F1 News

In the round-up: Horner downplays link to "mightily impressive" Cowell • Hamilton's dominance shows quality of my 2016 title - Rosberg • Indianapolis "in the equation" for F1 return

Seven-time grand prix winner Ricciardo has joined McLaren on a three-year contract ahead of the 2021 season following a two-year stint at Renault.
When Ricciardo signed for Renault, he agreed with team principal Cyril Abiteboul to get matching tattoos when he scored his first podium, which was achieved at last year's Eifel Grand Prix.
Ricciardo had hoped to meet up with Abiteboul before the ...Keep reading

McLaren comes into the 2021 Formula 1 season with arguably the most differences to its updated MCL35M chassis. But amid its attempts to consolidate its hard-earned third place in the constructors standings, there's an element of jeopardy too, says ADAM COOPER

Aston Martin has confirmed plans to unveil its new Formula 1 car for the 2021 season on 3 March

Following the rebranding of the Racing Point squad under the Aston Martin name over the winter, the team has now revealed details of its launch plans at the start of next month.
The Aston Martin squad will hold a virtual launch from 3pm GMT on 3 March, and has invited fans to be part of the event by registering to 'Unlock The Vault' for the new car through its website.
2021 will mark the ...Keep reading

While the car, which is designed around a Mercedes engine rather than the Renault used last year, looks fairly similar to last year's model, there are some intriguing differences that can be seen close up.
It arrives on the back of a relatively successful season for McLaren, finishing in third place in the constructors’ standings.
The car has had to undergo a raft of changes as the team ...Keep reading

The two new brands which have entered the 2021 F1 season, Alpine and Aston Martin, have announced their launch plans for the championship.

Alpine has announced the launch date for its 2021 Formula 1 car after completing a successful fire-up at its Enstone factory last week

Following the rebranding of the former Renault operation over the winter, Alpine will present its new F1 car, the A521, to the world on 2 March.
It makes Alpine the seventh team to confirm its launch plans ahead of the new season, leaving only Red Bull, Haas and Aston Martin still to finalise a date to unveil their cars.
Alpine will enter the new season with a fresh image and a fresh driver ...Keep reading

The countdown to the 2021 Formula 1 season is under way, but before the first race of the campaign there is still plenty to get done

The Milton Keynes-based squad has just announced a deal to take over the Honda F1 engine project and run the power units itself from next year.
Having given the green light for a major investment at its headquarters as it sets up Red Bull Powertrains, the team admits that it is not viewing the Honda takeover as just a short-term project prior to looking elsewhere in the future.
Instead, Red ...Keep reading

Red Bull has given the firmest indication yet it will look to produce its own Formula 1 engine when new rules come in to play in 2025

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown expects the team will remain in a tight midfield battle in 2021 despite switching to the same power units as champions Mercedes.

Sebastian Vettel is set to make his debut with the Aston Martin F1 Team in just a matter of weeks – and the four-time World Champion will be hoping to benefit from having a clean slate.

For most of his time at Ferrari, Vettel was the Scuderia’s number one driver and their best hope of ending their Championship drought, but he was comprehensively outperformed by Charles Leclerc in 2020.

READ: Aston Martin Blame Vettel’s Ferrari Woes On Ill-Suited Car, Vow To Give Him Right Package

Commenting on Vettel’s move to Aston Martin, 2016 F1 World Champion Nico Rosberg has tipped his countryman to succeed at the British racing outfit.

“Sebastian needed a change,” Rosberg told Germany’s Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.

“He was in a negative spiral at Ferrari, which was not a nice experience in the end.

“I am happy that he has now found a new opportunity. At Aston Martin he will be the hero again and will be celebrated.

“With a success he can be the same again. He’s still one of the best of all-time,” he added.

In the same interview, Rosberg also commented on his own career and success in F1, saying he believes Sir Lewis Hamilton’s immense achievements have confirmed how well he performed in 2016 when he beat him to the Championship.

“I knew how good he was. For the outside world it is now a confirmation that he is the best of all time, even by titles.

“That I beat him in the same car gives me extra confirmation of my success,” he explained.

READ: Red Bull Believe Mercedes Will Try To Poach Verstappen If Hamilton Retires

The post Nico Rosberg Says Vettel Is ‘Still One Of The Best Of All-Time’ appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Last week, Mercedes caused some intrigue when its new engine chief Hywel Thomas revealed that it was battling some problems ahead of pre-season testing.
"We have got some issues with the power units," he said in a video released by Mercedes. "We know we have issues but we have plenty of plans in place to fix all of those issues. I'm sure it will all be ready for the first race."
The comments ...Keep reading

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has said he believes Mercedes will try to poach Max Verstappen if Sir Lewis Hamilton decides to leave the Silver Arrows or retire from Formula One altogether at the end of 2021.

“I’m sure that should Lewis decide to stop then Max will naturally be the driver at the top of Mercedes’ list,” Horner said this week.

READ: Red Bull Forms Powertrain Company After Reaching Deal With Honda

“They also have George Russell and other drivers available to them.

“The reality is that yes, of course – as there has always been – an element of performance-related clauses to Max’s contract. But as with all these things, it’s not about forcing a driver that doesn’t want to be there.

“It’s more about relationships than contracts and you only pull a contract out of the drawer when you have a problem, in my experience,” he added.

Continuing, the Red Bull team principal described their relationship with Verstappen as “very strong” and said he is confident that the performance clause in the Dutch ace’s contract won’t come into play.

“The relationship with Max is very strong, he believes in the project, in what we are doing, and he sees the investment Red Bull are making.

“I’m confident we won’t need to refer to any contractual clauses. It will be down to us to deliver a competitive car.

As for their chances of fighting Mercedes for the Championship this upcoming season, Horner said Red Bull is “gathering momentum” as they demonstrated at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

“We demonstrated at Abu Dhabi that Mercedes are beatable on a track they had been unbeaten at for the past six or seven years.

“We just need to be able to do that across the season. We are gathering momentum. Nobody has a crystal ball so we just need to do the best job we can,” Horner concluded.

READ: McLaren Unveil 2021 Mercedes-Powered Challenger

The post Red Bull Believe Mercedes Will Try To Poach Verstappen If Hamilton Retires appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Red Bull has confirmed Max Verstappen has a performance clause in his Formula 1 contract and believes he will be top of Mercedes' list if Lewis Hamilton quits after 2021

Daniel Ricciardo believes a repeat of his Renault tattoo bet will be off-limits at McLaren, but has set his sights on a wager surrounding Zak Brown's classic car collection

McLaren's new MCL35M has run on track for the first time ahead of the 2021 F1 season. Lando Norris shook down the car at Silverstone today.

Mercedes announced last week that seven-time world champion Hamilton had signed a new one-year contract to remain at the team for 2021, leading to speculation about his future beyond the end of the season.
Should Hamilton decide to step away from F1 at the end of the year, it has been suggested that Verstappen could be an option for Mercedes to replace the Briton.
Although Verstappen’s Red ...Keep reading