FORMULA 1

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Vettel leaving Ferrari at the end of 2020

Sebastian Vettel may walk away from Ferrari having never delivered the Formula One title the proud Italian team so desperately wants. The four-time world champion is leaving at the end of the year by mutual consent.

The Canadian Press

 

Sebastian Vettel , The Canadian Press

Sebastian Vettel may walk away from Ferrari having never delivered the Formula One title the proud Italian team so desperately wants.

The four-time world champion is leaving at the end of the year by mutual consent. But it remains uncertain if the season will start amid the coronavirus pandemic, with the first 10 races already postponed or cancelled.

The 32-year-old German driver joined Ferrari in 2015 to replace Fernando Alonso, but was unable to add to his world titles at Red Bull from 2010-13.

Observers expected him to break Michael Schumacher's record of seven F1 titles. Now that is within reach of world champion Lewis Hamilton, who has six.

Hamilton's rise with Mercedes has been mirrored by Vettel's gradual slide at Ferrari.

Of Vettel’s 53 career wins, 14 came with Ferrari, including only one last year.

“In order to get the best possible results in this sport, it’s vital for all parties to work in perfect harmony,” Vettel said on Tuesday. “The team and I have realized that there is no longer a common desire to stay together."

Vettel's existing contract earns him $40 million per year, but he said finances played no part in the mutual decision.

"That’s not the way I think when it comes to making certain choices,” he said.

Vettel had ample chances to win Ferrari's first world title since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007. The team's last constructors' title was in 2006.

Vettel led the championship at the halfway stage in 2017 and 2018, but a series of clumsy mistakes — unbefitting a driver of his vast experience — proved costly.

At Singapore in 2017, he launched off pole position and tried to cut off Max Verstappen's Red Bull, causing a multi-car crash which Hamilton avoided to win the GP and reclaim the championship lead.

At the German GP in 2018, Vettel was set to win at Hockenheim. Holding a comfortable lead and with Hamilton some distance behind, Vettel misjudged a routine turn and crashed into the barriers, again gifting Hamilton a win and the championship momentum.

Last year, the pressure appeared to affect Vettel's judgement. Furious that he was stripped of victory at the Canadian GP because of a time penalty, he theatrically grabbed the big No. 1 sign and parked it in front of his car, while moving the No. 2 in front of Hamilton's Mercedes.

Then came a bemusing moment at the Italian GP in Monza.

Again under no pressure, Vettel spun his car — just as he had done in Bahrain earlier that season. He carelessly tried to come back on the track and almost speared into Lance Stroll, who was turning his Racing Point car into the same area and just managed to swerve past.

Vettel was also not helped by erratic and sometimes conflicting team orders, although by the same token his win last year at Singapore was because orders went in his favour over Charles Leclerc.

The speedy rise of Leclerc at Ferrari proved difficult to handle for Vettel last year. Despite being in his debut season with Ferrari, and only his second in F1, Leclerc won more races than Vettel and even beat Hamilton 7-5 for most pole positions.

It led to tension within Ferrari, which reached a breaking point in November when the drivers crashed into each other at the Brazilian GP.

Leclerc made a clean overtaking move on Vettel down the inside, and Vettel tried to reclaim his position by moving on the outside of Leclerc’s car. They touched wheels and both cars went out of the race.

Vettel finished a dismal fifth overall in the championship race, beaten by Leclerc and Verstappen, who finished third behind the Mercedes pair of Valtteri Bottas and Hamilton.

Leclerc tweeted a picture of himself and Vettel celebrating with the team.

“It’s been a huge honour for me to be your teammate. We’ve had some tense moments on tracks," Leclerc wrote . "Some very good ones and some others that didn’t end as we both wanted, but there was always respect.”

Leclerc, just as quick and 10 years younger than Vettel, was clearly seen as the Italian manufacturer’s future. He signed a new deal until the end of 2024 while Vettel’s was still on hold.

“Tt was not an easy decision to reach, given Sebastian’s worth as a driver and as a person,” Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said. “There was no specific reason that led to this decision, apart from the common and amicable belief that the time had come to go our separate ways.”

WHO REPLACES VETTEL?

McLaren driver Carlos Sainz Jr. and Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo are two of the names widely touted as possible replacements.

Sainz Jr. is the son of two-time world rally champion Carlos Sainz. The 25-year-old Spanish driver finished a credible sixth last season, showing great consistency and good race craft.

The 30-year-old Ricciardo had a dismal time with Renault, finishing in ninth. But the Australian driver proved his ability at Red Bull. He won seven races there and performed better than Vettel when they were paired together in 2014, beating him 3-0 in race wins.

Alonso returning to F1 with Ferrari would be an outside bet, considering the two-time F1 champion is 38. But he is still considered among the best F1 drivers in terms of pure ability. If Sainz. Jr does join Ferrari it would open the door for Alonso at McLaren.

..... Not that surprising the way he raced last season.

[MIKA27]

World Council approves lower cost cap and other F1 rule changes

The FIA World Motor Sport Council has formally approved a wide-ranging raft of changes to the Formula 1 regulations to cover the 2020 World Championship season and beyond.
The most significant is confirmation of the new cost cap limit that will start in 2021. It will be pegged at $145m for the first year, $140m for 2022, and will then drop to $130m for the next three years, based on a 21-race season.

Provision for “closed” races without fans has been written into the rules, with teams only allowed to bring 80 people, 60 of whom can be operational.

The following technical regulations have been confirmed:

Freezing of a large list of components between 2020 and 2021. The list includes the chassis, gearbox, a number of mechanical components and impact structures. A token system has been devised to permit a very limited number of modifications in accordance to the competitors’ specific needs.For 2020, limitations to Power Unit upgrades.

For 2021, changes to the plan-view trim and simplification of the floor ahead of the rear tyres in order to moderate the increase of downforce between 2020 and 2021.

For 2021, minimum mass increase to 749kg.

The following sporting regulations have also been confirmed:

For 2020, provisions for “closed” and “open” events and the relevant regulatory structure for each (e.g. personnel at the paddock), depending on whether such events permit spectators.

For 2020, various updates relating to tyre regulations, with provisions to allow for tyre testing during Free Practice 2 should it be necessary to approve a new tyre specification by Pirelli and the extended use of P140 tyres in the case of a wet Free Practice 1 session.

For 2020, a reduction in aerodynamic testing (ATR) and the introduction of Power Unit test bench restrictions for cost reasons.

For 2021, a further reduction in aerodynamic testing, and the introduction of a bias between championship position and ATR limitations. The ATR bias will be linear between P1 and P10.

For 2022, a number of key specific aspects of the regulations have been set out, including curfews, restricted number components (RNCs), scrutineering, and parc fermé prescriptions. These regulations work as a package together with the 2022 Technical Regulations that were approved by the World Council on 30 March 2020 and will be part of an ongoing review and refinement process throughout 2020 and 2021. 

Aside from the headline cost cap, the following changes have been made to the list of exclusions in the 2021 financial regulations:

Increase of Year-End Bonus exclusion cap for exceptional sporting results from $10M to $12M and Social Charges for Year-End Bonus.

Threshold for calculation of exclusion for Social Charges on Salary paid to staff lowered from 15% to 13.8%.

Costs incurred for staff entertainment (capped at $1M).

Wellbeing of employees: exclusion of costs incurred for medical programs (e.g. vaccination, eye tests, hearing tests) made available to all relevant employees.

Sustainability costs incurred for environmental initiatives.

Maternity/paternity/shared parental/adoption leave, exclusion for Salary costs.

Sick leave and long term sick leave: exclusion for Salary costs.

