Back to Zak Brown, who is not happy at all about the attempts of some teams to block the expansion of the popular sprint race format in an attempt to hold out for more money.

Brown believes that a proposed doubling of the number of sprint race events for next season may now not occur.

It was announced in June last year that well-regarded aerodynamicist Dan Fallows would be leaving Red Bull to take up the role of technical director at Aston Martin, but since there has been a mighty squabble over when Fallows would be able to start work with his new team. A cumbersome contract could have meant Fallows remaining in his current post for an extended period, with Christian Horner saying last year that “it certainly won’t be within the next couple of years”.

Well, now it will. The two teams have finally reached an agreement that will see Fallows start at Aston Martin on April 2, soon after the start of the new season on March 20.

Fallows, who will bring to a close a more than 15-year association with Red Bull, said he is excited to get to work: “I’ve enjoyed many happy years at Red Bull Racing and am proud of what we achieved. I am looking forward to next season and a new challenge.”

The move reunites Fallows with Sebastian Vettel.

More on the seven-time world champion in a bit, but his soon-to-be Mercedes colleague George Russell has been enjoying a jaunt to Germany and a visit to the headquarters of his new team.

Let’s begin with Zak Brown, who had a rather extended natter at a press conference yesterday on all manner of F1 topics.

The McLaren chief executive would not be surprised if Lewis Hamilton retires...

We are now little more than two months away from the start of the 2022 Formula 1 season, and there is plenty of news to dig through this morning. Welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of all the latest on F1’s best and brightest both on the grid and beyond.