F1 2020

[1%er]

F1 2020 Calendar
Date Venue
15 March 2020 Melbourne Australia
22 March 2020 Sakhir Bahrain
5 April 2020 Hanoi Vietnam
19 April 2020 Shanghai China
3 May 2020 Zandvoort Netherlands
10 May 2020 Barcelona Spain
24 May 2020 Monaco Monaco
7 June 2020 Baku Azerbaijan
14 June 2020 Montreal Canada
28 June 2020 Le Castellet France
5 July 2020 Spielberg Austria
19 July 2020 Silverstone Great Britain
2 August 2020 Budapest Hungary
30 August 2020 Spa Belgium
6 September 2020 Monza Italy
20 September 2020 Singapore Singapore
27 September 2020 Sochi Russia
11 October 2020 Suzuka Japan
25 October 2020 Austin USA
1 November 2020 Mexico City Mexico City
15 November 2020 Sao Paulo Brazil
29 November 2020 Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi


Driver line-up
Driver Team Engine
Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Mercedes
Valtteri Bottas Mercedes Mercedes
Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari
Charles Leclerc Ferrari Ferrari
Alexander Albon Red Bull Honda
Max Verstappen Red Bull Honda
Daniel Ricciardo Renault Renault
Esteban Ocon Renault Renault
Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari
Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari
Carlos Sainz McLaren Renault
Lando Norris McLaren Renault
Sergio Perez Racing Point Mercedes
Lance Stroll Racing Point Mercedes
Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo Ferrari
Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Ferrari
Daniil Kvyat Alpha Tauri Honda
Pierre Gasly Alpha Tauri Honda
George Russell Williams Mercedes
Nicholas Latifi Williams Mercedes

2020 Formula 1 testing dates
Dates Venue
19-21 February Barcelona
26-28 February Barcelona

Changes to the Sporting Regulations for 2020
Some minor changes have been written into the Sporting Regulations for 2020, including the return of the chequered flag. One of these changes might seem quite minor, but is important as it restores the traditional chequered flag as the end-of-race signal. For 2019, this had been changed to a digital LCD screen.
Another, more visible change pertains to testing. Formula 1 teams will no longer be allowed to put screens up in front of their garage or cover their cars. There are some exceptions to this, namely when the car’s floor is detached, or a damaged car is being recovered or repaired in the garage. At all other times, the car has to be visible in order to increase the appeal for the media and fans.

Changes to the Technical Regulations for 2020
There have been some clarifying changes regarding the use of auxiliary oil tanks, in that there must only be one fitted to a car. The volume of the tank, including its ancillaries (ie. pipework) must be no more than 2.5 litres, and the exchange of oil between it and the engine must be controlled by a solenoid.

There have also been some clarifying measures put in place regarding the measurement of fuel density versus the declared density ahead of races. The difference must be no more than 0.25%. There have also been several minor changes to the regulations regarding the safety structures on the cars.

 

[Badgers]

2020 season for Google and Outlook calenders
F1 Calendar by RaceFans: Get the current Formula 1 race schedule

 

[1%er]

This will be the last season before we see a great deal of change within the sport, as well as the new 2021 format and rules, we have loads of drivers whose contracts are up, a new concorde agreement and talk that some teams and engine suppliers could leave the sport.

The rumors are, that Renault could leave at the end of 2020 as their parent company doesn't want to fund them past that date, but they have brought in some fresh blood in the aero and management departments to try and boost the team. Red Bull and Alpha Tauri could both leave the sport if Honda decides to withdraw from supplying engines (there have also been news reports claiming that Red Bull have dropped a number of drivers from their young driver program, which doesn't bode well for the future). Also there is talk the Mercedes could leave as a race team and remain as an engine supplier, with McLaren again becoming their factory team. Haas hasn't committed beyond 2020 and who knows if Williams can survive. The only teams that appears to be really planing for the future are Racing Point who are building a new factory, McLaren who have signed a contract with Mercedes for 2021 and Ferrari will stay, as they have already made it clear that they will retain the Veto past 2021.

