The confusion around the impact of the virus with so many cases now is as dire as last year. Vaccine policy is another factor. Well said above!!

Marko is one of delusion lol -- https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/15...-not-blackmail

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Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko says the team's stance on the proposed 2022 Formula 1 engine freeze is not a case of "blackmail".

The Austrian has confirmed that a deal is in place for Honda to continue to supply Red Bull's two F1 teams - Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri - in 2022 and beyond.

However, the arrangement will only go ahead if the proposed power unit development freeze is introduced and Marko has conceded that if it doesn't happen Red Bull will "drastically rethink its F1 situation".

Honda announced at the start of October that it will stop its official involvement in F1 at the end of 2021, in order to switch its resources to new road car technologies.

With Renault the only other obvious alternative as a power unit supplier, Red Bull's management pursued discussions about retaining and rebadging Honda's power units in 2022.

Since that announcement, Red Bull has made it clear that if it took on Honda's technology it would not be able to pursue the usual development programme over the remaining cycle of the current power unit formula.

New rules are due to come into force in 2026, although they may be pushed forward by a season.

A development freeze from 2022, which would also allow all the manufacturers to switch focus to the yet-to-be-finalised new rules, has been under discussion over the past four months.

Mercedes has indicated its support for such a move and after initial objections Ferrari is also in favour of a freeze but Renault remains opposed, with discussions ongoing on how all four power units could fairly be aligned under a freeze.

Marko says that the agreement with Honda is now awaiting the green light.

"Everything has been clarified between us," he told German publication Auto Motor und Sport.

"The timing is fixed. Everyone is in the starting blocks. But there won't be an okay until we have written proof from the FIA that the development stop on the engine side is coming.

"We are waiting for the FIA's decision. There should be clarification on that next week."

Marko insisted that a power unit freeze would be logical given F1's overall focus on cutting spending.

"We have a cost cap," he said. "We are discussing a restriction and reduction in driver salaries. Only with the engines everything is to remain further open.

"What's more, the trend is clearly for the new engine regulations to be brought forward to 2025. Unfortunately, this engine was such a cost driver. Investing even more in it now makes no sense."

He added: "For F1, it's a very clear common sense decision. The engine freeze is the most important thing.

"The so-called safety net of alignment will certainly be more difficult. But if the development freeze is there, the whole project is already easier for us to handle."

Marko made it clear that if the Honda deal doesn't happen the futures of Red Bull and AlphaTauri could be in doubt.

"That would mean Red Bull would have to drastically rethink its F1 situation. This is not blackmail," he said.

"For pure common sense and cost reasons, an engine freeze is the only way forward with these unfortunate power units."

Asked if there is a Plan B he said: "No, there isn't."

Doubt he’s much of a poker player, either.
There’s an engine manufacturer option on the grid. If RBR doesn’t like it, that’s really too bad. They are wearing the results of a few questionable decisions in the past few years. The entire field, and the series should not have to suffer. Ferrari could not orchestrate this kind of freeze, so I doubt Red Bull could.

The only possibility for success is if the other manufacturers need to cut back financially also. This is not impossible given the current circumstances.

As for leaving, there is a lineup at the exit anyway. Surprised that RBR can sustain a junior team anyway. With only one, they could buy from Mercedes.

Seems that Sauber will continue its association with Ferrari for another 4 years (probably a requirement before negotiating an extension to the Alfa sponsorship). Without that, they won’t be able to continue in the sport. They cannot keep the lights on in their wind tunnel as it is!

Redbull now face the challenge of a true maker = all the cost, not just chassis. So welcome to F1 - now shut it and pay!! :tup:

RedBull should sell AlphaToroTauri or what ever it is. Focus on the new PU with the proper main team and be done with the entire second team and driver program.

So, LH must be kicking himself in the arse for waiting too long to get into contract negotiations, for getting Covid-19, thus allowing George Russell to show MB "you can have me at a much cheaper price". Although Toto and Ineos are fine with what LH' wants, the scale has tipped towards MB' side, questioning if they really want LH that bad.

Really depends on what the team wants to do beyond 2021.

