April 2021

F1’s governing body spent three hours disassembling Valtteri Bottas’ new Mercedes car after the Bahrain season opener. Just prior to the opening race of 2021, we reported that the FIA had decided to randomly seize one full car after every race weekend this year for “disassembly” and “deeper checks”. “The FIA wants to make it even harder for cheats,” said Auto Motor und Sport correspondent Michael Schmidt. He said the first disassembled car, decided randomly on the last lap of the Bahrain GP, was Bottas’ Mercedes. “The third-placed Silver Arrow was put to the test by the technical experts for three hours,” said Schmidt. FIA technical boss Nikolas Tombazis explained: “We wanted to do this so that all doubts are removed. This also benefits the teams because it eliminates suspicion.”

Silverstone wants to try to allow fans back in during the 2021 Grand Prix, scheduled for July 18. This is according to a letter sent to sufferers of the major political parties. The letter has been signed by several organisations including the Football Association, Premier League and England and Wales Cricket Board. In it, they write that they want to work closely with the events research programme to explore ways in which fans can return to the circuit. “The return of fans will provide a huge boost to millions who enjoy a day out to a sporting event with their friends and family and make a major contribution to the economy”, the letter reads, reported by Motorsportweek. “It is right that every possible action is considered to achieve this outcome as soon as possible, but only while an unrestricted return is considered unsafe for fans, race staff and the general public.” Vaccination is moving very quickly in England, leading Prime Minister Boris Johnson to announce relaxations earlier. That would be good news for Formula 1, as most people will already have been vaccinated by then. Silverstone also wants to use testing and vaccination passports to ensure safety.

Nico Hulkenberg has been signed as the newly rebranded Aston Martin F1 Team’s reserve and development driver, the constructor announced on Wednesday. Hulkenberg raced in three grand prix with Racing Point last season after Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll both tested positive for COVID-19 (at different points of the campaign.) Despite impressing many in the paddock with his strong stand-in performances, the German missed out on a full-time F1 seat for 2021. He was strongly linked with a move to Red Bull, but the Milton Keynes-based team ultimately decided to sign Perez as Alex Albon’s replacement. Commenting on his new role, Hulkenberg said he is “fully prepared” and hopes that Aston Martin drivers Sebastian Vettel and Stroll will enjoy “uninterrupted seasons” in 2021. “The team knows it can rely on me to step in and do an excellent job,” Hulkenberg said. “And I’m fully prepared for that challenge. “It’s great to get this deal signed up with plenty of notice – last year, I didn’t have quite as much time to prepare before jumping in the car! “I’m really pleased to once again work with this team – with whom I have driven many times during my career. “It will also be interesting to help develop the team through the season, and I’m really looking forward to pulling great lap times out of my arm sleeve.” Aston Martin team principal Otmar Szafnauer, for his part, said that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s very important to have a strong reserve driver in 2021. “In these difficult times, the requirement for a capable and experienced reserve driver is especially important,” Szafnauer said. “Nico proved last year that he could jump in the car and perform superbly at a moment’s notice; now, with additional scope for preparation and integration, we know that we can rely on Nico to do an excellent job.” Last month, Hulkenberg announced that he would be taking on a dual reserve driver role with Aston Martin and Mercedes in 2021. He explained that he will be on call for Aston Martin at most grand prix this year, and will be ready to fill in for Sir Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas at grand prix which regular Mercedes reserve drivers Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries won’t be available due to clashes with their Formula E racing commitments. Based on the current F1 and Formula E calendars, there will be three clashes this campaign.

Red Bull Racing is rumoured to be looking to raise the bar even higher when it comes to technical upgrades. In Imola, the team is expected to bring a solution to make the new Pirelli tyres easier to drive with. Red Bull knows it’s necessary to be on top of things all the time to be able to compete with Mercedes for the title. For this reason, the team would bring an even stronger car to Imola, says the Italian branch of Motorsport.com. According to reports, Red Bull has a special rear suspension that simulates the behavior of the rear wheels. In principle, adjusting the rear wheels is prohibited, but Red Bull is said to have found a solution for this. By adjusting the flexibility of certain parts and making electronic adjustments to the differential, engine and brakes, the angle of the rear wheels in the corners could be changed.

The former Mercedes teammates have renewed their rivalry by becoming owners of new Extreme E teams. Rosberg’s car won the first race last weekend in Saudi Arabia. Nico Rosberg has revealed that Lewis Hamilton has not called to congratulate him on his maiden Extreme E victory. The two F1 greats have both entered teams into the inaugural off-road event, reigniting their rivalry that frequently spilled over throughout the early 2010s. Between 2013 and 2016, the pair were Mercedes teammates, leading to some memorable clashes and battles on track. Both are now setting their sights on taking home silverware as Extreme E team owners, although it seems as if they still aren’t on speaking terms just yet. “No, but he probably would if he had my number,” Rosberg told German outlet Sport 1 when asked if Hamilton had called him after the Extreme E race. “Still, how cool is that we are now competing against each other as team bosses and are also first and second in the championship? It’s funny that the duel now continues here.” After Hamilton had won the F1 world championship in 2014 and 2015, Rosberg finally got the better of his old friend in 2016 – retiring in the immediate aftermath. Since then, he has gone on to champion several sustainable projects, with Extreme E being one of the German’s most significant endeavors. Rosberg Xtreme Racing Team won the opening race of the season in Saudi Arabia, while Hamilton’s X44 came in third. “Our teams were in duels all weekend. Sometimes his team was first, sometimes mine. It was a really big duel and in the end we were able to swing it our way, which made me very happy,” Rosberg concluded.

