In the round-up: Kevin Magnussen says Haas’ major upgrade for this weekend’s race is unlikely to produce a major breakthrough in performance.
In brief
Magnussen doesn’t expect immediate gain from upgrade
Haas will bring a major upgrade for its VF-23 to its home race at the Circuit of the Americas this weekend, having made few changes to it so far this season. But Magnussen said the team’s change in concept won’t pay off immediately.
“I’m happy we get this upgrade at the next race and excited about it,” said Magnussem. It’s really positive for the team to have that to look forward to and get some new tools to play with. Hopefully we can find more performance.
“I don’t think it’s realistic to expect miracles in the first race in Austin. Of course we all wish for that at night when we go to sleep. But realistically, it will take us a race or two to figure it out. I’m just really glad we can leave this behind and move ahead to there.”
Don’t miss RaceFans’ exclusive interviews with Kevin Magnussen and Haas team principal Guenther Steiner this week.
IndyCar hybrid “changes a lot” – Palou
IndyCar champion Alex Palou said the hybrid system the series will introduce next year make a significant difference to performance. “It’s very different,” said the Ganassi drier after testing it at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last week, “even though it’s a small change, it changes a lot at this place.“But it’s really fun. We’re just learning as much as possible from the hybrid system, the recharge, deployment and just trying to get some changes to learn as much as possible with HPD.”
He predicted the extra power available from the hybrid system will be useful for overtaking at the ony superspeedway on the 2024 schedule.
“There’s always challenges when you add a big system like that,” said Palou. “It’s brand-new for everybody. You don’t want to risk damaging and you don’t want to not be at the limit of it. So we’re just trying different stuff.
“I think it’s going to be really good and useful here at the speedway, especially for traffic running. When we’re alone, we don’t really feel that much of a difference, but when we’re in traffic we can get the advantage to try and overtake.”
Mercedes’ Antonelli takes another title
Andrea Kimi Antonelli clinched the Formula Regional European Championship with two races to spare at Zandvoort yesterday. The 17-year-old took until the eighth race of the season to score his first win but has impressed with his consistency and sealed the title with a commanding, 12-second victory over Marcus Amand.
The Mercedes-backed Antonelli also won the Formula Regional Middle East title earlier this year and a pair of Formula 4 title last season. Rumours have suggested Mercedes may choose to skip Formula 3 and place him in Formula 2 next year.
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Trio unhurt in Formula Regional pile-up
Three drivers were unhurt in a crash during yesterday’s round of the Formula Regional European series at Zandvoort, in an incident with uncomfortable parallels to that which claimed the life of Dilano van ‘t Hoff three months earlier at Spa-Francorchamps.
Emmo Fittipaldi, a grandson of two-times Formula 1 world champion Emerson, spun into a barrier and bounced towards the track. He was struck by Maya Weug, who subsequently tangled with Nikhil Bora. The race was red-flagged but all three climbed from their cars.
Bridgestone acknowledges failed F1 tyre supply bid
Following the FIA and Formula 1’s decision to continue with Pirelli as its tyre supplier for the 2025 to 2027 seasons, unsuccessful rival bidder Bridgestone said its submission “received positive recognition” from the two
Bridgestone planned to introduced “sustainability initiatives across the value chain and the ‘ultimate customisation’ of its new Enliten technology, which can be changed based on the needs of different racing conditions,” said global CEO Shuichi Ishibashi. “Bridgestone will continue to passionately push its technology and innovation through the mobile lab and proving ground that motorsport offers, strengthening its pursuit of sustainable global premium motorsport activities,” he added.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Resurfacing completed at Le Mans (Daily Sportscar)
'Last month saw some significant resurfacing work at Le Mans with the public road section from Mulsanne Corner to Arnage (sections of the RD140 and RD139) given a new top surface for the first time since 2005.
Watchdog probes Ecclestone lawyer over £40 million 'gifts' from Bernie's ex (Daily Mail)
'Stephen Mullens, who had advised the former motor racing chief since 1999, faces a probe by the lawyers’ watchdog after failing to tell them about a separate court ruling against him two years ago.'
