Formula 1

Sebastian Vettel was furious with Charles Leclerc at the Bahrain Grand Prix, but after talking to his team-mate, says it’s no big deal. At the race restart following Romain Grosjean’s horror crash, Leclerc dived down the inside at Turn 1, taking Vettel by surprise and causing him to drop back. “Not again! He can’t just do that as if I wasn’t there. It’s the same as Austria, seriously,” he said on the team radio. “I should’ve crashed, maybe it was the better option. All morning we talk about giving room.” In the paddock immediately after the race, he remained unhappy, and said that he’d talk to his team-mate about the incident. “I lost ground at the start because I have been very considerate of Charles,” he told Sky Germany. “I don’t think that angle is normally possible unless I open the door so much to make it possible. I got a little annoyed because it was unnecessary. But okay. I lost a lot of positions after that and then you saw we had our difficulties.” “I will talk to him. In the end, it is the same as in Austria and if I don’t look, we’d crash again.” The pair did discuss what happened, and after doing so, Vettel somewhat changed his tune, feeling that the incident wasn’t that big a deal. “We don’t need to make a big deal out of it,” the German said. “It was tight. I believe if you have three cars in the first corner at times it works, but most of the time it doesn’t.” “We spoke about it, we move on, no big deal.” Leclerc meanwhile denied Vettel’s claims that it was a repeat of what happened in Austria earlier in the year when the pair came together, although he did concede the gap he left was perhaps too small. “On my side, the only thing I can say is that surely it was extremely tight,” the Monegasque stated. “But on the other hand, unlike in the Styrian Grand Prix where I didn’t put myself in a visible place, this time I tried for him to see me.” “There was a very little gap, I went for it and I made sure that he saw me. You could argue there was probably not enough gap between our cars, being in the same team.”

Mick Schumacher will get his hands on his 2021 HAAS Formula 1 machine a little early, with the American team announcing that the German will debut for them in Free Practice 1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The outing will be Schumacher’s first official session in F1 machinery. He had previously been scheduled to drive for Alfa Romeo at the Eifel Grand Prix before the session was cancelled due to poor weather conditions. Instead, Schumacher will now take to the VF-20 in FP1 at Abu Dhabi on Friday, December 11, before participating in the end of season young driver test at Yas Marina Circuit, Tuesday 15 December. Schumacher was officially announced as a HAAS F1 driver for 2021 on Wednesday morning, signing a multi-year with the team. The Championship leader will partner his Formula 2 rival, Nikita Mazepin, at HAAS, after the Russian was announced at the team on on Tuesday.

Mick Schumacher is following in the footsteps of his father who is the seven-time Formula One world champion and signed up for a team for the 2021 season. The 21-year-old will line-up for Haas, starting with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 21, 30 years after his father made his F1 debut with Jordan. The German, who is part of the Formula Two championship in Bahrain this weekend, has signed a multi-year deal to race with the American team. “The prospect of being on the Formula One grid next year makes me incredibly happy and I’m simply speechless,” said Schumacher, who is also a member of the Ferrari young driver programme. “I also want to acknowledge and extend my love to my parents – I know that I owe them everything. I have always believed that I would realise my dream of Formula One. “A huge thank you must also go to all the great motorsport fans out there who have supported me throughout my career. I will give it my all, as I always do, and I look forward to going on this journey together with Haas F1 and them.” Schumacher will be handed his grand prix debut in opening practice for Haas at the season-concluding race in Abu Dhabi a week on Friday. His father, Michael, won 91 races and seven world championships during a glittering career. Lewis Hamilton surpassed Schumacher’s win record in Portugal before drawing level with him on seven titles at the Turkish Grand Prix last month. But little is known of the 51-year-old’s medical condition following his skiing accident in the French Alps almost seven years ago. His son was skiing alongside him at the time. Schumacher will head into this weekend’s F2 season-deciding race in Bahrain with a 14-point title advantage over his British rival Calum Ilott. The championship acts as a feeder series to Formula One. Haas team principal Guenther Steiner added: “I’m very pleased that we’re able to confirm Mick Schumacher in our driver line-up for next season and I look forward to welcoming him into the team. “The Formula Two championship has long served as a proving ground for talent to showcase their credentials and this year’s field has undoubtedly been one of the most competitive in recent seasons. Mick has won races, collected podiums and excelled against some pretty exceptional talent in 2020. “I firmly believe he’s earned the opportunity to graduate into Formula One based on his performances.”

