Racetrackmasters

Alfa Romeo is a very strong team besides lagging at the back in the Formula 1 championship, but they remain a very attractive option to drivers in the market who are looking for a drive in the 2021 F1 season and even beyond. There are very many viable driver options for the team’s only two cockpits. Who are the most likely drivers to get the seats? One of the seats depends on Kimi Raikkonen’s plans to extend his tenure at Alfa Romeo to 2021, when his deal will be expiring. The finn has being going back and forth on whether to call it quits at the end of the 2020 season or decide to stick around. If Kimi would decide to call it quits then Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg would be very suited for the Alfa Romeo seat. They have been highly linked to the team over the recent weeks as Perez is believed to have gotten in touch with the team after Racing Point let him go. Fred Vasseur, the Alfa Romeo team principal on the other hand is known to rate Hulkenberg highly. Kimi Raikkonen will most probably remain with Alfa Romeo as the sources say, and it is something that the team is understood to want as the finn is proving time to time as he proves to be very critical to car development as the Red and white cars are showing a good form in the recent races with successful updates. It appears that Kimi Raikkonen’s teammate will be a Ferrari backed driver, as Antonio Giovinazzi’s seat is up for grabs as Mick Schumacher who is the current Formula 2 championship leader and his Fellow Ferrari juniors Callum Illot and Robert Shwartzman who rank 2nd and 5th respectively in the F2 championship, being the potential drivers for the 2021 Alfa Romeo ride. Vasseur says that he is very interested in the young drivers and so as Antonio Giovinazzi. “also Antonio is on the list. We have to discuss with Antonio to see what we want to do, what also Ferrari wants to do on their side.” Vasseur said. “We are not in a rush to make a decision, I think it’s important for the young kids also to perhaps finish the season, even if the last two races are quite late this season, but it’s important to have the final picture and not start the discussion in the middle of the season. “[Ferrari] have three very good ones. Shwartzman as a rookie is doing a very strong job. Schumacher and Illot are performing. It’s much better feeling to be in this situation to have the choice between good ones than no choice.” Alfa Romeo will have another opportunity to evaluate Schumacher, having already run him in the Bahrain in-season test in 2019, when he runs in a Grand Prix weekend session for the first time, taking the wheel of Giovinazzi’s car in FP1 at the upcoming Eifel Grand Prix. Sources say Schumacher is the favourite to get the second seat, however, Alfa Romeo and Ferrari are keeping their options open with two races still to go in the F2 championship. Shwartzman is set for a test in FP1 in Abu Dhabi, with Alfa Romeo expected to run him. It may be we won’t get a final decision, then, until just before Christmas at the earliest. What of Callum Illot? Well he is running for Romain Grosjean in FP1 in Germany for Haas, with the Briton in strong contention to get a race seat at the American team next season.

Daniel Ricciardo has now accepted that his move to Mclaren is ‘bittersweet’ in the view of his current very impressive performance with Renault, but he is very resolute that he has no regrets. Ricciardo has been able to finish in the midfield, garnering very strong points adding up to 43 points in the last 4 races leaving him just 2 points shy to catch up with Mclaren’s Lando Norris who will be his teammate for the 2021 F1 season and is currently in the fourth place in the championship rankings. The Aussie is feeling the strength and the peak performance of his Renault R.S.20 as the 2020 season is progressing, and it apppears that he might have switched teams very soon, signing the Mclaren deal even before the 2020 Formula 1 season had started. But a confident Ricciardo stated that,”It’s obviously no disrespect to Renault and where I currently am, but no, I don’t regret it…am I happy to see us progress? Absolutely. All well and good, if it means we’ve got Renault as a competitor next year to push McLaren further then I think it’s good for everyone.” “So I’m not regretting it, but I’m also not unhappy with the progress. I want to be racing at the front.” “Every race in F1 is so important. Every chance I get to do it, the sooner the better. I am glad we’re making progress, and I feel a part of it, which is important as well to me and I guess my growth as a driver.” On the other hand, Fernando Alonso is set to join Renault in 2021, which has seen him trying to integrate with the team over the last couple of weeks but Ricciardo maintains that the team is is holding him firmly in a bid to take the third position in the constructors championship, as the team lies just seven points behind Mclaren team which is in the third position. “The team haven’t shut me out on anything. I’ve been doing simulator and all of it. It’s been really good to work with them. I know, for sure, bittersweet, especially for some guys in this team to know I can’t continue after this year, but I’m going to give it a red hot crack until the last day,” said Ricciardo.

