May 2021

Many Grands Prix will still be held behind closed doors in 2021, but in Austria Red Bull Racing advisor Helmut Marko has come up with a clever trick. This allows no less than 39,000 fans to be present at the Red Bull Ring. “The grandstands will have their own entrances and exits,” Marko explained at Formel1.de. “This means that each grandstand is a unit in itself and no one comes into contact with each other.” This trick allows for far more people to attend the Red Bull Ring than first thought. In Austria, only 3,000 spectators are allowed per open-air event, but because the entrances and exits are distributed over thirteen grandstands, the Red Bull Ring can accommodate thirteen times 3,000 spectators. With the cancellation of the Canadian and later the Turkish Grand Prix, Austria will host two races, just as it did in 2020. The Styrian Grand Prix is scheduled for June 27, while the Austrian Grand Prix will be held a week later on July 4.

Max Verstappen is bracing for a strong reaction from his Mercedes rivals next week in Baku in the wake of the Brackley squad’s Monaco setback. Verstappen clinched a dominant win in the Principality that allowed him to overhaul Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers’ standings while Red Bull also moved ahead of Mercedes in the Constructors’ championship by a single point. Although the Dutchman was delighted to lead the pack after five rounds, the 12-time Grand Prix winner insisted he needed “to be there” at the end of the year when he crosses the finish line in Abu Dhabi. “It was a very good weekend and of course I’ve never stood on the podium there before so it was very nice to get the win,” said the 23-year-old. “Taking the lead in the championship feels good but we need to be there at the end of the final race, that’s all that matters. “Where we are now feels good and of course it shows that we had a decent start to the year but we have to keep on pushing because we still need to improve and do better. “Nobody is ever perfect or standing still in this sport. So far we have made the smallest mistakes but nothing major and that is why we are first at the moment but we all know it can change very quickly.” Looking ahead at next weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Verstappen admitted that Baku – where Mercedes has won two of the three F1races that have taken place along the shores of the Caspian Sea – isn’t among his favorite venues. “The track is okay but probably not a favourite of mine if I’m honest,” he said. “I’ve never been on the podium there so it’s time to change that. Let’s see how competitive we are, I do expect Mercedes to come back strong there though.”

The wing war between Mercedes and Red Bull is continuing to heat up as we head towards round six at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The battle between the two title rivals is happening not just on the track, but off it as well, with the front wing of the Mercedes W12 and the rear wing of the Red Bull RB16B very much at the centre of attention. Red Bull’s ‘limbo’ rear wing was first mentioned in the media by Lewis Hamilton at the Spanish Grand Prix, something which Mercedes believe gave their rivals as much as three-tenth advantage as it flexed up and down when transitioning between corners and straights. As a result, the FIA are introducing a stricter testing procedure which will eventually see that flexing minimised. However, as it stands, those tests will not be introduced until after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and, even after that event, there will still be a 20% allowance on passing the test for a further month. That process is creating a scenario where official protests could be launched in the lead-up to race day in Baku, but Red Bull are preparing their own line attack by potentially protesting Mercedes’ front wing, which has also shown a lot of movement in some on-board footage in previous races this season. Marko once again mentioned Mercedes’ front wing when discussing the possible fight the two teams could be having off the track next week. “We find this a bit strange,” Marko said in an interview with Formel1.de. “The FIA has decided that the rules for the test, especially for the torsion resistance, will be changed. This will apply from Paul Ricard onwards. That is a very clear statement and regulation. “If Mr Wolff thinks that is too late for him – in my opinion, it is still the FIA that determines the procedure. If he does that [protest], he is free to do so. “But I think he should also look at his front wings. Because on ServusTV and also on Sky, there was a recording where you saw how drastically this front wing approaches the ground.” Marko went on to say that making changes to the rear wing is nothing new for Red Bull, who have always complied with the regulations in this particular area. “We had to make improvements each time,” Marko said. “A deadline was set and we made improvements within this period. That is a normal process. “At the moment, we are on the road with a legal car. And at Paul Ricard, we will put a corresponding reinforcement on our rear wing.” Meanwhile, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has already said that if Red Bull do protest the W12’s front wing, then they will do exactly the same with the Red Bull front wing as he believes it moves just as much as theirs does.

