Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto says they have placed Mick Schumacher at customer team Haas to help them assess his potential for promotion to the works team in the future.<\/p>\n
The German son of seven times champion Michael won last years Formula Two title and signed a multi-year deal with the US-owned team and will drive alongside Nikita Mazepin.<\/p>\n
Schumacher is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, which has involved him immersing himself in the team while also giving him the opportunity to test, most recently last week at Fiorano when he drove a 2018 car.<\/p>\n
Binotto told F1.com, \u201cMick Schumacher will be one of the drivers for Haas (this) year, which for us is a great opportunity, showing the strength of collaboration we\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMick is part of our FDA and the FDA programme is not there to develop drivers for F1, but it\u2019s there to develop drivers that one day may drive a Ferrari seat, a red car.\u201d<\/p>\n
He says you cannot jump straight from F2 into Ferrari, because that would be too much responsibility and not enough experience.<\/p>\n
This year Ferrari has changed its overall driver strategy, with the team running their youngest line-up since 1968 with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz this season, with the duo both on multi-year deals.<\/p>\n
The academy, with Schumacher, joined by last year\u2019s F2 runner up Callum Illot who is Ferrari\u2019s test driver duties this year, including driving in some FP1 sessions, and Robert Shwartzman, who is among the favourites for this year\u2019s F2 title.<\/p>\n
They also continue to support Antonio Giovinazzi in F1, having placed him at Alfa Romeo since 2019, meaning there are four Ferrari-backed drivers on the F1 grid.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Plans to build a new circuit on the outskirts of Rio De Janeiro have been formally abandoned according to local government. Former CEO Chase Carey was keen to move away from Interlagos, and a deal to run the race in Rio was formally agreed last September.<\/p>\n
However the development in the Deodoro area of the city, a former military base that was utilised for some events at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. The new circuit would have had a major impact on the Camboata forest, despite promises to tackle the environmental issue with the planting of new trees, the plans faced considerable opposition.<\/p>\n
They had to be approved first by the State Institute of the Environment [INEA], and then the State Environmental Control Commission [CECA].<\/p>\n
In a letter in September between Carey and the acting governor, Carey wrote, \u201cI am writing to update you that we have now finalised race agreements with Rio Motorsports LLC to host, stage and promote Formula 1 events in Rio de Janeiro.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThese agreements are ready for execution and announcement by Formula One as soon as all necessary licences have been issued by the relevant authorities, INEA\/CECA, in Brazil\/Rio de Janeiro.\u201d<\/p>\n
However getting the licences and planning permissions proved difficult, forcing Carey to reach a deal with Interlagos, and a new promotor backed by the Abu Dhabi government.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Rio’s secretary of the environment Eduardo Cavaliere confirmed that plans for the Deodoro track will not be going ahead and that at the mayor’s request he had written to INEA formally confirming that the licensing process for building the circuit is being “archived.”<\/p>\n
In a tweet that he tagged to World Champion Lewis Hamilton, he wrote: “Rio is racing for a sustainable future: Camboata Forest shall NOT be supplanted by Rio international race track. Under Mayor Eduardo Paes’s leadership we have OFFICIALLY WITHDRAWN the construction’s licensing process.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lando Norris believes that his new teammate Daniel Ricciardo can help McLaren \u201cmove forward\u201d because of his race-winning experience. After Carlos Sainz was signed by Ferrari, the team moved quickly to sign the Australian on a two-year deal.<\/p>\n
Ricciardo was of interest to McLaren when he considered his future in 2018 and made the decision to leave Red Bull for Renault (now Alpine) on a two-year deal. With Red Bull, he won eight Grands Prix\u2019s between 2014 and 2017.<\/p>\n
2021 for McLaren is the first time in three years that the team has had a race winner in its F1 line-up, having partnered Sainz with then-rookie Norris back in 2019. This makes Norris confident that Ricciardo will be able to bring new perspectives, using his race-winning experience.<\/p>\n
