Pirelli have clarified changes to the tyre rules on weekends earmarked for Sprint Qualifying, the experimental new format approved by the Formula 1 Commission on Monday.

The new format will be tried at three race weekends this season, two European events and one-non European, with an extra 100km “Sprint Qualifying” race added on the Saturday and the traditional qualifying session moved to the Friday.

The result of normal qualifying will inform the grid for Sprint Qualifying, with the result of the 100km race determining the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Where the changes come in are with the tyres, and it has now been confirmed that drivers will have just five sets of soft tyres to use in Friday qualifying on Sprint Qualifying weekends.

This is different from a regular weekend, where a number of the tops teams use the medium tyre in Q2 so that they are able to start the race on the medium compound.

Drivers will then have free tyre choice during the Sprint Qualifying race and will not be required to use at least two sets of tyres.

During the Grand Prix, drivers will have free choice of tyres to start the race, but still must use at least two different compounds.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has proposed the United States Grand Prix switch between Austin and Indianapolis in future following the arrival of Miami on the F1 calendar.

The Miami GP has provided F1 with a shot in the arm in the US as it seeks to build on its growing popularity generated by the Netflix 'Drive to Survive' series.

While the Circuit of the Americas has been F1's home in the US since 2012, its 10-year contract expires following this year's event, with question marks over whether it will be renewed.

Brown, though, has a solution that would see the return of Indianapolis Motor Speedway following an eight-year spell as host from 2000 to 2007.

“I’ve voiced my opinion [to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali] that I think Indianapolis should have a grand prix," Brown told the Indianapolis Star.

"I think I’d like to see in America three grands prix, but the schedule may not allow for three.

“I’d like to see one permanent one, and then maybe a rotation. Then, you get three markets, and you keep the enthusiasm and the excitement if you have a little bit more scarcity.

“I think Miami needs to run on an annual basis ... but now that [COTA] has been built, I don’t know if it needs it every year.

"And Indianapolis, because it’s built, I don’t think it needs it every year. So I could see a scenario where you went to Miami, and you rotated Austin and Indy.

“I think it’d be great. I think everyone wins.”

Domenicali has not ruled out the prospect of further races in the US, although other markets - such as returning F1 to Africa - are understood to be the priority.

After taking ownership of IMS, Roger Penske has made it part of his remit to one day bring F1 back to the circuit that declared in a statement issued in February that "there continues to be mutual interest in an F1 race at IMS."

It added: "We're open to further dialogue, and time will tell if there's an opportunity that works for everyone."

Brown has suggested the first two years of a potential swap between COTA and IMS could be used as a trial to determine the interest levels, while he has even gone so far as to propose adding an IndyCar race into the weekend programme.

“I think if you put all that together, it would be very successful as it was, but then it started to taper off,” added Brown.

"That tapering off might stop or lessen. And you’ve got Roger, who’s a great promoter, and maybe you run IndyCar as part of it as well.

“I think it would be great for IndyCar. There’s magic that can be worked there.”

The Milton Keynes-based team has had an encouraging start to the 2021 campaign, with Max Verstappen taking pole position for the season opener in Bahrain and winning last time out at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

That success has been helped by big progress from Honda, which will be pulling out of F1 at the end of this season.

Red Bull's takeover of the Honda project for 2022, allied to an engine freeze, makes it essential that it does not fall behind this winter when rival manufacturers will all be working hard to make their final improvements to the current generation of engines.

But despite Honda's departure, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner says the Japanese manufacturer is doing what it can to help prepare for the new fuels that are coming.

From 2022, as part of F1's push for a more sustainable future, engines must run on what is known as E10 fuel – which is petrol that includes a 10% blend of advanced sustainable ethanol.

The change in fuel will require engines to be adapted to maximise performance, and it is in this area that Honda is working to help prepare Red Bull as best as possible.

Speaking to Autosport about what Honda was doing to help Red Bull for next year, Horner said: "The biggest challenge for all the manufacturers is the introduction of that new fuel.

