Formula 1

The incident involving Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen has continued to be a topic of conversation during the weekend in Hungary. On Thursday Red Bull were told that Hamilton’s penalty, ten seconds, would not be increased. Since then the focus has returned to the track and the racing itself. ZiggoSport spoke to the main players, including Hamilton, prior to the weekend. The Brit indeed says to have spoken with the Dutchman, without really going into the content of the conversation. “It was a respectful conversation. The goal was to check that he was ok and emphasize that we all know that the drivers never deliberately harm each other.” The current number two in the standings also had another goal with the conversation. “I wanted to confirm the mutual respect. I think we continue to race each other hard, but fair.” Yesterday, both men drove together again on track for the first time since the incident. Qualifying will follow today, followed by the race on Sunday. Verstappen will then want to take sporting revenge and Hamilton will try to catch up further.

Formula 1’s 2021 title battle was already proving to be intense, but the fallout in the wake of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s British Grand Prix collision has given it an extra edge. Thursday media days are typically routine and sometimes uneventful affairs by F1’s standards. However, that was not the case on the eve of the Hungarian Grand Prix as everyone waited to find out how the dust had settled (if at all) following that controversial Copse clash. It marked the first time that Verstappen had spoken publicly since his 51G smash, while Hamilton would also get a chance to respond to Red Bull and Verstappen’s claims. Minutes after F1’s leading protagonists had wrapped up their press conference duties, the duo’s respective team colleagues were attending a gathering with the stewards. This was a consequence of Red Bull requesting a right to review the 10-second time penalty given to Hamilton for being “predominantly” at fault for the coming together that eliminated Verstappen from the race on the spot and left the Dutchman requiring a trip to hospital for precautionary checks. Red Bull firmly believed that Hamilton’s punishment was too lenient because he was still able to recover to win the race, while it was left facing a £1.3m repair bill and a significant points loss. As such, the team pushed the FIA to re-examine the crash in what appeared to be a bold and, as it turned out, unsuccessful attempt to retrospectively get the seven-time world champion’s penalty increased. It ultimately came as little surprise when Red Bull’s petition was rejected due to a lack of “new, significant and relevant” evidence. The outcome means Hamilton’s win definitively stands, leaving him just eight points behind Verstappen heading into the weekend. While the verdict had been considered a foregone conclusion by many in the paddock, elements of information that emerged from the hearing created unexpected intrigue and left some unanswered questions. Along with a series of slides of GPS data and a comparison of Hamilton’s overtake on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Red Bull included a “re-enactment” of Hamilton’s first-lap line driven by its reserve driver Alex Albon in what was the most bizarre element of the ‘new evidence’ it presented. Red Bull got Albon to re-create Hamilton’s line into Copse during a private testing day at Silverstone on 22 July, four days after the British GP. This followed a two-day Pirelli tyre test and came just a day before Albon contested the Lausitzring DTM round. Because Red Bull used a 2019-spec RB15, the test was unrestricted, meaning it did not have to adhere to the 100km limit permitted for filming days, which are used purely for marketing or promotional purposes. As per article 10.2 of F1’s sporting regulations, teams carrying out testing of “previous cars” should provide at least 72 hours notice “where possible” before it is due to commence, as well as details surrounding the nature and purpose of the test. It is not clear whether Red Bull already had this outing lined up, or whether the test was specifically used with the sole intention of re-enacting Hamilton’s entry to Copse in a bid to gain evidence it felt was compelling enough to validate its petition. Either way, it underlined the lengths Red Bull was willing to go to in its attempt to revisit Hamilton’s British GP penalty. In the end, the information presented was dismissed for being created rather than “discovered” and the stewards ruled there were “clearly” no grounds for the incident being re-examined. Red Bull’s submission also consisted of a letter – seen by Mercedes representatives Ron Meadows, Andrew Shovlin, and James Vowles – that was referenced as containing “certain allegations” which the stewards noted “with some concern”. The stewards concluded these “may or may not have been relevant to the stewards if the petition for review had been granted” and confirmed they had been addressed directly, adding they will make “no comments on those allegations”. Mercedes declined to reveal the nature of the allegations when reached for comment. For the time being at least, the exact contents of Red Bull’s letter are set to remain private, prompting further mystery around the case. In a strongly-worded statement condemning Red Bull’s conduct in its relentless and scathing public criticism of Hamilton in the days following the crash, Mercedes “welcomed” the stewards’ decision. “In addition to bringing this incident to a close we hope that this decision will mark the end of a concerted attempt by the senior management of Red Bull Racing to tarnish the good name and sporting integrity of Lewis Hamilton, including in the documents for their unsuccessful right of review,” it read. “We now look forward to going racing this weekend and to continuing our hard-fought competition for the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

