FORMULA 1

[MIKA27]

Russell "certainly" still part of long-term Mercedes plan

Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff says that George Russell remains part of the team’s “long-term plans” despite the British driver being committed to Williams for a further season.
Russell had been tipped to graduate to the works team in 2021 should a vacancy arise, but he has now been formally confirmed for a third year with Williams, and the Brackley outfit is set to continue with incumbents Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

Esteban Ocon, the other Mercedes protege with an eye on a works seat, will stay with the Renault team next year.

“We are very happy with the line-up that we have,” said Wolff. “Valtteri and Lewis perform well, they get on really well with each other, which is important for the dynamic within the team. The engineers just really appreciate their feedback. That’s one thing.

“On the other side George has a contract with Williams, a three-year contract which runs one more year. Claire [Williams] made it very clear that she sees George as an important asset to the team.

“And from that side one must respect the contractual situation. We knew, George and us, what we were getting ourselves into two years ago. Williams gave George the opportunity to come into F1 and this is why the decision that Williams takes, we respect it very much.

“It doesn’t mean that if George would be free he would find a guaranteed slot within Mercedes. Valtteri and Lewis are our drivers today, loyalty is something very important to us, and we are always looking at the long time picture.

"George is certainly part of the plans for the long-term, but not 2021.”

 

[MIKA27]

Midfield move would put Vettel in ‘foreign territory’, says Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo knows what it’s like to move from a race-winning team to a midfield one, having swapped Red Bull for Renault in 2019, so he’s well-placed to comment on Sebastian Vettel’s possible move in the same direction.

Vettel is believed to have the option to join Racing Point next season, should he choose to stay in F1 after his Ferrari contract expires at the end of this year, and while the pink cars have shown themselves capable of punching above their weight, joining them will mean Vettel will likely not have a car capable of winning races consistently in the short term.

In the 12 full seasons Vettel has contested, he’s had at least one rostrum every year (and scored on average 10 podiums per years). He’s also won at least one race in 10 of his 12 campaigns.

Ricciardo, who spent a year as Vettel’s team mate – and beat him – in 2014, says Vettel will have to adjust to a different sort of life in F1 if he decides he wants to race on.

“For Seb, in his situation he has had pretty much his whole career in the sport running at the front,” said Ricciardo. “I would say that probably every year he has contested in F1 he has been on the podium, if not won.

“If it is the case that he goes into a midfield team, it is foreign territory for him. It requires a bit more of an open mind, and some patience, but that is up to him and where he sees the next chapter of his career.

“If he still has the will and drive to compete at the top level, then I hundred percent think he should continue in the sport. But if it is in the midfield it is normally a longer play. You have to show commitment not just for another 12 months but two or three years.

“But that is something only he could answer. As a previous teammate, I like Seb, I certainly respect him in the sport. That is why if he wishes to continue I hope he finds a place where he is happy.”

Vettel has insisted he will take his time over his future, saying all options are still open. In the meantime, his fans await his next move.

[MIKA27]

Vasseur convinced C39 a regular points contender

Alfa Romeo can still target scoring regular top 10 finishes in the 2020 Formula 1 season in spite of its subdued start, according to team boss Frederic Vasseur.

Alfa Romeo has had the slowest package in each qualifying session this year, with Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi yet to escape Q1, and has scored only two points.

Those pair of points came at the season-opening event in Austria when Giovinazzi classified ninth.

It has left Alfa Romeo eighth in the Constructors’ Championship – where it finished in 2018 and 2019 – ahead of only Haas and Williams.

“The next three races will be another crucial juncture of the season,” said Vasseur.

“We come from the first real break, after the opening triple header: it’s been the first chance for the teams to regroup, assess the situation and start addressing the rest of the year, so it will be important to show we have made use of the time since Hungary to make progress.

“We have a much more defined idea of where the strengths, and weaknesses, of our package are and we keep working together to make another step forward after what we have shown in the first few races.

“The midfield battle is still close and I have full confidence that our team has what it takes, both in terms of personnel and machinery, to score regularly.”

Raikkonen, who has yet to open his points account for 2020, believes Alfa Romeo can put in a more competitive display at the upcoming Silverstone double-header.

“The first few races haven’t been ideal in terms of results but the important thing is that we are moving in the right direction,” he said.

“We have identified the areas where we need to improve and hopefully we will get to Silverstone with the solutions needed to give us some extra competitivity.

“We have seen we can fight against most midfield cars on Sunday and we are confident we can come home with points from either of these two races.”

[MIKA27]

‘We can’t have accountants in F1’, says Steiner on penalty

Haas Formula 1 Team Principal Guenther Steiner says he would repeat the squad’s formation lap gamble again, believing such a move enhances the action for spectators.

Haas called Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean into the pits at the end of a damp formation lap in Hungary to put both on slick tyres.

Magnussen and Grosjean rose to third and fourth respectively when rivals pitted during the early stages of the race, with the Dane eventually going on to classify ninth.

But stewards deemed post-race that the team had been in contravention of a Technical Directive relating to radio messages being issued on the formation lap.

It was concluded that neither Magnussen nor Grosjean had driven the car alone and unaided, as is outlined in the Sporting Regulations, given that their engineers had instructed them to pit for slick tyres.

Both were issued with 10-second time penalties, costing Magnussen and Haas a point as he slipped to 10th in the final results.

“For sure we would do the same thing again,” said Steiner. “The 10-second penalty was a little bit ambiguous.

“Unfortunately, we cannot appeal it because it’s a time penalty – you’re not allowed to appeal those ones.

“It was never done before, and it looks like if it’s never been done before – and there’s no clear regulation, you get a penalty.

“We need to move on from this, but for sure it spiced the race up for everybody. I don’t think we should stop doing these things in racing, otherwise accountants can race in Formula 1.”

Haas has struggled for performance throughout the truncated 2020 campaign and Steiner cautioned that a substantial step forward is unlikely to materialise.

