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Ocon ‘delighted to be back’ after completing first Renault test

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It has been a long wait for Esteban Ocon to drive a Formula 1 car again, and the Frenchman admitted his first outing with Renault in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday was a “fantastic feeling”.

Ocon lost his race seat with Racing Point – formerly Force India – at the end of 2018 and has spent this year as Mercedes' reserve driver. 2020 will see him partner Daniel Ricciardo at Renault and after officially starting work with his new team on Monday, he was in the car for the first time during the opening day of this week's Pirelli tyre test at Yas Marina.

“It’s a fantastic feeling to be back,” Ocon said. “I was so excited for today, I’ve been waiting for that day for months and finally it happened. It was a good first impression, the team gave me a very warm welcome which is always very satisfying, seeing some old faces and some new faces as well, which is great.

“Now we have started to properly work on all the little details and towards the afternoon I started to get closer and closer to the limit so it feels nice.”

Adapting to a car that was not designed with him in mind, Ocon said it was easier to fit in the Renault than the Mercedes, given the average heights of their respective drivers.

“My main focus was to get back up to speed. It has been some time since I last drove of course. And to get to work with everyone which is also something new on our side, and just to try and work on the big details before working on the small ones. Trying to get a sensible position in the car too, and then once we’ve more or less done that it was also to get a first feel for the car and the new tyres.

“My position is a bit better in that car first, the seating position, because there’s more space. Obviously Nico [Hulkenberg] and Daniel are taller than Valtteri [Bottas] and Lewis [Hamilton]. Just getting to know everyone also and getting to work with new people is very different. I think this is what is going to take the most time for all of us to understand each other perfectly. There’s always a lot to say on the first day, so that’s the most complicated one and the one you need to get your focus the most on.”

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And after completing 77 laps on the opening day of testing, Ocon was confident that there is a strong platform for him to work with on Wednesday.

“It felt good. Obviously there is always a lot that you can improve. The engine is also something new for me [for] a couple of years, and there was good power. Of course, the balance, you always need to work on it. I think we have a solid base that we can continue tomorrow.

“If I could continue I would! But we need to get a decent night’s sleep and we will be back to work.”

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Ross's Abu Dhabi GP review: A spectacular finale, and a bright future for F1

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After a fitting end to the 2019 Formula 1 season in Abu Dhabi, Formula 1 Managing Director, Motorsport, Ross Brawn looks back at Lewis Hamilton's sixth championship, evaluates the new crop of drivers and Red Bull and Ferrari's hopes of a 2020 title challenge.

Champion's final flourish

The season finale at Yas Marina was in many ways a race that encapsulated a number of the positive aspects we’re seeing in F1 at the moment. We’ll discuss all of them in turn, but let’s start with the winner, Lewis Hamilton.

The final Grand Prix of the year brought back memories of the opening races of the season, with Lewis Hamilton in truly dominant form and Mercedes in a completely different league to the rest of the field. Proof of that comes from the fact that Lewis notched up his sixth ‘Grand Slam’ of pole, win, fastest lap, leading from starting to finish. The 2019 version of Lewis has been really impressive: 11 wins, 17 podium finishes from 21 races and always finishing in the points.

Perhaps the most unusual statistic is that he only took pole five times, with Charles Leclerc doing two better on seven. Prior to Abu Dhabi, the last time Hamilton topped the timesheet in qualifying was in Germany back in July, which is all the more strange as he holds the record for pole positions on 88.

Indeed, Sunday’s race seemed like a formality. The icing on the cake came in the shape of the fastest race lap, set two laps from the flag. The time set a new track record and even more remarkably it was achieved on tyres that were 27 laps old. It's impossible to ask for more from this great champion.

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Verstappen on the verge

Could one ask for more from Max Verstappen? That would be hard, because, in his fifth year in Formula 1 he finished the championship in the top three for the first time and enjoyed an excellent season overall.

Max scored the first pole position of his career in Hungary (and then a second in Brazil) and took three wins during the season to take his career total to eight.

Perhaps more significantly we saw fewer mistakes, which in the past have mainly been due to his impatient nature. Those episodes of hot-headedness have cost him dearly in previous seasons but this year rash moments were few and far between.

The Red Bull youngster, who only turned 22 a couple of months ago, is now undoubtedly in the most clinical form of his career to date and is now ready to challenge Hamilton.

Of course he needs a car capable of doing that, which was not the case in the early part of this season. However, the Red Bull-Honda partnership took a number of steps forward during the season and is now beginning to produce results that suggest they will be fighting for the championships in 2020.

Ferrari in flux

One can certainly ask more of Ferrari whose season had many ups and downs. It all looked very promising in winter testing, but by the spring optimism had given way to disappointment and a summary of the first half of the Scuderia’s campaign was a tale of missed opportunities.

After the summer break, however, the Scuderia found a new injection of pace and as well as six consecutive pole positions from Belgium to Mexico they also racked up three wins in a row from Belgium to Singapore, with Charles Leclerc’s victory in Monza being the obvious highlight.

However, the final part of the campaign proved more difficult, as was the case this weekend in Abu Dhabi. In his first year as Team Principal Mattia Binotto has undergone a baptism of fire in what is probably the most highly-pressured role in Formula 1. I am sure, though, that he has all the qualities to kick-start another winning cycle.

