FORMULA 1

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Red Bull says Honda giving it 'party mode' for first time

Red Bull believes it will be able to celebrate a Formula 1 engine 'party mode' for the first time thanks to its new-for-2019 partner Honda.
After all-but-one of its 14 seasons with Renault power, Red Bull has switched to Honda for this season after ending an increasingly acrimonious relationship with its title-winning former partner.

Red Bull has talked up Honda since inking a two-year deal in the middle of 2018, declaring it had surpassed Renault before the end of the season.

The team's motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko believes planned gains for 2019 should put Red Bull in the "region" of F1's current benchmarks Mercedes and Ferrari, and have triggered "a real euphoria" and "a sense of optimism" within the team.

"The figures make us really optimistic, also with regard to the increase in performance," Marko told Motorsport.com.

"For the first time we can also celebrate with a 'party mode'!

"The Honda engine is already slightly above the Renault engine. If you combine our GPS data with the data provided by Honda, we'll be in the Mercedes and Ferrari region.

"Of course they're not sleeping either. But they are already at such a high level that they can no longer make such jumps.

"Even if we should be 10 or 15 kW behind, that was no different in our Renault era with the eight-cylinder engine. We can make up for that."

Christian Horner, Red Bull team boss, said at the end of 2018 that "an extra 40kW" could have changed the complexion of the season.

Red Bull won four grands prix last year but also suffered from ongoing reliability problems and Renault admitted it had not made the progress it expected in performance terms.

By contrast, Honda had a strong rebuilding season after ending three disastrous years with McLaren to partner Red Bull's junior team Toro Rosso.

It had its own minor reliability setbacks but was buoyed by its reliability and performance developments, although Marko anticipates Red Bull will not have a seamless first season with Honda.

"We are aware that it will probably be difficult with reliability," said Marko. "Most probably we won't be able to get through the season on three engines.

"But if you choose the right tracks, you can be back at the top in a few laps.That will be the concept, that we consciously accept engine penalties if necessary."

Marko also said Red Bull had been "portrayed as the big whiners" at time with Renault but insisted the figures speak for themselves.

"We were in the B category right from the start," he said. "We lacked up to 70bhp in qualifying.

"Depending on the race track it became less, but on average we were always at least 40bhp behind.

"Our GPS data clearly shows how much we lose on the straights and how much we win in the corners. When the Ferrari power was at its peak, the difference was even more extreme."

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ANDRETTI: VETTEL IS GOOD FOR FERRARI, NOT SURE ABOUT LECLERC

Mattia Binotto being promoted to team principal at the expense of Maurizio Arrivabene has kick-started the Formula 1 news season, his appointment raising many questions regarding the future of the sport’s greatest team, including how the leadership changes will impact their star driver Sebastian Vettel.

Mario Andretti, Formula 1 legend and a winner for Ferrari, backs Vettel to lead the team into the new era under Binotto while questioning the promotion of young Charles Leclerc.

Speaking to Sky Italia, Andretti said of Vettel, “He is absolutely the right man for Ferrari. I remember in his first year with Red Bull, I asked him what were his ambitions for the future and he immediately replied: Drive for Ferrari!”

“He is the right driver for the job. I think it’s hard to say who between Hamilton and Vettel is better because they drive different cars, but they’re both good guys.”

“The Leclerc-Vettel pairing seems correct, the alternative would have been to continue with Kimi [Raikkonen] because he and Sebastian got along very well. But we will see.”

“Leclerc seems to be very good and being young means he has a good future ahead of him. It was [Sergio] Marchionne’s idea to promote him but I don’t know if this is the right moment for Leclerc.”

“With two drivers in a team there must be a number one and a number two, having two number ones never works,” insisted  Andretti.

He should know as he won the 1978 Formula 1 World Championship thanks to an agreement whereby, his teammate that year, Ronnie Peterson was not allowed to challenge the American despite the Swede on many occasions being the faster driver.

At the time Lotus boss Colin Chapman saw to it that Peterson – a true legend in his own right – obliged and did so with grace and sportsmanship that no longer exists in modern pro sports. Different times.

Indeed Andretti’s great success in F1 came when he drove for Lotus team in the late seventies. During his illustrious career, he also drove 12 times for Ferrari famously winning on his debut with the Italian team at the 1971 South African Grand Prix.

With regards to the latest upheaval at Maranello – four team bosses in five years – Andretti admitted, “It doesn’t surprise me so much because there has always been a policy there: if they don’t win, someone has to leave.  We saw what happened to Stefano Domenicali, who was great there… the team principal is always to blame.”

As the sport’s most oldest and successful team, Ferrari are Formula 1’s biggest asset. With an army of supporters, the People’s Team and their fortunes determine how many eyeballs watch the sport on TV.

Since their last title back in 2008 (constructors champions) the Reds have come close, particularly last year until things imploded within the team and now, in retrospect, their campaign nose-dived amid a full-on civil war at Maranello.

Andretti concluded, “Ferrari must always be at the top because this serves to keep interest alive. Nobody works harder than Ferrari, because there you breathe and you live for Formula 1.”

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Valtteri Bottas sponsor ends deal over 'weak results'

A major personal sponsor of Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas has chosen not to renew its deal with the Finn over "weak results" during the 2018 season.

Bottas failed to win a single race last year – although team orders robbed him of at least one win when he was asked to move aside for team-mate Lewis Hamilton in Russia – and he finished a lowly fifth behind both Ferraris and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

The Wihuri Group, which is owned and chaired by Finnish billionaire Antti Aarnio-Wihuri, has sponsored Bottas' motorsport career for almost 20 years and became a Mercedes sponsor when Bottas joined the team, having moved over from Williams in 2017.

However the Finnish conglomerate has ended its deal with the 29-year-old over his poor form.

"It's been disappointing," Aarnio-Wihuri told Finland's Ilta-Sanomille. "It was not entirely his own fault, some of it was due to the team and technical problems, but I think he was quite weak at the end of the year."

Aarnio-Wihuri admitted that going up against Hamilton was a difficult challenge, but was unimpressed by Bottas' overall result.

"It's a difficult place to be as Hamilton's team-mate, but Valtteri was left behind by many others and was only fifth overall. It was a pretty weak result."

Wihuri also sponsors two young Finnish drivers in Simo Laaksonen and Niko Kari, though the latter's deal is also set to end due to poor form according to Aarnio-Wihuri.

