In the round-up: Max Verstappen has dismissed suggestions that there is disharmony within the leadership of his Red Bull team
In brief
Red Bull power struggle reports “B.S.” – Verstappen
Reports following the Qatar Grand Prix suggested that team principal Christian Horner had been pushing for Red Bull to take action against motorsport advisor Helmut Marko. The long-time Red Bull figure and friend of late founder Dietrich Mateschitz has regularly courted controversy with his public comments about the team and its drivers. He recently issued an apology over remarks about Verstappen’s team mate Sergio Perez.
However said he’d seen the reports of disharmony within the team and insisted there is nothing to them. “From the outside people are trying to basically talk some B.S. [bullshit]. I think the mood in the team is very good. Everyone knows exactly what their role is.
“Of course, it was sad times last year when Dietrich passed away. But we tried to keep that legacy moving forward. Everyone that we have right now in the team is very important to that success that we’re having. So that’s why there are also no changes for the future. I think that basically explains it.”
Stroll keeps mum over FIA warning
Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll says he is is still enjoying racing in Formula 1 after his frustrating Qatar Grand Prix weekend.Stroll scored no points last weekend and was seen shoving his coach in frustration in the back of the garage after being eliminated from Q1 on Friday. He apologised to the FIA before receiving a warning for his behaviour going against the governing body’s code of ethics.
Asked if he had “patched things up” with his coach after the incident and if he was still enjoying racing in F1, Stroll simply replied “yes and yes.” Given the opportunity to expand on his answer, Stroll declined.
Chadwick gets second Indy Nxt season
Williams academy driver Jamie Chadwick will compete in a second full season in the Indy Nxt series in 2024 with Andretti.
The 25-year-old, who won all three of the W-Series championships held between 2019 and 2022, raced in the IndyCar junior series with Andretti this season, ending the year 12th in the championship with a best finish of sixth in Portland. She will remain with Andretti for her second season in the series.
“My first year with the team taught me so much and we were able to make a lot of progress with every race,” Chadwick said. “I know that taking this experience and confidence into 2024 is going to be massively valuable for us, and I truly feel like part of the family here.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
F1 Manager developer to lay off staff
Frontier Developments, the developer and publisher of the F1 Manager game series, has announced it will be reshaping the company with some redundancies following “a period of disappointing financial performance”.
In an announcement published by the company, said that their gaming portfolio – which includes the F1 Manager franchise, Elite Dangerous and Jurassic World Evolution series among others – continues to “perform in line with expectations”.
Williams announce new multi-year sponsor
Williams has announced a new “multi-year” sponsor partnership with beauty and nutrition group THG.
The British-based company’s ‘MyProtein’ and ‘Ingenuity’ brands will appear on the Williams FW45 and the overalls of drivers Alexander Albon and Logan Sargeant from this weekend’s United States Grand Prix in Austin.
THG Eco will also join the team as a sustainability partner to support Williams’ efforts to measure their carbon use.
Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Rosberg raises Norris worry after watching McLaren F1 star 'spiral' (Mirror)
'I think Lando has been doing really well when he wasn’t really challenged so much, he was always at his best. If you look at Qatar now suddenly you’ve had Lando a little bit off, never putting a lap together in qualifying. Therefore having a worse grid slot and not getting the best out of the weekend, because Oscar beat him both on Saturday and on Sunday. What was a little bit of a worry, because Lando always says himself how he sometimes has challenges with mental health.'
Kimi Raikkonen has reportedly moved to northern Italy to support his eight-year-old son Robin as he embarks on his karting career.
F1 Academy driver Bustamante on life in the fast lane (Deutsche Welle)
''Financially, it definitely wasn't easy for us. You know, coming from the Philippines, we're a very middle-class family. My dad is actually an overseas worker. He moved away when I was young just so he could support the family and put food on the table. The fact that I was racing, it was really, really difficult for the whole family. We made a lot of sacrifices, sometimes you might say too many. That's why I've always felt like I've had to pay them back.''
Patrick Mahomes invests in Formula 1 team, 'always looking around' at ownership opportunities (NFL)
''I've been able to get to a couple races now, seeing the environment, and then obviously watching the Drive to Survive on Netflix you see how competitive it is. Any time you get an opportunity to get in on that, I mean I'm as competitive as anyone can get, so hopefully it can open up to some great opportunities and we are able to go to some of those races and have a little stake in the game.''
Ricciardo Unleashes His Inner Cowboy (Nylon)
''The only getting-ready ritual I have for Nashville is my physiotherapy. As you know, my hand is not at 100 percent, so I need to keep on it. I’ll do physiotherapy to make sure it’s ready to go. That’s honestly my ritual before I head to the great state of Texas.''
Sargeant: Live From New York (F1R the Girls via YouTube)
Williams driver Logan Sargeant discusses his rookie season with a US F1 fan podcast and touches on his healthy personal rivalry with Oscar Piastri, whom he battled for the F3 title in 2020.
Inside F1's first-ever recycled carbon fibre trial (McLaren via YouTube)
'Go behind the scenes at McLaren Racing and discover how we’re manufacturing Formula 1 car components out of recycled carbon fibre (rCF) with innovative composites organisation, V Carbon. The cutting-edge material will be trialled on the McLaren MCL60 at the US Grand Prix. This is the latest major step in our ambitious long-term goal to research and develop a fully circular F1 car.'
