In the round-up: As IndyCar gets back into action in Detroit after the Indianapolis 500, exciting news emerges from its new star name.
In brief
Power quickest in single Detroit practice session
Penske’s Will Power was fastest in the single practice session for IndyCar’s Detroit double-header, setting the pace by 0.1523 seconds.Despite warm afternoon temperatures and a considerable amount of rubber laid down by IMSA and Indy Lights sessions, IndyCar drivers found the track slippery when they first headed out and it didn’t take long for Penske’s Scott McLaughlin and Chip Ganassi’s Jimmie Johnson to spin off and stop anyone else from setting laps.
The track was cleared while red flags were waved, at which point McLaughlin was actually top of the times.
After the restart the session was without drama, with four seconds being knocked off the fastest time by the time the clock had counted down to zero.
Andretti’s Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi both spent time at the top, while McLaren SP’s Patricio O’Ward was also in first place for a lengthy period of time when many were in the pits, but going into the final 10 minutes it was Power who looked the smoothest and ended up being the fastest.
Rossi briefly returned to the top shortly before AJ Foyt’s Sebastien Bourdais became Power’s closest opponent on pace. The Australian had the edge though, with O’Ward slotting back into third behind Bourdais at the end.
Alesi gets Super Formula stay after shock win
Giuliano Alesi will race in next weekend’s fourth round of the Super Formula season after he won on his second start in the series last time out.
The former Ferrari Driver Academy member relocated his career to Japan at the start of this year, racing in Formula 3-level series Super Formula Lights and the Super GT sportscar series.
However European commitments for ex-F1 driver Kazuki Nakajima meant Alesi got called up to take his Super Formula seat at the TOM’S team for the second round of the season at Suzuka and he qualified eighth and finished ninth on his debut.
With Nakajima unavailable for the Autopolis round after that, Alesi was handed the chance to race again and he ended up taking pole and then victory in a rain-shortened race. With travel restrictions continuing to sideline Nakajima, Alesi now has the chance to build on that result at Sportsland Sugo alongside his title bid in the SF Lights support series.
IndyCar stars expecting driveability shift in Detroit
The absence of a 2020 race and the addition of the aeroscreen will make for a dramatically different driving experience in IndyCar’s Detroit double-header according to McLaren SP’s drivers.
“It’s probably going to plough more than what it used to, ploughing meaning just a bunch of understeer,” said Patricio O’Ward.
“Historically the track just keeps getting bumpier and bumpier and bumpier every year, so I feel like this year will be more of a change than what we have felt from year to year in the past because there’s been two winters on it already from the last time we were there.”
While the aeroscreen was introduced in IndyCar last year, it wasn’t used on a street circuit in warm conditions until this year’s Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and it proved physically tough with the reduced air flow. The same is expected in Detroit, but its effect on car handling is still up for debate as it works “the front axle a lot harder” than before.
“I think tracks like this have been less affected by the aeroscreen,” said O’Ward’s team mate Felix Rosenqvist.
“When we came to St. Pete for the first time, it seemed like we were going pretty quick still. It seems like the faster the track and the higher speed corners are really affected worse by aeroscreen than like the long corners, and on a street track you generally just have 90-degree corners and you don’t really load up the car very long anywhere. I don’t think it’s going to be a massive difference to be honest. I think it’s going to be pretty good.”
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
We’re excited to fly the Pride Flag 🏳️🌈 at 170 mph this June at the @detroitgp and @roadamerica to celebrate #pride with @DHLUS!
#DHLPRIDE #DeliveredWithPride @RyanHunterReay // @IndyCar pic.twitter.com/OLu283J33Q— Andretti INDYCAR & INDY NXT (@AndrettiIndy) June 11, 2021
𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 🤝
From planning and project managing to garage set-up and pack up – and all of the requests in between – meet Assistant Team Manager, @deborahlyall who makes sure @JaguarRacing crew is in top form and ready to take to the track 🙌#JaguarElectrifies pic.twitter.com/5ljUp4SXTp
— Jaguar TCS Racing (@JaguarRacing) June 11, 2021
What a magic moment this was!
