Formula 1

Mercedes Formula E driver Nyck de Vries has been nominated as one of Mercedes F1 reserve drivers for the 2021 season. De Vries will be joining his teammate at Mercedes Formula E team, Stoffel Vandoorne who also has the same reserve role with the F1 champions. The 2019 Formula 2 Champion got a chance with Mercedes following his F2 championship victory and joined the Mercedes Formula E team for the 2019-20 FE Championship. The 26-year-old scored his maiden Formula E victory last weekend in Diriyah after dominating throughout the whole race. Mercedes F1 Team had previously given the reserve driver role to former Mclaren F1 driver Stoffel Vandoorne and Esteban Gutierrez who was a former Haas driver. Mercedes revealed this during the launch of their 2021 F1 car, the W12 and stated that de Vries will be joining them for the reserve driver role in their 2021 campaign. “We also have a strong reserve driver line-up for the 2021 season, with Stoffel Vandoorne continuing in the role alongside his Mercedes teammate in Formula E, Nyck de Vries.” This marks a first official F1 role for de Vries, who previously only served as a development driver with McLaren when he was part of its young driver academy. De Vries enjoyed his first F1 test at the end of last year when he took part in the Abu Dhabi rookie test at Yas Marina for Mercedes, running alongside Vandoorne. Gutierrez has not been listed as part of Mercedes’ line-up for the coming year, but it emerged last summer that his superlicence had expired, making him ineligible to race in F1.

Formula 1 will be having sparkling wine replacing champagne for the podium. This is after F1 made a deal with Italian winemaker Ferrari Trento making it the official F1 drinks partner for the podiums and paddock club. This will be not the first time that Ferrari Trento will feature on the podium as it previously made an appearance on the podium during the 1981 Italian Grand Prix. “We are thrilled to announce Ferrari Trento as an official Partner of Formula 1,” F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said. “Celebrating success is in both our DNA and having Ferrari Trento at the heart of the sport’s most iconic celebratory moment makes them such a natural partner for us. “For more than a century, Ferrari Trento has been synonymous with Italian excellency, pouring their passion into creating fine sparkling wines capable of elevating any moment, and we look forward to working together to create and enhance our fan experience on and off the podium.” Ferrari Trento CEO Matteo Lunelli added: “We are very excited to announce this partnership with Formula 1 which is both an achievement and a starting point for us. It’s an achievement because it demonstrates the renown and the appeal that Ferrari Trento wines enjoy internationally, thanks to our team that works tirelessly across the board.

Seven-time world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton has revealed that his future with Mercedes will be determined by only one year as he insists that there is no need to plan too far ahead. The 36-year-old recently signed a contract with Mercedes after a long wait and the contract only covers the 2021 F1 season making it his ninth year with the German outfit. His 2022 campaign with Mercedes will be determined in the 2021 season as he targets to take an eighth driver’s title beating Michael Schumacher’s record. There have been suggestions that if the Briton does not take the 2021 championship, it would be the best time for him to retire as he holds very many interests out of Formula 1. With the launch of the W12 in which he will be campaigning for the 2021 world title, Hamilton aired his insights that he was not intending on strapping himself down with Mercedes on a multi-year deal. However, the Briton was non-commital on how long he intends to continue driving. “I’m kind of in a fortunate position where I’ve achieved most of the stuff I’ve wanted to achieve up until this point, so there’s no real need necessarily to plan too far ahead in the future,” said Hamilton. “I think we live in quite an unusual period of time in life and I just wanted one year – then we can talk about if we do more and keep adding [to] it if we have to.” Team principal and Mercedes F1 co-owner Toto Wolff was also quizzed about Hamilton’s new deal, but more so on why it took so long to sign the contract. “It is very simple, the explanation,” Wolff commented. “With Lewis there was a particular media attention on our contract negotiations.” “It was actually quite funny because him and me, we are so aligned. While we were in the season we just didn’t have scope to spend enough time with each other to have that conversation.” “We thought about doing it between the two Bahrain races, but then he fell ill and then we both went into our holidays. We talked, and then I had Covid so that delayed it.” “Our conversations are really partners discussing, but it’s down to the details and then we felt now we have to close this conversation because the season is right in front of us.” “We had been talking a lot about the future, about Lewis driving the car in the future, but also about our partnership going forward.” “So we felt ‘let’s discuss this during the season when we can find more time.”

