Racetrackmasters

Romain Grosjean has been ruled out of the Formula 1 season finale in Abu Dhabi after electing to travel home for treatment on the burns to his hands.Grosjean was left with burns to his hands after a terrifying crash on the opening lap of last Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix, escaping from a large fire that followed a collision with the barrier at Turn 3 recording more than 50G. Grosjean was ruled out of this weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix on Monday, but remained hopeful that he could race in Abu Dhabi and make his final appearance for Haas ahead of his departure. But in a statement issued shortly before Sunday’s second Bahrain race, Haas announced that Grosjean would not be racing in Abu Dhabi, but will instead return home to Switzerland to continue treatment for his injuries. Reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi will once again stand in for Grosjean at the Yas Marina Circuit. “It is with great sadness that I will not be able to do my final race in Abu Dhabi and be with the team there,” said Grosjean. “We’ve tried as much as we could with the doctor to recover and to repair my hand, but the risk of racing is too big for my recovery and my health.” “So, the decision was made that I’m not going to race. It’s one of the hardest decisions of my life, but it’s obviously one of the wisest. “I will miss the team, but I will be supporting them as ever.” Grosjean has already said that he would like to complete a private F1 test at the earliest opportunity to ensure his time in the series does not end with his accident. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff confirmed on Saturday that he would be willing to accommodate such a test should no other team be working with Grosjean. “I’m naturally very sorry that Romain will miss what was going to be his final race with Haas,” said Haas team boss Gunther Steiner. “But we are all in agreement that he has to take the best course of action regarding his treatment and recovery from last Sunday’s incident. “Romain has shown exceptional bravery and amazing spirit over the last few days. We know how badly he wanted to be able to return to the cockpit of the VF-20 in Abu Dhabi. And we all would have loved him to have been there too.” Grosjean joined Haas for its debut F1 season in 2016, with this weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix set to be the team’s first race where the Frenchman is not in one of his cars. The team announced in October that Grosjean would be leaving after five years, making way for an all-rookie line-up of Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher in 2021. “Romain believed in our Formula 1 project at the very start, he committed to drive for us before we’d even built a car,” Steiner said. “There is no doubting the determination and sheer effort he has put into helping us to achieve what we have as a young team in Formula 1.” “We will forever be grateful for that belief and commitment. It is those qualities, his drive and ambition, that I’m sure will aid him on his recovery.” “On behalf of Gene Haas and myself, together with the whole Haas F1 Team operation, we wish Romain well and a return to full health.”

Fernando Alonso on Saturday smiled when told that some of Renault’s rival teams are unhappy about his participation in the forthcoming ‘young driver test’ in Abu Dhabi. Racing Point boss Otmar Szafnauer said in Bahrain that he disagrees with the FIA after the governing body granted the 39-year-old Spaniard special dispensation to test the 2020 Renault later this month. “I think the rules are pretty clear – it’s a young driver test and a two-time world champion almost in his 40s isn’t a young driver,” he said. Other midfield teams including McLaren are also unhappy, but Alonso – trackside with Renault this weekend – told reporters on Saturday: “I’m happy when they’re worried. “I know there’s a lot of talk about me at the moment, but for me it’s just about getting up to speed again. We’re not developing anything at this test. They should all relax,” he added. “As far as I know, Kubica and Buemi are driving too but no one is talking about them.” Renault team boss Cyril Abiteboul hit back hard at the criticism of Alonso’s test – particularly that of Racing Point boss Szafnauer. “If Otmar wants to make a claim, it would be remarkable given that we know they have an illegal car,” said the Frenchman. “We have accepted the solution on that, but them complaining to the FIA would be the purest irony.” However, Alonso admitted that it is an important outing for him. “We don’t know what the impact of the new rules for 2021 will be – we don’t know how similar the 2020 and 2021 cars are, so the more laps you can do with this car the better,” he is quoted by Canal Plus. “On the other hand, even if we do a lot of kilometres, it will never be enough after almost two years out. I have driven the 2018 car so I consider myself to be about 99.5 percent there.” But with Alonso now given permission to test, Sebastian Vettel – who is moving to Racing Point (Aston Martin) for 2021 – thinks he might also get the FIA’s green light. “I am a little amazed at how the whole issue has come up now,” said the German. “The teams had actually agreed, but apparently not. Now there are these special regulations for certain kinds of people. “I don’t know where we are today, but of course a test like that would help me,” Vettel added.

Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo has met with the Formula 1 organisation to discuss the TV coverage of Romain Grosjean’s accident last weekend, and he says that the chat was “productive”.After the Bahrain GP Ricciardo called the extensive replays of Grosjean’s accident and escape “disgusting”, pointing out how hard it was for drivers to watch while preparing for the restart. F1 offered to talk to him about his concerns, and this week he met with director of marketing and communications, Ellie Norman. “I spoke with Ellie on Thursday evening,” he said. “To be honest I think already after Sunday they offered to come and chat. But, obviously, last Sunday there was a lot going on, so I wanted to postpone it. “I think it was certainly worthwhile, hearing them out. And obviously I don’t want to just blast in the media and then run away from them, so to speak. I chatted for probably half an hour with Ellie, and she went through a lot of the stuff, and I gave my feedback. There was nothing, like, confronting. “I think she was very understanding and appreciative, and I think also accepted my concerns as well. She didn’t push back, I think she was trying to listen and learn as well, how they could maybe do things differently. But she also talked me through the reasons why they broadcast what they did.” Ricciardo said one issue discussed was warning viewers before such dramatic images are replayed. “I’m sure there’s some things we can take from it,” said Ricciardo. “One thing was, and actually some broadcasters do it, kind of like a bit of a warning to prepare the audience. Like, ‘Okay, there’s going to be some maybe graphic images’ – and that way maybe if you’ve got younger kids you’ve got a bit of time to pull them away from the TV or something. “Then the feedback afterwards, I think Ross Brawn mentioned there is something like that, or there is a bit of a context in place. It was productive, they didn’t attack me or anything like that! “It was quite a worthwhile thing, and they deserved for me to hear them out.” Ricciardo wasn’t the only driver to make comments about the coverage – Sebastian Vettel also expressed concerns – but he noted that most had opted not to. Ricciardo added: “I feel like some drivers are a bit, I don’t want to say too proud, or too brave, they’re kind of like… I’m sure a lot of us felt it. Did I question getting back in the car? The answer’s no. “But I guess I just wanted them [F1] to consider what we have to go through as well.”

Alex Albon will start the Sakhir Grand Prix from P12, and that didn’t go down well with Red Bull principal Christian Horner. The Thai driver has been underwhelming in 2020, but Red Bull are giving him all the way until after the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi to prove his worth. But qualifying P12 around a sub-minute circuit with few corners, 0.379s slower than team-mate Max Verstappen wasn’t the best way to make an impression. “It’s very much a Red Bull seat, or a year on the bench. So the focus is on giving him that opportunity,” Horner told reporters in Bahrain when speaking about Albon’s future before Free Practice 2. “He’s got two races, he did a good job last weekend, being on the podium, his second podium in F1. “He’s had a good first practice, a good start to the weekend here and two more weekends to demonstrate that he is absolutely the right guy to be in that car alongside Max [Verstappen] next year. “And we’re giving him all the support that we possibly can to achieve that goal.” But after squeezing through to Q2 Albon’s elimination in that session received a shake of the head from Horner, an action which arguably speaks much louder than any of those words. Albon himself though was rather pleased with his P12 lap, so wants to understand where it went wrong. “Frustrating one, honestly driving wise I was actually very happy with it,” he told reporters after his Q2 exit. “So I need to understand where it went wrong, just very different to FP3 was the car. “Tricky out there, obviously slipstreaming was really important as well.” Albon has this season proven on Sundays that he isn’t afraid to get his elbows out and attack to make up positions, though he does fear getting caught in the DRS train around such a short track. “It will be possible, it’s just about the DRS train,” he replied when asked about the possibility of overtaking during the Sakhir Grand Prix. “It’s not as easy as you expect around here, but we’re on the higher side of downforce I would say against the others which makes it a little bit harder to overtake, but obviously we’ll hopefully be a little bit better on our side as well.”

