F1 Gossip: Wolff catches COVID-19 and provides Hamilton contract update

- Toto Wolff says a new contract for star driver Lewis Hamilton needs to be signed by Bahrain at the very latest and insists Mercedes “never played the George Russell card” as negotiations continue (Sky Sport Austria) 

- Wolff also confirmed he recently completed a 10-day quarantine period in Austria after becoming the latest senior figure in F1 to test positive for coronavirus. Wolff added he had the “mildest of symptoms” (ORF, via RaceFans)

- Williams F1 senior advisor and 2009 world champion Jenson Button believes there’s a “new sense of optimism” at the team and says new owners Dorilton Capital are “not afraid to try new things” (Formula1.com) 

- Mercedes technical director James Allison admits the team “still have fears” over the aerodynamic rule changes for the upcoming 2021 F1 season, despite being confident the German manufacturer has a good base with its W12 (Auto Motor und Sport, via AS.com) 

- Sebastian Vettel admits he was left “confused” by Ferrari’s decision to not renew his contract at the time and considered quitting F1 altogether before eventually signing for the rebranded Aston Martin squad (RACER) 

- Daniel Ricciardo has dismissed suggestions that Fernando Alonso is too old to return to F1 at the age of 39, with the Australian convinced his predecessor at the rebranded Alpine team will still be at the top of his game (SpeedWeek) 

- Ex-Haas F1 driver Kevin Magnussen enjoyed a spell leading the Daytona 24 Hours qualifying race as he acquitted himself well on his IMSA debut. After impressing early on, the Dane fell to last in class after appearing to be caught out on wet tyres as the track dried

Prior to the caution.

The No. 01 @KevinMagnussen with @CGRTeams takes the lead in DPi.#IMSA / #Roar24 / #MotulPole pic.twitter.com/wflzjIkIo6

— #IMSA / #MotulPole (@IMSA) January 24, 2021