"Supporting Laaksonen will continue. We will not continue with Kari, and the reason for this is little success."

Kari finished the 2018 GP3 season in 17th, but missed the final four races after making the step up to Formula 2 with MP Motorsport, whilst Laaksonen finished 14th with 36 points compared to Kari's six. Neither have confirmed their plans for 2019.

 

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VERSTAPPEN HAS ROAD RAGE PLAYING ON IRACING SIM

Max Verstappen proved that his quick temper is not something he reserves for Formula 1, the Red Bull star is also something of a nutcase in the virtual world where he races under his own name on the iRacing sim service.

During practice for a simulated Formula 3 race at Brands Hatch, Verstappen is shown in a Twitch video on a fast lap driving an orange #33 car, at speed he comes upon the number #7 blue car of David Minton dawdling on the racing line, which forces the Dutchman onto the virtual grass and into a spin.

Verstappen recovers and allows Minton to pass then followed him on track before ramming into the front of the virtual F3 and then rams the barrier backwards landing upside down, before resetting and returning to the pits which is the warped magic of the virtual world, namely no price to pay for being a total idiot.

And of course a classic case of sim-racer road rage by our man Max!

Typically the iRacing service would ban any other driver for such behaviour and it will be interesting to watch how they react to this temper tantrum one of F1’s biggest stars.

In real life such an incident would get him a hefty and lengthy ban as Santino Ferrucci found out when he lost his mind during a ‘non-virtual’ Formula 2 race last year.

The video was posted by MrGit under the title: Max Verstappen does not play well with others…

 

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MCLAREN APPOINT ANDREAS SEIDL AS MANAGING DIRECTOR

McLaren F1 team have bolstered their senior management by hiring former Porsche WEC team principal Andreas Seidl as the Woking outfit’s managing director, reporting to CEO Zak Brown.

Seidl was responsible for Formula 1 testing and racing at BMW Sauber until 2009 when the manufacturer withdrew from the top flight,

He then managed BMW’s DTM comeback and was instrumental in the company’s return to the German premier series, championship victory in their comeback year 2012 was an impressive achievement.

After that, the Porsche LMP1 programme came as a huge challenge for the father of two but in the end the legendary marque won the WEC title as well as victory at Le Mans in 2015 and 2016 under Seidl’s stewardship.

Press Release:

McLaren Racing has appointed Andreas Seidl as managing director of its Formula 1 team. Seidl will report to Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, with responsibility for all aspects of the team’s F1 racing programme.

The move is the latest step in the team’s F1 performance recovery plan and restructure, and part of McLaren Racing’s long-term strategy to return to F1 success.

Seidl will join the team during 2019 and comes to McLaren from his position as Porsche LMP1 Team Principal. This will mark a return to Formula 1 for Seidl, who worked at BMW Motorsport from 2000 and 2006, then at BMW Sauber as head of track operations until 2009. He graduated from the Technical University in Munich with a diploma in Mechanical Engineering.

Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, commented: “We are delighted that Andreas is joining McLaren to lead our F1 technical and operational programme. This is a significant appointment for us on two fronts.

“First, it is another important step in our F1 performance recovery plan and long-term commitment to F1. Second, concentrated senior leadership on our F1 programme is an integral part of the long-term strategy of McLaren Racing to expand into other forms of global motorsport over time.

“Andreas is a highly capable leader with a track record of success in everything he has been involved with, and I look forward to working with him.”

Andreas Seidl said: “This is an enormous privilege and challenge, which I am ready for and committed to. To have an opportunity to contribute to the McLaren legacy is extremely special and inspiring.

“McLaren has the vision, leadership and experience but, most importantly, the people to return to the front, and that will be my absolute focus and mission. I can’t wait to join the team and begin working with my colleagues at McLaren, our partners at Renault and, of course, Carlos and Lando.”

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ARTIST PAUL OZ UNVEILS STUNNING AYRTON SENNA AT WORK STATUE

Renown artist Paul Oz, creator of stunning Formula 1 related paintings has unveiled a remarkable statue of Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna, depicted floating ‘At Work’ in the cockpit wearing his familiar Marlboro McLaren overalls adorned with his personal sponsors Nacional.

This is what Oz had to say on the day he launched his new work to the world:

“So today has finally arrived… where I get to present the result of 8 months groundbreaking work to the world’s Motorsport media, unveiling a lifesize bronze statue to mark 25 years with Insituto Ayrton Senna, at Autosport International Show, NEC Birmingham.

” I appreciate that many of you won’t be able to make it to the show over the next 4 days, especially given that many more are reading this email from overseas now. And it just wouldn’t be right if I didn’t unveil the biggest most ambitious project of my career first to those who have supported me most over the last decade. So this [report is published] a few minutes before the sheet is pulled off the bronze at the show!

“Here is my homage to the greatest icon that F1 will ever see, to mark 25 years since his passing, May 1994.”

160kg of raw bronze in the dynamic of Eau Rouge into Radillon, cast by Pangolin, the most prestigious foundry in the world. Over the coming year or so we will be creating an official Instituto Ayrton Senna approved edition of 3 life size to mark world titles, 41 wind tunnel size (60%.. about 1m long) to mark F1 race victories – each will be named after a specific race victory.

And also 106 white acrylic versions at 30cm long, marking race entries. I’m donating two of the bronzes to Instituto Ayrton Senna for them to auction, and a proportion of any sales will be benefiting the kids of Brazil through the charity too, founded by Ayrton’s family in 1994.

For all commercial enquiries please speak to whichever gallery or F1 memorabilia specialist you usually speak to… or let me know if you’d like further information. It may be a few days until one of us here can reply but we will. Press enquiries please email [email protected].

I know some of you know this back story… but for anyone who is interested in the full story behind my concept and the stages of work to get to the finished statue, here you go;

I first created artwork for Bianca Senna and Instituto Ayrton Senna to mark 20 years since Ayrton’s passing, an oil painting which was auctioned for the charity by Bianca in London. Almost since then I’d been thinking how I could create something truly next level to mark 25 years.

I’d also been trying to think how to utilise a system my photographers were developing to create 3D images and models by knitting together hundreds of 2D images. And the fact that they are rather handily in the same building of a huge bronze foundry that Damien Hirst uses for everything, 20 miles from where I’m based in Cheltenham.

