Formula 1

A furious George Russell asked Valtteri Bottas if he was trying to kill them both following their high-speed collision in the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. But the Mercedes driver rejected Russell’s criticism of his driving, insisting the collision was “completely his fault”.The pair collided on the approach to Tamburello, the fastest point on the circuit, causing a huge crash which put both out of the race and caused it to be red-flagged. Both drivers walked away from the collision. Russell accused Bottas of violating a so-called gentlemen’s agreement between the drivers not to make sudden moves while being overtaken. “I was coming up on Valtteri massively fast,” Russell explained. “I had the slipstream, I had the DRS and just as I pulled out he jolted very slightly to the right. “Which is a tactical defence that drivers in the past used to do. There was a Verstappen manouevre in 2015 which there is a gentlemen’s agreement that that is not what you do, because it’s incredibly dangerous. “In completely dry conditions I would have been fine but he just put me onto the wet patch and I lost it. So an unfortunate incident but we’re going at 200 miles an hour, you need to respect the speed and the conditions. One of those things.” Russell was seen confronting Bottas immediately after the crash. “I asked him if he was trying to kill us both,” he said. “We’re going incredibly fast. We know the conditions. “In his eyes he’s not really fighting for anything. A P9 for him is nothing but for us it’s everything. I’m going for the move. The move would have been absolutely easy. There’s absolutely no reason to jolt like that. “There’s a gentlemen’s agreement between the drivers. We’ve always said it’s going to cause a massive collision one day and here we are.” Russell was Bottas’ team mate for a single race last year and has been linked to his seat at Mercedes. He suggested Bottas would have behaved differently had another driver been trying to overtake him. “We’re both grown men. We’ll have a conversation and talk about it obviously let the heat’s died down a bit. I’m sure he’s upset and frustrated with me as I am with him. The faintest of movements when you’re travelling at 200 miles an hour is actually quite a massive thing. “More so it’s not just the speed, it’s the speed difference. I was probably going 30 miles an hour quicker than him and about to overtake him and perhaps if it was another driver he wouldn’t have done that.” However Bottas insisted he bore responsibility for causing the violent collision, insisting that he left the required space for the Williams at all times. “It was quite a big one,” said Bottas. “It was quite high speed, but obviously could’ve been a lot worse. I’m okay. “I think that lap, or just before the DRS was activated for people, I was still struggling with the warm-up of the dry tyres. George got close and he obviously went for an overtake in a place where there’s pretty much only one dry line. “I’ve seen the replay and there was definitely space for two cars at all times, so I don’t know what he was going on about after – he was trying to say something but it was completely his fault. So quite disappointing.” After a miserable weekend plagued by tyre warm-up problems, Bottas says he isn’t sure if he would have been able to make progress during the second half of the race had the pair not collided. “It was very disappointing. It was a struggle, even until the crash. But obviously no one knows what could’ve still been possible. We need to take learnings from this week and move on.”

