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F1 2020: Who Will be the new Ferrari Driver?

Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel have jointly announced that after the conclusion of the 2020 season, assuming it actually gets underway, they will no longer be partners.

If you’d cared to look for it the writing has been on the wall for some time. Yes, hindsight and all that but Vettel just hasn’t seemed to be as in love with Formula 1 as he had been in his Red Bull heyday and even his early years at Ferrari. Vettel and Ferrari’s story is a romantic one that the four-time champion had been dreaming of since the days of watching his hero Michael Schumacher win five consecutive titles for the Prancing Horse. A title with the famed Italian team was always Vettel’s ambition but it simply hasn’t come to fruition, for a number of reasons. There is still a chance for Vettel if things get underway in 2020 and Ferrari can get their act together.

Immediately, and likely because we’re all terribly bored without any racing, the attention has turned to who Vettel’s replacement is likely to be. Naturally, it is every driver’s dream, at some stage, to don the famous red overalls. And because we fancy ourselves as extremely dedicated to F1 we must do our part and partake in the silly season rumours that is about to catapulted into overdrive, no pun intended.

Here at F1 Madness we have some ideas as to who might partner Charles Leclerc in 2021.

Natalie’s inkling:

Most likely

Carlos Sainz.

He’s quick, he’s consistent, and he’s only 25. Carlos Sainz has all the attributes that will be attractive to Ferrari. He appears, from what we’ve seen so far, to be a fairly low maintenance driver who gets on with the job. This should be very attractive to Ferrari after the spells with Fernando Alonso and the tension between Vettel and Leclerc caused unneccesary distraction.

Sainz is hungry too. Even though its years behind him now he was left behind in the Max Verstappen promotion to Red Bull. He could have dropped his head after that and easily could’ve morphed into an also-ran. But he rebounded incredibly well and finished best-of-the-rest in 2019.

Sainz has big potential and could very well come into his own without upsetting the Ferrari apple cart.

Daniel Ricciardo.

The Aussie has been a fan-favourite from day one and will undoubtedly be embraced by the Tifosi. He’s a proven race winner and a dynamite overtaker. He would join Ferrari as a bonafide championship contender from day one, should the machinery suffice.

BUT. He also left Red Bull because Max Verstappen was clearly the top dog. At Ferrari he will be coming into Leclerc’s team. As much as he may be assured of equal status within the team it is never a seamless process. No matter what they may say in the press the team will inevitably lean towards Leclerc because there is already a level of comfort and familiarity between the two.

Out-of-the-box

Valtteri Bottas.

The Finn has been on record as saying that the yearly contract negotiations are a distraction. He is a capable driver on his day for whom a change of scenery could make a world of difference.

While Ferrari might not admit to it in public they have set their stall on Charles Leclerc as the future of the team. Heck, he’s been signed up to the end of 2024. With this in mind Ferrari needs a back-up for their new star and Bottas has already shown that he is willing to play the team game as wingman. Sorry Valtteri.

Kimi Raikkonen.

The 2007 champion remains, to date, Ferrari’s last world champion. Yes, his last stint with the team came to an end at the conclusion of 2018. But lest we forget he racked up twelve podiums in his last Ferrari season including an impressive win in Texas.

With 103 podiums and a wealth of experience the Iceman has never been bothered with the politics. Raikkonen’s move to Sauber proved that he is in the sport for the love of it and this could make him the perfect foil to Leclerc.

What box?

Romain Grosjean.

The Haas driver has had his issues in the last two seasons but when it all comes together he is a very quick driver. He’s proven his ability alongside Raikkonen at Lotus in 2012 and 2013 and has a total of 13 podiums and four pole positions.

While Grosjean to Ferrari would undoubtedly be a shock he is a driver who hasn’t truly tapped into his potential. A chance at a top three team may be just what finally unlocks his speed and that elusive consistency.

Special Mentions:

Antonio Giovinazzi – He’s Italian and already in the Ferrari stable. And he’s Italian.

George Russell – Yes, he is tied to Mercedes and Toto Wolff wouldn’t want to let him but Russell could sever ties with the Germans if the Italians make him an offer he can’t refuse. Russell is unquestionably a star of the future and Ferrari could snap up a real talent here.

Our tech writer’s musings:

Most likely

Daniel Ricciardo.

Ricciardo has been coveting the Ferrari drive for some time now and would a be a good fit at the Scuderia. Ferrari’s tradition of going with tried and tested drivers went out the window when they signed Charles Leclerc in only his second season in F1. Bringing Ricciardo would bring things back to that tradition. We know Ricciardo is fast, he’s hungry for wins and after a podium less stint at Renault there’s no doubt he’ll want to show just what he can do.

Ricciardo will bring the playful energy to Ferrari that Vettel brought but Ricciardo is more boisterous about it. It will shake things up at Ferrari. The other upside is that he will be pushing Leclerc and vice versa. And we already know that Ricciardo can soak up pressure. Working under Helmut Marko could not have been easy. Whether he’d be willing to play the number two role is something that might make Ferrari reconsider.

Carlos Sainz.

Strong rumours floating around that Carlos Sainz will get the nod to join Ferrari. He is out of contract with McLaren at the end of 2020 and with Sainz joining Leclerc we’d see a young, dynamic Ferrari team going into a new era of F1.

Sainz’s performances at Renault and at McLaren have no doubt been noticed by the Ferrari management. He’s qualifying pace was good and he brought home solid results for McLaren. He could potentially be a great supporting driver for Leclerc. Will he play the number two role though?

Out-of-the-box

Nico Hulkenberg.

A year away from F1 is a long time but it does not mean you’ve forgotten how to drive. Nico Hulkenberg is the modern F1 tragedy, kind of like Fernando Alonso. Right guy for the job, bad car for the season or just bad luck. As of February 2020 Hulkenberg held the record for the most F1 Grand Prix starts without a podium. A staggering 129 starts.

A drive at Ferrari would certainly change that. Although he was vaguely linked to Ferrari some or other time in the past, it could be a viable option as a support role for Leclerc.

Kevin Magnussen

It’s not the worst idea and I could’ve thought of worse. But Kevin Magnussen has already shown his mettle. He’s quick, he fights hard on track and gets the job done. He’s had a very painful 2019 with Haas mainly due to the car design yet he still managed to outscore his team mate Romain Grosjean in the same equipment.

Haas uses Ferrari engines. Ferrari has data on Magnussen already and will make evaluating his performances a touch easier.

What box?

Alexander Albon

Albon is under contract till the end of 2020. With the Ferrari seat opening up why not take a shot? Ferrari already broke tradition of not singing an established driver and why not do it again and sign Albon.

Mentally strong and quick on track he had the monumental task of taking Pierre Gasly’s place in the Red Bull midway through the season and did well. Considering it was his first season in F1 and being promoted to what is essentially the first team to play with the big boys, he held his nerve and no doubt exceeded expectations at Red Bull.

It will be an interesting dynamic at Ferrari with both drivers hungry for wins and both fighting it out on track. With Leclerc and Albon very good friends off the track, it could bring about an interesting dynamic on the track. Mind you they’ve been racing each other all throughout carting, through F3 and F2

Special Mentions

Sergio Perez – simply because he’s always been linked with a Ferrari seat.

Valtteri Bottas – After Raikkonen announced he’d be leaving Ferrari, Bottas’ name popped up very quickly. He could be considered yet again. But after having played wing man to Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, he’d have to play wing man once again at Ferrari.

May 13, 2020
End of the Road for Vettel and Ferrari

It’s the end of the road for Sebastian Vettel and the Ferrari Formula 1.

The romance started in 2015 where Vettel enjoyed some success with a newly invigorated Ferrari team after the arrival of Maurizio Arrivabene. Over the course of Vettel’s Ferrari career, he’s collected 14 victories for the Scuderia and he finished runner up twice in the driver’s championship in 2017 and 2018.

Ferrari says that the two parties had mutually agreed to the separation.

