Racetrackmasters

The question of whether Sergio Perez can be a welcome second driver with the Red Bull team is still in the air. Whether the driver, as the darling of a huge and growing Mexican Formula 1 audience at Liberty Media, can leave the sport, now appears to be a matter for discussion. Also in 2021 the GP of Mexico is on the program again, a race weekend that in 2019 managed to attract some 345,000 visitors. It is therefore logical that Sergio Perez’ exodus from Formula 1 Liberty Media will hurt his wallet. Roberto Chinchero speculates on Motorsport.com that the team of Christian Horner and Helmut Marko may have had a call from Liberty about the possible contracting of the Mexican. “It is difficult to think that this question has not also been asked in the offices of Liberty Media, and it is therefore not impossible to think that a phone call was made to Milton Keynes, although it will only be to be informed of the decision of Red Bull”. “Not only the career of Checo is at stake, but also the relationship of Formula 1 with a nation that has shown a growing interest in Formula 1 in recent years”, said Chinchero.

Charles Leclerc’s results in 2020 have fallen well short of expectations, and yet the Ferrari driver insists he’s “extremely happy” with his campaign. Last year, in just his second season of Grand Prix racing and his first with the Scuderia, Leclerc clinched his first two career wins in F1, an achievement that elevated him to the rank of genuine contender for the title in 2020. Alas, a Ferrari engine stripped of its 2019 muscle by the FIA and an aerodynamic weakness imbedded in its SF1000 foretold a season of struggles for the Scuderia as early as pre-season testing. A lucky second-place finish behind Valtteri Bottas at the opening round in Austria is as good as it has been for the Italian outfit and its star driver who have been confined to scraps in the midfield for most of the current season. “At the beginning of the season it was difficult to accept the situation we were in,” Leclerc told BBC Sport. “I’ve always had a dream of being in Ferrari to win races and then I did a first year that was very good. “I won my first ever F1 race, which was a dream since I was a child, but I was still at the end of the season a bit disappointed with myself because I did mistakes at some very important moments last year where I would have hoped not to.” “It’s part of the learning curve, so I gave myself a target this year to try and do it in a better way with less mistakes, which I think I achieved.” Despite his equipment’s limitations, Leclerc reckons he’s made a step forward in 2020. “Looking back at the season, I am extremely happy with it,” he added. “But on the other hand the car was not as good as last year so unfortunately I couldn’t achieve and show as much results-wise how good my season was. “But thankfully somehow people have still managed to see I was doing a better job than last year even though the results were not as good. “It kept me very motivated that people were seeing what I was doing in the car.” But Leclerc’s natural resilience and an ability to spur himself on during difficult times have also been important allies during Ferrari’s troubled season. “I actually have so much motivation when it is going badly,” he said. “I am not the kind of person that feels bad because it is going badly. When it is going badly, I just think: ‘In which way can I impress people?’ “That has been my mentality whenever we have had a difficult race, trying to prove people wrong.” But alongside Leclerc’s ability to lift himself above the difficulties resides an equally strong sense of self-criticism, a trait that triggered his very vocal flare-up in Turkey, when a mistake on the final lap of the race deprived him of a spot on the podium after a solid performance around Istanbul Park. “That’s probably one of my best performances this year in a race and I’m aware of it and I was aware of it after the race when I calmed down,” he said. “But on the other hand, I was so disappointed. “I am always very hard with myself. And this won’t change. But now it’s more constructive than destructive as it was in the past probably. “When I was younger, every time I did a mistake I was putting myself down. But it was not constructive. I was losing a lot of confidence in myself and that was not great. “But year after year I managed to change that into how to learn from my mistakes and this seems to work pretty well for me.”

