2020 F1 News and Prediction Tournament

[PeteC]

Here we go again already. News about the 2020 season starting.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/50668906

Formula 1 relax 2020 engine restrictions

Formula 1 has relaxed restrictions on engine usage for 2020 meaning drivers could suffer fewer grid penalties.

Drivers will next year be able to use three MGU-Ks - a part of the hybrid system - one more than in 2019.

The move brings the MGU-K into line with the other parts of the power-unit in terms of permitted usage.

F1's complex, high-tech turbo-hybrid power-units are officially split into four parts for the purposes of the rules.

In addition to the MGU-K, which recovers energy from the rear axle and redeploys all hybrid-generated electrical energy to the rear wheels, the other three are the internal combustion engine, the turbo and the MGU-H, the part of the hybrid system that recovers energy from the turbo.

In 2020, drivers will be permitted to use three of each part during the season before becoming subject to grid penalties.

In addition, the engines require an electronics control box and a battery, with two of each being permitted for a season.

The change was confirmed in the 2020 rules, which were officially published on 4 December, after a meeting of the FIA World Council, motorsport's legislative body.

No more hiding
Among other minor tweaks, the chequered flag has been reinstated as the official signal of the end of the race.

This follows a mix-up at this year's Japanese Grand Prix when a system error led to the official light panel at the start-finish line showing a chequered flag signal one lap before the end of the race.

Although the drivers kept racing to the designated grand prix distance, the race result was declared one lap earlier as a consequence of the error.

And teams will no longer be able to use screens in front of their garages to obscure views of their cars during testing.

This is already banned at race meetings, but until now teams had blocked garages from sight in pre-season testing, mainly to stop other teams getting a view of their new designs.

The restriction will be in force from 09:00 to 18:00 local time each day and the only exceptions are when the floor of the car is not fitted or during the recovery and repair of a car damaged in a crash.

Pre-season testing in 2020 is on 19-21 and 26-28 February at Spain's Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

[PeteC]

Russian Grand Prix promoters 'confident' race will go ahead despite sporting ban

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/50721412

The promoters of the Russian Grand Prix say they are "confident" the race will go ahead despite Russia's four-year ban from all major sporting events.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) imposed the ban on Monday following the Russian doping scandal.

It means the Russia flag and anthem will not be allowed at events such as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics and football's 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The 2020 Russian Grand Prix is due to take place in Sochi on 27 September.

Promoters Rosgonki say it would be "legally and technically impossible" to move the race.

"The contract for holding the Russian round of the Formula 1 World Championship was signed in 2010, long before the events investigated by Wada, and runs until 2025," a Rosgonki statement said.

"We are confident that the Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix will be held in 2020 and in the following years and invite everyone to Sochi. The ticket sales are in full swing."

A spokesman for F1 reiterated the comments of the Russian Grand Prix's promoters, adding: "We will monitor the situation to see if there is an appeal and what would be its outcome."

Formula 1's governing body, the FIA, is International Olympic Committee-recognised and classified by Wada as a code signatory.

In a statement, the FIA said it would "continue to closely follow all material developments in this matter while taking into account any possible legal and practical consequences which these may have".

Analysis
Chief F1 writer, Andrew Benson

The four-year ban on Russia holding or participating in major international sporting events puts Formula 1 in a difficult position.

The FIA, F1's governing body, is a Wada signatory and it certainly meets the definition of "major event organisation" as the ruling body of any international sporting event.

But F1 has found some wriggle room in one of the clauses of the ban, which contains a caveat.

It states that where a right to host an event has already been awarded - as is the case with the Russian Grand Prix - a Wada signatory "must withdraw that right and re-assign the event to another country, unless it is legally or practically impossible to do so".

F1 says it has an ongoing legally binding contract for the Russian Grand Prix to be held in Sochi, which it is not possible to break or modify.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that the contract for the race is with F1 - which, as a commercial organisation and the promoter of the sport, is not a Wada signatory - but the race is part of a championship run by the FIA, which is.

The Russian Grand Prix is a pet project of President Vladimir Putin, who has attended every one since its inception in 2014, and the contract makes it one of the most lucrative races for F1.

In the circumstances, the chances of the race being called off seem slim - despite Russia's ban.

[PeteC]

Formula 1 teams unanimously reject Pirelli 2020 tyre design

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/50726067

Formula 1 teams have unanimously rejected the tyres proposed by supplier Pirelli for the 2020 season.

