It may not be a race week but the Formula 1 news cycle is as relentless as ever. Red Bull have been doing more than their fair share on that front with a brutal driver swap just two rounds into the new season.
Liam Lawson only got the job in December but after failing to score a single point across the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix, he has been sent back to the junior squad. Up steps Yuki Tsunoda in his place as Max Verstappen gets his fifth team-mate since 2019 – quite the revolving door they’ve got over there at Red Bull HQ.
Naturally, there has been plenty of reaction including team principal Christian Horner explaining his thinking, Verstappen showing his what he thinks and former champion Jacques Villeneuve wading into the row. Away from Red Bull, there has also been a rare update on Michael Schumacher’s condition and an intriguing test drive for Valtteri Bottas.
All those developments and more have been dominating the headlines when it comes to F1 news. Mirror Sport takes you through some of the key stories.
Details of F1 legend Schumacher’s condition have been scarce ever since his accident with only a select few people allowed access to the family. But this week respected German reporters Felix Gorner has spoken about what he knows of the seven-time champion’s condition.
He said: “The situation is very sad. “He needs constant care and is completely dependent on his caregivers. And he can no longer express himself verbally.” Gorner went on to add that there are only around 20 people who are trusted with details of Schumacher’s care and conditions.
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It’s Schumacher’s wife Corinna who makes sure her husband’s privacy is protected as much as possible. Her friend, former F1 driver Christian Danner, has said she and son Mick find it difficult to talk about the accident which has changed all of the Schumacher family’s lives.
He said: “Last year in Monza I spoke to Corinna, sometimes a little bit to Mick. I’ve known Corinna ever since she was [former F1 driver] Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s girlfriend, so it goes way back. Whenever we see each other, we say hello and we have a coffee together. It’s the Formula 1 family.”
Red Bull boss Horner said the team has a “duty of care” towards Lawson which was part of the reason behind the decision to give his seat to Tsunoda. He also said the latter’s experience will be vital as Red Bull bid to make their RB21 car more driveable and, by extension, faster.
Verstappen doesn’t seem to be thrilled about it, given he has liked an Instagram post by former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde which accused Red Bull of “bullying” and “crushing Lawson’s spirit”. But former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve has backed the team’s decision and labelled the Kiwi “arrogant” in his approach to the new season.
Eyebrows were raised when Bottas was seen on Thursday testing for McLaren at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. But it’s not because the Woking-based squad plans on giving Lando Norris the boot any time soon.
It’s because McLaren have access to engine supplier Mercedes‘ pool of reserve drivers, which includes 10-time F1 race winner Bottas. So they wanted to get the Finn used to their machinery in case they need to call upon him at short notice for any reason at some point this season.
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