F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi

The most positive aspect of Ferrari’s performance this year was without a doubt Charles Leclerc, who, in only in his second year in Formula 1 and his first with a top team, won twice, was on pole seven times and finished on the podium on 10 occasions.

His talent is undeniable and he is destined for greatness over the next decade. Clearly, there is still room for improvement, which is only natural. It was clear that Charles has what it takes to put Sebastian Vettel, a four-time world champion, under pressure, which for Seb must be reminiscent of what happened five years ago at Red Bull when Daniel Ricciardo became his team mate.

Back then, Sebastian opted for a change of scene, by moving to Ferrari, but this time he’s staying put to battle it out with Leclerc. Next year it will be an interesting challenge for both drivers and Mattia will have to carefully manage his driver pairing to best suit the needs of the team. The biggest challenge, though, will be to provide the drivers with a car that’s competitive on all types of track. On top of that, they will have to try and avoid the reliability issues that occurred too frequently this year.

Tight across the middle

Once again, the top three teams were dominant, but there was plenty of interest and excitement elsewhere. Carlos Sainz emerged with ‘best of the rest’ honours thanks to a thrilling final lap move past Nico Hulkenberg to take the point needed to move him clear of Pierre Gasly, while his McLaren team claimed the same prize in the constructors’ battle.

The Woking outfit have made good progress, with the highlight of an impressive season being Sainz’s third place in Brazil – McLaren’s first podium since 2014.

Toro Rosso also did well and the Faenza squad finished sixth, equalling their best ever finish in the constructors’ standings, and claimed their first podium finishes in more than a decade.

The most encouraging aspect of the midfield tussle comes from the performance of an exciting crop of young drivers. Apart from the aforementioned Verstappen and Leclerc, two rookies, Lando Norris and Alex Albon, really stood out, while the third, reigning F2 champion George Russell, couldn’t really show his talent given the performance level of his Williams.

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Their presence and that of other youngsters such as Antonio Giovinazzi and Lance Stroll can only be a good thing for Formula 1, especially as the previous generation, the one that followed on from the Schumacher era, is now inevitably coming to the end of its time in the sport.

None of those ‘veterans’ wanted to talk about calling time of their F1 career, but in Abu Dhabi it was time to say farewell, at least for now, to Robert Kubica and Nico Hulkenberg. In 2019 neither got results that matched their talent.

Kubica could have certainly won more than he did in Formula 1, but for the terrible rallying accident in 2011. But he triumphed over adversity and this year’s point in Hockenheim symbolises what can be achieved with determination.

Hulkenberg’s career path has been more straightforward, but despite nine seasons of racing in F1 the German driver was never afforded an opportunity to demonstrate what he is really capable of. I am sure Nico strongly feels it’s a case of unfinished business and that he is determined to find a way back to Formula 1 as soon as possible to show what he can really do.

Boosting the fan formula

Interest in Formula 1 continued to grow in 2019. The TV viewing figures available so far are positive and once again this year, as in 2018, the attendance at race weekends exceeded four million. The growth is even more impressive on our digital platforms, while the festivals we organised in various cities around the world attracted a lot of interest.

The fans are the biggest stakeholders in our sport and we need to hang on to the long-time enthusiasts – the deeply committed fans that relish the detail, follow aero evolution and pore over the strategic complexities of race weekends – but at the same time we need to attract new audiences. We started down this road three years ago and now we are beginning to see results.

This year also saw the arrival of the framework for the new rules that will come into force in 2021. That was the result of a process that involved the FIA and the teams, with the one true aim of making this sport ever more enjoyable for the fans.

We are particularly pleased with the largely positive response to the new rules, especially from the fans. In Sunday’s race, no DRS was available for almost 20 laps because of a technical problem and that only served to emphasise the need for the cars to be able to fight at close quarters. In addition, the performance gap between the teams needs to be reduced, because looking at Sunday’s race, once again only the top teams completed the full race distance, every other team was lapped.

These goals are shared at every level by the stakeholders in the sport, especially the fans. An important step has been taken, but there is more to come and we are definitely moving in the right direction.

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1 hour ago, MIKA27 said:

"Ferrari never said to Leclerc 'look it's your first year with us, your second year in F1. Relax, learn from Vettel.'

Villeneuve actually believes this statement?  Relax?  Any driver at this level would get very frustrated with the team indecisiveness surrounding strategies.  Learn from Vettel?  I like Seb, but with the amount of unforced errors he exhibited this year he should not be touted as the teacher and Leclerc the student.

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11 hours ago, LLC said:


IMHO, Leclerc did the best possible thing for himself. Poor management hurt Ferrari!


I agree. Maybe he did at some point but Jacques never struck me as being someone that would take a backseat to a teammate.


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I agree completely.  The problem for Vettel this year was not LeClerc...it was Vettel.  I love the way he drives but he simply did not perform this year like he has in the past.   

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George Russell quickest as curtain falls on 2019 F1 action

George Russell testing for Mercedes in Abu Dhabi

George Russell set the fastest time during the final official Formula 1 track action of 2019 at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

Williams racer Russell switched to Mercedes, whose junior programme he has been with since 2017, for Wednesday’s track running at the Yas Marina Circuit.

