In the round-up: Peugeot has confirmed Kevin Magnussen will not remain part of its World Endurance Championship team after he returned to the Haas Formula 1 team.
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In brief
Magnussen out of Peugeot’s squad
Haas confirmed yesterday Magnussen had returned to the team in a “multi-year” deal to replace the ousted Nikita Mazepin.Magnussen had been due to race Peugeot’s 9X8 World Endurance Championship contender alongside Loïc Duval, Paul Di Resta, Mikkel Jensen, Gustavo Menezes and Jean-Eric Vergne.
“We have taken note of Kevin Magnussen’s decision to return to Formula 1 and wish him all the best,” said Peugeot in a statement confirming they intend to replace him in their driver roster.
“As we had done for the initial line-up, in addition to performance, our selection criteria is based on mindset and the ability to work as a team, to push and motivate one another is essential in our selection progress and in endurance racing.”
Alpine Academy announces affiliate programme with five signings
In addition to the existing, full Alpine Academy programme, Alpine have signed five junior drivers to progress through an affiliate programme: Abbi Pulling, Hadrien David, Nikola Tsolov, Kean Nakamura and Matheus Ferreira.
The Alpine Affiliate programme will give young drivers professional support, including career advice, training, mentoring and PR training. However, drivers will not be considered members of the Alpine Academy and so not, by default, funded by Alpine for their careers.
Teams to run prototype C2 compound tyres at Bahrain test
Formula 1 teams will run prototype C2 tyres at the Bahrain test which starts today. Although classified as prototypes, the only difference between these tyres and the standard C2 compound is that they are produced in Pirelli’s factory in Turkey, not the Romanian facility where most of its tyres are produced. They are being tested to ensure the quality of tyres is the same between the two.
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
The #F1 drivers assembled for a picture at @BAH_Int_Circuit to show their support for peace.@MercedesAMGF1 told @racefansdotnet @LewisHamilton isn't in the picture as his flight to Bahrain was delayed, though he'll be on-track tomorrow morning as planned.#Ukraine pic.twitter.com/U0wXwMasOK
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) March 9, 2022
Season 8 of Formula E arrives in Motorsport Manager!
-Latest Formula E drivers!🏅
-Season 8 liveries available in the store🏎️
-Driver and gameplay balance tweaks⚙️Download now for FREE! 💸
— Motorsport Manager (@PlayMotorsport) March 8, 2022
What is the point of the reserve driver if when the situation gets critical they choose someone else?
So obvious that only wrong answers will be accepted and added to the deep learning algorithm.
— Lucas di Grassi (@LucasdiGrassi) March 9, 2022
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Lewis Hamilton Documentary Lands at Apple TV+ (Hollywood Reporter)
The unnamed project will offer access to Hamilton and his team, on and off the track, as well as guest interviews.
Pourchaire: 'Fans know me almost only at the racetrack, so it will be important to show them what I am like away from the track. I am not just a racing driver, I am a normal human being, doing normal things, even though I don't have a classic life.'
The Ultimate Racing Sim Bundle (Humble)
Get seven racing games from just £3.79 and contribute to charity.
W Series and the RAF enter landmark collaboration (source)
W Series’ female drivers, engineers, mechanics, coaches, and trainers will visit their counterparts at RAF Valley, Holyhead, Anglesey, Wales, where last year’s W Series’ title contenders Jamie Chadwick and Alice Powell had their first taste of g-forces in the air when they took to the skies in Hawk T2 jet-powered aircrafts.
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Comment of the day
Kevin Magnussen is the right driver for Haas, says @Mashiat:
Honestly speaking, a solid enough choice for Haas. He knows everybody at the team and the factory well enough, so he can get straight down to what he has to do. This is still the guy who just about beat Palmer 11-8 in qualifying with an average gap of 0.052 seconds, but he will definitely still be a solid barometer up against Mick. Could also potentially be make-or-break for Mick now that he has a known quantity next to him.
What I don’t quite understand, why not give him the extra half-day in testing? Any laps are extremely invaluable for him. Mick can test Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, with Magnussen then taking over for Friday afternoon and Saturday. Seems a waste to have Pietro in the car for half a day, but I guess Haas probably feels they owe him after overlooking him for the seat.
@Mashiat
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Fred Schechter!
On this day in motorsport
- 20 years ago today Cristiano da Matta won the first race of the CART IndyCar season at Monterrey
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Proesterchen (@proesterchen)
10th March 2022, 1:20
Is that Peugeot car going to happen or just another one of these Nissanesque cases of doing something different for the sake of being different?
grat
10th March 2022, 2:13
Le Mans hypercar entry. It’s a real car for a real series.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
10th March 2022, 3:21
Looks super ugly. Prototypes in the last 20 years have been so ugly, unacceptably ugly, some more than others, kind of liked the lastest toyota but now looks like this is how they’ll look.
Similar story in f1, in 2017 looks improved a lot but only now f1 cars look like f1 cars, for the first time since 08. A decade to forget for f1.
us-brian (@us-brian)
10th March 2022, 3:52
Why is Hamilton never part of anything the drivers do. I have noticed that more recently. This most recent “No War” one. I saw recent Videos on YouTube where everyone but him participated.
Not bashing him, but wondering why.
He was all over the “We Race as one” action and made sure his support for Black Lives matter and showing his opinion about injustices against people of color. But when it is anything else, he seems to never take part. Just wondering why.
Conor Sheehan
10th March 2022, 5:45
He wanted to be there but his plane was delayed. He posted about it yesterday. Can’t remember on what platform though.
MacLeod (@macleod)
10th March 2022, 8:17
This time we must excuse Lewis as his plane was delayed (and he doesn’t have a private jet anymore)
ian dearing
10th March 2022, 9:01
Just out of interest, what ‘recent videos’ are they?
JackySteeg (@jackysteeg)
10th March 2022, 4:40
Smart move for Haas, I agree. But smart for Magnussen? I don’t know. He seemed to be enjoying being contending for wins again in his post-F1 life and had a hypercar factory drive with a likely top team. Returning to F1 with Haas feels a bit “been there, done that”.
Jere (@jerejj)
10th March 2022, 6:36
@jackysteeg Indeed. I hope he doesn’t start regretting running towards the back again.
GeeMac (@geemac)
10th March 2022, 5:34
Lucas di Grassi really doesn’t ever miss an opportunity to have a dig at F1 does he…
Sham (@sham)
10th March 2022, 6:28
He does have a point though. When was the last time a teams reserve driver took over when the main driver couldn’t take part in a race for some reason?
Jere (@jerejj)
10th March 2022, 6:35
@sham Yes, but this is about the entire season rather than only a race or two.
Red Andy (@red-andy)
10th March 2022, 7:08
@sham Kubica for Alfa Romeo last year?
I do agree with the broader point, though it has been a problem for years. If you need someone to jump in the car at short notice, you’ll always go for the guy with recent F1 experience over the rookie.
Years ago I remember Lotus snubbing their reserve driver (and recently-crowned GP2 champion) Davide Valsecchi in favour of Heikki Kovalainen when they needed a replacement for Raikkonen following his back injury. Not that it did them any good – he trundled around in the midfield and probably cost them third in the WCC.
Jere (@jerejj)
10th March 2022, 6:34
Di Grassi’s point itself is good, but Pietro’s scarce F1 racing experience is a valid reason against going for him in the end.
In relation, I thoroughly agree with COTD.
Sham (@sham)
10th March 2022, 7:17
If there’s a strong point not to put him the car, he should be a Junior Driver and not a reserve driver.