"So Honda, will, whilst they have the resources available to them, look to ensure that we're going in to the freeze in the best possible manner that we can be.

"Work is ongoing with that while Honda is still up and running in Sakura [its R&D facility in Japan], before everything is handed over."

While Red Bull's decision to run its own powertrains division was prompted by Honda's withdrawal from F1, the company has turned the situation into a much bigger project as it has developed.

The team's intent is clear in it wanting to build its own power unit entirely for new regulations in 2025, and it recently announced the signing of long-time Mercedes employee Ben Hodgkinson as its new technical director.

Work on a new state-of-the-art factory in Milton Keynes has begun, and Horner has laid out his hopes of the engine division helping take the team forward to success.

"Obviously with the engine freeze it was important as a safeguard for what will effectively be an interim period," he said.

"But for the new engine, whenever that comes, potentially 2025, we're obviously building up a structure.

"We're going to inherit some great people and talent from Honda, but we are absolutely committed to getting the right people in the right roles in an efficient manner that integrates fully with the chassis side of the business."

Having seen the win taken away from the Dutchman in Bahrain when he ran wide while overtaking Lewis Hamilton for the lead, and a pole position lap in Portimao deleted for going off circuit, Verstappen's final fastest lap effort was also scrubbed after he ran off track at the penultimate corner.

Verstappen himself called it "odd" that he had been singled out for running wide at Turn 14, while Red Bull's motorsport advisor Helmut Marko was much more outspoken.

"Now we've lost the victory, fastest lap, and pole position," Marko said on Sky Sports Germany after the race. "All good things come in threes. I hope that's the end of it.

"Something has to change. Either you make a boundary with kerbs or you make gravel or something. If you go out, there's an automatic penalty."

But while the subject of track limits has been ongoing all season, and Red Bull been in the spotlight of some key decisions on it, the FIA rebuffs suggestions there is a lack of consistency in the application of the rules.

As F1 race director Michael Masi pointed out after the Portuguese Grand Prix, Verstappen certainly was not alone in getting laptimes deleted in the race.

"I think there were a number of laptimes that were deleted during the race," he said. "Also there were a few that were deleted during qualifying, and obviously we had a greater number that had less of an impact in the practice sessions that were deleted.

"So I think that shows that we were policing the track limits for everyone equally."

While Verstappen was the only driver to lose a laptime for running wide at Turn 14 in the race, 13 drivers had times deleted for running wide at Turn 1 during the grand prix, with a further four (including Verstappen) losing a laptime for running off at Turn 4.

And while Verstappen may have believed that track limits at Turn 14 were not being policed, the FIA had been clear in revised race notes issued on Saturday morning that the corner was being judged.

Masi said: "It was consistent in with the manner in which the event notes were portrayed, particularly the additional version three that went out on Saturday morning. And that was following the discussion at the drivers' meeting about what would and wouldn't be tolerated. "

Those Saturday race notes had said: "The track limits at the exit of Turn 14 are defined as when no part of the car remains in contact with the red and white kerb."

So when Verstappen indeed ran past the kerb, it was a clear breach of the regulations.

As Masi explained: "Following a review of what happened on Friday in particular, Turn 14 was being used far more [this year].

"It wasn't an issue in 2020 but became one in 2021. So, as a result, I gave all of the drivers the latitude to use the red and white kerb at that corner in a similar manner to Turn 5.

"However, they were told that if they gained a lasting advantage out of each of those, which there is a number of examples being overtaking a car, faster in a mini-sector, whatever it may have been, that it will be looked at.

"Having looked at it post-race, it's very clear that Max was a) off the track, but b) that he was faster in that mini-sector than anyone, and as a result got the fastest lap of the race, which is a world championship point."

One of Red Bull's gripes about lack of consistent application rules was its belief that Lando Norris had managed to overtake Sergio Perez off track during their battle for fourth place.

Red Bull felt that Norris had gained a momentum advantage when he ran wide coming out of Turn 4 on the safety car restart lap. This extra speed appeared to allow him to slingshot past Perez on the run down to Turn 5.

