Formula 1

New engine regulations in Formula 1 could be postponed for a year. In Austria, top carmaker officials – including Red Bull mogul Dietrich Mateschitz and also the CEOs of Audi and Porsche – met to discuss the new rules that are scheduled to debut in 2025. Formula 1 described the talks as “very positive”, declaring that “further news” would be forthcoming in the coming weeks. But ahead of the meeting, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said the best way to create “a truly efficient, environmentally friendly, biofuel-powered engine from scratch” that is also cost-effective would be to delay until 2026. Curiously, title rival Mercedes agrees. “Perhaps we can find a compromise and extend the current regulations for another year,” said Toto Wolff. “Everyone wants to be 100 percent ready for the transition to the new regulations, but perhaps that is 2026. Formula 1 really needs to lead by example and meet the standards. “I don’t know what the solution will be,” the Mercedes boss added, “but we need an engine that is in the area of electrification whilst at the same time the cost of developing it should be lower than it is now.” Wolff said another key feature of the new engine will be biofuels. “Unfortunately, e-fuels are ten years late to Formula 1, which is very negative,” former Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug told Auto Bild. “What is extremely positive, however, is that you can still feed the engines of tomorrow and get a sound from yesterday.”

Esteban Ocon has urged Alpine to make major changes on his car after a poor run of form which saw the Frenchman consistently off the pace compared to teammate Fernando Alonso. Ocon failed to finish higher than 14th at F1’s first triple-header and qualified down in 17th at the Styrian and Austrian Grand Prix and has called it a forgetful two weekends. “The balance [of the car] felt actually fine,” Ocon told RacingNews365.com and other select members of the press. “Once I finished a lap, I felt like it was a good lap on that second of Q1 and I was pretty pleased with how it went. “Maybe half a tenth I could have gained, but that’s all about it, to be fair. Ocon did not rule out a complete change of chassis for the British GP and admits his performances have not been good enough. “The maximum possible would be very welcome,” added Ocon. “I will have a chat with the team and see what’s possible to do. But the more things we can change, the better it would be. Then it’s one doubt less. “It’s hard to place the finger on exactly what the problem is. We will change as many parts as possible on the car. That’s where it starts to be difficult when you don’t spot exactly what the issue is and then the lap time deficit is so big on such a small track. We need to keep digging in and keep staying together to go through this period as quickly as possible.”

Victorian Sports Minister Martin Pakula has revealed his expectation that Formula 1 will return to Australia in April next year after the current-season event was cancelled on Tuesday. Despite teams travelling to Melbourne in 2020, the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent positive cases registered in the F1 paddock resulted in the event’s cancellation. This year, the race was pushed back from its position as the season-opener to become the third-last race of the year in November, but on Tuesday it was announced this was no longer possible. “I had a conversation with the CEO of Formula 1 management Stefano Domenicali on Monday night,” Pakula said. “It was a very cordial conversation, we have a good relationship. I fully expect that these events will occur in 2022. “We’re aiming for an early-season F1 event next year and a MotoGP on a date still to be determined, but we will work very closely, both the government [and] the AGPC with Formula 1 Management and MotoGP to deliver those events.” Adding further detail, he commented: “We’ve been talking April with F1 for some time. “As you know, this year other events went into that first and second slot and I think F1 are keen to continue with those events.” Although there remains a significant amount of time before F1 was due to arrive in Melbourne, F1 is keen to finalise its fixture list for the remainder of the season with a 23 race calendar still a priority for Domenicali. Despite the disappointment at again missing out on hosting both F1 and MotoGP, Pakula said: “Quite legitimately, Formula 1 and MotoGP required assurances and undertakings and guarantees this week about the conduct of those events,” said Pakula. “I really do want to emphasise that I take no issue with the fact those organisations needed that assurance this week. “There’s a few months to go but they need to plan, and they need to have contingencies in place and given the very low national two-dose-vaccination numbers, and given the decision of National Cabinet on Friday, we’re simply not in a position to give F1 management or MotoGP the sorts of guarantees, assurances and comfort that they need this week. “I understand that for motorsports fans and for major events fans this is very disappointing news but some 1600 visitors in November, with the bespoke quarantine arrangements needed, in an environment when national cabinet has decided to half international arrivals and not look at different quarantine arrangement probably until the beginning of 2022, really makes it extremely difficult for us to give those organisations the guarantees they require.”

