Alpine has new investors - and we wonder what the play is here…

Teams are sending warnings about the work in progress rules for 2026

Once again we saw penalties handed out like candy on Halloween at the Austrian Grand Prix - and while we don’t disagree with why the penalties were issued, we also think that something needs to be done to prevent it from continuing to happening. If F1 is staying at the Red Bull Ring through 2030 then something definitely needs to be done.

Say goodbye to Scuderia Alpha Tauri, the team is going to be re-named for 2024.

Williams will celebrate their 800th race this coming weekend, while McLaren will sport a “retro” livery this weekend.

And just what is holding up Lewis Hamilton’s contract extension?

Helmet Marco has decided - Alpha Tauri will not be sold, and isn’t moving out of Faenza.

Honda will be returning to F1 in 2026 - with Aston-Martin stepping in as their new “Works” team, and we wonder what this means for Fernando Alonso’s future with the team.

Did Ferrari approach Lewis Hamilton with a contract offer?

The Zero Side Pod design is dead! Long live the… Actually no, leave it in the trash bin….

Could George Russel have made it to the podium in Monaco this year?

Again we ask, could Monaco be better?

Mercedes is revamping it’s campus in Brackley

Losail Circuit has upgraded their facilities.

We’ve identified a new F1 job that at least one of us wants.

Martin Brundle was afraid he almost got Sir Jackie Stewart thrown out of the Miami GP.

The cancellation of this past weekend’s race may have an impact on several teams development plans.

Pirelli is introducing a new tire construction starting in Silverstone.

Daniel Ricciardo had a seat fitting at Alpha Tauri

Shanghai has renewed their Grade 1 Certification.

It’s Miami Race Weekend - and we’ve pulled some Will Smith out of the archives to commemorate the weekend.

In F1 news:

Drivers have pushed for changes to Red Flag start procedures

Stefano Domenicali doesn’t want Sprints at ever race weekend, but he does want more Sprint Races.

LED light covers aren’t coming to F1.

Christian Horner has a new reason why F1 shouldn’t introduce new teams.

GM is now considering an F1 engine program.

Adrian Newey has extended his contract with Red Bull

There will be an Azerbaijan Grand Prix through 2026

The organizers of the Miami Grand Prix want to make the event a night race.

And once again, the United States provides an epic grid walk moment for Martin Brundle.

Despite what his defenders said, what Nelson Piquet said about Lewis Hamilton last year was wrong - and now he has a court judgement affirming that his comments were wrong.

Red Bull says that Daniel Ricciardo has picked up some bad habits in the years after he left the team.

The FIA has clarified what “working on the car” means

Teams have been told that they can’t climb the trackside debris fences to celebrate anymore.

The GPS feed to the Melbourne track went out during FP1, triggering a Red Flag due to several near misses.

George Russell didn’t think that the first of four Red Flags during Sunday’s race was necessary.

Pierre Gasly escapes a race ban after his collision with Esteban Ocon.

Carlos Sainz disagreed with his penalty after the second restart.

Max Verstappen pushed the limit on the second restart.

Haas protests the race results - and the Stewards reject the protest.

The organizers of the Australian GP are in a bit of trouble after fans invade the track before the race was officially over.

Porsche has officially ended their efforts to enter F1 - for now.

Haas categorically denies allegations made by PBS Newshour that they have violated US trade sanctions against Russia.

The FIA has revised how they will assess super license penalty points.

Drivers and team personnel will no longer be able to take bikes, scooters or any other wheeled vehicle out during track walks.

After a second weekend where a driver got a penalty for not properly starting from their grid box followed by a second penalty for not serving the first penalty properly at least one of us is frustrated.

Several teams appear to be in trouble - and it’s only race 2.

Race 1 was the first time that we’ve really gotten an idea of how the field is looking for the 2023 season- and what we can tell

Red Bull is still on top

Aston Martin is looking very strong

Ferrari still has some bugs to work out

Mercedes already seems to be in trouble in ways we’ve never seen before.

McLaren is definitely in trouble too.

F1 is getting ready to tweak qualifying again.

The F1 paddock appears to be pushing for any potential new team to pay a $600m dilution fee.

Could Alpha Tauri be going up for sale?

Lance Stroll has suffered a bicycle accident while training and was unable to participate in Winter Testing and potentially will be replaced by Felipe Drugovich for the Bahrain GP.

Mercedes says that they’re in a better place at the end of testing with the W14 than they were on Day 2 - but they still appear to be off the pace.

Warning bells are sounding at McLaren after the team failed to meet their development targets before testing and still appear to be on the back foot.

Haas has debuted a scaled down pit wall structure that is rumored to have saved them $250,000.

Who will be commentating the US and British F1 broadcasts this year?

New wet tires will appear starting in Imola.

There’s details on the calendar and format for the F1 Academy series.

And we share our predictions for 2023

The FIA has released a clarifying statement on their Guidance on the Principle of Neutrality (Article 12.2.1.n of the ISC). Things are a little clearer but we still think that this is going to be an issue this year.

Ferrari laid it all out with their 2023 car reveal in Maranello, starting the car up and conducting the shakedown of the car in front of fans and the media.

Mercedes has debuted their 2023 car - and it’s naked… Naked carbon fiber. Mercedes has also retained their Zero Sidepod design - for now…

Aston-Martin’s 2023 challenger appears to have been inspired by Ferrari’s bathtub design, until you get to the back of the tub.

And we don’t have much to say about the new Alpine.

Reliability upgrades - are they performance upgrades?

The FIA gets a lot of money from entry fees.

And pre-season testing is at the end of this coming week.

We will be launching the Bloke & The Bird Show Fantasy GP League again - and if you act now by going over to FantasyGP.com they’re currently offering 30% off their Pro memberships.

Car reveals that we’ve had so far this year:

Wiliams

Alfa Romeo

Red Bull

Haas

Alpha Tauri

What we have learned from those reveals - Gulf has returned but with Williams, the Alpha Tauri logo on their new car reminds us of a snail, Red Bull appears to have not made a single change to their livery…. Oh, and Ford is coming back to F1!

That’s right, Ford has entered into a partnership with Red Bull Racing that will see the manufacturer return to F1 for the first time since 2004. This won’t be a full power unit supply deal, but it is expected to be more than a simple badging exercise.

Six manufacturers have registered with the FIA to supply power units to F1 - but only 5 of them appear to actually have a team that will use their power units.

The FIA has formally opened the process for new teams to join the F1 grid - and Gunther Steiner continues to lash out at the prospect of any new team joining the series.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem is stepping back from day to day leadership of the F1 series - and we’re pretty sure that the teams aren’t disappointed with this change.

And Las Vegas is likely to be on the F1 calendar for the next 10 years.

Andretti Autosport has partnered with Cadillac on an entry for F1 - and the F1 world mostly shrugged at the announcement - and we have to ask why?

Mohammed Ben Sulayem is defending the FIA’s rule change on political statements - and we still question the decision.

Pat Symonds has delayed his retirement.

Toto Wolff is expecting that a new contract with Lewis Hamilton we be sorted soon.

James Vowles is the new Team Principal at Wiliams.

We’re getting closer to the start of the 2023 season as more teams announce launch dates.

Drive to Survive returns on February 24.

And Silverstone wants to expand their race weekend.

While we were going there was a surprisingly coordinated Team Principal shift. Frederick Vasseur goes from Alfa Romeo to Ferrari, Andreas Seidl goes from McLaren to Alfa Romeo, Andrea Stella is promoted at McLaren to replace Andreas, and Jost Capito leaves Williams.

Mick Schumacher is the new Reserve Driver at Mercedes

Alpine thinks they know the biggest cause of their reliability issues.

McLaren says that the new tires were a bigger challenge for them than they expected.

We understand a bit more about Mercedes struggles last year.

Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Alpha Tauri are the first teams to announce car reveals.

The FIA is banning drivers from making unapproved political statements.

Could Ford be partnering with Red Bull for an F1 return?

Could the Chinese GP return to the calendar this year?

Congratulations to Patricia for her victory in the 2022 Bloke and Bird Show Fantasy GP League!

There was some news while we were gone:

Mattia Binotto has resigned as Team Principle at Ferrari effect at the end of the year.

Audi is investing in their Competence Center Motorsport as they begin work on their upcoming partnership with Sauber F1.

McLaren and Gulf will not be continuing their partnership into 2023

The FIA is dropping several COVID policies for the 2023 season. They’re also dropping the 2023 Chinese Grand Prix.

It’s confirmed that there will be 6 Sprint Races in 2023, and teams will be getting an extra $300m added to their cost caps to account for the added races.

DRS zones may get shorter in 2023 because the revised rules introduced in 2022 have had a positive impact on overtaking.

Jeddah has made some changes to the track that should make the circuit safer.

Zaandvort will continue to host the Dutch Grand Prix through 2025.

The FIA Prize Giving was held last week and there was an uncomfortable moment between Christian Horner and Mohammed Ben Sulayem during the presentation of the Constructors Championship Trophy.

Gunther Steiner has a new book that will be released in April.

And an 8 part documentary on Bernie Ecclestone might be coming to a screen near you.

Finally - we recap how we did with our predictions for the 2022 season.

So we still do this podcasting thing… We know it’s been a while, but races in the America’s can be challenging for us from a timing perspective…

This week - Sprint Races… There’ll be 6 of them next year and we’re pretty sure we know where they’ll be held.

Changes in engine penalties could be coming in an effort to deter engine changes (which was the point of those penalties to begin with)

Could wheel arches coming to F1 cars in an attempt to cut down on spray?

F1 launches the F1 Academy series to provide women a path into the F1 development ladder - a series that is not a replacement for the W Series.

The paddock celebrates the retirement of Sebastian Vettel.

Despite winning the Drivers & Constructor’s Championships, it hasn’t been a great few weeks for Red Bull.

Nico Hulkenburg is back in F1 - replacing Mick Schumacher at Haas.

Daniel Ricciardo appears to be headed back to Red Bull - as a development driver.

Mattia Binotto may be headed out of Ferrari

Race winners are now getting medals.

And a new F1 Exhibition is coming to Madrid from March 24, to July 16.

Three teams (not two like everybody is reporting) had cost cap violations, but only 1 appears to have actually spent more than allowed under the cost cap. Now, the FIA has a problem - how do they take appropriate action to demonstrate that teams must abide by the cost cap - without causing even more controversy.

After that we take F1’s rain delay rules to task, and this weekend was just a continuation of the mess that we saw last weekend and earlier this year. Even worse is that the rules don’t seem to think that the rules were supposed to do what they are actually written to do which lead to confusion at the end of the race.

On top of that, we again had a recovery vehicle on the track, with F1 cars on the track under Yellow Flag conditions, in heavy rain, at Suzuka… Where F1 last lost a driver, under very similar conditions.

This weekend, was not one of F1’s finest…

We had a full lineup to talk about, and we didn’t even managed to get through all of it, so if we remember we might talk about some of the stuff we were going to talk about this week - next week.

What we talk about this week-

F1 has announced a 24 race calendar for 2023 - and as much as we love F1, we’re not so sure about this idea. Of those 24 races, there will 6 Sprint Races - again, an idea that we’re not so sure about.

Miami has announced that they’ll be keeping the fake harbor for next year’s race.

SkySports will continue to broadcast F1 in the UK through 2029 (and we believe also supply the English commentary for the World Feed)

We look at where the driver lineup sits for 2023.

Rumor has it that two teams exceeded the cost cap limits for 2021 - only by only a small bit, and another by a larger margin.

Alfa Romeo was fined for not following proper procedures for turning in their tires - and yelled it because it’s happened more than once.

We’re still talking about Lewis Hamilton’s jewelry, we shouldn’t be, but we still are.

We had more to talk about - but the show was so long we had to stop….

It the week since our last show a lot happened -

Audi announced that they will be F1’s newest engine constructor debuting in 2026. No word yet on who will be their customer team but Audi says that they’ll make a determination before the end of the year.

In what we’re sure is totally unrelated news - Sauber and Alfa Romeo announced that they will end their partnership at the end of 2023.

Otmar Szafnauer insists that there’s been no breakdown in the relationship between him and Fernando Alonso - given some of the things that we’ve heard over the last week from the two of them, and some of the things that were being said this weekend - we’re not so sure that there hasn’t been a falling out.

We’re waiting to hear the results of the Contract Resolution Board.

McLaren has paved the way for Oscar Piastri to join the team after announcing that they were releasing Daniel Ricciardo at the end of the 2022 season.

Could Pierre Gasley be headed to Alpine? Esteban Ocon says that there’s no bad blood between the two of them anymore.

Spa gets a 1 year contract extension.

Mercedes didn’t have a great weekend - which might have been due to the special livery that they didn’t really run on race day.

It seems the stewards are back to excusing lap 1 incidents.

Ferrari continues to fall behind.

And F1 will not be returning to Russia (at least as long as Stefano Domenicali gets to make the call)

But, Formula has gifted us with one of, if not the silliest silly season that we’ve seen in a very, very long time.

Fernando Alonso will be taking Sebastian Vettel’s seat at Aston-Martin - to the surprise of Alpine, who is concerned that Fernando is too old….

Alpine has announced that Oscar Piastri will be taking Fernando Alonso’s seat - although Oscar has said otherwise. Rumor has it, Oscar has a deal with McLaren to take Daniel Ricciardo’s seat - although McLaren hasn’t confirmed anything.

There’s no controversy over Alex Albon’s seat - he’s got a multi-year deal with Williams.

It looks like the F1 Race in Las Vegas will be held the week before Thanksgiving for the next 5 years.

And Lewis Hamilton is a part owner of the Denver Broncos

Porsche looks to be on the verge of purchasing a 50% stake in Red Bull as part of it’s return to F1.

Ferarri continues to do what it can to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and it’s drivers any chance of winning the championship.

And remember Rich Energy? They’re at it again….

Lawrence Stroll has attracted additional investment in Aston Martin.

Franz Tost says that Yuki Tsunoda could keep his seat for 2023 - if he stops crashing.

Colton Herta says he thinks he would be competitive in F1 - because of course he would…

Chip Gnassi Racing and McLaren Racing are in a tug of war over Alex Palou, either way it seems like McLaren has too many drivers for their available IndyCar seats. But Daniel Ricciardo isn’t going anywhere.

Michael Masi has left his position with the FIA.

Marshals at the Austrian GP are defending their response to Carlos Sainz’s engine explosion.

Alpine realizes that their recent electrical issues were their fault.

Stricter roll hoop testing is coming to F1.

The Financial Stylings of Bernie Ecclestone have gotten him in trouble again.

Bernie Ecclestone has apologized for his remarks on Good Morning Britain two weeks ago.

The roll hoop on Zhou Guanyu’s Alfa Romeo took an impact that is believed to be double the force of what the FIA tests for.

The F1 cost cap has been increased - a little bit.

The checks to prevent porpoising have been delayed to Spa - and it sounds like some cheating has been discovered with the skid blocks.

This might have been the most penalty ridden weekend we’ve ever seen.

Hooligans and hooliganism - that’s what we’re calling the fan behavior at this weekend’s event. And it shouldn’t be allowed to ever happen again.

Colton Herta is in Portimao for two days of testing in last year’s McLaren in preparation for a stint in an upcoming FP1 in a current year’s McLaren.

But before we can get to the race, we have to catch up on the other off track drama - namely that there are still some people who need to be reminded that it’s 2022 and not 1922, and that is before we got to talk about the horrific interview that Bernie Ecclestone gave to ITV’s Good Morning Britain program this past week. An interview that you can find here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf2fJsiuV34.