Perez himself said: "I lost the position out of Turn 4 to Lando. I saw that he was completely off the track - and I didn't defend him – but that wasn't the case, so I misjudged it there. It was a bit of a shame because that cost me my race."

Speaking after the grand prix, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner had said: "Norris passed him fully off the track. Again, another track limits inconsistency."

But Masi says he does not understand Red Bull's complaint on this one, having been asked to look at the matter during the race.

"That was actually reported by Red Bull during the race, and was reviewed," explained Masi. "No, Lando did not overtake Sergio at Turn 4 outside of the track. It was a passing manoeuvre under brakes into Turn 5 at the end of a DRS zone."

The Silver Arrows are faced with a usual conundrum of whether to retain Bottas’ services for another season, with the Finn only ever signing one-year contracts since he replaced the retired Nico Rosberg ahead of the 2017 campaign.

But, the difference this season is that the end of Bottas’ current contract also coincides with the end of what has effectively been a three-year ‘loan spell’ for Russell, who is also on Mercedes’ books, at Williams.

And, with seven-time World Champion Sir Lewis Hamilton showing signs he is ready to commit his long-term future to Mercedes again soon, it looks set to be a straight fight between Bottas and Russell, who have infamously clashed already this season with a big collision between the pair at Imola.

However, the Daily Mail claims that Mercedes’ mind may already be made up and could instigate Russell’s move to the senior team before the season is even finished.

“There is some unrest at the factory about Valtteri,” an unnamed Mercedes engineer is reported to have told the Daily Mail.

“He is not up to it, which was made clearer by the job we saw Russell do in Bahrain.”

This report comes after Bottas failed to convert pole position at the Portuguese Grand Prix into a first race win of the season, although a sensor issue did prevent him from chasing Max Verstappen down again for P2 behind race winner Hamilton.

Over the course of the Portuguese Grand Prix weekend, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was asked about the decision to pick Bottas or Russell for 2022 should Hamilton confirm his intention to stay.

“I hope one day that I wake up and it becomes clear,” Wolff said.

“I think we need to look into the season and how the next races unfold and then it is a judgement call I believe. Not a very scientific response but I haven’t got any at the moment.”

The Finn is already 37 points behind Hamilton in the World Championship standings and currently occupies P4 behind Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Exactly seven months on from his horrifying fiery crash in the Bahrain Grand Prix, Romain Grosjean will make a sensational return to an F1 cockpit when he completes a one-off test for world champions Mercedes.

The 35-year-old Frenchman had been determined that his final act in an F1 machine wouldn’t be the crash that made his headline news around the world and left him with severe burns on his hands.

Forced to sit out the final two races of the season for Haas, Grosjean was recovering in hospital when he received the promise of an F1 test with Mercedes from Silver Arrows boss Toto Wolff, to ensure he could end his Grand Prix racing story on his own terms.

True to that promise, Grosjean will drive Lewis Hamilton’s 2019 championship-winning W10 in a full-day test at French Grand Prix venue Circuit Paul Ricard on June 29 – seven months to the day since his crash.

Grosjean will also pilot the car for a series of demonstration laps ahead of his home race at the same venue two days earlier.

“I am so excited to jump back in an F1 car!” said Grosjean, who completed a seat fit and simulator session at Mercedes’ Brackley factory on March 30. “It will be a special opportunity for me and to drive a world championship-winning Mercedes will be a unique experience.

“I’m very grateful to Mercedes F1 and to Toto for the opportunity. The first I heard about the chance to drive a Mercedes was in my hospital bed in Bahrain when Toto was speaking to the media and made the invitation. Read that news cheered me up a lot!

"F1 didn’t get the chance to race in France during 2020 because of Covid, so driving a Mercedes at the French Grand Prix in 2021 and then completing a test at the Circuit Paul Ricard, my home track, will be so special. I can’t wait for the day to arrive.”

Toto Wolff added that the inspiration behind the drive was to let Grosjean – who now races in Indycar – end his F1 career in a fitting way.