Mercedes have explained a slight misalignment between wheel gun and wheel nut caused the machining effect that made it impossible to remove Valtteri Bottas’ wheel. Bottas’ race ended at under less than half the distance of the Monaco Grand Prix, when a disastrous pit stop saw mechanics unable to remove his car’s front right wheel.Footage afterwards showed aluminium shearing off the wheel nut, the gun’s force essentially sanding it smooth, rather than connecting to the teeth to loosen the nut. Chief strategist James Vowles explained “Our nuts are what we call captive, they are maintained within the wheel and the tyre, so as the wheel comes off the nut goes with it. “This nut has to hold a wheel to the car such it can cope with 5g forces in braking and laterally as well. It’s a huge amount of force going through the axle and the nut and clearly we can never have it coming loose. So, the gun is an incredibly powerful gun, such that you can actually see the mechanics having to restrain themselves holding themselves to the ground otherwise they get rotated with it at the same time.” He said that the wheel gun’s action, described as ‘hammering,’ required perfect alignment to the nut to work correctly. “It’s an impact force and what happens is the nut typically loosens in four or five impacts against it, a hammering action. “What happened is we came on slightly angled, so when the socket was now connected to the nut, it slightly angled relative to it and as a result of that, now instead of distributing the load across all of the nut it was across a small section and that tore the metal clean off and in fact all of the metal was now removed from the nut. As a result of that, the nut was in place and we were unable to remove it.” The machining on the nut was so severe that Mercedes were unable to remove the wheel in Monaco and were expecting to do so back at their factory. “Clearly, it’s a circumstance that cost Valtteri dearly and cost the team dearly,” Vowles said. “One that we are going to put steps in place to mitigate.”

Lewis Hamilton believes he won’t be following in the footsteps of Kimi Raikkonen and continue racing until he’s 41 as he spoke about his Formula One career being the “biggest ride” of his life. The 36-year-old has been hounded about his future plans in the championship after opting for a one-year deal with Mercedes this season, as the seven-time world champion chases down a record-breaking eighth title. The Briton is currently the third oldest F1 driver on the grid behind Alpine’s Fernando Alonso, 39, and Kimi Raikkonen, 41, at Alfa Romeo, who have three world titles between them. Speaking ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, which saw Max Verstappen leapfrog Hamilton in the driver’s standings to take the lead for the first time in his Formula One career, the reigning world champion was asked by AS if he may take a leaf out of Raikkonen’s book. “I don’t think so,” stated Hamilton. “I don’t think I’m going to drive forever, even if this was the biggest ride of my life. “There’s a lot of things I want to keep doing for a while, but others don’t. “I’d have five years left for that, and I don’t think I’m going to keep running then, even if you never say never.” Hamilton has recently expressed interest in starting contract negotiations with Mercedes for 2022, with a hope to get talks wrapped up by F1’s summer break in August, admitting delays last time out “ruined” his winter. Team principal Wolff recently expressed that Hamilton’s next deal will be longer than a 12-month add-on. “Yes, it should be [more than a year],” he said. “We don’t want to be in a stressful situation every single year where we are absolutely flat-out trying to win races and needing to negotiate. I would rather that doesn’t happen every year. “We just need to spend a day or two together, put it out there, and decide which are the difficult components. We will then lock the door and won’t walk out until it is sorted. That works best for us and it has worked best for us in the past. “ Hamilton will be 37 in January, however Wolff linked his longevity in the championship to the NFL star Tom Brady, who won his seventh Super Bowl at the age of 43 earlier this year. Asked if Hamilton can compete into his 40s, Wolff replied: “Yes, absolutely. I have no doubt about that. He is so disciplined that in a way it is inspiring. “As long as Lewis continues to look after himself mentally and physically, continues to develop cognitively, then he can go on for much longer. “Look at Tom Brady and we are talking about an athlete that is on the field. Here is a racing driver that has utilised all his senses. “ Mercedes look to bounce back after a tricky weekend in Monaco which saw Valtteri Bottas retire during a pit stop, and Hamilton finish seventh – leaving them trailing Red Bull in the standings.