Race promoters for the Emilia Romagna Formula 1 Grand Prix announced on Thursday that they will be allowing more than 13,000 spectators a day at the Italy’s Imola circuit for the Formula 1 race that will be held from 31st October to 1st November. The race will be missing the Friday practice and all the events will be squeezed into two days. This race will also be the third race to take place in Italy for the 2020 F1 season. The circuit last hosted a Formula 1 race back in 2006, as it was designated the San Marino Grand Prix, but it will be making a comeback this year after being included in the revised Formula 1 calender, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “Thanks to the precise and meticulous anti-Covid health security protocol presented to the Emilia-Romagna Region, it was possible to obtain a significant public presence, more than 13,000 people for each race day,” the Imola race organisers said in a statement. The organisers also added that the tickets had been on sale for a week and some of the outlets had already sold out. The eight rounds of the 2020 Formula 1 season have taken place without spectators but during the Tuscan Grand Prix held last month, some 2,800 spectators were allowed a day at the Italy’s Mugello circuit. On the other hand, last weekend’s Russian Grand Prix had the biggest crowd of spectators, having around 30,000 fans visit the Russian’s Sochi Olympic Park every day.

Redbull Racing team and its junior team AlphaTauri are now in search for a new engine supplier after Honda made a shocking announcement that they will be pulling out of Formula 1 at the end of 2021 F1 season. The Japanese motor manufacturer had returned to Formula 1 back in 2015 producing engine units for Mclaren, after getting their inspiration from the new breeds of power units that depended on the hybrid and energy recorvery technologies. Later on they suffered a difficult and very unsuccessful partnership and eventually parted ways with Mclaren. Honda later joined forces with Toro Rosso which is curently the Redbull junior team, AlphaTauri. Much later in 2019 they went ahead to join the Redbull senior team as a works team. Honda’s collaboration with the two Redbull teams have seen them achieve five race victories in their two and a half year partnership. However, now Honda have decided not to continue their partnership with the Redbull family, which will exist up to the end of 2021 season. They said that their decisison to leave Formula 1 because the automobile industry was going through one in a hundred years period of great transformations and they will be leaving F1 having attained their goal of earning victories. “Honda will work together with Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri to continue competing with its utmost effort and strive for more victories all the way to the end of the 2021 season,” the Japanese company, Honda revealed in a statement. The company’s retirement from Formula 1 racing will narrow down the engine suppliers to three, Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari. However, looking back at the current FIA rules, Renault are the most suitable to provide Redbull with power units as they have the fewest customers at the moment. On the other hand, they can also convince Ferrari or Mercedes to supply their power units. All options are very open. Redbull, on behalf of their works team, Honda and its junior team AlphaTauri are very commited to the new Concorde Agreement, which binds them to the Formula 1 championship upto 2025. “We look forward to embarking on a new era of innovation, development and success,” said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, who also added that he understood and respected Honda’s decision. “As a group, we will now take the time afforded to us to further evaluate and find the most competitive power unit solution for 2022 and beyond.”

