played put

Lap 34

Max Verstappen pits for the second time, forcing the cars ahead of him to consider whether to stick to a one-stop strategy or move to a two-stop as well. At this stage, Mercedes it not sure if its tyres will last until the end if it stays on a one-stop.

Lap 35

As Hamilton exits Turn 14, the team begins the discussion the idea of a second stop to shadow the cars behind. But it faces a dilemma because second place Valtteri Bottas would need to stop first to protect his position to Sebastian Vettel if the German stops too. Doing that would then give the Finn the unfair advantage of the undercut on race leader Lewis Hamilton.

If the team pitted Hamilton first, though, then that would expose Bottas to the possibility of getting undercut by Vettel. Second latter, Toto Wolff from the garage suggests the unusual step of double stacking the cars. On the pitwall, head of strategy James Vowles says the tactic was tough but possible, while sporting director Ron Meadows confirms it is okay to do.

As the Mercedes drivers cross the start-finish line, Vettel pits: therefore prompting Mercedes in to action.

Lap 36

Just 22 seconds after the first discussion of a double stack, Vowles comes on the radio and says: "Going to do it now."

Both Mercedes drivers are told they are pitting, and Bottas is told about the stacking plan. The team and the Finn are both aware of the danger that Vettel poses if he is delayed in the pits. Coming into the pits, the gap between the two drivers is 5.5 seconds

Hamilton's pitstop takes 2.9 seconds, and his total pitlane time is 23.597 seconds. Bottas' pitstop takes just 2.6 seconds and his total pitlane time is 24.083 seconds. Measurements confirm that just 3.4 seconds after Hamilton moves away from his stop, Bottas stops in the same spot.

Lap 37

The swift turnaround of Bottas means he leaves the pits with a five-second advantage over Vettel, which is cut back to four seconds at the end of the lap when the Ferrari driver sets the fastest lap.

Lap 38

Bottas responds with the fastest lap of the race at that point.

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PEREZ: LAWRENCE IS THE MOST MOTIVATED PERSON IN OUR GARAGE

The demise of Force India last year led to the birth of Racing Point, gone is mayhem of the Vijay Mallya days of uncertainty replaced by the big bucks investment by billionaire Lawrence Stroll and a group of investor pals.

It is no secret that Stroll senior bought the Silverstone team because his son Lance was struggling at Williams, the once mighty Grove outfit at the lowest point in their history had relegated the young Canadian to back of the grid frustration.

Lawrence saw no light at the end of the Williams tunnel and decided to do things his way and, by all accounts, the man who made billions in the fashion business is more motivated than ever to make the investment work.

Also enthused by the winds of change blowing through the team HQ, is Sergio Perez the veteran driver kept on for stability and consistency as the Strolls moved in and took over.

Speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Perez said of Racing Point’s new boss Lawrence,  “He’s very enthusiastic, probably the most motivated person we have in the garage right now. He says this project has motivated him the most in his whole life.”

“He gets up at six in the morning and he’s flat out trying to go through everything. He is pushing the team very, very hard but at the same time is letting Otmar [Szafnauer] and the big boys to do their job. But we are all aware that we have to give the results sooner rather than later.”

According to Forbes as of February this year, 59-year-old Stroll was said to be worth $2.6-billion.

He clearly has racing in his blood, as he boasts one of the most extensive Ferrari collections in the world, and also owns the iconic Circuit Mont-Tremblant in his homeland. Also, well known is the fact that he spared no expense in getting his son from karting through to F1 and everything in between.

Perez continued, “In that respect that I think [Lawrence] loves racing and I am surprised with his energy, how much he loves it and how much he wants this team to be successful. He obviously wants his son to be very successful, which is in my benefit because he is putting all the resources in place to achieve this.”

Invariably the question of nepotism arises, after all never in the colourful history of the sport has a father bought an F1 team (!) for his son to prove his worth – this is uncharted territory for racing at this level.

But Perez is not concerned, “Lance is just a normal guy, a normal driver who works very hard and is also very talented. I have a very good relationship with him. We work well together and we are trying to push the team forward.”

Asked if he felt he might be compromised at some point, the Mexican replied, “No. I feel so much part of this team and of this family. We are all in the same boat together and we all want to be successful, we want to bring the team forward. I don’t think this will happen in my case, to be honest.”

The Strolls will probably look at the current Williams shambles and thank their lucky stars that they bailed out when they did, but the transformation to Racing Point was not plug-and-play as the organisation appears struck by some sort of Force India hangover. Consequently, the results of the first three races of the season have hardly been inspirational.

“We are not where we want to be at the moment,” admitted Perez. “It’s about bringing the team forward. Up to now, everything has been transparent, everything has been as before, we are all very excited and so much looking forward to this project.”

The veteran of  158 Grand Prix starts believes he is also in a better place personally, “In the past, [with Force India] there has always been single year contracts, for example, 2015 and 2016 I was close to leaving… 2017, always I’ve been really close to leaving.”

“But right now, this is the project I want to be a part of you know. I want to grow and go to the next step together. In the past, there were always doubts if we were going to make it until the end of the season; when we were going to get the upgrades and so on, but now it’s just a matter of how are we going to get in among the top three teams.”

With a state-of-the-art factory being planned, the future is rosy for the Pinks and the 29-year-old from Guadalajara plying his trade in the Stroll family business.

“It’s more than the looks, it’s the quality of the people and the amount of time that this takes. Things in F1 they take a while,” added Perez.

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VASSEUR: GIOVINAZZI IS STRUGGLING BUT HE WILL RECOVER

Antonio Giovinazzi was once upon a time the ‘next big thing’ as far as Ferrari were concerned, the youngster was being groomed for Formula 1 by the legendary team but, now in the big leagues, the 25-year-old is not delivering in his first full season at the pinnacle of the sport.

In 2017 for the season opener in Australia, Giovinazzi was drafted at very short notice to substitute for injured Pascal Wehrlein at Sauber. In Melbourne, the Italian was thrust into the deep end with only FP3 mileage he did well to finish the race 12th, albeit two laps behind the winner.

Nevertheless, an impressive, if not spectacular, debut considering the circumstances.

But things went pear-shaped in China that year (again subbing for Wehrlein) when he crashed heavily in qualifying and the next day also binned it in the race, on both occasions, the big prangs were visible from the pitlane and, needless to say, his shares plummeted.

However, Ferrari kept the faith and this year Giovinazzi is a full-time F1 driver alongside Kimi Raikkonen.

The former Sauber team have produced a handy car for their drivers, with Raikkonen in the thick of the midfield battle with 12 points to his credit after three rounds. On the other hand, Giovinazzi has a zero to his name at this stage.

With regards to his rookie driver, Alfa Romeo boss Frederic Vasseur explained to Motorlat, “It’s frustrating for everyone because Antonio showed from the beginning that he has the talent. He was very fast in Melbourne Q1, faster than Kimi or more or less the same.”

“In Bahrain, the pace was there, but in qualifying he made a small mistake at the end of the lap, but he was also a little faster than Kimi. He’s just struggling to put everything together. It’s a shame but I think he will recover.”

