In the round-up: Helmut Marko has suggested that Red Bull will confirm their plans for Liam Lawson next month
In brief
Lawson’s future to be announced “in September” – Marko
Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko says that the team will announce their future plans for RB reserve driver Liam Lawson next month.
“We will announce what happens next with Liam Lawson in September,” Marko wrote for SpeedWeek
“It has been planned for some time that he would be able to gain more Formula 1 experience in Imola. Even though the competition would like to use him on loan, he is not available for that.”
Nato departs Andretti FE team
Andretti have confirmed that Norman Nato will not race with them in next year’s Formula E championship.Nato joined Andretti for the start of the season, the fourth team he had raced with in the series since making his debut in 2021. He scored 47 points – 75 fewer than team mate Jake Dennis – taking a single podium finish in the second race at Shanghai.
Andretti will retain 2023 world champion Dennis into next year and are expected to announce his new team mate in the coming days.
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''All of the above. I think everything is on the table in that case. I'll see what's available out there and make my mind when I get there. Right now, I'm in Formula 1 and there's still a couple of seats open for next year that I'd like to see where all that ends up, and then look at things afterwards.''
'It's time for an African F1 race' says official behind Rwanda GP plan (Motor Sport)
Rwanda Automobile Club president Christian Gakwaya: ''With extensive visa freedom, and an airline serving numerous destinations, Rwanda presents an ideal opportunity for Formula 1’s return to Africa. For motor sport in Rwanda, hosting F1 is a key component of a broader strategy we have that includes infrastructure development, capacity building and academies, and a push to host more international events and championships in Rwanda. Significant progress has already been made on the new strategy, with additional plans set to be revealed at the upcoming general assembly this December in Kigali.''
Bearman on 2024 so far and why he has high hopes for a final F2 flourish (F2)
''First of all, the fact that it's been a new car (has had an impact). From now on in my career, I have a new car every year. So that's a useful learning experience to have. The fact that we're not fighting where we want to be, I've had to change my mindset and change the way I work with the guys, and that's been difficult, but I've also learned a lot. So, I think every cloud has a silver lining.''
Drawing challenge with Alex and Logan in Hungary (Williams via YouTube)
'Join Alex and Logan as they battle it out in a drawing challenge before they went racing in Budapest earlier this season.'
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The moment you've all been waiting for 🙏 Lewis with the mini mic, part two 😁 pic.twitter.com/DoUuwMeayN
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) August 9, 2024
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Comment of the day
Does Valtteri Bottas have a future in Formula 1 beyond this season? Reader RBAlonso certainly hopes so…
Bottas is an enigma to me – and I suspect that’s the way he likes it.
During his Mercedes years he was clearly super competent – look at how the Red Bull Racing number two drivers have fared compared to him. But he wanted to leave Mercedes to avoid the pressure and forge his own path – which remains understandable. When the pressure is self-imposed such as in 2022, when he was a big name in a small team, or this season, when there are good drives available, he’s right on it. He’s been very impressive this campaign. However, when there’s little to play for like last year, he can go missing.
I’m surprised he didn’t end up at Williams or Mercedes. He’s dependable, quick and would be a strong benchmark for either Alex Albon or George Russell. However, his desire to be aesthetically interesting is at odds to those teams’ images. It reminds me of David Coulthard’s similar revolt post-McLaren, where he stopped shaving and dying his hair. I fear that is to Bottas’ detriment. On pace, on a good day, he’s still a top midfielder for me. I hope Audi takes him on, he’s far too good to lose.
RBAlonso
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Wes!
On this day in motorsport
- Born today in 1914: Carlos Menditeguy, who achieved a single F1 podium in his home race at Buenos Aires in 1957, driving a Maserati 250F
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Nick T.
10th August 2024, 0:42
Stormin’ Norman Nato should be Allied Supreme Commander. Guy sounds like Putin’s worst nightmare. He drives from front-to-front in a lifted formula car dispensing morale boosts and unmatched tactical advice.
