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While I dreaded the thought of LH44 retiring, I definitely wanted MB to keep VB77 on stand by….great guy and superb driver. (He and GR63 would make for some serious intrateam battles on the track)
Williams were awarded $35.7 million in arbitration after their dispute with former title sponsor ROKiT was settled in the United States.
Williams and ROKiT first joined forces ahead of the 2019 season, agreeing a three-year contract, extending the deal during the same year to confirm their partnership until 2023, or so we thought.
The 2020 season was delayed due to the global pandemic, and during that downtime, Williams and ROKiT split, meaning we had seen the end also of that red, white and blue livery debuted in pre-season testing.
As reported by MotorsportWeek.com, Williams had won a case against ROKiT at a London Court of International Arbitration tribunal in 2021, which had ordered ROKiT to pay Williams “roughly £26.2m in missed payments, as well as a $1m in bonus payment.”
ROKiT it is stated were expected to pay Williams in installments between £3.5m to £5m as part of the title sponsorship agreement.
ROKIiT owner Johnathan Kendrick reportedly had promised to pay the $1m by March 2020, while the company had apparently sent a document to the team to instruct the transfer of the $24.4m that was owed to them at the time.
Williams’ change of ownership did complicate matters though, with Dorilton Capital taking over from the Williams family in the summer of 2020.
The case then went to a federal court hearing in the United States, where arbitrator Klaus Reichert SC ruled in favour of Williams, finding that ROKiT had not paid the money owed to Williams, despite being happy with the financial packages agreed, and promising full payment to the Grove outfit.
The report adds that ROKiT were putting off sending the money to Williams because the team had not “fulfilled its obligations under the deal after January 1, 2020.”
That argument was rejected by Reichert.
Now that the case has finally it seems been settled, Williams can turn their full focus to the 2022 season, where majorly revised regulations will offer the chance for them to climb their way up the pecking order.
They have lost the services of George Russell, who has made the move to Mercedes, but Williams nonetheless have high hopes for his replacement Alex Albon.
The former Toro Rosso and Red Bull driver returns to the grid after a season on the sidelines, leaving his role as Red Bull’s test and reserve driver to complete the move to Williams.
He will line-up alongside his former Formula 2 team-mate Nicholas Latifi.
An investigation by Formula One's governing body into last season's Abu Dhabi finale is picking up speed amid speculation the outcome will determine whether seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton races on or walks away.
The International Automobile Federation (FIA) promised in December "a detailed analysis and clarification exercise" of a controversy it recognised was tarnishing the image of the championship.
It has said it will discuss what happened with all teams and drivers and reach a conclusion before the start of the season in March.
An FIA spokesman said Wednesday the investigation was being led by Peter Bayer, the Geneva-based secretary general for motorsport, and would be "thorough, objective and transparent."
The process started after the last meeting of the World Motor Sport Council on Dec. 15, two days before Emirati Mohammed Ben Sulayem was elected FIA president, and has become more active in the past week.
Formula One race director Michael Masi, the FIA official at the centre of the storm, sparked uproar after a late change in the safety car procedure handed an advantage to Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Verstappen was then able to pass Hamilton on the last lap to win the race and his first title, denying the Mercedes driver a record eighth.
Mercedes, who felt Hamilton was robbed, dropped the threat of an appeal after the FIA probe was announced but warned they would hold the governing body to account and needed to see actions as well as words.
Some see Masi's position as untenable but there is also no clear replacement for the Australian.
Hamilton has a contract to the end of 2023 but there has been plenty of speculation in the media that he could call it a day if the FIA does not come up with an adequate response.
The Briton, who turned 37 this month, has shunned social media and avoided making any public comment since the Dec. 12 race.
He said over the team radio during the race that "this has been manipulated".
The next World Motor Sport Council meeting is due to be held in Paris on Feb. 3 but any report must first go to the Formula One commission and sporting advisory committee for consideration.
Testing starts in Spain on Feb. 23 with the opening race in Bahrain on March 20.
Lewis Hamilton's future may hinge on the outcome of the FIA's investigation into the final laps of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, according to a BBC report.
Last month Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said Hamilton was "disillusioned" with F1 after losing the title in controversial fashion, suggesting the seven-time world champion was contemplating whether to continue racing.
At the title-deciding race, FIA race director Michael Masi applied the rules incorrectly to force a restart on the last lap, leaving a heavily disadvantaged Hamilton an easy victim to Max Verstappen, who overtook his rival to win the title.
Mercedes did not pursue an appeal into the result of the race shortly after the FIA announced an investigation into Masi's decision-making at the end of the race. The outcome of that is likely to be key in dictating what Hamilton does next.
Hamilton has not spoken publicly or on social media since leaving the paddock on Dec. 12.
