Latest F1 news in brief – Thursday

• Canada 2012 Schumacher made the Mercedes F1 team with one strategic move

  Schumacher friends stay silent about health condition

• Comeback success depends on Williams car – Kubica
• Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport wishes Michael Schumacher all the very best
• McLaren order Liberty Media to silence teams
• F1 Director of Communications quits
• Indy 500 key to promoting F1/McLaren in US – Zak Brown

Schumacher friends stay silent about health condition

(GMM) Those closest to Michael Schumacher have defended the family's decision to refuse to divulge information about the F1 legend's health status.

Schumacher, the seven time world champion, turns 50 on Thursday amid almost complete secrecy about the extent of brain injuries he sustained in a 2013 skiing fall.

On the occasion of his birthday, the great German's wife Corinna issued a statement saying Schumacher is "in the very best of hands".

"We are doing everything humanly possible to help him. Please understand that we are following Michael's wishes and keeping such a sensitive subject as health, as it has always been, in privacy," the statement added.

Those closest to Schumacher, including his friend and former Ferrari boss Jean Todt, backed that stance.

When asked by La Gazzetta dello Sport to reveal whether Schumacher is cognitively able to follow a formula one race, the Frenchman replied: "Here I stop."

In Welt newspaper, Todt admitted that despite remaining close friends with Schumacher and his family including monthly visits, "we no longer have the same communication as before".

But on the specifics of Schumacher's condition, Todt told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "I don't think there's a reason to revisit this point.

"You know that he had this terrible accident five years ago, he's fighting and will continue to do so, he has a team close to him, his family, which is extraordinary," Todt added.

"The rest is private, and it is right that it remains that way."

Another close former Schumacher colleague, F1 sporting boss Ross Brawn, agrees.

"I am constantly in touch with Corinna, and I totally agree with their decision," the former Ferrari technical boss said.

"It's completely understandable that Corinna has wanted to maintain the same approach to Michael's privacy, which was a guiding principle in his career.

"Even after the tragic event, it's a decision we must all respect," Brawn added.

And Luca di Montezemolo, the former Ferrari president, said he too is "in contact with Corinna, but I share the family's decision to keep Michael's life private.

"We all have to respect his privacy," he told Il Fatto Quotidiano.

As for Schumacher's health condition, di Montezemolo told Rai radio: "I hope something (positive) can happen, but I do not want to say anything else except that Michael is fighting with so much determination and with a magnificent family around him."

Comeback success depends on Williams car – Kubica

Kubica recognizes that F1 is 99% car and 1% driver

(GMM) Robert Kubica has admitted the success of his return to formula one depends on the competitiveness of Williams' 2019 car.

After an eight-year absence due to injuries that have left his right arm permanently disabled, the 34-year-old Pole is returning to the grid this year.

However, his comeback will be at the wheel of a Williams, which was the slowest car overall in 2018.

Kubica says he is personally up for the challenge.

"It's a difficult task and a very ambitious goal, but I think I'm well known for not taking on things that are light and easy," he told Przeglad Sportowy newspaper.

"Whether it works or how close I am, much will depend on how I feel in the car and what the new car is like. How will it behave? This can greatly simplify or complicate the matter," Kubica said.

In 2018, Williams' car was not just slow, the drivers Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin reportedly tackled handling and even driver comfort issues.

Kubica said of a misbehaving car: "It's like dancing with a partner who cannot dance.

"If a car does not perform as the driver expects, it is not even so much about the speed and the laptimes, but the feeling that it gives that can hinder the driver," he added.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport wishes Michael Schumacher all the very best

European GP 2012 – By convincing Aldo Costa to move with him from Ferrari to Mercedes, Schumacher made the Mercedes team into the powerhouse it is today

On 3 January 1969, a boy named Michael Schumacher was born in the small town of Hürth, Germany – a boy, who would go on to become the most successful Formula One driver of all times. For his 50th birthday, the entire team of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport tips their hat to Michael Schumacher and wishes him all the very best!

Very few names are so synonymous with Formula One as that of Michael Schumacher. With 91 race wins and seven FIA Formula One Drivers' World Championships, he is an absolute icon of the sport who has dominated the series like no one else.

