Danica Patrick will join the Sky Sports broadcast team for next weekend’s United States Grand Prix.

The former IndyCar and NASCAR driver — the most successful female driver in American open-wheel history — retired from competition in 2018 but has worked on NBC’s coverage of the Indy 500, among other events, and will be a pundit at her first F1 race in Austin. Patrick will be part of the Sky Sports coverage that is broadcast by ESPN in the U.S.

“For me, speaking to Americans who are becoming more and more interested in Formula 1 — especially through the Netflix Drive to Survive series — I will have that ability to pull analogies and stories from our culture here and the things that we do and watch, and shows and sports, and be able to get people to understand more about racing,” Patrick told RACER

“Because I think in general, the thing is they don’t know what racing is all about. They don’t understand it, it looks easy, there’s not a lot of connection with the drivers because they don’t even know what they look like. So it’s about bridging that gap between cars going round and what it’s really like, who’s doing it, what the risks are, what the challenges are, what’s on the line…

“So, I think that I’ll be able to bridge that gap a little bit more domestically for people who are perhaps newly-interested in Formula 1.

“But mind you, we have some Formula 1 fans in the States, a lot of them that are super-passionate and who know more about Formula 1 than I do! Because they’re passionate, right? But then the newer ones who are kind of interested that might be watching for the first time because it’s on at noon instead of 8am or 7am, it’s a good opportunity to pull them in and get them interested and maybe they’ll understand more about it after listening.”

Next weekend’s race in Austin will be carried live on ABC for the first time since 2019.

The Malaysian oil giant has been a sponsor and technical partner of Mercedes since the German car manufacturer’s F1 return in 2010.

Its logos have appeared prominently on the Mercedes cars ever since, and its fuel and oils have played a critical role in helping the team deliver seven consecutive F1 championship doubles.

The deal between Mercedes and Petronas has been extended several times and it is understood that its most current contract, which was signed back in 2019, runs until the end of 2025.

Despite that deal being in place, wild rumours surfaced over the weekend that Petronas would leave F1 at the end of this season and Mercedes would replace it with Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco as its title partner from 2022.

The links were based on Aramco’s efforts to ramp up its profile on the back of its sponsorship of F1, plus Saudi Arabia hosting its first grand prix this year.

Aramco’s partnership with F1 already ensures extensive trackside advertising as well as the title rights to a number of races over the course of the season.

However, it has been made clear that there will be no change in the Petronas-Mercedes partnership, and the current contract will carry on as before.

A statement issued on behalf of the team and oil company on Monday said: “Petronas and Mercedes have been partners since 2010 in a collaborative long-term relationship that is mutually beneficial to both parties.

“Last year, we extended our partnership for another multi-year cycle and we are proud to continue to be working together to deliver cutting-edge performance.”

Petronas’s commitment to F1 comes despite a change of its focus in other motorsport activities, with it ending its title sponsorship of the Sepang Racing Team in MotoGP from 2022.

Mercedes co-owner Ineos does have close ties with Aramco as they work together on projects in Saudi Arabia.

Back in 2019, Ineos announced a $2 billion investment deal in the kingdom where, jointly with French company Total, it would build its first ever plants in the Middle East.

Hakkinen will join the field for the Race of Champions on 5-6 February, which is taking place in the Swedish resort of Pite Havsbad with an off-course route in the ice and snow.

Current Mercedes F1 driver Bottas announced in September he would be making his Race of Champions debut next year, and he will now be partnered by Hakkinen.

Bottas and Hakkinen will represent Team Finland in the Nations Cup, with both drivers also due to take part in the individual Champion of Champions event.

“I’m very excited to be back racing again and to finally be able to participate in the Race Of Champions,” said Hakkinen, who won the F1 drivers’ title in 1998 and 1999 with McLaren.

“It will be very different from racing in Formula 1, but I love competition and it’s so spectacular driving on snow and ice.