Sergio Perez admits grievances over how his Racing Point exit was revealed. Speculation about the Mexican’s future began a few weeks after it was announced Sebastian Vettel, who is replacing him, would be leaving Ferrari at the end of this year back in May. It was revealed Perez had options in his contract that allowed it to be bought out by team owner Lawrence Stroll and it was initially rumoured Vettel’s arrival would be made official over the two weekends at Silverstone. That didn’t happen, with the actual confirmation coming just before the Tuscan GP, although Checo has now confirmed he first heard of his exit after overhearing Stroll discussing Vettel’s contract over the phone with his lawyer in the hotel at Monza. “It’s true, I found out on Sunday that I was not going to stay,” said Perez. “They still did other things in that regard. So I already knew in advance. “I’m surprised how things go into the media so easily, I think in a way I’m a bit disappointed in that regard because I feel that those things should stay internally within us.” Perez added. “We know what happened, what we did and so on.” While Racing Point has frequently praised the 30-year-old for his contribution over the years, Sergio also revealed his unhappiness at the lack of recognition he’s got for saving the then Force India team from financial collapse back in 2018. “I was also disappointed that not really pretty much no one has said anything about that,” said Perez. “I heard that it was not going out in the press release but they were going to mention that, Otmar was going to mention that in interviews and so on. I didn’t see anything.” “But it’s fine, I never did it for people to give me anything. I guess this is Formula 1, but I just found it a bit difficult that we’ve been together for so many years, I expected a bit more transparency. At the same time I think [team boss] Otmar [Szafnauer] is not in an easy position too,” Perez conceded. “From Lawrence’s point of view, I understand everything. I’ve got nothing against him. “And for the team as well, this team is such a big part of me that I want them to do very well in their future. That’s the most important thing for me.” Perez’s criticism came on the same weekend which he began by suggesting Racing Point had begun to “hide things” from him since his departure was announced. “Those conversations are for next year’s car, basically,” technical director Andrew Green responded. “We’re not excluding him from anything we’re doing this year. It’s in our interest to have him as fast as we can get him for the rest of the season. We’re in a fight for the championship. It does us no good at all to start to treat him any differently and we haven’t done, that’s why we were surprised that instead of talking to us about any issues he had, the first we read about it is in the press. So that was a bit strange.” After talking to the team following his comments to the media, Perez also then confirmed the situation was clear. “I have known this team for seven years and they are like family,” he wrote on social media. “I have spoken to the team and they accept my explanation. There’s no way after seven years we can finish in bad terms, the air is totally cleared. “And we all move forwards now. We all want the same thing: to score as many points and be successful in our remaining races together.”

Red Bull Racing spent £237.3 million ($304 million) on its Formula 1 programme in 2019, the company’s latest accounts show, but the Formula 1 team still faces a difficult task in scaling back to meet the FIA budget cap that will be imposed in 2021. Red Bull Racing’s spending fell slightly in 2019 compared to the previous year, accounts reveal that the team spent £237.3m last year, a fall of some £2.3m compared to the 2018 figure of £239.6m. The modest drop followed rises of £33.7m in 2017 and £12.9m in 2018. The team finished third in the constructors’ championship behind Mercedes and Ferrari in both years. During this time Red Bull changed engine suppliers. Having previously been a customer of Renault, in 2019 the team took on a works engine supply from Honda, which would have been a considerable cost saving for Red Bull. The team’s spending was significantly higher than the $145 million cost cap which will be imposed from the 2021 F1 season. However there will be many significant exceptions to the new spending limit including the salaries of drivers and top executives, power unit development, travel and accommodation, plus marketing and hospitality costs. In his comments on the accounts, team principal Christian Horner said their “costs remain under control and the team is mindful of adaptions necessary for new FIA Financial Regulations coming into force for 2021.” Teams have agreed to a “dry run” of F1’s forthcoming cost cap during the 2020 season. While the spending limit will not be imposed this year, teams will submit financial information as if the cap was in force, giving the FIA an opportunity to test the application of the all-new rules.

Mclaren team principal Andreas Seidl has admitted that Racing Point, who are their current rivals has the fastest cars in the up-field behind Mercedes and Redbull, who are the top teams in the constructors championship. Mclaren are currently third in the constructors championship as the Rivaling Racing Point team closely falls in 4th having only a two-point difference. The gap was narrowed down during the Russian Grand Prix when Mclaren failed to score any points as Carlos Sainz crashed and Lando Norris finished outside the points at 15th. Racing Point on the other hand had Sergio Perez finishing at 4th although his teammate Lance Stroll experienced a crash. Seidl said earlier this week that Racing Point was living up to its potential as it showed in pre-testing sessions during March. The Racing Point car was named ‘the pink Mercedes’ for its striking similarity with the 2019 champion winning Mercedes car. “In terms of pure car potential I think the Racing Point is similar to how it has been in average since Barcelona test, it’s clearly the fastest car in this battle.” Seidl said. Racing Point were docked 15 points for copying the 2019 version of Mercedes Formula 1 car,the W10, but now the team is on the verge of passing Mclaren and taking the third position in the counstructors championship in the Eifel Grand Prix which will be held at the Nurburgring. Racing point is not the only team applying pressure to Mclaren, the Renault F1 team are also closing in as they have Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon who are putting pretty impressive performance for the team. “Renault is also clear they made a good step forward since I think Spa, we were always close battling them in the races like in Monza we were in front of them, or in the mix, in qualifying sessions,” acknowledged Seidl. “It’s down to us to make sure that we also progress with our car and find the next step in terms of pace also if we want to keep this battle alive. “It’s positive to see how we tackle this situation as a team, between let’s say the race team and the development team back home.” The Carlos Sainz crash at the Russian grand prix at Sochi slowed Mclaren’s campaign as he also got into the way of Lando Norris, slowing him down. Norris was running on an upgraded nose for the MCL35 car. “It was a very disappointing Sunday afternoon for us, coming away from Russia with zero points,” Seidl admitted. “Our race was pretty much over after two corners, with Carlos running into the barriers, and then Lando having to take avoiding action finishing up at the back of the field. “It’s important to go back, analyse what happened this weekend, and also in detail what the introduction of this new nose box on Lando’s car,” he said. “It’s important to make the right conclusions and bring upgrades in order to keep this battle alive,” he added.

