 There has been so much anticipation awaiting the news of weather the Back to Back races at Silverstone would happen due to the Governments rules for the 2 week quarantine period.
Great Britain will be introducing the 14 day quarantine period for travellers coming in to the country on the 8th June. However the government have made the Formula 1 teams exempt from this meaning that we should get "Lights Out" action at the British GP double header. Dates are set to be confirmed in the coming days, although it looks likely that they will be the 4th and 5th events likely to happen behind closed doors. An F1 spokesperson said: "We welcome the government's efforts to ensure elite sport can continue to operate and their support for our return to racing. "We will maintain a close dialogue with them in the coming weeks as we prepare to start our season in the first week of July." Teams must submit details of their movements and whereabouts to the government for approval. So there is a strong chance that this race will go ahead now which I was jumping for joy when this news came along. Obviously there is speculation about how the atmosphere would be like with these "Ghost" races but honestly, I think we are all thinking it, better that its back on the TV where we can enjoy it all in its glory once again.
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 An announcement has been made this morning by the Williams F1 team to say that effective imeditly they have droped their official sponsor RoKit. They said:
“The 2020 Formula 1 season has, of course, been disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this will have an impact on our commercial rights income this year. The Team have also served notice to terminate its relationship with its title partner, ROKiT, and major sponsor, ROK Drinks. In common with many other businesses, we have taken extensive action to mitigate, including a prolonged furlough period for much of our staff. As this awful global crisis recedes, everyone at Williams Racing is looking forward to the start of the new season.” Due to their recent results finishing last in the constructors championship for several years, and a loss in 2019 of reportedly £13million as apposed to a profit of £16Million the previous year, Williams are now looking at alternative measures to continue on racing or and not limited to selling the business as a whole. They continued "As part of this new strategic direction, the WGPH board is undertaking a review of all the various strategic options available to the Company. Options being considered include, but are not limited to, raising new capital for the business, a divestment of a minority stake in WGPH, or a divestment of a majority stake in WGPH including a potential sale of the whole Company. Whilst no decisions have been made regarding the optimal outcome yet, to facilitate discussions with interested parties, the Company announces the commencement of a "formal sale process" These are particularly hard times for everyone right now but it would be a great shame if we didn't see one of the oldest teams return back to the sport following these challenging times. It is encouraging though as they went on to say that they are talking with several parties with regards to investment into the company. "The Company is not in receipt of any approaches at the time of this announcement and confirms that it is in preliminary discussions with a small number of parties regarding a potential investment in the Company. There can be no certainty that an offer will be made, nor as to the terms on which any offer will be made. The WGPH board reserves the right to alter or terminate the process at any time and if it does so it will make an announcement as appropriate. The WGPH board also reserves the right to reject any approach or terminate discussions with any interested party at any time. Following this announcement, the Company is now considered to be in an “offer period” as defined in the Takeover Code, and the dealing disclosure requirements summarised below will apply. Further announcements regarding timings and procedures for the formal sale process will be made as appropriate. While the Company has faced a number of challenges, Williams currently remains funded and ready to resume racing when the calendar allows in 2020. The WGPH board believes that the strategic review and formal sale process is the right and prudent thing to do in order to take time to consider a full range of options and put the Formula 1 team in the best possible position for the future."  Yesterday the FIA released a statement that the World Motor Sport Council voted by evote on further changes to the 2020, 2021 and 2022 Formula 1 World Championship Regulations.
Primarily these changes have come into place to reduce costs and safeguard the sport in light of the COVID 19 pandemic. The initial agreement to postpone the technical regulations for the 2021 championship to 2022 to give teams sufficient time to implement the measures the following additional measures will be now put in to place and have unanimous support from Formula 1 teams. Technical Regulations:
Sporting Regulations:
2021 Financial Regulations:
 Its been a tough few months for everyone during this pandemic and we have missed the Formula 1 season although weve been pretty entertained watching the E Sports races.
As a result of this we have decided to Give Away Charles Leclerc 1/2 scale helmet which we purchased from F1 Authentics with its official display case. To enter into this prize draw all you have to do is like our Facebook Page F1 Journal https://www.facebook.com/F1Journal1 . Should you wish to increase your chances of winning then after you have liked our Facebook Page, share the Prize giveaway post with all your friends on Facebook. That's it. How easy is that. We will announce the winner on the 14th June. The winner will be selected at random. All we ask is that once the winner has received The Helmet, is that you take a picture of you with your new prized possession and post it on Twitter tagging us in it. We wish you all, the best of luck!  Jenson Button have recently given their thoughts on Sebastian Vettel after speaking with Sky Sports F1 News.
When Speaking with Simon Lazenby, Button was asked his thoughts on whether Vettel walked or was he pushed from the team. He went on to say; "If he was pushed, for me it's madness, He showed his speed last year. He had a tough moment in the season when Charles was performing really well and that hurt him a bit mentally. But he came back strong ... he's somebody you'd definitely choose to put in your car if you had an F1 team. "There must be more to it. I don't know if Ferrari are going down the route of not wanting two number one drivers or what but it's a really strange choice for me and I'm still shocked that Sebastian won't be in a red car." Craig Slater of Sky Sports News also reiterated that Sebastien wasn't offered a new deal to stay but at the start of the year Vettel was Ferrari's number 1 choice during season testing. But then Covid 19 hit us and the season was delayed. Normally it would be strange for a team to make these changes without the drivers actually racing and seeing their progression over the season . But Mattia Binotto has then released a statement since the signing of Sainz that they were pleased with their choice in selecting Carlos.  Sky Sports News's Craig Slater revealed that there should be a statement coming soon from the powers that be with a clearer idea of the start of the season, behind closed doors.