“This is a decision taken jointly by ourselves and Sebastian, one which both parties feel is for the best. It was not an easy decision to reach, given Sebastian’s worth as a driver and as a person,” said Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto.

“There was no specific reason that led to this decision, apart from the common and amicable belief that the time had come to go our separate ways in order to reach our respective objectives.

“On behalf of everyone at Ferrari, I want to thank Sebastian for his great professionalism and the human qualities he has displayed over these five years, during which we shared so many great moments. We have not yet managed to win a world title together, which would be a fifth for him, but we believe that we can still get a lot out of this unusual 2020 season.”

Sebastian Vettel: “My relationship with Scuderia Ferrari will finish at the end of 2020. In order to get the best possible results in this sport, it’s vital for all parties to work in perfect harmony.

The team and I have realised that there is no longer a common desire to stay together beyond the end of this season.

Financial matters have played no part in this joint decision. That’s not the way I think when it comes to making certain choices and it never will be.

What’s been happening in these past few months has led many of us to reflect on what are our real priorities in life. One needs to use one’s imagination and to adopt a new approach to a situation that has changed. I myself will take the time I need to reflect on what really matters when it comes to my future.

Scuderia Ferrari occupies a special place in Formula 1 and I hope it gets all the success it deserves. Finally, I want to thank the whole Ferrari family and above all its “tifosi” all around the world, for the support they have given me over the years. My immediate goal is to finish my long stint with Ferrari, in the hope of sharing some more beautiful moments together, to add to all those we have enjoyed so far.”

There is word that Vettel might make a move to McLaren or Renault. At this point, it’s just wild speculation. He may just quit the sport altogether and retire.

Rumours circulating last season when his performances were trumped by his teammate Charles Leclerc that the German has fell out of love with the sport and that Ferrari has given Leclerc preference over himself. This may have lead to him making his final decision.

The 2020 season has not yet begun and by the look of it, there might not be many races this season. It will be interesting to see how things play out over the rest of the year.

Lewis Hamilton is another driver out of contract at the end of the season and is expected to carry on racing with Mercedes. Mercedes has been the team with the best car since the hybrid era in Formula 1 began and have won the Drivers Championship and Constructors Championship since 2014. Hamilton has a good chance of beating Michael Schumacher’s 7-world titles at Mercedes.

May 12, 2020
F1 2020: Breaking News – F1 Calls Off Season-Opener

Formula 1 has announced that it is calling off the opening round of the 2020 season.

The first race of the new F1 season was scheduled to take place around Australia’s Albert Park circuit this weekend. Despite fears of the coronavirus pandemic F1 surged ahead with plans to kick of its season of racing while several other major sporting codes have called a halt to activities.

Earlier on Thursday afternoon the McLaren team released a statement detailing their withdrawal from the race weekend due to a positive coronavirus test by a team member.

Towards midnight on Thursday all team principals were huddled in a meeting to discuss the way forward. By three am Australian time no decision had been made despite several rumours running rampant that the season-opener was to be postponed. Fans and journalists alike waited seemingly in vain for an official update from the power that be but nothing was forthcoming. It wasn’t until several hours later than an announcement was made that a majority of the teams had decided against racing this weekend.

“We appreciate this is very disappointing news for the thousands of fans due to attend the race” the official statement read. “All parties took into consideration the huge efforts of the AGPC [Australian Grand Prix Corporation], Motorsport Australia, staff and volunteers to stage the opening round of the 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship in Melbourne, however concluded that the safety of all members of the Formula 1 family and the wider community, as well as the fairness of the competition take priority”.

Though there are several aspects that needed to have been considered the amount of time that was taken before an official announcement was forthcoming has not endeared F1 to the racing community of its fans.

While Bahrain has already announced a race ‘behind closed doors’ it is difficult to imagine that it can go ahead. Similarly, the threat that Vietnam could soon be added to the postponement list, along with Australia and China, remains very real. The best-case scenario for F1 2020 is a season-opening race in Zandvoort. But even this remains up in the air.

March 13, 2020
2020 Formula 1: Australian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

DRIVERS – Nicholas LATIFI (Williams), Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari), Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), Daniel RICCIARDO (Renault)

PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Now, it’s been a complicated build-up to this first race of the season, so I’d like to start just by asking you about your preparations. Daniel, what have you been up to and why is it so difficult for an Australian at home. It seems that this race track, there’s not much love between Australian drivers and Albert Park?
Daniel RICCIARDO: I guess there haven’t been many Australians, so like the statistics… It’s a game of percentages, right? But anyway, I hope this one is good. I feel like one year’s good, one year’s not, but I think I’m due a good one. I’ve been preparing, been preparing well. I don’t know how to sit; everyone’s trying to sit away from each other. We’ll get cosy. What have I been doing? I don’t know, just the usual. Since testing: back in Europe, bit of simulator stuff, and then I was home for a few days. It’s good to be here.

Q: How about the motor – the new car? What did you learn about it in testing? Do you feel you can make a step forward from last year?
DR: Yes, I do. I think the test ended well for us. Day three of week two was a lot more promising and both my feedback and Esteban’s, you could see our expression when we got out of the car, it was certainly a lot more optimistic, so that was encouraging. I just look back at last year, the whole build-up and everything. I was watching some onboards before and I don’t know, I can just see me from the outside and I’m like, “yeah, I’m a lot more comfortable in this car now”, so I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do.

Q: It’s your 10^th season in Formula 1?
DR: Yeah, someone reminded me…
Lewis HAMILTON: Jeez!
DR: I know, kinda old, huh!

Q: It’s your 14^th, Lewis.
DR: I’m still a baby. Thanks guys.

Q: Let’s move on to the baby, Nicholas Latifi, your first grand prix this weekend. Just describe how you feel? An emotional moment, I guess?
Nicholas LATIFI: Yeah, definitely very exciting. When I was first announced as the race driver last year this weekend seemed so far away. But day by day, going through all the winter preparations and everything, just kind of closing in on this weekend. Yeah, a lot of anticipation from myself and from the team as well, but yeah, really just happy and grateful to be here and just can’t wait to get the weekend underway.

Q: And more nerves than last year when you were in Formula 2?
NL: Right now, no, I would say there are not really any nerves at the moment. I’ve kind of said that from already starting winter testing as the official race driver, for me it just felt like a continuation of the work I was doing with the team last year. I was already really comfortable in the team environment. To be honest, all the stuff that made it feel a bit more like I was the race driver was all the external – all the media, the fan interactions, it’s just at so much more of a higher level. Right now everything is still calm. Maybe once I’m waiting on the grid and the lights are about to go out, that’s probably when I’m going to notice…

Q: You make a reference to the work you were doing with Williams last year, you did six FP1 sessions, so you knew about last year’s car, you drove it. How much of a step forward is this year’s car?
NL: It’s definitely a step forward. It’s difficult to quantify how much, because it’s always the same in winter testing, you never really know what people are doing with engine modes and fuel levels, but just from my first feeling in the car it was definitely much nicer to drive, giving the driver much more confidence to push and attack the corners, which is what you want. We’re going to see come Saturday where we are in the pecking order. We’re optimistic it definitely is a step forward but we’re just going to have to wait and see just how much.

Q: Well, good luck with that. Sebastian, talking about differences from last year to this year. From the outside winter testing back in Europe looked a little bit inconclusive for Ferrari. What can you tell us about it?
Sebastian VETTEL: I think testing is always inconclusive. You never know where you are and that’s the good thing about coming here and [we can] finally get going and racing. I think testing has, not a lot, but it does have its nice sides, aspects, but really racing is what it’s about, so as I said, it’s nice to come here and finally know where you are.

Q: But like Nicholas and Daniel, can you say that this year’s car is a clear step forward?
SV: It is but I think that’s probably true for everyone. That’s the idea of having a new car, obviously learning from the experiences of the year before, so I think it’s true to say that everybody had got a better car this year, but it always depends on where you are relative to the others. So I think our car is doing what we expected. It is a step forward, it feels better, but ultimately it matters where you are next to all the others.

