Formula 1

Hamilton questions the clarity of F1 rules after Sao Paulo

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago03 mins

Lewis Hamilton said Formula One’s racing rules were unclear after Red Bull’s championship leader Max Verstappen went unpunished for defensively forcing him off the track in Brazil last weekend. The seven-times world champion said a lengthy drivers’ meeting with race director Michael Masi at the Qatar Grand Prix provided no clarification on overtaking and what would be seen as ‘hard and fair racing’ and what would be penalised. “No. It’s not clear. Every driver I think, except for Max, was asking about it just for clarity. But it wasn’t very clear,” Hamilton told reporters. “It’s still not clear what the limits of the track are. It’s clearly not the white line any more, when overtaking. So we just go for it.” “We just ask for consistency. So if it’s the same as the last race then that should be the same for all of us in those scenarios.” Hamilton, who had to run completely off track at Interlagos as Verstappen defended against an overtaking move by braking late and also going wide, said there was no assurance on consistency. “It’s not clear. It could be different with different stewards, is what they said,” he added. Verstappen, who leads Hamilton by 14 points, said the situation was ultimately “pretty clear” and felt there was no need to discuss details in the media. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff told Sky Sports television that the stewards taking no action against Verstappen’s aggressive defence in Sao Paulo could have repercussions. Mercedes had tried to force a review of the stewards’ decision not to penalise Verstappen but were denied on grounds that new video evidence was not significant. read more “In my opinion, what it says is you can just launch yourself into a corner and drag the other car out of line. And that obviously can lead to quite some dirtier driving going forward,” said Wolff. “We don’t want to have a messy situation tomorrow, in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, because that would be really bad.”

Bottas and Sainz also summoned by stewards after Qatar qualifying

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago04 mins

Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz have also been summoned to the stewards after qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix over alleged yellow flag infringements. This comes after Verstappen was summoned for the same issue. Verstappen qualified P2 in today’s session with a lap time of 1:21.282. However, it appears that the Dutchman kept driving through the final sector of the circuit whilst double-waved yellow flags were shown. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly qualified fourth today, but he ended up with a puncture in his front right tyre after going over some curbs whilst going through the penultimate corner. Verstappen improved on his first lap of Q3 by a tenth of a second, which has raised suspicion as to whether or not he eased off the throttle. As a result, Verstappen has been summoned to the stewards for a potential infringement, but he will not be going to see them until 13:00 local time tomorrow on race day. Valtteri Bottas, who took third on your grid, is also under investigation. This was for an incident involving singled waved yellow flags. Carlos Sainz, who took seventh, is under investigation for the same thing. After Verstappen at 13:00 local time, Bottas will meet with the stewards tomorrow at 13:30, and Sainz will follow at 13:45. Speaking about this situation, Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel believes that the yellow flag was cancelled at the end of the third qualifying session “because Max was coming”. Vettel was also affected by the flags but is “pretty happy” as he managed to out-qualify Perez, Leclerc, and Ricciardo. He has said that: “I had the yellow flag in the last sector and then the yellow flag cleared, I guess, because Max was coming.” Double yellow flags mean that drivers should ‘abort the lap’ as a car is on the track, which Vettel did but he believes he could have been “the only one”. The flags were there for everyone’s safety and it was clearly shown that debris came off of Gasly’s car when the puncture was obtained. No more has been said at this time as to the outcome of this alleged infringement, so Verstappen and fans will have to wait to find out if a grid penalty will be given to the driver for Qatar Grand Prix race.

