Jordan's Track Talk

Category: Formula One

  • Bahrain GP stays

    Bahrain GP stays

    The Bahrain GP has renewed its contract to stay on the calendar, that being until 2036, following an extension of the contract with the race’s promoter, the Bahrain International Circuit.

    The Sakhir based circuit first hosted Formula 1 back in 2004,and has provided some unmissable racing action over the years.

    The Bahrain International Circuit will also hold the 2022 Offical Pre-Season Test as well as the opening race of the season on March 18th to 20th.

    The promoter, has previously announced sweeping measure to increase the environmental sustainability of the event, with all the energy used by the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix set to come from sustainable sources. Aligning with both the Kingdom of Bahrain and Formula 1’s plan to have net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

    Formula 1 CEO and President Stefano Domenicali said: “I am delighted we will be racing at the Bahrain International Circuit until 2036 where more incredible racing and excitement will be on show to thrill our fans. Since 2004 we have had some fantastic races in Sakhir and we cannot wait to be back there for the start of the 2022 championship as we begin a new era for the sport. Bahrain was the first country in the Middle East to welcome Formula 1 and it has a very special place in our sport, and I personally want to thank HRH Prince Salman and his team for their dedication and hard work throughout our partnership and look forward to the many years of racing ahead of us.”

    Sheikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa, Chief Executive of Bahrain International Circuit, said: “After 18 years of F1 racing, we are proud to have played a part in F1’s rich history and we now looking forward to continuing to build on that heritage well into the future. The growth and interest in Motorsport in Bahrain and the Middle East has significant momentum, with a new generation of fans embracing our great sport and we look forward to continuing that progress.”

    My Opinion-

    Wow 2036! A very long contract but we have good racing in Bahrain so it is justifiable. Also they have the responsibility of holding the official pre-season test as well as first race this year so it makes a lot of sense for them to renew.

  • AMR22

    AMR22

    Aston Martin have officially launched their 2022 challenger, the AMR22 with a special event held at the headquarters of Aston Martin at Gaydon, Uk.

    Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll will form the team’s line-up , in what will be their second season under the Aston Martin name.

    The AMR22, features a curvy aerodynamic design required by revolutionary new rules making their debut. Now onto the livery, it has been updated with lime detailing blended with what the team described as a “refined version of the traditional green livery”.

    The Mercedes powered Aston Martin team finished the season in seventh with Vettel scoring the teams best result with second in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The team will now be led by new Team Principle Mike Krack, who will begin his role before pre-season running in Barcelona.

    Owner, Lawrence Stroll said: “The Aston Clinton hill climb is about an hour’s drive from Gaydon and it was there that Lionel Martin launched Aston Martin into the heat of competition. That was the start of the climb that our Formula 1 team is still on today. We have a five-year plan to keep climbing and get to the top.”

    Vettel added: “Look at that car, who wouldn’t feel excited about the prospect of racing that? And when it comes to hopes for the season, I do not think anyone really knows what to expect. There are new rules and of course all the teams will be hoping that they have got it right. Everyone wants to win, me included, and no one would be in Formula 1 if their dream was not to win. I am no different. The main thing is to keep moving forward and moving up. This is only year two of a five-year plan, so we are still quite near the start. But this team has big ambitions and big plans, and I am hugely excited to be a part of that.”

    Lance Stroll said: “This is not only a big opportunity for Aston Martin, but also for all the teams. We just have to believe that we have done a better job and I know that everyone involved is working unbelievably hard to give Seb and me the best chance. At the same time, we have to be realistic heading into the new season. Our main aim is to move nearer the front than we were last year,” Stroll continued. “That would be progress. As Seb said, it is impossible to know where every team will be until we all get on track, and even then you might not know who has really got it right until qualifying in Bahrain. Aston Martin has some really clever people so I am optimistic we can make good progress this year.”

    My Opinion-

    The cars livery is just wow! Last year they had the pink on the car due to the BWT sponsor and yes it did look good, but this years car just tops it, the lime green makes the darker green pop a little bit more.

    But on another note, it will be interesting to see if any other teams will be the same design as this especially on the vents section.

  • RB18

    RB18

    The RB18 is officially launched! The four-time world champions are the second team to launch their car, the RB18 will be the car Max Verstappen will drive to defend his maiden World Championship title.

    Verstappen will run the number one on his car for his defence, with his team mate Sergio Perez returning for a second season with the team.

    The car looks good, nice and clean- not too much has changed which is a known for Red Bull. I don’t know if it is because of the new car but both of the cars which have launched so far look really clean. Obviously, Honda is no longer on the car now and where it was placed on the rear wing has been replaced by ‘Red Bull’

    But one thing which stands out the most is the new title partner- Oracle. The team based in Milton Keynes, will now be officially Oracle Red Bull Racing. Building on last year’s success the team’s 2022 season will feature expanded use of Oracle Cloud across its most significant areas of operation which includes analytics-based race strategy, optimized engine development, AI and machine learning-powered driver training and a tailored fan experience.

    Speaking ahead of the new season, which he enters as the defending World Champion, Max said: “I’m feeling recharged and ready to get driving again, I feel good and it’s important that you prepare yourself in the best way possible physically, particularly when things are changing with the shakeup in regulations. In terms of the car, we don’t know what to fully expect so I’m excited to see how the car behaves on the track for the first time. The biggest adaptation this season will be the new regulations, we’ll need some time to get used to the car, it is not like you just jump in and it’s an upgrade from last year. The rest is pretty straightforward, I don’t feel any extra pressure this season, I will just do what I do all the time because I don’t think there is any reason to be different. Now I just I can’t wait for that first moment when I drive out of the pit lane in the RB18.”

    Ready to take on his second year with the team, Checo said: “I am so excited to start the new season and I cannot wait to be on track with the new RB18. All of us on the grid are starting from zero this season so it is set to be an exciting year. Last year, we gave it our all until the very last lap and we are ready to do the same in 2022. The new regulations are said to improve the competition on track, so I hope that for us as drivers we can compete more, race more and follow each other more closely. There will be a lot of things we need to learn and adapt to but these new regulations are set to make everything very interesting. One thing I can’t wait for this season is to see more fans back at the track, Formula One is growing so much all over the world so I can’t wait to feel that atmosphere again. I hope that we can give the fans great entertainment and great racing.”

  • Norris signs new four year deal

    Norris signs new four year deal

    Lando Norris and McLaren have signed a new deal together, the huge contract extension keeps the British driver with the British team until the end of 2025!

    Norris signed a long-term deal on the eve of last years Monaco Grand Prix that would keep him at McLaren for 2022 and beyond, but after a strong year together both parties moved to lengthen that arrangement with a new four-year agreement, starting this year.