Reigning world champions Mercedes have unveiled the first images of its 2021 contender, the W12, with which the Brackley squad will defend its Constructors’ title in Formula 1. Mercedes, which will formally present its 2021 team later today, has retained the base black livery that it introduced last year in the wake of its anti-racism message. However, contrary to its predecessor, the new car engine cover no longer features a constellation of three-point stars but includes the visible presence of its AMG brand. The W12’s design, which will be entrusted once again to Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, is obviously based on last year’s W11 as teams were forced to carry over their 2020 chassis while implementing a series of aero changes mandated by this season’s regulations. But Mercedes tech boss James Allison has yet to reveal where the team has spent its two development tokens. News emerged over the winter that Mercedes HPP engine unit department in Brixworth had encountered a few problems with the German manufacturer’s latest power unit development. However, engine boss Hywel Thomas said that plans had been put in place to solve all of the new unit’s issues. “Our scepticism and hunger drive us and get us fired up for every new season – because the scoreboard goes to zero and there’s always more performance to be found. And that’s exciting,” said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff who has remained at the helm of the championship winning team. The W12 will complete its first laps on the opening day of pre-season testing in Bahrain, on Friday 12 March.

Jost Capito, the new Williams CEO, admits the British team could lose George Russell to Mercedes for 2022. 2021 is 23-year-old Russell’s third season in Formula 1 with Williams, but he got a taste of life in the fastest lane late last year when Lewis Hamilton had covid-19. “When he drove the Mercedes last year, that catapulted his self-confidence up even more,” Capito told the German broadcaster n-tv. “He is a very open guy and a demanding driver for the team. He’s a true professional, which is rarely seen at his age. I am sure he will become champion one day.” Seven time world champion Hamilton has only signed a new one-year deal with Mercedes, with team boss Toto Wolff openly admitting Russell is a clear option for the future. When asked if Williams needs to be prepared to lose Russell, Capito answered: “Let’s see how the situation develops and whether he will remain at Williams next year. “It depends largely on the prospects at Mercedes for 2022, when the regulations will change a lot, but also on the development within our own team.” As for Capito himself, he said returning to Formula 1 with Williams was an offer he “couldn’t say no to”. “Williams is the greatest challenge for me – and the greatest honour,” said the 62-year-old German. “Taking over the team from the (Williams) family is a special task.”

Formula 1 has turned down an offer to get closer to its pre-covid days by getting vaccinated by the Bahraini government. Officials of the season opening grand prix at Sakhir, who will also host pre-season testing this month, have written to the sport offering members of the travelling circus the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. “As a UK-based organisation, Formula 1 has no plans to get vaccinated as a travelling group ahead of the planned rollout of vaccines through the UK health system,” a F1 spokesperson told international publications. F1’s ‘no’ to Bahrain comes despite Liberty Media admitting it recorded an almost $400 million loss in 2020. The sport is at least hoping that spectators can return to the grandstands this year. “At this point, I am still optimistic that we will see spectators at the majority of the races,” F1 marketing boss Chloe Targett-Adams is quoted by Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper. F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali agrees: “Obviously we would like to welcome fans back to the track and we will still work closely with local governments to understand any possibilities. “However, we are grateful for the efforts made by various governments to allow Formula 1 to continue to travel during a period of global quarantine,” he is quoted by Corriere dello Sport. Silverstone boss Stuart Pringle said one option for a full crowd to return for the British GP could be the introduction of so-called ‘vaccine passports’. “There have been discussions between myself, other sports and the government as to whether our electronic ticketing systems could be linked to the passport,” he said. Formula 1 says it is not worried about its survival in the long-term as a result of the pandemic. Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei said: “All of our businesses will be ready to turn a profit once Covid-19 is over. F1’s balance sheet and agreements are fine, so I’m not really worried about it. “If I’m optimistic, I think we’ll be back at 100 percent by the end of the year.”

Mick Schumacher has finally been able to visit the Haas factory and complete his seat fitting ahead of the 2021 season. The reigning Formula 2 champion will make his F1 debut this season as part of the Haas team in an all-new line-up for the American-owned outfit, where Schumacher will find himself alongside fellow F2 graduate Nikita Mazepin. As the son of seven-time former World Champion Michael Schumacher, Mick will undoubtedly be one of the most talked about rookies in Formula 1 history, but until recently he was yet to physically begin work with Haas. “Because of the Covid situation, I can’t do very much other than train,” he previously told Sky Sport. “My preparation is going well on the physical side and I feel ready too. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to travel to England and the team yet, which would have happened many times in a normal year. But I hope there will be a chance to get there in the next few days.” Thankfully though, that time has now arrived and Schumacher confirmed he has successfully completed his seat fitting at Haas.

Anticipation continues to grow ahead of Mercedes’ car launch with the team releasing another teaser of the W12. McLaren, AlphaTauri, Alfa Romeo and Red Bull have already unveiled their latest creations ahead of the new season, with several teams set to join them in the near future. One of those is Mercedes, with the Silver Arrows taking the cover off their car on March 2. Until then, we have to make due with the pictures the team has released in the lead up to the date.