Qatar GP: Verstappen under investigation for ignoring yellow flags

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago04 mins

Max Verstappen has been summoned to the stewards ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon after potentially going through double yellow flags on his final flying lap and not aborting his lap. After Pierre Gasly had run across the kerbs at turn fifteen and damaged his car, the Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda driver continued onto the start and finish straight, only to stop his car on the run to the finish line. Red Bull Racing’s Verstappen continued to attack up until the chequered flag and improved his time, even though it was still 0.455 seconds back on the best time of the session set by Lewis Hamilton. It is unclear to whether the incident triggered a yellow sector with race control. Had it done so, Verstappen’s steering wheel would have illuminated, and he would have been forced to abandon his lap. What is clear was that the double yellow flags were being waved on track. Should he be found guilty, Verstappen faces a grid drop penalty for Formula 1’s first-ever race at the Losail International Circuit, which would give Hamilton an extra advantage at the front of the field. Toto Wolff, the Team Principal of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, says he will let the stewards make the decision rather than protesting themselves, although he believes the Dutchman is guilty of not slowing under the yellow flags. “I’ve just seen it. I’ve seen that he is passing a flashing light, I think a flashing red or flashing yellow light on the left,” Wolff is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. “Then he’s passing the double waved yellows and there is a standing car on the road. I guess it’s a bit of a triple whammy. “They’ve gone after us with a yellow flag, passing a yellow flag on the outside. It’s in the stewards’ hands. I wouldn’t want to comment much more of what should happen or not happen. I think the stewards are looking at it and they need to come up with a verdict.” Verstappen said he had no idea that there were any yellow flags coming through the final sector and does not believe he did anything wrong, something also said by Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas. “I heard after the session he had damaged his front wing, but from my side it was all okay,” said the Dutchman. “Same thing I heard only afterwards, and I had no yellow flags or anything,” added Bottas.

Qatar GP: Hamilton takes pole position despite stomach ache- Qualifying results

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago09 mins

Lewis Hamilton was celebrating pole position for the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix after showing a clean pair of heels to Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas in Saturday’s twilight qualifying session at Losail International Circuit. Mercedes approached the qualifying session with great confidence after its car has enjoyed a significant pace advantage over the weekend at the new F1 venue in Qatar. Defending champion Lewis Hamilton managed to capitalize on that, taking pole position for the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix, with title rival Max Verstappen lining up alongside him in second. It was especially sweet for the reigning world champion after he admitted struggling to find the right set-up on Friday when he reported that “I’m definitely not close”, when he was also suffering from a stomach upset. “Yesterday was a really difficult day for me, actually,” Hamilton told former F1 driver David Coulthard in parc ferme after the end of the floodlit session. “Thursday and Friday I wasn’t feeling too well, so I really struggled throughout practice,” he revealed. “I had a bit of a stomach ache from Wednesday. “I was just off yesterday, so I really had to dig deep. But I felt fantastic today,” he continued. “I slept well last night so that makes a big difference. “This track is amazing to drive – incredibly fast on medium and high-speed corners – but it felt good.” Despite feeling under the weather last night, Hamilton said he had stayed late in the paddock to work on the set-up problems with the Mercedes. “I was here until midnight last night, working with the engineers, who also always work so late,” he said. “They’re such hard workers. The first qualifying segment saw the Haas drivers head out first on to the challenging, flowing Losail International Circuit. Kimi Räikkönen was the first driver to fail to get through into the second qualifying session. The Finn set a time of 1m23.159s, just beating Williams driver Nicholas Latifi and his team mate Antonio Giovinazzi. The two Haas driver finished 19th and 20th with Mick Schumacher coming out on top of the intra-team duel. The German beat his team mate by over two seconds, but the staggering difference was mainly down to the lack of running for Nikita Mazepin. The Russian was forced to sit out yesterday’s Free Practice 2 when his team needed to his chassis following substantial floor damage. The 22-year-old driver was unable to gain experience on the Losail circuit after suffering an issue on his power controller in FP3 on his installation lap. The second session saw an extremely close battle between the teams with only tiny margins separating the drivers. The big shock came when Red Bull driver Sergio Perez was dumped out of qualifying. The Mexican was unable to set a strong lap time on the medium compound which forced him to switch to the soft boots. However, even the red-walled tyres were not enough for the Guadalajara-born driver to progress into the final qualifying segment. The other big loser of Q2 was Charles Leclerc, who did not find harmony with his car in the qualifying session. The Monegasque complained about the pure pace of his car on several occasions during the qualifying session, and ended up only 13th fastest. The other drivers not to get themselves through into Q3 were Lance Stroll, Daniel Ricciardo and George Russell. In the last qualifying session, Hamilton used the superior pace of his W12 to take the pole position for the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix. The Briton delivered a strong first push lap, but his second one was a sensational effort which saw him beat his championship rival Verstappen with a margin of 0.455s.Valtteri Bottas seemed to under-perform, and was not able to squeeze everything out of his car, ending the session behind Verstappen. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly took fourth for the fourth time this year. Fernando Alonso put his Alpine on to the third row with a clinical lap which earned him a fifth starting position. Behind the Spaniard, Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz, Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon and Sebastian Vettel will line up on the grid for tomorrow’s Qatar Grand Prix race. 2021 F1 QATAR GRAND PRIX – QUALIFYING RESULTS POS. DRIVER NAT. TEAM Q1 Q2 Q3 1 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m21.901s 1m21.682s 1m20.827s 2 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing 1m21.996s 1m21.984s 1m21.282s 3 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m22.016s 1m21.991s 1m21.478s 4 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m22.535s 1m21.728s 1m21.640s 5 Fernando Alonso ESP Alpine F1 Team 1m22.422s 1m21.894s 1m21.670s 6 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1m22.839s 1m22.216s 1m21.731s 7 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m22.304s 1m22.241s 1m21.840s 8 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m22.458s 1m22.058s 1m21.881s 9 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team 1m22.565s 1m22.012s 1m22.028s 10 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m22.548s 1m22.146s 1m22.785s 11 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing 1m22.398s 1m22.346s 12 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m22.551s 1m22.460s 13 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m22.742s 1m22.463s 14 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team 1m22.688s 1m22.597s 15 George Russell GBR Williams Racing 1m22.863s 1m22.756s 16 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m23.156s 17 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing 1m23.213s 18 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m23.262s 19 Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m23.407s 20 Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m25.859s