Put a package together for the new rules, sell the team and become an engine supplier? Then give Lewis a 1 year deal. Prospective buyers would have to look long and hard at a $60million obligation to a single driver. Also, with salary caps affecting drivers in future, it may hamstring them in terms of a second driver (Bottas is on a one-year and won't likely be renewed), or other talent.

Continue in the sport through 2022 and beyond? Then sure, sign him for a longer term. It's only money. And a multi-year deal should be cheaper annually than a one-year. Just mind the cap as they will want to buy out Russell for Bottas' seat next year, and his price tag has suddenly gone up a LOT!

No question, Lewis is in as good a position now, to bargain for a lucrative multi-year contract, as he will ever be. To be this strong for 2022 means a lot of hard work to win another title first! One has to assume that his goal is to make the most money he possibly can (not the rubbish about his wanting to go on to something different, or help a struggling team out, or plant roses in his garden for a year before his Second Coming (a-la Alonso).

Honestly, if I were MB, I'd wish Lewis well, pay to break Russell's contract and reward him handsomely, and be prepared to do the same thing to Leclerc if Ferrari screws the 2022 car up and he wants out of the remaining 2 years of his current deal.

Lewis has a great car that perfectly suits his tremendous abilities right now. They're probably unstoppable in 2021. All bets are off, as to who will win in the 2022 era.

What you need to know about F1 2021 -- https://www.autosport.com/f1/feature...-about-f1-2021

Formula 1 won't get its big new regulations this year, but there are still plenty of changes to keep track of on the technical, team/driver and calendar fronts. Here's our guide to all the important details

By Jake Boxall-Legge

Formula 1 should have been graced with an entirely new technical ruleset for 2021. The complex bargeboard packages and overreliance on external aerodynamics were set to be dropped for the venturi-effect underbody tunnels and simplified wings for the new year. But, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the delay of those regulations.

Instead, the 2021 cars will be largely the same as those used last year, barring aero tweaks and the structural changes to the chassis and suspension allowed by a token system. The retention of the regulations was largely a response to the hit that the teams took financially, as the first half of the year was laid to waste by the marauding virus around the world. Things only picked up in July, but the mandatory factory closures last year to preserve the future of the teams meant that the array of technical changes expected for this season was shuffled back a year to 2022.

With the expectation that Pirelli's tyres - originally designed for the 2019 season and carried over for 2020 after a different construction was vetoed by the teams - would be kept on for another year, the FIA has forced the teams to pare down their floor constructions to reduce overall downforce. This reduction is expected to be around 10%, although the designers will surely find ways to claw some of that back.

What's changed

Firstly, the floor designs have had to be trimmed back. Between the back of the driver cell and the rear axle, the FIA has added a triangular exclusion zone into which no bodywork must enter. The floors will therefore taper in towards the back, and be bereft of the various slots and cuts that perforated the edge.

Those slots have historically been used to help the floor produce a barrier against oncoming turbulent airflow from entering the diffuser, so the diffuser will now be less effective at producing downforce as the messy air seeps in. The diffuser itself has also endured a spell on the surgeon's table, losing 50mm from the length of the strakes within. Together, this offers less space for clean air to expand within, increasing the overall pressure and therefore limiting downforce.

As it happens, Pirelli has had to make changes anyway. The 2021 tyres are of a slightly different construction to ensure that they don't risk a repeat of the blowouts that they sustained during last summer's British Grand Prix, and as a result will add 3kg to the car. The drivers, having tested the new constructions in practice sessions, were not overwhelmingly happy with the changes, but have effectively been told to suck it up.

Although changes to nose bodywork and fairings would not require tokens, any modifications to the impact structure itself would

What else can teams change within the bounds of the regulations? The good news for the aerodynamicists is that bodywork, largely, remains open-season. Various aerodynamic appendages can be reworked as normal, giving teams the opportunity to explore some of 2020's trends if they had not previously embarked upon them.

One such trend seemed to include the move to the Mercedes-style thinner noses, with which Red Bull, Racing Point and Renault began the year, and which McLaren adopted for the second half of the season. As the teams towards the rear of the field tend to be more reactive to changes at the front, it stands to reason that they'd at least explore that step to minimise the blockage to the floor.