    Last year was Lando’s best season to date having only been in F1 for 3 seasons so far, he grabbed four podiums, his first pole position and came agonisingly close to his first victory in Russia, he finished the season in 6th which is his career-best.

    This year himself and the team will be going in to a new era together, with their car launch being on Friday, Norris and Ricciardo will be pulling the covers of the MCL36 in Woking.

    “The opportunity to extend our relationship with Lando reflects not only our commitment but our belief and confidence in his talent,” said McLaren Team Principal Andreas Seidl. “It is also a strong sign of trust and commitment from Lando in us as a team and our journey to World Championship contention. Lando has shown impressive growth as a Formula 1 driver over the past four years and has been an instrumental part of the team’s momentum and performance trajectory,” Seidl added. “We are still on our journey to fight at the front and Lando is a key element of our plan, so to lock him into place, alongside Daniel [Ricciardo] and our senior leadership, gives us stability and continuity as we build towards our ultimate shared goal of World Championships.”

    Norris, who has been part of the McLaren family since 2017, added: “Teams are about people, and I love the people and feel at home at McLaren. I have grown up in this team and I’m part of this journey we’re all on. Last season was another great step, both in my career and the team’s performance, and I see and feel all the work, investment and commitment for the team to be in a position to challenge for wins and titles in the future. This all gives me huge confidence looking forward, so it was a natural decision to extend our relationship for the next few years.”

    My Opinion-

    I think everyone likes this!! Great news for both the driver and the British team. I’ve said it before but I say it again, Lando has a lot of trust in this team and it shows by him signing such a big deal at a young age when he delivers such good results, but with the new era of car which will soon be on track no-one knows what team or driver will place where so he has a lot of faith too.

    I wont be surprised if we see an article come out some time this year saying he has had offers from different teams. But Lando wants his first win with the team and then his first championship, so he wouldn’t be leaving any time soon.

  • Teams junior drivers part 2

    Not every team in F1 has a junior programme in place, due to money etc. Other teams piggy back of others e.g Haas obviously has Mick Schumacher as a driver but he is from the FDA.

    Williams-

    Jamie Chadwick has been apart of the Williams academy since 2019 and she has won two titles both being the W series, in 2019 and 2021. The 23 year old has also won the MRF Challenge in 2018-2019 as well as British GT Championship in 2015. It is unknown what she will be doing this year.

    Next we have Roy Nissany, who is going into his fourth Formula 2 season with DAMS. The Israeli-French driver has been Williams offical test driver for the 2020 and 2021 season, where he also has took part in FP1 sessions and the post-season test with the British team.

    Jack Aitken, is another Williams academy driver, he has been with the team since 2020.  Before this he was actually with the Renault young driver program until 2019 he was also their reserve driver. Aitken made his debut for the British team at the Sakhir Grand Prix where he stood in George Russell as Russell stood in for Lewis Hamilton due to COVID.

    Next up is Logan Sargeant. This year he will be moving up to Formula 2 for his first full season, he joined F2 last year for a weekend with HWA Racelab. In 2020 the American finished 3rd in the Formula 3 Championship.

    Last but most definitely not least is newbie, Zak O’Sullivan, the Brit is moving up to Formula 3 this year after winning the GB3 Championship and has just been awarded the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award for 2021.

    Red Bull-

    Juri Vips, has been apart of the Red Bull junior programme since 2018. In 2020 he joined Formula 2 to replace injured DAMS driver, Sean Gelael. In 2021 he then done his first full campaign with HiTech Grand Prix, he will be returning to Formula 2 this year with the same team for his second season. Also in 2020 he served as the Red Bull and Alpha Tauri reserve at the Turkish, Bahrain, Sakhir and Abu Dhabi GP’s. He has took part in two end of season young driver test both being with Red Bull in 2020 and 2021.

    Jonny Edgar, is defintley a name to remeber and one I have mentioned before. His been with the junior team for quite some time and its understandable why his stayed their for so long. He won the ADAC Formula 4 Championship, and is about to go into his 2nd season of Formula 3 Championship.

    Dennis Hauger, the popular Norwegian who has just won the Formula 3 Championship and now going on to battle the Formula 2 Championship with Prema. Since being with the junior team he has also won the Italian F4 Championship.

    Liam Lawson, is going into his second season in Formula 2 after switching out HiTech for Carlin. The popular Kiwi never does things in half, last year he competed in DTM where he finished 2nd overall. In 2020 he competed in F3 where he finished 5th overall, as well as Toyota Racing Series where he finished 2nd.

    Jehan Daruvala is reuniting with Prema this season to take on his 3rd season of Formula 2 last season saw him finish 7th overall with Carlin. He also competed in F3 Asian Championship with Mumbai Falcons India Racing, he finished 3rd overall, with 3 wins, 3 poles, and 8 podiums.

    Jak Crawford, has been with the junior team since 2020 and in that year he competed in ADAC Formula 4 where he finished 2nd overall and Italian F4 finishing 6th. 2021 saw him compete in his rookie campaign in Formula 3 and Euroformula Open and in the latter he finished 3rd overall. This year he is competing in his second season in Formula 3 but has made the switch to Prema.

    At the beginning of last year, Ayumu Iwasa was announced as a Red Bull junior. He competed in Formula 3 where he finished 12th overall as well as F3 Asian Championship where he finished 3rd. This year will see him step up to Formula 2 for his rookie season.

    Next up, we have two newbies who have joined the programme this year, Isack Hadjar who will be competing in Formula 3 for his rookie campaign and Yuto Nomura who will be competing in French F4.

    Ferrari-

    Starting off with Callum Ilott, he technically isn’t with the Ferrari Driver Academy this year but had a 4 year stint with the Italian team from 2017 to 2021. Due to him being in IndyCar this year, the Academy does not support that series.

    Robert Shwartzman at the moment is not competing in a series this year yet, after he finished runner up to Oscar Piastri in Formula 2 last year. He will be Scuderia Ferrari’s Test Driver for the upcoming season.

    Mick Schumacher, won the Formula 2 Championship in 2020, and now is going into his second season as a Formula One driver with Haas.

    Arthur Leclerc is next up on the list, the Monagasque is going into his second season in Formula 3, in hopes to fight for the title. He is also currently competing in the Formula Regional Asian Championship which he is currently leading.

    Dino Beganovic, will be going on to his third season in single seaters, where he is currently competing in Formula Regional Asian Championship and also Formula Regional European Champion.

    James Wharton, has only been with the FDA for a year, he continued to race in karts in 2021 before training in Formula 4 single-seaters. Which goes on to what he will be doing this year, he will be competing in Formula 4 UAE Championship and Italian F4 Championship.

    Maya Weug, is the first female driver to join the FDA. In 2021 she stepped up to Italian F4 Championship, she will be competing in the same series again this year.

