With the F1 summer break currently in it’s first week, the F1 headlines mainly covered some information about the rest of the season and the upcoming 2022 season, along with an update about Aston Martin’s Hungarian Grand Prix appeal.
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Aston Martin has formally filed an appeal against Sebastian Vettel’s disqualification from the Hungarian Grand Prix. The German finished in P2, but was disqualified after the race because the FIA could not collect the mandatory 1 litre fuel sample from the car. The team insists that there should be 1.44L still in the car and blame a lift pump failure for the inability to provide the 1L sample. The FIA impounded the car and transported it to their technical centre in France so that it could be investigated further. The FIA will hear the team’s appeal on Monday.
Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali confirmed that the third sprint race experiment of the season will be held in Brazil. At the start of the year, F1 management decided that the British GP and Italian GP would host Saturday sprint qualifying races along with another third venue, which was not confirmed at the time but was rumoured to be Brazil. He also said that the future of the sprint format will be discussed at the end of the season to decide on what will happen in 2022. However, F1’s focus will not on using the format for “certain historical grands prix”, not every race.
The sport’s financial health is recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, now that fans are permitted to start attending events this season. Between April and June 2020, F1 reported an income of only $24m resulting in a $122m loss, largely due to the fact that no races were run during that period. During the same period this season, seven races have been run, reducing the loss to just $36m thanks to an income of $501m. This number is still lower than the $620m worth of income F1 earned in 2019, but things are expected to continue getting better for F1 as the season progresses.
With both Williams drivers’ contracts set to expire at the end of the season, Williams claims they no longer need to depend on pay drivers. Previously, the team has relied on income from drivers who carry a large financial backing, such as Lance Stroll, Nicholas Latifi and Sergey Sirotkin to cope with the rising costs of competing in F1. However, the cost cap and the sale of the team to Dorilton Capital. “We are not dependent like in the past on somebody, a driver who brings money,” explained team principal Jost Capito. “We have a long-term plan to get back to the top, and we have to choose the drivers that fit into that plan.”
The Weekly F1 Recap on Racing Clothesline is a series published every Monday. Each article breaks down the previous week's Formula One headlines into bite-sized pieces, perfect for casual fans to keep themselves in the loop.
