Racetrackmasters

Rumors about a switch Red Bull Racing for Sergio Perez are getting stronger. Not only Movistar but also Sky Sports reported on Sunday that negotiations between the Mexican and the Milton Keynes-based racing team have started. “We are expecting an announcement maybe in the next coming week that Sergio Perez has joined the team,” Kravitz said in Ted’s Notebook after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Sky Sports presenter’s expectation is that Alexander Albon will stay with the Austrian racing team as a test and reserve driver. Dietrich Mateschitz is said to have argued internally for a contract extension from Albon. Red Bull is half-owned by a British-Thai family and since the roots of the 24-year-old driver are from Thailand, the owner of Red Bull would’ve liked Albon to get an extra chance. “It does look like Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have managed to convince Dietrich Mateschitz, who wanted to keep the faith with Alex Albon, to sign Perez. It seems like there is nothing to lose [signing Perez]. They may as well see how it goes [with him] and if he can’t do the job that they want him to do then they’ve Alex in reserve. That seems to be the elegant solution Red Bull has gone with,” Kravitz concludes.

Formula 1 paddock rumours seem to have confirmed our source in Formula 1 – Perez will be joining Red Bull sooner rather than later. The Mexican has impressed the Red Bull Racing bosses, most notably Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, and it is they who has persuaded Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz to not stay with Alex Albon, his preferred option. Rather, both Horner and Marko wish to sideline Albon in favour of first time race winner (during the Sakhir GP) Sergio Perez. Mateschitz knows that the part-owned Red Bull brand whose origins are based out in the far east, has a strong desire to succeed with Albon who runs under a Thai flag, so rumour has it there could be a dual role, and a sharing of the Red Bull seat for 2021. It is TJ13’s understanding that this is incorrect, and Perez will get the full race seat beside Verstappen. Albon will therefore be retained as reserve driver. This announcement is expected today or tomorrow.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen dominated the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, winning ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton as Formula 1’s 2020 season ended with a straightforward race. At the start, the top three appeared to launch equally well, with Verstappen moving to the middle of the track from pole to ward off any threat of attack from the Mercedes cars behind, scampering clear as Bottas had a slight slide exiting the first corner. The race quickly settled down, with the top three running as they lined up on the grid, as Verstappen quickly pulled a healthy gap to the following Black Arrows. By the start of lap four of 55, Verstappen’s lead was 2.2s, as he and Bottas were able to run in the mid 1m42s, while Hamilton dropped back – lapping in the 1m43s. Verstappen edged his lead up to three seconds over the next five laps, but had to surrender that when the race was neutralised – first with a virtual safety car, then a full safety car – after Sergio Perez retired with what appeared to be a transmission problem exiting Turn 19 on lap nine. The Racing Point driver, who had been working his way up from P19 on the grid following his pre-race penalty for taking a fresh power unit, pulled over to the side of the track just past the left-hander under the W Hotel in the third sector after losing drive. The top three immediately pitted – then under the VSC – to switch their mediums for hards, with the situation upgraded to a full safety car as the Racing Point could not be quickly moved out of harms way. That meant Verstappen’s lead was erased, but he quickly set about re-establishing it after acing the restart at the beginning of lap 14 – pulling away by 1.4s in the ensuing tour. The leaders were then able to run in the 1m41s as they ran clear of Alex Albon, who had passed McLaren’s Lando Norris shortly before Perez retired, with Hamilton again falling a chunk behind Bottas in third. Verstappen kept increasing his advantage, despite concerns about making his hard tyres last to the finish, during the next phase of the race, where he was regularly able to lap in the low 1m41s while the Mercedes drivers swung between the mid-high 1m41s. By lap 35, Verstappen’s advantage had reached eight seconds, as he committed to controlling the careful way he treated his front and rear tyres to maintain the balance he was enjoying. Although the gap between the top two then ebbed and flowed fractionally between Verstappen and Bottas as they negotiated backmarkers, with the leader concerned about vibrations he was feeling as his tyres wore further with just over 10 laps to go, but the Red Bull driver never looked under major threat. He came home to win by 15.9s after staying in the 1m41s in the final stages as the Mercedes regularly fell back to the 1m42s, with Hamilton finishing 2.4s behind Bottas on his return following his COVID-19-enforced absence after the Bahrain GP. The world champion had closed in on his teammate during the closing phase of the race, but never looking like he’d be able to get close enough to make a pass and indeed fell back away in the final laps. Albon finished 1.5s behind Hamilton, closing in suddenly as the laps ticked down to the flag, with Norris leading home his teammate Carlos Sainz in fifth and sixth. The result secures P3 in the constructors’ championship for McLaren, although Sainz faces a post-race investigation for possibly going too slowly in the pitlane during the VSC when running in front of Lance Stroll, before he arrived for the second part of McLaren’s double-stack stop. Daniel Ricciardo rose from 11th on the grid to finish seventh, not stopping under the VSC to leap up the order and then running long on the hards he had started the race on. In his final race for Renault, Ricciardo was able to produce strong pace as his long opening stint wore on, but after he’d pitted to take the mediums with 16 laps left the tyre advantage he had was not significant enough for him to close in on the driver he will replace at McLaren 2021. Ricciardo set the fastest lap on the race on the last lap – a 1m40.926s. Pierre Gasly took eighth, putting a firm pass at Turn 11 on Stroll’s remaining Racing Point just past half-distance, with Esteban Ocon getting ahead late on to steal ninth. Stroll therefore rounded out the top 10 ahead of Daniil Kvyat.Charles Leclerc finished 13th ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the four-time world champion’s final race for Ferrari, with the duo also not stopping under the VSC to climb up the order before they fell back struggling for grip compared to those that had come in earlier.