“If we look at last year, the start of the season was also difficult for our drivers, but we gave them a lot of support and they were able to improve during the season. We have to do the same with Antonio.”

Indeed Charles Leclerc, one of Giovinazzi’s Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA) colleagues, also scored no points in his first three races of last season but then stunned the F1 world with a superb sixth place in Baku.

In retrospect, that performance is what kickstarted his path to a drive with the Scuderia.

Vasseur also pointed to the benefits of teaming up the rookie with experienced veteran Raikkonen, “We have the advantage of having Kimi as a leader who not only provides a benchmark pace but also provides insight on the way to manage a race weekend.”

“For Antonio, the talent is there, so it will be useful. It is also important for us and important for Antonio’s mind but I am convinced he will do it.”

Had Giovinazzi not made such a hash of his second F1 race in China, he might well have been Sebastian Vettel’s teammate today, instead it is 21-year-old Leclerc who landed the most coveted seat in sport.

Asked to compare the two drivers entrusted to him by Ferrari, Vasseur said, “It’s too early to tell and, you know, that the next step is always the hardest. It’s the same for Charles, going from the back to the best of the rest was one thing and now passing the best of the rest to win races is another story.”

“Antonio can do well and I hope he can put everything together very soon. I have high hopes and it’s not the first time in my life that I am in this situation. I’m not at all worried but I do not want to make any comparison with Charles.”

Vasseur also had a dig at the fickle nature of F1, “I had a question last year during the press conference in Bahrain, after the race, someone asked me if 2018 was probably too early for Charles.”

“Then, after 10 races, it was: OK, he needs to go to Ferrari and he will be the next world champion. One day a man is doing a good job and will be world champion, then he makes a mistake and it’s: he will never make it!”

“I have more than full confidence in Antonio, he showed that he was able to do the job under pressure in [GP2] and also able to do the job under pressure during Q1 in Melbourne.”

“He has very good reviews and is working very well in the team, even in difficult times. For example, the [qualifying] mistake was 200% our fault and nothing to do with Antonio. But that’s life,” added Vasseur.

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BERGER: SOON YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TWO CAMPS AT FERRARI

Ferrari’s use of team orders in Australia and China has some prominent pundits questioning why team chief Mattia Binotto insists on keeping Sebastian Vettel as their number one at the expense of promising newcomer Charles Leclerc.

The Italian team compromised his the 21-year-old’s debut race with them, in Melbourne, when they ordered him to hold position behind Vettel when at that point the youngster’s was clearly faster.

During the race in China, it got worse for Leclerc when he was instructed to move aside for the #5 car when they were both running at the same pace. He obliged, but Vettel was unable to pull away and make a dent on the Mercedes dominance at the front.

Then, later in the same race, they opted to sacrifice Leclerc again, keeping him out far too long on ageing tyres, so that he could aid Vettel with his slipstream and thus keep him out of reach of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in fourth.

As a result, Vettel finished the race in third with Leclerc having to settle for fifth on a day when a podium appeared to have his name on it.

Reflecting on the weekend in Shanghai, former Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger told F1i, “I think it’s an open game at the moment. As much as I like Sebastian, and as much as I rate him, here’s a boy who is capable of winning the world championship.”

“I don’t think it’s enough to say: This one is experienced, this one is not experienced, so we take the card of experience. I think they got it wrong.  Saying this, you always have to discuss this point in a different way – it depends where you are in the season.”

“Last year, when we were in Monza, when [Maurizio] Arrivabene said we let everything run open when the championship was already going into the final stage, it was clear that if somebody has a chance it’s not [Kimi] Raikkonen, it’s Sebastian.”

“So there I would react the other way. It’s a question of when it is and is it really giving somebody not even a chance to win the championship? And if you do it in the first or second race, I don’t agree.”

Berger is concerned that the rivalry between the two drivers could split loyalties within a team which is already a political hotbed, “In the last race, [Vettel] brought himself a little bit into this situation because it was up to him to ask.”

“If you’re not sure you can pull away, in this situation it was maybe not the best thing to do. Because soon you’re going to have two camps.”

“No question, Sebastian has a difficult role at the moment, having the young boy at his neck, having to deliver a championship for Ferrari, and to win the championship means beating Lewis. That’s maybe the biggest headache!”

As for Leclerc, the Austrian said, “He is an outstanding boy, as much as we talked two or three years ago about [Max] Verstappen. He has a different style. And the other guy who impressed me in the first two or three races when I didn’t expect him to be that strong was [Lando] Norris, another one.”

“It’s great to see some young ones coming up,” added Berger, winner of ten Grand Prix races during his 13 years in the top flight.

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SAINZ: IT HASN’T BEEN A GREAT FIRST THREE RACES

Carlos Sainz will be revealing insight into his life as a McLaren driver this season with a personal column published by the official Formula 1 website which launched with the first edition this week. 

After his three races in orange, it is fair to say that on-track performances have been disappointing, with a slew of bad luck not helping his cause, however, zero points on the scorecard are ample proof that things have yet to gel for the Spaniard.

Sainz reported, “It hasn’t been a great first three races, and it’s definitely frustrating when you know you are comfortable with the car. But the pace of the car is strong and it’s just a matter of time before we start getting points.”

For now, it is two DNFs and 14th place on his McLaren CV.

Looking back on Australia he said: “I felt really good in the car and was confident in qualifying. But I got stuck behind the Williams, who had a puncture, on my final run and that was it – I was knocked out in Q1.”

“Things looked up when I made a great start in the race, but when I was trying to overtake Lance Stroll, the MGU-K failed. Stroll finished ninth – and I think I could have been ahead so that was a few points lost.”

On Bahrain: “Of the three so far, our car was strongest in Bahrain. I had a great lap in qualifying and managed seventh, less than a tenth behind a Red Bull and Haas. It was a great day for the team, as we got both cars into Q3 in what is one of our ‘home’ races.”

“In the race, I got up to sixth and was catching Max Verstappen’s Red Bull. I got a good run into Turn 4 and was well ahead before the braking zone. Then you saw what happened, but I would have never backed off from it.”

“I got the worst of it, he could have got a puncture but escaped unscathed. Nevertheless, a problem in my gearbox meant I had to retire the car, so the end result would have been the same. It was unfortunate but the pace was encouraging.”

On China: “The Shanghai race weekend didn’t quite work out as we hoped. We knew we could struggle because our car in long corners isn’t as strong as in braking and traction. Friday was encouraging but in qualifying, we missed out on Q3 by a few tenths.”

“In the race, you all know what happened. I tried to avoid an accident but there was nothing I could do. Daniil Kvyat just lost his car, pushed me off and he then made contact with Lando.”

On the positive side, things cannot get much worse for Sainz who has big shoes to fill since taking over the seat once occupied by Fernando Alonso, and right now the protege still has a long way to go.

As for his new sideline as a scribe, Sainz said, “I wanted to do something to give fans an insight into life as a Formula 1 driver and to get to know me better. So I’m looking forward to taking you on the road with me during my first season with McLaren.”