The Englishman told Autosport that Ricciardo \u201cis going to give a different perspective on a lot of things. I’m sure some comments are going to be similar to Carlos, because Carlos drove the Renault, and probably a lot of characteristics are similar.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of things Carlos talked about sometimes were when he drove a Renault, things were like this, and the team acted like this and different circumstances. A lot of knowledge that drivers have, and something that I learned from Carlos, his knowledge of how he worked with other teams.\u201d<\/p>\n
Norris believes that Ricciardo working with Red Bull means he knows how drivers and teams win races, as well as the car needed for that which Sainz didn\u2019t have. He thinks his new teammate will have fresh ideas to move the team forward.<\/p>\n
Norris scored his maiden F1 podium last year, finishing third at the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix in July. In his first two seasons, he impressed, but he is now relishing the opportunity to go up against a proven race winner in Ricciardo.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sergio Perez says he felt like \u201cthe most stupid guy on earth\u201d when he became the first driver to contract coronavirus in July. The Mexican was forced to miss both races at Silverstone after testing positive following a trip home to Mexico between races to visit his mother in hospital.<\/p>\n
In his first interview with his new Red Bull team ahead of the upcoming 2021 campaign, Perez admitted he went through a particularly difficult time following his positive case and the subsequent criticism he faced.<\/p>\n
Perez told Crash.net, \u201cI certainly had a very tough year, I\u2019ll say. With Corona, being the first driver to get the virus – you know, now it’s like a bit more normal that people get it. But at the time it was like, ‘you’re the most stupid guy on earth because you got the virus.\u2019<\/p>\n
In the last six months six drivers, Lance Stroll, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly, have all tested positive for the virus.<\/p>\n
At the time of the trip to Mexico, Perez was trying to secure his future in Formula One. It was later confirmed he would lose his seat at Aston Martin to four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel for 2021, leaving the Mexican without a drive.<\/p>\n
Perez explained, \u201cIt was a very critical time as well in my career because there was the contract thing. In the end I lost the seat with my team, but it worked out really well. But I never knew what was going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen that happened, I was pretty relaxed. I thought, ‘well, I’ve had a tremendous career already and I’m pleased with myself, but I just have to give it all weekend after weekend and see what happens.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the Red Bull opportunity opened up, it was sometimes looking better, sometimes looking worse. But then, in the end, it worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mercedes have announced they will launch their 2021 car the W12E on Tuesday 2nd<\/sup> March. The German manufacturer this year is looking for its eighth consecutive drivers and constructor\u2019s championship.<\/p>\n As expected, the launch will be online with physical unveilings impossible to take place this year because of coronavirus pandemic restrictions. The name of the car will be officially the Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance.<\/p>\n The \u2018E Performance\u2019 label is something that Mercedes is using across all of its AMG hybrid cars as it develops the technology. The car will largely feature the same chassis as 2020, but with aerodynamic upgrades that the outfit has worked on in a bid to cope with the challenge of new rules aimed at slowing cars down.<\/p>\n Technical director James Allison said last week that while the carryover of cars had led some to expect a similar performance order this season, he was sceptical about things playing out like that.<\/p>\n He told Autosport, \u201cIf you are looking at this new season of 2021 and you are thinking it is just going to be a carryover of what we saw in 2020, well, don’t be fooled by anyone who is telling you that,” he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe rules are very, very different for 2021, the work we’ve had to do has been very wide-reaching and we hope we have done enough to stay successful but as ever at this time of year we are just full of the anxiety and excitement of waiting to find out whether all this investment that we have made into the new car will indeed pay off with a challenger that is capable of fighting from the front\u201d<\/p>\n Mercedes are the third team to announce its launch plans ahead of the 2021 F1 season, with teams carrying over a significant proportion of their 2020 cars thanks to chassis freeze rules.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Capitan Sir Tom Moore who captured the hearts of many of the drivers and teams last year with his walk raising money for the NHS has died aged a hundred after testing positive for coronavirus.