In the round-up: The CEO of Alfa Romeo says the brand saw little benefit in joining with another tea,
In brief
Alfa Romeo partnering with another team “made little sense”
Alfa Romeo decided against continuing its involvement in Formula 1 because it wanted to invest the money elsewhere.
The Italian manufacturer branded Sauber’s F1 team from 2019 until the end of this season. Sauber announced in 2022 it will become Audi’s factory team from 2026.
Alfa Romeo is believed to have explored transferring its branding to another F1 team, such as Haas, but CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato said it would have been too costly.
“Did we want to repeat an experience under the same conditions, by being a sponsor of a team for about twice the price? No, because I didn’t bring anything new and I had money to put into the development of my products,” he told Ouest-France. “Becoming a sponsor of a team opposite and starting with the same story made little sense.”
Williams and Sauber season launch events clash
Williams and Sauber announced yesterday their launch events for the 2024 F1 season will take place on February 5th.Neither indicated they will present their new cars on that day. Sauber, which competed this year as Alfa Romeo, issued a “save the date” announcement with no accompanying details. Williams said they will hold a “season launch” in New York on the same day.
Shields steps up to F3 with Hitech
Hitech have confirmed that Euroformula Open race winner Cian Shields will step up to the Formula 3 championship next year with them.
Shields finished runner-up in the Euroformula Open series this year to Noel Leon with four wins and ten podiums over the season. The 18-year-old raced with Hitech in the GB3 championship last year, taking a single win, and tested with them at the post-season test at Jerez.
He will complete Hitech’s line up alongside Williams junior driver Luke Browning and Martinius Stenshorne.
Brewer joins Indy Nxt grid
Juncos Hollinger have signed USF Pro 2000 racer Lindsay Brewer to their Indy NXT squad for the 2024 season.
The 26-year-old has raced in the USF Pro 2000 series for the last two years, finishing 18th in her first full season in the championship in 2023.
“Driving at the top level of open-wheel racing in the U.S. has been a dream of mine ever since I was a young girl,” Brewer said.
“To be able to take this step up and drive Indy Nxt is not only exciting for me, but it also is a dream come true. To be representing America and women in a full season at this level of motorsport is something I can be proud of, and it is motivation for me to work as hard as I possibly can on and off the track. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish.”
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Piastri yet to drive 2024 car on McLaren simulator (Speedcafe)
''If I’m honest, the 2023 calendar has been so full-on with races coming thick and fast that total focus has been on the track to try and seal fourth in the constructors’ championship and fight high up the grid, which thankfully we were able to do. As drivers, naturally Lando (Norris) and I feed our comments back and are involved in the direction as part of wider processes, but racing has had to be the priority for us until now.''
Max Verstappen advantage over F1 rivals made clear by onboard camera footage (Mirror)
Rene Arnoux: 'Take a look at the on-board camera footage. Max brakes, turns, holds the steering wheel still and draws a clean line through the corner. The other drivers have to constantly make corrections at the wheel.'
FIA Karting appoints Maxxis as official tyre supplier (FIA)
'The FIA has appointed Maxxis, one of the world’s leading tyre manufacturers, as the exclusive tyre supplier for the FIA Karting European and World Championships in OK and OKJ categories, as well as for the OK-N World Cup and Academy Trophy in 2024-2026.'
'Mary Earps, England and Manchester United keeper, was voted Sports Personality of the Year in the annual BBC contest. That personality in the title is often misunderstood – it’s the old-fashioned word for a well-known person. The award is not an award for personality: Nigel Mansell won it twice.'
Driverless racecars on track for April Abu Dhabi debut (Reuters)
'The driverless Dallara Super Formula SF23 open-wheel cars, capable of hitting speeds of 300 kilometres per hour (186 miles per hour), have a computer in place of the cockpit and no need for a steering wheel, seat, pedals or protective halo. The cars are the stars of the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) which is set to hold its inaugural race at the grand prix circuit on April 28, 2024, with a prize fund of $2.25 million.'
