FORMULA 1

[MIKA27]

Lewis Hamilton wants to be 'pioneer' with Mercedes in new F1 era

Lewis Hamilton has dropped the firmest hint yet that he will stay in Formula 1, and commit to Mercedes, when the new regulations are introduced in 2021.

Hamilton has been with Mercedes since 2013, during which spell he has claimed 62 wins and four titles, and is poised to add a fifth – and sixth overall – at this weekend’s US Grand Prix.

His current contract with Mercedes runs until the end of 2020, when he will be a few days shy of his 36th birthday.

On Thursday Formula 1 chiefs presented the new sporting, technical and financial regulations that will be implemented from the start of 2021.

“I mean I always love a challenge,” said Hamilton. “This team has shown that they are better prepared and in the best position to be able to react to rule changes, so I know the team is approaching the challenge in an exciting way.

“I think as drivers I think there were certain things we’ve heard, not necessarily all the decisions taken where what we thought was best for example the cars are heavier and will get slower.

“But I think it’s going to be an interesting time. I’m planning to be here so naturally at some point next year my mindset will be to switch into 2021 and wanting to be the pioneer in that era.”

When pressed on his own future, Hamilton said: “Nothing is set in stone for the future but I’m definitely enjoying what I’m doing.

“I don’t see any reason to stop as I love what I do.

“When there is a challenge, a whole new massive change in the regulations, that’s a huge change for me as a driver to help use the skills I’ve learned over the years to help navigate and steer the team in the right direction and going back to having those consistent seasons and punching out performances.

“The thing I’m most proud of is my consistency, it’s ultimately tallying up the team points through the year.

“I don’t see myself going anywhere else. I love being here at Mercedes, I love being part of the brand, I love being part of the history.

“I’ve been with Mercedes since I was 13, so the idea of continuing on with them even beyond Formula 1, probably heavily involved with [parent company] Daimler, is quite attractive or me. So let’s see how that works.”

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Teams will face serious consequences for cost cap breach - Ross Brawn

Formula 1 chief Ross Brawn has warned that the new-for-2021 financial regulations “have teeth” and that teams will face “serious consequences” if they transgress.

For the first time in the sport’s history a financial set of regulations have joined the respective sporting and technical rules, and will be introduced from 2021.

The cap has been set at $175m though does not include some aspects including driver salary – and associated costs – the marketing division, and heritage elements.

The FIA’s entry fee, Super License charges, and the salary of the three-highest paid employees will also be excluded from the cap.

“Financial regulations are the big change, a dramatic change in Formula 1,” said Brawn.

“We’ve tried for these in the past, and we’ve not been successful. I think the crucial thing about the financial regulations now is that they’re part of the FIA regulations.

“So the sanctions from breaching financial regulations will be sporting penalties of some sort, depending on the severity of the breach.

“Whereas before, if any of you remember, we had the Resource Restriction, which was a gentleman’s agreement between teams, well, there’s not many gentlemen in the paddock I’m afraid, and that was a failure.

“But this has teeth. If you fraudulently breach the financial regulations, you will be losing your championship. So it has serious consequences if teams breach these regulations.”

Brawn believes that there will be “challenges” with the implementation of the cost cap and expects that the landscape will evolve as the years pass.

“They’ve been pretty well thought out, but they will need development, like any new regulation,” said Brawn.

“Even the current regulations, as you know, the current sporting and technical regulations are constantly in discussion, and this won’t be any different.

“So I fully expect that we’re going to have challenges in the future to implement this, but it’s absolutely essential for the good of Formula 1 that we have a control on the finances, and how much we spend in Formula 1.”

[MIKA27]

It's good I'm in their heads - Max Verstappen

Red Bull's Max Verstappen has responded to comments made by rivals Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel over his on-track etiquette by saying 'it's a good thing he is in their heads'.

The Dutchman came under fire from Hamilton and Vettel after the duo made comments about how they feel there is a need to leave more room on track when in wheel-to-wheel combat.

Verstappen countered by saying he felt the comments made didn't match their actions on the track, especially as Hamilton and Verstappen made contact in the first corner of the Mexico Grand Prix.

"Looking at Turn 1 and 2 in Mexico, I don’t think that happens," said Verstappen.

"I think from my side, it was a bit of a silly comment to make because I think I’m always a hard racer but fair. I think it’s just not correct. But of course, it’s easy to have a dig at someone.

"From my side, it’s fine. I think it’s always positive when they talk about you because that means you’re in their heads. From my side, I just focus on my driving. I think that’s enough said."

Verstappen also mentioned he felt it was disrespectful to be called out over his driving in a press conference, rather do their talking on the track.

"From my side, I don’t need to dig into other people in a press conference. First of all, I think it’s a bit disrespectful as well, and I prefer to fight on-track which I love to do.

