Racetrackmasters

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has leaked a few more details about this year’s new sprint races, one of which is that they won’t end with champagne celebrations. This season Formula 1 is set to trial sprint races at three grand prix weekends, Canada, Italy and Brazil. Qualifying for the sprint race will be held on the Friday, taking the slot usually reserved for free practice two. The race will then take place on the Saturday instead of the normal qualifying session. Points will be awarded from first to eighth, slightly less than half the points awarded for Sunday’s grand prix. But what the sprint races won’t have is a podium celebration. “We are defining the sprint races now and we will present the programme before the Bahrain Grand Prix,” Domenicali told Motorsport.com. “We have to make sure that there is a difference between the iconic celebration of the race – which is the iconic moment at the end of the event on Sunday afternoon. “That’s the peak of the event and that has to be kept separate from the other moments. So the most important celebration will still be Sunday afternoon, and not Saturday.” The name for the sprint races has yet to be decided on with ‘super qualifying’ one suggestion. “Sprint races, or whatever they’re going to be called – super qualifying – it’s excitement over three days,” said Renault executive director Marcin Budkowski. “We can qualify on the Friday, race on the Saturday, and race again on the Sunday. And we’re going to go a lot less prepared into qualifying. For the fans at the circuit or at home, it’s three days of excitement. “Teams sometimes look at it, and we’re so obsessed about competing with each other, we’re so obsessed about proving our competitiveness and performance, but we need to put on a good show. “I think that’s going to help putting a good show for the fans. So let’s try new formats. It’s a great opportunity to see if it’s something we want to carry over for the next seasons.”

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix organizers have confirmed that the 2021 race in Baku should go ahead as planned, but the event is set to take place behind closed doors. The 2020 race in Baku was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and the race was ultimately called off when it became evident that the lockdown period needed to be extended. The beloved street race is due to make its return this year with its date scheduled for 4-6 June. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix race organisers have confirmed in a statement that the race will be staged without fans as the world is still grappling with the Covid-19 crises. “This decision was taken in light of ongoing health and safety concerns caused by the coronavirus pandemic and comes after extensive deliberation between BCC and the Government of the Azerbaijan Republic, F1 and the FIA.” “While the global situation and pandemic response is continuing to improve, it has become clear that the 2021 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix race weekend has arrived too soon for BCC to safely host the event with fans present.” Commenting on the announcement, Baku City Circuit executive director Arif Rahimov said: “We are, of course, thrilled to welcome F1 back to Baku after such a difficult period but we will deeply miss our amazing fans that have played a vital part in making this race weekend such a special occasion year after year. “Our message is as simple as it is heartfelt: we miss you and we will see you again! Our main priority this year will continue to be the health and safety of everyone working and participating at the event, whilst still delivering an awesome spectacle to for the world to savour watching from home. “We are once again expecting no shortage of drama, high-speeds and excitement when F1 arrives back in Baku for the fifth time this summer, so please sit back, relax and enjoy the 2021 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix and we will see you all again in person in 2022,” Rahimov concluded.

Williams has revealed images of its 2021 car, the FW43B after their initial launch plan was disrupted. Originally, the British team had hoped to use augmented reality, but a hack of the app meant that couldn’t go ahead forcing Williams to a more simple unveiling. The new car is merely an updated version of their 2020 design, hence the chassis name, but does feature a bold new livery harking back to the team’s past. Williams hopes it will see them be more competitive than last season, when they had good performance in qualifying but slipped back in the race. As a result, the team finished bottom of the Constructors’ Championship for the third straight year with no points. Once again, Williams has Mercedes junior George Russell and Nicholas Latifi behind the wheel of their two cars.

Williams has cancelled plans to launch its FW43B using an augmented reality app today, claiming it had been “hacked prior to launch”. The ‘Williams Racing AR Launch 2021’ app has been pulled from the Apple App Store and Android Google Play store.The team did not confirm details of the hack, but it is believed to have occured within two days of the app being made available on the Apple App Store on Tuesday. The launch was originally due to go ahead at 2pm today. Williams intends to distribute images of the new car instead. “Williams Racing planned to reveal its 2021 challenger, the FW43B, via an augmented reality app later today,” said the team in a statement. “However, sadly, because the app was hacked prior to launch, this will no longer be possible. We have subsequently removed the app from both the Apple App Store and Android Google Play store. “We were very much looking forward to sharing this experience with our fans, particularly during this difficult time when being able to bring in-person experiences directly to our fans is sadly not possible. We can only apologise that this has not been possible.” George Russell said the disruption to the team’s plans was a “massive shame”. “I’ve seen the app and it was going to be an awesome experience for you guy. Whoever did this, seriously not cool.”

