In the round-up: Lewis Hamilton reveals more of his plans for the forthcoming Formula 1 feature film he is working on with Brad Pitt and others.
In brief
Hamilton looking for diverse grid in his F1 film
Lewis Hamilton has provided an update about the Formula 1-themed film he is working on, in which Pitt will play the lead role of an driver towards the end of their F1 career.
“We’re going through a process right now of selecting the character that will be alongside Brad, which is exciting,” Hamilton told media including RaceFans at Mercedes’ 2023 F1 car launch.
“Basically that’s the process of watching them. They will send in a video. We have recordings of them doing certain scenes, and we go through it. I’ve sat in the office with Jerry [Bruckheimer, producer] and Joe [Kosinski, director] and Brad, and have been watching them and kind of giving our inputs and what we think.
“My job, and I think responsibility, is to make sure it is diverse. I want to make the movie in terms of like having diversity and representation, I want it to be as F1 should be in the future, or should be now, but will be in the future. So I want to see female mechanics. I would love to see a female driver.”
Pirelli nominate compounds for opening races
Pirelli has announced its tyre nominations for the first three grands prix of 2023, and its new compound will make its first appearance at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.The C1, C2 and C3 compounds will be taken to Bahrain, with the C1 being the new tyre to teams. The previous-spec C1 will now be known as the C0, but will not be used at any of the first three races.
For Jeddah, the C2, C3 and C4 will be used, and the same selection will be available in Melbourne. The softest compound in each instance (the C3 for Bahrain and C4 for the next two races) will be the qualifying tyre.
Kanaan announces IndyCar retirement
The 48-year-old was IndyCar champion in 2004, and his Indy 500 record includes pole position in 2005, victory in 2013 and four other podium finishes including with Chip Ganassi Racing last year.
For this year’s Indy 500 he will drive McLaren’s fourth car.
Verschoor and Saucy top second day of F2 and F3 testing
Formula 2 and Formula 3 continued their pre-season tests at Bahrain on Wednesday, with each getting two sessions.
F3 kicked off the day’s action, and ART’s Gregoire Saucy picked up from where he left off the day before by going fastest.
He headed Prema’s Dino Beganovic and Hitech GP’s new Alpine junior Gabriele Mini, who then went fastest in the afternoon by just 0.036 seconds to prevent Saucy from topping all four sessions that have been held in testing so far. Saucy also caused a red flag stoppage during the afternoon after his car stopped on track.
The F2 field occupied the track between the two F3 sessions. Prema’s Frederik Vesti dominated by going 1.947s faster than anyone else. Ralph Boschung only did a handful of laps but ended up second fastest, ahead of Arthur Leclerc and ART GP’s Theo Pourchaire, who brought out red flags with an on-track incident.
The pace was faster when F2 returned to track late in the day in cooler conditions, and Van Amersfoort Racing’s Richard Verschoor pipped Pourchaire’s team mate Victor Martins to the top spot by 0.08s.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Villeneuve Pironi: Racing's Untold Tragedy official trailer (Sky)
Claire Williams OBE appointed as brand ambassador for WAE Technologies (WAE)
'WAE Technologies has today announced Claire Williams OBE, former Williams F1 deputy team principal, as its first ever brand ambassador. Formerly known as Williams Advanced Engineering, WAE Technologies was established in 2010 to commercialise ground-breaking technology developed by Williams F1 and apply it to multiple sectors.'
Ford fights $8 billion cost deficit, aims to secure 8% EV margins (Reuters)
'Ford Motor Co (F.N) has identified measures to secure 8% margins on its next-generation electric vehicles due at mid-decade, but could take years to close an overall cost disadvantage of up to $8 billion against competitors, executives said on Wednesday.'
The final solution for track limits (Lucas di Grassi)
'Track limit problem plagues modern motorsport. What to do and how to police it? Currently the mainstream solution is either adding kerbs or video analysis by the regulators. This isn't working well because of a clear problem: it needs to be processed and communicated by a human and the penalties happens way after it happened. Or in the case of kerbs, we have seen cars literally fly off the track like Monza or Spa. It is bad for the regulators, for the drivers and for the public. I'm here to suggest something totally different.'
American ace Bryce Aron joins to bid for the title with Motopark (Euroformula Open)
'American driver Bryce Aron will contest this season's Euroformula Open with Team Motopark, it was announced today. The Illinois-born 19-year-old ace steps up after a successful two-year spell in GB3, culminating in eight top ten finishes and three podiums. The former Team USA Scholarship winner is targeting the Euroformula crown despite being unfamiliar with the majority of circuits that he will be visiting in 2023.'