Valtteri Bottas tops Qatar GP FP2 as Red Bull experience rear wing issues

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago07 mins

Rear wing talk continues to dominate discussion at the Qatar Grand Prix weekend, with Red Bull suffering from oscillation issues in second practice. While Mercedes replaced Red Bull at the top of timesheet with Valtteri Bottas quickest of anyone in FP2 – setting a 1:23.148, two tenths clear of Pierre Gasly who was a surprise P2 – the main focus was once again on wings as Red Bull’s upper flap on the rear was blighted by severe oscillation. The Red Bull mechanics spent time addressing the issue on both cars throughout the second session, Verstappen finishing the day in P3 three tenths off the pace set by Bottas. Title rival Lewis Hamilton, in P4, was four tenths slower than his team-mate. As darkness descended on the Losail International Circuit and temperatures cooled, the FP2 session offered the drivers and teams much more representative conditions of what they can expect once the lights go out on Sunday. Just 19 drivers would be able to get the vital track experience they needed as Haas’ Nikita Mazepin sat out the session because of an unscheduled chassis change. Visbility was proving to be a slight issue for some drivers as their eyes adjusted to the dazzling floodlights beaming down on the dark tarmac. Sergio Perez needed to come back into the garage to replace the visor on his helmet. After the opening stints, it was Mercedes who were top of the pile as Bottas held a two-tenth gap over team-mate Hamilton. The latter almost got in Bottas’ way in the early stages but, thankfully for them, they managed to avoid an embarrassing collision between them. Bottas then returned to the track and pumped in a 1:23.154, but that lap was deleted for clearly exceeding track limits at Turn 7. At Red Bull, their focus was on rear wings, but their own on this occasion, as there was an issue with the DRS on Verstappen’s car which was soon fixed…or so we thought. Back on track, Verstappen’s team-mate Perez was starting a flying lap, but soon backed out due to traffic problems in sector two. Verstappen found a quieter moment to throw down his first qualifying sim run, yet found himself two tenths down in the first sector. That gap extended to four tenths by the time he crossed the line, but there was a suspicion that his car was carrying a slightly heavier fuel load compared to others. There was also a firm eye staying fixed on Red Bull’s rear wing, which was still misbehaving with the upper flap oscillating when the DRS was open. The problem kept Perez in the garage for much longer than he would have liked. Meanwhile, Verstappen’s former team-mate Pierre Gasly found himself sandwiched in between the two Mercedes drivers after an eye-catching lap on the softs. Verstappen re-emerged for another crack at dislodging Bottas, but again was no match for the Mercedes through the first sector. He did find improvement, but only by a tenth. Work to do, it appears, for Red Bull ahead of qualifying day on Saturday. 2021 F1 QATAR GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (2) POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME 1 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m23.148s 2 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m23.357s 3 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing 1m23.498s 4 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m23.570s 5 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1m23.632s 6 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m23.705s 7 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m23.735s 8 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing 1m23.787s 9 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m24.020s 10 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m24.033s 11 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team 1m24.041s 12 Fernando Alonso CHI Alpine F1 Team 1m24.056s 13 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m24.095s 14 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team 1m24.135s 15 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m24.631s 16 George Russell ISR Williams Racing 1m24.954s 17 Antonio Giovinazzi GBR Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m25.072s 18 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing 1m25.290s 19 Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m25.575s 20 Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team No Time Set