Fernando Alonso will not be present at the unveiling of the Alpine A521 Formula 1 car when its presented next week. The Spaniard will return to F1 this year following a two-year break which saw him compete at Le Mans, in the World Endurance Championship, Dakar and at the Indy 500. However his pre-season training schedule saw him involved in a road traffic accident earlier this month. He was struck by a car whilst cycling in Switzerland and required surgery to his jaw as a result. The 39-year-old is expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2021 F1 season, but the team confirmed on Friday that he wouldn’t be taking part in the presentation of the car on March 2 due to his ongoing recovery. “We regret to confirm that Fernando Alonso will not be present for the media Q&A on this occasion,” an Alpine team statement read. “The sanitary situation and corresponding regulations in place do not allow him to do any communications and marketing activities while he undertakes his critical season preparation.” Alonso will partner Esteban Ocon at Alpine for the 2021 season and is set to take part in pre-season testing in mid-March before the first race of the season on March 28.

Alfa Romeo sent their 2021 challenger, the C41, into action for the first time in a filming day at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. After officially launching the C41 in Warsaw, Alfa Romeo’s next stop was the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, home of the Spanish Grand Prix, to put together some much-needed data on their new challenger before pre-season testing. Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi will form Alfa’s driver line-up for the third consecutive season, while Robert Kubica is also staying put as reserve and test driver. And the Alfa Romeo crew arrived very early to start their preparations for the test ahead, literally at the crack of dawn. A nice side shot of the C41 displayed Alfa Romeo’s most noticeable livery alterations, with the company branding now swooping across a predominantly white base. Very stylish indeed.

Mika Salo has hit reverse gear after revealing details of Ferrari’s secret engine legality agreement with the FIA. However, the news has long since returned and after a dramatic 2020, Ferrari seem to have been punished enough in principle. The news all came up again though, through a Twitch Livestream in which Mika Salo along with rally driver, Kristian Solberg, spoke about Ferrari’s situation. ”Those teams (customers of Ferrari) have suffered because of Ferrari’s cheating and could use less fuel,” Salo revealed. “I don’t know if they will have a new engine for 2021, but Alfa Romeo will at least now get all of the power in order to use their full potential. They were not allowed to last year because of Ferrari,” he had been quoted as saying. Salo says his widely-reported words were “misunderstood”. “What I said in an interview a couple of days ago has been misunderstood,” he is now quoted by the Finnish broadcaster MTV. “I would like to clarify that I am not aware of the (details of the) agreement between the FIA and Ferrari. We only talked about what has already been in the media. “It was a stupid joke and just a conversation between two guys,” Salo insisted. “All I can say is that I have no idea what any of the agreements are. And even if I did know something, I wouldn’t talk about it out like that,” he added.

Gene Haas says he reversed his decision to sponsor Romain Grosjean in IndyCar this year after the latter’s dramatic crash in the Bahrain Grand Prix. Grosjean miraculously escaped the jaws of death last November when he ploughed into the barrier on the opening lap of the race at Sakhir and managed to free himself from a wreck engulfed in flames, suffering only minor burns to his hands. The Frenchman was sidelined from the remaining two races of the 2020 F1 season, his career as a Grand Prix driver grinding to a premature halt. Grosjean had previously been informed by Haas that he no longer figured in the team’s F1 plans for 2021. But Gene Haas was willing to support Grosjean in his efforts to find an IndyCar ride. However, the F1 team owner backtracked on a prospective deal to sponsor the 34-year-old in the US series after Bahrain, feeling apprehensive about a plan that equated to tempting fate in Haas’ view. “He had asked if we would be willing to sponsor him in IndyCar, and I think at the beginning I was pretty open to it,” Haas told RACER’s Chris Medland. “But then when he crashed in Bahrain, I was just so happy he didn’t kill himself. For someone who has just absolutely destroyed the car, I couldn’t be happier that he survived it. “I don’t know… he has a wife and three kids, and I just told him I couldn’t see giving him money to go out and kill himself. I just felt like he needs to stay home and take care of his family. “He escaped the big one there. If you really understood what happened there… if that car had been a few degrees one way or the other, he wouldn’t have been able to get out through that hoop, and he would have died. So, extremely lucky. “And the team was extremely lucky. I just could not fathom having to face a widow or his kids. I just couldn’t do that. So I said ‘Nah, stay home, I can’t help you there anymore’.” Grosjean will nevertheless be heading west this year to open a new chapter in his motorsport career, having struck a deal to race in IndyCar with Dale Coyne Racing, although the Frenchman won’t be competing on the series’ ovals. Gene Haas respects his former driver’s choice to pursue his career in IndyCar, but the terrifying images of Bahrain still linger. “You know, Grosjean’s a heck of a driver,” Haas added. “He has some really good days when I think he’s probably as good as any driver out there. “He loves driving, and that’s his choice. I just don’t want to be part of the bad choice. I feel as lucky as he is to escape being killed. “That was the luckiest day in the whole Haas F1 saga, that Grosjean managed to survive that, and relatively unscathed. “It wasn’t so terrifying in the fact that he jumped out, but the hoop was stuck between the guardrails. “If that hoop was a little bit smaller then his helmet wouldn’t have fit through it and he would have died. He came very close. “So I’m very happy. That was probably the happiest day in racing, was to see him jump out of that car.”