Max Verstappen took an ultimately commanding victory in a wild Emilia Romagna Grand Prix interrupted by a massive crash between Valtteri Bottas and George Russell, and in which Lewis Hamilton had to recover from ninth to second after a mistake. Verstappen had burst through from third on the grid to lead at the start, with Hamilton trying to hang on around the outside of him at Tamburello only to end up bouncing heavily over the kerbs. The Mercedes lost a small part of its front wing, and Hamilton expressed some frustration towards Verstappen over team radio. A lengthy safety car period – caused by Nicholas Latifi firing himself into the wall out of Acque Minerali by moving across on Nikita Mazepin as he rejoined after a spin – paused the race, before Verstappen scorched away once it began in earnest. Hamilton stabilised the Red Bull’s lead at around five seconds, as they left the rest of the field trailing far behind. When the track finally began to dry the Mercedes started closing in, with Hamilton getting the gap down to 2.6s. Verstappen was the first of the pair to make the jump for slick tyres just before half-distance, releasing Hamilton into the lead. An ultra-rapid first sector suggested he’d keep it, but the loss of a couple of seconds with a slow tyre change combined with a superb final sector from Verstappen meant the Mercedes rejoined still behind the Red Bull. Again Verstappen immediately pulled clear and rebuilt his 5s lead, only for heavy traffic to allow Hamilton to snatch three of those seconds straight back. But when Hamilton got into the same queue, he slid off at Tosa while trying to lap Russell’s Williams, nudged into the barrier and smashed his front wing, then struggled to reverse out of the gravel. While Hamilton headed back to the pits for repairs, a huge crash unfolded when Russell tried to pass Bottas – who had made no progress after his poor qualifying run – for ninth. Though the contact occurred when the Williams veered left into the side of the Mercedes at high speed, having appeared to touch the grass on the kink approaching Tamburello, Russell’s furious reaction suggested he felt Bottas’s driving had put him in that position. A long red flag period followed to clear up the wreckage. Hamilton was down in ninth for the restart, at which Verstappen nearly threw away the lead by half-spinning out of Rivazza as he prepared for the green on the still-damp track. Remarkably he was able to gather it up still in first place and then pulled off a smooth restart before rapidly pulling away from the pack to establish a 20s advantage on the way to his 11th F1 race victory. Charles Leclerc was in second at that point, having driven brilliantly in the first half of the event – quickly overcoming front row starter Sergio Perez to settle into third and then lapping at a pace beyond everyone bar Verstappen and Hamilton in the wet. But the Ferrari was jumped by Lando Norris at the restart, the McLaren driver charging forward once allowed past his slower team-mate Daniel Ricciardo in the opening stages. Hamilton had actually gone a lap down by the time he rejoined with his new front wing following his crash, but the red flag brought him back onto the lead lap and set up his recovery drive. He made rapid progress, with Norris proved perhaps the toughest opponent before finally being overtaken for second into Tamburello with three laps left. Hamilton then managed to grab the race’s fastest lap, which means he clings onto the world championship lead by one point over Verstappen. Hamilton’s progress meant Ferrari didn’t get a home podium. Leclerc finished fourth and his team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr showing great pace in the wet in particular as he came through from 11th on the grid to fifth. Perez’s race quickly fell apart after his brilliant qualifying. He went off at Piratella under the early safety car, then earned a 10s penalty by overtaking Ricciardo and Pierre Gasly to regain his position. He was back to fourth for the restart after the Bottas/Russell crash, only to spin at Villeneuve and fall to the back. He could only recover to 12th. Ricciardo fell back to sixth, holding off Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin and the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly. Fifth-place starter Gasly’s choice of wet tyres for the start led to him going backwards down the order as the track improved, and he also had multiple trips off the road before salvaging eighth. His team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was in contention for strong points despite starting last, but spun at Tamburello at the restart and finished 13th. Kimi Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo and Esteban Ocon’s Alpine – another car to lose ground by starting on wets – completed the scorers, with Fernando Alonso and Perez on their tails. Sebastian Vettel had a miserable race that began from the pitlane after Aston Martin ran out of time for pre-race work on his brakes. That also earned him a 10s stop/go penalty as his car’s wheels weren’t fitted at the five-minute signal before the start. He finally retired late on with a gearbox problem.

Williams driver Nicholas Latifi is out of the Emilia Romagna GP after a tangle with Nikita Mazepin. The Canadian driver spun at turn 12, re-joined the track and went side by side up the hill towards the turn 14/15 chicane alongside Mazepin. The pair tangled which caused Latifi to spin and crash into the wall at high-speed. A safety car was called and the incident is under investigation.

The weather seems to be an important factor in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix that is about to start. Dutch reporter Olav Mol explains to Ziggo Sport that there are showers over the circuit, but so far the rain has failed to materialise. The situation is being closely monitored by the F1 teams. “I think it’s again the way we are in it with the game. It could go either way. There’s a shower over the track and some drops. There’s enough hanging around the circuit. I don’t expect rain tyres to be used, but if one of those clouds releases some water, then it will really rain,” Mol explained as he looked to see if there were any dark clouds hanging over the circuit. The blue sky of the morning has been exchanged for clouds and on the radar we can also see some clouds. With a lot of rain Mol estimates that the rain tyres will be brought out of the cupboard.”Then there’s a chance that we’ll end up on intermediates. If it stays like this they won’t be bothered. It’s exciting to see whether it will happen and it will add an extra dimension to the race”, says Mol.

