Formula 1’s drivers usually spend nine months of the year crisscrossing the globe and effectively living out of a suitcase, but recent months have seen them far more time at home than is normally the case.
So what is an F1 driver’s ‘Crib’ actually like?
McLaren’s Lando Norris gave Sky F1’s Natalie Pinkham an exclusive and entertaining video tour around his home and garden while in lockdown, in the first of a new series.
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There are fresh doubts over whether the British Grand Prix will now be able to take place following confirmation from Home Secretary Priti Patel that travellers into the UK will soon have to self-isolate for 14 days.
The government measures are expected to contain an exempt list but as it stands F1 is set to be snubbed.
With the coronavirus pandemic leading to the cancellation of several races, F1 officials are planning to start the season in Austria on July 5.
That would then be followed by back-to-back races at Silverstone on July 26 and August 5.
Earlier this week, Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, was in favour of F1 earning an exemption.
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But the government’s quarantine plans announced by Patel mean it will be difficult for the British Grand Prix to go ahead.
Talks between F1 chiefs and the government are ongoing with a spokesperson saying: “We have been working closely with government on the implications of the policy for Formula 1 and Silverstone.
“Those discussions are ongoing at this time with the aim of finding a solution with safety as our first priority.”
With several teams and drivers also based in the UK, the sport faces a battle to overcome the rising number of complications.
Charles Leclerc lifts lid on bizarre plan as Alex Albon ends streak Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports before Patel’s comments, Stuart Pringle, managing director at Silverstone, insisted he was hopeful F1 would be able to earn an exemption.
“It’s a very complex sport to get going because it’s a global championship with a huge logistical tail,” he said.
“So Formula 1 does need to know that it can set off on its global travel and be able to come in and out of its home base.
“I am very clear that the importance of the industry is understood by government. I remain very optimistic that they will find away.
“I’m very, very conscious that it’s extremely complicated drafting these things and working up against ever-moving deadlines – it’s not a task I’d wish to undertake.
“So I remain optimistic that a sensible and pragmatic solution, which puts the onus on the sport quite rightly to come up with the right solution, can be found.”
If Britain is unable to stage the races, Hockenheim is braced to step in and hold a double-header.
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Sebastian Vettel may have suffered “burnout” from his time at a Ferrari team where there is “always friction”, Grand Prix Drivers’ Association chairman Alex Wurz has told Sky F1.
Vettel is leaving Ferrari at the end of 2020, and while he has shown flashes of his brilliant best in red, the five-year partnership between F1’s four-time champion and its most successful team has so far resulted in zero titles.
Wurz, who heads up F1’s drivers’ body where Vettel is a director, had his say on the sport’s big news during his appearance on Friday’s Sky F1 Vodcast – believing the Ferrari “system” can take its toll on the drivers.
Button, McLaren back Sainz to be Ferrari hit
“Sebastian is a friend of mine, but I didn’t see it coming,” said Wurz, who made his name in F1 with Benetton, McLaren and Williams before his role with the GPDA. “He keeps those cards always very close to his chest.
“If you look at the history of Ferrari, you have this first few years and months of big love and all these radio calls, all the emotions that come out of it, which makes Ferrari so beautiful.
“But at one point, even with Fernando [Alonso, who Vettel replaced in 2015], it seems like the whole system makes you go into burnout. Maybe the love is not there anymore, and that seemed to happen. But Sebastian hasn’t spoken to me about that.”
Don’t miss the full Vodcast later this afternoon as Wurz and the Sky F1 team talk about F1’s restart plans, driver market gossip and more.
Wurz joined Ted Kravitz, Paul Di Resta and Simon Lazenby on the Vodcast, and Ted pondered: “Do you think it’s Ferrari’s passion that is the great thing about them but also hurt them in some ways?”
“There’s more to it than just racing passion,” responded Wurz. “There is really the national pressure up on you and the drivers go through that.
“Ferrari are really demanding of the drivers, they really love you if you push them forward but if the success is not coming then suddenly that starts to backfire and they will also be protective about their heritage, work and quality.
“There is always friction, and that’s not just for drivers, they have also changed team principals also over the years. And I think that comes with outside influence but also the lifestyle. That mixture seems to be tricky.”
Ferrari won six consecutive F1 titles from 1999 to 2004 but have not won a championship in over a decade, despite its high-profile talented drivers.
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Any Formula 1 team would be “very lucky” to have Sebastian Vettel in their line-up for 2021, according to FIA president Jean Todt.
Four-time champion Vettel’s Ferrari career will end at the end of this year after they decided to part ways after six seasons of mixed fortunes.
