Racetrackmasters

McLaren say they “strongly disagree” with a delay in the implementation of tests to deal with illegal flexible wings in Formula 1. Team boss Andreas Seidl said McLaren were “not happy” with the decision not to introduce tests for two more races, saying there was “no reason” for it. Governing body the FIA wrote to teams last week saying they had spotted rear wings on some cars illegally flexing. But new load tests to combat the issue will not be introduced until 15 June. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton said his title rivals Red Bull had a “bendy” rear wing at the last race in Spain. Red Bull have not denied that they have a flexible rear wing, although team principal Christian Horner insists their car is legal. At least four teams are said to be using the designs, which allow rear wings to bend backwards on the straights to reduce drag and increase speed before snapping back into place for maximum downforce in the corners. Seidl said: “When you see all the videos and pictures from Barcelona, it’s pretty clear what is happening. Therefore we welcome the reaction from the FIA with the technical directive, the basic content of which we are happy with. “Where we strongly disagree is the timing of the implementation. There is no reason after not just one team had already the advantage of doing things which in our point of view are clearly against the regulations. “They had that advantage for several races, which is something we are not happy with. But now allowing them to have further advantage for more races is something we strongly disagree with and where we are in conversations with the FIA.” Seidl emphasised that the new tests were not new rules, and that flexible wings were illegal even if the FIA did not yet have load tests to deal with this specific issue. So-called “moveable aerodynamic devices” have been banned in F1 for decades. Article 3.8 of the F1 technical regulations states that bodywork must be “rigidly secured to the entirely sprung part of the car” and “remain immobile in relation to the sprung part of the car”. Seidl said: “The tests mentioned in the regulations at the moment are in place to let’s say additionally support FIA to check in a straightforward way if the cars are complying with the regulations. But it doesn’t mean that only these tests are the criteria as to whether the car is legal or not. “We hope the FIA shows a very strong hand and it is simply not acceptable because it puts the teams who comply with the regulations at a big disadvantage.” Seidl said McLaren would not need to change any aspect of their car design when the new tests were introduced. Asked whether McLaren planned to lodge a protest against any of the cars in question, Seidl said: “In principle I am not a big fan of protesting other teams and cars. “All I can say is at the moment we are in dialogue with the FIA to make sure teams that have designed devices or parts that we have seen in Barcelona simply can’t use these devices or parts any more.”

McLaren hit the track with its stunning one-off Monaco Grand Prix colours on Thursday. McLaren has ditched its usual papaya livery for the ironic blue and orange scheme of sponsor Gulf Oil at Monte Carlo this week. It has already proven to be a hugely popular with F1 fans. The new-look car hit the track for the first time on Thursday during the first practice session ahead of Sunday’s showpiece race, where McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo are looking to build on the team’s encouraging start to the season. The McLaren-Gulf link goes back to the late 1960s, when the two companies worked together in Can-Am and F1. Gulf’s iconic colours have featured on a number of racing cars in the past — including the McLaren F1 GTR that finished second at the 1997 Le Mans 24 Hours — but has never before raced in Formula One. McLaren decided to make the change for this weekend’s race after seeing mock-ups created by fans last year following the announcement of the partnership. The throwbacks do not just stop with the colours of the car. Ricciardo, winner of the Monaco Grand Prix in 2018, is also racing with an old-school style helmet design.

