Formula 1

Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto says Sebastian Vettel’s third place podium finish at the Turkish Grand prix held at the Istanbul park was a very important milestone in what has been a very disappointing season for the Ferrari team so far. Vettel was already off to a bad start with the team before the start of the 2020 F1 Season as Ferrari decided not to renew his contract beyond 2020. Vettel’s performance has been very dismal compared to the previous seasons being that he was the driver who won the drivers championship titles from 2010 to 2013. Despite a lot of struggle through the 2020 season, he managed to put on quite an impressive performance in the Turkish Grand prix which resulted to a podium finish, out-performing his teammate, Charles Leclerc for the first time in 11 races. Leclerc came later to finish fourth after Vettel after puttin on pressure on Racing Point’s Sergio Perez during the last lap. Binotto had decided not to attend the race as he was putting his focus on the efforts to develop the 2021 Ferrari car, he however congratulated the 4-time champion afterwards as he suggested Vettel had finally found some confidence in his SF1000. “I’m very pleased for Sebastian, I think a podium for him is very important. It has been a difficult season for him.” the Ferrari boss said. “I think he has started being, at least now at the end of the season, comfortable with the car. He’s delivering better.” “He had a very good start, very consistent, with good pace. He was managing the tyres, managing to keep the positions, and holding the positions. And overall, even on the last lap, he did well because he took the opportunity. And it’s great for him.” “He just finished third, very close to Perez. But great, I’m happy for him. Still three races, and hopefully we will do as well in the next one.” For his part, Vettel, who sits 13th in the driver’s standings on 33 points, joked afterwards that Binotto’s absence was the reason for his success. “I think we scored probably the most points this year for us and Mattia wasn’t here! Yeah, if the next race we don’t score as many points we try again to leave him at home,” he quipped “No, I don’t think it’s related to that. I don’t believe in this kind of stuff.”

Haas announced earlier this season that it would feature an all-new line up next season, dropping both Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen. Team boss Guenther Steiner opened the door to an all-rookie line up, saying the team had discussed the pros and cons. “We discussed this, the risks, the opportunities with them,” he said earlier this month. “There is obviously a risk that two rookies, they have nobody experienced to look at [for] the data and stuff like this. They need to find out between them what is going on, and there is risk that it goes wrong. “But the pros are you can put them in the direction you want to put them, and they grow with the team. “Because it was never done, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work. For sure there is a risk that it doesn’t work. I don’t want to be ignorant to that one.” That line up, Soymotor reports, has now been decided with Schumacher set to team up with Mazepin. While reports of Schumacher heading to Haas have been around for a while, Mazepin could have the FIA to thank for his promotion. Earlier this year motorsport’s governing body announced that the number of super license points required to race in Formula 1 would still be 40 but that drivers “will have the opportunity for their case to be considered by the FIA” if they only have 30 as many drivers have missed out on a full season of racing due to Covid-19. Under the old score, Mazepin would have needed to finish seventh or higher in this year’s Formula 2 series to qualify for a super license with the Hitech Grand Prix driver currently P6 in the standings with two rounds remaining. Schumacher has to finish sixth or higher to secure the 40 points. He is currently leading the championship. “Haas has already confirmed that they are in no rush to officially announce their lineup for next year and will likely wait until the current season is over,” reports Soymotor.

Williams will field Jack Aitken and Roy Nissany at the young driver test in Abu Dhabi next month, with Nissany also set for another FP1 appearance. Formula 1 will hold a Young Driver Test on the 15th December, after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with teams given the option of staying on to take part if they wish. The test replaces the usual end of season Pirelli Tyre Test, and is specifically for Young Drivers – the definition of this being drivers who have started fewer than two Grands Prix. Williams have confirmed their line-up: Reserve Driver Jack Aitken and Test Driver Roy Nissany will drive the FW43 at the test. Aitken took part in FP1 at the Styrian Grand Prix earlier this season, while Nissany took part in FP1 at the Spanish and Italian Grands Prix. Nissany will also take part in FP1 at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Friday 27th of November. “Of course I’m delighted to be able to step back into the FW43 in Abu Dhabi.” said Aitken, who wraps up his Formula 2 season with Campos Racing in Bahrain. The British driver is currently P12 in the Championship, with his best results being a pair of P3s at the second Silverstone round. “After my FP1 outing with the team earlier in the year, I’ll be looking to build upon my experience with the team and get some ever-welcome laps under my belt. Although we won’t be able to test too much with the way the programme is set, there are always things to learn, and it will be a great way to finish the season.” Nissany, driving for Trident in F2, is currently P19 with five points scored this year. He says he’s looking forward to the chance to drive another FP1 session: “The Abu Dhabi test is another great opportunity for me to develop my connection with the car. In contrast to an FP1, the test gives us much more time and miles to fine tune and synergise the car and my driving.”