Should he want to stay in F1, then the 32-year-old’s options of a front-running drive already appear very limited – but Todt, Ferrari’s most successful team boss of all time, believes the German should not be written off.
“Sebastian Vettel is one of the greatest talents in motorsport,” said Todt in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports.
“An announcement has been made that he will not drive for the team beyond 2020.
“There are a lot of other opportunities. We can only wish him the best and I mean that. Whoever will take him will be very lucky.”
Initial links to McLaren were quickly quashed when the Woking team signed Daniel Ricciardo to replace the Ferrari-bound Carlos Sainz.
Red Bull, Vettel’s former outfit, have said it is “enormously unlikely” they will pair the German with Max Verstappen, while any prospect of Mercedes teaming Lewis Hamilton up with Vettel also appears remote.
Renault will need to replace Ricciardo, but Fernando Alonso and others are in the frame there too.
Although only in his early-mid 30s, Vettel could also conceivably walk away from the sport for either a break – or for good.
Speaking on the Sky F1 Vodcast, Romain Grosjean echoed the comments of Jenson Button by admitting he found it a “big surprise” Vettel was leaving Maranello.
“I was surprised by some of the decisions, in some ways,” said the Haas driver of last week’s inter-linked driver moves.
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Haas’ Romain Grosjean, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, says F1’s stars are keen to help the sport return to racing as soon as is practical.
With F1 officials working on a July start to the campaign with a double header under strict safety measures and regular testing for COVID-19 in Austria, Haas driver Grosjean told the latest Sky F1 Vodcast that the grid’s drivers were in regular contact and had recently been briefed by plans by the sport’s officials.
“We have got a WhatsApp group and it has been very active, I must say,” said Grosjean of the drivers’ body. “A lot of discussions on different subjects.
“We had a call with Formula 1, Chase Carey and Ross [Brawn]. I just couldn’t make the call, but I know Alex [Wurz, GPDA chairman] and Sebastian [Vettel, GPDA director] were on it, and then I got the feedback.
“We are trying to be as much as we can involved; trying to help the best we can because to help the teams we need to go racing earlier than later.
“Obviously not doing anything costs money for nothing and if we can go racing then we know what’s happening.”
With the prospect of a very different type of grand prix weekend awaiting F1 personnel at the Red Bull Ring, with extensive safe logistical measures being in operation, Grosjean added: “Everyone is doing his best. Obviously, it’s very difficult to know what the situation is going to be like.
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Fernando Alonso says he has an “idea in my head” about what he will do in 2021 – but does that involve a dramatic return to F1 for the two-time world champion?
Not for the first time, Alonso finds himself at the centre of many ‘silly season’ discussions, with the F1 driver market enlived by Ferrari’s decision to replace Sebastian Vettel with Carlos Sainz for next year and Daniel Ricciardo agreeing to fill his place at McLaren.
That has opened up a seat at Renault – the Enstone team where Alonso made his name by winning his two world titles in 2005-2006, before returning for a second shorter stint two years later.
Speaking in a video conference hosted by the Real Madrid graduate school, Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport quotes Alonso as saying his next challenge will be at the “highest level” – and that he lists F1, IndyCar and the World Endurance Championship as his three possible destinations.
Flavio Briatore, Alonso’s long-time associate and former Renault team boss, has gone further by saying the Spaniard is “ready to return” to F1 having “detoxed himself” since leaving the grid in 2018 and successfully racing in other disciplines, including sportscars and rally raid.
So is a third spell at Renault truly on the cards for a driver who will turn 39 in July?
Two men who know him well from his time at McLaren, former team-mate Jenson Button and Zak Brown, the Woking team’s chief executive, have had their respective say to Sky Sports F1…
“If Renault were close to the front and he could see in 2021 and 2022 there’s a chance of podiums and wins, I think he would jump at the chance if he had the option,” explained Button, who was Alonso’s team-mate for two seasons.
“But I think it’s going to be a longer process than that. If they do get to the front it’s probably going to be four-plus years – and he doesn’t have that time. He’s not willing to put in that time, I don’t think. Fernando is that sort of guy that when he has an opportunity he really does take it.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=d8zJMNJyDU8%3Ffeature%3Doembed
“I’m just not sure this is the right opportunity for him. If he was able to get into one of the top three teams? Of course, he would jump at the chance because he would be able to show his speed, and he hasn’t lost it at 39 years old. But building a team for three or four years? I don’t think that is what Fernando is looking for.”