“We’re not the fastest midfield car this year and we just need to deal with that one,” he said.

“We’re always trying to get the best out of the package. We’ve not planned any development for this year, so we have to focus on getting the best out of what we’ve got this season and look to next year to try to do something better for that season.

“It will not be an easy year but we’re here to stay.”

[MIKA27]

Revealed: The hidden complexity of Red Bull’s amazing grid repair

Just when you think you’ve seen it all in Formula 1, the Red Bull mechanics performed a trick ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix that the greatest of magicians would have been proud of.
Max Verstappen’s crash on the way to the grid provided his crew with 20 minutes of high-stakes drama as they set about repairing damage to his car that left even rivals shaking their heads in disbelief.

Others firmly believed the mistake would be so costly it couldn’t be repaired on the grid, with Mercedes even telling Lewis Hamilton as much. This was followed up later by the Briton revealing his shock over the radio that Verstappen was even in the race, let alone behind him on the track.

All calm in a sea of panic

As Verstappen hobbled away from the scene of his accident at Turn 12 on his formation lap to the grid, it was obvious that a hefty repair job was needed. At the very least the team knew that the steering arm was broken, with the wheel on that side of the car clearly flailing around independently of the other.

The Dutchman immediately got on the radio to his engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, and explained his misdeed: “I’m bringing it back to the pits, I hope.”

Crucially Verstappen was ordered to go straight to the grid and not into the pitlane.

No sooner was the car stationary in its slot than the mechanics sprung into action. And, without a moment to waste, as there were just 19 minutes and 32 seconds until the formation lap, they started to dismantle the front-left corner of the car.

The team needed to replace both the steering arm and pushrod, both of which have packaging challenges on the RB16 that made it a particularly difficult operation.

Watching from the pit wall, as the team tried to prepare for the race in the normal manner, team manager Jonathan Wheatley was downbeat when in conversation with Helmut Marko about their chances of succeeding. “We’ll have to do it faster than we’ve ever done it,” he mused.

With 16 minutes until the start of the formation lap, and the national anthem being played out across the circuit, the mechanics had already disconnected the inboard end of the pushrod and were dealing with one of the more tricky aspects of this operation – the inboard steering arm connection.

This was especially complex because the steering assembly on the RB16 has a novel location, buried further back inside the bulkhead, rather than on the front of it like everyone else (above image, lower arrows).

With fewer than 15 minutes to go, and the inboard end detached from the car, the mechanics started to disassemble the outboard end. This would once again prove to be tricky, as the whole brake duct fairing must be removed in order to gain access to the pushrod and steering linkages.

Front suspension bracket

This challenge was made vastly more difficult by the team’s use of an aggressive pushrod-on-upright solution, that displaces the pushrod from the upright (above image, arrowed).

Now, with less than 12 minutes to go, chief engineer Paul Monaghan – who’d been overseeing this carefully orchestrated strip-down and rebuild process – visually checked over the parts that remained on the car. He then called for equipment that would further analyse those parts for stress caused by the impact with the barrier.

Verstappen returned from the ceremonies and climbed back aboard his RB16 and started to strap himself in with just 10 minutes to go before the formation lap, at which point there were still four or five mechanics working diligently on the front left suspension. With the deadline getting nearer, the pressure was increasing.

With eight minutes to go, and the last bolt being put in on the inboard end of the pushrod assembly, the car was now structurally complete once more and the race continued to reassemble the brake duct assembly, refit the vanity panel, install the nose and get the car down on all four wheels again.

As the clock counted down to five minutes to the formation lap, the point at which all work must be completed and equipment must start to leave the grid, the last few retention bolts were put into the vanity panel and brake duct.

With 26 seconds to go, the job was done. Verstappen, now fully strapped into the car and ready to go, praised his mechanics for the mind-blowing feat they’d just accomplished: “OK, I just wanted to say that’s incredible work guys, that’s unbelievable. Thank you very much,” he said.

Voyage into the unknown

As the tyre blankets were taken off and the car was lowered down onto the track, there was clearly an air of trepidation. Whilst the mechanics had made their best effort to repair the car, but they were against the clock and so mistakes could have happened in putting things back together again.

But everything seemed alright during the formation lap and Verstappen showed his faith in the job the team had done by leaving nothing on the table at the start. He was quickly up to third after the charge down to the first corner and would eventually end up finishing second.

There was no rest for the mechanics who had already performed miracles before the start, as they had to deliver again soon after – the drying track meant Verstappen, who briefly led the race, needed to switch his intermediate tyres for slicks! For the third race in a row they delivered the quickest pitstop.

What Red Bull delivered before the start in Hungary helps remind us that F1 is a team sport, with every member of that team crucial in the operation of the car and success of the drivers. While Verstappen was elated to be on the podium you could see that he really wanted every one of those mechanics to be up there with him, celebrating what had seemed almost inconceivable before the race got underway...

Celebration time

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing celebrates with team members in parc ferme

[MIKA27]

Codemasters adds black Mercedes livery to F1 2020 game

Codemasters has released an update for the official 2020 Formula 1 game that will include Mercedes’ black livery, three weeks after the game’s initial release.
F1 2020 was released on July 7, a couple of days after the real-world season-opening Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring. 

Codemasters was unable to include six-time constructors’ champions Mercedes’ new black livery – part of its campaign to fight racism – due to the livery reveal coming just one week prior to the game’s launch. This latest patch will swap the traditional grey Mercedes colours, which were used during pre-season testing, for the striking new black livery debuted in Austria. 

The black overalls of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will also now be present in the game, along with their adjusted helmet designs. 

As well as the visual changes, Mercedes also announced plans for a new diversity and inclusion programme to address the lack of diversity within the team – just 3% of the German manufacturer’s workforce identify as belonging to an ethnic minority group. 

This update is available to PC gamers from Monday, but Xbox One and PlayStation 4 users will have to wait an extra couple of days to play the updated version. 

