2021

F1 boss Stefano Domenicali says that if Sprint Qualifying passes the litmus test this year, the format will not feature on the schedule of every Grand Prix in the future. F1 is set to give the go-ahead to a three-race Sprint Qualifying trial that shall be conducted this season after teams reportedly agreed on the financial terms proposed by the sport’s chiefs. The first Sprint Qualifying should take place at the British GP at Silverstone, with Monza and Interlagos also being projected as trial venues. If the concept proves successful, it would be employed at a yet-to-be-determined number of events from 2022, but Domenicali made clear that the 100-km mad dash would not become a permanent fixture on race weekends. “It’s very simple, for the statistics, the driver who wins the qualifying race on Saturday gets pole position,” Domenicali told Auto Motor und Sport. “There is only one [Grand Prix] winner, and it will be announced on Sunday. We don’t want to do this format at every Grand Prix in the future. This should be a Grand Slam for selected events.” Domenicali says the format’s introduction would give fans more bang for their buck and help boost tickets sales for promoters. “When we went public with the announcement that we wanted to try such a sprint qualification, the organisers who were eligible for the test immediately had many more ticket inquiries. And the TV stations were thrilled,” explained the Italian. “This format has many advantages. The less time for free practice sessions, the more action on the track. Nobody is waiting for better conditions in the garage anymore. That has already been shown in Bahrain. “With free practice and qualification, the organiser can sell fans a better Friday. With the second free practice as preparation for the race and the sprint qualifying in the afternoon, a better Saturday. This is an additional platform for stories and for the sponsors. “The more unpredictable everything becomes, the more interesting the racing action. If we don’t try, we’ll never know if it’s an asset or not.”

Reigning Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton signed a new contract with Mercedes at the start of the season, ensuring he would race with them for another year. There was much speculation about whether Hamilton would put pen to paper on a new deal, with the contract only finalised a month before the season was due to begin. Hamilton was said to be earning around £29m on his previous deal with Mercedes and, according to a report from Race Fans, the 36-year-old took a pay cut when he signed his new one-year contract. It is claimed Hamilton’s salary was reduced to £21.7m for the current F1 season. However, the seven-time world champion does have a bonus package which may mean he does not miss out on maximising his earnings. Mercedes chief Toto Wolff recently expressed confidence that Hamilton would remain with the team for further seasons. He said: “I very much hope so; the journey that we have had together was very successful. “He has been a Mercedes driver – a Mercedes kid since his go-karting years. “He never raced a single weekend in Formula 1 without a Mercedes power unit, so it’s the logical continuation of the story. “We don’t want to leave it until January to confirm the two drivers. “Valtteri [Bottas] was pretty regular during the summer – this is when it should happen. “Also, to give the driver peace of mind, or be able to concentrate on the job. “And obviously for next year there’s lots of balls in the air and we will always try to do the best for the team long-term while also giving total loyalty to our current driver line-up. “We are not doubting either Valtteri or Lewis but discussions obviously are going to happen – but not in January next year.” Hamilton won the opening race of the season in Bahrain last month, finishing ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Speaking after the victory, Hamilton said: “Wow. What a difficult race that was. “Stopping early we knew would be difficult but we had to cover Max, they have had an amazing performance all weekend. “Max was all over me at the end and I was just about able to hold him off. That was one of the hardest races I’ve had for a while.”

Heading into the 2021 campaign Alpine hoped to be among the cluster of midfield teams battling it out for P3 in the Constructors’ Championship. The opening round in Bahrain suggested they have an outside chance as Fernando Alonso made Q3, and was then in the hunt for points before a sandwich wrapper got stuck in a brake duct on his A521. But in terms of outright pace, Alpine appear to be slightly adrift of McLaren, Ferrari and AlphaTauri. Speaking ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Budkowski said Alpine were searching for “a few tenths” on their rivals, but added that an upgraded aerodynamic package is available to the team in Imola, as are a few other bits to test. “We have an aerodynamic upgrade package coming to the car for this grand prix,” he confirmed. “In addition, we have some test items to assess during Friday practice, which will help define further upgrades planned over the next few races. “It will be interesting to see how our car performs on a different circuit, having only been to Bahrain for testing and the first race so far this season. It will also generate new data to help our development effort.” Alpine certainly have reason for optimism ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Last year while competing under the Renault name, the Enstone outfit secured a podium finish at the event courtesy of Daniel Ricciardo. As a Max Verstappen tyre failure prompted a Safety Car appearance with the Red Bull driver stuck in the gravel, Ricciardo found himself in P3 after Sergio Perez pitted for fresh tyres behind the SC. He would go on to turn that into a P3 finish behind the Mercedes duo of Sir Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, securing a second podium of the 2020 season for Renault. This time around it will be Alonso and Esteban Ocon who attempt to bag a first podium of the Alpine era.