Romain Grosjean left hospital in Bahrain on Wednesday after the French Formula One driver was treated for burns to his hands suffered when his Haas car was engulfed in fire during Sunday’s Grand Prix. Grosjean, 34, had an astonishing escape after the vehicle penetrated the metal crash barriers in the race at the Sakhir circuit, splitting in two and erupting in flames. The same circuit hosts another race this weekend but Grosjean will not take part, replaced by the team’s Brazilian reserve Pietro Fittipaldi. Haas said Grosjean will remain in Bahrain to continue private treatment. The driver said on Tuesday that he still wanted to drive in next week’s season-ending Etihad Airways Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. “Even though it is complicated for those close to me, it is a need for me to get back into a Formula One car, to see where I am, if I can continue to drive,” he said. If Grosjean recovers in time to race in Abu Dhabi, it will be the Frenchman’s final grand prix for Haas after the team this week announced an all-new driver lineup for the 2021 season. Nikita Mazepin, the 21-year-old Russian currently racing in Formula Two, was confirmed on Tuesday before the team added Mick Schumacher on Wednesday. The son of the great Michael Schumacher is also stepping up from F2, where he leads this season’s standings.

Russell will step in for Hamilton following the seven-time world champion’s positive test for COVID-19, with a deal being struck between Mercedes and Williams overnight. Russell has been part of Mercedes’ junior programme since the end of 2016, but required allowance from Williams to make the move up to his parent team and deputise for Hamilton. The agreement is in place for this weekend’s race at the Bahrain International Circuit, but could end up being extended to cover the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as well should Hamilton be unable to return. It will give Russell – who won the Autosport BRDC Award back in 2014 – the opportunity to break his F1 points duck dating back to his debut with Williams at the start of the 2019 season, sampling the fastest car in the series’ 70-year history. “First and foremost, I wish to thank our loyal partners at Williams for their collaboration and open-mindedness in making it possible for George to race for Mercedes this weekend,” said Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff. The conversations with the team at Williams were positive and pragmatic, and those were the key factors in reaching an agreement. “It will not be a straightforward task for George to make the transition from the Williams to the W11, but he is race-ready and has detailed understanding of the 2020 tyres and how they perform on this generation of cars. “We have a job to do this weekend, and the full focus of our sporting efforts will be behind Valtteri and George in order to maximise our points score as a team.” Russell has impressed throughout his F1 career to date despite the limitations of the Williams car, with Hamilton recently praising his displays and calling him a potential future world champion. Russell has long been linked with a possible move up to Mercedes, but is contracted at Williams until the end of the 2021 season. This weekend’s race will give Mercedes the opportunity to see how Russell fares against full-time driver Valtteri Bottas, although his first run in the 2020-spec W11 car will only come on Friday in practice. “Firstly, I want to say a huge thank you to everybody at Williams for giving me this opportunity,” said Russell. “I might be wearing a different race suit this weekend, but I’m a Williams driver and I’ll be cheering my team on every step of the way. “I see this as a great chance to learn from the best outfit on the grid right now and to come back as an improved driver, with even more energy and experience to help push Williams further up the grid. A big thank you also to Mercedes for putting their faith in me.” Russell’s seat at Williams has been taken by the team’s reserve driver, Jack Aitken, who was due to race in Formula 2 this weekend with Campos. Aitken has previously tested F1 machinery for both Renault and Williams, and made an appearance in practice for the Styrian Grand Prix earlier this year. Aitken holds a full F1 super licence thanks to his junior record, and will become the first driver of Korean heritage to make a grand prix start. Aitken finished fifth in last year’s F2 championship, scoring three wins, and currently lies 14th in the standings with one round remaining this season. “I’m absolutely over the moon to have the opportunity to make my debut with Williams this coming weekend and I am extremely happy for George to have his chance too,” Aitken said. “I really mean it when I say I’ve felt very much at home here since I joined Williams earlier this year, so to get my chance to help the team try to achieve that elusive points finish is an extremely satisfying occasion to say the least. “I’ll be doing all I can to prepare in the coming days, but truthfully, I feel like I have been ready since Melbourne.” It will mark the first time since the 2001 Italian Grand Prix where two drivers have made their mid-season debut at the same race.