Lewis Hamilton is hoping to recover from COVID-19 in time to race at this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after posting his first video message on Instagram since he started his isolation. The seven-time world champion tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday last week and missed last weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix while he isolated in Bahrain. In an update to his fans on Tuesday, he spoke about his fight against the coronavirus and revealed that he had completed his first workout since developing symptoms. He is hoping to return to the cockpit of his Mercedes this weekend in Abu Dhabi for the last Formula One race of the season. “Hi everyone, I hope you’re all well,” he said in the message. “I know I’ve not been in touch this past week, but it’s definitely been one of the hardest weeks that I’ve had for some time. “I’ve just been focusing on recovering and trying to get back in shape so I can get back in the car and race in the final race in Abu Dhabi. “I woke up today feeling great and got my first workout in, so I just wanted to send you guys a message of positivity and let you know that I’m OK. I want to thank every single one of you for sending the amazing messages and videos. “I really, really appreciate it and I hope that wherever you are you are staying positive and fighting through whatever it is that you are facing. I hope that I can get back in the car soon and, yeah, I’m sending you guys love.” https://www.instagram.com/p/CIilcmSlEu-/ Hamilton was replaced by Williams driver George Russell at the Sakhir Grand Prix, who remains on standby in case Hamilton is unable to race in Abu Dhabi. “If Lewis recovers and he’s getting better every day and he’s considered COVID-free, negative [test result], then he will be in the car,” Wolff confirmed on Sunday. In order to be declared fit to return to the F1 paddock, Hamilton will have to return a negative test result for COVID-19 in line with the FIA’s testing procedures. He will also have to comply with government guidelines in both Bahrain and Abu Dhabi in order to travel from Bahrain to the United Arab Emirates and arrive at the track. The main part with all of this has always been complying with the respective governments’ laws and regulations,” FIA race director Michael Masi said. “So it’s very much a decision for a the Bahraini health authorities to determine if Lewis is fit and complies with their regulations and then further for the Abu Dhabi authorities to determine their criteria. So it’s effectively two government entities that determine entry criteria. “If he meets the entry criterias of the respective governments and then further complies with the testing protocol from an FIA perspective — to test negative prior to entering the paddock — then there’s no problems from our perspective.” In order to enter Sunday’s race, he must also take part in either Saturday’s qualifying session or one of the three practice sessions on Saturday and Friday.

The Express are reporting that “last month, Bottas’ Instagram bio had a tag to Mercedes’ F1 account – but that has since been deleted. https://www.instagram.com/valtteribottas/?hl=en “Meanwhile, Russell has also removed all mention of Williams from his bio, which now just reads ‘Formula 1 Driver’.” https://www.instagram.com/georgerussell63/?hl=en This is the sort of thing that occurs when a footballer might be on the brink of a transfer, so does it suggest that Russell may be about to displace Bottas at Mercedes for 2021? Well, it will certainly appeal to those who like to buy into the F1 rumour mill and the conspiracy theorists that think something may be afoot. Certainly there was plenty of evidence from the Sakhir Grand Prix that Russell, who was standing in for Lewis Hamilton following the seven-time World Champion’s positive COVID-19 test, is ready to make a permanent step up from Williams. The 22-year-old Briton narrowly missed out to Bottas for pole position, but beat him off the start line to take a lead which he held until a botched double-stack pit-stop under the Safety Car dropped the duo out of the top three. Even then, Russell overtook Bottas – admittedly with the Finn on the same set of old hard tyres as before his failed pit-stop – and still had a chance to catch Sergio Perez for the race win until he suffered a puncture. For Bottas, who ended up finishing eighth, it was not the end he wanted to a weekend in which he had the ideal chance to stamp his authority and show Mercedes have made the right decision in retaining his services for 2021. Of course, with one race of the season left to go, the constructors’ World Champions are only going to stick to the party line at this stage and publicly confirm their faith in Bottas. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff admitted Bottas “did not shine” in the second of the two Bahrain races, and the 31-year-old driver has finished no higher than eighth in any of the last three grands prix. But Wolff also said of a potential all-British line-up of Lewis Hamilton and Russell: “George is a Williams driver, he is signed up to Williams and our driver line-up is Valtteri and Lewis, so I don’t see this as a realistic situation at that moment of time [2021]. “But I can understand it would be an interesting situation, both in the team and maybe a bit of a wild ride for all of us. Maybe we’ll have that in the future.”

