Formula 1

Mick Schumacher, Callum Illot and Robert Shwartzman enjoyed a thrilling and unforgettable Formula 1 tests on Wednesday at Fiorano circuit as they were making preparation for their formula 1 debut next weekend. Ferrari had organised tests in the 2018 Ferrari SF71H at the track near the factory to gauge the three top members of its academy, as they will all feature in Formula 1 before the end of the 2020 season. Schumacher ,Illot and Shwartzman, each completed their tests and were very fast in adjusting to the car, as the Ferrari driver academy technical chief Michael Matassa said. “It’s not easy to switch from the driving style demanded from a Formula 2 car to one best suited to Formula 1, the car has much more power, a significantly more sophisticated braking system and power steering that requires sensitivity and precision to use properly.” “However, they were all quick and immediately began running at a good pace. I believe the laps they did today will be very useful when Mick and Callum run on Friday at the Nurburgring.” Michael Matassa said. Mick Schumacher, who is the leading champion in the Formula 2 series will be featuring for the Alfa Romeo team in the opening practice for the Eifel Grand Prix at the Nurburgring track which will happen next Friday. He will be appealing to join the Formula 1 pact for the 2021 season. This was the third outing for Schumacher in a Formula 1 car following appearances with Ferrari and Alfa Romeo in 2019 after the Bahrain Grand Prix. “It was very useful to get used to all the procedures again, which are pretty complex and also with how a team works in this top level of the sport,” Schumacher said. “I can’t wait to jump into the cockpit in Germany and it will be nice to take part in a practice session for the first time in front of my home crowd. In the team, there are some mechanics who worked with my father and that will make the day even more special.” Callum Illot made his first appearance in a Formula 1 car at Fiorano, though he had previously tested a grand prix car for Alfa Romeo, and later said the experience was unforgettable. “Today I was able to get to grips with the car with just ten days to go to my debut on a Grand Prix weekend,” said Ilott. “What struck me about the SF71H was its aero efficiency, which means you have grip levels you just don’t find in other categories. Then there’s the extreme power from the engine and instant braking.” Both drivers are strong contenders for Formula 1 drivers seats for the 2021 season, with Ferrari having posts for its junior drivers at Alfa Romeo and Haas. For Robert Shwartzman, the Wednesday’s run at Fiorano was his first outing in a Formula 1 car, having only driven as high as Formula 2. He was the 2019 Formula 3 champion and said the day was fantastic and fun noting the power uptake of the car compared to the previous cars he had driven. “When you accelerate the horsepower never seems to stop,” said Shwartzman. “The brakes are equally impressive: the car stops when it feels as though it’s too late to make the corner. Apart from the actual driving, it was also special to work with the team. There are a lot of them and they pay attention to every little detail. They really work at a very high level.” “Thanks to everyone who made this memorable day possible.” Shwartzman will feature for Alfa Romeo in practice for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in mid-November.

