In the round-up: Monaco could be a stronger race for Williams this year, says team principal James Vowles.
In brief
Monaco could be “strong” race for Williams
Williams have traditionally performed far better at low-downforce, high-speed circuits like Monza and Spa-Francorchamps, but team principal James Vowles believes the team’s 2024 car could be strong at Monaco, the slowest track on the calendar.
“We have a car that is definitely better balanced than it was last year,” Vowles said in a video released by the team. “It’s also much better in a mix of conditions – whether it’s windy, whether it’s wet, whether it’s dry, whether it’s transitioning. There are multiple items that are just simply better than before.
“I think we’ll go better in Miami than we did last year. Surprisingly, Monaco may also be a strong track for the car coming up in these next few races. But what you’re really seeing at the moment is a development race, an aerodynamic development race, between teams, and we’ve got to make sure that we’re fighting at the front of that.”
Jaguar commit to Formula E’s ‘Gen4’
Jaguar have confirmed they will remain in Formula E into the introduction of the championship’s fourth-generation car, set to be introduced in 2027.The marque have been involved in the championship since 2016 and currently lead the team’s championship standings. Jaguar will continue to race in the all-electric series beyond the tenth anniversary of their entrance.
“I am extremely proud of what the team has achieved to date in what is the pinnacle of electric racing, and we are all very excited for the future,” said team principal James Barclay. “Jaguar Racing will continue to drive the rapid development of electric vehicle technology on the track, for the benefit of our future customers on the road.”
Edgar gets new livery
Jessica Edgar will sport an American Express livery over the remainder of the F1 Academy season after the credit card company became an official partner of the series.
Edgar, who races in the championship with the Rodin team, will run in the blue colours of the brand in her number 17 car from next weekend’s races in Miami.
Edgar sits in seventh place in the championship after the opening rounds in Jeddah following a fourth place finish in the second race of the weekend.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Adrian Newey set for talks with Red Bull over F1 future after exit reports (Guardian)
'Adrian Newey is set to begin talks with Red Bull’s management to resolve his future with the team after reports he has expressed a desire to leave. The Guardian understands that Red Bull’s chief technical officer is yet to formally tender his resignation or announce to staff that he will be leaving and insiders say the headlines caught Newey and the team by surprise on Thursday.'
Horner accuser quizzed by investigators over ‘sexting scandal’ after launching appeal (Irish Sun)
'The woman at the centre of the Christian Horner sexting scandal has been grilled by investigators. The new KC-led internal probe is expected to last until mid-May, sources said.'
Billionaire Stroll looks to pare stake in Aston Martin F1 Team (Bloomberg)
'Stroll, who owns the F1 team separately from his stake in luxury-car maker Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc, is willing to sell as much as 25% in the racing business, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are confidential. The Canadian billionaire is hoping to improve on the £1 billion valuation of last November’s deal to sell a minority stake to US private equity firm Arctos Partners, one of the people said.'
Vernay buoyed by Isotta Fraschini’s progress at Imola (Sportscar365)
''We didn’t test at all since the beginning of the season. For sure, fighting against these guys who have tested quite a lot, it’s even more difficult. Here after a few laps it was clear we were much closer to the pack and this is motivating and gives energy to the whole team.''
Food shop with Ollie Bearman (Oliver Bearman via YouTube)
In which Ferrari reserve driver Oliver Bearman sings 'Baby' by Justin Bieber while driving a BMW.
Mission Control | The Lando & Oscar Show (Lego via YouTube)
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri show off their voice acting skills.
F1 Ultimate Career '98-'07 Mod - Release Trailer (Gecki Modding via YouTube)
A new mod for F1 2020 sees ten full seasons of teams, cars and drivers added to the game's Career Mode and MyTeam.
We always endeavour to credit original sources. If you have a tip for a link relating to single-seater motorsport to feature in the next RaceFans round-up please send it to us via the contact form.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
I am thrilled and honoured to return to Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber in 2025 and to represent the global German car manufacturer and technology pioneer AUDI on its way into Formula 1 in the future. It‘s a big project with high ambitions and a huge challenge, a challenge that I am… pic.twitter.com/Gfrdk4NkCx
— Nico Hülkenberg (@HulkHulkenberg) April 26, 2024
The excitement is beaming 😉
What do you think of our new look for the #MiamiGP? 🙌 pic.twitter.com/xtdHOGCNY5
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 26, 2024
Going full Miami vibes next weekend 🌴✨ pic.twitter.com/FgfHKu95Br
— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) April 26, 2024
POV of the crash from @FollowJHDD’s Ava Dobson — she, @DEForceRacing’s Bruno Ribeiro and all others involved in the dust up were able to walk away on their own power 🙏 https://t.co/piGSSj8hNm pic.twitter.com/g6IgrbQBDj
— USF Pro Championships (@USFProChamps) April 26, 2024
The @hulkhulkenberg news makes you wonder whether @F1 laid it on so thick with @ZhouGuanyu24 at Shanghai last weekend because they know it'll be a while before there's a Chinese driver in the #ChineseGP again.#F1 pic.twitter.com/ZY1NplJ0xP
— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) April 26, 2024
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
Audi’s decision to bring veteran Nico Hulkenberg to their factory team ahead of 2026 earns praise from HK…
This deal makes a lot of sense.