Max Verstappen took the lead in the Formula One championship race for the first time in his career with a dominating victory Sunday at the Monaco Grand Prix, his first win on the vaunted circuit. Verstappen took control of the race right at the start from the second position, in part because pole sitter Charles Leclerc did not start the race because of a mechanical issue. Verstappen darted in front of Valtteri Bottas and led start to finish for his second win the season and 12th of his career. The Red Bull driver took a four-point lead over seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton in the standings. “That was master class and you’re leading the championship. Well done, mate,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner radioed to Verstappen as he crossed the finish line. It is the first time since the German Grand Prix in 2018 that Mercedes has not led the championship. Hamilton finished seventh on an uncharacteristically bad day for the usually reliable Mercedes team. Bottas retired from the race after a right-front wheel stub axle was stripped during his pit stop and Mercedes could not remove the tire. Verstappen sprinted over to his team and jumped into their arms after the race. “It is so special to win here. Of course I’m very proud,” Verstappen said. “But I’m thinking ahead to the rest of the season.” He was then greeted by tennis star Serena Williams, who waved the checkered flag and was an honorary guest at the event. “It’s so special around here to win. It’s my first time on the podium here,” said Verstappen, whose father Jos secured two podiums in 106 F1 races and was seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher’s teammate at Benetton. “I remember when I was very little, you always want to win this one.” Verstappen finished 8.9 seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr. of Ferrari. Lando Norris scored his third career podium the same week he signed a contract extension with McLaren. “I don’t know what to say, it’s a dream to be on the podium here,” the 21-year-old British driver said. “I didn’t think it was going to happen. I’ll cherish it.” Sergio Perez was fourth for Red Bull, which moved back on top of the constructors championship ahead of Mercedes. Mercedes has won the last seven drivers’ and constructors’ championships, but Sunday marked the first time in five races this season that Hamilton and Verstappen did not finish 1-2. Sergio Perez was fourth for Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel was fifth for his best finish of the season. Leclerc’s chances of winning his home race from pole position ended when he pulled off track with a gearbox problem. He crashed with 18 seconds remaining in Saturday qualifying and risked a five-place grid penalty if Ferrari changed his gearbox. The team initially said Leclerc was good to go and the gearbox was fine, but about 20 minutes before the race Leclerc drove to the garage. Two years ago, Leclerc retired early in Monaco in his first season at Ferrari. The race director decided not to move Verstappen up from second to pole and left that space blank, giving Bottas more room to overtake on the inside. He never got the chance as Verstappen pounced at the start. The 3.4-kilometer (2.1-mile) course is the hardest in F1 to overtake on, and Hamilton found himself stuck in traffic for most of the race. Hamilton took a bonus point for the fastest lap toward the end, a rare bright spot on a dismal day for the defending champion and his team. Monaco Grand Prix race results Position No. Driver Car 1 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Honda 2 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Ferrari 3 4 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 4 11 Sergio Perez Red Bull-Honda 5 5 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin-Mercedes 6 10 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-Honda 7 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 8 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Mercedes 9 31 Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 10 99 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 11 7 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 12 3 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren-Mercedes 13 14 Fernando Alonso Alpine-Renault 14 63 George Russell Williams-Mercedes 15 6 Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes 16 22 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-Honda 17 9 Nikita Mazepin Haas-Ferrari 18 47 Mick Schumacher Haas-Ferrari Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton Not classified: Charles Leclerc, Valtteri Bottas

Charles Leclerc has been ruled out of Formula 1’s Monaco Grand Prix before the race even started after he encountered a gearbox issue on his way to the grid. The Ferrari driver claimed a sensational pole position at his home race but crashed out on his final lap of qualifying, leaving him concerned about potential damage to his gearbox. Ferrari confirmed on Sunday morning that it had found “no apparent defects” with Leclerc’s gearbox following several checks ahead of the race. It opted not to change the gearbox so that Leclerc could start from pole and avoid triggering a subsequent five-place grid penalty. But during the reconnaissance laps to the grid, Leclerc reported an issue with the gearbox. “No, no, no, noooo. Guys, the gearbox,” Leclerc said over team radio. The Monagasque returned to the garage so Ferrari could attempt to fix the issue, but the team failed to get Leclerc’s car back out before the pitlane was closed. Leclerc at best was set to be consigned to a pitlane start, but Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies told FIA race director Michael Masi that his driver will start the race. Ferrari confirmed the problem related to the left driveshaft that was impossible to fix before the race start. It continues a torrid run of bad luck at home for Leclerc, who is yet to finish a Monaco Grand Prix since starting in F1. Max Verstappen will now lead the field away at the start of the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix.