TermiOnTrack #Formula1 News Roundup. #F1

We are back F1 fanatics with a round up of the latest news coming from this week in the world of Formula 1, let’s take a look right here beginning with this weekend’s Virtual Grand Prix:

 

 

TermiOnTrack Formula 1 News Roundup – Leclerc, Button, Albon, Giovinazzi, Norris, Russell and Latifi all set for second Virtual Grand Prix

 

 

Current drivers Charles Leclerc, Alexander Albon, Antonio Giovinazzi, Lando Norris, George Russell and Nicholas Latifi will be joined by 2009 World Champion Jenson Button in this weekend’s second installment of Formula 1’s Virtual Grand Prix Series.

 

The seven will race alongside former driver Johnny Herbert, who came 13th in the inaugural Virtual Bahrain Grand Prix as well as a range of stars including England’s World Cup winner Ben Stokes and YouTube sensation Jimmy Broadbent.

 

Charles Leclerc will team up with brother Arthur Leclerc who is part of the Ferrari Driver Academy in the FDA Hublot Esports Team.

 

Checkout the full list of drivers for this weekend’s Virtual Australian Grand Prix:

Scuderia Ferrari – Charles & Arthur Leclerc

Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport – Esteban Gutierrez & Stoffel Vandoorne

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing – Alexander Albon & Ben Stokes

McLaren Racing – Jenson Button & Lando Norris

Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN – Antonio Giovinazzi & Johnny Herbert

ROKiT Williams Racing – George Russell & Nicholas Latifi

BWT Racing Point F1 Team – Anthony Davidson & Jimmy Broadbent

Haas F1 Team – Pietro Fittipaldi & Louis Deletraz

Renault F1 Team – Andre Heimgartner & Christian Lundgaard

Scuderia AlphaTauri – Luca Salvadori & Nunzio Todisco (NU89)

This race is the second race in the new F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix series designed to give fans from all over the world the chance to watch some F1 racing action, despite the current coronavirus pandemic.

 

This weekend’s race will take place on the Albert Park Street Circuit for the Virtual Australian Grand Prix on the weekend originally scheduled for Hanoi’s inaugural Grand Prix in Vietnam.

 

The Hanoi Street Circuit is not available on the current Codemasters official F1 2019 game so the drivers will take to the Melbourne Grand Prix circuit instead. Drivers will race from their own homes, with a host broadcasting live from the Gfinity Esports Arena from 8:00pm UK time.

 

The broadcast will be live on F1.com, F1’s official YouTube, Twitch and Facebook platforms with the event running for an hour and a half with qualifying, followed by a 28 lap race. It is also broadcast live on FoxSports Australia channel 506 from 3:30am Monday morning.

 

Due to the wide variety of different skill sets of the drivers, gaming settings would be set in a way to encourage closer and competitive racing. This includes equal car performance with fixed setups, reduced car damage, optional anti-lock brakes and traction control available for drivers less familiar with the game.

 

After the race is over, the F1 Esports Pro Series drivers will participate in an hour exhibition Grand Prix, which will last one hour.

 

“Following the massive success of the F1 Esports Bahrain Virtual Grand Prix, we are thrilled to be able to come back online again this weekend to provide fans with some racing action,” explained Julian Tan, F1’s Head of Digital Business Initiatives and Esports.

 

“A star-studded grid is shaping up with our F1 stars – past, present and future – as well as huge names in sports and entertainment. We look forward to providing some light relief through esports as we all navigate through these difficult times together, where our fans can engage with our sport in a different but familiar way.” Tan concluded. Credit to F1 for the quote. https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.leclerc-albon-and-russell-join-the-grid-for-this-weekends-f1-esports-virtual.6kI9lrstvszWDhPOeEqSsc.html

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TermiOnTrack Formula 1 News Roundup – Aston Martin return still confirmed for 2021

 

 

Aston Martin’s return to Formula 1 is confirmed with the famous British marque coming back to the grid as a full-fledged works team, continuing to operate from it’s Silverstone base.

 

On Monday March 30, shareholders of Aston Martin Lagonda approved £536 million in fundraising, along with a cash injection of £260 million from Yew Tree consortium – a group of investors lead by Lawrence Stroll.

 

Part of the investment sees Stroll become Executive Chairman of Aston Martin and Aston Martin will create it’s own works F1 racing outfit.

