Formula 1

Aston Martin will retain BWT as a sponsor for 2021, continuing the agreement after the team’s rebrand from Racing Point. BWT’s sponsorship of the Racing Point team resulted in one of the most visually distinctive aesthetics in Formula 1, with the team’s cars dubbed the ‘Pink Panthers’ due to their striking colour scheme. Having signed up with the former Force India team in 2017 and through the Racing Point ownership change, BWT’s involvement with the team grew to that of title sponsor in 2020. However, with Lawrence Stroll buying into Aston Martin and securing a naming rights agreement between his two entities, it was expected that BWT and Aston Martin would part ways – Aston have signed new title sponsor in the form of Fortune 500 company Cognizant while, on a superficial level, BWT’s pink branding being completely at odds with Aston’s green base colours. As reported by Decalspotters, BWT negotiated with Williams and Haas regarding sponsorship deals. However, these deals have fallen through and BWT have signed up again with Aston Martin for 2021. Aston Martin launch their new look car on Wednesday, 3rd of March, and the team have already confirmed an ‘all-new base colour’, but the car will now include ‘subtle BWT brand accents as well as BWT brand logos’ on the team’s livery. BWT, which stands for Best Water Technology, say that they will continue to work with the team on helping to reduce the use of disposable water bottles and minimise plastic waste. “As well as success on the track, we will work with Aston Martin to achieve its objectives away from the track by becoming more sustainable.” said BWT CEO Andreas Weissenbacher. “It means continuing the work from last year to cut down the use of disposable bottles at the track, minimise plastic waste and facilitate the local treatment and consumption of water. Additionally, we are looking forward to starting cooperation with more people in the F1 community who are also convinced of our mission to fight for a plastic-free planet and who are ready to spread this mission to people around the globe.” “Our friends at BWT have been loyal supporters of this team and I am delighted they have chosen to be a partner of Aston Martin.” said CEO and Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer. “BWT will support our efforts to become more sustainable in all areas of the business, but especially in our trackside operations – a goal that marries up with Formula One’s own sustainability objectives. This is a strong and historic partnership entering an important new era, and we are all excited to see what we can achieve together.” Aside from the new BWT deal, Aston have also signed new sponsor SentinelOne as their Cybersecurity partner on a multi-year deal. SentinelOne will provide the F1 team with their cybersecurity measures, having won the tender to supply the same to the Aston Martin Lagonda company in 2018. Stroll’s F1 team has also acquired equity in SentinelOne, binding the two companies together in what they say is a ‘game-changing level of technical co-operation’.

It was a sad day at Williams after losing Matt King OBE who was an inspirational team member and Williams’ Legal Counsel. The 33-year-old passed away on Tuesday (23rd February) following a prolonged stay in hospital. Matt was a talented rugby player as a youngster but suffered a serious spinal injury playing for London Broncos Academy as a 17-year-old. The injury left him paralysed from the neck down. His injury led to the creation of the Rugby League Benevolent Fund and Matt, never one to let hardship stop him from achieving his goals, went on to raise tens of thousands of pounds for the charity and other organisations including the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA). This included organising a series of events and activities, including taking part in the 2007 New York Marathon, and for his efforts Matt was awarded an OBE in 2012 for services to charity. Matt also became a successful mouth artist, gained a first-class honours law degree and shared his inspirational story as a speaker to businesses, education establishments, and sports team, and as a mentor to other spinal-cord injured individuals. His story was also told in his autobiography 04.04.04 which The Independent described as “the inspirational journey of a truly inspirational man.” It was through Williams’ charity partner the SIA that Matt joined the team in April 2016, initially as part of a work experience programme. He quickly established himself as a key member of the legal team and became a permanent member of staff at Grove in October of the same year. Matt was very well-respected in his field and an absolute pleasure to work with. After being admitted to hospital last October, Matt sadly passed away yesterday morning. He was 33.