Godspeed, Norman!
Jere (@jerejj)
10th August 2024, 6:59
He, of course, wouldn’t drive for another team on loan, especially a manufacturer one like Audi in any case, & if he doesn’t get a drive in either Red Bull-owned team by the September deadline, he’ll become a free agent, so Red Bull needs to be careful with how they handle the situation if they don’t want to lose him altogether.
Magnussen’s days as an F1 driver are realistically numbered (& for good).
Yes, more than one drive is still to be officially confirmed, but Antonelli will become Hamilton’s direct successor in all likelihood & the same with Doohan at Alpine & of course, only drivers with certain status at Visa RB, so Audi-owned Sauber is his only even theoretical possibility, but that team probably has a few other drivers ahead in priority order, so a low chance for him.
Good questions in the Mercedes tweet, & my answer for the superpower one is teleportation & preferably in the way it happens in Jumper film, if only one, followed by invisibility, an ability to move & see through solid objects, but I wouldn’t mind time travel either.
I still don’t necessarily agree with the COTD-nominated post’s part about Bottas ‘wanting’ to leave Mercedes even after checking through the replies within the relevant article’s thread as no driver would normally leave a top-level team voluntarily in any case, but perhaps some side-effect mutual contribution in the end, even if still mostly about being forced to make way for Russell before any other factors.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
11th August 2024, 2:16
Yes, I also disagree he wanted to leave mercedes, it was pretty clear mercedes wanted a better driver and russell looked hamilton-level after his bahrain performance, not like he’s far from hamilton level nowadays after all.
Diez Cilindros (@diezcilindros)
10th August 2024, 7:40
Err… no, he didn’t want to leave Mercedes.
Isn’t Lewis Hamilton “aesthetically interesting”?
Long story short: Bottas isn’t on a run for an important seat because it’s been like 2 years without a race where you would say “wow, what a great Valtteri’s drive”. He’s beating Zhou like Mick Schumacher beat Mazepin… but what does that mean? Not much in terms of top-10 speed.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
10th August 2024, 8:44
I honestly believe he’d had enough of Mercedes. He knew he wasn’t going to win there, there was speculation every season about his replacement and he described the pressure as having a knife to his throat. In a binary world where the choice is “stay with winning team or go to back marker” I think he would have chosen to stay. But there’s context to his life, such as his divorce, and continual one year deals which he’s publicly stated wore thin with him. Everyone knew from mid 2020 that Russell would replace him for 2022 – I doubt that escaped Valterri. I think he reached a level of recognition the game was up and wanted out. Had Russell not been there of course it’s a different story – but context is important when assessing sportsmen’s mindset. His 2021 was his untidiest by a long way.
Regarding Hamilton – he’s got long hair and tattoos. About 75% of footballers have one or the other – it’s not particularly interesting. Bottas has went from a tidy haircut and beard to a bleached blonde mullet and 70s adult entertainer moustache. One stands out more than the other I think.
notagrumpyfan
10th August 2024, 8:57
I prefer the mullet and tash over tattoos.
One trip to the hairdresser and there’re gone ;)
DaveW (@dmw)
10th August 2024, 13:21
Maybe the delay and silence around the RBR number two seat is because the silence and delay are about the number one seat. They may now be talking to a possible Verstappen replacement, which is taking priority. There’s a lot of racket in the media about who he’s talking to. This website doesn’t traffic in rumors as aggressively as lesser ones but it seems a poorly kept secret that he’s looking around.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
10th August 2024, 18:17
@dmw
Signing Sainz should have been a no-brainer for RBR. If Verstappen was to leave, there wouldn’t be any top driver available. Hamilton and Leclerc are committed to Ferrari, just as Russell is with Mercedes. Alonso will never leave Aston Martin, especially with Newey likely joining and Honda supplying the PU in 2026. Sainz was probably vetoed by the Verstappens, and by that I mean Jos, not Max, given his past issues with Carlos Sr. back in 2015.