Aston Martin will be making its long-awaited return to Formula 1racing in more ways than one. The British marque has just announced that it will provide two models to serve as the official safety car and official medical car for F1. The safety car will be none other than the stunning Aston Martin Vantage, with numerous upgrades for this specific task, along with the DBX SUV which will be the new F1 medical car. Both models will debut in Bahrain at the pre-season F1 test which will be held from 12 to 14 March. This is the first time that Aston Martin cars will serve as the safety and medical F1 cars and take over from Mercedes-AMG in doing so. A pace-setting safety car needs to be quick, which is why this particular Vantage has had its output bumped up by 24 horsepower to 528 hp. The torque figure of 505 lb-ft remains the same but is now produced over a wider range than before. Powered by this enhanced 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, the Vantage safety car will be capable of reaching 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. The transmission has also been fettled for more precise shifts. Just as important is the DBX official medical car, which hopefully won’t have to be put into use to rescue drivers from horrific fireballs this season. Like the Vantage, it’s finished in the same Racing Green paint. For its specific duties, this DBX comes with two fire extinguishers, a defibrillator, and even a burn kit. There is no center rear seat, but the four remaining seats are each sport buckets with a six-point safety harness. Aston Martin logged nearly 9,300 miles in both safety cars to ensure their durability. CEO of Aston Martin Lagonda, Tobias Moers, described the two vehicles taking on the roles of official safety and medical cars as “a proud moment for us all.”

Haas revealed a striking new design for its VF-21 car on Friday that featured the red, white and blue colours of the Russian flag to reflect new title sponsor Uralkali, which is the backer of driver Nikita Mazepin. But it raised concerns about its compliance with a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which announced in December that Russian athletes were banned from competing at world championship events for the next two years. The ban related to state-sponsored doping and cover-ups at the 2014 Winter Olympics following investigations by WADA, which had recommended a four-year ban. The Russian Automobile Federation confirmed in February that this would extend to the FIA’s world championships, meaning Mazepin cannot race under the Russian flag this year. Mazepin is also prohibited from using national emblems, flags or symbols, as well as the word “Russia” or “Russian”, on his clothing or equipment. Haas claimed its livery was not designed to circumvent the CAS ruling, but WADA has revealed it is looking into the matter. “WADA is aware of this matter and is looking into it with the relevant authorities,” a spokesperson from WADA told Motorsport.com. The uncertainty would appear to lie within the clause of the ruling that says Russian athletes “shall not display publicly […] any national emblem or other national symbol of the Russian Federation, including without limitation, on their clothes, equipment or other personal items.” Following a request for comment from Motorsport.com about the compliance of the Haas livery, the FIA said: “The team has clarified the livery with the FIA – the CAS decision does not prohibit the use of the colours of the Russian flag.” The initial statement by the Russian Automobile Federation said Mazepin and other Russian drivers in FIA world championships could still use the colours of the Russian flag, as well as the acronym RAF, which stands for ‘Russian Automobile Federation’. “Obviously we cannot use the Russian flag as the Russian flag, but you can use colours on a car,” said Haas F1 boss Gunther Steiner. “In the end, it’s the athlete which cannot display the Russian flag and not the team. The team is an American team.” Mazepin said on Thursday that it was “very unfortunate” the ban had come into force ahead of his debut F1 season, where he is expected to compete as a neutral athlete from Russia. “Currently I’m still in a discussion on how I will be classified,” Mazepin said. “There is no decision yet.”