Lewis Hamilton believes the Monaco Grand Prix weekend format “needs to change” due to the difficulty in overtaking, warning Formula 1 fans they will “see a train on Sunday”. Monaco has always been notoriously difficult for drivers to pass at, but the bigger, wider cars used since 2017 have exacerbated the issue. F1 is set to introduce its first sprint races into weekends later this year, planned for Silverstone, Monza and Interlagos, but the Monaco format has gone unchanged. Seven-time world champion Hamilton said the “much bigger cars” used compared to previous eras of racing in Monaco mean there is “almost zero opportunity to overtake in a race”. “It has been the case for some time, and in my opinion, it needs to change,” Hamilton said. “We’ve had the same format for years. It is the best venue. It is the most beautiful place that we get to race at. “But you already know that it’s never exciting for the fans. It’s a one-stop race with these hard, long stints that we get to do. “On a list of difficult places to overtake, it is off the scale, highly unlikely that you’re ever going to get an opportunity to do so. So I don’t think fans enjoy that. “I don’t know what the solution is. But I’m hoping when we are looking forwards to future generations, it can be a more exciting race for people.” Hamilton has claimed three victories in Monaco, including the most recent running of the grand prix in 2019. Asked by Motorsport.com if the current generation of cars had sapped some of the enjoyment of driving in Monaco, Hamilton said the thrill was undiminished over a single lap. “Just driving the track, going through the tunnel, up into Casino, the whole experience through the weekend is mesmerising, and that never changes,” Hamilton said. “The feeling of winning here is never any less. Every year it’s unique and special, if you are lucky enough to get the opportunity. “But as a racer, we’ve got a lot of tracks where we go to where you see racing. I think it’s been an exciting start to a season where you are seeing people overtaking, and you’ve seen the whole field close up. “You’re going to see a train on Sunday, and you already know that fans, fans already know that is what is going to happen this weekend. However, it’s still exciting to watch somehow.”

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez has gone fastest in Free Practice 1 ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix. The Mexican set a time of 1:12.536, just 0.119s ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. Teammate Max Verstappen was third with a 1:12.648, just a tenth off Perez’s time. Perez’s time was set on the soft tyres with Verstappen setting his best on the medium compound. Sainz however topped the session early on setting some quick laps on the medium tyres. The Spaniard did spend some time in the pits after clipping the wall and needing to come in for damage checks. Home hero Charles Leclerc spent less than ten minutes on track at the beginning of the session. The Monegasque had to return to the pits with a gearbox failure and was unable to rejoin. Pierre Gasly set the fourth fastest time in his Alpha Tauri, however it was a quieter morning for the Mercedes team with Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas down in fifth and sixth, both separated by just a tenth. McLaren’s Lando Norris was in seventh ahead of four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel in the Aston Martin. Yuki Tsunoda rounded off a good morning for Alpha Tauri setting the ninth fastest time, but the Japanese driver was 0.8s off his teammate. Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen, who had a lockup into Turn 1, rounded out the top ten. Results (Classification): Sergio Perez, Red Bull 1:12.487 Carlos Sainz, Ferrari +0.119 Max Verstappen, Red Bull +0.161 Pierre Gasly, Alpha Tauri +0.442 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes +0.508 Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes +0.644 Lando Norris, McLaren +0.749 Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin +1.245 Yuki Tsunoda, Alpha Tauri +1.259 Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo +1.594 Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +1.603 Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo +1.619 Fernando Alonso, Alpine +1.718 Nicholas Latifi, Williams +1.781 Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren +1.794 Esteban Ocon, Alpine +1.833 Nikita Mazepin, Haas +2.129 Mick Schumacher, Haas +2.314 George Russell, Williams +2.353 Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +7.131

George Russell says he will be a free agent next year, in yet another sign that he may be lining up to become Lewis Hamilton’s next teammate. In Monaco on Wednesday, the buzz in the paddock was about Lando Norris’ two-year contract extension at McLaren. “I didn’t want to waste time talking to other teams. The team trusts me and I trust the team, it’s that simple,” the impressive 21-year-old said. Some were surprised by the early announcement, but another driver pushing for clarity about his future is Valtteri Bottas – who has raced under the cloud of his single-year Mercedes contracts since 2017. “The sooner you can decide your future, the better,” the Finn said on Wednesday. “I’ve had situations when I signed a contract quite early, but also when very late signings meant the negotiations seriously interfered with my performance.” However, Bottas insists he hasn’t thought about 2022 yet because he is “focused on racing”. But he said the August break is the “natural period” for contract talks. “Honestly, I’m in no hurry. There are major changes next year and if the team has the ability to choose its drivers, so much the better,” said Bottas. “For now I am completely focused on the season. The time to talk about contracts is not yet.” What is clear is that Williams driver and Mercedes junior George Russell, 23, is champing at the bit to take over from 31-year-old Bottas. “It’s a good position to be in,” Russell said on Wednesday when asked about his free contract status at the end of the year. “At the same time, stability and continuity are important – we can see that already with the drivers who are new to their teams,” the Williams driver added. “Whichever team I am with next year, I would prefer to be there for a number of years.”

