FIA will “remain neutral” over Azerbaijan’s conflict with Armenia – Ben Sulayem

In brief

Ben Sulayem sees no need to move Baku prize gala

The FIA’s Annual General Assembly and prizegiving will take place in the Azerbaijan capital Baku in December. A recent escalation in the dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which the countries fought a war over in 2020, has led an estimated 60,000 ethnic Armenians to flee the area since last month.

Ben Sulayem said the FIA must remain neutral in the matter. “There is a war that will hopefully end,” he said, adding he could “name at least 20 countries” involved in armed conflicts.

The FIA’s Statutes state it shall “refrain from manifesting discrimination on account of… political opinion.” Nonetheless following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year it imposed restrictions on Russian and Belarussian competitors and events.

Ben Sulayem said that action was taken in line with the statutes. “When I was asked to cancel Russia, I said, ‘no, I’m not defying our statutes.’ We then called an extraordinary general meeting. Because it depends on what the members want. They have priority. And I was elected to implement the members’ wishes. And I am also a member myself.

“We must always maintain neutrality, both when it comes to religion and politics. Why? Because you don’t just talk about democracy, ethics and governance when it suits you. You either talk about it or you don’t.”

Garcia and Hamda Al Qubaisi take F1 Academy wins

Garcia took the championship title by winning the opening race of the weekend from pole position, holding off Abbi Pulling throughout the race. Hamda Al Qubaisi inherited reverse grid pole for race two and made it count, leading the entire race and taking her fourth race win of the series.

Jessica Edgar, who took third place on the podium in race two, will start from pole for today’s third and final race.

Tramnitz wins opening FREC Hockenheim race

Red Bull junior driver Tim Tramnitz took victory in the opening race of the Formula Regional European Championship round at Hockenheim. The 18-year-old, who was recently signed by the F1 champions, led home R-ace team mate Martinius Kleve Stenshorne.

Mercedes junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who has already clinched the championship, finished sixth.

Links

Motor racing links of interest:

I can do something wiser with my time – Russell stops using social media (Independent)

'Every headline was negative. Other than being informed about what is going on in the world, reading negative headlines one after another didn’t bring anything to me, so now I am totally off social media.'

'Garcia looks at future after F1 Academy (Sky)

'F1 Academy championship winner Marta Garcia discusses a memorable season and looks ahead to her future beyond the series.'

Otmar Szafnauer: An F1 Executive's Rules of the Road (Boadroom)

''I was 30 some races in, and to me, 30-something is not 100. And I’m a man of my word. When I give my word, it’s what you do, and integrity, which I learned from my father, is everything to me. But it seems like the whole world didn’t learn from him, so there was always ‘promise one thing, do another thing.''

Star Spangled Scuderia (Ferrari)

'Some of Ferrari’s most memorable wins have been in the United States. Niki Lauda wrapped up his first world championship for the Scuderia by dominating the 1975 US GP, at Watkins Glen in rural New York. He led from start to finish, in what would be his fifth win of the season and Ferrari’s first US GP triumph.'

'Inside Lawson's crazy six-week stint as a F1 driver (Stuff NZ)

'It was walking back to the car to get in, that’s when it hit me pretty hard that I was about to start the race. But honestly, in any situation, It’s something that I’ve been doing since I was six.'

Hawkins: Where it all began (Aston Martin)

'It might seem a daunting environment but for me, F1 has been a very welcoming community. It's a real privilege to be working with a team. You create friendships and relationships with people that last a lifetime. You're working with like-minded people, doing the thing you love. It's a very welcoming sport, especially at AMF1 Team. It's like my tribe. I think that’s a good way to describe it.'

How do you paint an F1 car? (Red Bull via YouTube)

'We document the journey from design, to application of our special livery for the US Grand Prix in Austin. Designed by our fans, #MakeYourMark puts our livery into the fans' hands for three special occasions: all three 2023 US races. Here's the story of the second fan-designed RB19 livery that debuted in Austin!'

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:

This weekend we will pay tribute to our dear teammate and friend, Martin Kemp, who sadly passed away last month.

Martin had been at McLaren for nearly 22 years and was a key member of our Composite Machining team.

To pay our respects, both MCL60 race cars will carry his name… pic.twitter.com/ZlbofrODAO

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 21, 2023

Thanks for having us in the paddock, @f1academy. ❤️

Lewis and George both took the time to visit F1 Academy and meet the talented drivers and teams. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/gr3I6zRo1q

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) October 21, 2023

Empowering girls in STEM with @Girlstart! 🙌

Lando joined Shane Woods, Executive Director of Girlstart, for an engineering workshop at COTA!

We're proud to sport Girlstart on our car this weekend with @Smartsheet's #SponsorX scheme. 🧡#USGP 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/aE4I4VQZWz

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 21, 2023

#F1 quali is borderline becoming unwatchable with all these rules. Spend more time watching the clock and seeing if they're within the white lines than actually enjoying the action.

— Richard Aucock (@richardaucock) October 21, 2023

I can’t fault the series or the drivers. To me it falls completely on the track designer. If your track has track limits, you need to go back to the drawing board. But I agree, the seemingly new idea of limits is quite annoying.

— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) October 21, 2023

I think any #F1Sprint is doomed to be a little too similar to the first stint of a GP, albeit without the pay-off or importance.

I think modern motorsport is too covered in red tape for this, but it’d be more compelling to chuck them in a neutral car, BMW M1 Procar style. #USGP

— Adam Weller (@AdamWellerComms) October 21, 2023

One positive from today, this weekend proves that sprint races aren’t needed. What a waste of a Saturday #F1

— Mike Caulfield (@MikeCaulfieldF1) October 21, 2023

|@JensonButton on the grid before the start: "You have eight cars that can realistically fight for a win."

Result: @Max33Verstappen leads every lap and wins by 9.4 seconds in 19 laps.

Give it a rest with the hype, it's embarrassing. #F1 #USGP #RaceFans

— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) October 21, 2023

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

Comment of the day

After the FIA widened the white lines denoting track limits at multiple corners of the Circuit of the Americas, Mark Zastrow says he approves of the larger lines:

I support this. It’s still the same track for everyone, and it allows drivers to get more up onto the kerbs and potentially unsettle the car, which is more fun for us to watch.

I find it amusing though that it does seem to contradict the sporting regulations, which hold that “for the avoidance of doubt, any white lines defining the track edges are considered to be part of the track but the kerbs are not.” If you paint a kerb white, it is still a kerb, is it not?
Mark Zastrow

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Sasquatch and Porschephile!

On this day in motorsport

• On this day last year Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz passed away