In the round-up: Alpine team principal Bruno Famin insists his team’s drivers are content at Enstone
In brief
Gasly and Ocon “happy” at Alpine
Alpine team principal Bruno Famin insists that both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly are happy to be with the team despite their woeful start to the 2024 season.
Neither driver has scored a point so far over the opening four rounds of the season as Alpine sit bottom in the constructors’ championship. However, Famin is confident they both share his long-term vision for the team.
“We are happy with our drivers, and our drivers are happy with us,” he told the official F1 website. “We are talking to them regularly. Let’s see what we can do in the future. There are ups and down, we are in a down but we have a strong project with a long term vision.
“We have a project which doesn’t need to convince them [to stay]. I would like to use this opportunity to thank them. We are in a difficult position. It is not the start of the season we wanted and I appreciate how constructive they are with the team, not only in communications with journalists but also internally. When trying to find solutions with the car, both of them are very helpful.”
Scheckter’s title winning Ferrari under auction
The car, which won the Belgian, Monaco and Italian grands prix with Scheckter at the wheel, was bought from Ferrari by the driver himself in 1982 and driven only once during the Italian Grand Prix weekend in 2019.
It will form the centrepiece of a series of auctions with RM Sotheby’s in Monte Carlo over the 10th and 11th of May.
Woods-Toth assumes early FRAC lead
Reigning US F4 champion Patrick Woods-Toth took an early lead in the Formula Regional Americas Championship following the opening round at NOLA Motorsports Park.Woods-Toth won the second race of the weekend on Sunday morning, following a late red flag after passing for the lead just before the race was neutralised. He added two second places in the opening race, won by Cole Kleck, and the third won by Ryan Shehan.
The results see Woods-Toth assume the lead of the championship, with 61 points, after the first three of 21 races in the series.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Woman at centre of Horner sexting scandal set to be quizzed by investigators within days (Sun)
'The woman, who has been suspended from her job at the team’s UK headquarters, challenged the independent report into her claims. A new barrister has been appointed for the appeal and is due to speak to her within days.'
Sainz facing F1 reality after Alonso contract decision with just two options (Mirror)
'Of those, his two best options are the Audi project, and Williams. Audi enters F1 in 2026 when the German carmaker takes over the Sauber team that finished ninth last season. Realistically, it will take years for them to fight at the front - if they manage it at all. And Williams, though they have a glorious past, haven't won a championship since 1997 and have finished last in four of the last six seasons. That's the reality facing Sainz, despite his impressive form so far this year.'
Bellagio replacing trees that have died since December, Las Vegas GP (Fox 5)
'The trees were monitored weekly after they were installed. In January, an arborist evaluated the trees in January and said they were healthy. Come March, the trees were evaluated and their health worsened. A consensus was reached with an expert to replace the trees.'
‘He’s had chances’ - Worrying verdict issued on Ricciardo amid F1 concerns (Planet F1)
Boutsen: ''If you’re driving in Formula 1, you have to give 100 percent of yourself all the time. If you’re affected by confidence, affected by a physical problem, affected by anything, you’re not doing a good job. You can see today, that he is making mistakes and is not as quick as he should and what he has been in the past. That means that his mental(ity) is not as strong as it was when he was winning races in the past.''
Exclusive: Lola aiming for competitive results within two years, says Preston (Motorsport Week)
Lola motorsport director Mark Preston: ''And we also see that the majority of motorsport in the future is going to go towards some level of electrification – F1’s going to 50 percent electrification in 2026 and other series like WEC are also electrified, so it makes sense to start here as the electrified pillar and then move on to the other aspects.''
Bosnian Formula 1 superfan builds replica 'Schumacher' racer (CGTN)
''When you drive Formula 1, you feel like you are flying. It is not like a cart is the only one in Bosnia-Herzegovina. There are no others. I sometimes put it on a trailer to take it to other places in the country. People come, photograph it, and ask questions. The feeling is indescribable.''
Formula E round 6: Misano (Formula E via YouTube)
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Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
Two crazy and hectic races in Misano for the NEOM @mclarenfe Team.
Jake finished Race 1 in P16 as Sam took a DNF.
On Sunday, Jake started on Pole but was unable to convert, finishing in P8 after receiving a time penalty. Sam finished just inside the points in P10.
Great… pic.twitter.com/m7HZ3yKUDf
— Zak Brown (@ZBrownCEO) April 14, 2024
Formula 1 has messed around with its race weekend format and nomenclature so much in recent years the TV guides are full of errors now. I see some sessions for next weekend listed under old names at the wrong times. #F1
— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) April 14, 2024
A master at a different type of driving 🤣 Swing and a miss ⛳ pic.twitter.com/CAxfMy2X88
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 14, 2024
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
This weekend’s Caption Competition winner is Roth Man!:
“…and it’s lights out, here in Suzuka!”
Roth Man
Thanks to everyone who came up with caption ideas this week and a special mention to Broke1984, Urvaksh, Derek Edwards and Bullfrog who all came up with particularly good captions.
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Davidnotcoulthard and Dave W!
On this day in motorsport
- 40 years ago today Tom Sneva won the second race of the IndyCar season on the Phoenix oval despite stalling during a pit stop. Race one winner Mario Andretti retired after running low on fuel then breaking a driveshaft.
Simon
15th April 2024, 2:19
Regarding Keith’s tweet – not surprising. I read that teams are treating the Chinese Grand Prix as a completely new event – because they have no recent data to work with.
