In the round-up: Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson admits the circumstances of his IndyCar title defeat last year still rankle with him.
In brief
Indy 500 winner rues IndyCar title loss
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Ericsson says he is still “a bit pissed off” about how he missed out on the 2022 IndyCar title after winning last year’s double-points Indianapolis 500.
He spent more than a third of the season as championship leader, and went into the season finale at Laguna Seca as a contender, but dropped to sixth in the final standings after coming eighth in the deciding race.
“I’m still a bit pissed off about the ending of last year because I felt we were having a really strong year, then the last three races or so we just fell off a little bit. That was disappointing,” said Ericsson.“But it’s given me a lot of motivation to work hard in the off-season to try and be better this year. It’s definitely our goal to try and get that championship this year.”
Ericsson also commented how his annoyance in part stemmed from the condition of the Laguna Seca track surface, which is being repaved for 2023.
“Last year when we were there, we were basically driving rain lines, going outside the normal racing line trying to find grip. I think it was entertaining to watch in some ways because it was very tricky to drive. But the driving experience was not the best I found because it was just so low grip.”
IndyCar reveals new Medical Unit
IndyCar will bring a new mobile medical facility to races this season, with it being used for the first time at this week’s pre-season test at The Thermal Club.
Previously, IndyCar had combined a mobile unit with track facilities, but now will rely more on its own travelling safety infrastructure.
The mobile unit will have “four functional areas, one with two hospital beds” and will contain “portable X-ray machine, a resuscitation cart and assorted orthopaedic care supplies”. From within the mobile unit, doctors and nurses will be able to watch the on-track action via video. IndyCar’s announcement of the new unit also mentioned that the unit will be able to care for all members of the paddock, not just the drivers.
Jenzer to run Barnard in Formula 3
ADAC Formula 4 runner-up Taylor Barnard will race for Jenzer Motorsport in his rookie FIA Formula 3 season this year.
The 18-year-old was announced last month by his F4 team PHM Racing that he would be stepping up to F3, but rather than racing for the German team as he moves up the single-seater ladder he will instead drive for its partner team Jenzer.
Barnard has started 2023 in impressive style with PHM, racing in the Formula Regional Middle East championship. He is currently second in the standings and has already won a race.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Red Bull advisor Marko: Plain text on Saudi rumours and FIA muzzle (RTL)
'This development was 'wrong', explained the 79-year-old. 'That is clearly wrong. They are responsible citizens who are in the global public eye and who know how and what they have to say,' says Marko, who also sees this FIA announcement (of restricting political statements) as a consequence of Sebastian Vettel's protests.'
Mercedes F1 protege Antonelli claims his first Formula Regional win (Formula Scout)
'Andrea Kimi Antonelli took his first FRegional win in the Middle East championship's first race in round three at Kuwait Motor Town. He started fourth behind Hyderabad Blackbirds powered by MP's trio of drivers, who managed to almost entirely ruin their races at the start.'
'The grounds of his oasis include 48 guest casitas, three restaurants, a new 1.1-mile go-kart track and a 70-car storage facility for members’ race cars with untold millions worth of Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Porsches, Mercedes and LMP2 race cars inside. Next to it, the heir to the Clorox brand houses his own 40-car Ferrari collection in a vault that would make Batman grin.'
Laurens van Hoepen to race with ART GP in 2023 FREC (ART GP)
'ART Grand Prix is pleased to announce their continued collaboration with Laurens Van Hoepen for a second year in the FRegional European Championship. The 17-year-old has had his career supported by Formula E champion Nyck de Vries.'
The Airflow Racing team ready for its debut in Formula 4 (ACI Sport)
'Airflow Racing will make its debut in the world of motorsport this year under the careful guidance of team manager Gianfranco Fantuzzi, who boasts a past in the top flight in his curriculum. At the wheel of one of the single-seaters lined up by the Tuscan team will be the young Guido Luchetti.'