Haas is one of the three Formula 1 teams yet to announce its drivers line-up for the 2021 season as there are several drivers available in the driver market, so what options are available for team for the 2021 season? The team principal Guenther Steiner has made it clear that all options are on the table and they are planning to make major changes in the drivers line-up by giving a chance for rookie drivers to run their cars, as the contrary has been happening in their recent years. Previously, Steiner had been keen to avoid rookies as the team was new to the sport and it was slowly absorbing the processes that happen with the teams on the track, but now all the possibilities are very open. So, who are the prime candidates for the 2021 Haas drive? Kevin Magnussen Magnussen is one of the drivers who receives different opinions, he was very quick back in his days. The Danish driver is currently racing for the team and is undoubtedly the fastest of the drivers compared to Romain Grosjean. He is the driver behind the only point scored this season by the Haas team. Magnussen is relatively very young, only aged 27, and this would be the perfect time to exploit his potential in Formula 1 racing and would be a very good guide to mearsure any rookie who gets into the team. If only one driver would be to remain in the Haas team, it could be Magnussen. Romain Grosjean While both of the curren Haas drivers, Magnussen and Grosjean said that they were looking at other racing options outside Formula 1, it was Grosjean who seemed to have done the homework on the matter. Grosjean has been a part of the team since its debut in Formula 1 Racing back in 2016, but it is seeming to be difficult to salvage the 34-year-old driver in the recent past. The frenchman has been seemingly taking to air his dirty linens over the team radio and it seems now that the team and the driver are most likely to part in different ways. Robert Shwartzman Shwartzman is a Formula 2 rookie, and as he made his campaign for the Formula 2 victory, Alfa Romeo and Haas has been keen to note his impressive performance. But recently the F2 driver’s results have dipped due errors and mistakes of his own making and it looks that now he might be staying longer in Formula 2. With only two rounds and four races remaining, there is hope for the driver as he will be contesting in FP1 in Abu Dhabi with Alfa Romeo. If Haas would go with the idea to fill in with two rookie drivers, Shwartzman could be the best option. Sergio Perez Sergio Perez is currently racing for Racing Point, and he announced that he will be leaving the team at the end of the season to pave way for Sebastian Vettel who will be joining the team in 2021 after it will be rebranded Aston Martin. Perez is now available in the market and it is only a matter of time before a team takes him. Perez has both talent and money, as Guenther Steiner said that the team is short on cash and they are rather looking towards a long-time success than a quick fix, but if they can afford Perez, he might surprise them with his performance. Alfa Romeo has been having ties with Sergio Perez back when the team was named Sauber, and giving him the seat might be very realistic. There were suggestions however, that Redbull or Alpha Tauri might give him a seat for 2021. Callum Illot Callum Illot is a British Formula 2 driver and is second after Schumacher in the F2 driver standings and is set to replace Antonio Giovinazzi’s seat at Alfa Romeo. His consistent driving has lead to F1 team having their eyes on him. Illot is currently on his second year in F2 racing as Mick Schumacher, and it is very rare for any drivers to join the F1 racing series after they have been in F2 for more than two years, another key reason for Ilott now being considered as potentially the most likely new face to arrive at the American team is that he will drive in FP1 for the team at the Eifel Grand Prix.

Redbull driver Alexander Albon again had a disappointing finish at the Russian Grand Prix, and Robert Doornbos who was the team’s test driver and also competed for three races is not sure how much longer the Thai driver can get away with it. Albon had seemed to up his game when he scored his maiden podium finish at the Tuscan Grand Prix which was held at Mugello after he finished third in the race. However, it was shortly followed by one of his worst finishes for the Redbull team as he managed P10 in the Russian GP qualifying round as his teammate Max Verstappen managed an impressive P2. Things weren’t much better in the race after Albon started in P15 as he spent the better part of the race battling slower cars on the track, and eventually finished 10th after being passed by Pierre Gasly on his AlphaTauri AT01. “Two weeks ago he was the hero of the team and he got his first podium and this weekend he was hopeless,” said Doornbos, who used to be a test driver for the team and competed in three races. “When you finish a minute and a half behind your teammate in P10… It would have been a very difficult debrief for Albon, and I am curious about how many times he can still do that.” “It’s probably a very long discussion at Red Bull about who should drive the car in 2021. Pierre Gasly is of course, waiting on the seat, but it’s a bit crazy to suddenly give him the seat in the middle of the season.” With Pierre Gasly bringing out an impressive performance, Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg being available in the driver market, many feel that Albon may lose his seat for the 2021 Formula 1 season. However, Doornbos thinks the redbull driver can still secure his seat if he pushes his performance to the limits in the upcoming races. “I think Albon still has time to secure his seat until the end of the season”, he added. “You can see that Albon has no confidence and has a lot of trouble finding the balance… [but] he has done well in all junior classes and at Toro Rosso, he drove beautiful races,” he added. “At Red Bull, he can do that on Sunday afternoon. Then, at the end of the race, you see daring overtaking actions such as moves on the outside and that’s what Helmut Marko likes to see.”

