Racetrackmasters

The puncture and subsequent crash of Max Verstappen at the Baku Grand Prix will be fresh in the minds of many Formula 1 fans. Despite the speed of the car when the Dutchman lost control and the ferocity of the crash, the damage to the Red Bull car is not too bad, Motorsport reported earlier today. “The car from the Milton Keynes plant has not reported any structural damage to the chassis,” reports the Italian branch of Motorsport.com. “However, the integrity of the transmission will need to be checked. If necessary, it can be replaced without penalty.” “The left rear suspension is most likely damaged, this due to the sagging of the rubber.” There is still disagreement over what exactly caused the Dutchman’s puncture. Pirelli insists it was dirt on the track, an interpretation that several drivers have already questioned. At the front of the car the damage is not too bad: “At the front it should be sufficient to replace the nose and front wing, because the body remained intact and at the rear only a dent in the structure was noticed.”

McLaren will race off the beaten tracks next year, with the papaya squad entering the second season of the Extreme E all-electric series. The Woking-based outfit’s commitment to Extreme E is a major coup for the adventurous climate-aware off-road racing series that takes its competitors to remote parts of the world. McLaren’s presence as the tenth team to join Extreme E is “probably the biggest news in the short history of Extreme E,” said series co-founder Alejandro Agag. “Extreme E’s mission is to use sport to build awareness and accelerate clean technology innovations that benefit the mobility industry and beyond,” added Agag. “To have McLaren on board, which symbolises the highest level of racing and automotive innovation, is a huge endorsement that what we have delivered in just our first two races of Season 1 has already created real impact in motorsport. “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Zak and the powerhouse McLaren Racing team to Extreme E, and it’s safe to say, we can’t wait to see how the team performs in its first off-road, electric racing debut. Season 2 just got very exciting!” McLaren racing boss Zak Brown told the media that the manufacturer “didn’t have the luxury of waiting another six months” to join Extreme E given the series’ growing momentum and the prospect of it being “sold out quickly” according to Brown. “From the moment Extreme E was announced we have been following the progress of the series closely,” added the American who already has a personal stake in Exterme E through as a partner in Andretti Autosport. “Our attention was immediately drawn by the innovative format of this motorsport platform, in particular the ability it gives us to accelerate and boost our own overarching sustainability agenda, which shares the same priorities of decarbonisation, waste reduction, diversity and equality. “At the same time, it will enable us to reach a new audience with an innovative race format, connect with a new generation of fans through content served across a variety of channels and provide partners with a purpose-led competition platform to align with and share in a positive, powerful narrative. “From the outset, McLaren has always been at the forefront and never afraid to push new boundaries. “This new venture is true to our roots of participating in a variety of categories, innovation and bravery. “Extreme E is paving new ground in motorsport as a force for good in confronting some of the biggest challenges facing our world today and in the future. “While Formula 1 will always remain at the centre of our world, like INDYCAR and esports, our entry into Extreme E is additive to the McLaren Racing franchise and will complement and help support all our programmes. “We will be competing against big names we’re very familiar with from F1 and INDYCAR but, like all series we compete in, the competition objective is clear: we are there to win.”

Lewis Hamilton is in negotiations with Mercedes to sign a new contract to keep him in Formula One until at least the end of the 2022 season. Lewis Hamilton is reportedly willing to accept a lower basic salary in negotiations over a new Mercedes contract but is eager to include a clause that entitles him to a significantly bigger bonus for winning the Drivers’ Championship. Seven-time Formula One world champion Hamilton is only under contract with the Silver Arrows until the end of the current 2021 season. After six races, Hamilton trails Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by four points in the championship after a rare mistake at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last time out led to a 15th-placed finish. But the Briton is expected to battle the Dutchman all season long in a duel that could go to the wire across the 23-race calendar. In the background, talk about Hamilton’s future in the sport continues with Hamilton turning 37 next January and currently out of contract at the end of the season. Motorsport.com reports that Hamilton is willing to agree a wage cut in order to agree a new deal with world champions Mercedes. Yet in order to do so, it is claimed he wants to double the bonus he currently receives for winning the title. The report claims a deal will only guarantee Hamilton stays at Mercedes an extra 12 months although there will be an option for an additional year to take the agreement until the end of 2023. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is said to want a resolution to the matter by June 15 as he seeks to finish negotiations as quickly as possible. This year, Hamilton did not sign a new one-year deal until February, nearly two full months after the conclusion of the 2020 season in which he tied Michael Schumacher for the most driver’s titles of all time. There are said to be several aspects of a deal still to be thrashed out with it claimed Hamilton has asked Mercedes to secure him a future position in Daimler’s structure. That is because once he finishes racing, he is keen to continue his work improving diversity in F1. In fact, the defending champion – who has 98 race wins and 100 pole positions – insists he is more passionate about campaigning for diversity than he is about winning more titles.Hamilton has launched his own commission to look into the reasons why those from minority backgrounds are not as well represented in motorsport.