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Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
Thought we were done for the year? 😉
@LandoNorris has one more #F123 #ProChallenge for you at his home circuit of @SilverstoneUK 🇬🇧From Dec 26, beat his time of 1:29:043 to unlock the @McLarenF1 @googlechrome livery and helmet ✨
Click for more info 👇 pic.twitter.com/eAKgCYIJFa
— EA SPORTS™ F1® (@EASPORTSF1) December 22, 2023
A proper ‘Harvey’ special helmet 🔥
I had this painted to say thank you to my Dad. He’s the reason I started racing over 20 years ago and I’m proud to share this helmet with him.
I’d planned to wear this at Laguna but obviously that didn’t happen. Nevertheless, this journey… pic.twitter.com/rFAHMaG9Or
— Jack Harvey (@jack_harvey93) December 22, 2023
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
With Max Verstappen coming out on top as RaceFans’ best driver of the 2023 F1 season, MichaelN is not the least bit surprised…
The only choice, and well deserved. It was one of the best seasons in a long time. The biggest negative is not something Verstappen can control, but it was disappointing that nobody seemed interested in actually challenging him when given the rare opportunity to do so. A far cry from the way Michael Schumacher in 2002 had to frequently fend off a combative Juan Pablo Montoya, or even a young Kimi Raikkonen looking to make his mark. It robbed Verstappen and us viewers of some potentially memorable moments.
MichaelN
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Bascb, Olliekart, Bosyber, Curmudgeon and Pat Ruadh!
Jay
23rd December 2023, 1:25
Click bait from the Guardian, and I fell for it. I’m the bovine for clicking that link!
Bovine: Ox or Cow, slow or stupid.
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage (@davedai)
23rd December 2023, 2:08
I hope Mansell is in “active legal exchange……”
Bovine or not nobody should need to “stomach” that.
Ludewig
23rd December 2023, 10:55
There is no law against being rude. But The Guardian is just tarnishing their reputation (even more) with this kind of rudeness and sexism.
Anyway, I don’t think that any female footballer deserves any sports award that counts quality of performance, as the level of female football is very low. I have little doubt that any female team will lose to any top-tier amateur male team. But female football apparently has become one of the latest things ‘they’ want to artificially force on people, with the typical tricks like calling people names for having standards.
MichaelN
23rd December 2023, 14:27
Female football is being promoted by UEFA, USSF and FIFA because it has financial potential, and the growth of interest and participation in female football has been going on for a long time.
That women aren’t competitive with men in football is why they don’t play together. It’s not really a negative; it’s just the biological and physical reality. A female footballer can still be an excellent female footballer.
ASd
23rd December 2023, 11:06
I can’t believe the stupidity expressed by Rene Arnoux in his silly comment. He must’ve been completely disattached from F1 for the last 3 decades… or probably from reality as a whole.
SteveP
23rd December 2023, 14:46
Really?
I thought he was pointing out that the RBR has massively more grip in the corners, and thus the driver can maintain more speed without mini-corrections through the corner.
grat
23rd December 2023, 20:29
So a more stable car with massive grip through the corners isn’t an advantage…?
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage (@davedai)
24th December 2023, 12:46
@ASd
Many of the greats say many drivers overdrive to try show something but that F1 cars are delicate pieces of machinery that you don’t bully. Calm relaxed and smooth.
Also many from that era that you seem to be dismissing aren’t detached Jochen Mass who won Le Man’s in 89 (Sauber Merc) for example despite having the Villeneuve family assure him he was not to blame, still today if asked on camera still tears up saying I can’t forget it, all I can do is try to live with it and myself everyday, it never goes away.
You see things as you will. I just wish if not respect, at least acknowledgement for those who went before in very different conditions.
As he says his greatest achievement is still being alive.
Different days my friend.
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage (@davedai)
24th December 2023, 13:03
**They laid foundations for what a massively improved F1 is today.
floodo1 (@floodo1)
23rd December 2023, 14:43
Good riddance to Alfa
grat
23rd December 2023, 20:28
That’s not what Domenicali, Wolff and the other team principals are saying. According to them, that’s the ONLY way to “grow” Formula 1, is by teams being taken over by other entities.