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KUBICA: I CAN’T DO THINGS GEORGE IS DOING, SO IT’S VERY STRANGE

Of course, there is an argument that a seat in Formula 1 is the holy grail of our sport, with this in mind Robert Kubica conjured one of the most remarkable comebacks in sport as he found the budget and gap to return with Williams.

The popular Polish driver knew what he had signed up for when he inked the deal with PKN Orlen’s $15-million ‘ticket’ for a seat with the once all-conquering race team which is now a shadow of its former self.

Is trundling around wrestling a fragile heap of design nonsense, three or more seconds off the pace really worth what he has been through to get to F1? They are so out of contention that they might as well not be there.

Coupled to all this is the fact that the team have no solution to resolve their crisis, and as a result there has been scant progress and his comeback dream is starting to take a macabre turn.

In an interview with the official F1 website, Kubica spoke of dilemma, “For whatever reason, since I drove the new generation cars I had to work on my single-lap pace, but on the long runs I was always very good. Since I drove this car – my first long run was in Australia – but the pace is nowhere and the feeling is much worse than I ever had on long runs. I have no grip.”

“I managed to do something in qualifying because the grip delivered by the tyres is much higher, but I cannot do the things that the guys in front are doing, or even George, so it’s very strange. I really tried everything but when you have no grip, there’s no magic in the sport.”

“I have no race pace against my teammate. And when you see exiting corners you are wheel-spinning and losing the car and he’s pulling away… I’m not saying it’s the car, but there’s something we have to understand.”

“I have very poor traction and actually, after the debrief, George said the traction was not so bad. It’s not only the car. There are different factors, but that’s how it is,” explained Kubica.

In other words, the Pole is saying that his piece of kit is not quite the same as what teammate George Russell has at his disposal and it would be hard to disprove him until they swap cars.

And, indeed, if Williams are struggling to put one chassis out on track, maybe the second one is a patch-up job. We also know from Kubica that even spares are scarce.

Nevertheless, he knew at the time of signature that Williams had a very bad car in 2018, but like most in the paddock, he probably did not expect that Paddy Lowe’s second effort would produce arguably the worst F1 car in recent history.

It was a gamble that has backfired at a grand cost.

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WILLIAMS TO BECOME FORZA RUSSIA F1 TEAM ?

Although talk of a Russian Formula 1 team is not new, now reports suggest that Russian billionaire Dmitry Mazepin is looking to buy Williams and thus ensuring his son Nikita has a seat on the grid at some point in the near future.

Clearly borrowing from Lawrence Stroll’s “How To Get Your Son Into F1 With Lots Of Money” manual, Mazepin senior has already lined up a series of private tests for his 19-year-old son using a two-year-old Mercedes chassis during the course of this season.

Last year, deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak told Tass news agency that a Russian F1 team was being considered with approval from the highest echelons of government, “I know there are many lovers of motorsports in Russia and also wealthy businessmen who are ready to invest in the creation of a Russian F1 team. The result of our meeting with auto-makers should be the creation of a Russian F1 car.”

Fast forward to the present and it appears Mazepin is considering Willaims as an option to launch what could well become ‘Forza Russia’ in the top flight and sooner rather than later.

Tass confirmed this week: “The main shareholder of the company Uralkali, Dmitry Mazepin, is negotiating the purchase of the Williams F1 team.”

Worth noting that Mazepin was beaten by the Stroll-led consortium for the ownership of Force India, which now is Racing Point. The Russiam entrepreneur was unhappy with the process and aggrieved by losing out to the Canadian billionaire.

These days Williams is in a perilous state, suffering the results of gross mismanagement over the years which has culminated in where they are today: well and truly anchored to the bottom of the pecking order with little if any light at the end of the tunnel.

As much as the spin doctors try they cannot hide the fact that the once illustrious, and dominant team, is in crisis not only because of a massively underperforming package but also because they are financially strapped while Paddy Lowe’s cowardly departure has left the place in a shambles.

Sir Patrick Head has been summoned out of retirement to steady the ship and, to be frank, that’s all he will be able to do in the short term.

For the long-term, it is clear that the current leadership of the sport’s third most successful constructor are out of their depth and best removed before they further sink the ship.

Furthermore, by all accounts, the financial situation at Williams is precarious thus an injection of Russian roubles will be most welcome and needed to get them out of the deep hole they are in currently.

Williams is one of the last of the legendary ‘Garagistes’ teams that were once the backbone of the sport when it boomed in the eighties and nineties.

Over the years Tyrrell has morphed into BAR, Honda, Brawn and Mercedes; Stewart Grand Prix spawned Jaguar which is now Red Bull; Minardi became Toro Rosso; Benetton is now Renault; Jordan has had several transformations over the past three decades and right now it is known as Racing Point.

The sport needs Williams to survive, thrive and win again – for that to happen Mazepin senior (and his money) might just be what the Grove-based organisation needs to turn the corner.

Meanwhile, young Nikita is marking time to step up to the top flight in the best way possible thanks to Daddy’s billions which appear to be the way to get into F1 these days when all else fails, namely buy a team!

So no surprise if and when “Команда Сила России Ф1” aka “Forza Russia F1 Team” is born.

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Malaysian prime minister wants Formula 1 back at Sepang

The Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said he wishes to see Formula 1 return to the Sepang International Circuit in the very near future, possibly as early as 2021.

The Malaysian Grand Prix had been a fixture of the F1 calendar since 1999 until it was dropped in 2017 over spiralling costs and a change of government.

Dr Mahathir was Prime Minister when the race joined the calendar and was recently voted back into power last year. Speaking at the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce’s annual general meeting last week, he expressed a desire to see F1 back in the country soon.

“We believe that the interest in the Grand Prix is still very big, and we want to bring the race back here," he said.

He added that the Sepang circuit is "still very busy" with MotoGP and endurance racing and that attracting more spectators to F1 is possible.

"We think that by having the Grand Prix [again], we will be able to get more than 100,000 spectators and that will be worthwhile for us.

"Besides that, when we have the Grand Prix, the television stations broadcast this all over the world, bringing about 200 million viewers."

It reflects comments by Sepang Circuit boss Razlan Razali, although he believes a later return would be more likely.

"We would like to live life without F1 for at least five years from our last race in 2017," he said.

"We just have to wait and see how F1 evolves and develops in the next couple of years."

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Haas fears more tyre struggles in Azerbaijan

Haas boss Guenther Steiner fears the team could be set for another difficult display at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix amid ongoing struggles with tyres.

Haas performed strongly pre-season and delivered on its potential as Formula 1’s standout midfield in Australia, with Kevin Magnussen finishing sixth, a position he also obtained during qualifying in Bahrain.

But Haas has lacked race pace in both Bahrain and China as Q3 appearances went to waste, with both Magnussen and Romain Grosjean slipping outside of the points.

Haas believes its recent difficulties in race trim are down to how the VF-19 uses its tyres and Steiner expressed hope that recent lessons will bear fruit – else it could struggle once more.