Miami will hold its first Grand Prix in 2022 after Formula 1 secured a 10-year deal for a race in the Florida city. The move is the culmination of years of work by F1’s owners Liberty Media, who wanted a race in a US “destination city” as they seek to grow the sport. The event will be held on a 3.36-mile track around the Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins NFL team. Miami becomes the second race in the US, joining the popular United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. A date for the Miami event has not yet been announced, but F1 president and chief executive officer Stefano Domenicali said it would be “in the second quarter of next year”. Domenicali said Miami would be “kept separate” from the Austin event “to keep the right space for both”. This suggests Miami could be twinned with the Canadian Grand Prix in June. He added: “The US is a key growth market for us, and we are greatly encouraged by our growing reach in the US which will be further supported by this exciting second race.” Miami Dolphins chairman Tom Garfinkel, the managing partner of the Miami Grand Prix, said: “The Hard Rock stadium entertainment campus in Miami Gardens exists to host the biggest global events to benefit the entire greater Miami region, and Formula 1 racing is as big as it gets. “We have worked with specialist designers to create a racetrack that we, Formula 1 and the FIA believe will provide great racing and we hope to create best-in-class unique fan experiences that are reflective of the diverse and dynamic nature of Miami. “I want to thank Formula 1 and the Miami Gardens and Miami Dade County elected officials for working to bring this hugely impactful event here for years to come.” His remarks are a reference to the long-winded process that has led to the event finally being secured. F1’s original plan for a Miami race included a track that crossed a bridge over the city’s bay, but it did not get the go ahead amid objections from local politicians and residents. The latest plan was finally approved by Miami’s city council last week and involves a series of measures to lessen the impact on the local population and environment. Domenicali said: “It is not a compromise, when you look for different solutions, you need to consider all the elements that make everyone happy. “I am sure the track you are going to see will be fantastic.” Garfinkel added: “In some ways it is going to be a lot better. When we originally looked at the city design, you have a lot of constraints around the race track. “The first priory was to create a great race track, and with the Hard Rock site we have a blank sheet of paper to put together a race track that is demanding in a lot of ways and to put on great experiences that are uniquely reflective of the diversity of Miami. Having an existing infrastructure in place, we feel we are in a better place to do that.” Domenicali added that there were no plans to add a third race in the US in the immediate future. “We felt the right approach after one grand prix is to have two,” he said. “There could be other opportunities in the future, but hat is what we are going to do in the short term.” Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton said: “America is such a big place that it always felt like we needed at least two races there to integrate with the audience. “The race can bring 4,000 jobs to communities in Miami. Montreal has always been my favourite to go to but Miami I think that’s going to be the favourite spot to go to.”

Formula 1 is suffering from the coronavirus pandemic. Last season, drivers with positive tests dropped out, spectators are no longer there and this year’s season opener in Australia also fell out of the calendar and had to be postponed to Bahrain. In the Arabian Gulf state, Sebastian Vettel would already have had the opportunity to be vaccinated against the virus. But the 33-year-old family man decided against it and gives a remarkable reason. The thoughtful German has already attracted attention with statements on social issues or environmental questions. The four-time Formula 1 world champion spoke out clearly to RTL when it came to vaccinations against the Corona pandemic. “Formula 1 had the offer to be vaccinated in Bahrain. I deliberately refrained from doing so because it’s not my turn yet,” Vettel told the broadcaster. It is questionable whether the vaccine he would use might not benefit someone “who should be on it sooner”, says the experienced driver. “But it’s a matter of principle. There are many people who want to be vaccinated. Many are waiting. Younger people are not as much at risk as older people. I will get vaccinated, but only when it’s my turn,” Vettel continues, making his position clear. Drivers like Sergio Perez or Vettel’s Ferrari successor Carlos Sainz accepted the vaccination offer. Some teams gave their employees the option of receiving the first dose. Only AlphaTauri made the vaccination compulsory for its employees, and tyre manufacturer Pirelli also vaccinated all its employees at the first race weekend of the season. The reason for Vettel’s clear statement was that at that time vaccinations had already been given at major events in Bahrain, while locals had not yet received a dose. Thus, for every vaccinated foreign visitor, theoretically one local would have to wait longer. Only 1.6 million people live in the kingdom.

The Imola Grand Prix is in full swing. The twenty drivers have finished the practice sessions. All in preparation for the start on Sunday. On Friday a remarkable incident happened between Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez. First of all there were communication problems during the free practice. Because of this the teams could not talk to the drivers on track. This also seems to be the cause of the crash between Ocon and Perez. Perez was busy with his fast lap. Ocon on the other hand was busy with his lap from the pit and thus drove a lot slower than Perez. Because of the lack of clarity both men hit each other. On the video below the crash is clearly visible. You can also see the speed at which Perez is gaining on Ocon.

