Last year, just as the 2020 Formula 1 World Championship season opening round was to start, the state government in Australia forced it to be cancelled as the COVID-19 pandemic worsened. The cancellation triggered off postponements and then cancellations that would see the championship stalled until the middle of the year. It was then compressed to 17 rounds which ended just last month.
The calendar for 2021 again placed Australia as the venue for the first round of the championship, and it seemed that things were going well and the record number of 23 events for this year could have its traditional start Down Under.
The Formula 1 World Championship has traditionally started in Melbourne, Australia. Last year, it was cancelled at the last moment due to growing concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, and this year, there are still strict entry conditions so it will be difficult for teams to enter the country.
However, it has been announced today that the Australian round is postponed because the government maintains strict entry conditions, which make it difficult for teams to enter. But the round is not being cancelled altogether like last year and is changed to November 21 from the original March 21.
The opening round will instead be in the Middle East, where the final three rounds of 2020 were run. The Bahrain Grand Prix, which was to have been the second round, will become the opening round on March 28. The teams were there for two back-to-back rounds at the end of November and early December last year.
Sakhir Circuit in Bahrain will be the new venue for the opening round of the 2021 championship.
The organizers of the Chinese Grand Prix have also asked for a change of date due to what appears to be a new outbreak of COVID-19 infections which could become severe. As a precaution therefore, they don’t think it’s a good idea to run the event, which was to be round 3, on April 11. A new date has not been decided yet.
In the revised calendar, the Imola Circuit in Italy will again be used for the second round which will be on April 18. It was one of the three circuits in Italy that hosted a round of the 2020 championship.
Imola Circuit in Italy
The third round is not confirmed yet but the Portimao Circuit in Portugal could be selected for May 2. It was round 12 in the 2020 championship and was a new circuit to the drivers.
The rest of the calendar remains unchanged for now, but the dates for the rounds in Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi have been adjusted to fit in the Australian round. This will result in the championship ending on December 12, just one day earlier than it ended in 2020.
To the younger generation, Aston Martin may seem like a newcomer to Formula 1, the brand was in the sport 60 years ago, entering the DBR4 and DBR5 in the 1959 and 1960 championship seasons. As it was not very successful, it focussed instead on sportscar racing which it was more successful in, with multiple class victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
This year will see Aston Martin back in Formula 1 Grand Prix racing as its team will make its race debut on March 21 at the opening round in Melbourne, Australia. The racing cars will be revealed in February, but it is already known that the drivers will be 4-time Formula 1 World Champion, Sebastian Vettel and multiple Grand Prix podium finisher, Lance Stroll.
“Formula 1 is a hugely powerful platform that will play a key part in the overall Aston Martin strategy as we seek to take the company forward. It is a truly global sport with a huge audience that we believe can help reignite the brand and further increase its desirability all over the world. This is a brand that has already had huge success in top-level international motorsport such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans – and now we have an opportunity to write a new page in the history books. That’s a hugely exciting prospect for anyone who is a lover of the Aston Martin brand, for fans of Formula 1 and the sport itself,” said Lawrence Stroll, Aston Martin Lagonda Executive Chairman and also the father of Lance.
Brand awareness
Aston Martin understands the power of Formula 1 when it comes to brand awareness. Much work has already been done and achieved via the company’s title sponsorship of Red Bull Racing in previous seasons, Now the brand will go up a notch as it joins the F1 elite as a manufacturer.
Though it has been 60 years since Aston Martin raced in F1, its Wings have been on Red Bull Racing’s cars in recent years as title sponsor.
Otmar Szafnauer, who is the CEO & Team Principal, said: “We’ve had almost a year of preparation to reach this point and we’re really looking forward to seeing the reaction when we finally unveil our new identity as the Aston Martin Formula One Team.”
“Representing such an iconic brand is a huge privilege for every member of the team. We’ve earned a well-deserved reputation for punching above our weight, so we’re confident we can do the Aston Martin name proud right from the get-go. It’s the start of a new journey and I can sense an extra energy in the team, with a determination to push performance further than ever before. Combined with some of the most creative minds in the business, a true racers’ mentality and the can-do spirit that has served us so well through the years, we have every reason to be excited about the future,” he said.