An ecstatic Jean Alesi celebrates winning his first (and only) F1 race 🤩#OnThisDay 1995 #CanadianGP 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/IQDIXhvRlo
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 11, 2021
https://twitter.com/F1/status/1403331678383357960?s=20
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
Motor racing links of interest:
In conversation with Rachel Brookes (Motorsport Broadcasting)
"Rachel Brookes has been an integral part of Sky’s F1 coverage since 2013.
Now in her ninth season with the team, Brookes presents coverage of Formula 2 and Formula 3, as well as Sky’s magazine programme The F1 Show on Thursday evenings. New for 2021, she also commentates on the first Friday practice session.
Ahead of the 2021 season, Motorsport Broadcasting caught up with Brookes to discuss her broadcasting career to date, how Covid-19 has impacted broadcasting, amongst other topics."
Kirkwood takes pole for Indy Lights GP of Detroit (Indy Lights)
"Kirkwood, 22, who is seeking to become the first driver to win championships on all three levels of the Road to Indy ladder, laid down a marker by posting the fastest time in this morning’s practice at 1'24.2423. He found almost a full second in the closing moments of this afternoon’s 30-minute qualifying session, topping the charts with a lap at 1'23.2582, an average speed of 101.612mph."
Tramnitz inherits maiden ADAC F4 pole after race control error (Formula Scout)
"As that stoppage came with less than five minutes left of the session remaining, on-track action should not have then restarted according to the championship regulations. However the race director forgot and called for green flags to be waved, so the drivers went back out to finish qualifying. With 27 seconds left of the session to go, Bearman went fastest with a 1'31.021s and snatched pole from Tramnitz. The result is now taken from before the red flag."
Meyer Shank Racing’s meteoric rise to the top of IndyCar (The Checkered Flag)
"Originally, Harvey was supposed to have an entry with Andretti for the 2017 Indy 500, but Fernando Alonso was announced in what was to be Harvey’s seat. Luckily, he was informed that he would still have a ride for the event with Shank."
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 in via the contact form.
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Comment of the day
Alfa Romeo believes the gains they’ve made with their C41 car this year is a “big step forward” but bad luck means its improved package has only taken two points in the hands of Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi over the first six races of 2021. However Wsrgo thinks it’s the drivers, rather than luck, holding the team back.
Before the legion of Kimi fans devour me I wonder if a part of this is down to drivers underperforming? I’m not really sure if either driver is driving beyond the level of the car on even a semi-regular basis, certainly nowhere near what Leclerc was doing in mid to late 2018.
Sadly for Alfa they’ve made the wrong choice of keeping the same driver line-up in a year when rules have remained static, and are faced with making a potentially Haas-like choice for 2022, when they really needed some continuity. Call me a hater all you like, but I’m not sure how fair it is to the likes of [Callum] Ilott and [Theo] Pourchaire whose careers would be nixed because a 42-year-old man wants to keep doing his hobby and isn’t really driving the team forward with his leadership substantially.Wsrgo
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On this day in F1
James Coulee
12th June 2021, 0:58
About COTD, I suspect the team is the better judge of that, and with the data they have they believed this was the way to go. Maybe the drivers aren’t as bad as the commenter believes.
Jere (@jerejj)
12th June 2021, 11:29
@James Coulee True and also their right to keep the same lineup.
Retired (@jeff1s)
12th June 2021, 12:08
I can’t disagree with @wsrgo.
Kimi has past more than his prime and circulates round the track. Portugal race-ending contact with teammate was a rookie one.
Antonio is not the driver I thought he’d become after his stellar GP2 campaign.
I think the combination of good spirit and communication between Vasseur, Raikkonen and Giovinazzi is the key to their contracts, but final championship standings will talk.
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
12th June 2021, 14:39
I’m sure the team understands what they need to do, but like we’ve seen from teams like Ferrari, there is often a hesitation in bringing in rookie drivers because of the sunken investments into developing them. However I do believe that between Pourchaire, Ilott and also Robert Shwartzman (who I omitted, thanks @jerejj) there is enough talent available who can both develop as well as push the team forward.
But Alfa Romeo keen to have an Italian driver whilst also seemingly not having the gall to gently ask Kimi, ‘mate, so when do you think you’ll be done’ seems to have put them in a spot. Arguably I’d have chosen someone like Nico Hulkenberg for this year (next year he might be too rusty) to replace Kimi, Nico’s done a great job in leading car development in the past with his feedback, and put in Callum Ilott to replace Gio. For 2021, if Alfa are really interested in an Italian, they can just slap an Italian racing flag on Shwartzman, he lives in Italu and speaks fluent Italian and will also be unable to race under the Russia flag.
James Coulee
13th June 2021, 1:27
No team lacks that gall, as we’ve all repeatedly seen.
It’s impossible for us to judge from the outside if the drivers are out driving or under driving the car, so, for me, it’s a mute discussion.
But people forget that the performance of a driver in a team isn’t also just about what he does during the sessions. A driver who can develop a car is as (or more) important as a fast one.
Kimi, for instance, is quite dedicated to development and working with his engineers (from the mouth of one of them). The “this is just a hobby” face is just a (successful, but we should know better) character.
Jimmi Cynic (@jimmi-cynic)
12th June 2021, 1:45
Oh that 2011 Canadian Grand Prix… what a race!
Still have part of it on a VHS tape. The sitting round the pits, for hours, part. But that last lap will be stored in my video memory forever. Or at least a few more years.
Marinated Monolith (@)
12th June 2021, 11:03
@jimmy-cynic
There’s about an 11 hours time difference between where I live and Canada. For me, the race started at around 12AM on Monday and lasted until 4AM.
I had a presentation at 10AM that same day and really, the smart thing for me would’ve been to just call it a night during the long red flag period. But of course, being the idiot, I stayed up until the end of the race and honestly, that excitement I felt when Vettel ran wide at the final lap to give Button one of F1’s greatest victories of all time, was worth all the trouble.
I don’t quite remember how the presentation went. But Button’s charge from the back is something I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget for the rest of my life.
Jere (@jerejj)
12th June 2021, 11:28
@jimmi-cynic VHS in the early-2010s.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
12th June 2021, 14:05
What a race and what a drive by Button. Definitely one of his best in F1.
Dave
12th June 2021, 7:31
Re Giuliano Alesi: Guess they don’t need Kazuki…for now.
Re Canada ’95: Still one of the best Canadian GPs to date.
Re ADAC F4: What is absolutely going on.
Can’t believe Canada 2011 has been 10 years.
Jere (@jerejj)
12th June 2021, 11:27
Also, The 2016 Canadian GP’s 5th anniversary.
COTD forgot to include Robert Shwartzman, whom I regard as a more likely option than Pouchaire and even Ilott.
Steven Robertson (@emu55)
12th June 2021, 11:42
It’s a full weekend of motorsport in Detroit this weekend anyway, two Indycar races and an IMSA one on the same track. It’s fantastic grosjean and magnussen are at the same track together at the same time.
Adam (@rocketpanda)
12th June 2021, 12:43
Got to agree with the COTD. I love Raikkonen, but the guy’s open that this is a hobby not a sport to him anymore and Giovinazzi is “ok” – not great, not interesting, not a lot of potential – just okay. Neither of them are really pushing Alfa Sauber anywhere near as much as it should be. The team seems to be coasting while others in its performance bracket are moving forward.
Illott & Shwartzman, and Zhou if he wasn’t tied to Alpine, are definitely good choices for rookies that are either available or soon to be available. Hulkenberg, Kvyat & Albon are all experienced or relatively experienced F1 drivers that are more than good enough to continue and arguably have more to prove and more hunger than their current lineup.