There is a chance that Valtteri Bottas will follow in the footsteps of Nico Rosberg. And that’s not saying goodbye to Formula 1 with a world title, but stopping driving in the premier class of motorsport after his last team was Mercedes. Indeed, Bottas looks set to be replaced by George Russell, but there are few alternatives to continue his career. Many of the seats for 2022 are already taken, as many drivers switched to other teams and signed contracts for at least two years. Examples are Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel. The Italian branch of Motorsport.com analyses that his former employer Williams seems to be the only option, should Bottas have to leave Mercedes after this year. At best, Alfa Romeo Racing could be added as an option should Kimi Raikkonen decide to leave. Aston Martin, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and AlphaTauri have basically finalised their line-up for 2022. Red Bull will not enter the race anyway. Bottas should have left after last season. McLaren and Renault were willing to offer Bottas a two year contract. The Finnish driver, however, decided to go for his chances with Mercedes alongside Lewis Hamilton, a choice that seems to have turned out badly.

Although the two are rivals battling it out for the F1 World Championship on track, Max Verstappen has stated that away from the bright lights his relationship with Lewis Hamilton is a healthy one. The Dutchman is looking to unseat his Mercedes rival after years of dominance, as Hamilton has won the last four F1 titles to pull even with Michael Schumacher on the all-time list with seven. As a result the battle for the championship is all the more intense this season with Verstappen looking to get his name on his first, however the Dutchman made it clear that the two championship contenders get on well away from the track. “We race each other hard. And I think that’s exactly how you want it to be, isn’t it?,” Verstappen told BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat. The two drivers have an age gap of over 10 years, but nevertheless Verstappen would have no issues having a beer with Hamilton. “Well, you know, we are different generations,” Verstappen added. “But of course. Outside of the track we get on really well.” While the mutual respect is clearly there, the Dutchman isn’t taking a back seat to Hamilton despite the Mercedes driver’s impressive accomplishments. “As a driver, you always have to believe that you are the best,” Max added. “And do I? Of course.”