Prema Racing launches brand-new Karting operation (Prema)
'Prema is proud and delighted to announce its entry into the world of kart racing. The team will join forces with Kart Republic for a high-level programme to provide young drivers with a full ladder from their first competitive experiences in racing to the doorstep of its pinnacle.'
Christian Ho completes Campos Racing's driver line-up for 2023 Spanish F4 season (Campos Racing)
'He stepped up to single-seater racing last year making his debut in the F4 Spain and made very solid, steady progress. In fact, after the halfway point of the season the Singaporean-Korean driver was a regular top five finisher.'
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.
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
Yellow and green highlights to distinguish between @LewisHamilton and @GeorgeRussell63 on-track this year.#F1 pic.twitter.com/hYcQd3Ehge
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) February 15, 2023
What a day for it 😍
Heading out for our 2023 filming day 🎬 pic.twitter.com/9aH4owLD0h
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) February 15, 2023
Heard you wanted some W14 video. 🖤🙏 pic.twitter.com/ZbUxjIVPue
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) February 15, 2023
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
The design trend across the F1 grid this year is to save weight by reducing the amount of paint on the car, with plain black carbon being a common sight in many liveries. Mercedes and Haas have the most extreme examples, with black being the primary colour of their cars, and if the trend continues then F1 could end up with an unwanted scenario as one RaceFans reader pointed out.
Perhaps F1 needs a rule about the minimum weight of paint, so we don’t end up with 20 (24?) carbon-liveried cars racing around a track.
Dex
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Plutoniumhunter, Haggle and Colin Forsyth!
S
16th February 2023, 2:37
Hamilton movies sounds ghastly. Self-indulgence at its peak.
Is ‘Straight-to-video’ still a thing…?
As for DiGrassi’s ‘souition’…
What happens when a car of different width is used? What if the new ‘centre line’ doesn’t exactly follow the track (painted lines usually don’t run exactly parallel unless they are painted at the same time with the same machine)? What about false positives, or missed activations? Cost? Reliability?
Then there’s the minefield of penalties. How? How much? When? Is it potentially dangerous to serve in itself, or able to be strategically nullified completely?
And then there’s the other practical issue – is safety improved, or at least unaffected, by using this type of system? Are existing safety systems such as gravel being removed to allow for this system that essentially encourages cars to go even wider and faster then they might have before?
Maybe it would work better and be more reliable than the current system – but is even further technical integration required for something as simple as a judgement call by an authorised steward?
I thought this was supposed to be a sport. This is just another step away from that.
Perfection isn’t actually very interesting…..
Biskit Boy (@sean-p-newmanlive-co-uk)
16th February 2023, 9:33
I’m assuming not, but we might need bring it back for this…
DiGrassi’s solution is intriguing. Something very similar is used on some Racing Games/Sims and it works really well.
I think all of the other problems and questions you have raised are solvable. F1 bods are very clever, admittedly when it comes to bending rules, rather than being constrained by them, but there you go.
For example, in terms of the varying width of cars the same result could be achieved with two sensors, left and right. The distance from the sensor to the edge of the car needing to be consistent on all types of car.
The problem here is even the simplest calls have been inconsistent or ambiguous. DiGrassi’s of taking out the ‘human element’ is the right way to go. If the computer says no….
Biskit Boy (@sean-p-newmanlive-co-uk)
16th February 2023, 9:34
DiGrassi’s idea*
S
16th February 2023, 10:20
Yeah, I agree most of it is solvable – but my point was: Does it need to be? How much of a problem is it that it needs to be taken out of human hands? Can humans not be trusted to make decisions, even of such little importance, anymore?
If F1 were a sport, it wouldn’t matter if a borderline track limits call was wrong. It would be accepted and everyone would move on.
I fully expect that even if F1 (or even every motorsport category) introduced this system, there would still be just as many unhappy people when the decision made by the system. The series that I know of that use comparable systems now still have the same arguments they did back when it was a human judgement call. And sometimes, the ‘computer’ is even proven to be wrong….
oweng (@oweng)
16th February 2023, 13:05
The only thing in this article in relation to Hamilton’s movie is him talking about looking to have a diverse cast and women mechanics or possibly drivers.
You think this sounds “ghastly”.
Wow. Just wow.
