Racetrackmasters

Mercedes could be morally holding Sir Lewis Hamilton to ransom over his contract negotiations, according to Dutch Grand Prix chief Jan Lammers. Toto Wolff’s latest words this week on Mercedes’ protracted discussions with the seven-time World Champion driver were that a deal could be signed “soon” but that it will probably not extend to three years. It is certainly dragging on, for pre-season testing in Bahrain is now less than six weeks away – closer than the final race of last year, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Various explanations have been suggested externally for the delay, most of which are based on the financial side. Lammers thinks Mercedes could be taking the moral high ground in regard to constraints caused by the global health pandemic and also the new Formula 1 budget cap, which means the team are having to streamline their staff and redeploy resources. Hamilton did, however, cite the effects of the pandemic as a reason why he had not rushed into contract talks last year. “It could be that Hamilton is overestimating his market value and underestimating the situation in the world,” said ex-F1 driver Lammers in an interview with RacingNews365. “Meanwhile, I think Mercedes are limited in what they can offer Hamilton morally. How can you justify it to the staff and the management that he continues to receive his multi-million salary while people elsewhere in the company have to lay off people? “With these kinds of things, you have to be careful not to go too far. What Hamilton does not seem to fully realise is that there is, of course, a great opportunity for Mercedes as well. “The company just wants to sell cars and then the question is ‘what do you get more from? Is that with the next world title?’ “That would be great, of course, but many people don’t care about that. Or would a statement against Hamilton’s multi-million dollar salary do more for loyalty? “I personally think Mercedes have the chance to make a very powerful statement by stating that the loyalty lies with the Mercedes customers and employees and not with one sportsman. I think that has been a little under-exposed.” Ultimately, Lammers thinks Hamilton will be the party that has to back down more than Mercedes in the negotiations. “Personally, I think the chance that Mercedes will yield to Hamilton is many times smaller than the other way around,” he added. “You never know what forces are at play, but I don’t think Mercedes will give in. If there is a deal on the table, it will be because an external party has come up with a solution.”

Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll rubbished an unsubstantiated rumour published elsewhere which claimed he was considering selling the team. Stroll purchased the luxury car manufacturer last year and has rebranded his Formula 1 team, previously known as Racing Point, as Aston Martin this year. He described a rumour claiming he might sell it to a Chinese consortium as “absolute bullshit and totally untrue”, according to an Aston Martin spokesperson, who added he “couldn’t be more excited about, and sincerely believes in, the team’s long-term future success.”

Former Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams has spoken out about some of the abuse she received online prior to her departure from the Grove outfit in September last year.The Williams family left Formula 1 after the 2020 Italian Grand Prix following the takeover of US-based investment firm Dorilton Capital. The historic team had experienced a rapid decline over the past few seasons, culminating with three consecutive last-place finishes in the constructors’ championship. Financial worries and poor aerodynamic performance played a part and Williams admitted that given their spending power compared to the rest of the grid, they were in a “difficult” position. “The top end of the grid [was] spending half a billion versus our budget of 120 [million],” she told The Spectator’s Women With Balls podcast. “And that’s just not a level playing field from the outset and therefore it’s very difficult to try and compete. When you’re in that situation it’s difficult to claw your way back. “We also had some other difficulties internally with personnel. We were all fighting these very technical, very complex technical regulations that just kept becoming ever more complex season upon season that we were wrestling with and not getting to grips with at Williams.” Claire took over day to day operations from her father Frank in March 2013 and oversaw an upturn in the team’s fortunes following the regulation changes in 2014. However, their performances began to decline and Williams admitted that she faced plenty of abuse as a result. “We got a lot of support and we retained that support through the early years of our demise,” she added. “But then I think people started to turn a little bit and particularly, I think, against me. Quite rightly so: I was the leader, I was the boss and the buck stops with me. “[But] you make decisions at the time because you think that they’re the right decisions and sometimes those decisions don’t go your way and that’s what happened in my case. But of course, I got a lot of a lot of flak for it. I got a lot of scrutiny for it. I’ve got a whole load of abuse, apparently, on social media. But, for me, I couldn’t listen to that noise. That for me would have taken up a huge amount of negative energy and I needed to focus my attention on the team and to prove everybody that I could do it. “I think I could have done it if I’d have been given some more time and I had the money. But we didn’t have the luxury of a huge title sponsor or a car manufacturer plugging 100 million into the team year on year.”

