Mercedes f1 drivers

Albon was dropped by the senior Red Bull outfit over the winter for failing to consistently match teammate Max Verstappen over the course of the 2020 season, with ex-Racing Point driver Sergio Perez hired as his replacement. Unlike his predecessors Daniil Kvyat and Pierre Gasly, who were placed at the then-Toro Rosso team following their demotions from Red Bull Racing, Albon hasn’t yet been given a second opportunity in F1 at what is now AlphaTauri. Instead, the Thai driver will contest selected rounds of the new-look DTM series in an AF Corse-run Ferrari 488 GT3 in 2021 while remaining in F1 as a reserve/test driver for both the Red Bull and AlphaTauri teams. The 25-year-old got his first proper taste of a GT3 car earlier this month at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, before getting more running under his belt in the official pre-season test at Hockenheim this week. While success in the DTM would boost his profile, Albon insists the primary objective of his programme is … [Read more...] about Albon: Reserve duties will play bigger role than DTM in F1 return

Normally when the leader of a Grand Prix has a problem on the power unit that costs him 160hp, over two seconds a lap of pure performance, the pursuing drivers will find a way past. Had Daniel Ricciardo’s problem occurred anywhere other than Monaco, they would have done. And had it occurred before the only round of pit stops in the race, then he might have been vulnerable to a strategy move, like an undercut, from Sebastian Vettel or Lewis Hamilton. But Ricciardo had made his only stop of the afternoon before his MGU-K failed. Although he had to play with the controls of the car, shifting the brake bias forward, for example, to help the rear brake temperatures, his car’s gentler treatment of the softest tyres in the Pirelli range was superior to Ferrari and Mercedes. And that proved to be enough to keep him in position on this most difficult of tracks on which to overtake. Because it’s Monaco; track position is everything, as Lewis Hamilton learned to his cost in 2015 … [Read more...] about Strategy Report: Why Ricciardo’s pursuers played it ‘ultra’ safe

Paffett was a part of Mercedes’ line-up for the majority of its factory participation in the revived DTM, completing 15 successive seasons in the series between 2003 and ‘18. During that period, the British driver scored 23 wins, 48 podiums and 17 pole positions, bowing out as a two-time champion when Mercedes exited the DTM at the end of 2018. Following the Stuttgart-based marque’s exit from the DTM, Paffett continued to represent the brand in Formula E and Intercontinental GT Challenge the following year, racing for the affiliated HWA team in the former. But both of Paffett’s programmes lasted a single campaign and he sat out the entire 2020 season, with his outing in Kyalami 9 Hours in November of 2019 remaining his last competitive outing. Speaking during the two-day pre-season test at Hockenheim, the 40-year-old said he didn’t plan on rejoining the DTM this year amid the uncertainty around what regulations the series would adopt following the demise of the Class … [Read more...] about Paffett reveals story behind unlikely DTM return

Ricciardo is weighing up whether to stay with Red Bull, which has backed him through his F1 career, at the same time his team is picking between ditching long-time engine supplier Renault for Honda. The Australian claimed his seventh GP victory last weekend in Monaco, while teammate Max Verstappen – who signed a lucrative new Red Bull deal late last year – started last after a practice crash. "You could say that [winning] made Daniel more expensive, it has put his value up, or it's put the team in a stronger position in terms of valuable potential to him," said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. "The reality is finding a solution to conclude a deal with Daniel in the next couple of months. "First thing is get the engine sorted and then very much follow on from there with [the] driver." Horner acknowledged that Ricciardo is "continually raising his game" as the Australian reiterated his value as one of F1's leading drivers by matching Lewis Hamilton and … [Read more...] about Red Bull wants to sort engine deal before Ricciardo contract

Raikkonen will leave Ferrari at the end of the season to join Sauber, bringing an end to his second spell with the Scuderia after rejoining the team in 2014. He has struggled for form through much of that spell, but this season has been his strongest so far and featured 10 podium finishes from 18 races, pole position for Ferrari's home race in Italy and a first victory in five and a half years in the United States last weekend. Speaking exclusively to Motorsport.com in Austin, before he went on to end his 113-race win drought, Raikkonen said: "Generally things have been running more smoothly. "It depends if the car is good or not, then we found straight away [it is], but I have a good group of people that I've been working this year. "It's been a shame to lose [race engineer Dave] Greenwood, but then in the beginning of the year he was working with us. "So we had a very strong foundation to go and build [from], but I think it's been more smooth. We had some few … [Read more...] about Raikkonen resurgence made 2018 “more fun”