Rodin Carlin confirms Callum Voisin's GB3 return in 2023 (GB3)
'Rodin Carlin has confirmed that Callum Voisin will return to the rebranded team for the 2023 GB3 Championship. Voisin made a big impression in his debut single-seater season with the team in 2022 and now looks to capitalise on his experience to challenge for the championship title.'
Blomqvist keeps eye on IndyCar during impressive rise: ‘I would love to give it a go’ (NBC Sports)
'He ripped off a monster 'one and done' pole-winning lap to beat the clock in qualifying for the Daytona 24 Hours. During the race, Blomqvist was as dominant in his first stint as his last in the ARX-06 while taking the chequered flag.'
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
🚨ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨
I’ve taken the decision to leave Ferrari
Personally I’m grateful for the time, experienced and laps shared together in Maranello. Representing Ferrari has been a honour! Grazie Tutti
My next chapter is starting imminently 🔜 pic.twitter.com/LJmaRIT4kL
— Brendon Leigh (@BrendonLeigh72) January 31, 2023
Like the good old days. This is awesome https://t.co/GPzuAQZbTj
— Tony Kanaan (@TonyKanaan) January 31, 2023
By the way @mitchevans_, I believe I owe you a beer 😬
— Jake Hughes (@JakeHughesRace) January 31, 2023
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
Haas are first to reveal their 2023 livery, but will a revised driver line-up and a funding boost from a new title sponsor be enough to finally make the team a podium contender?
The problem with Haas is that they are clueless about how to develop a car over the season. They don’t really design or build their own cars, so they’re always going to move backwards as the season progresses.
Having an experienced driver line-up isn’t going to help them all that much in that regard. They’ll find the right direction, but be unable to deliver on those updates. So, I don’t expect Haas to take a step forward next season. Sure, the Hulk will get in more points, but I don’t see them beating Alpha Tauri, Aston, Mclaren or Alpine.
Their only hope to succeed is to copy the 2022 Ferrari and keep that advantage going for as long as they can. AKA the 2018 Haas season.. their most successful to date.
Todfod
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Sharan!
On this day in motorsport
- 25 years ago today Nigel Mansell finished 12th in a one-off appearance in the Chamonix 24 Hours ice race, in a Ford Escort shared with rally champion Ari Vatanen
Jere (@jerejj)
1st February 2023, 1:00
I largely agree with COTD, although they could still beat AT like last season.
We’ll see, but yes, certainly not Alpine, Mclaren, or AM, & even AR will probably remain ahead, so equalling last season’s P8 at best.
MichaelN
1st February 2023, 11:46
The “experienced” part of the driver line-up also seems overvalued. Magnussen wasted a lot of good opportunities last season by getting into avoidable tangles in the opening laps, which isn’t something a team tends to expect from a man who’s been racing at this level for almost a decade.
Haas approach to F1 remains a bit odd. They’re not making a big Red Bull-esque deal out of it, they’re outsourcing pretty much whatever they can, and they have a rather boring line-up of drivers, both of whom were previously forced into retirement. I’m not seeing how this appeals to the customers of Haas Automation.
Qeki (@qeki)
1st February 2023, 6:26
I don’t know if I’m alone with this problem but I thought this was only a news about Ericsson and not the Round-up. I have missed quite a few round-ups by just reading the headline..
I think Ericsson knows it’s a season and not a sprint
It always feels a bit weird when someone leaves Ferrari
Great to see that medical unit
S
1st February 2023, 6:36
There’s a good life lesson there….
AlanD
1st February 2023, 11:48
S, is that a life lesson for Qeki or a life lesson for the writers? I too didn’t realise this article was a news round up, and that happens quite often. If the life lesson is that you are supposed to read every article in full, just in case, then it’s a pretty poor lesson. The point of the headline and front page summary is to help the reader make an informed decision about whether or not they want to read the article. It seems to me that the writers have fogotten that.
S
1st February 2023, 12:33
If you are stopping at the headline, then you’ve got nobody but yourself to blame for missing out on the information contained in the article.
Makes you wonder how many other instances in life people do that, doesn’t it…. Judging things on first appearance without putting in the time or effort to learn more.
