F1 Racing UK – August 2019

F1 RACING AUGUST 2019 19

Ground effect

comeback in 2021

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F1COMMITS TO

GROUNDEFFECT

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PICTURES

:STEVEN TEE

;AND

YHONE

;GIORGIO PIOLA

prudentcourse of action

was tore tain the pair for

next seaso n.

While Alo nso retains

contractuallinks to

McLaren throughbeing

an ambassador,the team

is explicit he will noteven

test for it again, andif

Alonsowante d to race

elsewhere then it won’t

stand in his way.

McLarenCEO Zak

Brown said recently:

“We’re happy forhim, if

he wants to getback into

F1 – becausewe don’t

have a seat available –to

go race for anothertea m.

We’d very much support

him in th at if that’s what

he wants to do.”

Indeed, it is something Alonso is looking at. Insiders

say his representatives havebeen sounding out a number

of teams regarding 2020, even though he's said "what F

can offer me on a personal level isnot attractive enough".

Alonso would onlybe interested in a race-winning car, so

thatnarrowshischoicestoMercedes,RedBullandFerrari.

Mercedes seems a closeddoor, even though the team

has no t yet settled onwho will be Lewis Hamilton’steam-

mate in 2020.Valtteri Bott as’s strong start to 2019 ha s

left him favourite tobe retained. If he doesn’t do the job,

the t eam will slot in reserveEstebanOcon.Mercedes boss

Toto Wolffis ve ry relaxedabout thesituation.

“Valtteri said to me last year that he has noproblem

with the one-yearextensions, althoughhe doesn’t like

them,” Wolf said.“I th ink Valtterimeritsa seat inF

and he knows it’sdown t o him andhis performances,

and we like him very much.

“The first quarter of theseason was very strong. He just

needs to just pick up the bag and continue to perform like

he did,and this is what we both –him and us – agree on.”

With no roomat Mercedes for Alonso, RedBull doesn’t

seem to be an opening either. The team isreluctant to

considerhim because it doesn’t want to risk any political

upheaval thatcould upset MaxVerstappen. That then

leaves Ferrari, which on paper ap pears tohavenoopening

because Sebastian Vettel andCharles Leclerc are both

“

“

Formula 1 is set toreadopt an aerodynamic philosophy

banned in the early 1980s in bid to shake up the sport and

improve the racing.

While discussions between teams, the FIA and F

owners Liberty Media are ongoing regarding the final

details of new technical rules for 2021, a broad outline

concept has been agreed.

The key to this concept is a fundamentalchangein the

way thatdownforce is created on the car. F1’s chiefs have

under contract for 2020. But Vettel’s self-confessed

‘difficult’ campaignhas promptedspeculation he maywalk

at the end of thisyear. Insiders have toldF1 Ra cinghe ha s

been exploring his options witha number of rival teams.

Whethersuch contactis ju st about gaining knowledgeof

how theland lies, or if heis ser ious about movingon, only

he willknow. What Vettel does is key not just forAlonso,

who would be an obviouscandidate to slot in atMaranello

for oneyear, but forelsewhere.

Vettel’s strongestties are with Red Bull. In theunlikely

event he returns there,that closes off a promotion for

Daniil Kvyat – or aswitch forNico Hülkenberg, who could

find himself on the marketif Renault goes forOcon.

Ocon’sother obvious optionsare a t Williamsand

Racing Point,but it isn’t definite that he needs tomaintain

Mercedes affiliation.Wolff is c lear that if Oc on’s career

rests onhim cutting some ties, then it will need to be done.

That means a potential seat forOcon at Haas, since the

future of Romain Grosjean isindoubt after a difficul t start

to the campaign. But the namemostbeing linked toHaas

is Sergio Perez, whowas in discussionswith the team las t

year andmay feel his career could do with acha nge.

Aninterpretationof

a2021car,based on

detailsthatare

beginningtoeme rge

ControversialHaas

sponsor’s futureindoubt

WE’RE HAPPY FOR

HIM, IF HEWANTS

TO GET BACK INTO

F1 – BECAUSE

WE DON’T HAVE

A SEATAVAILABLE–

TO GO RACE

FOR ANOTHER

TEAM. WE’D VERY

MUCH SUPPORT

HIM IN THAT IF

THAT’S WHAT HE

WANTS TO DO

ZAK BROWN