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F1 Daily round-up: Track limits, slower pit stops & Hamilton contract talks

F1 Daily round-up: Track limits, slower pit stops & Hamilton contract talks

25-06-2021 01:00
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The 2021 Styrian Grand Prix weekend is on the horizon. The teams and drivers have all arrived at the circuit and the usual press conferences are complete with some interesting storylines to take us through the weekend. Here is your GPBlog Daily Round-up, covering the most important stories of the day in case you missed it. 

Track limits

At the Red Bull Ring some minor adjustments have been made. For example, there are no longer any yellow kerbs at the exit of Turn 6. Race director Michael Masi expects no problems with track limits in Austria.

In Austria, it will not be a problem according to Masi, who reveals that Turn 6 has been modified: "At Turn 6 on the exit we've actually narrowed the kerb right up there and brought the gravel trap closer to the edge of the circuit," he said.  A large part of the old kerbstones has been removed. Click here to read the full story. 

Slowing down pit stops

With the aim of improving driver and mechanic safety, the FIA will change the rules governing pit stops in motorsport's premier class from the Hungarian Grand Prix. As revealed in a new technical update to Formula 1's regulatory body, minimum reaction times that can significantly delay a stop will be introduced.

Pit stops in Formula 1 will look different from August onwards. To minimise the risk of tyres not being fastened properly each action of the mechanics must take at least 0.15 seconds. If an engineer is too fast, they will have to wait until a green light gives the signal. It is estimated that with the introduction of these new rules, pit stops will last between 0.2 and 0.3 seconds longer. Click here to read the full story. 

Ricciardo looks back

As former teammates at Red Bull Racing, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen have experienced a lot on the Austrian team's home circuit. Red Bull has a reputation for letting their drivers do all sorts of things. Speaking at the press conference ahead of next weekend's Styrian Grand Prix, Ricciardo looked back at some of those moments he experienced with Verstappen in Austria. "We drove around as co-drivers in drift cars and I had to put on countless lederhosen," he said. Click here for the full story. 

Hamilton contract

Earlier this year Lewis Hamilton signed a contract for only one year with Mercedes and so the seven-time world champion and his team Mercedes will have to renegotiate for next season. Hamilton confirmed during the press conference that talks were underway. "We have indeed started the talks for next year, but other than that I can't say too much about it yet. I can only confirm that the talks have started and that the signals are positive so far."

That Hamilton will drive for Mercedes next year seems as good as certain. Who his teammate will be is a lot less clear. George Russell is frequently mentioned as the replacement for Valtteri Bottas, but Hamilton sees no reason to replace Bottas. "Valtteri is my teammate at the moment. We've both had ups and downs in our careers, but he's a fantastic teammate. I don't immediately see why anything should change." Click here to read the full story. 

Red Bull gives you oil

In the year Honda say goodbye to Formula 1, they have delivered their best ever powerplant. It's being worked on down to the smallest detail: the engine oil is also important, for example, and both Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri have recently received an upgrade, which is proving to work well for both teams. Red Bull Racing has driven the past two Grand Prix with an improved version of the ExxonMobil oil the team uses. For this new formulation, the oil manufacturer used new components, which it started experimenting with eight years ago. Click here for the full story.