Racetrackmasters

Two former drivers have suggested Sebastian Vettel’s most competitive days in Formula 1 may be over. There were high hopes the quadruple world champion’s form would be boosted by his move from Ferrari to Aston Martin for 2021. Actually, after Vettel’s first two races for his new team, former F3000 driver Jason Watt told Ekstra Bladet newspaper: “Vettel is a finished man. “It’s a very long time since he did anything good. He also makes many mistakes and looks like a man under pressure,” he added. Watt even thinks the 33-year-old might not make it to the end of the season. “I don’t know if he can keep it up mentally,” he said. “I do hope he stays the year, because he’s probably clinging to the hope that things will start to go his way all of a sudden.” However, Watt doesn’t think Aston Martin will simply oust him. “People talk about him being an expensive guy for the team, but you also have to consider that he will have attracted a lot of sponsorship money, so he effectively pays his own salary,” he said. Meanwhile, F1 legend Gerhard Berger – Vettel’s first team boss in Formula 1 – hinted that the German’s time on the grid may be approaching the end. “If you are a successful racing driver and you continue to pursue your sport with all of your experience and passion, you can still have success,” he told Sport Bild. “But I know from my own experience that the time does come when you are past your prime. You have to take that into account,” Berger added.

Tuesday evening saw an outpouring of emotion around the world as police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the murder of George Floyd at his trial in Minnesota. Reigning Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton was among many from the world of sport to react to the verdict. Hamilton paid tribute to Floyd on Instagram after Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. “JUSTICE for George! The emotions I feel right now are hard to describe,” wrote Hamilton in response to the news that Chauvin had been sentenced to a maximum term of 75 years in jail. “Derek Chauvin has been found guilty.” Sharing his thoughts alongside an image of a piece of art depicting Floyd, Hamilton told his almost 22 million followers that the guilty verdicts marked “a new dawn in the fight for racial justice”. “This is the first time that a white officer has been convicted for killing a black man in Minnesota. This is monumental, George’s death is not in vain…The result of the Derek Chauvin trial today is the right one. Convicting him of all three charges marks a new dawn in the fight for racial justice.” In the aftermath of Floyd’s death in May last year, Hamilton was a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement. The 36-year-old now takes a knee on the grid before every race and wears anti-racism slogans while competing. He stated his relief at the fact that the trial was now over. “This trial was an opportunity for the justice system to hold Derek Chauvin accountable for his actions when he took the life of George Floyd. We can now breathe a collective sigh of relief that the right decision has been met, and that justice has been served. “Today’s outcome is a sombre victory for George and his family, but it shows that our efforts to promote justice are not in vain. Black voices have been heard and action is happening. When we stand together, we can make a difference.” Long-time social activist Hamilton, though, believes the fight for equality is far from over – declaring that there is much still to be done in the fight towards equality. “But this is just one step on the path towards a more equal society. Since George’s death, so many other Black people have died at the hands of the police and we must ensure the momentum of today continues. The fight isn’t over, and there is more to be done, but we can consider today a glimmer of hope. “My thoughts and prayers are with George’s family. I hope they will feel a sense of peace from this result,” concluded Hamilton. One of many high-profile sporting figures to use their platform to bring focus to the Black Lives Movement, Hamilton recognises that there is still much work to do. However, the elation with which Tuesday’s verdict was greeted around the world shows just how big of a moment it was.

According to Auto, Motor und Sport a decision has been made regarding some plans for sprint races. A sprint race will be held at Silverstone, Monza, and Interlagos in 2021, and to cover the costs the teams will be reimbursed part of the costs. It has been rumored for some time now, but according to German media there will be three sprint races in 2021. The starting order for this race is determined by qualifying, after which the result of the sprint race is the starting order for the main race on Sunday. However, the big teams were worried about the extra costs, now that a budget cap is in place this year. As the teams have been lying down for it, Formula 1 has had to come up with a solution. According to AMuS, each team will receive $100,000 per sprint race. The team can supplement this bonus with $50,000 from their own funds, which will not be counted for the budget cap. In addition, teams are allowed to use up to a maximum of $200,000 to repair damage caused during a sprint race. The teams have had their way with this, but the question is to what extent these amounts can be controlled? A part that has been used for races and then breaks down, is of course worth a lot less than a part that has just been fitted. Knowing the F1 teams they will make optimal use of this loophole.