Q: Well, you’ve always gone well here at Albert Park, you’re going for victory number four this weekend. What is it about your relationship with this track? Why do you go so well here?
SV: I don’t know. I don’t know anybody who doesn’t like the track. I think it’s a fun track and generally it feels like the right place to kick it off, great atmosphere. Maybe my biggest advantage is that I’m not Australian. And Lewis as well. I think Lewis has done really well here as well. No, because you opened up by saying that Australians haven’t done really well here!
DR: The irony is my best year was the year you had an Australian, but then that got taken away.

Q: 2014, the year you finished second for a bit.
DR: Yeah. Anyway, I’m still bitter.
SV: I don’t know; I was trying to joke. I know, I’m German, so it’s probably not what you expect. I think everybody just loves the track and that’s myself included. I think it has a nice flow to it, a nice rhythm. It’s good that they didn’t resurface much of the track, keeping some of the bumps, some of the nature of the track. I think it’s quite fast, considering it’s a semi-street circuit. Yeah, I like it.

Q: Thank you. Lewis, coming to you, before we talk about track stuff, I just wanted to ask you about your detour on the way here to New South Wales. Tell us what you were doing up there and what you found?
LH: Yeah, I got here on Monday morning and went straight from the airport in Sydney out to the Blue Mountains and got to see… Through the winter I was watching the news and seeing the devastation out here and how it was affecting people but more so than anything how many animals that perished. That, for me, was too big a number to even comprehend. I wanted to get out here before that but it just wasn’t possible and I was like ‘when I first get here I want to go and see it first-hand for myself’. So, I landed, took a two-hour drive up to the Blue Mountains and slowly started to see a lot of the burnt trees, the forest, as far as the eye can see. A really beautiful place. There was already regrowth, but I went to visit an organisation, Wires, that was helping during the whole period, whilst the animals were suffering, while the fires were going on, and they are helping rehabilitate some of the animals. It’s all just people living in local homes around the area who volunteer and so it was really quite amazing, they are the heroes. It felt amazing to see it for myself and see all the hard work that has been done and it meant a lot to them, the people that I met, that we took the time to go out.

Q: Daniel, were you here in the height of summer when the bush fires were at their worst?
DR: I was. I was home, but home for me is Perth, so west coast. We weren’t affected, nothing to the extent of the east. For me to be at home but to see the engagement from the whole world, from all over, that was really nice. It was affecting our country, my country, and to see the generosity from everyone, from all parts of the globe, that was a really good touch.

Q: And Lewis, just on the on-track stuff, you completed more laps than anybody else in winter testing, how confident are you coming into this race?
LH: I don’t really ever use the word confidence. I think we just worked as hard as we could. The runs went well or the days went well in Barcelona. We did leave with reliability issues, which I know the guys have been trying to move mountains over the past couple of weeks so we arrive in the best shape possible. So I truly believe in all the hard work we’ve done. We’re hoping we start off on the right foot. I think we arrive here with two less days of testing compared to last year. I think we’ve got quite a good grip on the car and we arrive as best prepared as we can be. As Seb was saying, it’s going to be interesting to see where we all stand, but that’s the exciting part of coming to your first grand prix.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Question to Lewis: with the winter testing, is there some driver and some car you may see as your main rival for your title?
LH: Force India, maybe?
DR, NL: Racing Point.
LH: I don’t call it Racing Point, because I don’t like the name! I prefer Force India. No, I think it’s the same – Ferrari and Red Bull. I think Red Bull have been particularly strong so I don’t really know where they stand between them, but Red Bull were realty strong particularly at the end of last year. Obviously Ferrari have taken a little bit of a step, it seems they may have… they have definitely taken a bit of a step back power-wise, but maybe the car is better, so we’ll see tomorrow when we get in the car over the next couple of days how that plays into effect.

Q: Sebastian, do you feel like you have taken a step back power-wise?
SV: Well, we’ll see. I don’t know if others… I think we’ve focused on all areas and also on the engine in the winter and as I said we will find out this weekend, probably in qualifying conditions when everybody is trying to get to their maximum, and we finally see where we are, not just on power but also on the car.

Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Lewis, regarding the Coronavirus situation, are you comfortable having travelled all the way to Australia and are you satisfied with what Formula One and the FIA have done so far regarding that situation?
LH: I felt OK travelling out here. Naturally, being on a flight with God knows how many people and then stopping in an airport full of so many people, I didn’t really think too hard on it. I was just trying to make sure I was taking all the precautions I could in terms of not touching things and always using hand sanitizer. I am really very, very surprised that we’re here. I think motorsport is… I think it’s great that we have races but for me it’s shocking that we’re all sitting in this room. So many fans are already here today and it seems like the rest of the world is reacting probably a little bit late but already this morning you’re seeing, with Trump shutting down the borders from Europe to the States, you’re seeing the NBA’s been suspended, yet Formula 1 continues to go on. I don’t know: I saw Jackie Stewart this morning, you know, looking fit and healthy and well in the lift. Some people, as I walked into the paddock, some elderly individuals. It’s a concern, I think, for the people here. It’s quite a big circus that’s come here. So it’s definitely concerning for me. So, no, is your answer.

Sebastian, anything you’d like to add?
SV: Not really. I think it’s very difficult to have a fair judgement. Of course, you realise that a lot of sport, competitions, big events get postponed and cancelled and, like Lewis said, it’s fair to ask the question: why are you here? Obviously we have to trust the FIA and FOM to take precautions as much as they can, but I think the answer that nobody can give you at the moment is how much you can control what is going on. As a matter of fact, we are here. You just try to take care as much as you can.

Daniel, while we’re on the topic, anything you’d like to say?
DR: …

Nicholas?
NL: Nothing really more to add. I think the guys summed it up quite well, just taking all necessary precautions and following the advice of the professionals.

Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Lewis, just as a follow-up to that. We’ve seen several team members have gone into isolation because they’re been tested for the Coronavirus. If any of those results come back positive do you think that the race should be postponed or called off on Sunday?
LH: It’s not for me to make that decision – but I heard that result’s not going to come back for five day or something. Coincidentally. So… yeah. Unlikely.

Q: (Matt Dixon – The Times) Lewis, you’ve been outspoken where others have maybe not dared to be about Corona. What do you think is the reason this race is still going on? Obviously there are… well, is it business interests? Why are we still here?

LH: Cash is king. Honestly I don’t know. I can’t really add much more too it. I don’t feel like I should shy away from the fact of my opinion. The fact is we are here and I just urge everyone to be as careful as you can be. Touching doors and surfaces, and I hope everyone’s got hand sanitisers. And, really for the fans, I really hope they’re taking precautions. I was walking through and seeing just everything going ahead as normal, like it’s a normal day – but it’s… I really don’t think it is. I just hope all the fans stay safe. I really hope we go through this weekend and we don’t see any fatalities, or things that come along in the future.

Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Lewis, thank you for having the balls to say your piece there and speak out. Everyone else seems to be hiding behind ‘we trust the FIA’, which seems pretty mad. I want to know – this is all four drivers – how you would respond if the FIA, F1 decided to take the decision to suspend the first couple of races of the season, maybe start in Europe. How would you take that? Would that be welcome? Sensible? What’s your opinions?

Let’s start with Daniel.
DR: You really want me to talk? Honestly, from my side, I have to put my trust in the FIA and also, I think, we may all have opinions but at the end of the day I’m here to compete and race cars. I’m not really much more than that in this situation. There’s people who are spending more time investing in it than I am and I’m kind of just following guidelines. I came here knowing we were going to compete so, to be honest… I don’t want to say selfishly… but I’ve just got my head down, focused on the race and I’ve been training and preparing and obviously getting a bunch of emails with guidelines and this and that but I honestly haven’t spent too much time digging into details. There are certainly people around me doing that, so yeah, it’s a tough one. I know it’s real but, as maybe Seb touched on, I don’t know who knows really, at least in this room, we don’t really know the extent of it or how quickly it can spread, or what level it’s at. It’s kind of left to the others for now. It’s mixed. The racer in me is happy that I’m here, for sure.