As bad as all that was - the folks at Alpine bring us a unicorn chaser this week in the form of their newly announced Race(Her) Program.

Could teams have found a way to skirt that floor stiffness rules?

Christian “Think Bigger Than Your Own Team” Horner doesn’t want F1 to make changes to F1’s aero rules around bouncing.

Seven protesters were arrested after entering the track in an exceedingly dangerous attempt to disrupt the race.

Everybody involved in a horrific crash has come away unharmed.

Ferrari once again makes some questionable choices, and Daniel Ricciardo is working with Hulu for a scripted F1 TV show.

Since we were at Road America we completely missed the Azerbaijian Grand Prix so this week we turned our attention what what happened as F1 headed to Montreal…

And most of the conversation was about the latest Technical Directive that the FIA issued in response to the porpoising and bouncing that we’ve seen this year. The drivers and the teams have been asking for the FIA to do something about it - so now that there’s a Technical Directive everybody’s happy - right?

Australia’s got a new 10 year extension to their current deal that was set to expire in 2025, and all signs are pointing to F1’s return to South Africa in 2023.

Marcus Ericsson has joined the exclusive list of former F1 drivers who have won the Indy 500 - a list that Fernando Alonso hasn’t been able to join.

Stefano Domenicali isn’t sure he’ll support Michael Andretti’s bid to create and F1 team.

F1’s jewelry exemption for drivers has been extended for another month.

Could Daniel Ricciardo be in danger of not being able to see through the end of his contract with McLaren?

While the calendar will only be 22 races this year, it might be extended to 24 next year - and that may mean that F1 needs to re-think the structure of F1’s calendar? What other factors could influence where F1 goes?

New York City Mayor Eric Adams approached Liberty Media about hosting an F1 race - and was told Thanks but No Thanks…

Monaco doesn’t have a contract renewal to host their race - F1 is looking for concessions from the Principality in order to continue hosting the race.

What happened to disrupt the start of the race this weekend?

Bernie Ecclestone was arrested in Brazil (but he was released) and Kimi Raikkonen is going to drive in NASCAR again.

But first -

It’s confirmed both Porsche and Audi are joining F1 in 2026 - and Zak Brown insists that Audi is not buying McLaren.

Michael Andretti remains optimistic that he’ll be able to start a team in F1 - but we likely won’t have a decision from the FIA and F1 until the fall.

The FIA isn’t going to back down on their position regarding jewelry and flame retardant garments.

The crash between Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris was due to damage that Gasley suffered in a collision earlier with Fernando Alonso - a collision that earned him the first of his two 5 second penalties.

So the special pavement at the track in Miami - the drivers hate it….

And the chicane under the Turnpike exit ramps that posed a design challenge for the track designers - yeah the drivers hate that too, and it didn’t make for exciting racing.

And we hated the race for the stupid over the top hype about almost every aspect of the event - except the racing, which wasn’t particularly exciting.

F1 has purchased land from Las Vegas to house the paddock and garages.

We’re getting two more seasons of Drive to Survive.

While we were gone Nikita Mazepin spoke with CNN’s Quest Means Business - although we’re not sure why.

Haas says that they’ve learned their lesson and will be doing more due diligence on their sponsorship deals.

Lewis Hamilton is part of a consortium of investors looking to purchase the Chelsea Football Club.

F1 has published the rules of conduct for drivers when entering a corner - and it’s essentially what the rules already said.

The FIA appears to have blocked expanding Sprint Races for the moment.

Red Bull are being poor winners - again…

Mercedes woes continue.

And next week is the Miami Grand Prix at the Miami International Autodrome.

The rumor mill has ramped up again over Audi and Porsche and nothing has actually changed.

Sebastain Vettel on a scooter is the latest meme to take F1 by storm.

The FIA is cracking down on drivers not wearing appropriate underwear… And on drivers wearing jewelry… And on Max Verstappen’s strategy when he’s not in the lead behind a safety car.

We know what was glowing under Lewis Hamilton’s car during the Australian Grand Prix.

The FIA doesn’t appreciate drivers complaining about the Aston Martin safety car.

With a 23 (or 22) race season Pirelli is struggling to find tire test dates.

Haas refuses to refund Uralkali their 2022 sponsorship payment - and they think that Uralkali should actually pay them more money.

Could there be a second race in Singapore this year?

And F1 is headed to Las Vegas.

Mercedes continue to struggle with porpoising on their 2022 contender.

Mick Schumacher has a massive crash during qualifying, and if the team was willing he would have been in the car for the race on Sunday.

Red Bull might have an aero strategy that could give them the edge this year.

And F1 says they’re going to talk to Netflix about the manufactured drama in Drive to Survive.

The FIA has released their report on the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, there’s not a lot of new information in it though. It did however conclude that Michael Masi acted in good faith, and that the standings of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix are final.

The regulations governing unlapping lapped cars under the safety car have been clarified.

The FIA has amended the 2022 Technical Rules to allow stiffening rods to help control the porpoising that teams have been experiencing. They’ve also adjusted the weight rules for the 2022 cars.

Otmar Szafnauer is hitting out at his former team…

What did you think of the new race graphics?

One race in and that it looks like the new rules have had an impact on the racing - but did it fully work as intended?

It’s out of cycle - but here are our predictions for the 2022 season… Although as we recorded we hadn’t yet gotten The Boy’s predictions, but before these get sealed in the vault we’ll have them.

Instead of taking decisive action on the question of Russian drivers - the FIA decided to punt… Meanwhile Motorsports UK has released a pretty strong “NOPE” when it comes to Russian drivers.

Let there be no doubt now - F1 has in fact canceled the Russian Grand Prix, it hasn’t been suspended it’s been cancelled. But more than that, F1 has now cancelled the contract for ANY Russian Grand Prix. Before this had happened F1 had a contract for aRussian Grand Prix through 2025.

Oh, and were you hoping to watch F1 in Russia? Yeah, that’s not happening either as F1 has cancelled the broadcast rights contract for F1 and shut down F1 TV for Russia as well.

Haas has terminated their relationship with Nikita Mazepin, Dmitri Mazepin, and Uralkali. Nikita doesn’t understand why Haas would do this, Uralkali says they want their money back - and Nikita says that he’s not under sanctions…. And he was right - up until the European Commission named him as the 732nd Russian to be placed under sanction.

Kevin Magnussen has signed a “multi-year” contract to fill the seat vacated by Nikita Mazepin at Haas.

This week was the actual winter testing sessions, as always it’s hard to get a clear picture of where things stand but there were a few clues.

The top three still appear to be Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari.

Red Bull appears to have an edge, but the Ferrari looks strong

Mercedes say that the car is off the pace and not a winner, however nobody believes them.

Mclaren is struggling with brake cooling issues.

The rest of the pack appears to be pretty tight.

Lewis Hamilton will be featured in an upcoming documentary on Apple TV+

And Imola will host F1 through 2025.

We can’t ignore what’s happening in Ukraine, especially given F1’s connection to Russia. We applaud the strong statement from Sebastian Vettel - that he would not race in Russia if the Russian Grand Prix was held, and also the statement from Max Verstappen that essentially stated that F1 had no business racing in Russia.

Formula 1 has stated that “it is impossible to hold the Russian Grand Prix in the current circumstances” to which we and many other interpreted to mean that the 2022 Russian Grand Prix has been cancelled. However, the organizers of the event still think there’s a chance that the event could happen.

Haas has removed the Uralkali colors and branding from the VF22, the team’s gear, their trucks, their website and pretty much anyplace else that it might have appeared. As of when we recorded Nikita Mazepin is still driving for the team, but Gunther Steiner has stated that the team will assess their relationship with Uralkali this week.

With Nikita Mazepin’s position on the team tied so closely to the Uralkali sponsorship it seems likely that he’s not going to retain his seat. Gunther Steiner says that Pietro Fitipaldi is most likely to get the call to replace Nikita.

The more we hear about the Andretti Autosport application to start an F1 team the stronger the application sounds. But could the loss of Uralkali trigger a partnership with Haas and Andretti?

Toto Wolff and Christian Horner say they are burying the hatchet for 2022.

Initial reports are that the new cars can follow closer than before - but we’re learning about porpoising and it’s a problem for many teams.

The FIA has completed their investigation into the actions at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and in the interest of openness and transparency the FIA has decided… …to not share their findings with the public…

What the FIA has agreed to do is share the changes that they will be making to F1 as a result of their investigation - with the most notable being the decision to relieve Michael Masi of his duties as Race Director and offer him a new role within the FIA. Niels Wittich and Eduardo Frietas will be alternating as F1’s Race Director and both will be backed up by Herbie Blash who will serve as Senior Advisor.

Other changes - The Race Director will be supported by an off track Virtual Race Control Room. Communications between the teams and Race Control will no longer be broadcast and will be tightly controlled to prevent teams from distracting the Race Director.

The FIA has also announced changes to the Safety Car Restart Procedure as a result of the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - although we’re skeptical that the changes are an improvement.

Independent of the Abu Dhabi investigation, the FIA has modified the requirements for classifying and event as a race and assigning points in the event of another rain soaked weekend like we saw in Spa this past year. Like with the new Safety Car Restart Procedure we’re not quite sure that the new requirements are an improvement.

Other changes for 2022:

There will be just three sprint races. Friday’s qualifying at these weekends will set the grid for both the Sprint and Sunday’s race. The top 8 finishers of the Sprint will get points.

There will be technical show and tell sessions for the media to see and understand the upgrades teams are rolling out every weekend.

All teams will now have a free choice of starting tires for Sunday’s race, no longer with the top 10 be required to start on the same tire they set their fastest time on in Q2

Ross Brawn says that teams won’t try to sabotage their wakes to make following more difficult - we say, if they weren’t before they’re probably going to now…

Otmar Szafnauer has been announced as the new Team Principal at Alpine.

We’ve had car reveals…

Drive to Survive is coming on March 11

New F1 Simulation Centers could be coming to a city near you.

F1 will be racing at COTA for another 5 years

And Michael Andretti and Andretti Autosport have applied to launch an F1 team.

It turns out that the Sporting Regulations for the 2022 season have yet to be approved - and that may have caused a problem with Ferrari’s private test in Fiorano last week.

F1 will only have 1 pre-season test this year - the other session will be a “shake down session”

Franz Tost says that he doesn’t think the new budget cap will close the gap between the teams.

Could the new fuel this year have a bigger impact than teams are saying it will?

It turns out that Red Bull won’t be assembling engines at their new factory before 2026.

Saudi Arabia is making changes to sight lines in response to concerns from last year’s race.

Singapore should be on the F1 calendar until 2028.

Could Lewis Hamilton actually be considering leaving F1 - or is there something else going on with his silence this off season?

We learned of a major flaw in F1’s Race Director structure - one that in this era of Covid Protocols we think is pretty inexcusable. A flaw that arguably didn’t exist when Charlie Whiting was in the role.

We got the first acknowledgment from somebody at Honda that walking away from F1 when they did might not have been the right idea…

Aston Martin is the first to announce the reveal date for the 2022 season challenger. Plus they’ve named Mike Krack as their new Team Principal.

Alpine has parted ways with their Team Principal Marcin Budkowski.

And McLaren is adamantly opposed to any changes in the cost cap.

We have a lot to say about how things played out at that race, specifically in the last few laps of that race, and we’re hopefully that the FIA’s investigation into those events ends up with decisive action to prevent it from ever happening again.

After 12 years Jean Todt has finished his tenure as FIA President and for the first time in the FIA’s history a none European has been elected to the role. Former Rally Driver Mohammed ben Sulayem has been elected to the role.

F1 team personnel are likely to be required to be vaccinated for Covid-19 prior to the start of the season in order to participate in the 2022 season.

Otmar Szafnauer is out at Aston Martin after assuring us during the Brazil race weekend that he wasn’t leaving the team. But Christian Horner got a contract extension to remain as Team Principal at Red Bull with the team now looking to extend Max Verstappen’s contract.

Mercedes have fired up their 2022 engine for the first time while Haas’ chassis has passed crash testing.

And is Apple getting ready to produce an F1 based movie with Brad Pitt?

Finally, since this is the first show since the end of the season - it’s time for us to review our predictions that we made at the start of the 2021 season and see how we did.

Sebastian Vettel held a private karting event in Saudi Arabia - and invited only female Saudi racers to participate.

Lewis Hamilton expressed his displeasure with F1’s decision to come to Saudi Arabia.

Mercedes has a new sponsor - that might cause the UK government to change the laws around sports sponsorship…

Dmitri Mazepin wants to pay retention bonuses to Haas personnel

Helmet Marko says that Red Bull gets treated differently by the Stewards - he might be right, just not in the way he thinks.

Max Verstappen says that F1 is more about penalties than racing - and while we have problems with how penalties have been awarded this season… Max is his own worst enemy.

We know where F1 wants to hold sprint races in 2022.

We remember Sir Frank Williams who passed away this weekend at 79.

We’re talking penalties… Driving standards and how they’re enforced, when decision come down, and what “straight talking” really means.

The rumors are picking up a member of the Volkswagen group is headed to F1 - but McLaren wants us to know that they have NOT been purchased by Audi.

And Barcelona will be hosting F1 for a few more years.

Andretti’s purchase of Sauber appears to be on hold - Sauber’s investors appear to be holding out for more money… Oh, and Valtteri Bottas says that he didn’t know that talks were happening for Andretti to purchase the team when he started his negotiations.

The latest fan survey results were announced - and no surprise, fans don’t like Sprint Races… No matter what Stefano Domenicali seems to think…

Aston-Martin is considering changing the green that they’re using - but only if the paint isn’t too heavy.

The bumps at COTA appeared to be breaking cars…

W Series driver (and former Grand Tour driver) Abbie Eaton was hospitalized after a significant crash at T1 at COTA - which also led to the removal of the sausage curb at the corner.

Why are celebrities on the grid at F1 races? No really, why?

Could Sydney be trying to take over the Australian Grand Prix?

Nico Hulkenburg is getting an IndyCar test.

No, Petronas is not leaving Mercedes.

And Zak Brown got a tattoo in response to a bet before Cyril Abitboul did. But not due to a bet with Daniel Ricciardo.

As expected, F1 will be racing in Qatar this year - but there’s more to the story than just the headline.

Otmar Szafnauer says that the hiring of Martin Whitmarsh won’t impact his role with Aston-Martin F1

Alan Van De Merwe & Dr Ian Roberts have tested positive for COVID-19 and did not take their usual posts in the medical car for this weekend’s race.

New fire resistant gloves were tested by 5 drivers during FP 1 this weekend.

Red Bull and Honda have shared details on how they will be collaborating over the next few years. While Honda insists that it does not have a 2026 engine project underway.

Mercedes explains why they only change the ICE instead of the entire power unit for Lewis Hamilton - but we’re not sure we believe their explanation.

Nikita Mazepin takes responsibility for his near miss with Lewis Hamilton.

Valterri Bottas wins and Turkey and becomes the sixth different driver to win a race in 2021.

Could Red Bull have shifted their focus away from winning the Constructors Championship and solely to Max Verstappen winning the Driver’s Championship? Could Max have realized that he no longer needs to win races but just finish ahead of Lewis Hamilton to win his first Driver’s Championship?

Has Mercedes made a strategic error regarding engine penalties that will cost Lewis Hamilton the Championship this year?