But that also ties into the token system and, although the changes to nose bodywork and fairings would not require tokens, any modifications to the impact structure itself would. Changes to the survival cell, roll structure, suspension mountings and the like will require tokens, stopping the teams from making wholesale changes. Each team only has two tokens, so must spend them wisely.

Some indications have come from Ferrari that it will be using its tokens at the rear of the car. The Ferrari SF21 will take on a new power unit to overcome the shortfalls in the team's old one, and so the rear of the car will need a redesign to take any structural changes made. Meanwhile, McLaren will also need to rework the rear part of the car to accept its return to Mercedes engines, after ending its three-year link-up with Renault.

Overall, the 2021 cars will be a little slower than last year's owing to the floor changes, which should help to segue a little into the 2022 cars, which are also expected to be slower. There has been a collection of 2021-style floors tested in practice already, with some similar approaches already seen.

Haas, Ferrari and Renault have trialled small curls on the trailing-edge corner of the floor, perhaps attempting to bring airflow in and around the rear tyre and work it internally. Ferrari also tried a variety of fins in Abu Dhabi to explore that effect further, taking the air that drifts outwards and turning it inside. With that, perhaps there's scope to run a vortex along the outer diffuser fences and create a seal - it's interesting not to see too much of a consensus in designs.


Renault technical chief Pat Fry (below) called the changes "quite dramatic", while Williams head of vehicle performance Dave Robson has suggested that losing a chunk of the floor could potentially help the team by acting as a leveller.

Although the 2020 formula is, largely, carried forward for yet another year, there's no reason to expect the teams to fall entirely in the same order. Even so, the key decision throughout the year will not be which designs to pursue but when to stop, as getting a head start for 2022 and beyond will be a more lucrative, longer-term strategy.

Even more 'A' teams

In recent years, the changes in nomenclature by Sauber and Toro Rosso to Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri respectively have been accompanied by small moments of Alfa/Alpha confusion. Two more teams have also sought to front-load the phonebook over the off-season with their new identities, as Renault becomes Alpine and Racing Point becomes Aston Martin.

Aston Martin has also signed a new title sponsor, joining forces with American IT conglomerate Cognizant ahead of a much-expected move to a British Racing Green livery

Both teams have undergone further changes as they look to continue or kickstart their progress into 2021, with Alpine shaking up its managerial structure in a bid to move up the order. Team principal Cyril Abiteboul has left the squad, as Laurent Rossi becomes Alpine's CEO across all its commercial and motorsport activities. Davide Brivio, the team principal of title-winning MotoGP manufacturer Suzuki, has joined the Alpine operation as its racing director.


Aston Martin has also signed a new title sponsor, joining forces with American IT conglomerate Cognizant ahead of a much-expected move to a British Racing Green livery, in place of ex-title sponsor BWT's idiosyncratic pink scheme. And, of course, there are the changes to the teams' respective driver line-ups...

New driver line-ups

Even before the 2020 season belatedly got under way, the game of driver-market musical chairs was in full swing. First, the end of Sebastian Vettel's six-year tenure at Ferrari was announced to set the rumour mill into overdrive, followed up by Daniel Ricciardo's move from Renault to McLaren to partner Lando Norris, as Carlos Sainz Jr filled the now-vacant
seat at the famous Italian team.

Sainz's move to partner Charles Leclerc cemented Ferrari's most youthful driver line-up in years, while Ricciardo had called time on his short-lived Renault adventure to join the upwardly mobile McLaren, sufficiently impressed by the Woking team's progress under Zak Brown and Andreas Seidl.

Vettel was then subject to one of the more protracted transfer sagas of the year, and being spotted climbing into Racing Point chief Otmar Szafnauer's car between the two Silverstone races did nothing to allay the rumours that he was to join the Aston Martin team for 2021. The team has signed him up for the first season with its new name, replacing the impressive Sergio Perez in a bittersweet move. Perez, for the longest time, looked to be without a drive for this year.


Then came the call from Red Bull. The team, perhaps aware of its reputation as a cut-throat entity with regards to its drivers, had a choice: either hope that Alex Albon could stake his claim to the drive by becoming a more effective wingman for Max Verstappen; or replace him with an established name such as Perez or Nico Hulkenberg, who had impressed in his substitute outings for the COVID-affected Racing Point drivers.