Formula 1 championship leader Max Verstappen laid down the early benchmark by topping the timesheets in opening practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix, while Yuki Tsunoda caused a red flag. Two weeks on from his dramatic, race-ending collision with title rival Lewis Hamilton at the British GP, the Red Bull driver set the pace in first practice on the soft tyres, lapping the Hungaroring in 1m17.555s. Verstappen’s time put him just 0.061s clear of Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas at the end of FP1, while Hamilton was third, 0.167s adrift of his main championship rival who holds an eight point advantage heading into the last race before F1’s summer break. The 60-minute practice session was interrupted when AlphaTauri rookie Tsunoda lost control of his car and spun rearwards into the barriers at Turn 4, causing a brief suspension. Carlos Sainz was half a second down on Verstappen’s benchmark as he finished fourth-fastest for Ferrari, ahead of AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly. A day after celebrating his 40th birthday, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso took sixth for Alpine, having outpaced the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc by just 0.006s. Sergio Perez was nearly a full second slower than his Red Bull teammate in eighth, while Lando Norris and Lance Stroll completed the rest of the top-10 for McLaren and Aston Martin respectively. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon missed out on a spot in the top 10 by just 0.010s as Tsunoda’s session-ending crash left him 12th in the FP1 order. Further down the timesheets, Robert Kubica finished 18th in his third FP1 outing of the season for Alfa Romeo. The Pole, who deputised for Kimi Raikkonen on Friday morning, ended up faster than Nikita Mazepin’s Haas and Antonio Giovinazzi in the other Alfa Romeo. 2021 F1 HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (1) POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME 1 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing 1m17.555s 2 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m17.616s 3 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m17.722s 4 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m18.115s 5 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m18.181s 6 Fernando Alonso CHI Alpine F1 Team 1m18.385s 7 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m18.391s 8 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing 1m18.466s 9 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1m18.649s 10 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m18.755s 11 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team 1m18.765s 12 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m18.770s 13 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m18.989s 14 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team 1m19.265s 15 George Russell ISR Williams Racing 1m19.724s 16 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing 1m19.824s 17 Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m20.383s 18 Robert Kubica POL Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m20.639s 19 Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m20.992s 20 Antonio Giovinazzi GBR Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m21.889s

Pierre Gasly says he is expecting to receive an update on his Formula 1 future from Red Bull “at some point in the summer break”. Gasly has turned in a series of impressive displays this season for AlphaTauri and is likely to stay put at the Faenza outfit for at least another year alongside rookie teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Red Bull already has Max Verstappen signed up to a long-term deal and is expected to offer Sergio Perez an extension to his initial one-year contract after the Mexican’s strong performances across the opening 10 days. Asked for an update about his future ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Gasly replied: “I think it’s pretty clear on my end, it’s in Red Bull’s hands. “Max is signed for next year in the top team, Sergio I think has a one-year contract, so we’ll see what happens there and then what we do going forward together. “I’m obviously contracted with them for some more time and I’m pretty confident we should get some answers at some point in the summer break, or after the summer break.” The 25-year-old Frenchman, who claimed a podium finish in Baku, indicated that he would like to return to Red Bull but revealed that the Milton Keynes squad is keen to retain a ‘team leader’ figure in AlphaTauri for next year. “They want a leader in AlphaTauri to really push the team forward and bring this team up,” Gasly explained. “I think there is a great working relationship and a real will to push AlphaTauri forward. “As a driver, you always want to be in the best car and fighting for the best positions and that’s what we are discussing. Ultimately, on my side, I’m only focusing on performing weekend after weekend and race after race and show my potential. “It’s in their hands whether they want me to step up, or whether they want to stick with the pair that they are having. It depends on how Sergio is performing and how they are planning the future for AlphaTauri. “We are discussing a lot of things and I think generally it’s really positive. It’s always better when there’s communication and when things are going well, but at the moment there is no more answer than that. “But I expect some more news over the next few weeks.”