Toto Wolff says that F1 rules need to allow for staff rotation as the calendar grows - Franz Tost says if his folks don’t like the calendar they should get out of F1.

Could there be an actual deal in the works for Andretti Autosport to purchase Alfa Romeo - Sauber?

Imola says that they have the funding for a long term F1 deal - but is F1 interested in a long term deal with Imola?

Changes are coming to Austin before the US GP - but they should be good for the racing.

Martin Whitmarsh is back in F1 - and we’re wondering what Aston Martin is up to.

The Russian Neutral Athlete celebrated his home race as the Russian Neutral Grand Prix.

And a what a race Sochi delivered for us this year!

This week:

The FIA is concerned that the seatbelts in Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari may have stretched too much.

Red Bull says that the new pit stop rules were the cause of Max Verstappen’s 11 second pit stop.

Michael Massi doesn’t see anything wrong with the sausage curb in Monza that resulting in Max Verstappen’s car going airborne.

Alex Albon owes George Russel a few beers

Could the leading prospect for Alfa Romeo still need to qualify for a Super License?

Robert Kubica has realized that he’s not a leading candidate for a permanent seat at Alfa Romeo.

Sebastian Vettel is confirmed for another year at Aston Martin.

Lawrence Stroll is investing big in Aston Martin and building a “reverse MTC.” Take that Ron Dennis!

Is F1 aiming for a 23 race season in 2022?

IndyCar on the other hand is planning on a 17 race schedule in 2022.

For the first time there might be an agreement to remove the MGU-H from the next engine formula.

Driver line ups for next year are almost sorted -

Mercedes - Lewis Hamilton and George Russell

Red Bull - Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez

Ferrari - Charles LeClerc and Carlos Sainz Jr

McLaren - Daniel Ricciardo and Lando (Calrissean) Norris

Aston Martin - Lance Stroll and [unconfirmed] Sebastian Vettel

Alpine - Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso

Alfa Romeo - Valtteri Bottas and [unconfirmed]

Alfa Tauri - Pierre Gasley and Yuki Tsunoda

Williams - Nicholas Latifi and Alex Albon

Haas - Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin

Could the new “helmet cam” be sharing too much info?

Aston Martin and Alpine are both fined for chaos during Q2

2mm is what caused Lewis Hamilton’s poor start in the sprint race

F1 doesn’t seem to realize that the problem with the Sprint Race is that it’s a not much of a sprint.

Monza - 3 laps of excitement in an otherwise dull race - but that doesn’t diminish that McLaren had a 1-2 finish.

Mark your calendars - the 2022 British Grand Prix is slated for July 1-3.

In this short episode we’re talking the revised 2021 calendar and the latest silly season developments.

Was it really gamesmanship in qualifying in Hungary? If nothing else, it didn’t break any rules.

So what would have happened if nobody lined up on the grid during the safety car restart? Michael Masi says there was a plan.

Mercedes sticks by their decision to not pit Lewis at the end of the formation lap.

Lewis Hamilton thinks he might be suffering from Long Covid.

Aston Martin is appealing Sebastian Vettel’s disqualification - and Valtteri Bottas earned a 5 place grid penalty for Spa.

Netflix will be releasing a documentary about Michael Schumacher on September 15.

McLaren makes a strong commitment to IndyCar…

Monza will be getting the next Sprint Race Weekend.

Michael Massi encouraged Toto Wolff and Christian Horner to visit the stewards after the crash in Silverstone - and now he’s saying they shouldn’t do that. He’s also admitted that there’s a crackdown on the rules, but it’s not clear who actually wanted it.

The war of words between Mercedes and Red Bull over the Silverstone crash continues.

Mick Schumacher is on track for a second year with Haas.

Could Valtteri Bottas be going to Alfa Romeo if Mercedes signs George Russel?

Helmet Marko is talking trash this week…

Daniel Ricciardo might like the first full size model of the 2022 F1 car.

Maybe pit stops won’t be getting slower?

Zak Brown tests positive for Covid-19

And once again we’re talking penalties, clashes and crashes after the British Grand Prix.

The penalties came hot and heavy this past weekend with just 4 drivers managing to escape an investigation or a sanction this past weekend. We’re hopeful that this weekend doesn’t signify a new trend.

George Russel missed out on points this week - but it was a great showing from him.

Mercedes has one last round of upgrades coming for Silverstone

Lewis Hamilton has a new 2 year contract.

Honda will be supplying “Not a Honda” engines for Red Bull from their Sakura factory next year.

Audi and Porsche participated in a meeting last Saturday on F1’s future engine direction.

But we saw Romain Grosjean last weekend - a lot, and we really appreciate how good natured he was about it.

In F1-

Turkey will be replacing Singapore this year - probably….

Esteban Ocon has a new 3 year contract with Alpine

Pirelli says that the tire explosions in Baku weren’t their fault

Mick Schumacher has a seat problem that Gunther Steiner found out about from Mick’s mom…

FIA is slowing down pitstops in F1 - kind of…

Lewis Hamilton has started contract negotiations.

Bad luck again for George Russell

Can Mercedes fight back?

And the Russian Grand Prix is leaving Sochi…

Like him or not - the late Max Mosely left his mark on FIA, autosport, and road safety.

Mansour Ojjeh - a key stakeholder in McLaren passed away this past weekend.

Singapore has cancelled this year’s race for the second year in a row.

A massive rain storm cause severe damage and flooding at Spa. Repairs are underway and should be completed later this week.

The Dutch GP is hoping to have as many as 105k fans in attendance every day of the event. But the Dutch have teams scrambling to get vaccinated prior to the event.

Negotiations are underway to renew Sauber’s deal with Alfa Romeo.

Valtteri Bottas’ Monaco pitstop is believed to have been 43 hours long - and Mercedes says it was Valtteri’s fault, which was news to Valtteri.

Mattia Binotto has lost his seat on the Ferrari pit wall - he’ll be watching future races from the garage.

Was the safety car called out later than it should have after Max Verstappen’s crash?

Pirelli’s initial theory is that the tires that failed in Baku were due to debris.

Sergio Perez almost lost the race he won.

And there’s news about #wesaynotomazepin.

A member of Sergio Perez’s family security detail was wounded in an attempted car jacking in Guadalajara.

So much for the Turkish Grand Prix… Instead we’re getting two races in Austria again, and the French Grand Prix is moving up a week.

“Flexi Wings” appear to be back - but they’re not supposed to be.

The budget cap is having an impact on testing.

Mercedes had a really bad weekend last weekend.

Did Ferrari take a gamble that they shouldn’t have sending Charles LeClerc to the grid?

Alpine wants Esteban Ocon - and Lando Norris has a new “multi-year” deal with McLaren.

Were you excited that F1 will be going to go back to Turkey again this year - curb your enthusiasm, there’s a possibility it won’t happen…

Stefano Domenicali says that he’s encouraging teams to look for American drivers.

Maybe Williams wasn’t trying to build a car with “peaky” downforce.

Red Bull is poaching engineers from Mercedes to support their new engine development program.

Valtteri Bottas and Mercedes both say that he won’t be getting replaced mid-season.

The team bosses are discussing track limits enforcement.

Sergio Perez says that his qualifying was hampered by shoulder problems.

Yuki Tsunoda has likely learned that as a rookie publicly accusing his team of providing him a car that’s lesser than his teammate is likely not a career enhancing maneuver.

Nikita Mazepin’s vast experience of 4 races doesn’t give him a lot of expertise to question how F1 operates - no matter what he says.

Antonio Giovinazzi’s horrible pitstop last weekend was due to a broken tire valve.

Cyril Abiteboul has a new job.

And Mercedes’ newest driver is - Romain Grosjean!

In F1 news - Montreal is now officially out, and Turkey is back for 2021.

Alpine has found the cause of their problems - it was a wind tunnel issue.

Kimi Raikkonen’s post race penalty from Imola was reviewed and upheld by the FIA.

Sprint qualifying is coming to at least two races this year, and even if it’s an incredible success, odds are it won’t be adopted for every race.

Three teams were against sporting penalties for violations of the new cost cap.

Helmet Marko is annoyed that track limits are an issue.

Honda is leaving F1 - but apparently are still going to help Red Bull with developing their engine.

And Toto Wolff is spreading rumors…

We got a lot of news from Stefano Domenicali this week - from the announcement that F1 will be headed to Miami for 10 years starting in 2022 to the confirmation that F1 will not be going to two day race weekends.

It turns out that despite his promotion James Allision is not looking to be the next Team Principal at Mercedes.

Daniel Ricciardo is hoping for a run at Bathurst and perhaps a chance at IndyCar.

McLaren’s iconic motorhome the Brand Center is getting downsized.

Aston Martin is pushing the FIA to reconsider this year’s aero rules - we don’t think there’s a chance that this will happen.

Imola has a famous paddock cat.

We know why there was no data for Free Practice 1 this week.

AlphaTauri had to fix the cockpit to make sure that Yuki Tsunoda could reach the pedals - although this didn’t seem to help in Q1 where he crashed and broke his gearbox in half.

Valtteri Bottas thinks George Russel was a fault for their crash - George Russel thinks Valtteri was a fault for their crash.

Kimi Raikkonen and Lance Stroll both earned post race penalties after this weekend’s race.

The Spanish Grand Prix will not be run with fans this year.

The Canadian Grand Prix is at risk of cancellation this year and F1 will be rolling out new graphics this year.

This week though we learned what Sebastian Vettel did during the Covid shutdown last year.

Nico Hulkenburg is BACK - as a reserve and development driver at Aston-Martin.

We talk a bit about Drive to Survive.

Daniel Ricciardo doesn’t like it when F1 highlights crashes.

Alpine tells us yet again that they don’t have a number 1 and number 2 driver.

Haas is only trying to beat Williams this year.

James Allison got a promotion.

Silverstone is hoping that vaccine passports will allow them to have a capacity crowd.

And organizers are still trying to make the Miami GP happen.

Renault’s CEO says that Alpine is committed to F1 for eternity.

George Russel is the newest GPDA Director.

Aston Martin believes that the new aero regulations have cost some teams as much as a second a lap.

Michael Masi says that the stewards won’t be as lenient on first lap incidents as they were before.

#WeSayNoToMazepin didn’t make it past the third turn of his first race.

Sebastian Vettel says that his incident with Esteban Ocon was likely his fault.

Track limits at Turn 4 in Bahrain were a hot button issue this weekend.

And could we be seeing a more mature side to Max Verstappen?

Gunther Steiner says that he has no issues with how he’s been portrayed in Drive to Survive - although he also hasn’t watched Drive to Survive.

We question William’s aerodynamic strategy this year.

Mercedes says they don’t have an answer for their struggles in testing.

Lewis Hamilton has made changes to his management team.

If sprint races are approved the cost cap will be considered.

We know the layout of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix circuit.

The teams want more testing for 2022.

And this week is our predictions show!!!!! Find our 2021 prediction questions here.

Alpine’s 2021 contender is getting a bit of “body shaming.”

Mercedes underperformed in testing this week, and so did Aston Martin.

Alpha Tauri announces that their whole team will take the Bahrain Government’s offer of Covid vaccines, as will Carlos Sainz Jr and Sergio Perez. Meanwhile Alfa Romeo’s boss Frederick Vasseur missed winter testing due to testing positive for Covid-19.

If they need reserve drivers this year McLaren will be sharing them with Mercedes.

Fernando Alonso isn’t done with his post-accident recovery, once the season ends he will have yet another surgery as a result of his bicycle accident.

It’s more likely that a few sprint races will happen this year.

F1 is realizing that ticket prices are having on impact on fan support.

Could HDR broadcasts be coming to F1? And is Amazon buying the rights to streaming F1?

The FIA has released their report on Romain Grosjean’s crash in Bahrain,

Pirelli has a 1 year extension on their tire supply contract.

Lewis Hamilton has explained why he took the 1 year contract for 2021.

Alpine says that they don’t have a Number 1 and Number 2 driver.

Cyril Abiteboul’s departure wasn’t expected by the Renault/Alpine team and may not have been voluntary. With Cyril leaving, Alpine will not be naming a new Team Principal for now.

Williams was going to reveal their car in AR - except the app was hacked.

Aston-Martin is aiming for a title in 5 years.

The WADA is investigating Haas thanks to their new livery.

Planning on attending the Bahrain Grand Prix - then you need to have been vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19.

Portugal is officially back on the calendar for 2021, and Azerbaijan will be held without fans.

No champagne on the podium in 2021 - instead it will be sparkling wine… Oh and the sprint races, if they happen likely won’t have a podium ceremony.

Romain Grosjean was going to be sponsored by Haas in IndyCar - but won’t be anymore and the reason is odd…

F1 lost a lot of money last year.

BWT will continue to sponsor the Aston Martin F1 team.

Fernando Alonso will not be participating in Alpine’s car launch.

Red Bull is hiding it’s new car after their “reveal”

Head to Bahrain for F1 testing and the race - you could get your Covid vaccine.

Preparation for the Monaco Grand Prix has begun… And changes are coming to the Albert Park Circuit.

F1 wants to return to Africa…

And Daniel Ricciardo wants to make a bet with Zak Brown - but it won’t be for a tattoo…

From Alaska we look to Portimao Portugal which looks increasingly likely to host a race on May 2, but Portugal’s listing on the UK’s “Coronavirus Red List” is complicating the situation.

Fernando Alonso was involved in a significant cycling accident in Switzerland last week.

Kevin Magnussen says, no he’s actually not interested in a reserve role with Haas.

Lewis Hamilton has a new contract - for just a year.

Could Mercedes be having engine problems in the run up to this season? We’re not so sure.

F1 has approved an engine freeze through 2025, and teams are interested in the idea of trialing sprint races but want more details.

The rainbow will not be part of F1’s “We Race as One” campaign.

And could Rich Energy actually be returning to F1?

Construction has begun on IndyCar’s Music City Grand Prix in Nashville, and it’s now confirmed that Romain Grosjean is headed to IndyCar which means he’ll be participating in the Music City Grand Prix.

They may be gone, but Haas is willing to call on either Romain Grosjean or Kevin Magnussen if they need a reserve driver to step in this season.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has informed us that we can’t refer to Nikita Mazepin as a Russian driver.

Stefano Dominicali intends to have a summit with drivers to discuss their role as Ambassodors for the sport.

Could there be another Bahrain double header this year?

Stefano was talking quite a bit this week about triple headers, F1 in the US, and reverse grids…

We’ve also got confirmation that Toto Wolff also tested positive and went into quarantine - but he’s better now.

Toto is also optimistic about the negotiations for a contract with Lewis Hamilton.

Carlos Sainz Jr went to visit the fans who came out to Fiorano to watch his test.

This year’s race in Imola will either be the 2021 TBC Grand Prix or the Gran Premio del Made in Italy e dell’Emilia-Romagna.

Could Romain Grosjean be headed to IndyCar? It sounds like there’s a seat for him if he wants it, but he wouldn’t start the season in St Petersburg as this year’s season opener will be held at the Barbor Motorsports Park..

And Netflix is starting production on a movie that kind of has a tie to F1…

Jenson Button is back at Williams as a Senior Advisor - and he’ll reportedly also be staying on at Sky Sports.

Sauber is likely to continue their partnership with Ferrari - but they may not retain the Alfa Romeo brand past 2021.

Red Bull wants a freeze in engine development - but it’s not an ultimatum.

Ferrari is holding a private test this week…

Carlos Sainz hopes he’s as friendly with Charles Leclerc as he is with Lando Norris.

F1 will be flexible with the calendar this year - unsurprisingly.

