In the round-up: Haas will use the Austrian Grand Prix sprint weekend as an opportunity to investigate the tyre degradation problems which have blighted their season.
In brief
Haas “have a few ideas” to fix poor race pace
The difficulties Haas have experienced with their tyre performance over a race stint were highlighted in Canada, where Nico Hulkenberg qualified second (before collecting a penalty) but fell to 15th in the race.
At the Red Bull Ring, where F1 will hold a sprint race on Saturday in addition to the grand prix, team principal Guenther Steiner said they will concentrate their efforts on tackling those problems.
“We’re going into this race partly a little bit like a test session as well,” Steiner said. “We have a lot of things to try and cure our problems with the race pace, so we have a few ideas.
“As we have two races now this weekend, we’ve got double the amount of time to try to do different things. Obviously, we always try to get the best result possible but also maybe we compromise the best result possible for really understanding what is happening with our car on race day.”
Wurz ruled out of racing at Spa by doctor
Charlie Wurz, son of two-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Alexander, has been ruled out of this weekend’s Formula Regional European Championship round at Spa-Francorchamps on medical grounds.
The 17-year-old, who was Formula 4 United Arab Emirates champion last year and Formula Regional Oceania champion at the start of 2023, has caught laryngitis. Although he felt fit enough to attempt to race, he is following doctor’s advice not to do so.
“I’m gutted but will be in action very soon,” said Wurz, who has scored only once in his first six FREC races.
His place in ART Grand Prix’s line-up for the weekend will be taken by former Alpine protege Hadrien David, who was 2021 FREC runner-up and came fourth in the series last year. ART GP were quick to sign David, and cited a need to use his experience to help them return to the front of the field as they only have one top-five finish so far this season across their three cars.
Cresswell to make F3 debut
There will be a change to the usual Formula 3 grid at the Austrian GP and at the British Grand Prix the week after, as PHM Racing by Charouz will replace Polish rookie Piotr Wisnicki with McKenzy Cresswell.
Wisnicki has only scored six times in his 61-race single-seater career, and struggled to feature in the top 20 of races since graduating from F4 last year. He never finished higher than 21st in FREC, yet chose to step up to F3 for 2023 and has only recorded a best finish of 18th from eight races.
Teenager Cresswell arrives in his seat with no F3-level experience, but is in his second year racing in Britain’s GB3 series. “It’s been whirlwind few days, having learned of this opportunity at the end of last week,” he said. “Big thanks to Roland Rehfeld at PHM and Tony Shaw, my GB3 engineer, for making this happen. I will try my best to adapt quickly and get the best results possible.
“Red Bull Ring will be an exciting challenge,” he added. “It’s a new car and new circuit for me.”
F1 23 gets its first patch for console gamers
Electronic Arts, the developer of the latest official Formula 1 video game F1 23, has announced the first patch for the game will be made available to download “in the coming days”.
The patch addresses 18 faults including the two-player career mode incorrectly using equal performance instead of realistic performance, making sure the formation lap and any safety car laps are now playable on 25% length races, fixing an issue where “cars would incorrectly collide when the setting ‘collisions off for first lap only’ was enabled” and changing the name of the ‘Renault Driver Academy’ to the ‘Alpine Driver Academy’ in career mode.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Aston Martin boss Stroll: ‘I should be knighted for work I’ve done’ (Autocar)
‘Lawrence Stroll believes he should be knighted for the work he has done in saving Aston Martin and setting the company up for future success.’
Hollywood investment in Alpine illustrates F1’s strong financial health (The Guardian)
‘Famously once a sport where fortunes could be drained away in a few short years, often with little or no return, F1, it appears, is finally making the numbers add up. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have stolen the headlines with their investment in the Alpine team but what speaks volumes is that the consortium of which they are part wanted into F1 to the tune of £157m in the first place.’
Domestic testing of Super Formula Lights’ new engine to begin at Suzuka (Super Formula Lights)
‘The SFL Association, which operates the Super Formula Lights series, has been developing a more sustainable and low-cost one-make engine to replace the current engines that have used since series was known as Japanese F3. The first on-track test in Japan for the new engine will take place during this weekend’s round at Suzuka.’
Formula E unveils expanded CBS deal, launches U.S. streaming partnership with Roku (Racer)
‘Formula E has unveiled new broadcast distribution partnerships in the U.S. that will bring more live races to long-standing partner CBS, and introduce Roku as the series’s American streaming home.
Beginning in January 2024, five races will air live on CBS Television Network and simulcast on Paramount+, with both channels already featured and integrated prominently on Roku’s platform. Roku users that subscribe to Paramount+ can view the races airing on the service through the Paramount+ app on Roku’s Sports Experience.’
Piastri faces Australian cricket bowling attack (Speedcafe)
‘Oscar Piastri has visited the Australian cricket team ahead of the second Ashes test, starting at Lord’s tomorrow. The McLaren driver has made no secret of his love for cricket and threw his support behind the Australian team before a ball was bowled in the 2023 series. As part of his visit, Piastri strapped on the pads and faced a handful of deliveries in the nets.’
The off-track keys to Kush Maini’s strong start to life as an F2 rookie (Formula Scout)
‘Kush Maini has been one of the surprises of the F2 season, being one of the most consistent scorers and highest-performing rookies, which he puts down to his Campos team and new place of residence.’
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