11 years separate the ages of the two drivers for the team – Sebastian Vettel (33) and Lance Stroll (22).
A team with a 29-year history
The Aston Martin Formula 1 Team may be a new name on the starting grid of the 2021 F1 World Championship but the team itself has a history that goes back to the days of the Jordan Racing team in 1991. The team went through various owners until the end of 2007, when Indian businessman Vijay Mallya bought it over. It was then renamed Force India, a name it would use in the championship for 10 years that followed, until 2018. However, during 2018, Mallya had financial problems which led to him having to let go of the team and it was acquired by Racing Point UK. This was a consortium led by Canadian businessman Lawrence Stroll and its ownership of the racing team gave it entry to F1.
In earlier years, before it was the Racing Point Team, it was known as Force India.The Aston Martin F1 Team is the new name for the BWT Racing Point Team which raced in the 2020 season, finishing fourth overall.
The team at first had SportPesa as a title sponsor in 2019 but then the East African company pulled out and in the following season, BWT (an Austrian company making water treatment systems) took over as title sponsor.
Stroll became Executive Chairman of Aston Martin Lagonda last year after leading a strong investment consortium to take a shareholding in the company. The consortium made a £182 million investment and gained a 16.7% stake. Stroll is a Canadian billionaire, is well known in the fashion industry, with shares in Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors. He is a car-lover with a collection of vintage Ferraris and has been involved in F1 via brand sponsorships for many years.
Aston Martin’s F1 racing years
The 1950s were an exciting time for Aston Martin. Company owner Sir David Brown, who had acquired the business in 1947 before adding the Lagonda brand later that same year, was steadily creating finely styled British sportscars of growing appeal.
Sir David recognised the importance of motorsport to the brand’s commercial success and, in 1955, made plans to develop and enter cars that would take on the best competition in both the World Sportscar Championship and the still relatively new Formula 1 World Championship.
The history books focus on the famous achievements of the Le Mans-winning DBR1, and the DB3S that preceded it, but the initial venture into single seaters, DP155, could be seen as a valuable learning exercise for the brand. As a precursor to the later 1950s Grand Prix cars and alongside this project, Sir David initiated work on a new engine, and a new road car design that would become the DB4.
From this was born the DBR4 and although testing began as early as 1957, it was not until 1959 that the car made its competition debut at the BRDC International Trophy event, run to Formula 1 rules, at Silverstone in May of that year.
Two cars competed and car No. 1, driven by 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Roy Salvadori, came in a creditable second behind Jack Brabham in a Cooper-Climax T51. Powered by a 2493cc, dry sump, 6-cylinder RB250 engine, from the same basic design as the DBR1 sportscar engine, the DBR4/250 was a 256 bhp spaceframe single-seater which weighed 575 kgs.
Despite being driven by some of the star names of the era, Salvadori and Carroll Shelby among them, the front-engined DBR4 was out of step with the new mid-engined competition and failed to mirror in Formula 1 what its DBR1 cousin famously achieved in the sportscar arena. After a disappointing debut for its successor, the DBR5, Aston Martin withdrew from single seater motorsport in 1960 and gave its full attention to sportscar racing.
Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury brand which was created in 1989, will no longer be involved in Formula 1 after a 10-year presence. The brand entered the F1 scene in 2011 as a commercial sponsor of Red Bull Racing, progressing to become title sponsor of the team in 2012.
Contribution to electrification of vehicles
Following the introduction of hybrid powertrains in the sport in 2014 and given the brand’s extensive experience in hybrid performance, Infiniti became a more active F1 participant in 2016. It became technical partner of the Renault DP World F1 Team for the co-development of the Energy Recovery System (ERS).
The development work on the ERS led to an electrified performance powertrain explored through the Infiniti Q60 Project Black S. The main aim of the prototype is to test how F1 electrified performance and thermal efficiency can potentially be transferred and applied to the brand’s future electrified vehicles.
Infiniti entered F1 with Red Bull Racing in 2010 and then switched to the Renault DP World F1 Team.
5 years with Renault team
The 5-year technical collaboration with the Renault DP World F1 Team has been very successful for Infiniti. During the partnership, several Infiniti engineers have worked with the team in the development of the racing car’s ERS. Both companies have raced 100 Formula 1 rounds together, achieving a total of 459 championship points and 3 podiums.