A recent investor’s report has revealed that Daimler, the parent company of the current Mercedes team, will no longer have control over the team’s affairs. Daimler AG, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, has confirmed that the shares of the Formula 1 team have been held for sale. Last December it already sold part of its shares, after which they were divided as follows: 33.3% to Toto Wolff, 33.3% to Daimler and 33.3% to the new sponsor Ineos, a British chemicals giant. However, according to the latest financial report, the sale is not yet complete. “We assume that we will come out of it in the first half of 2021, after which we expect Daimler to no longer have control over the Formula One team,” Mercedes’ parent company revealed in its Q1 2021 investor’s report. The team will continue to exist, but Daimler’s interest will be lessened as a result of the reduced shareholding. When the deal is done, the company will no longer have control over the team’s decision-making process. The company emphasises that the Mercedes name will remain present in Formula 1 as engine supplier for the team that remains named after the brand, but also for the current customer teams Williams, McLaren and Aston Martin.

Such is the nature of the circuit, Monaco has a unique take on track limits, which are enforced with no discrimination and little mercy. Nonetheless, the FIA has chosen to lend a hand. Over the years countless drivers have come to grief on the tight, twisty confines of the Principality, where the barriers are always just a few tantalising centimetres away. This year however, as the crackdown on track limits continues, the FIA has announced that it will be keeping an eye on Turn 10, the infamous Nouveau Chicane that follows shortly after the end of the tunnel section. “A lap time achieved during any practice session or the race by leaving the track and failing to negotiate Turn 10 by using the track, will result in that lap time being invalidated by the stewards,” warns race director, Michael Masi ahead of this weekend’s event. “Each time any car fails to negotiate Turn 10 by using the track as described above, teams will be informed via the official messaging system. On the second occasion of a driver failing to negotiate Turn 10 by using the track during the race, he will be shown a black and white flag, any further cutting will then be reported to the stewards. Though these requirements will not automatically apply to any driver who is judged to have been forced off the track, each such case will be judged individually. Furthermore, in all cases detailed above, the driver must only re-join the track when it is safe to do so and without gaining a lasting advantage. Finally, if a car uses the escape road at Turn 10-11, which is a common occurrence, the driver may re-join the track only when the lights, operated by the marshal on the spot, are turned green.

Lando Norris signed a multiyear contract extension with McLaren on Wednesday that will keep the 21-year-old driver with the Formula One team for the immediate future. The British driver earned the second podium finish of his career at this season’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and is fourth in the drivers’ standings ahead of this weekend’s Monaco GP. McLaren’s announcement cements its driver lineup with Norris and 31-year-old Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who joined at the start of the 2021 season on a multiyear deal. The British team’s statement didn’t specify the length of the extension, noting only that it includes “2022 and beyond.” “My commitment to McLaren is clear: my goal is to win races and become Formula 1 world champion and I want to do that with this team,” Norris said. “Since joining in 2017 our progression has been consistent and we have clear ambitions together for the future.” Norris was promoted to a full-time race seat for the 2019 season. McLaren Racing chief executive Zak Brown said Norris is “one of the brightest talents” on the F1 grid. “He’s been instrumental in our return of form here at McLaren,” Brown said, “and we’re proud of the growth he’s shown since he first started with us back in 2017.”