Aston Martin is set to share safety car duties with Mercedes at Formula 1 races from next year. Mercedes has exclusively provided the official F1 safety car since 1996, starting out originally with a Mercedes-AMG C36 and currently using a Mercedes-AMG GT R. While the German manufacturer has been fully committed up until now, discussions are underway about a revised deal for 2021, when a new Concorde Agreement comes in. Although it is understood that no final decision has been made, sources have revealed that it is looking increasingly likely that Mercedes will step back from being the sole safety car supplier. It will continue to play a major role – which will include providing F1’s medical car – but talks are ongoing about a revised arrangement that will likely result in the safety car responsibilities being shared with Aston Martin. Such a change of deal, that could see the safety car use split evenly between the two manufacturers across the season, would help share the financial burden between the two companies as F1 expands to a 23-race schedule. A deal has been made for Aston Martin to supply the safety and medical cars at 12 of the planned 23 races next season. A reliable source said that the existing Mercedes safety and medical cars will not be scrapped and they will feature at 11 of the races, with Aston Martin taking preference for which weekends they will supply their cars for. It is understood that the decision will be dictated by markets, with Aston Martin expected to pick countries where they have bigger interests, while Mercedes would supply races like the Brazilian Grand Prix where Aston Martin have a smaller market share. It is believed the Aston safety car will be a Vantage. Racefans understands the medical car at races where Aston Martin supply the cars will be a DBX, which uses the same four-litre V8 engine as the current AMG GT R cars. The Daimler group, which owns Mercedes Benz, recently took a 20% shareholding in Aston Martin. Mercedes and Aston Martin have become increasingly close over the past 12 months, having reached deals on shareholding agreements and closer technical cooperation. It was recently announced that Mercedes will increase its stake in Aston Martin to 20%, while also giving access to a range of its technologies – including powertrain and electric/electronic architecture. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff also has a private shareholding in Aston Martin, and is close friend with owner Lawrence Stroll. Next year, Aston Martin is returning to F1 with its own works team, as it takes over the naming rights for the Racing Point outfit. Stroll wants to use the marketing benefits of the series to help boost Aston Martin’s road car sales as it embarks on an ambitious renewal of its operations following some difficult years. The current Mercedes safety car is the fastest in the sport’s history, having been upgraded from the start of the 2018 season. Its 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo engine produces 585hp and it can reach a top speed of 198mph. The safety car is driven by Bernd Maylander. The Mercedes medical car is an AMG C 63 S Estate, which is driven by Alan van der Merwe.