The Infiniti Engineering Academy has also thrived during this technical partnership, given the unique opportunity it offered to work 6 months with Infiniti and 6 months with Renault DP World F1 Team. This global recruitment program received nearly 30,000 registrations from engineering students in 44 countries and 133 universities throughout the 5-year period, hosted 28 final events around the world and selected 33 winners, 50% of whom went on to secure full-time positions with Infiniti or in motorsport after completing their placements.
“This decade in Formula 1 has been an incredible and fruitful journey for us. We have had the privilege of collaborating very closely with companies that shared our goals and supported our vision, and we certainly come out of this experience wiser and stronger. We wholeheartedly thank all of our partners, and especially everyone at Renault DP World F1 Team, for the fantastic work we’ve done together during the past few years and for their continued support as we begin a new chapter focused on our development,” said Tommaso Volpe, Nissan and Infiniti Global Motorsports Director.
“Our involvement in the sport has gone from strength to strength during these past 10 years, and we have not only increased our brand awareness but also strengthened our technical credentials and capabilities. Now it is the right time for us to concentrate our resources and all the knowledge gained through our Formula 1 activities in the research and development of our new technologies and future powertrains,” he said.
Race starts at 8:10 pm in Bahrain/1:10 am (Monday) in Malaysia
The big news for second last race of the 2020 Formula 1 World Championship is, of course, the replacement of Lewis Hamilton by George Russell. The World Champion was tested positive on Monday after the last race and immediately started his self-isolation, as required by the authorities and in accordance with Standard Operating Procedures applied for events. As the self-isolation will be at least 10 days, this meant that he could not race this weekend at the Sakhir Grand Prix which is also run on the Bahrain Circuit.
22-year old British driver George Russell takes Hamilton’s place so his racing number ‘63’ is now on the Mercedes-AMG racing car. Russell has been with Williams Racing since 2019 and the team was willing to release him to race for Mercedes-AMG. British-Korean Jack Aiken, Williams’ test and reserve driver, will drive in his place.
Lewis Hamilton’s car number changes to ’63’, which is the racing number of his replacement, George Russell. He starts on the front row next to team mate Valtteri Bottas.
Russell is no stranger to Mercedes-Benz though, having been a member of the Mercedes-Benz Junior Programme since 2017, when he won the GP3 Series championship as a rookie, before repeating the feat in Formula 2 in 2018.
“It will not be a straightforward task for George to make the transition from the Williams to the W11, but he is race-ready and has detailed understanding of the 2020 tyres and how they perform on this generation of cars. George has shown impressive form this year with Williams, playing an instrumental role in their climb up the grid, and I am optimistic that he will deliver a strong performance alongside Valtteri, who will be a demanding reference for him,” said Team Principal and CEO Toto Wolff.
In practices during the week, Russell seems to have settled into the W11 and clocked fastest laps. “It’s been good working with the team and I’m learning a lot every single lap I’m in the car. I think my lap times are a bit deceiving at the moment and not the true representation of the pace. There’s still a lot of work to do to get comfortable in the car and with the set-up,” he said.
He is the fifth driver to race for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team since 2010, and the third British driver to represent Mercedes-Benz in F1 after Sir Stirling Moss and Lewis Hamilton.
Brazil’s Pietro Fittipaldi will also make his F1 debut, taking the place of Romain Grosjean who was involved in the horrific accident during the last race. Fittipaldi, the grandson of 2-time Formula 1 world champion Emerson Fittipaldi , is test and reserve driver for the Haas F1 team. The last time there was a Brazilian driver in F1 was Felipe Massa in the 2017 Abu Dhabi GP.
While the race takes place at the same circuit and also at night, the layout is different as the Outer Circuit is being used. This is a shorter track – 3.5 kms instead of 5.4 kms – and 11 corners instead of 15. The drivers will have to circulate for 87 laps compared to last weekend’s 57 laps to get an almost similar total distance of 300+ kms, with each lap being less than a minute.
This is the first time that the layout has ever been used for an international race, and 87 laps is the highest number on the F1 calendar. There is no historical data for the new middle sector which starts from the usual Bahrain Grand Prix layout at the exit of Turn 4.