The patch also includes a raft of technical fixes including three for the game’s flagship new ‘MyTeam’ game mode, which allows gamers to create, manage and drive for an 11th team on the F1 grid.

Further updates are expected over the next couple of months, amongst those will be additional livery changes such as McLaren’s ‘We Race as One’ rainbow halo design. 

The 2020 Formula 2 season will also be added within the next couple of months, with the 2019 season currently representing F1’s main feeder series in the game. For the first time in the franchise, F2 drivers can graduate into F1 during the 10-season career mode and the F1 drivers can change teams or retire.

The game features the original 22-race F1 2020 calendar, and Codemasters has no plans to add the new 2020 calendar – with circuits such as Imola and Mugello – due to the scale and demands of such an update.

[MIKA27]

Steiner: British GP will bring "no joy" for Haas

Haas boss Gunther Steiner says the power demands of Silverstone mean the British Grand Prix will bring "no joy" to his team.
With the American-owned outfit's Ferrari engines having taken a step back in performance this year, it has been fighting towards the back of the midfield pack.

However, an inspired decision last time out to stop for slick tyres after the formation lap for the Hungarian Grand Prix helped it score its first point of the year as Kevin Magnussen was classified 10th – even though the team was punished for breaking the rules.

Well aware of how much it is suffering on the straights this year, Steiner is bracing himself for a tough time over the next two weeks as F1 moves to the ultra-fast Silverstone circuit.

"We know it is very power sensitive Silverstone," explained Steiner. "So there will be no joy."

Steiner thinks his Haas team is currently locked in a battle at the back of the field with Alfa Romeo and Williams – and thinks their form will fluctuate depending on track characteristics.

"We are all mixing it up and I think it's a little bit track depending who is on top of it: is it high speed, is it low speed?" he said, when asked about the competitive situation between Haas, Alfa Romeo and Williams.

"There's a little bit of difference but I think we are in the midst of the teams you just mentioned."

Haas' potential struggles on power tracks has left the team well aware that it needs to seize every opportunity it has to punch above its weight this season if it is going to move up the constructors' championship.

"It's fairly difficult for us to get points at the moment, and especially some of the races which are coming up, they're not in our favour," he said.

"We always try to do our best and maybe we can find some opportunity like we get [in Hungary], you never know. If you give up you never find the opportunity, so you need to keep on trying to find something. But you don't expect it."

[MIKA27]

FIA explains how Honda worked through F1’s lockdown

When Honda introduced an engine upgrade for the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix, it raised a few eyebrows about just how the Japanese manufacturer had been able to do it.
After all, rivals Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes had all spent the weeks before the start of the season in enforced shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic situation in Europe.

Their hands had effectively been tied on improving their engines while Honda, with Japan having escaped a lockdown at that time, was able to keep on working.

Indeed, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto openly pointed outin Hungary that upgrades his team had been looking at making had been stopped in their tracks by lockdowns that had not been applied to everyone.

In a clear reference to what Honda had been able to do, he said: “We were doing developments for this season that we will not be able to introduce during [the season] itself because we had a long shutdown period before the start of the season, which has not been the case for other power unit manufacturers by the way.”

While there is no denying Honda was able to work when others could not, the crux of the matter is whether or not the Japanese manufacturer gained an advantage from the situation.

Here we look at what happened, and explain how the situation came about actually because of attempts to be fair to everybody.

Delayed lockdown

Nikolas Tombazis, the head of the FIA’s single seater matters, says that one of the key considerations made during the coronavirus cost cutting drive was to ensure that no team nor manufacturer be punished because their country’s lockdown restrictions were stricter than someone else’s.

That required some juggling of how to deal with companies spread across a host of nations and continents. Some compromises were inevitable because of that.

One consequence was in allowing Honda to work in the spring period because of the likelihood that Japan could be shut down over the summer. It was agreed that rather than taking its enforced shutdown period at the same time as everyone else, Honda would delay downing tools until the season was underway.

“The shutdown for Honda was a bit different to the shutdown for the rest of the manufacturers,” explained Tombazis. “Not in terms of duration, but in terms of when it happened.

“The reason for that was that all teams and all powerunit manufacturers accepted that during this extraordinary condition with the lockdown, no team or manufacturer would get added lockdown compared to others just because they happened to be in a particular country which was worse hit by COVID and therefore happened to be at a disadvantage.

“That was mainly relevant for example when Italy went in to early lockdown and the UK were behind. We said all the lockdowns had to be equal: there cannot be a team or a manufacturer that has an advantage or disadvantage from them.”

The push to be treat everyone equally meant that if Honda had been ordered to join the others and shut down in the pre-season period, then there would have been a huge headache if the Japanese government had then ordered it to later also stop work in the summer.

The only option then would have been to force Renault, Ferrari and Mercedes to also stop work during that period – effectively reducing everyone’s development time. That would not have been a good outcome.

It was perfectly logical, therefore, that Honda be allowed to run its lockdown in the summer instead.

“Japan had a completely different evolution of COVID and the lockdown situation,” added Tombazis. “We didn't know when we agreed these rules in early April whether Japan would have a lockdown in the summer, depending on how COVID evolved in Japan. So we had to give some flexibility for Honda to have the shutdown a bit later.

“If they had a legal requirement to go into lockdown in July in Japan, [it would have been hard] then go back to the European teams and say, by the way we need to lock you down another month because Japan is locking down.

“That's why Honda were able to do some work while the Europeans were in lockdown and they are making up for this now.

“It's not perfect because you can't produce a regulation which is perfectly equitable when people are in different circumstances. But that's the best we could do with it.”

The other important point to consider is that the Honda upgrade introduced in Austria was not about delivering extra horsepower to try to lift Red Bull and AlphaTauri up the grid. Instead, it was one motivated by improving reliability.

Tombazis confirms that restrictions that prevented manufacturers from making performance gains after their engines were homologated in February were fully respected.