The Italian company had hoped the new design would be a step forward in plans to introduce less sensitive tyres, on which drivers can push and race harder.

But at a test in Abu Dhabi last week, teams preferred the 2019 tyres.

Pirelli said it was convinced of the changes in the 2020 tyres but understood that other factors were involved.

A spokesman pointed out that the 2020 tyre was a different profile from the 2019 model and the teams would therefore have had to make changes to their cars at what is a very late stage in the design process.

He added that there was only one year left of the current technical regulations before major changes planned for the 2021 season and that as a result teams were reluctant to change their cars for the tyres, when they are already planning for a much bigger change in 2021.

Pirelli said that the solutions used in the 2020 tyres would be among those used in 2021, when wheel sizes will be increased from 13 to 18 inches and lower-profile tyres will be introduced.

The decision means F1 will have to wait at least another year before it can instigate its plan to introduce tyres that are more raceable than those that have been used in recent years.

The drivers, under their representative organisation the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GDPA), have been pushing for the tyres to be made more durable so they can push flat out and race harder than they have so far been able to in the Pirelli era.

The Pirelli tyres used in F1 since 2011 have a tendency to overheat when pushed hard, which means drivers cannot push flat out or follow another car closely for any significant period of time.

This means races are dominated by tyre management, which means driving to a pre-set pace that keeps the tyres within their temperature window and which is well below the absolute limit of the car.

At some races, drivers cannot even push flat out for a full qualifying lap.

F1 is introducing major rule changes for 2021 with the aim of closing up the field and making overtaking easier, and Pirelli has been tasked with improving its tyres with the same aim.

FIA president Jean Todt said at the season-closing race in Abu Dhabi that the tyres needed to be "addressed for 2021".

But Pirelli's attempts to introduce its new durable design for 2020 have suffered setbacks from the start.

Tyres became a major focus of rule changes only during the summer, as discussions on the 2021 rules came to a head at the British Grand Prix.

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel was unconvinced by the tyres on his first experience of them at a test in Barcelona before the Japanese Grand Prix in October.

And when all the teams tried them in practice at the United States Grand Prix later that month, the drivers were unanimous in their criticism of them.

Vettel called them a "disappointment" and McLaren's Carlos Sainz said they felt "very weird and very bad".

Pirelli F1 boss Mario Isola said at the time that the test in the USA had been less effective than hoped because of the unusually cool conditions in Austin that day.

Haas driver Romain Grosjean, a director of the GPDA, said at the Abu Dhabi test: "If you ask me if I'm very happy about the new tyres and this is going to solve some of the problems - the thermal degradation, sensitivity to following another car - I just have to tell the truth - no, it's not going to change the problem fully."

Senior figures in F1 hope the move to 18-inch wheels and lower profile tyres for 2021 will make it easier to design tyres that fit the required criteria.

Testing on the 2021 rubber has already begun - Pirelli completed a two-day test in Abu Dhabi at the weekend with a 2019 Mercedes driven by Williams driver George Russell using 18-inch wheels.

[PeteC]

Charles Leclerc: Ferrari driver signs new five-year contract until 2024

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula-one/50891934

Charles Leclerc has signed a new five-year contract with Ferrari until 2024.

It follows an impressive first season for the Italian team after replacing Kimi Raikkonen for the 2019 season.

The 22-year-old from Monaco won back-to-back races in Belgium and Italy and scored seven pole positions, more than any other driver.

Leclerc finished fourth in the drivers' standings, ahead of his four-time world champion team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who he beat on every metric in 2019.

Leclerc scored more wins, poles and points than Vettel, and in qualifying beat him 12-nine on their head-to-head and was 0.111 seconds quicker on average.

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said: "With each passing race this year, our wish to extend our contract with Charles became ever more self-evident and the decision means he will now be with us for the next five seasons.

"We are very pleased that he will be with us for many years to come and I'm sure that together we will write many new pages in the history of the Prancing Horse."

Leclerc said on Twitter: "I'm so grateful to be driving for such a team. I've learnt so much during this first year. It is a great starting point to build a strong relationship for the years ahead."

Leclerc joined the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2016 and made his Formula 1 debut with the affiliated Alfa Romeo-backed Sauber team in the 2018 season, finishing 13th in the standings with 39 points from 21 races.

Analysis - Leclerc is Ferrari's future
Leclerc's new Ferrari contract confirms what was already self-evident throughout his highly impressive 2019 season - he is the future of Ferrari in F1.