“We are very happy to support Romain with this special opportunity,” he said. “The idea first came when it looked like Romain would be ending his active career in Formula One, and we didn’t want his accident to be his last moment in an F1 car.

“He enjoyed a long and successful F1 career and we wanted to make sure that his final memories would be at the wheel of a championship-winning car. I’m excited to see what Romain’s feedback on the W10 is.

“Romain’s accident remind us of the dangers these guys face each time they climb into the cockpit but it’s also a testament to the incredible steps this sport has taken to improve safety over the years. I know the F1 community will celebrate seeing Romain back on track.”

Lewis Hamilton also had some words for the man getting into his former steed, saying he was “really happy” to see the Frenchman getting back in an F1 cockpit. “When it happened, we were all praying for him and seeing him walk away from it and recover so well was a massive relief,” added Hamilton.

“I’m looking forward to seeing him again in France and welcoming him to the team for the weekend – although he better look after my W10.”

It’s going to be an emotional occasion, so whatever you do, make sure you tune into the French Grand Prix on June 27.

Just weeks after the Milton Keynes-based team announced that it had signed Mercedes' head of mechanical engineering Ben Hodgkinson as its new technical director, more personnel have been confirmed as moving from the German car manufacturer to Red Bull.

Mercedes' head of manufacturing Steve Blewett is to become Red Bull's power unit production director.

Omid Mostaghimi, who is Mercedes' F1 electronics team leader, will be Red Bull's head of powertrains, electronics and ERS.

Pip Clode, who is Mercedes' F1 power unit concept team leader, is to become Red Bull's head of mechanical design ERS.

Anton Mayo, a Mercedes engineering team leader, will be head of power unit design ICE, while Steve Brodie, Mercedes' F1 trackside and final inspection manager, will become Red Bull's Group Leader ICE Operations.

The team has also said it will soon appoint a new Head of Mechanical Development, whose name will be announced in the coming weeks.

Red Bull team principal and powertrains CEO Christian Horner said: "Red Bull's mission to bring all aspects of its Formula 1 operations in-house through Red Bull Powertrains is an enormously exciting undertaking but also an extremely demanding one, and we know that success will only be achieved by bringing in the best and brightest talent, by providing them with the right tools and by creating the right environment in which they can thrive.

"Today's key leadership team appointments demonstrate our strong commitment to those goals and we certainly benefit from our campus being located in the UK where we have access to a huge wealth of engineering talent.

"Working with our new technical director, Ben Hodgkinson, and alongside key personnel retained from Honda Racing Development, each of the senior personnel announced today bring a wealth of experience, expertise and innovation to the Red Bull Powertrains programme and provide us with the strongest possible technical platform for the future."

Red Bull is constructing a state-of-the-art engine facility at its Milton Keynes campus for its new project.

While it is taking over the Honda engines from next year, it has been clear that it will work on a new power unit for 2025, when new regulations are due to come in.

The capture by Red Bull of key Mercedes staff will not be ideal for the German car manufacturer, but its F1 team boss Toto Wolff said recently he was not worried about needing to ramp up wages in a bid to stave off personnel being lured away.

"We will lose some, we will win some," he said. "But at the end of the day, I believe in the philosophy of Mercedes, and I believe that we are a really good employer.

"It's a place where there's high pressure, but there's also a lot of fun. We can be proud of that and we have to rely on that.

"There will always be a back and forth. But let's put it this way, I understand where Christian is coming from, he wants to build a structure and that's where you have to write a big cheque sometimes. But that's okay."

Raikkonen, now that the clouds of smoke have cleared, says he is guilty as charged: "It was actually my fault," he tells Formel1.de. "I checked something on the steering wheel and changed a setting that I had initially set wrong when I came out of the last corner. As a result, I bumped into him. So that was obviously my mistake."

The changes to his steering wheel were "very urgent," according to the 41-year-old Finn. Teammate Antonio Giovinazzi, by the way, holds no grudge at all. "The team told me that at that moment he changed something on the steering wheel. It's good. He said he was happy I didn't have a puncture."

