Racetrackmasters

A fifth place was the best Sergio Perez could achieve at the Spanish GP, but he is not happy with it. He knows he needs to do better if he wants to race for Red Bull Racing next season. The Mexican is looking forward to the Monaco Grand Prix. Max Verstappen, as a teammate, is making relatively frequent adjustments during the opening stages of the 2021 season. “He tells me how to drive the car, how to get the most out of the car and how to adapt my driving style,” Perez says of the advice he receives from the current number two in the world championship. Speaking to Marca the veteran continued,”Every circuit is different. It doesn’t mean that if you learn something here in Spain, it will immediately work in Monaco, although people think it will.” According to Perez, each weekend is a search for the right balance and set-up. It is one of the reasons why Perez has not scored a podium this year.

Formula 1’s next generation of cars will be even heavier than planned next year, with the minimum weight raised further to 790kg, 100kg more than the start of the V6 turbo-hybrid era. The 2022 rules are a major departure from F1’s current cars, with overhauled aerodynamics and a range of restrictions designed to make it easier for drivers to follow and race one another. It was initially expected that the new 2022 cars would weigh 775kg, an increase of 23kg from the current designs, because of the move to 18-inch wheels and some safety related changes. The FIA has recently rubber-stamped another 15kg increase. This is related to increased safety improvements on the chassis. Cars will need to weigh 790kg without fuel. This season cars have 110kg of fuel on board at the start. That, plus a minimum weight for a driver and his seat of 80kg, means cars will weigh a minimum of 980kg at the start of a grand prix in 2022. Drivers have repeatedly complained about the weight of modern F1 cars in recent years, with the move to complex and heavier hybrid engines part of the problem. The cars were then made bigger in 2017 as part of a push to make F1’s machinery faster and look more aggressive. But there have also been fundamental safety improvements contributing to the gradual increase as well, with the addition of the halo driver safety device the headline item. Even though this year’s cars were carried over from last year, there was still a 6kg weight increase that is partly explained by Pirelli strengthening its tyres for safety reasons. It means the 2022 cars will be 100kg heavier than the first generation of V6-engined machines in 2014 – and 148kg heavier than the last V8 cars from 2013.

Turkey was added to the 2021 calendar as a replacement for the cancelled Canadian Grand Prix at the end of April, taking the June 13 date slot, one week after the Azerbaijan race in Baku. But fresh doubts were raised of the race after Turkey was added to the UK’s ‘red list’ for travel, meaning anyone returning to the UK would have to complete a 10-day quarantine in a government-approved hotel. One suggested solution was a date swap for Azerbaijan and Turkey, ensuring that UK-based staff would be able to spend enough time outside of Turkey before returning home to avoid the 10-day quarantine. But Baku City Circuit executive director Arif Rahimov said a date swap was not feasible given Baku would be hosting a UEFA Euro 2020 match the following weekend. Wales will play Switzerland at the Olympic Stadium in Baku on 12 June, in the first of five games the city will host of the delayed football tournament. “There were talks, but in our case, our race weekend is really fixed,” Rahimov told select media including Motorsport.com in a media briefing on Wednesday. “It was kind of squeezed in-between all the other events happening in the city, because the football is still going ahead. “The first game will be on June 12, which is on the Saturday following the race weekend. So there is not much that we can do in terms of we’re not very flexible this year. “I guess if it was any other year where we’re the only major event on the calendar of Baku, then yeah, that could have been an option. But not this year.” F1 is still evaluating options for the Turkish Grand Prix and potential replacements, including the staging of an additional event at one of the existing European rounds. Azerbaijan will return to the F1 calendar this year following the cancellation of last year’s race due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but announced in March that it would run the race without spectators. Rahimov explained that the organisers in Baku were left with “doing 40% of the work” due to the sizeable number of fan events typically put on surrounding the race. “We’ve done so many things for them in previous years, all the entertainments along the promenade,” Rahimov said. “We’ve done concerts, we usually do three concerts every year, just for the race, doing afterparties, and pit lane walks, you name it, there’s a lot of stuff to be done for the spectators, which we’re not doing this year. “The only thing left is obviously taking care of things during the pandemic, and making sure that everyone is safe. That corresponds to people working for the circuit, like our contractors and all the stakeholders. “For that, we’re taking the usual precautions, wearing masks, personal hygiene, all those things mandated by WHO and in our country. “I wouldn’t say it’s complicated. It’s just different, unfortunately to the worse side.”