Haas Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean recalls his escape from the crash during the Bahrain GP revealing that he felt the 28 seconds in the car that was up in flames were much longer. He also states that he told himself to get out of the wreckage for his children. The 34-year-old crashed out his Haas on the opening lap of the Bahrain GP after coming into contact with AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat. The VF-20 crashed to the barrier at the exit of turn 3. The impact was at 137mph and recorded a force of more than 50g. The car tore in half and burst into flames leaving Grosjean to escape from his cockpit which had gone through the barrier. The Frenchman was able to escape quickly through the flames, only suffering burns to his hands and no fractures. He will be remaining in the hospital up to Wednesday and will miss in this weekend’s Sakhir GP but he is very hopeful that he will be making a comeback in the Formula 1 season finale in Abu Dhabi. Grosjean joked that he had ‘Mickey Mouse’s hands’ due to the bandages on his hands as he talked in his first extended interview since the Sunday incident. He had no other issues other than the burns in his hands and he has no issue moving. Grosjean recalled his immediate thoughts in the accident, conceding that it felt longer than the 28-second period from impact to him getting out of the car. “I don’t know if the word miracle exists or if it can be used, but in any case I would say it wasn’t my time [to die],” Grosjean told TF1. “It felt much longer than 28 seconds. I see my visor turning all orange, I see the flames on the left side of the car. I thought about a lot of things, including Niki Lauda, and I thought that it wasn’t possible to end up like that, not now. I couldn’t finish my story in Formula 1 like that. “And then, for my children, I told myself that I had to get out. I put my hands in the fire, so I clearly felt it burning on the chassis. I got out, then I felt someone pulling on the suit, so I knew I was out.” Grosjean revealed that his five-year-old son, Simon, believes he has “magical powers” and that he has a “magical love shield” that protected him. “These are very strong words from the children,” Grosjean said. “My eldest, Sacha, who is seven years old, is more rational, he tries to understand. “And my little one has drawn a picture, ‘for daddy’s sores on his hands’.” Grosjean acknowledged he would likely need to discuss the trauma of such a dramatic accident as he feared he would be killed. “I was more afraid for my family and friends, obviously my children who are my greatest source of pride and energy, than for myself in the end,” Grosjean said. “I think there’s going to be some psychological work to be done, because I really saw death coming. “Even in Hollywood, we’re not able to do images like that. It’s the biggest crash I’ve ever seen in my life. The car catching fire, exploding, and the battery that burst into flames too, so it added a lot of energy to the impact.” Grosjean gave thanks for the messages he had received, but said again that he was eager to be back in the car in time for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. “I would say that there is a feeling of being happy to be alive, of seeing things differently,” Grosjean said. “But also there is the need to get back in the car, if possible in Abu Dhabi, to finish my story with Formula One in a different way. “It was almost like a second birth. To come out of the flames that day is something that will mark my life forever. “I have a lot of people who have shown me love and it has touched me a lot, and at times I get a bit teary-eyed.”

Hitech Grand Prix’s Nikita Mazepin will make the step up to Formula 1 in 2021, with HAAS confirming that they have signed the Russian driver for the new season on a multi-year contract. Mazepin – who has tested F1 machinery before with Force India in 2016, 2017 and 2018, as well as world champions Mercedes in 2019 – becomes the sixth driver to graduate from Formula 2 to F1, joining Charles Leclerc, George Russell, Lando Norris, Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi in the top tier of motorsport. The Formula 2 title contender is the American team’s first confirmed driver for the new campaign, following the announcement of Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen’S departure in October, after four years with the team. “Becoming a Formula 1 driver is a lifelong dream come true for me,” said Nikita Mazepin. “I really appreciate the trust being put in me by Gene Haas, Guenther Steiner, and the whole of the team. “They’re giving a young driver an opportunity and I thank them for that. I’m looking forward to starting our relationship together, both on and off the track, and I’m naturally keen to continue to demonstrate my abilities after a strong Formula 2 season. “The team will be looking to me for feedback and inputs in order to refine its package for 2021 and beyond. I will take that responsibility on and can’t wait to get started.” Mazepin was the 2018 GP3 vice-champion, scoring four wins and four podiums to finish second to the late Anthoine Hubert. Stepping up to F2 in 2019, he was initially slow to acclimatise, before a switch to Hitech in 2020 produced a stark turnaround of form. The 21-year-old is currently third in the Drivers’ Championship, 29 points off second placed Callum Ilott. After a slow start to the season, where he scored just once in the opening four races, Mazepin has taken two wins and four podiums, becoming one of the most consistent drivers on the grid. “I’m delighted that Nikita Mazepin will be driving for Haas F1 Team next season,” said HAAS Team Principal Guenther Steiner. “Nikita has underlined his credentials in Formula 2 this year with a brace of victories and a handful of podiums in what’s been a strong sophomore season for him. “He’s developed into a mature racer moving up through the junior ranks – notably most recently in the GP3 Series, where he finished runner-up in 2018, and obviously in Formula 2 over the past two seasons. I’m excited to see what Nikita can achieve in Formula 1 and we look forward to giving him the opportunity to compete at the highest level of world motorsport. “With a record-setting 23 race schedule set for the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, he’s going to get plenty of track action to learn all the nuances of grand prix racing.”