“There were two main cost cutting things achieved on the powerunit side,” he said. “One was the introduction of dyno limitations as to how many dyno hours they can do, that is similar to the restrictions in aerodynamics with windtunnels.

“And the other one is the reduction in the number of homologations that powerunit manufacturers can do. On that basis, none of the manufacturers did a new homologation, or any significant upgrade.

“The entrants were homologated in the homologation dossier for 2020. It was sent sometime in February, and none of them, not Honda either, did any any performance development of that.

“Now, a number of people wanted to do reliability improvements with engines because, you know, we don't want to mean with this homologation that people who have a reliability issue are having retirements.

“There's a very specific process to get the reliability upgrades approved, which involves even other manufacturers knowing about it.

“You can't exploit it and say you are making a reliability change, but in the meantime change your compression ratio, your combustion chamber or whatever, to get another 20 kilowatts or something like that. There's a process for that and all teams including Honda have followed that process.”

The end result seems straightforward then. Honda simply was able to do reliability work earlier in the year, but others now have time to catch up.

So this was not about exploiting the rules for an unfair edge. It was instead a quirk of extraordinary circumstances that F1 hopes will never be repeated.

 

[Baccy]

Can't watch F1 anymore... just can't do it. All the PC garbage and the racial garbage is killing the sport, and really all sports for that matter. Sports and motorsports are supposed to be an escape. It's supposed to be fun, but it's now ruined. I don't think anyone really wants to see their favorite drivers down on their knees genuflecting before the gods of political correctness, and Hamilton wants this done at every race from here on out. It's a car race! We want to see them getting in each others heads and starting exciting rivalries, not bowing and scraping... Just my .02

[MIKA27]

3 hours ago, Baccy said:

Can't watch F1 anymore... just can't do it. All the PC garbage and the racial garbage is killing the sport, and really all sports for that matter. Sports and motorsports are supposed to be an escape. It's supposed to be fun, but it's now ruined. I don't think anyone really wants to see their favorite drivers down on their knees genuflecting before the gods of political correctness, and Hamilton wants this done at every race from here on out. It's a car race! We want to see them getting in each others heads and starting exciting rivalries, not bowing and scraping... Just my .02

Completely understand, so many sports and hobbies, all becoming so PC. I can't believe F1 is also heading this way.

Hamilton can kneel all he likes, I am actually glad the GPDA, Alex Wurz and Romain Grosjean haven't caved on this as yet.

Whilst its good to have some racing, I really do not agree that this season is treated like a normal full Championship.

I can not accept such a small calendar and having potentially Hamilton win and be seen as deserving of the WDC with what, 10 races?

To equal Schumacher with a half arsed season.

Even if someone else wins the WDC, it really isn't a proper season as far as I am concerned and do not acknowledge this as any more than an extended practice. 

But it is good to have something back on to watch, even if it is in many way, not the F1 we have known and loved.

[Meklown]

2 hours ago, MIKA27 said:

Whilst its good to have some racing, I really do not agree that this season is treated like a normal full Championship.

I can not accept such a small calendar and having potentially Hamilton win and be seen as deserving of the WDC with what, 10 races?

To equal Schumacher with a half arsed season.

Agree 100%. I simply do not buy that Hamilton is one of the greatest because for all 7 of his championships, his car was by far superior to any other on the grid. He never won using an inferior car and that's what I think is the mark of a true great. 

Furthermore, I also don't like the idea of this being a "real" season because they are racing repeatedly on the exact same tracks. Each track has its suitability for each car, and I believe that a season should be raced over multiple tracks. I actually prefer 10 races on 10 different tracks rather than 12 races on 10 different tracks. That simply means double points for the car that is most suited to that particular track. 

[LLC]

Other than Mercedes running away at the front (not what I want to see), there has been some very good racing behind them.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[MIKA27]

Istanbul Park says it is ‘in talks’ over 2020 F1 round

The venue that hosted Formula 1’s Turkish Grand Prix says it is “in talks” to host a race in the 2020 championship.

Formula 1 visited Turkey’s purpose-built Istanbul Park between 2005 and 2011 and the circuit was a popular venue on the calendar.

Speculation has risen in recent weeks that Formula 1 could return to Istanbul Park, fuelled by a section on Turkey’s official government website, which claims a 2020 race is a target for the country.

However, it is understood that this has been present on its website for several years, rather than unveiled as a new ambition in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

It is also believed that Formula 1 is not currently targeting a Turkish round this year.

Bahrain and Abu Dhabi are due to host the closing rounds in mid-December, with their dates dependent on whether two events can be held in Asia in November.

A Vietnam-China back-to-back was outlined but China’s decision to halt all international sporting events until 2021 scuppered this proposal, with Malaysia now a potential candidate to make an Asian leg viable.

But on Wednesday Intercity Istanbul Park issued a lengthy statement on its social media channels after “the news on foreign and domestic press channels, and social media platforms, about bringing F1 races back to our country.

“We have been carrying out the work of bringing Formula 1 races back to our country with great desire and care since 2013, when we took over the operation of the Istanbul Park track.

“Since the first day we took over the operation of Intercity Istanbul Park, one of the most special tracks of the world, we have been organising more than 300 days of events, training programmes and festivals for the motor sports, traffic safety and automotive industry every year.

“The project of bringing Formula 1 races back to our country [has taken place] since 2017 [when] it was given to us by the Presidency.

“Our negotiations with the Formula 1 management continue uninterruptedly so that Intercity Istanbul Park, which is shown as one of the best race tracks in the world, and Istanbul, can host Formula 1 races again.

“As Intercity Istanbul Park, we would like to share that we are at a stage where we cannot share the details due to our confidentiality agreement with Formula 1 management. While we are in talks to take part in the 2020 calendar, we would like to inform the public that necessary information will be provided [in due course].”

There would be significant hurdles to overcome as Istanbul Park has not been used as a race venue for several years, and lacks a license of any sort from the FIA.

