Mercedes will try to reduce the size of their wings for this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, in order to close the performance gap with Red Bull and early title leaders Ferrari according to Toto Wolff.
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix organizers have dismissed concerns that the race may be canceled this weekend.
Formula 1 officials are allegedly keeping an eye on the situation in Saudi Arabia after a missile strike on the city of Jeddah, which is set to host the next grand prix.
FIA race director Michael Masi says his offer for Red Bull to forfeit position ahead of a race restart at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was a “normal discussion that happens regularly” in Formula 1. Masi was heard offering Red Bull to give up pole position and drop Max Verstappen behind title rival Lewis Hamilton at the second standing restart following a red flag suspension during Sunday’s dramatic race. It came in response to Verstappen overtaking Hamilton off track at Turn 1 during the first race restart after Haas driver Mick Schumacher caused an early red flag with a hefty crash. The exchange between Masi and Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley drew comparisons to British game show Deal or No Deal by fans on social media. But Masi stressed there was nothing unusual about the procedure. “I wouldn’t call it a deal as from a race director’s perspective I have no authority to instruct the teams to do anything in that situation,” Masi said after the race. “I can give them an offer, the ability to do that but the choice is theirs. The stewards are obviously empowered to give penalties but I can give them my perspective. “That’s why I offered them the ability to give that position up.” After some deliberation Red Bull ultimately accepted the offer and Verstappen was able to snatch the lead away from Hamilton with a daring lunge at the restart, setting up an intense scrap for victory. Masi insisted the talks with Red Bull were “very much a normal discussion that happens regularly on a number of occasions and has had all year, and previously.” “It was a result of the red flag that came about due to the incident at Turn 3,” he added. “The priority with any red flag situation is A; to make sure the drivers are safe, and then to activate the marshals’ recovering with cleaning the track and so forth. “So it probably seemed a bit elongated compared to normal, however it is very much a normal discussion that takes place. When I saw it happen at Turn 2, I immediately suggested to the stewards that I am going to give the ability to give that place back. “The red flag obviously ensued very quickly thereafter and that was absolutely the priority before we got going again. Being as we were under the suspension, it was the ability to effectively correct that before we went racing going again.” Contrary to Masi’s claim, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner described the situation as “unusual” and something “I’ve not come across previously.”
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton lashed out at title rival Max Verstappen after Sunday’s gripping Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, describing the Dutchman as “over the limit”. Hamilton won a chaotic race under lights on the Jeddah street circuit but only after several close run-ins with Red Bull’s Verstappen. “I really had to try and keep my cool out there which was really difficult to do,” said Hamilton. “I have raced a lot of drivers in my 28 years of racing, I have come across a lot of characters. There’s a few that are over the limit, the rules don’t apply.” “He’s over the limit for sure. I have avoided collision on so many occasions with the guy,” the seven-time world champion continued. “I don’t mind being the one who does that because you get to live another day. It doesn’t matter for him if we don’t finish. It does for me.” The tense battle culminated in a late collision when Hamilton, apparently unaware that Verstappen had been ordered to give up the lead after an illegal manoeuvre shortly before, hit the Red Bull as it braked in front of him. Red Bull maintained that Verstappen was simply following instructions while Mercedes insisted that the Dutchman was ‘brake-testing’. “I don’t understand why he hit the brakes quite so heavily so I ran into the back of him,” said Hamilton. “I didn’t get the information. It was very confusing.” A visibly annoyed Verstappen, however, denied any wrongdoing in the incident. “I slowed down, I wanted to let him by, I was on the right but he didn’t want to overtake and we touched,” said Verstappen. “I don’t really understand what happened there.” Stewards, who gave Verstappen a five-second penalty for an earlier incident, were investigating the decision. “It was quite eventful! A lot of things happened, which I don’t fully agree with, but it is what it is,” said the 24-year-old Dutchman. He later stormed off the podium, refusing to take part in the traditional end of race champagne spraying with Hamilton and his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas who took third. The two drivers are now level on points as they head to the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi next weekend, although Verstappen has the advantage of having won more races. “It’s a straight fight as it has been all year,” said Red Bull boss Christian Horner. “The form is with Mercedes but Max has fought like a lion this weekend, he has given it everything.” Hamilton has now won three races on the bounce and is primed to become the first man to win eight world titles, one more than the record he currently shares with Michael Schumacher. “I am personally chilled,” he said. “I feel like I am in the boxing ring and I am ready to go.”