“I spoke with him the other day and I was kinda poking around. I think he’s undecided,” said Brown to Sky F1. “If I was running Renault, that’s who I’d put in the car. Big name, fast as anyone, won two championships with them – so he’s got history. So, from a Renault perspective, I think he’s a bit of a no-brainer to put in.
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Formula One have upped the battle to save the British Grand Prix by telling Boris Johnson that if it is cancelled the race will go to Germany.
F1 bosses continued to talk to the highest levels of Government on Tuesday in the hope of brokering an 11th-hour agreement to win the sport an exemption over controversial plans to impose a 14-day quarantine period on travellers arriving in the UK.
The Prime Minister is being informed of developments and will make the final call.
Formula One have upped their battle to save the British Grand Prix at Silverstone this year
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is being informed of developments and will make the final call
If the exemption is not forthcoming, the two races planned for Silverstone in July and August — the British GP and a second round to make up for time lost to coronavirus — will move to Hockenheim in Germany’s Rhine Valley.
An F1 spokesman said: ‘Quarantine would make it impossible to have a British Grand Prix this year. We would be travelling back to the UK on F1-only aircraft and all staff would be tested, making quarantine totally unnecessary.’
Sportsmail understands talks between F1 and Hockenheim are at an advanced stage, with a source saying: ‘It is basically a matter of turning the key in the gates.’
Losing the British Grand Prix to a venue that was not even slated on the original calendar would be a massive blow to the prestige of British sport.
Silverstone staged the first F1 race, won by Giuseppe Farina in 1950, and has held a grand prix in all of the world championship’s 70-year history. A decision is expected in the next 36 hours.
Silverstone races will be moved to Hockenheim if F1 is denied exemption from new travel rules
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The 2021 driver market burst into life last week with the high-profile moves of Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo – leading the Sky Sports F1 team to debate what other shake-ups we could see on the grid.
Will Sebastian Vettel return? Is Fernando Alonso an option at Renault as they look for Ricciardo’s replacement? And what about the only top team without a driver signed up for next season – Mercedes?
There was a lot to discuss on the most-recent Sky F1 Vodcast…
The consensus from our panel on the Vodcast was that it is likely Vettel will step away from F1 at the end of the season after losing his Ferrari drive – with few potential options for the four-time world champion.
Unless…
Paul Di Resta: “I’d love to see Vettel in a car against Lewis.
“I think the only way Seb can save face is to go head to head in that Mercedes with Hamilton. Seb’s got age on his side compared to Lewis, so he’s still got time.
“I think the only challenge he can really do now is drive the Mercedes, or retire and do something big in F1.”
Damon Hill: “I think there is an assumption that it would be alongside Lewis Hamilton. But Lewis has yet to conclude his contract – and it’s not nice having another multiple world champion floating around when you’re trying to do a deal with your own team!”
Anthony Davidson: “What about Vettel back to Red Bull? That’s the other way he can redeem himself. Go up against definitely one of the best, if not the fastest driver in Formula 1, Max Verstappen.
“None of the young Red Bull drivers have really proved themselves yet. Alex did a great job getting thrown in at the deep end last year but for me he hasn’t really proven himself against the likes of Verstappen yet. You’ve got a clear number one driver there, and it’s a weakened line-up you’d say compared to what we saw at Ferrari last year and especially Mercedes. It was like a one-handed fight with Max really hauling that car around, and neither Pierre Gasly nor Alex Albon could really match him when all things were fair.
“So could there potentially be a place for Seb to come crawling back cap in hand to the team that created him? That would be the perfect place for him to show he’s still got it.”
After losing Ricciardo, Renault have a seat next to new driver Esteban Ocon for next season. Alonso has been linked with a sensational return to the team where he won his two titles, while Vettel could also be a target.
Hill: “Where are Renault going? That’s the question. Why would Ricciardo leave Renault? He can see a better opportunity at McLaren.
“I think Fernando Alonso’s not someone who wants to come back to Formula 1 and struggle again in an uncompetitive car. He left because he didn’t have one. These guys, they don’t want second rate equipment, they want the best.”
Di Resta: “I think they’ll leave it open for a bit. You’ve got to see how Ocon’s going to do, and because of the situation we’re in at the moment, they’re being denied of that. You’ve got to give him time to see how he goes along.
“You’ve got Nico Hulkenberg sitting there who was in the team doing a doing good job as well who could come back into the hot seat. Now that those seats have been sorted I think they’ll want to see some track action before doing anything else – unless you’ve got a box office ticket like Vettel wanting the challenge, or Alonso.
