Urban75 Home About Offline BrixtonBuzz Contact

F1 2020

Inconsistencies over Hamilton penalties
Controversy around the FIA: Charles Leclerc had made the same mistake as Lewis Hamilton in Spa during the Belgian Grand Prix, but had not been sanctioned… The-race.com has kicked the anthill by highlighting the inconsistencies of sports stewards. The severity of the sanctions imposed on Lewis Hamilton by the latter during the Russian Grand Prix has sparked debate on social networks.

The question now is no longer whether they were too harsh or not on the reigning world champion, but rather : “Why didn’t they also punish Charles Leclerc a month earlier, when, according to The Race, he had committed the same offense?” Indeed, during the Belgian Grand Prix, the Monegasque driver was under investigation by the race stewards, who considered that he was riding too slowly during his lap on the grid. Ferrari had been heard and had explained that the time lost by his driver was due to a standing start practice. The stewards then closed the investigation without going any further.

However, it turned out that in Spa, Charles carried out his stationary test in an unauthorised area. He should therefore have been penalised in the same way as Lewis Hamilton. If the stewards had given him a penalty, then the British driver’s penalty in Sochi would have been totally justified. This inconsistency raises many questions about the level of competence of the stewards.

Without entering into a conspiracy, a second question was asked by The Race was : “Why was Charles Leclerc not sanctioned for his action on Lance Stroll in Sochi when for a similar action on Alex Albon at the Austrian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton had received a 5 second penalty?” These are all questions that cast doubt on FIA’s impartiality. The Race has also called on the latter to question itself and to introduce a system of permanent stewards, which will hinder so many inconsistencies in the decisions taken against the drivers. Perhaps’ this is why Hamilton has mentioned post-race that he believed the stewards were ‘out to get him’? It’s not the first time Lewis has used that accusation against the governing body over the years.

Is Haas for sale
The Silly Season for 2021 has already brought many big surprises, but it is far from over. Sergio Perez is looking for a seat and seems to be on her way to Haas, but Nikita Mazepin and his father are said to be throwing a spanner in the works. Perez is due to leave Racing Point at the end of 2020, which chose Sebastian Vettel in 2021 under the name of Aston Martin. Perez is in talks with other teams and Haas seems to be a serious option, but there is now a kink in the cable. After Lawrence Stroll and Michael Latifi, we may be able to welcome a third billionaire in Formula 1 in 2021.

Nikita Mazepin is sixth in the Formula 2 championship and as a seventh place is enough for him to get his super license, father Dmitry Mazepin is working hard in the background to get his son into Formula 1. Earlier Mazepin tried to buy Force India and now Haas seems to be the target. There have been talks between Mazepin and Haas and there is a bid on the table which few teams would refuse. According to the Italian media, the contract negotiations with Perez have therefore been halted and Perez even seems to be an option for Williams, which could come under the current contracts with the new management.
 
Honda leaving F1
Red Bull and AlphaTauri are on the search for a new power unit supplier after the shock announcement that Honda will withdraw from Formula 1 at the end of 2021. The Japanese engine manufacturer returned to the championship in 2015 with McLaren, having been inspired by the new breed of power units that focused on hybrid and energy recovery technology. They suffered a difficult and unsuccessful partnership, culminating in them splitting up and Honda joining forces with Toro Rosso for 2018, before taking on Red Bull as a works team the following year. Across the two teams, they have clinched five race victories to date in their two-and-a-half-year partnership with the Red Bull family. However, Honda have decided not to continue beyond their current arrangement with Red Bull and AlphaTauri, which exists until the end of next year.

Honda said the decision had been made because the automobile industry was going through a "once-in-one-hundred-years period of great transformation" and that they'll leave having been "able to attain its 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 added in a statement. The decision will leave Formula 1 with three power unit suppliers – Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault. Under the current rules, Renault would be obliged to supply Red Bull and AlphaTauri with engines as they currently have the fewest customers, unless the teams can convince Mercedes or Ferrari to provide a supply.

Red Bull – on behalf of both their works team and AlphaTauri – have recently committed to the new Concorde Agreement, which binds them to the championship until the end of 2025. "We look forward to embarking on a new era of innovation, development and success," said Red Bull boss Christian Horner, who said 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.”


No new contract for Lewis until after the season ends
The matter of Lewis Hamilton’s expiring Mercedes contract could be delayed until after the 2020 season. Earlier, the six-time world champion indicated that he felt uncomfortable negotiating a new deal for 2021 and beyond amid the covid crisis. But others suspect that he is waiting to see not only how speculation of a potential team sale pans out, but also what role Toto Wolff will have in the future.

“It is clear that I want to continue with the team, but we can sit down to do that later,” Hamilton said. “I am not talking to anyone else.” The German broadcaster RTL claims the matter of Hamilton’s contract has been postponed until after the 2020 racing season. When asked about that, team boss Wolff told Sky Deutschland: “That can happen. We have already done that in the past. “I love working with Lewis and I think it’s mutual. A contract like that requires a lot of detailed work so we want to take our time to look at that.”
 