Sauber-Audi is still in quite a miserable state and have made no real progress throughout the ground effect era since 2022. It’s going to take several years before they achieve any meaningful success. Not only do they need to produce a better car (chassis), they’ll also need to stand on their own feet regarding the power unit. There is no way they could attract one of the top drivers at the moment.
Hulkenberg is a good professional driver. No bad attitude. No misaligned expectations. Just what Audi needs for the initial three-year period
HK
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to El Gordo!
ykiki (@ykiki)
27th April 2024, 3:39
As an American it pains me to say this, but does Vowles say Williams will be better in Monaco because they’ll replace Sargeant after Miami? One wonders…
Jere (@jerejj)
27th April 2024, 6:37
Even if they wanted to replace him, that’d only happen after the season rather than during in any case.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
27th April 2024, 8:26
If a driver is really underperforming, and I can’t say sargeant is doing any better than that, they can replace him mid season, it’s more like the red bull’s approach, but other teams can do that too if necessary.
dot_com (@dot_com)
27th April 2024, 15:34
I’m sure there are performance clauses in Logan’s contract that will allow Williams to dispose of him mid season. Given how awful he was last year, I imagine Williams would have been smart enough to write that in.
Nick T.
29th April 2024, 3:34
Minimum performance clauses are ALWAYS written in no matter how amazingly or poorly they’ve done in the past.
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
27th April 2024, 6:03
Not surprised that the Newey news is being tamed down a little. Not saying it won’t happen, but I was not convinced it was a done deal just yet.
Tristan
27th April 2024, 8:55
Agreed, it was weird, these deals aren’t done until there’s an official announcement.
That multiple journos have said he’s going to different teams makes me think they’ve just been getting reports from those teams that Newey is talking to them, just as drivers do to get themselves the best deal.
Considering the story broke from the same outlet that’s been hammering Horner since the beginning, I can’t help but feel there’s some motivation behind it.
Jere (@jerejj)
27th April 2024, 6:37
Ironic how much things have changed, given Williams used to be good mostly at low to medium-drag circuits, but effectively the opposite situation presently.
Great event-specific helmet design, & possibly even the overall best Miami GP design thus far.
Weirdly, no yellow warning with the USF Pro situation that could’ve ended worse, but fortunately didn’t.
Simply zero chance of avoiding the sideways stopped car with nearly non-existent reaction time caused by that uphill kink, so yellow flags definitely should’ve been up.
Regarding Keith’s tweet: Not necessarily, but very possibly, unless no other viable option becomes available, I’d be unsurprised if Zhou were Audi’s backup option, even if only for stop-gap purposes.
My assumption for everything on the last weekend has been merely about him being the championship’s only-ever full-time Chinese driver & the event’s hiatus.
COTD: Definitely.
notagrumpyfan
27th April 2024, 10:06
There is a yellow flag being waved (on the right).
Jere (@jerejj)
28th April 2024, 9:40
Yes, & I eventually noted it myself, but unfortunately, too close to the stopped car behind a blind crest to avoid a collision, so the light panel should’ve additionally displayed yellow as well as a flag waved on the preceding marshal post tower.
Tristan
27th April 2024, 9:16
That mod looks incredible! Definitely checking it out. Baiting a lawsuit trying to profit off it with the Patreon though. Wonder how long before they’re slapped with a C&D.
MichaelN
27th April 2024, 17:19
The driver involved in that USF crash was very lucky to be stopped at a bit of an angle.
As much as people like large fields, this is one of the downsides of racing in a big pack of cars. Folks in the second or third row of such a group have no chance to see what’s up ahead.
Jere (@jerejj)
28th April 2024, 9:41
& not warning them by yellow flags or lights a decent distance in advance only worsened matters.
Nick T.
29th April 2024, 3:38
Stroll looking to sell up to 25% of his stake may be a way to enable getting rid of Lance without him having the ability to veto it. That way Lance can’t throw as much of a tantrum at daddy.