Max Verstappen has been given a 10sec penalty for his latest clash with Lewis Hamilton, after stewards found that he slammed on his brakes ahead of the Mercedes in a 195mph section of the Jeddah circuit. The Dutchman was said to be “predominantly at fault” for the crash but has not lost any championship points as a result, thanks to a 21sec gap between him, when he crossed the line to finish second at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and third-placed Valtteri Bottas. He remains level at the top of the championship table with Hamilton, who accused his rival of “brake testing” him. Stewards called the pair to a hearing after the incident, which began when the Red Bull driver was told to hand back the lead to Hamilton as a result of passing him off track. Verstappen was told to make the switch “strategically” when he was at Turn 21. Five corners later he slowed, ahead of the DRS line which would give the following car a drag advantage on the main straight. But Hamilton had not been told of the plan. “I didn’t really understand what was going on,” he said after the race. “I was like, ‘is he trying to play some kind of crazy tactic? I don’t know’”. The Mercedes remained behind the Red Bull, drawing closer and closer until Hamilton suddenly swerved from behind his rival — too late to avoid clipping his front wing on the rear of the car. “Car 33 [Verstappen] slowed significantly at Turn 26,” the stewards found in their report. “However, it was obvious that neither driver wanted to take the lead prior to DRS detection line 3. “The driver of Car 33 stated that he was wondering why Car 44 [Hamilton] had not overtaken and the driver of Car 44 stated that, not having been aware at that stage that Car 33 was giving the position back, was unaware of the reason Car 33 was slowing. “In deciding to penalise the driver of Car 33, the key point for the Stewards was that the driver of Car 33 then braked suddenly (69 bar) and significantly, resulting in 2.4g deceleration.” Hamilton dropped back after the collision but was eventually let through by Verstappen at the same Turn 26. The Red Bull driver was behind the Mercedes at the DRS line, but then dived up the inside of the final corner, and had use of DRS to escape up the main straight. Concluding their report into the earlier incident which resulted in contact, the stewards added: “Whilst accepting that the driver of Car 44 could have overtaken Car 33 when that car first slowed, we understand why he (and the driver of Car 33) did not wish to be the first to cross the DRS. “However, the sudden braking by the driver of Car 33 was determined by the stewards to be erratic and hence the predominant cause of the collision and hence the standard penalty of 10 seconds for this type of incident, is imposed.” It was Verstappen’s second time penalty of the race, after he was docked 5sec for gaining an advantage over Hamilton by running off track.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and drawn level with championship rival Max Verstappen with just one race left in the 2021 world championship following a bad-tempered scrap between the pair. The greatest flashpoint of the season happened on lap 38, shortly after a Virtual Safety Car restart. Verstappen overtook Hamilton around the outside at turn one at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, but could not stay on track. In trying to redress, Hamilton tucked in behind Verstappen approaching turn 27, Verstappen appeared to slow suddenly, and the two made contact.Hamilton suffered minor front wing damage, and Verstappen was given a five second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage. Hamilton took the lead back from Verstappen on lap 43, and drove away to his third win in succession. Verstappen maintained second place after the time penalty, falling away from Hamilton in the final laps. By setting the fastest lap of the race, Hamilton gained eight points on Verstappen – bringing both drivers to 269.5 points going into next weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The inaugural race in Jeddah will be remembered as a rather calamitous race on the whole, after two red flags for major incidents, and multiple virtual safety car interventions for incidents and debris on the racing line. The first red flag was for TecPro barrier repairs at turn 22, when Mick Schumacher spun off and crashed. Initially the safety car was deployed, and Verstappen stayed out on track while Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas pitted from first and second for hard compound tyres. The red flag was thrown on lap 14, allowing Verstappen to change to medium tyres. On the ensuing standing restart, Verstappen started from first, but Hamilton got a better launch off the line. Hamilton ran wide through turn one, forcing Verstappen off track, and Verstappen took the lead ahead of the Alpine of Esteban Ocon, who had launched from fourth to second. Behind them, contact between Charles Leclerc and Sergio Pérez triggered a multi-car accident that took Pérez out of the race, along with George Russell and Nikita