Formula 1 has confirmed Brazil’s round of the world championship will return to the calendar at the same venue but under a new name.

This year’s Brazilian Grand Prix at the Interlagos circuit, which was due to be the last in its current contract, was called off due to the pandemic. However the provisional 2021 F1 calendar included a race at the Sao Paulo track when it was revealed last month.

Formula 1 has confirmed today the 2021 race will be the first in a new five-year contract for the circuit. However from next year the title of Brazilian Grand Prix, first used for a championship event in 1973, will not return. The race will be known as the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.A new promoter has taken over the running of the race from Tamas Rohonyi, who has close ties to Formula 1’s former CEO Bernie Ecclestone. Brasil Motorsport, ultimately controlled by Abu Dhabi investment firm Mubadala, has taken charge and given Alan Adler the job of promoting the event.

“Brazil is a very important market for Formula 1 with devoted fans and a long history in the sport,” said Formula 1’s chairman and CEO Chase Carey. “The race in Brazil has always been a highlight for our fans, the drivers and our partners and we look forward to providing Formula 1 fans with an exciting race at Interlagos in 2021 and over the next five years.”

The Federation Internationale De L'Automobile announced today it has begun to introduce a newly developed sustainable fuel to Formula 1 power unit manufacturers. Made from bio-waste, the fuel will be used for testing and validation, with the goal of leading suppliers to develop sustainable fuels of their own.

The introduction of sustainable fuels is part of the FIA's plan to make Formula 1 carbon neutral by 2021, and eventually have a net-zero carbon footprint of zero by 2030. The fuel itself is a second-generation biofuel variety, according to the sanctioning body, refined using bio-waste. By the time new powertrain architecture rules come into place in 2026, the FIA says use of sustainable fuel will be mandatory in F1.

“Formula 1 has long served as platform for introducing next-generation advancements in the automotive world," Formula 1 managing director Ross Brawn said in a statement. "We are delighted by the momentum on sustainable fuels which perfectly aligns with our plan to be net-zero carbon as a sport by 2030."

The FIA plans to introduce sustainable fuel more of its championships, including the European Truck Racing series, from 2021 onward.

"Our top sustainability priority now is building a roadmap for the hybrid engine that reduces emissions and has a real-world benefit for road cars," Brawn added. "We believe we have the opportunity to do that with a next-generation engine that combines hybrid technology with sustainable fuels.”

The FIA isn't the only company looking into sustainable fuels. Porsche confirmed earlier this year it's investing research and development efforts into developing sustainable fuels for use in road cars.

The FIA has provided teams with a clear sporting rule in the event of an incident similar to the one experienced by George Russell at Sakhir occurring in the future.

During a pit stop in the Sakhir GP, Mercedes accidentally fitted two front tyres to Russell's W11 that were part of teammate Valtteri Bottas' allocation.

The German outfit sent Russell back out but immediately called him back in to fit the correct set of tyres. However, the Briton's P9 finish and maiden championship points were put in jeopardy as the event's Stewards debated how to sanction Mercedes' pit stop blunder.

While an outright disqualification was feared, the Stewards eventually opted to levy a €20,000 fine upon Mercedes as they considered mitigated circumstances and the team's prompt reaction to correct its mistake.

This week, the World Motor Sport Council issued an updated ruling to clarify how F1 teams' should manage a tyre usage error in the future.

"Any driver who uses a set of tyres of differing specifications or tyres not allocated to him during the race may not cross the line on the track more than twice before returning to the pits and changing them for a set of tyres of the same specification," stated the clarified rule.

But any driver who does not change back to the correct specification or set of tyre with three laps will receive a 10-second stop/go penalty.

Furthermore, another updated tyre rule for 2021 states that teams will be supplied with a standard allocation of compounds for each race by Pirelli, as was the case this season, rather than compile their own tyre selection ahead of each event.

Teams will be supplied with eight sets of softs, three sets of mediums and two sets of hards for each race weekend.

Williams says that George Russell returned from his Mercedes outing with several ideas for car improvements – including new clutch paddles – that could help the Formula 1 team in 2021.

Russell was drafted in by Mercedes for the Sakhir Grand Prix as replacement for world champion Lewis Hamilton, who had been sidelined by coronavirus.

A botched pitstop and late puncture cost Russell the chance of a maiden F1 win, before he returned to Williams for the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

While Russell will not be allowed to reveal any of Mercedes' direct secrets, his knowledge of how the German car manufacturer does things will be invaluable in helping direct Williams to focus on specific areas.

One of those almost certainly revolves around the start system, with Russell having made a brilliant getaway in Bahrain after a season where he has failed to find good consistency at Williams.

Dave Robson, Williams' head of vehicle performance, said that Russell already had some suggestions of how to improve things after experiencing what Mercedes does.

"It's something he's mentioned," said Robson. "He did a particularly good [start in the Mercedes], and he has had some good starts in our car, but I think what we're lacking is the consistency.

"It's probably as much down to what they do on their car, than it is the driver. So he's got some ideas, particularly about how he might like to change the clutch paddle, so the sort of ergonomics of what they do. That's something we can look at over the winter.

"I think probably the whole drivetrain systems are a bit too different, but what tends to be more interesting is the tyre preparation and how you understand the grip that you're going to have at the start: and therefore what the clutch target is.

"There's probably something for us to learn about there I think."

F1 steward Mika Salo has told fellow Finn Kristian Sohlberg that Ferrari was made to “use less fuel” as part of their punishment from the 2019 “cheating” scandal.

Ferrari courted controversy in 2019 when rivals raised questions about the Scuderia’s much-improved power unit.

Blatantly accused of “cheating” by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the FIA launched an investigation that led to Technical Directives being issued regarding fuel flow and oil burning.

Ferrari’s engine lost power and the Scuderia – as well as its customer teams – suffered as a result.

Months later, prior to the start of the 2020 season, after what the FIA called a “thorough technical investigation”, motorsport’s governing body reached a secret agreement with Ferrari.

As to be expected, Ferrari’s rivals were not happy and to this day want details of the settlement to be revealed.

One part of that may have just been leaked by former driver turned steward Salo.

Speaking to Finnish rally driver Sohlberg during a Twitch stream interview, the question of what went wrong for Ferrari and its customer teams came up.

Last year, all three Ferrari-powered teams struggled to match their 2019 pace, losing the most lap time of all the teams on the grid.

Soymotor quotes Salo as having said: “They suffered from Ferrari’s cheat last year because they had Ferrari engines and were forced to use less fuel, so I think so Alfa Romeo may be in a good position if they can perform at their best in the race this season.”

Sohlberg: “So Ferrari’s getting out a new engine, right?”

Salo: “I don’t know if it’s a new engine but they’re allowed to use it to its full power. They were not allowed last year because of Ferrari.”

Ferrari slumped to sixth in last year’s Constructors’ Championship, the Scuderia failing to win a single grand prix, while Alfa Romeo were eighth and Haas P9.

Alfa Romeo boss Fred Vasseur believes Ferrari will “recover” a lot of last year’s lost pace.

“The collaboration with Ferrari is, I think, going very well,” he said at the launch of the C41.

“We had a strong meeting, a long meeting over the winter to cover the points of last year when perhaps we didn’t do the perfect job.

“We are on a good path. I think on their side, they will recover probably a large part of the issue we had last year, and collaboration is getting better and better.”