Lewis Hamilton is self-isolating after testing positive for COVID-19 following Bahrain Grand Prix; The Mercedes driver will miss this weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix; His replacement driver is yet to be announced. The Mercedes driver returned three negative tests last week but began displaying mild symptoms on Monday after coming into contact with an individual who has subsequently tested positive. Mercedes say they will announce Hamilton’s temporary replacement “in due course”. Stoffel Vandoorne and Esteban Gutierrez are the team’s reserve drivers. In a statement on Tuesday, Mercedes said: “The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team regrets to announce that Lewis Hamilton has tested positive for COVID-19 and will be unable to take part in this weekend’s Sakhir GP. “Lewis was tested three times last week and returned a negative result each time, the last of which was on Sunday afternoon at the Bahrain International Circuit as part of the standard race weekend testing programme. “However, he woke up on Monday morning with mild symptoms and was informed at the same time that a contact prior to arrival in Bahrain had subsequently tested positive. Lewis therefore took a further test and returned a positive result. This has since been confirmed by a retest. “Lewis is now isolating in accordance with COVID-19 protocols and public health authority guidelines in Bahrain. Apart from mild symptoms, he is otherwise fit and well, and the entire team sends him its very best wishes for a swift recovery.”

The wife of the 34-year-old Haas driver was at home with her three children watching the harrowing drama unfold on the opening lap at Sakhir as it fortunately veered within minutes from a horrendous nightmare to profoundly relieving outcome. Marion, who met her husband when she worked as an F1 anchor for French broadcaster TF1, took to Instagram to express a heart-to-heart array of feelings after Romain Grosjean’s ordeal, a moment that also brought to her memory painful recollections of the tragic fate that befell Jules Bianchi at the Japanese GP in 2014. Here is her post from Instagram transcribed in full: “Of course, I didn’t sleep last night. To be honest, I don’t really know what to write. I just know that it’s good to do it. It always helps me.” “Anyway, this morning, I don’t want to lie, the words aren’t coming easily. That will make him laugh, he who knows how much I like to talk. He to whom I always write so much.” “And then I didn’t know what photo to post either. Which image to keep from yesterday? The flames? Him, held by the arms by his saviours? The wreckage of the car?” “I’ve chosen this one, a bit stupidly. Because we’re both wearing the same T-shirt of his GP2 title. The one I still sleep in sometimes. I would have preferred if it to have the word ‘superhero’ on it rather than ‘champion’ – but if we have to, we’ll have it custom-made. For the children, because that’s how we explained the inexplicable.” On Twitter, late [last night], I used useful words, urgent words, to protect them above all. I mentioned the ‘shield of love’ that protected him. Today, I have to find other expressions, come up with other rational phrases, to express the feelings. We will find them together. Expressions of gratitude, for the men of the Medical Car. Expressions of friendship, for Jean Todt and his unfailing humanity. Expressions of thanks for you all, who have shown your support, your affection, your kindness which is so precious to us. Thank you to the family of Jules Bianchi; to his father Philippe, who I think of constantly. To Jules himself. To Kevin Magnussen for his words. To the team at Canal+ for their sensitivity. I will forget some people, excuse me. Thank you to our children, who pushed him to pull himself out of the fire. Thank you to his courage, his determination, his strength, his love, his physical training that probably kept him alive (Kim, Dan, love you guys). It didn’t take one miracle but several yesterday. I embrace you all.