"Of course I like to fight hard, but on the edge, otherwise if they want me to stay behind, it’s also better to stay at home. I really want to take the fight to them, because that’s what we are here for.

"We are racers, we are in Formula 1, I think we are the best out there. We do fight for victories because that’s what I live for."

[MIKA27]

F1 confirms three-day weekends from 2021, up to 25 events

Formula 1 chiefs have confirmed that race weekends will be reduced to three-day events from 2021 as part of a trade-off to increase the calendar to up to 25 rounds.

Formula 1 currently features track action on Friday, Saturday and Sunday – with Thursday ‘replacing’ Friday in Monaco – but off-track activities take place on Thursday.

Thursday events at race weekends include media activities, fan sessions and scrutineering.

From 2021 the weekend format will be compressed from four into three days but F1 chief Ross Brawn confirmed that there will be “close to the same amount of track time” as now.

Formula 1’s calendar will grow to 22 rounds in 2020 while plans are afoot to introduce an event in Miami from 2021, with the championship still seeking new races.

Senior officials have been involved in negotiations for a second event in China while Saudi Arabia has signalled its desire to join the calendar.

In another change cars must be scrutineered on Friday morning, prior to the opening practice session, and that will be the specification of car used for the remainder of the weekend.

Formula 1 teams will still be permitted to bring updates for assessment but the new relevant component will only be allowed to be used from the following round.

[MIKA27]

F1 extends licencing deal with Codemasters until 2025

Codemasters has extended its deal with Formula One Management for exclusive video game rights for the Formula 1 World Championship until 2025, with an option to be extended for a further two years.

The British video game company first got hold of the rights to F1 back in 2008 with their first release hitting the shelves soon after in 2009.

With the 2013 edition of the game, Codemasters introduced classic content came which saw the arrival of cars and circuits from previous seasons.

The latest edition of the game heavily expanding on the classic cars and introduced the Formula 2 championship for the first time with the 2018 campaign, the 2019 campaign was recently released via an update for the game.

The extension of the deal represents the longest extension in the partnership’s history.

Codemasters partnership with FOM has now been in place for over 10 years 

Codemasters' F1 titles have won multiple awards including the latest F1 2019 title which scored with Metacritic an average of 87% and a 95% rating on OpenCritic.

F1 2019 has also been shortlisted across several categories in both the 2019 TIGA Awards and The Golden Joysticks.

The games have also been used for the official F1 Esports series which has now entered its third season, the previous season delivered 5.5 million viewers across online and TV with a further 100 million social media impressions.

 “We are delighted to be extending our long-term partnership with the pinnacle of motorsport,” said Frank Sagnier, Chief Executive Officer at Codemasters.

“Both the sport and game franchise are going from strength to strength and the arrival of new platforms, business models and territories, combined with the rapid growth of the F1 Esports Series, give us a springboard to even greater success.

“I’d like to thank the team for the incredible hard work they have put into this franchise over the last ten years, and I look forward to seeing how they continue to innovate to surprise and delight our current players and bring new fans to the exciting world of Formula 1.”

“Since 2008, Codemasters has been an invaluable partner to the franchise, consistently creating games of the highest quality and enabling fans to get even closer to the world of F1,” said Frank Arthofer, Director of Digital and Licensing at Formula 1.

“Together we share a common vision for increasing the global appeal of F1 and the official video game of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship continues to be a key part of that strategy.”

[MIKA27]

Chase Carey: F1 needs to prioritise competition over new teams

Formula 1 boss Chase Carey says the championship would welcome additional teams in the future, but believes the priority must be on addressing the current competitive divide between the leading group and the rest.

Only three teams – Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull – have taken victories in the hybrid era, with a substantial pace divide having opened to the rest of the grid.

Toro Rosso’s podium in Germany marked the sole top three result by a team other than the aforementioned trio since last April.

The anticipated reforms for 2021 has prompted interest from some quarters, including a proposed entry from Campos and MIM, but Carey has asserted that a more equal playing field must be addressed first before new entrants can be considered.

“Today we have 10 teams,” said Carey during a conference call on Wednesday. “And historically we’ve had up to 12.

“I’m quite comfortable with 10. I think it’s a quality issue not quantity, obviously a certain quantity, but I think 10/11/12… today we have a competition at the front among three teams and not 10 teams.

“I think if we are able to make a competition among 10 teams that’s the much bigger issue than realistically if we added an 11th and 12th team we [would] just [be] making the group of seven that’s behind the group of three, [they] would then be the group of nine behind the group of three.

“I don’t think that’s doing a lot for the sport.

“We want to make the sport more exciting and inviting to potential new teams.