Sebastian Vettel says he has “zero tolerance” for the mistake the FIA made in starting Formula 1 qualifying in Turkey with a crane still on the track. The recovery vehicle had been sent out to retrieve the stricken Williams of Nicholas Latifi, who had spun off at the high-speed Turn 8 in the first section of qualifying in Turkey. But the Q2 session began with the crane still in front of the barriers and it only being protected by local double waved yellow flags in the slippery conditions. F1 race director Michael Masi explained afterwards that the situation had been prompted because the clerk of the course had assured him that the crane would be clear by the times the cars got there. However, a delay in getting the crane behind the barriers meant that did not happen. Vettel, who is a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, remains unimpressed by the explanation and thinks that there is no room in F1 for such errors. “I think we are all humans, and mistakes happen,” said Vettel. “But this mistake has a zero tolerance. I think we’re all well aware and I’m very confident that it will not happen in the future again. But we will for sure talk about this and disclose the reasons why.” Despite Vettel’s stance, Masi said he remained “fully comfortable” with the decision he took based on the information he was being given by track officials. “It was quite close to the barrier opening, and the crane was on its way,” said Masi. “We were given assurances that it would be well and truly clear. And looking at everything, I was more than comfortable with the local assurances on that basis. “With the benefit of hindsight, you would do something different. But based on it all, and the available information at the time, that was the call that we made. Masi said that the FIA would review what happened, though, so similar mistakes were not made again in the future. “From an FIA perspective, we review every incident that takes place,” he explained. “Be it minor, major, in between or otherwise, at any point in time during a session, outside of a session, and continually learn from everything that takes place. “So from that handbook, we will continue to learn. It’s no different to a team learning about different elements over a weekend and in between. “We are absolutely no different. And from our end, as I’ve said many times, safety is our number one priority and you learn from everything, every time a car rolls out of pit lane, every time you look at something different.” Charles Leclerc backed up Vettel’s thoughts that the drivers would want to discuss the matter with Masi in the next meeting they have in Bahrain. “For the crane, obviously, I think we have all been a bit shocked to see that,” he said. “And we’ll probably speak together at the next briefing to avoid these types of situations. “There is no need to say what happened in the past with these sorts of situations. So yeah, I think it shouldn’t happen, and we need to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.” F1 has been especially mindful about the presence of cranes on the circuit since Jules Bianchi died from injuries he sustained in a collision with such a recovery vehicle during the wet Japanese Grand Prix in 2014.

Pirelli Formula 1 tyre chief Mario Isola has tested positive for COVID-19 following the latest round of screening at the Turkish Grand Prix. F1 issued a statement on Monday following the grand prix weekend at Istanbul Park announcing that Isola, who heads up the series’ tyre supplier’s activities at races, had contracted COVID-19 and tested positive on Sunday. But F1 has said that all of Isola’s close contacts have been traced and re-tested, and have all returned negative results. “The FIA, Formula 1 and Pirelli can confirm that Pirelli Head of F1 and Car Racing Mario Isola has tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday 15 November at the Turkish Grand Prix,” the statement reads. “Mario returned a positive result during the regular Sunday COVID testing schedule. “He is now isolating, and is asymptomatic and will adhere to the local medical guidelines. “All close contacts have been declared, retested, and no further positive cases have been returned.” All F1 personnel entering the circuit are required to undergo a test at least every five days across grand prix events, in line with the FIA’s COVID-19 protocols. They are also required to complete a test within 24 hours of entering the venue. Isola is the second notable manager within the F1 paddock to have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week. Acting Williams F1 team principal Simon Roberts tested positive last Wednesday, and opted not to travel to Turkey as a result. The most recent update on COVID-19 testing figures was released by F1 and the FIA on Friday, which said there had been eight positive results in addition to Roberts out of 2,543 tests conducted. Isola served on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic in his native Italy, having worked as a volunteer ambulance driver and paramedic for the last 30 years in addition to his motorsport duties and activities. Isola regularly completed shifts in Milan at the height of the pandemic in Italy through spring, as well as completing fundraising for the volunteer ambulance service and helping to train future ambulance drivers.

Mattia Binotto says he is pleased that his experiment of sitting out a grand prix at Ferrari’s Maranello headquarters over the weekend was a success. For the first time since becoming team boss, the Italian did not travel to the race location at the weekend. Ultimately, Istanbul turned out to be Sebastian Vettel’s first podium of the season, while Charles Leclerc only lost that place in a late race error. “Maybe they can leave Mattia at home more often? I’m joking obviously,” German Vettel, who will leave Ferrari after next month’s Abu Dhabi finale, laughed. Binotto had explained his planned absence in Turkey on the basis that Ferrari is now fully focused on 2021. “In general we saw a competitive Ferrari on Friday, Saturday morning and today, and this is the most important point of the weekend,” he told Sky Italia on Sunday from Maranello. “In the last few races the car has proved to be more competitive than at the start of the season, proving that we have taken the right direction of development. “We are focusing on 2021, but these are encouraging signs,” the Italian added. “So if you ask if I am sorry for not being at the track, no,” Binotto insisted. “I have to be present especially in difficult moments so I decided not to go to Turkey because the car was already improving with a few races left. “These results are welcome so now maybe I will not go to Bahrain either.” Vettel, meanwhile, dismissed any suggestion that his renowned superstitious nature could mean he wants Binotto to keep staying away for that reason alone. “I don’t believe in things like that at all,” the four-time world champion insisted. “We have so many people who do so many different things in a weekend, and ultimately that is what the picture of an entire weekend is made of.”

