After a lacklustre final race to the 2020 campaign where there was little action, race promoters agreed that they would look into the possibility of revising the circuit.

Now the track says those plans have been given the green light and work will commence soon on changes to a number of corners. They will be ready in time for this season’s race on 12 December.

Saif Al Noaimi, acting CEO Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management, said: “We’ve been looking at improving the racing on the track.

“We’ve been listening to our spectators, the fans, the drivers, F1 and the FIA, and we’ve been working on making some changes, exciting changes, this year to the layout of the track.

“We will be undergoing some modifications to the track over the summer in time for this year’s edition of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.”

Al Noaimi said details of the exact changes will be revealed to the public shortly, but the hope was that the new layout would boost overtaking opportunities.

“The objective ultimately is to create more opportunities for close wheel-to-wheel racing," he added.

“We want to create more overtaking opportunities and to overall create a faster flowing race track, given the current rules of the vehicles.

“So we're really looking forward to seeing some overtaking and action, and hopefully the championship will come down to the wire and be determined here.”

One potential area for a change is the hairpin section before the long back straight.

The chicane before the hairpin tends to spread the cars out and makes it hard for battles to take place in to or out of the hairpin.

Last year Daniel Ricciardo expressed his hope that the layout could be tweaked after the dull F1 finale.

“I certainly don’t want to talk the place down, because I want to keep coming back here, because it is amazing,” he said.

“But maybe we could play around with the layouts. I know there is a few alternatives maybe around here, because unfortunately on Sunday, it is tricky.

“It’s sometimes a bit grim from an entertainment point of view.”

Abu Dhabi has also said that a limited number of fans will be allowed to watch this year’s race and entertainment schedule, with the 2020 event having taken place behind closed doors.

Ferrari’s Mission Winnow sponsorship has been questioned on a regular basis since it was first introduced in 2019. Mission Winnow is, basically, Philip Morris’ not-so-subtle vaping initiative. Philip Morris is, basically, Marlboro. Overt tobacco sponsorships have been discouraged but not completely banned in Formula One for several years. Still, Philip Morris is so upset by the apparently distaste for tobacco in racing that the company has decided to remove its Mission Winnow sponsorship from the Ferraris due to “mistrust.”

Riccardo Parino, Vice President of Global Partnerships at Philip Morris, had quite a lot to say about the whole situation:
That probably shouldn’t come as a surprise to Parino. While tobacco advertising was a huge part of F1's sponsorship packages back in the 1970s and 1980s, a greater understanding of the dangers of smoking has encouraged a pulling back of overt tobacco sponsorships. F1 hasn’t set any hardline rules about the subject, but some countries have a ban on any advertising by a tobacco company. That’s the reason Australia requires Ferrari to remove the Mission Winnow sponsorships, along with McLaren’s removal of the British American Tobacco “A Better Tomorrow” branding. Neither of these sponsorships directly sell tobacco, but because they’re tied to tobacco companies and could indirectly bring someone to tobacco products, they’re not allowed by certain governments.

Detective Vettel re-surfaced in France as the German driver was spotted looking inside the cockpit of Mick Schumacher’s Haas VF-21 – but ahead of the Styrian Grand Prix, Schumacher revealed why the Aston Martin man was sleuthing last Sunday…

Sebastian Vettel has been seen catching a look at rival cars in Formula 1 paddocks and parc ferme areas plenty of times over the years, and most recently he was spotted having a look at Schumacher’s cockpit at the end of the French GP. Here in Austria, ahead of this weekend's Styrian Grand Prix, Haas rookie Schumacher explained that the Aston Martin driver was trying to help him by checking out his seat.

“Basically, I have been sitting in a crooked position since the beginning of the season just because the seat is too central but [my back is] not straight,” said Schumacher. “We’ve actually been talking about it before and so we, or I, took that opportunity to show to him, and yes, just spoke about the seat. He gave my mum a tip of maybe breaking it so I would get a new one sooner but it didn’t happen in the end, so I have still in the same seat for now,” he joked.

“Don’t always follow the advice I give!” replied Vettel as he added: “The key, the thing is, it’s very simple; I spent so many years racing and we spoke about the seat during the week last week and there’s always small things you can improve and look at so I wanted to have a look and we had a look.”

Schumacher went on to explain that the seat issue is not harming him in any way and that it wasn’t high on the priority list for Haas to fix, when asked why it had taken so long for Haas to find him a comfortable position in the car.

“It’s not as bad as maybe some might think. It’s a small offset,” said Schumacher. “It’s something that I have been used to in junior categories. And to be fair, doesn’t harm me in any way while driving. It is something that for us is a secondary concern right now.