“Baku will be another difficult event for us because of the long straight and the slow, low-energy corners,” said Steiner.

“Hopefully some of our solutions will work, which we’ve been working on since the test in Bahrain – to get the tyres into the window. Otherwise, Baku could be another difficult circuit for us.” 

“We understand [what the problem is], we just couldn’t find solutions in time for the upcoming events, because you need to develop those solutions and parts.

“Hopefully we’ll get on top of that one, sort the problem, and be as competitive in the race as we are in qualifying.”

Haas has previously had inconsistent performances in Formula 1, which have been pinned on tyre usage, and Steiner added: “I couldn’t say that it’s more difficult than last year because the car is different – we’ve developed a completely new car.

“We just know that we cannot get the tyres to work in the race. How big the window is, and to keep in it, is difficult to define. We definitely don’t get it in the window, so I wouldn’t know what it takes to keep it in the window.”

Haas has scored points in Azerbaijan once during the three-year history of both the team and the grand prix, courtesy of Magnussen taking seventh in 2017.

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Sebastian Vettel responds to Bernie Ecclestone's retirement claims

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel has responded to Bernie Ecclestone's suggestion that he might not be a feature of Formula 1 for much longer.

Ecclestone, a good friend of Vettel's, suggested the German might call time on his motorsport career to instead focus on his family. Vettel then fueled the rumours by saying that F1 was more of a show now than a sport and that it's something he dislikes about it.

Vettel, who has a contract through to 2020, responded to Ecclestone's comments and although refused to deny he could call time on his career, insisted he's "on top of my game" at present and still enjoys racing.

"I’m not going to be in Formula 1 as long as he [Ecclestone] was, that’s for sure. But I hope I’m going to be as fit and as sharp as he is today when I’m hopefully that old.

"I don’t know, to be honest. At the moment I feel on top of my game, I feel that I know what I’m doing. I’m very very self-critical, very ambitious and I put a lot of expectation on to myself.

"I love driving, I love the sensation of the speed, I love fighting with these guys so there’s a lot of things that at the moment I really like and I’ll miss so that’s why it’s not an option to quit tomorrow, I’m quite happy racing.

"And then, yeah, I’ve got the contract but that’s just a piece of paper and then we see what happens."

Vettel has yet to win a race in 2019 – or even come close – with Mercedes securing three consecutive 1-2 finishes, whilst team-mate Charles Leclerc almost won in Bahrain before engine trouble denied the youngster.

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Mercedes open to closer Racing Point collaboration once 2021 rules confirmed

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has hinted that his outfit could be open to a closer relationship with Racing Point once more is known about the 2021 Formula 1 rules.

Racing Point – formerly Force India – already uses Mercedes' powertrain and recently signed a deal to begin using the team's windtunnel facilities, moving away from Toyota's tunnel in Cologne, Germany.

Although Racing Point's technical boss Andrew Green said this was purely for "efficiency reasons", it has prompted some talks that the team might be looking to cosy up to Mercedes in a similar fashion to Haas and Ferrari.

Wolff initially denied that to be the case – though insists he sees no problem with such a relationship – but suggested they could become closer post-2020 when F1 will introduce a new raft of rules aimed at reducing budgets and creating a more level playing field.

"First of all, we are not doing a Haas-Ferrari model because Haas was a new entry, a team created from scratch," said Wolff. "These guys have existed for a long time.

"I don’t see what’s so bad in a Haas-Ferrari model actually. We have enabled somebody that was keen to enter Formula 1 in setting up a team, with the cooperation with Ferrari it got out of the blocks really well, and fights solidly in the midfield. I think that’s good for Formula 1.

"Our model is very different. For the reasons stated before, Andy and his team know pretty well what they want to achieve with the car, they have a solid technical group of people and will go in that direction.

"They will be using some of our infrastructure and we will see where that moves for the 2021 regulations.

"Once these are carved out, we will decide which of the areas we want to collaborate and where it is possible, regulatory-wise."

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Russell feels "driving at 98%" might be quicker

George Russell thinks he may be better off driving at 98% rather than his maximum potential to extract more speed out of his Williams Formula 1 car.

Despite impressing in his first three grands prix of the year for the troubled Williams outfit, Russell believes there is scope for him to do an even better job.

And he suggests one way is for him to slightly back off from being on the limit, so he can better ensure that time is not lost dealing with a car that can be unpredictable at times.

"I'm happy in some aspects," he said, reflecting on the job he has done in the first events of 2019. "There's definitely room to improve from my side. Certainly I haven't managed to optimise qualifying in the last two races.

"I think I still need to understand and respect the limitations of the car. Sometimes you would go quicker driving at 98% than at 100%. It's a learning process to understand the car and, unfortunately, we can't just go out and get the maximum from it because we're not 100% sure what the car is going to do from corner to corner."

Russell believes it is the inconsistent handling that is a big factor in holding him and teammate Robert Kubica back for now, but he hopes that updates that are coming for the next few races will help improve this area.

"The upgrades in terms of overall downforce are normal, so it's not like we have something special," he explained. "But we're hoping that it gives us something more driveable.

"I think there's more to gain through having a car that's driveable and consistent through a corner, that will help us gain a lot of lap time.

"At the moment Robert and I have a big issue with how the car is reacting on the entry and mid compared with the exit. It's very different in each stage, which is making it tough to drive."

While Russell accepts that any dramatic change in Williams' fortunes is unlikely in the short term, he thinks there is a chance that the team could find something that unlocks more speed.

"I'm really looking forward to Baku because I had a great weekend there last year in Formula 2, it was probably my strongest race of the year. We should probably have won both races, and anyway I won the second one from P12 on the grid.

"We have some small changes coming and hopefully, if they work as expected, it could be positive - but we're not 100% sure.

"I'm hoping, because we have some very poor characteristics, that if we improve that, the laptime gains will be larger. But at the moment there's nothing really suggesting that will be the case."

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Horner says Red Bull never set wins goal for 2019

Red Bull boss Christian Horner insists his team never laid out a target for the number of wins it wanted to achieve in 2019, despite motorsport advisor Helmut Marko's high ambitions.
On the back of an encouraging pre-season testing programme, Marko made it clear that he wanted the Milton Keynes-based outfit to win more races than it achieved last year.

That meant the team scoring five victories this campaign, with it having taken four in 2018 when it was partnered with Renault.

But with the team needing a step up if it is to be able to take on Mercedes and Ferrari regularly, Horner insists that Marko's vision was not one that the team set itself.

Instead, Horner insists that after years of frustrations with Renault, the outfit simply wanted to mark its first year with Honda in 2019 having made progress.

"Helmut obviously likes to take an optimistic outlook and we are only three races in," said Horner about what the team now hoped to achieve this year. "From a team perspective we have never set any targets in terms of race victories. Our goal is about closing that gap."

Horner is clear that the success of the campaign can only be judged at the very end, because it is pointless trying to lay out specific milestone achievements to judge the job it is doing.

"I think doing that is a waste of time," he said. "My view has always been you look at what is the quickest car and you look at what is the quickest way we can get there, and that varies from race to race.