We were thinking along the lines of capturing my F1 component sculptures in this way to make smaller bronze editions of them… before I had the eureka moment of capturing a figure to actually make the sculpture from scratch. We believe no-one has ever done this before, from photography directly to a bronze statue – usually white light scanning is used for 3D scanning, but that would be impossible for a shape of this scale, position and complexity. The MD of the foundry indeed called it a watershed moment when it came out of the cast.

My painting style is to create as much dynamic as possible from a stationary image, and it was vital for me to portray that in a bronze statue too. I’d been thinking for a while too to paint a driver floating in driving position… it’s a position alien to most and even many F1 fans don’t appreciate how extreme it is, even back in the 90’s, although more so now. If there’s one thing I am happiest about with this statue is the dynamic and balance of the position.

My logic was that if I can sit on the floor and momentarily balance in that position… then it should balance in bronze too. The foundry guys were less sure, even though the inherent strength of bronze mean that literally any position is possible in a 10mm bronze shell… it still needs to balance, and the weight distribution could need tweaking to be stable on the relatively narrow plinth which was vital to my vision. Turns out the centre of gravity is exactly the same in bronze.

My A-Level design project in 1992 included an at the point early photo manipulation of me on a bike, with the bike taken out, floating in the air. (giving you any ideas if you’re reading this Wiggo? ;o)

Ayrton said in 1993 ‘If you take away Eau Rouge, you take away the reason why I do this’, so it was my thought to mark this most iconic section of track with the pose of the figure – left – right – up hill, accelerating hard, back end trying to kick out.

I collect F1 memorabilia myself and already had a helmet painted by the same workshop in Sao Paulo who painted Ayrtons Lids, and an official replica McLaren race suit from 1991. Slightly serendipitously I’m the same height and shoe size as Ayrton was, maybe a few kg heavier but the same build. All official replica kit is in his size, and for my concept it needed to fit perfectly… several months training hard on a low carb diet!

So it was me adopting the pose to be photographed… and holding that position for minutes at a time is for sure the first actual suffering I have ever done for my art – the more we had to re-shoot, trying to hold a completely static mid sit-up at an angle, the more I started shaking, and therefore throwing the cameras out, meaning we had to do it again and again over several days, until we had the majority of 400 images lining up precisely.

One tip – if by some random twist of the fabric of the universe you too find yourself dressed head to toe as Ayrton Senna one day; Don’t look in the mirror. It will freak you out for days. But jesus did it bring home the level of reverence needed with this project.

So from there the 3D model was reworked to pull out the logo’s, as well as the ubiquitous helmet stripes to make sure that it still screamed SENNA even in a monotone bronze. And another eureka moment with the visor adding grooves to look like reflections… something else translated from how I usually work in oil paint.

Without going into extensive detail of the next 4 months (which we expected to take us 4 weeks…) the eventual 3D printed model was then resurfaced in clay, and texture detail added. Click the below image for a video of it.

Holding the wind tunnel size model too. For anyone who isn’t a massive F1 fan… teams often develop aerodynamic models at 60% size for easier/cheaper wind tunnel testing until they get close to the final design. Don’t overthink what is happening in this image by the way… it quickly gets weird.

And from there it’s chopped into castable chunks and formed in wax, complete with internal piping to pour the molten bronze in and allow the melted wax out. And yes… I had Batman working on this – told you they were good! Casting bronze being a fairly violent process, there’s lot of work to refinish what comes out of the cast.

Almost finished and offering up to the plinth… industrial hoists needed to move around the foundry when joined back together. Nothing compared to the scale of some of Hirst’s ‘Treasures of the wreck of the unbelievable’ bronzes that I’ve seen created here through this year though… literally the size of a bus some of them.

Working on the model for the smaller acrylic editions, to nail the table top plinth position. The epitome of combining groundbreaking technology and the traditional ‘cardboard spacing method’ ha! 3 pin plug socket for scale.

The first wind tunnel size being patinated and heat treated to seal it…. a contemporary slate grey. Being totally honest, I couldn’t decide between this and shot blasted raw bronze finish, I love them both for different reasons. So there will be some of both.

And me being me… I just had to paint it didn’t I! Photography into 3D model, printed, wax cast, bronze cast and then that photographed is a rather a convoluted way to get a reference image. And still having to do the colour/shading translation in my head. Pretty sure that will be a world’s first too ha! Full circle. 5x4ft oil on board… limited editions available imminently!

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F1 using "world's first overtaking sim" for track designs

Formula 1 has created "the world's first overtaking simulation" in a bid to design circuits that feature more entertaining racing, according to Pat Symonds.
F1 bosses have commissioned a series of working groups evaluating several ways to improve the quality of grand prix racing, and one of those is the Vehicle Performance Group that operates under Symonds' direction.

Speaking at the 2019 Autosport International Show, Symonds revealed that using simulation to influence circuit design is "an idea that is flying" and is already being used to impact the layout of the Hanoi circuit for the inaugural Vietnam race in 2020.

The tool is also being used to evaluate potential changes to existing tracks like Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina circuit, where racing has traditionally been poor.

"We've produced what I think is the world's first overtaking simulation," ex-Benetton, Renault and Williams technical chief Symonds claimed.

"It's been extremely complex to do. To run a lap takes several hours.

"It's a very, very complex simulation but it has a proper wake model of the cars, it looks at the surface and the tyre characteristics and all these sort of things.

"We're now using that to design our new circuits and to look at some modifications.

"Vietnam, which is the first circuit we've really been involved with, I think that we have really been able to understand what it will take to make good racing there.

"I think Vietnam is going to be a superb circuit. It's got some great features and it's going to have some close racing at it."

Symonds was responding to a question regarding 2016/17 Formula E champion Lucas di Grassi's latest Autosport Engineering column.

In his column, di Grassi argued that more effort should be made to ensure circuit designs promote the use of different ways around a corner instead of a conventional racing line.

Symonds added: "What Lucas is saying is correct, there are many aspects to it, but again I emphasis we've got to have science behind it, we've got to have the evidence.

"I've heard so many theories how to make cars overtake – everyone saying give them mechanical grip, you hear that one time and time again.

"The evidence is actually that in a wet race, where you've got less grip, you get much better racing. So, we're putting the science into it now."

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Brundle: "Things weren't right" at Ferrari under Arrivabene

Ex-Formula 1 driver-turned-pundit Martin Brundle believes “things weren’t right” at Ferrari last season, in the wake of the removal of Maurizio Arrivabene as team principal.
Vettel and Ferrari fought for the 2018 world championship but were defeated again by Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes after a string of high-profile errors.

