In the round-up: Charles Leclerc felt hurt to miss out on being the driver who stopped Red Bull going unbeaten in grands prix this year.
In brief
Leclerc says it “hurts” to not be the one to interrupt Red Bull’s winning run
Charles Leclerc fell to fifth in the standings in 2023, after being world championship runner-up last year, and saw his team mate inflict the only defeat on Red Bull all season long. Carlos Sainz Jnr lost the team mate battle at Ferrari by six points, and got four podiums to Leclerc’s eight, but he won the Singapore Grand Prix, the only time Red Bull’s RB19 did not lead the feel home.
“That hurts especially in a season like this, in which there was only this one chance,” Leclerc admitted in an interview for Auto Motor und Sport.
“That’s where I didn’t get the qualification right, which ultimately cost me the race. But it was absolutely important for the team. Because we did everything right as a team.”
Leclerc started third while Sainz took pole, and to make up ground off the line he chose a softer tyre compound even though it tied him to a less favourable strategy that ultimately led to him finishing a distant fourth.
“The thing with the soft tyres was my idea,” he said. “Not to help Carlos, but because it was the best thing for our race. In moments like this you have to accept that the team comes first. They would do the same for me if I was ahead.”
Wolff labels FIA investigation as “personal attack”
Mercedes’ Formula 1 team principal Toto Wolff has spoken out about the FIA’s recent and short-lived investigation into a potential leak of confident information.
The FIA’s disclosure of the investigation, and reports elsewhere linking the Wolff to it, drew strong rejects from them, Mercedes and Formula One Management. Within two days of the investigation being announced the FIA declared it was over. However Mercedes have indicated they are considering legal action.
“That was a personal attack in which a red line was crossed,” Wolff told media in Germany. “After 10 years as team boss, I’m already pretty hardened and can hardly be surprised anymore, but this story was shocking,” said Wolff. “If I’m caught in the crossfire, it’s no problem for me at all. I have developed thick skin and can handle it. But when you attack my family, it’s a different level.”
Palou confirmed at Ganassi for several more seasons
Reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou will be part of Chip Ganassi Racing’s line-up for 2025 and beyond.
Palou had signed to join McLaren for 2023, but following a lawsuit from his current team an agreement was reached that meant he stayed at Ganassi for this year. He was then expected to join McLaren in 2024, but Palou announced he would stay with Ganassi instead for next season. Now McLaren are taking Palou to court, but he admitted this week he now has a multi-year deal with Ganassi.
That information came to light when the team announced DHL as the primary sponsor of Palou’s car for several seasons, despite being yet to announce Palou’s place in their line-up for 2025. The driver himself cleared up the confusion in a press conference a few hours later.
“It’s another new deal. It’s going to be multi-year as well,” explained Palou. “It’s not been announced specifically, but it was announced today [within the DHL news]. I cannot really mention more than that. But it is going to be a multi-year deal.”
Montoya and Leon finalise their 2024 F3 plans
Campos Racing have completed their 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship line-up with the signing of Sebastian Montoya.
The 18-year-old Colombian is the son of Juan Pablo Montoya, a winner in Formula 1 and the Indianapolis 500 as well as a CART and IMSA champion, and is currently backed by Red Bull.
The younger Montoya came fourth in Italian Formula 4 in 2021, was a Formula Regional Asian Championship race-winner last year and picked up one podium in his rookie FIA F3 season with Hitech GP this year.
Meanwhile Van Amersfoort Racing have signed Noel Leon for the 2024 FIA F3 season. The 18-year-old Mexican was champion of the F3-level Euroformula series this year, and is also a NACAM and United States F4 champion. The first of his team mates will be announced next week.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
IndyCar still developing charter system (Racer)
‘Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles and the rest of the senior leadership in charge of IndyCar continue to work on developing their version of NASCAR’s charter system, which is similar to the old CART franchise structure where team had a commodity — an asset with commercial value — associated with each of their IndyCar entries that could be purchased or sold.’
USF Pro championships’ Sebring test bodes well for exciting 2024 season (USF Pro 2000)
‘The first test for the USF Pro championships using Continental tyres wrapped up today at Sebring. And judging by the closeness of the lap times, thrilling seasons are set to unfold in 2024. A trio of Pabst Racing cars topped the times in USF Pro 2000, separated by just 0.008 seconds. Christian Brooks edged out USF2000 champion Simon Sikes and Jace Denmark, as all three set their fastest times during Tuesday’s opening session.’
What does power mean in 2023? (Marie Claire)
”I joined Formula E team as a principal and at my first media roundtable I was asked ‘did your husband get you this job? You’ve just had a baby, how are you going to manage travel?’,’ said Wolff. ‘That was the moment where I realised how much work there was to do, but also that the biggest way to change perceptions is to be successful, focus on the performance. I tell the younger generation, let the noise around your gender fade away because the minute you perform, everything else fades away. If you are really good at what you do, that naturally gives you power.”
Rafael Camara commits to second FREC season with Prema (Formula Scout)
‘Ferrari junior Rafael Camara will remain in Prema’s Formula Regional European Championship line-up for 2024, after coming fifth in the standings this year, while Andrea Kimi Antonelli – his team-mate and rival of the last two years – jumps all the way up to Formula 2.’
Roland’s View: Formula 4’s return to Australia (Speedcafe)
‘After the debacle of the last attempt at sustaining an F4 championship here, it’s essential that this new initiative works well. For five years, CAMS managed to make a mess of running F4 for a variety of reasons, most of which were highlighted to them before they ever started. That lack of a sustainable platform ultimately cost CAMS membership (because we all pay for mistakes through our licence fees) a great deal of money.’
NASCAR officials reinstate Cup Series driver Cody Ware (NASCAR)
‘The former IndyCar driver had been suspended indefinitely by the sanctioning body on April 10 after being arrested by the Iredell County sheriff’s office on a felony charge of ‘assault by strangulation — inflict serious injury’ and a misdemeanour charge of ‘assault on female’. The charges have since been dropped.’
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