The driver market is really up in the air with a majority of drivers whose contract are coming to an end or who only have options for 2021, we have all seen the reports about Lewis and Toto going to Ferrari, Vettel looks set to be leaving Ferrari and could retire or maybe move to McLaren (although there doesn't appear to be a free seat, both Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris have signed multi-year contracts but I believe both have a brake clause at the end of this season), even some talk of Vettel returning to Red Bull but I think that is a really long shot.

Lots of news and gossip to come in 2020 it seems

 

[Badgers]

Bring it on

 

[cybershot]

Me and the OH will be at the Spanish GP.

 

[spitfire]

Me and the OH will be at the Spanish GP.

Hello race fans. None lined up for me (yet), it's early days though.

 

[Badgers]

Me and the OH will be at the Spanish GP.

I am hoping for another corporate sell out opportunity getting me to Silverstone

 

[1%er]

I hope you all enjoy the holidays and have a great New year

Leclerc signs new Ferrari contract
Charles Leclerc has been handed a new five-year contract and a significant pay rise by Ferrari, according to reports in Italy. The Monegasque was already on a deal that was believed to run until 2022, but the long-term nature of Ferrari's latest commitment signals that Leclerc is the man to lead their championship hopes in years to come.It is reported that Leclerc's salary has tripled to €9million, closing the gap to Sebastian Vettel, although the four-time world champion remains on a deal worth much more per year. Leclerc earned his new contract with a spectacular debut season in Scuderia scarlet.

The Monegasque took seven pole positions across the campaign, more than any other driver and added two race wins in Belgium and Italy, breaking Ferrari's nine-year drought at Monza in the process. Leclerc finished ahead of Vettel in the drivers' championship, having wiped out the pre-season "priority" bestowed upon the German by team principal Mattia Binotto, becoming just the second team-mate to defeat Vettel across a full season.

The 22-year-old's extension also arrives amid suggestions that Lewis Hamilton could be his team-mate in 2021, with Mercedes' six-time world champion having met Ferrari president John Elkann in 2019. Binotto has said that Ferrari want an "experienced" driver alongside Leclerc when F1 falls under new regulations in 2021. Both Vettel and Hamilton fit the bill, but it remains to be seen if the German can convince Ferrari that he remains at the peak of his powers. Vettel may not have long to prove his worth, with Binotto saying that a decision will start to be made around next year's Spanish GP.

Bernie's Christmas card
Somewhat of a tradition during his tenure as the Formula 1 ‘ring-master’, Bernie Ecclestone has continued to send satirical Xmas cards, posting amusing current affair style cards to F1 team bosses, journalists and the general officialdom of the paddock. Last year saw his take on the Chase Carey and Liberty Media takeover of the sport, the team bosses plotting away whilst Carey and the FIA president, Jean Todt, chatting away oblivious to it all. Meanwhile, Ecclestone looks on from afar in a private box housed in the Grandstands.

For 2019, we see Ecclestone take some serious piss out of the sport, highlighting a seemingly inexhaustive list of rules and regulations the drivers must adhere to in order to race in the driver stewards meeting. Perhaps this is the former boss of F1 take on the coming prescriptive direction he believes the Liberty lead, FIA sanctioned, ‘scripted’ sport has and will continue to become. The cards from previous years have always contained hidden messages and warnings, and this year appears to be keeping in that fine ‘Bernie’ tradition.

 

[MrCurry]

If that’s the best Christmas card Bernie can come up with, maybe it’s right he’s been removed from power. Not exactly hilarious, is it?

 

[Limejuice]

Santa Claus brought a rather wonderful book: Grand Prix Circuits: Maps and Statistics from Every Formula One Track.

From the blurb: "The book explores all 71 circuits that have hosted a Grand Prix, detailing each one’s history and heritage."

I commend this oeuvre to petrolheads everywhere.

Grand Prix Circuits: Maps and statistics from every Formula One track by Maurice Hamilton - Hardcover | HarperCollins

 

[1%er]

Happy New Year race fans

F1 race in Panama?
According to a newspaper in Panama F1 could be heading there in the near future. There is no hiding Liberty Media's plans to expand the Formula 1 calendar to 25 races in the near future. Miami and South Africa are already potential options and now there is also talk of a potential Panama Grand Prix. According to reports from the Panamanian newspaper Mi Diario, plans for a Formula 1 race in the country are in place and a circuit is being built. It is possible to hold a race in the city and it would add another new destination for the Formula 1 calendar.

The initial design of the circuit that has emerged shows a street circuit through the center of Panama City. The exotic location on the beach is cited as a reason why this would be a great Grand Prix for Formula 1.In the leaked document, 2022 is indicated as a potential time that the Grand Prix could be held at the circuit. I'll add it to the list

I'm not sure about this really, I can see F1 wanting to expand into an area they don't have a race and for sure they don't currently have a race in central America, it would fit in well between the north American and south American races, but also it could be spin to help with any negotiations between Liberty media and the promoters of the Mexican GP whose contract is up in 2022, I guess we will have to wait and see.

Is the Sky contract killing F1 in the UK
Formula One lost 8.6 million television viewers in Britain in 2019 fueled by a new contract which gives Sky Sports exclusive rights to show all but one of the races live. The deal was signed by F1’s former boss Bernie Ecclestone and saw Sky’s annual fee doubling to around £120m. It is a winning formula for F1 financially but has driven fans away from the sport just when the on-track action began revving up.


Although Lewis Hamilton won his third consecutive championship in 2019, he faced fierce competition from Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, who became the first Ferrari driver in nine years to win the Italian team’s home race at Monza. It was a commanding drive but the only way British viewers could watch it without paying was to tune in to delayed highlights on Channel 4. They began three hours after the chequered flag fell and by then the race result was common knowledge on social media.


Channel 4’s tally of live races reversed from ten last year to just one in 2019 – the British Grand Prix in July. The dent this has made in the audience of its F1 show has been revealed by the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (Barb) which is partly owned by six TV stations, including Sky and Channel 4. Barb’s data is considered to be the industry’s gold standard and is the official estimate that channels use to sell advertising. The data shows that Channel 4’s highlights were watched by a cumulative total of 34.7 million viewers this year which is a staggering 10.8 million less than in 2018.

Oh gosh, Ghosn has done a bunk
Former Renault and Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, who was facing trial in Japan for allegedly committing financial misconduct, has reportedly fled the country to Lebanon, even though he was not allowed to travel. Ghosn was arrested in November 2018 in Japan and held under house arrest there for months on end. Now according to news reports, the Brazilian-born boss has been spotted in Lebanon, where his family's heritage hails from and where he grew up before moving to France. After his arrest in November of last year, Ghosn was released on $9 million bail in April, but he's been under house arrest ever since as he awaited trial. One of the conditions of his house arrest was that he was barred from traveling abroad.

Fleeing to Europe or France in particular wouldn't have changed things for the former Renault executive as he can be prosecuted in Europe too. The reason for his initial arrest is for using company funds for private matters. According to some reports he hid inside a very large musical instrument case and was flown out on a private jet

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

25 races a year would be utterly ridiculous. And another crap street circuit. Great

 

[cybershot]

Yay. Another shit street circuit.

 

[1%er]

Alfa Romeo take Kubica and new title sponsor
Robert Kubica becomes Alfa Romeo reserve driver and his sponsor becomes a title sponsor for the team. Kubica made his return to the F1 grid with Williams in 2019 following a long absence triggered by his life-threatening rally crash eight years prior. The 35-year-old scored Williams' sole point in what proved a miserable season for the Grove-based team, and made way for Nicholas Latifi in Williams' driver line-up for 2020. Kubica was instead courted by the likes of Haas and Racing Point for a simulator role, but will link up with Alfa Romeo instead.

His new role comes against the backdrop of "a multi-year partnership" between the team and Polish oil company PKN Orlen, which will see the Swiss-based outfit compete as 'Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN' next year. Kubica drove for the Peter Sauber founded F1 outfit between 2007 and 2009, when it competed with factory backing from German manufacturer BMW. During that time, he won the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix and finished in a personal best fourth place in the drivers' championship.

New F1 logo for 2020
Liberty media have decided to go with a new logo for F1's 70th anniversary season. Today marks the start of a special year for Formula 1. 2020 is the seventieth anniversary of the FIA Formula One World Championship, the competition that represents the pinnacle of motorsport and we wanted to celebrate it with a special logo, unveiled today and which from 6th January will be visible on all Formula 1’s digital platforms. For Formula 1 it’s been seventy years of guts and glory, power and pride, tears and triumph, speed and suspense but we’re just warming up. We’ve worked hard to get to where we are now and we will continue to unleash the greatest racing spectacle on the planet through everything we do.

We will celebrate this achievement in lots of ways throughout 2020 and the new logo is just the start of these celebrations. A lot has happened over the 70 years. 33 drivers have been world champion, 108 have won Grands Prix, while to date, 764 drivers and over 150 teams have taken part. All these achievements have required a stage and a setting in the form of a race track, the ever-present arena where teams and drivers can go head to head in the championship battle.

The two lines in the new logo and interlinked design allow this mark to honour those tracks. Another aim of this design is to allow broadcasters, promoters, sponsors and teams to inject their own colours into the mark providing a level of personalisation in celebrating the anniversary across Formula 1. Our past fuels our future and the new logo celebrates a milestone while also looking ahead. Celebrating 70 years is about making the past part of the present, while our sport looks to the future, which it does with confidence and pride.

Whats new for 2020 (a recap)
I covered most of the changes happening this season in the 2019 thread, but just to remind you what has change here is a round-up.

Drivers
Out of the 20 drivers in the field, 18 will start the new season in the same seats they ended last year. The exception are at Renault and Williams. Renault tried to get Esteban Ocon in one of their cars for 2019, but pounced on the opportunity to sign Daniel Ricciardo. Ocon spent a year on the sidelines, but has now been recruited in place of Nico Hulkenberg, who finds himself without a race seat for the first time since 2011. While Ocon should be eyeing the possibility of regular points finishes at Renault, Williams new signing Nicholas Latifi will have to set his sights much lower, as the team finished last for the second season running in 2019. He arrives in place of Robert Kubica, who is moving to Alfa Romeo which he also hopes to combine with a DTM race seat.

None of the teams are changing engine suppliers during the winter break but one of them will have a new name when the season starts, Red Bull’s junior team Toro Rosso is becoming Alpha Tauri, the name of a Red Bull-owned fashion brand.

Races
The 2020 F1 calendar is the longest in the history of the sport, with a record-breaking 22 races. This is despite Germany’s round of the championship dropping off the calendar. The only brand new addition to the championship this year is Vietnam’s new street circuit in Hanoi, which should be ready in time to hold its first race in just four months’ time. Hanoi’s race will be followed less than a month later by F1’s first visit to Zandvoort for 35 years. The track has been revamped since Niki Lauda won the last Dutch Grand Prix in 1985, but some of its most distinctive corners including Tarzan and Scheivlak will remain.

Rule changes
With F1 planning a huge overhaul of the rules for 2021, not much has changed in the regulations this year. The technical regulations in particular remain largely unchanged. There are a few tweaks to the sporting regulations, however. Penalties for missing the weigh bridge and making jump starts have been relaxed, and the traditional chequered flag has been reinstated as the official end-of-race signal.

There are also a few minor tweaks to the technical rules coming for next season. The most noticeable of these will require teams to add small ‘shark fins’ on their engine covers where their car numbers will be displayed. There are other changes to prevent teams storing large amounts of excess fuel outside their fuel tanks, stop them using clutch designs to assist drivers in making good starts, and other minor detail changes.

Rules that were proposed but never actually changed
Several other changes were considered for next season but did not gain approval. These included a plan to introduce the number of mandatory pit stops from one to two. Two proposed changes to qualifying also did not gain favour. Early last year teams discussed adding a fourth round to qualifying "Q4" but this was not approved. Nor was a more contentious plan to hold reverse-grid "qualifying races" at three of this year’s races.

 

[Limejuice]

My daughter is working in Nam Dinh, about 60 miles from Hanoi. She has a lot of experience of Vietnamese roads.

I mentioned the above-mentioned street circuit for April. She suggested I put a bet on Lewis Hamilton being impeded by a thirty-year-old noodle-pedlar with his wife, four kids, and his dinner-time chicken, all perched on a Peugeot moped.

"Speed? Let's see those prima donnas mix it with forty-million motor-cyclists, not one of whom has passed a driving test, none of whom are insured, and none of whom have obeyed a no-entry sign in their life."

Incidentally, my missus and son will be in Hanoi just after the F1 race. Apparently the air fares to there drop off a cliff as soon as it's too late to get to the F1. The tickets for Sunday / Monday are about half the price of Thursday and Friday. Which figures.

 

[Badgers]

Are you going?

 

[Limejuice]

Are you going?

Alas, no. I don't do long-haul flights any more.

I shall be watching from the safety of an alcoholic fug here in Blighty.

 

[cybershot]

My daughter is working in Nam Dinh, about 60 miles from Hanoi. She has a lot of experience of Vietnamese roads.

I mentioned the above-mentioned street circuit for April. She suggested I put a bet on Lewis Hamilton being impeded by a thirty-year-old noodle-pedlar with his wife, four kids, and his dinner-time chicken, all perched on a Peugeot moped.

"Speed? Let's see those prima donnas mix it with forty-million motor-cyclists, not one of whom has passed a driving test, none of whom are insured, and none of whom have obeyed a no-entry sign in their life."

Incidentally, my missus and son will be in Hanoi just after the F1 race. Apparently the air fares to there drop off a cliff as soon as it's too late to get to the F1. The tickets for Sunday / Monday are about half the price of Thursday and Friday. Which figures.

yeah. We noticed the huge increase in flight prices for barcelona for that weekend. They know they can charge it if people want to get there so you’ve got no choice. £400 for a pair of return tickets was the most expensive part of the package. Go figure.

we could go to New York for almost half the price.

 

[Limejuice]

yeah. We noticed the huge increase in flight prices for barcelona for that weekend. They know they can charge it if people want to get there so you’ve got no choice. £400 for a pair of return tickets was the most expensive part of the package. Go figure.

we could go to New York for almost half the price.

Yep.

Hanoi was about £800 return (pre/post GP) and about £1200 in time for the GP, depending on which airline / route you pick.

 

[1%er]

Williams get another big blow
Rexona a major sponsor of Williams F1 have pulled out of their sponsorship of the team as of now, they will not be involved with the team at all in 2020, Omnitude and Tata recently left along with the Polish sponsor of Kubica PKN Orlen, This will have cost the team well in excess of 25M Euros, the Rexona sponsorship alone is reported to be worth fifteen million euros, they were the biggest sponsor of the team behind Rokit .

It is not all doom and gloom for Williams though. Rich businessman Michael Latifi's son Nicholas is to start racing for them in 2020 and will prop up the team financially but Williams knew they can't rely on that having had Lawrence Stroll just walk away in the past to find a different team.

The future for Williams is uncertain and the only way they can dig themselves out of the hole they are in is to start performing to attract some bigger sponsors.

Another sign of financhial problems for Williams is that they have sold a majority stake in Williams Advanced Engineering which also supported the team and was the only part of the Williams group to make any real profits in the last few years. Founded in 2011, WAE is the engineering services business of the Williams Group that owns the Formula 1 team. It employs over 300 people working in 40 different technology projects.

The stake will be sold to an independent private equity firm controlled by EMK Capital. Williams said it will retain a minority interest in the WAE business. WAE was the sole battery supplier for Formula E from its first season in 2014 until season four in 2018. Frank must be really pissed-off as he like to have control and now finds that some private equity firm not only has the fate of Williams Advanced Engineering in their hands but by extension the F1 teams future.

 

[MrCurry]

Verstappen staying at Red Bull is good for the sport I reckon. He’s clearly seen the progress Honda have been making and I wouldn’t bet against them being right in the fight this year.

A strong Red Bull should add to the excitement of the racing.

 

[1%er]

Verstappen staying at Red Bull is good for the sport I reckon. He’s clearly seen the progress Honda have been making and I wouldn’t bet against them being right in the fight this year.

A strong Red Bull should add to the excitement of the racing.

It is interesting that he has signed so early, he and Red Bull were around 135 points behind Lewis and Mercedes last season and that is a massive mountain to climb. I haven't seen any news that would indicate Honda will stay on in F1 so it could be a big gamble for Verstappen. It seemed clear from comments by Ferrari that there was no way he would get a drive there in the near future and it now seem that his talks with Mercedes didn't amount to much.