Mercedes would be willing to give Romain Grosjean a private Formula 1 test to say farewell to the series if he is unable to race in Abu Dhabi next weekend. Grosjean is currently recovering from injuries sustained in the terrifying accident on the opening lap of last Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix, where he escaped an impact with the barrier of 137mph and a fire that engulfed the monocoque. The Haas driver was ruled out of this weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix due to burns to his hands, but has set his sights on racing in Abu Dhabi next weekend. It would likely mark Grosjean’s final F1 start if he can race, having already confirmed he would leave Haas at the end of the season. But if he cannot race next Sunday, Grosjean has already made clear he does not want his accident to be his final act in F1, saying he would want to do a private test in a car once fully recovered. “I won’t risk losing mobility of my left index and left thumb for the rest of my life, just to go to Abu Dhabi,” Grosjean said. “The story would be beautiful to go to Abu Dhabi. If I don’t, I’ll call every single F1 team and see if anyone would offer me a private test in January or so, to jump back in the car, and have 10-15 laps to myself.” Mercedes has become the first team to confirm it would be willing to accommodate Grosjean for a private test outing. Asked about the possibility of the test, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff confirmed he would be happy to make it happen. “If we are allowed to do this, and nobody else within his universe of teams that he raced [for] would provide him with such an opportunity, we would do this,” Wolff said. Any private test for Grosjean would likely have to take place in at least two-year-old machinery, meaning he could theoretically drive last year’s title-winning Mercedes W10 in a test, assuming the running was conducted in the new year. Grosjean’s existing team, Haas, is yet to confirm whether it would be open to running him in a private test, while he previously raced for the existing Renault squad under both its works guise in 2009 and during its time as Lotus between 2012 and 2015. Grosjean has been in the Bahrain F1 paddock over the last couple of days, and gave an emotional account of the accident on Friday. The Frenchman has since been excused of media duties for the remainder of the race weekend so he can focus fully on recovering.

Alex Albon will either be retained by Red Bull or he will spend “a year on the bench” in 2021. That is the word from boss Christian Horner, as Red Bull continues to assess whether Max Verstappen needs a faster teammate like Nico Hulkenberg or Sergio Perez. Verstappen caused a stir after last weekend’s Bahrain race by disparaging Albon’s podium. Horner said on Friday that he excuses the Dutch driver for his outspokenness. “I think Max just calls facts. I think that’s the way he sees it,” he said. Verstappen has made clear his preference to be teamed with Hulkenberg for 2021, which would leave Albon without a seat at the eleventh hour. Red Bull’s second team Alpha Tauri is reportedly pushing ahead with its plan to replace Daniil Kvyat next year with Japanese rookie Yuki Tsunoda. “I don’t believe he (Albon) forms part of Franz (Tost)’s plans for next year,” said Horner, “so it’s very much a Red Bull seat or a year on the bench. “The focus is on giving him that opportunity – he’s got two races, he did a good job last weekend, he has started well here and has two more weekends to demonstrate that he’s absolutely the right guy to be in that car alongside Max next year. “We’re giving him all the support that we possibly can to achieve that goal,” said Horner.

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl has warned Carlos Sainz that he ‘does not see any way’ the Spaniard will be making his Ferrari debut at the upcoming ‘young driver’ test in Abu Dhabi. The FIA’s decision to allow Fernando Alonso an exemption to compete in a test that is supposed to only be for drivers who have started no more than two grands prix has caused a stir in Formula 1. It prompted Sainz to declare himself “very willing to be in that Abu Dhabi test especially because my [McLaren] contract allows me to do so.” Seidl refused to be drawn on the details of Sainz’s deal but believes the regulations that state no current drivers can be involved in the December 15 test at the Yas Marina circuit automatically preclude him from doing so, despite the FIA allowing for “exceptions”. “First of all we never speak in public about the details of our contracts with our drivers,” insisted Seidl. “But the regulations are clear so I don’t see any way that Carlos is driving the car.