Valtteri Bottas’s final pitstop in the Bahrain Grand Prix featured a change of only three tyres because he returned to the set that picked up a puncture on the opening lap. Bottas ran fourth at the beginning of the restarted Sakhir race but dropped to the back of the field when his Mercedes Formula 1 team noticed a slow puncture under the safety car, caused by debris that Bottas had not even noticed hitting. Though the front-right tyre had not deflated the puncture meant he was forced to pit at the end of the second lap under the safety car and change from medium tyres to hards. That left Bottas only one other set of usable mediums, which he switched to on lap 25 before making his final pitstop on lap 38. Mercedes told him it would only be for three tyres and refitted the first set of mediums – as they were mostly unused – and left the old front-right on the car. The front-right gun operator did appear to engage the wheelnut, likely to be either a precaution or to satisfy the pitstop technology as teams employ software that does not let the light go green unless all four wheelnuts have been successfully re-tightened. It meant Bottas’s front-right tyre was 13 laps older than the others on his car for the final 19 laps of his race, but as Bahrain is a clockwise circuit the front-right is protected rather than the stressed tyre. A three-tyre change is extremely rare. But it is entirely within the regulations, which do not govern how many tyres may be changed during a pitstop. F1’s tyre rules require drivers to use at least two different specifications of dry compounds during the grand prix. Using a tyres of different specifications at the same time is not allowed. A driver who ends up with a mix of compounds, e.g. softs on the front and mediums on the rear, must pit to change them for a matching set within three laps. Mixing compounds is also not considered a valid satisfaction of the rules demanding two different specifications used during the race, either.

Outgoing Racing Point driver, Sergio Perez will be having a press conference tonight, but no one knows the content. It is unknown what the Mexican driver has to report to the journalists present, but in any case it is not an announcement about a switch to Red Bull Racing. If we are to believe Helmut Marko, nothing has yet been signed with Perez. In fact, not even a decision has been made internally at Red Bull. “We have already said it in many ways: we are waiting until the end of the season and then we will make a decision,” said the Austrian in conversation with the German branch of Sky. Marko says he is ‘not aware’ of the Perez press conference. Another option is that the Mexican driver is going to announce is that he is taking a one-year sabbatical. However, this seems illogical as Max Verstappen’s team has not yet made its choice for 2021. Another scenario is that Perez will just say that he is very happy with his form this season and that he will thank his sponsors. According to Motorsport-Total.com, the management of the 30-year-old has been inviting South American journalists for online media events more often since May. The informal e-mail announcement of today’s press event is therefore not considered unusual.

Formula 2 driver Callum Ilott has revealed he will not be racing in Formula 1 next year, all but confirming Mick Schumacher’s move to Haas. The British driver is currently involved in a tense championship battle with his fellow Ferrari junior, with the pair separate by just 14 points in the German’s favour heading to this weekend’s F2 finale in Bahrain. However, while Ilott still has a chance of beating Schumacher to the title, something that would make him ineligible to stay in F2 next year, the 22-year-old won’t be stepping up to F1. “It is time I announce that I have been told I will not be racing F1 in 2021,” he said in a tweet on Monday. “Obviously I have known this for a couple of weeks now. “I am disappointed, but I will just work harder and do what it takes to make sure it happens in 2022. Anyway, I have a championship I want to win.” His announcement paves the way for Schumacher to be confirmed with Haas for next year, where he’s expected to be joined by another F2 driver in Nikita Mazepin. That news is rumoured to come later this week.

Haas reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi will replace Romain Grosjean at this weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix, the American racing outfit has confirmed on Monday. “After it was decided that the best thing for Romain [Grosjean] was to skip at least one race, the choice to put Pietro [Fittipaldi] in the car was pretty easy,” Haas team principal Guenther Steiner said in a statement. “Pietro will drive the VF-20 and he’s familiar with us having been around the team for the past two seasons as a test and reserve driver. It’s the right thing to do and it’s obviously a good opportunity for him,” he added. Meanwhile, Fittipaldi said the most important thing is Romain Grosjean is safe. “We’re all very happy his injuries are relatively minor after such a huge incident. Obviously, it’s not an ideal set of circumstances to get my first opportunity to compete in Formula 1, but I’m extremely grateful to Gene Haas and Guenther Steiner for their faith in putting me behind the wheel this weekend,” Pietro Fittipaldi, the grandson of two-time F1 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi, said. “I’ve been with the team a lot this season, both trackside and working on simulator sessions, so I’m familiar with the team’s operating procedures on a grand prix weekend. “It’s going to be exciting to make my first career start in Formula 1 – I’ll be giving it my all and I look forward to starting in free practice on Friday in Bahrain,” the Brazilian racing driver added. Grosjean was fortunate to only suffer minor burns as a result of his horror crash on Sunday. It is believed he will be discharged from hospital on Tuesday, but it’s yet to be decided if he will compete in the season finale at Abu Dhabi which will take place in less than two weeks.