"Michael has had a tremendous impact on Formula One," said Toto Wolff. "Not only did he set an incredible record – a record that is yet to be beaten – but he also shaped and changed the sport forever. As a driver, Michael took Formula One to a whole new level with his attention to detail and his technical knowledge. He did everything with great determination, from his engineering debriefs to his physical training, and was always searching for new ways to improve his on-track performance."

Michael took some of his first steps as a professional racing driver with Mercedes when he joined the brand's junior programme in 1990, racing in Group C sports cars and DTM. Together with Karl Wendlinger, he won the last race of the season in sports car racing- Michael's first and only victory with Mercedes. He moved to Formula One in the following year, racing for Jordan before joining Benetton with whom he went on to win the Drivers' World Championship in 1994 and 1995. One year later, Michael switched to Ferrari, where he laid the foundations for one of the most successful eras in Formula One. He stayed with the team from Maranello for a decade and won five consecutive Drivers' (2000-2004) and six consecutive Constructors' (1999-2004) Championships with the Scuderia.

Michael retired from Formula One after the 2006 campaign; however, when Mercedes re-joined Formula One as a works team in 2010, he made his return to the series as a driver. Working with the team in Brackley, Brixworth and Stuttgart, Michael played an important role in developing the long-term capabilities of the team that were the foundation of our future success in F1.

Brazil 2012

"I remember when I first met Michael back in 2012, it was on a flight from Zürich to Singapore," said Toto. "He was sitting next to me and asked me if I was up for a game of backgammon. I think that I'm a decent backgammon player, but he absolutely crushed me in the first two rounds because I was so star-struck. Once I was over that, my game improved, and we ended up playing and talking for the entire flight. We had a really good and honest conversation and when we landed it felt like I had known him for much longer than I actually did."

At that point, Michael only had a handful of races with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport left before he retired from Formula One at the end of 2012. He never won an F1 race in a Mercedes, but he played an important role in the success the team would enjoy in subsequent years.

"Michael is one of the founding fathers of the success we have had in the last five years," said Toto. "There is no other driver like him and his vast experience contributed tremendously in the development of our team. He played a crucial role when we re-joined F1 and was one of the people who laid the foundation for our future success. We're extremely grateful for everything he did for us. Today, we all tip our hats to you – happy birthday, Michael!"

McLaren order Liberty Media to silence teams

Zak Brown and his motorsport.com group own the majority of the F1 media and hence gets great media coverage

The owners of Formula 1 are determined to push through radical changes in 2021, including a new car concept, a budget cap and a fairer revenue distribution model.
These changes are intended to make grand prix racing closer and more exciting, but teams such as Mercedes and Ferrari have expressed their doubts over their viability.

But Brown, who has been involved in the discussions with Liberty, thinks it is essential that the chiefs fend off their opponents.

Speaking to Autosport, he said: “We know change in F1 is difficult, and we also know F1 today is a broken model, both as a business and as an on track product, that is going to need to be changed.

“Those that are winning today will obviously feel the compromise about what is happening, and those are not winning today are going to like the plan.

“It was inevitable that Chase [Carey, F1 chairman] would bring forward a plan that some people like and some people don’t like.

“But, he needs to move forward with what he thinks is in the best interest of the sport.

“At the end of the day, what is in the best interests of the sport in the long term is in the best interests of everyone, if people can get past the short term compromises that they need to make.
“Today’s F1, if it is stays as is, I think everyone eventually loses."

Full 2021 plans were first revealed to teams at last year’s Bahrain Grand Prix, and Brown revealed that discussions are now more about the fine details.

“I think the majority of the teams are supportive of what was presented in Bahrain," he added.

“All that has really happened since was drilling deeper – what is in the budget cap and what isn’t in the budget cap?

“I know that not all the teams are aligned but I think a majority are.

“At McLaren we are very supportive of what was presented in Bahrain and I think the sooner we can get that on the road to implementation the better.
“I believe Chase and Ross are going to move forward on that basis.

