In the round-up: Charles Leclerc met the family of his motor racing idol Ayrton Senna during the run-up to this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix.
In brief
Leclerc meets “idol” Senna’s family
Ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend, Leclerc visited the Ayrton Senna Foundation to meet the family of the triple world champion and admire some memorabilia from his racing career.
“Ayrton is the one and only idol I’ve ever had,” Leclerc said. “The foundation and the family invited me to the foundation in Sao Paolo. I had the chance to see the car he has been racing in, also a few helmets that he’s been using, and it was really, really emotional.
“Also the family has been welcoming me in the best way possible. Viviane [Senna’s sister] has explained me many stories, and also the stories of the helmets and the cars in there. And it was a very, very special moment for me for sure.”
Drugovich to remain Aston Martin reserve
Aston Martin have confirmed reserve and development driver Felipe Drugovich will remain with the team in his current role in 2024.The 2022 Formula 2 champion was signed as the first member of the Aston Martin academy and drove for the team in Friday practice in last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and this year’s Italian Grand Prix. The team confirmed he will step into Fernando Alonso’s seat for first practice at Yas Marina later this month.
“I’m really proud to be continuing to work with Aston Martin for a second season,” Drugovich said. “This year, I’ve learnt a huge amount – not just at the race track, but working with the engineers in the simulator and from the development programme that was designed for me. I’m proud of the contribution I’ve been able to make, and pleased that I’ve been able to help progress the development of AMR23.”
Rain in Bahrain as Toyota top WEC practice
The opening practice session of the day in the desert nation was struck by rain, with the number seven car of Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria Lopez and Mike Conway setting the pace. The number seven Toyota was again quickest in the second practice session ahead of the sister number eight Toyota of Brendon Hartley, Sebastian Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa, with the number two Cadillac of Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook third.
Qualifying will take place this afternoon ahead of Saturday’s race.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
'We don’t need him to tell us, but we also have to accept that he is not. It’s the situation that we are in, we are a strong team and we will have to work collaboratively, open-minded, to get out of it. But we are not too proud to take any decisions.'
A three-race F1 audition? Perez and Ricciardo's mission to wow Red Bull (source)
'Whatever occurs in Sao Paulo, then in Vegas and finally in Abu Dhabi, whether he hangs on to second place in the championship to deliver Red Bull its first championship one-two or not, the question remains: should he be replaced for 2024, never mind for 2025 when his current contract has officially run its course?'
'I've become a lot more complete: not just as a driver, but as a person. This year has sparked a shift-change in my mentality – it's taught me many things. Since the start of my career, I've been regularly racing every year, but this year I've been on the sidelines, which has taught me to be patient. Seeing racing from another perspective has really helped me to develop. Having the opportunity to see things from another angle and learning from other points of view has helped me grow. This has been complemented by the work on the track that I have been doing through the team's development programme.'
Hawkins wants to be the next female F1 driver (Motor1)
'It was very realistic to the simulator, so I already had a preconditioned idea of what it would be like, and it was everything that I expected. It was fast, it had a lot of aero, so much grip, it stopped fast. It was probably the brakes that really impressed me the most. I thought a Formula 1 test is a massive step up for me, from what I’ve done, but if that’s where I can brake in the sim, that’s where I can brake in real life. And that was quite true.'
Singaporean teen Christian Ho takes next step in pursuit of F1 dream (Straits Times)
'Eurocup-3 will be an important step to move up to F3 racing. Most of the current F1 drivers such as Verstappen, Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have raced in F3 and the target is to see Christian there at the end of next year. With the steady progression that I’ve had, it is quite a realistic option and dream.''
'Over 100 women from vulnerable situations have graduated as fully-trained mechanics, ahead of this weekend's Sao Paulo Grand Prix, thanks to an initiative from the promoters in Brazil in partnership with the institution Escola do Mecanico. Escola do Mecanico (the Interlagos unit) was born with the mission of training qualified professionals for the automotive repair market and has trained over 50,000 people – 10% of those being women – across their nine institutions in Brazil since starting in 2011. They offer 30 courses, taught by 420 teachers, with 15,000 people trained in 2022, and a further 20,000 expected in 2023.'