Xevi Pujolar was glad the crash didn't cost the team both cars: "We had an emergency, he had to change something very quickly and unfortunately at that moment he was looking down and didn't realise he was so close to Antonio. We checked everything immediately on both cars, of course. With Kimi, we knew immediately that it was game over. Antonio, however, had no problem."

The Turns 10/11 sequence has been significantly altered ahead of this year's Spanish Grand Prix, a move made to improve safety that has been carried out in conjunction with the FIA and FIM.

Turn 10, at the end of the track's back straight, has returned to a similar layout to its original design – a longer, flowing left-hander that feeds directly into Turn 11 along the same curve, unlike the previous version used since 2004 that was a tight-left near-hairpin that fed into a more pronounced Turn 11 left.

Speaking in the part of the pre-2021 Spanish GP press conference that he shared with Charles Leclerc, AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly said of the changes: "Honestly, I don't have the answer now because we haven't tried it yet, but it doesn't make the straight line a lot longer.

"Clearly, I think there will be slightly more lines possible out of Turn 10, so I do hope racing improves, and it gives us the opportunity to put a bit of pressure on braking and maybe try something different on exit and overtake.

"[That would] give us a bit more opportunities in terms of racing, but in terms of driving, yeah, it's mostly a bit more open, a bit faster corner."

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz agreed with Gasly that the changes would allow drivers to take different lines through Turn 10 when following another car.

He said: "In the past, Turn 10 was obviously very difficult to follow a car in front [through] – just because there was only one line.

"There is a strong point [about the changes] – that maybe having a wider line [now], you can maybe place your car a bit differently compared to a car in front and get a bit more clean air.

"But, at the same time, it's a higher speed corner, [where] we will feel the downforce loss if we follow. One thing might compensate the other."

Charles Leclerc said he was "not so sure", when following on directly from Gasly's comments.

"I mean, I'm pretty sure that there will be different lines there and that should be a bit better to follow, but I also feel that Turn 10 was an opportunity to overtake, so I don't know," said the Ferrari driver.

"I think there will be less overtaking in Turn 10, but if then it helps us to follow closer for overtaking before Turn 1, then that's great."

Alpine racer Fernando Alonso says he does not it expect the changes to mean "that it will change much" in terms of racing action this weekend.

"Honestly, the corner was there anyway in the past," he explained.

"So sometimes, if you braked a little bit late into 10, you take that runoff area and you re-joined the track in 12.

"So, I don't that it's going to be a huge impact on the laptime, on the set-ups, on the overtaking possibilities – I think it's pretty similar.

"It should be quite transparent from outside or from the spectators' point of view."

Formula 1 could revert to using the original final corners at the Circuit de Catalunya if it returns to the track in future.

George Russell told RaceFans last month he believes racing at the circuit would be improved if the slow chicane at turn 14 and 15, prior to the pit straight, was bypassed.

F1 has used the chicane since it was introduced in 2007 at the FIA’s request, to slow the cars as the arrive onto the pit straight. FIA F1 race director Michael Masi confirmed they are considering whether it is still needed.

“It’s something that we’ve been looking at for a little while,” he said in response to a question from RaceFans. “It’s obviously not an overnight change that can be done.”

Masi said the FIA is “having a look at all of the implications and unintended consequences that may come about” from returning to the original configuration of the last two corners.

“Like all of our circuits and different corners and everything, we work together with the teams, the drivers and F1 in ensuring we’ve got the safest venue, but also something that promotes good racing,” he said.

Changes were made to turn 10 at the home of the Spanish Grand Prix for this year’s race. The bend, which was tightened in 2004, was eased and brought closer to its original layout.

Fernando Alonso approved of the change, though he admitted it did not make it easier to overtake at a track where passing is notoriously difficult.

“I confirmed the feelings that I had about the turn 10, which is it changed not much the overtaking possibilities,” he said. “I think it’s a very similar corner for that aspect of the old turn 10.