Mick Schumacher and Callum Ilott will get their first runs in an official Formula 1 practice session at the Eifel Grand Prix, as Ferrari announces plans for a trio of its youngsters. With Ferrari pondering the next steps for its F2 race winners, Schumacher will join Ilott in getting some running in first free practice at the Nurburgring. Schumacher will drive for Alfa Romeo, taking Antonio Giovinazzi’s cockpit while Ilott will take part in the practice session for Haas, replacing Romain Grosjean. Callum Ilott who drives for UNI-Virtuosi Formula 2 team Robert Shwartzman will get a first free practice run in the F1 season finale at Abu Dhabi, but it has not yet been confirmed with which team. Ahead of their F1 race weekend debuts, the trio will also test at Ferrari’s Fiorano test track on Wednesday at the wheel of a 2018 SF71H car. Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies, who is in charge of the Ferrari Driver Academy, said: “We wanted to organise this test session so that our three best youngsters would be as well prepared as possible to tackle an event that will always be a special moment for them. “It will be a chance to get to grips with a Formula 1 car, which is much more complicated than the car they are currently used to driving.” Schumacher is currently leading the F2 title standings following another feature race victory in Russia last weekend. He is 22 points ahead of Ilott, with just one round remaining at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Robert Shwartzman who drives for Prema Racing Formula 2 team The progress that Schumacher has made this season has impressed onlookers, with F1 managing director of motorsport Ross Brawn saying earlier this week that he felt the youngster was maturing well. “When you carry the mantle of the name Schumacher, it’s not an easy gig,” said Brawn in his regular post-race column following the Russian GP. “It can give you some benefits, but you’re the subject of scrutiny the whole time. Mick has handled it amazingly well and in the latter part of this season, his second season in Formula 2, we have started to see him mature and develop extremely well as a racing driver. “Russia was an excellent weekend for him and I’m full of optimism for his future.”

Mclaren driver Carlos Sainz took full responsibility for the crash that happened on the first lap at Turn 2 in the Russian Grand Prix, but later after the race he said that the tight off track chicane at Turn 2 in Sochi Autodrome where he hit the wall was not properly designed. The spanish national was the first to crash as Racing point’s Lance Stroll crashed on the same spot after a few seconds after Charles Leclerc made contact with the RP20, Sainz had gone offtrack and later hit the wall on his left side of the MCL35 damaging the front tyre. Both drivers retired from the race. The Mclaren driver who had started on the 6th position, would later take the blame for the crash. “The angle was really, really narrow to go around the bollard and I just misjudged my entry speed, the track was very dirty, and [I] crashed pretty heavily against that wall. It is frustrating, but at the same time there’s always going to be some mistakes during the year. Today was my mistake and I apologise to the team for it.” Carlos Sainz said, and although he accepted the mistake he also added that the narrow chicane at Turn 2 was making life difficult for the drivers if they went off at that corner. “I’m definitely looking forward to Nurburgring to try and redeem a bit myself, but at the same time I think that corner is not very well designed,” he said. “It’s forcing drivers to take very strange lines and very strange incidents like the five-second penalties that we are given if we don’t negotiate that chicane next to a wall. “But it is what it is and I got it wrong today,” the Mclaren driver also added. The race director Michael Masi also accepted that Turn 2 was a force to reckon with as he and his team have been always grappling with. “Turn 2 has been one of those that’s been a challenge in different ways each year,” Masi said. “You fix things in one way, and it has another impact in another. So we’re trying to find the best solution, and I think we’ve found a reasonable solution. Now is there room for improvement? Yes. There’s always room for improvement.” he added. Some observers have suggested to replace the tarmac runoff with a gravel trap but Michael Masi dismissed the statements saying that the gravel trap does not work at every track or every corner.  “As I’ve said a number of times that there’s different solutions for different circuits, different corners, taking everything into account. And gravel is not a solution everywhere.” “With regards to speeds in run-offs, one of the things that obviously we’ve tried to achieve and aim to achieve is primarily that the rejoin in such circumstances is effectively funnelled in a way that it’s as safe as possible. That’s the primary objective. “Secondary is to slow cars down if possible within that area. However, the nature of Turn 2, because of literally the nature of the corner, it’s very hard to find a one-size fits all solution. So we’ll continue looking at it, and see what we can do.” Masi concluded