The venue, which briefly held MotoGP rounds in the 2000s, last hosted a top-level series when FIA World Rallycross competed at Istanbul Park in 2015.

[MIKA27]

Gasly: Williams now back in F1’s midfield group

Pierre Gasly says Williams has made “enormous progress” and AlphaTauri must now regard it as another midfield opponent in Formula 1.

Williams spent 2019 marooned at the back of the grid, failing to make it out of Q1 all season, as its car sometimes lapped over a second slower than its nearest rival.

Williams is still the only team yet to score a point in 2020 but has displayed an upturn in pace, particularly in qualifying, with George Russell classifying 12th in Q2 at the last pair of events.

“Williams has clearly made enormous progress and can now be considered as part of the mid-field battle as are Renault,” said Gasly.

“Now it’s down to us to close on those in front and hopefully overtake them.

“I think we can say we have a car that is honest, although we know there are things that need to be improved, especially in terms of aero. We can find more performance there.

“The car has no major weaknesses in any particular area. We have to improve two or three things to get a car that is better balanced. The most important thing is to find a bit more downforce.

“We have to consider that, in the midfield, several teams have made a big step from last year, especially Racing Point and McLaren and right away that has made for a bigger gap between them and us.”

Gasly’s AlphaTauri team-mate Daniil Kvyat added: “The battle in the midfield seems to be much closer than last year.

“For example, Racing Point has made a big step forward and they are ahead of us and I think that also applies to McLaren. Those two will make life tough.”

[MIKA27]

Zanardi ‘stable’ following fourth surgery for ‘late complications’

Doctors treating Alex Zanardi at the San Raffaele Hospital near Milan, have confirmed the Italian is in a “stable” condition following a fourth surgery for “late complications” as a result of his injuries.

The former Formula 1 driver, two-time CART champion and four-time Paralympic gold medalist, was involved in a handcycling accident near Siena in June which resulted in a severe head injury.

Zanardi was put into an induced coma which he has since been woken from, but required further surgery last week after being moved from a specialist rehabilitation centre in Lecco to the San Raffaele Hospital.

A statement from the hospital confirmed the “delicate neurosurgical procedure” had been a success and that the 53-year-old is now stable.

“The day after the transfer to the Neurosurgical Intensive Therapy, directed by Professor Luigi Beretta, the patient underwent a delicate neurosurgical procedure performed by Professor Pietro Mortini, director of the Operative Unit of Neurosurgery, for the treatment of some late complications due to the primary head injury.

“At the moment, the clinical and radiological tests confirm the success of the aforementioned treatments, and the current clinical conditions of the patient, still hospitalised in the Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit, appear stable.”

Italian media recently reported that his son, Niccolò Zanardi, fears his father could lose his eyesight as a result of the crash and that he has had to keep his distance due to COVID-19 protocols implemented across Italian hospitals.

[MIKA27]

Jordan ‘wouldn’t sign Vettel for Racing Point’

Eddie Jordan says that he would be reluctant to recruit Sebastian Vettel to Racing Point if he was in charge of the Formula 1 outfit.

Racing Point can trace its roots back to Jordan’s eponymous team, which raced in Formula 1 between 1991 and 2005, before it was sold to the Midland Group.

After a brief stint as Spyker, and a decade-long spell as Force India, Lawrence Stroll acquired the operation mid-2018 and renamed it Racing Point.

Vettel will leave Ferrari at the end of 2020 and his options appear limited, with Mercedes poised to retain its drivers, McLaren and Renault already confirming its line-up, while Red Bull has ruled him out of the running.

Racing Point has Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll under contract for 2021 but is understood to have held discussions with Vettel over a drive for next season, when it will morph into Aston Martin.

“Sebastian will be sadly missed in Formula 1, he’s a four-time champion, will he ever get back to the days he achieved with Adrian [Newey] and Christian [Horner], who knows,” Jordan told the F1 Nation podcast.

“For sure he’s had a couple of horrific years inside Ferrari.

“Vettel: can he rekindle the kind of sparkle, fire, and the enthusiasm and charisma he had? It’s going to be difficult at his age.

“Would I employ him? Probably not, because I think there’s far, far too many young kids coming through that might just squeeze him out at the time.

“One year ago very few people would have given much credibility to the fact that Charles Leclerc would have completely destroyed him in many respects in his first year [at Ferrari] but yet he did.”

Jordan also fears Racing Point risks upsetting its current dynamic if it was to recruit Vettel.

“Are you telling me in a similar car that he [Vettel] could fight toe to toe with Lewis Hamilton? At the moment psychologically he can’t even do that with Charles Leclerc. Can he do it with Lewis, I don’t think so,” Jordan added.

“That would be the way I would look at it in terms of [if] I was the boss of the team.

“Of course you’d love him in the car, and I got my best results, first win, with Damon [Hill], and he was bordering on retiring age but yet he has that cunning guile just like I think Lewis is coming into that realm.

“For sure four-time World Champion Vettel is a huge prize for any team but would you destroy the team that has Sergio plus income plus money and a good rhythm inside the team?”

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Seidl wants F1 regulations tightened to prevent more copying

McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl would like Formula 1's technical regulations to be tightened to limit the extent to which teams can copy other cars.
The FIA is currently reviewing a protest from Renault over the legality over Racing Point’s RP20 car, which was based on the design of the 2019 title-winning Mercedes W10.

Racing Point has openly admitted it used pictures of the Mercedes to design its car for this year, but stressed it did so entirely within the regulations and has no concerns over Renault’s protest.

Seidl previously said there were “no grounds” for a protest against Racing Point, but that the case was important for F1’s future as it risked becoming a “copying championship”.

While Seidl accepted there had always been a degree of copying in F1, he said the current regulations allowed the practice to go beyond simply looking at pictures of another car.

“There’s obviously copying [which] is not just copying,” Seidl said.