FIA race director Michael Masi has explained the decisions to issue penalties to Lando Norris and Sergio Perez during the Austrian Grand Prix. The stewards resembled a card-happy football referee at the Red Bull Ring, dishing out six separate penalties during the race and three more afterwards. Some were more of a slam-dunk nature, such as Yuki Tsunoda twice crossing the white line at the pit-lane entry. Others were more subjective and which could have been construed as mere racing incidents. Three of those in the latter category involved Perez – firstly when he was forced off track by Norris just after the Safety Car restart, then twice for incidents between the Red Bull driver and Charles Leclerc. On the first occasion, Norris was hit with a five-second penalty, which he served at his pit-stop and was overtaken by Valtteri Bottas. For the other two, Perez received the same punishment. Norris’ penalty arguably cost him the chance to finish runner-up as he ended up two seconds behind Bottas, while Perez dropped from fifth to sixth behind Leclerc’s Ferrari team-mate, Carlos Sainz, as 10 seconds was added to his race time. Whereas Norris was defiant about his manoeuvre and also backed by Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, Perez later apologised to Leclerc who had angrily complained over the team radio about his rival’s driving. Masi insisted all three incidents had been judged on the same criteria. “In the first case, in Sergio’s one with Lando, he was wholly alongside Lando,” Masi told reporters. “Therefore, there is an onus to leave a car’s width to the edge of the track. “Then it was the same in reverse with Checo and at exit of turn four, and then Checo and Charles again at the exit of turn six. “Obviously I don’t sit in the stewards room to deliberate, but their view was in all three circumstances a car’s width should have been left to the edge of the track because the two cars were alongside each other.” Another factor may have been that there was gravel on the outside of turns four and six rather than an asphalt run-off area. Asked if the presence of gravel means incidents are viewed differently, Masi said: “Obviously, gravel does have an impact in those places, so you would say yes looking at it logically. “Each of those you have to look at on their merits, characteristics of the circuit etc.”

Fernando Alonso says he felt “sad” when he saw that it was George Russell up ahead as he charged towards the Williams star at the Austrian GP, as the two drivers heaped praise on one another when reflecting on a key battle that eventually extended Russell’s F1 points wait. Russell, in fine form all weekend, was in line for his first points as a Williams driver – in his 46th race with the team – on Sunday as he ran in 10th place in the late stages, but that position was snatched from him by two-time world champion Alonso in his faster Alpine car with just three laps remaining. “So close, yet so far,” admitted Russell, the British driver who has been plagued by misfortune in points positions in recent years. “I was driving as hard as I could as fast as I could, and then into the end if you could choose any guy to have behind you, you probably wouldn’t choose Fernando.” The respect was reciprocated from Alonso, who in the past has hailed Russell as his pick to star in F1’s future. “I felt a little bit sad for George because he drove an amazing weekend,” said F1 legend Alonso, 39. “When I saw P10 was him, I was hoping it was anyone apart from him in that spot! “But I had much better tyres, much better traction out of Turn Three and I could make the move three laps to the end.” Alonso then insisted: “He will have more opportunities for podiums and wins in the future.” Although Russell was forced to settle for 11th despite qualifying in the top 10, a first with Williams, he admitted he never really had the pace to contend with Alonso. “It was very tricky… with all of his experience, and speed as well,” said Russell. “Yesterday [in qualifying] he was very very fast and he should have finished inside the top five. “Trying to keep him behind, and with his speed this weekend, it probably never would have happened.”

