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None of Formula 1’s leading midfield options were open to Valtteri Bottas as it became clearer to him he would lose his Mercedes seat for 2022. Alfa Romeo stepped in with a plan to convince him he didn’t need any of them anyway.
After a mini-renaissance in 2018 and 2019, the Sauber-run Alfa Romeo team is approaching the end of a poor period of the same duration. Two seasons in the lower part of the F1 midfield do little to suggest this is the sort of project Bottas said he needed to get excited about after five years with F1’s most successful team in history.
The last few months have been crucial to Sauber CEO Fred Vasseur’s vision of moving Alfa Romeo from the back of the F1 pack. Confirming Alfa Romeo’s continued support and attracting Bottas made for a very important summer of activity.
Renewing the commercial partnership with Alfa to use the famous Italian name was crucial to Sauber’s F1 ambition and Vasseur had to “convince them that we will do a better job in the future”. Getting a top driver on board was part of that pitch. Equally, Vasseur tells The Race: “I’m pretty convinced that without Alfa Romeo it would have been very difficult to attract Valtteri.”
Bottas and Alfa Romeo were equally important to Sauber’s hopes and effectively dependent on the other – even though it was never likely to be that direct. Alfa Romeo’s contract with Sauber probably didn’t have a ‘but if you don’t sign Bottas, the deal’s off’ clause.
For Sauber to be taken seriously by Alfa Romeo, the team needed to prove it was taken seriously by top drivers. Now it has. For a top driver like Bottas to take Vasseur seriously, Vasseur needed Alfa Romeo’s backing in the first place.
“It’s almost the same philosophy because Alfa and Valtteri want to be on board if we have a clear picture about the future of what we want to do, what we want to achieve and we have to convince them that the project is a good one,” says Vasseur.“For Alfa, it was important to have the option to attract good drivers and for Valtteri, it was very important to have Alfa onboard.”
So, exactly how did Vasseur go about convincing Bottas? A less charitable interpretation of the driver market is that he didn’t have to.
With McLaren, Ferrari, Alpine and Aston Martin not looking for drivers, Alfa Romeo offered a port in a storm for a driver who had lost his seat at the worst possible time.
But Bottas did have an obvious alternative: Williams. Yet Bottas chose not to return to the team that gave him his F1 debut.Instead, he turned to the man he won the 2011 GP3 title with.
“This kind of relationship is that we trust each other,” says Vasseur.
“And he knows that when I am telling him that we will have these kinds of budgets, he can trust me.
“We can go directly to the point. We have mutual trust built upon the past. And he knows that I won’t bullshit him at all.
“This was a good help in the discussion.”
The appeal of Alfa Romeo is not something that can be seen from the surface though.
Its championship finishes in this era of F1 are hardly impressive. Assuming this season stays as it is, the last eight years of results go: 9th, 8th, 8th, 8th, 10th, 10th, 8th, 10th. No podiums during that time either, a dishonour the team shares only with Haas (which joined the grid in 2016).
But during that mediocre run, Sauber changed ownership. That’s when Vasseur joined. In 2018, an up-to-date Ferrari engine deal and fresh funding at least re-established respectability.
Even now the team is unpicking the damage of its 2017 nadir behind the scenes and the company has grown substantially since being bought by Longbow Finance.
Development of the 2021 car effectively stopped last December. Engine supplier Ferrari is taking on an ambitious project to finally rectify the performance deficit that emerged last year. Everything at Alfa Romeo is being geared towards nailing F1’s brand new era and major technical overhaul, and making a major step forward in 2022.
“The most difficult thing in our business is to understand why the results are like they are,” says Vasseur.
“With Valtteri we had a long chat over the summer. And he perfectly understood the fact that we completely stopped the 2021 car at the end of December.
“It was a tough decision when you are into the season and you know that you will have 23 races to do and you’ve said ‘OK, let’s forget it’ but I think the real opportunity for the company is 2022.
