The Red Bulletin F1 Daily UK 04/21

SUNDAY, 4 JULY, 2021

AN ALMOST INDEPENDENT F1 NEWSPAPER

MAX VERSTAPPEN’S

INNER CIRCLE

02 Gallery F1 Red Bull Ring

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4 July, 2021 The Red Bulletin

A dampener for the world champions: Lewis Hamilton starts today from only fourth place, his teammate Bottas is fifth.

N O I T A R B E L A CE

IN SPIELBERG Wonderful scenes in Styria: tens of thousands of fans, the majority in orange, were able to attend the party we’ve all been waiting for during the qualifying for the Austrian GP. In front of this splendid backdrop, the drivers were beating each other to record laps, much to the pleasure of relishing spectators. This is what racing should be like!

For the Verstappen fans, who visually dominated the grandstands, yesterday went exactly in their favour: pole position, Sergio Pérez backing him up, and the two Mercedes in the rear-view mirror.

Everything is set for a super Sunday!

Contract extension in Spielberg: Lewis Hamilton will remain in F1 with Mercedes for another two years.

The Red Bulletin 4 July, 2021

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F1 Red Bull Ring Gallery 03

Sergio Pérez tackles the Austrian GP from right behind Max in the second row.

First job for tomorrow: catch Norris on the way to turn 1!

Out in Q1: both Haas, Latifi in the Williams, Kimi in the Alfa and Alpine’s Ocon (not in the picture). George Russell takes 9th place on the grid.

Superstar in a parallel universe: mountain bike legend Fabio Wibmer was caught enjoying some top reading material in the paddock.

GETTY IMAGES, PICTUREDESK.COM, GETTY IMAGES/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

WERNER JESSNER

Dr Marko and the Honda engineers summon the horsepower spirits before qualifying – successfully. All four Honda cars make it into Q3!

Confident pole-setter and favourite for a fourth victory at the Red Bull Ring: Max Verstappen is clearly the man to beat today.

04 Gallery F1 Red Bull Ring

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4 July, 2021 The Red Bulletin

Honour to whom honour is due: Mick Schumacher was once again in complete control of his Haas teammate Mazepin.

After the accident in round 1 last weekend, Pierre Gasly wants to show what the AlphaTauri is capable of. Starting sixth on the grid, his chances are good.

Early exit: Alpine driver Ocon. After a misunderstanding with Vettel, teammate Alonso didn’t have much to gain either: P14 for the veteran driver.

Honda power dominates at the Red Bull Ring: “slowest” was Yuki Tsunoda (his command post in the pits pictured) in 7th place!

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WERNER JESSNER

Life under the big bull at last: tens of thousands of Dutch fans turned Spielberg into a place that felt like it was right behind the dam.

06 Bullhorn F1 Red Bull Ring

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4 July, 2021 The Red Bulletin

VICTORY IS VIRTUAL: ALEX ALBON

F1 championships are won in the simulator as much as on track, as Red Bull Racing’s Test and Reserve drive explains

I

t’s an old, and very true, saying that a Formula 1 season is a marathon and not a sprint, and with 23 races scheduled for 2021 this year’s championship definitely qualifies for the former category. The relentless nature of such a campaign means that championship victory is not just about making the most of the machinery you’ve got in hand, it’s also about bringing the most performance to your car across the course of the season – maintaining a competitive edge over your rivals by making sure the car is absolutely optimised for every part of the race weekend and testing and bringing upgrades that make your car faster. And as Red Bull Racing’s Test and Reserve Driver this year, that’s my job.

As Reserve, I’m obviously at each race in case I need to step in but in terms of getting the maximum out of the car across the weekend, my work starts before I even head to a racetrack, in the team’s simulator at its Milton Keynes factory.

There, I’m going through the set-up of Max’s car and Sergio’s car, driving what they have, seeing where the limitations are and trying to fix them.

We’re ready to go just as they’re finishing FP1.

We’ll listen to the drivers’ comments and correlate the sim to the data we get back from the circuit. I’ll run set-ups after set-up, trying to give them what they want for the rest of the weekend.

The work continues after second practice and by the time we finish we’ve hopefully dialled in the cars for FP3 and qualifying. After we finish all that work I’ll head to the track, flying late on Friday night or early on Saturday morning. Once I’m at the circuit I’ll continue speaking with the drivers, getting their feedback trying to relate it to what I’ve seen in the simulator and between the two we’ll hopefully arrive at final set-up tweaks.