Throughout its 2020 MotoGP world championship-winning year, the Suzuki camp seemed like a happy place. Eventual champion Joan Mir clearly felt fully supported by the Japanese manufacturer and its Italian race team, much was made of the family feeling within the team, and it all paid off when Mir was crowned at the end of the season. Since then, however, there has been massive upheaval within the organisation. Veteran team boss Davide Brivio, the man behind so much of the esprit de corps within Suzuki, is gone, lured away to help turn make Alpine’s rebranded Formula 1 project work at the eleventh hour in the off-season and leaving the team with big shoes to fill. It didn’t manage to do that, though, instead deciding in part to lead by committee, promoting a number of people internally to more senior roles, delegating more responsibility to figures like the riders’ crew chiefs, and leaving overall decision-making to Japanese project leader Shinichi Sahara. It’s starting to look like that hasn’t quite been the success Suzuki hoped for, though, as the team moves back closer to a Japanese model and away from the hybrid European-Asian structure that brought it so much success in 2020. As a result, tensions are starting to rise. It’s believed that without the calming presence of Brivio, Mir in particular is starting to become frustrated with Suzuki’s conservative approach to development – something that was highlighted perfectly in Sunday’s Catalan Grand Prix. As usual struggling in qualifying, and starting from 10th, Mir was forced to make up a huge amount of time in the opening laps as he fought his way forward to fourth. While he’s traditionally able to attack in the first part of a race, he’s still struggling in one key area: getting off the line. Suzuki is now the only manufacturer on the grid without a front and rear holeshot device for race starts after Yamaha finally brought its to Mugello at the end of May. It’s obvious the impact this is having on the grid as Fabio Quartararo managed to almost match the Ducatis on the run to the first corner at Barcelona. But with Suzuki still working on its version, Mir is reportedly becoming more and more frustrated at losing out on the chance to attack instantly. That’s an issue that was further compounded by a bad race on Sunday despite finishing fourth, with Mir admitting afterwards that his choice of tyre cost him the chance to fight for the win. “It was a shame, because I felt ready for the victory,” he said. “Maybe we took not the right choice with the medium [rear] tyre. I was losing a lot of time on acceleration in the last laps, and it was a shame. I’ll try to learn from the mistake, and take information from it.” The conservatism isn’t just linked to development. Suzuki’s plans to run four bikes in 2022 have been nixed once again, ending any hopes of collecting more data every weekend and, according to The Race’s sources, ending any hopes of teaming up with Valentino Rossi, whose new VR46 MotoGP team was desperate to work with the brand. Of course, on the other side of the garage, things are even worse, with Mir’s team-mate Alex Rins crashing out of four races in a row before a rather stupid cycling crash in which he broke his wrist at Montmelo on Thursday. That left him watching from the sidelines. A few paddock veterans have suggested that the chance to reset his head after a difficult spell might not hurt Rins in the long term – but that’s only a hope, not an expectation right now.

Formula 1 race director Michael Masi has confirmed that he will look into the incident between Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher that happened on the last lap of the Azerbaijan GP. Mazepin appeared to make a very late move to his right, nearly making contact with teammate Schumacher just 300 metres from the line when travelling at 320km/h. A livid Schumacher said “did he want to kill us” on the team radio after the race. “To be fair, obviously we were looking at the front so I didn’t actually see the incident myself, so I can’t comment on it,” Masi told RacingNews365.com and other select members of the press.. “I’d prefer not to comment having not seen it. “I’ll have a look at it in the fresh light of day and if necessary, I will have a chat with the team and the driver concerned.” Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has come out to say that the team has put the incident behind them and are looking ahead to next week’s French GP. “Obviously, there was a situation on the straight, that was all resolved, and we’ve cleared the air,” Steiner told the press. “There was some misunderstanding, but we’re fine and all moving on from it.”

Ferrari has announced that Benedetto Vigna, an Italian executive at Europe’s largest semiconductor chipmaker, will be the luxury sports carmaker’s new CEO. Mr Vigna, 52, will join Ferrari in September from Geneva-based STMicroelectronics, where he has worked for 26 years, most recently running the most profitable operating business, its analogue, micro-electromechanical systems and sensors group. The appointment signals Ferrari’s focus on new technologies shaping an automotive world in transition, as the importance of electric powertrains, autonomous driving technologies and in-car connectivity is growing. Ferrari has announced that its first fully electric supercar will be launched in 2025. Ferrari said Mr Vigna’s knowledge of the semiconductor industry “will accelerate Ferrari’s ability to pioneer the application of next-generation technologies”. Mr Vigna will be the third CEO at the company in three years, following the resignation in December of Louis Camilleri after a bout with Covid-19 and the unexpected death of Sergio Marchionne in July 2018. Chairman John Elkann has been running the company, based in the northern Italian city of Maranello, on an interim basis. Mr Elkann praised Mr Vigna’s “deep understanding of the technologies driving much of the change in our industry… his proven innovation, business-building and leadership skills”. Ferrari’s sleek sports cars and Formula One racing machines have made the prancing horse logo among the world’s most powerful brands. It is dipping its toes into the luxury sector, part of a long-term strategy to transform itself into a luxury goods maker, with the runway preview of a new luxury ready-to-wear collection this weekend in Maranello. Like the rest of the car industry, Ferrari has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic, which temporarily shut production in spring 2020. Ferrari announced last month that it will not hit 2022 financial targets due to the pandemic’s impact, despite a strong first-quarter rebound.