As testing continues in Barcelona, Pirelli reveals that it is “80-90%” towards finalising the construction and profile of the tyres to be used in 2022. The news comes as Robert Kubica was in action for Alfa Romeo at the Spanish track, and Alex Albon on duty for Red Bull. The test is the latest in a series involving the teams various mule cars and which culminates in Abu Dhabi when all the teams will have access to the definitive 2022 rubber. Further tests are scheduled for Paul Ricard, Spielberg, Silverstone, Hungary and Magny-Cours. Kubica completed 127 laps in total, while Albon completed 100. Daniil Kvyat is scheduled to drive an Alpine today while Kubica continues for Alfa Romeo. “In terms of development, we are in the process of finalising the construction and the profile,” said Mario Isola, according to Motorsport.com. “I would say we are at 80-90% the construction is finalised, and now we are starting a test campaign on new compounds. “We have a new compound we are already using,” he continued, “a C3 level that is working quite well. “It is the first one of the new family of compounds that we want to introduce for next year, with the characteristics that are required and were agreed in the target letter with the drivers. “So much less overheating. Obviously, we need to validate that when we will have the final version of the cars.” However, the Italian was keen to make clear that the 2022 cars are currently an unknown quantity, especially compared to the mule cars being used for the tests. “At the moment we are using mule cars that should be enough representative of the cars for next year. But we know that next year’s cars will be very different,” he admitted. “And the other point that is something that we cannot test during a tyre development session is the influence of the slipstream, we have only one car or two cars that are running on track, there is not proper traffic. So we can assume when we are designing a new tyre, a new tyre to reduce overheating. And also the new aero package should suffer less when they follow in other car. “They should keep the downforce, or lose maximum 10%, that is a completely different situation compared to what we have now, where they lose up to 50% of the downforce, and obviously they start sliding. But this is something that we will have answer only next year.” Asked how representative the mule cars are, he admitted: “We asked the teams to put a level of downforce, a minimum weight and the weight distribution that is in line with the expectation for next year. So all the mule cars are good enough to test if they are able to replicate what is going to happen next year. “But we have some differences, like I was talking about overheating for example, because obviously we are using the brakes that are on the cars now, not the new system, and also without rim covers that will affect the performance and the heating of the rim. “So there are still some question marks on next year, what we are trying to do is to have cars that are as much as possible representative of next year’s performances.” Tuesday’s test also witnessed the reappearance of wheel covers which make their return to the sport next season. Last seen in 2009, wheel covers were outlawed ahead of the 2010 season.

