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Abiteboul says there are no plans for him to do this.

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Sebastian Vettel said this week that he would take a seat at Red Bull if offered one for 2021, having been dropped by Ferrari, but Team Principal Christian Horner moved to quash that possibility…

The door slammed shut at Renault this week when they announced Fernando Alonso would be making a sensational return to F1 after two years away, leaving Vettel with an ever-reducing list of potential race seats once he leaves Ferrari at the end of the season.

On Thursday Vettel reiterated his affection for Red Bull, with whom he won all four of his world titles, and he is known to still have good relationships with the staff and senior management.

But during Friday practice for the Styrian Grand Prix, Horner said Red Bull is focused on retaining their Max Verstappen-Alexander Albon line-up and that Vettel re-joining the team is a “definite no”, while Red Bull Motorsport Advisor Helmut Marko also told Sky Italia that the move was not on.

“Obviously the topic has been raised, “ Horner told Sky Sports F1. “We had a brilliant time with Seb, he’ll forever be a part of our history, but we didn’t expect him to be on the market this year, and our commitment is to our existing drivers.

“We think we have a great pairing in Max and Alex, and we think that has great potential for the future as well, so unfortunately it’s not something that we’re going to be able to accommodate.

“That is a definite no I’m afraid, Sebastian is aware of that. It’s unusual for a four time world champion to be out of a drive at this point in the year so I guess he has got a couple of choices available to him, assuming Racing Point or a year out and re-evaluate the options in a year’s time.”

The subject of a move to Racing Point was discussed by Vettel on Thursday in Austria, with the German admitting he knows some members of the team from his past, before adding everything is an option at this stage, including retirement, a year out, or finding another seat.

But with Perez holding a contract to drive for Racing Point – which will become Aston Martin Racing next year – in 2021, and Lance Stroll likely to keep his seat given his father owns the team, is Racing Point a genuine option?

“I don’t think Lance is going to get parked,” Horner said. “Of course drivers contracts between the teams, you never know what is within them, it’s only the contract recognition board which has full sight of them. I’m sure perhaps they have options or break points, but that’s really none of our business.”

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Italy’s spectacular Mugello circuit will host a Grand Prix for the very first time in September, as Formula 1 announced the Tuscan Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix at Sochi have been added to the revised 2020 race calendar.

Mugello is owned by Ferrari, and the circuit’s first F1 event – set for September 11-13, the weekend after the Italian Grand Prix at Monza - is set to be a celebration in more ways than one, given it will mark the Scuderia’s 1000th race in the world championship.

A regular on the MotoGP calendar, Mugello will be the fourth Italian circuit, after Monza, Imola and the fabled road course at Pescara, used just once in 1957, to host a world championship race. F1 cars have tested at the circuit many times, however, with Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc doing so prior to the season opener and raving about its fast and flowing nature.

The addition of Mugello and Sochi, which will take place September 25-27, brings the current number of confirmed races in 2020 to ten, with more to be announced in the coming weeks. As stated previously, Formula 1 expects the revised 2020 season to have between 15 and 18 races.

“We want to thank the promoters, national authorities, the teams and the FIA for their hard work and support in making these Grands Prix possible,” said Formula 1 in a statement, “and know our fans will be delighted to see Russia host its seventh race at the Sochi Autodrom and see Formula 1 cars race for the first time at exciting Mugello circuit in Italy.”

“We are delighted to announce Mugello and Sochi will be part of the 2020 calendar and want to thank all our partners for their support in recent weeks,” added Chase Carey, Chairman and CEO of Formula 1.

“We had great start to our season in Austria last weekend and we are increasingly confident in our plans to race throughout the remainder of 2020.

“The Russian Grand Prix is a major moment in our season and we are looking forward to being back in Sochi in September. We are equally excited to see Formula 1 race for the first time at Mugello, an occasion that will mark Ferrari’s 1000 Grand Prix. Both races will be a huge boost for fans with more announcements on the next races in our calendar coming in the weeks ahead.”

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Originally posted by 280nosler:
I was just about to post this - very excited to see Mugello back.

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Originally posted by P250UA5:

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Originally posted by 280nosler:
I was just about to post this - very excited to see Mugello back.

Should be interesting, since it's never hosted an F1 race.
Majority of the grid has likely never turned a lap there.

Saw an article that said it's hosted testing a few times & was where Raikkonen made his debut.

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Originally posted by 220-9er:
Ricciardo wasn't limping that bad and Sergei Sirotkin is the 2020 reserve driver at this point.
Not sure that Fernando is even in the country at this point and jumping in at the back of the grid, maybe as late as Sunday morning if the weather arrives, isn't a good way to start off.

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Originally posted by P250UA5:
Another good race.

The midfield is great to watch.

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Originally posted by Georgeair:
Could someone help me understand the strategy behind Bottas waiting so late to pit?

I understand that he had fresher tires at end and was able to overtake MV due to that, but it seemed an unnecessary risk/strategy to take.

Right after MV pitted Bottas had a nearly 30 second gap and was in a car that on same tires/fuel Red Bull wasn't going to be able to catch let alone pass. Supposed lost time for a pitstop is 25 seconds.

So with 28-30 seconds in hand why not pit immediately after MV did? Yeah it worked out in the end but barely. They nearly threw it away it seems?

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Originally posted by 280nosler:
The Red Bulls are much better immediately after they change tires, whereas the Mercedes take 4-7 laps to get to temperature.

As a result they waited, gave the position, and allowed the tires to come on before he pounced, and with greater life in the tires, you saw what he did.

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Originally posted by P250UA5:
Don't have a source, but read earlier that Bottas & the team have tentatively agreed on a 2021 deal, but that a contract has not been signed yet.

Also saw that MB wants to offer Hamilton a contract in the 15M range, rather than the ~40M he has right now.

Maybe Vettel being on the market will help with negotiations.