It marked Russell’s second opportunity of driving the W10, having been drafted in to carry out the rookie test in Bahrain, with regular racers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas attending a sponsor event in Malaysia.

Russell clocked a best time of 1:37.204 as he finished almost two-tenths of a second up on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc’s running came to a premature end midway through the afternoon when he suffered a minor off through Turn 13, losing control over the kerb, causing the only red flag of the day’s activities.

The two-day test provided an opportunity for teams and drivers to evaluate Pirelli’s expected 2020 tyres alongside its 2019 compounds.

Teams will vote on whether to use the 2020 tyres or stick with the 2019 specifications, with a decision needed by Monday.

If seven of the 10 teams vote in favour of the 2019 tyres then they will be retained, otherwise, the 2020 compounds will be used.

Racing Point’s Lance Stroll was the only other driver to set a time in the 1:37s while Pierre Gasly was fourth for Toro Rosso, in front of McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr.

Esteban Ocon racked up more experience upon his return to Renault, ahead of his 2020 race debut for the squad, while Alexander Albon was seventh for Red Bull Racing.

Antonio Giovinazzi and 2020 debutant Nicholas Latifi placed eighth and ninth respectively.

Haas handed a day of track time to simulator driver Pietro Fittipaldi while Roy Nissany completed a handful of hours in the morning for Williams, prior to handing the car over to Latifi.

Formula 1 action will resume with the start of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on February 19 2020.

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Wolff "cannot imagine" a better place than Mercedes

Wolff "cannot imagine" a better place than Mercedes

Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff says he cannot imagine a better place than his current team, and that he does not need to "reinvent" himself elsewhere.
Wolff joined Mercedes in 2013 and in his role as CEO and team principal has guided the works team to unprecedented success, with Mercedes winning six consecutive title doubles since 2014.

He has been linked with a move to help run F1, but suggested after the Abu Dhabi season finale that he would like to remain with Mercedes.

"There's so many factors one needs to consider in your career," said Wolff. "What actually makes you happy, and what gets you out of bed even on the difficult days?

"And for me, after eight years with the team, it is still the relationships within the team that give me a lot of strength. And at the moment, I cannot imagine any better place."

When Wolff moved to Mercedes the team was headed by Ross Brawn, Niki Lauda and Nick Fry, but Fry quickly exited and Brawn left at the end of the year.

Wolff said the shareholding he and Lauda shared had added a business element to his role that gave Mercedes a different dynamic to a traditional role at a rival team.

"The opportunity and the trust that was given to me in 2012, I will always honour that," said Wolff. "I think for a company like Daimler to allow a shareholding from their managing partner Niki and myself is not something that came easily.

"The relationship has gone stronger since then, to the decision makers within the Daimler board, but also to many of the employees that have been part of our journey within Daimler.

"These relationships are something that fundamentally determine our life quality.

"If I'm given the freedom to continue to manage the team in an entrepreneurial way like they have so far, and I have no doubt that they will, it's a place that is simply enjoyable from my side and also provides me with entrepreneurial opportunity.

"So I don't see myself like a football manager that maybe does a three or five year stint and then need to reinvent himself in another team.

"It's different here because of the the opportunity that was that was given to me as a shareholder."

Wolff may manage his on-site presence next year as the F1 calendar increases to 22 grands prix for the first time, and even joked one race he would like to miss next season but would not name it because "it's not politically correct".

However, he said his absence from this year's Brazilian Grand Prix, the first F1 race he has missed since he was a Williams chief in 2012, was not the start of a process to find his replacement.

At the time, it was explained as an opportunity for him to remain in Europe with both F1 titles secured, before flying to Saudi Arabia for Mercedes' Formula E debut the week after Brazil.

"The experiment in Brazil was to find out that with a 22 race calendar [in 2019], what if I would choose some I will miss, and how it would be for other senior members of the team," said Wolff.

"It is something that I always wanted to do and was strange for me because the relaxation factor was really high.

"The sport psychologist explained that with the fact that I knew that everybody else was working and I didn't makes it double the enjoyment!

"But all of us play senior roles in the team and we need to be aware about the contribution we bring and if the contribution is important, then you need to do all the races. So I haven't found the solution."

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Leclerc would welcome Hamilton at Ferrari

Leclerc would welcome Hamilton at Ferrari

Charles Leclerc says he would welcome Lewis Hamilton as a teammate, amid rumours that Ferrari is attempting to lure the six-time Formula 1 champion to the team.
Hamilton's Mercedes contract will expire at the end of next season, and was strongly linked with Ferrari across the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend having allegedly met with Ferrari chairman John Elkann this year.

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto also added he was "happy" that Hamilton was available for 2021, although Hamilton has previously mentioned that he would like to extend his stay at Mercedes.

Leclerc continued the praise and, when asked if he would welcome Hamilton at Ferrari in the future, he replied: "Well, of course. At the end, we are in Formula 1 and we want to fight against the best.

"I've had a big opportunity this year to have Seb next to me who is a four time World Champion and I've learned a lot from him.

"You can always learn from this type of champion - so yeah, of course."

As it stands, the majority of driver contracts are set to elapse at the end of the 2020 season, including Leclerc and Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel.