Alpine, the team formerly known as Renault, head into the 2021 campaign with no partnerships with other teams on the grid following McLaren’s decision to use Mercedes engines. This means that, unlike Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari, they don’t have a team that they can put their academy drivers – Oscar Piastri, Guanyu Zhou and Christian Lundgaard – with to get them into Formula 1. Academy director Mia Sharizman has previously stated that they were looking into doing so, but didn’t believe they necessarily had to supply a team with an engine in order to. “It is something that we have identified, ways and means to ultimately get the drivers to our seat,” Sharizman is quoted by Autosport. “Without a power unit supply or without any connections, there can still be a collaboration between other teams. I won’t divulge too much into it. “But having said that, we focus on what we have, we focus on the two race seats that we have, the academy that we have, and the tools that we have. “Obviously, going into our team is the priority. But we believe that there is still room for collaboration with other teams, irrespective of the power unit supply.” However, there were reports from Motorsport.com earlier in February that stated that after discussions with Alfa Romeo broke down, contact had been made with Williams regarding such a partnership. Italian publication La Gazzetta Dello Sport has now claimed that, with CEO Luca de Meo believing it necessary, a deal has been reached between the two parties. “The ambitions are great and it is very clear to De Meo, as well as to anyone who understands motorsport, that as long as Alpine is on its own, it will not be able to compete on equal terms with Mercedes, which has three customers (McLaren, Aston Martin, Williams), with Ferrari (Alfa Romeo and Haas) and with Honda (Red Bull and Alpha Tauri),” the paper said. Reportedly, the partnership will consist of Alpine supplying Williams with engines from 2022 and in return, the British will become a customer outfit, providing seats for whoever junior drivers Alpine want to promote to the grid. In January, Williams announced that they would be increasing their technical partnership with Mercedes from the 2022 season, with gearboxes and other parts being transferred. If a deal with Alpine has indeed been struck, such a partnership will have to end.

On occasion, people forget themselves and what they are doing in front of a camera, & certainly this is something that occurred recently with former F1 and Ferrari driver Mika Salo, and current FIA steward, during a Twitch stream interview where Salo accidentally reveals part of Ferrari’s 2020 punishment. The interview is in Finnish, recorded by Kristian Sohlberg, and is embedded in the Twitch player below – for those who speak Finnish, the juicy remarks happen at the 1 hour 17 minute timestamp. The translation of the aforementioned clip (thanks to Reddit Formula 1 for providing this): “They suffered from Ferrari’s cheat last year because they had Ferrari motors and could use less gas, so I think Alfa would be pretty good this year when they get their full power.” “So Ferrari’s getting out a new engine, right?” “I dunno if it’s a new engine but they’re allowed to use it to its full power. Having to use less gas was their punishment for their cheating last year” claims Salo.

Sergio Perez has finally gotten his hands on a Red Bull Formula 1 car after he got the chance to take the RB16B out for a spin at a wet Silverstone earlier this week. “It’s been amazing”, Perez revealed in a press release from his team. “To look at my name on the car is something very special. It’s definitely a dream come true. We’ve already done a lot of work in the simulator working on the controls and I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made in terms of feeling more comfortable in the car”, He already feels a lot more at ease in the car, he reveals. Check out video footage of the Mexican’s first drive in a Red Bull below:

SentinelOne, the autonomous cybersecurity platform company, has been named the official cybersecurity partner of Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team as Aston Martin makes its return to Formula One™ racing in 2021. The partnership with Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team follows SentinelOne’s ongoing partnership with Aston Martin Lagonda. In 2018, the storied high-performance automotive manufacturer selected SentinelOne’s Singularity XDR platform to revolutionize its approach to cybersecurity and protect every Aston Martin cloud workload, IoT device, and endpoint with AI-powered technology that prevents and adapts to cyberattacks at machine speed. “The parallels between Aston Martin and SentinelOne are strong, and it is an honor to support Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team’s much anticipated return to the top tier of global motorsport,” said Tomer Weingarten, CEO and Co-founder, SentinelOne. “We both share a relentless passion for innovation and desire to disrupt the status quo, and an appreciation of the significance of speed. These core principles are at the soul of this partnership and represent the power of Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team and SentinelOne.” SentinelOne’s Singularity XDR platform continuously evolves to proactively secure global enterprises and Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team against advanced threats. Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team handles massive amounts of data across a complex, dynamic infrastructure. In order to stay competitive, all of that information must be secured. As the official cybersecurity partner, SentinelOne empowers Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team with adaptive cybersecurity that autonomously blocks threats in real time. SentinelOne is protecting the team – both on and off of the track – from every attack at every stage of the threat lifecycle. “I am delighted that SentinelOne will be one of Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team’s key partners as we take Aston Martin back where it belongs, the top table of international motorsport, namely Formula One™,” said Lawrence Stroll, Chairman, Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team. “Tomer and I have enjoyed our discussions, and it is clear that our two companies have much in common. Ours will be a very real partnership, delivering genuine performance enhancements to the safe and smooth running of our team.” Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team officially launches in March 2021 with its race debut on March 28th in Bahrain.