Disappointing decision by Honda.

they'll leave having been "able to attain its goal of earning victories"

Well, that's totally spiffy. They arsed about at McLaren. Finally got their act together long enough to have a representative sent to the podium to collect some silverware.

And now... "Ooh that technology over their looks new, exciting and fun. Let's play with that for a few years. Then who knows..? Hair dryers?"

Who says corporations can't behave like dilettantes?
 
This seems like a well considered piece from Keith Collantine. He speculates that the fallout from the split with Honda might include the loss of Verstappen. Let’s hope it doesn’t pan out like that, because I think the sport needs Red Bull to be a strong opponent to Merc.

It’s hard not to wonder how differently things might’ve worked out if Christian Horner had bitten his tongue a few times in the 2015-2018 period and RB had persisted with Renault.
 
Last edited:
Alfa Romeo to announce Mick Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen will be their drivers in 2021
It has been in the air for some time now, but according to Spanish media on Friday it will be announced that Mick Schumacher Kimi Raikkonen will be the drivers of Alfa Romeo in 2021. In 2020 Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen will be the drivers of Alfa Romeo and where the Italian started his season well, he has been increasingly pushed into the background by his team mate. Giovinazzi has the support of Ferrari, but he is no longer the only one and his chance in Formula 1 seems to be over. Indeed, with Callum Ilott, Mick Schumacher and Robert Shwartzman, Ferrari has three talents in Formula 2 fighting for the championship. Schumacher has an advantage of his surname, but also shows that he can race well in F2. In addition to an opportunity in the first free practice for Alfa Romeo at the Eifel Grand Prix, there will now be an additional reward.

A storm brewing in Brazil
Just days before standing down as CEO of Formula 1, Chase Carey wrote to the Governor of Rio de Janeiro, informing him that "finalised race agreements" had been made with "Rio Motorsports LLC to host, stage and promote Formula 1 events in Rio de Janeiro". In the letter Carey states that the agreements were "ready for execution" and that an official "announcement by Formula 1" would be forthcoming "as soon as all necessary licences have been issued by the relevant authorities, INEA/CECA, in Brazil/Rio de Janeiro".

Ignoring the fact that the Governor does not issue such licences, that fact is that, as has been reported previously, next to nothing is known about the prospective promoter, who appears to have no previous experience of sporting events, nor is it clear where the funding will come from. After all, not only does the promoter have to find the race hosting fee there is also the little matter of the actual construction of the circuit. To add to the fun and games, the letter was immediately leaked to Brazil's media and seized upon by various environmental groups as the site targeted for the circuit would involve the razing of one of the city's last remaining forests, the Camboata Forest.

In the days since Carey's letter was sent (14 September), a number of powerful groups have been targeting the event online, using the #BrazilSaysNoToDeforestation hashtag. Indeed, as Lewis Hamilton gains increasing global attention for his activism, the world champion is being called on to voice his opposition to the Camboata project. The fact is that since Carey, in collaboration with Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, first announced plans to take the Grand Prix to Rio for 2021, there has been no noticeable progress, with no indication yet of where the money will come from or the precise location of the track.

Frustrated by his failure to secure a second race in Liberty's backyard, some say that Rio is Carey's final attempt to finally secure a new race before handing over to Stefano Domenicali. However, as if the leaking of the letter - and the subsequent environmental backlash - wasn't bad enough, we understand that as the representative of an American company Carey should not be lobbying a public official - a Governor no less - on behalf of a local business interest. Indeed, this might even be illegal under US Law. Indeed, though suggesting the Rio Governor, Claudio Castro merely has to give his approval, at which point the Is will be dotted and the Ts crossed, Carey's move may well have done irreparable damage to the project, such as it is.
 
Oh, bollocks. Nico Who? is infecting the Sky coverage.

:rolleyes:

The man is a one-trick pony constructed from pure cardboard, with a personality of porridge.

Look out for his razor-sharp insights which inevitably include "the race I beat Lewis in".
 
Vettel buys shares in Aston Martin
Sebastian Vettel has acquired shares in Aston Martin ahead of his switch to the team for the 2021 Formula 1 season. The four-time World Champion will move to the rebranded Racing Point team which will become Aston Martin Racing next year, after he was dumped by Ferrari following a dip in results, but remains confident of bouncing back with a fresh start at a new team. In a sign of confidence, Vettel has acquired shares in the British manufacturer, though it’s not known whether they were included as part of his deal to join the team, which was brokered by Aston Martin executive chairman Lawrence Stroll, or whether he purchased them himself.

“I think everybody’s free to do what they want with their money,” Vettel replied when asked if he owned a stake in the company. “And as I know, Aston Martin is a public company, and everyone is free to invest in the company. So if you’re asking whether I have shares in the company, I have, but how much I think it’s a secondary thing, and I won’t talk about it. But I think I believe in the project, I’ve decided obviously to go with the project and I’m excited to see what happens when we kick off next year. I’m starting for a new team.”