Sebastian, if the first couple of races were suspended, postponed… what would your reaction be?
SV: Well, one way or the other, I think you expect and you hope that we take the right decision, or the sensible decision. So, if that’s the case then there’s probably reason for it. If it’s not the case then you rely on the fact that maybe there’s not enough reason for it. As I said, I don’t think I’m the one to judge, and I think, to be completely straight, we are probably in a lucky situation, as in, obviously we are exposed to people, and so on, but I think we can largely control our own situation. Obviously in the car we don’t even have a passenger. What I mean is, you try to control the situation for yourself first, as much as you can. That’s selfish but I think everybody in this regard is selfish. You see some people being more relaxed about handshakes, others less. Now some laugh it off, some take it very serious. I think, as I said before, my stand on it is that it’s very difficult at the moment to really categorise and say that it is great, I don’t know, serious, or not serious – but that’s why you have to ultimately put yourself into other people’s hands and trust them. I think we all did getting down here. The flights weren’t cancelled, we were all allowed to travel, so we trusted whoever we flew with. We are sitting in this room. Within that, I think that you are within your own bubble and you try to control it as much as you can. I think that’s valid for us sitting here on the couch, that’s valid for people sitting opposite us and it’s valid for people outside and around the globe. I think it’s probably right to take care and take precaution. How much is necessary, and who’s responsible and whatever other questions, I think there are a lot of questions at the moment that are very difficult to answer.

Nicholas?
NL: Obviously for me, it being my first race in Formula One, it definitely is a bit of a strange feeling to have it all starting like this but, again, me, nor any of us are qualified to really make that decision on if the race goes ahead or not. I mean, if the coming races, including this one, don’t end up going ahead, then just have a bit of a holiday I guess. There’s not really much more influence that I’m going to have on the decision. And, again, just following the advice of the professionals really.

And the debut would have to wait…
NL: yeah.

Q: (Giles Richards – The Guardian) To all drivers. We now understand that at least four team members have been tested for the Coronavirus and up to eight. Now, if one of these comes back with a positive result, given how close-knit, and how closely everyone works together in the paddock, is it not of concern to you that it will probably suggest that the Coronavirus has taken hold in the paddock already?
SV: I don’t know. How can you answer that? You can’t. You don’t know. Maybe yes – and I think as far as, and I’m not an expert, but as far as I understand, some people will have it and you don’t see anything. They show no symptoms. You might have it. Sorry, but who knows. Maybe to some degree you never know and to another degree you will. So, I think the precaution obviously, as far as I understood, that these people got checked. I don’t know how long it takes, if it takes five days or shorter, I have no idea. I think you will probably have to cross that bridge when it comes to it. Then, there’s always an argument that we should have seen this before, we shouldn’t… I think we are all here happy in a way to race because we all love racing. We want to race – but you can’t ignore the fact that something is going on and you have to be aware of the situation – but answering these questions, I think nobody can.

Q: (Craig Slater – Sky Sports) Sebastian, the FIA have had this inquiry into your power unit. They haven’t found the team guilty of any specific wrong-doing. Are you disappointed then that they didn’t clear the team, could this have been handled better in terms of what’s been said in public? And to Lewis: it’s been a friendly rivalry between Mercedes and Ferrari; are the gloves off now?
SV: I took the gloves out once to Lewis and it wasn’t the right thing to do so I said it afterwards. Remember Baku!
DR: Well done Baku.
SV: Everyone remembers that race so… who won the race? Anyways, what was the question, sorry?

Q: (Craig Slater – Sky Sports) That the team wasn’t cleared, Sebastian, given that they couldn’t find a specific illegality with the engine.
SV: Um, well, I don’t know. As far as I understand it was cleared so I think… For me it’s very simple. Obviously I trust my team to do the right things, within the regulations, at all time. I think we all trust, all drivers, the governing body as in the FIA, to do their job for all teams on the grid. I think that’s probably the answer, so there’s not much else to add. If you have further detailed questions and so on, then I’m not the one to answer because I think the cars are quite complex now so probably I’m not the best person to give you enough insight. I think the other one, that I would like to add, which I think from your second question, I can smell might be a hint, is that for me it doesn’t change anything in terms of the relationship that I have with other drivers and in this particular (instance) with Lewis. I think the respect that we share we’ve grown over the years is untouched and I don’t think is at threat.
LH: What was the question?

Q: Are the gloves off?
LH: Well, no. Firstly I think I repeat what Seb has just said. Between us our respect has continued to grow over the years and that doesn’t change. I think that what goes on in the background between teams and the governing body, I think is a separate issue. I think it could have been handled better, for sure but again, that’s really something that should be directed to Toto. I think for us athletes, us drivers, we just want to arrive at the races. Naturally all the teams are different in their performance but you want to feel that you’re playing on fair grounds. That’s the approach that we have and I think… I don’t really know. I won’t add too much more to it because it will just cause more trouble.

Q: (Roger Barne – Beyond the Racing Line) There’s a bit of talk about having some changes to the track in the next couple of years here in Melbourne. What’s the drivers take on what would you like to see at Albert Park track changed in the next couple of years? Nothing, Seb?
SV: I haven’t heard anything.

Q: (Roger Barne – Beyond the Racing Line) Possibly resurfacing, widening the track, possibly going on at 12 to lengthen that end to add another straight?
DR: I’m aware of some of it so I guess I can talk on it a bit. As a driver, I think as Seb touched on earlier, we do enjoy this track. I don’t know any driver that doesn’t. It’s fast and flowing. In a way, it’s a bit like Monaco, like it’s a pleasure to drive by yourself but for overtaking come Sunday it’s not always the best track on the calendar. I think the overtaking average is certainly one of the lowest. We were asked our opinion – I guess a few of us – if we thought the track could do with some changes and yeah, we were told there were some areas on the track they could widen or try and change the angle of the corner, to try and open it up and create maybe bigger braking zones or basically more chances for overtaking. I think this is what is trying to be achieved. So I’m definitely for that because we’ve also driven this layout for a while so with a few corners changed then if it did make the show on Sunday better I think we would all be OK with that.
LH: Yeah, no, I agree with what Daniel said. I think it’s firstly, this is a fantastic place to come to every year, I think the best opening race in a country that probably Formula One’s ever had. It’s such an exciting place to come to and the track is fantastic but probably a bit like Monaco, a little bit more so on a single lap for us in qualifying, but in the race I think it’s the third or fourth most difficult track to overtake on so if they were to make some modifications, make it longer, particularly right now when we’re getting faster and faster, you’re probably going to see less overtaking I would imagine, potentially this year also being that we have more downforce, more drag which affects the car further behind even more so. So yeah, I’m definitely for them adding some really cool modifications. I just hope that we do stay, keep the race here. I don’t really know what they would have to do to the actual current layout; just extending that’s going to make a big difference. I don’t know the answer to that but I’m all for it.
SV: I haven’t seen any suggestions. In a way it would be sad to change. I get the point but I don’t know, obviously next year it’s supposed to change a lot in terms of racing, so maybe it’s wise to wait for that before you rebuild the whole track, might also be the cheaper option, let us spend the money on the cars before you spend the money on the track. I think it’s probably best to wait and see what happens next year and then we’ll see. If they make the track even nicer then go ahead but usually with those things they end up doing it not so nice.
Q: Nicholas, how was your track walk yesterday?
NL: Yeah, I was going to say, I can’t really comment so much on that because I haven’t driven it. We have been around the track four times already; I did come out quite early. It looks like a great track to drive; I’ve heard many great things about it. I ran twice. I came on Saturday; I was here quite early. Yeah, walked it twice. I’m just going to have to wait and see.