“It’s more fun to drive because it’s faster and you can carry more speed into the corner. So that was a positive thing. But in terms of overtaking, it was not a game-changer.”

He sees little scope to make overtaking much easier without significant changes to the track.

“Maybe a little bit extra DRS to right after the last chicane, maybe being able to open the DRS is a possibility for the future. I don’t know. Barcelona is going to be always tough for overtaking.”

It remains to be seen whether the world championship will return to the track which has held every Spanish Grand Prix since its first race 30 years ago. The promoters are yet to agree a deal to host a round of the 2021 F1 season.

Williams will hit an incredible milestone at the Monaco Grand Prix as they become only the third Formula 1 team to have entered 750 Grands Prix. And the famous British outfit have come up with an ingenious way to celebrate the landmark.

Founded by Sir Frank Williams and Sir Patrick Head in 1977, the team became one of the most successful in F1, taking well over 100 race victories, as well as seven drivers' titles and nine constructors' championships. The Grove-based squad are now owned by Dorilton Capital following a sale in 2020 that saw the founding family depart, and will put the names of 100 fans on their cars in the next round at Monaco to celebrate hitting the 750 Grands Prix mark.

Using an online tool on their website, fans will be able to calculate their race number – and 100 lucky fans who use the calculator will have their name carried on the halo of the FW43B cars driven by George Russell and Nicholas Latifi during the Monaco GP weekend.

Jost Capito, CEO of Williams Racing said: “Williams has always been about people; those that work for the team, along with our fans from all across the world. This milestone is about celebrating everyone that has been on this journey to 750 Grands Prix and will continue to be on this journey with us, as the team heads into a new era.

"We’re excited to share some of the incredible stories that have made the team what it is today and hear from supporters who have their own amazing tales of what Williams means to them.”

Williams team members will also carry a special logo on their kit signalling how many races they've worked at the team.

The team recently raised money for charity having completed 100 pitstops over the Portuguese Grand Prix weekend as part of the Captain Tom Moore 100 Challenge.

Questions over the design of the Red Bull rear wing in particular were floated in Barcelona last weekend after Lewis Hamilton suggested its design was ‘bendy’.

The inference was that Red Bull could be exploiting a more flexible wing that rotates down on the straights to boost top speed, but then comes up back up into a normal position for the corners for maximum downforce.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was clear, however, that its wing design had been given the all-clear by the FIA and passed all the current pullback tests that are used to test the rigidity of the designs.

“Of course the cars are scrutineered thoroughly and there's pull back tests, and there's all kinds of different tests it has to pass,” he said. “The FIA are completely happy with the car, that it has passed all of those tests that are pretty stringent.”

But on Tuesday, sources have revealed that the FIA has written to all teams and informed them that it is concerned some are exploiting designs that pass the static tests but still flex at speed.

In the note, a copy of which has been seen by Motorsport.com, the FIA states that it is aware of designs that comply with the current tests but ‘nonetheless exhibit excessive deflections while the cars are in motion.”

It adds: “We believe that such deformations can have a significant influence on the car’s aerodynamic performance.”

In response to its concerns, the FIA has stated that it is to enact a clause in F1’s technical regulations that allows it to introduce new tests.

Article 3.9.9 of F1’s Technical Regulations states: “The FIA reserves the right to introduce further load/deflection tests on any part of the bodywork which appears to be (or is suspected of), moving whilst the car is in motion.”

The FIA note details a series of new tests that are being introduced and focus on the characteristics of a wing that rotates backwards at speed. The current regulations check on bodywork not deflecting either one degree horizontally, or 3mm vertically, when certain forces are attached to them.

For the new test, the FIA is focusing on the behaviour of wings as they rotate backwards.

The tests will include limiting the rear wing to just one degree of rotation about an axis normal to the centre plane when two rearward and horizontal 750N loads are applied at a set location. A further test, involving a 1000N vertical and downforce force, will similarly allow just one degree of rotation.

