In the round-up: Lewis Hamilton says he is confident that Mercedes know their biggest weakness compared to their rivals.
In brief
Hamilton sure Mercedes know ‘where we’re lacking’
Lewis Hamilton has a clear idea of where Mercedes need to make gains with their car as they close the gap to the three teams ahead of them.
“The biggest improvement I think, coming into this year has been ride quality and being able to get the car lower, which is what others have been able to do,” he said.
“Then stability on entry of corners. The car’s far more predictable than it ever was, particularly the last couple of years, and particularly this year, it’s a lot more stable so we can be more committed into the corners. But then through-corner balance is where we’ve been lacking, where some of the others have really taken a big step. So that’s what we’re trying to work on.”
Ferrari fined for Leclerc tyre error
Ferrari have been fined €5,000 (£4,248) for sending Charles Leclerc onto the track during second practice with intermediate tyres on his car before the race director declared the conditions were wet.
Lopez replaces injured Conway for Le Mans
Toyota hypercar driver Mike Conway will miss next weekend’s Le Mans 24 Hours after suffering broken ribs and collar bone in a cycling accident.
The driver, who shares the number seven car with team mates Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries, will be replaced by former team mate Jose Maria Lopez, who was due to race the Akkodis Lexus GT3 car in the car.
Lopez won the race in 2021 along with Kobayashi and Conway in the first edition of Le Mans run to modern hypercar regulations.
F1 24 receives handling patch
Codemasters have released the first patch for the new F1 24 game on all platforms, introducing significant changes to the controversial new handling model.
The developers have tweaked the tyre model to address the complaints about rapidly turn-in grip, tyre temperatures and attempted to generate more retirements from AI cars in career mode.
Car performance has also been changed, with teams such as McLaren and RB receiving a boost in performance, while Williams and Sauber have had their levels reduced.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Renault CEO: ”We will not sell” Alpine F1 team despite struggles (Autocar)
”I want to make this very clear. There is no way we are going to give up. It’s not my style. We will not sell even a part of this thing. We don’t need the money. I’ve had people making offers left and right, then talking in the press about it. But we’re not interested. It would be stupid and I won’t do it.”
Canadian F1 Grand Prix opens in Montreal (CTV News)
Canadian Grand Prix president and CEO Francois Dumontier: ”It’s a new surface. We repaved it back in the fall so we’ll have to see about that, but maybe a little bit of rain, not heavy rain, but just a little bit of rain could make the race a bit more exciting.”
James’ pre-Canada Team Talk (Williams)
James Vowles says he was disappointed with Williams’ result in Monaco despite scoring points after running an ‘experimental’ set-up.
This year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix will include a smaller bridge (Las Vegas Review Journal)
Las Vegas GP CEO Renee Wilm: ”Consistent with our pledge to cause less disruption in the lead up to our 2024 race, we are happy to reduce the size of the Flamingo bridge thereby significantly mitigating the impact of the bridge on neighbouring businesses. This new design allows us to continue to construct an incredibly complex circuit in one of the busiest destinations in the world while ensuring adequate access within the track for those who need it, especially for emergency response entities.”
Hypercar drivers downplay tyre warmer ban risk (Sportscar 365)
Michael Christensen”I think when you get past the first chicane on the Mulsanne Straight, I think you will be okay. But from the pit exit until that point, I think you can expect some things because you get quite some heat in the tyres down the straights as well and you start to get a feel for the grip.”
‘Headlining with refinements to handling that will enhance the driving experience for all players, here are the changes coming with the first post-launch patch for F1 24.’
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Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
Yep, I did it again! 😂 Another tattoo, this time for our win in Miami, and Lando’s first in F1. I have to say, it was just as painful as the first time. Thankfully, Lando was there to give me all the encouragement I needed… not! pic.twitter.com/N2jcrI8xly
— Zak Brown (@ZBrownCEO) June 7, 2024
Well then…😅 pic.twitter.com/zi9Liv0KLK
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) June 7, 2024
The runoff area at the final corner has now become a deep lake. That would put a stop to track limits violations, right? #CanadianGP 🇨🇦
— Sean Kelly (@virtualstatman) June 7, 2024
I’ve called a lot of @IndyNXT practice sessions over the years but that was definitely the first where a driver parked his car on pitlane early and hopped out because he suddenly landed an @Indycar ride for the weekend.
Nolan Siegel in…Agustin Canapino out of the JHR #78
WILD
— Nick Yeoman (@NYeoman) June 7, 2024
Nolan Siegel is competing in both the #IndyCar and #IndyNxt rounds at Road America this weekend after his 11th hour call-up to replace Agustin Canapino at Juncos Hollinger.
He lapped the track in 1’53.2402 in Indy Nxt practice – then went 8.1s quicker in the IndyCar session… pic.twitter.com/OlMqhvJxk6
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) June 7, 2024
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Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Spasman78!
On this day in motorsport