Haas F1 driver Romain Grosjean is continuing his recovery from the injuries he sustained in his terrifying Bahrain GP crash and is expected to be released from hospital on Tuesday. Grosjean miraculously walked away from a sickening, 137mph head-on collision with the barriers on the opening lap of Sunday’s race in Bahrain. The Frenchman’s Haas car sliced through the barriers, tore in half and burst into flames. Grosjean was in his burning car for nearly 30 seconds before he managed to extricate himself from the wreckage with the aid of the on-site medical team. Grosjean was taken to hospital in Manama after sustaining burns to his hands and ankles. There were also fears he had suffered broken ribs in the accident, but X-rays showed there were no fractures. In an update issued by Haas on Monday, the team confirmed that treatment on the burns to the back of both Grosjean’s hands is “going well.” Haas team principal Guenther Steiner visited Grosjean in hospital on Monday morning and his injuries and recovery will continue to be assessed over the coming days and it is anticipated he will be discharged from hospital on Tuesday 1 December. In an update from his hospital bed on Sunday night, Grosjean confirmed he was OK and paid tribute to the Halo head protection device which he believes ultimately saved his life. Haas’ intention is to run Grosjean at next weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain providing he is fit and willing to drive. “We’ve always got a plan in place but at the moment my plan is if he’s OK to get back in there to race in Bahrain next week [he can]. But we have to wait,” Steiner told the media on Sunday evening. “I want to speak first to Romain before speculating whoever goes in there if he cannot drive,” he added. “So, it will be only in the next few days when we get from the doctors the verdict of how bad the injuries are then we decide what we’re doing. “At the moment for me Romain is driving.”

Lewis Hamilton beat Max Verstappen in Formula 1’s 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, which featured a shocking, fiery crash for Haas driver Romain Grosjean.The race was also by disrupted by two safety cars in incidents that eliminated both Racing Point drivers, but will be forever remembered for the horrifying incident on the opening lap that involved Grosjean escaping his burning car after piercing one of the track’s barriers after making contact with Daniil Kvyat. At the initial start, Valtteri Bottas made a slow getaway from second when the lights went out, while Hamilton leapt clear in the lead, and the Finn was quickly passed by Verstappen and Sergio Perez on the run to Turn 1. Bottas was then swamped by Alex Albon and Daniel Ricciardo at the opening right-hander and as he lost momentum entering Turn 2, it appeared to set off a chain of reactions in the pack behind. Lando Norris had to check up, which brought him into a line with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, which pinched at Turn 2 and caused Norris to slow again and left him with front wing damage. The following Ferrari pair and Lance Stroll had to go wide in avoidance as they came up to the rear of Norris’s car, which sent the Racing Point wide, and the pack bunched up again going through the Turn 3 right kink, which slowed the group at the back of the midfield again. The drivers at the rear of the field – including Grosjean – therefore quickly gained on those ahead, and in reaction the Haas driver moved right across the track, striking Kvyat’s AlphaTauri and sending him straight into the barriers. His car was torn in half by the impact, with its fuel igniting and the front half of the car piercing through the barrier. Grosjean was able to extricate himself from the burning wreckage, jumping back to the track-side of the fence and into the arms of FIA medical delegate Dr Ian Roberts, who had arrived on the seen with medical driver Alan van der Merwe a few seconds after the impact. The race was red-flagged after 36 seconds, just as the leaders were exiting Turn 6, and suspended for an hour and 20 minutes while Grosjean was taken first to the circuit’s medical centre by ambulance and then airlifted to the BDF Military Hospital for further evaluation. His Haas team initially explained he had suffered minor burns on his hands and ankles and then gave a further update that he had suffered suspected broken ribs. The pierced barrier was cut away and replaced with a series of concrete blocks, installed under the supervision of FIA race director Michael Masi. The cars restarted on lap three of 57, with Hamilton on pole again ahead of Verstappen and Perez, with Bottas back up to fourth as the order was taken by the positions at the second safety car line during the initial start. Hamilton again made a simple getaway from pole, with Bottas briefly able to challenge Perez and Verstappen ahead of him, but it was the Red Bull that had to defend against the Racing Point at the first corner. Perez was edged out on the outside line, which put him back under pressure from Bottas as the cars raced through the rest of the first sector. But the race was suspended again when Stroll and Kvyat came together at the Turn 8 hairpin, with the AlphaTauri on the inside and flipping Stroll’s car when it hit the Racing Point’s right rear, with Vettel forced to slam on the brakes and Kevin Magnussen breaking his front wing against the suddenly slowing Ferrari. As Stroll was stranded upside down, the safety car was called into action as he climbed out, during which Mercedes had to pit Bottas when he picked up a puncture, which dropped him from fourth to 16th as he rejoined on the hard tyres. The race restarted on lap nine, with Hamilton grabbing a 0.7s lead over the line by nailing the final corner better than Verstappen as they moved back to racing speed. The top two quickly romped clear of Perez, the only two drivers able to lap in the 1m34s, but after just a few laps at that pace Verstappen began to slip back. By lap 14, Hamilton had edged to a 2.0s lead, briefly dipping into the 1m33s as Verstappen circulated in the 1m35s, and he continued to edge away across the rest of the first stint. Hamilton pitted at the end of lap 19 to take new mediums with a lead of 4.6s, with Verstappen and Perez coming in at the end of the following tour – where they opted for hard tyres, of which they had both come into the race with two sets to Hamilton’s one. When the stops shook out Hamilton led by 5.5s at the start of lap 22, but Verstappen told Red Bull he would go “full send” and immediately brought the gap down by a second with a then fastest lap. Then pair then exchanged faster times in the high 1m33s and 1m34s before Hamilton was able to re-establish his five second advantage by the end of the race’s first 30 laps. Red Bull went aggressive to pit Verstappen for a second time at the end of lap 34, switching him back to the mediums, but the stop ran long by three seconds. Nevertheless, after Mercedes had pitted Hamilton for hards at the end of the following lap, Verstappen was just 3.7s behind after a rapid out lap and first flying effort, as Perez pitted from in between the two leaders. In a near copy of the second stint, Verstappen was initially able to exchange quicker laps with Hamilton before starting to slip back – hitting the 1m34s again after initially running in the 1m32s after his second stop on lap 46. Hamilton had edged his lead up to five seconds again by that tour, at the end of which…