Leclerc beat Vettel in the 2019 drivers' championship by 24 points, becoming the first teammate to outscore Vettel since Daniel Ricciardo in 2014 at Red Bull.

Hamilton refused to be drawn on the rumours that he had met with Elkann, and continued his assertion that Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff's continued involvement with the team would be a factor in his decision.

"Naturally, everything that happens behind closed doors is obviously always private with whoever it is you end up sitting with.

"I think for many, many years I've never ever sat down and considered other options, because we've been just driving straight ahead into the path that we've been on.

"To be honest, I still think we're on that path and I think there's very little that's going to shift it from that.

"I know Toto is also looking at his options in terms of his future and only he will know what is the best thing for him and his family.

"So I'm waiting to see what he's doing with that.

"I love where I am so it's definitely not a quick decision to do something else, but of course I think it's only smart and wise for me to sit and think of what I want - if it is the last period or stage in my career.

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Red Bull has faith in FIA over F1 engine policing

Red Bull has faith in FIA over F1 engine policing

Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team boss Christian Horner says he has faith in the way the FIA has addressed the controversial issue of fuel-flow in recent weeks.
A letter to the FIA from Red Bul chief engineer Paul Monaghan sent on October 22nd triggered the first of what became a series of technical directives distributed to all the teams, and which are intended to close any potential loopholes and ensure that there's a standard interpretation of the regulations.

Just before the start of the Abu Dhabi GP, a routine check of declared fuel loads, based on a pre-season technical directive, found a discrepancy with Charles Leclerc's Ferrari.

An investigation led to a €50,000 fine after the race.

"They're definitely doing everything they can to ensure that the complexity of these engines is policed in every area," said Horner when asked about the FIA's efforts by Motorsport.com.

"And I think they're just making more and more steps to ensure that grey areas are made very clear."

Regarding the role of teams in alerting the FIA to potential issues, he said: "Of course, that's always an element because their resource is limited, but I think they're investing a lot of resource into ensuring that everybody's on a neutral playing field.

"I think going into the winter, the most important thing is clarity going into 2020. And then hopefully the regulatory changes and technical directives coming in alleviate any concern."

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Contact with team mate, Giovinazzi, sours Kubica's Williams farewell

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Robert Kubica's Williams swansong didn't go smoothly at all, as the Pole said his final Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi was hampered by contact with team mate George Russell and Antonio Giovinazzi, but Williams didn't let that overshadow his impact at the team – they paid tribute to his "invaluable" work at the squad over the past two seasons.

After finishing 19th in Abu Dhabi, Kubica explained: “There was a bit of wheel-to-wheel battling first with George on Lap 1 – we touched, he over-braked into Turn 5, went straight and he touched me – and then with Giovi [Antonio Giovinazzi] we touched quite heavily and I damaged the floor quite a lot,” Kubica said. “It was the whole right-hand side, so the last 35 laps were very difficult.”

While his post-race message to the team wasn't as emotional as Lando Norris's send-off to out-going McLaren Performance Engineer Andrew Jarvis, Kubica acknowledged that it hadn't quite dawned on him that Abu Dhabi may have been his final F1 race ever.

“Until now, no, [it wasn’t emotional], maybe it will come – a bit of emotion – once everything has finished but let’s move forward.”

Senior Race Engineer Dave Robson paid tribute to Kubica and, in doing so, highlighted just why another team would want his experience and expertise.

“Throughout a difficult season, the drivers and the whole team have performed well, professionally, and with good humour,” Robson said. “We thank Robert for all his efforts behind the wheel and at the factory. His determination, experience, and knowledge have been invaluable over the last two years. We wish him all the very best for his future.

“Our attention now immediately turns to 2020 as we focus on tyre testing. This is a very good opportunity to understand the new tyres in hot conditions and will provide us with the information we need to select compounds for winter testing and the opening races of the 2020 season.”

The 34-year-old may not have seen the inside of an F1 car for the last time, however, as he could find himself in an F1 support role next season.

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Bernie Ecclestone: I won't have a legacy and will be 'quickly forgotten'

Former F1 boss, Bernie Ecclestone

Former F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone believes he won’t have a legacy when he passes, insisting despite everything he has achieved he will be “quickly forgotten”.

Ecclestone sold his shares in Formula 1 to Liberty Media at the end of 2016 for an estimated $8bn and has since been serving time under the new management as Chairman Emeritus.

The 89-year-old has spent over 60 years of his life in and around the world of F1, even making two entries as a driver for the Connaught team in 1958 racing at Monaco and Silverstone. He failed to qualify on both occasions.

He also spent time as a driver manager to Stuart Lewis-Evans in the 1950s and F1's only posthumous World Champion Jochen Rindt before his passing at the 1970 Italian Grand Prix.

Ecclestone would continue in F1, eventually coming to own the Brabham team during the 1970s, eventually winning two titles with Nelson Piquet in 1981 and 1983.

Also during the 1970s, he would help negotiate TV rights for F1 as well as being responsible for hiring the late Professor Sid Watkins as the series’ official medical doctor in 1978.

After the fatal crash of Ronnie Peterson at the start of that season’s Italian Grand Prix, Watkins had demanded better medical facilities which saw the beginning of an immense overhaul in the approach to safety in F1.

