In the round-up: Reports from Italy claim Ferrari will announce Charles Leclerc has signed a new, long-term deal to drive for the team.
In brief
Reports – Leclerc to sign long Ferrari extension
Leclerc is under contract with Ferrari until the end of the 2024 – the end of a five-year deal he originally signed at the end of 2019, his first season racing with the Maranello team. Now La Gazzetta della Sport say that an announcement that Leclerc will extend his current contract with Ferrari to remain until the end of the 2029 season is “imminent”.
A new deal would be a major expression of faith by Leclerc in team principal Frederic Vasseur, who replaced Mattia Binotto in charge of the team after last season.
Jaguar opens new Formula E HQ
The Jaguar Formula E team has opened its new team headquarters it says will double as its remote operations centre during races.The new facility in Kildington in Oxfordshire includes a high-voltage lab to assemble electric powertrains for both Jaguar and its customers Envision, as well as assembly rooms for the various other systems of the cars, the team’s simulator and remote operations data centre.
“With our technical partner Fortescue WAE, this new facility provides a world-class platform for our talented team to thrive and engineer our future success in the pinnacle of electric motorsport,” said team principal James Barclay.
The 2024 Formula E season will commence in January at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.
F4 racer Lacorte joins Alpine academy
Formula 4 racer Nicola Lacorte has become the latest member of the Alpine driver academy.
The 16-year-old raced in both the UAE and the Italian F4 championships in 2023, finishing ninth and 24th overall in both series. He secured a single win at Imola in the Italian series, with an additional podium finish at the same circuit.
“We are continuing to expand the Alpine Academy programme and bring in new talent to support through their career,” said Julian Rouse, Alpine’s interim sporting director. “We are looking forward to helping Nicola develop as a driver, both on and off the track.”
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
What to do in the Formula 1 off-season? (Williams)
'They say you don't know what you've got until it's gone, and even after such a tiring Formula 1 season, we're beginning to feel that ourselves. With Bahrain's pre-season testing starting in the final days of February, it's months until the 2024 season begins. So, we've started looking for the best Williams Racing ways to make it through the off-season and reach those first days at the Sakhir International Circuit.'
‘I’m using F1 techniques to power up my work on dementia’ (The Telegraph)
''These people work with cars, so there should be oil everywhere, but everything was spotless. It really allows your mind to think about the details. We have forced ourselves to rearrange our lab so we don’t waste time. We all know where the data are, where the files are. There is very much a Formula 1 mindset in our labs to make sure we have everything organised.''
''It's annoying that I had to have it, but it's now resolved. Fortunately they were able to find the problem and I now feel fit again. It was something that I have had all my life and was never discovered, otherwise it could have helped immediately. But you can live to be a hundred years old with it.''
''Our casino bar area is down over a million dollars. Our gift shop liquour store convenience store is down over a million and a half dollars. And Battista’s is down over a million and a half dollars. And the really tough part about this is, between the two businesses, we have a little over 100 employees. Most of them are tipped employees. So out of the blue... for the last 678 months, their tips have gone down 30-40 percent. All these people, they've got mortgages and car payments and bills. And it's just horrible what has happened to all our employees.''
Police: Beverly Hills woman had $50K in fake F1 passes (Las Vegas Review Journal)
'She was found carrying two allegedly fraudulent VIP passes, one to the luxury Paddock Club worth $15,000 and another, granting unlimited access to the paddock itself reserved mostly for members of race car teams, worth $35,000, police said in the report.'
F1 Academy’s Jess Edgar on her racing journey so far (Silverstone)
''I had my first go in a kart when I was four, and from there, I did it as a hobby until I was about 12. Then, I decided that I wanted to be a racing driver. I liked the feeling of winning, and so I wanted to do it more. That was the start of everything.''
Ferrari Hypercar | Q&A With Car 50 Drivers (Ferrari via YouTube)
Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina, drivers of Ferrari's number 50 hypercar in the WEC, answer questions from fans.
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Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
Proud to have been invited to @BRDCSilverstone as an Honorary Member today – it really is the heart of British motor racing, and I feel very privileged to be a part of it #BRDCAwards pic.twitter.com/EJJKoPXlxe
— Zak Brown (@ZBrownCEO) December 4, 2023
Congratulations to young female talent @DorianePin, finalist in the FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars competition in 2020 for claiming her first victory in Race 3 of F4 SEA.
She also finished top rookie after having her single-seater debut in Round 4 of 9 of South East Asia… pic.twitter.com/3pkD2tz9ee— FIA (@fia) December 4, 2023
Collecting the silverware. 🏆#SauberAcademy driver Léna Bühler attended the #AutosportAwards yesterday evening as the vice-champion of the inaugural #F1Academy season.
After an impressive season, she was awarded by team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi. pic.twitter.com/YYF25X1M8T
— Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake (@alfaromeostake) December 4, 2023
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Comment of the day
This weekend’s Caption Competition winner is Electroball76!:
Relax Liam, you’ll get used to it. Red Bull likes to drop their drivers on a regular basis…
Electroball76
Thanks to everyone who came up with caption idea this week and a special mention to Derek Edwards, Cyberaxiom and RBAlonso who all came up with particularly good captions.
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Eric!
David B
5th December 2023, 0:06
Don’t do it Charles. You’d be nuts to sign a long-term deal with Ferrari when they haven’t proven themselves in donkey’s years.
