In the round-up: Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says last year’s British Grand Prix exemplifies how hard it will be for them to sweep every race in 2023.
In brief
Horner thinks external factors could break Red Bull’s winning run
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says last year’s British Grand Prix exemplifies how hard it will be for them to keep their unbeaten run going until the end of 2023.
“We saw the British GP last year, Max hit a bit of debris and it screwed the floor, and that was his race run,” said Horner. “So it’s fine margins between victory and success.”
The team’s winning running began last year and reached 11 races in a row last weekend, but Horner says that could easily end before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November. “It only takes a bit of weather or a bit of bad luck or a puncture, things can turn around pretty quickly.”
F1 figures meet UK prime minister
Formula 1’s chief executive officer Stefano Domenicali and the team principals of the seven outfits with bases in the United Kingdom met its prime minister, Rishi Sunak at his Downing Street residence on Tuesday.
They discussed the “importance of the F1 industry to the UK economy” and opportunities in further education within that industry, as well as the intended carbon neutral future of F1 and its teams.
Domenicali speaks out against protesters
Domenicali warned afterwards it would be “unacceptable” for people to attempt “dangerous” protests at the British Grand Prix. The event was disrupted by Just Stop Oil protesters last year, who have targeted a series of other sporting events since.
“[I] really hope that people understand that [a circuit] is not the place where you want to find the right space,” said Domenicali of the prospect of the kind of disruptive protests seen at other sport events this year.”
“Our cars are driving 200mph down the straight, you’re putting yourself in danger and also the drivers,” added Mercedes’ team principal Toto Wolff. “I can speak for our drivers, they wouldn’t want to have anybody being at risk: spectators, fans or themselves.”
MP to miss FREC round after death
MP Motorsport has withdrawn from this weekend’s Formula Regional European Championship round at Mugello following the death of its driver Dilano van’t Hoff in the previous round at Spa-Francorchamps last weekend.
“Last Saturday we lost a great driver, but above all a charismatic young man that motivated and inspired so many people around him,” said team principal Sander Dorsman. “We keep on racing, for Dilano, like he would have wanted. But before doing so, we choose to be with Dilano, his family and friends during the next days and during his funeral service.
“Because of this and all emotions and questions we have, we feel the FREC event at Mugello this week comes too early and as a team we decided to not participate in this event.”
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Indy Q&A: Renee Wilm goes 200 mph in overseeing first Las Vegas GP (The Nevada Independent)
‘Wilm represented Liberty Media when it acquired F1 in 2017 for an enterprise value of $8 billion. She soon joined them full time as the company’s chief legal officer, and last summer – when Liberty announced it was partnering with the Las Vegas tourism industry to bring F1 to the Strip – they asked her to oversee the newest race on the calendar.’
Malukas set to depart Dale Coyne Racing at the end of the season (Racer)
‘Entering 2023 with a new, first-time IndyCar race engineer in Alex Athanasiadis, Malukas has weathered the inevitable growing pains while taking more steps forward in his career, which includes a strong run to sixth last weekend at Mid-Ohio. Having reached a point where he is drawing interest from the likes of Andretti Autosport, among other teams, the 21-year-old is ready to pursue race wins and championships with a front-running programme.’
Dixon says Mid-Ohio race ‘definitely a good day’ (IndyCar)
‘It doesn’t seem to matter how good of a performance Scott Dixon puts together, these days he, like everyone in IndyCar, is looking at the rear wing of Chip Ganassi Racing team mate Alex Palou. But Mid-Ohio is usually known as Dixon’s playground. After all, he is nicknamed ‘Mr. Mid-Ohio’ for his record-setting six victories. Sunday, though, he was left doing something he had never done in his 19 previous starts at the trac: he finished second.’
Critic Ayumu Iwasa warns performance improvements are needed (Formula Scout)
‘Ayumu Iwasa was thinking about how he was far from satisfied with his sophomore Formula 2 season as he stood on the feature race podium at the Red Bull Ring. The DAMS driver had come from 16th on the grid to finish second, as a perfectly timed safety car period helped him to maximise his alternate strategy.’
Euro 4: the first round of a new F4 series begins at Mugello (ACI Sport)
‘Euro 4, the new Formula 4 series created by ACI Sport and WSK Promotion, arrives for its debut weekend at the Mugello Circuit. This weekend 26 cars fielded by seven different teams will come together on the Tuscan track, ready to compete for the first round.’
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Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Ben73!