Ecclestone also worked for over 30 years with former FIA president Max Mosley in collaboration with the FIA, negotiating the broadcasting and financial dealings with the teams through FOM.

Speaking on the official F1 ‘Beyond the Grid’ podcast, he said: “I don’t have one, I will disappear and be forgotten within a few months like most people.

“Nobody remembers. The world moves on. New people, new things happen. The world is moving so quick now to what it used to, maybe 20 years ago even.

“It’s easy for people to march on for new things, new ideas.”

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Valentino Rossi has seat fitting ahead of F1/MotoGP swap with Lewis Hamilton

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Seven-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi has undergone a seat fitting with Mercedes ahead of his and Lewis Hamilton's ride swap.

The two motorsport stars are set to swap rides next week at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia as part of a promotional event run by joint-sponsor Monster Energy.

Six-time F1 champion Hamilton will get to ride Rossi's Yamaha, which follows last year's December test in which he rode a Yamaha R1m superbike.

"I’m super excited about it,” Hamilton said last month. "Just being on the same track at the same time as Valentino is going to be very, very surreal, and a real honour, because he’s such an icon in the sport, and he’s done so much. It’ll be cool to see him in my car as well."

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Rossi will get behind the wheel of the 2017 Mercedes W08 and underwent a seat fitting this week, sharing images on social media with the caption: "I think me and Lewis Hamilton will have some fun soon".

Rossi last tasted F1 machinery almost a decade ago when he drove a 2008-spec Ferrari at Spain's Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which promoted rumours that the Italian could switch to F1, though of course that never materalised.

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Sebastian Vettel must seek professional help – Mark Webber

Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel will need to seek professional help to unlock a "new phase of passion and energy" ahead of the 2020 Formula 1 season, according to former team-mate Mark Webber.

Vettel endured a tough 2019 season – many would claim it has been his toughest in the sport – after being beaten by Ferrari newcomer Charles Leclerc.

The four-time champion scored just one race win and finished fifth in the standings, leading to claims he could walk away from the sport after recently having his third child, though Vettel has denied this.

Webber, who partnered Vettel at Red Bull, reckons the German is heading into what could be his "biggest" off-season and reckons he should seek some professional help to better prepare mentally ahead of the new season, if he's to come back in a better frame of mind to tackle the challenge presented by his F1 rivals and team-mate Leclerc.

"I think this is definitely the biggest off-season of his career without a doubt," Webber told Channel 4.

"It’s been his worst season [at Ferrari] and he’s got a big, big fight on his hands to come back next year.

"He’s a winner, a fighter, a small chink in his armour...he's not a great listener.

"I think if he needs to seek some advice off people – this is uncharted waters for him because he is coming towards the end of his career – but he needs to seek all the different professional advice that he can from people who might have also been on this journey to understand how he can unlock that new phase of passion, energy, that drive to get going.

"He’s got three kids at home now, 22 races coming up next year. I don’t have kids but that will be a real challenge and some of the other guys don’t have that."

It's not unknown for F1 drivers to seek such help, with Romain Grosjean and Nico Rosberg openly discussing how they overcame hurdles within the sport thanks to psychological assistance over the off-season.

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The price of success: Mercedes to pay record F1 entrance fee

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Mercedes will pay Formula 1's highest-ever entrance fee for the 2020 FIA Formula 1 World Championship following its sixth successive Constructors' title victory.

The entrance fee is calculated based on a standard fee plus a value assigned to each championship point scored over the course of the previous season, with the champions hit by a higher per-point rate than its rivals.

Mercedes, which scored 739 points over the course of the 2019 season, must pay the base rate of $556,509, plus $6,677 per point, giving a total entry fee of $5,490,812 – which beats the previous record of $4,934,303, also set by Mercedes in 2016 when it scored a record points tally of 765.

The per-point fee has increased annually and is based on the US Consumer Price Index, which accounts for the fee jump even though Mercedes scored fewer points in 2019 than it did in 2016. The 2020 fee is just over $500,000 more than Mercedes paid for 2019.

The champions fee is $1,114 higher per-point than those that finish second to tenth, with Ferrari paying 'just' $3,360,261 for the 2020 season after they scored just 504 points.

Bringing up the rear with just one point scored is Williams, which will pay $562,072, almost 10x less than Mercedes.

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One last blast - Verstappen and Albon's duel in the desert

Max and Alex kick off the final grand prix weekend of the year getting some free air out in the desert. Before getting down to the serious business of the season finale at Yas Marina, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing drivers Alex Albon and Max Verstappen took advantage of their surroundings on Wednesday, heading into the desert outside Abu Dhabi to sample a rather different kind of racing machine; bouncing across the desert hardpan in a Honda dune buggy.

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Drivers get third MGU-K for 22-race 2020 F1 season

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The FIA has increased the allocation of permitted power unit components for the first time in Formula 1’s hybrid era, with drivers allowed a third MGU-K in 2020.

The power unit comprises six components – the Internal Combustion Engine, Turbocharger, MGU-H, MGU-K, Energy Store and Control Electronics – and the number of permitted parts has reduced over time.

For 2019, drivers were permitted three ICEs, Turbochargers and MGU-Hs, while the MGU-K, Energy Store and Control Electronics usage was reduced to just two.

