Vettel ‘lacking pace to fight for points’ in Aston Martin F1 car

The German took 15th place in the season opener in Bahrain and was also classified in the same position at Imola after a late retirement, and finished 13th in the Portuguese and Spanish Grands Prix.
For Barcelona Vettel had the new floor that his Aston team-mate Lance Stroll had already tried in Portimao, and despite the disappointing result he insisted that he was happier with the …Keep reading

Perez: Reduced F1 track time hindering progress adapting to Red Bull

Perez was signed by Red Bull to partner Max Verstappen for this season after his exit from Racing Point, becoming the fourth different driver in the team’s second seat in as many years.
Perez said before the season began that he expected to take four or five races to get up to speed, and has scored less than half as many points as Verstappen so far.
A difficult weekend in Spain saw Perez …Keep reading

Baku rules out F1 race date swap with Turkish GP

Turkey was added to the 2021 calendar as a replacement for the cancelled Canadian Grand Prix at the end of April, taking the 13 June date slot, one week after the Azerbaijan race in Baku.
But fresh doubts were raised of the race after Turkey was added to the UK’s ‘red list’ for travel, meaning anyone returning to the UK would have to complete a 10-day quarantine in a government-approved …Keep reading

Steiner: Wolff “wanted a little bit of publicity” with FIA call

Mercedes team boss Wolff was heard requesting blue flags from Masi as Lewis Hamilton closed up to lap Haas driver Nikita Mazepin shortly before making his first pit stop.
The complaint was broadcast on the F1 world feed, marking the first time a message to race control from one of the teams had been aired.
It came as Hamilton looked to minimise the time lost to Verstappen as he extended his …Keep reading

Why F1’s flexi wing tricks are a never-ending problem for the FIA

On the one side are the teams who are constantly trying to push the boundaries of the regulations when it comes to flexible bodywork.
Then, fighting them is the FIA which is constantly having to find ways of policing the matter to ensure that teams aren’t exploiting the rules.
The FIA’s latest move, to impose stricter tests from the French Grand Prix, has come off the back of concerns …Keep reading

Gasly: AlphaTauri F1 team “dropped back” compared to start of 2021

The Frenchman qualified fifth in both Bahrain and Imola, and then subsequently started ninth at Portimao and only 12th in Barcelona.
In Spain last weekend he made his life more difficult by overshooting his grid box when he lined up before the start, which led to a five-second time penalty being applied at his pitstop.
He recovered to finish 10th after chasing his countryman Esteban Ocon …Keep reading