Arrivabene was ousted earlier this week, with Ferrari’s chief technical officer Mattia Binotto promoted to replace him.

Speaking at the 2019 Autosport International Show, Brundle said he did not like to get “personal” with his assessment because “you don’t know what you don’t know if you’re not inside an organisation”.

“But I did observe it, and see that things weren’t right,” Brundle said.

“You look at situations like Hockenheim, where Vettel was put under pressure because they didn’t do the right things earlier on in the race.

“Then he fell off the road, and he fell out of the championship from that moment onwards.

“You look at other things like the slipstreaming in Monza [when Vettel did not get a tow off Kimi Raikkonen because Ferrari stuck to a previously-agreed order on-track].

“Certain things weren’t being done.”

Arrivabene has been criticised for how he handled the media in the latter half of 2018, particularly after the death of Ferrari president and CEO Sergio Marchionne, who preferred to be the team’s spokesperson.

Brundle said the highly-rated Binotto, who will work under John Elkann (president) and Louis Camilleri (CEO), would need to adapt to such challenges in his new role.

“I do think Mattia Binotto has got a very good reputation in developing the team technically, he’s clearly a leader of people," said Brundle.

“But of course now he’s the lightning conductor. He’s got to be up front, he’s got to speak to nasty, horrible people like me in the Formula 1 media.

“He’s got to be there and explain why things went well, why things didn’t go so well. It’s a different job and a different challenge.”

Highly-rated rising star Charles Leclerc has joined Ferrari in place of Kimi Raikkonen, after just one season in F1 with Sauber.

He has been tipped to win races in his first year at the Maranello team and put four-time world champion Vettel under pressure.

If Leclerc can join Vettel in fighting Mercedes and Hamilton from the beginning, Brundle believes Binotto will make life simpler for Ferrari.

“I do know from people like Ross Brawn and others who have worked with him, he is most highly regarded,” said Brundle.

“I think he’ll get the car and the engine to where it needs to be and the rest of it should be easy, if Vettel and Leclerc are doing their jobs.”

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Ricciardo will take Renault to "another dimension" - Prost

Four-time F1 world champion Alain Prost says that the arrival of Daniel Ricciardo at Renault will help to take the team to "another dimension".
Prost, who is a special advisor to the French manufacturer, believes that the former Red Bull Racing driver will bring useful knowledge to the team.

The Australian, who will partner Nico Hulkenberg, won seven races with Renault power over the past five seasons.

"We are very happy with the drivers we had in 2018, that's the first thing we must say," Prost told Motorsport.com. "We're very pleased with Carlos [Sainz].

"But for sure Daniel will give, not another motivation because we don't need that, but he's going to be quite a big help to make the team even better.

"He's going to give us some information, he's going to make the team in another dimension."

Prost admits that Renault "missed some opportunities" in 2018, but he's convinced that the team will make good progress next season, especially with its power unit.

He says that the team secured a solid fourth place in the world championship despite turning its focus to future development.

"In fact if you look at all the teams you always have some ups and downs. We were maybe not where we wanted to be in the summer, for different reasons, but we came back.

"The engine side was a little bit better, on the chassis side there were a few things where maybe we missed some opportunities.

"But we wanted to be fourth, or the best after the top three, and we wanted to be closer to them. It's very difficult to manage that, because we took a decision to prepare for next season in the best way, not to develop too much, especially around the engine.

"So in fact we've done exactly what we wanted to do so far. Now the next step is next season to be closer to the top teams."

Prost conceded that it's not easy to make constant progress.

"You cannot be on an upwards line like this, there's always some steps. Maybe we were a little bit disappointed by some races, for sure, but the good thing is that the team was able to get back to it. That's the answer I would say.

"It's really difficult to make one more step to where they are. One thing that is difficult to accept sometimes is that especially Ferrari and Mercedes made a big improvement with the engine. So we had to move, and we're really moving for next year."

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ISOLA: TIME IS RUNNING FOR 2021 F1 TYRE PRODUCTION

Formula 1 has already announced that the Pirelli supplied tyres will change from 13-inch (33.02 cm) wheel rims to 18-inch ones as of 2021 and beyond when tyre warmers will also be banned from the pinnacle of the sport.

Pirelli’s motor racing chief Mario Isola said the combined changes posed a major challenge for Pirelli, who last November won a tender to remain as sole supplier until the end of the 2023 season.

The bigger tyres will have to be safe at temperatures ranging from 20 degrees Celsius when leaving the garage to 120 during the race, with a corresponding increase in pressure.

The 2021 technical regulations, aiming to facilitate overtaking by allowing cars to follow more closely, have yet to be finalised, however, and time is pressing.

“We already started to design the new tyres because we cannot wait. The deadline was already in the past,” said Isola.

“What we can do is adapt the tyres, the design, to the new rules when they are available. But we need to know at least 80-90 percent of the expected performance of the cars as soon as possible… without that information it is really a challenge.

“We have two years in front of us before using the 18-inch tyres so it’s important that we use this time in a good way. We cannot lose time but I believe we can do something good if we have the right process.”

The Italian said Pirelli would devote the first part of 2019 to developing next year’s tyres and then switch their full focus to 2021.

“We don’t want to stop the development of the 2019 product because there is something more we can do and we know that,” he said. “But for sure, the second half of 2019 will be dedicated to 18-inch tyres.”

“I would say six months for 2020 and then we switch to 18-inches and dedicate 100 percent of the people to the new size and new challenge.”

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VERSTAPPEN ‘PUNISHMENT’ SERVED AT MARRAKESH FORMULA E RACE

Max Verstappen will serve part of his public service, imposed by the sport’s governing body after he shoved French rival Esteban Ocon in Brazil last year, at Saturday’s Formula E race in Marrakesh.

The FIA said the 21-year-old Red Bull driver will join officials in Morocco at the second round of the season of the all-electric series.

“Max Verstappen will attend the Marrakesh E-Prix as a result of the stewards’ decision at the 2018 Brazilian Formula 1 Grand Prix,” the statement said.

“Verstappen will spend the day as an observer to the stewards, closely following their work at a top-level international motorsport event as part of the educational and informative approach taken by the FIA in this matter.”

The youngest ever Formula One winner was ordered to do two days of public service for an angry confrontation with Force India’s Ocon in November.