 

Speaking to Racing Point F1 team’s official website, Stroll highlighted the importance of Aston Martin competing in the pinnacle of motorsport:

 

“A brand with the pedigree and history of Aston Martin needs to be competing at the highest level of motorsport,” explained Stroll. “I think it’s the most exciting thing that’s happened in recent memory in Formula 1 and it’s incredibly exciting for all stakeholders in the sport, especially the fans.”

 

“I can’t think of a better name for a Formula 1 team. Our investment strategy places Formula 1 as a central pillar of the global marketing strategy, and it makes perfect sense to rebrand Racing Point for this purpose. Aston Martin has been competing very successfully in various classes of motorsport throughout its history, but we now have an opportunity to create a works team in Formula 1. The global spotlight of Formula 1 is second to none and we will leverage this reach to showcase the Aston Martin brand in our key markets.” Credit to Racing Point F1 Team for the quote. https://www.racingpointf1.com/news/aston-martin-f1-team-gearing-up-for-2021-racing-point-f1

 

With the sport of Formula One demanding excellence in design, engineering and innovation, much of it would be shared with the engineering and development teams at Gaydon and will be incorporated in the future generation of automobiles, particularly the mid-range of cars.

 

“This is another important part of the strategy,” Stroll added. “Not only does Formula 1 help elevate the brand, it opens up the opportunity for technology cross-over.”

 

“I’m incredibly excited to see what technology can filter down from the racing programme into the road cars. This will be particularly relevant for the mid-engine road cars that will be launched in the future. There will be a genuine collaboration to ensure that our road cars share the DNA of our success on the track as well.”

 

The work is about to get underway with engineering teams and working groups establishing it’s foundations for the teams’ future successes, the development of it’s cars and building of the Aston Martin brand worldwide.

 

Stroll spoke of the changes to take place at it’s SIlverstone headquarters in the next 12 months:

 

“The group of men and women at Silverstone are true racers and their determination and spirit is one of the main reasons I invested in the Formula 1 team. After 30 years, they deserve this opportunity to represent this legendary brand. We are continuing to invest in the team to give everybody the resources required and we will see the benefit of those efforts this year as Racing Point. With the Aston name comes more pressure and expectation. We will need to be competitive from the outset. But I have no doubt the team at Silverstone will rise to the challenge and do the Aston Martin name proud.”

 

On the current coronavirus pandemic taking a hold of the world, Stroll talked of the Silverstone squad’s support of Project Pitlane, building ventilators to help fight the illness and looked ahead to the future:

 

“I don’t think there is any area of life or business that hasn’t been touched by this devastating pandemic and the racing community is certainly adapting as best it can. Of course, as racers, we are all very frustrated not to be competing, but we all understand the bigger picture in this global fight and so we stay at home. The team is also supporting Project Pitlane to help accelerate the production of ventilators. In the meantime, we can rely on video conferences to keep our plans for 2020 and 2021 moving forward. I am committed to Formula 1 with a long-term vision and this is just a temporary pause in the journey.” Stroll concluded.

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Norris and Sainz take pay cut as McLaren staff take enforced leave due to coronavirus pandemic

 

 

McLaren Racing were the first team to put some of it’s staff members on enforced leave from work due to the coronavirus crisis while drivers Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris took a voluntary pay cut.

 

The salary reduction would affect all employees at Woking who remain at work, including CEO Zak Brown and Senior Management as the famous British-squad move to protect it’s jobs.

 

In a team statement it said:

 

“The McLaren Group is temporarily furloughing a number of employees as part of wider cost-cutting measures due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on its business. These measures are focused on protecting jobs in the short-term to ensure our employees return to full-time work as the economy recovers.” Credit to McLaren for the statement.

 

The staff placed on enforced leave will not return to work for the first three months.

 

In measures announced last month by the British government, it said they would pay 80% of salaries for staff who are kept on by their employer, covering it’s wages of up to £2,500 per month.

 

Most Formula 1 teams are currently on a three-week mandatory shutdown, which was brought forward to replace the traditional summer break and extended by a week to help reduce financial burdens on the teams while the championship calendar is on hiatus.

 

COVID-19 delayed the start of the 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship season, forcing a series of cancellations and postponements with those trends likely to continue.