Following a comment made by Lewis Hamilton at the weekend, the FIA has confirmed that it is to act on “bendy” wings. Speaking to Sky Sports in the aftermath of Saturday’s qualifying session, when he out-qualified Max Verstappen by just 0.036s, eventual race winner, Lewis Hamilton said that his rivals had a “bendy (rear) wing”, which he believed could account for some of the RBR16B’s speed. “The Red Bulls are really fast on the straights,” said the Briton. “They have this bendy wing on the back of their car which they put on today and they gained at least three tenths from this wing. “So they will be quicker down the straights than us, and it will be hard to keep them behind. But that doesn’t mean it will be impossible.” “I saw the comments,” responded Christian Horner when asked about Hamilton’s comment. “Of course the cars are scrutineered thoroughly and there’s pull back tests, there’s all kinds of different tests it has to pass. “The FIA are completely happy with the car, that it has passed all of those tests that are pretty stringent,” he insisted. “So I was surprised to see his comments on that. But it’s something that Toto has mentioned to me previously. I doubt it was Lewis’ opinion, so probably came from elsewhere.” While on Friday the Austrian team had been running a high downforce wing with an eye on the forthcoming race in Monaco, for Saturday it switched back to the lower drag version used previously. Article 3.8 of the sport’s technical regulations states that those components that influence a car’s aerodynamic performance must be “rigidly secured to the entirely sprung part of the car” – where rigidly secured means not having any degree of freedom – and “remain immobile in relation to the sprung part of the car”. On Tuesday, the FIA’s single seater technical head, Nikolas Tombazis wrote to all the teams advising that new load deflection tests will be introduced from 15 June. “We have become aware of some cases whereby rear designs which comply with the requirements of articles 3.9.3 and 3.9.4 nonetheless exhibit excessive deflections while the cars are in motion,” he wrote. “We believe that such deformations can have a significant influence on a car’s aerodynamic performance and hence could be deemed to contravene the provisions of article 3.8. “We will be looking out for any anomalous behaviour of the deformation of the rear wing,” he added. “In particular we will not tolerate any persistent out of plane deformation that may be contrived to circumvent the symmetrical loading applied in the load deflection tests. “Should we observe any characteristics that indicate exploitation of this area, we will introduce further load deflection tests as necessary.” The 15 June deadline gives the teams – whoever they might be – until just ahead of the French Grand Prix to make the necessary changes.

Formula 1’s Race Director Michael Masi says reverting to the old layout at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is a possibility if the championship returns to the venue. Formula 1’s Spanish Grand Prix has been held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya since 1991 and the layout has undergone occasional revisions in its 30-year history. Among the biggest was the introduction in 2007 of a right-left-right chicane in the final sector, which replaced the high-speed penultimate corner. It also reduced the apex speed through the final sweeping corner of the lap. Run-off at the old penultimate corner was increased in 2018, with the barriers and grandstands pushed back, allowing MotoGP to revert to the old layout two years after Moto2 rider Luis Salom was killed at the corner. But Formula 1 has continued to use the chicane at the complex – an aspect that could be altered in the future. “It’s something that we’ve been looking at for a little while,” said Masi after Sunday’s race. “It’s obviously not an overnight change that can be done, and looking at all the implications and unintended consequences that may come about. “Like all of our circuits and different corners we work together with teams and drivers and F1 to make sure we have the safest venue but also something that promotes good racing.” The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya does not yet hold a deal to host a Formula 1 race in 2022. Its long-term deal expired in 2019, after which it has secured a pair of one-year contracts to continue hosting Formula 1.

Haas chief Guenther Steiner has offered his take on Toto Wolff’s message to FIA race director Michael Masi over Nikita Mazepin during the Spanish Grand Prix. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton ended up winning round four of the Formula 1 championship at the weekend after a clever two-stop strategy outfoxed Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team. Earlier on in the race, though, Hamilton was looking to run longer than Verstappen around the first set of pit-stops to try and overhaul him there and then, with him setting about trying to set some quick lap times. The Briton, as he closed up on Nikita Mazepin, was soon being aided by his boss Toto Wolff, too, as he got on the radio to FIA man Masi trying to get the blue flags out for a car that’s about to be lapped. “Michael, blue flags,” said Wolff. “Michael this guy makes us lose the position.” Indeed, the message was broadcast on the F1 world feed – a first in the sport to hear communication between a team boss and the FIA (though it obviously goes on a hell of a lot during a Grand Prix) – and Mazepin was soon out of the way. Ultimately, Hamilton didn’t get past Verstappen at that point, but, in fairness, that wasn’t really down to the Russian impeding the hard-charging reigning champion. And, that said, Haas boss Steiner leapt to his driver’s defence whilst also having a pop at Wolff. “Nikita told me, ‘I didn’t hear the message’,” he said to the press. “They just told me in the debrief that Toto said something, but I don’t know exactly why he said it because I don’t know the circumstances. “I think Nikita did a good job to get out of it and maybe Toto being Toto just wanted to make sure that he showed who is in command here and that everybody should move when he is coming along. “He didn’t let his guys do that work. He wanted a bit of publicity I guess.” Steiner is certainly good value for money when it comes to a quote or two and he’s always quite bolshy when it comes to defending either his team or his drivers. It’s certainly caused a stir hearing the communication live, too, and as fans of the sport, we’ll all be hoping for a bit more of that in the races to come.