The BBC report also said Mercedes has denied making a deal with the FIA that Masi and Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA's head of single-seater matters, would no longer be in positions in 2022.
Either way, Masi's future remains unclear ahead of the new season, which starts with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 20. Masi stepped up to the role after long-serving race director Charlie Whiting's sudden death ahead of the 2019 Australian Grand Prix, and it is unclear if there is an obvious replacement should the FIA need to find a new one.
It is understood the FIA investigation was key to Mercedes dropping the appeal, and the reigning constructors' champions fully expect that to be a thorough and serious process. Speaking in the hours after Mercedes dropped the appeal, Wolff said his team hopes to hold the FIA to account for how the title-deciding race unfolded.
O’Ward, who scored his first two IndyCar victories in 2021 and finished third in the championship with Arrow McLaren SP, was awarded his first F1 test with McLaren in last month's Abu Dhabi rookie test.
The Mexican raved about his experience and has long expressed his enthusiasm for F1, having had a brief spell as a Red Bull junior in 2019 combining IndyCar appearances with Formula 2 and Super Formula.
Speaking to assembled media, including Autosport, O'Ward explained that not having the necessary points to make him a prospective F1 driver was a point of frustration.
Drivers wishing to race in F1 must gain 40 points across three seasons in other championships, encouraging them to rise through the FIA's single-seater ladder to gain experience and accrue the required total.
IndyCar champions can earn 40 points, while runners-up get 30 and third place win 20 points. Finishing fourth or lower earns the same number of superlicense points as the corresponding positions in the FIA Formula 3 championship.
“To me it's ridiculous that someone that's been fourth and third in the IndyCar championship can't get 40 points in the superlicense, I think many drivers agree with me,” O'Ward said.
“From what I understand, fourth would give you 10 points, third gives you 20, so I'm assuming I'm at 30 points of the superlicense.
“I haven't really stressed on that side because as much as I say, ‘Oh, maybe you can get a few points here, points there,’ at the end of the day you have to leave it to the people that want to give it to you.
“If they don't want to give it to you, then sorry, bud, you've got to have another year and get 10 more points, I guess.”
Asked if F1 was an end goal, O’Ward replied: “For sure, yeah. I mean, my dream to be a race car driver started with that, so I'd be lying if I said it wasn't.”
However, O'Ward stressed that his “one focus” currently is to win the IndyCar title and score the first championship title and Indianapolis 500 victory for the squad that began life as Sam Schmidt Motorsports.
“Who knows if F1 will be an option or won't be an option,” he added.
“Obviously if [F1] comes about, I will 100% take it and every single driver in my position would do it because it's Formula 1. That's what I grew up watching and that's what I grew up dreaming of. That same dream that you have as a kid will never go away.
“Right now, like I said, I have a challenge here, and I want people to enjoy me in IndyCar.
“I want them to know what IndyCar has to offer, I want them to enjoy me in IndyCar, the racing. There's so many cool things about it.
“I will tell you whenever I go to Formula 1 if I ever going to Formula 1, but for now enjoy me in IndyCar.”
After five seasons with Mercedes, he might have moved on to pastures new at Alfa Romeo, but Valtteri Bottas has revealed that the Silver Arrows didn’t let him go without a final show-stopping goodbye gift.
Having stepped into Nico Rosberg’s seat following the 2016 champion’s sudden exit, Bottas helped the team secure five consecutive Constructors’ Championships.
His pleasant personality and ability to play the supporting role meant he was well-liked within the team, including by teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Therefore, they decided to give the Finn a proper send-off back at base in Brackley and, as a finishing touch, presented him with a gift. There’s only one not-so-small problem with it. He’s got nowhere to put it!
“They had a little surprise when I came to the factory on the last day. They gave me my first winning car in 2017. I don’t have room for it now though!” he joked on Finnish podcast Suoraa puhetta minusta.
In the W08, Bottas achieved his first of ten victories in Russia, Austria and Abu Dhabi, scoring 305 points on his way to finish third in the Drivers’ Championship.
“I was amazed when I saw what they arranged for me – fireworks and music. I realised that they appreciate what I did with the team,” he added.
In addition, the 32-year-old let slip that the final lap in Abu Dhabi, which caused Hamilton to miss out on a record-breaking eighth title, cost not only the team but him dearly.
“Certain bonuses are tied to certain achievements. Luckily, I hadn’t got anything in advance.”