It isn’t just the drivers I speak to, however. Engineers can look at GPS data and get a good picture of why one car’s quicker than the next, but I think having a driver’s eye view adds another layer of value to all of that data. Adrian Newey, in particular, is always really interested in that feedback.

Right now, I feel like I’m in the best position of anyone in the paddock in terms of the perspective I can give. This year’s car is very much an evolution of last year’s, so I know what the car feels like on track, as I have recent experience of racing it. Max and Sergio trust my feedback and the team are confident in my ability to provide good information.

IMPRINT Editor-in-Chief Alexander Müller-Macheck Deputy Editors-in-Chief Justin Hynes, Werner Jessner Creative Director Erik Turek Art Directors Marion Bernert-Thomann, Miles English, Kasimir Reimann Head of Photography Eva Kerschbaum Production Editor Marion Lukas-Wildmann Managing Editor Ulrich Corazza Graphic Design Martina de ­C arvalho-Hutter, Kevin Goll General Manager & Publisher Andreas Kornhofer Managing Director Stefan Ebner Head of Media Sales & Partnerships Lukas Scharmbacher Project Management Bernhard Schmied, Sara Varming, Anna-Lucia Wilczek Executive Creative Director Markus Kietreiber Head of Production Veronika Felder Production Friedrich Indich, Walter O. Sádaba, Sabine Wessig Reproduction Clemens Ragotzky (Ltg.), Josef Mühlbacher Sub Editor Hans Fleissner (Ltg.), Petra Hannert, Paul Keith Printer 1a druck Judenburg, Aichfelder Druck Ges.m.b.H., A-8750 Judenburg Editorial office Heinrich-Collin-Straße 1, A-1140 Wien Tel +43 1 90221-0 Web redbulletin.com Publisher Red Bull Media House GmbH, Oberst-Lepperdinger-Straße 11–15, A-5071 Wals bei Salzburg, FN 297115i, Landesgericht Salzburg, ATU63611700 Chief Executive Officers Dkfm. Dietrich Mateschitz, Dietmar Otti, Christopher Reindl, Marcus Weber

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ALEX ALBON

I’m often asked if it’s a bit dull working in the sim. Well, I would say that if anyone can do a quicker lap around Barcelona on that simulator than me, then I take my hat off to them! I must have done a million laps around there.

And while of course I’d much rather be racing it certainly isn’t boring, In fact, it’s pretty full-on. For instance, for Monaco this year I was in the sim from Monday to Friday before I flew to the track. For the first two practice sessions I started at 9am and finished at 10pm.

It is intense and I’m also dovetailing it with my own season of racing in DTM, which is totally new for me, but I’m really enjoying that challenge. Switching from single seaters to what you might call the GT world is a big step, so it has taken a bit of time. Ultimately, though, it’s a steering wheel and pedals and that’s your bread and butter. I feel like I got up to speed with it pretty quickly and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.

I’m also determined to help Red Bull Racing to the top step of the podium in Formula 1. More than anything F1 is a team sport, though it’s played by a squad of 800 people, at the track, at the factory and in the simulator. And if what I’m doing helps to deliver the biggest prize – the Constructors’ Championship, then I’ll be enormously proud of the achievement. We’ll have not only won the sprints every couple of weeks, we’ll have stayed on top of the development war and won the F1 marathon.

DALE EDWIN MURRAY(COVER), YANN LEGENDRE

‘I feel like I’m in the best position of anyone in the paddock in terms of the perspective I can give’

The Red Bulletin 4 July, 2021

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BECAUSE YOU’RE WORTH IT… After introducing a cost cap for teams, F1 is toying with the idea of limiting driver salaries.

Are they mad? How can anyone live on less than $25 million a year? The day is coming though, so the Bulletin is here to help with a list of ultra-luxe, one-of-a-kind items that should be on every driver’s shopping list before poverty bites.

A bigger motorhome… much bigger

SHUTTERSTOCK

MATT YOUSON/JUSTIN HYNES

F1 travels to some amazing places… none of which you see because you’ve fully embraced the driver trend of bringing a motorhome to the track. After all, nothing says privilege and glamour more than setting up home alongside your reality-shy peers in a litter-filled car park next to a row of Portaloos. There’s only one problem – your team-mate’s superyacht-on-wheels is bigger and better than yours. Time to up your game. You’re going to need a steam room, a wine cave you’ll never use, a library full of books you’ll never read, and surely they could fit a lap pool somewhere?