Track surface is always a big topic with new tracks and while the surface on the new section in Bahrain is similar to the rest of the circuit and made from the same material, it’s not been used anywhere near as much, so is therefore less worn and ‘greener’ as a result. Pirelli is supplying the same tyres as last weekend, with the C2 compound as the white Hard tyres, the C3 as the yellow Medium, and the C4 as the soft tyres.
The different layout will require some set-up changes, though not great. Though there are few braking points, those that exist will be hard on brakes so effective cooling will be important.
24-year old Pietro Fittipaldi, who takes the place of Romain Grosjean in the Haas F1 team, is the grandson of former F1 champion, Emerson Fittipaldi.
“In terms of the race itself, firstly the person putting out the pit board is going to be busy… with 87 laps worth of updates and only 60 seconds (compared to 90 seconds) to place the correct lap number and gaps to the car in front and behind. And on the pit wall, there will be less time for decisions to be made, with a smaller window to consider, decide and action those crucial strategic calls,” said a member of the Mercedes-AMG team.
Lewis Hamilton is under self-isolation due to a positive result in COVID-19 tests and will be unable to race at the Sakhir Grand Prix this weekend. Taking his place is a fellow British driver, George Russell who has been released by Williams Racing, his current team.
“First and foremost, I wish to thank our loyal partners at Williams for their collaboration and open-mindedness in making it possible for George to race for Mercedes-AMG this weekend. The conversations with the team at Williams were positive and pragmatic, and those were the key factors in reaching an agreement,” said Team Principal and CEO Toto Wolff.
“It will not be a straightforward task for George to make the transition from the Williams to the W11, but he is race-ready and has detailed understanding of the 2020 tyres and how they perform on this generation of cars. George has shown impressive form this year with Williams, playing an instrumental role in their climb up the grid, and I am optimistic that he will deliver a strong performance alongside Valtteri, who will be a demanding reference for him,” said Wolff.
‘63′ is George Russell’s racing number which will replace ’44’ on Lewis Hamilton’s car.
Mercedes-Benz Junior Programme driver
He will be the fifth driver to race for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team since 2010, and the third British driver to represent Mercedes-Benz in F1 after Sir Stirling Moss and Lewis Hamilton. He is not a stranger to Mercedes-Benz though, having been a member of the Mercedes-Benz Junior Programme since 2017, when he won the GP3 Series championship as a rookie, before repeating the feat in Formula 2 in 2018.
He has been a fully-fledged Formula 1 driver with Williams Racing since 2019, demonstrating impressive qualifying and race performances during the past two seasons. “This race will mark a small milestone for us, as we see a member of our Junior programme compete for the works Mercedes team for the first time,” Wolff noted.
Lewis Hamilton will not be driving in the Sakhir Grand Prix, the second of two F1 races being held in Bahrain this year, this weekend as he has been tested positive for COVID-19. In accordance with the strict rules and procedures of the health authorities, he has to be in quarantine which is at least 2 weeks for most countries.
This would likely mean that the British driver would not only miss the round this weekend but also the final round in Abu Dhabi which takes place on December 13 . It would end the 17-round season that had begun with 22 rounds but had to be modified and compressed as a result of activities being suspended in the first half of the year due to the pandemic.
Lewis Hamilton won the Bahrain GP last Sunday.
Negative even on Sunday
It’s not known who Hamilton could have contracted the coronavirus from as three tests he had last week (including one on the day of the race) had negative results. However, yesterday, he had mild symptoms of the coronavirus which are typically fever, cough and shortness of breath. Upon testing, a positive result was reported and reconfirmed by a second test.
“Lewis is now isolating in accordance with COVID-19 protocols and public health authority guidelines in Bahrain. Apart from mild symptoms, he is otherwise fit and well, and the entire team sends him its very best wishes for a swift recovery,” said a statement from the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS team. A replacement driver will be announced soon.
In spite of the strict procedures the F1 community has followed this year, it has still been possible to be infected and Hamilton is the third driver to be tested positive. So don’t take the SOPs for granted.
Already the 2020 champion
In as far as the championship is concerned, Hamilton already has enough points to be the 2020 World Champion – his seventh title – even without racing in the final two rounds. Likewise, his team has also won the Constructors Championship again, its seventh consecutive title.