    Oliver Bearman, is new to the FDA after winning both Italian F4 Championship and ADAC Formula 4 Championships in 2021. This year will see him step up to the Formula 3 Championship for his rookie season.

    Rafael Camara is another newbie to the FDA, he will be competing in Formula 4 UAE Championship and Italian F4 Championship. Laura Camps Torras, is new to the Italian team as well, at the moment she has only raced in karts and will continue to do this year. However, she will take part in several tests at the wheel of a Formula 4 car to learn about single seaters in preparation for a debut.

    Alpine-

    Christian Lundgaard, has been apart of the Alpine academy since 2017. Since being with them he secured the SMP F4 Championship and F4 Spanish Championship. This year will see him race in IndyCar.

    Caio Collet, was racing in Formula 3 last season. It is yet to be announced in what he will be doing this year he may return to F3 for a second season.

    Oscar Piastri, the back to back to back champion, winning the Formula Renault Eurocup, Formula 3 Championship and Formula 2 Championship in a row. This year will see him take a back seat and officially be Alpine’s reserve driver for 2022.

    Victor Martins, will be going into his fourth year with the academy. Last year saw him compete in Formula 3 where he finished 5th overall, it is still undecided what he is doing this year aswell.

  • 15.02.22

    The last date for car reveal has been announced, this being Williams. The team from Grove will be showing the world their car on the 15th February, a week today with an online event at 1pm GMT.

    The team, which was sold by the Williams family to Dorilton Capital in the 2020 season, has previously indicated it will retain the traditional naming convention for its cars. The 2022 car is yet to be named.

    This year will see Nicholas Latifi in his third season with the British team. Following George Russell’s departure to Mercedes, former Red Bull driver Alex Albon will be returning to F1 after a year out will be taking the other spot at Williams.

    Heavily-revised regulations are sweeping through the sport for the 2022 campaign, which means that combined with the budget cap there is opportunity for teams like Williams to take a sizeable step forward from their efforts last season where they finished 8th overall with 23 points.

  • VF22

    Haas are the first to show their 2022 livery with a series of digital renderings showcasing the car, VF22. The livery is an evolution of last years predominantly white design, as has been the case in previous years Haas will unveil the physical car in the Barcelona pit lane on the first morning of pre-season running.

    It is known that the car will noticeably look a little different to what the digital renderings show, with the teams keen to keep significant parts of their design quiet for as long as possible and to stop other teams to take away their clever ideas.

    Having dropped towards the back of the field in 2020, Haas decided not to develop their 2021 car in favour of putting 100% their resources on the 2022 car in a bid to return to the midfield. The VF-22 is the seventh Haas car, and the first to emerge from the American teams new design office in Maranello, led by Simone Resta the Technical Director.

    To promote closer racing the FIA and F1 rewrote the rules, with the new cars featuring a ground effect floor, simplified front wing and dramatic rear wing plus the new Pirelli 18 inch tyres.

    Haas were the only team last year not to score any points with two rookies at the wheel, Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin.

    “It’s that time of year where you’re naturally optimistic that the hard work and effort of everyone will translate to a competitive entry on track,” said owner Gene Haas. “We made the decision back in 2020 to really channel time and resources into the VF-22, foregoing anything track-related for 2021 – which wasn’t easy to watch. Hopefully that decision bears fruit and we return to challenging for points and taking something from the weekends.”

    Team Principal Guenther Steiner added: “We all know what the team is capable of, we’ve proved that in the past, and with this new car – born out of a completely new set of regulations and with our new design team in place – I’m confident we can showcase once again that we can compete on weekends. It’s been a tremendous effort by everyone involved and now comes the fun part of getting the new car to the circuit and dialling in all the elements. Last season was a long one but I’m confident that 2022 will see us back in the mix with the VF-22.”

    Resta said: “This is probably the most complex project the Uralkali Haas F1 Team has dealt with to-date for many reasons. It’s a completely new set of regulations and this season we’ve brought in a new team to manage the creation of the VF-22. Not everyone is new but a good chunk of people have joined with a revised structure now in place. I consider this as a great success in the process. We’re still early in the project and going through a transitional season of working together on a car for a full year, but if we look back where we started, this team is already a success.”

    My Opinion-

    In regards to the livery, it actually looks a lot cleaner than last year but it keeps the 3 main colours on their, blue, red and white. Now onto the actual car, hopefully this car will see the drivers score some points and be in more battles up the grid.

  • 09.02.22

    Red Bull have announced when they will be realising their car for this season, the RB18 which is on the 9th February, nine days before rivals Mercedes launch their W13.

    Max Verstappen will be hoping the new car will be worthy of defending for the world title- in hopes of going for a second. Sergio Perez will be wanting to fight for the title too, but will also be wanting to help RB get the Constructors title.

    Honda, decided to leave the sport at the end of 2021, so the newly established Red Bull Powertrains will oversee the RB18’s power unit for 2022- although following a deal made towards the end of the last season, that power unit will use the Honda intellectual property.

    We now only have one more date remaining and that being the team of Williams.

  • 04.02.22

    Haas have announced when they will show their livery for 2022, that being tomorrow at 11am!

    The North Carolina team will give fans the first look of their 2022 colours ahead of pre-season testing on February 23rd at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

    The VF-22 has had high input from Technical Director, Simone Resta who joined from Ferrari in time to help develop the car for the new regulations. They also acquired some additional Ferrari personnel at the start of 2021, as the Italian team sought ways to slim down its costs to meet cost cap restrictions.

    Haas are hoping to have a better season than the previous after they scored no-points. They are hoping to work their way into at least the mid-field this season with no longer rookies Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin.

  • 27.02.22

    Another car date has been revealed and that being Alfa Romeo and they will be revealing their car, the C42 on the 27th of February.

    The team will be having an all new line-up this year with Valtteri Bottas joining from Mercedes, and F2 Graduate Guanyu Zhou joining the team for his rookie year in Formula One.

    The launch date is after Barcelona pre-season shakedown (February 23rd to 25th), this means that Alfa Romeo will be having a special livery for the shakedown in Barcelona.

    The team who are based in Switzerland have changed their name from Alfa Romeo Racing to Alfa Romeo F1 Team for 2022, as the team enters a new era.

    CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato explained the name change: “For us, adding the wording ‘F1 Team’ to our team’s name is highly significant and makes us proud: it epitomises Alfa Romeo’s commitment to the most exclusive motorsport competition there is, where this brand has written indelible pages in its history. On the other hand, it represents the team spirit of cohesion, in which Alfa Romeo intends to play a leading role. With this new team and logo, a new, exciting line-up and a new car ready to be unveiled, we are ready for an exciting new season.”

  • Singapore GP renewed

    Singapore GP renewed

    The Singapore Grand Prix will continue to be held at the Marina Bay Street Circuit after they managed to agree a new contract for 7 years, F1 will continue travelling to Singapore from 2022 to 2028.