CEO Stefano Domenicali admits the new Miami GP could come at the expense of a European round when the 2022 schedule is announced. The sport will visit Miami for the first time in 2022 and the drivers are set to race on a high-speed street street circuit around the Hard Rock Stadium, home of the NFL team the Miami Dolphins. “I think it is a possibility because we need to be realistic, we cannot have 52 weekends in Formula 1,” Domenicali told RacingNews365.com and other select members of the press when asked whether a European round could be dropped due to Miami. “But the good thing is that we have a lot of interest that will enable us to create unique events with the right value. And we’re going to mix the strategic need for Formula 1 to develop in certain countries with historical places where we know that Formula 1 should stay. So that’s the beauty of having these many opportunities in front of us.” Domenicali also said the Miami GP will take place in the second-quarter of the season, indicating the new American event likely to be held around the same time as the Canadian GP at the end of May or in June. “Having two races in the US means that we have taken the right direction for our strategy for the future,” added Domenicali. “We will keep them separate in order to give the right space for both, and this is really crucial. “We always said that the US is a very important area on which we need to develop our business. There is a lot of opportunity. We are proud as Formula 1 because in this moment, above all after 2020 [which was] so difficult, the challenge in 2021, we are looking ahead, we are putting the foundation for an incredible future of Formula 1 and this is a milestone that we all wanted. “Just last night, when we shared the information with all the teams, everyone was really ‘wow, that’s the right way to go, this is really where we should be’. And this is really the direction I’m going to take for a great future for our Formula 1.”

has sold its iconic Woking HQ to American real estate giant Global Lease Network for £170m. The deal will see the companies Automotive, Racing, and Applied divisions continue to work out of the facility with a 20-year, NNN lease. The deal is the latest stage of McLaren’s bid to raise cash in the wake of a number of factors, not least the pandemic, which has hit sales of the company’s supercars and also seen a reduction in the prize money dividend from F1. Facing possible insolvency last year, in June the Woking company agreed a £150m loan – or “financing facility” to use ‘Ronspeak – with the National Bank of Bahrain and subsequently sold a 15% stake in the F1 team to MSP Sports Capital, a US-based sports investment group, for £185m. “We are excited to announce that this world-class facility will become part of the GNL portfolio,” said James Nelson, CEO of Global Lease Network. “The McLaren Group Headquarters’ state of the art buildings have won numerous awards, were designed by renowned architect Norman Foster, and are the type of mission-critical, net-leased properties that make up the GNL portfolio. “We are very pleased to have been able to collaborate and work with the management team of the McLaren Group to effect this transaction. We look forward to the long-term partnership with McLaren and the benefits this transaction will have to GNL. “The acquisition exemplifies GNL’s ability to source large scale and accretive sale-leaseback opportunities in a competitive marketplace that add significant value to our overall portfolio. We believe our global presence as a leading net lease REIT will continue to provide attractive acquisition opportunities that complement our best-in-class portfolio.” The McLaren Technology Centre campus includes the McLaren Technology Centre, McLaren Production Centre and McLaren Thought Leadership Centre and was designed by world-renowned architects, Foster & Partners. It has many environmentally conscious features. In 2010, the campus, which includes several lakes which assist in cooling efforts, earned Carbon Trust Standard certification from the Carbon Trust. The buildings have self-cleaning roofs that use a high-pressure drainage system to collect rainwater which is then used to refill the lake. In 2011 McLaren Racing was announced as the first ever carbon neutral team in Formula 1. The firm has also planted more than 100,000 trees at the site and created a wildlife sanctuary for otters and kingfishers.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was at the wheel of the team’s test car on Tuesday morning, as the team stayed on for two days of 18 inch tyre testing at Imola. As part of the preparation for the introduction of the bigger wheels and tyres for the 2022 regulations, Pirelli are conducting twenty five days of specialised testing of the new tyres. This is in addition to the data being gathered from Formula 2, which has already introduced the bigger wheels this year. With Ferrari testing after the Bahrain GP, it’s Mercedes’ turn this time, and the test team have stayed on at the Imola circuit. Lewis Hamilton has got his first taste of the new tyres as he drives on Tuesday, with Valtteri Bottas taking over on Wednesday. Nine of the ten teams are taking part in the Pirelli tests, with just Williams unable to supply a mule car for the tyre manufacturer. The British team haven’t completely ruled out doing so later in the season. The test programme is decided by Pirelli, with teams unable to use the days to help with development or trying new items. The teams aren’t told any information regarding the tyres being used at any given moment, and all data gleaned is shared across all the teams to ensure noone gains an early advantage or extra understanding.

