0:09 - Many Teams Could Be Forced to Leave F1 1:16 - Mercedes “Very Smart” in Hiding DAS
2:13 - F1 “Aiming” for 15-18 Races
2:59 - Fast Feed
Many Teams Could Be Forced to Leave F1
While F1 is pushed to the side-lines due to the pandemic, many are worried that when F1 does resume, it will be in a state that is financially unattractive and non-viable for many teams and one of them happens to be Alfa Romeo team principal Frédéric Vasseur.
He began by reflecting on the current state of things in the world.
"We're not the center of the world right now. Of course, Formula 1 is not useful for society, but mainly for entertainment and improving technology. At the moment there are other concerns that are much bigger than the sport.”
He then spoke on how this situation would affect the sport financially and how steps needed to be taken to ensure that the teams don’t face a financial blackhole, similar to the one in 2008, that they cannot recover from.
“This is the biggest crisis I have experienced in Formula 1. It has already been postponed for half a season and financially it will affect the teams enormously. In that respect, it is time to take action.”
“The financial crisis in 2008 meant that three to four teams had to leave F1 and that could happen again. We don't get TV money and without a solution we get into trouble. We are all in the same boat, so we have to come to a solution together''
Mercedes “Very Smart” in Hiding DAS
Mercedes pulled off one the biggest surprises of recent times in F1 when they debuted their innovative DAS system during the pre-season testing.
They had to keep the system under wraps to ensure that no other team got wind of it and apparently, it was kept a secret even from those within the team as revealed by former test driver for the team and current Renault driver, Esteban Ocon.
He speculated on how this level of secrecy could have been achieved.
"Either they were very smart and didn't show me the effect of the system, or they developed it at a later staged and designed it while I was away. Somewhere when I was between Renault and Mercedes"
He concluded by suggesting that a delayed timeline for the development of DAS could have played a part in keeping it a secret from him as he was no longer allowed inside the team’s facilities towards the end of 2019
"After the end of the season I wasn't welcome in the factory anymore and I wasn't allowed in the simulator either. They may have done it then, but it is likely that they came up with this system at the end of the year"
F1 “Aiming” for 15-18 Races
The 2020 calendar is still pretty much in murky waters and it is anybody’s guess as to what could happen.
F1’s CEO Chase Carey reflected on the uncertainty facing F1 in 2020
"While at present no-one can be certain of exactly when the situation will improve, it will improve and when it does, we will be ready to go racing again. We are all committed to bringing our fans a 2020 Championship Season"
"We recognise there is significant potential for additional postponements in currently scheduled events, nonetheless we and our partners fully expect the season to start at some point this summer"
He would then give an estimate of the number of races they are still hoping to conduct in 2020
"We are aiming for a revised calendar of between 15 and 18 races.”
Fast Feed
- Despite the French GP being technically the first of the races not to be postponed in 2020 presently, circuit director Eric Boullier surmised that “there are bigger problems in the world than postponing an F1 race” when asked about the possibility of the race actually taking place
- Alpha Tauri driver Daniil Kvyat feels that if he can "perform well, there are many possibilities in” F1 anything is possible in terms of future seats
- Red Bull Racing team advisor Helmut Marko still wants “to make Max” Verstappen “the youngest world champion"
- He also feels that Mercedes driver "Lewis” Hamilton “remains the favourite, because he has the best total package" but added that Red Bull “have an aggressive car with enormous potential”
- He also strongly feels that “the Austrian Grand Prix must continue”
- Haas’ team principal Guenther Steiner thinks that the news about team owner Gene Haas suggesting the team could quit F1 “was taken a little bit out of context" and after a phone conversation said: “I think he’s committed”
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