S
16th February 2023, 13:22
I sure do.
You think it sounds good from the plot and production values described so far…?
oweng (@oweng)
16th February 2023, 13:35
Funnily enough, there’s no reference to the plot and production values in this article (to which you specifically replied), other than Hamilton being keen for there to be more representation of women and a wider range of ethnicities than is the case in F1 today.
I have no issue with them doing that. To me, this wouldn’t impact on my enjoyment of the film at all.
S
16th February 2023, 14:11
Plot:
Production values:
It’s coming across to me a lot like a religious movie.
And who likes those, or thinks they are good….?
oweng (@oweng)
16th February 2023, 14:29
Having to reply to myself as can’t reply to your latest post…
How is it religious? A driver towards the end of his career covers about a third of the current grid based on age. So that seems normal.
Having a diverse cast, what’s religious about that?
Hamilton talks about preferring to have more women and more ethnic representation in the cast. You think that’s “ghastly”. Enough said.
eljueta (@eljueta)
16th February 2023, 14:32
A religion of women drivers and mechanics? Great reasoning.
S
16th February 2023, 15:22
*LIKE a religious movie. As in, comparable to – in terms of production values, content and marketability.
Was it really that hard to understand?
I think that’s a ghastly basic concept for what is (presumably) targeted at being a high-profile ‘blockbuster’ movie – certainly by creative talent selection, and I expect by budget also (given who is already involved).
If he had a full, well written and believable story fleshed out, surely he’d be more focused on that at the moment, wouldn’t he? That will sell anything, no matter who participates in the making of it.
“Nah, I just want black people and women in it.”
As I said, it’s coming across more like a religious movie to me.
Already it seems to be working – Hamilton fans are already into it because it’s Hamilton. And just like those religious movies with their focus on a certain carpenter, it’s got an audience because of a name attached to it, not matter how bad it is.
oweng (@oweng)
16th February 2023, 18:47
Well I’m not “into it” as I know nothing about it. I’m just not offended by it because it might depict female mechanics or drivers or have a diverse cast.
That would be bigotry.
S
17th February 2023, 1:47
That would be bigotry, if that was the problem.
But it’s not. It’s actually condemnation of discrimination – such as Hamilton’s discriminate selection of actors based primarily on their ethnicity, skin colour and gender.
AlexS
16th February 2023, 14:50
Even Fascist corporatist chamber had more “representation” than what Hamilton defends…even if that is basically his ideology.
Notice he only talk about body characteristics and even those limited.
MichaelN
16th February 2023, 15:57
Maybe not, but straight-to-streaming is. It cost Disney quite a bit to pay off the subsequent complaints about missed box office income from people involved in said movie(s).
SteveP
16th February 2023, 19:33
Seems to me like a person with money following an idea that may or may not work.
As ever, since it involves Lewis and the topic of diversity combined, you’re against it.
Looking for a word to describe the opposite of “woke”, so give us the gen from the voice of experience, please.
S
17th February 2023, 8:54
A word to describe the opposite of woke… Hmmmmm.
How about: “Sensible?”
Or: “Realistic?”
Or even (two words): “Universally respectful?”
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
19th February 2023, 22:00
That would be a “streaming-only film-length release”.
Dom (@3dom)
16th February 2023, 3:07
Does anyone know if the C1 Pirelli tyres are softer than the C0 (last years C1) tyres, or specifically what they’ve aimed to change with them?
Jere (@jerejj)
16th February 2023, 5:42
@3dom The higher the number, the softer the compound, so yes, softer than C0, i.e., the previous C1.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
16th February 2023, 11:49
@3dom There’s more on what Pirelli have changed here.
Dom (@3dom)
16th February 2023, 13:04
Thanks @jerejj @keithcollantine. Will be interesting to see whether they’ve managed to alter the grip/degradation ratio for the new tyre from a strategy pov
Dirk
16th February 2023, 4:39
Will the engineers design and build the cars with the physics and mathematics they used in sub-Saharan Africa, then?
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
16th February 2023, 5:00
Hamilton needs to cast good actors while thinking of diverse representation. The focus must be on making quality content, otherwise it’ll end up like the Witcher series, where the showrunners seem to pat themselves on the back by just filling a diversity quota. Performative wokeness at its worst, and ends up hurting real efforts at social justice when filmmakers and showrunners think they are saving the world by actually not doing a good enough job.