Lewis Hamilton will celebrate making Formula One history on Sunday in surprising fashion.The newly-crowned seven-time drivers’ world champion may be Britain’s richest sportsperson with a net worth reported by The Sunday Times of 224 million pounds ($A406 million). Yet after winning the Turkish Grand Prix he said he had become used to the strict coronavirus protocols that required him to adopt a quiet, no-frills lifestyle. “This year, I haven’t gone out and I haven’t gone to dinner,” he said. “I have just been staying in my bubble. “I get room service every day and it’s not really anything exciting and that’s naturally because I’ve got a championship to fight for. “So, I didn’t want to take any risks. I think, this year, I sacrificed more than I have in my whole life. “And, you know, it’s really made it quite difficult. I’m going to go home tonight and most likely it is not going to be the most exciting thing. “I’m probably just going to maybe watch the race and I usually have like a minestrone soup, but I’ll definitely have a bottle of wine.” Team chief Toto Wolff conceded on Sunday that Mercedes’ next contract with Lewis Hamilton had “got really more expensive.” Wolff, the man behind Hamilton and Mercedes’ amazing run of success since 2014, also forecast that the pair – who are both out of contract this year – would likely delay their contract finalisation talks until the season ends. “I don’t feel like I should add any pressure,” he said. “It has to be organic and not something that’s forced – we have three races ahead in the Middle East so it’s a bit more chilled. “It’s not done, but we will get it done I’m sure.”

Lewis Hamilton clinched the 2020 Formula 1 world title with victory in a wet and wild Turkish Grand Prix over Sergio Perez, while Valtteri Bottas finished 14th after several spins.The majority of the race was led by polesitter Lance Stroll, who lost out by taking a second stop for intermediates, a strategy Charles Leclerc used to charge to third in the closing stages, which he lost to teammate Sebastian Vettel after making a last-gaps move on Perez, while Mercedes opted to leave Hamilton on a one-stopper after he had charged up the leading Racing Point cars. The result gives Hamilton his seventh world championship, level with Michael Schumacher’s record title haul. At the start, all the cars made slow, slippery starts, but it was the Red Bull cars that could not carry enough momentum off the line, which meant Max Verstappen and Alex Albon were quickly swamped from second and fourth by the Renault and Mercedes cars. Esteban Ocon followed Perez into Turn 1 in third place as Stroll led away from pole, but he was tapped into a spin by Daniel Ricciardo, who had turned out of the left-hander to avoid Hamilton, with the Mercedes suddenly appearing on his inside. Ocon spun around and Bottas was left with nowhere to go, spinning in sync with the Renault as he avoided contact – although the Mercedes driver later tagged Ocon into a second spin, giving him a left-rear puncture, as he lost the rear of his W11 at the Turn 9 left-hander later on lap one. Stroll and Perez surged clear, with Hamilton up to third from sixth on the grid, but he slid off at Turn 9 and was jumped by the fast-starting Vettel, who was up from 11th on the grid, and the recovering Verstappen. At the end of lap one of 58, Stroll had a lead of 3.6s over Perez, which he set about extending to over five seconds with a series of fastest laps over the next few tours before the Mexican driver started to ease back towards his teammate. After Leclerc had proved the time was right to take intermediates with a stop from P14 on lap six, the leaders started to come in two laps later, led by Vettel and Hamilton from third and fifth – by which time Hamilton had become the fastest driver on track. When they came in on lap eight, Verstappen was unleashed from behind Vettel and he insisted on staying out on his full wets until lap 11, two laps after Stroll had come in and easily retained the net lead. Perez pitted the lap ahead of Verstappen, but had a slow right front change, and when the Red Bull finally came in – with Albon waiting until lap as the last of the leaders to change tyres – Verstappen just manage to jump ahead of Vettel, fractionally behind Perez. Stroll’s lead once the stops had shaken out was up to 10.7s, with the race then neutralised on lap 13 by the virtual safety car as Antonio Giovinazzi – who had crashed on the way to the grid ahead of the race, as did George Russell – pulled over to retire on the straight down the hill from Turn 8. When the race resumed two laps later, the Red Bull drivers were able to fire their tyres up best of the leaders, with Verstappen harrying Perez and Albon easily passing Vettel at Turn 7 on lap 16 after Hamilton had locked up and slid off at Turn 12 – the track’s main passing point – the lap the VSC ended. Verstappen had a chance to pass Perez when the Racing Point slipped out of Turn 9 on lap 18, after he had begun to make significant in-roads into Stroll’s lead, but after the Red Bull looked to Perez’s inside of the Turn 11 kink he shot out on the kerbs on the outside and lost the rear, spinning off at high speed and falling behind Albon, Vettel and Hamilton. As he had flat-spotted his tyres, Verstappen had to pit for another set of inters, falling to eighth with Albon then homing in on Perez as Hamilton struggled to stay with Vettel as the teams started to think about switching to dry tyres. By lap 24, Perez had whittled Stroll’s lead down to the four-second mark, with Albon following closely behind before then fading back over the next five laps as he struggled with the inters starting to wear on the drying track. The tread falling away on the green-walled tyres seemed to favour Vettel and Hamilton, as they started to home in on the leaders as the race approached the halfway stage, when Leclerc again triggered another round of stops as he pitted for more inters from ninth. His pace encouraged Vettel to pit as well, with Albon then gifting Hamilton third with spin at Turn 4 on lap 34, after which he immediately pitted. Up front, Perez was suddenly closing right up to Stroll, getting with one second – DRS had been activated on lap 30 – as Racing Point considered whether to take the fresh inters or leave its drivers out. But with Hamilton suddenly looming and the Ferraris flying on their new tyres, Stroll pitted on lap 36, coming out fourth, behind Verstappen – a factor again thanks to his early second stop. Hamilton instructed Mercedes to leave him out and by the start of lap 37 he was within one second of Perez’s car, then making a simple DRS pass on the long run to Turn 12 to take P1, which he had in the opening laps been nearly a pitstop behind. The Briton quickly dropped Perez, who also did not pit for a second set of inters, building a gap on nearly 20s over the next 10 laps. In the pack behind, Vettel, now being followed by the charging Leclerc, attacked a struggling Stroll into Turn 12 on lap 39, and when the…

