2021

Nikita Mazepin was in the news rather negatively at the end of last year because he posted a video on social media in which he grabbed a young woman by the breasts. He did this seemingly uninvited and the criticism was severe. Haas now states that this was a good lesson for the young Mazepin. Team boss Guenther Steiner told RACER.com that the incident was discussed internally. Mazepin has apologised and Steiner believes he can use the lessons learned from this chastisement in his future Formula One career. Team owner Gene Haas also says they acted tough internally, but found the criticism from the outside to be quite extreme at times. “Our response to it was I think Guenther told him that he was an idiot and you can’t do things like that and it was totally unacceptable.” The intense criticism from both the team and beyond must have been intense for a 21-year-old, according to Haas. He believes the driver has learned his lesson. That is all for now. “The social media response from all kind of groups was extremely strong, wanting us to execute him for what he did, but that didn’t feel like the right course either.”

Formula 1 and Netflix have today revealed that the third season of the Drive to Survive docuseries will be released on 19 March. “Intense battles, fierce rivalries, unexpected podiums and Lewis Hamilton’s incredible seventh world title will ensure the series is one of the most action packed yet,” Formula One said in a statement announcing season three’s release date. The first two seasons of Netflix’s Drive to Survive docuseries attracted millions of new fans to Formula One. The docuseries provides fans with behind-the-scenes access to the most important and dramatic moments of Formula One, and all 10 teams will feature in season three, which looks back at last year’s action. Season one covered the 2018 season and was immediately a big hit, with it attracting many new fans, particularly from the US, to Formula One. The full trailer for the new season will be released in the coming weeks, and Netflix has already released a preview to give fans a glimpse of what to expect. While Drive to Survive has proved to be popular among many F1 fans, some drivers, such as Max Verstappen and motorsport purists, have criticised the docuseries for being “fake” and taking things out of context for dramatic effect.

Pirelli have released the available tyre compounds for the full 2021 calendar, a season set to comprise of a record 23 races. The Italian company, who hold exclusive rights as the tyre supplier of Formula 1, have five specifications of slick tyres in their range, starting from C1s up to C5s, with the compounds getting softer as the number increases. There are then also the intermediate and full wet tyres. And Pirelli have already released their tyre choices for the full 23-race calendar in 2021, confirming that teams will once again receive a standard allocation of the compounds, rather than the old system where each team had a choice on how many sets of each tyres they wanted for a race weekend. Pirelli state that there will be a “fixed allocation for each driver of two hard sets, three medium sets, and eight soft sets at each race.” Regulation changes for 2021 have removed the need to confirm tyre choices 14 weeks in advance for long-haul events and eight weeks in advance for European events, allowing for the choices to be fixed for the full season. This comes as a result of the ongoing global pandemic and the potential logistical issues that it may cause during the season. In a Pirelli press release, their motorsport boss Mario Isola said: “Announcing all the selections for the year right now will help the teams and the drivers with their planning, also allowing for maximum flexibility just in case the calendar has to change due to Covid-19 restrictions, as we saw last year. “The selections themselves are on the whole similar to last year (or 2019, in the case of races not run in 2020), which means that teams should have plenty of data to fall back on – but we have two races where the nominations are softer. “The first is Azerbaijan, where our C2 hard tyre wasn’t used last time, so we are now going with the softest selection of all: C3, C4 and C5. “Then we have Brazil, where we will take the C2, C3 and C4 this year, as the C1 that was selected as the hardest choice last time didn’t show a particularly big advantage in terms of wear over the medium. “In both cases, the softer nomination could lead to a greater variety of race strategies.”

AlphaTauri have taken the wraps off their car for the 2021 Formula 1 season, the AT02, and outlined their targets to take on big-name midfield rivals. Unveiled by drivers Pierre Gasly and new signing Yuki Tsunoda in a pre-recorded digital video, the car features changes to its nose and suspension while the livery has been slightly reworked from last season with blue now the predominant colour. Entering the second year under the name of Red Bull’s fashion label, the former Toro Rosso team are aiming to build on a strong 2020 when they won a race for the first time in 12 years. Although a seventh-place championship finish was actually one spot lower than 2019, the team scored more points from fewer races and won for just the second time in their history on home soil at Monza with Gasly in September. They are now aiming to improve their consistency and finished ahead of a number of the sport’s bigger teams in a midfield battle that was fiercely competitive last year. “In 2020 Scuderia AlphaTauri was a midfield team, we were fighting successfully against the other teams like McLaren, Renault and Racing Point but our target for this year is to consistently be at the top of this midfield pack and to improve further,” said team boss Franz Tost. “To achieve this, we have to avoid reliability issues and finish all races in the points. This can only happen if we do not make any mistakes, so we have to be 100 per cent concentrated on our job, race after race, on and off the track, because our competitors are hard to fight.” Gasly has rebuilt his reputation back at Red Bull’s sister team since an ill-fated brief stint at their main squad in early 2019 and said he is “ready to take on the role of team leader” after the departure of the more experienced Daniil Kvyat. The 25-year-old Frenchman is joined by 20-year-old Tsunoda from Japan, who impressed the Red Bull hierarchy with a race-winning single season of F2 when he finished third in the standings behind the more experienced Mick Schumacher and Callum Ilott.