Former Ferrari team boss Marco Mattiacci is set to return to Formula 1 with the Aston Martin team. The 50-year-old Italian led Ferrari for a short time following Stefano Domenicali’s ousting in 2014. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Mattiacci is now “one step away from Aston Martin”, with correspondent Lorenzo Pastuglia claiming that he will be in charge of the growth and development of the Lawrence Stroll-owned team. “The news has been verified and confirmed by Gazzetta Motori,” Pastuglia said. The journalist said Mattiacci forged a relationship with billionaire Stroll when in charge of Ferrari’s North American operations a decade ago.

Lewis Hamilton came under fire from fans for not posting a Twitter tribue to Prince Philip, who passed away peacefully on Thursday, but the F1 star did pay his respects on Instagram. The Mercedes ace wrote a touching message to wrapper DMX, who died on the same day, and was quickly bombarded by supporters. The Queen’s husband battled with health problems over the past few years and sadly passed away aged 99. Prince Philip’s funeral will take place on Saturday and many leading celebrities around the world have paid tribue to the Duke of Edinburgh. Rapper DMX also passed away on Thursday, five days after suffering a heart attack, with his family by his side. The chart-topping artist was only 50 years old and his death has left the world saddened. Hamilton reposted Vogue’s tribue to Prince Philip alongside the message: “So sad… my thoughts and prayers go out to the royal family.” However, fans had already started criticising. “But no word on the death of Prince Philip, a man who did so much good for the underprivileged youth in so many ways through the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, founded in 1956. He stood for all that’s great about the UK,” one angered person wrote. Another added: “Disappointed in you Lewis, no respect for a much bigger and better man you’ve chosen to ignore the passing of, and disrespect for his wife – suggest you return the honour they bestowed upon you!! Was a massive fan now not so much.” A third said: “Prince Philip has died mate. Probably did a lot more for society than DMX!” And a forth commented: “You took a knighthood from our queen and can’t mention her husband in your tweets! Shameful! My son, who looks up to you for inspiration I shall be pointing him in another direction from now on.” A fifth wrote: “Yeah he was a real role model and such an inspirational character. No mention of the death of a true legend, role model and inspiration – HRH Duke of Edinburgh, you know, the husband of your Queen. No wonder you are becoming one of the most hated people on the planet.” Although Hamilton came under heavy criticism, there were some who stuck up for the 36-year-old. “I see everyone complaining about you not saying anything about Prince Phillip,” one person wrote. “It’s shocking for me to see how obsessed some UK citizens are with the monarchy.” Another said: “His own hard work brought him the honour. He owes nothing to the royals.” And a third added: “For all of you blasting Lewis for condolences to DMX ahead of Royalty, Lewis is from hardship to Kingship not born into it. Bad decisions of DMX in life stem from poverty, a fight royalty never knows. So if you’ve battled to the top you can identify.”

Max Verstappen will always be remembered for his victory as a rookie at the Barcelona Grand Prix. It was a remarkable achievement for the then 18-year-old. He has now gained a lot of experience. Motorsport.com held an interview with him, questioning whether Verstappen is still the same guy as back then. “Well, you gain more experience over the years. That makes everything easier. You also get a better understanding of the car and – especially if you stay with one team for a long time – you get a better idea of how everything works within a team. As a person, you also grow as you get older, but that’s logical. I haven’t really changed, I think. I feel like I’m still the same person I was back then.” Despite saying he has remained the same person, he feels he has become a more complete driver. “That’s mainly because of the understanding of Formula 1 as a whole, the car and of course the whole team. You handle certain situations better because you have experienced them before. That applies, for example, to the start, to a hectic first lap and also to managing the tyres.”

Charles Leclerc has received a very special addition to his garage collection from Ferrari – his race-winning SF90 from the 2019 season. Leclerc will have very fond memories of the SF90 having won back-t0-back races with it at the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix and, more notably, Ferrari’s home race at the 2019 Italian Grand Prix. He was the first Ferrari winner at Monza since Fernando Alonso in 2010 and the victory helped take him further into the hearts of the Tifosi faithful. On Friday, Leclerc teased on Instagram that he had just received “something special” from the Scuderia. On his memorable Monza victory, Leclerc said it gave him “the chills” when he passed the chequered flag in P1. “It’s very difficult to find the words to describe what I felt during this race [at Monza],” Leclerc told Autosport. “I had a lot of pressure – the whole team had a lot of pressure – because obviously we were in Italy, Ferrari is huge in Italy, and everyone wanted us to win so there was big pressure around the whole team. “The week started from the Monday, which is quite different from the other grands prix because normally as drivers we start on the Thursday, but we started on the Monday with some events in Milan and things like this. “So the pressure was building up. Then doing the pole was something special already, but then I had to focus on the race and in the race I had no space to breathe. I had Lewis all the race at less than two seconds, I think, so a lot of pressure. “And then to be on the podium, to finally have won the race, and to see the red army under the podium was something extremely special. “It gave me chills and made me realise what it is like to be a Ferrari driver, which of course I realised a little bit before, but I think you really realise it once you win in Monza and see the passion [that] you can really see in the eyes of the people – the passion that they have for the brand. “It’s unbelievable to see.” Ferrari gifting their drivers a Formula 1 car is nothing new. In 2020, Kimi Raikkonen received the SF71H he won the 2018 United States Grand Prix

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.