Portuguese Grand Prix has been confirmed by Formula 1 that it will be held on May 2 at Portimao. This means that it will be the third round of the 2021 Formula 1 Championship. This will be the second time that The Algarve international Circuit will be holding a Formula 1 race after holding its first Formula 1 race last October as the COVID-19 pandemic lead to the reshuffling of the 2020 F1 calendar. he race was open to 27,000 fans and Portimão is working with the Portuguese government to allow spectators to fill its grandstands in May. “We are thrilled to announce that Formula 1 will be racing again in Portimao after the huge success of the race last year,” said Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1. “We want to thank the promoter and the Portuguese Government for their hard work and dedication in getting us to this point. “We are confident and excited about our 2021 season, having shown last year that we could deliver 17 races safely and bring our millions of fans thrilling racing at a difficult time. “We hope to welcome fans to Portimao again this season in a safe way and are working with the promoter on the details of that plan.”

Sebastian Vettel’s career at Aston Martin formally begun on track after the four-time world champion completed his first laps for the team at Silverstone. On a filming day with their AMR21 car after Wednesday’s glitzy launch event, Vettel shared driving duties with Lance Stroll as the newly-rebranded team completed the 100km-limited test amid mixed track conditions. In addition to his first outing for his first new team in six years, it was also a debut experience for the German with a Mercedes F1 engine. The majority of Vettel’s 14-year career, which has included four world championships and 53 race wins, has been spent in cars running Ferrari or Renault power. Mercedes has generally been the sport’s benchmark power unit since the hybrid-turbo engine era started in 2014. Vettel arrives at the former Racing Point team on the back of a disappointing end to his six-year Ferrari career, when he endured the worst full-season of his career in 2020 and finished 13th in the Drivers’ Championship. But his new team boss is confident the 33-year-old will prove a big asset for the team as they build towards challenging for F1’s top honours in future seasons.

Sir Lewis Hamilton’s preparations for the new season have been rocked by the surprise departure of his right-hand man and friend, Marc Hynes. The 43-year-old was the seven-time world champion’s trusted lieutenant, taking care of his business interests and logistics, as chief executive of the ‘Project 44’ management company Hamilton set up after dispensing with Simon Fuller nearly seven years ago. Sportsmail can reveal that Hynes’ continued involvement was discussed over the winter, during which time his boss was knighted and crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year for a second time. The two parties officially separated last week, with a source close to Hamilton calling the split ‘amicable’. The news comes less than a month after Hamilton signed a one-year deal to remain at Mercedes – a shorter-than-expected contract that leaves the Briton’s participation in Formula One beyond next season in doubt, with obvious implications for Hynes’ old role. Hynes, a former British Formula Three champion, played no significant part in Hamilton’s contract talks, with the driver himself negotiating his own terms. Hamilton will now have to move fast to fill the void in his inner circle ahead of the opening round of the world championship in Bahrain on March 28. The source close to Hamilton said: ‘Marc has left Project 44 to pursue other opportunities within motorsports and Lewis wishes him well knowing that he will be as valuable to his next challenge, as he was to P44. ‘Lewis is very grateful for all his support over the last five years, both personally and in helping him build his company. ‘During that time Lewis won four world championships and broke numerous records, and Marc was part of and shared in that success. ‘Marc and Lewis have known each other since they were young, as friends first and business partners second, so, while they are parting ways in a business sense, they remain close friends.’

Sebastian Vettel is continuing his tradition of naming his cars and is looking to James Bond girls for inspiration for his first Aston Martin. The German has become renowned for giving each of his F1 cars a female name from his first, Julie, to his most recent, Lucilla. With less than a month to go until the start of the 2021 campaign, he has yet to decide on what he’ll name his AMR21, but he has a few ideas connected to his new team… “The problem is I don’t know yet,” Vettel said at Aston Martin’s AMR21 launch. “James would be a bit too obvious, but you know I’m thinking about it and playing around with the Bond theme. “But it’s a fun thing and it’s always been a female name, so check out all the Bond girls to see which one is the best match. “I was going to say we should meet them all, but some of them are the age of my grandmother.”