RJ
16th February 2023, 7:12
100% agree with this
Mayrton
16th February 2023, 11:47
Agree. Its a trend we see in the workspace as well. It looks more diverse but the quality of output does not necessarily improve with it. But I regard it a phase we need to get through before we can return to hiring the best qualified candidates and become truly non-discriminatory.
Jere (@jerejj)
16th February 2023, 5:40
While Di Grassi’s suggestion is decent, I still argue that the brownish slippery surface material used at BIC’s T10, 13, last corner, & slightly past T4 exits is the safest & most effective solution.
This alternative should be used internationally rather than only in Bahrain.
I’ve already replied to the COTD nomination, but no, F1 already has more than enough rules, so adding another over something trivial such as paintjob would be overkill.
Dex
16th February 2023, 9:07
The comment was somewhat sarcastic though. :)
Jere (@jerejj)
16th February 2023, 17:41
@Dex I usually see through sarcasm, but not on every single occasion.
MichaelN
16th February 2023, 8:20
Hamilton probably means well, but he’s setting himself up for so much shenanigans with statements like this. Even the tiniest of divergence from an absolutely accurate representation of the entire world will spawn questions as to his intent behind why F1 “should” (his words) look like his selection.
On the plus side, it might help the film do well in China to see 3 or 4 Chinese drivers on Hamilton’s fictional grid.
F1Plossl
16th February 2023, 9:31
Saw the ‘yellow and green highlights’ clicked on link, yep, both look the same to my slightly colour blind eyes. Even as a fan you know that Hamiltons film is gonna be a lemon, Rush just about got away with it so you never know…
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
16th February 2023, 13:43
I think it’s a lot easier to pull off sporting movies based on real people and events. If you pitched Rush as a fictional story it would get thrown out for lack of believability. Difficult to reproduce the drama of real sport in something you know is scripted.
superman
16th February 2023, 10:18
Hamilton strikes me as being very behind the curve of pop culture. The woke/forced diversity thing has been done to death already and its failed every single time. Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time, She Hulk, The Witcher, Terminator, Batwoman and so many more have tried stuffing ‘diverse’ characters and agendas into every orifice and its come across as just that – forced and unnatural.
The minute you start talking about diversity over story then its over before its even begun. Imagine saying you want to make a basketball movie but replace half the cast with trans Asians because you feel thats how it should be. Hams idea is no different.
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
16th February 2023, 12:39
You should just go back to watching reruns of Bonanza, “superman”.
superman
16th February 2023, 12:46
Best not to comment about something you have zero clue about…
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
16th February 2023, 13:55
I think you might be a racist and I want you to defend your position.
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
16th February 2023, 13:59
because I think it is indefensible.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
19th February 2023, 22:02
The box office, audience and critical results of most of the films you cited rather undermines your argument.
Wayne
16th February 2023, 11:14
Which movie is historically accurate? EVEN the movies based on true events are not factual or accurate. So why should we judge this attempt to be already worse? The movie Business has always been a mixture of historical facts, wishful thinking, fantasy, reality and a blending of all for the saie of our entertainment. The failures of series or movies is not because of the diversity push its because of poor plots, story lines or what ever other reasons there are that ruin potentially good stories.
MichaelN
16th February 2023, 11:52
That’s true, but there’s only so much time and money anyone can spend on any given project so which parts are focused on does influence how other parts perform. But regardless, there are unfortunately (very vocal) people who dislike everything that deviates from the norms they’re used to and their complaints about this or that aspect are often just a convenient excuse to criticize something they were never open to liking anyway.
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
16th February 2023, 12:45
I am looking forward to the Villeneuve/Peroni film. Rivalries that intense are rare, and should make for interesting viewing.
Qeki (@qeki)
16th February 2023, 15:52
So Pirelli has again made hypersofts, supersofts, softs, mediums, hards… just in different names..
That laser thing could work but as in any innovation there will be some issues
cdfemke (@cdfemke)
16th February 2023, 23:30
So now its under a magnifying glass, lets see hpw many female/trans/nonbinary dribers there are in that movie
Robino
18th February 2023, 1:16
Playing alongside Pitt will be a 230lbs drag queen whose raison d’être is to pressure the old codgers at the FIA to force teams to increase car weight minimum by 300lbs thereby making F1 the world’s most inclusive sport.
Louis Renault
20th February 2023, 22:02
Hamilton’s proposed movie seems destined to make this list of movies that are so, um, exceptional, that they have never been released. https://www.imdb.com/list/ls063222694/