In the round-up: Former Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer says more could have been done to prevent Oscar Piastri leaving them to join McLaren last year.
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In brief
Szafnauer believes Alpine had chance to keep Piastri
Alpine intended to promote Piastri from a reserve driver role to a race seat this year but unbeknown to them he signed a deal to race for McLaren. The FIA’s Contract Recognition Board ruled in McLaren’s favour.
Otmar Szafnauer, who was Alpine’s Formula 1 team principal at the time but dropped by the team earlier this year, thinks more could have been done to hold onto the driver. “There was a CRB test that landed on the side of Oscar and McLaren, but that’s not the only test,” he said in an interview with Peter Windsor.
“Had we tested the contract in the English courts, because it was governed by English law, the outcome could have been much different than the CRB. We performed, Oscar didn’t. From a CRB perspective there was an ‘out’. But from an English law perspective, it could have been different. But the decision was made to not continue the fight and just let it be as it is. And that’s okay, that was a decision that I didn’t make. That was a decision that was made for me.”
Szafnauer said he wishes Piastri well and admitted he “performed well” against Lando Norris in his first season at McLaren this year. “I think to me, next year or the year after will be more telling,” Szafnauer continued.
“You’ve got to give Oscar the year of getting used to the team, the circuits with the car that’s underneath him. I think Lando is exceptional, and you can see that in the comparison. Although everyone says Oscar did a good job, because he did, I think Lando was still quite a way ahead. Not all races, but in total points and some of the head-to-head comparisons.”
Pau Grand Prix cancelled for 2024
Pau’s municipal council has announced that the city’s grand prix will not take place in 2024, but there are plans to bring it back the year after with a greater focus on sustainability.
While recognising the race – which was first run in 1933 – “is part of the city’s tradition”, Pau’s mayor Francois Bayrou no longer wants public funding to go into the event and so future edition will have to be privately financed. Such backing looks difficult to find for 2024 due to French firms involving themselves in the Olympic Games in Paris next year, meaning 2025 will mark the likely return of the grand prix.
The race ran for Formula 3 cars from 2011 to 2019, then after two pandemic-enforced cancellations the grand prix returned last year with the F3-level Euroformula series. A new requirement for series to use sustainable fuels ruled Euroformula out of the event in 2023, and the city wants future editions to run for cars not running on fossil fuels.
Juncos expecting improvements with new team manager
Juncos Hollinger Racing co-owner Ricardo Juncos says the appointment of paddock veteran David Morgan as team manager is an important step for the team as it enters its second season as a two-car operation. Morgan takes up a role previously held by Vince Kremer.
“We hired a lot of people at the start of 2023 and late ’22, and David was one of those guys and was on the 78 [Agustin Canapino] car,” said Juncos.
“He didn’t have a specific role on anything, really. He was just overseeing everything. But he became a good part of the team with the people from the [workshop] floor. The mechanics, the truck drivers, the loading, unloading, and the great Vince Kremer.”
Morgan was able to “go through what was right and wrong that we did clearly through ’23” by being in a role that enabled him to observe all team activities,” said Juncos.
“He has a clear understanding by going back to kind of the lower level after being a team manager and team owner in his life, and being in racing for many years, that he was a translator to me on things that can be right or better or [was done] wrong,” explained Juncos. “On why it was wrong, or why it should be this way [and so on].”
The appointment had been well received by the team, Juncos added. “The relationship he built with the guys, it was really good. Actually when I named him as a team manager, I saw the faces on the floor and everybody was really happy for him to be the one.”
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Bahrain takes full control of McLaren Group in deal with minority investors (Sky)
‘Mumtalakat, the Gulf state’s investment fund, is on the brink of a deal with McLaren’s remaining minority shareholders to convert their equity into warrant-like instruments. The new contracts will have the economic rights to benefit from a future ‘liquidity event’ such as an initial public offering of McLaren, but would not be classed as shares.’
This is IndyCar’s moment to win the race to what’s next (Racer)
‘The winter of 2023 has been an offseason of discontent within IndyCar. In particular, the past 10 days have revealed some unsettling realities that require immediate and thoughtful attention following confirmation of another delay of the mild hybrid powertrain formula that was originally set to debut at the start of the 2023 season, then delayed until 2024 and is now delayed yet again.’
The ‘big personality’ Williams seeks to tame for F1 2024 (Speedcafe)
‘The FW45 was complex, possessing ‘a big personality’, according to Albon, even after a major upgrade was delivered ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, beyond which little was done to address its ongoing vagaries as Vowles opted to focus on next year and beyond. Albon has confirmed the team ‘spent a lot of the year’ trying to understand the car’s issues, naturally citing the fact that ‘the more we can figure this out, the more it’s going to help us next year’.’
Indy 500 ‘Quilt Lady’ Jeanetta Holder dead at 91 (WRTV)
‘May 30, 1932 is an important day in Indianapolis 500 history. It was the date of the 20th running of ‘The greatest spectacle in racing’ and it was the birth date of one of the an important woman to dozens of winners since 1976. Jeanetta Holder, lovingly known to fans as the ‘Indy 500 Quilt Lady’, has died. She was 91. Holder, born on race day in 1932, passed away last week in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Since 1976, Holder has provided the winning driver of the Indy 500 with a handmade quilt.’
‘Toyota Gazoo Racing New Zealand has confirmed that the fleet of cars that compete in its Formula Regional Oceania championship will switch full-time to P1 Fuels synthetic fuel. A successful test programme means that all 20 cars will use 100% fossil-free fuel, pushing the New Zealand-based championship to the sharp end of worldwide categories making steps towards a carbon-neutral future.’
F3 champion Bortoleto: Alonso’s support ‘will be even more useful’ in F2 (Formula Scout)
‘FIA Formula 3 champion Gabriel Bortoleto expects the mentorship of Fernando Alonso ‘will be even more useful’ when he races in Formula 2 next year. Bortoleto is part of the A14 Management stable and called the support of its co-founder Alonso ‘life-changing’ early this year as he began his FIA F3 title charge.’
Formula E still hasn’t given racing fans a reason to care (Road & Track)
‘Across the lifetime of an oak tree, over the long history of a country, or the geological eons needed to make a natural diamond, nine years is not long. For a television series, a generation of a car, or the original run of the Beatles, though, nine years is about all you get when things go right. Your opinion of Formula E will come down to whether or not you believe nine years to be a long time for a racing series.’
Indy winner Newgarden embracing champion’s role (IndyCar)
‘Newgarden is fully embracing this year-long winner’s tour. On December 15, he came up to Indianapolis from his Nashville home to be honored with the unveiling of his likeness on the famed Borg-Warner Trophy. One of the most famous pieces of hardware in the racing community is reserved for the faces that win the Indianapolis 500. Borg-Warner Trophy sculptor Will Behrends felt a special connection to Newgarden and noticed how embracing Newgarden was to the process.’
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Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Ferrox Glideh!
On this day in motorsport
- Born on this day in 1968: Karl Wendlinger, who was part of Mercedes’ junior sports car team alongside Michael Schumacher, graduated to F1, but was badly injured in a crash at Monaco in 1994
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