F1 Red Bull Ring Splash the cash 07

Minstrels This is a bit embarrassing but you’re always hearing about people singing your praises, yet no one actually does it within earshot. So open that wallet and spend your way out of the situation by hiring your own soundtrack band. From here on, you’re going to walk into the paddock to the strains of your own theme tune as your personal minstrels declaim your greatness. It doesn’t have to be vulgar, just a woodwind section, a couple of lutes, and a drum. Hmm… Would a brightlyclad squire scattering rose petals ahead of you be too ostentatious? Of course not.

A bigger watch Your current watch is a jewel-encrusted behemoth that diverts magnetic north and is so heavy you’ve developed the shambling gait of a drunken sailor from wearing it but… it could be bigger. A couple of other drivers have got watches the size of a wagon wheel, with more ornamental metalwork than the Palace of Versailles. And just the thought of that brings you out in a cold sweat. Gotta get a bigger one: more complications, more jewels, a crown the size of your head. You’re in luck, as the one thing F1 teams seem to have unlimited access to is reclusive Swiss horologists who make one-of-a-kind timepieces fashioned from billets of pure unobtanium and unicorn horn. It might even tell the time.

Your own race team Your years in elite motorsport have been good to you and it’s important to give something back. And what you mostly want to give back is all the crap you had to put up with as a junior driver. The best way to do that is to set-up your own team.

Doesn’t matter what it is: F4, eSports, that weird thing where everybody gets a free cruise to somewhere remote, whatever.

Just set it up, hire a bunch of wideeyed karters, give them t-shirts and a contract that just about stays on the right side of anti-slavery guidelines, then sit back and watch the sponsorship dollars roll in. Salary cap! Pah, let the good times roll!

08 Team Talk F1 Red Bull Ring

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4 July, 2021 The Red Bulletin

The Red Bulletin 4 July, 2021

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F1 Red Bull Ring Team Talk 09

THE INNER CIRCLE Incredible natural speed and sublime race craft have taken MAX VERSTAPPEN to the top in Formula 1, but to become a genuine title contender requires a whole lot more – from family to fitness and from engineering smarts to the wisdom of trusted advisors, meet Max’s support crew…

Words JUSTIN HYNES

GETTY IMAGES

DALE EDWIN MURRAY

Father: JOS VERSTAPPEN

From the moment Jos Verstappen put his son Max Emilian on a quad bike at the age of two-and-half and behind the wheel of a go-kart at the age of four the former F1 driver has been both tutor and mentor. “I remember after a few laps he went around the entire track flat out. I immediately went and bought a bigger kart,” he told Max’s website last year.

From covering hundreds of thousands of kilometres in a van across a decade of European karting to jumping to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship at the age of 16, to becoming F1’s youngest starter at 17 and youngest winner at age 18, Jos has been there every step of the way.

As Max has matured, Jos has been less front and centre but the Red Bull driver still seeks his dad’s advice.

“We still talk about everything in terms of what I am doing throughout the weekend set-up wise and stuff,” says Max. “But I know more and more myself, so our relationship is pretty relaxed now. We still discuss a lot and I really enjoy it. It’s great to have your dad around, especially when he did it himself and understands racing.”

Partner: KELLY PIQUET

After Max’s victory in Monaco in May, Dr Helmut Marko told Autosport that the Dutchman had “reached a different level of maturity”. A significant element in that process, though one that isn’t often widely

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credited, is Verstappen’s settled personal life with Kelly Piquet, the daughter of three-time F1 champion Nelson. Verstappen embarked on the relationship with the 32-year-old exgirlfriend of former F1 rival Daniil Kvyat in 2020 and first went public on their attachment with a New Year’s Instagram post hoping that his followers “find success love and happiness, just as I found mine”. Kelly was among the first to congratulate Max on his Monaco win, rushing into parc fermé to embrace the Red Bull driver as he celebrated victory.

4 July, 2021 The Red Bulletin

Race Engineer: GIANPIERO LAMBIASE

Schooled at the Jordan, Midland/ Spyker, Force India squad British race engineer Gianpiero guided the on-track efforts of drivers as diverse as Vitantonio Liuzzi, Paul Di Resta and also this year’s new Red Bull Recruit Sergio Pérez in his time with the Silverstone outfit. He left Force India for Red Bull Racing in 2015 and was initially partnered with Daniil Kvyat.

But when the Russian was replaced ahead of the 2016 Spanish Grand Lambiase found himself working with a supremely confident and talented 18-year-old – Max Verstappen.