 Zac Brown recently said that they had talks with Daniel Ricciardo last time round when his contract was up for review with Red Bull.
Ricciardo, at the time, believed that moving to Renault was going to be the better option for him as McLaren were coming out of a bad season where in 2018 the group had only scored 62 points in the construtors championship putting them 6th. Where as Renault placed 4th with 122 points. In 2019 McLaren turned things around especially with landing the Mercedes engine and other sponsorship deals they managed to finish 4th with 145 points to Renaults 91 points. Zac Brown told Sky Sports: "Getting a grand prix winner like Daniel definitely is a sign we've going in the right direction, He believes in that. We went after him a couple of years ago before he made the decision not to join us. I've talked to him about it since and he went 'you were coming off a pretty poor season' - which was putting it politely - 'but also there was a lot of this is what we're going to do to rebuild the team'. "I hadn't brought in yet Andreas Seidl or James Key or restructured the leadership team. So there were a lot of promises and, coming off such a bad season, I could see how he would go 'oh, let's see how this plays out'." But, two years on, Brown says: "He likes how it's played out, I've liked how it's played out. He's seen the changes we've made, the leadership Andreas has brought, the backing we have from our shareholders, going to the Mercedes engine, we're a team on the move and I think he's going to help get us to the next level." We here at F1 Journal cant wait for this season to start but are looking forward to seeing what McLaren and Ricciardo can do next year.  News broke earlier this week of Vettel and Ferrari parting ways. It has now been revealed that this actually cost Formula 1 $90 Million Dollars.
According to Formula Money, the Company who covers the business of F1 shared the news that the company's Shares had dropped 4.5% because of Vettel's news. It then rose again by 3.1% down to Sainz move to Ferrari being released 48 hours later. Meaning that in total they lost $90 Million Dollars. This all boils down to when Liberty Media took over the Business they floated it on the stock market. It was a big risk as Formula Money said "should have never been floated because it is influenced by too many external Factors", one of which we are seeing now. They went on to say in their tweet: "We Tweeted yesterday that #F1 should have never been floated because it is influenced by too many external factors. Here's more proof: Vettel leaves Ferrari: $FWONK -4.5% Sainz joins Ferrari: $FWONK +3.1% Both prices from the same time. That's a net loss of 1.4% or $90 MILLION..." Every business posses a risk when they float the company on the stock market but WOW that's a big hit to take!  Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow have confirmed that Carlos Sainz will be replacing Sebastien Vettel for the 2021 season.
News breaks half hour after Daniel Ricciardo's move to McLaren. Mattia Binotto, Managing Director Gestione Sportiva and Team Principal I’m pleased to announce that Carlos will join Scuderia Ferrari as from the 2021 championship. With five seasons already behind him, Carlos has proved to be very talented and has shown that he has the technical ability and the right attributes to make him an ideal fit with our family. “We’ve embarked on a new cycle with the aim of getting back to the top in Formula 1. It will be a long journey, not without its difficulties, especially given the current financial and regulatory situation, which is undergoing a sudden change and will require this challenge to be tackled in a different way to the recent past. We believe that a driver pairing with the talent and personality of Charles and Carlos, the youngest in the past fifty years of the Scuderia, will be the best possible combination to help us reach the goals we have set ourselves. Carlos Sainz #55 I am very happy that I will be driving for Scuderia Ferrari in 2021 and I'm excited about my future with the team. I still have an important year ahead with McLaren Racing and I’m really looking forward to going racing again with them this season.  It has now been confirmed as of 10am BST that McLaren have signed Daniel Ricciardo as their replacement driver for the 2021 season to partner alongside Lando Norris.
Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, commented: “Signing Daniel is another step forward in our long-term plan and will bring an exciting new dimension to the team, alongside Lando. This is good news for our team, partners and of course our fans. “I also want to pay tribute to Carlos for the excellent job he has been doing for McLaren in helping our performance recovery plan. He is a real team player and we wish him well for his future beyond McLaren.” Andreas Seidl, Team Principal, McLaren F1, commented: “Daniel is a proven race-winner and his experience, commitment and energy will be a valuable addition to McLaren and our mission to return to the front of the field. With Daniel and Lando as teammates, I believe we have two racers who will continue to excite our fans and help the team grow. “Carlos is a true professional, a pleasure to work with and we will continue to enjoy going racing with him this year. We all wish him good luck for the next stage in his career when he leaves McLaren.” This now cements the position that the Carlos Sainz rumours move to Ferrari are even more likely. Will this now open the door again for Nico Hulkenberg to make his comeback to Formula 1 via his old team Renault? Renault DP World F1's Managing Director released a statement this morning as well to say, Cyril Abiteboul: “In our sport, and particularly within the current extraordinary situation, reciprocated confidence, unity and commitment are, more than ever, critical values for a works team. I am confident that the 2020 season will allow us to accomplish even more together. Our ambitions and the strategy of Renault DP World F1 Team remain unchanged.” |
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