 

F1 however, are currently working on plans to restart the season at some point during the European summer with CEO Chase Carey optimistic of a revised calendar with 15-18 Grands Prix.

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Norris keeps promise to shave hair for charity

 

THE MOMENT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR.

Everyone say hello to #BaldoNorris 😎 pic.twitter.com/MzG1zMa2F1

— LN⁴ (@LN4) April 2, 2020

 

McLaren’s Lando Norris kept his promise on his Twitch channel Thursday evening by shaving his hair after raising $10,000 for the COVID-19 Solidarity Respond Fund.

 

The Briton spends most of his time on racing simulators and broadcasting on his Twitch stream.

 

Last weekend Norris took part in Twitch’s “Stream Aid” event where he played Codemasters F1 2019. Rocket League and iRacing to raise cash for the COVID-19 Solidarity Respond Fund, with the McLaren driver promising to shave his head if he raised more than $10,000 – a target in which he surpassed by $2,000.

 

The deed was done, Norris ordered a set of clippers and on Thursday evening – after some waiting – he started to shave.

 

“It feels so weird!” Norris said after completing his own shave.

 

ROKiT Williams Racing driver and friend George Russel complimented his fellow Brit:

 

“Firstly – incredible.” Russell said on Sky Sports F1. “But to be honest if I had hair as bad as that I’d probably shave it off as well. Fair play to him.” Russell concluded.

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Silverstone open to running multiple races, reverse layout

 

 

Silverstone Circuit is prepared to help Formula 1 in any way possible when the sport’s 2020 season begins with the chance of multiple races being held at the historic British Grand Prix venue.

 

Silverstone announced on Wednesday evening that they will make their decision at the end of April on whether the Grand Prix can go ahead on July 17-19 as scheduled.

 

Although this year’s Wimbledon, which was meant to finish a week before the British Grand Prix, was cancelled, Silverstone explained why they are taking extra time with Formula 1 to monitor the situation regarding the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Speaking to SkySports F1’s Craig Slater, Silverstone Circuit’s Managing Director Stuart Pringle said:

 

“There are two reasons. Number one is that Silverstone is one round in a world championship and our colleagues at Formula 1 are trying incredibly hard to piece together a season that will start much later [than planned].

 

“There have been a number of postponements and one cancellation and they are trying to reknit that calendar together. We are one element of that and it’s important that Formula 1 get the chance to try and get a world championship season away.

“We can give them the time we need to do that. That is also because we’re a fixed venue. We’re not like a street circuit, we’ve got fixed set-up and infrastructure and we’ve also got an incredibly experienced team, we know what we’re doing, so we can allow ourselves the month of April to make a decision which is sufficient for Formula 1 I hope to get their plans together.” Credit to SkySports F1 for the quote.

 

F1 CEO Chase Carey said last week he was optimistic of having a 15 race season, with teams giving the commercial rights holder and sport’s governing body, the FIA, the right to make changes without to the calendar their approval.

 

On the Sky F1 Vodcast, it was suggested that due to the majority of the teams being situated in Britain, Silverstone could most more than one Grand Prix when the championship is underway and it is safe to do so.

 

Pringle continued:

 

“All I’ve done is say to Formula 1 we are willing to work with them in any way, shape or form that they think is in the best interests of the championship.”

 

“The majority of the teams are within a stone’s throw of the circuit, so operationally it would be pretty straightforward.”

 

“We’ve got the fixed infrastructure, the staff could go home to their own beds of an evening in large parts, so if that’s how we can help then I’d be delighted to do that.” Credit to SkySports F1 for the quote.

 

The British Grand Prix is the crown jewel and centre-piece of the United Kingdom’s sporty summer alongside Wimbledon, Cricket and the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

 

Silverstone’s race is normally held in July but the circuit is open all year as Pringle pointed out:

 

 “We could run all the way through but there’s a reason we run [F1] in the British summer which is because it’s the most civilised time of the year.”

 

“It is no coincidence that Wimbledon, the British Grand Prix and The Open golf are sandwiched in a pretty tight window because that’s the best chance of decent weather. We’ll take the four weeks to review whether our July 19th date is suitable or not.”

 

“If you can play cricket, you can have a motor racing event.” Pringle concluded. Credit to SkySports F1 for the quote.

 

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