And Esteban Ocon drove in this past weekend’s Rally Monte Carlo - and it wasn’t what we thought…

It’s confirmed, Winter Testing is being moved from Barcelona to Bahrain with the 3 day test occurring over a weekend.

Also confirmed - the Australian GP has been postponed and F1 will be returning to Imola in 2021.

Despite signing a 5 year deal with F1 - the future of the race formerly known as the Brazilian GP is now in doubt due to a legal challenge over the contract.

F1 is denying the reports that the 2021 street races are all in danger of cancellation.

Cyril Abiteboul has departed Renault much to the shock of pretty much everybody… Alpine has announced a new Racing Director but Team Principal remains open. Alpine will debut their new livery sometime in February.

Franz Tost thinks that Red Bull won’t let Pierre Gasley go easily.

We have a quick review of what changes could be coming in 2021, and F1 says that they’re still committed to the big rules change in 2022.

Lando Norris has tested positive for Covid-19 while on vacation in Dubai.

Williams will be using Mercedes gearboxes for 2021.

Lance Stroll has turned in his self-review for 2020.

Aston Martin F1 has a title sponsor - and it’s not BWT.

We don’t know when winter testing will be yet, the Australian Grand Prix is likely going to be postponed and the Chinese Grand Prix is requesting a postponement.

If you didn’t like races starting at 10 minutes after the hour - F1 is ending that practice.

Sir Frank Williams has been released from Hospital and is recovering at home now - and now you know all we know.

Romain Grosjean says his hands are getting better and he’s stared sim racing.

Lewis Hamilton is getting knighted - the third F1 World Champion to be honored with a knighthood.

Helmet Marko was talking tot he press…

Haas has re-affirmed their driver lineup and re-affirmed their commitment to the course of becoming the most reviled team on the grid.

We started off with stuff from the “Lost Episode” - how Mercedes screwed up their Sakhir GP pit stops and what we think of Nikita Mazepin and his associated drama.

Dmetri Mazepin lost his lawsuit against the sale of Force India to Racing Point.

Bob Fernley has a new job.

Why is Abu Dhabi a boring race - maybe it’s the corners?

Alpha Tauri has a new driver - and so does Red Bull.

Mercedes AMG F1 has made changes to it’s ownership structure.

Ferrari is the first time to share launch info for their 2021 car.

F1 is headed back to Interlagos for 5 more years.

23 race calendar is approved by the WMSC

New lights could mean new night races.

And Sir Frank Williams is in hospital - and that’s all we know.

F1’s come a long way over it’s history, it wasn’t very long ago when an incident like we saw this past on Sunday would have been fatal. Instead we had a driver walk away from one of the worst incidents in F1 in over 20 years.

UK Channel 4’s F1 commentator Ben Edwards is stepping down at the end of the season. Americans may not recognize the name, but if you watch Netflix’s Drive To Survive you’ve heard the voice.

Covid=19 has hit Williams

The Provisional 2021 calendar has been announced - and we have trouble recapping it.

There are some changes coming in 2021 - not a lot but a few.

Like everybody else, Pirelli found out pretty late that the organizers of the Turkish Grand Prix resurfaced the track at Istanbul Park. Not many folks liked the new surface, nor did they like Q2 starting while a crane was still on the track.

Lance Stroll got a shock pole position - but we still don’t think he’s a good driver.

As exciting as the Turkish Grand Prix was, many of the drivers didn’t like the track conditions that led to the race playing out that it did.

Breaking news as we record - the Vietnamese GP is not going to be featured on the 2021 calendar - and neither will Miami.

Formula is officially going to Saudi Arabia - and we question what “We Race As One” really means.

Fans will not be present for the upcoming races in Bahrain.

Max Verstappen’s tire failure last weekend was instantaneous.

Valtteri Bottas is upset that debris wasn’t cleaned off the track last weekend.

Teams aren’t allowed to use 3D cameras anymore.

Positive Covid testing at Williams is leading to some changes in trackside staffing.

Roman Grosjean wants fewer radio conversations broadcast.

And Gunther Steiner seems to be indicating that Haas will have an all rookie lineup next year.

Hey remember when Racing Point told us that Lance Stroll didn’t have Covid-19… Yeah, turns out he did have Covid-19 and many in the F1 community are not amused, particularly McLaren’s Zak Brown.

There’s a new lockdown coming to the UK, however the teams do not believe that it will impact the final races of the season.

Renault thinks that Fernando Alonso is a young driver… Spoiler Alert - he’s not…

Max Verstappen says it’s not his problem that folks are offended by some of the things he says - except maybe it is…

Lando Norris apologized to Lewis Hamilton

Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen will not be returning to Haas for 2021.

Pierre Gasly will be remaining with Alpha Tauri for 2021, and Christian Horner says that he wasn’t considered for a return to Red Bull.

Alfa Romeo will be keeping their drivers for another year - and they’ll be extending their naming deal with Sauber for another year.

George Russel is confirmed to remain at Williams for another year - again… Oh and Nick Latifi will be staying too…

Mercedes wins a record breaking 7th consecutive constructors championship - while Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff send signals that they may be departing the F1 team sooner rather than later…

And there’s a 23 race calendar being discussed for 2021.

Chase Carey says that tradition shouldn’t keep F1 from embracing reverse grids.

Is Haas on the verge of becoming Ferrari’s battered wife?

Mercedes stopped developing their 2020 car “a long time ago” and they won’t be supplying Red Bull or Alpha Tauri with engines next year.

Red Bull admits that they are considering taking over Honda’s engine program - especially because Red Bull and Alpha Tauri will not run different engines.

Could Nico Hulkenberg actually be in the running for a seat at Red Bull?

We know why Lance Stroll didn’t race last weekend - and it wasn’t Covid-19.

Daniel Ricciardo says that Cyril Abiteboul is definitely getting that tattoo.

Fernando Alonso isn’t in racing form yet.

Fans won’t be attending the Turkish Grand Prix.

And Rio’s proposed grand prix might be in trouble.

IndyCar has revealed their “aspirational calendar” for 2021 - with a few notable changes, like the loss of COTA from the calendar.

Liberty Media has bought a stake in an IndyCar team.

Turns out, Mercedes wasn’t completely surprised by Lewis Hamilton’s penalties last weekend.

Honda is leaving F1 again… But they’re staying in IndyCar.

Red Bull and Alpha Tauri say that they’re staying in F1 even though Honda is leaving - but the question is what next?

There were 10 positive Covid tests after the Russian Grand Prix.

And the organizers for the Melbourne Grand Prix are hopeful for a mid-March race next year.

Chase Carey is leaving Formula Management and will be replaced as President and CEO by Stefano Dominicali - and the teams are ok with that decision.

None of the drivers want reverse grid races…

But the teams (and at least some drivers) are interested in the idea of bringing new (old) tracks back into the calendar.

Romain Grosjean is making plans if he loses his seat at Haas - and Haas says that they’re not sure Sergio Perez is the right driver for them.

Copying in F1 - yup, still going on…

Drivers have to keep their race suits zipped up at the end of the race, and Lewis is very upset over his penalties this weekend - and we don’t agree.

Finally - the Pink Panthers will not be returning for 2021.

It was another busy week, and first off one of us was wrong… As Sebastian Vettel is indeed going to Aston Martin for 2021. Sergio Perez says that he didn’t know this was coming until it happened, and Otmar Szafnauer says that there wasn’t a chance that Lance Stroll was going to be replaced - and no not because his father owns the team… For those of you keeping track (which is absolutely no one) Lawrence Stroll has not only bought his son an F1 team, but now he’s bought him a 4 time World Champion too…

Gunther Steiner says they’re talking to as many as 10 drivers about joining the team in 2021.

Franz Tost says that Pierre Gasley’s future will be settled in the next 6 weeks, Pierre who is now a member of a very exclusive club…

Williams has an Acting Team Principal.

McLaren says their biggest challenge is their outdated infrastructure - so they’re selling the MTC…

The FIA says teams can’t get around next year’s cost cap by stocking up on parts this year instead of buying them next year.

Are reverse grid sprint races coming in 2021?

Want to launch a new team - the cost is going up by $200m which you’ll be paying to the existing teams.

Could changes be coming to Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team?

The first every race at Mugello was carnage - with some dull racing.

While we were gone we visited Road America - didn’t see any racing but we did visit the track and we were really impressed.

Williams has been sold, and the Williams family has announced that they have stepped down from the team. While some see all of this as positive developments and the sign of a bright future for them - some of us aren’t quite sure this is as positive as it seems.

Less downforce is coming for 2021.

We call out Christian Horner - again.

The FIA is reviewing super license requirements. (Spoiler Alert - your driver’s license with “Super” on it still doesn’t make it an FIA Super License).

Ferrari and Renault have dropped their appeal in the Racing Point Brake Duct case.

Renault Sport F1 to become Alpine F1 for 2021.

The odds of Sebastian Vettel heading to Racing Point have dropped significantly. Maybe Haas is still an option?

Toto Wolff thinks that F1 should allow the fans more access to team communications - which could have been interesting at the start of the Safety Car period at this week’s race…

Pierre Gasly gives the Red Bull junior team their second ever win… At Monza!

Fans will be able to attend the Tuscan GP next weekend at Mugello.

And the 2020 calendar has been finalized.

This week - it’s Mercedes fault that the Concorde Agreement hasn’t been signed…

Racing Point was a big part of the conversation this week.

Reserve Drivers - so it turns out the rules have changed and it impacts who can still be a reserve driver.

Sebastian Vettel’s relationship with Ferrari continues to decline.

Valterri Bottas will get another year with Mercedes

And F1 is hoping for a “normal” calendar for 2021.

We start off this week with a look at the logistical challenges of an F1 weekend.

Lando Calrissian Norris says that teams need to ease the burden of this year’s compressed schedule on trackside personnel - and he’s backing his words with action where he can.

Gulf appears to be getting ready to return to F1.

Ross Brawn admits he used to copy designs all the time.

Mercedes knew that Lewis wasn’t having engine problems at the start of the Hungarian Grand Prix - but they couldn’t tell him.

Williams is giving both drivers an upgrade for the British Grand Prix - but we don't know what it is.

Romain Grosjean apologizes for his remarks about the future of Haas last week.

Toto Wolff says that he’s not involved in any negotiations that may be going on between Racing Point and Sebastian Vettel.

Ferrari is restructuring their engineering divisions.

Are you in the UK? Don’t go to Silverstone this weekend. No, really - Don’t go to Silverstone this weekend.

As of the time of our recording the new Covid-19 restrictions implemented in Spain will not affect the Spanish Grand Prix.

As expected, F1 will not return to the Americas in 2020.

While Silverstone won’t host 12 races this year, they did offer it.

The next three races that have been confirmed for 2020 - Nurburgring, Portimao, and Imola.

In Driver News - It’s highly likely that Valtteri Bottas will remain with Mercedes for another year, and we know that George Russel will remain at Williams through 2021.

Bild says that Sebastian Vettel is indeed talking to Racing Point and Sergio Perez confirms that he’s been approached by other teams.

So our updated list of teams that could take Sebastian Vettel:

Ferrari - no

Renault - no

Red Bull - no

Alfa Tauri - highly unlikely

Mercedes - highly unlikely

Racing Point - we thought it was a no, but now appears to be a maybe

Haas - interested

Williams - Unknown

Alfa-Romeo - Unknown

Is the future of Haas the elephant in the room, or is Romain Grosjean’s future with Haas the elephant in the room? It depends on who you talk to.

Ferrari and McLaren both appear to be ready to sign the new Concord Agreement.

Ferrari admits that last year’s crackdown on engine games has impacted their performance.

Expect more protests to be filed against the Racing Point at least until this is sorted out.

Some teams may be able to get “free” upgrades.

There were two positive Covid-19 tests in the lead up to the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas got distracted by some lights.

Toto Wolff admitted to poor communications in the pit lane.

Haas got two penalties for telling their drivers to pit, but Red Bull escaped a penalty.

This year’s season should now be at least 10 races long with the Grand Prix of Tuscany announced for the Mugello Circuit and the Russian Grand Prix announced as well. We’re expecting more announcements soon.

Sochi is even hoping to have fans in attendance - we’ll see…

Fernando Alonso is back… And he’s back and Renault… And Renault insists that Fernando’s return won’t bring new levels of drama to the team… And from a drama perspective, we welcome Fernando’s return.

Renault has filed an official protest against the 2020 Racing Point - but just the brake ducts.

The list of teams that have declared that Sebastian Vettel won’t be driving for them in 2021 has increased by 2. For those keeping score, here’s where we know Sebastian isn’t headed:

Ferrari

Renault

Red Bull (new)

Racing Point (not really new but we knew this wasn’t happening)

Toro Rosso (they haven’t announced that Seb isn’t welcome, but lets face it they’re not going to sign a 4 times world champion)

No, Toto Wolff hasn’t bought more shares in Williams.

Mattia Binotto says that now isn’t the time to place blame in the collision this past weekend - we disagree.

McLaren explains that no, Lando Norris didn’t try and game a temperature check.

But Charles Leclerc and Valtteri Bottas have received warnings for violating Covid protocols… And if anybody does it in Hungary, they could be headed to jail.

But first, the races in Singapore, Japan, and Azerbaijan have been officially cancelled, as has the entire W Series season.

But F1 will be back starting the weekend of July 5, with the first race of a 3 weekend back to back series. We’re starting with two races in Austria, followed by Hungary. Then the series is off for a week before returning for two weekends at Silverstone, and then to Spa and Monza for their previously scheduled weekends.

Where the series goes from there is up in the air, but there’s the possibility of two races in Sochi, and two races in Bahrain. Additionally, Algarve in Portugal is in negotiations to host a race with both Mugello and Imola both being looked at by FOM.

Race weekends will look different - with no fans in attendance there won’t be a drivers parade, fewer people on the grid, and no podium ceremonies either.

FOM has no intention of cancelling races if team personnel test positive for Covid-19, even a driver testing positive won’t cause FOM to cancel a race - but that doesn’t mean that a team won’t withdraw…

Cars are hitting the track too - with several teams electing for either filming days with their 2020 cars, or “unlimited” running with cars that are two years old - except McLaren, they’re not doing anything.

Could Sebastian Vettel be headed to Aston Martin Racing for 2021? Probably not….

Aston Martin Racing’s new facility at Silverstone has been delayed a year.

And Ross Brawn says that there won’t be a new engine manufacturer coming to F1 before 2026.

In F1 - The Dutch Grand Prix has become the fourth race of the season to be officially cancelled.

Maybe we’ll get a revised calendar this week?

When we do get a calendar, the season will likely start with 2 races in Austria and then 2 races at Silverstone.

The cost cap has dropped, rules have changed, but it’s still unlikely that reverse grid races will happen.

McLaren is struggling, and so is Williams - and for some reason Williams has terminated their sponsorship with Rokit.

Mercedes insists it’s staying in F1, and so does Renault.

Meanwhile Ferrari admits that they’re considering entering IndyCar - but likely without Sebastian Vettel who will be departing the team at the end of the season.

Carlos Sainz Jr is headed to Ferrari for 2021, and Daniel Ricciardo will be leaving Renault to partner with Lando Norris at McLaren next year.