Ferrari put him in the car in place of Raikkonen for 2019 because they saw in him a young man with enormous potential to become one of the defining figures of F1 in the 2020s and he has fully lived up to expectations.

He started the season as a de facto number two to Vettel, to whom the team said they would give priority in any close calls.

But Leclerc's natural speed caused problems from the start, and forced them into a series of uncomfortable situations where they had to use team orders to settle their drivers' positions.

He should have won his second race for Ferrari, turning in a performance in Bahrain that was as dominant as any by any driver all year, only for his engine to lose a cylinder in the closing laps, allowing Lewis Hamilton to catch him up and pass him for victory.

Leclerc made a few too many mistakes in the first half of the season, many a function of his inexperience, but from mid-summer he went on a remarkable run of races in which he out-qualified Vettel nine times in a row.

Starting in Belgium, he scored four pole positions in succession, and the weekend in Spa saw his first victory, which he followed up at Ferrari's home race in Monza a week later, to the delight of the thousands of cheering tifosi below the podium, hailing him as the new hero of the Italian fans. Both were highly accomplished drives in which he had to fend off significant pressure from Hamilton.

Leclerc should have taken a third consecutive victory in Singapore, only for Ferrari's strategists to inadvertently leapfrog Vettel ahead of him when they had simply been trying to get the German ahead of Hamilton into second place.

And he lost a fourth win in Russia when a badly timed virtual safety car, ironically caused by Vettel's retirement, handed the race to Hamilton.

That run of success led to increasing tensions with Vettel, and there was a series of flash points between the pair.

Each was guilty to one degree or another of ignoring team orders, but the nadir was Brazil when the Ferrari drivers crashed together as a result of Vettel moving over on Leclerc when trying to re-take the third place the younger man had snatched from him a couple of corners before with an audacious overtaking move.

The rivalry between the drivers will be a headache for Binotto heading into 2020, and already looks set to be one of the defining narratives in F1 for the second season in succession.

But the dynamics have shifted. Now, it is Leclerc who is effectively the team's lead driver, as the man who decisively out-performed his more illustrious team-mate in 2019 and with the powerful statement of a new five-year deal in his pocket.

Vettel, by contrast, is out of contract at the end of the year and his future is in doubt.

Next year will start with question marks about the futures of most of the top drivers - Hamilton, Vettel, Red Bull's Max Verstappen, Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas and Renault's Daniel Ricciardo all have contracts up for renewal.

If any of them fancy their chances at Ferrari, they now know whom they will be up against - and how much the team have invested in him.

[PeteC]

Robert Kubica joins Alfa Romeo as reserve driver

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/50965260

Pole Robert Kubica, who drove for Williams in 2019, will take up a reserve role at Alfa Romeo for 2020.

The 35-year-old, who recovered from a near-fatal rally crash in 2011 to return to motorsport's top tier, will be back-up to Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi.

Kubica's arrival coincides with a deal for Polish petrol company PKN Orlen to become a title sponsor to the team.

Alfa Romeo are a rebrand of the Sauber team Kubica made his debut for in 2006.

"This team holds a special place in my heart and I am pleased to see some faces still here from my years in Hinwil," said Kubica.

"Time and circumstances are obviously different, but I am convinced I will find the same determination and hunger to succeed.

"I am looking forward to helping Alfa Romeo Racing make the next step forward."

Kubica scored one point last season and was comprehensively outpaced by team-mate George Russell.

[pharvey]

^ Had been on the cards for a while and I hope he does well.

[PeteC]

McLaren: Andrea Stella promoted in Andreas Seidl's three-pronged restructure

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/50977329

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl has completed the leadership structure he hopes will take the team back to the front of Formula 1.

The German has promoted Italian Andrea Stella to racing director from his former role of performance director.

Stella, who joined McLaren from Ferrari at the end of 2014, will now be head of all trackside operations, including engineering and race strategy.

It creates a three-pronged management structure under Seidl as team boss.

Technical director James Key, recruited before Seidl came on board, leads technical and design function.

He works alongside Stella and production director Piers Thynne, who was promoted in July.

Seidl installed the structure of three main divisions reporting into him when he began his role as team principal last May, having previously been boss of Porsche's World Endurance Championship team.

The idea is to have a traditional management structure which is easy to understand and gives clear responsibilities, reporting lines and accountability.

Seidl had been fulfilling the racing director role himself through 2019 as he worked to understand McLaren and find the right appointment.

