F1 Paddock Notebook – British GP Thursday

- The major story coming out of the paddock on Thursday surrounded Haas title sponsor Rich Energy, which claimed via its Twitter account on Wednesday it had terminated its agreement with the team. Haas team boss Guenther Steiner remained coy on the topic on Thursday, saying he did not want to enter a “war of words” on the matter.

- It later transpired that the tweet was sent from the account by a “rogue individual”, as per a statement from the Rich Energy shareholders, who underlined their commitment to Haas. It is understood that CEO William Storey has been removed from his position.

- Storey himself tweeted from the Rich Energy account late in the day: “The ludicrous statement by minority shareholders cosy with Red Bull and Whyte Bikes is risible. Their attempted palace coup has failed. I control all of the assets of Rich Energy and have support of all key stakeholders.” 

- A number of track changes have taken place for this year’s British Grand Prix. The entire track has been resurfaced following last year’s drainage issues that led to the cancellation of the MotoGP race, while the tarmac run-off at Turn 11 has been replaced by a gravel trap. The gravel trap has been increased at Turn 7 so it is closer to the circuit as well.

- The fall-out continued from Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen’s late ‘clash’ in Austria two weeks on, with the drivers being asked about the incident again. Leclerc said he was happy with the call, so long as there was now consistency from the stewards in such rulings. Verstappen said he hadn’t looked back at the incident since, saying it was time for everyone to move on.

- Home favourite Lewis Hamilton expressed his disappointment over the scheduling of this weekend’s race, which will clash with both the men’s final at Wimbledon and the Cricket World Cup final. “It is such a special event and it needs all the attention. A lot of people will be switching between channels on Sunday,” Hamilton said.

- Channel 4 confirmed on Thursday it would now be showing the Cricket World Cup final after England won its semi-final against New Zealand. However, this will not cause any rescheduling for Formula 1, which it will show live for the first time this year. The cricket will move to More4 during the F1 broadcast on Channel 4, before returning to the main channel after the grand prix show ends.

- Red Bull announced on Thursday it would be running a tweaked livery for the race weekend at Silverstone, carrying James Bond 007 branding as part of its links through Aston Martin. This coincides with F1’s 1,007th race.

- Haas’s ongoing tyre struggles have prompted the team to switch back to its Australia-spec setup for the British Grand Prix weekend as it tries to get to the bottom of the issue. Kevin Magnussen said the problem had only been avoided at three races this year – Australia, Spain and Monaco – making it difficult to properly understand.

- F1 rookie Alexander Albon will enter his ‘home’ race weekend – given he was born in Britain but races under the Thai flag – with increasing confidence in his own direction on car setup: “I can trust my own feeling a bit more now. I still look at Daniil [Kvyat], but still make my own decisions and trust myself. At the beginning I was kind of in no-man’s land.”

- 2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button completed a show-run on Thursday behind the wheel of his title-winning Brawn GP car. Button is on-site at Silverstone this weekend in a punditry role on Sky Sports.

- Lando Norris was reduced to tears by Daniel Ricciardo during Thursday’s FIA press conference, struggling to contain his laughter for several minutes. During some discussion about Nigel Mansell’s moustache, Ricciardo asked Norris off-mic if he had any pubes yet, setting the 19-year-old off. Norris broke down completely during the next question asked before slowly regaining his composure.

- Norris had another hairy moment later in the way when he spun a McLaren 720 S supercar while taking ex-F1 driver and Sky F1 pundit Johnny Herbert on a hot lap. The spin at Chapel saw Norris beach the car in the gravel, requiring a recovery vehicle to get it back on-track.

- Both Norris and teammate Carlos Sainz had been confirmed at McLaren for 2020 earlier in the week, with Sainz calling his confirmation a “formality” given he was on a two-year deal when he signed: “I think when everything is up and running there’s no reason to change. The atmosphere in the team is as good as it’s ever been, I think, and we are all contributing to that, and I think it’s how it should stay.”

- Lewis Hamilton was also conducting hot laps in a Mercedes AMG GT R, with Williams chief Frank Williams getting a passenger ride. Williams is at Silverstone this weekend as part of the celebrations for his 50 years as a Formula 1 team principal.

- The Formula 1 paddock came together to pay tribute to the late Charlie Whiting following his death in March, with a special memorial being held by the FIA on Thursday at the BRDC. Speeches were given by Martin Brundle, Sebastian Vettel, Ross Brawn and Jean Todt, as well as by Whiting’s wife, Juliet. The Whiting family confirmed it will be working with the FIA to establish a fund in his name in the near future.

-  Whiting’s son, Justin, will be the starter for this weekend’s British Grand Prix. “You had a good teacher,” FIA president Todt told Justin during the tribute.

Lewis Larkam contributed to this notebook.