Mazepin. This brought out the second red flag. After heated debate, and even bargaining between FIA race control, Mercedes, and Red Bull, Ocon was placed at the front for the next standing restart, with Hamilton in second, and Verstappen moved back to third for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. On the medium tyres, Verstappen launched into the lead with a forceful block pass into turn one. Hamilton would make light contact with Ocon, but eventually settled into second, pursuing Verstappen for the lead. On lap 23, Sebastian Vettel was hit by Yuki Tsunoda, the incident and debris on track brought out a virtual safety car. Vettel would come to blows with Kimi Raikkonen on lap 28, and their collision necessitated another, longer VSC intervention. Over the line, Bottas used DRS to snatch third place from Ocon by just 0.102 seconds. Daniel Ricciardo finished in fifth, ahead of Pierre Gasly in sixth, then the Ferraris of Leclerc in seventh and Carlos Sainz Jnr in eighth. Antonio Giovinazzi scored points for Alfa Romeo in ninth, and Lando Norris took the final championship point in tenth. 2021 F1 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX – RESULTS POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME 1 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 50 Laps 2 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing + 11.825s 3 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team + 27.531s 4 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team + 27.633s 5 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team + 40.121s 6 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda + 41.613s 7 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow + 44.475s 8 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow + 46.606s 9 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen + 58.505s 10 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team + 61.358s 11 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team + 77.212s 12 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing + 83.249s 13 Fernando Alonso ESP Alpine F1 Team + 1 Lap 14 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda + 1 Lap 15 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen + 1 Lap Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team DNF George Russell GBR Williams Racing DNF Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing DNF Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team DNF Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team DNF
Lewis Hamilton set the pace ahead of Formula 1 title rival Max Verstappen in opening practice ahead of the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion, who goes into the final two races of the season eight points behind Verstappen, headed the field with a 1m29.786s around the ultra-fast brand new Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Hamilton finished FP1 just 0.056s clear of Verstappen after the Red Bull driver improved on the soft tyre in the closing moments of the session, having led the way early on with a succession of fastest laps on the hards. Valtteri Bottaswas two-tenths adrift of the championship contenders to make it a Mercedes 1-3. Pierre Gasly demonstrated AlphaTauri’s impressive one-lap pace to get within half a second of Hamilton’s benchmark in fourth, while outgoing Alfa Romeo driver Antonio Giovinazzi popped in a lap good enough for fifth. Less than a tenth split the Ferrari duo of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in sixth and seventh, while Daniel Ricciardo was the only McLaren driver to feature inside the top-10. Fresh from his first podium of the year in Qatar, Fernando Alonso took ninth for Alpine, with Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel completing the top-10 order in FP1. Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez struggled for pace throughout the session and could not break into the top-10, finishing 11th and over a second down as the drivers got up to speed and began to explore the limits of the new track. Despite the fast-flowing nature of the circuit, the drivers managed to avoid the close walls, with only a few yellow flags briefly flashing up during FP1. Traffic did prove to be a problem, however, with both Bottas and Lance Stroll nearly being caught out by slow-moving Haas cars. 2021 F1 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (1) POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME 1 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m29.786s 2 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing 1m29.842s 3 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m30.009s 4 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m30.263s 5 Antonio Giovinazzi GBR Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m30.318s 6 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m30.564s 7 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m30.600s 8 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team 1m30.608s 9 Fernando Alonso CHI Alpine F1 Team 1m30.842s 10 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m30.886s 11 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing 1m30.960s 12 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team 1m31.023s 13 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1m31.029s 14 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m31.044s 15 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m31.099s 16 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m31.296s 17 George Russell ISR Williams Racing 1m31.343s 18 Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m31.525s 19 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing 1m31.821s 20 Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m33.464s Formula