Projects undertaken to assist the FIA.

In addition, the FIA has addressed the controversial issue of teams that supply components to partners.

The FIA notes: Concurrently with these regulation changes, the Notional Values for Transferable Components (TRCs) have been defined by the FIA for 2021, which is of increased importance considering the reduced Cost Cap level. It has been reaffirmed that the concept of the Notional Values (subject to their correct and fair setting), achieves the following:

Enables smaller teams to avoid the necessity to establish and maintain a capability to design, develop and manufacture the parts that have been designated as TRCs (Transferable Components)

Prevents project “flipping” (a small team supplying a big one to circumvent the Cost Cap restrictions).

Enables small teams to make genuine savings

MIKA: It seems the smaller teams will be happy because i fear the larger ones will quit the sport and breakout into another league?

Is this the end of Formula 1?

[MIKA27]

F1 involvement now "clear cut" for manufacturers - Steiner

Haas team principal Gunther Steiner believes the reduced Formula 1 budget cap from 2021 will make involvement in the series a "clear cut" decision for interested manufacturers.
The World Motor Sport Council is set to ratify a radical set of rule changes for F1 this week after teams agreed to new measures to help safeguard the future of the sport following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The budget cap for 2021 has been reduced from $175 million to $145 million, while new rules on aerodynamic development handicaps and usage of open-source parts are also set to come into force.

These changes are aimed at keeping all 10 teams on the grid for 2021 and beyond, with FIA president Jean Todt pushing to try to secure a "new deal" that will help make F1 more sustainable in the future.

Haas was the last new team to join the F1 grid in 2016, while the grid has featured the same four manufacturers - Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault and Honda - for the last five years, with little sign of fresh interest.

But Steiner believes the potential for F1 teams to offer break-even business models in the future could help stimulate more interest from manufacturers to join the grid.

"It's a lot more interesting now. We need to push more that we can make this a break-even business at least going forward," Steiner said on Sky Sports F1.

"That's one of my jobs to do for Mr. Haas, trying to get this to a point where his investments are smaller.

"For teams coming in, when a budget cap is discussed, there are always some people out there which think they can make money with it. It's still a very expensive sport. You still need to invest a lot of money to get somewhere.

"I think what the good thing is for the manufacturers, if a board of directors see there is a cap, they know how much they're going to spend as a maximum.

"You [don't] start with one number and after five years this number has tripled or quadrupled from what you said a few years before.

"Now there is a stake in the ground saying this is the maximum you are allowed to spend by regulation. It's pretty clear cut now. Whereas before, it was always how much is a piece of string, how much do you want to invest.

"I think it's a good thing, and hopefully gets corporates or car manufacturers to invest in Formula 1."

Talks over reducing the budget cap for 2021 accelerated in recent weeks as the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic became clearer.

The leading F1 teams were initially uneasy about plans to reduce the budget cap by such a large amount, but ultimately agreed to the idea.

Steiner said it was crucial for all teams to be united in the plans to protect F1's future.

"I think some of the small teams would have gone [without a budget cap], and that wouldn't have helped the big teams as well," Steiner said.

"I think it's a fair compromise. They realised that, and made some cuttings as far as they could go, and the compromise came out.

"I think for sure that they are aware that without the smaller teams, there is no sport."

[MIKA27]

F1 reserves first two August weekends for British GP

Formula 1 is reserving the first two weekends of August for races at Silverstone if UK government quarantine restrictions allow personnel to travel freely at that time.
The latest version of the European leg of the 2020 world championship calendar is expected to be announced on Monday.

Back-to-back Silverstone races on July 19/26 and July 26/August 2 are among the combinations that have previously been under consideration, but the introduction of a 14-day quarantine for UK arrivals from June 8 obliged F1 to build in a safety net and put Silverstone later, with Hungary moved into a July slot.

However, increasingly positive noises from the UK government – including the news that prime minister Boris Johnson has told his ministers to help make the races happen – has given the organisation the confidence to reserve August 2 and 9 for the British races.

This week's cancellation of the Silverstone classic event has officially freed up the former date.

In theory there will be a review of UK quarantine restrictions after three weeks, which would be late June, but the prospect of extra exemptions is already under discussion. F1 is understood to be in talks with the government this week.

As previously reported, Silverstone boss Stuart Pringle has made it clear that later dates than those originally discussed are viable.

"We've got our original dates that we've been holding and talking around in mid-to-late July, but actually we've got a degree of flexibility through August as well," he told Sky Sports F1.

The postponed Spanish GP, which had been tentatively earmarked for August 23 on an earlier version of the schedule, is now expected to follow the Silverstone races on August 16, as the third leg of a triple-header.

The Belgian and Italian races are still on their respective original dates of August 30 and September 6, while Hockenheim remains in reserve should other events, including Silverstone, fail to come to fruition.

2020 F1 world championship – provisional European schedule:

July 5 - Austria

July 12 - Austria

July 19 - Hungary

August 2 - Britain

August 9 - Britain

August 16 -Spain

August 30 - Belgium

September 6 - Italy

[MIKA27]

McLaren: ‘Massive and painful’ task to hit F1's new budget cap

McLaren believes the ‘massive and painful task’ of cutting spending and reducing its staff numbers to get under Formula 1’s budget cap level is the price to be paid for new rules that it believes will secure the future of the sport.

The FIA’s World Motorsport Council on Wednesday ratified a raft of new measures, including a budget cap, car and engine development limits, and aero development handicap rules, following weeks of discussions between teams.

McLaren was one of the teams pushing hard for a bigger reduction to the budget cap below the $145 million that is coming into force for next year, but the team is happy with the package of regulations approved.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown said: “Formula 1 wins today. This is a crucially important moment for our sport. F1 has been financially unsustainable for some time, and inaction would have risked the future of F1 and its participants, who are to be commended for resolving this issue collectively and determinedly.”

But with the team expecting to have to lose around 70 staff from its F1 team to get under the budget cap level, with perhaps more to follow as the cap is reduced to $135 million from 2022 and beyond, it is bracing itself for some tough decisions.

Team principal Andreas Seidl said: “It has been clear to everyone for some time that a budget cap would be applied and we pushed for a lower limit to support a financially sustainable sport. It is a big challenge ahead of us. 

“Adjusting the way we work and right-sizing the team to this new cap over the next months is a massive and painful task and, highlighted by our news earlier this week, will sadly mean losing team members, but our aim is to be the best-sized and most efficient team in the future.

“The cooperation and understanding of our team members have been great and with shutdown coming to an end from Wednesday onwards, it is important the team had clarity on the various regulations, which will now allow us to start work again on our cars and understand the implications of the regulations for the future.”

Seidl also said that ideas to ensure teams had scope for car development was also important for ensuring F1 remained attractive.

“While McLaren supports the cost-saving measures in general, we are pleased with the compromise to provide teams with enough aero freedom to retain the competitive element that is core to Formula 1 throughout 2020 and 2021, until the new technical regulations kick in for 2022,” he added.

[MIKA27]

Why new rules mindset could change F1 forever

The bold package of rules aimed at securing Formula 1's long-term survival that were rubber-stamped by the FIA's World Motor Sport Council today could herald an all-new era for the sport.
Following backing from F1 teams last week, the 'New Deal' of rules, which covers a wide-range of areas including chassis, engine, sporting and financial regulations, should be formally approved by an e-vote of the WMSC in the next few hours.

But while much of the battleground focus in recent weeks has revolved around cost cutting regulations – and especially the move to reduce a budget cap from $175 million to $145 million for next year before further being cut back – the changes cover a lot of ground and will define the shape of the sport for years to come.

