Hamilton calls for full publication of Abu Dhabi Report
Lewis Hamilton has called on the FIA to publish the full report into last years Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, so fans can properly understand what happened. The early findings were published last week concluding that now former race director Michael Masi selectively interpret the regulations to get the race restarted for a final lap shoot out.
That decision allowed Hamilton’s title rival Max Verstappen, who was on fresher tyres to pass him and secure the title. The controversy was initially blamed by the FIA on a ‘misunderstanding’ of the rules by fans and media, but since then the governing body has made big changes to the way that it will run F1 events.
Masi has been removed as race director, with the role now being shared by Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas. They will be supported by a new virtual race control setup that should help give them added assistance when cars are on track.
A key step in restoring trust between the drivers, teams, FIA and the fans is publishing the report in full as it should give important answers about the critical decisions that impacted the world championship. Hamilton is especially eager to read it himself – and hopes that the report is made available to everyone.
He said, “I’ve not seen it, I didn’t think it was out yet. But I think I’m excited to see the results from that report. I think hopefully everyone will get to see it and to have perhaps a better understanding of everything. And I think ultimately, like everything, it’s down to understanding where we’ve been, so we can move forwards and in a positive light.”
There have been suggestions that the governing body wants to keep the report private, it’s understood that the final decision hasn’t been made. It could be the governing body is waiting until approval of the next World Motor Sport Council at its next meeting, which takes place on the eve of the F1 season opener in Bahrain.
Back in December, the FIA laid out its plans to respond to the events of Abu Dhabi and said it would work with the media and fans to better explain things.
It said: “This matter will be discussed and addressed with all the teams and drivers to draw any lessons from this situation and clarity to be provided to the participants, media, and fans about the current regulations to preserve the competitive nature of our sport while ensuring the safety of the drivers and officials.”
Hamilton excited to “engage” with Russell
Lewis Hamilton says he is excited to “engage” and “collaborate” with new Mercedes driver George Russell ahead of the 2022 F1 season. On Friday, the team revealed their 2022 car, which they hope will see them claim ninth consecutive constructors and regain the driver’s championship.
In his first interview since the scandal centred on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, while he wouldn’t comment on the findings of the inquiry. The seven-time champion said he is “focused on being the best I can be and coming back stronger”.
Speaking about his new teammate, Russell who is expected to give Hamilton a fresh challenge to him this year, he said, “Of course, he’s had an amazing run getting to Formula 1 and he was already a part of our team so I’ve seen him around engineering, in the simulator and obviously at Williams.”
“So he fits in and fits the position like a glove and so far it’s great. I honestly think I’ve learned a lot over the years of how to engage with your team-mate, how you work with a team to help them achieve the ultimate goal.” Hamilton said he was excited to engage and collaborate with him, hoping that their driving styles aren’t too dissimilar.
Hamilton has just under double the number of races, but despite him being statically the greatest driver of all time, he says that he is not overlooking the challenge presented by the youngster. He knows the pressure and expectation, having gone up against Fernando Alonso in his debut season.
Adding “I know the pressures that come with it, the expectations and the internal feelings of what that’s like.” Hamilton is wanting Russell to learn as much as possible and grow, to be a strong competitor.
Russell’s performances in the Williams over the last two years means there is the expectation that he will be fighting for wins and podium, meaning he will need to fight with Hamilton. But he believes that they work well as a team, with huge amounts of respect, from when he was the test driver.
Saying “I think we’re going to have a really good relationship between the two of us and we can really work together to push the team forwards.
Hamilton has spoken last year of wanting to take on a more mentoring role, in the latter part of his career. Russell says in terms of that being open with each other is key, but the priority is going to be the car before each other.
Team principal Toto Wolff is excited to see his pairing on the track, despite previously admitting “we don’t even know if we’re going to be in the hunt for a new title” with new regulations in place.
FIA tweaks safety car rules
The FIA has made a tweak to streamline the safety car rules that could speed up race restarts after the 2021 Abu Dhabi finale controversy. Last week the inquiry concluded that the now-former race director Michael Masi failed to implement two articles of the sporting regulations surrounding the restart of races in Abu Dhabi.
Only select cars were allowed to unlap themselves, instead of the call being given to all cars, while the race resumed at the end of the same lap they were given the message to overtake the cars a lap ahead. This should have occurred at the end of the following lap.
