Canada performance shows Mercedes are “definitely on the right path” – Russell

In brief

Russell encouraged by Mercedes’ Canada pace

Russell retired from the race due to trouble with his brakes. He was running eighth at the time after clouting a wall hard in the early stages and pitting for repairs. He and team mate Lewis Hamilton started from the second row of the grid.

In the previous round in Spain Russell qualified 12th but rose up the order to take his first podium of the year in third place. His non-score in Canada means he has now dropped to sixth in the standings, but with Hamilton finishing on the podium again he sees signs of progress at Mercedes.

“I think going from Barcelona to here, two quite contrasting circuits, bodes well for the future,” said Russell in Canada after Sunday’s race.

“Of course, as a team, we’re looking for more than just second best. We need to close that gap to Red Bull, but [our pace here] definitely shows we’re on the right path.”

F1 paddock reaches sustainability landmark

The FIA’s Environmental Accreditation Programme is now into its 13th year, and uses 17 criteria to assess the environmental sustainability of series, circuits, competitors and manufacturers.

F1 itself received three-star accreditation in 2020, which has now been renewed, and its tyre supplier Pirelli has the highest level of accreditation too. By 2030, F1 plans to be a “net-zero carbon organisation.”

However more than half of the circuits F1 races at do not even have one-star accreditation from the FIA. Five hold three-star accreditation.

FIA shares details on future of junior categories

The second World Motor Sport Council meeting of 2023 took place yesterday in Spain, and among the changes approved were technical details for the single-seater categories below F1.

The next-generation Formula 2 and Formula 3 cars, being introduced in 2024 and 2025 respectively, will now be in use for a minimum of six years rather than three. The tendering process to supply the chassis for either of those has still not been revealed.

Meanwhile the Formula Regional category that sits below F3 has had the introduction of its Gen2 ruleset set for 2025. The choosing of that date had already been expected, and the first-generation cars from three different chassis constructors that have been in use since 2018 will continue to be raced next year. The future Formula Regional cars will have to follow F1 design trends, based on an aerodynamic brief from the FIA.

Links

Motor racing links of interest:

'It's brought a fresh perspective': Inside Carpenter's addition of Hunter-Reay (Indy Star)

"Was there any sort of shouting match or blow-up within the team? 'No, no, no, not at all,' Carpenter said."

Palou is entering rare IndyCar title territory (Racer)

'At his current rate of production, Alex Palou is all but guaranteed to win his second IndyCar title. Granted, we aren’t handing the Spaniard his second crown in a span of three years quite yet, and there’s still plenty of time for things to go wrong. But on his present trajectory, Palou is flying in territory that hasn’t been explored in 18 years.'

How sports redrew the city (Las Vegas Review Journal)

'This November, a race on the Strip featuring the globetrotting and suddenly domestically popular F1 will be added to a city calendar already chock-full of major sporting events. It is projected to pump another $1,000,000,000 into city coffers. But ticket and room prices were priced so high that according to news reports, it’s actually cheaper to fly to Monaco to attend the grand prix there.'

Ricciardo wants 'fairytale' F1 return to Red Bull (ESPN)

'Daniel Ricciardo has admitted for the first time during his sabbatical year that the dream end to his Formula One career would be a return to racing for the Red Bull team.'

Column: F1′s predictable races risk turning off new American fanbase (Associated Press)

'It’s OK to feel duped by F1 and the splashy Netflix show that sucked you into the globetrotting racing series at the height of the pandemic. But here’s F1′s dirty little secret: the racing has never been great and 2021 was an anomaly of a season.'

The man who invented the modern junior single-seater championship (Formula Scout)

'Dan Partel’s name may be unknown to modern audiences. But junior single-seaters has a lot to thank him for.'

Automobilista 2nd June 2023 development update part one (Reiza Studios)

"One of the major highlights of V1.5 of course is the latest top-to-bottom physics overhaul, courtesy of the tyre findings we commented on in the April Dev Update. The latest V1.4.8 release provided a taste of how significant this revision is, as an initial batch of classes in it already received the revisions."

Save the date (Assetto Corsa)

"Thanks to the collaboration between KUNOS Simulazioni, 505 Games and Untold Games, on June 27th, console players will have the opportunity to test their skills both in the free updated version of Assetto Corsa Competizione and in the latest DLC."

FIA announces global research scholarships as part of online abuse campaign (FIA)

'FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem announced today the launch of six scholarships as the FIA’s United Against Online Abuse campaign continues to gather momentum. The scholarships will invite researchers worldwide to collaborate against the global scourge of online hate speech in sport while earning a Masters by Research degree.'

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:

So jump starts are now encouraged and celebrated? 👀 https://t.co/9R1qh09GPd

— Alexander Rossi (@AlexanderRossi) June 20, 2023

Quick non-update update: CGR has confirmed Takuma Sato will do the rest of the ovals in the No. 11 Honda.

— Marshall Pruett (@marshallpruett) June 20, 2023

Wishing a very happy birthday to @WilliamsRacing team boss, James Vowles 🥳#F1 pic.twitter.com/jplGmwgfes

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 20, 2023

SOME BUMP DRAFTING AT ROAD AMERICA 🫡🫡🫡

Lots of positives to take from this weekend @roadamerica💪 We are making big improvements and made it into the Fast 12 again during Qualifying. Race we unfortunately got hit on opening lap but battled our way up to P21.

Onto… pic.twitter.com/ceb8I3C6Qy

— Benjamin Pedersen (@BPedersen_55) June 19, 2023

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

Comment of the day

Charles Leclerc wanted to make an early switch from intermediate to slick tyres in the second segment of qualifying at the Canadian GP, but his Ferrari team told him to stay out to set a competitive lap time before switching as rain was on its way.

But slick tyres were the correct choice for the drying track, and once Leclerc did switch he did not go quick enough to reach Q3. He voiced his annoyance to the team and to the media, and later Ferrari’s team principal Frederic Vasseur gave Leclerc “the global picture” behind the strategy choice, which afterwards the team still believed was the right one.

A driver might have excellent intuition regarding current track conditions. He has zero intuition regarding incoming weather.

Vasseur is perfectly right: had the rain come during those first 3 laps, Albon’s quali would have been over. He went through in 1st place, but with the rain arriving a bit earlier, he might have been dead last. A backmarker can afford that sort of gamble, a top team cannot.

Ferrari (perfectly reasonably) put Leclerc on the safe strategy. It was not a sub-optimal strategy; it was the strategy the majority of teams/drivers opted for. It is fully on Leclerc that he could achieve less with that strategy than half the field.
Asz

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Jcost!

On this day in motorsport

• On this day in 1953 Alberto Ascari scored his ninth consecutive win in a world championship race, setting a record Sebastian Vettel equally 60 years later