“For me, or us, it’s mostly about trying to get everything ready for the weekend and being prepared on that level and maybe setting our focus on something else instead of wasting it on something that is maybe not affecting me right now – but as I said, it’s something that is in plan and for sure after the summer break we’ll come back with something that is a bit more [comfortable].

"But we’ve been working on it in the beginning of the season quite a lot. We got to something that was comfortable enough for me to keep going, so we just left it with that,” he concluded.

The Red Bull Ring's Turn 6 has been modified ahead of the Formula 1 Styrian Grand Prix with gravel brought closer to the track edge and sausage kerbs removed.

The change follows a common request from drivers and others to use gravel more often as a way of addressing track limits.

Although Turn 6 doesn’t figure under track limits monitoring in race director Michael Masi’s notes sent to teams, the Australian believes that the changes will ensure that it won’t be an issue this weekend.

“At Turn 6 on the exit we've actually narrowed the kerb right up there and brought the gravel trap closer to the edge of the circuit,” Masi told Motorsport.com.

“There was a double kerb. So the red and white, green and white, and then yellow sausages.[pictured above, top left]. And they've been removed.

“Effectively, what we've aimed for is two metres from the edge of the track, which is generally the width the car, and then you've got gravel. That was one of the changes that we have implemented here this year, from last year.

“Now there's no issue at Turn 6 at all, based on the way that track design has been amended for 2021.”

Masi doesn’t expect track limits to become a big issue this weekend, as he believes that drivers learned their lesson last year.

He also cited last weekend’s French GP, when after a lot of fuss on Friday about wing damage caused by sausage kerbs and three deleted times in qualifying, the race itself passed almost without incident in terms of track limits.

As last year the only track limits issues addressed in his Austrian notes concern Turns 9 and 10, the final corners before the pit straight.

“What we've got here at Turns 9 and 10 is consistent with both 2019 and 2020,” he explained. “Obviously in 2019, we had the yellow bumps there, which we removed for 2020.

“The yellow bumps that were behind those kerbs, particularly because of the speed of that area, I didn't feel it was appropriate to have them there.

“But where we ended up for both the Styrian and Austrian Grands Prix last year is where we've started this year. And I don't really see much of a discussion from either of those two corners.

“I think everyone's well aware of where the boundaries sit in those two corners, and is more than comfortable with them.”

Track limits offences are monitored electronically at both corners, so there will be no grey area.

“There are loops at both, and CCTV dedicated at both,” said Masi. “It's quite clear. We give them that red and white kerb as the extra tolerance, let's call it.

"So it's all four wheels off the red and white at both Turns 9 and 10. And that lap time will be deleted at 10, and also the following is obviously deleted because of the gain that you get onto the straight.”

Regarding the lessons learned by the drivers in France, Masi added: “I think after the hype in practice and qualifying during the race, if I recall correctly, we deleted one lap time for exceeding track limits for Turn 6. We had a strike against Valtteri [Bottas], and that was it.”

Citing safety concerns, motor racing's governing body has addressed complaints that the stops of some outfits are faster than can be achieved by following the current rules to the letter.

The suggestion is that some stop procedures may involve a higher degree of automation than is expected, and this has allowed teams to achieve record-breaking times.

F1's technical regulations contain a reference to pitstops which states that sensors must act passively.

Article 12.8.4 is clear that: "Devices which are used to fit or remove wheel fasteners may only be powered by compressed air or nitrogen. Any sensor systems may only act passively."

It is understood that the latter segment of this rule is what the FIA wants to ensure is being followed. Although it is not thought that the FIA move is aimed at a specific outfit, the aim is clear that any reliance on automatic procedures opens the door for potential danger at the stops.

Therefore, in a note sent to all F1 teams ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, it said that, from the Budapest race in August, teams pitstop procedures must have a tolerance built in that allows for human reaction times in signalling.

​​​​​​​The figures are 0.15 seconds from wheel nuts being observed to be tight to the jack man being told to drop the car, and 0.2 seconds from the jacks going down to the driver receiving the go signal.

F1 is no stranger to ensuring that human reaction times are taken into account – with such a tolerance being put into driver responses at the starting lights to judge when a driver has jumped the gun. If a driver starts too soon to have reacted after the lights have gone out, that can still be a false start.

The FIA does not disclose what the exact tolerance is for the start, though, for fear that if it was made public then teams and drivers would try to exploit the number to boost their getaways.

The new technical directive notes: "For safety reasons we would furthermore expect the minimum time offset between the initiation of the jack release procedure and the OK signal to the driver given by the green light to be at least 0.2 seconds."

