This weekend marked the final race of the F1 triple header and it ended with a bang that will surely have fans talking for the weeks to come. Many of the pieces of the 2022 driver lineup puzzle fell into place this week, with the big Mercedes decision that everyone has been waiting for. Some potential rule changes that could be implemented in the future were also hinted at this week.
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Alfa Romeo was the first team to make a big announcement this week, confirming the team had signed Valtteri Bottas for 2022. While the specifics of the deal are not public, it is known that the Finn has been given a deal for multiple seasons. The team hopes he will help lead Alfa Romeo’s quest for better performance with the new regulations.
Those looking for more information on who will be in the second Alfa Romeo seat for 2022 may need to wait a little longer, as the team looks for a “clearer picture” of the Formula 2 championship before making a decision. Current driver Antonio Giovinazzi is out of a contract at the end of the season and the team no longer has any obligation to renew his contract since they are not required to sign someone from the Ferrari Academy anymore. This suggests that the team may be looking elsewhere for talent to fill the seat for 2022.
Less than 24 hours after Bottas’ future was confirmed, Mercedes announced they have signed a long-term contract with George Russell for 2022 and beyond. The news was largely expected after his strong showing in Bahrain last year when filling in for an ill Lewis Hamilton.
In more 2022 driver lineup news, AlphaTauri confirmed that they will be retaining both of their drivers for the 2022 season. Pierre Gasly found himself on the team mid-season in 2019 after being booted from the Red Bull team. Yuki Tsunoda joined team as a rookie this season. The team has been happy with the performance and improvement of both drivers over the course of the 2021 season.
The final team to solidify their 2022 plans was Williams. Alexander Albon will make his Formula One return in 2022 with Williams. He was forced to skip out on the 2021 season, after being tossed aside by Red Bull in favour if Sergio Perez. A major challenge in getting the Williams seat was Albon’s ties to Red Bull. Williams shareholder and Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff reportedly tried to block the move for this reason. Red Bull has confirmed that Albon has officially been released from Red Bull, but that “future options” remain open.
Although he will be retiring from driving at the end of the season, Alfa Romeo are open to giving Kimi Raikkonen an advisory position within the team. No deal is currently in place and it’s unclear if the Finn would be interested, given that he has admitted to treating F1 more like a hobby over the past few years, but the team are open to discussions.
Robert Kubica was back behind the wheel of the #7 Alfa Romeo this weekend in Italy as Raikkonen continues his recovery from COVID-19. He was asymptomatic, but tested positive for the virus last weekend and was forced to skip the Dutch Grand Prix, as per the sport’s COVID-19 protocol.
The 2021 calendar may still undergo further changes with the second half of the season currently underway. F1 is in talks with US officials over travel restrictions that currently only allow for “essential” travel into the country. Turkey still remains on the UK’s red zone list, which will create logistical headaches for the teams. As it stands, team personnel would need to quarantine for 10 days upon returning to the UK, which would interfere with travel to the following US GP. A potential plan is for skeleton crews to travel to Turkey and then fly directly to the US after the race, although cancelling the event is still on the table. The event has already been pushed back a week to prevent complications after the Russian Grand Prix in the event of a late cancellation. The UK government will evaluate their red zone list this week, which will likely decide the fate of the event.
A potential rule change will likely be discussed at the F1 Commission meeting in October to help young talent showcase their F1 abilities on track. We could possibly see teams required to run young drivers in one or both of Friday’s free practice sessions. According to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, the rule has the benefit of giving young drivers more seat time and the potential to make F1 races more unpredictable due to the reduced practice time.
Ahead of the second of three sprint race qualifying experiments this season, F1 management announced they may be looking to tweak the format to address some of the concerns aired by fans. The largest concern is that a poor result on the Saturday session ruins the driver’s chances on the main race on Sunday. One proposed change that will be discussed is use the same starting grid for both races and just make the sprint race an extra event for bonus points.
Lewis Hamilton set the fastest lap on the medium tyres in the first free practice session of the Italian Grand Prix on Friday. Max Verstappen was nearly half a second off the pace on the soft tyres, in the what would be the only practice session before qualifying on Friday afternoon. Valtteri Bottas set a third fastest time ahead of both Aston Martins who were split by Pierre Gasly. The session was clean, with traffic jams playing a role later in the session.
With the second of three sprint race experiments set to take place at the Italian Grand Prix, qualifying was held on Friday afternoon. Hamilton was quickest in Q1, as traffic again caused some chaos at the end of the session, with multiple cars clogging up the final sector of the circuit. Yuki Tsunoda had made it into Q2, but was knocked out after his lap time was deleted for track limits. Q2 had no shortage of traffic issues, this time with everyone being backed up in a busy pit lane towards the end of the session. Both Mercedes were on top once again in Q2, with Hamilton leading the way. Both McLaren drivers showed their pace, rounding out the top 5 behind Max Verstappen. It was Valtteri Bottas though who edged out his teammate for the sprint race pole position in Q3. Both Mercedes were nearly half a second ahead of Verstappen, while McLaren again rounded out the top 5.
Carlos Sainz gave his team some work to do after Saturday morning’s free practice session, crashing heavily into the barriers at Variante Ascari. The other Ferrari driven by Charles Leclerc also ended the session early, parking in the garage. Other than that, it was a relatively orderly FP2 session, with Hamilton yet again finding himself on top of the timing sheets ahead of his teammate.
The 18 lap sprint race was dominated by Valtteri Bottas from pole position, although the Finn would have to hand the pole to Max Verstappen as he would start from the back of the grid on Sunday due to penalty for a power unit change. Lewis Hamilton lost out on his front row start for Sunday, having poor start in the sprint race and failing to get by the McLaren’s. Daniel Ricciardo earned a front row start for the main event, with his teammate set to line up in P3. Click here to read a full report of the sprint race.
Both McLarens had a brilliant start to the race on Sunday, with Ricciardo taking the lead of the race before the first corner. Lando Norris put himself ahead of Hamilton. The VSC was deployed on the first lap after Antonio Giovinazzi hit the barrier when he cut off Charles Leclerc, but the debris was quickly cleared. The race cooled down when green flag conditions resumed, with a stalemate in the top positions. Ricciardo pitted first, then Verstappen. Red Bull had a slow stop due to a tyre changing issue, which dropped Verstappen down to P10. Norris pitted next with Hamilton following suit the next lap. The defending champ rejoined the race slightly ahead of Verstappen. The Dutchman braked very late into turn 1, trying to make a move around the outside of Hamilton. The space closed up for the second part of the chicane and the Red Bull jumped into the air over the kerbs, clattering over Hamilton’s Mercedes. Both cars came to a rest in the gravel and despite Hamilton’s best efforts neither driver was able to continue. The safety car was deployed, which gave Charles Leclerc in P2 and Sergio Perez in P4 free pit stops. Ricciardo drove away with the team’s first 1-2 finish since 2010, as Bottas made a fantastic recovery drive from the back of the grid to get a podium finish. Click here to read a full report of the race.
After the race, the stewards looked into the collision between the two championship leaders. While Verstappen claimed that Hamilton forced him wide, the stewards disagreed, awarding him a three-place grid penalty for the Russian Grand Prix. A statement from the stewards explains that it was not Verstappen’s corner because he was never alongside Hamilton and that the move was made too late into the corner. This will surely be a topic of heated debate among fans in the weeks to come.
The Italian Grand Prix concludes F1’s triple header. The teams and drivers will now get a breather before heading off to Russia for a race in Sochi at the site of the 2014 Winter Olympics. That race will be on the weekend of September 26.
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.