Verstappen will not be getting a penalty after FIA declines Mercedes review

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago06 mins

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has avoided a penalty for his São Paulo Grand Prix defence against Lewis Hamilton after the stewards rejected Mercedes’ review. The stewards met with representatives from Mercedes and Red Bull on Thursday to discuss Verstappen’s defensive manoeuvre against Hamilton on lap 48 of the 71-lap race at Interlagos. Despite a four-hour session across two periods, the stewards opted to deliberate on their verdict overnight The announcement comes after Mercedes opted for its right to review the incident unfolded between seven-time F1 champion Hamilton and Verstappen. Challenging for the lead, Hamilton attempted an overtake on the outside of turn four at Interlagos, only for both drivers to run wide. The stewards opted not to open an investigation during the race, with race director Michael Masi surprisingly later revealing not all footage was available at the time. Once footage from Verstappen’s front-facing onboard camera emerged, particularly highlighting the Dutch driver’s steering wheel movements, Mercedes launched its right to review. Its belief was the camera angle satisfied the criteria required in that “a significant and relevant new element” had materialised that was “unavailable to the parties seeking the review at the time of the decision concerned”. The stewards’ conclusion was that while the footage was new, unavailable at the time and relevant, it was not, however, significant. Determining why it was not significant, a stewards’ report read: “Whether this footage is ‘significant’ is really a question of whether or not it is likely to change the initial decision of the stewards. “In the pertinent example brought forward by the competitor from Austria in 2020, none of the footage available and viewed at the time of the decision showed a yellow flag visible to the driver [Lewis Hamilton]. “However, the new and previously unavailable 360⁰ camera footage, which was downloaded the next day, clearly showed that the yellow flag was visible from the car and the driver was penalised for failing to slow down. “In that case, the footage absolutely changed the decision of the stewards and was thus significant. “During the hearing, the competitor asked that if the stewards were unconvinced of the significance of the footage, to be given the opportunity to present its view in that respect. “Following the initial part of the hearing, the stewards gave the competitor the opportunity to do so, there being precedent for this. “The previously unavailable footage was played, and the competitor also presented the footage in a side‐by‐side comparison with the previous lap. “As noted above, the stewards often must make a decision quickly and on a limited set of information. “At the time of the decision, the stewards felt they had sufficient information to make a decision, which subsequently broadly aligned with the immediate post‐race comments of both drivers involved. “Had they felt that the forward‐facing camera video from car 33 [Verstappen] was crucial in order to take a decision, they would simply have placed the incident under investigation – to be investigated after the race – and rendered a decision after this video was available. They saw no need to do so. “The competitor’s position is that this new footage provides sufficient information for the stewardst o come to an altogether different conclusion than they did previously. “However, the stewards determine that the footage shows nothing exceptional that is particularly different from the other angles that were available to them at the time, or that particularly changes their decision that was based on the originally available footage. “Unlike the 2020 Austria case, in the judgement of the stewards, there is nothing in the footage that fundamentally changes the facts. Nor even, does this show anything that wasn’t considered by the stewards at the time. “Thus, the stewards determine that the footage, here, is not ‘Significant’.”

