Turkey sounds not sorted yet overall --- The Turkish Grand Prix remains on the calendar despite still being on the British government’s ‘red list’ that would mean all personnel returning to the UK must serve a 10-day quarantine in a hotel, regardless of their vaccination status. Sergio Perez, Racing Point RP20, Esteban Ocon, Renault F1 Team R.S.20, Daniel Ricciardo, Renault F1 Team R.S.20, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W11, Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes F1 W11, and the remainder of the field at the start Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images Turkey’s original June date was postponed because of its red list status, but another review by the UK government is planned for 16 September. The event has moved date to become a standalone round on 10 October. Should the restrictions lead to Turkey being scrapped, then Mugello is in the frame to take its place, as revealed by Autosport on Thursday. https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/formula-1-reveals-updated-2021-calendar-drops-to-22-races/6655341/
Turkey’s red zone issue is F1’s biggest calendar headache By: Adam Cooper Sep 7, 2021, 9:40 AM Formula 1 may have recently published a revised 2021 calendar, but the schedule remains in a state of flux. There are questions over the fate of Austin amid the scale of outbreak of coronavirus in Texas and logistical complexities for personnel travelling to the event. However, Turkey remains the biggest headache for the F1 organisation, with a crunch point coming next week. F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali remains hopeful that the Istanbul race will go ahead as planned on 10 October, despite the country's current place on the UK's red zone list. At the moment, around 1000 travelling personnel from the seven British-based teams plus those of F1, the FIA, Honda, Pirelli and the media face a compulsory 10-day quarantine in a UK government-approved hotel on their return. Much now depends on whether the country comes off the list in the British government's next planned review, which is scheduled for 16 September, four days after the Italian GP. F1 issued a revised calendar over the recent Belgian GP weekend, with several changes intended to help with a smoother run to the end of the season. As part of that process, Turkey was moved back a week from 3 October. That helped logistically as it was no longer a back-to-back with the Russian GP, so that those travelling to Sochi were able to confirm straightforward return flights with no concerns about a late Turkey cancellation. The move also bought an extra week after any UK red zone decision. If Turkey does not come off the list next week, the provisional plan is for only skeleton crews to travel to Turkey and for those people to remain out of the UK prior to the US GP two weeks later, either by travelling directly to America or by stopping elsewhere on the way. However, that strategy is clearly not optimal and would still have to be agreed by the teams, should it become the only option. The Austin event has its own issues, and F1 is currently in talks with the US authorities about how many people will be allowed to enter the country given the stipulation that they must be "essential" personnel. Last weekend, F3 moved its season finale from Austin to Sochi, citing "unavoidable logistical changes that heavily impacted the overall costs of the planned Austin event". The F1 organisation subsequently stressed that the F3 decision had no bearing on plans for the grand prix itself. https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/turkeys-red-zone-issue-is-f1s-biggest-calendar-headache/6662136/
Any word yet on what the "To Be Confirmed" venue is? We're only about 60 days from that date, seems pretty tight to sell tickets and such.
News: Red Bull team principal Christian Horner "accidently" told ServusTV that Formula 1 will race at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar on 21st November 2021, replacing the Australian GP. Announcement TOMORROW! Image Unavailable, Please Login
F1 confirms Qatar GP on 2021 calendar as part of long-term deal By: Adam Cooper Sep 30, 2021, 5:01 AM Formula 1 has confirmed the Qatar Grand Prix will fill the vacant slot on the 2021 race calendar in November, as part of a triple-header with Mexico and Brazil. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Istanbul F1 circuit surface water-blasted to prevent 2020 drama repeat By: Adam Cooper Sep 30, 2021, 7:12 AM The Istanbul Park circuit for the Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix has been water-blasted as part of a range of work to provide drivers with more grip than last year.
Bye bye le chalet (Spa) Image Unavailable, Please Login Spa-Francorchamps: 1st shovel for new stands https://www-vedia-be.translate.goog/www/video/sport/moteur/spa-francorchamps-1ers-coups-de-pelle-pour-de-nouvelles-tribunes_106511.html?_x_tr_sl=fr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=nui,sc#
Yeah, found the story meanwhile. Also read that the chalet isn't all that old, not one from the sixties, so be it. Now they're building a new big VIP grandstand there, not bad. One of the cool things I encountered at Spa was along the uphill stretch, the track officials cut some horizontal stripes/holes into the fences. Just in the perfect height for us photographers to follow along the cars. What genius and nice touch for the fans. Normally you always fight the catch fences and then spend hours in photoshop removing them from your pictures.
50 days to go till Jeddah Saudi Arabia. Looks like the lighting system is working. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