Max Verstappen extended his lead in the drivers championship by taking his fifth win of the season in the Austrian Grand Prix. He bolstered his championship lead on a difficult day for rival Lewis Hamilton, who came in fourth after losing time with damage.The pair were separated by Valtteri Bottas, who Hamilton allowed by into second place on lap 52, and Lando Norris, who claimed a podium finish after an eventful race which included a five-second time penalty. Norris was sanctioned for an incident with Sergio Perez on the third lap of the race which sent the Red Bull driver into the gravel trap at turn four. Norris served his penalty at his pit stop, and finished the race with Bottas in his sights. Perez later collected a pair of identical penalties for similar incidents involving Charles Leclerc. Although he took the chequered flag in fifth, his two five-second penalties dropped him behind Carlos Sainz Jnr, who Leclerc waved past earlier in the race. Daniel Ricciardo added to McLaren’s points haul in seventh ahead of Leclerc. Pierre Gasly pitted twice on his way to ninth, while Fernando Alonso denied George Russell a point by passing the Williams driver with three laps to go.Yuki Tsunoda fell foul of the stewards twice on his way to 12th place, picking up a pair of penalties for cutting the pit lane entry line. Lance Stroll and Antonio Giovinazzi behind him also collected penalties for other infringements on a busy afternoon for the stewards. The day’s only retirement was Esteban Ocon, who suffered front-right damage at turn three on the first lap, retiring on the spot. 2021 F1 AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX – RACE RESULTS POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME 1 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing 71 LAPS 2 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team + 17.973s 3 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team + 20.019s 4 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team + 46.452s 5 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow + 57.144s 6 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing + 57.915s 7 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team + 1:00.395s 8 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow + 1:01.195s 9 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda + 101.844s 10 Fernando Alonso ESP Alpine F1 Team + 1 Lap 11 George Russell GBR Williams Racing + 1 Lap 12 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda + 1 Lap 13 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team + 1 Lap 14 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen + 1 Lap 15 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing + 1 Lap 16 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen + 1 Lap 17 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team + 1 Lap 18 Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team + 2 Laps 19 Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team + 2 Laps DNF Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team DNF

Lewis Hamilton made a classy comment about Lando Norris during the Austrian Grand Prix as he passed his fellow Brit for second place at the Red Bull Ring while Max Verstappen led the way in Austria. Norris, who picked up his best qualifying position of his career for McLaren on Saturday, held off the seven-time world champion for 19 laps before the Mercedes driver swept past the 21-year-old. However, as Hamilton did it, he took to his radio to praise the younger driver for his performance. “Such a great driver, Lando,” Hamilton was heard telling his team. Norris had a torrid lap 20 as moments later he was handed a five-second penalty for forcing Red Bull’s Sergio Perez off the track on the opening lap. It was a double hit for Norris as stewards make their decision before Hamilton passes the McLaren with DRS up to Turn 4. Norris rejoined behind Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas in a net fourth place after serving his penalty in the pitstop window. Lando was left frustrated on the radio as he was told about the penalty, exclaiming: “For what?!” as his engineer explained they would talk about it at the end of the race. “Whatever,” was the response from the McLaren man. “If it was for lap one (after the Safety Car), what does the guy expect trying to go around the outside?” Lando helped McLaren back to the front row of the grid for the first time since 2012, qualifying ahead of both Mercedes drivers and even split the two Red Bulls at the Red Bull Ring. “I feel epic!” said Norris after qualifying.

Formula 1 has confirmed its mobile app was hacked on Saturday in a “targeted attack”. The app sent out a random push notifications in the evening, which led to confusion on social media as it simply said “Foo”. However a second message followed, which said: “Hmmmm, I should check my security.. :)” F1 confirmed in a brief statement that its app was hacked, but doesn’t believe user data was accessed. “Our investigation confirms that this targeted attack was limited to the Push Notifications Service,” it said. “We will continue to investigate, review and improve safety measures but, at this time, have no reason to believe that any customer data has been accessed during this incident.”

Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel was handed a three-place grid drop on his 34th birthday, on Saturday, for impeding Alpine’s Fernando Alonso in 2021 Austrian Grand Prix qualifying.The Formula 1 stewards also handed out one penalty point for the incident, with double world champion Alonso having to abort his flying lap in the second phase of qualifying and ending up 14th on the starting grid. Vettel qualified eighth and will still start ahead of Alonso. The German was seen apologising from his cockpit as the annoyed Spaniard passed the dawdling Aston Martin. The four-time F1 World Champion said in his team report: “It is a shame that Fernando had his lap impacted during Q2. I am sorry for him because there is nothing he could have done “All the drivers agreed yesterday to slow down on the straights between Turns Eight and Nine, which I did, but other drivers jumped the queue, then slowed down in the final corners, which is not allowed. That backed me up as well. It is a strange situation and something that is really difficult to avoid,” explained Vettel. Despite his understandable fury in the cockpit while it happened, Alonso was quick to exonerate his great rival: “It’s not Seb’s fault and, as drivers, we’re relying on our engineers to communicate things that are happening on track.” Vettel’s demotion lifts Williams’ George Russell to eighth on the grid instead, with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz also moving up a place.

Seven-time Formula One World Drivers’ Champion Lewis Hamilton will stay in Mercedes until 2023 after signing a two-year contract extension with the team. “It is hard to believe it’s been nearly nine years working with this incredible team and I’m excited we’re going to continue our partnership for two more years,” said the 36-year-old British legend in a statement on Saturday. “We’ve accomplished so much together but we still have a lot to achieve, both on and off the track.” “I’m incredibly proud and grateful of how Mercedes has supported me in my drive to improve diversity and equality in our sport. They have held themselves accountable and made important strides in creating a more diverse team and inclusive environment.” Hamilton made his F1 debut in 2007 in McLaren and joined Mercedes in 2013. He has achieved 98 wins in his career and shared the record of claiming seven world championships with Michael Schumacher. Earlier in 2021, Hamilton agreed to a one-year deal with Mercedes, leaving his future with the team in doubt. “It’s important we take time to evaluate, that we do what’s right for us in terms of health and mental wellbeing,” said Hamilton. Hamilton is currently No. 2 on the championship standings table following Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing. “Now we are having this tight battle it has brought me closer to the team, it’s making me dig deeper and I love that, it has reinvigorated the love that I have for the sport.” Staying in Mercedes until at least 2023 means Hamilton is ready to face the possible challenges brought by an overhaul in F1’s technical regulations in 2022. F1 may go through a complete reboot after that. “As we enter a new era of F1 from 2022 onwards, there can be no better driver to have in our team than Lewis. His achievements in this sport speak for themselves, and with his experience, speed and race-craft, he is at the peak of his powers,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. “This is fantastic news for Formula One and I am delighted that Lewis will stay in F1 for at least another two years. What he has achieved in this sport is incredible and I know he has more to come. He is a global superstar on and off the race track and his positive impact on Formula One is huge,” said F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.

Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton set the pace as Mercedes hit back to lead the way in second practice at the Austrian Grand Prix. Hamilton was only seventh-fastest in first practice but posted the quickest time of the weekend so far with a 1m04.523s to head Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas by 0.189s during the qualifying simulation runs. Hamilton survived a trip through the gravel following a lock-up at Turn 4 as the seven-time world champion was caught out as rain fell in the closing stages of FP2. Current championship leader Max Verstappen, who had topped the morning session for Red Bull, was third and 0.217s down on his title rival’s benchmark. Aston Martin enjoyed a strong afternoon as Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel took fourth and fifth, ahead of the AlphaTauri duo of Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly. After China’s Guanyu Zhou made his practice debut in FP1, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso was back in action for Alpine on his way to setting the eighth-fastest time. Lando Norris took ninth in his McLaren despite a spin at Turn 2, while Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi rounded out the top-10 order as he returned to the cockpit of his C41 after Ferrari test driver Callum Ilott had participated in FP1. Sergio Perez was only 11th in the FP2 order and ended up nearly a second off the pace in the second Red Bull. The drivers once again had the opportunity to test out Pirelli’s beefed-up prototype tyre construction that will be introduced at the British Grand Prix, providing the Italian manufacturer is satisfied with the analysis collected on Friday in Austria. 2021 F1 AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (2) POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME 1 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m04.523s 2 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m04.712s 3 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing 1m04.740s 4 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m05.139s 5 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m05.268s 6 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m05.356s 7 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m05.379s 8 Fernando Alonso CHI Alpine F1 Team 1m05.393s 9 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1m05.466s 10 Antonio Giovinazzi GBR Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m05.511s 11 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing 1m05.516s 12 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team 1m05.527s 13 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m05.620s 14 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m05.624s 15 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team 1m05.698s 16 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m05.708s 17 George Russell ISR Williams Racing 1m05.819s 18 Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m05.911s 19 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing 1m06.014s 20 Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m06.173s