Verstappen led at Interlagos when he tried to pass backmarker Ocon, who attempted to retake the position but instead made contact — sending the Dutchman into a spin that cost him victory.

The Red Bull driver angrily confronted Ocon after the race and gave him a shove. Verstappen had said afterwards that the public service would have to be ‘suitable’.

“I’m definitely not going to look silly because I think I am anyway already very harshly treated by that,” he said. “So we’ll find something suitable. Because I’m not going to look like an idiot.”

Verstappen also said in Brazil, when asked about electric racing, that Formula E seemed to be becoming more interesting but petrol engines were his thing.

“I will probably be one of the last people in the world to try and buy the last barrels of oil,” he joked.

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ISOLA: TWO MANDATORY PITSTOPS NOT THE SOLUTION

Formula 1 should be wary of forcing drivers to make more pitstops as part of future efforts to make races more exciting, according to tyre supplier Pirelli’s motor racing chief Mario Isola.

The idea of having two mandatory pitstops in a grand prix, rather than just one at present, has been around for some years and remains under discussion as the sport plans major rules revamp after 2020.

“There was a lot of talk about imposing two stops by regulation,” Isola told Reuters in an interview at the Autosport Show.

“I’m not sure that is the right solution because you have the risk of all the cars stopping on the same lap,” added the Italian.

The suggestion was discussed last year, but nothing was changed for 2019, as the sport looked at how to encourage more varied team strategies amid concern about the number of one-stop races.

Isola said removing the obligation for the top 10 to start the race on tyres used in the second phase of qualifying was also still ‘on the table’.

Pirelli have simplified their colour-coded range of tyres for 2019 from seven to three (soft, medium and hard), making it easier for the casual fan to know what is being used.

Isola said the tyres should also be more consistent, allowing drivers to push slightly harder, “We want to be a bit more conservative because if we have one-stop races anyway, at this point it’s much better that we give drivers a bit more consistent tyres and they can push more and maybe we have a better show on track.”

He warned, however, that making tyres less susceptible to over-heating remained a problem, “We made some improvement on the product itself, we’ve different compounds in order to reduce the over-heating. But the over-heating is not avoidable when you follow another car and you lose a lot of downforce.”

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ANDERSON: BINOTTO I THINK IS THE WRONG DECISION

According to former Jordan technical director Gary Anderson, the appointment of Mattia Binotto to Ferrari team principal may prove to be the wrong decision, believing the engineer is not the right man for the hottest management seat in sport.

Binotto is the Scuderia’s fourth manager in five years, a technical guru replacing a marketing man at the helm of the sport’s most famous team.

Speaking on stage at the Autosport Show, Anderson told the audience, “Binotto is someone who has been very good at being a technical manager. You’ve got to allow him to be a technical manager.

“That is a full-time job, seven days a week. It’s not a part-time thing. That is going to dilute their technical effort for sure. I think it’s the wrong decision. They should have brought someone else in.”

“I don’t really see why you would take your best technical person…and put him in a management, political position which is not his forte. Why would you do that?”

Binotto, a Ferrari engineer since 1995, is homegrown and a calming influence over the people he leads, pushing them hard but managing to get the best of his personnel as evidenced by the very good package he has provided for the Scuderia.

Arrivabene was arrogant and abrasive, perhaps a tool to hide his shortcomings, which when exposed made him go on the attack as he did after the Suzuka qualifying debacle, laying blame squarely on Binotto’s division for messing things up.

Anderson continued, “You shouldn’t have a blame culture, but somebody’s responsible and you have to make sure you recognise why it failed and strengthen it – and that it will not matter if the Ferrari team works better if Binotto’s move means the car is slower.

“You can easily throw away a couple of tenths of a second in the car and then you’re scratching to get up there, be competitive and make all the right decisions.”

Anderson also raised the question, “What happens at the end of 2019 if Red Bull steps between them and suddenly Ferrari are third or fourth in the championship? It could happen… his head’s going to roll.”

“They might lose a very good asset because they put him in a position he shouldn’t be in,” added Anderson.

Five days since Monday’s announcement and, as yet, no word from Maranello’s new team principal and only a few sentences by vice chairman Piero Ferrari to explain the changes.

The first thing on the agenda for Binotto and his cabal should be to rebuild the bridges burned with media, particularly the Italian posse with whom Arrivabene erroneously went to war.

By emerging with a team list and some sort of action plan would be apt, as for Binotto there is no more hiding behind his drawing board and sooner he emerges the better.

[MIKA27]

PIERO FERRARI: WE’VE ACTED IN THE EXCLUSIVE INTEREST OF FERRARI

Piero Ferrari is the first of the top Ferrari management to comment on the Maranello revolution that resulted in team principal Maurizio Arrivabene being replaced by Mattia Binotto at the helm of the sport’s most famous team.

Son of Enzo Ferrari, as well as vice-chairman, Piero Ferrari delivered the first soundbite on the matter by a senior team figure when he told Gazzetta dello Sport, “We’ve acted in the exclusive interest of Ferrari.”

“Everything happened before Christmas. We wanted to preserve technical continuity, without creating any disruption in the structure of the team.”

“What was most important was to guarantee the technical continuity of the Cavallino racing department while counting on Binotto’s vast competence is fundamental.”

Currently, Ferrari is presided over by Chairman John Elkann and CEO Louis Camilleri, the pair taking over from Sergio Marchionne when he passed away unexpectedly in July last year.

Neither has been visible or vocal since they took command, prompting speculation that Camilleri may follow his former Marlboro colleague Arrivabene out the door.

But Piero Ferrari poured cold water on rumours of his demise, “It is important to allow Louis Camilleri enough time to work and settle in. He recently arrived at Ferrari and obviously has his own style, different from that of Marchionne but at the same time unique and inimitable.”

Whatever the case, the Camilleri ‘style’ appears to be: retreat into your tortoise-shell and say nothing.

A far cry from his predecessors Luca di Montezemolo and Marchionne who always had something to say when they ruled the house of Maranello and in times of crisis, like now, they were the most vocal!

Perhaps the role of fronting the team should fall on 42-year-old Elkann who has also been very low profile since he took over as Chairman, with very little media exposure in a job that requires high public visibility.

However, by all accounts, the Agnelli heir was involved in trying to diffuse the feud between Arrivabene and Binotto but failed to broker a truce accord between the pair. As it turned out, it was always going to be a case of making a choice between one or the other.