George Russell is under contract with the Williams F1 Team for 2021, but it has been reported that Red Bull could still poach the young talent. Despite George Russell finishing his maiden race with Mercedes down in P9, the young Brit’s stock has undoubtedly increased within the F1 paddock. After qualifying just behind his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas, Russell took the lead of the Sakhir Grand Prix on the run down to turn one and looked set to win on his debut with the W11. However, it wasn’t to be. Mercedes put on a mixed set of tyres on Russell’s car after they pitted him under safety car conditions, and he later picked up a slow puncture which forced him into making yet another pitstop. Off the back of Russell’s strong but disappointing outing with Mercedes, Germany’s RTL broadcaster has reported that Red Bull will “certainly try to poach” the Williams driver if the Silver Arrows don’t offer him a contract for 2021. Russell is under contact with Williams next season, but RTL believes this won’t be an issue if Red Bull are intent on poaching him. “His Williams contract should be the least of the problem,” the broadcaster reports. “It would almost be a just punishment for Toto Wolff, who gave water carrier Valtteri Bottas an early preference over Russell for 2021,” they added, suggesting Mercedes were wrong to extend Bottas’ contract instead of giving Russell a chance. At this moment in time, it looks unlikely that Mercedes will choose not to honour Bottas’ 2021 contract – and having George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in the same team is probably not ideal for the Silver Arrows, as they seem to prefer to have Hamilton as their number one driver and Bottas happily being his wingman.

Formula 1 is bracing itself to enter an unprecedented ‘biosphere’ lockdown in Abu Dhabi, as the sport adheres to the strictest COVID-19 rules that it has encountered in 2020.The regulations are such that they will make it problematic for the currently-quarantined Lewis Hamilton to be able to compete in Abu Dhabi, even if he tests negative in the coming days. On Monday, the entire F1 circus – apart from a handful of drivers and team VIPs travelling on private jets – will be flying from Bahrain to Abu Dhabi on 10 charter planes, amid tight restrictions. The Abu Dhabi government’s COVID measures are so strict that access by road is currently blocked from its UAE neighbour Dubai, and special exceptions have been made to allow the grand prix to go ahead, following months of discussions between F1 and the authorities. The area around the circuit and the adjacent hotels has been closed off, with entry for F1 personnel only allowed on Monday. After entry, nobody will be permitted to exit – if they wish to return – to what is being termed a ‘biosphere’ until after the test on the following Tuesday. The only exceptions are vehicles and personnel with specially arranged government passes. The preparation process began in Bahrain, where all F1 entrants had to take a locally mandated COVID test at the airport on arrival. They then had to isolate in their hotels until they received a negative result via a government app on their phone. Subsequent to their arrival, all F1 personnel have been tested every few days with the Bahrain government and FIA testing systems working together. Arrivals in Abu Dhabi have had to spend at least a week in Bahrain under the COVID testing regime, so anyone who skipped the Bahrain GP – such as Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto – had to travel out for the second race in order to guarantee their presence at the season finale. The only alternative option is a mandatory 48-hour quarantine for anyone travelling directly from Europe to Abu Dhabi. Hamilton’s situation is complicated, because he currently remains subject to Bahrain’s quarantine rules, and will also have to comply with Abu Dhabi’s entry restrictions. It’s understood that if he did test negative this week, but misses the Monday travel window, with his private plane he will only be able to enter Abu Dhabi later in the week if the government makes a special exemption for him.

