Racetrackmasters

Max Verstappen will always be remembered for his victory as a rookie at the Barcelona Grand Prix. It was a remarkable achievement for the then 18-year-old. He has now gained a lot of experience. Motorsport.com held an interview with him, questioning whether Verstappen is still the same guy as back then. “Well, you gain more experience over the years. That makes everything easier. You also get a better understanding of the car and – especially if you stay with one team for a long time – you get a better idea of how everything works within a team. As a person, you also grow as you get older, but that’s logical. I haven’t really changed, I think. I feel like I’m still the same person I was back then.” Despite saying he has remained the same person, he feels he has become a more complete driver. “That’s mainly because of the understanding of Formula 1 as a whole, the car and of course the whole team. You handle certain situations better because you have experienced them before. That applies, for example, to the start, to a hectic first lap and also to managing the tyres.”

Charles Leclerc has received a very special addition to his garage collection from Ferrari – his race-winning SF90 from the 2019 season. Leclerc will have very fond memories of the SF90 having won back-t0-back races with it at the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix and, more notably, Ferrari’s home race at the 2019 Italian Grand Prix. He was the first Ferrari winner at Monza since Fernando Alonso in 2010 and the victory helped take him further into the hearts of the Tifosi faithful. On Friday, Leclerc teased on Instagram that he had just received “something special” from the Scuderia. On his memorable Monza victory, Leclerc said it gave him “the chills” when he passed the chequered flag in P1. “It’s very difficult to find the words to describe what I felt during this race [at Monza],” Leclerc told Autosport. “I had a lot of pressure – the whole team had a lot of pressure – because obviously we were in Italy, Ferrari is huge in Italy, and everyone wanted us to win so there was big pressure around the whole team. “The week started from the Monday, which is quite different from the other grands prix because normally as drivers we start on the Thursday, but we started on the Monday with some events in Milan and things like this. “So the pressure was building up. Then doing the pole was something special already, but then I had to focus on the race and in the race I had no space to breathe. I had Lewis all the race at less than two seconds, I think, so a lot of pressure. “And then to be on the podium, to finally have won the race, and to see the red army under the podium was something extremely special. “It gave me chills and made me realise what it is like to be a Ferrari driver, which of course I realised a little bit before, but I think you really realise it once you win in Monza and see the passion [that] you can really see in the eyes of the people – the passion that they have for the brand. “It’s unbelievable to see.” Ferrari gifting their drivers a Formula 1 car is nothing new. In 2020, Kimi Raikkonen received the SF71H he won the 2018 United States Grand Prix

F1’s governing body spent three hours disassembling Valtteri Bottas’ new Mercedes car after the Bahrain season opener. Just prior to the opening race of 2021, we reported that the FIA had decided to randomly seize one full car after every race weekend this year for “disassembly” and “deeper checks”. “The FIA wants to make it even harder for cheats,” said Auto Motor und Sport correspondent Michael Schmidt. He said the first disassembled car, decided randomly on the last lap of the Bahrain GP, was Bottas’ Mercedes. “The third-placed Silver Arrow was put to the test by the technical experts for three hours,” said Schmidt. FIA technical boss Nikolas Tombazis explained: “We wanted to do this so that all doubts are removed. This also benefits the teams because it eliminates suspicion.”

Silverstone wants to try to allow fans back in during the 2021 Grand Prix, scheduled for July 18. This is according to a letter sent to sufferers of the major political parties. The letter has been signed by several organisations including the Football Association, Premier League and England and Wales Cricket Board. In it, they write that they want to work closely with the events research programme to explore ways in which fans can return to the circuit. “The return of fans will provide a huge boost to millions who enjoy a day out to a sporting event with their friends and family and make a major contribution to the economy”, the letter reads, reported by Motorsportweek. “It is right that every possible action is considered to achieve this outcome as soon as possible, but only while an unrestricted return is considered unsafe for fans, race staff and the general public.” Vaccination is moving very quickly in England, leading Prime Minister Boris Johnson to announce relaxations earlier. That would be good news for Formula 1, as most people will already have been vaccinated by then. Silverstone also wants to use testing and vaccination passports to ensure safety.