Sky Sports
https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/13112909/chinese-gp-schedule-uk-time-when-to-watch-f1-s-return-to-shanghai-for-first-2024-sprint-live-on-sky-sports
Friday April 19
0400 Practice One (session start 0430)
0800: Chinese Sprint Qualifying (session start 0830)
Saturday April 20
0330 Chinese Sprint (race start 0400)
0700 Chinese Qualifying (session start 0800)
Sunday April 21
0700 Chinese Grand Prix (race start 0800)
which will please a certain someone, having the same start times for qualifying and race. Also to appease them, Shanghai sunset times are around 1830 local on race weekend
Jere (@jerejj)
15th April 2024, 5:03
Qualifying & the race may share a start time, but others don’t, not that this matters so much for sprint events.
The point has been that all standard format events should have the full consistency of FP1/3 sharing a start time, & likewise, FP2/qualifying/race, but practice/sprint & sprint qualifying/qualifying/race combinations are less important for such consistency, so you indirectly referred to me quite hastily.
Sunset times may be near 18:30, but having an hour earlier start time for the race would be better to maximize daylight time.
Jere (@jerejj)
15th April 2024, 5:04
The session times & or order maybe be incorrect on some sites, but at least not on the official F1 site.
Nice miss swing.
Jere (@jerejj)
15th April 2024, 5:05
I forgot to separate ‘may’ & ‘be’
Riccard
15th April 2024, 8:17
Just read it like a comedy pirate. “They maybe be incorrect, arrr!”
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
15th April 2024, 8:47
I’d be more concerned that the parent company don’t seem to share that long term vision anymore. Just sell to Andretti!
Nick T.
15th April 2024, 23:01
Agreed. It also just sounds desperate saying they’re happy. Much better to say, “Like our engineers, they’re frustrated with where we’re at right now.”
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
15th April 2024, 8:57
At first I was confused as to why the FE highlights were listed in the round up two days running. Despite all the fallout over Da Costa’s spring disqualification, I had no idea it was a double header this weekend.
Even on a site like this, you wouldn’t know FE was occurring on a given weekend. It really needs to get more mainstream somehow.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
15th April 2024, 10:25
Sainz shouldn’t go to Audi now. He should try to get the Mercedes seat, even if it’s seat warming for Antonelly. Why spent a full season in an uncompetitive Sauber when you can do good things in a Mercedes that could still be fighting for championships? then you can switch teams again…
Those “help build a new team” never pay in the short term, and Sainz is hot prospect right now.
MichaelN
15th April 2024, 11:59
Agreed. Sauber is a potential career-ending choice. There’s a big chance that Audi won’t win anything for years to come.
Plus, the only examples in the last decades of ‘building a team’ that have worked out had just about nothing to do with the driver. It wasn’t Verstappen that made Red Bull win, it wasn’t Hamilton that made Mercedes win, it wasn’t Räikkönen that made Ferrari win, it wasn’t Alonso that made Renault win, and it wasn’t even Schumacher who made Ferrari win before that. He might be the best example due to his pull on Byrne and Brawn, but it was still Todt who was moving the pieces into place long before that.
Is there anyone who is both held in high regard on the chassis or engine side and would be eager to follow Sainz wherever he goes? I can’t think of anyone.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
15th April 2024, 15:04
I agree with this. Carlos could choose to go to Audi but it might take them years to become successful if they ever do. I think he is better off taking the seat at Mercedes, if they want him, even if it is for the short term. At least then he would still be in the mix for a podium or possibly even a race win. Then who knows, something unexpected might happen over the next couple of years where another seat becomes available in a team towards the top end of the grid.
MichaelN
15th April 2024, 20:09
Sainz’ situation is actually pretty wild. Here we have the only (!) non-Red Bull winner of the last two (!) seasons, a driver’s market with vacancies at three of the top five teams (Red Bull, Mercedes and Aston Martin) and it might well be that the only place he can go is to what is arguably the worst performing team in F1. It’s hard not to feel a bit bad for the guy.
earthling (@34rthl1ng)
15th April 2024, 21:58
Best move (or non-move) for Carlos Sainz: Remain in Ferrari, keep beating Charles, and let the other driver try their luck in the Beer Can Regatta
Nick T.
15th April 2024, 22:54
The other problem is that even if you drive amazingly in a bad car, unless you’re a rookie, your stock starts to lower no matter what. Fans, media and even most teams just aren’t able maintain a fairly “adjusted for car performance” assessment of their performances. Meanwhile, even if you scrape by to the title multiple times in the best car on the grid, you suddenly begin being talked about among the GOATs. It’s just how F1 works.
Asd
15th April 2024, 12:06
“Famin insists Ocon and Gasly are “happy” at Alpine despite struggles”
Oh my, I read it as: “Feminists Ocon and Gasly are happy….”
“On this day in motorsport
40 years ago today Tom Sneva won the second race of the IndyCar season on the Phoenix oval despite stalling during a pit stop. Race one winner Mario Andretti retired after running low on fuel then breaking a driveshaft.”
You can watch the very pitstop here:
https://youtu.be/lCULQbb8e40?t=1200
I love the drama of the pitstops back then. Currently, F1 has the worst pitstops in motorsport – they are so short that they are uneventful and completely unmemorable.
SteveR (@stever)
15th April 2024, 19:16
Yeah, agreed. Maybe F1 should put a limit on pit crew size.
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
16th April 2024, 9:09
Although longer pitstop times = less incentive to pit more times, so processional 1 stop races…. unless tyre degradation makes more stops at longer interruption a more favourable strategy, but then we’re back to high deg…
It’s a painful conundrum!
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
15th April 2024, 22:44
they would be much happier with a ferrari PU.
Nick T.
15th April 2024, 22:58
Roth Man deserved that caption win. I chuckled each time I saw it.
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
15th April 2024, 23:24
Too true.
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
16th April 2024, 5:26
I think that should be “Replica of Lego Replica ‘Schumacher’ racer”