Honda is still trailing Mercedes in terms of ultimate engine performance, Alpha Tauri boss Franz Tost has admitted. Tost heads the second Red Bull-owned team in Formula 1 that is also powered by Honda, the Japanese engine manufacturer that is officially leaving the sport at the end of this season. “Honda did a very good job over the winter. And last year too,” the Austrian told Auto Motor und Sport. “They have caught up in terms of both performance and durability. “It really is a shame that they are quitting now because they have reached a really great level,” Tost added. “If they had stayed, I believe that sooner or later the engine would have caught up with Mercedes or been even better.” From 2022, Red Bull is taking over Honda’s engine IP and setting up shop with its new on-site Red Bull Powertrains operation, which has already attracted over a dozen key Mercedes staff. As for 2021, however, former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher is not sure the Red Bull-Honda package is strong enough to de-throne Mercedes this year. “I am slowly losing hope,” he told Sky Deutschland. “Red Bull needs to take a big step forward.” Tost admits engine power is one slight deficit for Red Bull. “It depends on the track,” he said, “and the power unit management. I think Mercedes is still the benchmark.” Meanwhile, the Alpha Tauri chief admitted that the Faenza based team will share many components with sister team Red Bull Racing in 2022. “We will take everything from Red Bull Technologies that the regulations allow,” said Tost. “That’s the transmission, the complete rear suspension and many parts of the front suspension – maybe even the whole thing. “The parts we will use stays the same, but it will be a lot more expensive for us because we are sourcing new parts. Until now we have always taken the parts from the previous (Red Bull) car,” he added.

Upon Honda’s departure from Formula 1 after 2021, Red Bull Racing will take over the engine project, and continue it as Red Bull Powertrains. It seems like a good time to take that step, now that the Honda powerplant is performing better than ever. Christian Horner elaborates on the ambitious project. The Red Bull team boss says the right structure of leadership is important to shape the rest of the organisation. A large proportion of the top jobs will be held by staff recruited from the Mercedes camp. According to Horner, the priority is to attract people with experience in developing Formula One engines. “That’s our best chance of hitting the ground running,” the 47-year-old Briton said in an interview with The Race. He stresses that they don’t bring any of Mercedes’ intellectual property with them. “But they’ve produced the benchmark engine over the years, and that’s fantastic for us. When you’re starting from scratch with a clean sheet of paper you want to bring in as much talent as you can.” From 2022 to 2025, there is a development freeze on F1 engines, meaning Red Bull has about three years after 2021 to build a competitive powerplant. “There is a very aggressive timeline to get that building fully commissioned and operational,” said Horner. “It’s gathering pace, we’re getting the right people, we’re using all the same philosophy as on the chassis side of bringing the right people in.” “We’ve demonstrated that we can do it on the chassis side. People I don’t think took Red Bull seriously when they entered the sport as a chassis manufacturer. We were famously called just an energy drinks company by a certain driver’”, with Horner referring to a statement made by Lewis Hamilton.

The FIA has introduced a new, more thorough technical inspection for the start of the 2021 Formula One season. For this, a car is randomly chosen after each Grand Prix to be inspected. At the Spanish Grand Prix, it was Sergio Perez who had to report with his Red Bull Racing car. What’s striking about this choice is that Lewis Hamilton’s comments about Red Bull’s flexible rear wing, which he made the day before, put Red Bull under a magnifying glass. It remains to be seen whether the FIA’s choice, in this case, was entirely arbitrary. During the in-depth technical inspection parts of the car are removed, and conformity and software checks are performed. Perez’s car passed the inspections successfully. “All inspected components were found to comply with the technical regulations of Formula 1 in 2021,” reads the FIA. Apart from this thorough check, the FIA announced shortly after the Spanish Grand Prix that there would be additional tests, to check that the rear wing is not too flexible. Red Bull Racing has passed all current tests successfully but may need to make adjustments to pass the new tests. This is probably not only true for Red Bull: other teams are also expected to make adjustments to the rear wing and will be given time to do so until the French Grand Prix.