“We have a number of parties that have expressed an interest in the sport, I think they all want to see what are the rules are around the cost cap, see it finalised to know what they’re coming in to.”

Carey accepted that overall parity is unlikely to ever be achieved but outlined that Formula 1 should be in a position where each team stands a chance of competing for top honours.

“If we went from three to six to seven competing [for victories] I think that’s an enormous change in a positive way,” he said.

“You’d like all 10 teams, everyone to have a shot, you’re always going to have favourites and underdogs, that’s probably good too.

“I don’t know if pure parity is the goal you strive for and it’s probably not realistic, but you want an underdog having a chance to win, but it’s about the quality of the teams not the quantity.”

[MIKA27]

Haas to test new front wing as it evaluates 2020 concepts

Haas has brought a new front wing for its home Formula 1 Grand Prix at Austin, as it seeks to explore a new aerodynamic development direction for 2020.
Having run a largely-unchanged specification of front wing throughout the season, Haas's new geometry is startlingly similar to that run by the Ferrari team.

This includes the more curvaceous wing elements, which drop at the tips to promote the much-desired outwash effect to drive airflow around the front wheels. The adjustable part of the wing now comprises of just two flaps, with the third now attached the wing's mainplane.

There have also been modifications to the endplates, adding a small rectangular cut-out to assist with the outwashing of air, while the footplate has been shaped similar to Ferrari's current design. Kevin Magnussen will debut the new front wing in Friday practice, the performance of which will be compared back-to-back with Romain Grosjean running this year's specification.

"We'll test something," confirmed team principal Gunther Steiner. "It's to get more understanding of the car, it's not like an upgrade, but to test some variants. [And] then we'll be getting into next year to understand what we are doing."

When asked if it would be raced, Steiner added: "We don't know what comes out of the test, we haven't decided yet."

Haas's aerodynamic problems have been well-documented this season, and the team has frequently run both cars on different specifications to understand the culprit behind its troubles.

Grosjean led a decision to revert back to a hybrid Melbourne-spec aero package during the middle of the season, having felt that the subsequent upgrades had caused the team multiple issues with regards to achieving the correct tyre temperatures.

Although Steiner confirmed that the front wing may be part of the team's 2019 woes, he suggested that the team had uncovered more behind the VF-19's underperformance.

"The front wing is part of it, it's in the front and it affects everything, that's why we're trying different solutions to see if we can see that.

"But it's not only the front wing, it's not as easy as this - it's the aero, that's how it is.

"We need to go back to see what works and what doesn't, but I'm pretty confident we can fix it for next year."

 

[MIKA27]

Ricciardo pays tribute to Longhorns with Austin helmet design

Daniel Ricciardo will pay homage to American college football team the Texas Longhorns with the helmet design he will wear during the United States Grand Prix.
The Australian Renault driver, who has traditionally used the Austin event to run an American-themed helmet livery, unveiled his the new design on track on Thursday.

The design mimics an American football helmet, with the Longhorns' logo on both sides.

Explaining the decision to pay tribute to the Longhorns, Ricciardo said: "The long and short of it is: I love Austin. The first year we visited here, I fell in love with the place, the people and the atmosphere; it speaks my language!

"Last year, I finally went to a Texas Longhorns game and it was an awesome experience so I thought this year I'd tip my hat to them.

"I normally try and do something Austin themed here and I thought the Longhorns was a cool one with the idea to do a Football helmet; it's pretty special and I'd like to show some love to the city!"

McLaren driver Carlos Sainz also revealed he will wear a one-off helmet design in Austin to celebrate his 100th grand prix start.

The Spaniard has swapped his traditional colours for a mostly black and orange design.

[MIKA27]

No deadline for teams to sign new Concorde, says Carey

Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey has downplayed the existence of any specific deadline for the 10 teams to sign the new Concorde Agreement.
Carey's comments come as FIA's World Motor Sport Council votes on Thursday to accept or reject the proposed technical, sporting and financial regulations for 2021.

The teams received a draft of the new document, which covers the 2021-’25 seasons, last week, and are now studying its implications.

Among the key changes compared to the current version are a new streamlined one-layer governance structure, with 10 votes for Liberty, 10 for the FIA and 10 for the teams, and a revised income distribution, with greater rewards for the teams further down the constructors’ championship table.

“Realistically what we put out is the structure of the business starting in 2021,” Carey told Wall Street analysts. “Our goal would be to get things signed off as soon as possible with the teams, just to remove the uncertainty around it.

“Essentially come 2021 we can say this is the way the sport is governed, and this is the way the sport operates. We obviously have the capability to create deadlines inside that. But the regulations had an approval process that they have to go through.

“These are more bilateral agreements that you can obviously create deadlines to, but the reality ends up being they are agreements about how the sport will be run and operate for the 2021 season.”