"It was Ferrari in Bahrain and it was Mercedes in China, and obviously everyone is working as hard as they can to close that gap. To say it is by this race or this race, history dictates it is a fallacy."

One encouragement that Horner is taking from the season though is the way that Max Verstappen has managed to take a decent haul of points in the first three races – including a podium in Melbourne.

Horner thinks keeping up consistency at this stage of the campaign is essential if the team is to capitalise on what it hopes is better form later in the year.

Verstappen is currently third in the drivers' championship, ahead of both Ferraris, and 29 points adrift of leader Lewis Hamilton.

"I think he has been very mature about it," said Horner about Verstappen. "He has driven three strong grands prix so far this year, and was obviously unlucky not to be on the podium in Bahrain.

"We see he had a go at Sebastian [Vettel] in China after the pit stop, and drive a very mature race to bring it home fourth. It is about points accumulation at this stage.

"It is still not that big a gap to the guys ahead, and he is still ahead of both Ferrari drivers in the championship at the moment. There is still a long, long way to go, so it's important you don't give away too much ground at this stage of the year."

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Why Ferrari should be a more competitive force in Azerbaijan than they were in China

Mercedes became the first team in 27 years to begin a Formula 1 season with three consecutive one-two finishes, inflicting another brutal blow to Ferrari’s World Championship aspirations in China. But the next round in Baku should provide the circumstances for the Scuderia to stall that momentum…

Oh how Barcelona testing must seem like such a long time ago for Ferrari. They left the Spanish city buoyed by their strongest pre-season in living memory. Hopes of them delivering a sustained title challenge, and perhaps even leading from the front, were high.

But three races into a 21-event season and they find themselves second in the constructors’ championship, a staggering 57 points – more than two Grand Prix wins – behind Mercedes. How has this happened? As is often the case in F1, it’s a combination of a series of factors, while the Silver Arrows have been near perfect.

In Australia, Ferrari couldn’t run their power units in the way they wanted to. They also suffered horribly with balance issues. The track surface simply didn’t suit their car and they struggled to generate bulk tyre temperature (the key temperature that matters, relating to the part of the tyre which sits between the surface and the core) as the circuit – which is rarely used – cleaned up as the weekend progressed.

Bahrain was better, the team having cured their engine woe to allow them to run the unit at full power – and that hauled them to front of the pecking order in terms of pure power unit performance, as proved by the speed trap data. The track surface also suited them and combined with warmer conditions, generating tyre temperature wasn’t so much of an issue.

Add in the fact the circuit has traditionally been one of Mercedes’ weaker tracks and the stars aligned for Ferrari to dominate – until a short circuit within an injection control unit robbed Charles Leclerc of victory, while an error from Sebastian Vettel ruled him out of contention.

Onwards to China and the Shanghai International Circuit. While it was warmer than usual, the cooler conditions relative to Bahrain combined with a rough track surface, Ferrari fell back again.

It seems that when the track is smooth and dirty, Ferrari can generate tyre temperature – which is what we saw in Barcelona – but when it cleans up, as it did over the weekend in China, they go out of the window.

In contrast, Mercedes appear to be generating much more downforce, which means they are able to generate more bulk tyre temperature (as oppose to surface tyre temperature) as the track cleans up. That means more grip and therefore a faster car, and that’s why they were reasonably comfortably in China.

And they were helped by Ferrari using team orders for third race in succession, this time losing time that while ultimately didn’t cost them victory did highlight a potential weakness that could be exploited going forward.

So why might Baku offer Ferrari hope? Well the Scuderia’s power advantage over the rest of the pack will make even more difference on the Street Circuit given it has two long straights – one of which is 2.1km – that make up around half of the overall track length. The middle sector, the twisty part of the track, will be more challenging so getting the aerodynamic configuration right will still be important.

Baku is a very high efficiency circuit, which should suit the slightly lower drag Ferrari than Mercedes. Data in this area suggests we could see a swing of around three tenths of a second purely in terms of aerodynamics in Ferrari’s favour versus Mercedes.

Encouraging, then, for Ferrari. But will it be enough? The great unknown is the tyres. If they can get the rubber into the right operating window, Vettel and Leclerc should have the edge.

But get it wrong, take their eye off the ball in terms of strategy, or get caught up in issuing team orders, and defeat number four will be staring them in the face. And let's not forget that the last two editions of the race have been pretty dramatic...

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The Azerbaijan Grand Prix

The final flyaway race before the start of the European season is upon us, with a trip to one of the newer venues on the calendar and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Here's why we love going racing at the Baku City Circuit...

1.    The long, long straight that's not a straight

We had a flat-out section of 1.2 kilometres at the last race in China, but that pales into insignificance when it comes to what Baku has to offer. From the moment the drivers get back on the throttle exiting Turn 16 to the time they will hit the brakes for Turn 1 is a whole 2.2 kilometres spent with their right foot pinned to the floor.

It’s not all time that can be used catching their breath though, with the Turn 18 and Turn 19 section seeing the cars changing direction at high speed through the walls at over 300kph, even if the down-force levels make both of those corners easy flat.

Once through there, it’s pretty much a straight line to the end of the lap, with a DRS section for good measure to boost the top speed even more. All of that adds up to a prime overtaking opportunity into Turn 1, which is not always easy to come by on a street circuit.

2. It features the tightest section of track on the calendar

Guiding their cars between the walls towards the end of the lap might not be the most challenging sec-tion of track for the drivers, but there’s a section where it’s like threading the eye of a needle.

The three corners at turns 8, 9 and 10 cut between city buildings on the right and the walls of Baku Old City on the left. But it’s not just any wall, with it protecting what is World Heritage Site as classi-fied by UNESCO.

That’s a unique enough aspect to have in isolation, but the desire to have the track wrapping around the Old City meant it had to cut through an extremely small gap before widening to a more recognisa-ble width for a race track.

At its tightest point, this section of track is just 7.6 metres wide. Seeing as an F1 car is currently around two metres wide, and these are corners, it’s clear that the utmost precision is required from a driver through this section. We’ve already seen it catch drivers out in practice, while the Formula 2 race in 2017 featured a pile-up at this corner, with no space for cars to pass once one has hit the wall.

Unique and challenging – what’s not to love?

3. It gets the engineers scratching their heads

So we’ve covered a massive flat-out section and a really tight sequence of corners, which both require very different things from a car. Add in some 90-degree corners requiring good traction early in the lap, and higher-speed turns in the later part before it becomes flat-out, and the Baku City Circuit has a little bit of everything.

At over 6km long and with 20 corners, the track is a good all-round test of a car, and that means there is a tricky trade-off for engineers to have to work out. Do you go for a low downforce set-up, focus-ing on high top speed and making the most of Turn 16 to Turn 1 but losing out in the other corners? Or do you increase the wing angle and make up time in the numerous turns but potentially be a sitting duck on the straights?

Such wide-ranging demands from the circuit mean no car is perfectly suited to the track, opening up the possibility for some of the midfield teams to be closer to the frontrunners. And for fans of unpredictability, that's always something to celebrate, speaking of which...