    The last time we was at Singapore was back in 2019 where we saw Sebastian Vettel be victorious for the Italian team! But we finally are returning this year.

    Sustainability is set to feature prominently in future races. Meanwhile Singapore GP Pte (SGP) and the Singapore Tourism board (STB) are working together to reduce the carbon footprint of the Singapore race as a part of the transition to more sustainable business models and to be in line with Formula One’s sustainability goals.

    “I am delighted that Formula 1 will continue to race in Singapore for another seven years,” said Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali. The Marina Bay Street Circuit hosted the first night race in F1 history in 2008, and Singapore has continued to thrill fans, teams, and drivers ever since. Singapore holds a special place on the F1 calendar, and this extension is part of our long-term commitment to continue to grow the sport in Asia.”

    Singapore GP’s Chairman Mr Ong Beng Seng added: “We are very pleased that the night race will continue for seven more years. After more than a decade of celebrating this spectacular event on the racing calendar, we are looking forward to building on its success and working with Formula 1 as well as its partners to take the night race to greater heights. We are delighted that this marquee event will demonstrate how Singapore is open for business. We look forward to welcoming both local and overseas fans and visitors to the Marina Bay Street Circuit once again.”

    My Opinion-

    I am personally happy for this track to stay on the calendar, I think it’s been missed the past couple of years due to covid and now it’s returning this year (hopefully) it will allow new drivers/fans understand the hype about the track.

    I also think it’s good that the track and country want to help with carbon footprint and for F1 to become a more sustainable sport.

  • 21.02.22

    Alpine have announced their launch date for the A522, with it being on the 21st February.

    The covers will come off two days before the first pre-season test, at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

    The A522 is going to be driven by world champ Fernando Alonso and race winner Esteban Ocon with 2022 being their second season together!

    Ocon got the honour to take the first win of newly named Alpine outfit, as Renault was renamed in 2021.

    Alpine will be wanting to improve on their finish last year, P5 in the constructors. But will they be able to achieve this or better this year as executive director Marcin Budkowski and four-time champion Alain Prost have departed the team this month.

  • 14.02.22

    Alpha Tauri have announced the date for their car reveal and that will be on the 14th February.

    The AT03 is set to be piloted by Red Bull Juniors, Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda. The sister team of Red Bull was the fifth team to confirm their date for the world to see.

    2022 will see Alpha Tauri use power units from Red Bull Powertrains for the very first time, after Honda departed from the sport at the end of last season.

    This season should be a pretty big year for Alpha Tauri, partly because of the new power units- but also because Pierre Gasly has just come off an impressive season, and his team-mate will be going into his second season in the sport and hopefully be wanting to be build on last year!

    https://www.instagram.com/reel/CZMUChslJKm/?utm_medium=copy_link
  • F1 confirms testing dates

    F1 confirms testing dates

    Formula One has confirmed the dates for pre-season testing for 2022. The build up for the season has started already with teams announcing the car launches dates for February.

    Two sessions of three days each will be taking place ahead of the 23 race F1 campaign to enter a new era.

    Barcelona– February 23rd to 25th

    The first test of the year is more low-key than the official test. This test in Barcelona allows the team to shake down their all new 2022 cars for the first time.

    However, as is traditional with teams pre-testing-type events, the running at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya won’t feature live coverage.

    It will include content and the best lap times at the end of each day of running.

    Bahrain- March 10th to 12th

    The Bahrain testing will be the Official Pre-Season Test ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix on the weekend of March 18th to 20th.

    This testing will be shown live with fan attendance. It will be shown on TV with live timings.

    To keep up to date with all the coverage from both tests you can find on F1.com

  • Teams junior drivers part 1

    Being a team in Formula One they are not just battling it out on track they are also looking for the next best thing to hopefully find the next future world champion.

    Mercedes Juniors-

    Andrea Kimi Antonelli, has been with the German team since 2019 when he was only 12 years old but CEO Toto Wolff had been keeping an eye on him some time before he signed for the team. He is the 2020/2021 OK European Champion, this year already he has took part in F4 UAE, where he scored two wins and two more podiums! He is most definitely one to look out for in the future…

    Paul Aron competed in Formula Regional European Championship last year with Prema he finished 3rd overall. He also tested with Formula 3 at the post-season test with Prema, so could potentially see him in F3 soon!

    Alex Powell, born in Miami in 2007 but is a native of Jamaica. He made his karting debut in 2015 and his managed to make a name for himself already. Looking on the last couple of years, Alex has enjoyed a successful 2019 campaign, driving for Energy Corse, which included winning the ROK Cup Superfinal (Mini ROK) and 24° South Garda Winter Cup (Mini ROK), finishing third in the WSK Super Master Series (60 Mini), third in the Italian Championship (60 Mini), fifth in WSK Euro Series (60 Mini) and ninth in the WSK Champions Cup (60 Mini). 2020 saw Alex take on various OK Junior categories in the karting world, including the WSK Champions Cup and WSK Super Master Series.

    Frederik Vesti, new to the Mercedes junior programme but most definitely causing a scene. In 2016 he competed in both German and Danish F4 Championships. He missed two events in the Danish Championship but still managed to finish 2nd. Vesti competed in the Formula Regional European Championship where he won the championship ahead of Enzo Fittipaldi. Vesti then done two years in Formula 3 with him finishing 4th both year. He is now going to race in Formula 2 for the 2022 season with ART Grand Prix, the team he was with in Formula 3 last year!

    Lastly, Yuanpu Cui. First drove a go-kart at the age of six, and joined the team last year off a positive season in 2020. Yuanpu’s started racing professionally in 2014 and by 2016 he had finished second in the Chinese Rotax series. Over the next few seasons, he began to expand his racing outside of China, competing in events all around the world. This included podium finishes in Italian National events, WSK Open Cup, WSK Final Cup, the ROK Cup Superfinal and WSK Euro Series in the 60 Mini and Mini ROK classes, across the 2018 and 2019 seasons. In 2020, he picked up a P2 position in the 31° Andrea Margutti Trophy in OK Junior, picked up victories and podiums in the WSK Champions Cup in 60 Mini and scored podiums in the WSK Super Master Series in 60 Mini. He also achieved a podium in the 2020 Florida Winter Tour in Mini ROK.

    Sauber Junior Team-

    Théo Pourchaire, they youngest driver ever to win an F2/GP2 race last year with ART GP, he will be returning to Formula 2 this year with ART GP again in hopes to try and fight for the title. Since being with the Sauber academy, he has won the ADAC Formula 4 Championship beating Dennis Haugher by seven points. Could we see these two fighting for the title this year?