The Spanish GP at Barcelona will once again take place without fans in the grandstands as Catalunya extends its COVID-19 restrictions. The event’s promoter had opened its box office to ticket sales for the fourth round of the 2021 F1 world championship that will take place on May 9, hoping to host a limited number of race fans. But Catalan health authorities, who recently extended a series of COVID-19 restrictions until April 26, including closing its borders, have informed the Circuit de Catalunya that it will not be able to open its gates to the public next month given the current uncertainty surrounding the area’s sanitary situation. “PROCICAT (the Catalan Civil Protection Office) has notified Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, that the Grand Prix cannot be staged under the conditions defined in the Spectator Access Protocol,” the circuit said in a statement published on Saturday. “Under these conditions, it is impossible to establish with absolute certainty whether or not the epidemic and welfare situation on 7, 8 and 9 May will allow for a further relaxation of the measures that do also restrict mobility at county level, which consequently would hinder fans from outside the Valles Oriental region from coming to the racetrack. “Moreover, following the communication of the Departments of the Interior and Health of the Catalan Government, neither the epidemiological situation, nor, especially, the situation in hospitals allow expecting right now a review of the current measures or a relevant liberalisation, considering that the dates of the Grand Prix are quite close. “Given this situation, the circuit management has proceeded to notify Formula One Management Limited that the Formula 1 Aramco Gran Premio De Espana 2021 will have to be staged without spectator attendance.” Spanish GP organisers have said that they will refund all tickets holders for the May 9 event. So far, there has been no indication that any upcoming venue will open its gates to spectators. Silverstone is pushing for a vaccine passport to be issued to fans to allow for a near full crowd for next summer’s British GP.

Max Verstappen topped the final practice session for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, denying Mercedes a clean sweep of fastest practice times. Verstappen’s 1’14.958 on soft tyres – the fastest lap of the weekend so far – was enough to see him go fastest by almost half a second from Lando Norris in the McLaren.Lewis Hamilton set the third fastest time for Mercedes, just over half a second adrift from Verstappen’s ultimate pace, with Sergio Perez fourth-fastest in the sister Red Bull. Having set the pace in both Friday sessions, Valtteri Bottas could only manage the eighth fastest time on the soft tyres, eight tenths off from Verstappen’s benchmark. Pierre Gasly again demonstrated good pace in the AlphaTauri, going sixth quickest in the session while being the only driver in the top ten to set their best time on the medium compound tyres. Ferrari had both cars in the top seven, with Charles Leclerc recording the fifth fastest time and teammate Carlos Sainz Jnr just under two tenths slower in seventh, Aside from Verstappen’s advantage out front, it was another close session with just one second covering Hamilton in third and Nicholas Latifi in 17th. The session was briefly halted just before the half-hour mark when Latifi ran wide on the exit of the Villeneuve chicane and hit the barriers, damaging his front wing. The Williams driver was able to drive back to the pits for repairs before rejoining the session. Despite the relaxing of track limits at Acque Minerali overnight, there were a plethora of lap times deleted for track limit infringements, particularly at Piratella. Verstappen, Bottas, Norris and Fernando Alonso were among the many drivers who had times taken off the board for running too wide. Kimi Raikkonen had a brief excursion through the gravel at the Rivazzas but was able to safely rejoin the circuit and return to the pits. His Alfa Romeo team mate Antonio Giovinazzi had a bizarre spin at the Tamburello Chicane on an outlap, before complaining of excessively cold tyres. 2021 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix third practice result Pos. No. Driver Car Best lap Gap Laps 1 33 Max Verstappen Red-Bull Honda 1’14.958 18 2 4 Lando Norris Mclaren 1’15.414 0.456 17 3 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1’15.515 0.557 18 4 11 Sergio Perez Red Bull 1’15.551 0.593 18 5 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1’15.738 0.780 21 6 10 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 1’15.890 0.932 22 7 55 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1’15.908 0.950 21 8 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1’15.908 0.950 19 9 14 Fernando Alonso Alpine 1’16.186 1.228 20 10 31 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1’16.228 1.270 20 11 22 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1’16.230 1.272 20 12 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1’16.245 1.287 19 13 3 Daniel Ricciardo Mclaren 1’16.253 1.295 17 14 5 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 1’16.389 1.431 19 15 63 George Russell Williams 1’16.427 1.469 20 16 47 Mick Schumacher Haas 1’16.448 1.490 22 17 6 Nicholas Latifi Williams 1’16.537 1.579 15 18 99 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 1’16.612 1.654 22 19 7 Kimi Raikkonnen Alfa Romeo 1’16.803 1.845 23 20 9 Nikita Mazepin Haas 1’17.398 2.440 23

