In the round-up: Seventh place in the Mexican Grand Prix has left Daniel Ricciardo feeling optimistic for the Brazilian Grand Prix.
In brief
Ricciardo “looking forward” to following up his Mexican GP result
Ricciardo says starting fourth and finishing seventh in Mexico City has given him high expectations for Interlagos this weekend.
“Mexico was a great weekend from start to finish, and I was really happy,” he said. “We had a good car and made the most of it. This is another sprint weekend after the one in Austin, and I’m excited about it as I feel we have much more confidence in the car and how to set it up. With me having raced two weekends in a row since I came back, I’m looking forward to dealing with the sprint format at Interlagos.
“Having said that, it’s hard to know how well this track will suit our car. I guess I haven’t done enough races with it to know which types of tracks are best for us.
“In Mexico, we did better than expected, so that gives us confidence for Brazil. I’d hope we can have another Q3, top 10 car.”
Formula E changes broadcast production company
Formula E will have a new production company for its English language race broadcasts next season, with British firm Whisper taking on the reins.Whisper, co-founded by former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard, previously produced W Series’ race broadcasts and has been behind Channel 4’s F1 coverage in the UK since 2016. With FE it has committed to starting race broadcasts an hour before the lights go out, creating a magazine-style show that will go out the night before race weekends begin, and “enhanced coverage” of practice and qualifying. A new broadcast partner for the UK has not been named, since C4’s television deal has just expired.
Football pundit Jermaine Jenas has been heavily linked to joining the existing presenting team, which includes former racing drivers Karun Chandhok, Dario Franchitti and Allan McNish.
MP Motorsport retain Dennis Hauger for 2024
MP Motorsport has completed its 2024 Formula 2 line-up by retaining Dennis Hauger for a second season. The 20-year-old won the FIA Formula 3 championship two years ago and came 10th in his rookie F2 campaign in 2022 with Prema.
This year he joined MP and has won another two races but done enough to retain his Red Bull junior status for next year after six years being supported by the F1 team. He heads into the final round of the season later this month in contention to finish fourth in the standings. That weekend he will be sharing the garage with his 2024 team-mate Franco Colapinto, who will make his F2 debut by replacing the FE-bound Jehan Daruvala.
Red Bull and Team Redline partner up
Esports rivals Red Bull and Team Redline have announced a multi-year partnership which will involve the latter taking over “the performance management” of the former and creating a Red Bull Sim Racing performance facility in Redline’s headquarters.
The announcement also detailed Red Bull’s 2024 plans for the official Formula 1 Esports championship: “As the most successful team on the grid, Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing will fully retain the team’s current driver and content creator roster with a continued commitment to becoming a leading force both on the physical and virtual track.”
Redline is already partnered with Red Bull F1 driver Max Verstappen, who has raced for them in the Le Mans Virtual Series.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
''Last year, the medium compound was not degrading at the level expected and so we decided to develop a new compound with higher degradation, which we did. If I had to make a final judgement on the season, I would say that, in this case, we are now on the other side a bit too much and the tyre degrades a bit too much.''
FIA gives background to Formula E pre-season battery fire (Racecar Engineering)
'The FIA has issued its explanation for the battery fire that disrupted the Formula E's official pre-season test at Valencia last week. In a statement provided to Racecar Engineering, the global motorsport federation gave the background to the incident, which occurred during checks after Robert Shwartzman’s DS E-Tense FE23 stopped on track.'
'We’re excited to announce that the SPEC II Update 1.40* for Gran Turismo 7 arrives on 2nd November at 6:00am GMT. Seven new cars are added including the Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II ‘91. A mere 500 of these Evolution IIs were produced during its limited run, but it took the DTM by storm in 1992, showing its stuff against tough rivals and proving that it truly was the ultimate 190 E, forged in the fires of touring car racing.'
A night in Tokyo with Mick Schumacher and a Mercedes 190E Evo II (Top Gear)
'Driving around Tokyo is daunting. With no centre or suburbs, its road network is huge, spiralling, occasionally latticed and sometimes subterranean. At times, even Mr Roboto in the satnav gives up and shrugs directions your way. Which has happened. Meaning I’m lost while leading Mick Schumacher (behind the wheel of a stunning Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II) through Japan’s neon-lined labyrinth.'
Armstrong gains confidence in preparation for full season (IndyCar)
'Armstrong was among the series’ most consistent drivers this season even if he wasn’t always in the number 11 Honda. Two-thirds of his races ended with a finish in the top half of what was at least a 27-car field. He had a seventh-place finish, three eighths and a ninth among his 12 starts. While it might be easy to suggest Armstrong was often in the second tier of challengers at events, consider how strong and experienced the overall field was this season. The top 12 in the final point standings are former race winners in the series. Armstrong was Rookie of the Year in 20th place.'
''I would like to be a protagonist straight away in FRegional, and then attempt the transition to Formula 3 in 2025, as the series' new car will arrive then and we will start from scratch. I know well that it won't be easy, FREC is very competitive, but I will do everything I can to compete a year at the top and deserve entry into F3.''
How the Ilott-JHR partnership ended in divorce (Racer)
'If the split between Juncos Hollinger Racing and Callum Ilott was treated like a divorce, the paperwork filed by both sides would cite 'irreconcilable differences' as the reason for the dissolution of their marriage. The change in relationship status wouldn’t have been necessary if more care had been taken — more empathy shown — during a tumultuous season, but nonetheless, I’m convinced the termination of this relationship is what’s best for all involved. But let’s start with the more immediate question of whether Ilott has a realistic chance of racing next season.'
Brawn: The impossible Formula 1 story | official trailer (YouTube)
'In this documentary, produced by North One, Keanu Reeves takes you on a remarkable journey into the world of racing. Discover the story of BrawnGP and their legendary Formula 1 win, streaming 15th November exclusively on Disney+.'
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Delighted to confirm that I will be the lead commentator on Season 10 of @FIAFormulaE. It was a dream to work with the team in Rome and London for S9 and I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to tell you all the stories as they unfold in 2024! pic.twitter.com/ia0f6Qa7Bu
— Tom Brooks (@TomBrooksComms) November 1, 2023
Join AJ Foyt and Christian Pedersen at the International Maintenance Conference, where they will present a RAP Talk on "The Importance of Asset Management and Teamwork in Indycar Racing"🏎
Register here👀: https://t.co/f4DKf6vHRQ#EAM #IFSUltimo #IndyCar pic.twitter.com/If86OsUrzZ
— IFS (@ifs) November 1, 2023
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Comment of the day
Verstappen matched four-time F1 champion Alain Prost’s tally of 51 wins at last weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix, and reached the feat in 11 fewer starts. But what about their worst race results during the period it took for them to surpass a half-centry of wins?
Not to take anything away from Max, but this really does show what a monster Prost was. Those 51 wins come alongside 52 DNFs versus ‘only’ 26 for Max. Prost was racing with world champions and future world champions as team mates too.
Mr Ed
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Narboza22, Rafael, G and Greggriffiths!
Constantijn Blondel
2nd November 2023, 7:26
A Disney series about Brawn GP, made by Keanu Reeves … that’s something most of my former selves would flap their ears on hearing that … :)
MacLeod (@macleod)
2nd November 2023, 7:37
I get Matrix with Disney Princesses in my mind now ….. But it’s a Docu so not very strange for Disney.