Formula 1 has always been known as something of a playpen for the very rich. Last year, Lewis Hamilton described the new era as a “billionaire boys’ club” and there are few drivers on the grid who have not come from affluent backgrounds.

Lando Norris and Sergio Perez are the sons of millionaires, Lance Stoll and Nicholas Latifi the same but of billionaires. Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz, Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen all have parents who competed in motorsport.

Some drivers, such as Sebastian Vettel, George Russell and Yuki Tsunoda, rely on sponsorship, as did Hamilton after his father worked three jobs to keep his son’s dream alive. Daniel Ricciardo’s parents do not have the same level of wealth as some of the previous names listed but were able to pay for their son’s rise through to F1.

Formula 1 has always been known as something of a playpen for the very rich. Last year, Lewis Hamilton described the new era as a “billionaire boys’ club” and there are few drivers on the grid who have not come from affluent backgrounds.

Lando Norris and Sergio Perez are the sons of millionaires, Lance Stoll and Nicholas Latifi the same but of billionaires. Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz, Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen all have parents who competed in motorsport.

Some drivers, such as Sebastian Vettel, George Russell and Yuki Tsunoda, rely on sponsorship, as did Hamilton after his father worked three jobs to keep his son’s dream alive. Daniel Ricciardo’s parents do not have the same level of wealth as some of the previous names listed but were able to pay for their son’s rise through to F1.

As inflation increases, that cost will only derive higher meaning that disadvantaged children, or even those that do not come from especially wealthy families, will find it near impossible to break into Formula 1.

The Schumacher name is one that is very closely associated with Formula 1, so when Ralf, brother of Michael and uncle of Mick, says it costs around €13 to €15 million to get onto the grid, he knows what he is talking about.

In an interview with motorsport-total.com, the 47-year-old calculated it can cost up to a quarter of a million a year just to compete in go-karting.

“You will need around €30,000 [to compete in Bambino karting which is for six to eight-year-olds]. You travel around, you sleep somewhere, you eat a little something, the material and so on.

“In international karting, with a professional team with all the races, you’re good and happy with a quarter of a million a year.

“A mere mortal can’t even afford the small classes. That’s almost impossible. It might be a little bit easier at first, as long as it’s in club sport. There are classes which you can pay for. But after that it becomes very difficult.”

Ralf and his brother entered the sport in the 1980s but said without sponsors and their close proximity to a track, that would not have been possible.

“We were lucky that we had supporters – and at the same time we were lucky that karting was a bit cheaper back then and the level not that high,” he said. “We grew up on a go-kart track. You could just exploit this advantage.”

Ralf, brother of Michael and uncle of Mick, says it costs around €13 to €15 million to get onto the grid

Mick Schumacher might be heading elsewhere on the grid for 2023, but Guenther Steiner has hinted at a replacement that could create some serious fireworks in the Haas garage – Nico Hulkenberg!

Hulkenberg has been sitting on the F1 sidelines for some time now, after being kicked out of his full-time F1 seat at Renault in 2019.

But Steiner thinks that pairing the Aston Martin reserve with Kevin Magnussen could be a very popular decision!

“A man like Nico brings experience with him. I think the fans would love it!”

Steiner’s answer partly alludes to the elephant in the room.

If you’ve been an F1 fan for a while, you’ll probably be familiar with the “suck my balls” incident between Magnussen and Hulkenberg back in 2017.

After an incident on track, Hulkenberg confronted Magnussen in the press paddock and called him “the most unsporting driver on the grid”. 😬

Magnussen then responded in typical Viking fashion and said “suck my balls, mate”. 🤣

The pair have since put their little spat behind them, but Steiner might be hoping their friction could fire Haas back up toward the front end of the grid.

Obviously, Hulkenberg isn’t the only option. Despite a few bumps (and the odd smash), Schumacher has improved in his time with Haas, and Steiner may still decide to extend the German’s contract for 2023.

But if things don’t work out, there are other drivers looking for an F1 seat for next season, including Antonio Giovinazzi, Daniel Ricciardo, and even Nicholas Latifi!

But if things don’t work out, there are other drivers looking for an F1 seat for next season, including Antonio Giovinazzi, Daniel Ricciardo, and even Nicholas Latifi!

McLaren have shown off a special livery design that they will use for the upcoming Singapore and Japanese Grands Prix, celebrating Formula 1’s return to the Asian continent.

