Racetrackmasters

Carlos Sainz has admitted that he’s concerned that the slashing of pre-season testing in 2021 will leave him at a big disadvantage to Charles Leclerc when he moves to Ferrari over the winter. Sainz will exit McLaren at the end of the season and move to Maranello, but new cost-cutting rules coming into effect mean that there will be only three days of pre-season testing before the first race in Australia in March. Previously teams had been able to spend eight days on track over the course of two weeks at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Next year’s test is expected to be held in Bahrain. Teams will only be running one car at the test, meaning that drivers will have to share seat time. The cut in track time is unlikely to be a big problem for the teams themselves or for drivers staying with the same squad But it has the potential to be a major setback for drivers like Sainz, Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo who are switching to a new team. And it will be an even bigger challenge for Fernando Alonso returning to F1 after two years out, and for any new drivers stepping up to F1. Haas is expected to field an all-rookie line-up in the form of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin. “A day and a half to be prepared for a season without knowing previously the car is practically impossible to be prepared for the first race,” Sainz said last week in Turkey. “That will make my first half of the season at Ferrari very difficult,” he added. “[And] for Fernando, Ricciardo and other drivers who change team. “I don’t understand why it’s only three days, one and a half days per driver,” Sainz said. “I’m not in favour of it, especially as there are no tests during the season.” The only other track opportunity is the post-season young drivers test at Abu Dhabi on December 15. But Sainz isn’t eligible to take part in that as it’s for drivers who have started no more than two Grand Prix races. Renault has been trying to ge special dispensation from the FIA for Alonso to take part due to his time out of F1, but the move has been opposed by other teams. Sainz would like the same waiver but admits that it’s unlikely to happen. “It is no secret that I would be interested in being in that test and driving the Ferrari,” he said “It depends on the personal interests of other teams, which have to be agreed, and the FIA would have to give the okay. “But it’s not a secret that I would be interested in being in that test.”

Red Bull wants to know what F1 power unit they will be using for 2022 before the end of the month says Team Principal Christian Horner, with taking over the Honda intellectual property (IP) their preferred option. The four-time world champions and their sister team AlphaTauri were left in a dilemma when Honda announced last month that they would be leaving the series at the end of the 2021 campaign, leaving only three engine suppliers. By regulation, Renault must supply Red Bull and AlphaTauri if they can’t find another option, as they have the fewest customers – but both the French manufacturer and energy drinks company would prefer not to work together again, with Red Bull instead pursuing the possibility to continue on with the Honda engine. It is understood Red Bull and Honda have had several discussions with regards Red Bull taking over the Japanese manufacturer’s IP as well as their Milton Keynes facilities and the Honda engineers who work there. “I think our preferred option would be to continue with the power unit that is in the car next year, obviously rebadged as something else,” said Horner. “If we can make an agreement with Honda regarding the use of the IP and product moving forward it would be a great shame to see those engines just in a warehouse somewhere in Japan, so subject to what the regulations are, it would be the preferred route would be to find an agreement to continue with those power units.” However, should Red Bull go down the route of taking on the Honda power unit themselves, they are pushing for an engine development freeze across all manufacturers. Mercedes would accept such a freeze, and while Ferrari and Renault have suggested they would be against, it is understood one of those are willing to change their stance. “I think we’ve been having quite productive discussions behind the scenes with the Commercial Rights Holder and the governing body,” added Horner. “Obviously there’s some key elements that need to be in place, before making any commitment on future engine plans, regarding engine freezes and so on.” While Horner said Red Bull technical chief Adrian Newey would push the deadline to get the right engine deal, with teams permitted to start working on their 2022 cars on January 1, Horner said a final call was ideally needed by the end of November. “Adrian is always the last of the late brakers on those kinds of things so he’ll hold out for what the best option is, but of course there are some practical things that need to be decided,” he said. “Engine stuff is such long lead time and if we were to take on a project like that then there’s quite a lot of work behind the scenes that would obviously need to happen and be put in place. Really by the end of this month we need to be firming up on a position.”

Formula One is planning to expand to 24 races in the near future, with some rotation of circuits, chief executive Chase Carey said on Thursday (Nov 19). The sport has pencilled in a record 23 for next year, dependent on developments in the Covid-19 pandemic which forced organisers to rewrite this season’s schedule and limit races to Europe and the Middle East. Carey, who is handing over to former Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali in January while remaining as non-executive chairman of the Liberty Media-owned sport, was speaking to investors. “We expect to move to a 24-race calendar in the next few years, and will probably rotate a few races so we will be able to accommodate a few new partners,” said the American. “But they will be limited as long-term partnerships continue to be our priority.” Formula One had two new races this year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, at Portugal’s Algarve circuit and Mugello in Italy, while also bringing back the Nuerburgring in Germany, Italy’s Imola and Turkey’s Istanbul Park for the first time in years. Those races were stand-ins for others that had to be cancelled on what ended up as a 17-round calendar. Saudi Arabia will be the new round on the calendar next season with a night race in Jeddah. Formula One has never had more than 21 rounds in a season and extending the calendar has caused concern about the burden placed on team staff. Carey said Formula One’s viewership was up slightly on last year despite the dominance of Mercedes for a seventh year in succession and a lacklustre showing by Ferrari.