In 11 of the 15 races already completed, Hamilton grabbed the 25 points that the winner gets (along with a few for the fastest lap). Without him at the front, it presents an unexpected opportunity for other close contenders to improve their position during the final rounds.
This weekend’s race – the 2020 Formula 1 Rolex Sakhir Grand Prix – is at the same circuit as last Sunday’s will be a ‘filler’ for the 2020 calendar which was disrupted by postponements. It is one of three circuits this year to run two rounds back to back, the others being the Red Bull Ring in Austria and Silverstone in the UK.
Race starts at 5:10 pm in Bahrain | 10:10 pm in Malaysia
The disrupted 2020 Formula 1 World Championship enters its closing phase this weekend with the first part of a Middle East triple-header. It will certainly be gruelling for the teams who have endured a compressed calendar that only started in the second half of the year after the COVID-19 pandemic forced postponements and cancellations as countries tried to get the pandemic under control.
The first of the final three rounds will be the Bahrain Grand Prix at the circuit in Sakhir. It has been the venue of the Bahrain GP since 2004 and only in 2011 was the event not run due to domestic problems.
There are a few circuit layouts and for this weekend, the GP Circuit will be used. This has 15 turns and a lap length of 5.412 kms. Regardless of which circuit, the conditions are tough and the surface is highly abrasive. Despite the track’s rural location, surrounded by sandy desert, the sand does not actually present the cars with any major issues and the circuit surface (surrounded by 1,120 palm trees) can clean up very quickly.
One of the key considerations will be traction coming out of slower corners and protecting the rear tyres. Pirelli is offering the C2, C3 and C4 tyres this weekend at Sakhir, one compound softer than used in 2019 when most drivers opted for a 2-stop strategy.
Turn 10 is one of the trickiest corners because it has a long, combined corner entry that gets tighter towards the apex – which is blind over a crest. Drivers begin to apply the brakes while also negotiating the wide corner arc of Turn 9 and the track drops away at the apex. All of these factors cause the front-left tyre to go light and increase the risk of a lock-up. The balance is on a knife-edge through this sequence, as drivers battle cornering and braking, so you may see mistakes at this point on the track.
The Bahrain Grand Prix is always punishing on the brakes, with 7 braking events and 3 of those being classified as ‘heavy’ by engineers in the Mercedes-AMG team. Mechanical grip is also an important area in Bahrain, to propel the cars out of the slow turns. This is in stark contrast to the set-up approach for tracks like Silverstone and Mugello, where high-speed corner performance is the priority.
The 57-lap race starts at twilight; as the light dims and temperatures fall to around 26 degrees C., the drivers will be circulating in lighting from 495 posts. Over the projected two hours of the race, they should cover 308 kms, averaging 58 gear-changes on each lap.
Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari have had the most victories at this circuit, the driver having won 4 times and the team having won 6 times. Lewis Hamilton has won 3 times so a win tomorrow will bring him equal to the German driver.
♦ As in the days before, during practices and qualifying, rain came down and the newly resurfaced track was like ice. Even though all cars were on full wet tyres, there were still accidents on the way to the starting grid, and pit crews rushed to fix the damage as fast as they could.
♦ When the lights went green, wheels spun as expected and then, with the different levels of grip for each car, some were able to move forward while some were still or crawled – and that’s when a few collisions occurred. Daniel Ricciardo got bumped slightly by Lewis Hamilton who seemed to have a good start and as a result, the Aussie’s car bumped Esteban Ocon’s into a spin which took in Valtteri Bottas.
The 2020 Formula 1 World Champion – Lewis Hamilton – passes his team members after taking the chequered flag in Istanbul.
♦ So it was a somewhat chaotic start but Lance Stroll got a good run from pole position and Hamilton moved from sixth to third for a while, although Sebastian Vettel did better with a jump from 12th to 3rd within 5 laps. However, he didn’t manage to stay that high as an aggressive Max Verstappen slipped past with Alexander Albon.
♦ Albon pushed hard enough that he suddenly popped into the lead, surprising everyone and back home, his Thai fans must have been cheering as it was the first time – even for a short while – that a Thai driver was in the lead of a F1 race.