The budget cap level will lead to a slimming down of F1 teams. McLaren's announcement this week that around 70 of its racing team will be laid off so it can operate at the budget cap level is just the first of what is expected to be many job cuts announced over the next six months.

For engine manufacturers there will be a return to the scenario they faced years ago where an engine freeze kept development costs under control at the end of the V8 era.

The idea is that limited engine spec changes to the different components – just one for 2021 and beyond – will pave the way for a full freeze for 2023 and beyond.

With engines frozen, the likelihood is then that the sport can make tweaks to the powerunit design – rather than radically overhaul them – when a new formula of rules are considered for 2025 and beyond.

Those plans, especially as engine development costs are currently outside of the budget cap, will be welcome for all manufacturers.

As Renault F1 team boss Cyril Abiteboul told Motorsport.com recently: "We've been able to push for containing the crazy development race on the engine, and it's really insane what we've been spending on the engine. Finally that's going to change."

But it's not cost control and the holding back of development to save money that are potential game changers for the sport – for F1 is about to embrace an all-new way of thinking that may shake-up the competitive order.

For years now, F1 has focused almost all of its efforts on remaining a meritocracy, where teams that perform the best are rewarded the most. There was little sympathy for smaller or new outfits from some of the sport's giants.

But the skew of benefits for the top teams, both financially through bonuses and politically through the creation of the Strategy Group, has led to the creation of a two tier F1 where Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari have become pretty much untouchable.

Liberty Media's rules revamp, originally planned for 2021 but now coming for 2022, was aimed at addressing much of the divide.

However, the coronavirus pandemic appears to have thrust a new spirit of open-mindedness from all teams about thinking collectively, which is why there is the first step towards actually helping fast-track a more level playing field that will be better for the sport as a whole.

Rules like an aero development handicap system, where the slowest teams are allowed more wind tunnel and CFD development time, and the use of open source parts, are concepts that would have been almost unthinkable 12 months ago.

For Abiteboul, such ideas are hugely encouraging for the future.

"For the first time, F1 is going to move towards opening technologies that we are developing," he said. "Having all teams collaborating together and developing what's best in certain areas of the car, with open source components, for me is a fantastic way.

"It is much better, much more efficient, much more fair and transparent, than customer team arrangements."

The changes will not suddenly make teams like Williams world champions again, and nor will they prevent the best brains from producing the best cars, but they will perhaps make enough of a change to stop F1 being so predictable.

And, as one source said, they also mark an important first step in F1 finally thinking of ways that teams and the bosses can all work together to help make something better for the group rather than just an individual outfit.

For if the aero rules and open source ideas work, then what about further rule changes that provide more benefits to the slowest teams – so the competition is constantly kept close and in a state of flux?

Rather than such co-operative plans being viewed as the death of F1 for making a false order, it would actually make success even more well earned and special.

Last year, Carlos Sainz talked about how MotoGP had convinced all its manufacturers to embrace concession rules, where bike-makers that don't perform to a certain level are allowed more testing and updates.

"The main feedback is that they [top teams] were sceptical at first, but now I think they are more happy than ever because they are still winning but they are winning even more and they are fighting against more people," he said.

"That makes the manufacturer and the brand stronger, because they are fighting against more brands. It's a very good example and it's something that I would like to see in the future of F1."

Such hopes look set to be answered soon, and could well open the door to a different F1 in the future where such ideas are suddenly the norm.

Pushed on such a new spirit, Abiteboul said: "We are in a sport, we are competing against each other and I'm not removing that. That needs to stay.

"But finding a way for teams to maybe collaborate a little bit more could probably be one lesson of this crisis, and probably something that the fan, in particular the younger generation that wants to see more collaboration between companies and between nations, would like to see to see more of in F1. We may have in the New Deal, a framework to do this type of thing."

[MIKA27]

Sliding scale for windtunnel development approved for 2021 season

Formula 1 has rubber-stamped new regulations for the 2021 season that will result in a sliding scale rule for aerodynamic development.

Under the new agreement the lower down a team finishes in the Constructors’ Championship the more wind tunnel time they will be permitted.

A standard rate of 40 wind tunnel runs per week will be permitted, with a linear sliding scale depending on where a team classifies.

The champions will be permitted 90 per cent of that allocation, and that will increase by increments of 2.5 per cent through to last place, which will receive 112.5 per cent.

That would equate to 36 runs for Mercedes and 45 for Williams, working off of 2019 positions.

Any new team will receive the same as the worst-performing squad on the grid.

From 2022 through to 2025 that co-efficient will be further modified.

The best team will receive only 70 per cent of the allocation, and that will increase by increments of 5 per cent through to the worst squad, which will have 115 per cent.

Further alterations have also been made to the 2020 and 2021 regulations in a bid to reduce costs and level the playing field.

There will be limitations to power unit development while from 2021 the minimum weight of the cars will increase further by 3kg, to 749kg.

While Formula 1 teams will retain the same cars for the 2021 season as in 2020 a tweak has been made to the regulations in order to simplify the floor area.

This is in a bid to moderate the expected increase of downforce that teams will find between 2020 and 2021, with Pirelli concerned about further load on tyres that were designed to 2019 levels.

[MIKA27]

Haas can’t afford Vettel and he wouldn’t want midfield seat anyway – Steiner

Haas Formula 1 team boss Guenther Steiner has said there’s no point in him making an offer to sidelined Sebastian Vettel for 2021, because he can’t afford the German and he doubts it would be an attractive seat for a four-time World Champion.

Vettel and Ferrari have chosen to separate at the end of the current season, which has left the 32-year-old without a seat and with very few available options.

Out of the ‘top teams’, only Mercedes is likely to look at Vettel, though that’s considered an unlikely option. In terms of manufacturer teams, only Renault has a vacancy after Daniel Ricciardo left for McLaren to replace Carlos Sainz, who is taking up Vettel’s vacant seat.

It puts Vettel in a difficult position as to whether he retires, takes a year out and hopes for a better offer for ’22, or accepts a seat in the midfield, but Steiner doesn’t see that as likely.

“I cannot afford [him],” Steiner told Sky Sports F1 when asked if he’d make an offer.

“I think Sebastian, being a four-time world champion, I wouldn’t say he’d want to go to the midfield anymore.

“If you have a successful career, what you don’t want to do is to take too many risks. I’ve got a good relationship with him but I haven’t offered him a seat. I think somebody else with a lot deeper pockets than me will do that!”

[MIKA27]

Hope for British GP as Boris Johnson steps in to rescue event

The 2020 British Grand Prix double-header looks set to go ahead as originally planned after reports British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stepped in personally to ensure it won’t be impacted by quarantine restrictions.

The UK government has implemented a mandatory 14-day quarantine period for any arrivals into the country, meaning teams would be forced to isolate themselves for two weeks prior to any British-based race.

Formula 1 has set out plans to run a double-header in Austria on July 5 and 12 before travelling back to the UK for a double-British GP on July 26 and August 2, to finally kick start its 2020 season which has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

A 14-day quarantine period would therefore not be feasible given F1 personnel would have just 10 days or so between the second Austrian race and the first British race.

This has prompted F1 to start looking at alternatives including swapping Silverstone for Hockenheim or Hungary, though Silverstone boss Stuart Pringle recently said the circuit would be open to a later date on the calendar.

This may now not be necessary as The Times reports that PM Johnson has stepped in and asked his ministers to find a solution that will ensure the race goes ahead in an effort to support the British motorsport industry.

F1 bosses have been lobbying the government to include them in a list of quarantine exemptions, but when the list was published it only included road hauliers, seasonal agricultural workers and medical officials, none of which relate to the sporting world despite the governments insistence on restarting sport in June.