Haas F1 driver Mick Schumacher has said he is not feeling any additional pressure to live up to his historic surname as he prepares to make his debut at the top tier of motorsport this season. Speaking to journalists including RacingNews365.com after the reveal of the team’s new car design for 2021, Schumacher said the expectations placed on him and comparisons with his father, seven-time world champion Michael, were a source of motivation rather than pressure. “I would never say that (the surname) brings pressure and I’m pretty sure I won’t ever say that because I am very happy to carry that surname and that name back into Formula 1 and I’m very proud of it,” he said. “It’s like a boost to me and it gives me motivation every single day to work as much as I can and as hard as I can.” On his relationship with Ferrari, with whom the driver remains contracted as a junior, Schumacher confirmed that they remained in contact and would be there in the background to support his rookie season in the sport. “Obviously we have different things that we do together such as simulator driving and Ferrari Driver Academy activities and also working with the Ferrari staff. “So definitely the connection is there, I’m still an FDA driver so it’s great to have that backup and help from the background to support me in my first F1 season.” Schumacher also said he was looking forward to competing with his fellow rookie teammate, Russian Nikita Mazepin, and said he was sure his teammate was just as hungry for success as he is. “In this case I see myself and how hungry I am for the season and how I want to do well, and I’m pretty sure that Nikita is the same. “Now we have two very hungry drivers and drivers that are pushing for every little detail and eventually that is what is going to bring the team forward and that is what we really want to do.”

Nikita Mazepin has accepted responsibility for his off-track conduct, stating he made a “huge mistake”, and has learned from the incident. A video was published on social media showing Mazepin touching a woman’s chest, while travelling in a car, a few days after he was signed by Haas on a multi-year deal. Haas responded by labelling the situation “abhorrent”, adding that the matter would be dealt with internally, with Mazepin issuing a written apology on social media, which was later deleted. Mazepin’s arrival at Haas has coincided with Uralkali, the potash fertiliser firm controlled by his father, becoming the Formula 1 team’s new title sponsor, resulting in a refreshed livery for the VF-21. Speaking in an open media session for the first time since the video circulated Mazepin said: “How I reflect on my actions is pretty clear. I’m not happy that it happened. “I’m not proud of it, I didn’t behave as I meant to behave in Formula 1, and the transition phase of realising what I achieved has been very short and I didn’t adapt as quickly as I should have. “I have taken responsibility for it and I am ready to keep doing it [taking responsibility] because I’d like to be very strong in my position and certain. “I have made a huge mistake and taken responsibility for it and I have learned from it. I am looking forward to a clean year ahead.” When pushed to clarify his comments, and whether he realised the incident was unacceptable irrespective of his profession, Mazepin asserted: “Yes, I understand. I have taken the responsibility for it as I said previously both on and off the circuit. “We as human beings have to show a certain behaviour towards each other to live in a calm and humane world, and I’m confident I will be one of those humans from now on.” Mazepin has been the subject of widespread condemnation on social media, with a hashtag circulating, amid calls for him to be dropped by Haas. Mazepin went on to thank Haas for its support and guidance through the winter. “I would like to say a big thank you to the team because they have been really supportive in helping me to learn through this incident,” he said. “They have been very patient in taking the time and helping me learn this matter further and I think that it in my education phase on the whole behaviour incident, I am way further than I have ever been, so that’s very helpful.”

The Haas F1 Team has announced that Uralkali, which is owned by Russian billionaire Dmitry Mazepin, will be their title sponsor this upcoming season and beyond. The American racing outfit made the announcement as it unveiled its 2021 livery, which features the colours of the Russian flag and includes several prominent Uralkali logos. Dmitry’s son, Nikita Mazepin, inked a multi-year deal with Haas in December and it was widely speculated that his father’s company had agreed to provide the team with tens of millions of dollars per season as part of the move. Haas’ 2021 challenger, the VF-21, will have its initial shakedown during pre-season testing on 12 March in Bahrain. Team owner Gene Haas said he is “very pleased” to announce Uralkali, one of the world’s largest potash fertiliser producers, as the title partner of the Haas F1 Team. Continuing, he said: “We look forward to representing their brand throughout the season. It’s an exciting time for the team with Uralkali coming onboard and having Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher driving for us. “It’s definitely a case of all change but I’m hoping that we get back to being in the mix for scoring some points at these races. “It’s been a tough couple of seasons, but we’ve also got our eye on the bigger picture, in particular 2022 and the implementation of the new regulations.” Haas team principal Guenther Steiner, for his part, said their partnership with Uralkali will last beyond the 2021 season (they have most likely agreed a two-year deal, the same length of Mazepin’s contract) and commented on the upcoming season. “We approach a new season with a new title partner and two new drivers, it’s going to be an exciting year ahead – hopefully exciting only in a good way though,” Steiner said. “We face a year of learning with the drivers while technically we look ahead to the future. It’s no secret that the VF-21 will not be developed as we focus our energies now on the 2022 car and, what we hope, will be a more level-playing field. “We all know roughly where we expect to be this season in terms of the competition, but we must ensure we’re there to capitalize on opportunities when they present themselves. But first we have to get the guys dialed in at testing. “Time behind the wheel is short – so it’ll be a steep curve, but I’m personally looking forward to seeing their development as drivers and as team members within Uralkali Haas F1 Team,” he concluded.