It is Williams, not Haas, that has leapt into pole position to turn pink in 2021. Kolner Express newspaper claimed this week that with Aston Martin switching to a green livery for this season, the pink-coloured Austrian water treatment company BWT had turned its attention towards a move to Haas. But the German broadcaster RTL said those reports were “incorrect”. “According to our information, BWT will not sponsor the American racing team Haas,” RTL reported. Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that BWT expressed interest in linking up with the Alpine team for 2021, but the talks broke down. In fact, correspondent Lorenzo Pastuglia says BWT is now “very close to an agreement with Williams”. “The negotiations are at an advanced stage and close to the end,” the famous Italian sports daily added. Pastuglia claims the Alpine talks broke down because BWT wanted its corporate colour pink to feature strongly on the 2021 livery, as it did at Racing Point.

Ferrari and Shell will continue to work together in Formula 1 in the coming years. The two unique companies have announced a multi-year deal in which sustainability is central. Ferrari and Shell have been partners for many years. 70 years to be precise, but this anniversary is far from the end of this successful collaboration. Ferrari announced on Thursday that a new multi-year agreement has been signed, and the main focus will be on sustainability. However, Ferrari and Shell will also be hoping to add more titles to the total of ten drivers’ titles and twelve constructors’ titles. ‘We share many common values, not least excellence, passion for racing and teamwork, which have made this partnership unique in the history of motor sport. As our Innovation Partner we will continue to work with Shell on the transfer of racing technology to mobility as well as the ambitious challenges that lie ahead in particular the aim of Formula 1 to reach a net-zero emissions level by 2030,” Mattia Binotto revealed in the statement. ‘Our partnership with Ferrari has bred truly remarkable innovations – innovations that Shell regularly relies upon when developing new fuels and lubricants for our customers. We’re now entering a very exciting time in our history together as we leverage this partnership to not only strive for success on the track, but also to develop cleaner fuels and lubricants for our customers,” concludes Istvan Kapitany, Shell’s chief executive officer.

Just when we thought F1 was no longer in the pink, sponsor BWT could be bringing their splash of colour back to the grid. For the past four seasons, Racing Point’s cars carried the distinctive pink livery favoured by the Best Water Technology company based in Austria. It looked as if the colour scheme had disappeared with Racing Point’s transformation to Aston Martin and their preference for British racing green, which is set to be displayed at their car launch on March 3, plus a new main sponsor in Cognizant. But not necessarily, Motorsport-Total are reporting that BWT may yet remain involved as the new principal sponsor of the Haas team, which would mean last year’s grey and red livery turning pink. The notion stems from a comment made by Ralf Schumacher, uncle of one of Haas’ two new rookie drivers Mick Schumacher. The 45-year-old ex-Williams, Jordan and Toyota racer has a connection with BWT via his son David, who wore their colours when competing for the BWT Mucke team in Formula 4. In discussing his nephew’s F1 debut campaign for Haas, Schumacher, who lives in Salzburg, only 17 miles from Mondsee where BWT are based, said, as quoted by German newspaper Express: “A sponsor has just become available, not that this special colour comes into play for Mick.” Express are certainly running with the possibility of Haas becoming F1’s new pink panthers, if not the pink Mercedes as the Racing Point was described last year – although possibly the pink Ferrari considering the American-owned team’s close links with the Scuderia. They say Haas are “negotiating a million-dollar deal with BWT”. Motorsport-Total report they have tried to stand up that claim by seeking confirmation from each of Haas – specifically team principal Guenther Steiner – BWT and Ralf Schumacher, but that none of those three parties responded to them. Also, BWT’s F1 options – they also sponsored the HWA team in Formula 2 last year – may not only be limited to Haas. Another possibility could be Williams, whose deal with telecommunications firm ROKiT was terminated even before the 2020 campaign got under way and have subsequently undergone a change of ownership. They did respond to an enquiry, although gave little away, telling Motorsport.com: “Williams Racing is shaping an exciting new brand direction and commercial strategy and this is resulting in significant interest as we begin a new era for the team. “By their nature, these discussions are confidential so as a policy, we do not comment on any specifics or speculation.”