It’s expected F1 will be offered assurances the races can go ahead, allowing them to start laying the foundations for the race, with an official announcement in a couple of weeks time when the government reviews its quarantine measures.

[MIKA27]

Stroll appoints Mercedes chief as new Aston Martin CEO

Tobias Moers has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of Aston Martin, the Britain-based manufacturer confirmed on Tuesday morning.

Moers has been the Chairman and CEO of Mercedes-AMG since 2013 and has spent over 25 years affiliated with parent company Daimler, which holds a five per cent stake in Aston Martin.

Moers has replaced Andy Palmer at the helm of Aston Martin and will take up his new position at the start of August.

Aston Martin will return to Formula 1 in 2021 through the Racing Point team, which is owned by the car maker’s Chief Executive Lawrence Stroll.

The Formula 1 team has a close affiliation with Mercedes through an engine supply and wind tunnel agreement, and based the design of its RP20 off last year’s title-winning W10.

“I am delighted to welcome Tobias to Aston Martin,” said Stroll.

“He is an exceptionally talented automotive professional and a proven business leader with a strong track record during his many years at Daimler AG, with whom we have a longstanding and successful technical and commercial partnership, which we look forward to continuing.

“Throughout his career he has delivered product expansion, strengthened brand positioning and improved profitability.

“He is the right leader for Aston Martin Lagonda as we implement our strategy for the business to achieve its full potential. Our ambition for the company is significant, clear and only matched by our determination to succeed.

“All of my and Tobias’ energy will be dedicated to building on the Company’s inherent strengths, its brand, its engineering prowess, and the skills of its people to enable Aston Martin to become one of the pre-eminent luxury car brands in the world.”

[MIKA27]

'I'm not surprised Vettel is leaving Ferrari' says Scuderia race winner Massa

The wrench of leaving Ferrari after many years driving for F1’s most famous team is an emotional journey very few can talk about with authority – but Felipe Massa can, and the former Scuderia driver says he is not surprised that Sebastian Vettel is leaving Maranello at the end of the year.

Massa is a veteran of 139 Grands Prix with Ferrari and notched up 11 wins with the team in red, making him the third most experienced driver and their fifth most successful – tied with Fernando Alonso on victories.

He told Sky Sports F1 that Vettel’s decision to leave the team in 2021, with Carlos Sainz joining as his replacement, stemmed from the four-time champion’s wish for a “different direction”.

“It’s not a surprise [that Vettel will leave]," he said. "I think he, to stay with the team, he needs to be 100% sure that he wants to stay, but the team [need to be sure] as well. He’s arrived at the moment that he’s just trying to have a different direction, you know?

“So, definitely I’m not surprised on that. Now if he will stay in Formula 1 or not is another question. I think Sebastian is a driver, a guy that is always very focused on what he wants, and I’m not even surprised that maybe he decides to stop [in 2021].”

Massa, who announced his retirement at Williams in 2016 only to return to the team as Valtteri Bottas left for Mercedes – in place of retiring champion Nico Rosberg – shed some light on how Vettel may be left with lingering doubts over his future in F1.

“I think, definitely in his position, to stay, he needs to find a team that gives to him the opportunity [to win]. Otherwise I’m not sure he will stay.”

Massa also pointed to Charles Leclerc’s rapid rise at Ferrari as another reason why both parties have decided to part ways.

“It’s true we cannot forget what Charles did. I’m watching him since karting, [and] when he started to race in cars, he shows he’s really a big talent and he shows he can be a champion or a top driver in whatever team he raced [for].

“Sebastian... he had some pressure inside [the team] and maybe that was also a [factor in the] different decision that Ferrari took.”

Regardless of Vettel’s decision, his legacy at Ferrari is clear to Massa and the Brazilian had strong words to say about the quality of hardware afforded to Vettel from 2015 onwards.

“I would say, in my opinion he did a very, very good job for Ferrari winning many races, even fighting for championships.

"It’s also true that he never had the car to win the championship, even if it was close – it was not the quickest car,” he added.

[MIKA27]

BUXTON: Why I’d love to see Vettel vs Hamilton at Mercedes in 2021

Will Buxton explores the possibility of Sebastian Vettel joining Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2021. Is it possible, what would it bring to Mercedes – and what would it bring to Formula 1?

It couldn’t actually happen, could it?

Perhaps it's only under lockdown conditions, where almost nothing is actually possible, that even the impossible seems plausible. Maybe our imaginations truly are running away with us, but could a battle royale the motorsport world has willed to happen for a decade come to pass?

Hamilton versus Vettel. Mano a mano. Same team. Same car. Gloves off. For one year. It’s delicious isn’t it?

Never before in F1 have we had the two leading championship protagonists of their day holding such success between them. With 10 titles, Vettel and Hamilton have defined the past decade. Yet, like it or not, their time will – and must – come to an end.

And never could the reality of such a generational shift have been more apparent than the last 12 months in the life of Ferrari. The arrival and almost immediate accession of Charles Leclerc to de facto team leader resulted in a contract extension the length of which not even the mighty Michael Schumacher was afforded.

But rather than look on Vettel as a busted flush who’d had his time, there is reason to believe that had circumstances played their hand differently, he might well have taken one or even two world championships over his years in rosso corsa. There is every chance that today we’d be lauding him as the six-time champion. Or him and Hamilton as two, five-time champs.

On his day, Vettel is still one of the very best. The competitive spark has not yet been snuffed out. Given one final chance to pull on his gloves and come out swinging, can anyone really doubt he’d put up a sensational fight?

If the world at large has apparently written him off and supposedly judged his tenure at Ferrari as more indicative of his level than the four years that brought him world championship glory at Red Bull, what greater motivation could a sportsman have than a chance to, once and for all, prove the doubters wrong?

Lest we forget, with new regulations and the beginning of the sport’s new era delayed until 2022 and with 2020’s cars being carried over for an extra season into next year, what we have is, in many ways, a throwaway year. With little on the line, what harm could a box office line-up for the ages really do?

We know that in motor racing the first person anyone has to beat is their team mate. The same machinery is the only true barometer at this level where the stopwatch never lies.

And so the idea of having the drivers who have dominated their generation, driving for the team which has defined the hybrid era, takes root and blossoms. And the more you allow yourself to even imagine it, the more sensational the prospect becomes.

But is it a realistic prospect?

There seems little doubt that Lewis Hamilton will sign an extension to his tenure at Mercedes. He will, in all likelihood, not only race until he’s been bested, but at the point at which he realises he’s on the competitive descent, he will in all probability slide into a managerial position at the outfit with whom he has been associated since childhood.

Who sits alongside him through what remains of his F1 career is therefore the only question at Mercedes.

To move Vettel in would mean the team would have to slide Valtteri Bottas out. It’s believed his manager Didier Cotton has already been in contact with Cyril Abiteboul at Renault about the vacant seat at Enstone for 2021, as any manager worth his salt would naturally have done given the chess moves of the last few weeks. And Bottas to Renault wouldn’t be a bad move at all. Indeed, many would see it as a natural fit.

But Mercedes are desperate to hang onto George Russell and any delay in securing his promotion to the top table might have the potential to not only throw his developmental curve into jeopardy but also spark his desire to move away to a team that will give him the opportunity he will likely he feel he deserves by 2021.

Yet if Russell could be convinced to hang on for 12 more months, then that single year Hamilton – Vettel line-up suddenly becomes very possible indeed.

Whether it would be the contest we’d all love to see, however, is another question.