Q: (Inga Strake – Pole Position Reports) Lewis, your team press release said that at the beginning of the season you feel really fit, probably fitter or more ready than before. How much is that is down toward what you’ve been posting over the winter, your vegan nutrition and what did the change in nutrition mean for you? And is it more about food and eating, what you take in or also about sustainability and environment?
LH: I think my health has just got better and better over the last couple of years as I’ve gone to the plant-based diet. It is not the easiest thing to straight away go to and you’re constantly learning about the foods and discovering more foods… things that you probably would never… no, things that I would have never really eaten before, to give you some variability. I focused on having consistent good solid meals; I had a chef during the winter so that was really why it was particularly a better period of time for me but I do feel a large part of the reason I have gone that way is because of the environment and for the animals. It’s a little bit difficult, sitting up here, because I know not all of us do… you know, vegan, not everyone continues but not for me, I’ve definitely felt the benefits from that on the health side of things and physically, it’s just enabled me to… you know people do think you’re going to lose muscle if you don’t have your protein, that’s… a lot of the time people say I need my protein but it’s absolute rubbish. You just need to do some reading on line. I’ve managed to… last year I bulked up, I put a lot more weight on. This winter I trimmed down, like cut but have more muscle and I’m able to lift more weight than I’ve ever done before and I haven’t been able to run further than I’ve ever been able to run before. That’s just enabled me to train better. But you’ve seen it in other sports, other sportsmen and women around the world are trying these things. Serena (Williams) has been working on it, Djokovic, you’ve got a bunch of people out there that are doing it. I think it’s a positive and important way to go for us all. I think there are lots of areas that need to… not just in food but there’s a lot of things that we all need to do better moving forward but one step at a time.
Q: Have you ever tried a 40-hour fast, Lewis?
LH: Why would you do that?
DR: Why do you ask? He asked me in Abu Dhabi. What was my answer? I was bored, wasn’t I?
Q: You said you’d done a 40-hour fast.
DR: Yeah, so a bit of experimenting so I guess on the diet stuff so, lot of vegan stuff now you hear and fasting comes in. I guess I’ve stayed open-minded through it all so yeah, I tried a little bit of fasting over the last few years but yeah, I’m not going to go on a spiel and say I did it because of this reason, that reason. I just… a few people did it and said it was quite good so I thought I’d try it. Did you do it?

Q: (Jon McEvoy – Daily Mail) Just to go back, obviously a serious subject, the coronavirus, would there be any circumstances if there were more incidence of people getting ill or, God forbid, someone involved in the sport, died, at which you guys would say we’d rather not race? You say we’re already here which we obviously are but there will be 100,000 in on Sunday and the day before and that could be alleviated if there were no race. Would any of you consider lobbying to go down that route?
SV: My stand, and I think I probably… I hope others would agree, we hope it doesn’t get that far. If it were to get that far then for sure you pull the handbrake and I think we are a group of 20 guys and I think we’ve got together over the last years for various circumstances on various topics and I think we share common opinion on big decisions and that, I would qualify, is a very, very big decision and ultimately, as I said before, you look at yourself and we would, I think, be mature enough to look after ourselves and pull the handbrake in that case.

March 12, 2020
F1 2020: Australian Gp Preview – Expectations & Anticipation

The wait is nearly over as the 2020 Formula 1 season is poised to commence this weekend at Australia’s Albert Park circuit.

The Formula 1 paddock will travel nearly halfway around the globe to reach the destination of the first round of the new season. They’ll leave behind not only their base of operations but also the expectations that six days of running in pre-season testing may have suggested. The testing at Spain’s circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya plays a crucial part in the teams’ own understanding of what they have produced for the first few races of the 2020 season. And while they may have some inclination as to where everyone stands it wont be absolutely confirmed until Sunday’s race.

The threat of coronavirus has already prompted Formula 1 to announce a postponement of the Chinese grand prix. A few days ago the Bahrain grand prix organizers, in conjunction with F1, revealed that the race would go ahead but without any spectators in the stands. German commercial broadcaster RTL has said that it will not be sending any journalists to the first three races of the season. RTL holds free-to-air broadcast rights for Formula 1 and will be broadcasting remotely. Italy too has announced a quarantine of spanning large parts of the country. Nevertheless, Ferrari and Formula 1 are confident that all will be in place for the season-opening race.

With the show set to go on there is also the added complexity of the make-up of the Albert Park circuit. The temporary, semi-street track is unlike any other on the calendar. The mixture of medium speed corners and three relatively short straight bits puts a bigger emphasis on braking stability. Still, Australia isn’t always the best indication of the pecking order. But there is still a potential twenty-six world championship points up-for-grabs for whoever wins the race and/or set the fastest lap.

Though the sharp-end of the grid seems likely to be dominated by the Big Three the mid-field promises to be an incredibly close battle. The stagnant regulations have meant that the 2020 cars are evolutions of their predecessors. It has, potentially, given teams the opportunity to put right any missteps there may have been in 2019 and the occasion to improve their designs for this season.

The expectation is that Mercedes will arrive in Australia with the quickest car with Red Bull and Ferrari, in that order, trailing the Silver Arrows. But Formula 1 is after all a sport that is infamously unpredictable, especially at the start of a new season. There are still questions however. Has Mercedes sorted the reliability issues suffered in pre-season testing? Did Ferrari run to their full capability? Is Racing Point genuinely nipping at the heels of the Big Three?

March 11, 2020
F1 2020: Testing Diary – Week Two

The two pre-season tests at Spain’s circuit de Barcelona Catalunya has concluded and true to Formula 1 form has produced more questions than answers.

Mercedes reliability

The first pre-season test was highlighted by an incredible run of reliability as drivers pounded around the Catalunya circuit for hundreds of laps without breaking down. But the second week of testing brought with it a number of mechanical breakdowns.

An on-track stoppage for Vettel in the second week slightly curtailed his running. However, it was later found to be a minor problem that was easily mended. Ferrari was able to re-install the repaired engine that ran issue-free. It wasn’t quite the same for Mercedes. While the works Mercedes team have emerged with what many believe to be the quickest car on the grid there are some questions over the reliability of the engine.

In the six days of testing Mercedes were forced to run three engines after suffering failures. Williams, powered by Merc, also ran three engines with deputy team principal Claire Williams confirming that the breakdowns were all different in nature.

Mercedes don’t think it’s a major concern but it is a potential chink in the armour ahead of the 2020 season. “It’s just not quite where we want it to be reliability wise,” said Lewis Hamilton. “But I am sure they are back at the factory now working hard to rectify whatever the issue is.”

Midfield

After a strong start to testing Racing Point is not ruling out the possibility of challenging Ferrari and the new car even has Sergio Perez proclaiming it the best car he’s ever driven in his career. For the rest of the of the midfield teams, outside the Big Three, it’s a question of wait and see.

For now long run pace and relative performance in Spain suggest a close contest in the midfield. Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner saying that there is no one of knowing the true pecking order. “We may be at the front [of the midfield] or at the back. We don’t know,” said Steiner.

While McLaren appears to be in a fight with Renault they are wary of Alpha Tauri (formerly Toro Rosso) who in turn are keeping a close eye on Haas and Alfa Romeo. It’s clear too that Williams have made significant strides forward in comparison to 2019 but just how much progress is still unknown. “Certainly the one of the biggest differences is the build quality as has changed dramatically from this time last year,” said deputy team principal Claire Williams. “That’s been really great to see, bringing a car that’s in really good shape, that comes out the box to a very high standard of which we should be proud at Williams.”

Pecking order

Pre-season testing is hardly definitive but it’s safe to say that barring unreliability Mercedes appears to have delivered a quick car. Ferrari’s openness on being behind both Merc and Red Bull and looking over their shoulder to Racing Point is a bit suspicious. It may just be their way of not heading to Australia as the center of attention and with the expectation of winning, as they did in 2019. Or it may well be true. Ferrari may be truly wary of Racing Point. In that is the beauty of a new Formula 1 season. As important as pre-season testing is there is no way of truly knowing what the pecking order will be. But all will be revealed when they roll out for qualifying in Australia.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

March 6, 2020
F1 2020: Testing Diary – Week 1

The first four-day test has concluded at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya and has raised numerous talking points and more than a few eyebrows.