In the aftermath of Saturday’s hectic Formula 1 qualifying session for the Turkish Grand Prix and Lance Stroll’s shock pole position, it briefly seemed his jubilation would be short-lived. As the stewards picked their way through the various incidents in a messy qualifying that included two red flags and an hour-long Q1 session, pole-man Stroll came into the spotlight for a possible yellow flag infringement. TV footage showed that Stroll’s teammate, Sergio Perez, had spun ahead of him on track during his fastest Q3 lap, resulting in a yellow flag being waved at Turn 7. Stroll was informed of the spin, but nevertheless set his fastest time and grabbed a shock pole position. The stewards reviewed the incident and ultimately cleared Stroll, deeming that he had slowed down for the yellow flag, but that the telemetry data had not shown as much due to the significant time gains made elsewhere in the changeable conditions. McLaren driver Lando Norris was also investigated over a yellow flag incident, concerning Nicholas Latifi’s spin at Turn 8 towards the end of Q1. While Norris was also deemed to have slowed down for the yellow flags, he still got copped with a five-place grid penalty that dropped him back to 16th on the grid. So why was there such a big difference in the penalties applied to the two drivers? It ultimately comes down to the regulations, and the fact that single-waved yellow flags were shown for Perez’s spin, but double-waved yellows were shown for Latifi. The single-waved yellow was shown at Turn 7 following Perez’s spin, prompting Stroll’s engineer to inform him of the need to ease off. The telemetry showed that Stroll “clearly came off the throttle, coasted into the corner, and then accelerated when clear of the incident”, as per the stewards’ report. As Stroll exited Turn 8, his engineer came back on the radio to say: “That was a single yellow so keep pushing.” It was an important message, as even thought Stroll had slowed for Perez’s spin, had there been double yellow flags, he would have been forced to abandon his lap completely. This is where Norris tripped up. The stewards noted that although the McLaren driver “was not attempting to set a quick laptime, due to the changing track conditions, he nevertheless did so and thereby breached the referenced regulations”. The regulations in question are buried in Appendix H of the FIA’s International Sporting Code, which straightforwardly explains the meaning of the marshal flag signals. Under double-waved yellow flags, it reads: “Reduce your speed significantly, do not overtake, and be prepared to change direction or stop. There is a hazard wholly or partly blocking the track and/or marshals working on or beside the track. “During free practice and qualifying, it must be evident that a driver has not attempted to set a meaningful lap time”. It then clarifies that “this means the driver should abandon the lap”, although there is no requirement to pit. Therefore as the track improved significantly and offered huge gains to drivers, even when trying to back off and abandon the lap, Norris’s improvement was enough to trigger a sizeable penalty. And in Stroll’s case, the fact it was just a single-waved yellow meant he was free to complete his shock charge to pole position, and ensure his fairytale day did not end on a sour note.