Renault Formula 1 boss, Cyril Abiteboul has accused Racing Point over its stance on Fernando Alonso’s inclusion in the post season young drivers tests. The French team has been pushing for the two-time world champion to be allowed to participate for some time, despite opposition from Ferrari, McLaren and Racing Point. While Ferrari is now looking to have Carlos Sainz participate, McLaren was never going to attend the test anyway as it is changing engine suppliers over the off-season therefore such a test would be pointless. Racing Point has stood firm in its opposition, and speaking yesterday, after Alonso had been given the all-clear to run, team boss, Otmar Szafnauer was still unhappy about the move. “I was surprised to see Fernando being allowed to test,” he admitted, when asked if he might now push for Sebastian Vettel to take part, “so we have got to have that discussion with the FIA. “I think the rules are pretty clear,” he continued, “it’s a young driver test and a two-time world champion almost in his 40s or in his 40s to me isn’t a young driver. “I’ve got to understand what the rules are first and foremost and then see what we do thereafter.” Asked, if the rules permit it, he would want Vettel in his car for the test, Szafnauer said: “If we can and the rules permit it and… there’s a bunch of ifs and we’d have to consider it.” “It’s one day of testing,” sighed Christian Horner. “Is one day really going to change the world? “We’re allowed to run two cars there. We had no problem with Fernando driving the Renault as we would really if Carlos wanted to drive a Ferrari or Sebastian a Racing Point. “Is one day going to change the world? But as a young driver test, I’m not sure how Fernando… I’m feeling younger already! The fact that he’s classified as a young driver, maybe we could get Nigel… he never retired, we could get Nigel Mansell to come and do the young driver test!” Asked about Szafnauer’s comments, Abiteboul said: “There is an indication of young drivers, plus anyone that the FIA will give permission to. And that’s in the absolute right of the FIA to do that. “So if Otmar wants to build a claim against the FIA, that would be quite rich, keeping in mind that we all know that they have an illegal car,” he added. “We have accepted to settle that one. But if you want to have a go now at the FIA, I would find it quite ironic. “Why is it necessary?” he said of Alonso’s participation in the test. “I mean, I’m going to be very straightforward. What’s necessary is to give the team the absolute best possible platform to build upon for next year. “No one is here for anything other than absolute performance,” he continued, “and when teams are not here for performance, they are doing things for commercial purpose, and when they are doing that for commercial purpose, there are all sorts of critics in relation to that. “Clearly we are not doing that with Fernando for commercial purposes, we are doing that for the sport, for our own competitiveness. And again, that’s the case of every single entity. “So, we’ve been very straightforward, we’ve been clear with the FIA, clear with F1 about what we were doing. “There are limits in what we can do anyway,” he continued. “Frankly, it’s still very much part of Fernando’s going back into shape and stretching his legs. He’s been amazing in the driving of the two-year-old car, we’ve done four days of that. He will have one more day of that. That’s particularly important in the context of next year, we will have only three days to share across the two drivers of winter test. “I know it’s the same for everyone. But again, that’s also one reason why we’ve asked for that. FIA has taken the time to wait for our request, and has given the permission, but that’s very much around Fernando, rather than around the development of the car.” The Frenchman was also keen to point out that it is one of the few teams actively developing young talent. “I don’t think that we can be blamed for not doing lots for young drivers,” he said. “I don’t think that many manufacturers have invested half of what we have invested for young drivers, with our Academy drivers that we are supporting financially, and with our different activities, with Formula Renault Eurocup, a championship in which we have invested since 50 years. “More than 50 percent of the drivers in F1 today are coming from the ranks of Formula Renault Europcup. So again, we cannot be blamed for not investing into the young drivers. “But yes, this time round, because we are thinking of next season, because we need to move on from what’s been a great relationship with Daniel and we want to project ourselves in new into a new relationship with Fernando, we ask for that permission which the FIA has the absolute right to grant, and they granted it. “So, it is what it is, and people simply need to deal with it.”