4. Races are impossible to predict

The three races to-date in Baku have all seen at least one surprise on the podium. Force India (now Racing Point) will have fond memories of Baku, with Sergio Perez finishing third in both 2016 and 2018, while it was Perez’s new team mate Lance Stroll who took the only podium of his career to date with third place for Williams in 2017.

The focus on the circuit layout highlights what a challenge Baku is, and it was unpredictable even in its debut year on the calendar. Everyone expected a chaotic race, and dramatic F2 races only added to that feeling, but most drivers took it easy expecting other incidents to bring the race their way and a pretty processional grand prix was the result.

With that opening offering in mind, expectations were tempered slightly in 2017 but the second visit to Baku delivered the race of the season as there was controversy, incidents, accidents and a surprise winner (as well as Stroll’s podium).

Last year did an excellent job of following all that drama, with more collisions - including between team mates down at Red Bull - excellent recovery drives, embarrassing errors and heartbreak for Valtteri Bottas as he saw victory snatched away from him by a puncture in the closing laps.

It’s also a race that keeps Safety Car driver Bernd Maylander on his toes, after multiple appearances in each of the last two years.

5. It’s a fascinating city

Making its debut on the Formula 1 calendar in 2016, Azerbaijan is the most recent country to host a world championship Grand Prix for the first time. And in Baku it has a stunning city venue.

The track is located right in the heart of the city, passing both modern developments and iconic build-ings. The paddock itself is located right in front of the breathtaking Government House of Baku, which the first two corners essentially loop around. Then the circuit makes its way to the Old City be-fore dropping back down to the seafront - Azerbaijan’s capital city sits on the Caspian Sea.

The walled Old City full of traditional shops and local restaurants as well as some hotels, while on the other side of the circuit a modern pedestrianised shopping area provides a more western flavour. The city skyline is dominated by the imposing Flame Towers that light up at night, while the city is also home to the architecturally impressive Heydar Aliyev Centre.

There’s a clear influence from Europe within the city, including a cafe culture and street signage that hint at why Baku is one of many cities that have been described as the ‘Paris of the East’.

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Rookie watch: How the class of 2019 are adapting to the challenges of F1

The top three drivers from the 2018 Formula 2 championship all made the step up to Formula 1 this year – and it’s the most complex and demanding move of their racing lives.

Every generation views promotion to a Formula 1 race seat in a different way. In a previous era, the leap from F3 to F3000 was viewed as more demanding than that from F3000 to F1, given the relative power, grip and size of the cars involved. In purely physical terms, many current F1 drivers would sympathise: those that have driven in GP2 will talk about the strength required to manoeuvre a car on which power steering was notably absent. It took more brute force to control – though F1, through higher cornering speeds and greater stopping power, placed a different set of strains upon the body.

It is not, however, the physical demands of driving in F1 that makes the promotion so daunting for the current crop. For George Russell, Lando Norris and Alexander Albon, racing in F2 is excellent preparation for driving an F1 car. What it doesn’t – indeed cannot – do, is prepare them to race one.

Williams’ new recruit Russell sums it up very well: “Think of it like this: at Williams, there are 750 people I’m working with. At the race track, there might be 60 or 70. Compare that to an F2 weekend where I would be working with an engineer and two mechanics. Everything is very different.”

The relative size of the teams reflects the nature of the task. While F2 has been built to encourage drivers to think about set-up, the choices on offer in that series are limited in scope. F1 is very different: there is a vast amount of performance to be released through set-up. A full garage crew and ranks of engineers, trackside and back at the factory, are there to unlock pace – but the fine tuning process is ultimately led by the driver.

From the steering wheel, they have control over a vast range of variables and it is their feedback that will ultimately determine where engineers concentrate their efforts. That’s a heavy burden for a driver who, until a few months ago, would have been mostly concerned with strapping in and going fast.

“In F2, I probably looked at the data twice over the course of the whole weekend,” confirms Russell. “It was very much a case of: get in, drive it, make the most of it. The track time is really limited and, for all your preparation, the car may react completely differently to what you were expecting, so the goal is to make the most of what you’ve got right in that moment. F1 is much more complex: you have three practice sessions and a lot of track time, so naturally it’s more about fine-tuning.

“There’s more work to be done in analysing the data; in understanding what you want to focus on to improve the car. There are so many tools to make it go quicker: you have to deal with differential settings, torque settings, brake migration, and shaping those maps to optimise it fully.”

A Mercedes junior driver, Russell at least had prior experience of working with the intricacies of an F1 steering wheel, having tested for both Force India and Mercedes. He also spent much of his youth locked in a darkened simulator. Understanding the systems, however, is only half the battle. The rest is conveying those experiences to the team. With that in mind, one of Russell’s first acts upon signing for Williams was to free himself from his Mercedes obligations, so that he could concentrate on building the new relationships he needs to get the most out of this year.

That isn’t a problem faced by McLaren’s Lando Norris. Having graduated through the ranks in Woking, the F2 runner-up has participated in every McLaren test since the summer of 2017. Perhaps of greater significance, he also did seven of the nine FP1 sessions in the second half of last season.

When standing in for Fernando Alonso, as he did in Belgium, Russia, Mexico and Brazil, Norris worked with the race and performance engineers that form the core of his team in 2019. ‘Embedded’ is the phrase he uses to describe his relationship with the race team– though even with this level of familiarity, the 19-year-old felt a need to broaden his circle of contacts within the wider organisation.

“I did work experience!” he says. “I knew everyone within the [race] team: the engineers; the mechanics; the garage technicians – but after the announcement, I got to know a lot more people behind the scenes, because you integrate a lot more when you’re a race driver rather than just a test driver.

“I got to work in the various departments tasked with building the car at the McLaren Technology Centre: making parts in the carbon shop, trim shop, composites,” he says. “I got to meet the night shift crews and eventually the engineers who work upstairs in the offices – essentially all the departments you don’t usually get to see.”

Alex Albon sits at the other end of the familiarity scale to Norris. Having seemingly been destined for a switch to Formula E, a strong finish to the 2018 season instead saw him recruited by Toro Rosso. Unusually for this era, he had never driven an F1 car until his first run in this year’s car. Unsurprisingly, his focus was less on bonding with his team mates and more on learning what he needed to do behind the wheel.

“It has so much grip, so much traction, that you are required to drive in a different way,” he says. “You have to abuse the forces, especially braking and acceleration because there’s a lot of potential lap time there. There are pockets of time in places you just wouldn’t consider looking. Being even one metre closer to full throttle equates to a lot of lap time, whereas in a junior formula, that’s really not the case.”

As the ‘rookiest of rookies’, Albon is perhaps in the right team. More than any other outfit, Toro Rosso has experience of bringing the inexperienced up to speed. Race engineer Pierre Hamelin, who previously worked with Daniil Kvyat and Brendon Hartley in their debut seasons, points out that Toro Rosso is built around this type of challenge. “I think we can do more than other teams in this area because we’re geared up for it. It’s what the team was built to do. We’re used to having young drivers and new drivers. How we work, how we prepare for an event, even the documentation we have and the tools we use, are made to help a driver get up to speed.”