A Red Bull 2021 Formula 1 contract for Sergio Perez is very likely to come true according to a source within the Abu Dhabi paddock, which would see the Mexican partner Dutch driver Max Verstappen. Helmut Marko and Christian Horner have been negotiating with the Mexican in a more active way since the last F1 Grand Prix in Sakhir. “We are waiting for this last race to take place,” explains the Red Bull motorsport consultant at Yas Marina. “Alex Albon’s last race in Bahrain wasn’t great, but we don’t want to jump to conclusions right away. The decision will be made in a few days”. Marko admits that Perez, who recently won in Bahrain but lost his Racing Point seat to Sebastian Vettel, is on the “radar” for Red Bull as Max Verstappen’s new team-mate. “Perez has been on our radar for the whole second half of the season actually,” he admits. “I’m flying to England on Monday, and there will be a decision by Christmas at the latest”.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has confirmed their engines are using less power at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix due to reliability concerns. In the 16 races prior to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, every pole position was powered by a Mercedes engine. Lewis Hamilton added another 11 poles to his mighty record, Valtteri Bottas picked up four P1 starting positions and even Racing Point’s Lance Stroll got in on the act with a shock pole in wet conditions at the Turkish Grand Prix. But that particular streak came to an end in qualifying at the Yas Marina circuit as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen came out on top in a thrilling Q3 session, pipping Bottas to pole by just 0.025s with Hamilton only 0.086s away from P1 himself. After the session, Wolff confirmed that Mercedes have had to turn the wick down on their engines slightly due to concerns over the MGU-K element of the engine. The Mercedes-powered Racing Point of Sergio Perez went up in flames at the Bahrain Grand Prix, which saw a podium position slip from his grasp, and fellow customer team Williams have also experienced MGU-K related problems during Friday practice in Abu Dhabi when smoke started to appear from George Russell’s car. As a result, Mercedes have been forced to act in order to try and get through the final race of the 2020 season. “We took a little bit of power, a little bit of performance out of all the Mercedes engines,” Wolff told Motorsport-Total.com. “We have a gremlin in there. The damage to the MGU-K occurred below the mileage it is normally supposed to last. And we do not yet understand exactly why.”