According to Portuguese publication A Bola, Cristiano Ronaldo did not return to Turin with the rest of the Juventus squad after this weekend’s devastating 3-0 defeat to AC Milan. It’s reported that the all-time great was not in attendance for the recovery session and instead joined club president Andrea Agnelli on a visit to the headquarters of Ferrari, in Maranello. Ferrari have shared an image on social media of Ronaldo alongside their Formula One drivers, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, who were both handed signed No.7 shirts from the Portuguese icon. Whilst some supporters may be unhappy at the visit, it’s worth noting that Juventus’ ruling Agnelli family also hold a stake in Ferrari. The fact Agnelli was alongside Ronaldo is a clear sign that the 36-year-old had permission to visit Ferrari in a brilliant PR move for both of the Agnelli family’s historic sports teams. ESPN actually report that Ronaldo was given a new Ferrari road car.

Daniil Kvyat will make a return to an F1 car this week at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for a testing session with Pirelli driving an Alpine. The Russian driver, who was let go by AlphaTauri at the end of 2020 and replaced by Yuki Tsunoda, will conduct a testing session in the R.S. 18 for Pirelli from tomorrow in his current role as back up driver to Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon. He previously tested for Ferrari back in 2018 after he was dropped from the then Toro Rosso team. Kvyat has recently also spoke of his desire to return to racing, saying that while he has various options on the table he remains committed to finding a way to return to Formula 1.

Alex Albon will be at the wheel of the Red Bull mule car for Tuesday and Wednesday’s tyre testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Albon has remained signed to Red Bull as a reserve driver for 2021, having lost his race seat for this season. Also taking part in DTM with Red Bull backing, Albon last drove an F1 car for a filming day with the RB15 ahead of the season start. Pirelli are carrying out 25 days of tyre testing for the 18 inch tyres ahead of their introduction in 2022, with Red Bull and Alpine carrying out three of those days this week in Barcelona. Red Bull will carry out the test on Tuesday and Wednesday, with Albon, before Alpine take over for Thursday with their reserve driver Daniil Kvyat at the wheel. Pirelli decide on the testing programme for such days, with teams not made aware of the details of the tyre compounds they are testing. All information gathered is shared amongst all the teams, with nine of the ten teams taking part in this tyre testing over the course of the year. Only Williams have, so far, been unable to provide a mule car for testing purposes.

Haas driver Nikita Mazepin has revealed his decision to kneel on the grid during the pre-race ceremony at the Spanish Grand Prix was to honour the Russian Victory Day. The momentary pause ahead of the race for drivers to optionally kneel was brought in last season after Lewis Hamilton campaigned for equality in light of the Black Lives Matter movement and the death of George Floyd in America. Ahead of this season, the ethos of the moment was changed to focus on the three pillars of F1’s Environment, Social and Corporate Governance [ESG] platform, #weraceasone, which are: sustainability, diversity and inclusion, and community. As this now allows drivers to mark the moment however they deem appropriate, Mazepin exercised his right to pay respect to Russia’s Victory Day which celebrates the end of the Second World War, which coincided with race day in Spain. Mazepin, who had not taken a knee this season prior to Sunday, explained: “In Russia, May 9 is the anniversary of winning the war and I just felt the need to take respect for my nation. “There were over 25 million people that died in the war, and my grandfather and grandmother were also fighting, so it was also respect for them.” Mazepin trailed home 19th and last of the classified finishers in the race, blaming balance issues in his underdeveloped Haas VF-21 for his lack of pace. Commenting on his race, Mazepin added: “It was very difficult. The balance shift was very strange. “We struggled a lot with mid-corner under-rotation in qualifying and then it went to extreme oversteer on all the sets we used in the race. “We need to analyse why the shift was so big, maybe it was the wind. Now we need to come back stronger for Monaco.”

