F1ntastic brings another Formula 1 News Roundup to you fantastic F1 fans. This one has news all about revised opener of the 2020 Formula 1 season. There is an incredible amount of hype since the 2020 season is finally starting, and with such situations comes a lot of interesting news. Since there are so many pieces of news and so many details, this news roundup has been split into 2 parts! In Part 1 of this news roundup, there is news about:
- Mercedes and Williams changing their liveries for 2020.
- Ferrari adding a #ForzaAlex message to their cars for the Austrian GP.
PREVIOUS NEWS ROUNDUP: The First F1ntastic Formula 1 News Roundup
1. New Liveries For 2020
1. New Liveries For 2020Two teams have changed their liveries for 2020 for their own reasons. The one main thing they have in common is that they both look SICK! First, let’s talk about what Williams changed in their livery.
FW43 Livery Change
PREVIOUS POST: 5 New Safety Precautions Formula 1 Will Take When Racing Resumes
The FW43 is the name of the 2020 Williams Formula 1 car. The FW43’s livery was changed after Williams lost their title sponsor, ROKiT, and their major sponsor, ROK Drinks. Williams was in really bad shape and was talking about possibly selling a minority or majority stake in the team, or even worse, selling the team altogether. Williams had lost £13m in 2019 after a dismal year.
Sponsors are always part of the cars’ liveries, and they are the biggest part when they are the title sponsors. The image below shows the original FW43 livery, and it is evident that ROKiT was Williams’s title sponsor, since the logo is so bold and big. The image also shows the new Williams livery, which is fairly different to the original, due to the removal of the ROKiT and ROK Drinks logos, although the latter isn’t visible in the image below.
The ROKiT logo was featured on the halo, the nose, the sidepods and the rear wing of the FW43, which shows how huge sponsors they were. The new livery also sees the complete removal of any traces of red, since that colour was present due to the ROKiT sponsorship. Other sponsors like Sofina and Acronis have been given larger coverage on the livery. Also, Lavazza has been given larger coverage on the drivers’ race suits. The race suits feature all the sponsors of the team as well, so those have to be changed as well. There are currently no images showing the redesigned race suits.
W11 Livery Change For Whole of 2020 Season In Stand Against Racism
READ MORE: FIRST LOOK – I’m Talking About 2 Things Here
The W11 is the 2020 Mercedes Formula 1 car. Mercedes changed their silver livery to an all-black livery in support of Black Lives Matter and to stand up against racism and discrimination. Mercedes also promised to improve diversity within the team. Recently, there have been countless numbers of protests around the world to end racism. Policemen killing black citizens prompted people to protest, despite the coronavirus pandemic being present. Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1’s first black superstar, often speaks out in support of the BLM campaign.
“Racism and discrimination have no place in our society, our sport or our team: this is a core belief of Mercedes,” said Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff. “But having the right beliefs and the right mindset isn’t enough if we remain silent.
“We wish to use our voice and our global platform to speak up for respect and equality, and the Silver Arrow will race in black for the entire 2020 season to show our commitment to greater diversity within our team and our sport.”
Mercedes also promised to improve diversity within their company. Only 12% of the staff are women, and only 3% of the employees belong to minority ethnic groups. Mercedes intends to change this to ensure that there is a diverse environment within the team.
Mercedes switched the black and silver on the original livery and changed the text and stickers on the halo. The halo now says ‘END RACISM’ to show that the livery change was against racism and in support of equality. The F1 initiative #WeRaceAsOne will feature on the mirrors of the Black Mercedes. Let me know in the comments below if you think I should write a post about #WeRaceAsOne.
Another important thing to mention is that both the Mercedes drivers will wear black overalls and adapt their helmet designs. The greatest things about this livery change are the fact that it is for an incredible cause, it looks very good, and it will remain for the whole 2020 season. I just can’t wait to see the Black Arrow on track; I’m sure you feel the same way.
2. Both Ferrari Cars To Carry Heartfelt Message At Season Opener In Austria
READ MORE: F1 IS RETURNING! Revised 2020 F1 Calendar Released!
Both the Ferrari cars will carry a #ForzaAlex message at the Austrian GP in support of Alex Zanardi. On the 19th of June 2020, some very sad and shocking news came. Former F1 driver Alex Zanardi had met with a road accident in his home country Italy and is now in intensive care. The 53-year-old is also a 2-time CART racing champion in America, winning in 1997 and 1998.
In Formula 1, Zanardi drove the last 3 races of 1991 for Footwork, but only secured test drives for Minardi in 1992. In 1993, Zanardi signed a contract with Lotus, but suffered major injuries after a road accident, and ended 1993 early due to a concussion from a crash during practice at the Belgian Grand Prix. Zanardi missed the early races of 1994 but returned at the Spanish Grand Prix. Since he was failing to score any points, Lotus replaced Zanardi with Philippe Adams for Belgium and the Portuguese Grands Prix.
After winning 2 titles in CART racing, the Italian driver returned to Formula 1 with Williams in 1999. Unfortunately, Zanardi’s return was unsuccessful, and he returned to CART racing for 2001. However, his luck was even worse in CART racing. Zanardi met with a shocking accident at the Lausitzring in Germany, and both of his legs were amputated. However, Alex Zanardi is a fighter, and so he recovered and continued racing in specially adapted cars, and started handbike racing. Astonishingly, he won 4 Paralympic gold medals, which inspired millions of people around the world.
Ferrari would like to show their best wishes to the former F1 driver by adding a #ForzaAlex message on either side of the roll hoop on both the SF1000 cars. The message will be just under the camera on the engine air intake. Zanardi has undergone multiple surgeries, and his condition is stable. His status is still “severe from a neurological point of view”.
This is the end of the 2020 Season Opener News Roundup Part 1. I have enjoyed writing about all these exciting and meaningful pieces of news. I just can’t wait to see the new liveries and the #ForzaAlex message on track! However, there is still more to come. Stay tuned for the 2020 Season Opener News Roundup Part 2!