The wording for the 0.15s wheel nuts on to jack man signal gap is similar.

Teams have been given three races to prepare for the new requirements as they may need to change their procedures and it could cause trouble to force them to do so without enough time for preparation.

To celebrate 111 years of the Alfa Romeo marque, the Formula 1 team have revealed their C41 car will race in a special one-off livery for the Styrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.

The Italian manufacturer have morphed their logo – most prominent on the engine bay – into a '111' shape to celebrate 111 years since they were founded, for this weekend's race in Austria.

"The cross is warped in a sequence of number one figures, developing in a perspective as to represent the passing of time and giving a dynamic twist to the number 111," said Alfa Romeo.

Another nod to Alfa Romeo's history will be present on the nosecones of the C41 car, reminiscent of the 'trilobe', a shape that can be found on the grilles of their range of road cars – as you can see in the picture gallery above.

The Alfa Romeo Museum near Milan will also have a range of activities this weekend, while the marque have promised "parades, special exhibitions and celebrations" across their various car clubs to celebrate the anniversary.

Alfa Romeo is celebrating the anniversary of its 1910 founding this weekend with '111' on-livery Formula 1 branding.

However, Hinwil based Sauber's naming deal with the iconic Ferrari-linked car manufacturer reportedly expires at the end of the season.

"Alfa Romeo has apparently not yet decided to continue (with Sauber) in 2022," said authoritative F1 journalist veteran Roger Benoit.

"Team boss Fred Vasseur, who is only employed on a monthly basis, is also examining his future," Benoit wrote in the Swiss newspaper Blick.

"After three seasons, a driver change is also planned for next year," he added, with Kimi Raikkonen a former Ferrari champion and Antonio Giovinazzi one of the most prominent members of Ferrari's driver 'academy'.

When asked about his own future, 53-year-old Frenchman and Alfa Romeo team boss Vasseur said: "Don't worry about my contract.

"I'm working for Sauber and I'm in good shape," he said.

"Regarding Alfa Romeo, we are in ongoing discussions but it's moving forward and I hope that we will be able to close something in the next few weeks.

"We're offering the same answer as last week," Vasseur laughed.

Aston Martin appear to have put in place the final part of their technical leadership team, with Red Bull announcing that their current Head of Aerodynamics Dan Fallows is leaving the Milton Keynes outfit to join the team in green as their new Technical Director – though they may have to wait some time for Fallows to start work at Silverstone.

Fallows will form part of triumvirate of technical leaders, joining Performance Director Tom McCullough and Engineering Director Luca Furbatto – who will move across from Alfa Romeo at the end of the season – with the three set to report to Aston Martin’s Chief Technical Officer Andrew Green.

Fallows joined Red Bull Racing in 2006 as their Team Leader in the aerodynamics department, becoming Head of Aerodynamics in 2014 following Red Bull’s dominant Sebastian Vettel-led era, which saw them win every drivers’ and constructors’ title between 2010 and 2013 – with Fallows now set to re-join Vettel at Aston Martin.

Red Bull said Fallows will not be departing until the conclusion of his contract "and remains fully focused on building upon the positive start we have made to the 2021 season."

Regarding the move, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner said: “It goes without saying that Dan will be missed, as he has played an important role during his time at Red Bull Racing and I would like to thank him for his contribution towards the team’s successes.

“We do however recognise that the chance to take on the role of Technical Director within a Formula 1 team is an appealing next step in his career. In turn, this move creates exciting internal progression opportunities as we look to the future and draw from the wealth of talent within the wider team.”

In terms of the timing of the move, Horner said it wouldn't be happening for some time. “Dan’s going to be with us for a while," he said. "He’s fully focussed on this year’s car and will be with us until the end of his contract.”

Asked when Fallows would be leaving Red Bull, Horner replied: “I’m not going to go into great details but it certainly won’t be within the next couple of years.”

Aston Martin yesterday confirmed the new structure of their technical leadership team, saying in a statement that the “new and improved structure we have created mirrors that of the most successful teams in Formula 1 today”.

And speaking at the Styrian Grand Prix press conference regarding Fallows’ signing, Szafnauer said: “He's a great addition to our team, he's a like-minded individual, he's a high performer, he's won world championships, he knows Seb, so we look forward to Dan joining.

“The start time we're still working on... [but] it's 100% signed, sealed, delivered, Dan is coming. It's just a matter of the timing.”

Formula 1 have announced that the Turkish Grand Prix will return to the calendar this season, with the race at Istanbul Park set to take place in early October, on the weekend originally scheduled to host the Singapore Grand Prix.