Bernie Ecclestone says the problem with the struggling Ferrari team at the moment “is the Italians”. The Maranello team has notably struggled in 2020, and now at the last race of the season boss Mattia Binotto has returned to Italy feeling unwell at the very same time that president Louis Camilleri has suddenly resigned. “No offense, but I have always believe that the problem is the Italians,” former F1 chief executive Ecclestone told La Stampa newspaper. “They all want to lead and they all have their own ideas. I’m not saying they can’t be there, but they must also draw in the Germans, the French, the English – people who think differently,” the 90-year-old added. Ecclestone said it reminds him of 1993, when he had to convince Ferrari to take on Frenchman Jean Todt – who went on to lead the team through the ultra-successful Michael Schumacher era. “What happened with Jean Todt was emblematic,” he said. “The Italians did not want him. I convinced them to take him, and then things went the right way. “Binotto on the other hand in a very uncomfortable position,” Ecclestone explained. “I don’t know if he ever really wanted to be team principal. He is an engineer and has always dealt with technical matters. “What is needed in Maranello is a good manager who puts the right people in the right places. Three years ago I thought that Flavio (Briatore) would be the ideal man – he has good ideas, he knows how to choose people and he is not a politician. “But today, he is too busy with his companies,” Ecclestone said.

Today will be the last race of the season in Formula 1, but meanwhile there are already many eyes on 2021. For example, some names are missing from the F1 entry list for next season. Every year the FIA comes with an official entry list. On this list are all teams and drivers that are registered for the next season. The governing body of Formula 1 has now published the 2021 entry list, but some names are missing. This can be seen on the blog of journalist Joe Saward. For example, under the name of Max Verstappen we only see a TBA – To Be Announced – at the place where Alexander Albon’s name should be. The British Thai still doesn’t have a contract extension for next season and Red Bull Racing will decide after the GP of Abu Dhabi who will be Verstappen’s teammate in 2021. This seems to be between Albon and Sergio Perez, who will have to make way for Sebastian Vettel at Racing Point. Another name missing from the list is Daniil Kvyat. It has not yet been officially confirmed, but it is almost certain that the Russian will be replaced by Red Bull and Yuki Tsunoda. The Formula 2 driver has finished third in his debut season and has also obtained a super licence. One of the places where we are expecting a TBA is however a name registered: Lewis Hamilton. The Brit has no official contract for next year and negotiations are still ongoing between the world champion and Mercedes. This seems to confirm that Hamilton will be driving for the team again next year, as the majority of onlookers expected.

Mercedes are running a special livery on their W11 cars for the rest of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend to commemorate their continued success in Formula 1. For the seventh year in a row, the Silver Arrows have clinched both World Championships on offer. They bagged the Constructors’ title with four races to spare at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix and Lewis Hamilton added his seventh World title at the next race in Turkey to go level with Michael Schumacher on the all-time World Championship list. And, to acknowledge their remarkable achievements, Mercedes have the names of every single person who has contributed to the continued success of the team on their all-conquering W11. “The bodywork has all the names of the people who have contributed to this year’s success, be it in Kuala Lumpur, Stuttgart, Turin, Brackley or Brixworth,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. “It has been tremendously difficult at times but also rewarding for all of us with this World Championship title. “Furthermore, we will be having seven Petronas green stars on the engine cover to mark our seventh successive double World Championship.”

Max Verstappen topped the final practice session of 2020 as he went quickest in FP3 in Abu Dhabi, ahead of Alex Albon and Daniel Ricciardo. Mercedes didn’t have their best session, with Lewis Hamilton sixth and Valtteri Bottas ninth. It was an extremely slow start to the session, with the track empty for nearly 20 minutes before Nicholas Latifi broke the silence. It was Red Bull who set the best laps in the first runs, with Verstappen setting the quickest time and Albon just a few tenths slower in P2. Hamilton improved to split the pair, but Verstappen then pushed really hard, going half a second clear of the returning champion. Bottas was next to improve, briefly sitting third before Hamilton overtook him again. George Russell, moved back to Williams this weekend, seemed like he was still in the Mercedes when he momentarily went fifth on the timesheets, before falling back down again. With ten minutes to go, the midfield teams decided to turn up the heat, with Lando Norris taking P2 before Daniel Ricciardo took it away from him and then Esteban Ocon relegated the Brit to fourth. Albon had been complaining of understeer, but put in a solid lap towards the end of the session to join his teammate in the top two. Ricciardo was third ahead of teammate Ocon and Norris. Hamilton was P6, with Stroll and Sainz just behind him. Bottas could only manage P9, with last week’s race winner Sergio Perez in tenth.