The hope is that the tests will clamp down on teams trying to push the boundaries with clever designs that move when out on track and in a manner that is currently not checked for when the car is stationary.

With the potential being for some teams to need to strengthen their rear wings to ensure they comply with the new tests, a grace period has been introduced. So current designs will still be valid for the next races in Monaco, Baku and Turkey, before the checks come into force from June 15.

The first race after that date is currently the French GP on June 27, but there could be a calendar shuffle if the Turkish GP is axed.

Horner revealed in Spain that he had been spoken to by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff about the matter.

Speaking about Hamilton’s claims regarding a bendy wing, Horner said: “I was surprised to see his comments on that. But it's something that Toto has mentioned to me previously. I doubt it was Lewis' opinion, so probably came from elsewhere.”

Formula 1 has provided an update on the 2021 race calendar, with new Covid-19 travel restrictions meaning it’s no longer possible to race in Turkey on June 11-13.

That weekend will now remain free, with the French Grand Prix moving a week earlier than originally planned to June 18-20 and a second race in Austria – the Styrian Grand Prix – added to the calendar on June 25-27.

That creates a new France-Styria-Austria triple header, with the Austrian Grand Prix staying in its original July 2-4 slot. All tickets to the French Grand Prix are valid for the earlier date.

The changes mean there continues to be 23 races planned for the 2021 season.

“We were all looking forward to racing in Turkey but the travel restrictions in place have meant we are not able to be there in June,” said Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, in a statement.

“Formula 1 has shown again that it is able to react quickly to developments and find solutions and we are delighted that we will have a double header in Austria meaning our season remains at 23 races.

“I want to thank the promoter and authorities in Turkey for all of their efforts in recent weeks and want to thank the promoters in France and Austria for their speed, flexibility and enthusiasm in accommodating this solution. We have had very good conversations will all the other promoters since the start of the year and continue to work closely with them during this period.”

The statement added that the promoter in Turkey has requested that Formula 1 look at the potential opportunity for the race in Istanbul to be rescheduled later in the season if possible, alongside China who made the same request earlier this year.

Formula 1 also expressed its gratitude to the Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur region and French Grand Prix promoter for their flexibility, and the Austrian promoter for their enthusiasm to host a second race at short notice following the huge success of the two races in Austria in 2020.

The Formula 1 community will continue to travel this season with stringent safety measures in place. So far this season there have been 17,000 tests conducted with 15 positive cases - a rate of 0.1%.

The first of three 2021 events with the brand-new Sprint Qualifying weekend format will be the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on July 16-18. The revised schedule will see Free Practice 1 and Qualifying on Friday, with Free Practice 2 and Sprint Qualifying on Saturday, and the Grand Prix itself on Sunday, as usual.

We can now reveal the time of each session at Silverstone. Here’s how it will play out for both the fans in the grandstands and those watching on TV.

British Grand Prix weekend schedule:

FRIDAY
FP1: 1430-1530
Qualifying: 1800-1900

SATURDAY
FP2: 1200-1300
Sprint Qualifying: 1630-1700

SUNDAY
Race: 1500

*all times local

Sprint Qualifying will be a race run over 100km and lasting around 25-30 minutes. It is designed to provide a short and fast-paced racing spectacle – similar to a Twenty20 cricket match – with drivers racing flat-out from start to finish without the need to pit.

Points will be awarded to the top three finishers, three for the winner down to one point for third. There won’t be a podium ceremony, as that honour will remain the privilege of the top three in Sunday’s Grand Prix, however the winner will get a trophy in Parc Ferme, presented in a similar manner to the tyre the pole-sitter currently from F1’s tyre supplier Pirelli after qualifying now.

The finishing order of the race will define the grid for Sunday’s showpiece event – the Grand Prix, where the traditional format will remain unchanged.

The drivers have been extremely positive about Sprint Qualifying, saying it will be 'intense' and that fans will see cars being 'pushed to the max'.

Two further sprint qualifying race weekends will follow in 2021, with the second expected to be in Italy and the third at a flyaway event.