Qatar Grand Prix: Verstappen sets the pace in FP1 as Hamilton experiences power issues(Results)

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago05 mins

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has topped the times in a sedate first practice session at the Losail International Circuit with the Qatari venue playing host to its first Grand Prix this weekend. With an air temperature around 28 degrees celsius and a track temperature of 38 degrees, the drivers spent the first half of the session learning the track and playing with lines as they put in the laps on the Medium and Hard compound tyres and clear away the dust from the track surface. It was with around twenty minutes to go that the pace of the session started to ramp up as the drivers swapped to the Soft tyre compound. Valtteri Bottas went quickest with a 1:24.194 to go quickest, with Verstappen then beating that time with ease as he set a 1:23.723 to go almost half a second clear. With the Red Bull driver quickest in the first and third sectors, Bottas set the faster time in the middle sector. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly slotted in behind Verstappen with three minutes left in the session, setting a time almost half a second slower than Verstappen and 0.034 quicker than what Bottas had managed. Lewis Hamilton finished in fourth place, almost 0.8 seconds away from the pace set by Verstappen. However, the Mercedes driver had been on a much quicker lap with about 15 minutes remaining in the session, including the fastest middle sector, but aborted the lap in the final sector after getting a snap of oversteer. Hamilton could be heard on the team radio querying his straight-line speed as he felt his engine was down on power, and also withdrew to the pits in the closing minutes as his team told him he had a car issue. While Mercedes tried to hide the car back in the garage by having personnel stand in front of it, TV footage suggested that Hamilton had an issue with his front wing. With the issue repaired, he returned to the track with two minutes remaining. 2021 F1 QATAR GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (1) POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME 1 Max verstappen NED Red Bull Racing 1m23.723s 2 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m24.160s 3 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m24.194s 4 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m24.509s. 5 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m24.648s 6 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m24.713s 7 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m24.790s 8 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing 1m24.915s 9 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team 1m24.972s 10 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1m25.215s 11 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team 1m25.291s 12 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m25.328s 13 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing 1m25.688s 14 Antonio Giovinazzi GBR Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m25.757s 15 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m25.828s 16 George Russell ISR Williams Racing 1m25.871s 17 Fernando Alonso CHI Alpine F1 Team 1m25.905s 18 Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m26.699s 19 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m26.712s 20 Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m27.500s

FIA delays announcing their decision on Hamilton-Verstappen matter to Friday

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago02 mins

The FIA has delayed a decision on Mercedes request for a right to review the decision not to penalise Max Verstappen in Brazil until Friday. Summoned by the FIA to present new evidence relevant to the case, Mercedes was armed with the onboard footage not available to the Interlagos stewards at the time they decided not in investigate the lap 48 incident. “Following today’s hearing with representatives from Mercedes and Red Bull, the stewards are now considering the matter and will publish their decision tomorrow.” It was only after the race that race director Michael Masi revealed that the decision to flag the incident as a “racing incident” was because the relevant onboard footage wasn’t available.If the FIA grant the right of review a further hearing will be undertaken at which the specifics of the incident, including the new footage, will be carefully scrutinised. While a time penalty could see Max Verstappen demoted to third in the Brazil results if found guilty of forcing Lewis Hamilton off track, alternatively the Dutchman could be hit was a grid penalty this weekend.

Qatar Grand Prix: F1 to monitor track limits on 5 turns

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago02 mins

Drivers have been warned that track limits will be enforced at 5 of the Losail International Circuit’s 16 corners during this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix. Before a wheel has even turned, drivers have been warned that a lap time achieved during any practice session or the race by leaving the track on the exit of Turns 4, 12, 13, 14 and 16 will result in that lap time being invalidated by the stewards. Each time any car fails to negotiate any of the exits by using the track, their team will be informed via the official messaging system. On the third occasion of a driver failing to negotiate any of the turns by using the track during the race, he will be shown a black and white flag, and any further cutting will then be reported to the stewards. For the avoidance of doubt this means a total of three occasions combined not three at each corner. Given the track will only have one DRS zone – on the main straight – overtaking is likely to be very difficult. Consequently the likeliest opportunity will be into Turn 1, particularly with DRS assistance. However, according to Mercedes, turns 6, 10 and 16 might offer chances to sneak down the inside if a mistake is made.