Bottas and Russell clashed at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix when the Williams driver tried to take ninth off the Finn. His overtake went horribly wrong as he drew alongside the Mercedes, touched a damp spot and promptly crashed into Bottas. Both drivers went off at high speeds, their cars wrecked but thankfully neither was hurt in the incident. Russell, who has since apologised to Bottas and both Mercedes and Williams, said in the aftermath that he felt Bottas had defended more aggressively against him than he would another driver. The reason being, it was implied, is because Russell is the driver being lined up to replace Bottas at Mercedes next season. Bottas, however, insists he has no issues with Russell, in fact he barely knows him. He said, as quoted by ESPN: “I’ve never really worked that closely with him, but obviously he’s been around for some time because he’s been the reserve driver and done some testing for the team. “I know him a little bit, but there have never been any issues. “In terms of this one, obviously I was not happy with how it ended up. But I’m an easygoing guy, so there are no problems. “But I can’t say I’m friends with him, like I can’t say I’m friends with most or any of the drivers really. “From my side, no issues but today was not ideal because he made me lose a good chunk of points potentially today and it was his mistake.” As for Russell, he later said there are no problems between himself and his Finnish rival. Asked about his comment that Bottas defends more aggressively against him, the 23-year-old said: “There is no tension at all between Valtteri and I. Obviously you can take my comment as you wish. I think it was pretty clear how it was intended. “But maybe I was wrong. Maybe he’s just fighting for absolutely every position. “Valtteri and I will talk and we will clear the air. I’ve got no intention to hold any grudges or have any bad relationship with any driver on the grid.”

Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team boss, is actually billionaire Lawrence Stroll’s “lap dog”. That is the wild claim of former F1 team boss Colin Kolles, who admits he fell out with his Austrian friend Wolff some years ago. “Mr Wolff was a business partner of mine – I brought him into Formula 1, even if some people don’t want to know anything about that,” he told Sport1. Kolles, who ran the Silverstone based team that is currently called Aston Martin during its Jordan, Midland, Spyker and early Force India era, minimises the contribution Wolff made to Mercedes’ utter dominance of F1. “The structures were all established by Ross Brawn,” he insists. It is rumoured that Wolff has now bought up to EUR 42 million in shares of Aston Martin, the British carmaker that was taken over by Stroll last year. Kolles therefore warns Sebastian Vettel to tread carefully in his newly Aston Martin-branded F1 environment. “I am of the opinion that the Stroll-Wolff combination is a very dangerous one for Sebastian Vettel,” he said. “Many factors are playing a role in the background.” According to former HRT boss Kolles, Wolff is not at the same level as billionaire Stroll. “He is called the lap dog of Mr Stroll. That is a quote from Bernie Ecclestone,” he said.