Helmut Marko admits he “feared” Max Verstappen would need more time to recover from his Silverstone crash, but the good news is he is fighting fit. Verstappen suffered a massive crash at the British Grand Prix, sent hurtling into the tyre barrier with an impact of 51G as he came off second best in his battle against Lewis Hamilton. The Dutchman was taken to a local hospital for a check up having complained of dizziness, and was released later that night. Thankfully he had suffered nothing worse than bruises and a sore neck. Marko, though, was initially worried that his driver wouldn’t be fit for the Hungarian Grand Prix given the huge impact of the crash. He told Sport1: “I feared that it would take a little longer after the severe accident before Max was fully recovered. So that’s good news. “He will fight back in Hungary.” And, he insisted, it will be “with fair means. There are no thoughts of revenge.” Red Bull have requested an official review of Hamilton’s penalty, feeling the 10 seconds was too lenient. The Milton Keynes squad says they have new evidence that will the stewards had not seen, evidence that will put the incident in a “different light”. But one thing that won’t be different is Verstappen’s attitude out on track. Marko is confident the driver won’t feel the need to adopt a less aggressive approach when he again comes up against Hamilton in an on-track fight. “No,” Marko said, “he didn’t do anything wrong.” Verstappen heads into the Hungarian Grand Prix with an eight-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship. It was 33 before Sunday’s British GP.

Birthday boy Fernando Alonso says he never imagined early on in his career that he would still be racing at the highest level of motorsport at the ripe old age of 40. The Alpine driver celebrated his 40th birthday at the Hungaroring on Thursday, the venue where he won his first F1 race, 18 years ago, driving for Renault. But for Alonso, age is just a number, and it’s a bigger number than what he feels. “I feel not 40 for sure,” he said. “It’s the number, but it’s surprising me as well when I see it, when I see everywhere in the motorhome, because the team prepared a very nice decoration in my room and in the lunch area as well. “It’s a bigger number than what I feel, but it’s the way it is.” Asked whether he imagined he would still be on the grid eighteen years after his debut, the 32-time Grand Prix winner said: “No, probably not. “You live only the present, you’re not thinking too much about the future at that age and you’re just focused on the race weekend. You can’t imagine yourself more than two or three years in time from that moment. “Now it’s a different thing, I’m more used to the sport, to Formula 1 and the things that are quite unique here. “When I came into the sport, I was from a very small town in the north of Spain with no experience, no background, no nothing and then you arrive into this world and you’re shocked for five, six, seven years until you are used to everything. “Now it’s a little bit different. You know how things are and you’re enjoying a little bit more.” Alonso was paired in Thursday’s presser at the Hungaroring with Sebastian Vettel, one of his fiercest past rivals, and a driver with whom he continues to spar, although not at the front of the field. Vettel paid a heartfelt tribute to Alonso, insisting the Spaniard was one of the biggest talents ever seen in the sport. “The first race that Fernando was back this year, we had some wheel to wheel, and I was actually smiling in the cockpit, because I’d been looking forward to more of it this year, and I think we had a little,” said Vettel. “I always enjoy [racing] Fernando. He won here in 2003 [and] I was in front of the TV and I remember when he won. “I think his talent is without doubt, the skills on track one of the biggest that the sport has seen, and he’s done something which I thought was impossible to do, which is beating Michael, because when I grew up, it was like, Michael is the number one and impossible to beat – and Fernando started beating him. “I think that’s an achievement and obviously he’s had such a long career, so many different cars, so I consider it a pleasure to race beside him and fight him on the track.”