“There’s copying which has always been around in Formula 1, and which is part of Formula 1. We have tried to analyse what competitors are doing by pictures that are publicly available, pictures you can take in the pit lane or on-track. I think no-one has any problem with copying parts or cars from these pictures.

“What is more important is to simply clarify and maybe also change the regulations on what can be done in terms of copying beyond this copying, where you only use publicly-available information.

“There’s room in the regulations at the moment that you can do actually a lot more, that you can do co-operations on wind tunnel technology, on the way you use the wind tunnel, on the way how you map your car in the wind tunnel.

“Also in the way how you get access to pictures of cars, and so on. I think that’s something that needs to be clarified, that we have a clear direction on what Formula 1 wants to allow there in the future.”

Renault’s protest against Racing Point has centred on the brake ducts of the RP20 car. Last year, Racing Point were supplied brake ducts by Mercedes as they were a listed part, but they no longer are for 2020.

Renault has also stressed that its protest is not about brake ducts, but about defining the future of F1 and the degree of collaboration permitted between teams.

Seidl said that remained the “key question” McLaren also wanted answering in this case.

“It’s not necessarily about doing something legal or illegal,” Seidl said.

“As I said many times, there is room in the regulations to do a lot more than just take pictures in the pit lane. That’s why we think it’s important to have these clarifications now.”

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Norris not expecting much overtaking at "awesome" Mugello

McLaren Formula 1 driver Lando Norris has cautioned that the Mugello circuit is unlikely to produce much overtaking despite being "awesome" to drive.
Norris raced both at Mugello - which will host the Tuscan GP in September - and fellow new grand prix venue Imola when he was competing in the local Formula 4 series in 2015.

He says Mugello's quick corners will make it physically challenging for the drivers, but the track lacks an obvious passing opportunity.

"I look forward to it," he said. "Mugello I raced at in Italian F4 back in 2015, I think. And it was really cool.

"It's very high speed, or medium to high speed corners, no real tight chicanes, almost like Austria in some ways, without the big braking zones on top of it.

"These high speed, medium speed corners test the physical attributes of the driver to the limit, this is F1 to the limit in terms of how quick F1 cars are around these types of corners.

"It may not be the best for racing, I don't know if you'll probably see any overtakes between Turn 1 and the last corner, so I think it's almost going to be like Hungary in some ways.

"But at the same time it's an awesome track, so qualifying I think will be incredible.

"I think any new track, any track that you just haven't been to for a while or is new to the category that you're in, is exciting. So this is something different, different from the norm.

"You don't go there knowing exactly what you have to do set-up wise and it puts you in a slightly more vulnerable position. It's kind of more challenging, and I think that very exciting."

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner said that the track will be a challenge.

"I raced at Mugello back in 1997," he said. "It was a great circuit then, and I don't think it's changed in layout too much.

"It's a fantastic track, fast and demanding, and it will sort the men from the boys. I think it will be a good addition to this year's calendar."

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Perez tests positive for Covid-19, will miss British Grand Prix

Racing Point’s Sergio Perez has tested positive for Covid-19, meaning he will miss this weekend’s Formula 1 British Grand Prix.

The Mexican driver was not present in the Silverstone paddock on Thursday during media duties for the British GP after returning an “inconclusive” test result.

He was isolated along with several Racing Point team members and re-tested, with the result of that test coming back positive.

He will therefore miss this weekend’s race and could miss next weekend’s 70th Anniversary GP at the same venue, pending further tests.

Under revised UK guidelines that came into place on Thursday those who test positive for Covid-19 must self-isolate for 10 days, an increase on the previous seven-day period.

“Following today’s announcement that Sergio Perez of the BWT Racing Point Formula 1 Team produced an inconclusive test result for COVID-19 at the Silverstone Circuit ahead of the 2020 FIA Formula 1 British Grand Prix, the FIA and Formula 1 can now confirm that the result of his re-test is positive,” a statement confirmed.

“Perez has entered self-quarantine in accordance with the instructions of the relevant public health authorities, and will continue to follow the procedure mandated by those authorities.

“With assistance of the local organiser of the British Grand Prix, local health authorities and the FIA COVID-19 delegate, a full track and trace initiative has been undertaken and all close contacts have been quarantined.”

The FIA and Formula 1 insist the result will not lead to the cancellation of this weekend’s race.

“The procedures set out by the FIA and Formula 1 have provided for swift containment of an incident that will have no wider impact on this weekend’s event,” the governing body clarified.

Racing Point has yet to announce a replacement for Perez but shares reserve drivers with Mercedes – in the form of Esteban Gutierrez and Stoffel Vandoorne – but it is understood that Nico Hulkenberg is the favourite to take the drive.

“Sergio is physically well and in good spirits, but he will continue to self-isolate under the guidelines of the relevant public health authorities, with safety the ultimate priority for the team and the sport,” read a Racing Point statement.

“The entire team wishes Sergio well and looks forward to welcoming him back into the cockpit of the RP20 soon.

“Our intention is to race two cars on Sunday. We will communicate the next steps for our British Grand Prix weekend in due course.”

It is the first race that Perez has missed since the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix.

Over 14,000 tests for Covid-19 on personnel have been carried out by the FIA and Formula 1 across the opening grands prix and prior to Perez’s result only two positive cases were detected.

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Hulkenberg replaces Perez at Racing Point

Nico Hulkenberg will return to the Formula 1 grid in order to replace Sergio Perez, following the Mexican’s positive Covid-19 test.

Perez sat out Thursday’s media duties at Silverstone after returning an inconclusive first test and a positive second test confirmed that he had Covid-19.

Perez, along with those who came into close contact with him, were isolated, while under UK government guidelines he must quarantine for 10 days.

He is the first Formula 1 driver to test positive for Covid-19.

Racing Point has an arrangement with Mercedes to share reserve drivers Esteban Gutierrez and Stoffel Vandoorne but Hulkenberg swiftly emerged as the team’s leading option.