Recently Toto Wolff outlined what his team was looking for in a driver. “There is a data side of things,” he said. “You look at race results, back into the junior formulas, you look at comparisons with team-mates and how these team-mates compared to other people, and then there is the personality side, which is very important.

“How would the driver fit into the team structure? What would the dynamic be with the driver who could be his team mate?”

The statistics talk for themselves. Vettel is the third most successful F1 driver of all time in terms of race wins, he’s also stood on the podium in half the races he’s ever contested. He’s won four F1 titles.

But then you take team-mate comparisons, and in his entire F1 career he’s been bested by his co-driver just twice. Yet those two years were against fast, disruptive youngsters in the early years of their careers.

The Ricciardo and Leclerc years are a questionable sign of what happens when Vettel feels the team isn’t 100% behind him. And he’s never had to pit himself against a driver of Hamilton’s experience or calibre in the same team.

Personality-wise Seb’s on a similar level with Hamilton in terms of his pure dedication and work ethic. Yet he has often felt the need to stamp his authority in situations he’s felt getting away from him. Certain traits have repeated throughout his career.

For Multi-21 see Russia 2019. For Turkey 2010, cast your mind back to Brazil just last year, too. Parachuting the German into a team so completely built around the championship-winning aura of a driver as seemingly bulletproof and beloved as Lewis Hamilton for one year would not give the German the unquestioned authority he seemingly requires to be at the very top level.

So one has to question not just how but even if he’d fit into that all-important team structure.

Then factor in the mistakes he has repeatedly made when fighting wheel-to-wheel with the very driver he’d be sharing a garage with.

Yet for all of the negatives, perhaps the greatest issue his signing would create is the potential division it might create in a team whose unity has been unquestioned since Nico Rosberg grabbed his world championship trophy, stuck two fingers up and walked off into the sunset.

Why would the team risk all it has built and the potential of a unified front going into the next generation of the sport, for one year? A year of marketing and most importantly potential sporting gold, admittedly. But would they really do it?

It would represent a season the likes of which Formula 1 has never known, and a contest that would go down in the annals of sporting history, whatever the outcome.

It may be a long shot. But in these lockdown days, you can’t help but dream.

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Ricciardo: I could have lost McLaren seat without early deal

Renault Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo says he risked losing the opportunity to race for McLaren in 2021 had he delayed his decision to join the team any further.
Ricciardo signed for McLaren last month in the slipstream of Ferrari announcing that Sebastian Vettel would not be staying on in 2021, and that he would be replaced by Carlos Sainz. That opened a vacancy at McLaren that Ricciardo immediately filled.

Some observers have questioned why the Australian didn’t wait and at least see how the 2020 formbook looked rather than committing to a move so far in advance.

However Ricciardo says that even once the delayed season started he wouldn’t have had clear answers for a month or two, and thus there was no point in delaying his decision.

“I think obviously Vettel’s announcement or news with Ferrari kind of sparked everything,” Ricciardo told the F1 podcast. “And then things were moving pretty quickly around Carlos and all the other stuff.

“Although it seemed like there was maybe still time, I don’t actually think there was, to make movement, if that was what you were going for.

“This is all just what I’m playing in my head – if you start racing in July, which even then wasn’t 100%, but which we are by the looks of it, you’re not going to find out in the first race or the second race.

“You’re probably going to wait until August or maybe September until you really know where everyone’s at, and then I think it felt like it was going to be too late to get something you were after.”

Ricciardo admitted that it wasn’t a clear cut decision to leave Renault for McLaren, and he had to based it on a combination of 2019 form and the unknown potential of next year’s Mercedes-powered package.

“Obviously the reality is you get pitches from whichever team is talking to you, and to some extent, especially now without having any races and any kind of proof other than last year, you have to go on what pitch excites you more than the other. You’re going with what you feel and think at the time. Who knows?

“Obviously if I go back to last year, which is our best reference for now, they were the team that made the most noise.

“Mercedes won the championship again, but it was quite clear to most that McLaren was the team which made the biggest step out of all. That was really encouraging for them, and that’s really all you can base it on.

“And then the pitch for the future. Obviously they are switching power units and all that. Even talking about it now it’s certainly tough, because by no means was it an easy decision, and not having very much to gauge from 2020, that was pretty difficult.”

Asked what was the key to his choice he added: “I’ll be honest, there wasn’t one deciding factor.

“It was certainly different to the Red Bull situation [in 2018]. I feel like Red Bull had run its course for me, personally, I’d been there a long time, we’d tried and tried, and we’d won races, but not the championship.

“So then it was, ‘OK, I just need a change.’ This one I wouldn’t say it was as clear, as far as yes we didn’t achieve what we wanted last year, but equally I wasn’t expecting to win last year. Let’s say it was by no means an easy one, and time will tell.”

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Zanardi’s prognosis is not yet clear, says his surgeon

The surgeon who operated on Alex Zanardi on Friday evening has stressed how serious the situation is – and declared that it’s not yet clear what the prognosis is for the 53-year-old Italian.
After being transferred to hospital following his handbike accident during a race event in Italy on Friday, Zanardi had three hours of neurosurgery and maxillofacial surgery (related to the face). 

An official bulletin issued on Saturday morning said that after the surgery Zanardi had been “transferred to intensive care, has stable hemodynamic and metabolic parameters. He is intubated and supported by artificial ventilation while the neurological picture remains serious.”

Dr Giuseppe Olivieri, the head of neurosurgery at Siena’s Santa Maria alle Scotte hospital, spoke to media later on Saturday.

“The condition of Alex Zanardi is serious but stable,” AP reported Dr Olivieri as saying. “He arrived here with major facial cranial trauma, a smashed face, and a deeply fractured frontal bone [forehead]. The numbers are good, although it remains a very serious situation.

“We won’t see what his neurological state is until he wakes up — if he wakes up. Serious condition means it’s a situation when someone could die. Improvement takes time in these cases. 

“Turns for the worse can be sudden. The operation went according to the plan. It’s the initial situation that was very serious.”

Regarding the next steps Dr Olivieri said: “The next step is to try and stabilise him over the next week or 10 days. Then if things go well, he could eventually be woken up and re-evaluated.

“As I told his wife, he’s a patient who is worth being treated. As far as a prognosis of how he’ll be tomorrow, in a week or in 15 days, I don’t know. But I’m convinced that he should be treated.”

Sabino Scolletta, the director of the hospital’s intensive care unit, added: “The situation is clearly critical in terms of brain damage.”

Update: On Sunday morning, the hospital issued a new statement regarding Zanardi's condition: "Regarding the clinical conditions of the athlete Alex Zanardi, hospitalised at the polyclinic Santa Maria alle Scotte in Siena since June 19 following a road accident, the Health Department informs that the patient spent the night in conditions of cardio-respiratory and metabolic stability. 

"Organ functions are adequate. He is always sedated, intubated and mechanically ventilated. The ongoing neuromonitoring has shown some stability but this figure must be taken with caution because the neurological picture remains serious. 

"The current conditions of general stability still do not allow to exclude the possibility of adverse events and, therefore, the patient remains in a reserved prognosis."

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Hamilton launches new commission to improve diversity in racing

Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton will launch a new research partnership aimed at improving diversity in motorsport and enable “real, tangible and measurable change”.
Amid global protests against racial injustice in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by police in the United States at the end of May, Hamilton has been speaking up about the #BlackLivesMatter movement in recent weeks.

Six-time world champion Hamilton is the only Black driver in F1 World Championship history, and was critical of his white-dominated industry for “staying silent” in the wake of the recent activism.