Michael Latifi to pump money into Williams
With sponsors jumping off the Williams ship it seems that Sofina owned by Michael Latifi, the new Williams driver will bail them out. History is repeating itself it seems with a young drivers father keeping the team afloat so his son can play. This is clearly not a sustainable business model for Williams and they need to sort-out the teams finances asap. Michael Latifi is a business man and while Williams is currently the only seat he could buy, how long will he stay with Williams if they don't get there act together, his millions would be gratefully excepted at any of the mid-field teams if his son shows he can race or maybe he'll buy his son a team as the fashion appears to be nowadays

 

[1%er]

Unilever move to McLaren
As mentioned above Rexona (parent company Unilever) have left Williams, but today have signed a sponsorship contract with McLaren. Unilever had been with Williams since 2015, and had used its Formula 1 involvement with the Grove-based outfit to promote its Rexona brand. But with the Williams contract coming to an end, the consumer brand has elected to move to McLaren, which is coming off the back of an encouraging 2019 campaign.

The deal between McLaren and Unilever will result in the two companies working together on projects that includes areas such as material science, sensor technology and the creation of an Engineering Academy. McLaren CEO Zak Brown has been close to Unilever for many years, with his former JMI company having helped broker the previous Unilever deal with Williams and an earlier one with Lotus.

Is Max Verstappen on €16M or €40M
There is lots of bullshit and speculation about Max's new contract with Red Bull, but if we sit back and look it is clear his contract was written by some very clever and experienced people. My view is that his basic pay from Red Bull will be around €16M a season but for sure he will have some big bonus payments written into it. For example, he will have a race win bonus that is likely to be around €2M, a podium bonus of around €1M and a World Championship bonus of around €10M, so his wages could come to €40M, the better he does the more money the team wins and he will want his share of that.

He will also have other clauses written into the contract to protect him and ensure he isn't tied to a failing team. For example, he will have a clause about what happens if Honda decide to leave F1, there will be performance clauses which may allow him to leave Red Bull for a team that finishes above them in the constructors championship and or key-personnel clauses, to allow him to leave if people like Christian Horner or Adrian Newey.

It is also interesting to read what F1 people have said about this new 3 year deal. Martin Brundle has written that he believes that Dietrich Mateschitz may well have sold both his teams if Max left, claiming that Red Bull have no-one in their stable who could replace Max and so are more likely to drop down the championship and if that's the case his view would be "what's the point".

For sure more will come out as the season progresses.

 

[1%er]

Calendar with race stat times

Race	Date	Start time
Australian GP	March 15	5.10am
Bahrain GP	March 22	3.10pm
Vietnam GP	April 5	8.10am
Chinese GP	April 19	7.10am
Netherlands GP	May 3	2.10pm
Spanish GP	May 10	2.10pm
Monaco GP	May 24	2.10pm
Azerbaijan GP	June 7	1.10pm
Canadian GP	June 14	7.10pm
French GP	June 28	2.10pm
Austrian GP	July 5	2.10pm
British GP	July 19	3.10pm
Hungarian GP	August 2	2.10pm
Belgian GP	August 30	2.10pm
Italian GP	September 6	2.10pm
Singapore GP	September 20	1.10pm
Russian GP	September 27	12.10pm
Japanese GP	October 11	TBC
United States GP	October 25	7.10pm
Mexican GP	November 1	7.10pm
Brazilian GP	November 15	5.10pm
Abu Dhabi GP	November 29	1.10pm

This is a better calendar as it includes race start times (I'll ask a moderator to change it with the one in the first post if people want that). The British GP looks to be starting an hour later than usual at 3.10pm rather than 2.10pm, the practice and qualifying sessions on Friday and Saturday have also been pushed back an hour. There is one only other alteration in terms of the UK times compared to last year, with the Bahrain GP, the second race of the season after Australia starting an hour earlier.

There are two additions to the calendar this year, a new race in Vietnam and a returning one in the Netherlands and those races will start at 8.10am and 2.10pm respectively. The Japanese GP timetable has yet to be released, while the season opener the Australian GP on March 15 will start at 5.10am UK time.