Although Albon showed a glimmer of hope in his strong Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, it proved to be too little, too late, and Perez got the nod. Red Bull is geared around Verstappen, and Perez will have to use his years of experience to become more than just an interloper in the driving line-up. He comes into the team as a race winner, thanks to his phenomenal display at the Sakhir GP, and has a good chance to add to that victory.

For the first time since 2006, the Alonso and Schumacher names will grace the F1 grid. One, a grizzled 39-year-old veteran with two world titles already in his pocket coming back for another bite at the F1 cherry; the other the son of one of F1's deities looking to make his own mark at motorsport's highest echelon.

Fernando Alonso returns after two years away, bringing a close to his time spent making sporadic appearances across sportscars, the Indy 500 and the Dakar Rally, to head up Alpine's F1 line-up in place of Ricciardo. Alonso hence returns to the team with which he won his brace of championships, becoming the Enstone squad's driving force as it seeks to build on its run of podiums in 2020. Esteban Ocon remains at the team for a second season, having steadily improved his performances throughout last year following a season on the sidelines, and will have the perfect benchmark - assuming, of course, that Alonso has lost none of his prodigious pace during his time away from the paddock.

Schumacher will have to learn to deal with the expectation, but thankfully, Haas is of a stature where he can learn his trade without too much pressure

Mick Schumacher joins Haas as the reigning Formula 2 champion, as the American-owned team chose not to retain Romain Grosjean or Kevin Magnussen for the new season. The German will come in with a huge amount of expectation placed upon his young shoulders, with the Schumacher name carrying so much weight.


He will have to learn to deal with the expectation, but thankfully, Haas is of a stature where he can learn his trade without too much pressure. Fellow rookie Nikita Mazepin joins him at the team (and will need to keep his wandering hands firmly affixed to his steering wheel if he wishes to avoid further controversy).

At AlphaTauri, Daniil Kvyat walks out of the exit door as Japanese talent Yuki Tsunoda makes his way into F1, having enjoyed a remarkable rise through the junior categories. Tsunoda raced in Japanese Formula 4 in 2018, and has rapidly ascended through Formula 3 and F2 with support from Red Bull and Honda to make a well-deserved move into the top tier as Pierre Gasly's team-mate. In finishing third overall in F2, Tsunoda has shown the ability to adapt quickly to each step of the junior ladder and, although F1 will provide his sternest test yet, he is well-equipped to deal with its nuances.

Alfa Romeo and Williams remain unchanged, and Mercedes is expected to do so too, with champion Lewis Hamilton's contract presumed to be a formality. And yet even at this stage, it remains unsigned...

New dates in the calendar

Perhaps optimistically, the initial draft of the 2021 F1 calendar was expected to be a return to normality, with an Albert Park season opener leading into a bumper 23-race calendar.

But the Australian GP has been postponed until November due to COVID restrictions, and the lingering prevalence of the virus is still threatening to make a further indelible mark upon proceedings. Regardless, the FIA and F1 have put together a calendar in anticipation of any further coronavirus impact, and the season will now begin in Bahrain on 28 March, two weeks after pre-season testing takes place at the same Sakhir circuit.


Imola remains on the calendar too, with the Emilia Romagna GP reprised for another year and occupying the second race position, three weeks after Bahrain. The TBA slot for round three is expected to herald a race for the Algarve Circuit, as the Chinese GP is currently omitted from the schedule.

A new race has also been added in Saudi Arabia, thanks to F1's connections through sponsor Aramco, to mixed reviews - largely, due to concerns over the country's human-rights record. This will be a street race in Jeddah, expected to be a 'temporary' measure before the country's race is moved to a permanent home on a circuit built in Qiddiya in 2023.

F1's return to Zandvoort was delayed a year and is set to break its hiatus from the Dutch seaside circuit in 2021. But the race originally planned in Vietnam for 2020 does not appear after a key official in charge of the event was indicted for fraud, meaning that the Hanoi circuit seems likely to never host a Formula 1 race.