♦ Chasing Albon and looking for a way past Perez, Verstappen lost it and spun a few times along the straight. He was lucky not to go into the barriers but dropped to 6th and had to head into the pits to change the flat-spotted tyres.
♦ Bottas was way back and trying hard to get to at least 6th place so he could still have a chance at the title. Hamilton was pushing as hard as his tyres allowed him and trying to maintain the fastest lap for that one extra point because every point counted in this unpredictable and slippery race.
♦ By the halfway mark in the race, the two BWT racing Point cars were leading, with Stroll 4 seconds ahead of Sergio Perez. The closest contender was Albon while Vettel was some 5 seconds behind the Thai driver. Track conditions were still slippery to hold back tyre changes from the intermediates being used.
♦ DRS, which was not enabled earlier, was allowed from lap 30, so things were expected to get interesting as Istanbul Park has good overtaking points.
♦ During the race, it was learnt that Verstappen was under investigation for a potential pitlane infringement (crossing the white line) but the Stewards decided to do so after the race ended.
♦ On lap 37, as Stroll entered the pits for new tyres, Hamilton shot past Perez and snatched the lead. With conditions getting less wet, Hamilton was gaining advantage and could well pull away to keep the leading position over the next 2o laps. Bottas was not having a good day, with a few spins losing him places.
♦ Perhaps too eager to fight back to the front, Stroll rejoined the race and found the new tyres not working well for him, allowing Vettel and Leclerc to get past him. His team mate, Perez, was running second but 11 seconds behind Hamilton.
♦ Despite the slick conditions, only two drivers had damaged their cars enough to have to retire – Antonio Giovinazzi and Nicholas Latifi.
♦ With 10 laps remaining, Hamilton was 20 seconds in the lead and still pulling away. A win in Istanbul would bring his fourth consecutive world championship title to make a total of 7 in all.
♦ Even with 5 laps remaining, there was still uncertainty for Hamilton’s team. His tyres were already 48 laps old and rain looked like it was returning. He had a gap of 25 seconds to slip into the pits and get back out again without losing the lead.
♦ On the 56th lap – with two remaining – Hamilton was told to come in for a precautionary tyre change – and he ignored it, much to the surprise of his team which was waiting! He shot past the pit lane entrance – and took no chances to cross the finish line in one piece. A bit hard for Toto Wolff to bring up the matter of disobeying orders when Hamilton has confirmed his 2020 crown.
Race starts at 1:10 pm in Istanbul | 6:10 pm in Malaysia
This weekend sees a Formula 1 race taking place in Turkey, the first time since 2011 when the last Turkish F1 Grand Prix was held there. The 14th round of the 2020 championship is being run at the Intercity Istanbul Park or Istanbul Racing Circuit (or initially, Istanbul Otodrom) in the country’s capital city. The track was opened in 2005 and was another project of Hermann Tilke, who has designed many of the modern F1 circuits around the world.
Financial issues are said to have been the reason for the Istanbul circuit being left out of the championship calendar after 2011. Its inclusion this year may have been because it was willing to host a round in the revised calendar that was impacted by the pandemic. Having a circuit that was already properly designed and approved for F1 racing, and presumably maintained in a good condition, would have made it an easy choice for the organisers.
One of the most challenging circuits
Istanbul Park has often been labelled as one of the most challenging modern circuits in F1. Of the 14 turns, Turn 8 is ‘legendary’ – a fast, high-g 640-metre left-hander with multiple apexes. Though today’s racing cars are better designed to handle the turn compared to 9 years ago, the speed (around 270 km/h) and duration in the turn will still place a lot of loads on the tyres.
“Due to the increased downforce levels, the iconic Turn 8 will be less of a focus than before. It was pretty much flat-out in the 2011 cars, but it will become even less of a challenge in these 2020 machines. So, teams don’t need to compromise the setup so much for it,” said Mercedes-AMG’s Toto Wolff.
What the racing cars looked like in 2011 (above and below).
Besides Turn 8, there are also other challenges around the 5.338-km long circuit that the drivers will do 58 laps on. It will be tough and technically demanding, with the long back straight that allow DRS to enable overtaking heading into Turn 12. The end of the lap consists of a combination of three low-speed corners where braking stability on entry and traction on exit are important.
