Formula 1

The Italian Grand Prix in Monza is scheduled for this weekend, this includes the second sprint race of the season. The pairs for the press conferences on Thursday have been announced. Max Verstappen doesn’t know yet, a day before the press conference, with whom he will sit in the press area. The Alfa Romeo driver should be Kimi Raikkonen, but because of his positive coronatest last weekend it is uncertain if he will sit next to the Dutchman. If the Finn is not seated there then Robert Kubica will accompany the Red Bull driver. With the announcement of Valtteri Bottas’ move to Alfa Romeo as George Russell replaces him at Mercedes and Alex Albon replacing Russell at Williams, expect more questions about the 2022 season to be asked. This comes as AlphaTauri announced it will be retaining Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda for 2022. It is expected more teams will announce their 2022 driver line-ups as Antonio Giovinazzi is not sure of his seat for next year, so this will be an interesting press conference.

Williams F1 team has announced that Alex Albon will take George Russell’s seat as Nicholas Latifi remains for 2022 season. This marks an F1 return for Albon who has been Red Bull’s test and reserve driver for 2021. The 25-year-old made F1 debut in 2019 racing for Toro Rosso and later upgraded to Red Bull for 2020 taking two podiums. However, Red Bull replaced him with Sergio Perez for 2021. Nicholas Latifi on the other hand will be remaining at Williams for the third season. He scored his maiden points in Hungary after finishing seventh and scored more in the Belgian GP after finishing ninth in the rain shortened race. Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi were previously teammates back in 2018 at DAMS in Formula 2. “I am really excited and looking forward to returning to a Formula 1 race seat in 2022,” said Albon. “When you take a year out of F1 it’s never certain you will make a return so I’m extremely thankful to Red Bull and Williams for believing in me and helping me on my journey back to the grid. “It’s also been great to see all the progress Williams have been making as a team this year and I look forward to helping them continue that journey in 2022. “My focus now returns to my test and reserve driver role at Red Bull and helping the team fight for this year’s world championship.” Latifi joined Williams back in 2019 as a test driver and in 2020 upgraded to race driver for the team. “I’m excited to be continuing with Williams for another year; partly because of F1’s new technical regulations, but also because the team is moving in a more competitive direction with new owners, management and people on the technical side,” he said. “I’ve felt at home here since the day I arrived, and I think I’m in the right place to continue with my positive trajectory. The aim is to continue making little improvements so we can all take advantage of the opportunity we have next year. “I’m super excited to work with next year’s car and it’s like a fresh start for everybody. I feel privileged to be part of that change.”

Alfa Romeo has revealed its desire to retain Kimi Raikkonen for 2022 by offering him an advisory role if by any chance the former world champion is interested. The 41-year-old announced his retirement last week ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix despite missing the Zandvoort race weekend after testing positive for Covid-19. Although he has not yet made any plans in regards to his future apart from spending more time with his family, Alfa Romeo has expressed its interest in retaining him for 2022 as an advisor as he holds experience in the F1 sport. Alfa Romeo boss Fred Vasseur said he would like to talk with Raikkonen to see if he wishes to continue working together with the team. Vasseur signed Raikkonen at the end of 2018 after Ferrari let him go. However, Vasseur says it is wrong to try to rush Raikkonen into making 2022 plans with his retirement news having just only come out. “I think I saw that already he had some proposal for other series or something like this, so I think it’s much better to let things calm down,” explained Vasseur. “Then we’ll have time to discuss about what we could do in the future. I would be more than keen to have Kimi on board somewhere, but I think he has to take time. “I think it would be a mistake [for him] to take another option today, and say: ‘Okay I will do this, and I will do this.’ He has to calm down to realise what the decision means and then it will be time to decide about the future.” “He was able to bring to the team huge experience,” said Vasseur. “He drove the last 20 years, in a winning team, always fighting for the championship. “This was a huge support to the development of the team. I’m not speaking about results on the day-by-day basis, but midterm development on the project. He knows perfectly where the performance is coming from. “And also in parallel, in terms of image for the team, it was a huge push. I would have loved to have better results and to do more, but that’s also the purpose of racing, that you always want to do more and to get more. But it is like it is and the support from Kimi was an impressive one.”