<\/p>\n The 100-year-old was admitted to Bedford Hospital after requiring help with his breathing on Sunday. His daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore said he had been treated for pneumonia over the past few weeks and last week tested positive for Covid-19.<\/p>\n Sir Tom was a self-confessed Formula One fan and received support from the whole paddock during the lockdown in 2020 when he set out to walk a hundred laps of his garden before his one-hundredth birthday.<\/p>\n In a statement, Capt Sir Tom’s daughters Mrs Ingram-Moore and Lucy Teixeira said, \u201cIt is with great sadness that we announce the death of our dear father, Captain Sir Tom Moore. We are so grateful that we were with him during the last hours of his life; Hannah, Benjie and Georgia by his bedside and Lucy on FaceTime.\u201d<\/p>\n He set out in April last to raise \u00a31,000 for health service charities by walking 100 lengths of his garden before his 100th birthday at the end of that month. When his fundraising page closed on his birthday, he had raised more than \u00a332m from more than one-and-a-half-million global donors.<\/p>\n But that was just the beginning – a knighthood, RAF flypast to mark him turning 100 and personal greetings from the Queen and prime minister soon followed.<\/p>\n Sir Tom\u2019s passion was motorbikes and Grand Prix racing, after discovering one lying in a barn and bought it for half a crown. He proudly took it home, and lovingly did it up. He left school to start an apprenticeship in civil engineering, but there was barely time to finish it before World War Two broke out.<\/p>\n The teenager enlisted in the 8th Battalion, Duke of Wellington’s Regiment and was stationed hundreds of miles away from his home in Cornwall.<\/p>\n In October 1940, he became a member of the Royal Armoured Corps and was transferred to the 9th Battalion in India, where he spent time in both Mumbai and Kolkata and took part in the Battle of Ramree Island. is military career continued to progress during the war, with promotions to war-lieutenant in 1942 and captain in 1944.<\/p>\n By the end of the war, he was posted to Western Myanmar (Burma) and then to Sumatra after Japan surrendered. On his return to the UK, he worked as an instructor at the Armoured Fighting Vehicle School in Bovington, Dorset.<\/p>\n After working as sales manager for a roofing company in his native Yorkshire he met his second wife, they married in 1967 but divorced in 1985.<\/p>\n Now in his late 40s, Tom resigned himself to never finding love. Until, a few years later, he met Pamela. She was 15 years younger and an office manager at the firm’s headquarters in Gravesend.<\/p>\n Moore retired at the age of 72. He was looking forward to retirement but life proved less than kind. Pamela fell ill with dementia. Moore cared for his wife for two years, and then visited her care home every day until her death in 2006.<\/p>\n His final year came to a symbol of defiance, national unity and hope. \u201cPlease remember. Tomorrow will be a good day.\u201d<\/p>\n Paying tribute Lando Norris Tweeted \u201cWith sadness one of the coolest and most inspiring characters has passed away. A man who showed the world what you can do no matter the age or difficulty. It was a pleasure to share some good laughs with you, I\u2019ll remember them.\u201d<\/p>\n A tweet from F1 added \u201cRIP Captain Sir Tom, thank you for the positivity and inspiration you brought to so many.\u201d<\/p>\n Williams added, \u201cAll at Williams are deeply saddened to learn of Captain Sir Tom Moore’s passing. During such a challenging time, he was an inspiration to so many not just in the UK but around the world. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The latest news and analysis behind the headlines from across Formula One, exploring the day’s events from a global perspective.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7380,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[47,308,309,361,395,456,464,493,664,675,692,709,710,754,882,885,992,1131,1278,1287,1290,1298,1330,1434,1449,1637,1638,1642,1684,1808,2017],"class_list":["post-8556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-analysis","tag-47","tag-brazilian-gp","tag-brazilian-grand-prix","tag-car-launch","tag-chase-carey","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid-19","tag-daniel-ricciardo","tag-f1","tag-f1-today","tag-fda","tag-ferrari","tag-ferrari-academy","tag-formula-one","tag-haas","tag-haas-ferrari","tag-james-allison","tag-lando-norris","tag-mattia-binotto","tag-mclaren","tag-mclaren-mercedes","tag-mercedes","tag-mick-schumacher","tag-nikita-mazepin","tag-obituary","tag-red-bull","tag-red-bull-honda","tag-red-bull-racing","tag-rio-de-janeiro","tag-sergio-perez","tag-tom-moore"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Capitan Sir Tom Moore dies aged 100<\/h2>\n