“We knew that for 2021 we probably don’t have the best power unit so far, that the car is a carryover of last year’s car. It means that starting from P8 and P9 [in the constructors’ championship], what we could achieve? P8, P7.“It’s not the target of the company, which means that we put all our resources on 2022 very early. It was not an easy decision. When you have to go every single weekend on the race and you know that you are not bringing something it’s a bit tough to manage.
“But it will pay off next year. And Valtteri is aware that Ferrari is pushing like hell on the engine. Everything will come together. We are doing some good steps on the budget, we were far below the cost cap and we will be at the cost cap next year.
“It’s more this kind of vision for Valtteri, that you want to find a new journey for the next two or three years.”
Vasseur wants Alfa Romeo to represent the sort of decision by Bottas that Mercedes proved to be for Lewis Hamilton.“I’m not comparing the team with Mercedes!” Vasseur stresses. But the philosophy is analogous: pick a team others don’t fancy because you’ve seen something in it that appeals.
“Lewis is incredibly fast,” says Vasseur. “The best driver of the last…I don’t know, perhaps the best driver! But probably the best move he did is when he left McLaren [for 2013]. And at this stage, everybody was shouting at him. ‘What is he doing? He is in the top team. Mercedes is struggling.’
“Sometimes it’s just that the drivers need to have a kind of vision of what they want to do and what they want to achieve. Lewis on this move, it was probably the best decision he did.
“With Valtteri, I tried to convince him that it was the best choice.
“If you have a mid-term project, it doesn’t matter the situation of 2021 or 2020. It’s the vision of 2024 or 2025.
“It’s not easy, but you have to think like this.”
Evidently, Vasseur succeeded in convincing Bottas to think exactly like this. It’s extremely unlikely this move will be rewarded with the same amount of success as his soon-to-be-ex-team-mate’s switch to Mercedes.
But it could pay off in other ways that make it an excellent bit of business for both Bottas and Alfa Romeo.
Former F1 driver David Coulthard has issued a scathing prediction about the future of Japanese rookie Yuki Tsunoda.
Backed by Honda and lauded by Red Bull as he entered Formula 1 with Alpha Tauri this year, the diminutive 21-year-old has often been erratic on track.
Recently, he admitted he was "surprised" to have been retained by the junior Red Bull team for 2022, because "I kept crashing and cost the team a lot of money".
To Coulthard, a highly experienced grand prix winner who is now a respected broadcaster, Tsunoda's comments are a clear red flag.
"What planet is he from?" the Scot is quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"I think he should pack his bags and go home, because those are not the words of a racer.
"If I was him, I would book a plane ticket now and get it fairly cheap, because he won't be in Formula 1 at the end of 2022," Coulthard, 50, added.
Savage statement. Surprisingly it came from Coulthard, because he is still part of Red Bull. Maybe it's his way of motivating Tsunoda.
Blast from the past coming back to AM.
Originally I thought Whitmarsh was a dud but in the last few years several former McLaren people said he had to deal with the technical talent shortfall Dennis left him with.
His biggest fault at McLaren was he and Jonathan Neale were not initially keen on CFD which Red Bull and especially MB poured lots of resources into which helped their superior aero designs of the 2010's.
Former McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh returns to F1 with Aston Martin.
Savage statement. Surprisingly it came from Coulthard, because he is still part of Red Bull. Maybe it's his way of motivating Tsunoda.
I interpret the statement from Coulthard to mean if Tsunoda doesn't have any confidence in himself as a driver by saying he's wrecked too many cars, etc., then he doesn't belong in F1 and not DC saying "hey punk, you suck, go home."
I interpret the statement from Coulthard to mean if Tsunoda doesn't have any confidence in himself as a driver by saying he's wrecked too many cars, etc., then he doesn't belong in F1 and not DC saying "hey punk, you suck, go home."
Yeah. That's my take on it as well. If any driver doesn't have the self belief that they belong in F1, then they don't deserve a spot.
Valtteri Bottas will make his debut in the Race of Champions after signing up for the 2022 event.
The Finn has never taken part in the off-season event that pitches big names from various motorsport disciplines against each other in a wide range of cars, traditionally in a stadium setting. The 2022 edition will see a ‘Snow + Ice’ event on the frozen Baltic Sea at Pite Havsbad in Sweden next February, and Bottas will make his first appearance following his departure from Mercedes to join Alfa Romeo next year.