Nico Hulkenberg has been signed as the newly rebranded Aston Martin F1 Team’s reserve and development driver, the constructor announced on Wednesday. Hulkenberg raced in three grand prix with Racing Point last season after Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll both tested positive for COVID-19 (at different points of the campaign.) Despite impressing many in the paddock with his strong stand-in performances, the German missed out on a full-time F1 seat for 2021. He was strongly linked with a move to Red Bull, but the Milton Keynes-based team ultimately decided to sign Perez as Alex Albon’s replacement. Commenting on his new role, Hulkenberg said he is “fully prepared” and hopes that Aston Martin drivers Sebastian Vettel and Stroll will enjoy “uninterrupted seasons” in 2021. “The team knows it can rely on me to step in and do an excellent job,” Hulkenberg said. “And I’m fully prepared for that challenge. “It’s great to get this deal signed up with plenty of notice – last year, I didn’t have quite as much time to prepare before jumping in the car! “I’m really pleased to once again work with this team – with whom I have driven many times during my career. “It will also be interesting to help develop the team through the season, and I’m really looking forward to pulling great lap times out of my arm sleeve.” Aston Martin team principal Otmar Szafnauer, for his part, said that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s very important to have a strong reserve driver in 2021. “In these difficult times, the requirement for a capable and experienced reserve driver is especially important,” Szafnauer said. “Nico proved last year that he could jump in the car and perform superbly at a moment’s notice; now, with additional scope for preparation and integration, we know that we can rely on Nico to do an excellent job.” Last month, Hulkenberg announced that he would be taking on a dual reserve driver role with Aston Martin and Mercedes in 2021. He explained that he will be on call for Aston Martin at most grand prix this year, and will be ready to fill in for Sir Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas at grand prix which regular Mercedes reserve drivers Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries won’t be available due to clashes with their Formula E racing commitments. Based on the current F1 and Formula E calendars, there will be three clashes this campaign.

Red Bull Racing is rumoured to be looking to raise the bar even higher when it comes to technical upgrades. In Imola, the team is expected to bring a solution to make the new Pirelli tyres easier to drive with. Red Bull knows it’s necessary to be on top of things all the time to be able to compete with Mercedes for the title. For this reason, the team would bring an even stronger car to Imola, says the Italian branch of Motorsport.com. According to reports, Red Bull has a special rear suspension that simulates the behavior of the rear wheels. In principle, adjusting the rear wheels is prohibited, but Red Bull is said to have found a solution for this. By adjusting the flexibility of certain parts and making electronic adjustments to the differential, engine and brakes, the angle of the rear wheels in the corners could be changed.

The former Mercedes teammates have renewed their rivalry by becoming owners of new Extreme E teams. Rosberg’s car won the first race last weekend in Saudi Arabia. Nico Rosberg has revealed that Lewis Hamilton has not called to congratulate him on his maiden Extreme E victory. The two F1 greats have both entered teams into the inaugural off-road event, reigniting their rivalry that frequently spilled over throughout the early 2010s. Between 2013 and 2016, the pair were Mercedes teammates, leading to some memorable clashes and battles on track. Both are now setting their sights on taking home silverware as Extreme E team owners, although it seems as if they still aren’t on speaking terms just yet. “No, but he probably would if he had my number,” Rosberg told German outlet Sport 1 when asked if Hamilton had called him after the Extreme E race. “Still, how cool is that we are now competing against each other as team bosses and are also first and second in the championship? It’s funny that the duel now continues here.” After Hamilton had won the F1 world championship in 2014 and 2015, Rosberg finally got the better of his old friend in 2016 – retiring in the immediate aftermath. Since then, he has gone on to champion several sustainable projects, with Extreme E being one of the German’s most significant endeavors. Rosberg Xtreme Racing Team won the opening race of the season in Saudi Arabia, while Hamilton’s X44 came in third. “Our teams were in duels all weekend. Sometimes his team was first, sometimes mine. It was a really big duel and in the end we were able to swing it our way, which made me very happy,” Rosberg concluded.

Formula One is poised to trial sprint races at three rounds of the 2021 calendar, after all ten teams agreed a financial package for the proposal with Liberty Media. As per the deal, Liberty Media will pay each team a one-off payment of $500,000 to cover their costs of competing in the three trial sprint races this year. The $145 million budget cap will be raised by the same amount, and teams will also be able to apply for additional compensation if their cars suffer damage during the trial sprint races. This year’s British, Italian and Brazilian grand prix have been earmarked to host the three trial sprint races, though there are doubts about the viability of the 2021 Brazilian Grand Prix due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the severity of the crisis in the country. The sessions, which will officially be monikered “Sprint Qualifying”, will have a 100km-race distance and will take place on the Saturday morning of a grand prix weekend. So, for the three rounds during which sprint races will be trialled, Free Practice One (FP1) and qualifying for the sprint races will take place on Friday, while Free Practice Two (FP2) will take place on Saturday afternoon after the sprint race. The outcome of “Sprint Qualifying” will dictate the order for the grand prix – which will remain the main event of the weekend and will continue to take place on a Sunday – and only the top three finishers will score points in this new session. If the trial goes well this year, sprint races could become a permanent feature of the F1 calendar from 2022 onwards. The proposal still needs to be ratified by the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) but it is looking highly likely that the sprint race trial will go ahead this campaign.