Formula One is poised to trial sprint races at three rounds of the 2021 calendar, after all ten teams agreed a financial package for the proposal with Liberty Media. As per the deal, Liberty Media will pay each team a one-off payment of $500,000 to cover their costs of competing in the three trial sprint races this year. The $145 million budget cap will be raised by the same amount, and teams will also be able to apply for additional compensation if their cars suffer damage during the trial sprint races. This year’s British, Italian and Brazilian grand prix have been earmarked to host the three trial sprint races, though there are doubts about the viability of the 2021 Brazilian Grand Prix due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the severity of the crisis in the country. The sessions, which will officially be monikered “Sprint Qualifying”, will have a 100km-race distance and will take place on the Saturday morning of a grand prix weekend. So, for the three rounds during which sprint races will be trialled, Free Practice One (FP1) and qualifying for the sprint races will take place on Friday, while Free Practice Two (FP2) will take place on Saturday afternoon after the sprint race. The outcome of “Sprint Qualifying” will dictate the order for the grand prix – which will remain the main event of the weekend and will continue to take place on a Sunday – and only the top three finishers will score points in this new session. If the trial goes well this year, sprint races could become a permanent feature of the F1 calendar from 2022 onwards. The proposal still needs to be ratified by the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) but it is looking highly likely that the sprint race trial will go ahead this campaign.

Formula 1 is closing in on a $30 million per team annual budget cap to specifically limit spending on drivers. According to Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport and other specialist publications, the FIA and Liberty Media are poised to circulate the proposal among F1 teams. “According to rumours,” wrote correspondent Luigi Perna, “they have come to defining a figure. Each team, in the coming seasons, can spend a maximum of $30 million for the two drivers plus reserves. “Bonuses and personal image rights would be excluded,” he added. The measure would immediately affect Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who is paid about $45 million per year, while high earners like Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc may also be unhappy. Ferrari driver Leclerc is quoted by Corriere della Sera: “I have an opinion on the matter, but I prefer to talk about it with the FIA rather than in public. “But I do want to point out the risks that we take on the track,” he said.

Romain Grosjean’s wish of having one final outing in a Formula 1 car looks to be happening with news that he has undergone a seat fitting with a mystery F1 team. The Frenchman was involved in a terrifying crash during the Bahrain Grand Prix, just weeks before he was told he wouldn’t have a seat for 2021. That meant he was forced to miss the final two races of the season, with the crash his final memory in F1. That prompted Grosjean to publicly plead for one last outing in an F1 car before calling time on his career in the top class. “If I don’t [race in Abu Dhabi], I’ll call every single Formula 1 team and see if anyone would offer me a private test in January to jump back in the car and have 10, 15 laps for myself,” he said. That caught the attention of Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, who said he would be open to the idea. Whilst it’s not known if Mercedes is the team with which Grosjean underwent a seat fitting, the 34-year-old, who will race in IndyCar this year, hinted at that during a livestream. “I’ve had a phone call with Toto, and we are finalising the plan,” he said. Now it’s been revealed that Grosjean’s seat fitting has gone ahead, as revealed by executive producer of Netflix’s Drive To Survive docu-series. “We were filming with Grosjean for a seat fitting today,” James Gay-Rees said on the ‘In The Fast Lane’ podcast. “He’s having one last spin with a team.” If the test is with Mercedes, it’s likely it will take place at the Silverstone circuit and will be in a car that is a couple of years old.

Renault needed change at the very top as the F1 team transitioned to its new identity as Alpine for 2021. That is the explanation of Renault CEO Luca de Meo, as he responded to rumours that Cyril Abiteboul was ousted as team boss due to the team’s poor performance. However, RTL quotes de Meo as insisting that Alpine simply needed the change. “This question is a little complicated,” he said. “With this new story for us, it would have been difficult,” he added, referring to the former leadership structure under Abiteboul. “If they needed support (from Renault), they got it, but their comfort zone was to stay outside. Now Alpine is absolutely integrated into the mainstream strategy of the Renault Group. “So you need people who are part of the small, agile unit, but who also have a connection to the other side at the same time,” said de Meo. He said Abiteboul did good work for Renault, “starting in 2016 or 2017 and saying goodbye with a few podium places. But we have to look ahead”.

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko believes Sebastian Vettel should have taken a year off from Formula 1 in 2021 instead of joining Aston Martin. After being dropped by Ferrari last year, four-time F1 world champion Vettel explored a number of options before ultimately signing with the rebranded Aston Martin squad for 2021. Vettel endured a difficult debut for Aston Martin in Bahrain. After being knocked out in Q1 and receiving a grid penalty, the German driver finished 15th after a clash with Esteban Ocon that landed him a 10-second time penalty. Aston Martin struggled to battle at the front of the midfield in Bahrain as it did throughout last year, with the team believing the updated regulations had hurt its low-rake car concept. Asked about Vettel’s struggles, Marko said he had not changed his view that the former Red Bull driver should have taken a year out before returning under the new regulations in 2022. “I was of the opinion, I told you that too, that he should take a year off, sort himself out, ask himself what he wants,” Marko said in an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com’s German language sister site Formel1.de. “I believe that a lot is possible within Formula 1 next year. He didn’t do that. Now he sits in the Aston Martin, which of course suffers similar to the Mercedes [with low rake]. “They are very similar cars. And this race was far from being the one that could have brought relief.”