George Russell has set the pace in Free Practice One (FP1) of the Sakhir Grand Prix ahead of the two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Alex Albon. Russell’s Mercedes team-mate, Valtteri Bottas, was only fourth after managing a best lap time over three-tenths of a second slower than the young Brit’s fastest lap. However, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was quick to point out that Bottas damaged his car early in the session and was therefore compromised. Specifically, a bib on the underside of his Mercedes W11 was damaged and resulted in Bottas locking up his tyres more easily. Despite this, many F1 fans have taken to social media to suggest that Russell’s pace proves that most drivers would win in a Mercedes. Some even accused Lewis Hamilton of being a fraud and insisted that Russell’s pace shows he isn’t the greatest F1 driver of all-time.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has revealed that Lewis Hamilton is “not great” as he self-isolates after contracting Covid-19 earlier this week. Hamilton is missing the inaugural Sakhir Grand Prix following a positive test returned less than 24 hours after his Bahrain Grand Prix victory. Speaking to Sky Sports F1 at the conclusion of FP1 at the Bahrain International Circuit, Wolff said Hamilton was struggling to cope with his first missed weekend since he entered the championship at the Australian Grand Prix in 2007. “He is not great,” he said. “Covid-19 is something you mustn’t take lightly and he is in safe hands, that is the most important. “But it is those early days that are always not so nice. Mild symptoms and then obviously, as you can imagine, a race driver out of his car and combine it with Covid, he would rather sit in there [nodding towards the team garage].” Hamilton must undertake 10 days of self-isolation which, backtracking to his test results last Monday, would take the world champion up to the day before practice for the season finale in Abu Dhabi. It is as yet unknown whether Hamilton will return for the race at Yas Marina. If he is forced to sit out the race, it would provide George Russell with a second opportunity to prove himself against Valtteri Bottas.

The session began at 13:30 GMT and Antonio Giovinazzi was the head of a train of cars out the garage to test the limits of the twilight Sakhir circuit. Just a few minutes in a brief VSC was deployed, but all was quickly rectified and shortly after we got out first onboard glimpse of the lightning-fast lap with Carlos Sainz Jr. George Russell was another out the pits early on with his sights set firmly on getting acclimatised with the all-new track, and the Mercedes stand-in referenced ‘a lot of sand’ blowing through turn six. Seeing as the track is located in the middle of the Arabian desert, a dusty surface is to be expected. The light soon faded, and around half an hour in Charles Leclerc made the first trip across the gravel after losing the rear in turn four. The Scuderia Ferrari driver was unharmed, and so he went on his way unfazed. The Monegasque finished the session tenth, marking a tricky start to his weekend. A second incident came soon after, as Pierre Gasly was left awkwardly hanging on to his right wing-mirror for half a lap after it unexpectedly snapped through the bumpy sector two. The Frenchman boxed to repair the issue, and the relatively easy fix ensured his running wasn’t compromised too heavily. Gasly, who won his first race earlier this year, ended up sixth. Jack Aitken also had a moment on his debut as he dropped it into the gravel at turn three- most likely due to a lack of traction. He seemed to be having a hard time wrestling his Williams around the circuit to start, but he quickly began to make progress He ultimately ended up with twentieth for a rookie- a fairly representative finish for a rookie. Interestingly, a number of drivers appeared to struggle with the undulation changes present through the second part of the lap- especially turns six and seven. Sergio Pérez’s trip through was one of the most significant, as the Mexican flat-spotted his tyres following a mighty lockup. Staying true to his unfortunate practice woes, Alexander Albon took a trip off the beaten track at turn three and royally destroyed his red-marked soft tyres after a violent spin saw him narrowly escape the clutches of the barriers. He returned to the pits the same lap-citing ‘pretty poor vibrations’, and boxed for fresh rubber. Valtteri Bottas was another who struggled to preserve his tyres; the Finn locked his front left on a multitude of occasions- no doubt worrying him on a weekend where he needs to demonstrate his aptitude. The session concluded after a thrilling hour and a half of running, and for the first time in his career George Russell topped the timesheets of a Formula 1 practice session with the fastest lap in F1 history- a 0:54.546. The two Aston Martin Red Bull Racing car’s of Max Verstappen and Alex Albon finished second and third respectively (as they did last weekend) and Bottas and Kvyat completed the top five. Then followed Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Charles Leclerc in the fastest ten. Free Practice Two begins in just under two hours time, and Russell will be hoping to replicate his standout performance once more.