The relationship got off to a winning start in Barcelona where, at the first time of asking with Red Bull Racing, Verstappen became F1’s youngest ever winner. It’s been a match made in heaven ever since.

“We’re pretty straightforward with each other,” says Max. “Sometimes it can sound like we are pissed off at each other on the radio but I’m not pissed off with him, it’s the situation we are in on the track and you try to make it better. Even after the race, maybe people think we have to apologise to each other but it’s not like that at all. It’s a good relationship and I really enjoy working with him. We want to win and we both want the best result. We are always on top of each other and we push each other forward.

We keep each other sharp to try to get a better result.”

Max Verstappen’s rise to the top has been aided by the support of a small group of key confidantes and trusted advisors.

MOTORSPORT IMAGES, FORMULA 1/ADRIAN GREEN,

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The Red Bulletin 4 July, 2021

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F1 Red Bull Ring Team Talk 11

Performance Engineer: TOM HART

GETTY IMAGES/RED BULL RACING, GETTY IMAGES, KONSTANTIN REYER

What’s the difference between a Race and a Performance Engineer?

The Race Engineer is responsible for the overview of his or her driver’s whole weekend, looking at the big picture of run plans, working with the strategists and decision-making on the pit wall during the race, while the Performance Engineer is there to sift through the data and the driver’s feedback in order to build the best race car for the conditions. On Max’s crew that job falls to new boy Tom Hart.

Until this year Max’s Performance Engineer was Hugh Bird who has now moved to the other side of the garage to work as Sergio Pérez’s Race Engineer. Hart has stepped into the role on Max’s side of the garage.

“It’s working really well,” says Max. “It always needs a bit of time to settle in but I would say straight from the start Tom is doing a great job. He’s very social as well; he can be pretty funny. He’s not a total nerd! He’s very clever and he knows what I want from the car and he is very quick in finding solutions when I have little issues.”

“HE KNOWS HE HAS TO TRAIN AND MAX IS VERY DISCPLINED.” BRADLEY SCANES, PERFORMANCE COACH

Red Bull Racing’s lightningfast pit stops have been a major factor in his success.

Performance Coach: BRADLEY SCANES

Red Bull Motorsport Advisor: HELMUT MARKO

A famously hard taskmaster, Dr Helmut Marko, through the Red Bull Junior Programme, has been in large part responsible for bringing exceptional talents such as Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz to Formula 1. Marko brought Verstappen to the programme from Formula 3 in August 2014 and within days revealed that the 16-year-old would drive for Toro Rosso in 2015.

Since then the two have developed a deep alliance, which Max insists is founded in plain-speaking simplicity.

“Helmut is like a father to me, yes,” says Verstappen. “He says what he thinks and is always straightforward and I like that. With him there are no bull**** stories. That rapport with Marko is just very good and the one with Christian too. We’ve been through so much over the years. We get on well together.”

Another relatively new arrival to Max’s team is physio and performance coach Bradley Scanes. The Englishman, who also works as a consultant to British Gymnastics, took over the role from Max’s previous trainer Jake Aliker in early 2020 and since then has worked closely with the Red Bull driver to keep him in top shape for the season.

“My wife will say I spend more time with Max than with her,” he says. “But it’s going well in our marriage.

“It is really important to be in good shape,” he adds. “If not, it can cost you lap time on track. If in the final laps of a race you are getting fatigued, it can affect you mentally, which can have consequences.” Not that the championship contender is a huge fan of training. “Max doesn’t really have favourites. Training isn’t his biggest hobby, that’s driving a car. But he knows that he has to, and Max is very disciplined. If he has to choose, he’d prefer going for a run and working with weights on his balcony.”

12 Grid 2026 F1 Red Bull Ring

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4 July, 2021 The Red Bulletin

FORMULA

FUTURE

Rookies Yuki Tsunoda, Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin have all successfully navigated their way through F1’s feeder series to take their place in Formula 1 in 2021. But five years down the road – when the likes of Hamilton, Vettel and Alonso have surely retired – who will be joining young Kimi Räikkönen on the Formula 1 grid of 2026?

OSCAR PIASTRI 2021 team: Prema Racing, Formula 2 2026 team: Alpine, Formula 1 Yet another Prema driver, Australian Piastri has enjoyed a meteoric rise through the junior series, rocketing through the pack like his DRS is constantly open. He was runner-up in British F4 before winning the Renault Eurocup and F3 titles in back-to-back championships.

Since moving up to F2, he’s taken another victory in the first Feature Race of the season and a third place. As a Renault Sport Academy driver, when he moves to Formula 1, it’s likely to be in the Bleu de France of Alpine.