Red Bull has unveiled its 2021 car ahead of the new Formula 1 season, releasing the first images of the RB16B. The Milton Keynes-based team finished runner-up to runaway champions Mercedes in 2020, claiming two victories over the 17-race campaign. Ambitions are high for this year having ended 2020 on a high with a win at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as Red Bull goes in search of its first world title since 2013. The RB16B is an evolution of its predecessor, carrying over 60% of the 2020 car, with Red Bull confident it has rectified the unpredictable nature of the car that plagued it in the early races of last season. Engine supplier Honda has already announced it will be leaving F1 at the end of 2021, but has developed an entirely new power unit for this year in a bid to help Red Bull contend for the world championship. Red Bull recently confirmed it will continue to use Honda engines from 2022 following the unanimous agreement to introduce a freeze on engine development. It will take over the project and run the power units in its own name, also revealing a powertrain facility will be run from its factory in Milton Keynes. The team has a newly-formed driver line-up, consisting of two race-winning drivers for the first time since 2018. 10-time grand prix winner Max Verstappen eyes a title challenge in 2021 having finished a distant third in the drivers’ standings behind both Mercedes drivers. 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix victor Sergio Perez becomes the first driver outside the Red Bull fold to race for the Austrian marque since 2007, replacing the demoted Alexander Albon after a stellar 2020 campaign for Racing Point.

Ferrari and Estrella Galicia have announced a partnership ahead of the 2021 season getting underway, with the Spanish beer brand agreeing a sponsorship deal with the Scuderia following Carlos Sainz’s move to the Maranello-based team. The Spanish beer brand previously sponsored McLaren when Sainz was one of their drivers. Under this new agreement, the branding of Estrella Galicia’s non-alcoholic beer, Estrella Galicia 0,0, will be displayed on Ferrari’s 2021 car and its drivers’ overalls. Estrella Galicia 0,0 will also become the “official beer” of the Ferrari F1 Team. “We are pleased to embark on this new partnership with Estrella Galicia 0,0 an emerging brand in the global beer sector,” Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said in a statement on Monday. “We share many values with the Spanish company, such as the pursuit of excellence, respect for tradition and ties to our geographic roots and the craftsmanship of our product. “Furthermore, Estrella Galicia 0,0 has been present in motor sport for many years, paying particular attention to talented youngsters, which is something else we have in common,” he added. Meanwhile, Ignacio Rivera, CEO of Corporación Hijos de Rivera – which owns the Estrella Galicia beer brand – hailed their new partnership with Formula One’s most successful team. “We are pleased to become a team partner of Scuderia Ferrari, the most successful team with the biggest following in F1,” he said. “Our association is based on shared values such as passion, search for excellence and our artisan tradition. “I am sure that with these ingredients, we will enjoy great moments together that will help get our message across to beer lovers around the world.”