Maybe they’ll be a new team on the grid in 2022 - and Vijay Mallya still hasn’t been extradited…

This week’s Unicorn Chaser where you can make your own paper Toto Wolf, Lewis Hamilton, and Valtteri Bottas can be found here - https://www.mercedesamgf1.com/en/news/2020/04/epsonpapercraftdrivers/

We open with news of the passing of Sir Stirling Moss at the age of 90. Since you have the time - check out the excellent documentary on Sir Stirling that was presented by Sir Patrick Stewart on the BBC a few years ago. You can find Racing Legends - Sir Stirling Moss on YouTube here….

Bernie Ecclestone is expecting his fourth child… Yes, that Bernie Ecclestone….

Mercedes HPP along with University College London has developed a CPAP device that’s been approved by the NHS for use in treating Covid-19 patients and reducing the chance that they might end up in the ICU.

Ron Dennis has donated 1 million GBP to an effort to provide meals to NHS workers for the next 3 months, while Pirelli’s Mario Isola has been on the frontline of the Covid-19 response in Milan Italy where he is a volunteer ambulance driver and paramedic - something that he’s been doing for years.

McLaren, Williams, Racing Point, Haas, Renault, as well as Formula 1 Management have all announced staff furloughs in response to the shutdown of the sport.

The previously scheduled 3 week shutdown for teams has now been extended to 5 weeks.

This won’t have an issue for the development of the 2022 cars - as the teams have agreed to freeze development on those cars for the remainder of the year. Meanwhile the implementation of the cost cap for 2021 will proceed as scheduled. Discussions are ongoing regarding a potential engine development freeze as well.

The Canadian GP has officially been postponed - which means that the French GP could be the start of the season.

There’s been some speculation regarding what the calendar will look like, with suggestions that racing could resume as early as July - or not. The season could be extended into January 2021 as a “super season.” There could be as many as 19 races, or as few as 8 races. Or maybe they’ll just scrap the whole season, but won’t decide on that until October.

Silverstone has announced that they would be willing to host more than one race in a restarted season - and would be open to a running of one of those races in a reverse layout.

Zandvoort doesn’t really want to run their rescheduled race without fans - but also admits that F1 hasn’t discussed anything with them yet.

And NASCAR’s Bubba Wallace has lost a sponsor after rage quitting an eNASCAR event.

The good news is that we actually have F1 things to talk about too -

Chase Carey sends an apology to fans - but not for what we think he should be apologizing for

A Pirelli team member tested positive for Covid-19, but with the exception of the one team member who tested positive at McLaren, everybody else from McLaren has been cleared.

Lewis Hamilton says that even though he came in close contact with idris Elba and Sophie Trudeau - he is healthy and is now outside of the risk period for infection.

In other news - Red Bull intended to protest Mercedes’ DAS system if it has been run in FP1

Despite leading the initial outcry - Mercedes is now stepping back from their objections to the private Ferrari/FIA engine settlement.

F1’s summer break has been moved up and extended so that races could be scheduled over the normal summer break period - but no word on how the shut down will impact efforts by the F1 teams to produce ventilators.

Monaco is the first (or maybe the second depending on what’s going on with Melbourne) race to officially be cancelled. All races though and including Baku are now officially postponed - with the first race looking to be France now.

The 2021 rules are also being postponed and should now be known as the 2022 rules - but McLaren will still shift to Mercedes power in 2021 as previously scheduled.

And F1 has rolled out their own “virtual series” and no, its not what we originally thought it would be.

For now, most series have suspended until at least the end of April with many not expected to resume until May. Several series waited until the very last minute to wait until they made their calls, with Formula 1 not reacting until just two hours before the start of Free Practice 1 in Australia.

Because it’s Formula 1 - the decision to cancel the Australian Grand Prix wasn’t drama free - and we now have a deeper understanding of what was going on in the 12 hours between McLaren’s withdrawal from the event and the official cancellation of the event.

Oh - and F1 has a new commercial agreement with Saudi Aramco and Renault has a new title sponsor…..

On the Coronavirus front - It’s not clear when the 2020 MotoGP will start with the scheduled first race cancelled, the scheduled third race postponed, and now the scheduled third race of the season in question as well.

Formula E’s Rome E-Prix has been cancelled.

The FIA has established a Crisis Cell to monitor the situation as it develops and to guide it’s response as the situation impacts all of the series governed by the organization.

Ross Brawn has declared that if any team is unable to participate in a Formula 1 race due to travel restrictions in place in response to Coronavirus, that Formula 1 would cancel the event.

As of this past weekend the Australian Grand Prix will be held with the Australian Government holding off on issuing a travel ban on travelers arriving from Italy. However, access to the Bahrain Grand Prix is now restricted to participants only - there will not be any fans in attendance.

The quarantine put in place by the Italian Government impacts both Ferrari and Pirelli, however it’s not clear if the remaining Ferrari personnel who haven’t set out for Australia will be blocked from leaving the region.

Despite the previously announced private agreement between the FIA and Ferrari, the drama over Ferrari’s 2019 engine isn’t over. The non-Ferrari powered teams issued a rare joint statement objecting to how the situation has been handled and threatening legal action over the issue. While the FIA insists that their actions were legitimate and justified.

Is Gene Haas going to end his Formula 1 experiment at the end of the year?

Lawrence Stroll says that he intends for the F1 team to be an key part of Aston-Martin’s strategy.

Drivers are once again allowed to change their helmet design whenever they want.

And Chase Carey takes some pretty open shots at Bernie Ecclestone.

F1 made a profit in 2019.

As various motorsports seasons start to ramp up, coronavirus is making a bigger impact. MotoGP has cancelled their season opener next weekend, some teams experienced delays traveling to the Formula 2 pre-season test, while ART Grand Prix Renault Junior Driver Christian Lundgaard will miss this year’s Formula 2 testing after being stuck in quarantine in Tenerife.

Ferrari is expressing concerns about the impact to the season and the ability of all the Italian teams to travel to races as concerns continue to rise over the outbreak in Italy. Meanwhile Chase Carey insists that the Vietnamese Grand Prix will not be impacted - although the track is finished and ready to host F1.

F1 has a new Commercial Director.

Alan Permaine says that F1’s instinctive response to ban new developments goes against the nature of the sport - and of course we agree fully.

The Mercedes drivers aren’t sure if they will start the season using the new DAS system.

Coming out of testing Mercedes appears to have reliability issues, the Red Bulls may be a little unstable, and Ferrari may be playing catch up.

The Williams look faster, but they may still be a back marker.

Daniel Ricciardo is open to talking with other teams, and he’s going to scale back his appearances in the lead up to the season opener in Melbourne this year.

We’re back with Fantasy GP this year - and this week was our predictions show! You can view our list of questions here, you’ll need to download and edit the document somewhere else though. Add your predictions to the comment for this post.

Imola says that they would be willing to try and hold a replacement race for the Chinese Grand Prix.

Could the Chinese Grand Prix weekend get moved to November and shortened to two days?

Racing Point’s 2020 car was revealed - and it looks less like an evolution of their 2019 car and more like an evolution of Mercedes 2019 car.

Winter testing got underway last week - and for the first time fans could watch each session live via F1 TV Pro and SkySports F1. Thanks to that live broadcast the world learned of a new steering mode on the Mercedes which has the paddock buzzing.

Mercedes Dual Axis Steering (DAS) was already approved by the FIA as in compliance with the Technical Regulations before testing, and it’s also been certified as being safe by the FIA. However, is a steering mode as Mercedes claims - or a change in suspension settings - which would put it in violation of Parc Ferme and other rules?

Either way - it’s already been banned for 2021.

Most of the teams were optimistic about their performance in the first test sessions. Mercedes were faster than everybody, Red Bull was just behind them, and Ferrari appears to be down with the back markers… Or are they?

Pirelli has developed a special tire construction for Zaandvort even though they said they wouldn’t.

And the Miami GP continues to lurch towards the 2021 schedule.

Ross Brawn says that as part of their efforts towards a more sustainable F1 - the series is looking at their logistics chain, and could see teams doing away with the European motor homes. Ross Brawn is also confident that the new banking at Zaandvort won’t lead to a repeat of the trouble at Indianapolis in 2005.

Albert Park is due for some updating but the timing is still being worked out. Either way, it will be after this year’s race.

The Chinese Grand Prix has been officially postponed - but could the inaugural Vietnamese Grand Prix be in jeopardy as well?

Toto Wolff continues to downplay the possibility that Mercedes could be leaving the series.

What did Mercedes change in their power unit for the 2020 season - cooling.

Stoffel Vandoorne has been named Mercedes Reserve Driver.

Cyril Abiteboul believe that the leadership changes to Renault will secure the team’s future in the series, but he admits that the team’s performance projections for 2020 probably won’t be good enough to convince Daniel Ricciardo to stay with the team for 2021. Renault also insists that we shouldn’t see the 2020 car not being at last week’s launch event to be an indication that the development program is in trouble.

Ferrari insists that Sebastian Vettel is not at risk for 2021.

And Rich Energy is back in motorsport!

European aircraft manufacturer was hit with a massive 3.5 billion Euro fine due to a bribery scandal - and former F1 team Caterham may have had a role in it.

This will be the last year for Racing Point in F1 - the team will be renamed Aston Martin for the 2021 season.

Haas is the first to reveal their 2020 contender - more than a week before the official launch of the car.

Ferrari has already started testing - tire testing for Pirelli.

Red Bull hopes that a change in approach will lead to a faster start to the season for them.

Could Mercedes be having engine trouble?

Ross Brawn says that proposed changes to F1’s governance will make it harder for teams to exploit loopholes in the rules.

Eric Boullier is the new Managing Director for the French GP, and he says that the circuit needs four days to implement changes to the layout of Circuit Paul Ricard to improve the racing.

And Fernando Alonso is trying to stay relevant to F1….

Fernando Alonso is no longer a Brand Ambassador for McLaren

Sean Bratches is officially out at Formula 1 Group.

Drive to Survive Season 2 will be coming to Netflix on February 28.

Looking for a way to support relief efforts in Australia? Are you looking for some unique F1 gear, or maybe going to be at the Australian Grand Prix? Check out F1’s official auction to support Australia relief efforts.

Williams says there won’t be any delays in the launch of their 2020 car, unlike last year.

Racing Point says that it takes more than money to make progress with the team.

Helmet Marko rules out Jean-Eric Vergne or Sebastien Buemi returning to F1 in the Red Bull organization.

Zandvoort is trying to keep their first weekend unpredictable for the teams.

The course for the proposed Miami Grand Prix has been revised - again… And we still don’t think it’s going to happen.

And there’s a documentary coming about Max Mosley.

Could their be a Saudi Arabian Grand Prix - honestly we don’t care, but if there is the track would have been designed by Alex Wurz which we do think is pretty cool.

Max Verstappen will likely be a Red Bull driver for another 3 years.

Willams continues to invest in developing talent name Roy Nissany as a test driver and giving him outings in FP1 this year as well as expanding W Series Champion Jamie Chadwick’s simulator program.

Charles Leclerc’s younger brother Arthur is now a member of Ferrari’s young driver development program.

If Sergio Perez is challenging for wins in two years - he’s going to leave F1, he says…

Sean Bratches is officially out at F1.

Jean Todt shows that he’s completely out of touch.

Pirelli believes that teams will continue to have problems with tires this year.

Launch dates have been confirmed for McLaren, Ferrari, Renault, Mercedes and Alpha Tauri.

Renault says that the 2021 rules will determine if they stay in the series.

Pat Symonds admits that the 2019 aero rules were a mistake.

And - Carlos Sainz won the Dakar rally for the third time - no, not McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr - but Carlos Sainz Sr.

While we were on vacation we tasted apples - because isn’t that what you do?

But while we were gone - safety pioneer Bill Simpson died. Don’t know who Bill Simpson was - then watch this…

Chase Carey says that getting new sponsors to F1 is hard.

Williams F1 sold off their controlling stake in Williams Advanced Engineering.

Helmet Marko says that Red Bull is two weeks ahead of schedule developing their 2020 car and that they have no excuses for not mounting a championship challenge in 2020.

But Alpha Tauri has announced that they’ll unveil their 2020 car on February 14 - not after Ferrari unveils their car on February 11.

Matia Binotto insists that Ferrari had proven that their 2019 engine was legal - but they’ll be doing a significant redesign of their engine for 2020.

There was more - but it’s gone now…

Sorry…

We know why DRS wasn’t available for the beginning of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Ferrari is questioning the fuel reporting issue in Abu Dhabi - and honestly there is some degree of merit to what they have to say.

Lewis Hamilton says that 2019 was the best season of his career.

We’re not sure that Lewis Hamilton is seriously considering moving to Ferrari in 2021, nor are we sure that Ferrari is seriously considering bringing Lewis Hamilton in for 2021 - but Toto Wolff says that Mercedes isn’t searching for Lewis’ replacement - yet.

Toto Wolff also says that he’s not currently planning on leaving Mercedes to run F1 - and that Mercedes won’t leave F1 if the team can cut back on the money that they get from Daimler. They will be paying the highest every entry fee to run in F1 in 2020, so that’s not going to help.

Red Bull says their first year with Honda exceeded their expectations.

The FIA Prize Giving was last weekend.

There’s new rules for 2020-

Teams can’t hide their car during testing.

Teams will get a third MGU-K for 2020

Miss the weigh bridge on a Friday and it’s not an automatic pit lane start

The electronic checkered flag is going away and we’re getting a real flag again to show us when the race is over.

Could Paul Ricard make changes to the racing at the circuit - possibly… Will the changes they make actually make the racing better - doubt it…

Formula E is now a World Championship.

And we review our predictions - even though we didn’t do a show at the start of the season, we still made predications for 2019….

IndyCar is trying to figure out how to hold a race in Australia.

Rinus VeeKay has a full season IndyCar ride with Ed Carpenter Racing - and no Nico Hulkenburg is not going ECR.

Ferrari insists that its loss of pace since Austin is because they made changes to the aero.

The FIA continues to look for ways to ensure that teams aren’t breaking the rules around fuel.

Esteban Ocon will join Renault for post season testing this week.

Zaandvort is going to add banking to make their race more interesting, and we don’t know how that’s going to impact the tires.

Honda will supply engines to Red Bull on Alpha Tauri (formerly Toro Rosso) through 2021.

Nicholas Latifi is replacing Robert Kubica at Williams for 2020.

Haas tried out a new simulator this weekend - and Robert Kubica might be driving it in 2020, or he might not.

Valtteri Bottas has split with his wife of three years.

BAT increases it’s partnership with McLaren.

The teams are upset over the delays in the 2020 tire construction.

Ferrari will keep their veto power in the next Concord Agreement.

Sebastian Vettel had his first son.

Ferrari got fined for issues with fuel reports in Charles Leclerc’s car.

Could Sean Bratches be leaving Formula 1 Management?

Valtteri Bottas is going to participate in a rally event next weekend

and Jenson Button’s Baja 1000 debut left him stranded in the desert for 17 hours.

Could Nico Hulkenburg be headed to IndyCar? (Update since we recorded - Nope)

Formula 1 has released their sustainability plain…

Sebastian Vettel agrees with us - the helmet rules are stupid and need to be changed.

The FIA says that maybe the downforce numbers that they announced with the new rules are a bit optimistic.

Oh - and they think that teams will report loopholes in the rules to the FIA instead of trying to exploit them.

Pirelli’s 2020 tires will get one last chance to impress the teams - if not, the teams could dump them.

The FIA wants to know more about the oil each team is using and how much that they’re using - while Ferrari insists that they aren’t doing anything different with their engine.

Red Bull says 2020 is going to be their most expensive year ever - because of the cost cap.

Red Bull’s lineup today - is their lineup for 2020.

