In the round-up: Toto Wolff has no concerns about the legality of Mercedes’ front wing
In brief
Wolff not concerned by wing legality
After eyebrows were raised by the front wing design of Mercedes’s new W15, team principal Toto Wolff says he has no concerns about its legality.
“I think what’s been put on the car is always following an exchange with the FIA all through the process,” Wolff said.
“It’s no such thing that you have a clever idea and then you bolt it on a test and you think that could or couldn’t be challenged. So that is a long process of dialogue that happens over the winter. So I feel we are in an okay place.
Verstappen eager to help support sim racers
Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen – who regularly competes in iRacing with his Team Redline team mates – says he wants to help provide more opportunities for talented simracers to try and get ingot professional motorsport.
“I do believe that there are possibilities for sim drivers to move into real racing,” he said. “That’s also something that I’m working on myself, to make that a possibility for them.
“I do think it will create possibilities to get into real racing. I don’t say maybe all the way to F1 right now, but there’s more than only F1, you know.”
Andretti unveil 2024 liveries
The Andretti team have revealed their liveries for their three IndyCar cars for 2024.
Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood and Marcus Ericsson will race for the team in near-identical but differently coloured designs. Herta will race in yellow and black, Kirkwood in pink and black, while Ericsson has a blue and teal scheme for his first season with the team.
Here they are. Introducing our 2024 Andretti @IndyCar challengers ✨ pic.twitter.com/w5gD6H6mCa
— Andretti INDYCAR & INDY NXT (@AndrettiIndy) February 24, 2024
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Links
Motor racing links of interest:
20 years of the Bahrain Grand Prix (F1)
‘And guess what? It was really hot! Especially if you ventured out of the air-conditioned press room. In practice on Friday afternoon, and again in qualifying on Saturday, the track temperature peaked at 51 degrees C. The air temp nudged the dials between 32 and 34 degrees – and trust me that was hot enough. It was even harsher if you went out on to the 3.366-mile track, which seemed to fold back on itself rather a lot and get quite sandy and slippery – but was actually pretty good.’
Red Bull make statement in Bahrain, but can they be stopped in 2024? (BBC)
‘The margin by which Leclerc beat Verstappen was smaller than the performance offset between the two types of tyre. And comparing times set on the C3s, Verstappen was fastest – and you can bet your house on the fact that he was not running a qualifying-style light fuel load.’
Five things we learned from 2024’s pre-season testing (Williams)
‘While that is advantageous for our engineers to understand the FW46’s characteristics in varying conditions, it also lets us see our 2024 livery under the sun and beneath the stars. New and old partners adorn the updated blue-on-blue colour scheme, and the red-white pinstripe adds an elegant detail to the look. As you may have seen from our testing photo galleries, the FW46 is a classy-looking car, no matter if viewed in sunlight or the night sky and will look sensational at lights out next Saturday.’
Is Jack Doohan deserving of the 2025 F1 seat he aims for? (Formula Scout)
‘He is professional, mature and a hard worker. He analyses the situation and then acts in consequence. He is the kind of person who works tirelessly pursuing his goals. Those attributes are highly valued by racing teams in the process of deciding who are the best drivers to fill their seats. In addition, he has already a good sum of F1 car mileage under his belt, having completed private tests in Alpine’s A521 car on a third of the circuits that make up the current F1 calendar.’
LEGO Speed Champions 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car review (Brick Fanatics)
‘Those are just a couple of examples, but 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car does well to hold your attention pretty much throughout the build, which comes together in just under an hour. If you’re looking at the size of the car and the piece count and wondering how it could ever take that long, well, don’t forget that part of it is the stickers – but it’s also the careful and intricate ways in which the LEGO Speed Champions team has fashioned LEGO elements to pull off a model that’s near-indistinguishable from its source material.’
A step-by-step guide on how we painted our 2024 F1 car (Mercedes via YouTube)
‘Ever wondered how an F1 livery gets designed? Go behind the scenes with us as we bring the W15 colour scheme to life.’
We always endeavour to credit original sources. If you have a tip for a link relating to single-seater motorsport to feature in the next RaceFans round-up please send it to us via the contact form.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Ivz, Jake and Mike Roach!