George Russell has changed his view on Sunday’s crash with Valtteri Bottas at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, conceding that the Finnish driver was “probably not” to blame for their incident. The pair collided at almost 200 mph heading into the Tamburello chicane midway through a dramatic race at Imola, with Russell in particular appearing irate after they both shunted. Russell had moved to the outside of the Mercedes as he aimed to pass Bottas for P9 in the race – which in itself was a sign of the two’s varying performance levels on the day – but the Williams driver moved onto a wet part of the track, spun 90 degrees and collected the Mercedes at full speed. The Briton went and angrily confronted Bottas in the gravel and had put full blame on the Mercedes driver for the crash, making some scathing comments in his interviews after the race. Having had time to reflect, however, Russell has since changed his tune. “When you can review everything and look at it in slow motion and everything, and from certain camera angles, it all looks very, very different,” he said via RaceFans. “One camera angle makes it look one way, another camera angle, like I said, when you watch it from behind on the CCTV footage it looked quite clear, in a different opinion. “I was more frustrated because of the speed of the incident. I’ve never, ever had a crash at the end of a straight when we’re absolutely flat-out, and we’ve all seen the dangers of motorsport very recently and to be honest I would have reacted exactly the same had it been battling for the win, battling for ninth or battling for last. Because I just thought it was unnecessary and it was avoidable. “As I said, Valtteri did nothing that was outside the rules, but you have to take an element of responsibility and consideration into the fact of the conditions. “There’s certain things you can do in certain ways when everything’s stable, but when it’s a damp track, there is a kink, and you’re pushing someone towards the grass, onto the damp patches at over 200 miles an hour. There is a high risk of an incident, and that is why I was very disappointed because I just thought that was beyond a lack of respect, really, not towards me, but just a lack of respect towards these cars.” Bottas was out of position after a disappointing qualifying session, with Russell performing well in his Williams behind. The 31-year-old Finn couldn’t make his way through the train of cars in front of him, but Russell was able to close in and attempt an audacious move. The Briton added that he wouldn’t have changed his approach if he was attacking any other driver on track, but he still believes a move was possible against Bottas. “I’ve never been in a position where I’m fighting against a Mercedes,” he said. “Williams has not been fighting against Mercedes for probably five years. So it’s not even crossed my mind how I would fight against a Mercedes. “As I said, it was not a reckless move. The move was totally on. Valtteri defended hard, and he was fair to do so. But we were three quarters of the way down the so-called straight. It wasn’t like I lunged him from 20 metres back and crashed into the side of him. “It was unfortunate, the incident would not have happened if it wasn’t damp and if DRS was closed. It was just an unfortunate set of circumstances. “Could it have been avoided? Yes. Was Valtteri in the wrong? Probably not. “Could he have done something slightly more? Maybe. Was I in the wrong? I caused the crash by spinning, but was I wrong to go for that overtake? Absolutely not. You would have been foolish to lift at that position.”

Frustrations showed as Sebastian Vettel called out the FIA’s professionalism after the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday. Delays saw the stewards fail to issue the Aston Martin driver with a penalty for a pre-race rules violation until 20 minutes into the race. The German driver was awarded the mandatory 10-second stop-go penalty for not having his tyres fitted before the five minute signal prior to the start of the race. Both he and team-mate Lance Stroll suffered brake overheating problems during their reconnaissance laps, forcing their mechanics to undertake last minute repairs. Stroll was later able to take his place on the grid, whilst the substantial damage to Vettel’s brakes caused him to start from the pitlane. These repairs meant that his team then failed to fit his rear wheels in time. Regulations state that all tyres must be fitted to the car before the five minute signal is issued. Therefore, this should have been a clear-cut penalty, yet the stewards took nearly an hour to come to a decision. And Vettel was not at all happy with the FIA, feeling their delays cost him extra time in the race. The four-time world champion said: “Obviously the guys tried everything on the grid and I think they did really well, so they were really alert. “But I think we could have had a better race if the FIA was more alert.” By this point, the race had already been underway for 20 minutes and Vettel had just pitted on lap 20 to switch to medium tyres. With the rules requiring drivers to serve the penalty within three laps of it being issued, Vettel was forced to box once more on lap 22. Vettel explained: “They didn’t bother [issuing it] until way into the race so by that time the penalty cost a lot more than it would have earlier in the race.“So that’s not very professional.” Managing the challenging wet conditions at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, he was able to climb up the order to P14 before the penalty undid all his hard work. Eventually, gear selection problems forced Vettel to retire with two laps remaining. “We had plenty of issues. Not a trouble-free race that we were hoping for. Tough day,” he acknowledged. A disastrous start of the season for Vettel sees him sit 17th in the drivers’ standings on zero points. This was not the start of the season he would have hoped for as he searched for redemption with Aston Martin, following his torrid season with Ferrari last year.