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 X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
|@danielricciardo has been back in action for Red Bull in a demonstration run on the street of Nashville ahead of his return to racing at the Circuit of the Americas next weekend. #F1 #USGP pic.twitter.com/LSXxl75Soy
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) October 15, 2023
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
It was particularly difficult to pick a winner from your Caption Competition suggestions last weekend so congratulations are in order to Derek for this:
Sergio finally returned to the podium when Red Bull sent him up to accept the constructor’s trophy.
Derek Edwards
Thanks to every who joined in, especially RBAlonso, Jamt, Electroball76, Philip and Moi who also came close to being chosen as winners this time.
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Jeepneyman!
Tristan
16th October 2023, 0:18
A day late and a dollar short for the caption competition:
Max: “Has Sargeant proved he deserves another season in Formula 1?”
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
16th October 2023, 1:31
No worries Kev, I doubt anyone is expecting much from that very veeery rare Haas update anyway, let alone miracles…
Yes (@come-on-kubica)
16th October 2023, 6:51
I expect big things.
Wheel Nut (@wheel-nut)
16th October 2023, 8:46
You do have to wonder if the idea of promoting Antonelli to F2 next year is that he gets 2 years of F2 (assuming he doesn’t win in his first year!) prior to being a candidate to replace Hamilton at the end of his contract?
SjaakFoo (@sjaakfoo)
16th October 2023, 8:49
I mean, the season is almost over and Haas finally bring their first in-season upgrade and apparently it was huge waste of time.
But we don’t need Andretti because the Americans already have this team to root for, right?
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
16th October 2023, 10:20
That Formula Regional European was appalling given that it was under SC conditions.
That Emmo Fittipaldi spun was embarrassing, but given they should be at SC speeds, and he was really well offline, what Maya Weug was attempting to do, is a mystery to me.
Asd
16th October 2023, 11:20
I still have no idea why IndyCars are going to harvest electric energy on oval tracks. I’ve always assumed the only way to do it was during braking. You could also harvest it while on gas, taking the energy away from the ICU’s power output, but that would be counterproductive, unless it’d be done for the sake of gathering a boost for a long straight…. right?
Anyone care to explain?
AlanD
16th October 2023, 13:24
ASD, I guess even IndyCars on ovals have to slow down for the corners so maybe if they use engine braking rather than disk braking, that is where they have the potential to harvest some energy. It may not be much, but you only have one straight to use it all up before the next corner repeats the process.
IndyCars do have carbon fibre disk brakes, though they are modified in some way for ovals so that they are not too harsh. Does Indycar still race on tracks and street circuits or it is all oval nowadays. I remember an issue for them on tracks is that unlike F1, Indycar brakes do not have cooling ducts.
Asd
16th October 2023, 20:03
IndyCar races mostly on road and street tracks these days. And at Indianapolis they do not use the breaks actually (except after overtakes etc. during races). IndyCars do have cooling ducts and they have never had issued on tracks. Maybe you’re thinking about the Indy Racing League of old that raced only ovals with only 1 or 2 exceptions per season (Watkins Glen and maybe some other track).
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
16th October 2023, 11:47
Current rumors coming from the Brazilian outlet Globo strongly suggest that the Red Bull board of directors will convene to address Helmut Marko’s future with RBR, potentially leading to his dismissal. Following Mateschitz’s death, Marko is no longer immune within the Red Bull group due to his divisive attitude, causing him to lose support.
It was reported before that the new Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff and Marko are at odds, particularly concerning the potential sale of Alpha Tauri. The Thai stakeholders advocate for Christian Horner having even a more central role within the Red Bull group, while the Austrian stakeholders back Marko, creating internal tension.
Jay
17th October 2023, 2:37
“Globo strongly suggest”
I’ll hold my breath then.
Nick T.
20th October 2023, 18:43
I doubt anyone was expecting one from Haas OR you, K Mag.