Mercedes has been warming up fans on social media over the past few days for the unveiling of their new F1 car. They will present it in just over a week on Tuesday 2 March. On Monday 22 February they gave a sneak preview on Twitter. Actual technical changes cannot be seen on this ‘teaser’, but one thing is clear and that is that Mercedes will keep its word. Last year there was doubt in the media whether Mercedes would start with a black livery in 2021 or whether they would go back to the traditional silver. Mercedes said then that they intend to continue their campaign against racism with the black livery. It must be a very strange colour palette if the car is not predominantly black. Prominently present is the red star. Mercedes has already indicated that in honour of the deceased Niki Lauda it will always be there, but it is more prominent than last year, as can be seen just behind the head of the driver. The red of main sponsor INEOS also returns on the airbox. On the photo it seems to be a slightly brighter shade of red than last year and it also continues downwards. Given the larger share that INEOS now has in the team, it would not be surprising that the red colour is more prominent this year.

A ceremony in the Grand Theatre in Warsaw, Poland, saw the attendance of a limited number of senior personnel from the Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN Formula One team – with media, fans and employees being invited to watch virtually in respect of the local COVID-19 regulations. Team drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi and reserve driver Robert Kubica entered the stage as the C41, in a striking new livery, was shown for the first time. Featuring a new color scheme designed by Alfa Romeo’s Centro Stile and featuring the now traditional red and white colors of the team, the car, designed under the coordination of Technical Director Jan Monchaux, represents an evolution of the C39 that competed in the 2020 season. Owing to the restrictions imposed by the regulations, the car carries over many of the components of its predecessor, while still standing out with its renewed appearance, in particular in regard to the nosecone, an area on which the team chose to focus its development tokens. Under the bodywork lies a new Ferrari engine, ready to rev in less than a week when the team embarks on a new season with the C41’s shakedown in Barcelona on Friday. The Alfa Romeo logo is flanked by the Quadrifoglio (four-leaf clover) traditionally associated with Alfa Romeo’s racing efforts, and the logo of Autodelta, the brand’s legendary racing team. These logos adorn the bodywork, contributing to the creation of one of the standout cars on the grid – a classic design that embodies the passion and tradition of the marques it represents. Alfa Romeo once again partners with Sauber Motorsport for the 2021 Formula One World Championship. The partnership between two of the most recognized brands in motorsport started in 2018, when Alfa Romeo joined the team as title sponsor. In the three years of operative collaboration so far, the team has achieved important results. True to its long-lasting spirit of competitiveness, Alfa Romeo takes on the challenge once more. Alfa Romeo and Sauber Group partnership extends beyond racing. The collaboration, both technical and commercial, allows Sauber Engineering’s technical expertise to be transferred to Alfa Romeo road car production. In particular, the Giulia GTA project benefits from this long-standing partnership, leveraging the technical know-how of Sauber AG Engineering and Aerodynamics divisions. Alfa Romeo entrusted Sauber Engineering with the production of most of the carbon components in the GTA and GTAm, especially those with aerodynamic impact.

Alfa Romeo presents its new car for 2021 on Monday. The C41 is the successor to the C39, which means that the Italian team skips a number. The Italian team has already released some information about the car. Alfa Romeo did not have a particularly strong year in 2020. The Italians only managed eight points and finished eighth in the Constructors’ Championship. This will have to improve in 2021, but with the regulations remaining almost the same it remains to be seen how big a step Alfa Romeo can take.

Toto Wolff has named two drivers who may be in the running to succeed either Lewis Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas in 2022. At the same time, the Mercedes team boss played down the fact that seven time world champion Hamilton has only signed a less-than-one-year contract extension for this season. “The reason was simply a lack of time,” Wolff told Speed Week. “We only started negotiating just before Christmas. “A multi-year contract is more complex than one for one season, so we said we’ll sign this for a year and see about it later. Everything is currently open on both sides after 2021,” Wolff added. He named two Mercedes-linked drivers who are currently loaned to rival teams as potential candidates for 2022. “Esteban (Ocon) is in the second year of a two-year contract with Renault and Alpine F1, and George (Russell) is with Williams this year,” said Wolff. “So we have some options for 2022, but until then our full support goes to Valtteri and Lewis. We will evaluate in the middle of the year whether there will be a change in 2022. “It is definitely too early now to talk about scenarios for 2022.”