Enzo (19)

Oscar (20)

Jüri (20)

THE FITTIPALDIS

JÜRI VIPS

2021 team (Enzo): Charouz Racing System, Formula 3 2026 team (take your pick): Haas, Formula 1

2021 team: Hitech Grand Prix, Formula 2 2026 team: Red Bull Racing, Formula 1

The Fittipaldis are the Kardashians of F1. Rich, glamorous, good looking and successful – and there’s far more of them than you ever imagined. After two generations of racing Fittipaldis, it seems that everywhere you look, there’s yet another quick, young Fittipaldi jumping into a cockpit. If they’re not in F2 or F3, they’re in the garage as a test driver or back at the factory in the sim. By sheer weight of numbers, a Fittipaldi will be on the grid in five years’ time. Leading the way are Pietro and Enzo Fittipaldi, grandsons of twotime F1 World Champion and double Indy 500 winner Emerson. Pietro has tested for Haas in F1 and driven in F2, WEC, DTM and Super Formula. He’s currently going in circles in Indycar. Enzo is the 2018 Italian F4 champion and in 2021 starts his second season in F3 and also joins IndyCar Pro, the Indy feeder series.

In the last few years, Marko Asmer and Markko Martin have mined their homeland for fresh talent with the Estonian Autosport Union, mentoring World Rally Champion Ott Tänak, Prema team manager Ralf Aron and his driver brother Paul. Vips is the latest and he’s not only quick, versatile and talented, he’s really clever – as an eight-year-old he appeared on TV on Estonia’s Got Talent as the ‘human calculator’, performing feats of arithmetic. Racing for Hitech in F2 this season, he’s already won German Formula 4, was fourth in the 2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship behind the more experienced Dan Ticktum, Mick Schumacher and Robert Shwartzman and raced a superb Macau Grand Prix in 2019, taking pole, winning the qualifying race and leading the main race until a safety car wiped out his lead, helping Richard Verschoor to the win.

GETTY IMAGES, MOTORSPORT IMAGES, RED BULL CONTENT POOL PAUL KEITH

Pietro (24)

The Red Bulletin 4 July, 2021

F1 Red Bull Ring Grid 2026 13

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ROBERT SHWARTZMAN 2021 team: Prema Racing, Formula 2 2026 team: Ferrari, Formula 1 The Russian has been a front runner in every series he’s entered and looks unstoppable as he makes tracks for Formula 1. He’s part of the Ferrari Driver Academy and has enjoyed huge success with Prema Racing, finishing third in F3 in his rookie season before dominating the 2019 championship to take the title. In F2 last year, he was fourth in his first season, scoring more wins than any other driver. He also has the 2018 Toyota Racing Series title in his trophy cabinet. In addition, young Shwartzman is a star on social media with thousands of followers on Instagram and TikTok drawn to his sense of humour and clean cut looks, traits that make him marketable as well as quick.

CALLUM ILOTT 2021 team: Hitech Grand Prix, Formula 2 2026 team: Alfa Romeo, Formula 1 Ferrari Academy Driver Callum is an easy pick as he already has a foot in the elite series having driven in FP1 for Alfa Romeo this season. A test driver for Ferrari and a reserve for Alfa who finished runner-up in F2 behind Mick Schumacher, it seems more a case of when and not if Ilott will step into F1. The only obstacle in his path is the number of other British drivers already on the grid – while Lewis Hamilton may have hung up his gloves by 2026, George Russell and Lando Norris aren’t about to leave. But by 2026, we’re sure he’ll have a place with Alfa Romeo although he might have already become the first Brit to race for Ferrari since Nigel ‘Il Leone’ Mansell.

Robert (21)

Liam (19)

Callum (22)

Arthur (20)

LIAM LAWSON

ARTHUR LECLERC

2021 team: Hitech Grand Prix, Formula 2 2026 team: Scuderia AlphaTauri, Formula 1

2021 team: Prema Racing, Formula 3 2026 team: Haas, Formula 1

On the other side of the Hitech garage is another firstrate talent. Liam Lawson got his F2 career off to the best possible start with victory on his debut in the first sprint race of 2021. He’s the 2019 Toyota Racing Series champion and narrowly missed out on the 2020 title.

Liam faces stiff competition racing Jüri Vips for a place with AlphaTauri or Red Bull Racing – assuming there will be a seat available with either – but talent rises to the top and Lawson is an eye-catching driver. New Zealand has a proud tradition of producing superb drivers – Bruce McLaren, Chris Amon, Denny Hulme through to Nick Cassidy, Marcus Armstong and Brendon Hartley.

