’Cracks’ in Wolff-Mercedes relationship - Albers

"Hairline cracks" have emerged in the otherwise seamless F1 operation at Mercedes.

That is the view of former F1 driver Christijan Albers, who according to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf retains links to Mercedes after his time in DTM.

"I have heard from my network that hairline cracks are developing at Mercedes," said the Dutchman.

Mercedes has utterly dominated Formula 1 since 2014, but recent rumours suggest boss Toto Wolff may be teaming up with billionaire Lawrence Stroll at Aston Martin.

Albers said: "Despite the great performance of the Mercedes team, there are rumours of tension between Wolff and the leadership of Mercedes and the parent company Daimler."

The former Minardi and Spyker driver also disagrees with Bernie Ecclestone that the correct response to the coronavirus pandemic would be for F1 to call off the entire 2020 season.

"It’s very easy to say that but just look how much money is involved in this sport," said Albers.

"I for one sincerely hope that the race at Zandvoort can happen this year because it would be an amazing spectacle. The people there have worked so hard to make it happen."

He is therefore optimistic that racing can take place later this year - even without an actual audience at the track.

"Most of the Formula 1 income comes from television rights and viewing figures," he said.

"Any event that can be held, whether it has an audience or not, means the loss will be a lot smaller. Especially if people are sitting at home and they can still see racing, the viewing figures will be even higher."