Mercedes topped the second practice at Imola as their close rival Verstappen experienced technical issues that saw him stop the session just ten minutes in leaving Bottas to be 0.010s faster than Hamilton. Red Bull’s progress was halted on Friday afternoon as Verstappen began lapping at competitive pace, but then crawled to a stop as he said “something broke” 10 minutes into the hour. A brief Virtual Safety Car period followed to recover his car and he ended up 14th fastest. That left FP1 leader Bottas out front again, his medium-tyred benchmark of 1m15.511s enough to beat soft-tyred Hamilton by 0.010s for FP2 supremacy. Behind them was Pierre Gasly for AlphaTauri, just 0.078s off Bottas’s pace. Ferrari initially enjoyed their return home as Carlos Sainz finished fourth and Charles Leclerc fifth quickest – until Leclerc crashed to bring out a red flag at the final corner to end the session early with three minutes remaining. Regardless, Leclerc still finished ahead of sixth-place Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, who shrugged off a collision with Esteban Ocon in FP1 for which there was no penalty from the stewards. AlphaTauri rookie Yuki Tsunoda received a new battery and control electronics in his Honda-powered car after FP1 as a precaution, and the rookie finished seventh overall – just 0.008s off Perez. McLaren’s Lando Norris finished eighth quickest, his team mate Daniel Ricciardo down in 18th as a flying lap of his was deleted for a Turn 9 track limits infringement. Behind Norris was Italian racer Antonio Giovinazzi for Alfa Romeo in P9, his team mate Kimi Raikkonen down in 17th. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll finished 10th in FP2 while Sebastian Vettel managed P15, the two split by under four-tenths. Midfield rivals Alpine have a crucial weekend ahead of them having brought new parts to the Grand Prix in order to try to claw back some performance. Fernando Alonso had a rough ride over the Turn 14 chicane late on, rattling his teeth and potentially damaging the floor of his A521. He finished 13th behind 11th-place team mate Ocon, and between them was Williams’ Nicholas Latifi. George Russell used hard tyres to finish 16th while his 12th-place team mate Latifi stuck to softs. Russell still managed to finish ahead of Raikkonen, Ricciardo and both Haas drivers in his Williams, after he vowed to make amends for his 2020 crash behind the Safety Car at this venue. Haas’s Nikita Mazepin spun twice in FP1, crashing out in the final seconds of that session – but returned in FP2 to finish 20th overall, half a second off his 19th-place team mate Mick Schumacher. Mazepin complained he was “absolutely on ice” as he struggled to get hold of his VF-21 throughout Friday’s sessions. Red Bull’s favourites tag may have been tarnished by Verstappen’s retirement in FP2, but they’ll be back on Saturday for FP3 and qualifying. Don’t miss a minute with F1’s live coverage on Saturday morning, before the fight for pole position in the afternoon.