When Lewis leaves F1 - maybe he’ll find something else to do with Mercedes?

Could Mercedes F1 be for sale? Probably not.

The Brazilian Grand Prix was a good one this year….

And the Miami Grand Prix hasn’t been killed off yet…

Before we get to F1 there’s shock news from IndyCar as word came out that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the NTT IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway Productions were now part of the Roger Penske Automotive Empire.

The Arrow McLaren SP IndyCar team has announced their 2020 driver lineup and despite assurances that James Hinchcliff would have a drive with the team - Hinch is not part of their driver lineup, and neither is Marcus Ericsson.

Antonio Giovinazzi will get a second year with Alfa-Romeo Racing alongside Kimi Raikkonen.

Why yes, Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton, and Sebastian Vettel race Max Verstappen differently than any other driver on the grid.

The FIA is going to take a closer look at where Tecpro barriers are installed in Mexico City.

As expected - it’s not smooth sailing for the latest venue that the Miami Grand Prix has been proposed for.

The 2021 Technical, Sporting and Financial regulations have finally been released - and there’s a lot to digest.

Fernando Alonso is trying to digest the new rules too…

Racing Point is getting a new factory.

Pete Bonnington is back at the track.

Red Bull wrote a letter - and the conspiracy theorists are saying that’s the reason that Ferrari was so slow this weekend.

Petrobras will not be on the McLarens for the Brazilian Grand Prix

And no - Rich Energy will not be sponsoring McLaren no matter what William Storey says.

Formula 1 has an “agreement in principle” to hold a race in Miami at the Hard Rock (Joe Robbie) Stadium. We think that this race is as likely as a race in New Jersey.

Is the Petrobras sponsorship of McLaren about to end?

McLaren says that changing the concept of their car for 2020 isn’t risky…. Where have we heard this story before?

Is Ferrari’s engine legal? Somebody is asking the FIA to take a look.

Renault has been disqualified from the Japanese Grand Prix - for using a system that they may have been using for quite a few years that is apparently a driver aid and therefore illegal.

Could Renault be pulling out of F1 - again…

Robert Kubica insists that there’s absolutely no tension between him and Williams.

Lewis Hamilton will not be guided by Peter Bonnington for both Mexico and the US Grand Prix.

There will not be reversed grid trials in 2020 - and Mercedes is part of the reason why it won’t be happening.

The Q2 tire rules could be going away for 2020 - and the F1 Commission and F1 Strategy Group could both be going away in 2021.

Sebastian Vettel didn’t like Mario Achi or the Mexican Grand Prix trophies.

And the Haas drivers will get to try out NASCARs this week.

Gunther Steiner received a fine from the FIA for causing moral injury to FIA officials and making comments that were “prejudicial to the interests of motorsport.”

Daniel Ricciardo and his former advisor Glenn Beavis have settled their dispute out of court.

Tire blankets will not be going away in 2021.

Formula 1 is hoping to try out reverse grid sprint races in France, Spa, and Russia, and we know a little more about the plan.

Williams tried out a new front wing, but elected not to run it for qualifying or the race and Robert Kubica wasn’t happy with that decision.

With a Valtteri Bottas win, Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team became the first team in F1 history to win 6 straight constructors championships.

Lewis is happy for the team, but felt that he could have won the race too…

Ferrari and Charles Leclerc were hit with penalties for their early race antics. But Sebastian Vettel didn’t get a penalty.

Once again, a Formula 1 race ended early because the flag was thrown early.

And Renault could be in serious trouble…

Yes, we’re an F1 show but we start off talking about The Great British Bake Off…

But in F1 news -

The way drivers can change their helmets more than once is apparently to not ask for permission before they do it…

The 2020 Formula 1 calendar has been released and Max Verstappen says it’s going to cause some divorces…

It seems that the teams actually like the idea of open sourcing designs…

Robert Kubica’s sponsors aren’t happy with the reason Williams gave for Robert’s retirement in Russia.

Williams says they know why George Russel ended up in a wall in Russia…

And Robert Kubica got a new steering wheel - just for him..

McLaren says they never even considered moving to Ferrari engines.

Campos Racing says they want to make a bid to enter F1 in 2021 - meanwhile the FIA insists that there are no serious contenders for a race entry in 2021.

Jean Todt says that there hasn’t been a credible candidate look to apply to enter F1 in 2021

Haas says that no matter what Rich Energy says on their Twitter account the team is not for sale and they’re not talking to a Saudi group to sell off the team.

Max Verstappen doesn’t want to be a deciding factor in who drives alongside him.

Mercedes has fired 4 employees for violations of it’s diversity policy

McLaren will be running Mercedes engines again starting in 2021 - and Mercedes insists that this won’t be a “works” deal. Meanwhile McLaren insists that this isn’t because of rumors that Renault will be leaving the series after the 2020 season.

Ross Brawn and Chase Carey talked to the drivers…

Carlos Sainz Jr wants more airtime for the mid-pack.

Daniel Kyvat couldn’t wear he’s special helmet that he had designed for the Russian Grand Prix.

Ferrari makes questionable strategy calls again.

Toro Rosso wants to change their name

And teams will be testing 2020 tires at the US Grand Prix this year.

F1’s leading drivers are against the idea of reverse grids.

Don’t like the current grid penalty system? Renault thinks they should be replaced with time penalties - and F1, they think penalty ballast is a better idea.

Pirelli has a “secret” indoor testing protocol for the 2020 tire compounds, but they’re still getting another tire test.

What about tossing the idea of standardizing parts and instead let the teams do what they’d like - but they have to share their parts designs with the rest of the field so that teams can pick and chose the best of the best items.

And probably the best suggestion we saw this past week - Alex Wurz says that tracks need to rethink how they use asphalt and gravel runoff areas, and that the two can coexist in such a manner that sausage curbs wouldn’t be needed.

Robert Kubica will not be driving a Williams in 2020.

Haas is keeping Romain Grosjean for 2020 and we don’t believe their stated reason for keeping him over taking Nico Hulkenberg who is now unlikely to be making a move to Alfa Romeo.

Mercedes got a fine for having fuel that was too cold before FP1.

We know what caused Daniel Ricciardo to be disqualified from qualifying in Singapore.

Ferrari considered swapping Vettel and Leclerc.

Giovinazzi got a penalty for driving too close to the recovery vehicle and marshals who were on track.

A plastic bag was the source of Kevin Magnussen’s trouble in Singapore.

And the rumors that Zaandvort won’t be ready to host their race in 2020 - fake news according to the man in charge of hosting the race.

For us, we said goodbye to one of our original audience members, Chase The Cat passed this week after 17 years with us.

Former Mythbuster and the Fastest Woman on Four Wheels, Jessie Combs was killed in a crash in the Oregon desert while trying to break her own land speed record.

And to cap off the week, F2 driver and Renault Young Driver Program member Anthoine Hubert was fatally injured in a crash at Spa. Anthoine was well known by several of the younger members of the F1 grid, and the paddock is in shock at his loss.

In other news - it’s confirmed, Esteban Ocon is replacing Nico Hulkenberg at Renault for 2020. No word on where Nico Hulkenberg is headed next.

Sergio Perez will be driving at Racing Point for another 3 years.

Christian Horner is defending Red Bulls Junior driver program.

There will be less testing in season next year, but more races overall.

Ross Brawn says that F1 will try new formats for race weekends next year - and we dread what’s going to happen.

The teams will get more MGU-Ks for next year.

Pirelli is going to kick off their tire testing program for 2021 this month.

No new teams coming to F1 until at least 2022.

And Lando Norris shares his golden rules for attending a race weekend.

After hearing about how the staff at Pocono repaired the catch fencing after the wreck last weekend - we’re starting to agree that maybe it’s time for IndyCar to leave the Tricky Triangle.

Matia Binotto is talking to the press again, and there’s a lot going on in F1 right now that he doesn’t like.

An American will get to drive an F1 car….

Daniel Ricciardo says that Renault still has a way to go before it’s challenging for podiums next year, and could he be getting a new team mate for 2020?

Bobby Epstein says that F1’s home in the US is COTA, and that COTA will host F1 for as long as COTA exists.

So remember how we were told by Red Bull that they had no plans to replace Pierre Gasly… Yeah, so much for that, as he’s be sent down to Toro Rosso with Alexander Albon moving up to Red Bull to replace him.

Cyril Abiteboul would rather the tracks were redesigned instead of the technical rules in order to get better racing.

Ferrari is still moving ahead with their 2019 car despite the fact that it doesn’t have a chance of winning either title, but they do acknowledge that they should have looked to have more downforce this year.

McLaren on the other hand is already working on their 2020 car and it’s had a positive impact on their 2019 efforts.

Did Red Bull reach out to Fernando Alonso to offer him a drive alongside Max Verstappen for the rest of the year? Or did Fernando Alonso reach out to Red Bull to advertise his availability for 2020?

Zak Brown does say that Fernando hasn’t expressed interest in joining McLaren’s 2020 IndyCar attempt.

Alexander Rossi and James Hinchcliffe are headed to Bathurst this fall.

And once again there was a big crash at this past weekend’s race at Pocono.

And as you can tell - we recorded this before Red Bull announced that Pierre Gasly is going back a grade…

A big congratulations to Jamie Chadwick for winning the first W series drivers championship.

IndyCar is going hybrid for 2022.

IndyCar in 2020 will feature a McLaren team thanks to a partnership with Schmitt-Peterson and Chevy.

We talk silly season - before the change at Red Bull…

The Mexican GP is on for another three years.

Chase Carey says that there’s progress on a Miami GP…

And Lewis Hamilton might not appear in the second season of Netflix’s F1 Drive to Survive.

Oh - and THANK YOU INTERNET! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljP-adO-QOw

Thought the Force India sale was buttoned up? Think again because there’s a lawsuit coming over the sale and it won’t be heard until late next year…

The Rich Energy story continues - without William Storey, or is it now Lightning Volt?

Title sponsor issues aside, Haas is still racing - and Gunther Steiner is trying to figure out how to convince his drivers not to hit each other…

Could Romain Grosjean be in danger of loosing his seat? We’re compiling the list of possible replacements for Romain including:

Esteban Ocon

Pietro Fittipaldi

Rinus Veekay

Stingray Robb

Fernando Alonso

Melbourne will continue to host the Australian GP through 2025.

We got our first peek at the 2021 rules packages for tires and aerodynamics.

Aston Martin is standing by for Red Bull and F1 - but they hope that Honda doesn’t leave.

The Mercedes drivers are expressing their opinions about how F1 selects tracks.

And Fernando Alonso says that he’s not focused on returning to F1 in 2020.

Robert Wickens was back on a track this weekend…

Jean Eric Vergne won his second Formula E championship…

Oh, and Formula E teams found a sneaky way to implement traction control, even though traction control isn’t allowed in the series.

Matrix management doesn’t work for McLaren

McLaren’s confirmed their driver lineup for 2020 - and Fernando Alonso isn’t part of it.

Jean Todt thinks that maybe refueling should come back.

Rich Energy - Haas, lots of crazy and lots for us to unpack there

Williams on the other hand has a title sponsor that’s not crazy at all, and committed to the team through 2023.

Williams is standing by Robert Kubica, and is also hopeful that they’ll continue as a Mercedes customer team.

Sport Pesa - Racing Point’s title sponsor has kicked off a neat fundraising campaign in support of efforts to find a cure for cancer.

Silverstone will continue to host the British Grand Prix.

We talk about how we might decorate our studio/office

In light of the latest judgement against Rich Energy we discuss the Haas’ decision to remain associated with the company…

You can buy the commemorative model of Sebastian Vettel’s “victory” at the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix.

Honda’s Technical Directory didn’t know what to do at the podium ceremony after the Austrian Grand Prix, and Red Bull doesn’t know why the car was so fast.

Racing Point says that their problems this year are Force India’s fault.

Pat Fry is going on Gardening Leave.

Toto Wolff sees agendas at play behind the rumors that he’s replacing Chase Carey.

And an F1 race in a parking lot? Sure why not, it’s not like it wasn’t a complete disaster the last time F1 tried it in the US…

Oh, and iguanas, we talk about iguanas…

It turns out that the feedback is unanimous, at least among our sources in F1 - the French Grand Prix was terrible, and it’s all Circuit Paul Ricard’s fault. Romain Grosjean is actually calling it a nightmare scenario.

Max Verstappen had an amazing Austrian Grand Prix.

We don’t fault the race stewards from investigating Max’s pass on Charles Leclerc, all the same we’re very happy that they elected not to take any action in response to the pass.

It took a while before we got the steward’s verdict, and we know why, either way Ferrari will not be appealing this decision.

Could there be an exit clause at play between Max Verstappen and Red Bull?

Red Bull Development Driver and SuperFormula Driver Dan Ticktum is now Former Red Bull Development Driver and Former SuperFormula driver Dan Ticktum.

Marcus Ericsson will drive an F1 car again - in a Pirelli tire test.

Could the 2020 spec tires be part of the race weekend at the end of this season?

Rumors of a London Grand Prix continue to swirl - could this have an impact on Silverstone?

All that aside, in the news this week:

Vijay Mallya is one step closer to potentially being extradited back to India.

McLaren Applied Technologies is getting back into cycling

Valtteri Bottas is going to try his hand at rallying

Lewis Hamilton had to slow down in Jerez.

Mercedes is working to keep all of it’s employees healthy.

We know when Ferrari will reveal their 2019 car.

Karun Chandhok will be joining the SkySports F1 team in 2019 - an all star SkySports F1 team at that.

Could Monza be getting faster?

Bernie Ecclestone says that he tried to buy Silverstone.

And Felippe Massa’s Formula E debut was penalty ridden - but it wasn’t his fault.

Next year’s F1 calendar is finalized - no changes since we discussed it in October.

Minor tweaks to the 2019 rules coming

The halo did have an impact on safety this year.

Racing Point is just a place holder name

And Fernando Alonso is driving a Chevy in 2019.

First up we have some news of Robert Wicken’s ongoing recovery - and the news is good.

We know why the curbs were failing apart in Abu Dhabi.

Ross Brawn isn’t happy about the state of F1’s mid-pack teams

F1’s next tire supplier is - Pirelli, but changes are coming.

Haas will not appeal the latest decision regarding Racing Point Force India’s constructor status.

The stewards in Abu Dhabi were shocked into inaction over Fernando Alonso’s corner cutting.

The halo didn’t make it harder for Nico Hulkenburg to get out of his car after it rolled.

Lewis Hamilton is probably a better F1 driver than motoGP rider.

Lewis and Sebastian Vettel have swapped helmets.

Valtteri Bottas thinks that this past year was his worst in F1.

Daniel Ricciardo says goodby to Red Bull.

Alexander Albon is headed to Toro Rosso.

Racing Point will be the new name of Force India for 2019.

McLaren has no regrets over dropping Honda after a disappointing season with Renault.

There’s chaos at Renault and Nissan as Carlos Ghosen is taken into custody by Japanese authorities and ultimately fired by both companies due to financial improprieties.

Haas continues to fight against Racing Point Force India.

Fernando Alonso is a little embarrassed by all the attention this weekend.

Lewis Hamilton runs the #1 on his car - for a little while.

Esteban Ocon will be Mercedes Reserve Driver for 2019.

Sergey Sirotkin is out at Williams and Robert Kubica is in.

James Key will be reporting to work at McLaren in 2019.

Formula E will host an in season test in Saudi Arabia and a 1/3 of the drivers will be women.