The FIA stewards have withdrawn the penalty points slapped on Lewis Hamilton for race practice start infringements prior to F1 Russian Grand Prix and instead imposing a fine on the Mercedes F1 Team. Hamilton had been handed two five-second penalties for two separate race start violations prior to Sunday afternoon’s race at Sochi Autodrom. The Mercedes driver served the two penalties by stopping in the pit for 10 seconds before the Mercedes team would service his car. This cost him the lead as he finished third behind his teammate Valtteri Bottas and Redbull’s Max Verstappen. Hamilton also incurred two penalty points on his FIA super licence ending up with a total of 10 points incurred within a period of one year, meaning the driver had only two points remaining to make a total of 12 points which lead to a one-race ban for any Formula 1 driver. The FIA stewards have now gone back on their decision to hand the brit the penalty points and instead handed Mercedes £25,000 penalty. “The Stewards received information from the team that the driver of car 44 had received a team instruction to perform the practice start in the incorrect place,” the statement from FIA stewards reads. “This was confirmed by the Stewards having listened to the audio between the team and the driver.” “Based on this information the Stewards replace the penalty points with this decision and therefore remove the penalty points imposed and fine the competitor (Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team) €25,000.” Mercedes AMG Petronas race engineer Peter Bonnington had instructed Lewis Hamilton to complete his two race practice starts at the same location, which he did. But the decisions later emerged to have gone against the race director, Michael Masi’s instructions. Hamilton later came out to say that the penalties were ridiculous and continued to say that the race stewards were trying to stop him. The team principal, Toto Wolff also added on the issue saying that the penalties were far fetched. Lewis Hamilton is now down to 8 points on his super licence for the 12 month period only having 4 points to go for his licence to be dropped after the Turkish Grand Prix on November. “The verdict was he wasn’t in the right place,” Wolff commented as he could not comprehend how the race stewards had come to a conclusion to issue the penalty. “There is no mention what the right place is in the director’s note, nor is it in the regulations. So we agree to disagree on that one. The other one was not driving at constant speed in the reconnaissance laps, and there again, it’s debatable. “But the race has happened. He received the 10 seconds penalty. So for a reconnaissance lap, infringement, an in-race penalty, can be debated also. “But you have to take it on the chin and move on.”

Lewis Hamilton accused Formula One stewards of trying to stop him winning after being handed two five-second penalties in yesterday’s Russian Grand Prix. The punishment for track violations before the race had even started, cost the six-time world champion the lead and the chance to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 Grand Prix triumphs, as the Mercedes driver finished third after starting in pole position, with teammate Valtteri Bottas taking full advantage of the world champion’s troubled day to claim the ninth win of his career. Valtteri Bottas passed Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to take second place at the start and inherited the lead when the race leader took an extended pit stop to serve two five-second penalties for irregular pre-race practice starts. A disappointed Hamilton rejoined in 11th place but fought back to finish third behind Verstappen. The charge gave entertainment to the 30,000 spectators, the first significant crowd at a sports event in the Covid-19 era. “I’m pretty sure no one’s got two five-second penalties for something so ridiculous before,” Hamilton said. “I didn’t put anyone in danger, I’ve done this at a million tracks over the years and never been questioned on it.” The stewards also handed Hamilton two penalty points on his licence, leaving him two short of incurring a one-race ban triggered by 12 in a 12-month period. He will have to maintain a clean slate over the next four races until November’s Turkish Grand Prix. Asked if the FIA stewards took the issue too far, he replied: “Of course it is. But it’s to be expected. They’re trying to stop me, aren’t they? But it’s OK. I just need to keep my head down and stay focused.” Bottas’ second win in Russia and second this season reinvigorated his challenge for the drivers’ title and reduced Hamilton’s lead to 44 points. The Finn also collected a bonus point for fastest lap. While Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff was happy for Bottas, he described Hamilton’s penalty as “far-fetched” and insisted that the driver gained no advantage by doing the start where he did. Verstappen, who was pleased to split the two Silver Arrows, was also sympathetic. “I mean if you cause a crash it’s different, right? But I think the penalty Lewis got was already painful enough,” said the Red Bull driver. “I mean OK, maybe it was not correct where he stopped, but penalty points for that? I’m not sure that’s correct.”