Christian Horner says Red Bull will not rush into a decision about Sergio Perez’s future following his first victory for the team. Despite an up-and-down start with the squad he joined for this season, especially with his qualifying results, Perez has taken only six races to get a win on the board. It came in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where the Mexican was in the perfect position to capitalise and still provide Red Bull with a third success of the campaign after Max Verstappen had suffered a tyre blowout while comfortably out in front. Perez is only on a one-year deal having been given the nod ahead of Alex Albon, who raced for Red Bull last season. It was hoped he would more consistently give Red Bull a double-pronged challenge to Mercedes in their challenge for both World Championships. The 31-year-old has taken a little while to get there, but is now starting to deliver more regularly. However, Red Bull team principal Horner is not prepared to fast-track the process of nailing down Perez’s services for 2022 just yet. Asked specifically if Perez has now done enough to keep his seat for next year, Horner told reporters: “We still have plenty of time to answer that question. But Sergio is doing a great job. He should just keep doing that.” Having started sixth on the grid in Baku, Perez quickly made his way up to third position and jumped Lewis Hamilton at the one scheduled pit-stop – despite a slow change by Red Bull’s high standards when he slightly overshot his marks – to run second until Verstappen’s crash. “We knew he was good around here but we didn’t know he was that good,” said Horner. “He was quick all weekend. He was bang on the pace and the only mistake he made was in Q3 run one. His race pace was phenomenal. “Had he not been longer at the pit-stop, he would have been right on top of Max with the overcut such was his pace in clean air. Phenomenal for him. The way he was defending from Lewis and controlling that was a class act. “To see him get that victory will be great for his confidence. It puts him up to third in the Drivers’ Championship now. He’s ahead of expectations.” Horner added: “I think it’s an added string to our bow on a day that you lose your lead car that Checo’s right there to deliver the win. That’s exactly what we’ve been looking for. “I’m delighted for him and pleased for the team with all the amount of effort that’s been going on behind the scenes. For all our partners as well. I think it’s everyone doing their bit and Checo being a part of that.”

Williams team principal Simon Roberts has left the outfit, 12 months since joining it in the wake of its sale to Dorilton. Roberts’ departure has come about due to a restructuring of the team’s staff. Jost Capito, who took over as CEO at Williams earlier this year, will take over as team principal.Capito’s plans to restructure the team involve merging its separate race and factory-based engineering programmes into one. This is intended to produce a simpler structure and approve accountability. Francois-Xavier ‘FX’ Demaison, who joined Williams from Volkswagen in March, will have responsibility for the combined engineering effort as technical director. Dave Redding will remain as team manager. The team intend to confirm the identity of its new head of race engineering prior to the French Grand Prix. Roberts was named as team principal in December last year, having taken up the role on an interim basis the previous June following the team’s sale to Dorilton.Capito praised Roberts’ role in overseeing the team during the takeover. “Simon has played an integral role in managing the transition over the last 12 months and I would like to thank him for his great contribution during that time,” he said. Roberts, who spent most of the previous 17 years with McLaren before joining Williams, said: “It has been a pleasure to take on the role of team principal following the departure of the Williams family from the sport. However, with the transition well underway I am looking forward to a new challenge and wish everyone in the team well for the future.”