    Christian Ho, is a 13 year old go-kart driver, who was born in Singapore. His half Chinese and half Korean but he is living in Italy. His currently competing in the Junior category with Sauber Junior Karting team.

    Miguel Costa, was born in 2009, he first started karting when he was 3 years old, since then he hasn’t looked back. In 2016 he became the Rock Cup Vice Champion, in 2017 he then went on to be FWT Rok, FWT Rotax and Rok Cup USA Vice Champion. This year he is competing in many karting championships!

    Tiziano Monza, was born in Singapore in 2009 but lives in Italy so he can race around the world. In 2020 he became the WSK Open Cup Vice Champion. Again this year, he is set to be competing in karting championships.

    Gustaw Wiśniewski, another karter added to the juniors. Has taken part in WSK series in Italy, as well as Silver medalist of Poland in Rotax Junior Max, Bronze medalist of Poland in Junior Rok as well as 2nd place in Rotax Max Challenge series.

    Juan Manuel Correa, a name most of us know well! He first joined the academy back in 2019 but then re-joined last year again. He made his racing come back last year with ART GP, he is set to do his second year this year returning with ART GP.

    McLaren Young Driver Programme-

    McLaren has had many of drivers through its young drivers program, most successful being 7 time champion, Lewis Hamilton. The most recent driver who graduated from the program was Lando Norris, who now drives for the team this led the British team to be left with no drivers from 2019 to 2021.

    In March 2021, McLaren announced Ugo Ugochukwu as apart of their programme. The American was crowned the FIA European Karting Champion and he has managed to secure many titles in his career already! In December it got announced that Ugo, will be competing in British F4 in 2022 with Carlin- he will be turning 15 on the eve of the championship!

    I will be splitting this in to two posts due to some teams having more drivers than others…

  • Every driver to sit out of an FP1 session

    Every driver to sit out of an FP1 session

    Young drivers, are due to be given an increased chance to show what they are made of this year, with each driver set to sit out of an FP1 session.

    This is set to come into play after team bosses agreed in Mexico that two FP1 sessions must be reserved for young driver running which starts this year. Rookie tests in the latest cars are few and far between apart from the young driver test at the end of the season.

    Normally junior/reserve drivers get the opportunity to privately run F1 cars during the season but they only take place in older machinery due to the cost implications involved.

    Over the years, there has been lots of complaints about the lack of opportunities for young drivers to show their capabilities in Formula 1 cars.

    Ross Brawn had spoke previously about how Friday running is set to include young rookie drivers in the future. After thoughts of a mandatory rookie to run in each Fp1 session by a different team, the rule of two weekends per team has offered the freedom for the teams to decide when they want to use their younger drivers.

    Brawn is also putting in place that teams do not use more experienced runners, in the way that Alfa Romeo have previously used Robert Kubica in FP1 for example.

    With AMuS says drivers will need to have had fewer than two F1 starts to qualify as a rookie under these rules.

    “Friday running is coming in,” F1 managing director of motorsports Brawn told Autosport back in September 2021. “And we are being very careful about how we define a rookie. Let’s wait and see how we define it. I think it’s next year they will need to run a young driver on a Friday, every team a certain number of occasions.”

    My Opinion-

    I think this is a good idea, it gives young drivers an opportunity to show teams what they are made of and potential for a seat in the future. Also it gives the young drivers more experience and learn about an F1 car and the way it works and a get to know the team too.

  • 18.02.22

    The fourth car date has been revealed, this time it being Mercedes. They will show the world the W13 on the 18th February, in an online event from Silverstone.

    This year we are due to see a new line-up, with Lewis Hamilton sticking with the team but the change comes within his team-mate, this year he is partnered up with Mercedes Junior, George Russell.

    The pair will be seeking to help the team go for a record of a ninth consecutive title this season, whilst Hamilton will be going for a record breaking eight.

    George has been apart of the Mercedes junior programme since 2017, he got the opportunity to then stand in for Lewis Hamilton at the Sakhir Grand Prix in 2020 where he qualified in P2 just missing out on pole position by 26 milliseconds. He then led the majority of the race until 20 laps to go with a mix up of pitstops/punctures which resulted him in finishing 9th where he scored his first ever Formula One points.

    When the W13 has its covers taken off it will be given a shakedown run around the circuit later on in the day.

  • 11.02.22

    McLaren are the third team to announce their 2022 car launch date. They will be revealing the MCL36 on the 11th February.

    Ricciardo and Norris will be piloting the car and be hoping to build of last season. They were the only team to get a 1-2 finish (at Monza) and they finished 4th overall, just behind their rivals Ferrari.

    McLaren isn’t just set to unveil their car on the 11th, they teased on social media that three of their other operations will be present at the launch; Extreme E, IndyCar and Esports teams.

    British driver, Lando Norris will be going into his fourth season with the team, where as it will be Daniel Ricciardo’s second, both drivers will be hoping to finish higher than the Ferrari’s this year whilst bringing the fight to other teams.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CY1oP7MIRtK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

  • 17.02.22

    Another day, another car launch date! But this time its Ferrari who have announced they will be revealing their car on the 17th February.

    The Italian team had their worst season in 2020, but last year saw them place three places higher in third in the constructors championship.

    2021 saw Carlos Sainz finish higher than his team-mate in fifth as he ended the season with a podium, Charles finished 7th just 5.5 points behind.

    The same duo will be paired up again this year, with Sainz expected to get a contract extension – Leclerc is at the Italian team until the end of 2024 at the moment.

    Ferrari are still yet to announce the name of their new car, which will be the first under revolutionary technical rules which are introduced for this season. They are the second team to announce a date.

  • Aston Martin announce Team Principal

    Aston Martin have announced that Mike Krack will become their new Team Principal, after the recently departed Otmar Szafnauer.

    Even though the name is not familiar in the F1 world, Krack has appeared in many motorsport roles. He headed up BMW’s global motorsport operation since 2014, which meant he was in charge of the manufacturer’s Formula E, GT and IMSA programmes. As well as overseeing their expansion into the new LMDh category.

    Prior to his BMW days, he spent 18 months with Porsche as head of track engineering for their LMP1 project, working alongside current McLaren Team Principle, Andreas Seidl.

    However, this isn’t his first time in F1, he previously worked at Sauber and BMW Sauber, which includes working as an engineer with current Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel when he was the test driver.

    “It is a thrill and an honour to have been appointed to the position of Team Principal of Aston Martin,” said Krack. “I am very grateful to Lawrence [Stroll] and Martin [Whitmarsh] for giving me such a fantastic opportunity. Aston Martin is one of the greatest automotive brands in the world, and to have been asked to play a leading role in delivering the on-track Formula One success that such an illustrious name so richly deserves is a challenge that I plan to embrace with energy and enthusiasm.”