Today AlphaTauri-Honda announced that they will stay with the driver pairing of Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda for the 2022 Formula One season. Pierre Gasly said, “I am very happy to be moving forward with Scuderia AlphaTauri for another season in Formula 1, especially after seeing the progress that we’ve made as a team since I first joined in 2017. Seeing the performance we’ve shown so far this season, I think there are great things to achieve for the rest of this season and for next year, especially with the upcoming changes to the championship in 2022. I’m very excited to see what we can accomplish in the new era of F1 and to keep working with the team as best as I can to bring us forward in the team standings. This year has been very successful so far and I really believe we can work well together to do even better in 2022.” Yuki Tsunoda said, “I’m really excited to be staying with Scuderia AlphaTauri for a second season. It’s an incredible opportunity and I’m so thankful to the team for letting me continue to grow my experience in Formula 1 with them. I have a very good relationship with Pierre, I have learnt a lot from him already this year and his experience has helped me to keep developing my own skills, so it’s great to be continuing my F1 journey with him. Having recently moved out to Faenza I am feeling very settled within the team and am looking forward to the upcoming season.” Team Principal Franz Tost said, “I’m pleased to announce today that we will keep both our drivers here at Scuderia AlphaTauri for the 2022 season. Pierre’s development in the years has been impressive and in his time with us he managed to make it to all three steps of the podium. Starting with the second place in Brazil in 2019, he then won our home Grand Prix the following year in Monza and this year he has already achieved a podium with a 3rd place in Baku. I am confident there’s more to come and this is why we are excited to have him with us for another season. Furthermore, he is using his experience in F1 to help Yuki with his development. This year we have seen that the positive relationship between the two, made of a competitiveness on-track and a friendship off-track, has proven effective for the team. Yuki has joined the team as a rookie and is continuing to learn every day, the feedback from the engineers shows that he is absorbing all the information given to him and improving. As a rookie, Yuki is only at the beginning of this journey, so it’s good that he can continue what we’ve started together. It’s great for us to be securing our driver line-up so early in the season, so we can now focus on the rest of 2021, where we’re in a tough fight in the midfield pack.”

Valtteri Bottas will drive for Alfa Romeo starting from the 2022 Formula One World Championship, the team said on Monday. Bottas has signed a multi-year contract with Alfa Romeo and will replace fellow Finn Kimi Raikkonen at the backmarker squad. Raikkonen finally retires from F1 at the end of 2021, after 20 long years in the sport. Bottas, who will drive alongside Antonio Giovinazzi at Alfa Romeo, currently drives for Mercedes-Benz AMG. Bottas started his F1 career in 2013 with Williams and made the move to Mercedes in 2017 after the sudden retirement of Nico Rosberg. However, he has failed to make much of an impact since joining the top team, although he does have nine wins, 17 pole positions and 63 podiums under his belt. He is currently third in the 2021 Drivers’ Championship. Filling in for Bottas at Mercedes will be current Williams driver George Russell, Mercedes said on Tuesday. The promising driver impressed when he filled Lewis Hamilton’s seat at Mercedes for the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain, coming close to achieving victory but ultimately missing out due to a pit stop error and puncture. Russell started his F1 career with Williams in 2019 and has made some impressive drives, consistently outperforming his car. This was most recently seen at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix where he qualified second in heavy rain at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, outpacing Hamilton. Russell will drive alongside Hamilton in 2022 as the sport introduces new technical regulations. A replacement for him at Williams is yet to be announced.