Formula One world champions Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel have spoken out against the Hungarian government’s planned LGBT law referendum. Hungary’s government wants a national referendum to showcase public support for a new law that the European Union says discriminates against LGBT people. The government says the law aims to protect children, but many have criticized it as an attack on LGBT rights. The seven-time F1 champion Hamilton, who is chasing a record-extending 100th grand prix win this weekend, made his opposition known on social media. “Ahead of the Grand Prix this weekend, I wish to share my support for those affected by the government’s anti-LGBTQ+ law. It is unacceptable, cowardly and misguiding for those in power to suggest such a law,” Hamilton wrote on Instagram. “Everyone deserves to have the freedom to be themselves, no matter who they love or how they identify. I urge the people of Hungary to vote in the upcoming referendum to protect the rights of the LGBTQ+, community, they need our support more than ever.” Last week, Prime Minister Viktor Orban posted a video on Facebook to say the referendum was necessary to counter strong opposition to the measures by the EU, which he said abused its power by launching legal action against Hungary over the law. The four-time F1 champion Vettel spoke out on Thursday at the Hungarian GP. “I find it embarrassing for the country,” said Vettel, who is third all-time in F1 history with 53 race wins. “I can’t understand why they (the government) are struggling to see why everybody should be free to do what they like.” The law passed last month by Hungary’s parliament bans the depiction of homosexuality or gender reassignment to minors in school education programs and media content. Its passage set off a heated confrontation between Orban’s right-wing government and the 27-member EU, which argued it discriminates against LGBT people and contravenes the bloc’s fundamental values. The referendum will cover such issues as whether children should be introduced to topics of sexual orientation in schools, and whether gender reassignment should be promoted or depicted to children. Last Saturday, thousands of LGBT supporters marched in the annual Budapest Pride parade. Budapest Pride spokesperson Jojo Majercsik said the was not just a celebration and remembrance of the historical struggles of the LGBT movement, but a protest against Orban’s current policies. This month, activists erected a 10-meter-high (30-foot-high) rainbow-colored heart opposite the country’s neo-Gothic parliament vowing to wage a civil disobedience campaign. At the Turkish GP last November, Vettel wore a special helmet promoting a message of diversity and inclusion. The helmet’s design depicted a diverse crowd, a prominent rainbow stripe, and a white-to-black gradient with his chosen message “No borders, just horizons – only freedom” written on top. Hamilton, the only Black driver in F1, has spoken out at length against racism. He and other drivers have been taking a knee against racism before races for the past year.

Hamilton has enjoyed dominance at the Hungaroring throughout his career and could be in line for a ninth victory on Sunday. Lewis Hamilton has rarely had it so tough. Midway through the 2021 F1 season, the seven-time world champion finds himself in a frustratingly unfamiliar position. For the first time since 2016 he is in a very real battle for the drivers’ championship. He is eight points behind Max Verstappen – the new villain of Hamilton’s dramatic career and the first challenger to the veteran’s supremacy in his Mercedes since Nico Rosberg five years ago. The pair have exchanged the lead at the top of the standings, and clashed quite literally on the track. Red Bull have successfully earned a review of the collision that saw Verstappen crash out of the British Grand Prix last time out – to which Hamilton was handed nothing more than a 10-second time penalty on his way to victory at Silverstone. “We’ll just keep on attacking,” said Hamilton after criticism of his race strategy that saw Verstappen hit the Silverstone tyre wall with extreme force. “There needs to be respect on track, but if not, this will happen more often I guess. And I tried my hardest just to stay as clean as possible.” Verstappen, for his part, is trying to stay out of the soap opera unfolding between the pair. Speaking in the week, the Dutchman said: “I am not interested in getting involved in any of that. “I know what happened at Silverstone as I was in the car and obviously I feel a certain way about how my race ended, but now I’m just focusing on making sure we are the best we can be on track so we can stay ahead in the championship. “The team can take care of the official side of things and anything that needs looking into after the crash but my job is the same as always: to be the best I can and try to win on Sunday.” Thankfully for Hamilton – and perhaps worryingly for Verstappen – he not only heads into the Hungarian Grand Prix having ended Red Bull’s five-race winning streak, but he also has history on his side at the Hungaroring. Hamilton has won the Hungarian Grand Prix eight times – including each of the past three years. The multiple world champion is at home on the wide circuit where his Mercedes engine can eat up track over his rivals. Were Hamilton to win on Sunday he would break a new record for the most race wins by any driver at a particular circuit. His eight in Hungary is currently equalled with his eight at Silverstone and Michael Schumacher’s eight achieved at the French Grand Prix between 1994 and 2006.

