Alonso raced with broken bones after Melbourne crash last year

In brief

Alonso raced after breaking bones in Melbourne crash

Alonso will be reunited with team mate Lance Stroll, who injured his wrists in a cycling accident while training, for practice in Bahrain today.

With Stroll returning, Alonso admitted in yesterday’s FIA press conference that he had raced after breaking both hands when he crashed out of qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix last year while racing with Alpine.

“I think it’s already very good news that he’s here and he will try,” Alonso said. “That shows his desire to win and his motivation to win with this team. So that’s a very good sign.

“In my case, yes, I broke few bones in both hands last year, so until August, I was not fully recovered. I had some pain, but we love driving.”

Low downforce circuits will suit Williams best again – Albon

Williams took five points finishes in 2022, including best finishes of eighth in Spa-Francorchamps and Monza. Albon says the team’s new car is very sensitive aerodynamically and will best be suited to those circuits this year.

“It was clear with the wind over the testing,” Albon said, “depending on the angle of the wind, it was very tricky for us in a couple of corners – the low-speed corners. If we can get the season better than we started, which we did last year, I’ll be happy.

“And of course, taking the moments we can – Monza, Spa – these kind of circuits will continue to be still quite good for us. We just want to be quicker and have the chance more often, basically.”

F3 driver fined before first practice

MP Motorsport Formula 3 driver Mari Boya and his driver coach, former F2 racer Facu Regalia, have both been fined €1,000 by the FIA before the first track action of the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend after they walked onto the Sakhir circuit while prohibited.

The duo were intending to complete a track walk together, jumping the turn 11 barrier onto the race track, 11 minutes prior to the circuit officially closing while the FIA medical car was completing a planned test run. The pair returned over the barriers but were summoned to the stewards, where they admitted their error. Both were fined €1,000 (£886) and will have their paddock credentials revoked if they commit any similar infractions.

Enter the 2023 RaceFans Predictions Championship

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Links

Motor racing links of interest:

Read the all-new digital race programme (F1)

"Check out our all-new digital race programme for this weekend's Formula 1 Gulf Air Grand Prix 2023 in Sakhir, including features on pre-season testing, Max Verstappen's title defence, and the upcoming F2 and F3 campaigns - plus stats on all 10 teams..."

Piastri explains aim of rookie F1 season (Speedcafe)

"I obviously want to be up to speed as quickly as I can but also I’m aware that firstly, it’s not going to be an easy task. Lando has established himself as a very quick driver as well, so I think for the first part of the year, I don’t want to put a timeline on it too much."

IndyCar tech download: Decoding the data (Racer)

"In recent years, broadcasters have begun showing such overlays to help describe to fans what drivers are doing inside the car to try and extract as much lap time as possible. But while it may look like a series of squiggly lines to inexperienced eyes, data like this can actually offer valuable insight to drivers, engineers, and of course fans about the relative performance between two cars. A special thank you to McLaren for supplying this overlay from a test day at Sonoma a few seasons ago."

Russian ex-Haas driver Mazepin cleared to race in Europe (France24)

"The General Court ruled that Mazepin 'is in no way involved in the aggression suffered by Ukraine and does not exercise any activity in economic sectors which provide a substantial source of income' to Russia. 'He has always maintained a neutral position on the war as a professional athlete,' added the order."

Does Verstappen ever blink? (Red Bull via YouTube)

"How many times does a Formula 1 racing driver blink over one Oracle Virtual Lap?"

24 hours at F1 testing (Norris via YouTube)

Norris provides his vlog from last week's pre-season test in Bahrain.

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Social media

Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:

McLaren's dynamic on-car branding, which it introduced in practice at last year's #USGP, will appear on its cars during races for the first time this year, beginning this weekend.https://t.co/b9TRAaef1A #BahrainGP

— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) March 2, 2023

#F1 has brought back the chat show-style press conferences it introduced at the beginning of 2020, then had to drop when the pandemic hit.#BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/H2e7PBGaI2

— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) March 2, 2023

Back in my happy place ✨

Great to back in the mix this weekend for the #BahrainGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Ec8AO42SeK

— Claire Cottingham (@Cla_Cottingham) March 2, 2023

We have 22 drivers from 12 teams on SUZUKA official test entry list👀✨

SUPER FORMULA rookies will be BACK on SUZUKA track!!
Looking forward to it 😉@LiamLawson30 @RaoulHyman @cembolukbasi
#SUPERFORMULA #SFjp #SFormula #motorsports pic.twitter.com/U6GwDskgb3

— SUPER FORMULA (@SUPERFORMULA_En) March 2, 2023

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

Comment of the day

With Stroll confirmed to be racing this weekend while continuing to recover from injuring his hand, @ajpennypacker is disappointed that reserve driver and F2 champion Felipe Drugovich will not get an opportunity to make his F1 debut…

I admit I’m disappointed that we won’t get to see Drugovich do a race. It was a very legitimate chance to impress. It’s hard to be too impressed with testing, but Felipe seems to have done a great job testing. He’s clearly going to be in better condition to take the car on the first race.

But I get why Lance is so keen to return. Reminds me a bit of Hamilton rushing his return after Russell impressed in Sakhir in 2020.

Good for Lance if he is properly fit. But it’s really hard to imagine a bone healing so fast, especially with screws in there, and then be able to endure the high G-forces of a fast circuit like Sakhir.
ajpennypacker

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Seaney_T!

On this day in motorsport

• 40 years ago today Brabham launched its distinctive BT52 at the headquarters of turbo engine supplier BMW in Munich. It took Nelson Piquet to his second world championship