Lewis Hamilton was not in a great mood in the paddock on Thursday. The Briton returns to Spielberg where Max Verstappen was dominant last weekend, and according to Will Buxton and Lawrence Barretto, it showed on his face. It’s not yet the season start Hamilton had hoped for. In 2021, Mercedes are getting resistance for the first time in years, and Red Bull Racing even have the upper hand. The team and also Verstappen are on top of the championship, and the last four races have been won by Red Bull. Buxton and Barretto say they are tired at the end of this Triple Header, but also see that in Hamilton. poster”Lewis is [feeling tired] as well. He didn’t want to talk and wasn’t all that enthused about it. He was like ‘if it was a different track I’d be excited, but I’m not.’ I struggled to get anything out of him,” Buxton reveals in the Weekend Warm-Up. ”He has also had a tough couple races, so you can’t blame him for that. And he’s not delighted with the second race here,” says Barretto. ”If he had won last weekend, he would be like ‘loving it’ but now he has been in the simulator,” Buxton adds. That Hamilton had been in the simulator surprised many people, including Barretto. ”The fact that he has been in the simulator is interesting. Because he hates that, he never does that. So that suggests that he needs to find every bit of pace. If the simulator can give him that, he has to do it, even if he hates it,” Barretto concludes.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen picked up on Friday where he left off last week at the Red Bull Ring, leading the field in the opening practice session for the Austrian Grand Prix. The Dutchman edged the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz by a 0.266s margin, while Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda completed the top five. While the venue will look very familiar to teams and drivers this weekend, as a reminder, the field is running on a softer selection of compounds from Pirelli, with the Italian supplier opting for the C3, C4 and C5 tyres. But Pirelli was set to test a new, more durable tyre in FP1, with each team required to run on the new rubber during the session. Finally, FIA Formula Championship leader Guanyou Zhou took to the track in an official F1 session for the first time, the Chinese driver replacing Alpine’s Fernando Alonso. The young charger was also joined by Callum Ilott running in place of Antonio Giovinazzi at Alfa Romeo and Roy Nissany enjoying another FP1 outing with Williams. After the usual period of installation laps and early flyers, Verstappen was quick to assert his position at the top of the timesheet, and the Dutchman was followed by his fellow Red Bull and Honda-backed colleagues, namely Pierre Gasly, Sergio Perez and Tsunoda. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll endured a laborious start to his weekend, spinning twice in the first 20 minutes of the session. Sainz was the first driver to break the Red Bull formation at the front when he slot in just behind Verstappen. But a decent lap by teammate Charles Leclerc allowed the Monegasque to snatch P2, just 0.266s off the pace setter. Meanwhile, Bottas in P5 was the quickest of the Mercedes pair while Hamilton lingered down the order, just inside the top ten with 15 minutes to go. Positions remained unchanged among the front-runners, with Verstappen’s fastest time 1m05.143s going unchallenged as he led Leclerc, Sainz, Bottas and Tsunoda. Alfa’s Kimi Raikkonen enjoyed a solid work session, the Iceman clocking in sixth and ahead of Hamilton, Perez, Gasly and Lando Norris. Ocon and Ricciardo lined up just outside of the top-ten, while both Aston Martin were also sat in the second half of the field. Alpine junior Zhou did a decent job to finish his maiden FP1 a creditable P14, while Ilott also kept himself out of trouble to end his session P16. Further behind, fellow young driver Nissany in P18 was faster than his Williams teammate Nicholas Latifi, while Haas’ Nikita Mazepin brought up the rear once again. 2021 F1 AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (1) POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME 1 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing 1m05.143s 2 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m05.409s 3 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m05.431s 4 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m05.445s 5 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m05.474s 6 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m05.586s 7 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m05.709s 8 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing 1m05.726s 9 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m05.726s 10 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1m05.880s 11 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team 1m05.980s 12 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team 1m06.181s 13 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m06.203s 14 Guanyu Zhou CHI Alpine F1 Team 1m06.414s 15 Sebastien Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m06.444s 16 Callum Ilott GBR Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m05.564s 17 Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m06.583s 18 Roy Nissany ISR Williams Racing 1m06.683s 19 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing 1m06.978s 20 Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m07.316s