Challenge Leclerc at Interlagos (F1 23 via YouTube)
'Can you beat Charles Leclerc’s lap time in São Paulo, Brazil as the Scuderia Ferrari superstar hits high speeds at the iconic Autódromo José Carlos Pace.'
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Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
So happy to be back in Brazil, this place will always hold a special place in my heart. 💙 pic.twitter.com/Cf0PP8PgrU
— George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) November 2, 2023
Had his kart. Now I’ve got his helmet 😁 pic.twitter.com/plsyJw18KH
— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) November 2, 2023
It’s approaching 30 years since he was tragically lost to the world, and so I visited Ayrton’s grave to pay my respects. It’s Dia dos Mortos in Brazil today and the Cemitério do Morumbi park was serene and beautiful. He must surely be resting in peace here. pic.twitter.com/r1G0k3Auee
— Martin Brundle (@MBrundleF1) November 2, 2023
Up close and personal with Lewis’ special edition lid in São Paulo this weekend. 😍 pic.twitter.com/QwJy5mtlvu
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) November 2, 2023
“We are aware of some media reports about the incident and, for clarity, the FIA was not involved in the planning and management of the event entertainment. We continue to work with FOM to ensure that robust safety measures are implemented.” -30-
— Jenna Fryer (@JennaFryer) November 2, 2023
Our Pit Building is simply spectacular 😍⁰#LasVegasGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/NDk4KXu0bZ
— F1 Las Vegas (@F1LasVegas) November 2, 2023
@berniecollins Quite a few of you brought this to my attention so i thought I’d better clear it up 😂 #formula1 #grandprix #f1 #berniecollins #skysports #racing #redbull #redbullracing #gp #drivetosurvive #formula1tiktok #ricciardo #danielricciardo #mercedes #racing #f1tiktok #f1edit #alphatauri #mexico #mexicograndprix #mexicogp #mexicof1
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
Romain Grosjean’s move to Juncos Hollinger for the 2024 IndyCar season did not thrill RandomMallard…
Honestly, not a massive fan of this move to be honest. I’ve really enjoyed watching Grosjean in IndyCar, have rooted for him a lot of the time, and have really wanted to see him (finally!) take a win. Additionally, I understand why Grosjean can appeal to a team like JHR on a marketability basis as well. He’s well-known and, as far as I can tell, generally quite popular in Indy.
However, I don’t see what JHR have to gain from bringing in a 37-year-old, who spent the latter part of last season struggling quite often, over a 24-year-old (admittedly 25 by next season) who has widely been seen as doing very strongly in a car/team setup that isn’t quite on the same level as the Andretti, Penske, Chip Ganassi setups. I can understand it being marketable, but I’m not sure how it’ll work out from a results standpoint.
RandomMallard
Happy birthday!
No RaceFans birthdays today
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
3rd November 2023, 0:11
Best keep quiet about that bit!
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
3rd November 2023, 2:41
It’s incredible how Senna’s legacy as a racing driver has extended to drivers who didn’t grow up watching him race. It’s literally transcended generations.
Jere (@jerejj)
3rd November 2023, 6:11
Seen a rain image from the Bahrain International Circuit simply feels extremely weird, meaning that if I saw that image randomly without knowing the context or having any text references around, I mightn’t have recognized the track correctly at first, something I generally excel at, just because of wet-weather conditions.
frood19 (@frood19)
3rd November 2023, 6:58
Yeah that would have thrown me completely too. Looking at it again, I might have guessed it was Fuji perhaps.
Red Andy (@red-andy)
3rd November 2023, 6:38
I wondered whether there would be any mention in the round-up of the planned hospitality strike action that could disrupt the Las Vegas GP. According to the AP, up to 35,000 workers at 18 hotels and casinos could walk out later this month in a dispute over new contracts, in a development that would bring a tear to a glass eye.