“I’m really looking forward to finally be able to compete in the Race of Champions after watching the event on TV for many years,” Bottas said. “The fact that this year’s event will be held on snow and ice makes it even more interesting.
“I’ve competed in the Arctic Rally a few times, so hopefully that experience will help as we aim to beat the strong competition and especially our Nordic neighbors from Sweden and Norway to add to Finland’s many wins both in the individual ROC and the ROC Nations Cup.”
The likes of Tom Kristensen, Sebastien Loeb, Petter Solberg and Travis Pastrana are already signed up for the event — which will include electric race cars and other innovative equipment using 100 percent fossil-free bio fuel — as the ROC will see legends race current drivers and rising talents in the same machinery.
“Valtteri has told us for several years that he would like to participate in the Race of Champions and we are very happy that he is finally able to make his ROC debut in our first ROC World Final on Snow & Ice,” ROC President, Fredrik Johnasson said.
“In the latest Formula 1 race in Monza Valtteri once again proved that he is one of the world’s fastest drivers. Finland has a proud history at the Race of Champions and it will be fascinating to see how the longstanding sporting rivalry between Finland and host nation Sweden plays out. We always have a lot of very fast drivers at ROC, but the new parallel ice track on the frozen ocean will be a big x factor.”
(Like when you collected Star Wars toys as a kid. "They're ACTION FIGURES! Not dolls!")
I think this is brilliant. Although I'm not going to buy these, I've always felt that F1 was too distant from average consumers. Unless you went to the races or bought from a speciality online store, it's very difficult for average consumers to see F1 products in stores. Even when going to Europe, you don't really find the products accessible. I think the last time I saw F1 stuff being sold in the US was when Mattel sold some reasonably priced cars in general retail about 10 years ago. Anything that helps increase F1 exposure is good IMO.
@ 5 Min:
They're already short-shifting around 12k RPM, with a 15k limit. Moving that to 18k isn't/wasn't going to change anything without allowing higher fuel flow (and possibly higher total avaiable fuel, to accommodate), as teams have said there's not really any point going over about 12k as there's no extra power from 12-15k.
Guessing F1 and the teams wanted to reign in costs by cutting one day out of the Monaco schedule. Some (most?) teams have there personnel stay in houses some distance away from Monaco since it's so expensive, then bus them in and out of Monaco.
The CEO of Netflix has admitted the company may be interested in buying the rights to Formula 1.
The world's most popular over-the-top streaming platform produces the official F1 documentary Drive to Survive, while specials about Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and others have also been well received.
The next step, according to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, is the actual F1 rights.
"With sports broadcasts, we have no control over the source," he told Der Spiegel.
"We do not own the Bundesliga, for example. They can make deals with whoever they want. But this kind of control would be a requirement so that we can make our customers a secure offer."
Formula 1's commercial rights are currently owned by Liberty Media, but there was recently speculation a Saudi Arabian group may be eyeing a takeover.
"A few years ago, the rights to Formula 1 were sold," Hastings said. "At that time we were not among the bidders. Today we would think about it."
Purists, however, have questioned the way Netflix covers Formula 1, likening it more to pure "entertainment" than a sincere covering of the facts.
Hastings does not exactly deny that.
"What Netflix does is entertainment, not journalism," he admits. "But we have certain standards and follow ethical principles."
Netflix has never done live events, so not sure how this will work.
Ferrari revealed over the summer break that it was planning to bring a “significant step” in the performance of its power unit by bringing evolutions for its power unit through the season half of the season.
Under the regulations, teams are permitted to make one specification update per year on each of its power unit components.
Ferrari F1 chief Mattia Binotto previously said that the team would not debut the updated power unit until after the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, which took place earlier this month.
In the team’s preview of the Russian Grand Prix this weekend, Ferrari revealed that Leclerc would be taking the updated power unit at the Sochi Autodrom to mark its on-track debut.