Following Valtteri Bottas’ departure to Alfa Romeo Racing, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team has today announced that George Russell will be team-mate to Lewis Hamilton from 2022. The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team confirmed yesterday that it would part ways with Valtteri Bottas, who will join the Alfa Romeo Racing outfit next year. The Finn joined Mercedes in 2017, scoring 9 race wins, 54 podiums and 17 pole positions to date with the team.The Anglo-German outfit has now announced that Bottas will be replaced by Russell, who will become team-mate to reigning seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, beginning from the 2022 Formula One season as the sport enters a new era of technical regulations. “It’s a special day for me personally and professionally, but also a day of mixed emotions. I’m excited and humbled to be joining Mercedes next year, which is a huge career step, but it also means I’ll be saying goodbye to my team-mates and friends at Williams. It has been an honour working alongside every member of the team, and an honour to represent the Williams name in F1. „Since I joined in 2019, we have worked tirelessly to push each other forward and bring the team back up the grid where it belongs. We’ve battled for every qualifying position, every point, and every tenth of a second. No matter how tough it’s been, nobody has ever given up, and that has inspired me every day. I’ve loved every moment in what I’d describe as a true heart and soul racing team, and I’ll be pushing harder than ever to make sure we end our story in the best possible way. “Looking ahead to next season, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t absolutely buzzing. It’s a huge opportunity and one I want to grab with both hands. But I’m under no illusions as to the scale of the challenge; it’s going to be a steep learning curve. Valtteri has set a high bar, consistently delivering week in and week out, scoring wins, pole positions and helping win multiple championship titles.” “My target must be to reward the trust that Toto, the team, and the board have placed in me by ensuring I play my part in continuing that success and I want to do my new team-mates proud.” “Of course, one of those new team-mates is in my opinion the greatest driver of all time. I’ve looked up to Lewis since I was in go-karts and the opportunity to learn from someone who has become a role model both on and off track can only benefit me as a driver, a professional, and a human being. For now, though, I have nine more races as a Williams driver, and I want to make sure they are the best nine of my time with the team. Then, and only then, can I turn my attention to 2022. A huge thank you to Williams, to Mercedes and to everyone who has supported me in getting to where I am today. I couldn’t have done it without every single one of you,” added Russell. Commenting on the announcement, Team Principal Toto Wolff said: “This hasn’t been an easy process or a straightforward decision for us. Valtteri has done a fantastic job over the past five seasons and he has made an essential contribution to our success and to our growth.„Together with Lewis, he has built a benchmark partnership between two team mates in the sport, and that has been a valuable weapon in our championship battles and pushed us to achieve unprecedented success. “Looking forward to 2022, we are very happy to confirm that George will have the opportunity to take the next step in his career and join Mercedes. He has been a winner in every racing category – and the past three seasons with Williams have given us a taste of what the future could hold for him in F1. Now, it is our challenge together to help him continue learning within our environment and alongside Lewis, the greatest F1 driver of all time,” Wolff concluded.