What's going on at Mercedes
After Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc sighen new deals, Martim Brundle is wondering "what's going on at Mercedes"? While the Monegasque's future with the Scuderia was already secured, the announcement on Tuesday that Verstappen will remain at Red Bull until 2023 caught many in Formula 1 off guard. That's because, with his contract expiring, many expected the Dutchman to be a strong option for Mercedes in 2021. But with that possibility now off the table, the former McLaren driver queries why the German manufacturer has put themselves in a weak position.

"The Verstappen news does make my mind think 'what's going on at Mercedes' short to medium term?" Brundle told Sky Sports. "I really would have expected one of Verstappen or Leclerc to rock up at Mercedes. You'd have to look at it and think that Mercedes has got to be at least the equal-best car for another two or three years with the momentum they've got, so why hasn't one of them signed up there?" What it now means is that the Brackley-based team is largely pinning its hopes of retaining Lewis Hamilton for another year or two at least.

But Brundle explained how that outcome is actually now more likely as a result of the recent announcements. "It leaves Lewis with reduced options, but he's still holding a lot of aces," the Briton claimed. "And it doesn't prevent Lewis from going to either of those two teams at all, really. It possibly would at Red Bull, but it doesn't stop the idea of a Hamilton-Leclerc line-up at Ferrari. But it has cut Lewis' options down if indeed he hasn't already signed with Mercedes longer term. Maybe the music stopped before Christmas, they all sat down and there is some embedded news we haven't heard yet."

Another more cynical view is that Mercedes perhaps don't need to think beyond this year because they are pulling their works team out of F1, and Dutch Grand Prix boss Jan Lammers isn't ruling out that possibility. “It is somewhat uncertain what they will do in the long term,” he told local publication F1 Maximaal. “I certainly don’t think it’s unthinkable that they’ll say ‘It was fantastic, but it’s time to do something else. I think the chance of further dominance is statistically small and although they are still impressive, you can perhaps say that Mercedes has now reached the peak.”

 

[Badgers]

Cheers as always for the latest news and that is a good calendar. Will have a check for an updated Google calendar widget for this later.

 

[weltweit]

Are there many rules changes for 2020?

 

[cybershot]

Cheers as always for the latest news and that is a good calendar. Will have a check for an updated Google calendar widget for this later.

I use the racefans.net one. It gets updated year on year so no need to keep adding new calendars for new seasons. Add once and done.

F1 Calendar by RaceFans

RaceFans' F1 calendar includes all the confirmed dates for each of the 24 races on the 2023 grand prix schedule.

www.racefans.net

 

[1%er]

Are there many rules changes for 2020?

Not really, the ones of note are at the bottom of the first post in this thread

 

[1%er]

Obituary "the Smiling Dane" Tom Belso
Denmark's first Formula 1 world championship driver, Tom Belso, has died following a battle with stomach cancer. The Smiling Dane, as he was known to the racing fraternity, was a top mechanic who won his first race in a Volvo and the Scandinavian Touring Car title in 1969, in a Ford Escort. His prize was some backing towards a Formula Ford season, so Belso upped sticks to England to race a Hawke. He switched to the new FAtlantic category with a Brabham-BDA BT28/35 in 1971, finishing third in the championship with wins at Snetterton, Castle Combe and Mallory Park. The jump to F2 with a Team Viking Brabham BT38 in '72 netted fourth place at Albi.

Formula 5000 proved to be Tom's metier and he piloted one of Jackie Epstein's ShellSport/Radio Luxembourg Lola T330s in the Rothmans European championships of 1973 and '74, winning Snetterton's round in the latter. He qualified for two of the five F1 grands prix for which he was entered in Frank Williams's 'bit part' Iso-Marlboros, finishing eighth in the '74 Swedish GP. Belso raced British breakfast cereal magnate John Jordan's Lola T332 as late as 1977 and, identifying a business opportunity, founded a similar company the same year. Having established the Danish market for cereals and baked products Belso sold out in 2005, but remained in England. He last raced in 2001, back in a Volvo 122S at the Goodwood Revival Meeting.

Tom was married to Barbara, with whom he had a daughter, and had two sons with his first wife. He died at midnight on Saturday. To his family and many friends in racing we offers sincere condolences.