Thus, Albon’s winter was carefully structured, using the months of downtime to hit the books – starting with Toro Rosso’s steering wheel manual. “We don’t give them too many options – because if we start giving them options, they’ll have to take them and change everything,” says Hamelin. “We tend to tell them: ‘This is what you’ll have’.” Albon also spent time working through the sporting regulations and finally getting on to race procedures, all while going through an intensive simulator programme.

“Over the winter he had a bit more time to think about it,” says Hamelin. “There are many small things that can make a difference. It’s a difficult part of the process, which is why we give it to him [in the winter] when he has time to study.”

Despite being inundated with manuals, list of sporting regulations to memorise and switch positions to learn by rote, it was, however, something very different that made the biggest impression on Albon. “Of course it was the speed of the car,” says Hamelin. “Even coming from F2, he was extremely impressed by that. His feedback after the first run was ‘Whoa! This is really fast!‘”

There are still, it transpires, some experiences for which no amount of preparation can prepare a rookie driver.

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RED BULL: NO MARGIN FOR ERROR ON THE STREETS OF BAKU

If someone could invent an algorithm that set out the ground rules for a successful grand prix, they’d likely be set for life. It’s rare for F1 to arrive at a new venue with a solid idea of what the future holds.

It does happen – Singapore and Mokpo spring to mind, though for different reasons – but at most venues the jury is out, and stays out for a few years.

Baku wasn’t granted a particularly easy introduction but, after three races, it’s achieved that golden status as race fans look forward to watching. It’s a pretty good one to work at too.

The reasons for a race to misfire are complex but the success stories tend to be more straightforward: Baku is a successful venue because it produces interesting, often dramatic, races. It features high speeds, low grip and big walls. There’s an expectation of Safety Cars, plenty of overtaking opportunities and – for an April race – a good chance of the wind playing havoc with setup.

Baku is known as ‘The City of Winds’, with a cold northern wind (Khazri) and a warm southern wind (Gilavar) fighting for dominance. In F1’s first two visits, in June of 2016 and 2017, that wasn’t hugely significant (though the aerodynamicists may argue otherwise) but last year, with the race being held in April for the first time, and the city being in the eye of a gale, it suddenly made a lot more sense.

It seems bizarre that a sport as high-tech as F1 can be derailed by a stiff breeze, but on that truly vast start-finish straight, the difference between braking down from 370kph for Turn One into the teeth of a 40kph gust, or a moment of calm, is the difference between making the corner or not.

The first corner is quite possibly the only one the race team will see all weekend, given that our hotel is right next to it. No shuttles required in Baku: it’s a walk of no more than a couple of minutes from garage to lodgings. We’re not particularly alone in that regard: like Singapore, the Baku City Circuit is a street race in the truest sense, with the circuit threaded through the heart of the city.

It’s already turning into a race very popular with tourists, simply because everything is tightly contained, everyone is staying within a stone’s throw of the track, and that creates a really good race vibe.

The first race (The 2016 European Grand Prix – the reasons for naming it thus are too murky to recount) was pretty good, but the last two have blown the doors off. 2017 – the debut Azerbaijan Grand Prix in name if not in fact – was won by ourselves, thanks to a superb drive from Daniel Ricciardo that saw him pitting early with radiators full of debris, coming out at the back of the field and then scything his way through the pack to win in relative comfort.

Last year we had high hopes of a repeat, and when that didn’t happen, high hopes of a podium – but then Max and Daniel contrived to crash into each other. Their battle up until that point was pretty exciting and probably highly entertaining for the neutral. It was just as exciting in the garage – though for different reasons. This year we’re excited to find out what the RB15 has to offer.

Max Verstappen: “Baku is quite an interesting race because on a street circuit, you usually want to run a lot of downforce. Because of the long straights between the corners in Baku, you have to find a bit of a compromise so that means you have quite low grip on the track and you slide around a bit.”

“It’s a lot of fun to drive and especially the castle area, it’s very narrow but also it’s really cool for pictures to look back at. It’s a decent track for overtaking because of the long straight and especially with the DRS zone, so it’s always an exciting weekend and a lot of things can happen. It’s a big show and hopefully this year’s race will make for a good story.”

Pierre Gasly: “I’m always excited for a race weekend and I’m looking forward to this fourth one of the season as we head back to Europe. I’m really excited because Baku is a street track which is always more challenging as there’s a lot less margin for error, and this gives you more adrenaline which is a positive for us racing drivers.”

“The track is really cool and quite technical from one corner to another. It has the longest straight of the season with a lot of opportunities to overtake, which makes the racing super exciting on Sunday.”

“When I raced in Formula 2, I started the race in Baku from last and had a good fight with Giovinazzi in the last couple of laps to finish P2. Things are progressively going in a better direction and it was good to get the fastest lap in China, so let’s see what we can do next weekend.”

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RENAULT: WE NEED TO RESOLVE ISSUES THAT COULD COMPROMISE OUR SEASON

Renault F1 Team previews the fourth race weekend of the 2019 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the SOCAR Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo share their thoughts on the challenges of the Baku City Circuit, while Cyril Abiteboul and Chassis Technical Director Nick Chester give the latest on the team and on the 2019 package.

Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal: “If our objective this season – to widen the midfield gap – remains unchanged then we must accept to put in strong efforts to resolve these issues that could compromise our season.”

“Nevertheless, we will push on and bring new elements over the next races. Baku is often unpredictable, the racing there is thrilling and it is an opportunity to capitalise on rivals’ errors whilst avoiding making some ourselves.”

Nick Chester, Chassis Technical Director: “Baku has a nice layout, which makes it very interesting. It’s almost three circuits put together. The first section is like Sochi with right-angled corners and some straights, then the middle section is similar to Monaco and the final part like Canada with a long straight.”

“It’s a tricky combination to get right as, ideally, you’d run a different downforce level for each sector. There’s always a compromise for downforce levels there.”

Nico Hülkenberg: “Baku is an interesting place and has a different feeling to the conventional Grand Prix weekend. It’s also a bit different to any street track because everything is located quite close together, including the distance between the hotel to the paddock.”

“The old town buildings, vintage houses, castles and cobbled streets are all quite cool to see. The race is also interesting year on year; I’ve been a little unlucky for the past two seasons there, but you have to be in the right place at the right time to capitalise on any opportunity.”

Daniel Ricciardo: “Baku is a unique circuit, different to other street circuits we race on, because there are a lot of places to overtake. Baku has been interesting for me; I’ve had high points, like the crazy win in 2017, and also some low points like last season.”

“2017 was a wild race, it was like we were karting and all of us were kids again. There are some things in Baku, which future circuits could replicate. The long, winding straight lends itself to massive slip-streaming and close racing. It’s a low downforce setting on the car, making it a low grip circuit.”

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PROST: RENAULT WILL HAVE ONE OF THE BEST ENGINES IN F1

Multiple Formula 1 World Champion Alain Prost is convinced that Renault will get their act together and will soon have the best engine in the top flight despite the fact that, right now, they are simply way off the pace benchmark.