Even if you’ve somehow missed the fact that the subheading reads “RaceFans Round-up” – it doesn’t take 5 seconds to click on it and see what it is, and then go back if you still don’t want to know.
S
1st February 2023, 12:36
By the way, did you read the summary?
I’m guessing not, as it makes it pretty clear.
Qeki (@qeki)
1st February 2023, 16:43
Yeah reader can only blame themselves but as the world moves on “easy” is the word of 21st century. You can order food to your home door, work from home, watch movies and sports at home.. Get everything you need from your phone. It seems like nowadays people have less time than ever before and people want to get access to their information as fast and easily as possible. As the saying goes: “The first 5 seconds are the most important in any site. If people loss the intrest then they don’t focus in any minor details. Of course reader reads what it wants but to be able to see everything as fast and easily as possible is the job for the writers and editors to get it right.
S
2nd February 2023, 1:44
Does sound like an accurate description of the world now… Want everything immediately, and quick to complain if it’s not they way they want it.
Easy is synonymous with lazy….
MichaelN
1st February 2023, 13:07
Not sure what the writers can do other than put Round Up in the headline. But it already says ‘RaceFans Round-up’ right under the headline on the front page and seems to on mobile as well; the only place that doesn’t have that category listed is the little bar on the side ‘New on RaceFans’. Maybe the RSS feed also doesn’t, I can’t check.
Qeki (@qeki)
2nd February 2023, 10:05
Maybe put Round-up in the title.
Christopher Rehn (@chrischrill)
1st February 2023, 7:35
That’s a healthy attitude from Ericsson. He won the Indy 500 spectacularly by fending off Pato, and he’s still longing for more. He has only gotten better year on year since joining IndyCar, the championship should be his target.
Maisch (@maisch)
1st February 2023, 8:33
The year before the indy 500 win Ericsson was the one that collected more points than anyone during the last half of the season, i understand he was frustrated that he couldnt replicated that after the indy win. The indy races are so incredible tight, so not much have to be outside of the optimal window to slide out of the top 5.
I also think having the news summary hidden in different posts is really confusing.
Don
1st February 2023, 14:21
Marcus had a great year, after three tough years of learning and improving his craft. Winning $3.1M for Indy certainly made things better.
PeterG
1st February 2023, 14:37
I think all Haas has shown since entering F1 is that the model of getting someone else to design your car (Dallara) with assistance from another team (Ferrari) doesn’t work as well as was expected. I remember Martin Brundle among others claiming that the Haas model was the future for new teams & clearly it isn’t.
And I think this model will hurt them even more in the overly restrictive era we are now in because when you aren’t doing everything in-house I just can’t see the design/development process been as efficient.
BasCB (@bascb)
2nd February 2023, 8:17
I think it actually works great to get on the grid and get going relatively fast and easily Peter. It just means that you postpone the actually building of a team that is able to dig down, sort out issues and build on previous success/experience while you are already on the grid.
To me it makes sense that they want more experienced drivers because clearly the team itself needs that feedback to get further with their cars, with development and building up. I am not sure they will be able to build the team up though, since they had experienced drivers with Magnussen and Grosjean for years and did not seem to be able to build year on year either.
S
2nd February 2023, 11:43
It’s still going to depend on how deep their pockets are and their ultimate intentions for the team, no matter how they go about it.
I agree with @bascb that it’s basically the ideal way to get a team running and get some sponsors on board while also understanding many of the design aspects and tricks that can be exploited. Then once things stabilise over a few years, further investment can be added and more design and production taken on internally (if that’s what the team wants and can afford to do).
Some people make the mistake of thinking that every team in F1 is there solely to win – but that’s not the case at all.
Haas’ primary reason for entering F1 isn’t on-track success – it’s marketing space.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
1st February 2023, 14:41
@keithcollantine maybe not the right place for this but the tickets have gone on sale for the Imola Grand Prix which I was vaguely interested in attending. But there only seems to be tickets in 2 stands available. Even on the F1 website itself. Does anyone know why? Maybe they are phasing the sales?