Alfa Romeo boss disappointed with Giovinazzi’s comments after F1 exit announcement

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago03 mins

Alfa Romeo boss Frederic Vasseur says he wasn’t pleased with Antonio Giovinazzi’s behaviour. This comes after Alfa Romeo made an announcement earlier this week to replace Giovinazzi with Chinese driver Guanyu Zhou for 2022. The Italian driver expressed his disappointment with the Swiss-based team for not retaining him for the 2022 season. Instead, they opted for Zhou, a driver who is reportedly getting a huge cash injection into the team. Antonio took to Twitter to reveal his emotions, and how brutal the world of Formula One can be. “F1 is emotion, talent, cars, risk, speed. But when money rules it can be ruthless. I believe in the surprise of an unexpected result, of big or small victories achieved thanks to one’s commitment. If this was my first picture on a F1, the last still has to be taken,” read his statement on Twitter. The statement and remarks about Guanyu Zhou’s recruitment didn’t go well with Frederic Vasseur. There was a lot of speculation about who will get the second seat at the Swiss-based team. Now it is confirmed that Zhou will be behind the wheel next year. While Antonio will part ways with the team. Additionally, the comments made by the Italian driver didn’t suit Vasseur and stated he was disappointed with Antonio’s behavior. “Well, honestly, I think it’s important for him to close the chapter, at least on this season, doing well on track,” said Vasseur in an interview with Will Buxton. “I saw the comments. Honestly, I’m not a big fan of this kind of attitude: also because the team gave him the chance to do three seasons in F1, and Alfa Romeo gave him the chance to do three seasons in F1. Tons of drivers would have dreamed to do it.” “Now he will have other challenges. He will have to do well in that other challenge, and perhaps he will come back in F1 in the future. But it’s a small world and we have to stay professional,” he concluded.

Local drivers test the new Eau Rouge section at Spa-Francorchamps

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago02 mins

A local racing driver and consultant has tested the proposed new trajectory through Spa-Francorchamps’ legendary Eau Rouge-Raidillon section. Following a spate of dangerous recent incidents at the fabled section, including the death of Anthoine Hubert in 2019, circuit organisers demolished the famous villa at the top of the hill to re-imagine the layout. The FIA’s goal, according to France’s Auto Hebdo, is to reduce the overall speed of the famous up-down-left-right sweepers by 10 percent. A proposed new trajectory through the section, marked out with white lines, has been tested at full speed by local driving techniques consultant Pierre-Yves Rosoux in a BMW M2 CS Racing GT4 car. “The new, more angular version requires me to brake 20 metres earlier,” Rosoux revealed afterwards. “When the braking phase is over, I am at 160kph in the new Raidillon compared to 180 before. At the top of the hill, I am at 170 instead of 182 with the turn that we have known for so long,” he added. Rosoux admitted that he is not sure if the proposed layout “will have a future”. “The more we approach Raidillon with high-performance cars, the smaller the gap will be (compared to the existing layout),” he insisted. “This version also risks generating other problems at the top. It is likely that more tests will take place in the coming weeks.”