Mick Schumacher, Callum Illot and Robert Shwartzman enjoyed a thrilling and unforgettable Formula 1 tests on Wednesday at Fiorano circuit as they were making preparation for their formula 1 debut next weekend. Ferrari had organised tests in the 2018 Ferrari SF71H at the track near the factory to gauge the three top members of its academy, as they will all feature in Formula 1 before the end of the 2020 season. Schumacher ,Illot and Shwartzman, each completed their tests and were very fast in adjusting to the car, as the Ferrari driver academy technical chief Michael Matassa said. “It’s not easy to switch from the driving style demanded from a Formula 2 car to one best suited to Formula 1, the car has much more power, a significantly more sophisticated braking system and power steering that requires sensitivity and precision to use properly.” “However, they were all quick and immediately began running at a good pace. I believe the laps they did today will be very useful when Mick and Callum run on Friday at the Nurburgring.” Michael Matassa said. Mick Schumacher, who is the leading champion in the Formula 2 series will be featuring for the Alfa Romeo team in the opening practice for the Eifel Grand Prix at the Nurburgring track which will happen next Friday. He will be appealing to join the Formula 1 pact for the 2021 season. This was the third outing for Schumacher in a Formula 1 car following appearances with Ferrari and Alfa Romeo in 2019 after the Bahrain Grand Prix. “It was very useful to get used to all the procedures again, which are pretty complex and also with how a team works in this top level of the sport,” Schumacher said. “I can’t wait to jump into the cockpit in Germany and it will be nice to take part in a practice session for the first time in front of my home crowd. In the team, there are some mechanics who worked with my father and that will make the day even more special.” Callum Illot made his first appearance in a Formula 1 car at Fiorano, though he had previously tested a grand prix car for Alfa Romeo, and later said the experience was unforgettable. “Today I was able to get to grips with the car with just ten days to go to my debut on a Grand Prix weekend,” said Ilott. “What struck me about the SF71H was its aero efficiency, which means you have grip levels you just don’t find in other categories. Then there’s the extreme power from the engine and instant braking.” Both drivers are strong contenders for Formula 1 drivers seats for the 2021 season, with Ferrari having posts for its junior drivers at Alfa Romeo and Haas. For Robert Shwartzman, the Wednesday’s run at Fiorano was his first outing in a Formula 1 car, having only driven as high as Formula 2. He was the 2019 Formula 3 champion and said the day was fantastic and fun noting the power uptake of the car compared to the previous cars he had driven. “When you accelerate the horsepower never seems to stop,” said Shwartzman. “The brakes are equally impressive: the car stops when it feels as though it’s too late to make the corner. Apart from the actual driving, it was also special to work with the team. There are a lot of them and they pay attention to every little detail. They really work at a very high level.” “Thanks to everyone who made this memorable day possible.” Shwartzman will feature for Alfa Romeo in practice for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in mid-November.