Over in F1, Haas is hoping that Pietro Fittipaldi can help the team with problems with their simulator.

Tatiana Calderon is driving a Sauber F1 car again this weekend.

The FIA has a new crash data system that debuted in Brazil last weekend.

Lewis Hamilton’s engine was close to failure in Brazil - could this impact the final race of the season?

We talk about Max Verstappen’s behavior after the race in Brazil.

Chase Carey continues to talk tough with race promoters, and we know who will be running McLaren’s 2019 Indy 500 project.

In the news this week - Rob Smedly is leaving Williams at the end of the season.

Slick tires are getting thinner tread depth in 2019.

Kevin Magnussen says that his car is too good for his team.

Haas’ disqualification in Monza is leading to a potential rules change for 2019.

Chase Carey is defending Formula 1’s partnership with a sports book.

Force India is bringing extra security to the Brazilian Grand Prix this year.

Vettel is reflecting on his championship loss - and he’s in trouble with the FIA after his weigh bridge incident.

McLaren will field a team at the 2019 Indianapolis 500 - and Fernando Alonso will be driving for them.

Is IndyCar coming to Rio de Janeiro?

While we were gone, Lewis Hamilton became a 5 time F1 World Champion.

Santino Ferucci’s troubles with Trident is going to cost him over $500,000.

We’ve got a few more weeks until we know who will be driving alongside Daniel Kyviat at Toro Rosso next year.

Will the 2019 aero changes make the racing better? Maybe, maybe not.

F1 team bosses continue to meet without the FIA or FOM - and insist that the FOTA is not coming back.

Niki Lauda is out of the hospital as he continues to recover from his lung transplant.

Could cameras and screens replace mirrors in F1 cars?

Turns out Max Verstappen was out driving himself the beginning of the season.

Ferrari’s return to form appears to be due to the removal of 4 months worth of upgrades.

Is Mercedes troubles because they aren’t running their controversial new rear wheel?

Esteban Ocon and Kevin Magnussen were both disqualified from Austin due to fuel irregularities.

Haas’ appeal of Roman Grosjean’s Monza disqualification has failed.

Helmet cameras and glasses mounted cameras aren’t coming to F1 any time soon.

Daniel Riccardo will drive his Red Bull for the final two races of the year.

Fernando Alonso and NASCAR’s Jimmy Johnson will “trade” cars for laps of the track in Abu Dhabi.

Williams is fined for endangering one of their mechanics during Lance Stroll’s Mexico City pit stop.

Marcus Ericsson is headed to IndyCar for 2019

IndyCars have run on COTA for the first time ever.

And could IndyCar be going to Australia?

The winner of this year’s F1 Innovation Award was announced - and we should have entered.

Bernie Ecclestone has figured out how to mess with Liberty Media’s earning from F1.

Next year there will only be three colors to represent the dry tire compounds used each race weekend - there will be more than three compounds, but on three colors.

2019 front wings won’t be tested in post-season testing in Abu Dhabi this year - and Daniel Ricciardo won’t be testing in Abu Dhabi this year.

Renault is scrapping their Rev C engine this year and will be looking at a new concept for 2019.

No, F1 won’t experiment with new weekend formats before the end of the season.

Sebastian Vettel says that Ferrari’s recent upgrades were actually downgrades.

Also not helping Seb is a three place grid penalty for a red flag violation in FP1.

The FIA says Mercedes new rear wheel is legal.

Several changes were made to COTA to keep drivers on the track.

McLaren has a new sponsor - but won’t be in IndyCar for a full season next year.

Lawrence Stroll is working to make Force India his team…

And yes, pre-season testing will be in Barcelona again next year.

Stoffel Vandoorne is headed to Formula E, as is Pascal Wherlin and Jerome D’Ambrosio.

This week - Fernando Alonso found somebody other than Honda to complain about at Suzuka this year.

George Russel is headed to Williams in 2019.

The World Motorsports Council met this week - and as expected there’s some areas of disagreement and agreement-

Franz Tost says 20 to 22 races is the right number for races every year - not all the bosses agree with him.

There won’t be a change to the point structure for 2019.

The calendar was finalized for 2019, and there will be some other tweaks to the rules going into the 2019 season.

Max Verstappen won’t get to try MotoGP while he’s currently contracted to Red Bull.

Sebastian Vettel says that Ferrari’s new mission is to prove that they are still a good team.

Alejandro Agag reveals how close Formula E came to failing in it’s first season.

Pascal Wehrlein could have gone to Formula E next year - but is instead looking elsewhere.

And is the new racing series W the right way to get women into F1?

While we were gone:

Kimi Raikonnen has already had his first seat fitting with Sauber where he will be joined by Antonio Giovinazzi.

Esteban Ocon defended Lance Stroll

Haas says that there’s been progress in the negotiations regarding Force India’s prize money.

Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen will continue with Haas in 2019.

Sepang will be paying Haas for the damage caused by a loose drain cover at the track last year.

Daniel Kvyat is back at Red Bull for 2019 - as a driver. Really. No, we’re not joking.

The list of drivers that Dale Coyne is talking to regarding seats in his IndyCars keep growing - seems to be just a matter of time before Marcus Erickson is added to that list.

Zak Brown wants to get the rules regarding liveries changed.

There was a race in Russia…

Could Qualifying change for 2019? Maybe softer tires? Doesn’t this all sound familiar?

Drivers want DRS through 130R in Suzuka.

Oh and the race in Miami - probably won’t be happening…

The UK’s Channel 4 will still get some coverage of F1 for 2019 - highlights and the British GP live.

F1 wants seven Fan Fests in 2019 - and they’ve announced a deal to bring betting into the sport.

There’s a new hotel coming to Silverstone and it will over look the pit lane.

Kimi Raikkone is leaving Ferrari to go to Sauber.

Pascal Wehrlein is leaving Mercedes.

Stoffel Vandorne is interested in IndyCar.

Force India will probably not let their drivers race against each other again.

Charlie Whiting doesn’t think that Sergio Perez intended to hit Sergei Sirotkin in Singapore - but he’s pretty upset of Grosjean ignoring blue flags. Thanks to that incident Romain Grosjean is just 3 points away from a race ban.

Haas says that Renault violated a gentleman’s agreement.

Force India avoided a 65k Euro fine, and Lewis Hamilton is playing mind games with Sebastian Vettel.

Roman Grosjean was disqualified from last weekend's race in Monza after a protest by Renault because the floor of his car wasn't properly shaped. Haas has already appealed the decision - more to follow.

Charlie Whiting says that he isn't bothered by Max Verstappen accusing him of ruining racing.

Ferrari can't keep ice packs on the camera mounts on their car anymore - and we know why Ferrari has been doing it.

We know why Sauber has been having problems with their DRS.

Jean Todt says that we won't see a new manufacturer coming to F1 in 2021, nor does he believe that F1 will ever be a fully electric series.

Stoffel Vandorne is out at McLaren for 2019 - Lando Norris is getting promoted.

Santino Ferruci is telling his side of the story about that fateful weekend in Silverstone a few months ago - and Dale Coyne Racing is standing by Santino for now.

Schmidt-Peterson racing has shared more about Robert Wicken's injuries in Pocono - and they're more significant than we realized.

Fernando Alonso spend this past week at Barber Motorsports Park driving an IndyCar.

IndyCar's 2019 schedule was published.

If the halo didn't save Charles LeClerc's life, at a minimum it helped protect him in a pretty shocking looking incident. According to Charlie Whiting, not only did the halo perform as designed, but it withstood the impact without cracking, breaking or deforming. But the FIA is looking to alternative options to the halo for better aesthetics.

Why did Nico Hulkenburg get a 10 place grid penalty instead of a race ban - Charlie Whiting explains why.

Changes coming in 2019 - new onboard camera angles, taller rear wings to improve visibility, more lights on the rear wings, and new helmets for drivers.

Michelin didn't submit a bid for the new tire tender - but that doesn't mean that Pirelli was the only bidder.

Toto Wolf admits that Mercedes has a problem with junior drivers, and thinks the answer may lie in third cars.

Fernando Alonso and Kevin Magnussen aren't friends and probably never will be.

Haas is upset about the prize money deal that may be offered to Force India and is willing to stand up to stop it - meanwhile Force India says they desire special treatment.

Lance Stroll went to the Force India factory - but Williams doesn't expect any driver moves before Singapore.

Sebastian Vettel broke Kimi's car while driving in downtown Milan - because Kimi has a different steering wheel.

Ferrari probably won't quit F1 now, and they haven't decided if Kimi is staying. That means that Sauber can't make a decision about it's driver lineup. However, Stoffel Vandorne isn't a candidate to move to Sauber.

The draft 2019 calendar is out - and the Texas Motor Speedway is upset about it.

IndyCar rookie Robert Wickens had a major crash last weekend in the Pocono 500 where he suffered serious injuries. Currently he's in stable condition but looks to have several surgeries on the horizon.

Over in F1 - Monza has seen a drop in ticket sales and is projecting yet another overall money loosing season - putting the future of F1 at the track in question again.

A "soft" cost cap is coming to F1 for 2019.

Maybe there won't be a new engine format for 2021 - and the existing constructors are ok with that.

Sahra Force India is dead - Race Point Force India has risen from the ashes of the old team.

Silly season is nowhere close to being over.

Fernando Alonso insists the Red Bull offered him Daniel Ricciardo's seat - and Red Bull insists that they haven't.

Oh - and Fernando's WEC team had their cars disqualified from the 6 Hours of Silverstone - BOTH of their cars.

This week we learned how Kevin Magnussen keeps himself motivated - turns out he has an active imagination.

The rapid growth at Renault's Enstone base hasn't been all positive.

Renault can't turn their attention to their 2019 car yet.

Cyril Abiteboul things that F1 needs more standard parts.

Fernando Alonso is leaving F1 at the end of the season - but he's not retiring.

Its looking like McLaren and Fernando are headed to IndyCar - but Scott Dixon won't be Fernando's team mate.

Carlos Sainz Jr will be taking Fernando's seat at McLaren

Santino Ferruci has impressed Dale Coyne - we just don't understand how.

And the 2019-2020 season of the World Endurance Championship will require a little less endurance.

What won't be happening soon - a shift to a fully electric system in Formula 1.

F1 is open to rethinking how they generate revenues from events.

Could there be a German GP in 2019?

Lawrence Stroll has bought his son a Formula 1 team - which pretty much puts to shame any gift your father has given you.

No - Fernando Alonso will not be going to Red Bull. Not now, not ever. Don't bother asking Red Bull about it, because it's a dumb question.

Niki Lauda was days away from death when he was put on the lung transplant list.

And there's a new licensing scheme coming to IndyCar.

Last week as IndyCar Weekend at Mid-Ohio Motorsports Course. Alexander Rossi had a picture perfect weekend - but our highlight of the weekend was the time we spent with Robert Megennis and everyone at the Juncos Pro-Mazda team. We look forward to following Robert as his career progresses.

Unfortunately, Mazda has announced that they are ending their sponsorship of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires at the end of the season. We don't fully know how this will impact the series but we plan to keep an eye on the situation.

Michelin has weighed in on F1's new tire tender - and they're not happy about it.

F1 and the automotive industry was shocked by the passing of Sergio Marchionne - however, even Fiat-Chrysler didn't know how ill Sergio was, and now they want answers.

Valtteri Bottas didn't appreciate Toto Wolf calling him Lewis Hamilton's "wingman" but things are better now.

Red Bull is really upset over Max Verstappen's latest MGU-K failure - and Renault doesn't care what Red Bull thinks any more.

Force India has gone into receivership, and there's more to the situation than meets the eye.

Daniel Riccardo is leaving Red Bull for Renault - and now the entire driver's market is spinning.

Niki Lauda has had a lung transplant.

And Billy Monger drinks from a leg...

We know the levels were off for the start of the show - not sure what happened but we got things back under control about halfway through.

This week we're all about the silly season news - some departures, some signings, some maybes...

While we were gone -

Teams are looking for less testing in 2019.

Aston Martin says that Red Bull shifting to Honda isn't a problem.

Christian Horner expresses concern over the coming rule changes.

Was the French Grand Prix that great?

Folks are upset over Sebastian's penalty in France, and mistake like this could give away the Championship for Seb.

Silly season is underway - with rumors that Kimi Raikonnen, Charles Leclerc, Daniel Ricciardo and Adrian Newey on the move?

Renault says their new MGU-K is ready to go - the MGI-K that was supposed to be rolled out the beginning of 2017... And both Red Bulls and Fernando Alonso aren't going to use it this week.

F1 won't be going to Germany in 2019, and if it goes to Miami next year the course is already going to be different from what we were told it would be.

Susie Wolf will run a Formula E team for the series' 2018-19 season.

The FIA is considering kicking a driver out of Formula 3, and Billy Monger got to drive an F1 car..

Fernando Alonso and the Toyota Gazoo racing team win this year's 24 hours of LeMans.

Formula E brought motorsport back to Switzerland for the first time in over 60 years.

It wasn't Winnie Harlow's fault that the checkered flag came out early in Montreal - but it did mean that the race ended at the end of lap 68.

But thanks to that mistake, the FIA is looking at other options for ending a race.

Turns out that Sebastian Vettel's complaints of the VSC might have some merit to them.

Mercedes is upset over their performance and say they need to do better.

Is Force India about to be sold - depends on who you talk to...

Electric Karting is becoming an Olympic sport - a Junior Olympic sport.

FOM is looking at significant changes for 2021, from calendar, to aerodynamics, to maybe even tires?

In the mean time it looks like the 2019 season will end in December.

Two big changes coming to the Montreal Grand Prix this year - a third DRS zone and more significantly a change to the DRS rules from this race forward.

Toro Rosso is actively looking to replace Brendan Hartley.

Daniel Riccardo appears to have avoided a grid penalty in Montreal.

Max Verstappen snaps at reporters.

McLaren is struggling in Montreal because it has to go fast and slow.

Mercedes is regretting its tire choices for the weekend.

It's shaping up to be a bad weekend for Haas.

Force India didn't get out of Mercedes way in Monaco - well they did, but not because they were being kind...

Vijay Mallya is letting go of some of his roles at Force India.

Sauber has a new Technical Director

FIA will use software to figure out if Ferrari is misusing their ERS.

Mercedes is upset that the FIA leaked who ratted out Ferrari.

An engine contract for 2019 is more important to Red Bull than a contract for Daniel Ricciardo.

Miami expects to get sued - a lot - if they host a race next year.

Kimi Raikonnen files an extortion complaint in Canada.

A processional race without a lot of passing - are we talking about the Indy 500 or the Monaco Grand Prix? We're talking about both this year...

Hockenheim wants a better deal in order to keep hosting Grand Prix races.

Could the MGU-H get dropped by F1? Jean Todt at the FIA is open to it.

McLaren gets a new shareholder - and he's the father of Force India's Test and Development driver.

Sergey Sirotkin is a workaholic.

Gunther Steiner insists that Romain Grosjean's position with the team is not in jeopardy.

German media is speculating that Brendon Hartley might be replaced by Pascal Wherlin, and Helmit Marko gives a lukewarm denial.

Mercedes questions oil burning practices and Ferrari's battery usage.

Red Bull was willing to let Daniel Ricciardo blow his engine instead of retiring from the lead of the race.

Christian Horner warns Max Verstappen that he needs to stop crashing.

Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso didn't like this year's race.

And Citroen fires their driver for "an excessively high number of crashes."

Shock in Indianapolis as James Hinchcliff fails to qualify for the Indy 500.

