Romain Grosjean, Mercedes, 2021

Grosjean’s Mercedes test may be delayed until 2022

RaceFans Round-up

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In the round-up: Mercedes say Romain Grosjean’s delayed test will go ahead but may not take place until next year.

In brief

Mercedes “committed” to Grosjean test despite delays

Mercedes offered Romain Grosjean the opportunity to test one of its cars as a farewell gesture following the crash in last year’s Bahrain Grand Prix which left him with burned hands. He was originally due to drive the car in public during the French Grand Prix in June and again in private two days later, but the rescheduling of the race and changes to travel restrictions meant both runs had to be called off.

The team still intends to reschedule a test for Grosjean but indicated during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend it may not happen before the end of the year. “We have committed to it and it’s going to happen,” said team principal Toto Wolff, but I have no visibility when.”

Alfa Romeo reveal special livery

Alfa Romeo's 2021 Italian Grand Prix livery
Alfa Romeo’s 2021 Italian Grand Prix livery

Alfa Romeo will sport a special livery at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, marking the 111-year history of the brand with the colours of the Italian flag.

Beckmann salvages F2 season with Campos move

David Beckmann, who lost his Formula 2 seat at Charouz to Enzo Fittipaldi last week, will continue in the series having sealed a move to Campos in place of Matteo Nannini. The seat was originally occupied by Gianluca Petecof at the beginning of the year.

Codemasters tease Portugal circuit update

Start, Autodromo do Algarve, 2021
F1 2021 players have been waiting for Algarve track
Codemasters appear set to add the first in a series of missing tracks to its official Formula 1 game in the near future. Over the past three days the game developer has shared a series of images on its social accounts highlighting the letters, ‘P’, ‘O’ and ‘R’. The Autodromo do Algarve near Portimao in Portugal is one of three new circuits it announced would be added to the game following its launch in July. Imola in Italy and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia are due to follow.

Hamilton’s failed engine was in final session

Mercedes has revealed the power unit which failed in Lewis Hamilton’s car during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend was not due for use in any further sessions.

Hamilton’s M12 power unit stopped at the beginning of the second practice session. It was his original motor from the start of the season, which was only being used for practice work.

“That power unit has come back, it’s now at [High Performance Powertrains] in Brixworth and they are going to start looking into it,” explained trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin in a video issued by the team.

“Fortunately that was a unit that had finished the end of its useful race, it wasn’t even scheduled to do further running on a Friday from here on forward. But we just want to understand the situation with it because it isn’t to say it wouldn’t appear as a spare in the future and we are just awaiting that report from HPP.”

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Comment of the day

Report: Michael Schumacher’s family discuss his life after skiing crash in new film
@SonnyCrockett compares their experience of a relative who emerged from a coma with the sad situation the Schumacher family is living with.

I know many F1 fans want to know more about Schumacher’s current condition. I’ve also seen comments from some that have said how wrong it is that we haven’t seen him interviewed on TV. Whilst perhaps understandable, this is quite naive (some would say ‘selfish’) and shows a lack of understanding of what we are likely to be faced with.

My own mother was in a coma many years ago and when we were told by doctors that she had emerged from the coma, it was almost impossible to tell from observing her. She still functioned in the same way as she did when technically comatose.

I think one of the issues is the way TV and the movies portray comas. They tend to show people either in the comatose state or out of it and completely normal. Comas are actually far more nuanced than that and the neurological damage caused from whatever inflicted the coma can have severe consequences.

If Michael’s brain swelled significantly as a result of the accident, which was the suggestion when it was first reported, there could be significant damage which would affect most if not all aspects of his personality and ability to function.

During the years after she was in a coma, my mother improved a little but was never the same person. There were traces of her personality which meant she still seemed like my Mum but ultimately she was massively different from before. Her eyes looked permanently glazed, she had very little short-term memory and she was quite child-like, even in the way that she spoke. For anyone that knew her it was quite a shock to meet her post-coma.

Hearing Schumacher’s wife’s tearful comments, I suspect that (sadly) Michael’s condition is very similar. From personal experience, trust me, you would not want to see him interviewed. It would be unfair to Michael and to the family that have tried so hard to keep their suffering private.
@SonnyCrockett

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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15 comments on “Grosjean’s Mercedes test may be delayed until 2022”

  1. I’m sure Grosjean would prefer to try out next year’s car.

    1. I don’t think it’s will be possible next year. They couldn’t offer him this year because of tough competition with RBR and tight schedules. Next year they will be even more busy, so I would recon he will probably get his chance in the winter test or something.

  2. That COTD is the comment of the year.

    Thank you @Sonnycrocket for sharing your personal experience. It has really helped us fellow fans understand what has happened to one the greatest figures of our sport. And that too without violating the privacy of the Michael.

    I hope you, your mother and your family are in a better place now.

    1. Agreed, I think that really puts into perspective the Schumachers’ reasons for trying to maintain privacy, which I felt were entirely justified anyway. I hope some of those “fans” who seem to believe they are owed access will start to understand their fallacy and empathise with the living grief of his family.

    2. It was quite disappointing to read how some commenters (@ruliemaulana, @darryn, kpcart) reacted and blaming Corrina for her (alleged) actions and decisions.

      1. The way in which some posters are demanding that the family must tell all is disappointing, and in some cases comes across as seeing Michael as nothing more than something that should be exhibited to the world, rather than seeing both him and his family as actual people capable of feeling emotion and deserving of respect.

      2. The resident bird-brains. No surprise!

    3. Thanks for the personal insight. Excellent comment and I agree wholeheartedly.

      Nobody knows the situation but them and nobody has the right to invade their privacy.

      1. @sonnycrockett I hadn’t seen your yesterday’s comment until now. So touching. So sorry for you and your Mom and your family. Thank you for sharing. Personally I had always gotten the impression this is similar to what MS and his family have been going through and have always completely understood and respected their desire for privacy for these reasons. I have never understood peoples’ view that they deserved to know more than the Schumacher family, with their broken hearts and their struggles, have wanted to share.

  3. For Alfa Romeo, a round number anniversary was last year, so slightly redundant.

    Grosjean will get his chance eventually.

    1. Also F1 drivers seems to prefer repetitive numbers over round numbers.

  4. Another special livery that looks great and should be kept. I wanted Maclaren to keep theirs too.

  5. Mercedes are not keen to have to repair a car unnecessarily during the season. I bet Grosjean will test the 2021 car once the season is finished, out of budget and time constraints.

  6. Funny that the one-off Gulf McLaren in Monaco was not just one of the finest liveries they’ve ever had but have been in F1 ever, and that Alfa Romeo one-off livery is arguably they best they’ve had and a contender for a great. If only both teams actually kept those as they’re properly beautiful.

  7. Re Alfa Romeo: Nice one-off livery.
    Re David Beckmann: Finally a second chance – and that leaves Nannini to focus on F3 only. Really wish he went to HWA to replace the driver who is only faster on highways.
    Re Codemasters: Once Imola and the new circuit are done, Australia and Abu Dhabi next then? Or should I stick to Assetto Corsa?
    Re wood_ida_ tweet: Not the first time F1 were incorrect on something…
    Re COTD: Well said Sonny.

Comments are closed.