RaceFans Round-up: Bearman drove “like a veteran”

In brief

Bearman “very much up to the task” – Vasseur

Bearman rose from 11th on the grid to finish seventh on his debut yesterday, having only had one practice session and qualifying to familiarise himself with the SF-24. Vasseur was impressed to see his driver take the chequered flag ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris.

“He managed these two days amazingly well, almost like a veteran,” he said. “There were no problems with his start or at the pit stop, things that were all new to him. He was always calm and precise with his feedback over the radio and gradually his confidence in the car grew so that towards the end he managed to keep two great drivers, Lando and Lewis behind him.”

Carlos Sainz Jnr, who had to give up his seat to Bearman after suffering appendicitis, was among those watching in the team’s garage.

“It was nice that Carlos was able to join us at the track today, just over 24 hours after his operation and we hope he will be able to race in Australia,” said Vasseur. “If nothing else, this weekend has taught us that, if the need arises again, we have a reserve driver who is very much up to the task.”

Hulkenberg “will return the favour” to Magnussen

Nico Hulkenberg said he would pay team mate Kevin Magnussen back for helping him score a point by slowing down their rivals in yesterday’s race – tactics which angered their rivals.

“One point is worth a lot these days,” said Hulkenberg. “It felt like a very clean race, and a really good race by the team strategy-wise.

“We split the cars during the Safety Car which was discussed before the race and that worked out well. At the restart when the faster cars disappeared, I managed to get free air, good pace, and a good rhythm.

“I think that was key, but also the teamwork from Kevin today to slow down the others for me to be able to make a pit window. It was perfect teamwork, and I’ll return the favour to him later in the season.”

Start of season “very difficult” for Alpine

Alpine team principal Bruno Famin admitted the team has had a tough start to the year after the team lost one car early on in yesterday’s race and saw the other finish outside the points.

“We said it was going to be a tough start to the season and it has been a very difficult first few weeks with the test and two grands prix,” he said.

“Even if we have upgrades coming, we need to understand our lack of performance. And, today, we have to investigate the gearbox problem, which cost Pierre [Gasly] valuable track time.”

Jos Verstappen predicts Horner will stay

Max Verstappen’s father Jos, who called for Christian Horner to stand down from his role in charge of Red Bull, does not believe he will.

“I think it’s too late for Christian to say ‘leave me alone’ but he has the support of the Thai owner so I think he will stay for the rest of the season,” he told the Daily Mail. “I said it would bad if he stayed, it really isn’t good for the team, this whole situation.”

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Rosenqvist revels in lighter IndyCar

IndyCar’s off-season weight reduction has produced a car which is more enjoyable to drive, says Felix Rosenqvist. The Dallara chassis has been put through a weight reduction programme ahead of the introduction of hybrid power units later this year.

“You can feel it’s a bit more forgiving, probably,” said Rosenqvist after qualifying second for today’s season-opener. “It kind of reminds me when I joined the series in 2019. Just a bit more agile, easier through the fast stuff, like turn three, the quick chicane here.

“It feels more racy I think, so I kind of like it. It’s been a nice little boost. Normally we add weight in the off-season, and now we actually shaved off a little bit for a while at least.

“I’m enjoying it. I think it’s relatively similar, but it’s cool that we’re improving lap times.”

Maiden Super Formula pole for Sakaguchi

Sena Sakaguchi claimed the first pole position of his career for the opening round of Japan’s Super Formula championship at Suzuka. He beat Kakunoshin Ohta by less than a tenth of a second.

Formula 2 champion Theo Pouchaire failed to progress beyond the first round of qualifying. Ayumu Iwasa, who also made the switch from F1’s top feeder series, progressed further and will start 11th. Rookie Juju Noda was eliminated in the same round as Pourchaire but was almost three-and-a-half seconds off the next-slowest driver.

Super Formula qualifying

Links

Motor racing links of interest:

IndyCar hopes competitive on-track racing captures audience as F1 season looks to be another snoozer (AP News)

‘The racing is terrible. It’s terrible,’ IndyCar team owner Chip Ganassi said. ‘They’ve got nothing else to talk about but Christian Horner, okay?’

‘Verstappen victorious again but Red Bull power struggle continues and questions remain (BBC)

UK opposition lawyer and King’s Counsel Sir Keir Starmer: ‘I obviously don’t know the details of precisely what’s happened. So I’m not in a position to make comment on the specifics in this Red Bull case. They need to sort it out. But the general proposition of transparency, the general proposition of when allegations are made, they should be taken seriously, external I absolutely adhere to.’

Shifting sands: Horner saga raises questions of what really goes on in F1 (The Guardian)

‘One executive, who has now left F1, says he was shocked at what he called the “widespread culture of sexist and misogynistic behaviour and lack of diversity,” in the sport.’

The Telegraph (Russell interview: ‘There is no bulls— with Max – I would not fear him at Mercedes’)

‘He did not take his helmet off, though, did he? Was that in case Verstappen took a swing at him? ‘Haha, I’ve learnt from experience,’ Russell says, laughing.’

IndyCar team owner group unites, takes concerns to Penske Entertainment (Racer)

‘It was the first privately organized meeting of its kind by IndyCar team owners in decades, and spanned a wide array of grievances, including the overall direction of the series, escalating costs to compete as IndyCar heads towards hybridisation, and the steep year-to-year rise in administrative and operational prices charged by Penske Entertainment.’

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Prema are stood behind the barriers on the #F1 Drivers’ Parade to cheer on Bearman. 🥹

— Phillip Horton (@PHortonF1) March 9, 2024

I’m trying hard to enjoy #F1 again this season. My overriding feeling though is DRS is a big issue. There’s no skill in an overtake when DRS enables you to just cruise past. Either get rid of DRS or give each driver a max number of uses per race (then it’s a strategy game)

— James Parrish (@JamesCParrish) March 9, 2024

|@olliebearman finishes seventh and scores points on his debut. A fine drive, though he reports one problem at the end:

“The drink is going everywhere except in my mouth.”#F1 #SaudiArabianGP #RaceFans

— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) March 9, 2024

mega job on your first race @OllieBearman 👊

— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) March 9, 2024

|@KevinMagnussen getting a 10-second time penalty for something which wasn’t penalised last year (and should have been):https://t.co/InlLJaTaik#F1 #SaudiArabianGP #RaceFans

— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) March 9, 2024

So happy to see @f1academy as a support series and as part of the F1 broadcast package.

This is exactly the kind of exposure the series and the drivers need to produce year-on-year growth – not to mention inspire young girls into becoming race drivers.

— Will Ponissi (@WillPonissi) March 9, 2024

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Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Fred Schechter!