Did Lewis Hamilton pass the New Year?

Withdrawal time!

This brings us to the end of today’s bar. Tomorrow things are really going in Imola! This is the schedule:

10:00 AM: Driver PK
1:30 p.m.: First free training session
5:00 pm: Qualifiers

So it will be a long day. And here in the tape, as usual, you are very close to everything. Have a nice evening and see you next!

Marco: Sainz will catch up with Leclerc

Currently, Monegasse is clearly ahead of Ferrari internally. Sainz himself admits this. His former mentor Helmut Marko Explained in “Sport1”: “New cars with less downforce fit one driver more, and the other less.”

He says, “Sainz is smart, a very hardworking worker. Will work to finish the backlog in the future. He was closer in Australia, but then had no luck with the red flag and later with the wheel.”

But in the World Cup, he has to work hard. The difference in front of Leclerc is already 38 points.

Terms of the contract

In line with Sainz’s contract extension, we have compiled all contract terms of the 20 current Formula 1 drivers. Remarkably, more than half of the cockpit (11 of 20) for the upcoming season has already been taken.

After all, more than a quarter of all cabins (6 out of 20) will not be empty even before 2025. Not good cards for young pilots hoping to make it into first class.

ADAC GT Masters: Starts Tomorrow!

It’s not just about driving Formula 1 cars this weekend. The 2022 ADAC GT Masters season starts tomorrow too! Traditionally, the first weekend race of the year is held at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben.

23 cars from five different manufacturers (Audi, BMW, Lamborghini, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche) were registered this year for the 16th season of the German GT Championship.

All information about the start of the season with schedule, TV times, starter roster and more can be found here!

What history teaches us about Leclerc’s championship leadership

Statistically, Monaco’s start of the season is one of the strongest in F1 history. The Ferrari driver lost just seven points – all because of second place in Saudi Arabia. But what can history teach us about the tournament’s early 34-point lead?

We’ve taken a closer look at it here!

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9 years ago today…

… The last Grand Prix of Bahrain was held in broad daylight. The 2013 race was the last before the 2014 Grand Prix became a night race. At the time, Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) took the win against Lotus drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean.

However, the start of the race was very controversial at the time, after the Grand Prix was canceled two years ago due to political turmoil…

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Mercedes Updates

A new fin was discovered in the cockpit of the W13 today. Of course, there will be the new Formula 1 “Show & Tell” format again this weekend, as the teams have to reveal all their updates.

Of course we will give you an overview of all the promotions!

The victory of Imola is a good omen

Will we really find out on Sunday who will win the world title this year? Anyone who’s won at Imola in the last 20 years has always been the world champion at the end of the season, with only one exception!

Michael Schumacher won here in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and ended up becoming the world champion. Fernando Alonso succeeded in 2005 before the only exception came in 2006 when Schumacher won but Alonso took the title.

In 2020, the race is back on the calendar with world champion Lewis Hamilton victorious, and in 2021 it was Max Verstappen. Statistically speaking, Sunday’s winner has good cards!

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strangers hour?

Will Formula 1 still be a three-way battle in 2022? Marc Saurer is convinced: Lewis Hamilton is not out of the world championship race! Underdogs like Fernando Alonso and Mick Schumacher can surprise on the good days.

After three races, it was time to evaluate. How do the new Formula 1 regulations work? What could be better? And are the races actually more action packed than in the past?

Sawyer sees: Yes! And in an interview with Editor-in-Chief Christian Nimmervall, he also discussed whether Formula 1 really needs more than 23 races – and how it should deal with countries like Saudi Arabia…

The first pictures…

… of Imola you can find in our photo gallery. As usual, this will be replenished regularly with new footage over the coming days!

More new basements

We previously learned that Alfa Romeo would be bringing a new chassis to Imola. The same applies to competitors Alpine and AlphaTauri. The Young Bulls will bring in an even bigger package.

“The main part of the update is the lower part of the chassis and there will also be an update to the front air vents,” says Jody Egginton. “But the bottom is the big area right now, and there’s a lot of performance in there.”

We’re excited to see an even better upgrade this weekend!

Wolf: E-fuels are the future

Formula 1 It is used with pure electronic fuel in the future ride. Toto Wolff backs this up and explains to Sky: “I think we’re going in the right direction with e-fuels. There will be more than a billion cars in the world that will still drive with conventional drives after 2025.”

“And if we can play a leading role here and develop a fuel that can drive in these cars, one hundred percent sustainably, that’s great news. And now with the news from Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche, which we hope will come, are strengthening [das] Formula 1 continues,” says Wolff.

Speaking of driver PK…

It will be tomorrow at 10:00 am. As usual this year in four groups with five riders each. The collapse is now known:

10:00 am:
Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
George Russell (Mercedes)

10:30 am:
Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo)
Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri)
Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)
Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
Alexander Albon (Williams)

11:00 pm:
Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
Mick Schumacher (Haas)
Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

11:30 am:
Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
Fernando Alonso (Alpine)
Lando Norris (McLaren)
Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
Nicholas Latifi

The Team Leaders PK was set on Saturday with the following participants:

10:00 am:
Franz Tost (AlphaTauri)
Mattia Binotto (Ferrari)
Mario Isola (Pirelli)

10:30 am:
Mike Crack (Aston Martin)
Gunther Steiner (Haas)
Just Capito Williams

Then the most important phrases appear as usual here in our bar!

Trackwalk & Co..

Officially, Thursday media no longer exists this year. However, the teams are already on the road today, and in addition to the many appointments, they are also completing their run on the track, for example.

Thus, the new format was not well received by everyone. Because activities such as Driver PK, which previously occurred on Thursday, were effectively moved to Friday to relieve those involved.

Instead, it currently means Friday is getting longer. On Thursday, however, the teams were still on track. So no real comfort.

Chelsea and Formula 1…

Formula 1 fans will long remember that Chelsea had been in contact with the first class before. About ten years ago there was a cooperation with Sauber. In this context, among other things, the football club crest can be seen on the Formula 1 car.

Rather, this is unlikely to be repeated with Mercedes. Because this time the issue is Hamilton’s special relationship.

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Will Hamilton buy to Chelsea?

Exciting rumor from England: Lewis Hamilton is said to be interested in providing financial support to British businessman Martin Bruton in taking over London football club Chelsea. This was reported by Sky..

In addition to Hamilton, tennis star Serena Williams is also said to be part of the consortium. The World Record Champion not only wants to be a silent partner, but also wants to play an active role in the areas of diversity and inclusion.

It is said that Hamilton wants to invest around 10 million pounds (about 12 million euros). Chelsea still belongs to Russian Roman Abramovich, who announced the sale in the context of the sanctions imposed on him.

Of course we are watching that!