Honda has confirmed that it will run the power unit involved in Max Verstappen’s Silverstone crash during opening practice in Hungary on Friday. Red Bull driver Verstappen suffered a 51g impact at the start of the British Grand Prix after clashing with Lewis Hamilton through Copse corner. Formula 1 power units are made up of six components and drivers are restricted on how many they can use through a season. They are permitted three engines, three MGU-Hs, three turbochargers, three MGU-Ks, two energy stores and two control electronics. If this allocation is exceeded a driver faces a 10-place grid penalty for the first change, followed by other demotions if further parts are installed. At the British Grand Prix Verstappen was on his second of the components for which three are permitted, and first of the components for which two are allowed. The newer components were installed at the French Grand Prix, in late June, and consequently were firmly within their anticipated life cycle. The power unit was transported to Honda’s facility in Japan and a thorough analysis was undertaken. Honda has now given the power unit the green light to be run during opening practice at the Hungaroring, after which a full analysis will be carried out to determine whether it is fit for purpose in race trim, as it seeks to avoid penalties later in 2021. “The PU was sent back to Sakura for thorough checks,” Honda said in a statement. “We also replaced certain parts, as allowed in the regulations, without breaking the FIA seals. “We will use the engine this Friday to give it a proper track test, after which we should have a clearer picture of its viability as a race engine.” Verstappen claimed his maiden pole position at the Hungaroring in 2019 and has finished runner-up to Hamilton in both the 2019 and 2020 races.

It is now known that Red Bull’s team is contesting the penalty given to Lewis Hamilto for touching and disabling Max Verstappen at the Silverstone Grand Prix. Marko has given some more information to RTL on why information is available for a review of Hamilton’s punishment. “We are bringing forward new facts/evidence that were not available to us at the time of the suspension of the race, or when the whole thing was settled, partly because we were focused on what is going on with Max and how he was doing.” This, according to Marko, is where Mercedes and Red Bull will discuss on Thursday during the review. “Those facts will be put forward at the meeting on Thursday and we hope it will lead to a reassessment of the penalty. We have images, but the most important thing is that we will come up with new evidence, but you have to understand that I cannot disclose the exact details.” Because that question was logically asked of him. The answer to that was clear. “Appropriate is a penalty that would have prevented a win. A suspension for the next race. Something along those lines.” Tomorrow Red Bull will tell its side of the story and show why Hamilton deserves a bigger punishment than he has currently received. After that, the weekend in Hungary is already upon us, where Red Bull and Verstappen will be looking to take sporting revenge.