Nikita Mazepin says he is driving a heavier car than the one raced more successfully by his high-profile teammate Mick Schumacher. “I wouldn’t say it’s unacceptable, it just complicates my job,” said the Russian rookie, whose Formula 1 debut this year has been tumultuous so far. “It does have quite a big impact on the weight distribution and the setup, but I’m surrounded by great engineers and I’m sure the situation will get better.” However, he will not get a new and lighter chassis until after the summer break. “When there are a lot of long straights and your car is heavier than the other one, it’s difficult stay ahead,” Mazepin insisted. The explanation for Mazepin’s heavier car is that the monocoque is older than the one used by Schumacher. “It’s a year old, and usually you do a new car every year. And sure, a chassis doesn’t get lighter after a year,” admitted team boss Gunther Steiner, referring to the fact that constant patch-up jobs add to the weight. “But the difference is not gigantic. It’s less than 20 kilos, or not even 10. Obviously a heavier car doesn’t make you faster. “Nikita will get a new chassis at Spa,” he added. The story may only now be breaking because of rumours that Mazepin’s father Dmitry – the team’s title sponsor via his company Uralkali – offered to pay more if Haas agrees to let his son drive Schumacher’s car. Auto Bild even claims that billionaire Mazepin snr would like Oliver Oakes – his son’s manager – to take over from Steiner as Haas team boss. When asked about his teammate’s heavier car, Schumacher said in Austria: “You have to ask the team.”

A maximum crowd of 60,000 can gather for the second race in Austria this weekend. Last weekend, local covid restrictions capped the spectator numbers at just 15,000. However, many of those restrictions are now easing. “The Dutch people are coming and they will give Verstappen a second per lap,” beamed Dr Helmut Marko, the top F1 official for the circuit owner Red Bull. According to RTL, while Red Bull had hoped for a full house, 15,000 spectators will be welcome on Friday, 30,000 on Saturday, and 60,000 on Sunday. “We have to go back to normal and that includes major events,” Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz says. “We have to remember that the vaccinations also work on the Delta variant.”

McLaren is turning up the heat on struggling team newcomer Daniel Ricciardo. Although earlier renowned as one of the best drivers in Formula 1, the 31-year-old Australian has notably struggled since joining impressive younger teammate Lando Norris this year at McLaren. The team is currently locked in a close battle with Ferrari to hold onto third place in the constructors’ world championship. “Daniel himself was very disappointed to not be able to continue his good development of the last races,” team boss Andreas Seidl, referring to the most recent race in Austria, is quoted by Marca. “But the fact that we are now going to race on the same track again is perfect for the learning process. We want to verify if we have drawn the right conclusions.” Seidl says McLaren needs Ricciardo to be scoring as many points as possible at each grand prix. “In the battle we are in, it is clear that we need to score points every weekend with both cars,” said the German. Ferrari, on the other hand, seems much more focused on preparations for the 2022 season rather than fighting for third place against McLaren this year. “How important is it for us to score more points than McLaren? Not very,” Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto is quoted by international media.” “I already said at the beginning of the season that our main task is to prepare for the new regulations by improving in all areas.”