“But Fernando comes with passion. I’ve got to agree with Damon, you’ve got to have that ability to move up the grid and I don’t see any light towards the end of that Renault tunnel too soon.”
Mercedes are the odd one out at the sharp end of the grid, with neither of their drivers signed up for next season. Hamilton has frequently stressed that he wants to stay, while Bottas would also certainly be keen to stay in F1’s premier seat – though many drivers have been linked with replacing him.
Davidson: “Everyone always thinks who’s going to replace Bottas – but the guy is doing a good job!
“Let’s not forget the amount of pole positions he had over Lewis Hamilton and that’s no mean feat. Without Lewis there, Bottas would have been champion. He does a great job for that team. I think the dynamic works really well between the two of them, Lewis gets on well with him, and there’s never any blows between the two cars out on track.
“You can’t have two Hamiltons there, we’ve seen that go wrong in the past many times. The strength of Ferrari when they had Schumacher there, there was a clear number one and a clear number two and they won everything. Mercedes are doing the same thing now, but the chat is always about who Bottas is going to be replaced by.”
Hill: “Mercedes have also got to think about the future and how much longer Hamilton is going to go on. Does Lewis fit in the next five-year plan?”
Rachel Brookes: “I definitely think there could be something lined up at Mercedes in 2021 with George Russell. Reading between the lines, I definitely feel his ties with Mercedes, though he has a contract with Williams, there is something in there where he can get out and go to Mercedes in 2021.”
Davidson: “I think at some point Russell is going to need to be tested out. You can’t see what he’s doing with a Williams at the back of the grid and really make heads or tails about how good the guy is.
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Daniel Ricciardo is joining McLaren from Renault – after being linked with a move to Ferrari. Ricciardo was among the drivers being considered by Ferrari to replace Sebastian Vettel after the announcement he would leave the team.
But Ricciardo’s move to McLaren has cleared the path for Carlos Sainz to make the switch to the Italians.
And Ricciardo will actually take Sainz’s seat at McLaren.
The Australian nearly joined the team in 2019 after leaving Red Bull for Renault.
But McLaren are delighted to have finally got their man, who will join at the end of his current contract
Ricciardo is set to make a statement later today with talks having taken place all week with the Vettel announcement starting the domino effect.
Vettel will leave the Prancing Horse when his contract expires.
JUST IN: FERRARI DRAW UP SHORTLIST TO REPLACE SEBASTIAN VETTEL
“In order to get the best possible results in this sport, it’s vital for all parties to work in perfect harmony,” he said when announcing his decision.
“Financial matters have played no part in this joint decision. That’s not the way I think when it comes to making certain choices and it never will be.
“What’s been happening in these past few months has led many of us to reflect on what are our real priorities in life. One needs to use one’s imagination and to adopt a new approach to a situation that has changed. I myself will take the time I need to reflect on what really matters when it comes to my future.”
And Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle thinks Vettel could even walk away from F1.
“I think there’s a good chance Sebastian will step away from Formula 1,” he said on the F1 show.
He added: “This is a really strange time in that driver contracts are coming to their end and teams are having to make decisions based on the future with no current season as an indicator.
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“They’re working blind at the moment.
“This plays into the hands, to an extent, of young but well-experienced drivers. The new kids in town haven’t had a chance to prove themselves as a Leclerc or [Max] Verstappen of the future, for example.
“I see a scenario which is Sainz to Ferrari, Ricciardo to McLaren, and then that leaves a seat at Renault that probably would be [Fernando] Alonso.”
Charles Leclerc paid tribute to Vettel, by saying: “It’s been a huge honour for me to be your team mate. We’ve had some tense moments on tracks.
“Some very good ones and some others that didn’t end as we both wanted, but there was always respect, even though it wasn’t perceived this way from the outside.
“I’ve never learnt so much as I did with you as my team-mate. Thank you for everything Seb.”
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Sebastian Vettel has been insistent throughout his five years at Ferrari. He had a “dream”. He had a “mission”. To win in red, and end F1’s most famous team’s championship drought.
But the confirmation that Vettel and Ferrari will be parting ways at the end of 2020 means this quest and love story is likely to finish unfulfilled.
“It’s been a frustrating experience for him,” said Sky F1’s Martin Brundle.
There will be some who claim that his reputation – having joined as a young, seemingly unflappable winning machine with four titles – has been tarnished in the process, and his time with the Scuderia will arguably be remembered for failed title bids, costly mistakes, and being usurped by a new star.
But no one else has threatened to end Mercedes’ F1 dominance. And only two from Ferrari’s pantheon of greats have won more races in red.