Now, Binotto is going to need a great deal of help and constant support from his boss. In turn, Elkann needs only to look at the template for successful management, at Maranello – set by Luca di Montezemolo with Jean Todt – to know that he needs to do to make it work.

In other words, Elkann has to be for Binotto what Montezemolo was for Todt, with immediate effect, because in the end the failings of Maurizio Arrivabene and Marco Mattiacci can only be attributed to those who put them there in the first place…

[MIKA27]

Slashing downforce could leave F1 "no better off" - Symonds

Formula 1 technical expert Pat Symonds has warned it would be “all too easy” for rulemakers to slash downforce levels and fail to improve racing.
As F1 evaluates ways to create a better spectacle following criticism that cars are too downforce-dependent and overtaking is too difficult, Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost suggested downforce levels should be cut by “at least 40-50%”.

He argued that only the drivers benefit from the current generation of cars that have immensely high cornering speeds.

Countering Tost’s suggestion at the Autosport International Show, title-winning technical boss-turned-F1 employee Symonds said removing downforce is “certainly doable” but a misguided solution.

“Often when you’re trying to get your head around an argument you should take it to an extreme and see what answer you get,” he acknowledged.

“If you go to the extreme of having no downforce, you’d say well that’s got to be better because you can’t lose something that isn’t there.

“So there’s some logic in the argument.

“However, it’s much more complex than that. You could produce a car with half the downforce of a current Formula 1 car but with much, much worse weight characteristics.

“It would be all too easy to do. Then you’d be no better off than you are now.”

Tost’s point was that reducing downforce levels would make it easier for cars to follow, harder to drive through the corners and increase braking distances to promote overtaking.

Symonds agrees that high levels of downforce were negative, and also lamented the lack of entertainment inspired by the emergence of the teams’ tactic of running much slower than is possible during races to complete a one-stop strategy.

“I want the cars to be quick, but I want them to be spectacular,” said Symonds, who is overseeing several projects with F1, one of which is to fundamentally improve overtaking for 2021.

“If they are really nailed to the ground I don’t think they are particularly spectacular.

“A rally car is spectacular. That’s something where you see the thing is absolutely on the edge of stability, it looks difficult to drive, it is difficult to drive.

“A Formula 1 car doesn’t always look too difficult to drive. Particularly at the moment where we’ve got the teams are strategically running at below the maximum performance to reduce the number of pitstops they do.

“Then the cars looking anything but spectacular.”

[MIKA27]

SCHUMACHER TO JOIN FERRARI DRIVER ACADEMY?

Mick Schumacher looks set to be signed up as Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA) with Formula 1 testing on the cards, for the son of the great Michael Schumacher, as early as April.

Schumacher junior, the reigning European Formula 3 champion, will tackle Formula 2 next season and should the reports of him joining the FDA be true, word is he will also test for the Scuderia at the Young Driver test after the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Although a contract has yet to be signed, Motorsport (Italia) website report that Schumacher will join the Academy at Maranello: “His confirmation into the Ferrari Driver Academy is close to being made official and Mick has all the credentials to fill the role of test driver. The fact that he already has a Formula 1 super-license will also play in his favour.”

“A day of testing in Bahrain or Barcelona, by all accounts the latter, would be an ideal opportunity for Ferrari engineers to evaluate the German,” added the report.

The Schumacher legacy at the pinnacle of the sport looks set to continue with the son carrying the torch, stepping out for the Scuderia 13 years since his father climbed out of a red F1 cockpit for the last time, having led them to five consecutive world titles.

Apart from the obvious sentimental and marketing value, 19-year-old Schumacher ticks all the boxes and would follow the path of Charles Leclerc and Antonio Giovinazzi should he be able to keep the upward momentum of form in the wake of his title-winning F3 season.

That would mean a seat for young Schumacher with Sauber, if not in 2020 almost certainly in 2021 when Kimi Raikkonen will have retired, while we will know how good Leclerc and Giovinazzi really are.

Other contenders for the FDA include Marcus Armstrong, Callum Ilott, Giuliamo Alesi, Enzo Fittipaldi, Guan Yu Zhou and Antonio Fuoco.

[MIKA27]

BUDKOWSKI: RENAULT’S THREE YEARS OF ATTACK ARE BEGINNING

In what can be seen as a rallying cry from Renault F1 Team Executive Director Marcin Budkowski has revealed that, after three year’s of rebuilding, the French team are ready to begin the second three-year phase of their plan: all-out attack for the title.

Speaking to Auto Hebdo, Bukowski declared, “If the short term had been our target we could have done better last year but the goal that interests us is to build a team able to be World Champion. After three years of construction, three years of attack are beginning!”

Renault have an illustrious history in the sport. They were the first team to use turbo engines in F1 when they made their debut in the late seventies. Since then, as a team, they won two titles with Fernando Alonso in 2005 and 2006.

As an engine supplier, they have won 12 F1 constructors’ championships, 11 drivers’ titles while racking up 168 grand prix wins in the process.

Although bullish with regards to the next three years, Budkowski also revealed that building for the future is ongoing at Vichy and Enstone, “We are not working in the short term, we’re not only hiring experienced people but mostly young apprentices fresh out of university.”

Renault finished fourth in the championship last year behind their customer team Red Bull.

However, Budkowski revealed that upgrades to their car during the campaign was below expectations, “To the question: Did we do the best job in terms of car development last year? The answer is no. Our progress was inherently worse than in 2017 and we are aware of it.”

[MIKA27]

Toro Rosso willing to make more sacrifices for Red Bull

Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost says that the Italian Formula 1 team is willing to take more grid penalty hits in 2019 in order to help Red Bull.
Last year Toro Rosso drivers Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley often took Honda engine penalties because it wanted to accelerate the Japanese manufacturer's development schedule.

With Red Bull switching to Honda engines this season, and its new supplier yet to provide definitive on-track proof it has the performance and reliability to mount a title challenge, a similar strategy would be much more costly for the senior team.

Tost told Motorsport.com that Toro Rosso is willing to continue to take hits if it accelerates development and protects Red Bull drivers from having too many penalties.

"If that helps the strategy for Red Bull to win races and the world championship, of course," said Tost.

"We do not even need to discuss this, it's within our philosophy. I'm more than happy with it, because in parallel we also improve the performance."

Toro Rosso will take advantage of F1's listed/non-listed parts rules in 2019 to use components produced by Red Bull, including the entire rear end of the car and gearbox.