Liam, the latest, is mentored by another, Kenny Smith.

This year he’s also racing in DTM with Cassidy and Alex Albon as part of Red Bull AF Corse and won at the first time of asking in the opening race at Monza last month.

You always need brothers trading paint in Formula 1 and we haven’t seen any fraternal rivalry in F1 since Michael and Ralph Schumacher. Another member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, Arthur Leclerc may raise a few eyebrows as he’s only just stepped into F3 as the runnerup in the new Formula Regional series. There may be stronger candidates elsewhere but with a brother at Ferrari already, Arthur boasts an impressive pedigree.

He’s also managed by Nicholas Todt, who knows his way around the F1 paddock having mentored Charles Leclerc and managed the careers of Felipe Massa and Daniil Kvyat. Arthur has risen rapidly up to F3 and if he can prove his mettle there, he will be well on the way to Formula 1.

14 Box office F1 Red Bull Ring

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4 July, 2021 The Red Bulletin

DRIVE TO CONTRIVE

WHAT NETFLIX SHOULD DO NEXT Drive To Survive has been a runaway success for Formula 1 and Netflix, bringing fans inside the paddock to tell epic tales of sporting rivalry and bouts of world-class foul language. But every show needs to keep things fresh with new story lines and formats that keep fans interested.

Here are a few helpful suggestions.

CURSE OF THE HOME RACE

d Bulletin’s Rhett Bullet, The Re s used to say ay alw , hillbilly uncle superstitious it’s bad juju to be may be a e er th but we think s the Drive ow ad sh at th rse cu enever they to Survive crew wh at its home embed with a team chaotically s’ de rce race – qv Me and Prix or Gr awful 2019 German nza Mo ul inf pa ’s last season course, Of ri. weekend with Ferra r Fo . ms tea for d it’s only ba st. As du ld go it’s rs we vie eful if the such it might be us curse a e producers gave th some kle rin Sp . nd helping ha crew pit e th itching powder in the to ils na sty ru e suits, glu ll, lock a stools on the pitwa e th in e rin lve rabid wo . ck tru t or pp su

FERNANDO IF A JOB IS WORT ALONSO: H DOING…

There’s no one mo re competitive on the F1 grid than Fernando Alo nso. ‘Nando is als o a gifted athlete, a natural engineer and a bo rn leader.

What’s more, his at tention to detail is so exacting that we’ve just rece ived a text objectin g to our calling him ‘Nando in the last sentence . With two F1 world champio nships, two Le Ma victories and a so ns 24Hr lid Dakar to his na me, there’s no doubting his crede ntials. In fact, we re ckon Alonso can do it all and Netflix needs to document his vast skill set. We follow Fernando as he tin kers with advanced CFD calculations, shares his though ts on wind tunnel ter raflop restrictions and fine tunes engin es by ear during a Zoom call to Viry Chatillon – and that’s before he ch ooses new colours for the fac tory rebrand, writes today’s lun ch menu and changes that brok en light bulb in the third floor gent s’ toilet.

RAMSAY’S PADDOCK NIGHTMARES

Another way to boost ratings is to diversify the audience.

Everyone loves a cooking show, so perhaps the producers of Drive to Survive should try a segment in which the drivers have to ditch their race suits for aprons and take over team catering. While they take part in a crash course in haute cuisine, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay can shout obscenities and throw gnocchi at them. If Ramsay’s not available just hang a pinafore on Guenther Steiner and tell him the drivers have burned the toast.

PAUL KEITH

ed for It worked for Game of Thrones. It work work for Spartacus: Blood and Sand. It didn’t e talking Sesame Street, but never mind. We’r bringing the nudity – the tried and trusted way of eri Bottas Valtt E1, S3 In . more for audience back he went raised more than a few eyebrows when and e hom try coun ish Finn his for a sauna at course, casually mooned for the cameras. Of Finns are sophisticated Europeans know that naked in quite comfortable prancing about stark act – cont eye e mak r neve they why a sauna – it’s USA the but the freckle-faced F1 fans in probably weren’t prepared for an eyeful of Valtteri’s pert Bottas. Now they’ll be back for more and all we can say is that next season they won’t be happy with anything less than full frontal from any driver brave enough to bare all. Over to you Daniel Ricciardo…

SHUTTERSTOCK

VALTTERI UNCOVERED… AGAIN

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