RaceFans Round-up: Schumacher damage cost $2 million

In brief

Steiner reveals cost of Schumacher’s crashes

Haas dropped Schumacher at the end of the year due to concerns over the costs of his crashes over the course of the year. His position was in doubt following a heavy impact in qualifying at Jeddah and another substantial crash in Monaco.

Late in the year Schumacher crashed again after leaving the pits to perform a practice start in wet conditions during first practice at Suzuka. In his forthcoming book, an extract of which was published last weekend by The Times, Steiner is quoted saying that crash alone cost the team $700,000 (£563,000).

“It happened on the foking in-lap,” says Steiner in his book. “On the in-lap! Sure, it was very wet out there on the track, but nobody else managed to write off a car while they were driving back to the pits.

“We lose a car after five minutes and now have to build another. I cannot have a driver who I am not confident can take a car around safely on a slow lap. It’s just foking ridiculous. How many people could we employ with $700,000?”

Nojiri leads penalised Lawson after Fuji opener

Red Bull junior driver Liam Lawson was unable to repeat his season-opening win in the second Japanese Super Formula race at Fuji. Team mate Tomoki Nojiri claimed his second pole position and this time converted it into victory, taking the championship lead along with it.

Toshiki Oyu took the lead of the race from third on the grid but Nojiri returned to the front when the field pitted en masse during a Safety Car period. Oyu dropped back after locking up his tyres in an unsuccessful attempt to regain the lead.

Lawson worked his way up to third behind Sho Tsuboi at the chequered flag, but the officials had already handed him a five-second time penalty for an infringement during the Safety Car period. That promoted Kenta Yamashita and Ritomo Miyata ahead of him in the final classification. The series continues at Suzuka in two weeks’ time.

Leclerc asks fans to “respect my privacy”

Charles Leclerc has urged fans not to visit his home after details of his address was revealed. The Ferrari driver, who was the victim of a mugging in which his watch was taken last year, said on social media: “For the past few months, my home address has somehow become public, leading to people gathering beneath my apartment, ringing my bell, and asking for pictures and autographs.”

“While I’m always happy to be there for you and I truly appreciate your support, please respect my privacy and refrain from coming to my house,” Leclerc continued. “I’ll make sure to stop for everyone when you see me on the streets or at the track, but I won’t be coming downstairs if you visit my home.

“Your support, both in person and on social media, means the world to me, but there is a boundary that should not be crossed.”

Links

Motor racing links of interest:

Spannende dagen voor Francorchamps, dat hoog bezoek kreeg en hoopt op langer verblijf op F1-kalender: ‘Ben veel optimistischer dan jaar geleden’ (HLN – Dutch)

The Belgian Grand Prix organisers are growing more hopeful of agreeing an extension on their F1 contract, which expires after this year’s race, amid rumours the South African Grand Prix will not be ready to join the calendar next year.

Newgarden and engineer Mason strike gold fast in Texas (Racer)

‘In typical Newgarden fashion, the Texas win introduced a new celebratory wrinkle to the series as Schnabel, who was on the number two car in 2022 and also doubles as race engineer for Penske-affiliated Indy NXT driver Ernie Francis Jnr, was awarded Mjolnir — aka Thor’s hammer — at Texas, which replaces the Chalice of Excellence, the former intra-crew award presented to a member of Newgarden’s team.’

Juju Noda joins the Euroformula Open (Euroformula Open)

‘Juju Noda will be the tenth female driver to compete in the F3-based series organized by GT Sport since 2001, succeeding María de Villota, Ianina Zanazzi, Natacha Gachnang, Carmen Jordá, Vicky Piria, Michela Cerruti, Valeria Carballo, Tatiana Calderón and Vivien Keszthelyi.’

On Melbourne grand prix safety, it’s three strikes and … (The Age)

‘It raises the question of how safe a temporary circuit can ever be. The commercial benefits of holding the race within our city – the money spent on hotels, bars, entertainment and shopping – have always been prioritised over safety. But inarguably, the massive risks inherent in motor sport are minimised when the event is staged at a purpose-built racetrack, not one that is assembled and dismantled each year.’

Making waves in Australia: Bruno Michel’s debrief (F3)

“We decided to have an open paddock so that we could get them as close as possible to our teams and our drivers. We also planned several trips to the Melbourne Walk. Yet, we were not ready for the amount of passion and the fans’ interest in our Championship. “

What to eat at the 2023 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix (Miami New Times)

‘General admission access will present guests with a lineup of vendor offerings from local restaurants like Bodega Taqueria y Tequila, Cantina La Veinte, Casa Florida, Dōma, Café Versailles, Tacology, Harry’s Pizzeria, Pubbelly Sushi, and Dos Croquetas.’

Analysing the last part of my race at Texas superspeedway (Grosjean via YouTube)

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