Carey believes that spreading the sport’s income more evenly between the 10 teams will work with cost cap to create a closer field.

“The cost cap is certainly we think critical to making it a more competitive sport, but we are also looking to address the revenue side of it to make it less skewed than it is today," he said.

"We still want to reward success on the track, respect an element of long-term success in the sport, but make it a more balanced distribution than it is today.

“So we will take steps on that. I think to me cost has a much more direct correlation to the competitive balance than revenue, although they both clearly are a part of it.

"The revenue is important to getting to a place where we have not just competition but healthier teams and a business model that is more inviting to new teams coming into it.

“Today we have a three-team competition at the front, and seven teams competing at the back. Those three teams at the front spend significantly more than the other teams – that’s clear.

“Are they spending that money because they get more revenue, a bigger share of the profit fund, or are they spending that money because their competitive spirit drives them to spend what they want to spend to win? Fact is those teams do get a larger share of the prize fund profit sharing.”

Carey said that the new governance structure will make the sport easier to manage.

“I don’t want to get into specifics of what we put in place and proposed to the teams, but I think the primary goal is to simplify the governance structure.

"I think today we feel we have a very cumbersome governance structure. There are two layers of approval, it’s a very complicated vote, a lot of different parties get involved.

"If there was one goal overall overriding in all this, it’s a complicated sport with enough complicated issues already, it’s to simplify the decision making structure so we can move forward, and not have the complicated dynamics we’ve had to some degree in the past.”

[MIKA27]

Ferrari hoping cold Austin weather means repeat of Barcelona testing dominance

Warm jackets and winter coats were very much the order of the day when the drivers arrived at an unseasonably chilly Circuit of The Americas. But Ferrari were hoping that the frigid temperatures boded well for their United States Grand Prix weekend, after the Scuderia dominated in similar conditions during Barcelona pre-season testing.

With the mercury reading just 4 degrees Celsius on Thursday morning in Austin, the drivers were forced to wrap up warm for their track walks – while the temperatures are expected to remain relatively low for the rest of the weekend.

But with the Ferraris having been the cars to beat in the chilly conditions at the Circuit de Catalunya ahead of the season start – and with some long straights at COTA to give the powerful, aerodynamically efficient Ferrari SF90 its head – both Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel were feeling positive about their chances for this weekend.

“There are quite long straights so I believe we should be strong,” said Leclerc. “To know how much, we’ll only see on Saturday and Sunday, but pretty confident.

“We were very strong in Barcelona during winter testing,” he added, when asked about the cold weather. “It’s a long time ago but, for us, it doesn’t change. If it’s a problem, it will be a problem for everyone, and we’ll try to adapt.”

Asked whether a repeat of Kimi Raikkonen’s sensational 2018 win for Ferrari was possible this weekend, Vettel replied: “I hope so!

“It’s not an easy track to get everything right. A high speed section to start with, a very slow one in the middle and a sort of medium speed section at the end. Bit of everything that you need, which is why I think it’s important to feel well in the car. Also how the track comes towards us. We have a strong car, a very efficient car, but we’ll see.

“I think once we get in the car tomorrow, get a feel and see how the car works, how the initial feel is and balance [we’ll have a better idea],” he added.

Ferrari won the first three races after the summer break, in Belgium, Italy and Singapore, before Mercedes appeared to retake the advantage, winning the following three in Russia, Japan and Mexico last week. And Vettel admitted that, while the Ferraris’ one-lap pace has been strong – the team having taken every pole positon since Spa – race pace was still an area he’d like to see improvements in, preferably starting this weekend in Austin.

“I think in terms of race pace it’s pretty clear,” he said. “Qualifying we’ve found ourselves in a good position – obviously we have good form. Last race [Max] Verstappen was on pole by quite a bit [before receiving his penalty] but more or less we were fighting for the front row, and in the race we could see that we drift back a little bit and we can’t confirm that strong pace over one lap with fresh tyres in the race, with many, many laps.

“There’s still some work to do, but [these race pace] weaknesses we’ve been facing all year. We’ve closed the gap, but in the race there’s still a bit of a gap.”

With the constructors’ crown already decided in Mercedes’ favour, and the drivers’ title similarly only able to be won by either Valtteri Bottas or Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari will likely use the remaining three races of 2019 to prepare for a fresh assault on 2020, with rule stability between the two seasons meaning any positive changes made by the Scuderia could help them going into next year.

[Lotusguy]

I for one am excited about the 2021 regulations - cars look good (especially finally going away from those outdated 13" wheels) and I hope this finally fixes the issues with following cars closely and passing.

[BrightonCorgi]

1 hour ago, Lotusguy said:

I for one am excited about the 2021 regulations - cars look good (especially finally going away from those outdated 13" wheels) and I hope this finally fixes the issues with following cars closely and passing.