Pirelli boss admits he didn’t know the track had been recently resurfaced; Formula 1 drivers struggle to find grip. On Friday afternoon, after the Formula 1 cars completed practice for the F1 Turkish Grand Prix at the Istanbul Park Circuit, the organizers got some Renault Clios together and let them run around the circuit, hoping that they would put down some rubber so that the F1 drivers would have some grip on Saturday. The track on Friday was not just green, it was ridiculous. “Don’t think I’ve ever felt such low grip in the dry before,” said Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen, the bravest of the brave in modern F1. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was quickest on Friday. “We did well to react to the conditions out on track,” Verstappen said. “It is very slippery out there, but at the end of the day we just have to adapt to it. I think we are all still about five seconds off where we should be and I hope it’s not going to rain because then we may actually need spikes! “I don’t think softer tires would have made a difference, we did go faster when going from a hard to a soft, but it’s just the grip on the tarmac.” There were two reasons for the situation. Istanbul Park was resurfaced less than two weeks ago. On top of that, the weather was very cool. And it didn’t help that the organizers decided to wash the track overnight. “The new asphalt proved to be extremely slippery,” said Pirelli’s F1 tire boss Mario Isola. “We have a level of grip that is lower than expected. When we selected the tires, we didn’t know about this idea of the circuit resurface, all the track, so the characteristics of the new tarmac are different from the old one. That means that we decided for the three hardest compounds we have in our range. “It’s a bit challenging for drivers, but they’re all the same tires and at the end they have to work with what they have. I believe it is quite difficult if it is going to rain because of the bitumen and the fact that you have some oil that is coming on the surface when it is raining, so we have to pay attention if it is wet. We don’t have support events here so obviously the level of rubber we are able to put down on track is less than usual and this is another element they have to consider in strategies and track evolution.” It has been nine years since F1 was last at the track and much has changed, not all of it for the better. Although there were plans to have a crowd, it is interesting to note that photographers were warned not to go into the empty grandstands because they were not entirely safe because they have not been used for such a long time. The word is that on Sunday there will be a big contingent of government officials present for the race, as they are believed to be angling to fill the empty slot of the F1 calendar left by the withdrawal of Vietnam in 2021.

Daniel Ricciardo said it was “frustrating” that he couldn’t get a true feel of Istanbul Park on Friday ahead of the Turkish GP. Drivers were lapping in the 1:40s during the opening practice session thanks to a combination of low temperatures, overnight rain and most importantly a very slippy newly-laid surface. Ricciardo finished FP2 all the way down in P15, 3.3s off the pace, and admitted that it was a “frustrating” Friday for all the drivers. “I probably speak for most, it was pretty frustrating,” he told reporters. “It’s such a beautiful circuit and we obviously want to push it, but we were a little restricted just with the new surface and the grip. “We had to be quite patient today, hopefully it can pick up a bit, but I think it’s going to rain tomorrow so we might have to just deal with it this weekend. “We struggled a little bit, but found a little bit right at the last few minutes of practice in terms of setup, actually more confident even though we don’t look great on the timesheets. I think we’re more confident now going in to tomorrow. “If it rains tomorrow it will probably be an ice skating rink out there. “I know this is a last-minute calendar so I don’t want to be critical but if there were some other categories [racing] then it would probably help get the track [rubbered] in. “We are doing all the work, but like I said it’s the same for everyone, just want to go faster that’s all. “I’m certainly confident I’ll be better than P15.” Ricciardo’s Renault team-mate Esteban Ocon got the better of the Aussie in both Friday sessions with P10 in the morning and P12 in FP2. He compared the track conditions to being like driving on intermediate tyres instead of the slicks. “It was a tricky day, but we ended on a positive note. We improved the performance significantly, which is good and that’s not an easy thing to do,” he told the Renault website. “It was probably the trickiest conditions I’ve ever driven in as it was really slippery out there. I’d probably compare it to what it feels like driving on Intermediates, only that we were on slick tyres. “It was new territory, and this is why we still have stuff to learn. Our long runs seem strong, so let’s see tomorrow. The track is awesome, and hopefully with a bit more grip we can push a bit more!”