Writing in tomorrow’s edition of British newspaper The Sunday Times, Hamilton talked about his recent messages, saying: “I saw people I respected choosing to say nothing and it broke my heart. It’s why I had to speak out.” 

The Mercedes driver writes about his experiences of racism in motorsport – “from kids throwing things at me while karting, to being taunted by fans in black face at a 2007 grand prix” – and said he is “used to the idea that no one will speak up for me when I face racism, because no one personally feels or understands my experience.” 

In a bid to improve diversity within the white-dominated motorsport industry, Hamilton announced in the article the launch of The Hamilton Commission, a new research partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering.

The Hamilton Commission will be “dedicated to exploring how motorsport can be used as a vehicle to engage more young people from black backgrounds with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and, ultimately, employ them on our teams or in other engineering sectors.” 

Hamilton continued: “It will explore areas including lack of role models and career services at schools, opportunities to engage more black youth with STEM extracurriculars, barriers that prevent people from more diverse backgrounds joining the racing industry, and problematic hiring practices that result in fewer black graduates entering engineering professions.

“This will not be arm’s length research. We want to hear from the young people and graduates who deal with these challenges every day and we are in the process of bringing on additional partners who work on the ground in black communities to bring first-hand perspective. In addition, we want to bring in leaders from policy and business who are committed to leading on the activation of research recommendations.

“The time for platitudes and token gestures is over. I hope that The Hamilton Commission enables real, tangible and measurable change. When I look back in 20 years, I want to see the sport that gave a shy, working-class black kid from Stevenage so much opportunity, become as diverse as the complex and multicultural world we live in.”

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Steiner: Haas sale rumours are just plain mischief

Haas boss Gunther Steiner says rumours about a potential sale of his outfit are being put out there to create a "storm in a teacup", as he insists there has been no change of ownership.
With all Formula 1 teams facing financial difficulties because of the coronavirus pandemic, and owner Gene Haas admitting to weighing up whether or not to commit to the sport after this year, there has been frequent speculation about a potential change of ownership for the Banbury-based outfit.

But speaking to media during a video teleconference, Steiner made it clear that Haas retains full ownership of the team and, if there was going to be a change, he suggested it would be done in a public manner like Williams did.

"I don't know where it comes from," said Steiner, when asked about rumours about Haas selling a stake in the outfit.

"I think it's now the third time that Gene has sold the team, or partly sold the team. I think this is all speculation. I think somebody is putting some rumours out there.

"We were [said to have been] sold to Saudi Arabia a year ago: we were already sold and the deal was done. But nobody ever spoke with Saudi Arabia.

"I see this a little bit of trying to make a storm in a teacup for no good reason. Gene Haas is still the 100% owner of Haas. He never had a partner. He maybe doesn't want a partner. He maybe doesn't need a partner."

With Williams have openly appointed financial advisers to oversee a potential sale, and McLaren also understood to be looking to sell a stake, Steiner said that if there was ever a time Haas looked to sell, then it would be done in a transparent way.

"When the time is right that he [Haas] wants to do it, we will communicate it," he said. "And I say we: that is Haas F1, and not everybody else having an opinion on who owns Haas and who is acquiring Haas and who is buying shares in Haas.

"If somebody wants to buy a team out there, I think Williams did a very good job in how they managed it. They put it on the market, said we are interested in something, speak with these and these people. I think that is how it should be done, and not speculation with no foundation.

"I think there are a lot of people that wish to buy an F1 team, and tell people that they're going to buy one. But they haven't done it, at least not with Haas."

While Haas has not yet committed to F1 beyond the end of this year, Steiner believes that the arrival of a cost cap and other budget saving measures should be good for convincing the team owner to stay.

"The budget cap, I think it's a good thing for the sport in general, even if it is not completely equal with everybody," added Steiner.

"We will still be under the budget cap, but it's a very good step. Now the difference will not be 150 million to the big teams, but maybe 20 million, which is a very good step.

"To make it break even, there is a chance to do that for the future...and that is for sure the aim for us. That needs to be my aim, to make it break even for Mr Haas. And if I make that one happen, for sure he will sign the Concorde Agreement."

Steiner said that there was every indication Gene Haas was eager to remain in F1, despite admitting earlier this year that he was weighing up his options.

"At the moment his intention is to stay within the sport. But before it is signed, I cannot say this is what is going to happen. The team, just to remind everybody, is owned 100% by him and not anybody else, so he can make the decisions. We will go from there.

"I'm very positive about where we are now. We are getting through this difficult period with the coronavirus, pretty good in the moment, we are doing the right things. We live within our means and what we have got, and therefore I think Haas is here to stay."

 

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Haas F1 not disadvantaged by lack of pre-Austria running

Haas will not face a big disadvantage by missing a shakedown prior to the delayed Formula 1 season opener in Austria next month, reckons Gunther Steiner.
With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the opening 10 races of the year to be called off, F1 will get a revised 2020 schedule underway with two races at the Red Bull Ring on 5 July and 12 July.

It will mark the first official F1 running since the end of pre-season running at the end of February, but a number of teams have opted to hold private tests in the lead-up to the first race.

Haas F1 chief Steiner confirmed the team will not be conducting any running prior to the season starting, saying it did not have the capacity to do so.

“We are not having a shakedown,” Steiner confirmed in a video press conference with selected media including Motorsport.com. “Obviously you would need to use a filming day, and also we don’t have the capacity.

“The drivers are ready to go. I don’t think they need a lot of training. It’s nice to do, but for us at the moment it’s not a priority to do a shakedown.”

Mercedes conducted a two-day test at Silverstone with a 2018-spec car to practice new procedures required as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as social distancing within the garage.

Racing Point held a filming day this week, while Ferrari and AlphaTauri also have plans to stage running before the Austria races with their F1 cars.

Asked by Motorsport.com if not being able to practice these new protocols would leave Haas on the backfoot, Steiner said he was confident the team would manage.

“I think it is an advantage I would not deny that but it isn't big,” Steiner said.

“Our guys are working in the factory in Banbury to put the car together so they have to do social distancing there as well, so I'm not too worried about that one.

“We’ll practice the new protocol in the garages instead of out on the track. It's used a little bit also as an excuse to do a shakedown, which if you've got the finances, you want to do it to be sure.

“As I've always said, we take a little bit more of a risk in these things because I know we have got good people and we will deal with that.

“We will do the best we can and that we are in a good position when we get to Austria. I’ve got no worry about it at all."

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Ricciardo expects "driver egos will get in the way" in Austria

Renault Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo expects "driver egos" to come to the fore when racing action resumes in Austria next month.
The Australian, who has the advantage of having conducted a test day at the Red Bull Ring with a two-year-old car this week, says the drivers will all be trying to show who has returned in the best form.

Although the test was a useful boost Ricciardo expects rivals who have not had the chance to drive during the break will catch up by Sunday.

"We're going to get plenty of practice, so the race weekend will go as normal," he said in an F1 podcast. "We're going to get plenty of seat time before race day.

"But the lights are going to go out and for sure we're all going to be showing everyone, 'I trained harder in my quarantine,' or 'I'm less rusty than you are.' I'm sure some driver egos will get in the way.

"Or everyone will be really cautious, 'this feels foreign!' I think it's going to be pretty exciting. We don't really know how many races we're going to get this year, so you're probably going to get the mentality of let's make this one count."

Ricciardo says that the test with the RS18 was useful, especially in terms of getting his body used to driving after a break of over three months.

"It was good to get back to it. The first few laps felt a little foreign. It's like all things, when you've been doing something pretty much your whole life it doesn't take long until you remember the feeling, and it all feels normal very quickly.