Vietnam GP logo and stand revealed
The promoter of the 2020 Vietnam Grand Prix, The Vietnam Grand Prix Corporation (VGPC), has revealed the circuit’s official logo, as well as the names of the track’s nine grandstands.

In naming the grandstands, the promoter has intended to pay homage to some of the country’s most notable and iconic landmarks. They were named in such a way that they run in geographical order from one side of Vietnam to the other.

Their names are:

• Thăng Long Grandstand
• Hải Phòng Grandstand
• Hạ Long Grandstand
• Huế Matrix One Grandstand
• Đà Nẵng Grandstand
• Nha Trang Grandstand
• Sài Gòn Grandstand
• Cần Thơ Grandstand
• Phú Quốc Grandstand

VGPC CEO Le Ngoc Chi, said, “We are proud to reveal the Hanoi Circuit logo alongside our Grandstand names to the world. The new logo reflects the energy, dynamism and progress of our capital city and the incredible new Hanoi Circuit while the naming of each Grandstand after iconic Vietnamese cities and landmarks is our way of both paying tribute to Vietnam’s vibrant modern culture and rich history as well as helping to educate our international guests a little more on all this country has to offer. This also reflects our ongoing efforts to promote Hanoi to the millions of F1 viewers around the world and to demonstrate Hanoi’s pride in it’s capability to build a world-class car racing and entertainment facility and to deliver one of the most prestigious sporting events” she added.

 

[1%er]

Martin Brundle on Williams
Former F1 driver and respected pundit Martin Brundle thinks it is time for Claire Williams to step down at the struggling British team. On Wednesday, Williams was in Tel Aviv, where Roy Nissany an almost completely unknown driver but with key backing in Israel was announced as a Friday and test driver for 2020.

“Today we can see the support he has in Israel,” team boss Claire Williams, the daughter of team founder Sir Frank Williams, said. “It is incredible how many people from different regions came to this presentation.”

Many, however, are fearing for the future of the formerly great team, with key figures warning that the debacle of 2019 could actually get worse this year. “At Williams, we thought it couldn’t get any worse than the previous year (2018), so you can never say that it can’t get any worse,” said Robert Kubica, whose sponsor PKN Orlen joined him in defecting to Alfa Romeo. And Rob Smedley, a former senior engineer at Williams, told Reuters: “Having been around the block a few times in motorsport, and Formula 1 in particular, the reality is it can get worse than this.”

At the very least, Williams seems to be having a smoother winter this time around, as it also emerged on Wednesday that the 2020 car has passed the mandatory crash tests. “The main goal is to prepare the car for the start of the pre-season tests, or even earlier. I am completely sure that we will succeed in doing this,” Claire Williams said. “First of all we have already completed all of the crash tests, and this time on the first try, not like last year when that was really a problem. A year ago, we were thinking more about how to pass the crash tests than about the speed of the car. Now everything is different,” she added.

Nonetheless, former F1 driver and now highly experienced and respected British pundit Martin Brundle has some advice for the struggling British team. “I’m not (in charge), and you don’t know what you don’t know. But I would ask Claire to move upstairs into a more presidential role and get in somebody like Andreas Seidl and give them full autonomy. F1 success is all about tomorrow, not yesterday,” Brundle said.

Lawrence Stroll and Aston Martin deal
Bloomberg are reporting that Stroll, who has amassed a fortune in excess of £2billion, is in advanced discussions with Aston Martin. Should any such deal be completed, it is thought that Stroll would rebrand his Racing Point Formula One team as a factory Aston Martin outfit. Before joining Red Bull as a title sponsor, Aston martin had been considering entering the championship as a manufacturer. The 2021 regulation changes coupled with the existing infrastructure of Racing Point would save a considerable amount of money when compared to starting a team from the ground and would be an extremely attractive proposition.

In answer to the report of a deal being close, Aston Martin confirmed that a meeting had taken place but would not confirm the nature of the talks. “We remain in discussion with potential strategic investors in relation to building longer term relationships which may or may not involve an equity investment,” Aston Martin said in a statement. Red Bull have remained quiet throughout the process although they may be left searching for a new title sponsor for 2021.