As F1’s summer break reaches the half way point, take a look at the headlines from this week. They include some behind the scenes action from Renault and Ferrari. Unfortunately, the week ended with sad news.
Aston Martin has dropped their appeal of Sebastian Vettel’s disqualification from the Hungarian Grand Prix. The German finished the race in second place, but was disqualified after the race for failing to provide the required 1L fuel sample. The team blamed the issue on a leak that did not gain them an advantage. The stewards denied the team’s right to review request last week, saying the reason for the violation is irrelevant and Aston Martin has decided not to pursue the issue further.
Despite having burned through much of their permitted exhaust allocations in the first half of the season, Alpine is confident they can manage the shortage without having to take a grid penalty this season. This is according to Alpine executive director Marcin Budkowski, who revealed that the team had a reliability issue in the first half of the season that has since been fixed. As of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Esteban Ocon’s car has used 7 exhausts and Fernando Alonso has used 5. Teams are allowed just 8 exhausts per car before grid penalties apply.
It has been confirmed that Renault’s F1 engine technical director has left the company. The split happened at the start of July, but Renault kept the news quiet, saying that the separation was a “mutual agreement”. Remi Taffin worked with Renault’s F1 programme since 1999, eventually taking his current role in 2016. Taffin has been linked to Red Bull, who are working on producing their own power units from 2022 onward when Honda withdraw from F1. The company has already poached a number of Mercedes employees for the project. There is no known replacement for Taffin at Renault and it’s believed that the responsibilities of the role will just be divided among the existing employees.
Ferrari plans to introduce a power unit upgrade for the second half of the season, with upgrades expected to arrive after the Italian Grand Prix. This season’s regulations allowed engine manufacturers to only produce one upgrade for each power unit component. While the other manufacturers released their upgrades in time for the start of the 2021 season, Ferrari has been running some 2020 components, having been unable to complete their upgrades before the season opener in Bahrain.
The Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort will take place this year with 70,000 fans. The race was set to make a return to the calendar for the first time in 35 years last season, but it was one of the many events cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Dutch government announced COVID-19 restrictions that will only allow for 70,000 fans per day, which represents around two thirds of the venue’s capacity. Ticket holders will be informed by August 18 whether or not they can attend the race. Those who are not able to attend will be allowed to use their tickets for next year’s race or request a refund.
The CEO of the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Nathalie Maillet, passed away at the age of 51. Police discovered her body alongside her husband and an unidentified woman in Maillet’s home in Luxembourg. Police believe it to be the scene of a murder-suicide committed by her husband. Maillet was appointed the role of CEO at the Belgian circuit in the summer of 2016 and has been a driving force behind many modernization efforts at the iconic venue. She will be missed.
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