Verstappen may face two penalties if Mercedes win appeal

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago05 mins

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen could face a range of penalties after Mercedes submitted a review of the decision not to penalise the world championship leader for forcing Lewis Hamilton wide at the Brazilian Grand Prix. After being awarded a five-place grid penalty, Hamilton had one of his great drives to climb from P10 and take the chequered flag at Interlagos. The result saw the Brit close the gap to championship leader Verstappen to 14 points ahead of the final three races of the season. On lap 48 on Sunday, the two rivals were battling for the lead with Hamilton’s Mercedes appearing to narrowly edge ahead of the Red Bull, which was on the inside. Verstappen ran wide and the move forced both drivers off the track, with the Dutchman holding the lead for a few more laps before the seven-time world champion finally took the lead. While Hamilton took the lead and won anyway, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes Verstappen should have received a penalty. An investigation was deemed unnecessary after the FIA consulted footage provided by broadcast cameras – but Verstappen’s on-board footage shows the Dutchman clearly didn’t turn as aggressively as he could have, forcing Hamilton from the road. Mercedes have submitted a ‘right of review’ after seeing the footage, which officials did not have during the race but emerged on Tuesday. If accepted and the FIA opt to penalise Verstappen, the 24-year-old could be given a retrospective five-second time penalty – which would boost Valtteri Bottas to second-place with the Dutchman dropping three points. It is more likely that Verstappen would be awarded a grid penalty ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix this weekend. The most extreme punishment of all, used for seriously endangering the life of another driver, is to be excluded from the drivers’ world championship that year – but, needless to say, that punishment will not be handed down to Verstappen. Red Bull are reportedly surprised their rivals have protested as they believe the on-board camera from Verstappen’s car supported the view of race director Michael Masi that it was simply hard racing. The sporting code of governing body the FIA says: “Manoeuvres liable to hinder other drivers, such as deliberate crowding of a car beyond the edge of the track or any other abnormal change of direction, are strictly prohibited. “Any driver who appears guilty of any of the above offences will be reported to the stewards.” Mercedes F1 team principal Wolff said after the race that it was ‘laughable’ that Verstappen had not been penalised for the incident. It was not the only controversial incident in Brazil, as Red Bull made several visits to the FIA claiming that Hamilton’s rear wing was illegal, granting the Mercedes a performance advantage on the straights. This led to the investigation that ended with Hamilton being disqualified from qualifying when his wing was found not to be in compliance with the regulations – although in a different way than the one Red Bull had believed. Verstappen admitted he thought the Mercedes wing was flexing backwards on the straights. Red Bull are monitoring the situation but reportedly have no plans to lodge an appeal.

Press conference line-up for Qatar Grand Prix

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago03 mins

Formula 1 heads off to Qatar this weekend, with the country’s inaugural Grand Prix taking place at a staple of the MotoGP calendar, the Losail International Circuit. F1 has released the press conference schedule for the Qatar Grand Prix which will happen on Thursday and as usual there are interesting driver pair-ups which will be interesting to watch. Lewis Hamilton will be pairing with George Russell and we will be expecting a lot of questions for the duo as Russell will be joining Hamilton at Mercedes for 2022 F1 season. Also, expect Hamilton to talk on his tight battle for 2021 drivers’ championship with Max Verstappen. Another interesting duo to watch will be Antonio Giovinazzi and Max Verstappen. Earlier in the week Alfa Romeo announced they will be letting Giovinazzi go, replacing him with chinese driver Guanyu Zhou. For Verstappen, expect to get a lot of insight on the 2021 drivers’ championship battle with Lewis Hamilton as the fight is down to only 3 races. SCHEDULE OF VIRTUAL PRESS CONFERENCES QATAR GRAND PRIX 2021 THURSDAY, 18 NOVEMBER, 1430 HOURS LOCAL TIME Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri)Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) Fernando Alonso (Alpine)Nicholas Latifi (Williams) Esteban Ocon (Alpine)Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)Mick Schumacher (Haas) Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)Lando Norris (McLaren) Nikita Mazepin (Haas)Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo)Max Verstappen (Red Bull) Kimi Räikkönen (Alfa Romeo)Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)George Russell (Williams) FRIDAY, 19 NOVEMBER, 1500 HOURS LOCAL TIME Toto Wolff (Mercedes)Christian Horner (Red Bull) Frederic Vasseur (Alfa Romeo)Franz Tost (AlphaTauri) SATURDAY, 20 NOVEMBER, POST-QUALIFYING First three finishing drivers