The 2021 F1 season’s major title contenders, Lewis Hamilton, and Max Verstappen, recently caused chaos at Silverstone during the race. While the seven-time world champion escaped with minor front wing damage to his car, it wasn’t as simple for the Dutchman, whose car was pretty much shattered into pieces. This led to a wave of hype from the entire F1 fandom, with most of them claiming the incident to have kindled an ugly rivalry between the duo. Hence, it looked like there could be more such Verstappen-Hamilton encounters over the rest of the season, much like the Hamilton-Rosberg rivalry in 2016. However, Verstappen isn’t necessarily obliging to the hype being fueled into the ongoing duel. As reported by F1, the Red Bull driver opined that he isn’t interested in kick-starting a rivalry with Hamilton. Hence, this could mean that Verstappen will try to avoid the replication of the Silverstone incident in the future. “I don’t have much to say on all the media hype. And to be honest, I am not interested in getting involved in that,” he clarified. Ever since the race at Monte Carlo, Verstappen had slowly been extending his lead to Hamilton, and the gap between the duo ahead of the British Grand Prix was 33 points. However, the dramatic incident at Silverstone meant that the difference fell down to a mere eight points. Hence, from the Hungarian GP, Verstappen will have the massive task of building the gap to the Briton from scratch. The Dutchman opened up that his focus is entirely intact on winning every single race over the remaining course of the season. “My job is the same as always, to be the best I can and try to win on Sunday,” Verstappen said.

It is usually around the time of the Grand Prix extreme weather in Hungary. When it is hot it is really hot. When it rains, it rains a lot and it rains hard. For this weekend the first scenario seems the most realistic, but a mix of both is not excluded. For now, it looks like Friday will be sunny at least. With temperatures of 30 degrees and more, it will be very warm at the start of the race weekend. The teams will have plenty of time to prepare and collect data. The temperature will also be around or above 30 degrees during qualifying and the race. However, on Saturday and especially on Sunday there is a greater chance of showers. According to the latest reports, there is a good chance of heavy showers over Central Europe on Sunday afternoon, during the race. Friday will be sunny, Saturday seems to be warm and sultry and Sunday is warm with a greater chance of showers. A rain race is certainly not excluded on Sunday.

Ferrari doesn’t believe victory is a realistic aim despite their recent form heading to the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Scuderia has been back near their best with Charles Leclerc’s pair of poles in Monaco and Baku, followed by an unfortunate second place to Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone. Since Austria, Ferrari has also shown a very strong race pace, as highlighted by the Monegasque leading 50 laps of the race almost a fortnight ago. However, while the Hungaroring has been a strong circuit for the Italian team and would appear to suit this year’s car, Leclerc is tempering expectations a little. “It’s good to be an optimist, and I think we all want to be an optimist after such a good performance in the last three races, to be honest,” he told Motorsport.com. “But on the other hand, we also need to be realistic. We are in a good mood, but I feel like going for the win in Budapest could be a bit optimistic. So realistically, I think I will be happy if we are just behind the two top teams.” The reason for that is while the Hungaroring has long been one of F1’s slowest circuits, the original perception of ‘Monaco without the barriers’ is shifting. “Budapest recently has become actually a medium to high-speed track with these cars,” Carlos Sainz explained. “If you look at Monaco and Baku there are second or third gear corners. But Budapest nowadays, with these crazy high-downforce cars, you have a middle sector where you are fourth or fifth gear all the time. So it’s not a pure low-speed track like it used to be in the past. “I don’t think it will be such a good track for us. I think it’s a great opportunity to be right behind Red Bull and Mercedes, but downforce is still king and we see from data these guys are still ahead. “As we saw at Silverstone, on the hard tyre Lewis had a bit more pace than us and they should be ahead in Hungary.”