Nikita Mazepin is a much talked about driver in Formula 1, and actually was before his debut at Haas. This is just not for the reason he probably hoped. However, the Russian driver thinks that opinions about him are going to change. Mazepin is in a tricky position anyway: as a ‘pay driver’, who in short pays for his seat, he first has to prove that he has the necessary talent. So far, he hasn’t exactly succeeded in doing so. He himself acknowledges that his debut in Formula One has not been the easiest. “But to be honest I didn’t expect that either,” Mazepin said in conversation with Motorsport.com. “There’s a reason there are only 20 seats available because the level is incredibly high and so are the demands. What makes F1 special is that everyone is very good, no matter what position you are fighting for. So it’s always difficult, whether you’re fighting for P1, P10 or P20.”

Valtteri Bottas would need to be driving “extremely badly” to be dropped mid-season, that’s according to former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher. And the German says he isn’t there, but it is “slowly becoming difficult” for the Mercedes driver. Bottas entered this year’s championship promising to be selfish and demand what he needs to achieve his goal of winning the World Championship. Instead he has found himself once again lagging behind his team-mate Lewis Hamilton, resulting in a first round of team orders as the Spanish Grand Prix. With 47 points to Hamilton’s 94, there is speculation in the media that the Finn’s time at Mercedes is fast running out, some even suggesting he could be replaced mid-season. Schumacher doesn’t see that happening, conceding that while Bottas isn’t doing that poorly at this stage of the season. “There was talk of Valtteri having to leave his place during the season,” the Sky Germany commentator told Speedweek. “I don’t see that. “To do that, he would have to drive extremely badly, and he isn’t.” That, though, doesn’t mean he’ll be a Mercedes driver for much longer with Schumacher saying his seat should go to George Russell next season. “In the medium term, I would allow George Russell to drive a Mercedes,” he said. “I also think the Englishman would do a better job there than Bottas because after all the setbacks, the whole thing is slowly becoming difficult for Valtteri.” The German also weighed in on Daniel Ricciardo, who made the move to McLaren at the start of the year. Although it was thought the Aussie would get the better of his team-mate Lando Norris, at present it is the Brit who is leading the charge for McLaren. “McLaren has to do the construction work,” said Schumacher. “Formula 1 is developing very quickly, Daniel Ricciardo is behind, and we’ve seen his usual smile get a little lost. “Of course it stinks to him, as he was inferior to his team-mate Lando Norris until Barcelona. Ricciardo knows: Actually he, Daniel, should be the team leader. “Maybe that will change this weekend, because Daniel has captured two of his three pole positions in Monaco, he should have won in 2017, a mistake by the team when changing tyres cost the triumph, and in 2018 he made up for it. “This is a driver who feels very comfortable in Monaco. The question will be how comfortable he feels in the McLaren in order to be able to play to his full strength. ”

A race-winning Formula 1 car driven by Lewis Hamilton is to be auctioned for the first time at this year’s British Grand Prix. The McLaren MP4-25A, driven by Hamilton during the 2010 season, will be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s on the Saturday afternoon of the British Grand Prix. It is the first time any of the Formula 1 cars raced by Hamilton during his 14-year career has been auctioned for public sale. An estimate of $5m-$7m has been placed on the car. The MP4-25A is set to be demonstrated around Silverstone while the auction takes place prior to the inaugural Sprint Qualifying session. Hamilton claimed victory at the Turkish Grand Prix using the chassis that is up for sale. RM Sotheby’s outlined that it is an “unrepeatable opportunity given the model’s scarcity.” It added that “while client confidentiality precludes knowing exactly how many cars exist in private ownership it is believed to be only a scarce few. “As such these examples remain highly coveted and largely in private hands, unlikely to be sold in the near future.”