Haas is one of the three Formula 1 teams yet to announce its drivers line-up for the 2021 season as there are several drivers available in the driver market, so what options are available for team for the 2021 season? The team principal Guenther Steiner has made it clear that all options are on the table and they are planning to make major changes in the drivers line-up by giving a chance for rookie drivers to run their cars, as the contrary has been happening in their recent years. Previously, Steiner had been keen to avoid rookies as the team was new to the sport and it was slowly absorbing the processes that happen with the teams on the track, but now all the possibilities are very open. So, who are the prime candidates for the 2021 Haas drive? Kevin Magnussen Magnussen is one of the drivers who receives different opinions, he was very quick back in his days. The Danish driver is currently racing for the team and is undoubtedly the fastest of the drivers compared to Romain Grosjean. He is the driver behind the only point scored this season by the Haas team. Magnussen is relatively very young, only aged 27, and this would be the perfect time to exploit his potential in Formula 1 racing and would be a very good guide to mearsure any rookie who gets into the team. If only one driver would be to remain in the Haas team, it could be Magnussen. Romain Grosjean While both of the curren Haas drivers, Magnussen and Grosjean said that they were looking at other racing options outside Formula 1, it was Grosjean who seemed to have done the homework on the matter. Grosjean has been a part of the team since its debut in Formula 1 Racing back in 2016, but it is seeming to be difficult to salvage the 34-year-old driver in the recent past. The frenchman has been seemingly taking to air his dirty linens over the team radio and it seems now that the team and the driver are most likely to part in different ways. Robert Shwartzman Shwartzman is a Formula 2 rookie, and as he made his campaign for the Formula 2 victory, Alfa Romeo and Haas has been keen to note his impressive performance. But recently the F2 driver’s results have dipped due errors and mistakes of his own making and it looks that now he might be staying longer in Formula 2. With only two rounds and four races remaining, there is hope for the driver as he will be contesting in FP1 in Abu Dhabi with Alfa Romeo. If Haas would go with the idea to fill in with two rookie drivers, Shwartzman could be the best option. Sergio Perez Sergio Perez is currently racing for Racing Point, and he announced that he will be leaving the team at the end of the season to pave way for Sebastian Vettel who will be joining the team in 2021 after it will be rebranded Aston Martin. Perez is now available in the market and it is only a matter of time before a team takes him. Perez has both talent and money, as Guenther Steiner said that the team is short on cash and they are rather looking towards a long-time success than a quick fix, but if they can afford Perez, he might surprise them with his performance. Alfa Romeo has been having ties with Sergio Perez back when the team was named Sauber, and giving him the seat might be very realistic. There were suggestions however, that Redbull or Alpha Tauri might give him a seat for 2021. Callum Illot Callum Illot is a British Formula 2 driver and is second after Schumacher in the F2 driver standings and is set to replace Antonio Giovinazzi’s seat at Alfa Romeo. His consistent driving has lead to F1 team having their eyes on him. Illot is currently on his second year in F2 racing as Mick Schumacher, and it is very rare for any drivers to join the F1 racing series after they have been in F2 for more than two years, another key reason for Ilott now being considered as potentially the most likely new face to arrive at the American team is that he will drive in FP1 for the team at the Eifel Grand Prix.

Redbull driver Alexander Albon again had a disappointing finish at the Russian Grand Prix, and Robert Doornbos who was the team’s test driver and also competed for three races is not sure how much longer the Thai driver can get away with it. Albon had seemed to up his game when he scored his maiden podium finish at the Tuscan Grand Prix which was held at Mugello after he finished third in the race. However, it was shortly followed by one of his worst finishes for the Redbull team as he managed P10 in the Russian GP qualifying round as his teammate Max Verstappen managed an impressive P2. Things weren’t much better in the race after Albon started in P15 as he spent the better part of the race battling slower cars on the track, and eventually finished 10th after being passed by Pierre Gasly on his AlphaTauri AT01. “Two weeks ago he was the hero of the team and he got his first podium and this weekend he was hopeless,” said Doornbos, who used to be a test driver for the team and competed in three races. “When you finish a minute and a half behind your teammate in P10… It would have been a very difficult debrief for Albon, and I am curious about how many times he can still do that.” “It’s probably a very long discussion at Red Bull about who should drive the car in 2021. Pierre Gasly is of course, waiting on the seat, but it’s a bit crazy to suddenly give him the seat in the middle of the season.” With Pierre Gasly bringing out an impressive performance, Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg being available in the driver market, many feel that Albon may lose his seat for the 2021 Formula 1 season. However, Doornbos thinks the redbull driver can still secure his seat if he pushes his performance to the limits in the upcoming races. “I think Albon still has time to secure his seat until the end of the season”, he added. “You can see that Albon has no confidence and has a lot of trouble finding the balance… [but] he has done well in all junior classes and at Toro Rosso, he drove beautiful races,” he added. “At Red Bull, he can do that on Sunday afternoon. Then, at the end of the race, you see daring overtaking actions such as moves on the outside and that’s what Helmut Marko likes to see.”