It is understood that the power gain offered by the updated hybrid system will be less than 10bhp, but will nevertheless offer a small boost in the fight with McLaren for third in the constructors’ championship.
It means Leclerc will have to start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid as a result of taking a new power unit, having lost one of his earlier engines in the first-lap crash with Lance Stroll in Hungary.
Teammate Carlos Sainz will have to wait to get the updated hybrid system as part of a staggered approach between the drivers.
Ferrari always planned to avoid having both of its drivers start the same race from the back, with Leclerc getting priority due to concerns over his energy store that was damaged in the same Hungary crash.
“Its main purpose is to gain experience for the 2022 car project,” the team said in its preview.
“A great deal of effort has gone into this, both technically and logistically, and so as to be able to use it as soon as possible, its introduction will be staggered between the drivers.
“Charles will be the first to have the new hybrid system. This decision is a precautionary measure relating to the potential risk of using the battery pack damaged in his Hungarian GP accident.
“In Sochi, Leclerc will have a brand new power unit and will therefore start from the back of the grid.
“As to when the updated hybrid system is fitted to Carlos’ car, that will be decided following an evaluation of the right compromise between competitiveness and the impact of the penalty.”
Leclerc is not the only driver heading to Sochi with a grid penalty pending. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will serve a three-place grid drop after being deemed predominantly to blame for the accident with F1 title rival Lewis Hamilton at Monza two weeks ago.
Max Verstappen will start the Russian Grand Prix from the back of the grid as a result of exceeding power unit components.
The Red Bull driver lost a power unit due to damage sustained in the crash at the British Grand Prix, meaning he would need to take a fourth engine at some stage in the season. Already with a three-place grid penalty from Monza, added to the performance of the Mercedes drivers in Russia and with an extremely wet qualifying session predicted that could mix up the grid, the team has opted to make the change this weekend.
Verstappen has taken a brand-new Honda power unit featuring all components, meaning he will have an extra component of the updated Energy Store available for the rest of the season. The punishment is being forced to start from the back of the grid, with Verstappen dropping behind Charles Leclerc — who has the same power unit penalty — as Leclerc took his penalty first.
Red Bull has taken the new power unit ahead of FP2, with it likely to be the only dry session left before the race due to a bad weather forecast for Saturday. Heavy rain is expected to fall from Friday night throughout the following day, with a chance qualifying will be pushed back to later on Saturday or even Sunday morning.
Verstappen leads Lewis Hamilton by five points in the drivers’ championship heading to Russia, where Mercedes has never been beaten since the race joined the calendar in 2014.
I was expecting this. This effectively negates the penalty from Monza.
The dates for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix have been announced, with the race set to take place on May 6-8, 2022
With racing due to arrive at the newly-christened 5.41km Miami International Autodrome, the Miami Grand Prix will see Formula 1 race in the state of Florida for the first time since 1959, as the drivers prepare to do battle around the thrilling new track set within the city’s Hard Rock Stadium campus next May.
“We’ve worked hard to create a track with great racing and a venue with unparalleled fan experiences,” said Tom Garfinkel, the Miami Grand Prix’ Managing Partner. “There has been tremendous enthusiasm and anticipation for this event, and we’re happy to be able to announce the date so that people can start planning for it.”
Speaking ahead of the race, meanwhile, Miami Grand Prix CEO Richard Cregan said: “There is no doubt in my mind that the Formula 1 community and the sport’s fanbase worldwide are going to be amazed by what they see next May.
“The circuit construction is progressing in line with expectations, and now that we have our date confirmed with Formula 1, we can rapidly follow up with revealing more of the detail of the experience that will be enjoyed at the trackside which will make this a truly stand-out addition to the calendar.
“This location is already well known for creating unforgettable experiences for events like the Super Bowl and Miami Open. We look forward to embracing an entirely new global sporting occasion.”
Just recalled recently, that I've been to two parking lot Grand Prix's. The Meadowlands Grand Prix hosted in the NJ Meadowland's sports complex huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge parking lot (stadium, arenas and horse race track).