The Circuit de Catalunya has been undergoing reconstruction in recent weeks, and not an insignificant one at that. The change they made at Turn 10 might have a significant impact on the racecourse. La Caixa, as it is also called, used to be a long left-hander. Because this corner was just after the back straight, it was decided in 2004 to make it a right-angle, almost hairpin corner. This, in combination with the straight, was supposed to provide more overtaking opportunities. In Formula 1, however, it had relatively little effect. With the introduction of DRS, things started to improve, but the straights between corners 9 and 10 are just too short to allow serious overtaking. In MotoGP, it worked better, but it is for that class in particular that the corner has been modified again. The speed difference here is very high for motorbike riders. After a very fast section, they had to slam on the brakes. The new corner is much more like the old situation in that respect.

Lewis Hamilton is set to end the uncertainty over his Formula 1 future “soon” by signing a contract extension at Mercedes. The seven-time world champion’s seat is the last one still TBC for 2021, and since the turn of the year, there has been great speculation over the terms he is demanding regarding salary and even having a say on who his teammate is. But in recent days, the story has progressed to the point where Hamilton now appears poised to put pen to paper following comments by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff “The lawyers are working hard,” he told ORF this week. “We don’t make life easy for them, of course, when we both argue over Zoom and keep sending curveballs to the lawyers. “He’s in America now and I’m here. At some point, we will finalise it. It’s how it is with negotiations. “You always come from different corners, but that’s quite normal. We have a really solid basis in our relationship. “We have celebrated great successes together and want to continue doing so in the future. “Sometimes you have to talk things out in detail, and that took or still takes us some time. But before Bahrain at the latest, you have to sign something at some point.” Then, in a separate interview with Germany’s RTL, Wolff confirmed an announcement was coming “soon”. “Soon is a flexible term but yeah, soon,” he said. Perhaps due to his demands, however, the Mercedes chief appeared to rule out a three-year contract for Hamilton, something else he was hoping for. “I don’t think so,” he said. Instead, it has been suggested the 36-year-old might only get a one-year extension at the Brackley-based team. This as George Russell looks set to be promoted from Williams for 2022 and, potentially, Max Verstappen might have a release clause in his Red Bull contract.

A documentary into the career and life of Michael Schumacher is ‘finished’ and is set to air later this year, offering a rare glimpse of the Ferrari legend’s life since suffering a serious brain injury in a skiing accident eight years ago. Schumacher, 52, has not been seen publicly since the 2013 accident and so the new film, entitled ‘Schumacher’, will provide a rare insight to Formula One fans on his health battle. The film, which was first reported to be in production in May 2019, was due to launch in December last year, only to be faced by delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic but Express in Germany have reported it is now ‘ready’ to go. Schumacher’s family have backed the film and are reported to have provided private recordings to the filmmakers. The driver’s wife Corinna, who has rarely spoken in public and is believed to be largely responsible for guarding the secrecy of his health, is expected to be among the interviewees spoken to in the film. His father Rolf, 74, and his son Mick, preparing for his first season in F1 with Haas, are also involved. ‘Schumacher’ is the work of German documentary filmmakers Michael Wech and Hanns-Bruno Kammertons. The Ferrari icon hit his head on a rock going off-piste down a mountain and was later airlifted to hospital. He went through two rounds of surgery before being placed into a medically-induced coma for six months. Now back home in Geneva, Switzerland, updates on his condition have been a closely guarded secret by the family, something that will perhaps change upon the release of the documentary. The film will also focus on his incredibly successful career, something the family hope son Mick will be able to replicate as he follows in his father’s footsteps this season. Schumacher won his first championship in 1994 with Benetton before retaining his title in the ensuing campaign. The German then moved to Ferrari where he went on to dominate the sport before calling time on his career in 2006. He returned to the grid with Mercedes in 2009 but endured a largely disappointing three-season spell.

Nikita Mazepin may not be able to race under the Russian flag in Formula 1 this year. Recently, Nikolay Gryazin had to contest the Monte Carlo rally as a ‘neutral athlete’, following the world anti-doping agency’s decision to ban Russia from international competition over a widespread cheating scheme. Russian F1 pundit Alexey Popov thinks Haas rookie Mazepin may be similarly affected. “There is a solution,” the Match TV commentator said. “In many sports now they compete under the flag of the national federation – in this case, it would be the Russian Automobile Federation. “As for the anthem, we’ll see, but you’d have to be a strong optimist to imagine him winning at Haas in the first year. But the flag is everywhere – over the circuit, over the garages, on the overalls. “It wouldn’t be very pleasant to be deprived of that,” Popov added. There has also been speculation that Formula 1 will have to rename the Russian GP, instead calling it the Krasnodar or Sochi GP.