Newly-crowned seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton continued to lead the way in 2020 by topping the opening practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Following up on his record-equalling title triumph last time out in Turkey, Hamilton set the fastest time with a 1m29.033 to outpace Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas by 0.449 seconds in the first 90-minute practice at the Bahrain International Circuit. FP1 in Sakhir is considered to be one of the most unrepresentative Friday practice sessions of the season due to it being held during the day in conditions that differ from both qualifying and the race which take place at night. The drivers did get their first proper taste of Pirelli’s 2021 specification tyres with the latest test being run across both practice sessions in Bahrain following a ‘blind’ 30-minute programme which was conducted in Portugal last month, providing the teams with an important data-gathering exercise ahead of next season. Now that both teams’ and drivers’ titles have already been settled, attention has turned to an intense midfield battle to secure third place in the constructors’ championship with four teams in contention to land the coveted spot inside F1’s top three. Racing Point had the upper hand in the opening session at the first of two races to be staged in Bahrain as Sergio Perez, fresh from his first podium finish of 2020 at the Turkish Grand Prix, ended FP1 third-quickest – nearly a full second behind the dominant Mercedes duo. Carlos Sainz was just 0.018s adrift of Perez’s time in his McLaren, while Pierre Gasly completed the top five for AlphaTauri. The Red Bulls were next up with Max Verstappen marginally faster than Alex Albon in sixth and seventh respectively, with the Dutchman complaining of “understeer city” in his RB16 in the cooler conditions as he ended practice in the garage with floor damage. Renault duo Esteban Ocon and Daniel Ricciardo were split by the second Racing Point of Lance Stroll as they rounded out the top-10 positions, ahead of Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel. In his fourth FP1 outing of 2020, Robert Kubica – deputising for Alfa Romeo regular Kimi Raikkonen – finished 13th fastest ahead of Romain Grosjean, who was fortunate to escape a high-speed spin at Turn 7 with only flat-spotted tyres on his Haas. Roy Nissany was also in action marking his third FP1 appearance of the season for Williams, as he ended up slowest of all and three-tenths behind Nicholas Latifi in George Russell’s FW43.