Ferrari is performing much better this season than in 2020. Where the Italian team had to deal with a lot of disappointments last year, this season’s performance is positive again. According to Mattio Binotto, Carlo Vanzini is too critical for the team though. The Sky Italia commentator regularly states that Ferrari still doesn’t have a championship worthy car at their disposal. The Ferrari team boss, however, doesn’t understand the criticism as much. “It doesn’t do honour to the team, because I think it’s a team performance”, he told Formule1.nl. “Last year we were still lapped here, so the progression is clear. But I think we have to acknowledge the team’s effort here. This is a team effort, not just from the drivers.” According to the commentator Charles Leclerc would be ready to join Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in the battle for the world championship, but Ferrari refuses to provide him with a good car. In Barcelona, Leclerc was keen to compete with Valtteri Bottas, but failed. “Charles is great in a one-on-one duel. He had a good start and kept Bottas behind him. But we knew our race was not with him,” Binotto said. Hamilton is currently top of the world championship standings with 94 points, 14 points more than number two Verstappen. Bottas, Lando Norris and Leclerc complete the top five.

Jenson Button has suggested that, on raw talent alone, Max Verstappen edges Lewis Hamilton and it is the seven-time world champion’s extra experience that is giving him the advantage in the title race at the moment. Round four of the Formula 1 season went the Briton’s way at the weekend as a supreme drive coupled with fine tyre strategy from Mercedes eventually ousted Verstappen in his Red Bull in the closing stages of the race. Indeed, Hamilton is now 14 points clear in the Drivers’ standings with both actually enjoying their best-ever starts to a campaign, underlining just how ferocious the title fight is going to be this year. And, for 2009 champion Jenson Button, a man who partnered Lewis Hamilton between 2010 and 2012 at McLaren as his teammate, it’s the extra experience his compatriot has that is helping him keep the naturally more talented Verstappen at arm’s length right now. “Max is immensely talented. If you look at pure ability, Verstappen is probably the most talented of all the drivers,” Button said to Sky Sports F1 in their build-up show to Sunday’s race. “I know a lot of people won’t agree with me, but this is just my opinion. “The most complete driver, if you include experience and the way you approach races, is Hamilton. But if you only look at talent, you end up with Verstappen.” Certainly, it’s a big claim from the former McLaren and Williams driver, but this isn’t to suggest he is saying Hamilton isn’t talented. Clearly, Button feels that Max perhaps has the extra raw speed at the moment, but Hamilton is the complete package and that’s why he’s leading the standings right now – we’ll have to see how far Max’s talent can carry him this season as the fight for the title continues in a fortnight’s time in Monaco.

Red Bull’s new rear wing is perfectly legal, according to team boss Christian Horner. In Barcelona, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton referred to a new “bendy wing” on the Red Bull that supposedly gave Max Verstappen a straight-line advantage. Red Bull’s Horner suspects the idea might have been planted in the world championship leader’s head by his boss, Toto Wolff. “It’s something that Toto pointed out to me already,” Horner is quoted by the Dutch portal racingnews365. “I doubt it was Lewis’s opinion – it might have been inspired by someone else.” At any rate, Horner insists the allegedly ‘bendy’ wing is in fact fully legal. “The cars are of course subject to various inspections and the flexibility of the wings is also checked,” he said. “There are all kinds of tests that a part like that has to pass. “The FIA is completely satisfied with our car and it has passed all of the various rigorous testing,” he added.