Formula 1 Live Ticker: Mercedes not abandoning car concept

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That’s what we’re doing now – but of course, due to the early hour, only with a non-alcoholic cocktail 😉 Because for today, the ticker is already saying goodbye, but tomorrow my colleague Ruben Zimmermann will be back for you as usual.

Norman Fischer wishes you a pleasant rest of the day – ciao!

As the only engine manufacturer in Formula 1, Renault has no customer teams. Alpine is the only racing team that will use their engines in 2022, after McLaren switched to Mercedes in 2021. This can, of course, be a disadvantage, which is why Renault is looking for a partner.

“It’s always good to have a customer team,” says engine boss Bruno Famin. “For Alpine as a team, it’s always good to have a benchmark to compare yourself against. The more kilometers we cover, for example, in pre-season testing, the more information we have.”

A switch of a current team to Renault engines is not in sight for next year, but Andretti, who would like to enter Formula 1 in 2024, is said to have already made contact. However, Andretti has not yet received a commitment from Formula 1.

Does Red Bull have the more helpful number 2 in the title fight with Ferrari? At least Gerhard Berger is of this opinion when he compares the supposed number 2 drivers Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz.

According to the Austrian, Perez has made “a huge step forward,” but still clearly ranks behind leader Max Verstappen. “That means he is truly a perfect number 2 for Max,” Berger says on ‘ServusTV’.

At Ferrari, however, he doesn’t see Sainz letting himself be pushed into the second row, even if the races in Melbourne and Imola went wrong. “I don’t think Ferrari can now tell Sainz: ‘Look, back Charles up.'” Berger: “They will, of course, eventually take points away from each other. That could play very well into Red Bull’s hands.”

Formula 1 sporting director Ross Brawn announces a solution to the problems with the budget cap. This year it fell from 145 to 140 million US dollars, but strong inflation has meant that teams have to save even more. Therefore, some have called for an adjustment.

“I think the increase in inflation needs to be reviewed,” says Brawn. “Because when these rules were developed, inflation was relatively low and predictable, and now it’s high and unpredictable.”

“And if you look at the inflation rates that apply to industrial companies, such as a Formula 1 team, you have energy, raw materials, and all the things that are proving to be quite expensive at the moment. So I believe there will be a solution for that.”

We wish Daniil Kvyat a very happy birthday. The Russian turns 28 today. In Formula 1, he competed in a total of 110 races for Red Bull and Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri from 2013 to 2020.

Last year he was a reserve driver for Alpine, in 2022 he was supposed to compete in the World Endurance Championship before the FIA banned Russian drivers.

Today and tomorrow, four teams are once again in action in Imola, conducting a tyre test for Pirelli. Alfa Romeo has confirmed that Guanyu Zhou and test driver Robert Kubica will be in the car, while at AlphaTauri it will be the two regular drivers Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda.

Alpine will drive with Esteban Ocon today, Ferrari will take to the track tomorrow.

Also on the agenda is the increase in sprint races for next year from three to six. Sporting director Ross Brawn had already hinted at this over the weekend.

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto would welcome this step: “We at Ferrari believe that in the future there will be good opportunities and better chances for the show and for revenue,” says the Italian.

However, after the first four sprints, there is still room for improvement. There will also be discussions about how the format can be changed further: “I think there are some ideas and even more than just some ideas, but that will be discussed on Tuesday. And then we will see what comes out of it,” says Binotto.

Today, the Formula 1 Commission meets. The really big topics are not on the agenda. Probably the most important topic is the progress of the new power unit regulations for 2026. Here, the Volkswagen Group is putting pressure. The announcement by Porsche (presumably with Red Bull) and Audi (still looking for a partner) to enter from 2026 is also part of the discussions: “We will be informed about how things look with the new friends,” reveals Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.

In addition, Formula 1 will present its plans for the 2023 race calendar to the teams and other commission members for the first time. There could also be news regarding the replacement date for Russia 2022. And a financial review is also planned, to determine how high the revenues for 2021 actually were according to the final balance sheet. This is important information for the teams, who, as is well known, participate in these revenues.

Read more Formula 1 Live Ticker: Date for Sebastian Vettel’s hearing is set!

Lewis Hamilton being lapped by Max Verstappen in Imola really hurt Mercedes. Appropriately, the world broadcast also showed the two team principals Christian Horner and Toto Wolff, who fiercely battled for the world championship last year.

Wolff is aware that this scene will probably be shown in the next Netflix season. “At the end of the day, as the person responsible for this team, I also have to take the hit for us not performing at the moment. That’s part of it at the end of the day,” he says.

“We won eight consecutive world championship titles, we got off to an extremely bad start this year, and that also includes saying: Fact. You get written up and you get written down. That’s part of it too. That’s how the business is.”

And here is the corresponding photo gallery with the ten drivers with the most Formula 1 starts without points.

Photo Gallery: Top 10: Formula 1 drivers with the most starts without points

If Mick Schumacher were to remain point-less for the entire season, he would already be in second place on the list. However, the Haas driver cannot become number 1 in 2022, as that spot is held by long-time Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer, who competed in 50 races in Formula 1 and never scored a point.

A negative point for the Italian was probably his comeback at Ferrari in 2009, when he was allowed to step in for the injured Felipe Massa and drove hopelessly behind, before having to vacate the cockpit again after two races.

By the way, Charles Pic and Max Chilton are in second and third place.

Mick Schumacher has been in the Top 10 since Imola – but this is not a Top 10 the German would like to belong to. It’s about the drivers with the most Formula 1 starts without ever having scored points. Imola was Schumacher’s 25. race, which put him in tenth place in this ranking.

The Haas driver urgently needs points – not only to get out of the Top 10, but also so that his Formula 1 career doesn’t stall.

Thanks to our reader Josefine, who brought this statistic to our attention!

But while Lewis Hamilton is struggling, teammate George Russell seems to be coping quite well. The Brit has managed to finish in the top 5 in every race so far and clearly had the seven-time world champion under control in Imola.

“I think in terms of results, we’re getting the most out of the car, and in the first four races, things have definitely gone our way,” he says. “That gives me, and certainly the team, confidence that we can score even more points as the car improves.”

But he also knows that such results are not a given: “As I said before this weekend, we cannot maintain these results if we are as fast as we are now.”

The Imola winner is also the winner in our traditional grading. Max Verstappen breaks the previous dominance of Charles Leclerc, who had won the first three races. This time, the Monegasque only finished outside the points. Lewis Hamilton and Mick Schumacher, however, received poor grades.

You can also see how the editorial team justified their grades here in the photo gallery.

Photo Gallery: Imola: The editorial team’s driver ratings

Day two after Imola, and we delve further into the events of Emilia-Romagna, but also address things that still lie ahead. We have a varied program for you again, to which Norman Fischer warmly welcomes you this Tuesday.

Do you have questions or comments? Then use the contact form or the hashtag #AskMST on Twitter (even under Elon Musk).

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