On Wednesday the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council met to formally ratify the change, meaning that drivers will be allowed three MGU-Ks per year, prior to taking a penalty.

The WMSC also confirmed the appointment of BBS as the single supplier of wheel rims, starting in 2021.

The ratification of Magneti Marelli as fuel primer pump supplier, and Bosch for the high-pressure fuel pump and piping, was also confirmed, following the FIA’s consultation with teams and power unit suppliers.

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FIA acts to prevent teams from using screens at testing

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The FIA has approved changes to the 2020 Formula 1 regulations that will prohibit teams from being able to use screens during testing.

Formula 1 teams are not allowed to cover the garages with screens during grand prix weekends but that regulation has not previously extended to testing.

During testing teams have usually covered cars, and garages, with screens in order to try and protect developments from being observed by potential rivals.

On Wednesday the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council met to approve changes.

It determined that changes to the regulations include “wording to prevent teams from covering their cars during winter testing, in order to make these events more appealing to the media and fans.”

Teams will still be allowed to use screens in the event of a damaged car being returned to the pit lane.

Formula 1 has expanded its coverage of pre-season testing in recent years, with the entirely of last season’s opening Barcelona action broadcast live on its own TV network.

In 2020 Formula 1 will broadcast all six days of testing live through its subscription service.

Elsewhere it was confirmed that a physical chequered flag will return to be used as the end-of-race signal in 2020.

Officials switched to using an electronic panel board in 2019 but a glitch in Japan meant it was shown one lap early, which affected the result at the foot of the top 10 in the wake of Sergio Perez’s clash with Pierre Gasly.

It came after the chequered flag was erroneously shown prematurely at the 2014 Chinese Grand Prix and 2018 Canadian Grand Prix.

Should a repeat occur it would still mark the official end of the race.

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Schumacher: Second F2 year can be “head start” for F1 2021

Schumacher: Second F2 year can be “head start” for F1 2021

Ferrari junior Mick Schumacher believes he can get a "head start" for Formula 1 by staying in Formula 2 for another season, after being passed up for a 2020 F1 promotion.
Schumacher – son of seven-time F1 champion Michael – drove Ferrari and Alfa Romeo’s current F1 cars in tests this year alongside his F2 programme in 2019.

In F2 he took a win in Hungary and finished 12th in the standings in his rookie year while racing for Prema Racing, which he will return to next year.

Motorsport.com sources indicate that Schumacher was being evaluated for the Alfa Romeo seat, but a combination of his results in F2 and the resurgence of Antonio Giovinazzi in the second half of the season meant the team elected to stick with Italian Giovinazzi – also a Ferrari junior – for 2020.

Schumacher's sophomore season in F2 will coincide with the series switching to 18-inch tyres, a year before F1's own switch in 2021 - and Schumacher sees this as a silver lining to not having got an F1 chance for next year.

“Clearly if you get the opportunity [in F1], you take it, so the opportunity hasn’t been there,” Schumacher told Motorsport.com “That’s pretty open and clear. 

“But then the next decision was to stay in F2. For me [it was] the most intelligent and most reliable decision I could take and category I could drive in. 

“F2 is going to have the new tyres next year [18-inch], which is going to be positive for me because that’s going to be for F1 in 2021. 

“If then we manage to do the step, I would have a head start. 

"Obviously it’s different but I think in a junior category it’s going to help me get more experience. Maybe also put me in a different position for next year.”

Mick Schumacher, Prema Racing

Having won the 2018 European Formula 3 Championship, Schumacher took over the Prema F2 car driven to fourth in the standings by Nyck de Vries last year, behind only F1 graduates George Russell, Lando Norris and Alex Albon.

The German saw reliability issues as a big reason why his 2019 results didn’t reflect the pace he has shown at certain rounds this season. 

“I think it’s been a very positive year in terms of pure performance,” Schumacher said. “It’s been a negative year in terms of reliability. 

“I think we had a few races where the points and positions have been taken away from us, where else it could have been a very strong weekend and performance. 

“Unfortunately the set-up of the F2 weekend is basically race one decides the place you will start for race two. 

“Many of my problems were in race one, which meant the weekend was basically trashed away from there. 

“It’s very unfortunate because I think we could have done very good weekends here and there which would have given me, in the end result, a lot of points, and put me in a different position in the championship.”

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F1 changes "draconian" weighbridge rule for 2020

F1 changes "draconian" weighbridge rule for 2020

Formula 1 has changed its controversial weighbridge rules for 2020 on the back of complaints about penalties that were handed out this year.
Both Red Bull's Pierre Gasly (Baku) and Racing Point's Sergio Perez (USA) faced pitlane starts this year after they accidentally missed weighbridge checks during Friday free practice sessions.

The heavy penalties prompted complaints from their teams that the sanction was out of kilter with the offence.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner told Sky after Gasly's Baku incident: "If he had been running 50 kilos underweight, his penalty would have been less than what he actually got for missing that light.

"This regulation is a hangover from when we used to have qualifying on a Friday and, if qualifying got cancelled, then they would refer back to the times of the previous practice. It is about as draconian as you can possibly get."

However, the way the regulations were worded meant that any driver who missed the weighbridge on a Friday and whose car was worked on was automatically given a pitlane start.

