Ferrari reserve Schumacher eager to show what he can do in “similar” car

In brief

Schumacher would be ‘happy to show Ferrari what I got’ if needed

The Haas race driver currently shares Ferrari reserve driver duties with Antonio Giovinazzi, as part of his role under the Ferrari driver academy. Asked by RaceFans if he felt he would be ready to step into a potential race winning Ferrari if Leclerc or Sainz were suddenly sidelined, Schumacher replied: “Yeah, I do so.”

“Our cars are not the same but are similar,” he continued. “I’ve grown up with Ferrari basically since 2019. I feel like I understand the whole procedure, so I’d be more than happy to step in and show them what I got.”

VeeKay signs multi-year extension with Ed Carpenter Racing

IndyCar driver Rinus VeeKay will remain with Ed Carpenter Racing for the 2023 IndyCar season and beyond after signing a multi-year extension with the team.

The 21-year-old Dutch driver has spent his entire IndyCar career for Ed Carpenter since joining the series in 2020. He has claimed a single race victory at least year’s Indianapolis Grand Prix and taken four podium places during a span of 42 races in IndyCar.

“Ed Carpenter gave me the opportunity to drive for the team when I came out of Indy Lights and has let me showcase my talents in an Indy car ever since,” said VeeKay. “The continuity at Ed Carpenter Racing is great, there have barely been any changes in my time here and it’s very nice to have the same group of people around me all the time.”

Links

Motor racing links of interest:

IndyCar's silly season gets a Rosenqvist twist (Racer)

"Arrow McLaren SP’s Felix Rosenqvist is not under contract with McLaren Racing beyond 2022. This comes in the wake of a June 23 press release distributed by the McLaren team with a headline of ‘Felix Rosenqvist to remain with McLaren Racing from 2023’ where quotes from Rosenqvist and McLaren CEO Zak Brown present the 30-year-old veteran as being off the market and destined for a return to the AMSP IndyCar team or McLaren’s upcoming FIA Formula E effort."

Mercedes F1 Team publishes second annual Sustainability Report (Mercedes)

"A review of all new employees shows that 38% of our new team members in 2021 joined from under-represented groups, with this year's figure standing at 32% to the end of June 2022. Female employees have risen from 12% to 15% of our workforce and employees from minority ethnic backgrounds from 3% to 7%. Whilst these numbers are not yet where we aspire to be, we are pleased to see that our positive actions through Accelerate 25 are having a measurable impact."

Billionaire Lo weighs adding to Formula One investments after Williams (Reuters)

"A lot of people, me included, are still looking to other teams, other opportunities, because...there are consistently good teams but they are not able to come up with the right car. In Asia right now, there is a lot of liquidity sitting around, it's mind-blowing. I wouldn't be surprised if the next news you hear...is maybe some consortium in Asia investing into some other teams."

Why Oscar Piastri's ability to adapt puts him alongside the very best (Motor Sport)

"He never gets into a panic, he never gets worried, he always listens to what people are telling him to do, and he tries to adapt as best as possible. He is very calm, very technically dedicated and an amazing guy to work with."

10 F1 drivers you completely forgot about - and what they are up to now (Daily Star)

"Alguersuari dipped his toe into Formula E but after an unsuccessful 2015 campaign he announced his retirement from the sport at the age of just 25, poignantly declaring he had 'fallen out of love with his girlfriend'. He went on focus on a career in music as a DJ."

Wins, overtakes, and two titles in a row – The best moments from Oscar Piastri's career so far (F1)

"Racing for Prema, Piastri certainly turned heads last year as he replaced the outgoing Mick Schumacher. Six wins and five poles saw him take the title in his first year in the series, by a comfortable margin from team mate Robert Shwartzman."

Hungary For More (McLaren via YouTube)

"Following the misfortune of the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, which saw Lando retire and Daniel sent to the back of the grid after multiple collisions on the opening lap of the race, redemption was on the cards in the final race before this season's summer break."

Announcing Caterham Academy (rFactor2 via YouTube)

"Here we go again with another content announcement for rFactor 2, and this time, we are delighted to be able to bring a very important national level racing car to the simulation, free to all users, as part of our upcoming 2022 Q3 content drop this August - the wonderful Caterham Academy!"

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.

Social media

Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by EA SPORTS F1 (@formula1game)

👏🏻👏🏻💪! Vamos Andrés 👏🏻 https://t.co/Usx363jrJt

— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) August 4, 2022

gotta keep entertained somehow during the summer break 🤷‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/RilPsCmQUu

— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) August 4, 2022

Old or new?

The boys have changed their headwear in the opening months of the season! #HaasF1 pic.twitter.com/9xxu688eki

— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) August 4, 2022

Real men wear pink.

Here’s why this Lewis Hamilton x Valentino move makes sense:

Hamilton fans are 2x more likely to be interested in Fashion and 7.6x more likely to engage with Valentino on social media.

Talk about tapping into the zeitgeist! pic.twitter.com/tEaS6u7PPo

— Vincenzo Landino (@vincenzolandino) August 4, 2022

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

• Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory

Comment of the day

With Mick Schumacher speaking to select media including RaceFans about how his second season in Formula 1 has gone so far, reader Constantijn Blondel is impressed by the young driver’s temperament…

Whenever I get a little bit of an impression of Mick when he’s not inside his helmet driving an F1 car, I feel impressed by how on the one hand he is in all sorts of things very clearly ‘a Schumacher’ (obviously…), he also seems so much his own person, without necessarily trying to show to the world that he’s not his father – I find that very mature, and I hope he’ll do really well in F1, as his career develops.
Constantijn Blondel

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Katy, Paul Gawne and Pamela McLaren!

On this day in motorsport

• 15 years ago today Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix having taken pole position after team mate Fernando Alonso was controversially penalised