The Monaco government has confirmed preparations for a trio of events, including the Formula 1 Grand Prix, will begin on February 23. Last year, Monaco was one of 13 cancellations on the F1 calendar as the sport was forced to adapt to the global pandemic. It was the first time since 1954 that the Monte Carlo streets had not played host to the championship. The Historic Monaco Grand Prix was another casualty of the pandemic last year, but the principality is set for a bumper period of action this time around with authorities giving the green light for Formula 1, the Historic Grand Prix and Formula E. A statement read: “After a private year 2020 of racing on the circuit – hardships cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic – the principality is resuming its habits and preparing its molt to exceptionally welcome three grands prix of 23 April to May 23, 2021. “The 2021 edition promises to be outstanding. Three events are planned: in addition to the traditional Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix (and its ancillary events). The Historic Monaco Grand Prix and the Monaco E-Prix will be held in the same year while they usually play alternating.” The Historic Grand Prix will open the trio of events on April 23, with Formula E racing on May 8 and Formula 1 rounding things off between May 20-23. The statement confirmed: “Assembling work and related restrictions will begin on February 23 in the port area and March 31 in the Monte-Carlo neighbourhood.”

Sergio Perez will be in action at Silverstone circuit next week. Max Verstappen’s new teammate has been given extra track time to get used to the Red Bull. Sergio Perez made the switch from Racing Point to Red Bull Racing at the end of last year and will team up with Max Verstappen in 2021. To ensure the Mexican is fully settled in before winter testing begins and to prepare for the new F1 season, he will be given extra track time by the team. Racetrackmasters.com understands that the plan is to let Perez test in an older model Red Bull for one or two days at Silverstone circuit in the UK next week. The number of test days will depend on the weather conditions, which have been changeable recently. The Red Bull in which Perez can complete his laps must be at least two years old according to regulations, which means the 2019 Honda-powered car would be an option. However, this is dependent on Red Bull having a car fully ready for this test. So don’t be surprised if Perez takes a seat in the 2018 AlphaTauri, which was already equipped with a Honda engine at that time. Red Bull’s sister team recently drove this car at Imola circuit in Italy as part of its preparations for 2021.

George Russell and Nicholas Latifi got their first taste of their 2021 office when they took the new Williams FW43B for a spin at a chilly Silverstone… A day after McLaren became the first team to run a 2021 car at the Northamptonshire track as part of their first of two allocated filming days, Williams followed suit, running the FW43B in a plain livery. The car is the first to be produced following the departure of the Williams family, who sold the team to investment firm Dorilton Capital, with Jost Capito drafted in as CEO. It’s understood the day ran smoothly and Williams completed their programme as hoped, with rules dictating only 100km of running can be completed on demonstration Pirelli tyres. Williams, who have finished last in the constructors’ championship for the past three years running, are hoping this season is the start of a new chapter for the iconic British outfit. They will officially launch their new car – complete with new livery – on Friday March 5, one week before pre-season testing in Bahrain begins.

Mick Schumacher will join Haas as a regular driver. A successor in the German family. Yet it does not mean that the young Schumacher has everything under control. The German told Auto, Motor und Sport that there are certainly differences with Formula 2. “It will be the first time I drive a car that has power steering. That is already a very big difference. It creates a completely different feeling in the car. You feel it very differently as a driver. You wait for different inputs from the car, which you then have to analyse quickly. It just takes a bit of time to get used to it.” In order to have the best possible control of the car, Schumacher prepares in an old-fashioned way. “I like to write things down and take notes”, he said. The 21-year-old also sees making flying hours as essential. “In general, it’s about the process in a race and on a race weekend. I’ve done a lot of races in my career, but nothing comes close to the situation that a Formula 1 weekend brings. It becomes very special. I had a lot of zoom calls with my team to prepare. But a race is going to be an event that you have to be there to understand. I also like to write things down and take notes. All in all, it’s learning by doing.” Schumacher will have to deal with fewer test days in his preparation. As for all other teams, there are only three test days this year. “We only have three test days as a team instead of six or eight as in previous years. That means I only get one and a half test days before my first race – and then one hour less training. No, I don’t like to hear that. But those are the rules. I’m sure we’ll get around the rounds with that too. But of course my biggest goal is to drive as much as possible.”