The current format, cars lose 50% down force when within 10' of the next car.  The new format, it's down to 10%.  Should be a lot more close racing and passing.

[MIKA27]

Lewis Hamilton seals sixth title as Valtteri Bottas wins US Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton claimed the Formula 1 world title for a sixth time as he finished runner-up to Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas at a strategy-driven United States Grand Prix.

Bottas, along with Max Verstappen, ran a two-stop strategy and the Finn overhauled his one-stopping team-mate during the closing stages.

Verstappen was Bottas’ nearest rival early on but ultimately came home third as he was unable to overhaul Hamilton through the final laps.

The Dutchman triggered the pit stop phase by coming in on lap 13 of 56, with Bottas responding one lap later, while Hamilton stayed out until lap 24, all three changing to Hards.

Such was the tyre differential that Hamilton had been passed by Bottas on his in-lap, but Mercedes confirmed their respective approaches by assuring the Briton that his rivals were two-stopping.

“These lap times will put you in contention for the win,” Hamilton was told, “but we just need to have the tyres.”

Verstappen and Bottas came in for Mediums on lap 34 and 35 respectively, handing Hamilton a nine-second advantage over his Mercedes team-mate, with the Dutchman another five seconds back.

Bottas reeled in Hamilton rapidly, prompting the race leader to question “how much longer these tyres are going to last,” as his team-mate moved four seconds behind.

Hamilton queried whether others had managed the tyres for such a long stint and was informed “we are concerned these may not get to the end. We have an option for another stop.”

Hamilton opted to stay out and the gap between the Mercedes drivers gradually closed as the respective stints wore on.

Bottas caught Hamilton with six laps remaining but on his first attempt was edged wide as they ran through Turn 12, ensuring Hamilton retained the lead.

But on the next lap, Bottas used the DRS to breeze past along the back straight, capturing the inside line, and ensuring he was comfortably clear before they braked for the corner.

Hamilton remained susceptible to Verstappen and a three-second gap was rapidly reduced but he remained ahead, sealing second, and a sixth world title.

Ferrari endured comfortably its worst performance since Formula 1’s summer break on an awful afternoon for the team.

Front-row starter Sebastian Vettel haemorrhaged positions early on as he slipped from second to seventh amid a mysterious lack of pace, complaining of understeer.

Vettel remained behind Lando Norris’ McLaren and Daniel Ricciardo’s Renault when his right-rear suspension collapsed in spectacular style through Turn 9, and the Ferrari driver did well to avoid a sizeable off.

Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, was demonstrably slower than the Mercedes duo and Verstappen and tumbled out of contention.

Leclerc finished fourth, over 50 seconds down on race winner Bottas.

Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz Jr. made contact on the opening lap, resulting in the Red Bull driver getting some air, and requiring the Anglo-Thai to pit.

Albon’s three-stop strategy brought him back to fifth, via a late pass on the impressive Ricciardo, who ran a one-stop approach.

Lando Norris’ two-stop strategy netted him seventh, ahead of McLaren team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr., who celebrated his 100th race start with eighth.

Nico Hulkenberg was ninth while a late couple of collisions resulted in pit lane starter Sergio Perez taking the final point.

Daniil Kvyat had crossed the line in 10th but was deemed culpable for the clash and penalised, dropping to 12th, while Pierre Gasly had been in the top 10 until a separate clash with the Racing Point driver.

Alfa Romeo had another lacklustre race, Kimi Raikkonen 11th and Antonio Giovinazzi 14th, split by the penalised Kvyat and Lance Stroll, while Haas endured its anticipated race slump.

Romain Grosjean was 15th, Kevin Magnussen spun off late on with a brake failure, while George Russell took 17th.

Robert Kubica retired from the race mid-distance due to a suspected hydraulics issue.

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Lewis Hamilton: I'm so far above cloud nine after title win

An exuberant Lewis Hamilton struggled to convey his emotions after sealing a sixth Formula 1 world title, and paid tribute to late Mercedes chief Niki Lauda.

Hamilton finished runner-up to Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas at the United States Grand Prix, ensuring he holds an unassailable points advantage with two rounds remaining.

On the achievement of winning six titles Hamilton said: “Right now it’s hard to understand what I’m feeling right now. Naturally it’s just pure happiness.

“Cloud nine doesn’t even get close to where I am. I’m somewhere far above that and I’m just really grateful to everyone back at the factory, everyone who has supported me this year within the team, who have worked so hard to enable us to do what we do.

“It’s such a privilege and an honour to work for this team and to have the platform to put performances in like that today.

“This has been the hardest year that I can remember.

“It’s really hard for people to appreciate that because people are not with me all of the time and don’t see the ups and downs that go on in an athlete’s mind.

“It’s been so challenging. I would say probably more so the ups and downs outside of the sport have been even more challenging, navigating and working with the family and just creating a great squad.”

Three-time World Champion Lauda was an influential figure within Mercedes’ camp before he passed away earlier this year.

“I miss Niki so much and I know today that he would be taking his cap off,” said Hamilton.

“Yesterday he would have been saying he’s paying me too much but today he would have taken his cap off and I wouldn’t have been able to do this without Niki. He’s here with us in spirit.”

 

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Vettel slams "major BS" restriction on helmet changes

Sebastian Vettel believes Formula 1’s rule restricting drivers from changing their crash helmet designs more than one is “major BS”, a sentiment shared by Max Verstappen.
Since 2015, the FIA’s sporting regulations have required drivers to have their crash helmets “presented in substantially the same livery”, with the exception of one race, “in order for drivers to be easily distinguished from one another whilst they are on the track”.

However, after Daniil Kvyat was denied a special helmet design at the Russian Grand Prix, it emerged that some drivers – including Vettel and Verstappen – have gotten away with more than one change because they had not sought permission from the FIA in advance.

Last weekend in Mexico, five-time world champion Lewis Hamilton wrote to his fans on Instagram to ask “how many of you think it’s bs [bullshit]” and presented a poll to see “who thinks we should be free to express ourselves and have more changes”.

More than 90% of the responses were in favour, and when asked by Motorsport.com for their thoughts, Vettel and Verstappen said they do not like the rule.

Vettel said: “Well, I change it [my helmet the design] anyway so… It’s our helmet and we should be free to do what we want, so I think the rule is major BS.

“We have very little room left to sort of express ourselves and the helmet is probably the only one and if people like it, that’s great, if they don’t like it well it’s not their helmet.

“So I think we should be in charge for designing which way and which colour our helmet has.”

Among Vettel’s designs in 2019 have been a Niki Lauda tribute helmet in Monaco after the three-time world champion’s passing, a Bernd Schneider homage in Germany and one with the Italian flag’s colours at Monza.

Vettel used to regularly change his helmet designs when racing for Red Bull, a trend that Verstappen referenced in his own answer.

“I agree. I always loved when Seb was at Red Bull and changing his helmet every race, almost, more or less,” said Verstappen. “It was cool because you were just like ‘what is he coming up with now?’.

“I do a few but I’m not going to say I will do a different helmet every race because it’s just too much effort in designing the helmet but I think if you want to make it blue or red, the next race, why not? It’s your crash helmet and you should be able to do what you want.

“Of course in the past, there have been drivers who have always had the same helmet and then they say ‘yeah, but that’s how we can distinguish the drivers’.

“But at the end of the day we have massive numbers on the side, we have a halo on the top, so let us do what we want with the helmet now.

“It’s very nice to have a different design every year because it’s a bit boring always to keep the same helmet.”

Valtteri Bottas, who changed his helmet design for this year by adding more blue and a pattern, said he liked to keep the same scheme but acknowledged the importance of having freedom to choose.

“Everyone might have a special occasion, or a special connection to some certain country, where you want to do something special or pay a respect to someone you know,” he said.

“It would be nice to see a bit more freedom because it’s our personal thing. We should be in control of that, rather than anyone else.”

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COTA to close in winter for "extensive" repairs

The Circuit of the Americas is to close this winter for major work to address the bumps that Formula 1 drivers have complained about over the US Grand Prix weekend.
The undulations also caused problems for MotoGP riders when they visited the Texan venue in April.

Some surface grinding was undertaken at the track on Friday night, and more was planned for Saturday evening. However, the major work is to begin next month, with extensive excavations to remove pipes under the track.

“The guys worked all last night and tonight they’re doing it again in the pit out area,” COTA boss Bobby Epstein told Motorsport.com. “There’s a massive grinder coming. It’s not easy on our guys, because our staff work pretty hard for the weekend, and they already have a lot of hours. Otherwise it wouldn’t be a big burden.

“We’re actually closing the track for most of December and half of January to fix the problems. We did some of the repairs last year before MotoGP, so I wouldn’t say we’d have to do the whole thing.

“Certainly it will involve the entire back straight, the pit out and part of Turn One, there’s a part of a hump before Turn Nine, Turns 18-19. So it’s pretty extensive. I know what the bill is!”

Epstein explained that the problems can be traced to heavy rain, and specifically to damage around pipes caused four years ago, and which has caused the ground to settle in places.

“We excavated nine feet deep to put the track here, and brought in special soils. However clearly the flood of 2015 caused some very serious heaving, and we haven’t fixed those areas since then, and it’s just gotten worse.

“There’s been some washout around pipes. There are pipes under the track, and in 2015 the water followed those pipes, not just inside but around them. It caused erosion that left this void, and then you get some heaving and shrinking.

“We know it’s a problem and it’s scheduled for a big repair. Those pipes are coming out. But we didn’t think it was going to affect the F1 cars like this.”

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Grosjean didn't want to "touch" Haas upgrade after crash

Romain Grosjean says he didn’t want to "touch" his Haas Formula 1 team’s most recent aero package any more, with his engineers still at a loss to explain what caused his practice crash at the United States Grand Prix.
The Frenchman suffered a high-speed accident in second practice in Austin after the back end of his car got away from him in the twisty first section of the track.

But even after a night of analysis by the team, Haas has been unable to pinpoint why the test of the aero spec that was first introduced at Hockenheim suddenly resulted in a dramatic loss of rear downforce.

“We tried an update package and it’s got big issue in high speed corners, and basically I lost the car for no reason,” said Grosjean after qualifying 15th. 

“It’s just the rear downforce decided to go and they can’t explain. They said this package we don’t touch it any more.

“So obviously then [for FP3] you revert to FP1 [settings] and then we had problems with the rear wing. I said to the guys, ‘the car doesn’t feel the same as it was in FP1’, and then they could see on the data that we had problems with the rear wing.

“So we had to change the rear wing and not take the risk, and I had to run a very heavy rear wing in terms of drag. It was about half a second on the straight compared to Kevin [Magnussen]. And making up half a second in the corners is pretty tricky.”

As well as the rear wing choice hurting his form in qualifying, Grosjean is fearful about what impact it will have in the race.

“I’m like slower by 15kph compared to the competitors, so I’m a sitting duck,” he said. “It’s not great.

“We’ve had a fair bit of issues in the weekend and just all in all it is a long season. 

"It’s hard to keep your head up and you know, you’re in your own race and there is nothing you can do and you’re bloody slow on the straight. It’s painful.”

MIKA: Of course it was a "Part Romain".... 

It crashed because of a part of the car which has been proven to fail at random points, but it gives strange readings and feedback so it takes the engineers a while to pinpoint, due to its strange characteristics. 

That part is French-made and is called Grosjean.

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Penalty costs Kvyat points finish in second straight race

Toro Rosso Formula 1 driver Daniel Kvyat has been denied a point-scoring finish by a post-race penalty for a second event straight in the United States Grand Prix.
Kvyat had got past Racing Point driver Sergio Perez late on - making contact and pushing Perez wide after launching it down the inside of the sharp Turn 15 left-hander - too finish the race at the Circuit of the Americas 10th on the road.

However, by then he had been placed under investigation by the stewards for causing a collision.

He was assessed a five-second penalty shortly after the chequered flag, which dropped him down to 12th place.

Perez thus inherited the final points-paying position, while Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen was also classified ahead of Kvyat in 11th.

Kvyat also picked up one penalty point for the incident, taking his 12-month total to five.

"The Stewards reviewed video evidence," the FIA verdict read. "Car 11 [Perez] was in front immediately prior to the apex of the corner, car 26 [Kvyat] 'dived' down the inside, had a small lock-up and bounced off the kerb, which moved the car to the outside of the exit of the corner, colliding with car 11."

The sanction comes a week after Kvyat was demoted from ninth to 11th due to a last-corner clash with Renault driver Nico Hulkenberg.

That penalty decision had drawn criticism from the Russian, who felt that it was in violation of F1's 'let them race' policy and blamed the stewards for "killing the sport".

Toro Rosso's other driver Pierre Gasly retired with damage after having a clash with Perez while trying to hang on to ninth place.

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Austin winner Bottas 'can't wait for next year' after conceding 2019 title

Valtteri Bottas’ fourth win of the season at the Circuit of The Americas – and his second in three races – was one of his most assured performances of the year. But while it proved to be too little too late to keep his championship bid alive, as team mate Lewis Hamilton swept to his six drivers’ title, Bottas was already looking forward to carrying his strong current momentum into 2020.

Bottas was the surprise pole-winner on Saturday at the Circuit of The Americas, and converted P1 on the grid to a race win, making a two-stop strategy work to pass his team mate for the lead with four laps to go.

But with Hamilton needing to finish just eighth or higher to claim the title regardless of where Bottas finished, the Briton’s second place at the flag was enough for him to claim title number six, and move into second in the all-time list of F1 title winners.

“Obviously big congrats to [Lewis],” said a gracious Bottas after the race. “It was an interesting race. It actually went actually pretty quickly because there was always a target for me to do, a lap time target and always trying to gain time, or gain an advantage, so it was actually pretty fun today.

“I personally failed on my target this year,” he added. “There’s always next year but he deserves it. He had a strong season.”

Pushed later on what his strong post-summer break form meant for next year – where F1 will largely experience rule stability before the switchover to the 2021 regulations – Bottas replied: “There’s definitely many positives to take.

“It has been a very good second half of the year. Since the summer, I’ve been gaining some good momentum and feel very happy in the car and overall. We still have a couple of races to go, hopefully a couple more wins.

“Now, as I’ve kind of lost the championship, I look forward to next year. I think I’m definitely on the right way with everything going forward. I’m improving, I’m getting quicker, so I can’t wait for next year.”

Bottas will know that a strong 2020 will be important for him continuing his journey with the Silver Arrows, with Mercedes keeping a watching brief on the progress of their proteges, Williams’ George Russell and F1 returnee Esteban Ocon. Keep up this form and he'll have no worries...

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Vettel suffers dramatic suspension failure in Austin

Texas is known for its rodeos, and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel must have felt like he was riding a bucking bronco after the rear suspension of his Prancing Horse collapsed spectacularly early on in Sunday’s race in the USA.

Vettel was busy trying to make amends for a poor opening couple of laps, in which he dropped from P2 to P7, when his suspension failed on the Turn 8 exit kerbs on lap 8.

Ferrari quickly warned Charles Leclerc to stay away from kerbs at the same section, but Vettel admitted the team weren’t sure what had caused the issued.

“We have no idea what it was – [warning Charles] was a precaution,” he said. “We had enough running the whole weekend without any trouble, so I don’t know what happened there.”

The incident brought a premature end to a race that had quickly unravelled from a promising grid slot, with Vettel - who had talked up needing a good start after qualifying - similarly bemused as to why he struggled so much in the early laps.

“I just had a really poor grip, struggled to get the tyres to work and had a poor feeling with the car straight away. It took some laps to get the tyres to work, and from there I was just about settling into a rhythm. I still had issues in right-hand corners mostly. I obviously had to get used to it and then the suspension failed.”

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Leclerc: ‘No explanations’ for ‘most difficult race of the season’

The 2019 United States Grand Prix proved an extremely rough ride for Ferrari, with Sebastian Vettel retiring with suspension failure on Lap 8 – while potentially more worrying was Charles Leclerc finishing the race in an extremely distant fourth, leaving the Monegasque puzzled about his poor performance.

Such was the pace deficit of Leclerc in the first stint of the Grand Prix that eventual winner Valtteri Bottas was able to pit from the lead on Lap 14 and pass the non-stopping Leclerc for P2 just two laps later, with Leclerc eventually finishing the race 52 seconds down the road from the Finn – not helped by a 7.7-second stop when he did eventually pit for the first time of two on Lap 20.

But it was his difficult first stint on medium tyres that had really left Leclerc scratching his head at the race end…

“It was an extremely hard day,” said Leclerc, “probably the most difficult race of the season, with Budapest. We never found the pace really.

“The first stint was extremely hard. I believe this was the main problem of the race. To be completely honest, I’ve got no explanations. The front-left felt very, very weird. We need to analyse that, because I’ve never had this feeling before. Pretty sure something was not right on this stint.

“Then the two other [stints], the pace was not as bad as on this one, that’s for sure, but still not as strong as the guys in front. So this we need to understand, but the first stint is the one that doesn’t seem right to me.”

Ferrari’s difficult day in Austin was put into sharp focus given the relative success of Mercedes, who secured a one-two in the race whilst Lewis Hamilton claimed his sixth drivers’ title. And it left Team Principal Mattia Binotto, celebrating his 50th birthday on race day, hoping his team would come back stronger in 2020.

“At the end of the first stint, somehow, our race was over,” reflected Binotto. “That’s certainly frustrating. I don’t think it’s reflecting our performance at the moment. We were expecting something certainly more today, for [Charles] and for Seb, so a disappointing day for us.

“Such a strong competition from us [in a season], for a long time it’s not been happening,” Binotto added, when asked about Ferrari’s 2020 prospects. “To beat [Mercedes] will be very difficult. We know that, but we are not discouraged, we will still keep pushing and obviously looking at next year.”

Mercedes’ ninth one-two finish of the 2019 season means they head Ferrari in the constructors’ standings by 216 points with two Grands Prix to go, with that title having already been decided in the Silver Arrows’ favour back in Japan.

 

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2019 United States Grand Prix: Race Highlights

 

 

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Max Verstappen Post-Race - Formula 1 United States Grand Prix 2019

 

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F1 2019 USA GP - Post-Race - Christian Horner

 

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VALTTERI BOTTAS, MAX VERSTAPPEN, ALEX ALBON & DANIEL RICCIARDO MAKE FRESH DONUTS IN LA USA