In the round-up: Italian Grand Prix pole-winner Carlos Sainz Jnr says he felt he had a chance to win the race before losing his grip on the lead.
In brief
Sainz “used tyres too much” in defence against Verstappen
Ferrari driver Sainz came under sustained pressure from Max Verstappen early in the Italian Grand Prix. Sainz kept his rival at bay for over a quarter of the race before the Red Bull driver eventually found a way past.
Before that, Sainz admitted, he was starting to think he could win. “I felt like I had it fairly under control but then I think around lap 10 to 12, I started feeling the rear-left tyre giving up a lot, a lot earlier than I would have expected,” he said.
“At that point, I realised I had used my tyres too much and probably to keep Max behind, I had worn that rear-left tyre too much and that I was going to suffer a lot for the rest of the race because it was going to probably make me box early onto a hard tyre. And then the second stint was going to be very long.
“It’s exactly what happened and my feeling was correct. Honestly, I didn’t expect it to degrade so much but it was clear that I was pushing very, very hard to keep them behind. Probably harder than what I should have done.”
Pirelli start F1 test at two Italian tracks
Pirelli began two separate two-day tests for Formula 1 tyres on Tuesday. The first was at Monza, where Alpine and Red Bull helping “with the development of future slick tyre without blankets”, while Ferrari were at their own Fiorano test track – with the sprinkler system turned on – to test intermediate and wet compounds.
Sergio Perez was fastest in his Red Bull at Monza with a 1’23.585, with Esteban Ocon lapping 1.923 seconds slower in his Alpine. The pair completed 119 and 118 laps respectively. Pierre Gasly will run in Alpine’s car on Wednesday.
Sainz did 153 laps around the short Fiorano track, and will be replaced by team mate Charles Leclerc for the test’s second day. A photograph taken by a spectator (below) indicated Sainz spun off at one stage.
Andretti Autosport rebrands to Andretti Global
IndyCar team Andretti Autosport, which has ambitions to join Formula 1 and Formula 2 in the coming years, has announced it is rebranding to Andretti Global. The American outfit, which also races in IMSA, Indy Nxt, Formula E and Extreme E, said it has “an appetite to expand its worldwide footprint into other major motorsports series” and the FE squad will be the first to be adorned with the new branding when pre-season testing begins in October.
Euroformula reverses ‘Noda rule’
The Formula 3-level Euroformula series has reversed a rule which allowed female racers to run at a lower minimum combined weight for driver and car.
As the series has struggled to attract entries only one driver – Juju Noda – benefited from the rule. Her victory at Paul Ricard in July attracted attention to the series and criticism over the rule.
Starting from this weekend’s round at the Red Bull Ring all drivers will be required to run at the same minimum weight. The exact weight advantage previously conferred varied but was as much as 26 kilograms at one start.
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Spannender Hamilton-Verdacht von F1-Legende (Bild – German)
‘Rosberg was hungry and had the absolute will to become world champion. Lewis no longer has that hunger. Because of that – and because the car is no longer quite as powerful – he has serious problems.’
Palou: ‘Rompí con McLaren porque no había una oportunidad real en F1’ (Marca – Spanish)
“More than that it is because there was no real opportunity in F1. That explains everything. But of course it also helps to have the best car in IndyCar.”
Monza at its manic best: F2 Weekend Wrap-Up (Formula 2)
‘The feature race was more like a horror movie playing out for the team. Kush Maini was an effective third after making his mandatory stop under the second Safety Car. His battle with Jak Crawford was hard but fair right up until lap 23 when the pair made contact. His reaction told the story as Campos Racing looked well placed to take their first podium since the Melbourne sprint race.’
Monolite to field Hadrien David at Spielberg (FREC)
‘Monolite Racing will line up for the seventh Formula Regional European Championship round at the Red Bull Ring with a new addition. The Italian squad will field experienced Frenchman Hadrien David, who will replace Kirill Smal. After finishing second in FREC in 2021 and fourth last year, David is the driver with the most podiums, 16, of which five are wins.’
Charlie Wurz and Josh Dufek join Euroformula with CryptoTower (Euroformula)
‘CryptoTower Racing Team today announced two great additions to the Euroformula grid as from the next round onwards: Charlie Wurz and Joshua Dufek. Both graduate from FREC and are confirmed for the remainder of the season. Wurz is the reigning FRegional Oceania champion and son of former F1 star and double Le Mans winner Alex Wurz.’
How is van Gisbergen flattening the NASCAR learning curve? (Racer)
”It was honestly a lot of fun, just the way he was prepared,’ Grubb says of the van Gisbergen experience. ‘We were only physically together for roughly a week before we were able to go out there to Chicago and pull off the miraculous story there. So we learned each other a lot using WhatsApp for a couple of weeks beforehand, figuring out what he needed.’
Could Iwasa or Pourchaire have ended their F2 victory wait at Monza? (Formula Scout)
‘Pourchaire ‘tried everything’ but lost out to what he called ‘a great move’. He was protecting a points lead as well as second place, but ‘was racing like normal’. ‘I was thinking about (my points lead) a bit, but still pushing a lot. You could see it on Ayumu going into turn one, it was close, but still fair, clean.”
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