The racing director role had previously been occupied by Frenchman Eric Boullier as a de facto team boss before his departure in July 2018 as part of a major restructuring aimed at halting the team's slide down the rankings.

Making progress
Seidl's moves mark the latest in a series of significant changes at McLaren as they seek to re-establish a position at the front of F1 after years of decline.

His recruitment was part of a marked step forward in 2019.

After finishing 2018 in sixth place in the constructors' championship and ending the year with the second-slowest car on the grid, McLaren took a strong fourth place overall last year with new a driver line-up comprising Spaniard Carlos Sainz and British rookie Lando Norris.

Seidl describes McLaren's progress in 2019 as "an incredible step forward. It gives us a lot of motivation and energy".

He added: "Looking ahead, we have to keep this momentum up and simply have to keep on pushing in order to achieve our ambitious targets.

"At the same time, we should never underestimate what our competitors can do. They all have the same high targets and will work very hard towards them as well."

Ringing the big changes
McLaren last won a race in 2012 and, although they slipped badly from competitiveness in their last two seasons with Mercedes engines in 2013 and 2014, they believed through their relationship with engine partner Honda from 2015-17 that the power-unit was the overriding reason for their lack of pace.

But a switch to Renault engines for 2018 underlined that the team's car design had fallen behind the best outfits, and Boullier was one of a number of casualties that summer, along with former chief technical officer Tim Goss and engineering director Matt Morris.

Since then, the team has been fundamentally restructured as McLaren Racing chief executive officer Zak Brown, who joined the team in 2017, oversaw a major rethink of operations.

Seidl and Key were recruited in 2018 but could not join McLaren until the spring of 2019 as a result of extensive 'gardening-leave' periods from their former employers, Toro Rosso in the case of Key.

In the meantime, Pat Fry, a long-time McLaren engineer in the 1990s and 2000s, returned to the team in 2018 and helped oversee a major step forward for the 2019 season.

The arrival of Key in March and Seidl in May appeared to give McLaren fresh momentum, and the team hope to consolidate their progress through 2020 before major changes in 2021.

These are both external - with the new technical regulations and cost cap aimed at bringing the field closer together - and internal, with a decision led by Seidl to switch to Mercedes engines for 2021.

Fry left McLaren in the summer having been poached by Renault, who he will join at some point next year once the two teams have negotiated a starting date.

Renault have not confirmed Fry's position but he is expected to be a de facto replacement for chassis technical director Nick Chester, who left the team at the end of a 2019 season in which Renault failed to meet their own expectations and slipped behind McLaren to fifth place in the constructors' championship.

[PeteC]

Max Verstappen extends Red Bull deal until 2023

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/51016916

Max Verstappen has extended his deal with Red Bull until the end of the 2023 season.

The 22-year-old Dutchman has been with the team since being promoted from Toro Rosso part-way through the 2016 season.

"Red Bull believed in me and gave me the opportunity to start in Formula 1 which I have always been very grateful for," said Verstappen.

"I want to win with Red Bull and our goal is of course to fight for a World Championship together."

Verstappen became the youngest winner in F1 history when he won the Spanish Grand Prix as an 18-year-old in 2016.

He finished third in the title race behind champion Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas last season and the new deal appears to end speculation about the possibility of Verstappen moving to Mercedes or Ferrari.

"With the challenge of the 2021 regulation changes on the horizon continuity in as many areas as possible is key," said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

"Max has proven what an asset he is to the team, he truly believes in the partnership we have forged with our engine supplier Honda, and we are delighted to have extended our relationship with him."


Analysis
Andrew Benson, chief F1 writer

Max Verstappen's new contract with Red Bull is a highly significant development in Formula 1 for a number of reasons.

For Red Bull, it secures the services of arguably the brightest new talent on the grid for the next four seasons.

And following on from Charles Leclerc's commitment to Ferrari for the next five years, signed just before Christmas, it means the two biggest stars of the new generation know the stage on which they will fight for supremacy in the early years of this decade.

And at Mercedes, it hands Lewis Hamilton a whole heap of new bargaining power as he heads into the 2020 season and negotiations over a new contract.

Following Verstappen's new deal, Hamilton is along with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel one of only two top-line drivers out of contract at the end of the 2020 season.

Hamilton's team-mate Valtteri Bottas is also in that position, but few would regard him as a superstar in the manner of Hamilton, Vettel, Verstappen and, after last year, Leclerc.