Champ/CART cars raced there. Went two times in the mid-80's, wasn't a great race but for some reason a friend reminded me we had alot of fun at the event. One race was in heavy rain which didn't drain well at all . We went right up to the Jersey Barriers in one section and do remember the safety car was faster than the CART cars on rain tires which were hydroplaning all over the course.
"I have a tremendous respect for the technologists at Red Bull," Dennis told Sky Sports when asked to predict the championship's outcome.
"I think Honda has stabilized their engine performance very well.
"I think it's going to be Verstappen. If it's not, it will not be because they lacked performance but because they make mistakes.
"The question is, in what circumstances are these mistakes going to be made?
"It's going to a very colorful end of season, but I would probably back Verstappen.
"And that's not for any reason that I don't favour Lewis of course. He's still a friend, I still occasionally communicate with him.
"But at the end of the day, you ask me a question as a motor racing professional, or former professional, that's my technical assessment."
Dennis was also asked his view on McLaren's resurgence at Monza and whether the papaya squad's 1-2 at the Temple of Speed implied that his former team is back among F1's front-runners.
"I remember many years ago someone telling me 'one swallow doesn't make a summer'," said a cautious Dennis.
"They had a first and second in circumstances that most people would say, 'yeah, but the two leading drivers were out early in the race'.
"But you know they were leading the race and they were holding them off.
"So I think all credit to them, they've made great progress over the last few races and they deserved the one-two."
Mercedes have confirmed the jack man sent flying by Lewis Hamilton in second practice for the Russian Grand Prix was unhurt in the incident.
The reigning champion came into the Mercedes pit box too fast during FP2 at Sochi and overshot his marks, knocking the front jack man over. The crew member was left on the ground as Hamilton apologised over the radio and asked if he was hurt.
"For everyone asking, our front jack man is OK," Mercedes tweeted later in the session, to the relief of all, not least Hamilton himself.
Hamilton finished second, behind team mate Valtteri Bottas, in FP2 for this weekend's race – while title rival Max Verstappen will start at the back of the grid for the Grand Prix on Sunday after taking a new Honda power unit.
Bottas has won four constructors' titles with Mercedes with the team leading in the quest for a fifth with the Finn and Hamilton partnering together whilst Alfa Romeo has dropped behind Williams to ninth in the standings.
Ricciardo left Red Bull at the end of 2018 for Renault, electing to step away from a race-winning drive for a building project.
Only after a further switch to McLaren has the Australian returned to the top step of the podium but through his own experience, Ricciardo believes Bottas will quickly adapt to life away from Mercedes.
"He's said all the right things," said Ricciardo.
"We've been in the sport a similar time now, he has a lot of experience, he understands what's involved in this sport.
"Making the switch now to Alfa, as he said, it's another project and it's probably going to take time.
"He's saying the right things, he gets it, for sure, and he knows."
Bottas currently has nine wins to his name from almost five years at Mercedes and with such a record, Ricciardo urged the Finn to keep a lid on his expectations.
"Keep saying what you're saying because you're on the right track," added Ricciardo.
"The expectation is a big one. Of course, you want to believe it's going to be amazing from day one.
"But have a little bit of reservation and with that comes steady growth and some realism behind a new adventure.
"If it was easy everyone would do it. Valtteri's pretty modest anyway so I think he's alright."
On an open road with zero other cars, do you ____________ take the "racing line"?
1. Never. I follow the rules of the road and stay within my lane
2. Sometimes when I feel like it.
3. ALWAYS
Always 3. There's a nice, fast, wide open winding road from the highway to the Glen. There are a few sections of S turns where you can see clearly and go straight rather than follow the road. These sections I'm usually doing between 70-90 mph bc after each of those sections, there are sharp turns.
09-20-2021, 09:06 AM
Really enjoyed it. For the most part, there was nothing 'new', but I did enjoy the interviews.
Savage statement. Surprisingly it came from Coulthard, because he is still part of Red Bull. Maybe it's his way of motivating Tsunoda.
Just noticed the MW logos are back on the Ferrari this weekend. Car looks so much better without that splash of lime green on the spine.
