A new twist for press confrence briefing for Imola as driver combinations are mixed up

A new twist for press confrence briefing for Imola as driver combinations are mixed up

It has been a norm for press conference to have teammates only since the beginning of the 2020 season but this time round, the combinations have been mixed up for Imola.

Lewis Hamilton will be addressing the press alongside Sebastian Vettel and not his teammate Bottas. Max Verstappen will address the press next to Mick Schumacher.

Thursday press conferences have been staggered team by team so to remain in the Covid-secure ‘bubbles’ – with team-mates sitting next to each other to answer questions.

But for the Imola weekend – the second of the 2021 season – the driver combinations are being swapped around on media day.

Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris is another interesting combination, McLaren-linked, combination for Imola’s media day, which precedes a much-anticipated weekend of track action after a thrilling season-opener in Bahrain.

Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz, new drivers for Red Bull and Ferrari respectively, are set to kick-off Thursday’s press conference schedule from 1pm BST, and you can watch it all live on Sky Sports F1.

Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda are the only team-mates who have been kept together.

The press conference shake-up sees F1 return, tentatively, towards its Thursdays of old – which used to see five drivers, usually from five different teams, line up alongside each other for questions.

Since the first Grand Prix of 2020 in Austria, the only times drivers have been near each other in a press conference have been when the top three from qualifying and the race have answered questions after those respective sessions.

They will still be virtual press conferences at Imola, meaning there will just be one host present with the drivers in the press conference room, with questions submitted by journalists remotely.

Imola press conference pairings (starting at 1pm)

Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)George Russell (Williams)
Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo)Nikita Mazepin (Haas)
Esteban Ocon (Alpine)Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo)Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
Mick Schumacher (Haas)Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Fernando Alonso (Alpine)Lando Norris (McLaren)
Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)Nicholas Latifi (Williams)
Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri)Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)

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