Following discussions between teams and the FIA, it was agreed that the rules needed modifying.

Now, with approval by the World Motor Sport Council, more freedom will be given to the stewards from 2020 to decide on the sanction.

The rules now state that if a driver misses the weighbridge and his car is worked on then the matter will simply "be referred to the stewards," who will then be able to decide what punishment is given.

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Vietnam adds extra corner to F1 circuit

Vietnam adds extra corner to F1 circuit

Vietnam Grand Prix organisers have added an extra corner to their new Formula 1 circuit design in a bid to further improve safety, as work pushes on at the venue ahead of its first race next year.

The tweak – in the final section of the Hanoi city track – will lift the total number of corners to 23 and increases the track length from the original 5.565km length to 5.607km. 

Le Ngoc Chi, CEO of the Vietnam Grand Prix Corporation, said the change had been made at the request of the FIA and F1.

"We have changed a little bit on Turns 22 and 23," she told Motorsport.com. "It's a street circuit and you have to adjust it to the actual geographical conditions of the area, and make sure that it meets with every single requirement of the FIA and F1.

"We have worked very closely with FIA and F1 to make sure that everything we do ensures perfect safety for the drivers, as well as still create all the exciting turns that allows the drivers to showcase their skills.

"The new [layout] shape will be out very soon, and everyone will see that the change is little, but it adds another turn to the circuit and it is not too much different. But it's safe, and that's the most important thing."

Building is well underway at the new Hanoi venue, as these exclusive photographs show, with the current focus on getting the track surface complete. Chi confirmed that everything was on schedule.

"We are we completely on track and the progress that we made is very nice," she said. "The circuit will be done by the end of this year.

"Part of it is on existing streets and the other part has been built from scratch – and all the newly built part is already done.

"On both parts we are now doing the asphalt. There are many layers to it and we are expecting to get it completely done by the end of this year. Once we get that done, we will start with the overlay.

"That gives us about three months for the overlay to be done from January to the end of March. It sounds like that's a lot of time for any track to do the overlay, but we want to have that buffer and we cannot allow any delay. It has to get done. So three months to us is the right amount of time."

Vietnam is due to hold its first F1 race on April 5 next year.

Hanoi F1 circuit work in progress

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Physical chequered flag will end F1 races again in 2020

Physical chequered flag will end F1 races again in 2020

A physical chequered flag, not an electronic panel, will be the definitive signal for the end of Formula 1 races again in the future.
For this season, the FIA changed the wording of F1’s regulations so a chequered light panel became the end‐of‐race signal.

This was a response to the error in the 2018 Canadian Grand Prix, where a mix-up between an official and celebrity guest Winnie Harlow the chequered flag was waved early by mistake.

However, in this year’s Japanese Grand Prix, a systems error meant the electronic panel declared the race over one lap early, despite everybody racing to the scheduled conclusion of the event.

F1’s rules meant the race had to be counted back one lap, gifting Sergio Perez ninth after he had crashed with Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly on what should have been the final lap, knocking Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg down to 10th and Lance Stroll out of the points entirely.

After the grand prix, FIA race director Michael Masi would not say whether it had been an automatic or human trigger in the flag system that had gone wrong, only admitting “it is one of those that hasn't happened before with the chequered flag board, and we have just got to investigate why”.

But Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel said it was an example of why only a real chequered flag should end an F1 race, as that is the “ultimate signal” drivers respond to.

This week, Wednesday’s meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council ratified the reinstatement of the chequered flag as the definitive end-of-race signal. 

The same rules will still apply if it is shown early by mistakes, with the race result being declared at that moment instead of the panel being used as back-up. 

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Mercedes gets first run on 18-inch tyres in Abu Dhabi

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Reigning World Champions Mercedes have trialled Pirelli’s prototype 18-inch wheels for the first time, ahead of the impending switch for 2021.

Formula 1 will switch from the current 13-inch size to 18-inch for 2021, as part of a raft of overhauls being implemented in the championship.

Pirelli began testing with Renault and McLaren at Circuit Paul Ricard earlier this year, and on Sunday Mercedes was the next time to try the enlarged sizes.

George Russell, who ran for Mercedes during Wednesday’s group tyre test action at Yas Marina Circuit, got behind the wheel of the modified version of the W10 once more for Sunday’s private test.

Williams racer Russell, part of Mercedes’ driver scheme since 2017, completed 100 laps of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix circuit.

As per the regulations Pirelli dictates the run plan for the test while all data gathered is shared between each team, ensuring that no-one gains an advantage.

Russell will remain behind the wheel of Mercedes’ 2019-spec mule car, which was converted from Valtteri Bottas’ race chassis after last week’s test, on Monday.

Formula 2 will switch to the larger sizes in 2020, a year ahead of Formula 1, with Ferrari tester Antonio Fuoco adding more mileage to the junior category's mule car earlier this week.

Pirelli will remain as Formula 1's sole tyre supplier through at least 2023.

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Rollercoaster 2019 my toughest season, says Pierre Gasly

Toro Rosso driver Pierre Gasly

Pierre Gasly has asserted that he will emerge stronger from the 'toughest year' of his career, in which he started at Red Bull, returned to Toro Rosso, and suffered the loss of a close friend.