Lewis Hamilton set the quickest time of a heavily disrupted first practice at Zandvoort. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was second, 0.097 seconds behind his championship rival. The session experienced a 33-minute delay due to the engine failure as the marshalls tried to clear away the Aston Martin, but were cautious due to concerns about the voltage of the car. Thousands of Dutch fans poured into the circuit to witness Formula 1’s first visit to The Netherlands for 36 years but weren’t able to see much action due to the lengthy stoppage. Before the red flag, most drivers opted for the hard tyres, but with limited time remaining after the delay, all went out on softs. Sebastian Vettel was forced to become a fire marshal to deal with his Aston Martin that suffered a suspected power unit failure in first practice for the Dutch Grand Prix. On F1’s return to Zandvoort after a 36-year delay, only 24 minutes of action were possible in the opening hour-long session at the circuit beside the seaside. With just under 44 minutes remaining, Vettel brought out the red flags as his Aston Martin suffered a suspected power unit failure. Vettel had earlier been informed of an MGU-K problem following his exploratory laps of the circuit, but after returning to the track, the AMR21 was soon forced to pull over. With smoke starting to billow from the car, there was then the remarkable sight of Vettel claiming a fire extinguisher from a trackside marshal. After initial teething problems in trying to operate the device, and seemingly heated discussions with the marshal concerned, Vettel finally managed to squirt foam over and inside the car. However, there then appeared to be a further discussion as to whether he was using the correct extinguisher, as second and third systems were handed to the four-time champion. Upon the arrival of a recovery truck a few minutes later, Vettel was still attempting to apply foam inside the car. It then became a question of the safety of the car as no marshal was willing to touch it in order to strap it up so it could be loaded onto the truck and transported back to the garage. It was not until a specially suited team member with a device to measure any likely electrical discharge had given the all-clear could the car finally be cleared, with the track only going green again with six minutes remaining. As a circuit new to the calendar, with all bar home hero Verstappen not having driven the current revised configuration with its banking at turn three and the final corner, time on track was crucial to understanding the 2.6-mile, 14-turn layout. The lost time was not what anyone would have wanted, but it was a circumstance beyond anyone’s control given the situation in front of packed grandstands, teeming with orange-clad Verstappen fans. Once the green flag was shown, it was Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton who topped the timesheet by just 0.097s to Red Bull’s Verstappen, setting a time of one minute 11.500secs. The duo still managed 17 laps overall, two fewer than Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz who was third quickest ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc, with the duo 0.101s and 0.123s behind Hamilton. The Briton’s team-mate, Valtteri Bottas, was a further tenth of a second adrift in fifth. There was then a gap of more than four-tenths of a second to Fernando Alonso in his Alpine, with the Spanish driver ahead of team-mate Esteban Ocon. The top 10 was completed by Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi, Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, the latter a second back. Lando Norris, who was forced off track and onto the grass in the dying moments by Ocon, was 11th, 1.179s down. Vettel only managed six laps overall and was 19th on the timesheet, ahead of Yuki Tsunoda in his AlphaTauri, who failed to set a time following an early spin and failing to return. 2021 F1 DUTCH GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (1) POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME 1 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m11.500s 2 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing 1m11.597s 3 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m11.601s 4 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m11.623s 5 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m11.738s 6 Fernando Alonso CHI Alpine F1 Team 1m12.158s 7 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team 1m12.231s 8 Antonio Giovinazzi GBR Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m12.359s 9 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m12.431s 10 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m12.515s 11 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1m12.679s 12 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing 1m12.907s 13 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m13.053s 14 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team 1m13.081s 15 George Russell ISR Williams Racing 1m13.181s 16 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing 1m13.328s 17 Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m13.516s 18 Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m13.847s 19 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m15.984s 20 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda No Time Set

Miami Grand Prix organisers have announced the name of the track that will be making its F1 debut in 2022. This comes after the Grand Prix received a lot of opposition locally for its placement on the F1 calendar plus a number of factors that brought about its delay. Construction is underway on the 5.41 KM and 19-turn track that will be known as Miami International Autodrome. The circuit, which is expected to have a May date on the 2022 F1 calendar, is based around the Hard Rock Stadium campus that is also home to the Miami Dolphins American football team. Tom Garfinkel, the event’s managing partner, said: “I’m happy to reveal that the official name of our circuit is the Miami International Autodrome. “We’ve worked hard to create a circuit that has great racing and multiple passing opportunities. “In addition, we are working to innovate fan experiences across the Hard Rock Stadium sports and entertainment campus in Miami Gardens, experiences that reflect how Miami has become an international curator of culture across food, art, fashion, music, and sports.” The 2022 race heralds the start of a 10-year contract for the event that becomes the second for the US on the calendar alongside the United States Grand Prix in Austin.

Lewis Hamilton’s 2021 championship rival and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen believes the seven-time world champion will be having a tougher fight on the track if George Russell joins him for 2022 season at Mercedes as his team mate. Verstappen talked of how he was impressed by Russell’s performance at Spa Francorchamps last weekend where they shared the front row of the grid in a race that was postponed due to poor weather conditions. He also does not forget Sakhir GP back in 2020 where Russell was very close to winning the race he had substituted Hamilton. “If he joins for sure, he will make it very difficult for Lewis,” said the 23-year old. According to reports, George Russell is expected to be announced as Valtteri Bottas’ replacement for the 2022 F1 championship. “Russell jumped into the car in Bahrain and basically was already, from lap one, making it very difficult for Valtteri. So you can only imagine; the more experience you gain in that car and the more you get accustomed to it within the team, naturally, you’re going to be becoming faster,” Verstappen added. Talking of his own experience at Red Bull as a newbie alongside Daniel Ricciardo, Verstappen showed how Russell could get much more experience and improve at Mercedes with Hamilton as his team mate. “When you do your first race, you are guided by the team about set-up direction because you just don’t know what what to do really, initially, with the car.” “I remember my first race at Red Bull the thing I said was we’ll just follow a bit what Daniel is doing because I have no clue about how this car needs to go quick. Because even though, of course, F1 cars look pretty similar, the way of setting them up can be very different.” Verstappen is very confident with Russell’s ability. “Already what you could see, the performance he did in in Spa was really good. Of course, they set up the car a bit more for wet conditions but nevertheless, to do that in a Williams was very impressive. So I do expect him to do very well if he gets that.”