Aston Martin presented the AMR21 on Wednesday. As expected, the green car is no longer a direct copy of the Mercedes. Even though, of course, there are still similarities with the W12. Not only because the changes are limited for 2021 due to regulations, but also because of the special dimensions of the Mercedes powerplant. The view with which we can best compare the AMR21 to other cars is from the side. Here we see that the bodywork towards the rear of the car is wrapped a little tighter around the Mercedes power unit. Because Racing Point presented a completely different car at their launch last year than eventually appeared on the track, for reasons that are understandable in retrospect, there are no nice studio photos of the RP20 that we can compare the AMR21 to.Moreover, it might be more interesting to compare it with the Mercedes W12 that was presented on Tuesday. Racing Point was found guilty of copying the Mercedes design last season and everyone is now very curious to see if they will follow the rules this time.That’s what it looks like. The AMR21 is of course still a further development of last year’s copy, but with the hood they have clearly taken a slightly different path. There we see, in fact, just like Mercedes, a distinctive-looking hump, only this one is a lot larger. This probably means that Aston Martin has folded the bodywork around the engine a little tighter. It could be that this hump is now visible because the teams are looking at the limits of how they pack their engine and that not much else has changed under the skin. In contrast, the hump is so large especially at Aston Martin that you can’t help but get the impression that the Mercedes engine received a significant update last winter. Indeed, at McLaren, relative to the Renault engine in 2020, we also saw a widening of the hood, although they opt for a more gradual packaging. It will now be interesting to see if Williams appears on Friday with just such a bump on the car. At the front, we see that Aston Martin is presenting their car with a slightly different nose than Mercedes. Teams always have different noses and front wings ready to go, but this really seems to be Aston Martin’s own development work. Especially since the teams will not have the space to make many adjustments this season. The nose presented now will have to last the rest of the season. The entire nose looks even more developed than the nose on the W12. Whereas the tip of the W12’s nose has the same characteristic indentations on either side as last year’s, these have been smoothed out on the AMR21. The extra curvature in the front wing also indicates that further thought has gone into this. The braking ducts did remain the same at Aston Martin, while Mercedes presented a new set there. Diffuser remains a small mystery at Aston Martin as well. Finally, it is notable that once again we do not get to see a picture of the rear of the car. McLaren and AlphaTauri are actually the only teams that have done so so far. The rear of the car is not the most important part of a car presentation, but given the rule changes for this season, where the diffuser has been given a major makeover, it is strange that we get to see so little of it.

Porsche and parent company the Volkswagen Group are considering entering Formula 1. Any move depends on the direction of the sport’s next engine regulations, which are due to be introduced in 2025. Porsche Motorsport vice-president Fritz Enzinger told BBC Sport: “It would be of great interest if aspects of sustainability – for instance, the implementation of e-fuels – play a role in this. “Should these aspects be confirmed, we will evaluate them in detail within the VW Group and discuss further steps.” E-fuels are carbon-neutral fuels that can power internal combustion engines without the environmental impact of traditional fossil fuels. They come in a number of forms, including bio-fuels, which are made from bio-mass, and synthetic fuels, which are manufactured by an industrial process that captures carbon from the atmosphere. F1 has committed to making e-fuels a central part of the sport from 2025. Senior F1 figures say Porsche has been involved in the discussion around the new engine rules. Enzinger said: “Porsche and Volkswagen AG are observing the constantly changing regulations in all relevant racing series around the world. This is also the case with regard to the emerging new engine and drivetrain regulation for Formula 1 from 2025.” Talks between relevant parties over the new F1 rules have moved on to the detail of regulations, which are part of a wider plan for the sport to achieve net-zero carbon status by 2030. Enzinger said Porsche and VW were “currently not actively represented in these forums”.