Friday’s FP1 in Portugal marked the first time in 265 days six-time world champion Marc Marquez started an official MotoGP session, having suffered a serious arm break in the 2020 season-opener at Jerez. Overnight rain left the Algarve circuit damp in places, which meant lap times started at around 15 seconds slower than the benchmark laps from last year. As conditions continued to improve, so did the session-best laps, with a number of riders taking turns leading the timesheets. Yamaha’s Vinales took over from reigning world champion Joan Mir with 16 minutes to go with a 1m44.777s, which he improved on his following tour to a 1m44.334s. Francesco Bagnaia moved his factory Ducati ahead of the Qatar GP race winner with a 1m44.239s moments later, before Vinales dipped under the 1m44s bracket with a 1m43.544s. The timing screen continued to light up as the opening 45-minute session of the weekend drew to a close, the returning Marquez serving a brief stint at the top of the pile with a 1m43.544s. The Honda rider remained fastest for all of 10 seconds, before Bagnaia blasted his effort away with a 1m42.934s. Amidst the flurry of laps at the end of the session, Marquez looked set to steal all the headlines when he shot back to the top of the order with a 1m42.378s on his final effort. But faster laps for both Suzuki’s Alex Rins and Vinales denied this, the Yamaha rider setting the pace at 1m42.127s to lead Rins by 0.151s. Marquez held onto third, 0.251s off Vinales’ pace ahead of Honda teammate Pol Espargaro, while championship leader Johann Zarco was fifth on his Pramac Ducati. Bagnaia was shuffled back to sixth at the end ahead of Fabio Quartararo on the sister works Yamaha and Jack Miller on second factory team Ducati – the Australian fresh from arm pump surgery last week. Alex Marquez was ninth on the LCR Honda ahead of Tech 3 KTM’s Danilo Petrucci, who revealed on Thursday he suffered a dislocated shoulder last month in Qatar. Valentino Rossi was 11th on the Petronas SRT Yamaha, while champion Mir was 13th ahead of the other SRT bike of Franco Morbidelli. Last year’s Portugal race winner Miguel Oliveira made a low-key start to his home weekend in the iffy conditions down in 17th on the factory team KTM, while teammate Brad Binder rounded out the 22-strong field. Cla # Rider Bike Time Gap 1 12 Maverick Vinales Yamaha 1’42.127   2 42 Alex Rins Suzuki 1’42.278 0.151 3 93 Marc Marquez Honda 1’42.378 0.251 4 44 Pol Espargaro Honda 1’42.382 0.255 5 5 Johann Zarco Ducati 1’42.443 0.316 6 63 Francesco Bagnaia Ducati 1’42.464 0.337 7 20 Fabio Quartararo Yamaha 1’42.528 0.401 8 43 Jack Miller Ducati 1’42.536 0.409 9 73 Alex Marquez Honda 1’42.781 0.654 10 9 Danilo Petrucci KTM 1’42.957 0.830 11 46 Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1’43.013 0.886 12 30 Takaaki Nakagami Honda 1’43.036 0.909 13 36 Joan Mir Suzuki 1’43.060 0.933 14 21 Franco Morbidelli Yamaha 1’43.243 1.116 15 32 Lorenzo Salvadori Aprilia 1’43.539 1.412 16 89 Jorge Martin Ducati 1’43.702 1.575 17 88 Miguel Oliveira KTM 1’44.000 1.873 18 10 Luca Marini Ducati 1’44.602 2.475 19 27 Iker Lecuona KTM 1’44.967 2.840 20 23 Enea Bastianini Ducati 1’45.325 3.198 21 41 Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 1’45.335 3.208 22 33 Brad Binder KTM 1’47.774 5.647

Haas’ Nikita Mazepin endured a troublesome debut in Bahrain with two spins in qualifying before he crashed out just three corners into the race. His woes continued in the hour-long opening practice session at Imola. Mazepin spun into the gravel exiting Rivazza 2 early on in the session and then came to grief at the same corner just as the chequered flag was flown. Mazepin made contact with the outside wall, causing damage to the Haas VF-21, which came to a halt just shy of the pit lane entry. Williams’ Nicholas Latifi slid off the Imola track and into the gravel during first practice for the 2021 Formula 1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

The first practice session at Imola has been red flagged with twenty minutes to go, as a result of a bizarre incident between Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon. The exact circumstances are yet to emerge, due to technical issues with Formula 1’s world feed for broadcasters. Footage of the incident hasn’t been released, but Perez and Ocon appear to have made contact entering the Villeneuve chicane. Perez was left facing the wrong way with a blown left rear tyre, while there was minor right front damage to Ocon’s Alpine. Both clambered free under the red flag, while the cars were recovered.

Lewis Hamilton thoroughly enjoyed watching Sergio Perez being put through his paces judging by his latest Instagram story. In the three-week break between Bahrain and Imola (which was painful enough), Perez showed it was far from a relaxing time off as he posted a video of one of his workout routines at the Athlete Performance Centre used by both Red Bull drivers. Catching up on events ahead of the Imola GP weekend, Hamilton was very amused when he saw poor Perez going through what looked like a brutal session. Hamilton also had a great plan for the cold weather expected at Imola throughout the weekend, donning one of the tyre covers in between his media duties on Thursday.

There is a way for Formula 1 to revive its iconic normally-aspirated engines whilst ramping up its green credentials. That is the view of former F1 driver Lucas di Grassi, who now races for Audi in Formula E. The Brazilian thinks Formula 1 should abandon its hybrid engines and instead focus exclusively on the “development and use of e-fuels”. “Then you can bring back V10, V8 and still be relevant into the zero net carbon industry without (the sport) losing its identity,” di Grassi said. “This is proper sustainability for F1, not the green-washing we see today with planting trees and other good PR to look sustainable. Spend the money and ingenuity into getting cheap, clean e-fuels.”