Valtteri Bottas raced to victory in the Russian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen closely followed in second as 6-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton finished third after serving two penalties for pre-race practice infractions. Hamilton had completed two practice laps at Sochi including the one towards the end of the pitlane exit, which was aganist the directives given by the race director Michael Masi. This means that Hamilton went into the race while under investigation. Adding insult to injury he started the race on the soft tyres which are entirely unfancied as Bottas and Redbull’s Max Verstappen started on the medium tyres. As the race started Lewis Hamilton was leading as his teammate Bottas immediately passed Max Verstappen at Turn 1. Bottas tried to pass Lewis Hamilton from the outside as he tried to move his nose past his teammate but immediately got a brief slide over the kerbs and Hamilton was able to retake the lead. Verstappen was one of the drivers who went to the runoff area at turn 2 and Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo was able to overtake him briefly, as Verstappen regained his position at the next turn. Ricciardo went ahead to lose his fourth position to his teammate Esteban Ocon after sliding at Turn 7. But the race was immediately suspended following Maclaren’s Carlos Sainz crashing after hitting the wall on the outside of the marker boards as he followed Vestappen. His wreckage remained in the track as the following drivers were forced to check up. A few moments later Charles Leclerc(Ferrari) made contact with Lance Stroll(Racing Point) after touching with his left frontside of the wing and Stroll hit the wall and retired from the race as the safety car was deployed moments later. The race restarted on lap 6 as Hamilton still lead the pack as Bottas was still closely chasing after him, but the world champion later extended his lead. But the news came in later that he was being handed two five-second penalties for the pre-race infractions and had to wait 10 seconds in the pit before Mercedes could service his car. He came in on lap 16 after setting two fastest laps and had a 2.7 seconds lead. Hamilton later rejoined the race out of the top 10 bracket but before Daniel Ricciardo who was in the pits. Valtteri Bottas was in the lead as he made fast laps in the 1m 39s bracket as Max Verstappen tried to edge out on him, but the RB 16 was much slower than the W11. Bottas eventually pitted on lap 26 to change from the mediums to the hards as he was 9.7s ahead of the Redbull. Hamilton was 15.4 seconds away from the lead. The gaps between the top 3 racers widened as Bottas was 12s ahead of Verstappen, as Hamilton was 10 seconds behind Verstappen. As the race came to an end Bottas was 7.7s ahead of Verstappen and Hamilton came in 15s behind Verstappen as they finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively. Sergio Perez finished 4th after taking the advantage of Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon who were behind Sebastian Vettel after their early stops. Daniel Ricciardo finished 5th evn after getting a 5 second penalty for cutting over Turn 2. The Australian however was able to create a large gap from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who finished 6th. Esteban Ocon finished 7th just ahead of AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat who came home 8th. Kvyat’s teammate Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon finished 9th and 10th respectively. Alexander Albon was another driver to get the five second penalty after cutting off Turn 2 despite the billboards being at the turn though they had been destroyed at one point when Romain Grosjean went over them. The remaining drivers came in over a lap later.

Lewis Hamilton has avoided penalty for a rules breach when he was rejoining the track at turn 2 during the qualifying session for the Russian Formula 1 Grand Prix. The FIA stewards during the qualifying session said that Hamilton was facing investigation after failing to hear Michael Masi, the race director who gave instructions to Hamilton as he was rejoining the track at Turn 2. Michael Masi had advised all the drivers in the pre-race event notes that they must pass through some bright orange billboards in the run-off area if they missed the apex at Turn 2, and later rejoin the race slowly. Lewis Hamilton did not follow the given routine during the qualifying session which lead him to be investigated alongside Haas’ drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean, as Williams Nicolas Latifi was also not left behind in the investigations. In a statement given by race stewards after the qualifying session, it was said that Lewis Hamilton had accepted he had not followed the instructions given by Michael Masi. However the track violation did not give him any advantage and he returned to the track safely, escaping a penalty. “The driver accepted that he had not followed the instructions and further he accepted that in a race there would be a penalty. The stewards determined that there was no advantage, as the relevant lap time was deleted.” The race stewards statement read. “Furthermore, to be consistent with previous decisions, the Stewards considered the precedents set out in the 2018 Spanish Gran Prix and the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix.” Nicolas Latifi, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen were also cleared of the track violation as all the drivers were reminded that such a breach would land them a five second penalty. The FIA has been particularly strict on track violatons at Sochi as it has a vast run-off area, asking the track managers to install an escape route at turn 2 before the fast left hand Turn 3. Hamilton was looking at losing his time in the second qualifying round after going wide at turn 18 on his first lap that was later deleted for exceeding the track limits. The 6-time world champion went on to set the fastest time in Q3 securing the 1st pole position.