The Big Three

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said in a press conference that the Maranello-based team might well be behind both Mercedes and Red Bull in the early part of the season. But the initial reports from both Seb Vettel and Charles Leclerc is that the 2020 car, dubbed the SF1000, is a definite improvement from last season’s car.

This is a different approach from Ferrari. In 2019 the team were upbeat and seemingly sure that they were heading to Australia well ahead of Mercedes. It wasn’t the case and the team spent the better part of the season playing catch up. This year they’ve taken what appears to be a more measured approach. There were no performance runs in the first week of testing and the engines were run at a very conservative mode for most of it too. It could be that they’ve decided to take the same, more cautious, approach with what they are saying too. It might well be smoke and mirrors and Ferrari’s attempt to not get ahead of themselves after being burnt in 2019.

Here is what we do know for sure. The long runs during the first test showed a car quite heavy on the tyres with the laptimes deteriorating quite a bit quicker than nearest rivals Merc and Red Bull. The team is also expected to introduce a bevy of new parts for the second test that could, if Binotto’s admissions are true, push them closer to their competitors.

There is a good feeling around the Red Bull garage that they have unquestionably taken a step forward. Max Verstappen racked up more than 100 laps in his first day in the car and declared it “fast everywhere”. How much of a step forward they have made and whether it is enough to beat Mercedes remains a mystery. But there is real optimism that Red Bull has produced a car that could well fight for the championship from the beginning of the season. It remains to be seen however if this optimism is a genuine reflection of pace or merely hype.

One of the biggest talking point to come out of the first test is Mercedes’s introduction of a moveable steering wheel which tech director James Allison has named DAS – Dual Axis Steering. From on-board footage of Lewis Hamilton’s car it became clear that he was pulling the steering wheel towards himself and then pushing it back before braking for either turn one or turn nine on the Catalunya circuit. It is believed, but unconfirmed by Mercedes; that the DAS system alters the toe, the lean angle of the front wheels, on the straits.

By adjusting the toe out it straightens the wheels thereby creating less aero drag and less scrub on the front tyres as they are now pointing straight ahead instead of at an angle. It is speculated that because the tyres point straight ahead it creates less resistance and therefore aids with tyre temperature and wear. The question remains as to how much of an advantage this system gives Merc. Some in the paddock believe that DAS is not a game-changer and that the rest of the Mercedes package for 2020 is far more important in providing performance.

Nevertheless, the DAS system is an incredibly feat of engineering that strikes right at the heart of what makes F1 technology the dazzling marvel that it is. While some might wish for the DAS to be illegal Merc has confirmed that the FIA has known about the system for some time and that they are confident of its legality.

Racing Point

When the Racing Point pulled out of the garage and rolled down the pitlane on the first day of testing it raised more than a few eyebrows and it wasn’t because of the slightly brighter pink livery either. You don’t need any technical nous to understand that Racing Point had produced, virtually, a carbon copy of Mercedes’s 2019 car. From the slightly bulbous nose through to the rear suspension it’s so similar that it has been nicknamed the ‘Pink Mercedes’ in the paddock.

Racing Point isn’t trying to hide the effective ‘photocopying’ of the 2019 Merc either. Along with tech director Andy Green they have patently admitted to taking thousands of photos of the 2019 Merc and simply copying the design. And it’s worked too, at least to some degree as a smiling Sergio Perez proclaimed that he finally has a racecar to fight with.

Williams

The Grove-based team could hardly have done worse than they did in 2019. The good news is that from all indication they are doing significantly better than twelve months ago. Not only was the team ready and raring to go on the first day of testing but also they were first onto track with a clear statement of intent.

George Russell, now in his second year with the team, is confident that the team wont simply be making up the numbers this year and that they will be racing in 2020. De facto team principal Claire Williams too was positively buoyant and with a smile on her face said that the target is getting into Q2, the second part of quali, points finishes, and a comprehensive upgrade schedule for 2020. There is unlikely to be a single person in the paddock who wouldn’t be happy that Williams has started to climb out of the doldrums of the last few years.

The second test, scheduled to run at Catalunya this week, is expected to see the focus shift somewhat towards more work on performance, meaning more focus on shorter runs and ultimate pace.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

February 24, 2020
F1 Season Review: Greatest Hits of 2019

In less than one hundred days a brand-new season of Formula 1 will kick off in Australia. A new decade and new challenges awaits but there is one more moment to appreciate the greatest hits of the 2019 season.

Team of the year

The easiest choice would be to pick Mercedes as team of the year. Their staggeringly impressive run of six consecutive double world championship triumphs certainly makes them one of the most prolific teams ever. And such is there record in the Hybrid era that is seems near impossible to be matched or beaten by anyone else.

But the team of the 2019 Formula 1 season is McLaren. Just two years ago, in 2017, McLaren ended the season in ninth place with a paltry thirty points scored by then-drivers Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne under the leadership of Eric Boullier. In 2019, now headed by former Porsche LMP1 boss Andreas Seidl, McLaren scored 145 points to finish fourth overall.

It hasn’t been so much of a turnaround for McLaren as it has been a rebuilding. The relationship with Honda never hit its stride and the atmosphere created by one Fernando Alonso simply wasn’t conducive to an environment needed to move a team forward. The appointment of Seidl and various other changes to the management structure to McLaren is one part of a concerted effort that began to stimulate the team’s resurgence.

They haven’t yet reached the point of challenging the ‘Big Three’ (Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari) but they are trending upwards in a manner that is very exciting. The misery that the team endured was tantamount to torture for the once majestic championship outfit. Before Carlos Sainz’s third place in Brazil the team had last visited the podium in 2014. But the podium finish was just a bit of icing on the cake. They also outscored the Renault works team but most impressively had built a car that worked, nearly, in all areas.

Here’s to the dark days of McLaren languishing down the bottom of the field being truly behind them. And here is too an extraordinary resurgence and long may it continue.

Driver of the year

With six world titles a convincing case could be made for Lewis Hamilton. But it is difficult to look beyond Carlos Sainz. Throughout the season the Spaniard continually proved his prowess and exceptional talent. His sixth place finish in the driver’s championship is all the more impressive when his season is deconstructed.

His season started with zero points in the first three rounds and he would fail to score on eight occasions in total, which included three retirements. But the thirteen point scores he did rack up with mightily impressive. From the sixth place in Monaco to the fourth in Hungary and certainly his first-ever podium in Brazil were all marvelous successes. But what truly underlined Sainz’s splendid ability and underlined his tremendous season was the tenth place finish in Abu Dhabi. In the context of Sainz’s season that tenth place finish meant that he finished sixth overall in the driver’s championship and ahead of Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly. And he did by passing Nico Hulkenberg on the final lap of the race too.

There were a lot of doubts when Carlos Sainz severed ties with Red Bull and moved to McLaren, not least of all for the driver himself. But now he’s proven himself more than capable of mixing it with the best of them.

Race of the year

The 2019 German grand prix is likely to go down as of the most chaotic and exhilarating races of all time. But this year’s Austrian grand prix just edges it in the stakes for best race of the year. It was an emotional weekend at the home race of the recently departed Niki Lauda and it turned out to be a race most befitting of the three-time champion.

Anti-stall at the start of the race seemed to fell any chance Max Verstappen had of challenging for the win as he dropped from second to eighth by the first corner of the race. But if unyielding tenacity were a person it would be Max Verstappen. Dazzlingly, he carved his way through the field and by the time the pitstops were sorted he was running fourth.

In the true uncompromising Verstappen fashion he made short work of Seb Vettel on lap 50 and a few laps later dispatched of Valtteri Bottas for second place. Only Charles Leclerc stood in his way now. With three laps to go Verstappen spectacularly barged his way past the Ferrari and was on his way to the most impressive win of his career.