But after Vettel's unconvincing and mistake-strewn performances for Ferrari over the past three seasons, Mercedes don't really have any alternatives to Hamilton now that Verstappen and Leclerc are committed elsewhere. Renault's Daniel Ricciardo is a wildcard - but Mercedes have already rejected the chance to sign the Australian once.

Looking at it from Verstappen's perspective, though, this is an interesting move.

Yes, Red Bull and engine partner Honda are committed to F1 beyond the end of 2020 - which Mercedes, technically and formally, are not yet.

But Honda announced last autumn only a one-year extension to the end of 2021.

The Japanese company says it intends to stay longer, and only did not commit because it still has questions about the details of the new 2021 rules.

But still one imagines that Verstappen must have been given significant reassurances to commit for such a long period, especially as it was known that Mercedes are interested in him as a potential successor to Hamilton.

As much as this strengthens Hamilton's hand in negotiations with Mercedes, though, in some ways it also reduces his options.

Of course there are still potential seats available at Red Bull and Ferrari alongside Verstappen and Leclerc. But after such a strong show of support for their new young stars from both teams - an illustration that they see them as their respective futures - would Hamilton, 35 today, really feel he could get the support he so enjoys at Mercedes if he were to move?

[PeteC]

Formula 1 2020 car launch & testing schedule

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/50978002

Formula 1 teams are putting together their new cars before the first race of the new season in Australia on 15 March.

The teams kick off pre-season testing at Barcelona in Spain on 19 February before returning for a second session later in the month.

There will be live BBC Sport live text commentary on all six days of the two tests.

Teams will launch their cars at different points up to testing - check back for pictures and insight into each team's 2020 designs.

Barcelona testing schedule

Circuit de Catalunya

Wednesday, 19 February - Friday, 21 February

Wednesday, 26 February - Friday, 28 February

2020 team car launches

Date Team Launch venue

Further car launch dates will be added here when they are announced

TBC Williams
TBC Haas
TBC Red Bull
TBC Renault
TBC Sauber
February 11 Ferrari
TBC Mercedes
February 14 Alpha Tauri
TBC McLaren
TBC Racing Point

[PeteC]

This year's schedule as it stands now

2020 SCHEDULE

Australian Grand Prix
Melbourne, 13-15 March

Bahrain Grand Prix
Sakhir, 20-22 March

Vietnam Grand Prix
Hanoi, 3-5 April

Chinese Grand Prix
Shanghai, 17-19 April

Netherlands Grand Prix
Zandvoort, 1-3 May

Spanish Grand Prix
Barcelona, 8-10 May

Monaco Grand Prix
Monte Carlo, 22-24 May

Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Baku, 5-7 June

Canadian Grand Prix
Montreal, 12-14 June

French Grand Prix
Le Castellet, 26-28 June

Austrian Grand Prix
Spielberg, 3-5 July

British Grand Prix
Silverstone, 17-19 July

Hungarian Grand Prix
Budapest, 31 July-2 August

Belgian Grand Prix
Spa-Francorchamps, 28-30 August

Italian Grand Prix
Monza, 4-6 September

Singapore Grand Prix
Marina Bay, 18-20 September

Russian Grand Prix
Sochi, 25-27 September

Japanese Grand Prix
Suzuka, 9-11 October

United States Grand Prix
Austin, 23-25 October

Mexican Grand Prix
Mexico City, 30 October-1 November

Brazilian Grand Prix
Sao Paulo, 13-15 November

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Yas Marina, 27-29 November

[PeteC]

....Formula 1's governing body says the Chinese Grand Prix is at risk in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

A statement from the FIA said it was "monitoring the evolving situation".

It said it would "evaluate the calendar of its forthcoming races and take any action required to help protect the global motorsport community and the wider public."

The Chinese Grand Prix is scheduled to be held in Shanghai on 19-21 April.....


https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/51294416

[mwbrown]

Lance Stroll's father rescues Aston Martin, Racing Point will rebrand to Aston Martin in 2021

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/31/busi ... index.html

[PeteC]

...and the BBC story on the Aston Martin news.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51323241

[sateeb]

and the BBC story on the Austin Martin news.

Hate to be picky but I seriously doubt that Austin motors ever competed in F1...Austin Montego etc. ..some of the most crappiest cars ever to roll off the UK's assembly line

Aston Martin bro

[PeteC]

Thank you Sateeb for your thoughtful reminder.