What is clear, is that Vettel has had more ups and downs than any other driver since 2015.
Following in idol Michael Schumacher’s footsteps, Vettel said he had achieved a lifelong ambition when he left his four titles at Red Bull for F1’s most tantalising project,
“I am extremely motivated to help the team get back to the top,” said the German. “I will put my heart and soul into making it happen.”
But it should not be forgotten what Vettel was joining.
Ferrari were coming off one of the worst seasons in their history in 2014, finishing fourth and suffering their first winless season in over 20 years. Such was the confidence in that team, Fernando Alonso jumped ship for a shot in the dark with McLaren-Honda – and we know how that ended.
Vettel, however, immediately made an impact. A victory – Ferrari’s first since early 2013 – would come in just his second race, with Vettel mastering Malaysia ahead of title rivals Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Impressive wins in Hungary and Singapore would follow later in the season.
But just as it seemed Ferrari were ready to challenge Mercedes by building around their new star, who scored almost double the points of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen in his debut season – they were dropped back down to earth with an awful 2016, finishing back behind Red Bull with no victories.
Strategic errors and internal disruption – things that have plagued Vettel for much of his time with Ferrari- were out in force in that season, and although Vettel led the team with seven podiums, it became clear how big a task he and the team had in store. All eyes were on 2017’s big rules refresh…
An innovative car reinvigorated the team, and Vettel, at the start of 2017. But while Vettel held an early title lead and was arguably at his best in terms of wheel-to-wheel battles with Hamilton in this season, it will still be remembered for the wrong reasons and, ultimately, as a failure on his part.
That’s partly because of Ferrari’s slump after the summer break, with the team failing to match Mercedes with both pace and reliability, but also because of two major flashpoints from Vettel: Barging into Hamilton in Baku under the Safety Car – described as “dangerous”, “disgusting” and “disgraceful” by the Mercedes driver – and a first-lap crash with Raikkonen and Max Verstappen in Singapore.
There still would have been hope for the next year, however, given how well Vettel was performing on-track – optimism which would have grown with back-to-back victories to start 2018.
But again, as has so often been the case for Vettel at Ferrari, the good moments were quickly followed by devastating lows.
He had all the title momentum after beating Hamilton in his Silverstone backyard, but then preceded to make a mess of his own home race by crashing out of the lead in Germany.
“If you think back to Hockenheim in 2018, I think that was the moment when the rot started,” noted Brundle.
He would certainly never recover in that particular title race from there, with notable spins when battling wheel-to-wheel in Monza, Suzuka and Austin summing up his year and making him look, for the first time, like he couldn’t handle the pressure.
Was this the end of Vettel at his peak?
Ferrari brought in young Charles Leclerc in place of Raikkonen to challenge Vettel in 2019, but were still pinning their championship hopes on their four-time world champion – who they insisted was still their number one.
But that would change over the course of the season.
Another race-costing spin early on in the season in Bahrain certainly didn’t help, nor did the near-constant controversy with Leclerc as Ferrari struggled to handle the dynamic of an established star vs an emerging one.
2019 would ultimately be infamous for Vettel, with three major moments:
Still, Vettel, who only showed his best form in flashes, was adamant about his future, and his “mission”.
“It’s the team where I want to win, where I want to succeed,” he told Sky F1, before insisting later that year:
“I’m very hungry and I have a mission here to win.”
He may have once again reaffirmed his desire to stay during an interview last month, but even then there were plenty of questions about Vettel and his Ferrari future with his contract expiring at the end of 2020.
Would Ferrari offer him a long-term contract? Would Vettel be happy to accept a support role to Leclerc? And would the German see the point of staying at a team that didn’t look to be in title contention – particularly with the next rules overhaul delayed until 2022?
“I think there’s two elements to this,” said Brundle after the confirmation of Vettel’s exit. “Sebastian had lost a bit of faith and trust in the team that they could really could turn this around. And then I think they’ve sort of fallen out of love with each other.
“I would imagine Sebastian wouldn’t be that fussed about being a clear number one, but he would not want to be a clear number two in the team and have to yield to Leclerc.”
Well that’s a bit of a Surprise, only Vettel & Binotto know the true reason for Seb walking/being helped out of a very big red door at the end of this year. Hopefully Vettel wants to continue as it would be a shame to lose a driver with such talent from the F1 grid. pic.twitter.com/Y5BdV7vrp2
Perhaps his impending departure is due to a combination of the above – while the desire for a new challenge or possibly to retire altogether can’t be ruled out.
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