Callum Ilott will return to the Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team when he takes part in the post-season test that follows next month’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Ilott had a test outing with the Hinwil-based squad in Barcelona in May last year, and recently took part in a Ferrari F1 test in a 2018-spec car at Fiorano, which was set to act as preparation for a scheduled FP1 session with Haas at the Eifel GP in October, only for bad weather to cause the cancellation of the day’s running. Mick Schumacher, who was supposed to drive for Alfa Romeo in FP1 at the Eifel GP, is expected to be at the wheel of a Haas in Abu Dhabi, as he is tipped to join the US-owned team next year. Ilott is in the fight for the 2020 Formula 2 title, having taken three wins and logged four pole positions in an impressive second season in the category. He currently lies second in the championship, 22 points behind Schumacher, with just the two Bahrain rounds to come. “I am really looking forward to being in the car again in Abu Dhabi and I am grateful to Alfa Romeo Racing and the Ferrari Driver Academy for this opportunity,” said the 22-year-old. “Any chance to drive a Formula 1 car is important: it’s a way to grow my experience, not just in the cockpit, but also working with the team: the engineers and crew are among the best in the world and there is so much to learn from them, so I am going to make it count.” “Callum is one of the most promising young drivers coming through the ranks, as his performance in F2 has shown this year,” said Alfa Romeo boss Fred Vasseur. “He was unlucky to miss out on a chance to show his ability last month, when FP1 was called off at the Nurburgring, so he thoroughly deserves his outing with the team in Abu Dhabi.” “His attitude and work ethic have left a very positive impression with the team when he tested with us last year and testing with him in Abu Dhabi is something we are really looking forward to.”

During the Turkish Grand Prix that was held last weekend, both Redbull drivers, Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon found themselves being stuck on the wet starting grid literally as the lights went out with the rest of the cars slipped past the two RB16s. However, the track was largely wet and slippery and the two drivers were on the dirty side of the grid, making a slow getaway due to a procedural error and not an error from the drivers’ side. This was the analysis according to former Renault driver and columnist Jolyon Palmer. “The start was a relative disaster for the two Red Bull drivers,” Palmer said in his latest column for the F1 site. “By starting second and fourth they were both on the dirty and wetter side of the grid and that certainly had an effect, with other drivers like Leclerc and Norris also having hideous starts from twelfth and fourteenth place.” “Without any doubt, the best side to take the start was the outside, which was drier. We saw in the last part of the race how little grip there was outside the line and how easy it was to turn from the wetter part.” “It was this difference in grip that hurt the Red Bulls, Leclerc and Norris the most, because they barely managed to take off from the outside.” This indicates that all these shortcomings were as a result of poor grip, although Verstappen pulled in the clutch for the second time during the race start as the engine revs slowly reduced making his start even worse than Albon’s. Also, both Redbull cars started on the first gear which is the convectional way to start on the dry track, but on the wet Istanbul track the top 10 cars started on the second gear to avoid a lot of wheel spin on the clutch release. AlphaTauri also used the first gear in the other Honda powered cars and they had a better getaway making the gear start issue not a reason enough for the slow start.

Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto says Sebastian Vettel’s third place podium finish at the Turkish Grand prix held at the Istanbul park was a very important milestone in what has been a very disappointing season for the Ferrari team so far. Vettel was already off to a bad start with the team before the start of the 2020 F1 Season as Ferrari decided not to renew his contract beyond 2020. Vettel’s performance has been very dismal compared to the previous seasons being that he was the driver who won the drivers championship titles from 2010 to 2013. Despite a lot of struggle through the 2020 season, he managed to put on quite an impressive performance in the Turkish Grand prix which resulted to a podium finish, out-performing his teammate, Charles Leclerc for the first time in 11 races. Leclerc came later to finish fourth after Vettel after puttin on pressure on Racing Point’s Sergio Perez during the last lap. Binotto had decided not to attend the race as he was putting his focus on the efforts to develop the 2021 Ferrari car, he however congratulated the 4-time champion afterwards as he suggested Vettel had finally found some confidence in his SF1000. “I’m very pleased for Sebastian, I think a podium for him is very important. It has been a difficult season for him.” the Ferrari boss said. “I think he has started being, at least now at the end of the season, comfortable with the car. He’s delivering better.” “He had a very good start, very consistent, with good pace. He was managing the tyres, managing to keep the positions, and holding the positions. And overall, even on the last lap, he did well because he took the opportunity. And it’s great for him.” “He just finished third, very close to Perez. But great, I’m happy for him. Still three races, and hopefully we will do as well in the next one.” For his part, Vettel, who sits 13th in the driver’s standings on 33 points, joked afterwards that Binotto’s absence was the reason for his success. “I think we scored probably the most points this year for us and Mattia wasn’t here! Yeah, if the next race we don’t score as many points we try again to leave him at home,” he quipped “No, I don’t think it’s related to that. I don’t believe in this kind of stuff.”