Lewis Hamilton claimed the pole position for the 2020 Russian Grand Prix after a near miss on the Q2 lap which could have prevented him from setting a time due to Sebastian Vettel crash. Max Verstappen was able to defeat Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas to the second place. Lewis Hamilton is also facing a post race investigation for track violation together with Nicolas Latifi, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen in Q1. The 6-time world champion will be the only one to start Sunday’s race on soft tyres after his near miss in Q2. In the earlier session where drops of rain were reported on the track, Mercedes sent out their two W11’s on medium tyres as Redbull Racing did with Verstappen’s RB16. Moments later the Mercedes drivers, Hamilton and Bottas were forced to run on hard compound tyres as Hamilton had his time deleted for a track limits violation at thre final corner. Bottas, nevertheless was able to set a time good enough to get him to Q3, but Hamilton on the other hand had to halt his second run after Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel crashed around turn 4 making the session to be suspended. The 4-time world champion clipped the kerb on the inside of the right hand of the turn as he lost his rear spinning to the wall on the outside damaged his front wing which was immediately knocked by his teammate Charles Leclerc with his front wheel, Leclerc was closely following Vettel when the incident occured. When the session restarted Mercedes sent out Hamilton on the soft tyres which meant the Bottas would be going out on the medium compound tyres. Verstappen also went out on the medium tyres and went ahead to lead the other cars recording 2m 15s after Vettel’s crash. He also ran on the soft tyres and seemed to improve on his previous Q2 best but later abandoned the run, which means he will be starting on the hard tyre, which will be better for the Sunday’s race. Hamilton had a wide slide at turn 2 on his last lap as he was desperately trying to make the the best time, made it to the finish line barely a second remaining to the end of the session. He got the 4th fastest time in Q2, in which Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo was the fastest. A frustrated Charles Leclerc was knocked out in Q2. In Q3 Lewis Hamilton lead the pack with 1m 31.391s, which meant Bottas had to close a 0.793s gap in the final session of the qualifiers. The Finn was however able to improve in his final run despite a small mistake on the kerb at the exit of turn 2 but was still 0.5 seconds behind, even before Hamilton completed his last lap. Verstappen set his final lap later after the Mercedes W11s and was running behind Valtteri Bottas in the two first sections but later forged ahead of him as he speeded up in the final sector taking the 2nd pole after Hamilton. Sergio Perez(Racing Point) will starth in 4th position ahead of Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo who rounded up the top 5. Carlos Sainz(Mclaren) was closely followed by Ricciardo’s tammate Esteban Ocon as they were 6th and 7th respectively. Lando Norris(Mclaren), Pierre Gasly(AlphaTauri) and Redbull’s Alexander Albon rounded the top ten positions. Daniil Kvyat took the 12th place for AlphaTauri as Lance Stroll(Racing Point) closely followed in 13th despite being pulled out of the pack in the final Q2 laps with a suspected issue. The same happened to George Russel(Williams Racing) and Sebastian Vettel. Russell ran for only 1 lap in Q2 and was 0.5 seconds faster than his Q1 record time. He was able to knock out Romain Grosjean(Haas) in Q1 as he was desperate to get to the Q2. Grosjean finished the session in 16th place. Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi was 17th, ahead of Kevin Magnussen and Nicolas Latiffi who along with Grosjean went into the final Q1 runs without set time after being among a group of drivers including Hamilton and Gasly, who had their opening laps deleted for cutting the kerbs at Turn 2. Kimi Raikkonnen came last in the qualifying session for the race that he will be equalling Reuben Barrichello’s record for most F1 starts.