“I’ll try to get some practice at my place in the north of Finland before the event.

“It’s an honour to represent Team Finland with Valtteri Bottas. We will do our best to win the title and hopefully there will be a lot of Finnish fans coming to support us.”

Bottas added: “We have become good friends with Mika, so I’m very happy to have him as my team-mate representing Finland in the ROC Nations Cup.

“But then of course we have to try to beat each other in the individual Race Of Champions. It will be entertaining for the fans, whoever wins it.”

Hakkinen joins an array of Nordic drivers for next year’s Race of Champions, including Bottas, nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, three-time World Rallycross champion Johan Kristoffersson, as well as rally stars Petter and Oliver Solberg.

“There is a long-standing sporting rivalry between the Nordic countries, so there will be a lot of prestige on the line, especially between Finland and Sweden,” said Race of Champions president Fredrik Johnsson.

“The local drivers might think they will have an edge, but the competition from nations like France, spearheaded by Sebastien Loeb, and US with Travis Pastrana will be fierce and there are always surprises at ROC.

“One thing is for sure, it will be very spectacular and entertaining to watch.”

The Acura name will be back in Formula 1 for the first time in more than a decade thanks to branding on both the Red Bull and AlphaTauri cars at this weekend’s United States Grand Prix.

Honda’s North American high-performance brand was last seen in F1 at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, when the Japanese manufacturer was a full constructor. This weekend, the rear wings of both Honda-powered cars will carry the Acura logo, while it will also feature on the drivers race suits and helmet visors, echoing the first time Honda promoted Acura in F1 with McLaren pair Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost back in 1989.

Honda F1’s managing director Masashi Yamamoto says Austin will be the only race the branding is used, as Red Bull reverts to its usual blue color-scheme after running a white Honda livery in Turkey.

“We are happy to promote Honda’s Acura division at the United States Grand Prix and for them to support us in this our final season in Formula 1,” Yamamoto said. “Acura is an important brand in the USA, Canada and China among other countries and has a long and successful history of motorsport involvement also linked to Honda Performance Development, Honda’s racing division in the States.

“This special livery is a one-off, just for this event, but we hope it will be remembered as part of another successful weekend for our Formula 1 team in what has been an exciting and excellent season so far.

“This will not be the first time that Formula 1 cars and drivers have raced with Acura branding. The Acura marque made its F1 debut at the 1989 United States Grand Prix in Phoenix, when Alain Prost won, with Acura on his helmet visor. Let’s hope that’s a good omen for this weekend.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner also hopes history repeats itself 32 years later.

“As Honda’s high-performance marque in North America it seems only right and proper that Acura should be present at the pinnacle of motorsport, Formula 1 and we are delighted to welcome them back for this year’s United States Grand Prix,” Horner said. “I remember Alain Prost winning the U.S. Grand Prix in 1989 with Acura on his visor, so hopefully having the brand with us this weekend at the Circuit of The Americas will bring us the same result.”

U.S.-based Andretti Autosport would be a great addition to Formula One if reported takeover talks with Sauber come to fruition, according to Aston Martin's billionaire Canadian owner Lawrence Stroll.

Swiss-based Sauber run the Alfa Romeo team and there is mounting speculation that Michael Andretti, a former grand prix racer and son of 1978 champion Mario, is close to a deal.

American motorsports website Racer.com reported however that no announcement was expected at this weekend's U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.

"Andretti's a great name. I know the family and I think they'd be a great addition to the sport, if it's true," Stroll told Reuters from Montreal ahead of Sunday's race when asked about the rumours.

"I don't know much about it other than that I heard in the paddock last race that there was potentially some activity there.

"I think they did a SPAC in the States and said they were going to look to buy something in motorsports. I fully get it, I see the logic."

The Andretti family set up a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) this year to raise $250 million through an initial public offering.

The United States is a key growth area for Formula One, owned by U.S.-based Liberty Media, with a second race in Miami coming in 2022.