Gasly joined Red Bull in place of Renault-bound Daniel Ricciardo but struggled for performance and results through the opening half of the campaign, and mid-season was demoted to Toro Rosso.

Gasly’s first event back at Toro Rosso, in Belgium, was marred by the death of close friend Anthoine Hubert in the supporting Formula 2 round.

Gasly went on to achieve five points finishes from nine attempts with Toro Rosso, including a shock podium result at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

“Yeah, for sure,” Gasly told MotorsportWeek.com on whether 2019 was his toughest season.

“I was with some friends and they were like “your year has been like a Hollywood movie, a movie you think it can’t be true, there are too many things that happened to be true.”

“And that’s a bit the way I feel it as well.

“I just went through all sorts of emotions and feelings, from frustration to anger to one of the saddest moments of my life at Spa with Anthoine and then two months later to one of the happiest moments of my life with the first podium in F1.

“It’s just like such a roller-coaster but at the same time I’ve learned a lot from these situations on a personal level but also as a driver.”

Gasly had been assured after the Hungarian Grand Prix that his seat was safe through the end of 2019, but eight days later Red Bull enacted the change that left him at Toro Rosso.

“When I got the news I was really shocked and kind of angry,” he told Motorsport Week.

“I don’t feel it was fair, because these first six months were nowhere near what we should have shown.

“I was kind of… angry but at the same time I’ve turned everything into positive energy.

“There were many things that didn’t go in the right way.

“At the end of the day this was the situation, it was done, it was passed, I couldn’t change it.

“I thought okay I have these nine races where I’m going to show my skills, my speed, my consistency, the things I’ve shown since I started in single-seaters until I got to Red Bull.

“I’ve been fast in every season in every car in every different category and these six months [were the] only six months of my career where things didn’t go right.

“Suddenly everyone questions ‘ah does he know how to brake, does he know how to turn the wheel’ and all these things, and all these silly [comments] because the information stays confidential within the team.

“It was like ‘okay now I’m going to work harder than ever to prove this point and for these nine races I want to be at the best level ever without changing anything.’”

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Mark Webber tips Ferrari over Mercedes for 2020 title

Ferrari or Mercedes in 2020?

Mark Webber, former Formula 1 driver, WEC champion and television pundit, is backing Ferrari over Mercedes for title success in 2020.

Ferrari started the 2019 season on the back foot, but following the summer break the team came into its own with Charles Leclerc enjoying a run of four consecutive pole positions and a total of seven across the season – more than any other driver.

However the team came undone when it came to strategy and team-mate rivalry with Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel colliding in Brazil to deliver the team's only double retirement of the season.

If the strategy errors can be ironed out and with stable regulations in 2020 set to deliver what many expect to be the most competitive season in recent memory, Webber reckons Ferrari can bring the fight to Mercedes and deliver a first Constructors' title back to Maranello since 2008.

"For the Constructors' Championship it looks good for Ferrari provided Leclerc and Vettel manage to score regularly," Webber told Formule1.nl.

However with Leclerc still inexperienced in what will only be his third season in F1 and Vettel needing to rediscover his form – which Webber recently suggested might require some professional guidance – the Australian expects Lewis Hamilton will take the Drivers' Championship and with it match Michael Schumacher's record.

"I think Lewis will still show his superiority in the Drivers' Championship over a whole season," he added.

"I look forward to seeing in 2020 if Hamilton can match the seven world titles of Michael Schumacher, whilst dealing with Leclerc and Verstappen."

On the topic of F1's youngsters, Webber called Leclerc's maiden season at Ferrari "one of the highlights of the year", and added: "We don't even have to talk about Verstappen anymore. He is now an established name and is on fire at the moment!"

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Lewis Hamilton officially crowned 2019 F1 champion at FIA Gala

World Champion Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton has officially received the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship trophy for a sixth time during Friday’s FIA Prize Giving Ceremony in France.

Hamilton picked up the accolade during the annual FIA Gala, which was held on Friday evening at the world-famous Musee de Louvre in Paris.

Hamilton was joined by Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, representing the manufacturer, which secured its sixth successive Constructors’ trophy this year.

Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen were also in attendance to collect their prize for finishing second and third respectively in the championship.

Bottas drove Mercedes’ W10 onto the stage during the ceremony.

“For me this has definitely been the best season of my life, I’ve enjoyed collaborating with this incredible team, which has almost 2,000 people,” said Hamilton.

“Fighting hard with Valtteri, and a lot of these up-and-coming drivers this year, has been fantastic.”

Hamilton’s sixth title, which was secured at November’s United States Grand Prix, marked his third in succession, following on from previous successes in 2008, 2014 and 2015.

With Ferrari and Red Bull failing to mount a challenge in 2019 Hamilton pulled clear of Bottas through the European rounds of the championship, taking four wins in a row from Spain through France, establishing a title advantage that he never relinquished.

Hamilton finished the year with 11 victories and a record haul of 413 points.

Alexander Albon picked up the accolade for the FIA’s Rookie of the Year, having taken eighth in the Formula 1 championship, stepping up from Toro Rosso to Red Bull mid-season.

The late Niki Lauda was the recipient of the Personality of the Year award.

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