Hulkenberg was left without a full-time Formula 1 seat for 2020 after Renault recruited Esteban Ocon and talks with Haas and Alfa Romeo fell through.

He opted not to contest a full race programme in other series though has signed up for a one-off appearance in ADAC GT Masters at the Nurburgring.

He has started 177 grands prix across a 10-year period, and competed for Racing Point under its Force India guise in 2012, and then again from 2014 to 2016.

“I was on my way to the Nürburgring for another racing project when the call from Otmar [Szafnauer] came,” said Hulkenberg.

“That was less than 24 hours ago, so it feels a bit surreal for me right now, but I like a good challenge and this is certainly one.

“It’s obviously a difficult situation for Racing Point and Checo. He’s a buddy of mine, an old team-mate and I wish him a speedy recovery. I’ll step in and try do the best I can for the team.”

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From free agent to Formula 1 racer in 20 hours

Nico Hulkenberg is back in a Formula 1 car for the first time since December 2019 in the wake of Sergio Perez’s positive test for Covid-19. MotorsportWeek.com takes a look at what has happened in the build-up to the British Grand Prix.

Nico Hulkenberg didn’t want to miss out on the 2020 Formula 1 season but circumstances conspired against him.

Renault opted not to renew his contract. Discussions with Haas were unsuccessful. Alfa Romeo’s door, co-partnered by Ferrari, remained closed.

Rather than chase a full-time seat in another category, or even a Formula 1 reserve role, Hulkenberg stepped off the hamster wheel for the first time since he was a child, visited the carnival in Brazil (pre-coronavirus!), and also spent time in the USA and Majorca. For the opening rounds he joined all bar 20 people in watching a Formula 1 race on TV and then turned his hand to punditry, making appearances on F1TV and more prominently German TV station RTL. He was due to reprise that role this weekend, following a test at the Nurburgring, in anticipation of his one-off appearance in the ADAC GT Masters round next month.

Then on Thursday afternoon he received a call from Racing Point team boss Otmar Szafnauer…

Given the number of people involved in Formula 1 – and its support categories – a positive Covid-19 result from a prominent figure was inevitable at some stage.

Since the Australian Grand Prix debacle the FIA, Formula 1 and relevant authorities have worked hard to put stringent measures in place but the championship is not immune to the coronavirus.

Sergio Perez delivered an inconclusive test result and his second test confirmed that he was Covid-19 positive.

Perez travelled back to his native Mexico after the Hungarian Grand Prix in order to visit his family, in particular his mother, who he revealed had suffered a “big accident”, and had only just been released from hospital. He was only in Mexico briefly and did not travel commercially on any leg of the journey.

First and foremost Perez’s health is the most important aspect, and everyone wishes him a speedy and full recovery.

“He was surprised he tested positive, he couldn’t believe it,” said Szafnauer on the situation.

“He travelled privately, took precautions, didn’t get on a commercial flight in between so he was surprised, we will check him out daily, send a doctor to him, he’s quarantining now.”

During the lockdown period the prospect of a driver missing an event after returning a Covid-19 positive was raised.

With confirmation that grands prix would not be canned in the event of a positive test teams therefore needed standbys at the ready.

Racing Point, as with McLaren, was able to call upon Mercedes reserve drivers Stoffel Vandoorne and Esteban Gutierrez.

Vandoorne last raced in Formula 1 for McLaren in 2018 while Gutierrez’s most recent outing came for Haas in the 2016 finale.

Vandoorne was present at the opening rounds but has been gearing up for his Formula E commitments with Mercedes in Berlin next weekend and is not available at Silverstone.

It left Racing Point with a choice between just two drivers.

“I started thinking about this when Checo’s first test was inconclusive,” said Racing Point boss Otmar Szafnauer on the situation.

“I was hoping that the next step was a negative [result for Checo] but you have to hope for the best and plan for the worst.

“We did it in parallel with Nico and Esteban, Stoffel couldn’t be here this weekend as he has a Formula E commitment, so it was Esteban or Nico.

“Our engineering team, after we discussed it, thought Nico would be more appropriate as he knows us really well, he knows all the engineers, he knows our systems, our processes, he’s driven our simulator, it would be easy for him to get in the simulator again. And also he has relevant experience from having driven in F1 last year.

“We just needed somebody who could score points for us so we thought Nico would be the best guy for us.”

While Gutierrez drove up from London – where he is based – Hulkenberg headed over to the UK from Germany, with his boots and helmet, landing in Birmingham at 19:00, before travelling to Racing Point’s factory. Conveniently the drama unfolded at Silverstone, for Racing Point’s factory is located on the other side of the roundabout to the circuit’s main entrance. There Hulkenberg could carry out a seat fit, get up to speed with procedures, and spend some time in the simulator. It was a very long night, with little sleep, for all involved parties. A contract and Super Licence paperwork also had to be wrapped up.

Even the rapid Covid-19 tests take time and, after what is understood to be a procedural setback, he was only given clearance to enter the paddock 15 minutes before the start of FP1. Hulkenberg sprinted down to his team area, got into a set of Lance Stroll’s overalls – handily the Canadian is also on the tall side – and bolted on his black helmet (with Racing Point’s sponsors applied) so that he could strap into the RP20. Hulkenberg completed 23 laps in FP1, finishing ninth, as he linked up with the team he departed at the end of 2016.

Racing Point has so far confirmed Hulkenberg for only this weekend but that is pending both clarification on the UK government’s guidelines and also Perez returning a negative test.

Those who test positive for Covid-19 must self-isolate for 10 days – but the altered practice was only introduced on Thursday and was an increase from the previous seven-day period.

Racing Point is in the process of clarifying whether Perez’s inconclusive test, understood to have taken place on Wednesday, will count as positive, and therefore whether he only has to abide by the previous guidelines.

“If it is certain he is out for two then Nico will drive at both races,” confirmed Szafnauer.