Lewis Hamilton’s contract for the coming years is still not complete. Negotiations seem to depend on what his current team boss, Toto Wolff, is going to do and the amount of money involved. The latest rumour is that there is a three-year deal for GBP £120 million. Nothing is certain yet about Lewis Hamilton’s contract with Mercedes. But the Brit who will be able to take his seventh world title this year and be in a shared first place in the world, according to DailyMail, will be signing for three years. There are also reports that the Brit will make £40 million a year. That is four million pounds more than he earnt in his previous contract per year. The fact that this is a rumour is an important point. Only last week news came out of drastic salary cuts for F1 drivers. The Mercedes driver will therefore remain associated with the brand at least until 2024 with this possible contract. In principle, the golden Mercedes-Hamilton duo can go for another three titles in both the constructors’ championship and the drivers’ championship. In any case, there is still enough time and space for the Brit to become the best in the world. With an eighth world title, he will exceed Michael Schumacher’s record. So for the next three attempts at this record, he is reportedly going to get EUR 133 million.

Ferrari Formula 1 team principal Mattia Binotto will be skipping this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul and will instead run the team from its base in Maranello. The Ferrari boss had revealed that he had plans to miss some of the remaining races in the current season so as to find out how effecient it is to manage the team remotely. Ferrari F1 sporting director Laurent Mekies confirmed that Binotto would be remaining in Maranello for the weekend. “Mattia has always approached his role in an innovative way, trying to think outside the box,” Mekies said. “He has come up with a method of working that gives the flexibility to manage the priorities in the most efficient way possible, he had already adopted this approach when he was technical director and has applied it even more so now as team principal.” “At first it might seem strange not to see him physically in the briefings or on the pit wall, but he will make use of all the current communication technologies so that his voice and input will be loud and clear to everyone, both inside and outside the team.” This comes as F1 is set to embark on a record-breaking 23 race calendar come 2021, all the Formula 1 teams are evaluating how best they can rotate their staff to avoid burnout as the plan will even affect the senior team management officials. Mattia Binotto is not the first senior F1 team member to opt to skip a race weekend in recent years. Mercedes F1 chief Toto Wolff missed last year’s Brazilian Grand Prix as a trial to potentially not travel to more events in the future, but has attended every grand prix this season. Binotto said at Imola two weeks ago that it was crucial Ferrari looked after its staff to ensure they had the “right level of efficiency, concentration and focus” despite the challenges of next year’s bumper calendar. “Considering myself, you need to balance your tasks at the race track and at the factory,” Binotto said. “The factory is important, where we are developing the car and preparing the cars.” “For myself, I think I will not be at all the races. Even in 2020 I am considering skipping some of the races in the last part of the season, starting from Turkey,” The Ferrari boss added. “But that is more of an eventuality for next year, because when you are responsible for an entire team, certainly the race event is important, but also the entire management of the team is important.” “When increasing the number of races, there is a judgement that needs to be done to take care where you can on some engineers and technicians to eventually find a balance.”