    Aston Martin chairman Lawrence Stroll said: “Winning in Formula One is all about bringing together the best efforts of all the principal players – drivers, engineers, mechanics, everyone – and Mike is perfectly placed to do just that. We are about to embark on year two of our five-year plan, the objective of which is to win Formula One World Championships,” added Stroll.

    “All the ingredients we require are coming together. Mike will play a central and leading role, reporting to Martin Whitmarsh [Aston Martin Group Chief Executive Officer] and leading our technical and operational functions, our collective aim being to fulfil those lofty ambitions. We are on our way.”

    My Opinion-

    To be honest, I didn’t know who would replace Otmar but, Mike seems like the right choice. He has had a lot of experience in Motorsport, so his not going in their blind-sided but the thing which stuck out the most to me was him working with Vettel in the past- it will be interesting to see the relationship between the pair over the year.

  • 10.02.22

    The first date for a reveal of the 2022 car has been announced and that being by Aston Martin! They will show the world their challenger, AMR22 on the 10th February 2022.

    The team finished 7th in the Constructors standing last year, where they saw new driver for the team Sebastian Vettel get their first ever trophy as Aston Martin.

    AM, have had a lot of changes in recent years, with Lawerence Stroll becoming owner and wanting to take F1 by storm and has ‘grand plans’ for the British team!

    The car reveal will be streamed online from Aston Martins headquarters, where drivers Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll be joined by key members of the team.

    The AMR22 is the first Aston Martin F1 Car which is to be created to the new technical regulations and then represents the biggest design in decades, which makes a significant moment in Aston Martin history.

  • Marcin Budkowski left Alpine

    Marcin Budkowski left Alpine

    Today it got announced that Executive Director, Marcin Budkowski has left Alpine which brings a three-year stint at the team to an end.

    Budkowski has been a part of Alpine since 2018 where he joined from the FIA- before that he started his F1 career in the aerodynamic department of a few teams first being Prost GP, then Ferrari from 2002 to 2007 where he saw the team win multiple championships.

    He then decided to seek a new challenge and joined McLaren in 2007 where he worked in a variety of aerodynamic roles both at factory and on track- he became head of aerodynamics in 2012, however his 7 years at McLaren ended in 2014.

    He then went on to the FIA as mentioned above, where he became F1’s technical and sporting coordinator for the FIA, he then became head of the Formula One technical department in 2017. He then joined Renault as executive technical director and in January 2021 he was made a director of Alpine.

    Alpine have said that Laurent Rossi CEO will “temporarily” run the operation “to allow everyone to focus on next season’s preparations”. Rossi took over as CEO ahead of last season and since being in the team he has been conducting a review of it, which includes the management structure.

    Rossi said: “I would like to thank Marcin Budkowski for his commitment and contribution to the team’s results over the last four years. The team is fully focused on getting the car ready for the first race in Bahrain and deliver a step beyond in performance.”

    Budkowski added: “I truly enjoyed being part of the leadership team of Renault then Alpine F1 Team, working with such a talented and dedicated group of people. I will be watching the team’s progress fondly in the seasons to come.”

    My Opinion-

    I was shocked to hear this because I felt like he didn’t do anything to not deserve the position- but that being said, I feel like Alpine has some big problems in their management area seeing as Cyril Abiteboul left on the 11th January 2021, and now Marcin in January 2022…

    Obviously the rumour mill is spinning more and more now since Marcin has now left, will we see an announcement in the next few weeks about a certain Otmar Szafnauer joining the french team? And could this be the same for Aston Martin with Marcin? It’s a wait and see game at the moment…

  • Lance Stroll what happened?

    Lance Stroll what happened?

    Lance Stroll, I feel like his not been spoke about much recently? Has he had just a quiet season and working behind the scenes to focus on this years car or has he just struggled? Lets take a look into his season…

    Overall his season is okay, obviously not the best but not the worst either… 9 times he got in the points, making him finish 13th out of all 20 drivers on 34 points, his new team-mate Vettel was in 12th and scored 43 points. Stroll had 3 DNF’s across the season, one being the tyre blow out in Azerbaijian, and then the Hungarian race and the last one being Brazil where he had lasting damage from contact with Tsunoda.

    His qualifying is where you can see the inconsistency, reaching Q3 six times and then its just a mixture from 12th to 20th… I don’t know if he felt like he had a better race car than one lap pace but it just looks like he has struggled so much compared to last year where he scored in 10 out of 17 races, and where he finished 11th in the drivers standings on 75 points.

    Below, is a table of Lances’ qualifying position compared to his race position:

    Grand PrixQualifying positionRace position
    Bahrain10th10th
    Emilia Romagna10th8th
    Portugal17th14th
    Spain 11th11th
    Monaco13th8th
    AzerbaijanDNFDNF
    FranceNC10th
    Styria10th8th
    Austria10th13th
    Great Britain15th8th
    Hungary12thDNF
    Belgium15th20th
    Netherlands12th12th
    Italy12th7th
    Russia8th11th
    Turkey9th9th
    United States16th12th
    Mexico20th14th
    Brazil15thDNF
    Qatar12th6th
    Saudi Arabia18th11th
    Abu Dhabi13th13th

    Obviously, I know the car has changed, but can it really change that much? Considering his team-mate got two podiums in his first year with the British team (one being DSQ) but it seemed like he pushed the car more than Stroll did?

    But saying this, with things changing this year could we potentially see a Lance Stroll who is continuously making Q3 appearances or scoring points almost every race? If this does happen then I can’t wait to see it!

  • Aston Martin announce departure of Szafnauer

    Aston Martin announce departure of Szafnauer

    It has been announced by Aston Martin that Otmar Szafnauer has left the company and his role.

    The team will be managed by the leadership team which is already in place until a replacement is appointed.

    Szafnauer has been with the team since 2009, back in the Force India days. He played an integral role in the teams performance with the team going on an upward path.

    His role in the team also saw him secure a long-term agreement with Mercedes to use the Powertrains from 2014 onwards.

    Back in November there was speculation Otmar would be joining Alpine, as Laurent Rossi the CEO of Alpine revealed he was planning to undertake an assessment of his leadership team. However the rumours got shut down pretty quickly…

    Aston Martin says: “We would like to thank him for the service provided to the team over the past 12 years and wish him well for the future as he will undoubtedly take on new challenges. Fortunately, we are led and managed by a strong group of individuals, and we are comfortable to take a little time to explore options before announcing a new team structure.”

    My Opinion-

    Well, I’m not shocked in the slightest but it does make you think, could Otmar be going to Alpine? I could see him going there and it really benefiting the team so for now it’s just a waiting game to see if he does go there…

  • Is Ocon Underrated?

    Is Ocon Underrated?