Following the news that the Marina Bay race cannot go ahead as planned on October 3rd, F1 will instead be racing around Intercity Istanbul Park – the circuit where Lewis Hamilton clinched his seventh World Championship title last year.

Earlier this season the Turkish Grand Prix was removed from the calendar due to international travel restrictions but at the time the promoter had requested the potential to re-join the calendar later in the season if possible.

A statement from F1 said: "After discussions with other promoters we are confident that we will be able to travel to the following race under our strict safety protocols.

"The Formula 1 community will continue to travel this season with stringent safety measures that has allowed us to travel safely this season. So far this season we have conducted over 44,000 tests with 27, positive cases a rate of 0.06%, with most coming during the earlier part of the season.

"Alongside this a significant proportion of the F1 community has been vaccinated already and we are confident that all will have had the opportunity to do so by the end of the summer. We will continue to operate in a way that protects the safety of our personnel and the communities we visit."

Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula1, said: “We are delighted to be coming back to Turkey to Intercity Istanbul Park circuit. We hope to see another fantastic race again in one of the best tracks in the world.

"We want to thank the Intercity Istanbul Park management and Mr. Vural Ak for his personal efforts to make this event to happen. We have shown that we can continue to adapt and there is huge interest in our sport and the hope from many locations to have a Grand Prix.

"We have had very good conversations with all the other promoters since the start of the year and continue to work closely with them during this period.”

Aston Martin appear to have put in place the final part of their technical leadership team, with Red Bull announcing that their current Head of Aerodynamics Dan Fallows is leaving the Milton Keynes outfit to join the team in green as their new Technical Director – though they may have to wait some time for Fallows to start work at Silverstone.

Ferrari Formula 1 boss Mattia Binotto says talks with tobacco giant Philip Morris International over a new sponsorship deal are ongoing despite dropping the Mission Winnow logos for EU races.

PMI famously enjoyed title sponsorship with Ferrari through its Marlboro brand from 1997 until a clampdown on tobacco sponsorship in the late 2000s.

But after PMI launched its Mission Winnow initiative with a view to a non-tobacco future in 2018, Ferrari ran with Mission Winnow sponsorship on its cars, as well as becoming the title sponsor starting in 2019.

The Mission Winnow branding has been used on and off since then depending on where races are being held amid PMI’s desire to avoid creating controversy over tobacco advertising laws. The logos were not used at all through the shortened 2020 season, but returned with a vibrant green design on the engine cover of the Ferrari SF21 car.

It was announced ahead of last weekend’s French Grand Prix that the Mission Winnow logos would not be used at any of the upcoming races in the EU, nor at the British Grand Prix in July.

​​​​​​​But Ferrari team principal Binotto denied that this was a sign that the relationship with PMI was coming to an end, saying he did not think there was “any relation between the two”.

“If you look as well at last year's or previous years, there were races where we are not having to logo on the car,” Binotto said. “That was down to the regulations of various countries, and we are simply trying to respect it as we did in the past and still do today.”

Ferrari’s existing sponsorship agreement with PMI expires at the end of this year, but Binotto said that talks were already underway over a new contract.

“You’re right, the contract is finishing by the end of the year,” Binotto said. “But we have discussions ongoing with PMI which has been a very strong and close partner for us for many, many years, and the relationships are good.

“So how it will be concluded, I think we will see in the next months.”

Starting in 2023, the Russian Grand Prix will be changing venues. No longer will we see the cars take to the track at the Sochi Autodrom. Instead, we’ll be hitting the ground at the Autodrom Igora Drive just outside St. Petersburg.

In case you’re wondering, this new track was indeed designed by Herman Tilke, the designer responsible for most of the new additions to the Formula One calendar. He’s known for his more technical and almost clinical response to design, opting against the more traditional track style that takes advantage of the natural landscape.

Part of the appeal here is in the location. Sochi may have been a decent place to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, but a track within driving distance from St. Petersburg very likely makes for a stronger case in terms of attracting fans. It’s also within 100 miles of the Russian-Finnish border, which I have to imagine contributed to the development of the track. Finnish drivers Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen both have their own respective fan bases, so this may be a way to get fans of those drivers interested.

More details will be released in the near future, but we do know that the track boasts 15 turns and runs for about 2.5 miles. It also offers 10 different track layouts, which opens up the track for other race series to compete. The German touring car DTM series was set to run the track back in 2020, but those plans were derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year’s Russian GP is set to take place in September, but that date may change for 2023 considering the fact that St. Petersburg is about 1,500 miles north of Sochi and has a massively different climate.

The addition of the track near St. Petersburg is just one of several new circuits set to change the face of the F1 calendar in the next few years.