Valtteri Bottas(Mercedes Petronas) topped the Russian GP FP2 at Sochi Autodrome in Russia. The track that sorrounds the Russian Olympic park proved hard for the drivers to master all day as the track is dusty making it hard for the cars to maintain grip on the track. As the cars continued to rubber in on the track, the drivers became confident and were able to push the cars to their limits. The Free Practice 2 saw quicker lap times than the First Practice session. Romain Grosjean was the first out of the pits in the afternoon session. Contrary to the first session, which had very few drivers on the track, all the drivers were on in the afternoon session to challenge their lap times. The first incident occured barely fifteen minutes from the start, which saw Lance Stroll spinning into turn 13 buth however no harm was caused and the canadian went on to finish 17th. Lewis Hamilton who had struggled in the FP1 also saw himself in a predicament in the afternoon session as he experienced a tyre stress at turn 13 compromising his purple sector time which saw his lap getting scrapped. Seconds later his teammate Valtteri Bottas had an issue in the purple lap which later saw him lose time through sector 3. The two Mercedes drivers were certainly testing the limits of their W11 cars. Daniel Ricciardo(Renault) and Lando Norris(Mclaren) were able to record impressive lap times coming in 3rd and 4th respectively. Max Verstappen also fell victim to a spin at turn fourteen as he concluded the session ranking 7th. Traffic proved to be an issue when all cars were on track, and George Russell was one driver unhappy about this particular issue. As usual, he pushed his Williams FW43 as hard as he could but could only manage a 1:35.5 to earn him sixteenth only. His team-mate Nicholas Latifi was most likely tip-toeing around the circuit after a crash in Free Practice One rendered him unable to complete any more running, and the Canadian ended up in fifteenth place. There was also action in the paddock as well as the track during the session, and with twenty minutes to go it was officially announced that ex-Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali would replace Chase Carey as the CEO of Formula 1. Domenicali will undertake the role on New Years Day next year. As the session ended, it was Bottas 0.267s faster than team-mate Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes pair were eons ahead of the rest of the field in both sessions today, and it was Ricciardo who finished closest to the duo in third. Carlos Sainz was the fastest of the two McLaren’s, and finished fourth- one place ahead of Norris. The top ten was completed by Sergio Pérez, Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Esteban Ocon and Sebastian Vettel.

Valtteri Bottas set the early pace in an eventful first practice session at the Russian Grand Prix. The Finn would post a 1m34.923s early on, using the soft compound tyre, and that would go unbeaten until the end thanks to a series of events. Two would be disruptions due to collisions with the barriers as first Carlos Sainz damaged his rear wing after losing the rear in Turn 7, requiring a Virtual Safety Car to clear the debris. Then, Nicholas Latifi would have a bigger crash at Turn 10 with a red flag needed to recover his Williams. The first incident meant Lewis Hamilton didn’t set a representative lap time on his first set of tyres, then, after the mid-session change, he would ruin his second set on the first timed lap with a big lock-up into Turn 2. Limited to just a handful of laps on the damaged rubber late on then, the six-time world champion ended FP1 down in 19th place, but given the chance then to get an upper hand on his teammate in terms of running, Bottas couldn’t capitalise as he too damaged his front-left into Turn 13, leaving both Merc’s in the pits for much of the morning. Still, no-one could get close to Valtteri’s initial lap-time with Daniel Ricciardo half a second down in P2, a tenth clear of former teammate Max Verstappen in third.

Former Ferrari principal Stefano Domenicali will be making a return to Formula 1 as the CEO of the sport. The current CEO Chase Carey took the position in 2017 January in a Liberty Media takeover and he has been overseeing the success of the 2017,2018,2019 and 2020 Formula 1 seasons as well as the successful completion of the negotiations aiming to extend Formula 1’s concorde agreement with the 10 participating teams. Chase Carey also holds the position of the F1 chairman, will be retaining links to the F1 sport even as he hands over his CEO role. 55-year-old Stefano Domenicali is well known for his former role at Scuderia Ferrari and is well connected to Formula 1 managing director Ross Brawn and FIA president Jean Todt. He was born in Imola and studied at the University of Bologna, later joining the Ferrari team in 1991. Stefano later in 2007 took the head of the Ferrari team from Todt and oversaw the team’s success up to 2014, when he stepped down. In December 2014, Stefano Domenicali took over as the head of the FIA’s single seater comission and two years later he became the Lamborghini CEO, the company which is allegedly believed to be up for sale by the parent company Audi. Domenicali will be taking up his new role before the beginning of next season. The appointment of Domenicali means the top roles at both F1’s governing body and commercial rights holder will be held by former Ferrari principals. However Todt, who became FIA president in 2010, has indicated he will not seek re-election when his current term expires at the end of next year.