Perez revealed last week that should he not land a race seat at Red Bull his alternative options are a sabbatical and a return in 2022, or a reserve role with a top team. However, with COVID still potentially a threat, a reserve role would inevitably involve travelling to most of the races, and certainly those outside Europe, which is the usual approach for a reserve driver. The Monaco resident is not keen to commit to such a schedule unless he is actually competing. “We haven’t gone into too much detail with it, it’s just an option,” he said. “But it’s not my priority. I think we have to figure it out in case we get into that, how we can make it work, because I don’t want to be going to all the races if I’m not driving. “So it’s a hard one, obviously, the team needs to have to get the driver there. So probably I’m not the right person to do it. But we will see, I think in the next two weeks, I will know more on my future. “But that’s something that I can still decide on next year, what is really the ultimate thing I want to do for 2021.” “I think at the stage that I am in my career I want to drive. And I think if I’m not driving, it’s very hard to attend the races, without driving. “So as I say, there’s no hurry on that, I wait and see what happens in the coming weeks. And then I see whether I prefer to take a full sabbatical, and come back in ‘22. At the moment, that’s definitely plan B.” Perez said that his retirement from last weekend’s Bahrain GP won’t impact his chances of landing a Red Bull seat. He was set for third place in Sakhir when a late MGU-K failure led to his first retirement of the 2020 season, and handed the position to Alex Albon, his rival for the Red Bull drive. He took second place at the previous race in Turkey, and also had a strong run at Imola, but finished only sixth after a strategy mistake under a safety car saw him drop down the order. “I think performance is important,” he said. “Although I missed the podium, I think it’s not just one race that makes a difference. “I’ve been here 10 years. And I think over the years, I’ve delivered, so people know what I can and what I cannot do. So I don’t think one race changes the history on that.” Perez, who after the Bahrain race dropped to fifth in the world championship and is now two points behind Daniel Ricciardo, conceded that a lot of points have been squandered in 2020. “I think it’s been a season for missed opportunities, we’ve lost so many podiums that we should have by now for different reasons,” he said. “I think we should have had three podiums in a row by now. But we only have one. One with a poor first strategy, and the other one with just a failure, but these things happen. “And the positives, I think to take are definitely the consistency, up to last race when the engine broke, we should have been on the point for the 19th consecutive time, so consistency-wise, we’ve been strong. And that’s why we managed to recover after missing two races with the COVID. “We are back on track. And we should be clear by a couple of points in that fourth position. As I say, I think it’s been a season of missed opportunities. “But if we put everything into a global perspective, I think it’s been a strong year in terms of consistency and delivery.”