Romain Grosjean, who saw his F1 career end in a fireball, can’t wait to get back into racing. Next season he will do so in the IndyCar for Dale Coyne Racing. However, he is still not fully recovered from the injuries sustained in his accident in Bahrain. “When I wake up in the morning, it is not easy to move my hands,” he says in conversation with SRF. “I move my fingers 3,000 times a day because that’s the only way I get full movement back. It feels terrible when I try to move my fingers.” He is able to function fully in a race car, but for the time being he will have to endure the pain. This is mainly because he recently came off the painkillers. “I had enough, I didn’t want to take it anymore. To not be dependent on the medication anymore, that was a big psychological step for me.” Grosjean also says he has an increasingly extensive memory of the accident. Two weeks after the accident he suddenly heard the sound of the fire again and recently he also had the smell of burning carbon fibre in his nose again. In the first place it is important to know what is going on in your life and what is going on in your head. Some memories he had even repressed completely. “I had told everyone that there was no fire in the cockpit. Then I saw the images from the on-board camera, which have not yet been made public. The fire is everywhere. Just everywhere.”

Lawrence Stroll is solidifying his control of Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings as Kuwaiti investors reduce their interest in the auto manufacturer.Arabian News reports that the Canadian billionaire has solidified his control of Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings as Kuwaiti investors Adeem, once the largest shareholder, shrink their stake. The company confirmed in filings on Friday that the investment fund’s director Amr Ali Abdallah Abou El Seoud stepped down after the group’s shares in the automaker fell below seven percent. The report adds that this is the second reshuffle at Aston; last month three board members stepped down to be replaced by five new directors allied to Stroll. Also, last year, out the door went CEO Andy Palmer and in came Tobias Moers, former boss of AMG that runs the motorsport division for Mercedes, including their prime asset: their immensely successful F1 team. What might have begun as a vanity project to ensure his son Lance Stroll has a shot in Formula 1, is now a motoring history-making enterprise. Apart from rescuing the beleaguered car brand, Stroll is set on making it relevant again by staking his reputation on the line while convincing industries heavy hitters to believe in his vision. Notably and smartly, Daimler is firmly on board. Stroll’s increased shareholding pours cold water on (malicious?) reports last month, claiming the Canadian was planning to bail-out of the venture he began when he saved Force India from Vijay Mallya’s self-destruct button.

Nikita Mazepin was in the news rather negatively at the end of last year because he posted a video on social media in which he grabbed a young woman by the breasts. He did this seemingly uninvited and the criticism was severe. Haas now states that this was a good lesson for the young Mazepin. Team boss Guenther Steiner told RACER.com that the incident was discussed internally. Mazepin has apologised and Steiner believes he can use the lessons learned from this chastisement in his future Formula One career. Team owner Gene Haas also says they acted tough internally, but found the criticism from the outside to be quite extreme at times. “Our response to it was I think Guenther told him that he was an idiot and you can’t do things like that and it was totally unacceptable.” The intense criticism from both the team and beyond must have been intense for a 21-year-old, according to Haas. He believes the driver has learned his lesson. That is all for now. “The social media response from all kind of groups was extremely strong, wanting us to execute him for what he did, but that didn’t feel like the right course either.”

Formula 1 and Netflix have today revealed that the third season of the Drive to Survive docuseries will be released on 19 March. “Intense battles, fierce rivalries, unexpected podiums and Lewis Hamilton’s incredible seventh world title will ensure the series is one of the most action packed yet,” Formula One said in a statement announcing season three’s release date. The first two seasons of Netflix’s Drive to Survive docuseries attracted millions of new fans to Formula One. The docuseries provides fans with behind-the-scenes access to the most important and dramatic moments of Formula One, and all 10 teams will feature in season three, which looks back at last year’s action. Season one covered the 2018 season and was immediately a big hit, with it attracting many new fans, particularly from the US, to Formula One. The full trailer for the new season will be released in the coming weeks, and Netflix has already released a preview to give fans a glimpse of what to expect. While Drive to Survive has proved to be popular among many F1 fans, some drivers, such as Max Verstappen and motorsport purists, have criticised the docuseries for being “fake” and taking things out of context for dramatic effect.