Red Bull expects just 60 percent of its current Formula 1 car will be carried over into next year’s RB16B challenger. Although there is quite a strict chassis freeze heading in to next year, as part of the cost saving measures introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic, there are some freedoms to make developments. As well as aerodynamic surfaces remaining open to change, teams are allowed to use two special development tokens to choose particular parts of the car that they want to improve. More fundamental parts of the car will use up both tokens, while smaller areas will use just one. With Max Verstappen having admitted recently that there were ‘weaknesses’ in the car that would be addressed for next year, the team has hinted at quite a big revamp. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner explained that while there was a lot of carry-over, there was also going to be some fundamental work being done. “I would say that of the RB16B…60 percent of the car is the 16,” he explained. “Like all cars, there is a large amount of carry-over of components for next year.” “We’ve got the basis of a decent car. I think we know where its weaknesses have been compared to our opponents, so that’s where we’re focusing our development over the winter. “Mercedes will have an extremely strong package next year, there’s no doubt about that. But we’ve just got to use all the information and tools and data that we have to do the best job that we can.” Although this year’s Red Bull has suffered from aerodynamic anomalies, Horner is optimistic that those difficulties can be ironed out even with the mechanical aspects of the car staying the same. “I think a lot of the chassis stays the same, the suspension elements obviously stay the same, and gearbox is all carried over,” he said. “It’s basically the clothes that it’s wearing will be different, which is obviously the aerodynamic surfaces. “And of course, we go into a budget cap world as well next year, so the ability to develop is a lot more focused. It’s going to be a new challenge, a different challenge next year, but I think we have the basis of a decent car. “I think you can see that the car generally has got closer and closer to Mercedes over the last few couple of months in particular. That’s been really encouraging.”

Toto Wolff has played down suggestions that it is Lewis Hamilton’s salary demands that are holding up a 2021 contract for the seven time world champion. It is rumoured that Mercedes is not willing to meet Hamilton’s demands amid the economic impact of coronavirus – especially with a salary cap looming in Formula 1. When asked about that, team boss Wolff admitted that the financial aspect is “always part of the discussion, and it’s never much fun on either side”. He told Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper: “But in this case, it’s not an essential parameter. It’s more about how he sees himself in this world and how his thought processes are running.” At the same time, Wolff said the important thing for Mercedes is “how we can use him as a brand ambassador – how many days is he available off the track”. He says the talks should have begun last week, but Hamilton has been holed up in a Bahrain hotel with covid-19. “I take his health into account but we are absolutely in agreement on the general conditions,” said Wolff. “Now we wait for him to get back on his feet and then we’ll talk.” Austrian Wolff played down the risk that 35-year-old Hamilton could take the opportunity to either retire or switch to another team. “I don’t think Lewis will ever want to drive anywhere else,” he insisted. “I also think he has unfinished business. “From my perspective, there is nothing that prevents him from continuing, so I assume that it is very likely. But I wouldn’t rule anything out.”

Alfa Romeo driver Kimi Raikkonen claimed there was “nothing scary” about the fire which cut short his second practice session at Yas Marina despite his radio connector jamming when he tried to escape. The lead, which plugs into a connection to the right of Raikkonen’s shoulder, failed to disconnect as the Finn repeatedly pulled on the chord whilst the fire intensified at the rear of the car. The Ferrari power unit had let go with 18 minutes remaining in the session and although the unit would have been changed overnight, the damage caused by the fire could provide difficulties elsewhere within the chassis. “Obviously, there is some damage but hopefully, it is mainly bodywork,” said Raikkonen, who turned fire marshal as he took over the handling of an extinguisher from a track marshal, steering the nozzle into key areas to ensure it did not reignite. “It is a different engine and gearbox than we run tomorrow. It is just a bit more work for the guys. Nothing scary about it. It is just a shame that it gets all messed up with trying to put the fire down. It is just one of those things.

