Summary Thursday in Tuscany: Vettel succeeds Perez, Honda solves problems

F1 News

10 September 2020 at 22:02
Last update 11 September 2020 at 08:46
  • GPblog.com

The big news this morning was, of course, the switch from Sebastian Vettel to Aston Martin Racing. With a view to the GP of Tuscany, there were many reactions to this public secret. These were the most important developments of the Thursday.

Vettel to Aston Martin

After yesterday's news that Sergio Perez is leaving Racing Point at the end of this season, this morning's news was not entirely unexpected. Sebastian Vettel will be the successor of the Mexican within the team, which will continue next year as Aston Martin. Vettel said at the press conference this afternoon that this was the only logical choice for him.

Perez reacts to his departure

For Sergio Perez, it must have been two difficult days. Just yesterday his team boss Otmar Szafnauer claimed that Vettel was not an option at all for his team. So that turned out to be a lie. To Motorsport.com, Perez says the following: "The choice was not based on my performance. So for me as a driver there is not much I could or should have done differently".

Looking ahead to the GP of Tuscany

Throughout the fuss surrounding the transfer from Vettel to Aston Martin, you would almost forget that there will also be racing this weekend. For the first time there will be raced at Mugello and it will also be the 1000th GP for the Ferrari team. Max Verstappen is in any case slightly positive about his chances on this circuit. He already has some experience on this circuit, he was able to explore the track a while back. "It gives you a small advantage, I could drive here all day," he said at the press conference.

Engine problems Verstappen have been resolved

It seems that Honda has remedied the engine problems Max Verstappen had in Monza last week. The Dutchman dropped out shortly after the restart. Honda top man Toyoharu Tanabe said the following about this on the Honda Racing F1 website: "We have analysed the problem and have taken measures so that this problem does not occur again. We have also learned a lot about the new engine mode rule and expect to use this knowledge over the coming weekend".