Category: Autosport

Alexander Albon will dovetail Red Bull Formula 1 reserve and test duties with select events in the DTM racing a Ferrari 488 GT3 after losing his spot to Sergio Perez.
With Albon replaced by Perez in Red Bull’s 2021 line-up, the Anglo-Thai driver faces an unexpected year ahead as he remains in the F1 team’s fold as reserve driver, plus helping with its 2022 preparations, while also competing in select races in the DTM.
It will mark Albon’s debut in the German series and duly provide him with a range of new examinations as he targets a way back to the F1 grid.

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Former Mercedes executive Jurgen Hubbert, a key player behind the marque’s move into the DTM and Formula 1, has died at the age of 81.
It was on Hubbert’s watch that Mercedes joined forces with McLaren, creating a partnership that would win two World Championships with Mika Hakkinen in 1998 and 1999, and a third with Lewis Hamilton in 2008.
“Deeply saddened to hear the news of our friend and family member Jurgen,” Hamilton noted in an Instagram post.
“He was such a racer at heart and I enjoyed our chats and his enthusiasm [for] racing.

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Lando Norris believes a “perfect combination” of rivalry and friendship with Carlos Sainz Jr as Formula 1 team-mates helped drive McLaren forward in their two years together.
Norris made his F1 debut in 2019 alongside Sainz at McLaren as part of an all-new line-up at the British squad, with the pair combining to give the team fourth place in the constructors’ championship.

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Kevin Magnussen says the reputation for his media pen comment to Nico Hulkenberg in 2017 became “annoying”, and is not something he will remember from his Formula 1 career.
Magnussen made what he expects to be his final appearance in F1 at last year’s season finale in Abu Dhabi after being released by Haas ahead of the 2021 season.
The Dane has since moved into sportscar racing, and will make his debut for Chip Ganassi Racing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship at the Daytona 24 later this month.

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Ferrari is under no illusions that it needs to make gains with its power unit if it is going to return to the front of the Formula 1 grid.
Its 2020 campaign was derailed by a combination of a car that was too draggy and an engine that was less powerful than the 2019 version.
That performance deficit was the result of a raft of technical directives issued by the FIA ahead of last season to stop teams using clever tricks to get around fuel-flow measurement regulations.

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Mercedes Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas says he has no interest in playing any mind games with team-mate Lewis Hamilton like his predecessor Nico Rosberg did.
During their four seasons together at Mercedes, Rosberg and Hamilton endured a fraught relationship off track and sometimes clashed on it too.
But while some have suggested Bottas could stand to benefit from adopting a similar tough stance in a bid to unsettle Hamilton, the Finn thinks going down that route would actually backfire.

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Ferrari Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc is battling “mild symptoms” after testing positive for COVID-19.
Leclerc announced via Instagram on Thursday afternoon that he had contracted COVID-19, and was now self-isolating at home in Monaco.
“Hello guys, I hope you are all staying safe. I want to let you know that I have tested positive for COVID-19,” Leclerc wrote.
“I am regularly checked according to my team’s protocols.

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Alfa Romeo Formula 1 boss Frederic Vasseur has called on Antonio Giovinazzi to become more of a team leader in the Italian’s third full season with the Swiss outfit.
Following a difficult debut season in 2019, two years after a two-race cameo for the team then known as Sauber subbing for the injured Pascal Wehrlein, Ferrari-backed Giovinazzi showed a marked improvement during the 2020 season in which he outqualified team-mate Kimi Raikkonen by nine to eight.

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Autosport is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Ayrton Senna’s greatest Formula 1 title with a 1991-themed special issue of the magazine. The full impact of Adrian Newey at Williams wouldn’t be realised until 1992 but, as the aerodynamics guru told GIORGIO PIOLA in the 11 July 1991 issue, the key principles of making cars go quickly have changed little
Keeping up with the technology of Formula 1 is extremely complex.

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Alpine will unveil its new A521 Formula 1 car next month after teasing its new look at a Renault press conference on Thursday morning.
Renault announced last September that it would be rebranding its works F1 squad under the Alpine name for 2021 as part of a reorganisation of its various brands.
In a press conference outlining its new strategic approach – called the ‘Renaulution’ – plans to bring together the various Renault Sport activities under the Alpine brand were explained, including the rebranding of the F1 team.

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