Dane
5th December 2023, 0:42
Surely there’s no way Ferrari could go 22 years without a title. Surely the laws of probability would allow them one great car in that timespan.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
5th December 2023, 1:27
Problem is they’re capable of losing even with a great car: 2022 they started with a great car, but the pit wall wasn’t up to it, nor was the in-season development.
AlanD
5th December 2023, 15:36
Dane, the laws of probability don’t quite work that way. If they did, Williams and McLaren would also be hot favourites for one great car by now.
Nick T.
5th December 2023, 20:32
Newey has never lost when in a stable environment and he won’t going forward. It’s not that other teams are so bad. It’s that he’s so much better and now has the best or thereabouts driver too.
MichaelN
5th December 2023, 13:12
With a few extremely rare exceptions, Ferrari has finished 2nd or 3rd in the championship for decades. It’s a good place to be.
That said, this is a bit of a second-choice combo for both. All drivers (except for Hamilton, I guess) want to drive for Red Bull, and Ferrari would probably like to have Verstappen. Leclerc is a good second choice, especially because between the likes of Russell/Norris/etc. there aren’t a whole lot of super exciting alternatives in that generation.
Nick T.
5th December 2023, 20:34
I’d say Russell is looking less and less like a “super exciting” alternative everyday. Norris is still exciting, but not exactly perfect and you can’t call him a “developing driver” anymore.
F1 frog (@f1frog)
5th December 2023, 0:25
By the time that contract comes to an end, Ferrari’s drivers’ championship drought will be longer than the one that Schumacher ended in 2000.
Or Charles Leclerc will be a world champion.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
5th December 2023, 1:29
Indeed, and I’m not optimistic about ferrari winning again, as long as red bull and mercedes are still going strong, so pretty sure the 21 years drought between scheckter and schumacher will be beaten.
Tomcat173 (@tomcat173)
5th December 2023, 8:31
If you do the maths, the average period of time a team dominates F1 is something like 3.8 seasons (if you look at the most recent 30 years)
If you assume Hamilton deserved to win in 2021 (sorry!) and start counting Red Bull’s “dominant” period starting in 2022 – then the stats say they are highly likely to win in 2024 and 2025 as well. With the advantage they had this season, you’d assume 2024 will be very competitive, and a good chance they’re in the mix again in 2025.
Realistically Ferrari – or anyone else for that matter – may only get a serious crack at the championship in 2026 or 2027. In that context, Leclerc extending from 2025 onwards makes alot of sense. It could be years before he gets a real chance, assuming Ferrari can build a great car of course.
MichaelN
5th December 2023, 13:07
What periods are those? Straight up dominating two seasons in a row is quite rare. Or used to be, anyway. In that period, 2001-2002 for Ferrari, and then Mercedes from 2014-2017, and again 2019-2020, then Red Bull 2022-2023. Being competitive for longer periods is more common, but this continued dominance wasn’t really a thing during the Mosley/Ecclestone time. They knew there are only so many ‘human interest’ YouTube videos that can make up for the dire state of the competition, and weren’t afraid to mix things up.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
5th December 2023, 1:30
As such, I don’t think it’s a good move by leclerc, missing out on the chance to potentially jump to a better team for several years.
Sumedh
5th December 2023, 2:51
Overall by 2026, we will have 5 quality drivers – Verstappen, Leclerc, Russell, Norris, Piastri – and 5 teams who are likely to be championship contenders – Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, Aston Martin Honda. (I am assuming that Alonso and Hamilton will call it a day by 2025)
These 5 have to be fitted into the 5 teams. Verstappen, Norris are already locked in until 2028. Leclerc’s only options are Ferrari, Aston Martin Honda and Mercedes. Aston Martin Honda has shown poor in season development this year. Mercedes may not want to publicly lock Leclerc as while he might be marginally better than Russell, a public show of no confidence in Russell won’t do anyone good.
So Ferrari remains his only choice. Also, reports states that he has exit clause from 2027 onwards, i.e. One year after new regulations kick in. So if Ferrari do fail in those, he can leave by 2027.
Biggsy
5th December 2023, 5:48
If they get bored with it, yeah, but as far as performance goes, they are still better then absolute top of the field.
They’ve finished this season in 3rd and 4th, which means only two Red Bull drivers beat them.
To be honest, it’s really a slap in the face of all the other, younger, future-champions driver, that these two 40-year olds are better than all of them.
If we want the best drivers in F1, I honestly think they could be racing for 10 more years, and still be in the upper half of the field in terms of performance. They are probably among the top 10 drivers ever to race in F1.
MichaelN
5th December 2023, 13:15
Yes, I think this deserves more attention. Leclerc has some flashes of brilliance, but on the whole the group of folks like himself, Norris, Sainz, Russell, etc. is quite reminiscent of the rather mediocre field around the turn of the century.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
5th December 2023, 17:08
I think norris might actually be better than leclerc and the rest of them, he just needs to cut the mistakes when everything is on the line (pole\win). The other person made a good point, hamilton and alonso are indeed in the top 10 of all time, so it makes sense they’re still competitive at this age.
Nick T.
5th December 2023, 20:38
Agreed. If Leclerc was GOAT he wouldn’t still be paling in comparison to one guy closing in on 50 and another who is basically 40. And Russell is looking way less impressive than Leclerc.
Robert Henning
5th December 2023, 7:22
Wanted to see him drive for RB but alas.
Thats the battle I’m missing. Verstappen vs Leclerc in “equal machinery”.
RB really don’t have a good driver for that 2nd seat except Norris as it stands.