Vettel was persuaded to join the team by Stroll, who considers the German an important marketing tool to boost Aston Martin, which has struggled during the pandemic, but his arrival comes at the cost of the hugely popular Sergio Perez. Asked if he had any regrets about that, he added: “Obviously there are not that many seats open still and I don’t know if Checo is talking to anyone. So, I don’t know if he’s definitely out. You guys are making the news, so I think you know a bit more than me, or at least sooner than me. But I think it would be a shame. He is the driver that deserves to be in Formula 1. Now I don’t know which options he has, and what he wants to do.”

Red Bull power-unit options
Red Bull Racing seem to have fallen into a nasty hole with their 2022 engine situation. Honda are withdrawing from Formula 1 as an engine supplier. This means that the Austrian team will have to rely on two options: either purchase an engine from Mercedes, Ferrari or Renault, or they will have to develop a power source themselves. Rumours have it that Volkswagen are interested in taking part in Formula 1 and the name Toyota also pops up here and there. Helmut Marko, however, excludes cooperation with those parties on power sources, because it does not make sense for those manufacturers to get involved in sport now.

In conversation with Auto, Motor und Sport, Marko noted: "For a period of only four years until the next regulation, nobody wants to make any effort. Everyone knows that you can't just jump in and be directly competitive. Hybrid technology is far too complicated and costly for that." Given that the power source regulation will change in 2026 with biofuel in mind, it would mean that a new manufacturer would have to focus on hybrid engines for a period of four years. As already pointed out by Marko, this technology is extremely expensive and complicated, making it simply not profitable for new entrants. In that context, it is better for Volkswagen or Toyota, for example, to focus on 2026, where the investment they then make is more profitable in the longer term. A solution for Red Bull Racing in this case is for the FIA to bring forward the engine guidelines planned for 2026, which will allow new parties to enter more quickly.

In this case it could be very beneficial for Red Bull Racing, which will also be discussed at the next World Council meeting of the FIA, but Marko expects opposition. "If a new set of engine regulations were to be preferred, that would certainly be best. But what interest would Mercedes have in changing anything? They have an optimal engine and they can use their power advantage to drive fully with different wing settings. They will certainly be against it. Abiteboul probably doesn't know whether he is for or against and Ferrari would probably be done soon. In case of doubt there will be another vote against and with this idiotic unanimity there won't be much movement," Marko said.
 
It's a bit pea-soupy again this afternoon, so I doubt FP2 is going to happen.

That probably means we won't see Schumacher Junior strutting his stuff.
 
How is the weather there today? Anyone know?
It's supposed to be bright-ish in Koblenz where the evacuation hospital is. That was the problem yesterday.

Today, at the track, they're saying less misty, showers in the afternoon. A good chance of showers on race day too.

Looks like the teams are going to have much less info than normal, so they'll have to rely on experience and talent.

:thumbs:
 
By “political” Im guessing you mean “large numbers of brown envelopes full of dodgy cash”? :D
Well bribes will be involved for sure, everything in Brazil with business and politics involves bribes of some sort, but the simple answer is that while Bolsonaro is originally from Sao Paulo State he served in Brazil's Chamber of Deputies, representing the state of Rio de Janeiro between 1991 and 2018 and that is his power base. F1 brings a lot of money with it when it comes to Sao Paulo and Bolsonaro wants that money spent in Rio. That is the basic answer but there is a lot more involved also.
 
Could Red Bull continue with Honda power but without Honda? The power-unit is there so why would Red Bull not try and do a deal with Honda to buy the engine lock, stock and barrel from them and develop it themselves for a couple of years. I can't see Ferrari giving them an engine and Mercedes have already said they don't have the capacity. Under F1 rules Renault would have to supply them as last time this happened (Red Bull were involved than iirc) the FIA changed the rules to say that all engine suppliers must supply 3 teams if asked and if a team needs an engine (the rule is more complected than that, but that's the basics). Renault will not have any customer teams at the end of this season so would have to supply both Red Bull teams if they requested units from them. But that is a great deal of money and would that money not be better spent by Red Bull in developing their own power-unit for their two teams. its not like they are starting from scratch, they could have the Honda unit to work from.

Why have two teams paying tens of millions to Renault for a crap power-unit when that money could be spent on developing their own power-unit, albeit based on the current Honda unit? Both Volkswagen and Toyota have expressed an interest in getting back into F1 if the new engine format (from 2026 but that date could be brought forward) really does involve using bio fuel. Just thinking out loud really having spoken to friends about this last night.

It should be remembered that it reportedly cost McLaren £200 million (that's pounds not dollars) when they split from Honda (link to that story here) but that was McLaren leaving Honda, this time it is the other way around it is the supplier leaving the teams not the teams leaving the supplier. So maybe Red Bull has some leverage with Honda in this situation.
 
Back
Top Bottom