Summary of the Thursday in Abu Dhabi: A day with uncertainties

Sunday 13 December 2020 is the day when we will see the last Grand Prix of the year. After two races in Bahrain, Formula 1 travelled to Abu Dhabi for the championship finale. The championships have already been secured by Hamilton and Mercedes, but behind them anything can still happen in the standings. So it promises to be an exciting weekend in that respect and tomorrow it will all start. Today on Thursday, however, a few things have already happened and in this summary we list the most important things.

Indistinctness at Mercedes

Last week George Russell had to be prepared for W11 in a hurry, as he was able to replace Lewis Hamilton in Bahrain after he was found to have contracted corona. Russell was able to adapt quickly and shone in the race, which he unfortunately could not crown with a victory or a podium place. Since then it has been waiting for good or bad news from camp Hamilton, who has been in isolation since his positive infection.

If Hamilton wasn't negative yet, Russell would get back into the Mercedes. That was clearly the starting point, given that the Briton was scheduled for the press conference at Mercedes. In the end Hamilton turned out to be negative on corona, which therefore quickly flew to Abu Dhabi to take part in the Grand Prix this weekend, putting an end to the uncertainty. Russell had been waiting all this time and, although many had undoubtedly given him a chance, there is no doubt that he will not be able to do so in the very short term.

FIA can count on incomprehension

Fernando Alonso will be able to take part in the so-called Young Driver Test next week. This while the driver is anything but young. Other teams saw that Renault was given permission and asked permission for their new drivers, but that permission was not given. Ferrari would have liked to put Carlos Sainz in the car and Sebastian Vettel finds it interesting when asked about it.

Kubica is allowed to join Alfa Romeo, so the Pole has also been given permission. But Sainz, on the other hand, is not allowed to get in, and this creates a strange situation that seems to be completely arbitrary. Sainz also criticises the FIA for the lack of clarity, because there is no logic in it and he has not had a good explanation. Vettel does not understand much of it either.

Grosjean is moving forward

Romain Grosjean is still recovering from his severe crash in Bahrain almost a fortnight ago. Initially, the Swiss Frenchman was hoping to join Haas in the last race, which would also be his very last race in Formula 1. This was very ambitious, because Grosjean has not recovered enough in the meantime to be able to participate.

This brings his career in Formula 1 to an end in a somewhat sad way, although it is expected that Grosjean will be able to say goodbye in the near future. Indeed, Mercedes has even offered to make a car available if no one else does. But that is future music, for now the good news that was shared on the Thursday is that a Grosjean hand no longer needs to be in the bandage. It has not completely healed yet, but it is heading in the right direction.

What else happened...

Finally, Ferrari will have to do without Mattia Binotto this weekend. The Italian flew home today because he was not feeling well. This is independent of an infection, because Binotto was tested negative. As far as Perez is concerned, he is still hopefully waiting for a phone call from Helmut Marko, because he did not come to F1 to win just one race.

Furthermore, things are still messing around a bit in camp Mercedes, because it seems that Toto Wolff has entered into talks with Valtteri Bottas about his mediocre performance in Bahrain last week. The young star Russell sparkled in the Mercedes where Bottas didn't make a dent in a packet of butter yet. By the way, Bottas was also very disappointed himself, which is why he only turned off social media after his last race.