It was an amazing feat for Red Bull to win their home race. But even more so for Honda who had reclaimed the top step of the podium for the first time since 2006. To say that Honda has had a torrid time in F1 would be an understatement. As a proud Japanese company they suffered the blows to their reputation with grace and humility. To see Toyoharu Tanabe, Honda F1’s technical director, in tears is all you needed to know just how difficult it had been and how much the victory meant.

Rookie of the year

Three rookies started the season in Australia and all three conducted themselves in a genuinely impressive manner. But Lando Norris’s relentless consistency and standout performances in, amongst others, Bahrain, Belgium, and Singapore announced the Brit on the world’s biggest motor racing stage.

As the season progressed Norris suffered, effectively, five retirements overall and racked up twelve points-scoring races. Aside from the numbers his race craft proved faultless to the point that most forgot that he was a nineteen-year-old rookie. It is unquestionable that if McLaren should produce a competitive car in 2020 that Lando Norris will be more than equal to the task.

December 17, 2019
F1 2019: Abu Dhabi Gp Review – Hamilton Dominates Season Finale

For the eleventh time this season Lewis Hamilton stood atop the podium on a weekend that he well and truly dominated. Not only did Hamilton win the Abu Dhabi grand prix at a canter but he also lead every lap, set the fastest lap, and started from pole position.

Car number 44’s advantage over the field was never in doubt as Hamilton cruised to the 83^rd victory of career in his 250^th grand prix start. Nearly seventeen seconds adrift Max Verstappen was second for Red Bull. The Dutchman also finishes third in the driver’s standings behind Valtteri Bottas in second.

Further adrift and never truly in the picture this weekend Ferrari was third on the road with Charles Leclerc. Ferrari were lucky to escape penalty after providing misleading information as to the amount fuel left in Leclerc’s car after Saturday qualifying. Instead the FIA imposed a fine of 50,000 Euros. Valtteri Bottas recovered to fourth after starting last due to penalties incurred for fitting a new power unit. Ferrari pace deficit was obvious all weekend and confirmed further by Sebastian Vettel finished fifth without ever troubling the frontrunners. It’s been a difficult season for the Italian team – most of it from their own making.

On a one-stop strategy Alex Albon was sixth in the other Red Bull while Sergio Perez beautifully mastered his tyres for an incredible 37-lap stint on the medium compound. His fresher tyres and brilliant move on Lando Norris around the outside at Turn 11 on the last lap meant a fine seventh place finish for the Mexican. It also ensures that Checo Perez finishes tenth in the drivers’ standings.

In eighth was Lando Norris just ahead of Dani Kvyat in ninth and Carlos Sainz in tenth. Sainz’s late move on Nico Hulkenberg netted him the final point on offer and, exceptionally, sixth place in the driver’s championship. McLaren end the 2019 season as the fourth best team in what can easily be declared their best year in the hybrid era. It is evident that the atmosphere at McLaren has dramatically improved since 2018 and credit is owed the management of the team. But outside of the ‘Big three’ McLaren have easily the most exciting driver line-up in Norris and Sainz. They’ve proven to be formidable competitors and if McLaren can produce a car able to fight higher up the grid they do so with the knowledge that their drivers will be more than equal to the task.

Though he had run most of the 55 lap race in the points it wasn’t to be a fairytale end to Nico Hulkenberg’s F1 career as he eventually finished twelfth. Further down the field Robert Kubica brought his full time driving career to an end in much the way that it started – unspectacularly and plumb last.

The domination of Mercedes continued in 2019 and for a record breaking sixth consecutive time they have won both the driver’s and constructor’s titles. They have been utterly relentless and merciless and it seems difficult to fathom that they can be beaten. But the teams will work, they will believe and in 104 days they will go again.

December 2, 2019
2019 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Post Race Press Conference

DRIVERS

1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
2 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)
3 – Charles LECLERC (Ferrari)

TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by David Coulthard)

Q: Lewis Hamilton, congratulations, your 11^th victory of the season and that looked one of your most dominant. You must be very proud?
Lewis HAMILTON: Honestly, I’m proud definitely but I’m just super grateful for this incredible team. To all at Mercedes, who have continued to push this year… who would have thought that at the end of the year we would have this strength in the race and even though we had the championships won we just really wanted to keep our heads down and try to see if we could learn and if we could extend and if we could extract more from this beautiful car that they’ve worked [on]. It’s a piece of art. And I’m also so grateful to team LH. I travel around the world to 21 different countries, probably even more, and I get to see people who continuously inspire me and send me messages and lift me up. So I want to send a big thank you to everyone that’s here, everyone that’s back home. Thank you for watching, thank you for supporting. I feel so happy with today, man.

Q: Now it has been a great season and I know you’re in that moment, but you’ve got on the podium two young guys, two young chargers. They’ve thrown some big races at you this year, but this is a great way for you to end the season, with such a dominant victory. These guys have still got a lot of work to do?
LH: These guys, there are a lot of youngsters coming through. If you look at the grid, for example, from second to like seventh or eighth was all super youngsters, so I’m really proud to be in a period of time where there are such great youngsters coming through. These guys have been doing a phenomenal job and I really privileged to be in the period of time where they’re here and I’m looking forward to hopefully more close battles with us in the future, so I hope it gets close for us next year.

Q: Just before I move on, what have you got planned for the winter?
LH: Oh, just family time, man.

Q: Enjoy your family time. Max Verstappen, it’s been a pretty good season for you – three victories, third in the Drivers’ Championship. Today that was the best you could hope for. You had some issues though didn’t you? We heard you on the radio; you were having to manage some issues.
Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, a few little things. At the end of the day it wouldn’t have made a difference in terms of position. Yeah, we had to do a bit of a different strategy to Ferrari of course, they pitted quite early and we went long, because they overtook us on the first lap. After that our pace was quite decent, just Mercedes and Lewis today, they were just a bit too quick. As a whole I think it’s been a positive season and of course to be P3 in the championship is a nice ending.

Q: Lewis said he’s going to be spending family time in the winter but I guess you’ve got your sights on the world championship, so you’ll be at the factory, you’ll be on the simulator, you’ll be working hard?
MV: I think we are all working hard but it’s also good to take some time off, be with family and friend and be fully recharged for next year and come back stronger.

Q: Congratulations. We’ve got Charles and Lewis sharing notes here. What are you discussing? They way the race played out?
Charles LECLERC: Yeah, just overall how quick he was during the race. With the hard I think he did a 39.2, so yeah, I was just saying congratulations to him.

Q: Now, third place; it’s another podium. It’s been a great year, first year for you at Ferrari. I know you guys all want to win but you have to be satisfied. You are the first team-mate to have finished in front of Sebastian in the world championship in his time at Ferrari, so it’s been very positive for you.
CL: Yeah, I’m extremely about this year. I’ve learned a huge amount thanks to Seb. Yeah, it’s been a great year. For me a realisation of a dream since childhood. I’ve always dreamed to be in Formula 1 but especially with Ferrari. To be now with this team is unbelievable and now it’s up to me to work, to get better, and hopefully give them the success they deserve.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Lewis, many congratulations, as emphatic a victory as we have seen from you, and in your 250^th race as well?
LH: Jeez! That’s a lot of races.
MV: You didn’t celebrate that – 250? No pit board? Two-hundred-and-fifty grands prix, they didn’t celebrate that for you? You didn’t care.
LH: No!
MV: Three hundred? Three-fifty?
LH: No, I don’t want to reminded of the age! No, what an incredible year it has been. What an incredible stretch it’s been with this team. Yeah, after winning the Constructors’ and the Drivers’ Championship I think it was really important for us as a team to continue to push. You know, we hadn’t got absolutely everything from the overall perfect package. So we were just trying to push the limits and push the boundaries and yeah, I think this is the perfect way to end the season, on the right foot. I think it was a great weekend in the sense that there was a Ferrari and a Red Bull and a Mercedes in the top three, obviously in the finishing order but also on the grid, and then a lot of young drivers behind me, making me feel young, which is great. I’m really just grateful to my team who have continued to push all year long and just have never lost sight of the objective. We’ve all had a common goal and inspired each other to continue to push and strive for perfection. So, incredibly grateful to everyone and I hope that everyone at Mercedes and our partners. I’m sure they are pretty happy.