    During the season, we tend to look at the Championship contenders/ teams which are doing well more so than other teams/drivers. But seeing as the season has ended, now would be the perfect time to take a look back through the careers of some of the other F1 drivers on the grid. My main question being in this post is, is Esteban Ocon underrated?…

    Lets take a look back…

    The French man has had a good career so far, working his way through F3, GP3, DTM and the Formula 1, his first full season being in 2017 where he signed for a two year deal with Force India now called Aston Martin, his team-mate back then was Sergio Perez.

    But during the 2018 season, it is said that Ocon had an “informal agreement” with Renault for the 2019 season, because Lance Stroll was moving to Force India. But, the bad news for Ocon was Renault signing Daniel Ricciardo instead of Esteban Ocon which left no room for the now 25 year old.

    So Esteban became Mercedes reserve driver for the 2019 season- however he did not get the chance to fill in for a driver during the season but apparently became “very close” to replacing Valtteri Bottas, but they decided to stick with the Fin.

    After a year out, the french driver came back into F1 in the 2020 season with Renault and then now the newly named Alpine. He then signed a new 3 year deal which takes him up to then of 2024.

    Now looking onto this season. Overall he finished 11th, just 7 points away from his team-mate. We saw him get his first win in F1 in Hungary after he kept a cool-head knowing the fact Hamilton was on a war path to get higher up the gird, his team-mate Alonso, done some amazing defending helping the young driver to ensure on getting the win. As well as this, Ocon almost got on the podium in Saudi Arabia, as they crosed the line and Valtteri Bottas took it from him just!

    My Opinion-

    I personally, do think his underrated, if he had the right car underneath him I believe we would see a very good driver, I have a feeling he would be fighting for podiums etc. He is also very good at helping the team and him and Alonso get on well which we have all seen, if things go well for Alpine this year, we could see a few shock drives from Esteban.

  • Penalty Points 3.0

    So, its a new year but for penalty points that doesn’t mean its a fresh start… Last year I done a post in August during the break and I took a look at penalty points, now I’m looking to see how much it has changed since then.

    As usual penalty points get taken of after being on the record for 12 months, with it currently being winter break no-one has any coming off until the season starts up again.

    DriverPoints CurrentlyDifference from August
    Yuki Tsunoda8+4
    Max Verstappen7+7
    Sergio Perez7-1
    Sebastian Vettel60
    Nikita Mazepin6+1
    Nicholas Latifi60
    Valtteri Bottas5+1
    Lando Norris5-3
    Lance Stroll5-1
    Antonio Giovinazzi3-1
    Pierre Gasly3+2
    Lewis Hamilton2-2
    Fernando Alonso2+2
    Kimi Raikkonen2-3
    Esteban Ocon1+1
    George Russell1-3
    Daniel Ricciardo0-1
    Charles Leclerc0-2
    Carlos Sainz0-1
    Mick Schumacher00
    Updated Penalty Points January 2022

    A driver who needs to be careful is the reigning champ, he got his penalty points in September onwards so if he doesn’t want a race ban then he needs to keep it clean from March to August which holds 14 races as his only 5 away from doing so.

    Even though Yuki has more than Max, Yuki can start clearing his sooner from April to July he got 4 points so if he keeps it clean from the start of this season he should be half of what his got now by the Summer Break.

    With Guanyu Zhou joining and Alex Albon returning both drivers will start of with 0 penalty points. But with the calendar being 23 races long and it being such a compacted season anything could happen!

  • Overview F1 2021

    We have had an amazing season and its only right that as the year is coming to the end I take a look back on the year and pick out some brilliant moments/races we have had this year.

    Which 3 drivers were the best this season?

    I am going to pick the two most obvious ones, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Both drivers gave it their all this year and came back fighting after things which have happened on track. My third pick would be Carlos Sainz, I feel like his just beat his ex team-mate to the third place spot but only because of how well and quick he settled into Ferrari, he managed to grab four podiums in his first year, so it will be interesting to see how he can do in his second year!

    Biggest shock of the season?

    I would say the Esteban Ocon win in Hungary or Daniel Ricciardo’s in Monza. The Alpine win was quite surprising considering the car changed quite a bit from last year and obviously Alonso’s marvellous defending from Hamilton helped secure his team-mates win but Esteban was there when he needed to be and it was nice to see him rewarded for it! Danny Rics win in Monza wow, if someone asked me back in June if Ricciardo would of been one of the winners this year I would have said no! And I think thats what made the win so great, he and the whole McLaren team just deserved the 1-2 and they had no problems at all on the Sunday.

    The best individual drive?

    Lewis Hamilton, Brazil. Even if your not a Lewis fan you have to admit he done amazing that weekend! To be demoted down the field twice over the course of the weekend is just wow and to top it off he won. I definitely think that will be a race which will be talked about for a long time!

    The best qualifying moment?

    Hmmm, I had a few for this, but one of the best moments for me was Sochi, where the top 3 was Norris on pole, Sainz 2nd and Russell 3rd. It was like a little preview of what is to come and what made it better was that Russell was in a Williams!

    A team I think thats improved…

    Ferrari. Plain and simple! Partly because of the new team-mates Carlos & Charles, as they get on great on and off track, they seem to qualify together and finish quite close together to so it feels a lot more equal at Ferrari. Another part of the improvement would be the car, they’ve managed to figure out what went wrong in 2020 and switched it around so quickly and to pull of P3 in the Constructors.

    Most heartbreaking moment?

    I would say Lando Norris, loosing his win in Sochi after the whole switching/non switching tyre situation. I felt like he deserved a win this season and I’ve said it since the beginning! Sochi was a learning curve for him and the team and it will most likely give him the hunger to go for the win next year.

    A team I thought would do better?

    Aston Martin. They outshined in quite a few races last year, but obviously they just couldn’t get it right this year. They did have their podium in Baku and as well had one in Hungary but got disqualified, so they did have the pace at some places, I just thought they would’ve done a bit better and it felt like they didn’t try and upgrade their car during the season.

    What driver and team need to do better in 2022?

    For driver I would say Lance, I feel like this year he was just floating about I didn’t see something amazing from him, where as his team-mate who only joined the team this year down really well, hopefully AM come up with a good car next year which will suit Stroll and we will see more of what he can do.

    For the teams I managed to nail it down to two! Williams and Haas. Even though Williams scored a good set of points this year, it can only go up from here, new regs for everyone so a clean slate and it will be interesting to see how the British team can cope with it all. Now Haas, obviously we have all seen whats been going on with them, but I feel with Schumacher in the car and again new regs next season they could possibly have a chance at scoring points hopefully frequently, these two teams I’m going to be keeping my eye on when the season starts up.

  • F1 2022 Drivers

    Now the 2021 season is over and all drivers have been announced for next season, lets take a look whose with who and what were expecting from drivers.