Forbes’ latest list of salary reveals place Lewis Hamilton atop the the Formula 1 standings for the drivers’ payslips. As a seven-time World Champion, Hamilton has enjoyed the kind of success in Formula 1 which can only be equalled by Michael Schumacher in terms of titles, but the records for most pole positions and race wins, among others, reside next to Hamilton’s name. The Briton has become an increasingly active voice in the Formula 1 paddock as he pushes for greater equality in motorsport, but away from the track he has many other ventures in the worlds of fashion, music and food. But his Formula 1 efforts alone are paying off handsomely for Hamilton, who tops Forbes’ list of the highest-paid Formula 1 drivers for another year, a streak which began back in 2014. Forbes state Hamilton is set to earn $62million across the 2021 season for his on-track activities, made up by a $55m base salary and a projected $7m in bonuses. Hamilton currently trails Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship by eight points and so if he overturns that, then his $66m earnings for 2020 could well be matched for the current campaign. Should the title go Verstappen’s way, his earnings are projected to reach $42million for the 2021 season. Either way, he is comfortably P2 on this particular leaderboard. Of course, sponsors are another source of income for the drivers, but in this department there is a gulf between Hamilton and Verstappen. Hamilton pockets around $12m from his sponsors, the majority of whom pump their funds into his Mercedes team too. Each race weekend, Hamilton will be seen arriving to the track in the latest catwalk fashion, while away from racing he is no stranger to celebrity events. As for Verstappen, none of that is up his street. Instead, he enjoys his private life in private, which may explain why his endorsements are estimated at only $1million. A comfortable third in the list is Alpine’s Fernando Alonso, whose highly anticipated return to Formula 1 is set to earn him a $25m base salary for 2021. Behind the Spaniard, we find the likes of Sergio Perez and Sebastian Vettel also taking home a very healthy pay cheque. Projected top 10 2021 driver earnings in full: 1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) $62million2 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) $42million3 Fernando Alonso (Alpine) $25million4 Sergio Perez (Red Bull) $18million5 Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) $15million6 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) $12million7 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) $10million8 Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) $10million9 Lando Norris (McLaren) $9million10 Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) $8million

Saudi Arabia has put up its hand as a potential alternate Formula 1 venue in the covid-marred 2021 season. The first-ever Jeddah street race is already scheduled to take place in early December – just a fortnight after the re-scheduled and now cancelled Australian GP was due to happen. Qatar and Bahrain have indicated that they could step in, but it may make more sense for Formula 1 to simply do a back-to-back double in Saudi Arabia instead. “We have not yet received a request from Formula 1 to organise a second race, but we are perfectly on track with our preparations,” Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al Faisal, a Saudi royal and provincial governor, is quoted by the Belgian news agency Sporza. Some may scold F1 for considering a second race in Saudi Arabia, where the kingdom has been accused of using Formula 1 to ‘sportswash’ human rights abuses. But F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali plays down those concerns. “We believe in going to certain countries that are showing that they want to change in the future,” he told GQ magazine. “We also don’t want to be involved in politics. Instead of talking about the negative things, we should be discussing the positive things that F1 can make happen.”

2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button has said that he feels Valtteri Bottas might benefit from a switch back to Williams come the end of this season. The Finn left Williams at the end of 2016 to take over from Nico Rosberg as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate at Mercedes, with them being partners ever since. Bottas has largely played second fiddle to the Briton, however, with him good enough to win the odd race and pick up regular podiums but never really showing the consistency you need to fight for a championship title. This year, too, he’s had a fair few struggles that have prompted suggestions that it might now be time for George Russell to step into his shows and sit alongside Hamilton in the Silver Arrows’ garage, with the young Williams man a member of the Mercedes driver programme. That said, former world champion Button has suggested that a move for Bottas in the other direction might just help him mentally. “I think there’ll be some drivers leaving their teams at the end of the season,” said Button via a Readly campaign. “But, at this point in the season, many top teams have their drivers in place for next season and are pretty happy with them. There are quite a few contracts up at the end of the season, I think, but I don’t think there’ll be any significant changes. “It could be a complete swap around with Williams and Mercedes, I guess with George going to Mercedes and Valtteri coming to Williams. He’s been at Williams before, and I am sure it hurts to go to a team that isn’t fighting in front. But he would be great for Williams. “He comes with a lot of experience, and maybe he’ll find his feet again and mentally, he’ll be in a better place. He’ll also be at a team that doesn’t have Lewis Hamilton in it. “I think Mercedes have been happy with Valtteri not being on pace the last few seasons. But he’s always come away with good points in 2nd or 3rd in the races, so Mercedes has always won the Constructors’ Championships. “But this year, he hasn’t been performing as well and has been out of the points, and they are not getting the points they are used to, so that’s why they are probably looking elsewhere to get another driver for 2022. “With my Williams hat on, it would be sad to lose George, but the team completely understands that if he gets an opportunity to race in a car like Mercedes – they have to let him go.”