The decisions led to a last-lap showdown that ultimately decided the F1 drivers’ championship as Max Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton, prompting Mercedes to lodge a protest.
The revised sporting regulations around safety car restarts, focuses on what triggers the call for the safety car to return to the pits at the end of the following lap, potentially speeding up the process to get racing back underway. Under last year’s sporting regulations, this would happen “once the last lapped car has passed the leader” after the call had been given for them to overtake.
The rules now say this will now occur “once the message ‘LAPPED CARS MAY NOW OVERTAKE’ has been sent to all competitors using the official messaging system”. The track must have already been declared safe by the clerk of the course for this message to be given.
While these changes don’t address the fact that Masi failed to implement, it could help to speed up safety car restarts in the 2022 season, saving the time it would take for the last lapped car to pass the leader on track before the call is given for the safety car to come in.
Although the safety car will still return to the pits it will no longer wait for train of cars to pass the leader will either lead to a quicker restart or give teams more notice of the race resuming.
Masi claimed in the Mercedes protest hearing in Abu Dhabi that it had “long been agreed by all the teams that where possible it was highly desirable for the race to end in a ‘green’ condition”.
Ferrari drivers free to fight following talks
Ferrari’s drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are “free to fight” this year following a “great discussion” with team boss Mattia Binotto over the winter. Last season, both Leclerc and Sainz had a successful first season as Ferrari recovered from a difficult 2020, to third in the constructor’s championship scoring five podiums.
The duo was evenly matched throughout the year and enjoyed a handful of close on-track moments, most notably during their late battle in Saudi Arabia. Ferrari is hoping that the regulation changes will allow the team to fight for the championship and win their first race since Singapore.
Should they find themselves in a position to fight for wins and potentially a championship, Leclerc and Sainz said they would be free to fight each other on track without team orders after holding talks in recent weeks.
Speaking at the launch, Leclerc said “Of course, we’ve discussed it, I think it was yesterday or two days ago. Yes, we are free to fight, obviously without taking any stupid risks because we are fighting for the team, and the ultimate goal is to bring Ferrari to the top. But we’ll be free to fight.”
Sainz added that it was “important” for both drivers to “feel that freedom to go for it”, but stressed they would always respect each other on track and “put Ferrari first in our personal fight”.
Leclerc had several incidents with Sebastian Vettel during their years a teammates, most notably at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix when they were fighting for a podium position.
Team principal Binotto felt there had been a “great discussion” between his drivers, hailing their maturity through the talks. He added, “From my point of view, I was very happy to see these two drivers in a fully open, transparent discussion, showing a level of maturity.”
“As we proved last year, they are getting on well together, but it’s not only the way you can see it from outside. When approaching that kind of discussion, it can be very delicate.”
Sainz managed to beat his teammate Leclerc narrowly over the course of last season, the first time the Monacan had been beaten by five and a half points. Leclerc admitted while it hurt to lose out to Sainz over the year, he was satisfied with his performances in 2021 and had identified room for improvement.
Saying, “There are some opportunities that I’ve lost, sometimes by not being lucky, some others because of myself just wanting too much. I’m learning from it. I think one of the big strengths of Carlos is being here all the time. Every race, he’s always there.”
Haas launches 2022 car
Haas’s 2022 car, the VF-22, has made it’s on track debut at a filming day and shakedown test at the Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya. While the American team were the first to launch their 2022 car, however, they only released renders of the car.
However, just two days before official pre-season testing begins at Barcelona, the team has given its new car a first run out as a systems check. The team using one of its two filming days, limited 100km like most teams to carry out basic systems checks ahead of the first test which begins on Wednesday.
The team are hoping that the decision not to develop last years car and to focus on this year’s regulation changes, targeting a midfield position.
At the launch, team principal Gunther Steiner said, “We all know what the team is capable of, we’ve proved that in the past, and with this new car – born out of a completely new set of regulations and with our new design team in place, I’m confident we can showcase once again that we can compete on weekends.”
“It’s been a tremendous effort by everyone involved and now comes the fun part of getting the new car to the circuit and dialling in all the elements. Last season was a long one but I’m confident that 2022 will see us back in the mix with the VF-22.”