"But certainly the first time, getting in and leaving the pits, the first few laps, it felt a little strange. But I'm really glad we got to do it, just shaking off the cobwebs, even like you're general kind of body soreness that you get after the first day, I feel like I've gone through that now.

"It was good to get back into work mode, as much as quarantine was nice on the farm [in Australia], I did miss serious competition and serious work.

"Obviously we did get to drive the RS20 in testing before this pandemic started. It's come a long way in two years, I'll say that – it's actually quite nice driving a two-year-old car, because it shows you the progress the sport makes."

Ricciardo hopes that Renault will be in a position to lead the chase of the established top three teams.

"All we've got now is testing back in February. We kind of had our analysis after the testing, and tried to figure out where everyone stands. All I can say is the lead midfield car, it was really hard to figure out if it was us or not. It looked like at least three of the midfield teams were within a tenth.

"Austria last year for us was maybe our worst weekend of the year. I think if we could come out there and be at the front of the midfield I think it looks good for us for the rest of the season."

The Red Bull Ring also gave Renault a chance to trial the new COVID-19 pitlane and garage protocols that the FIA has introduced.

"It was certainly different, all our debriefs, all our meetings, were happening over video calls. Most of us were sitting kind of in the same area, but at distance, so we were all basically doing our debrief through video meetings, everyone's got the mask on in the garage.

"And the mechanic who straps you in, I told him not to get too close to me! It's pretty intimate when they start strapping you in, your crotch straps and all that.

"Everyone's getting on with it, I think there's just a little bit more awareness of personal space. Like all things whenever there's a change you take a little bit of time to adapt, but in due time we do adapt."

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F1 floor changes could lead to "front to back" rework of aero

Racing Point Formula 1 technical director Andy Green says a seemingly minor change to the floor regulations for 2021 will require a "front to back" reworking of the current aerodynamic package.
The change was agreed during the shutdown as a way of reining in downforce levels for 2021.

The aim is to ensure that Pirelli's current tyres can be used until the end of next season by in effect cancelling out the usual year-on-year increase in downforce.

Aero research by Racing Point since the shutdown ended has indicated that the change has altered the flow structure over the car to such extent that it will trigger a completely new package for the 2021 season.

"We've taken a slice of real estate out of the floor in front of the rear tyre," said Green.

"It takes a really large hit aerodynamically to a point where I would be surprised if anybody was able to develop their way out of it in the time we have available for 2021. So I fully expect 2021 cars to be slower than 2020 cars.

"It's a huge change, believe it not. A small change relatively speaking to the floor has had quite a significant impact on the performance of the car.

"It's not just a redevelopment of the floor, unfortunately, it's a redevelopment almost of the front to back aerodynamics of the car to try and recover it.

"So it became quite clear that our focus has to turn quite quickly onto 2021 because of that. There isn't going to be a significant amount of aerodynamic carry over from '20 to '21. Mechanically yes, but aerodynamically probably not."

Green said some teams had hoped for a change that didn't have such a crucial impact on the flow structure.

"We didn't want a change that was going to significantly change the flow structure on the car. Unfortunately, the change that's come through does do that.

"We understand the reasons why, we understand that we do need to peg back the performance of the car, and for sure this is going to peg back the performance of the car in 2021.

"It's the same for everybody, I don't think anybody's got an advantage or disadvantage relatively speaking compared to other teams because of this change, I think we're all in the same boat.

"It's just never nice when you do a change to a car and get a very large hit, and you realise that it's not a small development."

Due to the shutdown F1 teams were not able to run their own simulations during the discussions about the change – hence the surprise when that work was done.

"When we decided on the change we weren't allow to do any simulations on a current car, the simulations were coming from F1 with their modelling. It wasn't until we got back from the break and started to look at it we realised how big a change it was."

Green says that the aero development on the 2020 car is compromised because the team has to do as much work as it can now for 2021.

That work has to start early because on January 1 the rules allow teams to finally switch their focus to the all-new 2022 car, so that will have to take priority.

"Obviously we've got new restrictions in aerodynamic testing that we're now working to, there was a 20% reduction that everyone agreed to once we came back from the shutdown, and we've got an ever bigger reduction when we get to January 1.

"For sure January 1 is going to be the time when our sights change across to 2022.

"We've got a certain amount of development [for 2021] that we can use up to December 31, and I think the teams that are most efficient are going to get the biggest gain from that."

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Mercedes targets car updates for F1 season opener

Mercedes is aiming to bring some updates for the W11 Formula 1 car to the opening round of the delayed 2020 season in Austria next month.
After launching its new W11 car in February, Mercedes impressed through pre-season testing before heading to the Australian Grand Prix as the favourite for victory prior to the race being cancelled.

The opening 10 races of the 2020 season were called off as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which also resulted in all teams observing a lengthy shutdown period.

But with all teams now returning to work and preparing for a run of eight grands prix in 10 weeks, Mercedes' attention has returned to adding developments to the car it hopes will deliver a seventh straight set of championships this year.

Mercedes technical director James Allison said that while the team had been forced to suspend work during the shutdown period, plenty of work had gone into developments for the W11 car where possible.

The team is now aiming to bring these developed car parts to Austria for the start of the season.

"If you imagine where the launch car was and the car that would have gone to Australia, that was frozen around about Christmas," Allison said in a video on Petronas' social media channels.

"There was the whole of January, whole of February, March, all making the car quicker in the wind tunnel and also in the design departments.

"We got quite a lot of ideas about how to make it quicker, and quite a lot of those ideas were already in process through the design office before we were forced to shut down nine weeks ago.

"Our challenge now is to make sure that quarter of a year of development can get off the drawing boards and onto the car as swiftly as possible.

"We hope to have a chunk of that for the first race in Austria, and the season that follows will of course take as much of the development as fast as we can get it onto the car in turn."

Ferrari is set to bring an updated engine and gearbox to Austria, but smaller teams such as Haas are suspending development until the calendar and their corresponding budgets for the year are finalised.

The push to add updates to the Mercedes car will come as a boost to drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, both of whom recently made their on-track return in a private test at Silverstone by driving the 2018-spec Mercedes W09 car.

Allison said that while he thought the long break from racing will have a greater toll on the drivers than the rest of the Mercedes team, there was little doubt both Hamilton and Bottas were well-prepared for the new season to begin.

"I expect mentally it's tougher for the drivers than for the team, this period of waiting," Allison said.

"For the drivers, all the peaks of emotion are amplified, the highs are higher, the lows are lower. To get yourself ready to go at the start of a season, and then have it taken away from you the way that it was in Melbourne, that's tough I think for the drivers to take.

"It will be a sign of their resilience and competitiveness to see them bristle back to work with all the vim and vigour that is necessary to be right on it from the start.

"I have little doubt both Lewis and Valtteri will be ready to go when it matters in Austria."

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Hill: Shortened F1 season will lead to "flat-out" title fight

Damon Hill expects the 2020 Formula 1 season to have a “flat-out” nature, with the shortened calendar possibly meaning drivers cannot settle for lesser results when considering a title challenge.
F1 bosses are aiming to hold “15-18” races in the coronavirus-delayed 2020 season, which will get underway with two races at the Red Bull Ring next month.

Even if the latter target is reached, that will still be F1’s shortest season since 2009, which could mean that drivers who are battling for the title taking more risks to get greater results, rather than opting for safer option to bank consistent points.

When discussing the disastrous consequences that can result from a driver backing off in an individual event for Autosport’s Race of My Life podcast – such as his crash in the 1996 Italian Grand Prix – Hill said:  "This year's championship is going to be curious because if they have a reduced number of races, it's going to be flat out every race.