“For anyone else saying that they are not aligned with it, their view is ‘we presented it in Bahrain, we’ve been working together, we’ve been consistent on where we are going so this is what we are doing.’

“I think some people haven’t accepted that yet."

F1's Director of Communications Quits

In a surprise move, Norman Howell, Formula One's director of communications, has stepped down.

Howell, a thirty-year veteran of PR and communication strategies, and who reported directly to commercial boss Sean Bratches, was first recruited by Bernie Ecclestone in 2003, but subsequently left to become editor in chief of the Red Bulletin, the sports magazine owned by energy drinks giant Red Bull.

In the 1990s he was appointed head of communications at McLaren and along the way since then he has enjoyed a stint as communications director for FIA – attempting to fill the shoes once so eloquently worn by the legendary Richard Woods – as well as a similar role at UFC (the Ultimate Fighting Championship).

When re-recruited by Formula One Management, just weeks after Liberty Media's purchase of the sport, it was with much fanfare, Bratches stating he was "pleased to name Norman as Formula One's new director of global communications.

"As we embark on an exciting new chapter in Formula One's history, Norman brings a wealth of knowledge and perspective to the newly enhanced leadership team," he added.

"His extensive and demonstrated experience leading communications strategies for many of the world's most prestigious motorsport brands, together with his background as a journalist and social media specialist, align well with our objectives to broaden Formula 1's appeal and proactively engage the marketplace to elevate the exciting changes that we are envisioning and implementing."

Howell, who began his career as a journalist with the Sunday Times, said he was "delighted" to take on the new role, adding: "Formula 1 has an exciting and innovative vision for the sport. We want fans to get closer to the action on and off the track, with new levels of entertainment and engagement. If we can do this, Formula 1 will continue to be one of the biggest sporting brands in the world."

While his appointment was loudly trumpeted, not so his departure, which, ironically, hasn't even been deemed worthy of a press release.

Indeed, news of his departure, according to Forbes, comes courtesy of a post on Howell's Linkedin profile, which states he has "now left Formula 1 after covering the digital and communication roles through the transition from Bernie Ecclestone's FOM to the present ownership of F1 by Liberty Media.

"I will take a short break and some thinking time before plunging headlong once more into the very exciting and ever-changing world of content communications," he adds.

It further shows that since mid-December he has been a media consultant for NHH Media, which appears to be his own company.

The last time his name appeared on an FOM press release – not that Pitpass receives them directly – was 6 December in relation to the revelation that F1's eSports series had 4.4 million viewers in 2018 across television and streaming channels, the two subsequent releases – including that reporting the 2018 race attendance figures do not bear his name.

The question is, did Howell resign in order to focus on his own business or is FOM replacing him? Certainly what clouds the issue is that his departure hasn't been officially announced nor a replacement named.

Indy 500 key to promoting F1/McLaren in US – Zak Brown

Selling cars is McLaren's #1 goal

McLaren CEO Zak Brown feels competing in the Indianapolis 500 will help the British team’s Formula 1 efforts, brand and sponsors reach more people in the United States.

It was announced in November 2018 McLaren Racing would form a new team specifically for the 103rd running of the Indy 500; powered by Chevrolet engines with two-time F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso behind the wheel of the single-car entry.

Alonso previously attempted the famous race at the Brickyard in 2017, leading 27 out of the 179 laps he completed before retiring with just 21 laps to go when his Honda engine failed.
Brown is keen to use the Indy 500 as a platform to promote McLaren and its partners in what he says is a key, but also undervalued market for F1.

“I think North America remains a key growth market for Formula 1, the biggest sporting market in the world, and I think Formula 1 has lots of room for growth," Brown told IndyCar.com.

“That is one of the reasons why we are competing in the Indy 500, because we think Indianapolis and the IndyCar Series … for seven out of 10 sponsors, America is an important market.

“Formula 1 right now can’t quite ring that bell as loudly as a lot of partners would like, so we feel Indy car racing for a variety of reasons, but that being one of them, helps round out a global proposition for our partners."

McLaren’s F1 efforts have suffered in recent years with a steep slide in their competitiveness, having not won a race since the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2012 with Jenson Button.