The Renault powered brigade are hardly setting the world alight, the quartet of drivers toiling in cars what are anything between one and 1..5 seconds off Ferrari and Mercedes, while their reliability has been a huge disappointment, even shocking considering the expectations put out there by the team.

Prost explained in an interview with Marca, “We know we’re very close to the engine limits right now. Sometimes reliability issues are unavoidable. It’s part of the game and we must accept it,

“Renault will have one of the best engines in Formula One. We are not divulging now, but we have the data and we will tackle improvements step-by-step,” he added, but wisely omitting a timeline to this PU Valhalla.

Nevertheless, Prost as a Renault ambassador with considerable influence is providing timely support for Renault team chief Cyril Abiteboul who needs to start delivering at some point before the board starts asking questions if they have not already…

Three of the four Renault powered drivers have scored points, the trio combined to reach 20 points so far this season, compared to Mercedes 0n 130 points after three rounds.

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BERGER: HAMILTON IS AT THE LEVEL OF SENNA

Gerhard Berger has always rated former teammate Ayrton Senna in a league of his own but he says Lewis Hamilton now ranks alongside the late Brazilian Formula 1 champion in his estimation.

Speaking ahead of the 25th anniversary of Senna’s death at Imola on May 1, Berger told reporters his friend still led as a personality and the legend that surrounds him. In purely sporting terms, however, the similarities were clear.

“Everybody asks me ‘How do you see this driver against Ayrton?’ and I always, in all the years, say ‘I don’t see anybody near to Ayrton’,” explained the Austrian, who partnered Senna at McLaren from 1990-92.

“But Lewis is (now) the first driver I put on the same level as Ayrton.”

Berger, who won 10 races for Benetton, McLaren and Ferrari between 1986 and 1997 and now runs the DTM (German Touring Car) series, said statistics were only one way of measuring greatness.

“I go more by feeling and watching, and for me — and there were great champions like Nelson (Piquet), like Niki (Lauda), like (Alain) Prost, like Michael (Schumacher) – there has always been one above: Ayrton,” he said.

“And now Lewis I see in the same league.

Hamilton has five championships, one with McLaren in 2008 and four with Mercedes in the last five seasons. He is leading the championship into this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The 34-year-old Briton holds several records, including most pole positions (84), and his 75 wins are second only to seven times champion Schumacher’s career haul of 91.

Senna won three championships with McLaren and held the record for poles (65) before Hamilton. The Brazilian won 41 races and would surely have gone on to many more had he not died at the age of 34.

“The comparison? I see still Ayrton winning the game because in the end Ayrton was such a charming guy and a personality. And obviously if someone loses his life and stays with us in the way of a legend, it’s always something special,” said Berger.

“But I try to see it from a performance point and from a performance point, Lewis is going from one pole position to the next one and Lewis is going from one race win to the next one. Just like Ayrton did.”

Berger said Hamilton was “outstandingly fast”, made fewer mistakes than rivals and knew when to be patient.

“It looks like he’s just running the game in such a good way that he’s unbeatable at the moment,” said the Austrian. “Yes he’s in the best car and best engine, but he also is the best. By far the best man at the moment.”

He said Hamilton had a good chance of breaking Schumacher’s records.

“I would like to protect Michael’s success because such a tragedy, it’s so sad to see these things,” Berger added, referring to the 2013 ski accident that left the German with severe head injuries.

“But when you put this all out (aside) for a moment, then Lewis Hamilton is a very special driver in all the time I watched and have been in Formula One.”

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Azerbaijan GP an important moment for Ferrari - Mattia Binotto

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix marks an “important moment” for Ferrari as it prepares to bring its first updates of 2019, according to team boss Mattia Binotto.

Ferrari has yet to win a race this season after failing to match Mercedes in Australia and China, while a strong display in Bahrain went unrewarded in the wake of Sebastian Vettel’s spin and the engine issue that afflicted Charles Leclerc’s car.

It has left both Vettel and Leclerc over 30 points behind Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers’ championship while Ferrari already trails Mercedes by 57 points in the Constructors’ battle.

Azerbaijan’s Baku City Circuit is one of only three venues on the current calendar – Sochi and Yas Marina are the others – where Ferrari has yet to win, a statistic it is keen to address this weekend.

“Coming off the back of three races that definitely didn’t go the way we wanted, this GP is another important moment for us,” said Binotto.

“We have prepared for it very well, analysing all the data we have acquired up until now, looking at areas where we can improve and working on adapting the car’s set-up and the power unit management to the characteristics of the track. 

“In fact, Baku features a very long straight, which places special demands on the engine, both the internal combustion part as well as the hybrid elements. 

“The track surface is very smooth, which means tyre wear is generally low, but as the tyres therefore generate less energy, it can be difficult to get them in the right working temperature range. 

“We know from past experience that there’s a high probability of the Safety Car appearing on track in Baku and therefore it’s an important aspect to consider when looking at the race strategy. 

“We are bringing a few updates to Baku, as the first step in the development of the SF90.”

Leclerc dominated the 2017 Formula 2 weekend and claimed his best 2018 result, sixth, at Baku.

“Azerbaijan is one of my favourite tracks of the season, I simply love it and I’ve always performed very well there,” he said.

“I always enjoy driving on it, especially the castle part with all those tight corners. It’s a unique track, you cannot find anything like it anywhere else in the world, so it’s pretty special.

“The rule is quite simple: never lose focus during the race otherwise at the first mistake you’re in the wall. Baku is a demanding track, but I can’t wait.”

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Sainz says "fired up" Seidl "impatient" to start work

Carlos Sainz says McLaren's incoming managing director Andreas Seidl has made a "very good" first impression and is "impatient" to start working at the Formula 1 team.

McLaren has recruited the ex-Porsche LMP1 head to complete the management overhaul it hopes will lead it to the front of the F1 grid again.

Seidl will start working for McLaren on May 1 and Sainz said was left enthused by a first meeting with him last month in Bahrain, where Seidl attended the grand prix as a guest.

"I met him at the grand prix," said Sainz. "We had our first chance to say hello and have our first conversation. I was happy to meet him and I could see he was impatient to join the team, which is something I like.

"I like seeing people fired up and ready to roll so it was good fun having our first conversation. He gave me a very good impression in general. He was very switched on and he was very willing to join the team as soon as possible. He's switched on and ready to go."

Seidl's start at McLaren will follow the arrival of technical director James Key, who has finally joined the team from Toro Rosso.

Sainz worked with Key at the Red Bull junior team, and spent "quite a lot of time with him" during Key's first working weekend in Bahrain.

"And I was in the factory with him on Monday [afterwards]," he said. "[On Thursday in China] I got to spend some time with him.

"I think little by little he is just getting to know more and more of the team and we just need to give him time and he will keep that experience going. I'm very excited. I have a good relationship with James from our Toro Rosso days.

"During lunch we were playing back some memories together and it's always fun to have an old colleague come around again in a different phase of your career."