After the 2020 and 2021 races at Marina Bay and Suzuka were cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, both venues are back on the calendar for 2022 with a double-header sequence over the next two weekends.

To mark the occasion, McLaren worked with team partner and crypto exchange company OKX to create a bespoke ‘Future Mode’ livery for the MCL36 – as the two parties expand their collaboration.

With the car’s usual colour scheme dominated by papaya, the new livery adds neon pink embellishments and cyberpunk-inspired engine illustrations.

According to the team, it “represents the emergence of new technologies from the region, with a look to the future inspired by the cityscapes of Singapore and Japan”.

In addition to both McLaren cars, the livery change will be reflected on the race suits worn by drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, while also featuring in the F1 22 video game from October 11.

As the result of the extreme bouncing earlier in the season that left drivers complaining about safety implications, the FIA announced ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix that it was introducing an Aerodynamic Oscillation Metric that teams would not be allowed to exceed.

Teams had to ensure that their car was below the maximum bouncing limit over each lap, or there was a risk of them being sanctioned on safety grounds.

In a document sent to teams ahead of the Montreal race, they were warned that breaching the rules would carry the risk of cars being excluded from events.

F1’s head of single seater matters Nikolas Tombazis said in that note: “Any car whose AOM exceeds the stipulated AOM [limit] will be reported to the stewards with the recommendation that they be excluded from the results of the sprint or race."

Following some debate with teams about the implications of the metric, it finally came in to force from the Belgian Grand Prix.

By that stage of the campaign, with teams having a much better understanding of the forces that triggered much of the early season porpoising, no team has fallen foul of the metric so far.

However, there had been some concern that some of the end of season races on bumpier tracks – including Singapore and Austin – could have triggered particular headaches.

With the metric being taken as an average over a distance – initially 10 J/kg per 100km - running of the cars had shown that if cars hit bumps on the track then those impact spikes could serve to have a dramatic impact on lifting the overall average.

Running cars on especially bumpy tracks meant that teams could inadvertently exceed the AOM limit because of the surface of the circuit rather than anything to do with there being too much porpoising.

Ahead of the Singapore GP, Tombazis has written to teams to say that the FIA is tweaking the metric from now on to help alleviate the bumpy track complication.

The governing body has notified teams that to avoid excess energy spikes caused by track bumps skewing the metric, a new maximium reading limit will be put in place to not take into account such extreme impacts.

The FIA has said from now on that there will be a top limit of 7G attributed to readings – meaning any track strike above that will not be taken into account for compliance with the metric.

This change in approach should help teams avoid any risk of them inadvertently breaching the AOM limit.

Alex Albon will definitely start the Singapore Grand Prix weekend for the Williams Formula 1 team after his recent surgery and post-operative complications, but his Italian GP replacement Nyck de Vries is on standby to take over again if needed.

Albon had to abruptly pull out of the Monza event after developing appendicitis on the morning of qualifying.

He had laparoscopic surgery later that day but what were described as “post-operative anaesthetic complications” then led to respiratory failure and a period back in intensive care on a mechanical ventilator.

Albon always targeted a return for this weekend’s Singapore race if he could recover sufficiently in time.

He was quoted in Williams’s pre-event press release speaking as though he will definitely race at Marina Bay.

The Race understands that Albon will definitely be in the car for the start of Friday practice.

His continued participation will depend on how the Friday sessions go.

Mercedes reserve De Vries – who had driven for Aston Martin in Friday practice at Monza – was handed a short-notice F1 race debut in Albon’s place and thrust himself into the thick of the 2023 driver market by finishing ninth.

Though he is understood to have an offer from Williams, he has also become a target for AlphaTauri now Red Bull has had to give up on transferring Colton Herta from IndyCar, and has tested for Alpine in the gap between races.

De Vries will be present in Singapore and ready to step in at Williams if Albon is unable to continue in the car.

The Marina Bay street track is one of the most physically demanding on the calendar, but Albon has conducted an intense training and recovery programme since his operation and has not suffered any further health complications.

He is also booked for a full schedule of media activities over the Singapore GP weekend at present.

“My preparation for Singapore has been a little different than normal but I’m feeling good and I’ve done everything possible to get ready for one of the most physical races on the calendar,” said Albon in Williams’s preview release.

“I am not underestimating how big a challenge this is going to be, but I am looking forward to hitting the track on Friday and getting back driving.”