Stroll, who made his money in fashion, bought a significant stake in British sportscar maker Aston Martin in 2020 and is the executive chairman.

The Silverstone-based Formula One team he bought in 2018 now competes as Aston Martin and Stroll has big plans for the future.

A new factory and wind tunnel 'campus' is being built and the team this month launched a five-year sterling retail bond through the London Stock Exchange to help fund a project due for completion in three years' time.

Stroll said the offer was also a chance for the team's fans and employees to become financially involved with a minimum initial subscription of 1,000 pounds ($1,376.40) and multiples of 100.

"This will be a substantial amount of what the total facility will cost," said the Canadian, who added that the latest cost estimate was around 220 million pounds.

Stroll said Formula One's introduction of a budget cap this season, dropping to $135 million in 2023, would transform the business.

"Everybody is very focused on each of us being profitable. And Formula One teams, run properly, will be very profitable companies," he said.

"It's a lot easier to win when you're outspending the competition. That has now gone... that plays into the sweet spot of this team, who historically did more with less.

"We'll be able to do more, we'll be at the peak of the budget cap, we'll be right up there."

The value of Formula One teams has also been boosted by any new entrant having to pay a $200 million fee to compensate the existing 10 outfits for their reduced future share of the sport's overall revenues.

This does not apply to anyone taking over an existing team.

​​​​​​​Michael Andretti purchases the Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team, reuniting a famous racing family with the pinnacle of global motorsport. Then, it installs a young, promising American talent as one of its drivers, something Haas — the sport’s other American team — has failed to do in six seasons. It’s a really nice idea that’s given rise to a heap of speculation, though a nice idea is all that it is at the moment. Andretti’s supposedly doing everything in his power to make it real, though.

Nearly two weeks ago, it was reported that Andretti was nearing a deal to acquire 80 percent of the investment firm that owns Sauber Motorsport and Sauber Engineering, which run Alfa Romeo’s F1 effort. It’s rumored that Andretti visited Sauber’s base of operations in Hinwil, Switzerland on Monday.

On Tuesday, Jenna Fryer of the Associated Press tweeted that she heard from multiple people that Andretti was trying to get Colton Herta, who races for Andretti Autosport in IndyCar, into an F1 car for Friday practice ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas.

Then, an hour later, Racer reported that neither the rumored announcement of Andretti taking over the Alfa Romeo team nor Herta’s potential practice run are expected to occur at COTA after all.

Still, that’s a lot almost happening in a very short amount of time. Why the rush? The impetus could be Herta’s need to earn more points to qualify for a Super License, which all F1 drivers are required to have. You need 40 points, awarded for finishing positions in various racing series and totaled over a three-year period, to get a Super License.

As it stands, Herta has 32, though drivers are awarded a point for each F1 Free Practice session they participate in. For what it’s worth, the FIA has also thrown new drivers something of a lifeline in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the Indianapolis Star explains:
Taking that addendum to the rules into account, Herta could qualify with his 2018 Indy Lights runner-up title — if not for the fact that particular Indy Lights season wasn’t contested by enough drivers to count, based on the FIA’s rules. Perhaps the FIA could issue an exemption; nevertheless, I can only imagine how frustrating this must be to Herta and Andretti if they indeed believe the team will find its way onto the F1 grid next year.

All that would explain why Andretti would want Herta to get seat time during F1 practice sessions as soon as possible. But even then, there are only six races left in the current season, not to mention the massive, time-consuming adjustment in driving style required to transition from IndyCar to F1 — and vice versa — necessary to be competitive.

It’d be exciting to see Herta make the jump and join Valtteri Bottas in an Andretti-liveried car next season, should there be an Andretti-liveried car next season. The 21-year-old, six-time IndyCar race winner has made his interest in an F1 career known before. Maybe he’ll get that chance in 2022, maybe he’ll have to wait. Either way, if everything goes according to Andretti’s plan, it seems bound to happen one way or another.