    Mercedes-

    Lewis Hamilton & George Russell. A 7 time world champ and a Mercedes Junior on the same team! This is what we have been waiting for (especially me!), I feel like they could both learn from each other but probably George more so than Lewis, but I’m mainly just looking forward to seeing GR in a competitive car (hopefully) and see him score points on the regular.

    Red Bull-

    Max Verstappen & Sergio Perez. RB have kept it the same which is understandable after a good first year for Perez in the team he helped Max/the team out on many occasions this year and it really is just good team-work.

    Ferrari-

    Charles Leclerc & Carlos Sainz. No change for the Italian team- good team work with from both sides of the garage especially in Carlos’ first year with the team.

    McLaren-

    Lando Norris & Daniel Ricciardo. Again no change, hopefully 2022 is a better year for Ricciardo and his more comfortable with the new car. And we’ve all seen what Lando has done this year!

    Alpine-

    Esteban Ocon & Fernando Alonso. No change for Alpine, which I think is justified after seeing Alonso defend Hamilton so his team-mate could win, then Alonso got back on the podium in his first year back.

    Alpha Tauri-

    Pierre Gasly & Yuki Tsunoda. Pierre has had such a consistent season so I think it would of been silly if he wasn’t there, and Yuki has had a good season as a rookie scored his best finish in Abu Dhabi so hopefully he gets more consistent in the new season.

    Aston Martin-

    Lance Stroll & Sebastian Vettel. I had no doubt about either, with Seb scoring podium this year, I felt like Stroll could’ve done better so hopefully a better season for the team next year!

    Williams-

    Nicholas Latifi & Alex Albon. Now this one I’m excited for! Quite a good season for Nicky for it being his 2nd in F1 but his with Alex next year and I’m glad to see him returning to the grid! Hopefully we see good things from the pair.

    Alfa Romeo-

    Valtteri Bottas & Guanyu Zhou. Alfa Romeo is the only team to have two new drivers in 2022, Bottas starting a new journey with them which I’m excited to see what he can do, it’s not unknown for drivers to go to a less rewarding team for a bit of a challenge. Guanyu Zhou, is moving up from F2 after he finished 3rd in the standings this year, it’ll be interesting to see how he can do next year. But I think the pair will work quite well together, and Bottas will help Zhou a lot to help him find his footing.

    Haas-

    Mick Schumacher & Nikita Mazepin. No change for Haas for 2022 which is probably a good thing, I’m hoping we see Haas be able to score points next year I wanna see what they can do in a more competitive car.

  • Could Hamilton retire?

    Ever since, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the rumours have been flying about left, right and centre. But the main topic being- Could Lewis Hamilton retire?

    Nobody actually knows if he is going to or not except himself, after after everything which has gone on in the past week he may be possibly be thinking about it. Lewis led the majority of the Abu Dhabi GP and looked set to win, which meant he would get a record breaking 8th title, until the safety car and changes to lapped cars changed the top 2 around. Since then he has been quiet on social media- he didn’t do post season testing due to being knighted (not related to retirement), but the main thing people don’t understand is him not going to Paris for the FIA ceremony, he was then at Mercedes in the UK for Valtteri Bottas’ farewell the day after the ceremony.

    Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff threw Hamilton’s career into doubt this week, hinting the Formula 1 icon could retire. He said: “I would very much hope Lewis continues racing because he is the greatest driver of all time. As a racer his heart will say I need to continue because he’s at the peak of his game. But we have to overcome the pain that was caused upon him on Sunday. He is a man with clear values.”

    This isn’t the first time the Austrian has hinted at retirement for the Brit earlier this year they discussed it, he confirmed that before Lewis signed a new deal that they went over the topic.

    Now with this all coming over social media the past week after whats happened, its understandable if he would want to retire, Lewis outs everything into F1/Mercedes, he makes a change even when his not racing on track and his so well-known of course these rumours would come about!

    My Opinion-

    One word. No. I don’t see him retiring for a few years yet, his signed a two year deal with Merc, and his a team person his been so committed even when he didn’t win the 2016 drivers championship he has still carried on and came back to win the championship the year after.

    If anything I think this will fuel him, he will want to come back after the winter break jump straight back in the car and win both championships not just the Drivers, but the Constructors too. As for his social media break, its understandable its been such a tough season for all drivers and his no doubt upset what went down in the race so its fully justified.

  • F1 Post-Season Test

    The final track action of the year for F1 has come to an end now, with two days of testing in Abu Dhabi, where the new 18 inch tyres got tested with a few familiar names!

    Day 1-

    It was Nyck de Vries who topped the table with the fastest time which is a popular spot for the Mercedes crew, the reserve driver completed 77 laps in the W12 with a 1m 23.194s which put him clear of the field by 1.5s.

    The young driver test runners, took the top seven positions with Red Bull junior Liam Lawson in the Alpha Tauri ending up 2nd, with the Formula 2 Champion Oscar Piastri in third with Alpine.

    Pato O’Ward was testing for McLaren, managed 92 laps in his F1 debut, who managed 4th fastest, he was then followed by newbie Guanyu Zhou who ended up being half a second off O’Ward. We then had another Red Bull Junior, this time Juri Vips in the Red Bull. The F2 driver was responsible for one of three red flags during the day as he hit the barrier exiting Turn 14.

    Aston Martin simulator driver Nick Yelloly was seventh overall, a little under 2.2s of Nyck. Alongside the young drivers in current cars, teams were also running mule cars to test the 18 inch tyres. Ricciardo was nearly a second slower Yelloly but 0.3s clear of Stroll in the adapted Aston- who caused the first red flag of the day around 90 minutes in due to a mechanical issue.

    The final interruption of the day came from the Williams of Logan Sargeant where he had a power unit problem which ended his day earlier than expected, he ended up 15th overall.

    Bottas managed 127 laps in his Alfa Romeo, as the Mercedes of George Russell managed 131- both starting work at their new teams ahead of the season. We then had our new world champion Max Verstappen completing 123 laps who was also giving advice to Vips in-between breaks.

    Day 2-

    On the final day of testing we saw Robert Shwartzman who was driving the Haas top the session the Russian’s best time being a 1m 25.348s put him half a second clear of Lando Norris who was using the adapted McLaren car which was carrying an LED panel display on the rear wheel covers.

    Russell was fourth fastest with the Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel in third by just 0.025 between the pair. Vettel was the only one to cause a red flag during today- he stopped on track with a technical issues but the action soon returned.

    Gasly was fifth fastest just 0.047s off Russell’s best time, Sainz was in sixth who had the highest total of laps out of the Wednesday runners with 151 laps.

    We then had Pietro Fittipaldi who is standing in for Nikita Mazepin due to him testing positive for Covid on Sunday. Fittipaldi was just 0.1s off team-mate Mick Schumacher on the same tyre compound.