With three triple-headers following the summer break, the 2021 calendar looks to be an exhausting slog for the people on the road at every race, and the willingness to include GPs on three consecutive weekends doesn't seem to be entirely popular. Regardless, the calendar has at least retained a semblance of normality in comparison to 2020's collection of one-off rounds at new venues for F1... for better, or for worse.

Budget caps and shorter weekends

F1 has finally installed a long-awaited budget cap for teams, which are now limited to a budget of $145million per year, with that figure expected to reduce in subsequent seasons. This now brings the smaller teams on a level of parity with the big operations.

The cap should work in tandem with windtunnel and CFD simulation limits placed on teams relative to their constructors' championship placings. The higher teams finish in the table, the more restricted they will be.

The weekends will also be shorter: both Friday practice sessions have been cut to an hour to increase the level of uncertainty across the rest of the event. Pre-season testing has also been cut to just three days, getting under way at Bahrain from 12-14 March.

I think anybody that has talent in the number 1 car at Mercedes is going to be fast and win races. The number one thing is does Russell have the six inches of track between his ears nailed down as solidly as Hamilton? Can he win when he doesn't have the best car on a given track on a given day? Can he win races for whatever reason most others cannot? I will agree Lewis has left himself in a less advantageous situation but for both of them do they value beyond money because it is all Monopoly money anyway. They are in an epic battle of how they want to write their legacy. Age ain't nothing but a thing because if it were why is Kimi and Alonzo a thing? MB needs Hamilton more than he needs them if they want to pour dirt on Ferrari and make them the brand of yesteryear. Hamilton is to F1 as Jordan, Woods and Gretzky were to their respective sports. He has made F1 relevant through a time when it was lacking luster. He place is secure in history and it is about if MB when MB is sure they can secure a driver that exhibits talents that will continue there run at the top until they decide to leave. They left on top when left DTM. So the gamble is do they want be in a situation like Ferrari, talking about leaving F1 while they are are not even in the top three cars on the track. Toto is a business man, he wins regardless and his hands are in other teams pockets and he is one of the top bosses in F1. **** he has it made better than anyone LMAO!

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Russell created 'buzz' and a 'different' look for the EASIEST least challenging track of the year. Yet Toto has consciouly opted to keep Russell at WILLIAMS for at least another year.

Why?? Poor headwork and unforced errors costing him and WILLIAMS points. Lesson = he is simply NOT ready to be Bottas or LH.

A slight alteration of the negotiations might be going on but Russell is an amateur compared to the current LH. Not taking away from Russell but he needs to develop the tactical awareness needed to drive as LH does = consistent performance, few mistakes of consequence, 1 lap or laps when needed accident free. Winning from pole with few if any bad starts ensuring lead from 1st turn.

Taking advantage of others mistakes, hitting his marks in the pits, providing input on the move to pitwall to aid decision making etc etc. Is LH perfect? No. He has the utter trust of the team who see's him giving it all and making it work and winning consistently in a car that CAN win!

LH just lost some leverage and Toto, the fast thinker that he is thought it was not in their best interest for GR to take the win in Sakhir. Lewis is exactly in the situation Toto was trying to avoid. Not a GR fan but two years is all it would take for him in a Mercedes to be a top shelf driver in a Merc.

Toto is protecting his own. He needs Hamilton for right now but he also needs Russell since he owns him too.

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The problems of the rich Bob. Something I will never have to deal with.

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

It might have been the easiest (to pass) track, but also one of the fastest. He passed nearly every car on the grid at least once and most twice. Nearly won the race three times (leading from quali, restart, and after that bloody awful pit stop). Thinking that he would have won by a Lewis margin had the team not screwed up the tires as badly as they did. Or maybe I'm remembering it wrong.

Yeah, he doesn't have Lewis' seat time. Good judgement comes from Experience. Experience comes from bad judgement. For sure he's done a bunch of bone-headed things at Williams where it didn't matter so nobody noticed (except crashing under a SC - seriously???).

How badly does Mercedes need Lewis Hamilton? What more do they have to prove in Formula 1? Seems that Lewis needs that seat more than AMG/Petronas needs him in it for 2021 and beyond.