Wet conditions make things tricky
Given the wet conditions experienced lately, things are therefore going to be tricky. And what is worse is that drivers have reported the resurfaced circuit has created conditions like an ice-rink – rain will just make it much tougher. If it does rain during the race, expect dramatic moments.
Limited value in historical data
“Unlike some of the other unfamiliar races on the 2020 F1 schedule, we do actually have some historical data for the Turkish Grand Prix. However, because the cars have changed so much and the track has recently been resurfaced, the historic data is only useful as a reference,” added Wolff.
A number of the drivers on the starting grid this weekend have raced at Istanbul Park before. Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel have been winners but the one who won the most times was Felipe Massa in 2006, 2007 and 2008, and Jenson Button also won the race in 2009.
The Formula 1 organization has announced a provisional calendar of races for the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship which will be submitted to the World Motor Sport Council for approval. While Formula E has confirmed only its first four races, there are 23 rounds proposed by Formula 1 (one of which has yet to be confirmed), and the championship will run from March up till early December.
“We are pleased to announce the 2021 Formula 1 provisional calendar after extensive conversations with our promoters, the teams and the FIA. We are planning for 2021 events with fans that provide an experience close to normal and expect our agreements to be honoured. We have proven that we can safely travel and operate our races and our promoters increasingly recognise the need to move forward and manage the virus. In fact, many hosts actually want to use our event as a platform to show the world they are moving forward,” said Chase Carey, Chairman & CEO of Formula 1.
Two new venues
While most of the venues are familiar to the teams and F1 fans, there are two that are of note. One of the is Zandvoort in Holland which has not had a F1 race since 1985. It was to have run one this year, but the pandemic prevented it. The 2.7-km Zandvoort circuit is quite old, dating back to 1948, but has been redeveloped since the last time F1 cars ran on it.
The other is at Jeddah, a city in Saudi Arabia by the Red Sea. Unlike Bahrain and the UAE, the Saudis aren’t offering a closed circuit for the race but will create a temporary one in the city. No details of the street circuit are known yet, but it should be an interesting new challenge for the drivers – and it might even be run at night. The F1 race won’t be Saudi Arabia’s first international motorsport event as it has already hosted the all-electric Formula E series and the 2020 Dakar Rally.
The first-ever F1 race in Saudi Arabia might be run at night, like the races in neighbouring Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.
Vietnam was looking forward to its first-ever F1 event this year but the pandemic prevented it from happening. It is not listed in the 2021 calendar although it might be the one in the empty slot on April 25.
It is uncertain if Vietnam will get to run a F1 race at its Hanoi circuit in 2021.
The two countries which had not run F1 races for some time but have been used this year – Turkey and Portugal – are not included either, while the Imola Circuit in Italy is also not in the calendar. It was used for the thirteenth round this year at the beginning of this month.
2020 season unprecedented in F1
The 2021 season follows an unprecedented year for Formula 1 in which the sudden escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the championship not even being able to start its first round in Australia. There were hopes of starting in the second quarter but the situation was still not safe enough and it wasn’t until July that the first of 17 races could be run in Austria.
Safety measures and procedures have been enforced for all participants and for the early races, spectators were not allowed into the circuit. The restriction has been eased a bit for some races but is dependent on approval of local authorities at each venue.
In trying to schedule as many races as possible before the year ended, the organizers took to running two rounds at the same circuit over two weekends in some cases (Austria, the UK and Italy) and the season will conclude on December 13 in Abu Dhabi.
Continued safety measures
The initial races had no spectators and authorities expected strict health and safety measures to be observed by the participants. The plans for 2021 have involved extensive dialogue with all promoters and their local and national authorities at a time of ongoing fluidity related to the global pandemic. “Our hosts for 2021 are reassured by our safe return to racing this season and confident that the plans and procedures we have in place will allow us to return to a level of normality for the 2021 season,” the organizers said.
Of course, the calendar assumes that the pandemic will diminish further by next year – which we should all be praying for – but it is still an unknown factor. So far, the F1 events run have not caused any clusters of COVID-19 infection to be created and the organisers are likely to propose easing of restrictions in the course of the year, subject to approval of the authorities of course.