It’s been a busy few days for Red Bull’s F1 teams, with Red Bull Racing having shaken down their new RB16B at Silverstone on Wednesday – while on the same day, some 1,000 miles away in northern Italy, sister squad AlphaTauri were running their 2021 challenger, the AT02, at Imola. The team’s drivers Pierre Gasly and F1 rookie Yuki Tsunoda were on the ground at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari (to give Imola its proper name) to put the AT02 through its paces, after the car became the second 2021 machine – following on from McLaren’s MCL35M – to break cover on February 19. AlphaTauri used up one of their filming days for the Imola runs, limiting Gasly and Tsunoda to just 100km on demonstration Pirelli rubber – with Tsunoda having already completed a number of days previously in older spec Toro Rosso and AlphaTauri machinery in order to get him up to speed, as he prepares to make his F1 debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 28. For Gasly, meanwhile, 2021 will mark his fifth season of driving cars for the Faenza-based squad, having made his F1 debut with Toro Rosso at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix. Following on from the shakedown, the next date for AlphaTauri’s diary is March 12-14, when the AT02 will run in anger for the first time at the Bahrain International Circuit, as 2021 pre-season testing gets under way.

Haas did not have an easy year in 2020. After constantly falling back during a race in 2019, the American stable’s car did not progress in qualifying in 2020 either. Gene Haas, the owner of Haas F1 Team however, points to Mercedes as a major problem. While Haas’ debut in Formula 1 was all well and good, the shine has gone off in recent years. The American racing stable is sinking further down the rankings, and where 2019 still had positive points from qualifying, Haas also slipped further down the rankings due to the downsized Ferrari engine in qualifying. ”We have no control over the parts we get from Ferrari. We are confident that Ferrari can solve this problem, and it’s not just Ferrari that has this problem. Everyone is lagging behind the Mercedes engine. They have built an extremely strong engine that other teams can’t come close to”, Gene Haas told Racer. The team owner does not understand why Formula 1 is sticking to this situation. ”In my opinion, this has killed what Formula 1 is all about. More power to Mercedes to dominate the whole sport, but who wants to race when you already know who is going to win every race? That just becomes boring”, the American clearly concludes.

The Hass F1 Team will showcase online the livery of its 2021 VF-21 next week on March 4, while the team will pull the covers off its actual car in the pitlane in Bahrain ahead of the start of pre-season testing. Due to current travel restrictions and quarantine requirements in the UK, Haas has been unable to complete the assembly of its new car with Ferrari, its engine supplier, at its Branbury factory. The team will therefore roll out its VF-21 at Sakhir and formerly present its all-new driver line-up of FIA Formula 2 champion Mick Schumacher and Russian hopeful Nikita Mazepin, while Pietro Fittipaldi will fulfill once again the role of reserve driver. The US outfit’s 2021 charger will be little changed from its predecessor, save for the mandatory aero design changes mandated by this year’s regulations. Haas will hopefully benefit from the input of Ferrari designer Simone Resta who has been dispatched to the US outfit by the Scuderia. However, Resta’s work this season will be mainly directed at next year’s contender when the rules are due to undergo a major overhaul to encourage closer competition.

Aston Martin has opted for a complete renaming of its Formula 1 car for this year, on the back of its rebranding of Racing Point. Although the team is carrying over the RP20 chassis from last year, which helped it to fourth place in the constructors’ championship, it will change the chassis designation of its F1 challenger to the AMR21 for this season. The new car, which will be powered by Mercedes engines again, is being launched in a digital event on 3 March. The AMR21 chassis name comes after Aston Martin’s previous efforts in F1 were with the famous DBR4 in 1959/1960 and the DBR5 in 1960. Aston Martin’s new car will be painted in iconic British racing green colours, with the team having ended a title sponsorship with Austrian water treatment company BWT – which had resulted in the car’s livery being bright pink. With teams forced to carry over a lot of last year’s parts in to this season, no outfit is running with an all-new car for 2021. However, Aston Martin estimates that there will be just 50% carry over from last year’s successful RP20 – with a major focus being on upgrading the aerodynamic elements of the car. Technical director Andrew Green began work on the developments last August, just after the 2020 season began, having also devoted a big effort to introducing some mid-season upgrades. Aston Martin’s return to F1 with a works effort comes off the back of a push to revitalise the British sportscar manufacturer by Canadian businessman Lawrence Stroll.