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.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
WOWW 🤩
Take a closer look at @CarlosSainz55 & @Charles_Leclerc’s helmets for this weekend's #USGP 🇺🇸#F1 pic.twitter.com/0KakSThlVy
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) October 19, 2023
A true ground-breaker in world sport drops by the paddock for a special visit.
Great to welcome @LewisHamilton into the paddock ahead of the race weekend.#F1Academy pic.twitter.com/BXzTNW2hNE
— F1 Academy (@f1academy) October 19, 2023
Look who’s back 🙌#USGP pic.twitter.com/959r3ciIzb
— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) October 19, 2023
James previews the #USGP! 🇺🇸👇
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) October 19, 2023
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
Logan Sargeant is the only driver who has competed in all grands prix in 2023 to be without a point heading into his second home round of the season and RandomMallard has mixed emotions about the American driver…
Having been pretty ill myself for the last two-and-a-half weeks, I can fully sympathise with Sargeant calling it a day in Qatar. I can’t imagine driving an F1 car when feeling even just a bit ill to be honest. And I think it’s a shame for Logan, because he seems to have the right determination and attitude to try and be successful (unlike a certain other North American driver in a Mercedes-powered outlet…), and it just isn’t working out for him.
Obviously he’s still got five races to prove himself, and I really would like to see him doing well, but based off what I’ve seen so far, as nice of a guy as Logan seems, I really don’t see why he should be in F1 while someone like Felipe Drugovich, Liam Lawson, or this season’s F2 champion (or runner-up to be fair) has to wait on the sidelines.
RandomMallard
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Danthorn, Shaggymike, F1Yankee and The Abbinator!
On this day in motorsport
- 45 years ago today Gunnar Nilsson, who had won the Belgian Grand Prix for Lotus the year before, died of cancer aged just 29.
Newsletter
Don’t miss any of our RaceFans’ motorsport coverage! Get a daily update in your inbox – sign up for the free RaceFans email Newsletter here:
Nick T.
20th October 2023, 3:43
There may not be a power struggle or it may be too dramatic a description, but Helmut saying things like “Horner does not have the power to fire me” and “certain people are trying to redefine their power/role” hints at least a tiny bit of something going on.
Nick T.
20th October 2023, 3:48
BTW, credit to RF for crediting all sources instead of just repurposing content with no credit.
BasCB (@bascb)
20th October 2023, 7:28
Yep. good point.
Facts&Stats
20th October 2023, 7:29
That’s always been the case for the ‘Links’ section.
However, the newer ‘In Brief’ section remains mostly without source credits.
Which is a pity, as the whole idea of the ’round-up’ seemed to be to give a daily overview of what else happened and others wrote regarding F1/motorsports, but was not covered in a separate article on this site.
Urvaksh (@thedoctor03)
22nd October 2023, 8:43
Quite likely because these are quotes directly made to RaceFans during weekends (i.e., to its on-site journalists).
Jere (@jerejj)
20th October 2023, 6:34
Officially moved or just bought a free-time house? The latter is my understanding.
BasCB (@bascb)
20th October 2023, 7:31
Hm, I do not think I can agree with Rosberg – Norris has had this before, where he pushed himself so much and made a mistake – remember how fast he was in qualifying for Spa in the rain and then crashed heavily, giving the opportunity for Russel to shine in the Williams instead?
And he really struggled a few years back in Austria as well with deleted laps in qualifying. So this is not something new, or caused by “being challenged”, rather it is maybe more visible when the guy in the other car is also doing a good job, and does not make that same mistake and shows what would have been possible.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
20th October 2023, 8:20
Yes, I remember that quali session very well, he was one of the protagonists and could’ve been in the fight for pole if he hadn’t lost it in that brief moment where rain was heavier early in q3.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
20th October 2023, 10:04
@bascb I agree that this one event and a few mistakes is not necessarily a big issue, unless it becomes a trend. But i don’t really blame Norris for that Spa crash. The track was too wet to drive in those conditions, and whoever was first to try and set a lap was always going to aquaplane and crash at Eau Rouge. Norris was just the the first one on the scene.
S
20th October 2023, 12:09
Who else was holding the steering wheel and pushing the pedals?
Nick T.
20th October 2023, 12:07
Rosberg isn’t worried let alone criticizing his performances, he’s worried that Lando is too hard on himself and that could be bad for his mental health. A bunch of nonsense basically. But the replies here all seemed to have misinterpreted his comments.
Surprised Rosberg hasn’t staged an intervention for Leclerc.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
20th October 2023, 16:02
I honestly can’t stand Rosberg as a pundit. He’s so full of himself…
MacLeod (@macleod)
20th October 2023, 7:57
Charles his helmet looks like a Heineken bottle :) But the difference will be very noticeable ……
Nick T.
20th October 2023, 12:09
It really does. I’m so sick of drivers changing their helmet for every race, especially when it comes to America and choosing the dumbest things they think America is all about.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
20th October 2023, 14:40
To be honest, I don’t really care what is on an individual driver’s helmet. I just don’t find it interesting. If it was one or a design that a certain driver, perhaps from years gone by, had always worn, then maybe. But not when it changes for nearly every race.