Red Bull ready to forget drivers’ title if Hamilton keeps new form

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago03 mins

Helmut Marko isn’t giving Max Verstappen much of a chance of holding on to his lead in the drivers’ championship if Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton uphold in the final three races of the season the supremacy they displayed in Brazil. Despite starting a lowly tenth in Sao Paulo, Hamilton was on it from the get-go, carving his way through the field and catching Verstappen, whom he overhauled with twelve laps to go. The straight-line speed of the Briton’s Mercedes – especially relative to Red Bull’s RB16B – was a hot topic all weekend in Brazil, and Marko fears that if Hamilton’s dominant form persists in the final three races of the season, the title will elude Verstappen and Red Bull. Ahead of this week’s Qatar Grand Prix, Verstappen sill holds a 14-point advantage over his rival, but Mercedes’ edge in the Constructors’ standings is now 11 points. “If Hamilton is also so superior this weekend in Qatar, and then in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, we can write off the title,” admitted Red Bull’s motorsport boss. “I have never seen such a rocket engine from Mercedes. We couldn’t hold Hamilton on the straights, even though he was driving with a rear wing set at a similar steep angle to Monaco. “But only Hamilton has that speed, the other Mercedes drivers are no cause for concern for us.” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has suggested on multiple occasions that it is closely monitoring Mercedes’ impressive velocity, while questioning how it is being generated, with the team’s focus centered on the Brackley squad’s engine and on a potential ride-height ploy that reduces the W12’s drag on the straights. “We are mainly concerned with two things, which we may also take up with the FIA for clarification,” said Marko. “But there will only be a protest if we have evidence that something is not compliant with the rules on Hamilton’s car.”

Red Bull monitoring Hamilton’s engine and ride height system – Marko

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago04 mins

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko says the team are monitoring “two things” that they suspect may be behind Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes’ outright speed. Hamilton twice charged through the field at last weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, bouncing back from his qualifying exclusion to go from 20th to fifth in the Sprint race, and then a five-place grid engine change penalty to rise from 10th to victory in the main event. Hamilton’s impressive straight-line speed raised questions from the Red Bull camp after the race, with team boss Christian Horner explaining that “it’s important to understand where the speed has come from”. Marko admits that Red Bull are keeping a close eye on Hamilton and Mercedes ahead of the final three races of the season. “We are mainly concerned with two things, which we may also take up with the FIA for clarification,” Marko said. “But there will only be a protest if we have evidence that something is not compliant with the rules on Hamilton’s car.”The two main concerns that Marko and Red Bull have are based around Hamilton’s engine and an apparent ride height system that lowers the W12 on the straights, reducing drag and increasing top speed. Separately, onboard footage from the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend appeared to show Hamilton pulling backwards on his steering wheel as he approached braking areas around Interlagos, leading to a host of different theories emerging. However, these have been shut down by Mercedes, given that the steering systems have been homologated all year and cannot be modified, with the team stressing that the only plane in which the wheel moves is left to right.In any case, Marko has admitted to concerns over Red Bull’s bid for both championships, with Max Verstappen’s lead over Hamilton cut to 14 points, and Mercedes rebuilding an 11-point advantage in the Constructors’ standings. “If Hamilton is also so superior this weekend in Qatar, and then in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, we can write off the title,” Marko added. “I have never seen such a rocket engine from Mercedes. We couldn’t hold Hamilton on the straights, even though he was driving with a rear wing set at a similar steep angle to Monaco. “But only Hamilton has that speed, the other Mercedes drivers are no cause for concern for us.”

Giovinazzi to race for Dragon Penske Formula E team in 2022 after F1 exit

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago01 mins

Antonio Giovinazzi has confirmed that he’s already secured a race seat for 2022, having lost his Alfa Romeo drive for next season. Giovinazzi has been replaced by Guanyu Zhou at Alfa Romeo for next year and, with all the seats on the grid now filled, was left on the F1 sidelines. But Giovinazzi has confirmed that he will still be racing in 2022, as he’s secured a seat with the Dragon Penske Autosport Formula E team. “It’s going to be thrilling. It’s going to be challenging It’s going to be …….electrifying!!!!!!” read a short tweet from Giovinazzi’s Twitter account, showing the current Alfa Romeo driver bedecked in the overalls of his new team. He’ll team up with Sergio Sette Camara at the outfit, with the 2021/22 Formula E season set to get underway in Saudi Arabia on 28 January.