Valtteri Bottas admitted he was made to look “like a fool” in yesterday’s Sakhir Grand Prix when Lewis Hamilton’s substitute George Russell outperformed him with a stellar, if unrewarded, drive.The Mercedes pair finished eighth and ninth, with Bottas ahead, after an action-filled race, but it was Russell who shone as he had a stunning maiden victory taken from him by a bungled pit stop and a late puncture. Bottas, who started from pole position, lost the lead at the start and struggled to mount a challenge as the young Briton, standing in for Covid-19 victim Hamilton, showed pace and poise at the front for 62 laps. “If you don’t know things, I might have looked like a complete fool, so that’s not nice,” said Bottas. “But the people who know, they know how the performance was and how the end result could have been.” “It was a pretty bad race for me and it’s easy for people to say that a new guy comes in and he beats the guy who has been in the team a few years — so it was not ideal. “I knew that in the first stint, with the medium tyre, that the track position would be important so obviously it was unfortunate to lose that. “But in the second stint, I was catching him at a pretty decent rate.” Bottas’s bid to respond to Russell was undone when they both pitted during a safety car period and Mercedes muddled up their tyres. “It’s hard to explain the feeling when you come to a pit stop and you leave with the same old tyres that you came in with — and then lose positions,” said the Finn. “Obviously, a big mistake from the team that will be analysed and learned from — it was a nightmare being on the old tyres that had lost temperature. I was like a sitting duck.”

The team that is ousting Sakhir GP winner Sergio Perez says the Mexican “deserves a place in Formula 1”. 30-year-old Perez, who after Mercedes’ problems and the Max Verstappen-Charles Leclerc first lap crash surprisingly won Sunday’s race, admits he will have to take a sabbatical next year if he doesn’t secure Alex Albon’s Red Bull seat. Immediately after winning in Bahrain, Perez said he is no longer considering the option of simply retiring after taking his potential sabbatical in 2021. “I never know what’s going to happen, if I will have the will to come back after doing that,” he said. “But after today, after the last couple of races, I’m sort of determined to be here, whether it’s next year or the year after,” he said. “I already have some good options for ’22 but my best option is obviously to keep going on next year but if I have to stop, then it’s not a disaster, I can come back in ’22.” Former Red Bull driver Robert Doornbos is urging Dr Helmut Marko to throw Perez a lifeline. “Come on Helmut, sign him! Look how he overtook Albon, coming from last place to first,” he said on Ziggo Sport. Even Racing Point team owner Lawrence Stroll, who is replacing Perez with Sebastian Vettel next year, admits that the Mexican deserves to be in F1. “Every weekend he proves that he deserves a place in Formula 1,” the Canadian told Sky Deutschland. “Hopefully we’ll see him at Red Bull next year.” But if Perez is forced onto the sidelines next year, he rates his chances of being able to quickly reacclimatise to Formula 1 in 2022. “The regulations are going to change so much that, in a way, I don’t think it will hurt the driving side that much in getting back up to speed,” he said. “I’m at peace with myself. It’s just the way Formula 1 is – it can be really tough and not the best drivers are in Formula 1 unfortunately. So we keep pushing and we keep delivering and I think that’s the best way to do it.”