Over the last week, Max Verstappen’s contract with Redbull Racing team has been on the limelight as there has been discussion if the Dutchman’s contract has the clause allowing him to leave Redbull Racing earlier or not, and if the contact allows him to leave, should he do so now? Verstappen signed a contract with the Redbull team last season that will last up to 2023. This is a long time, but following the rule changes in 2022 this was the right call for the team. The new rules will be accompanied by budget caps and the rules will determine which teams will remain afloat, as they are trying strategies that will give them an advantage over the other teams. There has been rumours over the last couple of weeks that there is a clause in Verstappen’s contract, that he could leave the Redbull team at the end of 2021 season. ”That rule in contracts is always there, if a team doesn’t deliver a winning car, you have clauses that allow you to get out. That’s why you don’t make a contract to continue with each other, but rather how you get rid of each other if things don’t work out,” says Olav Mol at F1 aan Tafel. However Olav doesn’t see Verstappen leaving the Redbull team any time soon. ”I don’t see it happening any time soon that you change to a team of which you don’t know if there’s a good car in 2022. Personally, I think the Verstappens are very loyal to the people who brought them in. Of course they have to make sure that he is satisfied, but you don’t have to tell anyone at Red Bull or Honda now that you have to step it up”, added Mol.

Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul has opened up on his frustration about Daniel Ricciardo leaving the team just as it is about to improve. The australian racer will be quitting The Renault Formula 1 Team after driving for two years after quitting Redbull F1 Team at the end of the 2018 Formula 1 season. He will be signing with the Mclaren team for 2021 after Carlos Sainz joined Ferrari as they will be cutting ties with four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel. Ricciardo’s stint at the french outfit team has been dented by a series of backs and forths though he has achieved the fourth position in the recent Formula 1 events. The Australian is yet to stand on the podium wearing black and yellow. Cyril Abiteboul was frustrated by Daniel Ricciardo’s move to Mclaren, issuing a statement saying, “Reciprocated confidence, unity and commitment are more than ever, critical values for a works team.” The Renault boss continues saying that it hurts even more for Daniel Ricciardo to leave when he(Abiteboul) is very certain of Renaults future even if he can’t prove it. Although Daniel Ricciardo knew that he wasn’t getting championship-winning car when he signed with Renault but he was impressed with their vision for the future which has not yet materialised for the two seasons he has been there. Abiteboul also knows it takes more than empty promises to keep a strong driver like Ricciardo. “I think everyone has been able to feel the frustration, and my own frustration, when it (Ricciardo’s exit) was announced,” Abiteboul said “And let’s be honest. I had the feeling that this (progress) was coming, that the team had made a step up, and that the car would be better.” “Plus that there was much more to come actually in the pipeline, that he had not driven yet. I knew the figures, but the problem is that it’s only figures, and I know that he’s been promised lots of things in the past not only by us, but also by his previous team (Red Bull).” “Daniel is very emotional but he has clearly made a step up. He has gained massively in confidence with the team and with the car, and the relationship between him and his race engineer is very, very strong. We see all of that, it’s finally paying dividends.” Renault will be replacing Ricciardo with Fernando Alonso who left the F1 sport at the end of 2018 and has already secured the contract with Renault up to the end of 2022. “It’s really true that when you change driver, you make a step back before making a step forward,” Abiteboul said. “Because year one is always a bit of an investment before the years ahead, so we need to have longer stints with our drivers if want to make steps forward.” Ricciardo currently sits at the 7th place in the drivers championship and the Renault team sits fifth in the constructors championship