2007 F1 World Championship title holder Kimi Raikkonen will not be the only driver set to leave Alfa Romeo at the end of the 2021 season as Antonio Giovinazzi reportedly will also lose his seat with the team. 41 year-old Raikkonen made an announcement on Wednesday that the 2021 F1 season would be his last in Formula 1 and it was his time to retire. “This is it, this will be my last season in Formula 1,” the Finn wrote on Instagram. “This is a decision I did during last winter. It was not an easy decision but after this season it is time for new things.” Kimi Raikkonen however, will not be the only driver bidding farewell to Alfa Romeo as reports indicate that its more likely for Giovinazzi to lose his seat with the team as well. This comes despite the Italian trying to match up his performance with Raikkonen in the 2021 F1 season by ranking a point or two ahead but has never had a chance to appear in the lime light. Antonio Giovinazzi was placed in Alfa Romeo by Scuderia Ferrari back in 2019 and it was again their decision for him to continue with their customer team for 2020 and 2021 season so far. For 2022 season however, Alfa Romeo has stated that their driver line up will a hundred percent their decision. “The team is fully responsible for the driver choice, we need time to discuss everything and make a decision and we are not in a rush,” Alfa Romeo team boss Frederic Vasseur insisted. Reports indicate that Antonio Giovinazzi is more likely to be replaced by Formula E champion Nyck de Vries or Sauber junior driver Theo Pourchaire. For Kimi Raikkonen’s seat, it is said Valtteri Bottas will be replacing him as George Russell takes the Finn’s Mercedes seat. This comes as Vasseur had stated back in July that there is no need for the team to retain any of the 2021 drivers for the next season. “It could be a point, but it’s not necessary,” Vasseur said. “You can say that it’s always good to have a kind of continuity into the team because at least you have a reference and you can compare with the feeling of the previous year and blah blah, blah. “Let’s see. We’ll do the choice when it will be the right time to do it. We could keep the same line-up or we could change. Everything is open.”

Juncos Hollinger Racing will make its NTT IndyCar Series debut at the Portland Grand Prix with Callum Ilott, the 2020 Formula 2 championship runner-up, Alfa Romeo Formula 1 reserve driver, and Scuderia Ferrari F1 test driver, in its No. 77 Chevy. Ilott traveled to JHR’s base on Monday where he was fitted to the car; next on his list was a visit to IndyCar’s medical staff for the necessary checks ahead of his first track test. “I am pleased and excited to be announcing I will be racing with Juncos Hollinger Racing at Portland,” said Ilott “This will be my first time in the NTT IndyCar Series and running in the United States, which will be a bit of a change from running on the European side. “I am looking forward to working with the team during this first phase of their development. I would like to thank the Ferrari Driver Academy for allowing me to take this opportunity and for Ricardo Juncos and Brad Hollinger for bringing me on board the team.” As Juncos Racing, the Indiana-based team founded by Ricardo Juncos made 15 IndyCar starts from 2017-2019 where it made headlines at the Indy 500 after its largely unsponsored team knocked McLaren Racing and Fernando Alonso out of the field of 33. With the recent addition of former Williams F1 stakeholder Brad Hollinger to the program, the outfit has been renamed and relaunched ahead of a three-race campaign to close the season as it prepares to go full-time in 2022. “We are very excited to welcome Callum Ilott to the Juncos Hollinger Racing family,” Juncos said. “Callum brings a lot of experience and incredible talent to the team. We are confident that he will transition well into the NTT IndyCar Series when we get on track for our final test before making our official debut together at Portland next week.” The 22-year-old from England has been among the most coveted European open-wheel talents in recent years who, like many of his top junior open-wheel rivals, continues to wait for an F1 race seat to open. In the absence of a grand prix drive, Ferrari has kept Ilott busy with his first foray into sports cars. On his debut in August at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ilott landed on the podium with the Iron Lynx team, placing third in a Ferrari 488 GTE Evo. More importantly, it was Ilott’s run to second in F2 last year with five poles, three victories, and six podiums that caught the attention of the F1 paddock. With Ilott made available for the September 10-12 Portland race, he’ll give JHR its first chance to evaluate talent to hire before the team moves onto the penultimate race at Laguna Seca and the season finale at Long Beach with the No. 77 Chevy.