Honda is eyeing a "big advantage" from this compared to having two customers with different rear-end architectures and Tost agrees it will pay dividends.

"There's no doubt that we will profit from the synergies and the co-operation with Red Bull Technologies," said Tost.

"It's the whole rear end. We have to develop within the rules all the list of parts, and this of course we will do because we stick to the rules.

"All the teams at this stage of the year hope that the new car works better and is an improvement.

"This is the same for us, but I always say that I want to see the performance on the race track, which means the lap time. This is decisive."

[MIKA27]

Giovinazzi: Don't compare me to Leclerc

Antonio Giovinazzi says he will not try to replicate Charles Leclerc's success as a Formula 1 rookie when he makes his full-season debut with Sauber in 2019.
Leclerc's efforts this year paved the way for an immediate graduation to Ferrari and opened the door for Giovinazzi to move into a full-time drive at Sauber.

Giovinazzi made two starts for Sauber at the start of 2017, replacing the injured Pascal Wehrlein, and has since worked a test and development driver for the Swiss team and Ferrari.

The 2016 GP2 Series runner-up will partner 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen in an all-new Sauber line-up and Giovinazzi said he does not want to make comparisons with Leclerc and has not discussed his own step up to F1 with the Monegasque.

"I didn't speak much to him about this jump, I want to focus on myself," said Giovinazzi. "I don't want to repeat Charles' results this year or improve his results – my target is just to do the best I can on my side.

"I will have a different team-mate from Charles [who was partnered with Marcus Ericsson].

"Everything will look different. I hope the car can be faster at race one, and start to push from Melbourne."

Sauber started the 2018 season at the back of the field with Williams, which meant Leclerc's F1 career began with a run of early eliminations from qualifying.

However, its progress to a top-10 team by the end of the season meant Leclerc was gradually able to show his skills more regularly and earn his Ferrari move.

Giovinazzi insists it is not his "priority" to judge himself against what Leclerc did and has played down how much Leclerc can help him by succeeding at Ferrari and proving it's worth gambling on a young driver.

"Already, many young drivers show they are fast enough to be in a top team, like [Max] Verstappen, and next year will be Pierre [Gasly joining Verstappen at Red Bull], and Charles.

"It's good to see a young driver can do a fantastic job in a top team. My target is to improve. It will be my first year in F1. My target is to improve myself."

[MIKA27]

"No point" staying in F1 without change – Steiner

Haas team boss Gunther Steiner reckons there would be no point in him carrying on in Formula 1 in the long term if there was never a chance of his team being able to challenge the sport's top three outfits.
The current grid has been divided into two, with a gulf of performance between the top three squads - Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull - and the rest of the field.

Some have referred to F1 being split in to Class A and Class B, because the midfield outfits have little chance of being able to challenge the leading trio.

Steiner says that he can accept such a situation carrying on in the short term, but thinks that he would have to question his involvement longer term if things do not change.

"I think for two years, yes, it's sustainable," Steiner told Motorsport.com. "But long term: no, it gets old.

"If it doesn't change at some point there's no point to just be in it.

"The business as a business doesn't work if you cannot take and feel the enjoyment of competing for podiums and wins. There's no point to be here after a certain time, you know.

"Why would I waste my life working madly, day and night, flying to, I don't know, 21 countries all around the globe, to know I can just do the same as I did last year? There is no point. No point."

Steiner believes that as well as the new-look cars and the introduction of a budget cap for 2021 having potential to shake things up, the natural evolution of teams will make a difference too.

"It [F1] always changes and things change so quickly in here, so I don't think that in three years Formula 1 would be the Formula 1 which is now," he said.

"I mean look at what Formula 1 was at the beginning of the 2000's. You could make money really easily, and now it's impossible. Just 18 years later, it's impossible, you know.

"So things change, and that's actually a part of Formula 1 which interests me. It's not like doing the same for the next 20 years. Every time something changes."

[BrightonCorgi]

Steiner is right.  Looks at Williams and McLaren.  Two of the oldest and best names in F1; both just a shadow of themselves.  Even with the best drivers they cannot compete in today's F1.  Look at Mercedes AMG.  They had barely ever one a race since hiring JV 15+ years ago.  They basically fold, new leadership and now are the best on the grid.  Things do change, albeit with a lot of money behind it.  Even money is no guarantee; look at Toyota and BMW's attempt in F1.  Both would still be here if the palmares lined up with the expense.

[MIKA27]

On 1/16/2019 at 3:17 AM, BrightonCorgi said:

Steiner is right.  Looks at Williams and McLaren.  Two of the oldest and best names in F1; both just a shadow of themselves.  Even with the best drivers they cannot compete in today's F1.  Look at Mercedes AMG.  They had barely ever one a race since hiring JV 15+ years ago.  They basically fold, new leadership and now are the best on the grid.  Things do change, albeit with a lot of money behind it.  Even money is no guarantee; look at Toyota and BMW's attempt in F1.  Both would still be here if the palmares lined up with the expense.

Correct on all accounts but don't forget that BRAWN GP in 2009 had won the WDC with Jenson Button and the Constructor titles, after which Mercedes purchased the team.

BRAWN GP only competed for that 1 season. It can be done, but it is getting harder IMO.

[MIKA27]

ARE WE HEADED FOR SCHUMI V VETTEL?

With Mick Schumacher now closer than ever to emulating his father’s footsteps, is his biggest obstacle to a storybook ending Michael’s biggest fan?

The intrigue never stops at Ferrari, does it?

A few weeks removed from the Arrivabene-Binotto civil war, just when things had died down, the Scuderia goes and livens things up again with the signing of Mick Schumacher.

As GP247 head honcho Paul Velasco pointed out last week, you couldn’t script this if you tried. Mick going from aspiring racer, to surprise F3 champion, to now representing the same outfit his father so famously did is about as cliché a story as you can have, and yet it’s happening.

