Jos Verstappen, who was dumped by Arrows just weeks before the start of the season, has been left out in the cold once more following Sauber's decision not to offer the Dutchman a reserve driver role.
It appears that Verstappen's height compared to regular Sauber drivers Nick Heidfeld and Felipe Massa has made it logistically impossible to fit the former Benetton, Simtek and Tyrrell star in the C21.
"If Jos had to step into a grand prix weekend for Sauber in a car which is meant for another driver it would take at least three hours to change everything," said his manager Huub Rothengatter on Verstappen's website. "This is a giant practical problem. No changes would have to be done to the monocoque (which meant no extra expensive crash tests), but things like pedals, steering column, seat and the seat belt construction. This is almost the whole of the interior of the cockpit. Mission impossible if you want to drive as well in that weekend."
Verstappen's options for this season appear limited. He was linked with an Opel drive in the DTM, although this was subsequently denied, and there are no vacant top-line seats in Champ Car for him to step into.
Abu Dhabi / Results
Pos | Driver | Time |
---|---|---|
1 | Max Verstappen | 1h36m28.645s |
2 | Valtteri Bottas | 1h36m44.621s |
3 | Lewis Hamilton | 1h36m47.060s |
4 | Alexander Albon | 1h36m48.632s |
5 | Lando Norris | 1h37m29.374s |
Standings / After 17 races
Pos | Driver | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Lewis Hamilton | 347 |
2 | Valtteri Bottas | 223 |
3 | Max Verstappen | 214 |
4 | Sergio Perez | 125 |
5 | Daniel Ricciardo | 119 |
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Coming up
Race | Circuit | Date |
---|---|---|
Bahrain | Bahrain | 28 Mar |
Emilia Romagna | Imola | 18 Apr |
? | ? | 2 May |
Spain | Catalunya | 9 May |
Monaco | Monte Carlo | 23 May |
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Berlin / Results
Pos | Driver | Time |
---|---|---|
1 | Stoffel Vandoorne | 47m22.107s |
2 | Nyck de Vries | 47m23.447s |
3 | Sebastien Buemi | 47m24.948s |
4 | Rene Rast | 47m25.687s |
5 | Sam Bird | 47m30.817s |
Standings / After 11 races
Pos | Driver | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Antonio Felix da Costa | 158 |
2 | Stoffel Vandoorne | 87 |
3 | Jean-Eric Vergne | 86 |
4 | Sebastien Buemi | 84 |
5 | Oliver Rowland | 83 |
Browse full championship table |
Coming up
Race | Circuit | Date |
---|---|---|
Diriyah | Diriyah | 26 Feb 2021 |
Diriyah | Diriyah | 27 Feb 2021 |
Santiago | Parque O'Higgins | |
Santiago | Parque O'Higgins | |
Sanya | Sanya | |
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