Zak Brown says that McLaren is considering IndyCar and WEC entries in the coming years.

F1 TV launched last weekend - and it didn't go well.

Those unique mirrors that Ferrari was running last weekend - they're now banned (and weren't really legal when Ferrari run them)

It's unlikely that Kimi Raikkonen will need an engine change even though he had a DNF after an engine failure.

Roman Grosjean gets a 3 place grid penalty for Monaco after his incident in Barcelona

Sergei Sirotkin says he's seat's why he didn't do well in Barcelona...

Mercedes and the FIA are testing new lights.

And there's already a problem with the proposed race for Miami...

Fernando Alonso had his first ever win at Spa, and it wasn't in Formula 1.

The Red Bull drivers ended their Baku weekend on the naughty step.

Sergio Perez almost ended up on the naughty step but after looking at the rules different Charlie Whiting was ok with him taking a 5 second penalty under a safety car.

Lewis Hamilton clearly has a different relationship with Valteri Bottas than he did with Nico Rosberg.

Silly season has started - for both engines and drivers.

Ferendo Alonso's McLaren was seriously damaged in Baku - and he still got points.

Fan Vision is coming back to F1, and F1 is closer to coming to Miami.

Max Verstappen wins a lawsuit to protect his image.

And FOM has gotten a trademark on "shooey"

Teams now have permission to mount mirror to the halo - within limits

Could Mission Control rooms be going away?

Andy Palmer at Aston Martin thinks that they could be leverage against Ferrari's threats to leave F1 - we think Andy's forgetting a key fact.

Could Williams become the Mercedes jr team? Not if Claire Williams has anything to say about it.

Daniel Riccardo had to get surgery last week - and he's not talking to Ferrari about 2019 - yet.

Bernie Ecclestone is criticizing Lewis Hamilton.

Brendan Hartley apologizes for almost causing a major crash with his team mate during qualifying.

And Nico Rosberg has created a driver development program...

Mauritzio Arrivabene's description of the ill fated pit stop in Bahrain - Ferrari says that's not really what happened.

Max Verstappen says that he doesn't need to calm down - and his father says he needs to think about his actions.

Just because he had an amazing weekend, Daniel Ricciardo isn't convinced that his future is with Red Bull - yet.

Pierre Gasly and Brendan Hartley say that there was a miscommunication that led to their crash in the Chinese Grand Prix.

Charlie Whiting says that no, they didn't call out the safety car when they did in order to mess with Sebastian Vettel's race.

Once again we're questioning Mercedes' race strategy.

There might be an agreement for engines in 2021 at the end of May.

Fuel loads will be increased next year, and there's some changes to car weights coming.

Williams is in financial trouble - or are they... Actually they really are..

Gunther Steiner doesn't want F1 to be like IndyCar.

You  might thing you've seen this year's McLaren - and you'd be wrong...

Max Verstappen's crash in qualifying in Bahrain - turns out it was due to a "right foot oscillation"

Sergio Perez and Brendan Hartley got penalties for the same confusing formation lap incident.

Lewis Hamilton was upset by Max Verstappen's bungled pass - but they're better now.

The FIA isn't bothered by smoking Ferrari's.

Mercedes didn't react quickly enough to Ferrari responding to Mercedes' strategy.

Yes, Kimi's mechanic got hurt, but he's doing well and in good spirits. Kimi got beat up over his horrible pit stop - and we don't agree with the criticism.

Red Bull wants the Renault engines to be better, Renault has told their teams that they can push the engines harder, but post qualifying in China Daniel Riccardo said he's loosing faith in the manufacturer...

Zak Brown has a new title at McLaren, and the team admits that the season isn't going as well as they expected.

Force India has a fundamental problem with their car.

And there will be historic cars on track at Silverstone this year....

Toyota's WEC car was 4+ seconds faster than the rest of the field during this week's testing - but it wasn't in race trim.

There won't be a fix for the lack of passing any time soon - and Ferrari and Renault are to blame.

Liberty has given the teams their roadmap for 2021 and beyond - and the small teams seem to like it.

Ross Brawn thinks F1 should consider making qualifying a race of it's own.

What's Mercedes' Party Mode? They tell us how it works, kind of.

Lewis Hamilton doesn't know why Mercedes is struggling this weekend - but maybe the tires are the issue?

Pirelli will have a special compound for Barcelona, Silverstone and Paul Ricard.

No new front wing at Force India this weekend - maybe?

Haas makes changes to it's pit box crew.

Max Verstappen explains how he ended up in the wall in Q1.

Russia and Monaco want grid girls - because Russian girls are pretty and children are afraid of mechanical things and Monaco pays their girls...

Bernie Ecclestone's legal issues still aren't over.

F1 has revealed it's new theme music...  Or maybe the theme for the next Avengers movie, we're not sure which...

No F1 TV Pro this week...

Did you like the McLaren series on Amazon? There's a series coming in 2019 to Netflix that will follow the entire paddock for the whole season.

Renault is expecting another difficult season.

McLaren says that they've addressed all their problems from testing.

Helmet Marko thinks that Honda could be a viable option for Red Bull in 2019.

Christian Horner says that the teams will never fully agree on the next Concorde Agreement

Force India is still Force India for 2018.

More unintended consequences from the halo, and we're a step closer to the return of the Dutch Grand Prix.

Over in Formula E there was some controversy in qualifying at the Punta Del Este E-Prix, and Lucas Di Grassi got a penalty for wearing the wrong underwear - no really...

How is Formula E going to have races where the drivers don't need to switch cars - make the races shorter.

ESPN's broadcast schedule has been announced, and as we feared, we're loosing pre and post race coverage in the US.

The FIA is watching for teams using engine modes to gain an aerodynamic advantage, and oil burning apparently it's still a thing.

Jean Todt says that the drivers shouldn't complain about the halo because the FIA was just doing what they wanted, and he thinks that Ferrari should loose their rules veto.

Toto Wolff says it would be bad to make Sergio Marchionne angry.

Toro Rosso is realizing that it's pretty cool to be a works team.

McLaren got a flip flop maker to sponsor their halo for a race.

And Fernando Alonso said that he considered leaving F1 at the end of last season and we're not at all surprised.

We also drove the Jaguar F-Type R.  There's no comparison between the Jaguar and the Fiskar, the Jaguar is sporty, responsive, and refined in every way that the Fiskar is now. To quote Ferris Bueler - If you have the means, I highly recommend it...

If you haven't already, make sure to join our league at FantasyGP.com code 14831491

In the news this week - 

Carmen Jorda firmly plants her foot in her mouth and works to extract it

There's a new feeder series in the F1 ladder - Formula 3 is coming and will be promoted by the Formula 1 Group.

Liberty is holding off on plans to reorganize the F1 calendar

Kevin Magnusson wants to drive in IndyCar

Williams says that they don't think that Mercedes gives them downgraded engines

The French GP may be bringing back some old F1 traditions.

Mercedes is concerned about how their car treats the softer tires

New year, new colors, new engine manufacturer - but reliability is still a problem at McLaren

Renault has a new wing coming for Australia.

Live streaming of races

Live streaming of press conferences and other coverage around the weekend

The ability to follow any driver we want

Access to past races

Reasonably priced

Available in the US and 39 other countries

What we don't know is how time shifting will work, or even if it will be allowed, but we're hopeful that this fills the gap in coverage in the US.  

For our friends in the UK you won't get access to the new service but Sky is lowering the price of F1 coverage via NowTV apparently in response to the new service.

Did you know F1 had a theme song? Well, it's getting a new one.

Bernie Ecclestone has crawled out of his cave/Swiss Hotel/Brazilian Coffee Farm and spoken to the press again.

Toto Wolf says that the FIA's message about engines last week wasn't because of something they were doing.

We saw the final car launches and liveries this week - the Red Bull looks like pretty much every other Red Bull, the Toro Rosso looks like last year's Toro Rosso, and the Force India looks like last year's Force India (but more pink and white).

Renault says that they're going to keep their engines turned down to start the season off.

Lewis doesn't like it when tracks get repaved.

Finally we take about testing - and more this year than previous years it's pretty much useless to make predictions based on testing. (Not that it will stop us or anybody else)

It's in the rules - constructors can't make their customers run different software packages or downgraded engines compared to their works teams - but they still appear to allow previous year engines to be run.

Organizers at the Russian GP admit that the track isn't necessarily conducive to good racing and are talking to the FIA about how to change that - hint, they're not cancelling the race or ripping out the track and starting over.

Red Bull, Sauber, Renault, Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren all held their car launches this week, and Toro Rosso had images of their car leak early.

Have Ferrari and Phillip Morris figured out how to get tobacco based products advertised on an F1 car again?

Force India insists that despite the rumors this past week, they're not for sale.

At 10 races this season you might have the chance to ride around the track in an Aston Martin driven by either Max Verstappen or Daniel Ricciardo, or a McLaren 720s driven by either Stoffel Vandoorne, Fernando Alonso, Mika Hakkinen, or Lando Norris.

Zak Brown said that McLaren felt that they needed to keep Grand Prix Driver authentic and air the dirty laundry that came up during the filming - and we agree with him and applaud the team for their openness. Zak also says that more sponsors are coming to McLaren soon.

Sauber (aka AlFaub or AlFauber) thinks that Ferrari is providing them with the support they need to challenge Force India as the "giant killer" of the series.

Valtteri Bottas says that after driving a race distance in the simulator with the halo that it's not too bad.

Gene Haas is trying to clarify Gunther Steiner's comments about American drivers..

Haas and Williams both revealed their 2018 F1 contenders.

IndyCar wants to test the aeroscreen on a street course.

Cosworth is interested in returning to IndyCar - with a partner.

And WEC promoter the Automobile de l'Ouest is putting LMP1 teams on notice - if they managed to beat the sole manufacturer team left in the sport, Toyota,  that penalties will be handed out.

The next round of the Formula E Championship will be held in Mexico City - and the proceeds from the race are being donated to the reconstruction efforts from the earthquake last year.

Daniel Abt thinks there's cheating in the Fanboost system in Formula E - while Alejandro Agog the CEO of the sport says that there is no cheating...

IndyCar's new aerokit has hit the track for the first official time - and it seems that it's leading to increased tire wear.

IndyCar also tested the aeroscreen concept of a windscreen for cockpit head protection.  Scott Dixon doesn't think it was all that bad.

The organizers of the Six hours of Fuji race have moved the race a week earlier in the month to allow Fernando Alonzo to compete, and McLaren insists that Fernando is on loan to Toyota and only there to race.

Grid Girls are gone - now we have Grid Kids.

All that money that Williams is getting from Sergey Sirotkin - possibly will be going towards car development.

The FIA is tweaking the rules regarding the engines to make it harder to squeeze out extra performance.

McLaren won't have any influence on Renault's engines for a few years.

Mercedes has replaced Hugo Boss with Tommy Hilfiger as their team wear sponsor.

McLaren has signed Dell as their new sponsor and technology partner.

Haas has a sponsor! WOOT!

Kyalami says that F1 needs to be more attractive financially in order for them to host a race.

We discuss the Amazon short series Grand Prix Driver.

And finally - we want your questions for the 2018 prediction show...

Formula E has revealed their next generation car - which features the range to make it through an entire Formula E race without require a change of cars... oh and it has a halo too... 

IndyCar also showed us the first view of their aeroscreen, which will make it's debut in testing this week...

Fernando Alonso's debut in endurance racing - saw him finish in 23rd, but he'll be joining the Toyota Gazoo Racing WEC team for the entire WEC season with the exception of Fuji, but that may change... Oh and he's still driving in F1....

Grid girls are no longer a part of Formula 1, and both Bernie Ecclestone and Niki Lauda agree with the decision.

Do you watch the UK's Channel 4 coverage? They'll be showing the races in Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Monaco, Austria, Britain,  Belgium, Singapore, Japan, the US, and Abu Dhabi live.  The remaining races will be live on Sky Sports F1 and highlight packages on Channel 4.  There's still no word on what the US coverage will look like.

Race starts have officially been shifted back 10 minutes and now we know why.

It looks like an F1 Live event will be coming to Miami this year!

Haas is talking to an unknown driver for a development role.

Rubens Barrichello is recovering from a stay in the hospital.

David Coulthard has won the 2018 Race of Champions.

Zak Brown was playing down his team's (and Fernando Alonso's) chances for a win, and indeed as we record it's looking unlikely that the United Autosports #23 will get a victory this weekend.

Zak also says what we said last week - with limited testing time, it's hard for a driver that's not in a "traditional" F1 feeder series to break into F1.

One hour - that's how long Frederic Vasseur was in charge of Sauber before he ripped up the team's 2018 engine supply deal with Honda.

Charlie Whiting inspected Holland's Assen TT circuit and think that it's close to receiving a Grade 1 certification.

The Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya was repaved over the winter - and it could cause a problem for Winter Testing.

T wings are banned for 2018 - but we could still see t wings in 2018.

Remember when Sauber and Force India filed a complaint with the EU alleging that FOM was unfair? They dropped that complaint last week.

Williams has announced their car launch date.

Could we see a Manor F1 team again? (hint probably not)

And Niki Lauda owns an airline again....

Sir Stirling Moss is retiring from public life.

Changes are coming to F1 cars in 2019- to make it easier to place advertising on the cars.

Williams has finalized their driver line up.

Christian Horner spoke to Daniel Ricciardo about favoritism at the team - and says that there is none.

IndyCar drivers take issue with Haas' Gunther Steiner declaring that there are no American drivers ready to move into F1.

Mercedes realizes that maybe have two drivers pushing each other so hard that it causes public controversy might not be a great idea.

Cosworth wants to work with Aston Martin on an F1 engine.

We have a date for McLaren, Toro Rosso and Mercedes car launches.

And an icon of NHRA announces that they're closing their 1/4 mile drag strip. 

Circuit Paul Ricard is concerned about travel delays around the French Grand Prix

Pat Simmonds says that Formula One Group is looking at potential changes to grid formation

Could F1 be headed to Copenhagen?

A new merchandise scheme is coming to F1 races, and we're not as critical of it as the press seems to be.

Could a digital ticker be coming to the halo? We doubt it.

Zak Brown promises some great things coming to F1's media presence, and some big changes to the 2018 McLaren.

That Amazon show about McLaren we talked about early last year - there's now a release date, look for it on Feb 9.

Toto Wolf says that Pascal Wherlin may not have an F1 seat but he still has a job.

Ferrari has hired - Daniel Kyviat

Force India has cash - so they're upgrading their facilities.

Pirelli doesn't want a tire war and Cosworth says they need a partner if they're going to return to F1.

We take a look at the new technical and sporting regulations.

And finally we talk about the movie Williams - you can stream it over on Netflix.

Sergio Marchionne says that Kimi Raikonnen has one last chance to drive better.

Ferrari announce the reveal dates for their 2018 car - which has passed crash testing.

Mercedes and Valtteri Bottas want you to design Valterri's 2018 helmet.

Lewis is in a bit of trouble over an Instagram video.

Niki Lauda says that Mercedes pushed Red Bull into signing a contract with Max Verstappen.

Force India thinks that Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez will be better behaved on track.

Honda's back up plan for 2018 - their 2017 engine.

Could the Nurburgring host F1 again?

Over in IndyCar, talks will start later this year over a new chassis possibly in 2021.

IndyCar wants a third manufacturer to join the series, and wants international races to kick off the season.

And Honda doesn't want turbo hybrid engines like F1 has to come to IndyCar - surprised?