Kimi Raikkonen has announced his retirement from F1 at the end of the season. The Finn won the 2007 world championship with Ferrari and has since become the most experienced driver in F1 history with 342 race starts. He has driven for Alfa Romeo since leaving the Scuderia at the end of 2018 and has failed to make an impression on the midfield this season, earning two points to sit 17th in the standings. In a post on Instagram, Raikkonen said: “This is it. This will be my last season in Formula 1. This is a decision I did during last winter. “It was not an easy decision but after this season it is time for new things. Even though the season is still on, I want to thank my family, all my teams, everyone involved in my racing career and especially all of you great fans that have been rooting for me all this time. “Formula 1 might come to an end for me but there is a lot more in life that I want to experience and enjoy. See you around after all of this! Sincerely Kimi.” Alfa Romeo said in a social media post: “Truly the end of an era for our sport. “Thank you for everything, F1 won’t be the same without you. Kiitos, Kimi.” F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, who worked with Raikkonen at Ferrari, added: “Kimi is an incredible part of our sport, a personal friend and a true champion. “I had the privilege of working with him at Ferrari and know the fantastic person he is. We will all miss him & his unique style and wish him and his family the best for the future.”

As always the Thursday will be dominated by the FIA press conferences and also this time we can see some nice duos. Max Verstappen will kick off this weekend’s press conference together with former teammate Carlos Sainz. The two drove together at the former Toro Rosso team, now known as AlphaTauri. Verstappen can expect a lot of attention during his home race. Verstappen and Sainz are not the only former teammates who will form a duo on Thursday. Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo, who drove together at Red Bull Racing, will also appear together in the press conference. Another notable duo is George Russell and Lando Norris. The two are good friends, so we can surely expect a lot of jokes between the two drivers. Lewis Hamilton will take place next to Antonio Giovinazzi. The press conference will start at 11:30 UK time.

The ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic has left F1 in a tricky situation of having to be flexible with its calendar over the second half of the year. Although events in Singapore and Australia have had to be ditched because travel restrictions have made it impossible for them to go ahead, F1 chiefs were able to find replacements. A second race in Austria was held in July to take one of the slots, and F1 is set for a November event in either Qatar or Bahrain to take the other. However, after Japanese authorities decided that its October race in Suzuka could not happen, F1 has accepted that there will not be replacement, which will reduce the number of events to 22. This change in the race number has triggered a clause in F1’s cost cap rules that means team will still get an extra spending allowance in the cost cap for the event going ahead, even though it has been ditched and they won’t have to face the expenditure of going. For this season, F1’s budget gap is based around a $145 million limit, although there are certain exclusions such as marketing, driver wages, engine development and travel. That $145 million figure is set if there are 21 races per season, with Article 2.3 of F1’s Technical Regulations stating that for every extra event added teams will be allowed another $1.2 million. That means for this year’s originally scheduled 23-race calendar, the limit will be $147.4 million. However, thanks to a clause in the rules, teams will be able to stick to that higher figure even though the schedule is being cut back and their outgoings will be reduced. A clause in the same rule states: “If any Competition in a Full Year Reporting Period is cancelled less than three months prior to the proposed start date of that Competition (or, where applicable, any rescheduled date), such Competition shall be deemed to have taken place in the applicable Full Year Reporting Period.” With the Japanese GP only being cancelled earlier this month, well within the three-month window, it means teams can still run to the higher $147.4 million budget. While the difference may not impact the majority of teams much, big spending outfits like Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes are operating right at the limit and any saving they can make will be welcome. The difficulties of operating within the budget cap limit had prompted those teams to seek some form of exemption for mounting crash damage – especially when accidents are caused by other drivers. Red Bull said that Max Verstappen’s British GP crash had cost it $1.8 million, while Ferrari’s damage bill for the first half of the year was $3 million. McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl has been unmoved by rivals calling for extra leeway because of damage – and he says the financial boost everyone gets now from the Japanese GP cancellation should silence the matter. “We should not forget, which is why I think some of the comments are quite ridiculous, the mechanism that is in place, especially for this year with the budget cap at the moment, that with every race that gets cancelled up to a certain point of time, the budget cap actually gets lifted because that can cause extra costs,” he said. “In real life, it [a cancelled race] triggers some extra costs but not a lot. So the benefit you get from that, and the increase of the cost cap already by that, is already huge. It is bigger than any of the crashes we have seen so far this year.”

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz has called for a Belgian double-header in 2022 to make up for the “absolute nonsense” of this year’s event. Fans were left disappointed when only two laps could be run under safety car conditions after a three-hour delay despite weather radars suggesting the rain would not abate through the afternoon. Lewis Hamilton was critical of the handling of the event and called for fans to be refunded, although F1 has so far dismissed these calls. Asked what could be done to make it up to fans, Sainz said: “I don’t know, maybe give them a double race next year or something like that. “There was nothing we could do. I am really sorry for them because they are the first ones that deserve to have a show. “It has been a tough couple of years with Covid, last year it was [behind] closed doors. This year you could get to Spa, maybe a full crowd. It would have been great to give them a show but trust me, we just couldn’t do it. “We could have done it Monday maybe, but we have to go to Zandvoort. I am really sorry for everyone but I don’t see a window or a way to solve this than for next year to give them a double race or something.” Sainz finished 10th and picked up half a point after the two laps behind the safety car enabled scoring to be allowed, despite only one lap being shown as completed in the final classification. Cynics have suggested the laps were run purely to allow for the scoring. Sainz claimed: “If it was done with the intention just to give points, I think it is absolute nonsense. “I don’t think we should do any kind of laps to alter the final result of the race. “If it was done with the intention of actually running and restarting the race then yes, which brings me to the next point. “How far into the race do you call it a race and if there was actually now race laps and competition, why should points be given or any result be given because there was no race? “Basically, I didn’t race, so I didn’t deserve half a point so I don’t know why I get half a point.”

It seemed to be a recipe for a spectacular Sunday at the legendary circuit of Spa-Francorchamps: a rain race. Unfortunately for the fans, especially those who were present at the circuit, the race was cancelled. After Lando Norris crashed into the wall during qualifying on Saturday, the stewards and drivers didn’t dare to race on Sunday because of the spray. According to Pierre Gasly, a solution to the problem must be found quickly. Speaking to Motorsport.com he says: “I think we need to work on reducing the spray behind the cars, because that’s the real problem. When I looked at the medical car, of course it went at a much lower speed, but the spray is a lot less than what we do with our cars.” “So I think that’s an area F1 needs to focus on for the next few years. If you reduce the spray and you have better visibility, okay, then the conditions can be tricky, you can have aquaplaning, you can have a lot of sliding, you can be very slow, but then it’s up to us drivers to be at the limit of the grip we have. But at least then we can see enough, because visibility was the problem on Sunday,” said the AlphaTauri driver. The Frenchman therefore agrees with the decision not to race: “Unfortunately I don’t think any other option was possible. If a car stops on the track or crashes for any reason and there are many other cars right behind it, we know what the consequences are if a car is hit. We have seen enough terrible things here at this circuit.”