FIA Race Director Michael Masi has explained why Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton wasn’t investigated for reversing back onto the track after he slid off the circuit. Hamilton had been pushing hard to catch Red Bull’s Max Verstappen midway through the Emilia Romagna GP, but slid off the track at Tosa while lapping another car. Clouting the tyre barrier with his front wing, Hamilton carefully extricated himself by selecting reverse and rejoining the circuit. With reversing onto a live racing circuit seeming to be something that warranted a penalty, fans took to social media to question why no penalty was given for the apparent infraction. However, there is no rule in the Sporting Regulations against reversing onto a live race track, only for reversing in the pitlane. However, the rules do state that drivers must rejoin the circuit in a safe and controlled manner, and Masi explained how Hamilton was able to do that despite driving in reverse. “I think, looking at the incident at the time, reversing out of the gravel trap to the edge of the circuit, listening to Lewis’s radio between he and his team, they were absolutely advising him all the way through where that was,” Masi told media, including RacingNews365. “So, in that particular circumstance, same thing again, I wouldn’t consider reporting that to the stewards.” Reversing onto a live racetrack after a mistake isn’t unique to Hamilton. McLaren’s Mika Hakkinen slid off at Mirabeau at Monaco in 1999, relinquishing second place to Ferrari’s Eddie Irvine as he reversed out of the escape area to rejoin, also without penalty. Masi confirmed that, while not against the rules, penalties can occur if it’s not done in a safe and controlled manner like what Hamilton did: “It’s a case by case basis that you need to review the complete set of circumstances that sit around it.”

Lewis Hamilton made a mistake halfway through the race that cost him a lot of time. With the red flag raised by the crash of George Russell and Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton suddenly had a chance of a podium again. A race to catch up followed and the world champion enjoyed it. Hamilton is honest and tells the FIA press conference press directly that his start was far from perfect. He also congratulated Max Verstappen and Lando Norris with the nice race they had done. “I had a nice battle with Lando at the end. I didn’t expect to be here after I was up against the wall.” It’s not often that Hamilton has to fight his way back to the podium from midfield, but that’s what made the race so special for the Mercedes driver. He reminisced about his younger years when he was still driving karts and often had to start from behind. “I loved it! That’s actually how my career started when I was younger. When I was little we had an old kart, so I always started from the back. It brought me back to my roots,” Hamilton revealed. After the red flag Hamilton was ninth, but managed to climb back into second place.

Plans to introduce ‘Sprint Qualifying’ races this year are to go ahead after an agreement was reached to allow teams to exceed the budget cap to pay for crash damage. Formula 1 teams are limited to a maximum expenditure of $145 million on their programmes this year under the sport’s new Financial Regulations. This limit excludes certain items but includes crash damage.Top teams, which have already had to restructure their operations to bring their budgets beneath the new limit, raised concerns the extra Saturday races could increase their costs and cause them to exceed the cap. Formula 1 has been pushing to introduce sprint races in one form or another for the past two years. In order to ensure teams’ support for the latest Sprint Qualifying proposal, a financial package has been agreed to cover their costs. RaceFans understands each team will receive a $75,000 payment from Formula 1 Management per Sprint Qualifying race to cover the cost of participation. On top of that, any team which suffers significant damage in one of the extra races will be permitted to spent up to $200,000 more over their budget cap limit per round. To qualify for the budget cap break, teams will have to demonstrate a car had to pit for repairs or retired from the race due to the damage sustained. F1 intends to hold Sprint Qualifying races at three rounds on this years calendar, bringing the total possible allowance per team to $600,000. On response to a question from RaceFans, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto confirmed teams will receive an “extra” budget cap allowance if they suffer damage in Sprint Qualifying races. “I’m expecting that what we discussed and agreed in Bahrain are the final [regulations], so yes, happy with that,” he said.Although full details of the Super Qualifying races have not been announced, the format’s approval is expected to be a formality. It will go before the F1 Commission next week, and is likely to pass unanimously, before being rubber-stamped by the FIA World Motor Sport Council. The British, Italian and Brazilian grands prix have been earmarked for the first Sprint Qualifying races. At those rounds, a regular qualifying session will be held on Friday in place of second practice, and decide the starting grid for a short race on Saturday. This will in turn set the grid for Sunday’s race, and award points for the top three finishers.