Valtteri Bottas put Mercedes on top in FP2 at Formula 1’s 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which was disrupted by a red flag when Kimi Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo caught fire. Lewis Hamilton finished second ahead of FP1 pacesetter Max Verstappen. But all three leading drivers failed to set their best times on the soft compound tyre as a Turn 1 off, track limits and encountering slower traffic cost the trio respectively. In the only representative practice session for the 2020 season finale, the opening 20 minutes was dedicated to running the prototype C4 compound Pirelli has develop for use next season. All the cars were quickly on track for the twilight session, with Renault’s Esteban Ocon leading the way as the pitlane exit light turned green. He therefore set the P1 benchmark at 1m40.101s, before Raikkonen quickly brought it down to 1m38.943s. Bottas moved to the top of the times with his first complete lap on the 2021 rubber, a 1m37.818s, with Hamilton slotting in less than a tenth behind. The cars returned to the pits after 20 minutes, with Bottas first in slightly earlier than the rest as he discovered a slight problem with his throttle pedal travelling too far beyond its normal limit. Hamilton was first to head back out on the medium 2020 tyres, taking P1 with a 1m36.479s. But Bottas soon moved back to the top of the times at the end of the first 30 of the session’s 90 minutes with his first flying lap on the mediums – a 1m36.276s – which ended up being the sessions fastest time. This was because, although Hamilton went quicker on his first run on the soft tyre shortly before the session’s halfway point, he lost his best time for running too wide out of the final corner. Hamilton’s 1m36.097s had not been significantly faster than the best time on the mediums, but he lost because he slid just too wide exiting Turn 21 and his time was deleted for exceeding track limits. Bottas was next up on the softs, but he had to catch a snap of oversteer at Turn 1 and he ran deep into the runoff, quickly abandoning the lap. Nearly 10 minutes later, Verstappen appeared on the softs and set the session’s fastest time in the first sector, but had already faded behind Bottas’s benchmark in the middle sector before he eased off that effort after closing up behind Sakhir GP winner Sergio Perez, who was completing a race-data-gathering run for Racing Point. Verstappen did then complete a personal best run on the softs, only a fraction faster than his best on the mediums, which he also lost for running too far wide exiting the final turn. The teams had switched to long-run data gathering when the session was stopped after Raikkonen’s Alfa dramatically caught fire as he swept towards the end of the first sector with just under 20 minutes remaining. The Finn pulled over near a fire marshals post a short way down the main straight, by which time the rear of his car was engulfed in flames. Raikkonen was able to climb out as the red flags were thrown, helping the marshals to put out the blaze – with his car continuing to smoulder for a long time after the initial flames had been extinguished. The session was suspended for over 10 minutes, but did get going for the final five minutes, which featured Hamilton having to stop in the pitlane – in front of the Haas garage – as he was unable to select a gear. The Mercedes mechanics ran down the pitlane and the world champion was able to get going again, Hamilton and Bottas having returned to the 2021 prototypes for the running before Raikkonen’s car caught fire. Alex Albon finished fourth with the fastest standing lap on the softs, after losing several laps for running too wide at the final turns earlier in the session, 0.987s slower than Bottas’s session-topping best, with Lando Norris fifth for McLaren. Ocon took sixth ahead of Perez, who also set his fastest time on the mediums, with Charles Leclerc, Daniel Ricciardo and Lance Stroll rounding out the top 10. Just before Raikkonen’s fire, George Russell had had to bring his Williams back to the pitlane with a suspected MGU-K problem, smoking emitting from the rear of the car. As he was being pushed back into the garage, his mechanics had to step away from the car as its electricity warning light was flashing red and it was subsequently isolated in his garage as the problem continued long after Russell had climbed out.