Mick Schumacher completed an afternoon of testing with Ferrari at Italian circuit Fiorano ahead of his rookie Formula One season. Schumacher, son of seven-time world champion Michael, is part of the Ferrari driver academy and will race for American team Haas this season. Ferrari has booked out its Fiorano race track for a week of testing with its 2018 car, the SF71H. On Thursday afternoon, Schumacher completed over 50 laps in the car. After the test, Schumacher said: “We managed to get through the entire programme that we had scheduled without any problem and it was clearly very useful to be able to get through so much mileage at the wheel of a Formula 1 car in view of the coming season that will be starting in about a month and a half with the pre-season testing. “The SF71H is a car from 2018, but its behaviour on the track and the feelings that it gives to the driver are very similar, both in terms of how it behaves on the track and physical stress to a current car. “That makes it an excellent base when it comes to preparation for the new season.” The German driver won last year’s Formula 2 championship. He has joined Haas’ all-rookie lineup with Russia’s Nikita Mazepin. Schumacher took over from new Ferrari signing Carlos Sainz on Thursday afternoon. Sainz had completed a day and a half of testing, having taken over from new teammate Charles Leclerc, who drove on Tuesday. Friday will conclude the test, with Schumacher driving in the morning before handing over to Ferrari test driver Callum Ilott on Friday afternoon. The official F1 pre-season tests will take place in Bahrain between March 12-14, down from six days last year. The opening race of the season is the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 28.

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have still not reached an agreement on a new contract. The new F1 season starts in about six weeks and so there is some urgency. If we are to believe Toto Wolff however, a deal could be agreed soon. However, the team boss of the German racing team does not want to pin down a date. When asked by RTL if an announcement is imminent, Wolff replied: “Soon is a flexible term, but yeah soon.” The question of course is what duration Hamilton’s contract will be. In all honesty, the Austrian doesn’t think Hamilton will be awarded a three-year contract. “I don’t assume that. We see in the near future a development not only with the cost cap but also with the technical regulation and you have to keep your eyes open, so we are still discussing what the right term is.” According to the latest rumours, Mercedes and Hamilton are therefore mainly arguing over the length of the contract. Hamilton is aiming for a three-year deal, while Wolff’s team reportedly does not want to go much further than a one-year deal. It is possible that both parties will soon agree to a two-year deal.

Aston Martin is currently in the news with all the hints at its livery and outfits for 2021, and above all of course the arrival of Sebastian Vettel. However, according to Formula 1 journalist Joe Saward, there are also dark clouds hanging over the Silverstone factory. In recent years much has changed at the team formerly known as Force India. Lawrence Stroll bought the team and together with his partners it was renamed Racing Point. However, that name soon disappeared, because after Aston Martin was bought by Stroll, it was announced that Aston Martin would be the new name of the team. According to Joe Saward, an experienced F1 journalist, there’s also a possibility that Aston Martin could be bought again, with a Chinese company reportedly interested. He wrote on his own blog, “This morning there was an interesting story from China’s East Money, a website that watches the financial markets, which suggested that China’s BYD Auto Company is preparing to acquire the Aston Martin car company, in a deal that would value the British firm at £4.1 billion.” BYD Auto Company is said to be looking for a way to become known in Europe and sees Aston Martin as an ideal showcase. Additionally, it already has a partnership with Daimler, which also has a share in Aston Martin. So Stroll’s era could be a short one, as could Aston Martin’s period in Formula 1.

McLaren will launch its 2021 Formula 1 car, the MCL35, on 15 February at its headquarters in Woking. The British squad is the second F1 team to confirm its launch plans ahead of the upcoming 2021 season, with Alfa Romeo unveiling its latest contender at an event in Warsaw a week after McLaren on 22 February. As well as taking the wraps off its newly-named, Mercedes-powered MCL35 in a live launch show that will be broadcast on Sky Sports F1 in the UK, McLaren will also present its revised driver line-up consisting of Lando Norris and new signing Daniel Ricciardo. McLaren fired up its new MCL35M for the first time on Tuesday, with the process overseen by team principal Andreas Seidl and CEO Zak Brown. The announcement of McLaren’s launch date is one of the earliest, despite the particularly busy winter the Woking-based outfit has faced as it raced to get its new car ready for the upcoming campaign, having switched from Renault power. McLaren is the only F1 team changing its power unit supplier in the off-season, requiring the team to essentially build a brand new car despite teams largely carrying over most of their cars from 2020 with development heavily restricted amid a delay to the technical regulation overhaul that will now come in 2022.

Four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel completed his seat fitting at Silverstone where his new team, the Aston Martin Cognizant Team is located, but for everyone who has seen the latest Aston Martin F1 promotional video featuring their latest acquisition in 4-time F1 drivers Champion, the first thing that’s discussed is his hair, or lack of it.