In the round-up: Haas has run their new VF-24 car for the first time at Silverstone.
In brief
Haas debut VF-24 in Silverstone shakedown
Haas became the fifth Formula 1 team to run their 2024 car for the first time at the Silverstone circuit during a pre-season filming day.
Nico Hulkenberg took the new VF-24 for its first laps at the British track ahead of next week’s sole pre-season test in Bahrain, with Kevin Magnussen set to run in an upcoming second shakedown day.
The team also announced that Magnussen and Hulkenberg will share driving duties across each of the three days of the test, with Magnussen running in the morning on the first and third day and the evening on the second, while Hulkenberg will run in the evenings on days one and three and the morning on day two.
Mekies and Bayer ‘dual-leaders’ of RB
New RB team principal Laurent Mekies says that he and the team’s CEO Peter Bayer will effectively act as co-leaders of Red Bull’s second team.
Speaking after RB’s first filming day running at the Misano circuit in Italy, Mekies said that he and Bayer would split duties between them.
“We have a very unique set-up for the management team, here at RB,” Mekies said. “Peter and I are operating hand-in-hand as a dual leadership.
“Each of us has his own area of responsibility. Peter is looking after all the business side of the company – the commercial, the marketing, the communications – and I’m looking after the sporting side, the technical side and the production side of the team.”
Sato to race Indy 500 with RLL
Takuma Sato will compete in this season’s Indianapolis 500 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan in a fourth car entered by the team.
Sato, a two-times winner of the famous race, took the last Indy 500 victory for RLL in 2020. He will attempt to qualify the number 75 entry in May for the 15th time in his career.
“My journey with RLL spans over a decade marked by shared successes and rejoining the team fills me with immense excitement,” Sato said. “Here’s to reconnecting with familiar faces and forging new alliances. I just can’t wait to get to work.”
Honda reopens historic museum
Honda have announced they will reopen their Collection Hall historic museum at the Motegi circuit in Japan following an extensive renovation of the site.
Featuring three floors and four separate exhibition rooms, the museum covers the founding of the company and features road cars, race cars, racing bikes and other models from over 75 years. The museum features many artifacts from their Formula 1 activities over the years.
The Collection Hall has been closed since July of last year for renovations. It will formally reopen for visitors on March 1st.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Red Bull’s Pierre Wache on the team’s 2024 (F1)
‘We did a good job – but we didn’t do an amazing job. I think we identified multiple weaknesses in RB18 and we pushed for (the RB19) to solve them. We didn’t solve all of them, but fortunately the team were able to reduce the weaknesses we had and be able to deliver on track. The strength of our car is also the weakness of the competitors, because I’m not sure we expected to be alone there.’
From factory to track: Andrea Stella on the road to Round 1 (McLaren)
”The reality is that you try and improve in every single area of the car, and it would be a much bigger call to say that we don’t improve one area, rather than allowing the natural flow of development. This leads to the improvement of mechanical packaging, and the overall architecture of the car from a layout point of view. We have looked to try and improve car balance and interaction with the tyres.”
Pierre Gasly: ”Once you are part of the F1 circus you basically don’t have any other life on the side. Twenty-four races is going to be intense. Recovery as an athlete will come into play way more than before. Nutrition, physical and mental preparation. It’s just draining. We are flying around the globe for about 10 months, all over the place. That’s what we train and prepare for.”
Super Bowl v F1: Which attracted the most private jets to Vegas? (Las Vegas Review Journal)
‘While all eyes were on Taylor Swift and her long flight from Tokyo to the West Coast, flight trackers estimated that 882 private planes flew into Las Vegas before and after the big game, according to a post on the WingX website. That’s fewer than the 931 flights to Phoenix-area airports for last year’s Super Bowl and the nearly 1,000 to the valley for the Formula 1 race in November.’
Aston Martin F1 extends cybersecurity partnership with SentinelOne (Security Brief)
‘As part of the expanded partnership, Aston Martin Aramco will employ SentinelOne’s Singularity Platform. The same advanced technology has been employed by Aston Martin Lagonda since 2018, transforming its approach to cybersecurity and securing its operations in a rapidly evolving threat environment.’
Adelaide adds F1 world champion to 2024 Festival (Speedcafe)
‘World champion Damon Hill has been confirmed for the March 16-17 event, held in the Adelaide Parklands. Hill is no stranger to the venue, having taking part in the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide with Williams from 1993 until 1995. The second-generation racer won the final event in the South Australian capital by a staggering two laps.’
Reiss x McLaren’s Formula 1 collection slams trad merch into eighth gear (GQ)
‘Bad merch is bad. Oh-so bad. And for fans of Formula 1, there’s been little option outside of digging through the crates at Beyond Retro to track down something vibey and vintage. Spotting said gap in the market, Reiss x McLaren have linked up to create a series of collections dedicated to the speed, thrill and fans of Formula 1. Finally.’
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