However, the thing I’m really intrigued by how this could potentially affect Sebastian Vettel. I mean, consider Vettel’s own relationship with the Schumacher name:

• He grew up idolizing Michael, being seven years old when the German won his first of seven world championships in 1994, and largely credits him for his interest in racing.
• Debuted in F1 the year after Schumi Sr, retired, and quickly assumed the role of “the next great German driver” with his success at Toro Rosso
• Shared the track with him for three years from 2010-2012, where the two formed a close friendship
• Reeled off four straight titles from 2010-13 in a run of dominance unseen since Schumi himself
• Has been one of the few people outside his immediate family to keep in close contact since Michael’s December 2013 skiing accident
• Followed in his footsteps by joining Ferrari and restoring them (somewhat) to prominence

For his entire career, Vettel has been linked to Michael in some way, and indeed been christened the “next Schumi” in some circles, and yet all of that has been supplanted with a pen stroke as his son has signed to the Ferrari driver academy.

Now obviously Mick has a long, long way to go before he’s even in a position to compete in F1, but if only because he recently beat Vettel at the 2019 Race of Champions, well… if I were Seb, I wouldn’t know quite what to feel about it. On one hand, he’s twelve years younger and much can change in Vettel’s own career before Mick is ready, but on the other, if he’s delivers on the hype, you’re the guy standing in the way of him realising his destiny as Ferrari’s lead driver.

In that scenario, either he replaces Charles Leclerc/whomever and you compete head-to-head (and we’ve seen what can happen between Vettel and his teammates), or Seb’s the one on the ouster. Can you still share a bond with the Schumacher family when you’re honest-to-goodness rivals with his kid?

I’ll admit I’m getting a little carried away here, but I just think it’s a fascinating scenario to consider. There’s a saying made popular by the rapper Drake that in the course of success, “idols become your rivals” – it’s unavoidable, a given, but your idol’s child becoming your rival? There’s no blueprint for how to handle that.

[MIKA27]

F1 WORLD CHAMPS PREDICT BIG PRESSURE FOR VETTEL

Sebastian Vettel has a big season ahead of him at Ferrari and could feel the heat from new teammate Charles Leclerc, retired Formula 1 world champions Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg said on Monday.

The 31-year-old Vettel, a four times world champion, lost out to Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton last year after the German and his team made some costly mistakes after a strong start to the campaign.

Ferrari have brought in Leclerc, 21, as a replacement for 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen and replaced team principal Maurizio Arrivabene with long-time insider and technical head Mattia Binotto.

“The pressure is on, absolutely,” Vettel’s compatriot Rosberg told Sky Sports television.

“He (Vettel) was feeling it, I’m sure, already last year, and especially driving for Ferrari — that’s where the pressure is the highest because you’ve got the whole country on you,” added the 2016 champion.

“He needs to improve and the team needs to improve overall. They just had too many mistakes last year because possibly they should have won it.”

Button, who is joining Rosberg as a Sky pundit for the season that starts in Australia on March 17, said the arrival of Monageqsque Leclerc could have a similar effect to that of Daniel Ricciardo’s debut season at Red Bull.

Ricciardo teamed up with Vettel at Red Bull in 2014, ending the season third and with three race wins while the German won nothing and finished fifth overall, moving to Ferrari at the end of the year.

“It’s going to be a big year for Sebastian, I think. When Daniel Ricciardo came into Red Bull he found it difficult,” said Button.

“Daniel put him under a lot of pressure and actually outperformed him. I think if Charles can do that this year it’s a tough decision of where Sebastian is going to go for the future and what he’s going to do.

‘Dream come true’: fans give Rams send-off
“Charles seems such a happy-go-lucky guy, very relaxed, and I think the team are really going to take to him. And that sometimes can hurt the other driver,” added the Briton, who won his title with Brawn GP in 2009.

Button also expected his fellow Briton and former McLaren team mate Hamilton, now a five times champion, to relish the challenge of regulation changes and new rivals.

“It’s when the challenges stop that you decide ‘you know what, I’m going to do something else’,” he said. “But with the way Formula One is, with the regulation changes and the driver changes, he will want to keep going.”

[MIKA27]

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE FOR UNDER-FIRE LIBERTY MEDIA

Russian Grand Prix promoter Sergey Vorobyev expressed support for Formula 1 owners Liberty Media on Tuesday after some other race organisers had publicly criticised the way the sport was being run, indicating a split of opinion among grand prix hosts.

The Formula One Promoters’ Association (FOPA) had issued a statement ahead of an annual meeting hosted in London by commercial rights holders Liberty.

In it, they expressed concern about a reduction in free-to-air broadcasting, a ‘lack of clarity on new initiatives’ and the risk of new races being introduced “to the detriment of existing events.”

Vorobyev, attending Tuesday’s meeting at the RAC Club, told Reuters on Twitter that he did not share FOPA´s point of view and approach.

FOPA said in the statement that it represented 16 grands prix. A source at the meeting confirmed that Russia was one of the non-members, along with Monaco, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Japan.

Mexico also appeared to distance itself from the statement, with marketing head Rodrigo Sanchez saying on Twitter that he agreed with Vorobyev.

The Russian told motorsport.com separately that he felt FOPA’s criticisms were ‘fairly toothless’ and he did not share the position of the association’s British chairman Stuart Pringle.

“All the issues indicated there, in this statement, they are being resolved one way or another in the current format of communication with Liberty,” he said.

“I don’t believe this approach to be constructive,” added Vorobyev, who expected some other promoters to distance themselves from FOPA in future.

Formula 1 management, represented at the meeting by chairman Chase Carey and motorsport managing director Ross Brawn, declined to comment on the FOPA statement.

The meeting set out the sport’s short and long-term plans, including digital and television production, sponsorship and marketing.

Formula One’s commercial agreement with the 10 teams expires at the end of 2020 and talks are ongoing about a potential transformation of the sport, with plans for budget caps and a more equal distribution of the revenues.

Race hosting fees make up a major part of Formula One’s revenues and the newer races, in locations such as the Middle East or Asia, are more lucrative than those in the European heartland.

“Like all the participants in the process, we do not have a clear understanding of what Formula One will look like from 2021,” said Vorobyev. “But personally, I really believe in Ross Brawn and his managerial and engineering skills.”

Pringle is managing director of Silverstone, which is out of contract after this year along with Germany’s Hockenheim, Italy’s Monza, Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya and Mexico City.

Silverstone invoked a break clause in 2017 to push for a better deal, arguing that the original contract agreed with former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone was not financially viable. A new deal has yet to be agreed.

The television contract with broadcaster Sky, which means viewers do not have free-to-air coverage in Britain this season apart from their home race, is also a legacy of the Ecclestone era.

Five races have had their contracts renewed by Liberty since the U.S.-based company took over, while a new grand prix in Vietnam will be added to the calendar next year.