George Russell has kept his maiden Formula 1 points after avoiding disqualification for Mercedes’ tyre mix-up during Sunday’s Sakhir Grand Prix. Mercedes accidentally fitted tyres belonging to Valtteri Bottas to Russell’s car during Sunday’s race at the Bahrain International Circuit, forcing the British driver to come back into the pits. The front two tyres from Bottas’ set of mediums were put on Russell’s car as Mercedes double-stacked its cars in the pits after a mix-up caused by a radio failure. It forced Russell into another stop one lap later that dropped him to fifth place, before a fight back up to second and chance for victory was dashed by a late puncture. Russell eventually crossed the line in ninth place, and also picked up a bonus point for setting the fastest lap of the race, but risked losing them if Mercedes was hit with a penalty. But the stewards said after a hearing following the race that Mercedes had been fined €20,000 for the infringement, accepting the radio failure as a mitigating circumstance, and that it was not a bid to gain a sporting advantage. “Car 63 was fitted with front tyres that were allocated to Car 77,” the stewards’ report reads. “This was caused by a radio communications technical issue wherein the pit wall’s communication to the pit crew that Car 63 was entering the pits prior to (and not after) Car 77, failed to be received by the crew of Car 63 because at the same time, the driver of Car 63 transmitted over the top of that message. “This resulted in the front tyres of Car 77 accidentally going onto Car 63. (The cars were “double stacked” at the time.) This is clearly a breach of the regulations and would normally involve a sporting penalty up to Disqualification. “However, in this case there are mitigating circumstances, additional to the radio issue referred to above. “Firstly, the team rectified the problem within 1 lap. This involved Car 63 making another pit stop, thus dropping it further down the classification. “Secondly, Car 77 made a pit stop to change tyres only to find that the front tyres to be fitted to it, were on Car 63, so was sent out after considerable delay, with the tyres that were on Car 77 prior to the pit stop. This also impacted the final classification of Car 77. “Thirdly, although this type of infringement is not catered for under the “3 lap tolerance” referred to in the second paragraph of Article 24.4 b) (which currently only refers to the use of tyres of differing specifications), we consider it to be similar in nature. “However, the responsibility to fit tyres in compliance with the regulations, still rests withany team and thus a penalty is considered as being required. “It is recommended that the FIA consider amending Article 24.4 b) to accommodate this type of breach when it is rectified without delay. “It is noted that this type of breach has not previously been experienced in Formula 1.”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will have a three-place grid drop at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix after he caused a first-lap collision in Sunday’s penultimate round in Bahrain. The Monegasque tangled with Racing Point’s eventual race winner Sergio Perez in a collision that led to his retirement and that of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and left the Mexican fighting back from 18th. Stewards said Leclerc had braked too late into Turn 4, locking the front right wheel and colliding with Perez as the Mexican took the normal racing line into the corner. Leclerc, who also collected two penalty points, admitted he was at fault after the race. “I expected him to go around the outside of (Mercedes’) Valtteri (Bottas) and stay there but I think he decided after to come back on the inside and I was there and then it was to late for me to slow down,” he said of Perez. “I don’t think it’s a mistake from Checo (Perez), I’m not putting the blame on Checo. If there’s anyone to blame today it’s me but I would say it more unfortunate than a blame.”

Sergio Perez took a stunning win for Racing Point in Formula 1’s Sakhir Grand Prix after a calamitous Mercedes pitstop and then a puncture cost long-time leader George Russell.Esteban Ocon finished second ahead of Lance Stroll, with the Mercedes cars down in eighth and ninth – Valtteri Bottas, also delayed significantly in the pitstop fiasco, in front of Russell. Perez also faces a post-race investigation over a lap one incident that eliminated Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, in which Perez was spun around and fell to the rear of the field. At the start, Bottas and Russell launched in unison from the front row, but Bottas was slower in the second phase and Russell pulled alongside, with Max Verstappen having a look in between them. Russell seized the lead at the apex of Turn 1, with Bottas forced wide and then sliding at the entry for Turn 2, which let Russell run free and bunched the pack up behind. This ended in contact at Turn 4 – the right from the traditional Bahrain GP layout where the drivers then sweep quickly left to start the outer loop – despite Verstappen braking early behind Bottas and the attacking Perez on the outside. Bottas locked up but stayed clear in second, as Perez swept into the Turn 4 apex and collided with a locked up Leclerc, who suffered a broken left-front in the contact while the Racing Point was spun around. Verstappen stayed free of contact but seemed to carry too much speed through the gravel trap beyond Turn 4 and he slid into the barriers and out, with the safety car deployed immediately. The race resumed at the start of lap seven of 87, with Russell already well clear as he crossed the safety car control line and Bottas under pressure from Carlos Sainz, who had risen to third in the first lap chaos. Sainz attacked Bottas into Turn 1 and held on around the outside take second, but he slid out of Turn 2 and cut the oncoming Turn 3 kink, which allowed Bottas back to second. At the end of the first lap back at full speed, Russell had a lead of 1.1s, which he set about extending as the Mercedes drivers were the only ones to run in the low 58s. This quickly pulled them well clear of Sainz, who headed a train of runners during the opening phase of the race, before Bottas was able to stabilise the gap when it reached 2.4s on lap 17. Bottas edged back towards Russell as the Mercedes drivers were told they were well over their target for stopping before the Briton was able to extend his lead again approaching one-third distance. As the rest of the top 10 runners, most of whom had started on softs compared to the mediums on the Black Arrows, stopped, the two leaders were soon lapping backmarkers, which caused the gap between them to fluctuate. Russell’s lead was 3.1s when he came in to change to the hards at the end of lap 45, with Bottas left out for a further four laps. Despite a scare with a sensor issue, which caused Russell to report “no power” on his out-lap, the significant undercut factor meant Russell’s lead ballooned to 8.5s at the end of Bottas’s out-lap. Both Mercedes drivers were then warned about the loads their left-front track rods were taking through the punishing Turns 7/8 chicane, before a virtual safety car was called when Nicholas Latifi pulled over on the inside of Turn 8 and retired due to a suspected oil leak. Bottas had cut Russell’s lead to under five seconds with strong pace on his new hards either side of the VSC, but the race was then turned on its head when a second safety car was called after Jack Aitken spun off at the final corner and wiped the nose off his Williams. A second VSC was upgraded to the full safety car so the debris could be recovered and Mercedes called its cars in for what turned out to be a calamitous double-stack stop. After Russell had a slightly slow change he was sent out with a mixed set of mediums and had to be called in again a lap later, while Bottas lost nearly half a minute waiting as the team realised the error and sent him back out on the same hard tyres he had taken at his first stop. The Mercedes pitstop gaffe meant that Perez, who had pitted for hards before the first VSC has he quickly recovered up the order following his first lap off, led ahead of Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll – as those that had been following Mercedes had come in during the Latifi VSC. The race restarted again on lap 69, with Perez romping clear as Russell ran behind Bottas before nipping up to P5 when his teammate ran deep at Turn 4 on lap 70, which left Russell with the chance to muscle his way by over the bumps into the chicane. Russell the quickly dispatched Stroll and Ocon on successive laps shortly afterwards, which left him with a 3.4s gap to close to Perez. The Briton set a series of fastest laps, but then a left-rear slow puncture forced Mercedes to stop him for a fourth time – for softs – and dropped him out of contention. Perez had kept up his pace and pulled away from Ocon over the rest of the race and came home to take a sensational first F1 win by 10.5s. Sainz finished fourth as Bottas’s faded badly on his hard tyres, slipping down the just before Russell had to pit for his puncture. Daniel Ricciardo finished fifth ahead of Alex Albon and Daniil Kvyat, then came the Mercedes cars. Russell had rejoined from his final stop in P14, but was able to use his softs to scythe back up the order and claim his first F1 points finish. Lando Norris completed the top…

Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc crashed out of the Sakhir Grand Prix on lap one after a three-car incident that also involved Racing Point’s Sergio Perez. Verstappen and Perez were three-abreast with the slow starting Mercedes of Valterri Bottas but the Red Bull driver slowed early as they headed towards turn four. That allowed Lecerc to challenge on the inside, but the Ferrari driver went in too hard and collided with Perez, sending the Racing Point into a spin, forcing Leclerc into the barriers. Forced wide and onto the gravel, Verstappen’s bid to get back on the power resulted in him careering into a barrier. “I couldn’t do anything there,” said Verstappen over the radio, before getting out of the car and kicking the barrier in frustration. Both drivers had been expected to challenge for a podium finish after showing good pace in long runs during practice, and after starting from third and fourth on the grid respectively. Perez recovered to continue after a front-wing change, but dropped to last with work to do to fight his way back through the field.

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.”