Haas drivers, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen are now fighting to make their 2021 plans after they found out that Haas won’t be requiring their services beyond the 2020 Formula 1 season. Both drivers confirmed ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix that they are in talks with Indycar teams. Haas had confirmed ahead of the Portuguese Grand Prix that they would present an all new driver line-up for 2021 as they are yet to make official announcement on their new driver line-up for 2021. This decision left Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen very doubtful of their future in Formula 1 racing. However, the two drivers confirmed that they had been in talks with the Indycar teams which are all located in the United States over the recent weeks. When Grosjean was asked about holding talks with the stateside teams, he gave a simple yes saying, “I think there’s always opportunities.” Although both of the drivers refused to disclose the teams they have been holding talks with, Grosjean added, “We’re late, some of the teams are fully booked, but there are opportunities left and looking at what we can do, how we can do it, I think there is some wish from both sides to make it happen, which is nice.” “The races are pretty fun, there’s good opportunity to win the race or to be on the podium,” he added. “The cons are obviously I don’t really know much about motorsport in the US. The tracks look cool, it’s a very good championship and I think there’s more pros than cons… but obviously the lifestyle and where we live and what we do with the kids and their education and their future is very high on the priority list. “It’s not like I’m a youngster that can just jump on a plane with a backpack and not look behind me! Let’s see what’s coming, I’m hoping in the next few days and then we can look at details and so on.” Magnussen also confirmed his talks with Indycar teams, but the 28-year-old expressed that as much as he would like to follow in his father’s Jan footsteps by racing in Indycar, he feared it was not possible come 2021. “As I’ve said many times, IndyCar is something that is very high on my list and I’ve always been a fan, so I’d love to try it,” said Magnussen. “My dad’s been racing in America for about 20 years, and I’ve spent a lot of time over there and I just really like being in America. So I think that would suit me pretty well… It’s a challenge that I would get really excited about.” “There’s a lot of new things, but I’ve always found oval tracks to be something that I think is spectacular and very different to what I’ve ever done in my career,” Magnussen added. “We don’t really do ovals in Europe… and the other tracks, the road courses out there, are fantastic as well, really old school. And again, the thing about all the cars being very similar is also a very good thing. That means you can make a bigger difference as a driver.” ” we’re a little bit late in the year, so a lot of teams have already got drivers for the future and I don’t think it looks likely for next year.”

Lewis Hamilton can seal a record-equalling seventh drivers’ world title on Sunday (Nov 15), position himself to be “best of the best” and set up long-awaited negotiations for a new Mercedes contract at this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix. The Briton needs only to prevent his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas outscoring him by eight points to retain his crown and, in the eyes of many including former Ferrari rival Felipe Massa, move on to become the most successful in F1 history. A seventh championship would draw him level with Massa’s erstwhile Ferrari team-mate Michael Schumacher for titles, but with the record for wins, poles and podiums, as well as consecutive points finishes, he will in many eyes already be the “greatest of all time”. Brazilian Massa, who himself missed out on a title triumph when Hamilton claimed his first in Sao Paulo in 2008, has no doubt that the Englishman, whose contract expires later this year, will deserve that sobriquet and a salary to match it. “Lewis can really be the best of the best and everybody will say that for years and years, or maybe decades, or whatever,” he told the F1 Nation podcast. “So, I think he is just preparing his two or three-year contract, which I think he deserves. “What he is doing… He shows that he definitely deserves it – to be different to all of the other drivers in terms of everything and even in terms of salary.” Hamilton departed the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola earlier this month with an enigmatic suggestion, after his record-increasing 93rd win had secured Mercedes’ unparalleled seventh consecutive constructors’ championship, that he may not return to racing in 2021. Notions of retirement were rejected by his team chief Toto Wolff, who is also out of contract this year. Massa suggested Hamilton is set for a bumper new deal ahead of any confirmed “salary cap” in the sport. “I remember when Michael was my team-mate and he was like that,” he recalled. “Michael was completely different to everybody in terms of everything – in records, numbers and salary. “For sure, Michael helped many other drivers to increase their salary. That’s what Lewis is, in my view, trying to do. I think he is ‘doing right’ and he deserves it.” In the simplest terms, Hamilton will be champion again if he beats Bottas, who trails him by 85 points with four races remaining. For the Finn to keep alive his own title bid, he must out-score Hamilton by nine points or more. Given that Hamilton has beaten him at 10 of this year’s 13 races to date and has been in the points at a record 46 consecutive races, Bottas faces a daunting challenge. Even if he wins on Sunday at the Istanbul Park Circuit, returning to the calendar for the first time since 2011, Hamilton can still take the title by finishing second and clocking the fastest lap. With the title race reduced to a duel between the two ‘silver arrows’ drivers, many other teams have turned already to plans for next season – Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto deciding to stay in Italy to concentrate on car development. Sporting director Laurent Mekies will take charge, but maintain close contact with Binotto, missing his first race since taking over last year. “He has taken an innovative approach so his voice and input will be heard loud and clear,” he said.