Tost says Hadjar ‘will be in F1 soon’ after promising practice run

In brief

Tost says Hadjar ‘will be in F1 soon’

After F2 driver and Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar took part in Friday’s opening practice session in place of Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost says that he sees an F1 future for the 19-year-old.

“He did a good job, I must say,” Tost said after Hadjar ended the session 17th-fastest, “We were all impressed by him.

“He was out with three different sets of tyres; the prototype tyre, the medium and the soft. And with all these different compounds, I must say that he really did a good job. His technical feedback was also quite good because if you compare it to the data, it’s a very high correlation. We are really impressed and I think that he will be soon in Formula 1.”

Tsunoda to start from back of grid

Teams are restricted to just four power units for the 2023 season, as well as two energy stores and control electronics. Due to exceeding the 15-place combined grid penalty threshold, Tsunoda will be made to start from the back of the grid no matter where he qualifies in today’s session.

Horner confirms Red Bull Friday practice plans

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has confirmed that the team will run both their Friday practice young driver allocations together during the opening practice session of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Due to the first practice session at Yas Marina taking place in the day with the race starting at twilight and finishing in darkness, Horner said the opening practice session would be the best option as it offers “not a great deal of car set up value.”

Jake Dennis and Isack Hadjar will step into Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez’s cars for the opening hour-long session.

Cassidy ends Formula E test on top

Nick Cassidy ensured Jaguar were the quickest team across all three days of the pre-season Formula E test in Valencia by setting the fastest time in the last session.

After team mate Mitch Evans set the pace over the first two days, Cassidy was quickest over the day, less than half a tenth faster than Maximilian Guenther’s Maserati with Evans third.

A 27-lap mock race held in the morning to simulate a full EPrix including fast charging in the pits was ‘won’ by Envision driver Robin Frijns ahead of Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa.

Links

Motor racing links of interest:

Wolff on Las Vegas Grand Prix, F1 Future: Business Beyond the Game (Sportico)

'Wolff joined Business Beyond the Game to discuss the upcoming Las Vegas Grand Prix, the sport’s growing interest in the U.S. and the wave of F1 investment from celebrities.'

Back on the Formula 1 grid, Ricciardo wants to prove he can win (Forbes)

'As a driver, it’s very easy to go too far down a rabbit hole and over complicate what might be a more simple situation. As a person, the biggest lesson is don’t burn your bridges. There was a world where, five years ago, people would’ve said he’s never going back to Red Bull. Look where we are. It’s crazy how things work. You can be emotional at times, and it’s good to show some of that.'

CNBC documentary 'Inside Track' will explore Formula One's business side (NBC)

'While the Drive To Survive series on Netflix focuses on the competitors and the drama of F1, the CNBC one-hour documentary will analyse the finances, revenue, and expansion of the series, as well as the role of sponsors. CNBC anchor and documentary host Sara Eisen said the the program is a ''true passion project for me.'''

Increased presence in 2024 season will accelerate female driver development, says Abbi Pulling (Sky)

''It's going to be a lot of pressure for the drivers of course, but it will help them also mature a lot quicker, become well-rounded drivers a lot quicker, and develop. They are in front of the right people, I think that's the main thing.They are all in front of F1 teams and are showing what they can do on a world stage.''

Hamilton creates alcohol-free agave ‘spirit’ (Spirits Business)

'There’s a huge appetite for quality alternatives for those times when people don’t want to drink alcohol but also don’t want to compromise on flavour, which is why it was important that our product includes agave to reflect the taste of conventional tequila. I think it tastes amazing and what we have created is unlike anything else on the market, so I can’t wait to see what you all think.'

Why do F1 cars perform differently in Mexico? (Mercedes via YouTube)

Chatting with Bottas at the Mexican GP (Nailing the Apex via YouTube)

O'Ward talks in-depth about up and downs of 2023 season (IndyCar via YouTube)

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 go ad-free

Social media

Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:

|@OllieBearman "Well that was over pretty quickly."
Slade: "It's amazing isn't it? Super job Ollie."
Bearman: "Thanks mate. Was a pleasure. That soft doesn't last very long."
Slade: "No it doesn't and we probably didn't have enough balance in the car either."#F1 #MexicoGP

— RaceFans Live (@racefanslive) October 27, 2023

Doohan OK 💪 JD reflects on FP1 here in Mexico 🇲🇽#Alpine #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/aaEdL1c4Cf

— BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) October 27, 2023

JV checks in on the team trackside to deliver his team talk from Grove!🫡 pic.twitter.com/oKlmkm3R46

— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) October 27, 2023

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

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

Comment of the day

In the aftermath of both Mercedes and Ferrari both having a car each disqualified last weekend at the US Grand Prix, Tim calls for the parc ferme rules at sprint rounds to be revised…

I don’t dispute the rules at all – Ferrari and Mercedes were found to have broken the rules and were disqualified accordingly. I’d like to see parc ferme rules relaxed over sprint weekends as it seems odd that in other weekends three practice sessions allow for changes to be made before qualifying – at Sprint weekends just one session allows for a setup change. Allowing tweaks between sessions seems only reasonable on a sprint weekend. I’d love to see a return to Sunday morning practice of 30 minutes for final tweaks.

As for post-race scrutineering, I am surprised that only four cars are checked in a sport all about the finest of margins. It essentially allows teams an 80% chance that any flaunting of the rules will not be seen. Worth the risk I’d say.
Tim

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to D Winn, Nixon, Vinicius Antunes, Zahir, Doance, Eggry, Dimaka1256 and Roger Camp!

On this day in motorsport

• Five years ago today Lewis Hamilton clinched his fifth world title as Max Verstappen won the Mexican Grand Prix