The team are sticking with the same lineup of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, as well as continuing with its partnership with Ferrari. Last year, the team opened a secondary base at Ferrari’s base in Maranello.
Renault willing to risk reliability
Renault says it is ready to risk reliability headaches with its new split-turbo engine, after electing to push its performance limits. The French manufacturer has built a new power unit for this season, with it adopting the split turbine and compressor concept pioneered by Mercedes.
It is clear, Renault needs to lift its power figures to allow Alpine to fight at the front until 2026, but Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi says he has urged his engine staff not to play things safe and focus only on reliability. Instead he told them to continue seeking performance gains, as he thinks it will be easier to cure a fast but fragile power unit under F1’s new engine freeze rules rather than having to recover any lap time deficit.
Speaking to selected media, Rossi said: “It’s either reliability or performance, as you usually have a hard time having both. So it’s just where do you push the envelope? “During the year [in development] we experienced a couple of moments where the reliability was not there, but that’s our choice because the only lever we are going to have at our disposal this year is reliability.
“So I told the team: you push the envelope far and I don’t care. I’d rather have to dial down on the performance but know that I’ve reached the peak of the performance I can get, than be reliable and just feel comfortable with a reliable engine that is not delivering performance.
Rossi confirmed that Renault has gone down the split turbo route for 2022, with other changes set to deliver a significant benefit to the Alpine package. The new power design has been based on similar ones used by Mercedes, it should also be capable of operating in a wider range of conditions.
He added, “When I say brand new it is even in the concept. Firstly, that is split turbo, but that is only one of the visible elements that will make it more compact, enable us to move it closer to the driver, and therefore change the centre of gravity of the car.”
Alpine will launch its car tonight and we will bring that to you tomorrow in the Prixview Edition ahead of Barcelona Testing
Andretti looking to enter F1
Mario Andretti has announced that his son Michael has submitted an entry to enter F1 with a new team in 2024. The former world champion broke the news on Friday on Twitter, with his son confirming the move but wouldn’t comment further.
He Tweeted “Michael has applied to the FIA to field a new F1 team starting in 2024. His entry, Andretti Global, has the resources and checks every box. He is awaiting the FIA’s determination.”
Last year the younger Andretti was in talks to buy the Alfa Romeo which is run by Sauber, but he was left frustrated when the main shareholder Finn Rausing ultimately opted not to sell.
With the new Concorde Agreement in place and the cost cap now introduced, all 10 existing F1 teams are currently in good financial health, and thus there are no longer any bargains to be had for potential purchasers, with “franchise” values rising.
Andretti thus appears to have decided instead to pursue his own project and start from scratch. Motorsport.com, says it understands that Andretti Autosport, which runs IndyCar, Formula E and Extreme E teams, has already started headhunting for the F1 project.
The growth of the sport in America has provided the sport with fresh investment, last week Oracle were the latest tech company to become a title sponsor of Red Bull. While Williams, McLaren and Aston Martin also have US backing.
Although his father indicates that Andretti has applied to the FIA, no formal entry process appears to be open at the moment, and it’s not clear what the procedure would be.
One big challenge that any new team would face is a $200m entry fee incorporated in the current Concorde Agreement, and which is a “dilution fund” designed to protect the value of the current teams. That was prompted by the failure of the three teams, HRT, Lotus/Caterham and Virgin/Marussia/Manor, who entered the sport in 2010 and all collapsed by 2015.
Both parties have made it clear since then that they would only ever consider entry bids from serious players. The last team to join the sport was Haas F1, which entered in 2016.
In 2019, when prospective Spanish and Asian projects were announced, F1 managing director motorsport and technical, Ross Brawn suggested that any further new teams would have to wait until after the new rules were introduced. At that stage, they were scheduled for in 2021.
Brawn, a former team owner and team principal at Ferrari and Mercedes, made it clear the sport wanted to learn from history and avoid small teams coming and going without adding value.
Last year F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali downplayed the possibility of the field expanding, suggesting that he was happy with ten teams. he told Motorsport.com “I can definitely tell you that after the introduction of the of the budget cap, we are receiving a lot of requests,”
“But I do believe that it’s important to keep the value of the actual franchises or teams, because that really can make the difference in terms of their sustainability. I would prefer to keep a better sustainability with the teams that are actually here.”