“But the reason for it is there is a bit of uncertainty, and we’re still not sure if it is seven or 10 days.

“Checo tested positive on Wednesday, and I believe – but I’m not 100 per cent sure – that on Wednesday the restriction set by England was seven days of quarantine, not 10, so I’m still not sure.

“If it 10 days then Nico will drive both, if it seven days it is only one of the hurdles – the other hurdle is he’s got to have a negative test as well so if it is still in his system and tests positive then Nico will be driving again in the second Silverstone race.”

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Ferrari ‘struggling massively’ with Silverstone race pace

Charles Leclerc says Ferrari needs to make set-up changes to its SF1000 else its British Grand Prix will be a “huge challenge” due to its lack of race pace.

Ferrari has endured a troubled start to the delayed 2020 campaign and holds only fifth in the Constructors’ Championship, with Leclerc’s podium in Austria accounting for 18 of its 27 points.

Leclerc showed greater one-lap speed during Friday practice in extremely hot conditions at Silverstone as he classified fourth, within three-tenths of pacesetter Lance Stroll.

But the Monegasque was more concerned with the speed of the SF1000 across longer runs.

“The race pace we have been struggling massively,” he said.

“Qualifying pace a bit better than expected, this is good. We’ve taken quite a radical approach with our downforce level so it seems to pay off in qualifying but it doesn’t in the race.

“We need to analyse the data and see what we can do tomorrow. We can still change quite a lot of things so we’ll try to understand what we can change to maybe sacrifice some of the qualifying pace to be better in the race.”

Leclerc, who spun exiting The Loop in FP2, added that: “The balance [meant it was] extremely hard to drive, very, very difficult not to do a mistake so we definitely need to change something on that.

“Otherwise doing that many laps during the race with this balance will be a huge challenge.”

 

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AlphaTauri’s Kvyat set for grid drop at British GP

AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat is set to carry a grid penalty into Formula 1’s British Grand Prix after his gearbox was replaced.

The FIA confirmed on Friday evening that both AlphaTauri drivers will use new gearboxes for the remainder of the weekend at Silverstone.

As Pierre Gasly failed to finish in Hungary he is entitled to use a new gearbox but Kvyat reached the chequered flag and is therefore in breach of the regulations.

A driver must use the same gearbox in a race, should they finish, for six successive events.

Consequently Kvyat is set to drop five places on the grid from wherever he qualifies.

Kvyat finished down in 15th spot during second practice at Silverstone.

The Russian has a solitary point to his name so far in 2020, achieved at the Styrian Grand Prix.

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Red Bull ‘hooked up’ despite Albon’s 20G shunt

Red Bull has been lifted by some encouraging progress with its RB16 on the opening day of practice for the British Grand Prix, despite Alex Albon suffering a 20G shunt.
Albon had set the second fastest time overall in the afternoon’s second free practice session before he had an off at Stowe Corner that pitched him into the barriers at high speed.

The 20G impact was enough to prompt a visit to the medical centre for a check over, but he was released after being given the all clear. Despite the incident – which Albon has no clear explanation for – he said he had been left upbeat by some new parts Red Bull had tried out helping transform the feel of his car.

“I think we’ve definitely made a step as a team,” he said. “The car feels good and I think we expected worse, to be honest, coming into Friday. 

“But the car was hooked up straightaway the first time we drove it in FP1. So it’s looking good. Obviously, I’m sure the Mercs are hiding quite a lot, so we’ll watch them tomorrow, but otherwise I think as a car it feels well balanced.” 

Teammate Max Verstappen, whose best lap was ruined after he was forced to slow to avoid a cruising Romain Grosjean, was equally encouraged by what he had felt behind the wheel.

“It was not a bad day for us,” said the Dutchman, who ended the afternoon session down in 14th. “I think the car is working a bit better, so I’m happy with that. 

“There are still things you can improve and we will work on that, but in the long run it was looking quite decent so overall quite a positive day.”

Red Bull had come into the 2020 season off the back of what it thought was its best winter for years, and set its sights on challenging Mercedes for both titles. But it has so far fallen short of being able to fight the world champion outfit on equal terms.

Its RB16 has proved to be a tricky car to get on top of, with team boss Christian Horner admitting after the recent Hungarian Grand Prix that it was suffering from some aerodynamic anomalies.

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Giovinazzi handed warning after British GP practice incident

Alfa Romeo Formula 1 driver Antonio Giovinazzi has been given a warning by the FIA stewards at the British GP after dropping debris when driving back to the pits after a spin in FP1, bringing out a red flag.
Around half an hour into the session, the Italian had a high-speed spin at Turn 13 at the exit of Becketts, flat spotting his tyres and damaging his floor.

However, he was able to resume and returned to the pits under his own power, losing parts of the bodywork as he drove down the Hangar Straight towards Stowe.

That forced race control to red flag the session to allow marshals to clear the track before action was able to resume.

Giovinazzi was then reported under an FIA sporting regulation that states that "at no time may a car be driven unnecessarily slowly, erratically or in a manner which could be deemed potentially dangerous to other drivers or any other person".

After an investigation during the lunch break, he was given a warning under a new provision in the FIA's International Sporting Code.

A warning is a step above a reprimand and fine on the list of penalties. He is the first F1 driver to receive the sanction in 2020.

In their judgement, the stewards noted: "When the driver left the position where he had come to a stop at Turn 13 his car shed debris due to his damaged tyres.

"However, the Stewards felt that the driver acted in a manner that was potentially dangerous to other drivers when he continued at speed and without due caution to the pit lane, shedding debris along the way.

"That he did so also contributed to the extended twelve-minute suspension of the session.

"In deciding the penalty, the stewards have compared this incident to other practice incidents in the last few years and have elected to utilise the Warning that is newly available to them under the International Sporting Code."

Giovinazzi finished the session in 18th place, ahead of only Williams driver Nicholas Latifi and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, the latter having failed to set a time.