Q: Were you surprised by your dominance today, because you were 13 seconds ahead of Max after 20 laps?
LH: Yeah, I definitely wasn’t expecting to haver the pace advantage to that extent. Our long run pace was quite good and I was told that we might be a tenth or two ahead but then in the race we had a bit more of an advantage in that respect. And once I got out in the clear I was able to manage my pace pretty well in that first stint and manage the tyres. I just had to go as long, basically, as Max was going. Then we got onto that next set of tyres and for this track the tyre was good. The hard tyres is quite resilient to any abrasion and that. It goes a long, long way. I think it can do the whole race stint. I think towards the end of the race I was like ‘I want to have some… I’ve got to push and see if I can extract any more performance from the car’. I do wish that we had some battles. I saw on TV you guys battling…
MV: You could have slowed down!
LH: You guys are too quick on the straights.
MV: Just give it a chance.
LH: I’m sure we are going to have some great races. We had some great races this year, Max and I, so congratulations to them for continuing to rise and I’m excited to be amongst those guys and fight with them next year.

Q: Max, your second consecutive podium here in Abu Dhabi and your ninth podium finish of the season. You didn’t seem happy with the car after your pit stop. Can you just talk us through what the problems were?
MV: Yeah, I just had some torque holes on throttle. There were delays and stuff, so it was not great, and we couldn’t fix it, so we drove around the problem. At the end of the day, it wouldn’t have made a difference in terms of the result.

Q: What does a torque hole mean? In the olden days would we have been talking about a misfire?
MV: No, just when I go on throttle it’s not doing what I want.

Q: Did it cost you lap time?
MV: It did cost me lap-time – but like I said, it wouldn’t have given me the win today.

Q: Apart from that, race was fine?
MV: Yeah, race was fine. Little bit of a shame about the first lap but then I think we had a good first stint, to go long and yeah, I think once we then put the hard tyres on, the pace was decent. I could get by Charles and then I could just do my own race. I mean, Lewis was too quick, so I was just focussing on my own race and lap-times.

Q: And you’ve sealed third in the Championship today. Just how will you reflect on 2019?
MV: Yeah, pretty good. Few victories, poles, so that’s pretty good. I think we improved quite a bit throughout the season. Also, from Honda side. Of course, very happy about that. Now we just need to keep that momentum into the winter break as well and try to improve the car even further, together with the engine and be there from the first race, not from the middle of the season or towards the end. But we know that, so we are working on it.

Q: Charles, it was pretty tight with Valtteri in those closing laps. How worried were you?
CL: Well, Valtteri was very quick towards the end of the race, so yeah, I was pretty worried at one point when he started to catch and I was starting to struggle a little bit – but then, in the last four or five laps, I think he came back a little bit slower: I think he slowed down too, so then I was a bit more hopeful and then I had some traffic, so it was very close towards the end. But yeah, it was a bit of a strange race because in the first stint I was very hopeful, I was behind Lewis. OK, we weren’t as quick as Lewis but I still thought the pace was there – but then we tried to pit pretty early to try to force them to stop early but yeah, then basically I understood I would see Lewis at the end of the race because we were just not quick enough and we never put a challenge to them in front. Yeah, it’s like this. We weren’t quick enough – but overall, I think during the season it’s been more or less the same picture when qualifying, we manage more or less to be there but then in the race we seem to struggle. So we need to work on that for 2020.

Q: So you were trying to force Mercedes into making another pit stop. How early in the race – if indeed you did – were you regretting that two-stop strategy?
CL: I was not. Because it was pretty clear for me that to get this third place, if I wanted it, it was all about winning because Max was still in the race, so we had to do something. I didn’t want to stay there and that’s it. So, I just tried but to be honest with not much hope but yeah, at least we tried.

Q: And Charles, final thoughts. Are you worried about the fuel discrepancy that was discovered by the FIA prior to the race?
CL: To be honest, I’ve got no idea and no details whatsoever of what’s going on, for now. So, yeah. I’ll speak to the team to understand that better.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Jake Boxall-Legge – Autosport) Question for Max. We’ve heard you over the year discussing over the year that you’ve had a little bit of lag sensitivity with the car. It doesn’t always respond to your throttle inputs. Is the problem today related to that – and how did it feel from your perspective in the car?
MV: Most of the time it’s fine-tuning. Today, I’m not sure yet what happened exactly, because they didn’t want to tell me on the radio, they just said there was nothing they could do from their side, so then it also doesn’t matter what it is, so I’ll have to find out.

Q: (Giovanni Messi – NewsF1.it) Max, do you think Red Bull is now in front of Ferrari and ready to catch Mercedes next year for a World Championship? And for Charles, I want to ask your opinion about the strategy today: why did you stop so early in the first laps?
MV: I think it’s pretty close. It just depends a little bit on the track layout but I think from our side, throughout the season, we made good improvements so we could actually take the fight a bit more forward and win a few races and yet for next year there is still a lot of work to do of course, to catch up to Mercedes. At the end of the day, they were the dominant team over the year, or at least, the most consistent. Yeah, we will of course try everything to close that gap but of course it’s not going to be easy.
CL: No. At the end, as I said, to be third in the championship we had to win the race, considering where Max was in the race so we gave it all for that and yeah, I just didn’t want to stay there in second place and follow the others’ strategy because it made no sense so we went for a gamble, it didn’t pay off but it’s OK.

Q: (Christian Menath – motorsportmagazin.com) Lewis, yesterday you said you had to re-centre a bit after Friday. You were a bit behind Valtteri, I don’t know if it was because of the engine, he had a fresh engine, but can you explain how you re-centre yourself? Is that something driving-wise you look completely differently into or is it more personal?
LH: It’s really just about… I don’t know, on Friday, I just had a bit of… I guess, maybe it was slightly erratic, just the balance of…sometimes you over-drive, you under-drive, just not comfortable with the balance of the car and not reacting, there wasn’t synergy between myself and the car. But I would say more so perhaps from my personal side so I don’t know, it’s just about stepping back, taking a breather and kind of realigning your focus, realising what you need to do. As I said, get your heart under control and came back the next day, there was nothing erratic, smooth, calm and collected, so I had my own ways of doing that naturally but I think it’s just the experience over the years, understanding on some days, emotions are heightened and other days it’s more mellow and that was just one of those days.

Q: (Lawrence Edmonson – ESPN) Lewis, I don’t know if you’re aware but there’s been a lot of talk this weekend about you potentially going to Ferrari in 2021. I may as well ask a straight question: is it a consideration and have you met with Ferrari’s president John Elkann?
LH: Well, naturally everything that happens behind closed doors is obviously always private with whoever it is you end up sitting with but I think for many, many years I’ve never ever sat down and considered other options, because we’ve been on a… just driving straight ahead into the path that we’ve been on and the journey that we’ve been on and to be honest, I still think we’re on that path and I think there’s very little that’s going to shift it from that but I think there’s no harm in… I know Toto is also looking at his options in terms of his future and only he will know what is the best thing for him and his family. So I’m waiting to see what he’s doing with that. I love where I am so it’s definitely not a quick decision to do something else, but of course I think it’s only smart and wise for me to sit and think of what I want… if it is the last period or stage in my career. Actually I want to keep winning so I think that’s… I want to keep being able to fight with these guys as well. I can’t really tell you what else is going to happen moving forwards.

Q: Charles, can I just throw that to you as well. If you’re still wearing red in 2021, would you welcome Lewis as a team-mate?
CL: Well of course. At the end, we are in Formula One and we want to fight against the best. I’ve had a big opportunity this year to have Seb next to me who is a four time World Champion and I’ve learned a lot from him and you can always learn from this type of champion so yeah, of course.

December 1, 2019