“You're not going to get a chance to see whether or not there's a trend through the season, there's not going to be any development.

“So I think it's going to be quite an unusual kind of championship, this one."

The 1996 world champion's view is contrasted by that of Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas, who also acknowledges that the shortened nature of the 2020 season will impact how drivers approach races.

Bottas has outlined his opinion that with fewer races set to take place compared to the previous nine campaigns, any mistake in 2020 will be punished more heavily than in those past seasons, as drivers will have fewer opportunities to recover lost ground.

“It’s obviously going to be a pretty special season, because it’s going to be shorter than the planned amount of races,” Bottas told Sky Sports F1.

“Every mistake will cost you much more than previously, and it’s all about the consistency.”

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McLaren open to sale of F1 team shares to raise finance

McLaren is considering selling a stake of up to 30% in its Formula 1 team as it seeks to raise extra finance with which to improve its level of competitiveness.
The main McLaren Group has been searching for extra funding in recent months having been hit hard by the Covid-19 crisis and resulting staff furlough.

However a source has confirmed that the sale plan, first revealed by Sky News, only involves shares in McLaren Racing, which also encompasses the Indy team as well as F1.

McLaren sees the introduction of the $145m budget cap in 2021 as an opportunity to be on a level playing field with the established top three.

It’s thus regarded as essential to have the funding that will allow the team be in a position to spend to the limit – especially in 2021 when the new generation of cars is being developed – and thus have the best possible chance of climbing the order.

At the moment McLaren Racing has the same shareholders as its parent, so a sale of a stake in the team would involve some form of restructuring.

Around 56% of McLaren Group is owned by Bahrain’s Mumtalakat Holding Company, 14% by Mansour Ojjeh and 10% by Michael Latifi, with the remaining 20% split between minority shareholders.

Latifi has been linked to an investment in Williams, having already agreed a loan with the Grove team, and should that happen it remains to be seen whether there will be any impact on his long term McLaren involvement.

Last month McLaren Group announced plans to cut staffing levels, with the racing team expected to be trimmed by 70.

Regarding its wider search for funding the parent company also noted that it “is currently looking at a number of potential financing alternatives, secured and unsecured, of up to £275m equivalent to strengthen its liquidity position. An update will be provided as soon as reasonably practicable.”

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Mercedes reveals first use of F1's MGU-H in road cars

Formula 1's oft-criticised MGU-H technology is finally about to be adapted to road car use, with Mercedes revealing plans to use it on its next generation of vehicles.
The MGU-H, which converts hot exhaust gases in to electric energy, has proven to be the most challenging element of F1's turbo hybrid power units since they arrived in 2014.

The headaches it has caused some manufacturers to get on top of the technology, allied to the costs of doing so, have led to several pushes to try to rid the sport of it for the long term.

But Mercedes, which has won every championship during the turbo hybrid era, has long argued about the knowledge benefits to the automotive industry that have come from pushing the concept – and it has now proven it by declaring that its ideas are trickling down to road cars.

The understanding that has come from the MGU-H is to be applied in a new electric exhaust gas turbocharger, which is in the final development stages before it will be added to new production models from AMG-Mercedes.

Tobias Moers, the chairman of the board of management at Mercedes-AMG, said: "We have clearly defined our goals for an electrified future.

"In order to reach them, we are relying on discrete and highly innovative components as well as assemblies.

"With this move we are strategically supplementing our modular technology and tailoring it to our performance requirements. In a first step this includes the electrified turbocharger - an example of the transfer of Formula 1 technology to the road, something with which we will take turbocharged combustion engines to a previously unattainable level of agility."

The idea behind the road-car version of the MGU-H is not to boost performance through the delivery of extra horsepower – like in F1 – but to help improve engine response time and minimise turbo lag.

It will use a slim electric motor (just 4cm) integrated onto the charger shaft, between the turbine wheel on the exhaust side and the compressor wheel on the fresh air side.

The motor will drive the compressor wheel before it accepts the exhaust gas flow. The turbocharger runs at 170,000rpm.

Its use in the road car should improve response time to throttle input and make a better overall driving feel – while also allowing higher torque at lower engine speeds.

There have been points in recent years where F1's engine manufacturers have discussed ditching the MGU-H as part of a move to make things easier – and potentially attract new entrants.

However, the amount of power the MGU-H delivers would force dramatic changes to the concept behind F1's fuel-efficient engines in a bid to make up the loss. Plus it would mean throwing away all the knowledge and investment the current entrants have made.

Last year, F1's Mercedes engine chief Andy Cowell made clear that he felt losing the MGU-H would be a backwards steps.

"The MGU-H has been blamed for the lack of noise and for high complexity," he told Motorsport.com. "It's been referred to as a miracle. There are four technology companies that have made it work.

"To make up the power difference we're going to have to increase the fuel flow rate, which is a backwards step. It's not progress. It feels like a backwards step when the development work has been done."

Mercedes AMG Electric Exhaust

[LLC]

Zanardi’s prognosis is not yet clear, says his surgeon

The surgeon who operated on Alex Zanardi on Friday evening has stressed how serious the situation is – and declared that it’s not yet clear what the prognosis is for the 53-year-old Italian.
After being transferred to hospital following his handbike accident during a race event in Italy on Friday, Zanardi had three hours of neurosurgery and maxillofacial surgery (related to the face). 
An official bulletin issued on Saturday morning said that after the surgery Zanardi had been “transferred to intensive care, has stable hemodynamic and metabolic parameters. He is intubated and supported by artificial ventilation while the neurological picture remains serious.”
Dr Giuseppe Olivieri, the head of neurosurgery at Siena’s Santa Maria alle Scotte hospital, spoke to media later on Saturday.
“The condition of Alex Zanardi is serious but stable,” AP reported Dr Olivieri as saying. “He arrived here with major facial cranial trauma, a smashed face, and a deeply fractured frontal bone [forehead]. The numbers are good, although it remains a very serious situation.
“We won’t see what his neurological state is until he wakes up — if he wakes up. Serious condition means it’s a situation when someone could die. Improvement takes time in these cases. 
“Turns for the worse can be sudden. The operation went according to the plan. It’s the initial situation that was very serious.”
Regarding the next steps Dr Olivieri said: “The next step is to try and stabilise him over the next week or 10 days. Then if things go well, he could eventually be woken up and re-evaluated.
“As I told his wife, he’s a patient who is worth being treated. As far as a prognosis of how he’ll be tomorrow, in a week or in 15 days, I don’t know. But I’m convinced that he should be treated.”
Sabino Scolletta, the director of the hospital’s intensive care unit, added: “The situation is clearly critical in terms of brain damage.”
Update: On Sunday morning, the hospital issued a new statement regarding Zanardi's condition: "Regarding the clinical conditions of the athlete Alex Zanardi, hospitalised at the polyclinic Santa Maria alle Scotte in Siena since June 19 following a road accident, the Health Department informs that the patient spent the night in conditions of cardio-respiratory and metabolic stability. 
"Organ functions are adequate. He is always sedated, intubated and mechanically ventilated. The ongoing neuromonitoring has shown some stability but this figure must be taken with caution because the neurological picture remains serious. 
"The current conditions of general stability still do not allow to exclude the possibility of adverse events and, therefore, the patient remains in a reserved prognosis."

A really sad situation for a great guy that’s already been through so much but handled it so well. Wish the best for him but it certainly seems very very serious.


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[MIKA27]

5 hours ago, LLC said:

A really sad situation for a great guy that’s already been through so much but handled it so well. Wish the best for him but it certainly seems very very serious.


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Indeed.... What an inspiration in so many ways.