In the round-up: Racing Point is the latest team to confirm its launch plans for the 2020 F1 season.
Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
Racing Point will hold "the official launch of our 2020 campaign" in Austria, home to the headquarters of major sponsor BWT, on February 17th. (The team hasn't said it will present its 2020 car.)
Updated pre-season launch list here: https://t.co/KVnQKyGRC0#F1
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) January 22, 2020
I'm extremely happy to announce that you will now have the opportunity to support me in my own grandstand on different Grand Prix. I will announce later today the first 2 races where there will be a CL grandstand 🙂 pic.twitter.com/90rN6iTVh6
— Charles Leclerc (@Charles_Leclerc) January 22, 2020
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
More motor racing links of interest:
Lammens: 'Queremos que la Fórmula 1 vuelva a Argentina' (AS - Spanish)
Argentina's new sports minister says he would like to bring F1 back to the country within a few years.
Charlie Kimball and Novo Nordisk Join AJ Foyt Racing for the 2020 IndyCar season (Foyt Racing)
"Kimball, who ran a partial season of seven races in 2019, returns as a full-time driver in the 17-race NTT IndyCar Series this year."
Dolphins announce new Formula One track and schedule as residents fight race plans (Miami Herald)
"The revised course drops Northwest 199th Street from the race layout, eliminating the need to close the public road for the event. A Dolphins spokesman said dropping 199th Street from the course means no public roads would be used for the race, and regular traffic would flow around the stadium in the same way it does for NFL games and concerts."
Red Bull junior Jonny Edgar to race dual F4 programme for Van Amersfoort in 2020 (Formula Scout)
"Red Bull Junior driver Jonny Edgar is to race with Van Amersfoort Racing in both the Italian and German ADAC Formula 4 championships in 2020 in his second season in cars."
Coming February 28 – Formula 1: Drive to Survive Season 2 on Netflix (Formula 1)
"F1 fans’ excitement levels are already mounting ahead of the start of the 2020 season – and to whet your appetite even more, Season 2 of Netflix’s stunning Formula 1: Drive to Survive launches on Netflix from February 28."
Hughes has found himself 'at home at HWA' (Formula 3)
"From their point of view, they were a new team and I am an experienced driver in the Championship. I know the tyre and I knew the GP3 the car – although this was obviously a new car. From their point of view, I guess it made sense having me in the team and I think that they have enjoyed having me there."
When car launch doesn't go to plan (McLaren)
"Of course the truckies returned – again – and, crucially, with the MP4/4 this time. In came this red and white rocketship. It was so sleek, and low to the ground. It just looked the b*llocks."
Help us raise money for Australia (F1 Authentics)
"Extraordinary auction items for an extraordinary cause."
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Comment of the day
@Geemac responds to @DieterRenclen’s article on the teams which entered F1 in 2010:
They were enticed in by a formula that changed before they even got off the ground – the new teams were doomed before the 2010 season even started unfortunately. It’s a massive shame they are gone because the battle at the back of the grid is as important as the one at the front.
In addition, the smaller teams are great proving grounds for drivers, engineers and mechanics. These opportunities are lost to a generation of young talent now. HRT let Ricciardo get used to the F1 circus in relative anonymity. Today’s leading engineers began their careers with smaller teams back in the day (such as James Allison at Larrousse, Aldo Costa at Minardi or Adrian Newey at Leyton House).
And to top that off, who doesn’t love a giant-killing story like Jules Bianchi scoring points for Manor at the most famous race of the year.
@Geemac
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On this day in F1
- On this day in 1960 the Monte Carlo rally ended. Graham Hill retired with brake trouble in his Ford Anglia which he shared with John Patton. Walter Schock and Rolf Moll won in a Mercedes 220SE.
JohnS
23rd January 2020, 3:56
About Small teams: i would like to see F1 give any teams that enters a minimum amount of money per year, just for showing up and running.
Jere (@jerejj)
23rd January 2020, 9:01
”The announcement also said Formula One would delay practice races the Friday before the main event “in order to ensure that there isn’t any disruption to local schools.”
– By then, the amount of practice-running on race-weekends would probably have been reduced anyway, but if not, then there’d be room for postponing only till the sunset time at the very latest.
I agree with the COTD.
For those who are interested, the first two races for a CL-assigned grandstand will be Monaco and French GPs.
Igor (@sterma)
23rd January 2020, 9:09
Shame, I would have thought CL would have warranted a grandstand at Monza…
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
24th January 2020, 9:55
Probably most Monza grandstands are CL :)
frood19 (@frood19)
23rd January 2020, 10:44
COTD is very much on point. the grid cannot exist solely of winners and the races are enriched by having a larger grid. many people seem to miss the point of this, but consider how much more interesting some of the races would have been if williams had had a similarly slow rival team in 2019. it would have enlivened the whole season for russell and kubica.
Neil (@neilosjames)
23rd January 2020, 14:19
Not really a fan of driver-dedicated grandstands, the idea just seems a little bit dull and self-exclusionary.
I haven’t been to a race for a while but one of the things I liked about it was being surrounded by fans of different teams, drivers, etc. Totally mixed crowd, everyone just getting on and watching the race together, being happy and sad at different times, fragmented cheers, and so on. I don’t suppose fans in one-colour grandstands get that experience.