GP Racing UK February 2021

The 2021 Australian and Chinese Grands Prix had recently been postponed as this issue of GP Racing closed for press. With everything else going on amid this latest wave of the global coronavirus pandemic, it’s easy to feel like history is simply repeating itself and we’re running nowhere fast – like hamsters on a wheel. But I want to forgo the negativity and focus on reasons for F1 fans to feel cheerful heading into 2021. Firstly, we know F1 has a credible protocol for keeping its show on the road. As our business expert Mark Gallagher explains (page 30), F1 has gone to extraordinary lengths to mitigate the threat COVID-19 poses to its operations. Coronavirus has taken a severe toll, and whether F1 can withstand mutations and variants remains to be seen,…

ANDREW BENSON The tricky question of what exactly makes the best F1 drivers stand out gets the attention of BBC Sport's chief F1 writer this month (p40) STEVEN TEE Steve is the man in charge of LAT's intrepid snappers and his and his team's best images from 2020 can be found on pages 86 to 99 MARK GALLAGHER Mark tries to explain the financial implications of the COVID-19-ravaged 2020 season and how F1 and the teams have coped with them (p30) ROBERTO CHINCHERO Roberto analyses what Ferrari got wrong in 2020 and the measures the Scuderia is taking fix those issues for the upcoming season (p54)…

Before Checo checks out We’re always on the hunt for new angles on established venues and sometimes ideas just come up through casual conversations. In this case, Sergio Pérez’s manager was telling me what a great view he had from his hotel room. While still obeying the biosphere protocols I was able to shoot from his balcony, with a variable-density drop-in ND (neutral density) filter in the adaptor I use to fit my older EF lens onto Canon’s new R5 mirrorless camera body. With this you reduce the amount of light hitting the sensor, enabling you to run a slower shutter speed and achieve motion blur, even on a wide-angle lens. Where Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi When 3.39pm, Saturday 12 December 2020 Details Canon EOS R5 12-24mm lens, 1/4 @ F7.1 When Schu takes a view Naturally…

01 PÉREZ REPLACES ALBON Can Red Bull now challenge Mercedes for titles? 02 COVID CHAOS DISRUPTS CALENDAR New season, old problems for promoters 03 MERC SPONSOR BUYS IN WILL PÉREZ BE RED BULL’S MISSING LINK? PÉREZ IS NOW AMONG THE MOST PROFICIENT IN THE VITAL SKILL OF MANAGING PIRELLI’S DELICATE RUBBER, A PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTIC WHICH IS NOT LIKELY TO CHANGE THIS YEAR 01 Red Bull now has the last two grand prix winners of 2020 on its books, having hired Sergio Pérez to replace Alex Albon, who will instead race a Red Bull-backed Ferrari in the DTM. It will be the first time Red Bull Racing has looked outside its young driver programme for a new recruit since Mark Webber joined from Williams in 2007. The likelihood is that Pérez represents a stopgap solution to Red…

Q1 Valtteri Bottas has started from pole 16 times in his F1 career, but which is the only circuit at which he has done so on three occasions? Q2 What was the type number of the last McLaren to win an F1 race and who was driving it? Q3 True or false: the last driver before Sergio Pérez to claim his maiden F1 win when over the age of 30 was Nigel Mansell in 1985? Q4 Who is the only driver to win two F1 GPs at Zolder? Q5 Who won more races for Ferrari: Sebastian Vettel or Fernando Alonso? Q6 How many times has an F1 season finished later than it did in 2020: one, twice, or three times? Q7 Of the drivers that led at least one lap in 2020 five won at least…

THE HEADY MIX OF ENTERTAIMENT AND SPORT The worlds of entertainment and sport are distinctly separate and yet the element of entertainment within sport is often what puts a smile on faces. In recent years, there’s been a rise to that element within Formula 1, created by a superb mix of people. In 2016 Jay Hunt, then boss of Channel 4, took control of terrestrial F1 coverage in the UK and wanted to make a distinct change to the way it was delivered on screen. While I kept my role as commentator, a new frontman was announced. Steve Jones had been a successful TV presenter in the world of entertainment for some years when he received a call from Hunt: “She asked me if I liked F1 and I said, ‘Yes, I love…