Carlos Sainz Jr has confirmed that Ferrari is pushing for him to be allowed to take part in the young driver Formula 1 test after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Crucially, the current McLaren driver will be free contractually, and will thus be able to do the test should Ferrari receive permission from the FIA for him to participate. Lobbying from Renault led to the FIA opening the one-day test up for Fernando Alonso to run some miles in the Enstone team’s 2020 car, while Sebastien Buemi is expected to drive for Red Bull and Robert Kubica for Alfa Romeo. Thus far drivers who raced in 2020 have been excluded from the day, but Sainz made it clear that Ferrari hope that he can make an early debut for the team, and get priceless mileage going into the winter. Teams are allowed two cars at the test, and Ferrari has already announced that one will be driven by Robert Shwartzman, and one by Antonio Fuoco. Meanwhile, two other Ferrari young drivers will also be busy, with Mick Schumacher at Haas, and Callum Ilott at Alfa Romeo. Fuoco’s run is mainly to give the Maranello simulator driver an opportunity to get up to speed with the real car, and clearly the team would be willing to sacrifice his chance to allow Sainz to take part, while maintaining its commitment to young drivers via Shwartzman. “I’m willing to test for Ferrari,” said Sainz. “I think it’s no secret, especially now that the hand has been opened a bit by the FIA for drivers that are not rookies, or not young drivers, to test, I don’t see why the FIA wouldn’t open the hand a bit also to all the drivers. “Personally, I wouldn’t take any young driver out of the seat.” “I think Callum (above), Mick and Robert Shwartzman, I think they are still going to test, so if I jump into a Ferrari, I’m not going to not allow them to test, they’re going to still be testing. “I think Ferrari is one of the teams that are promoting young drivers the most right now. “So I don’t see why I shouldn’t also get the chance to test. “I don’t know what’s going to happen to be honest, I don’t know what is the FIA’s decision, but you can tell that I’m going to try and be there as much as I can.” Asked to clarify what process is underway, he said: “I’m not going to say what we are going to do. “But I’m telling you that I’m very willing to be on that Abu Dhabi test, especially because my contract allows me to do so.” McLaren is not attending the test, but its future driver Daniel Ricciardo says taking part was never an option, as he remains contracted to Renault. “From my side I was never going to participate,” he said. “It was always from 2021 onwards, so I don’t really feel like personally I’ve lost out because it was nothing I ever expected to do. “I think Fernando, obviously he’s been maintaining a lot of health and fitness. “He looks in pretty good shape and pretty young – so I think, to the naked eye, he certainly passes as a young driver!”

Stoffel Vandoorne had hoped that he would be allowed to drive the W11 this weekend during the second Grand Prix in Bahrain. Toto Wolff chose George Russell to replace Lewis Hamilton, who was infected with the coronavirus. The team boss of Mercedes explains that there were no firm agreements why with Vandoorne. “Stoffel is doing great in Formula E and has done a perfect job this year as our reserve driver”, Wolff is quoted by Racefans.net. The 48-year-old chief can understand very well that Vandoorne is disappointed that he is not allowed to take action this weekend. “We understand and respect that. He’s a racer and we don’t expect him to be jumping for joy.” According to the top man of the German race team, Vandoorne has reacted neatly internally to the fact that the choice fell on George Russell. “He’s also pragmatic and understands the reasons for our decision. As reserve driver, you go into the season knowing that you could be called on to race, but that it’s not a guarantee and also that you have a role to play away from the track in the simulator and doing development work,” Wolff explains. Finally, all the Austrian has left is praise for Vandoorne. “Stoffel has done a great job with that, as well as his main role in Formula E, where they have just completed pre-season testing. He’s an important part of the motorsport family at Mercedes and a top team player.”

Gunther Steiner has hit back at Haas reserve driver Louis Deletraz, who is upset that he was overlooked to replace Romain Grosjean this weekend in Bahrain. The small American team has instead selected F1 legend Emerson Fittipaldi’s 24-year-old grandson Pietro – the second official Haas reserve. But Deletraz, a 23-year-old Swiss driver who is seventh in the Formula 2 standings, hinted on social media that Haas should have had more “respect” for him. “Congrats Jack, Williams and Mercedes,” he said after Jack Aitken was selected to replace the Mercedes-bound George Russell ahead of this weekend’s Bahrain round. “A choice based on pure performance. It’s nice to see a team with respect to its drivers.” When asked about that comment, Haas boss Steiner reacted with frustration. “I haven’t spoken with him recently, but I saw that he is angry – and he’s not the only one who is angry because they wanted that seat,” he said. “He is just one of them, so get in line. Pietro deserves it,” Steiner added. “I asked him to be here because I was worried about coronavirus, and so he came to be away from home for three weeks without any assurance of being able to race. “There is no debate about this,” he continued. “It was the plan that was on the table and we followed it. Besides, I don’t have to ask anyone else who I should put in the car.” Steiner also played down speculation that Mick Schumacher might be a candidate to race next weekend in Abu Dhabi, as a limping Grosjean with heavily bandaged hands returned to the Bahrain paddock on Thursday. Steiner insisted: “I want Romain to come back so I’m not thinking of anything else. “I think he can end his time with us at that race, that’s what I’ve talked about with him and I want him to end on a high note. “We won’t decide otherwise until someone tells us that he cannot race,” he added.