However, he remained tight lipped on exactly how much he’d missed out on
I'm sure MB would be fine storing it until his house is done. Wife told me he's building a new house in Finland. Surely it'll have room for the W08 & AMG-One
I typically never enter these things because it seems like a waste of time, but Bottas is cool (my wife's favorite) so i tagged her in it not thinking too much about it. When Kahiwa Coffee reached out saying I won, I couldn't even remember what the prize was but quickly realized something incredible had happened for us. Happy to answer any questions if anyone were to have any!EDIT with answers to common questions:
^ that's really interesting. Here's the brief radio messages between Michael Massi & Jonathan Wheatley (RBR) that they're talking about. Very damning, and perhaps adds to the debate that Masi needs to go. Nice guy but he's no Charlie Whiting
Formula 1 has released annual audience figures following the 2021 World Championship season, which included the new Sprint events at three races, and a title battle that went down to the wire between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
TV audience
The season finale in Abu Dhabi drew 108.7m viewers, +29% higher than the same race in 2020 – and the highest viewing figures for a race during the season.
The cumulative TV audience for 2021 was 1.55bn, up 4% from the 2020 season. F1 also saw strong audiences for the season opener in Bahrain (84.5m), and for the three Sprint weekend events at Silverstone (79.5m), Monza (80.4m) and Sao Paulo (82.1m).
There were significant rises in season cumulative audience in several markets, including many of F1's biggest markets. The Netherlands stood out with an increase of +81% Year on Year, but there were also significant gains in the USA (+58% YoY), France (+48% YoY), Italy (+40% YoY) and the UK (+39% YoY).
TV unique viewers (the number of individuals that tune into at least one race during the season) for 2021 stood at 445m (+3% YoY). The biggest market on this metric was China (70.8m unique viewers in 2021, +13% vs 2020), but there were also significant YoY gains in Spain (+272%), Russia (+129%), and the USA (+53%).
Globally, the average audience per Grand Prix in 2021 was 70.3m. Looking only at markets where like-for-like broadcasting arrangements were maintained across 2020 and 2021, the figure was 60.3m, up +13% YoY, and the highest figure since 2013.
The like-for-like comparison excludes Brazil and Germany, where new broadcast arrangements were in place for 2021. Although numbers were lower in those markets in 2021, there have been very positive results and experience in other markets shows that audiences on pay channels will continue to grow over time.
In Brazil, F1 is enjoying far more in-depth coverage and more hours of F1 being broadcast than 2020. In Germany, Sky’s cumulative audiences in 2021 have seen significant growth with +55% YoY.
Once again Formula 1 was the fastest-growing major sports league on the planet in terms of follower growth in 2021. F1 has 49.1m total followers and have seen the highest engagement rate with social posts compared to other major sports in 2021.
In 2021, followers (across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Tiktok, Snapchat, Twitch and Chinese social platforms) were up 40% to 49.1m, video views up 50% to 7bn and total engagement up 74% to 1.5bn.
Additionally, total video views across F1.com, the F1 app and social media were up 44% vs 2020 to 7.04bn, unique users were up 63% to 113m and page views were up +23% to 1.6bn. In China F1 saw very strong digital growth with followers on Chinese platforms (Weibo, WeChat, Toutiao and Douyin) up 39% to 2.7m.
The results mean that Formula 1 is outperforming other major sports in the digital arena. The digital share of total minutes consumed (across broadcast and digital) has grown from 10% in 2020 to 16% in 2021.
In 2021 F1 welcomed 2.69 million fans back to its events – after closed doors in 2020 – even though many races had limited capacities, and some could not welcome fans at all due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Although lower than pre-COVID figures of 4.16 million, this shows that there is huge demand for Formula 1 races, and F1 expects that demand will return to normal levels once the pandemic subsides.
Three Grands Prix had an attendance of more than 300,000 spectators over the race weekend: USA (400,000), Mexico (371,000) and Great Britain (356,000).
The USA, Mexico and Great Britain welcomed more fans than in 2019, the last time full capacities were possible, with previous attendances being 268,000, 348,000 and 351,000 people, respectively.
A total of 11 events attracted crowds of over 100,000 including: Belgium (213,000), the Netherlands (195,000), Turkey (190,000), Brazil (181,000), Abu Dhabi (153,000), Saudi Arabia (143,000), Austria (132,000) and Hungary (130,000).
Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO, Formula 1, said: “The 2021 season was something very special. We had a championship battle that went to the last race with huge excitement throughout the whole championship.
“We began to welcome back our fans who are the heart and soul of our sport and although we were limited in our capacities due to Covid, it was fantastic to see 2.6 million fans in the grandstands around the world. We have also seen some very strong figures across broadcast and our digital platforms, showing once again the momentum, excitement and interest that is all around Formula 1.
“We are looking forward to our record-breaking 23-race season this year, with new cars, new regulations, and a new challenge for all the teams and drivers. I know all of our fans can’t wait to get the season started.”
12-29-2021, 06:10 AM
Quite a championship
Nice sendoff for VB
Just saw 00-P3.2 post 
