Racetrackmasters

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.”

Fans reacted to George Russell’s FP1 win at the Sakhir Grand Prix as the British driver finished ahead of Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Alex Albon

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.

Mercedes’ George Russell set the fastest time in 2020 Sakhir GP FP1 with a lap of 54.546 seconds, beating Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Alex Albon

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.

UNI-Virtuosi’s Guanyu Zhou will drive for Renault at the Young Driver Test at Abu Dhabi in December. The Renault junior will partner two-time Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso, who is set to return to the team in 2021. The one-day post-season test will be held at the Yas Marina Circuit on Tuesday, December 15, with both Zhou and Alonso taking to the wheel of the R.S.20. Zhou is currently eighth in the Drivers’ Championship with one win and give podiums. The Chinese driver already has experience in F1 machinery, testing the R.S.18 Budapest, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi. “We would like to thank the FIA and F1 for their acceptance of our test plans, made in recognition of our commitment to young drivers throughout junior motorsport and to Fernando’s own dedication to furthering the careers of young talents,” explained Renault Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul. “Zhou has experienced the benefit of the Renault Sport Academy, having joined its ranks last year. He has worked hard and made a genuine contribution to the performance of the team through his work in the simulator and test programme. I am delighted he can drive the R.S.20 to complement his journey so far.”

Formula One’s governing body opened an investigation into Romain Grosjean’s Bahrain Grand Prix crash on Thursday as the French driver hailed those who helped him escape the fireball. The International Automobile Federation (FIA) also made changes for this weekend’s race at Sakhir, adding two rows of tyres and a conveyor belt at the turn three scene of Grosjean’s accident. A kerb between turns eight and nine was removed to reduce the risk of a car becoming airborne and the depth of the barrier on the right side of turn nine was increased to four rows of tyres. Grosjean suffered burns to his hands after his Haas car split in two, penetrating a metal barrier and erupting in flames, in Sunday’s race. The Frenchman left hospital on Wednesday and in an Instagram post accompanying video footage pointed to “the moment I realized I was going to live”. He highlighted the professionalism of the marshal with the extinguisher and FIA doctor Ian Roberts. “I told him he was a hero, he went into the fire as much as he could to save me,” he said of Roberts. “I felt Ian’s hands pulling me over the barrier and knew I was safe. I remember every second of it and life will never be the same again, but I’m sure for the best,” added the driver. “I met with death and that is the worst feeling I ever had. But I’m alive and will enjoy every second of life and every small win in a much better way from now on.” The FIA expected its investigation to take six to eight weeks. It will look at all safety devices, how the safety barrier performed and the role of track marshals and medical intervention team. The body said it would work with Formula One, Haas and the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA), who had already been contacted for input. Grosjean is one of the three GPDA directors. Researchers also have data from a driver-facing high speed camera, the in-car Accident Data Recorder and in-ear accelerometers that measure head movement. The FIA said immediately after Sunday’s accident that the impact measured more than 50G, while Haas said the car’s last recorded speed was 221kph. “With so much data available in Formula One, it allows us to accurately determine every element of what occurred and this work has already begun,” said FIA safety director Adam Baker. “We take this research very seriously and will follow a rigorous process to find out exactly what happened before proposing potential improvements.”

Two-time Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso is re-joining the grid next year after two seasons away, taking up the Alpine F1 Team seat vacated by Daniel Ricciardo at the end of this season. The Spaniard is wasting no time getting back into the swing of things, as he has already run a slew of test sessions with the Renault team (which will be renamed Alpine next year) in their 2018 car, as well as 1,000 kilometers of “filming day” allowance in the current car. Because of this lack of experience with the current spec, the team was recently given clearance to run Fred in the young driver test at the Abu Dhabi circuit later this month on the Tuesday following the season-ending Grand Prix. Alonso left his role in the McLaren team at the end of the 2018 season and has spent that time pretty much just being a lazy bum. All he’s done since then is win the Daytona 24, win Le Mans twice, score an FIA WEC World Championship victory, participate in (and finish) his first Dakar rally, and make two efforts at the Indianapolis 500. Obviously he’s been racing a hell of a lot since leaving F1, but there’s nothing quite like an F1 car to prepare you to drive an F1 car. That’s why he and the team need as much testing time as possible to get back up to speed. When Alonso starts the 2021 season, it will mark twenty years since his first race with the Minardi team. Technically he’ll be re-joining the sport with a team that he’s raced with on three separate occasions, as the Enstone-based Renault has hired Alonso initially from 2001 as a test driver through his two World Championship seasons in 2005 and 2006. He left for one ahem tumultuous season at McLaren before returning in 2008 and 2009. After five seasons with Ferrari and three more with McLaren, plus two on sabbatical driving whatever he damn well pleases, Alonso is back with the French manufacturer. The post-Abu Dhabi test was originally planned to be a run-in with the new 18-inch wheel and tire package from Pirelli, but because that rule change has been pushed back to the 2022 season, the test was swapped out for a new young driver event. Each team is allowed up to two cars to test with their young driver academy participants. The sporting regulations specifically state that the test is “an optional one-day test, for the sole purpose of providing young drivers with the opportunity to test a current Formula 1 car ,” and goes on to say that nobody with more than two Grands Prix of experience would be allowed to participate. Clearly Alonso is not either of those things. Despite pushback from McLaren, Racing Point, and Ferrari, the FIA has decided that Alonso and Renault/Alpine would be allowed special dispensation to take part. Allegedly the decision came down from on high, as Jean Todt himself made the choice. Interestingly, Fernando will also be driving his old 2005 Renault R25 chassis during the Abu Dhabi weekend, which won the teams and drivers championship that year. Obviously this doesn’t gain him or the team anything in terms of setup data for the 2021 car, but it’s a nice warm up for the test the following week, and it’s a nice goodbye to the Renault name, and a nice bridge for the gap between Fernando’s old life and his new one in the sport.