FIA has awarded the necessary Grade 1 safety licence to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, clearing it to host the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Construction of the circuit truly had been a race against time as the inaugural Saudi Arabian GP loomed, though the main facilities were indeed in place once F1 personnel arrived in the paddock on Thursday. That gave FIA race director Michael Masi the opportunity to officially inspect the track on Thursday, and thankfully, the all-clear was given. “It has been an impressive journey for all involved to make the first FIA F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix a reality, and the progress that I have seen on each of my visits over recent months has been remarkable,” said Masi. “The circuit itself has now been completed to a high level and complies with FIA Grade 1 standards that we require for hosting a grand prix. “The Jeddah Corniche Circuit will provide an interesting new challenge for the drivers and teams, and I’m looking forward to another exciting weekend as this fantastic 2021 F1 season draws closer to its conclusion.” Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation chairman Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal added: “We are thrilled to have joined Michael Masi today as he completed his final inspection of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. “We are even more delighted that he has given it his expert seal of approval, meaning that we can let the world know that we are ready to race this weekend on the world’s newest and fastest street circuit. “The fact we have reached this point after only 8 months is an achievement that cannot be overstated. The hard work and dedication of all our staff has helped to make this happen and we can now look forward to an unforgettable race weekend.” Now that the circuit has been cleared, it was also confirmed that there will be three DRS zones around this 3.8-mile, 27-turn track.
Formula 1 Race Director Michael Masi has expressed confidence over the construction of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit ahead of its debut event. Formula 1 is due to visit Jeddah on December 3-5 for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the penultimate round on this year’s 22-event calendar. A 6km 27-turn quasi street circuit, which is set to be among the fastest on the schedule, is being developed on Jeddah’s Corniche, adjacent to the Red Sea. Photos and videos that emerged from a recent preview segment carried out by Formula 1’s broadcast team highlighted the work that is still required. But Masi has asserted that everything will be ready in time for the circuit’s debut at the start of next month. “There is a lot going on there,” said Masi at the Mexico City Grand Prix. “There is a huge amount of work happening. “The FIA and F1 are getting daily updates of where things are at, and it’s progressing very, very quickly. “Yes, there’s a lot to do – there’s nothing to deny there, I think everyone will acknowledge there’s a lot to do – but I’m still confident of the race going ahead, no problems.” Masi pointed to previous circuit builds in conceding that “there’s always an element of worry with everything” but outlined that “having been involved [with] Korea in 2010, and I think India was talked about, [and] both of those went off with no problems, I’m quite confident Saudi will be exactly the same.” Masi is due to make another visit to Jeddah ahead of its inaugural grand prix, either shortly before or after the preceding event in Qatar. “There are areas absolutely complete [and] the quality of work is first class,” Masi asserted. “They will finish, I have confidence.” “Given that the Jeddah Corniche Circuit is being built in record time, it was always the case that timings would be tight, but construction remains on schedule and will be completed on time ahead of F1’s arrival next month,” said Saudi Arabian GP CEO Martin Whitaker in a statement. Saudi Arabia has a 10-year contract to host Formula 1 races and next year’s event, set to be held in late March, will also take place at Jeddah. Long-term the plan remains to move the event to the Qiddiya entertainment facility under construction on the outskirts of capital Riyadh. The Jeddah circuit will then form part of the Corniche’s regeneration that includes sustainability and environmental projects, along with recreational areas for residents.