Nikita Mazepin’s father Dmitry, has revealed that his son’s place on the Formula 1 grid is under threat due to mandatory military service. Mazepin made his Formula 1 debut in 2021 with Haas, and it is safe to say that the rookie has made quite the impact since arriving. The 22-year-old did already carry a reputation with him into Formula 1, and there has been a few further controversies in the opening rounds, with Mazepin’s team-mate Mick Schumacher the latest to take issue at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. That being said, Mazepin has begun to show signs of settling in at Haas, producing a decent performance at the Monaco Grand Prix, while Baku, generally, was also a step in the right direction. This momentum though could be cut short, since mandatory military service back in his native Russia could be in his near future. “Nikita has 23 races, and they tell him that he needs to join the army,” Mazepin’s father Dmitry told the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. “They told him he had to be present at the training camp regularly. There would be no exceptions. “He has a race every two weeks. How does he do it? Who do I ask this question to? “And I’m not talking about Nikita Mazepin alone but about everyone: athletes and professionals in the same situation. The issue of education and sports is relevant.” Explaining the situation in Baku, Mazepin revealed that he has been studying at the military department for two years, and would like to become a reserve officer after his third year. “In Russia, military service is compulsory for everyone who is fit for it,” he explained. “There are two options. The first is that you graduate from university and serve for one year, and the second is the military department, if your physical training and academic results are good enough. “In the case of the military department, you study one day a week to be a reserve officer. The training period is three years, but everything happens in the classroom. “I have been studying at the military department for two years now, so there is another year ahead. After that, I would like to believe that I will become a reserve officer.”

Nicholas Latifi says the 30-second time penalty added to his race time in Baku was the result of a “miscommunication” from the Williams pitwall. Latifi had failed to follow the field and drive through the pits during the caution period that followed Max Verstappen’s heavy crash on Baku’s main straight in the closing stages of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. But the Canadian wasn’t responsible for the oversight, having been wrongly ordered by his team to stay out on the track. On the radio, Latifi was told “Stay out, stay out, stay out, stay out, stay out!”, before his engineer added “Through the pit lane but no pit stop”. Unfortunately, despite the mitigating circumstances, race control had no other choice but to hand the Williams charger a ten-second stop and go penalty that was eventually concerted into a 30-second penalty added to his race time. “Yeah, nothing I could have done there, I got the message to stay out so it was just a miscommunication,” Latifi said. “That’s how it goes, in the end we were not fighting for points but it’s still nice to not get a penalty!” Latifi said the mistake denoted a lack preciseness and a few issues to clean up on the operational side at Williams. “It was a fairly lonely race before the red flag,” said the 25-year-old who was classified P16 at the end of the day. “We were committing to the one-stop – which was always going to be tricky with our car but that’s what we were committing to – so I think I was doing what I needed to do. “The plan for George [Russell] was to do the two-stop so I was just trying to manage the tyres and not try to chase him along and just do my own race. In the end it wasn’t to be. “It’s a shame, I felt I was driving really well this weekend all throughout, but I think on the operational side just a few too many misjudgments, miscommunications and things that didn’t go well so that compromised our weekend I think.”

Mercedes delivered new engines this weekend, but Honda postponed the decision for another round. This means that for the French Grand Prix we can expect more reliability and thus more power from the Japanese. Before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix Mercedes announced that new engines were being delivered to all teams. Not much can be changed to the engines during the season, but the extra reliability of the new engine will indirectly deliver more power. That is what Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri missed last weekend. According to Auto, Motor und Sport Honda will supply a new engine for AlphaTauri and Red Bull. With improved reliability that will mean that the engine can also be upgraded. For Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez that comes in handy, because in France they can use every bit of extra power in the attack on Mercedes.

Sergio Perez has praised the driver he replaced at Red Bull after winning a dramatic and enthralling F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix last weekend. The Mexican driver thanked Alexander Albon, who was previously Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull in 2020 and 2019. Following Albon posting his congratulations to Perez on Instagram, the former Force India man responded via his own story. “Let’s keep pushing mate, you’re a very important part of all this!” the 31-year-old posted to his Instagram story after Sunday’s race around the Baku street circuit. “Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication.” Albon’s initial post recognised the importance of Perez’s race win to the Constructor World Championship, which Red Bull now leads. While Albon no longer drives for Red Bull in Formula 1, he is still involved with the team as a test and reserve driver, having been spotted at several Grand Prix weekends this season. “Fully deserved @RedBullRacing. Congrats to @schechoperez on the win – mega drive!” Albon put on his social media. The young Thai-British driver lost his F1 seat in 2020, but will most certainly have an eye trained on the progress of the current Alpha Tauri duo, as a return to Red Bull’s sister team for the 2022 season might well be on the cards. Last week, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was also full of praise for Albon, crediting the DTM star with playing a significant role in Max Verstappen’s Monaco Grand Prix win.