In the round-up: Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso reveals he raced after breaking bones in both of his hands last season
In brief
Alonso raced after breaking bones in Melbourne crash
Alonso will be reunited with team mate Lance Stroll, who injured his wrists in a cycling accident while training, for practice in Bahrain today.
With Stroll returning, Alonso admitted in yesterday’s FIA press conference that he had raced after breaking both hands when he crashed out of qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix last year while racing with Alpine.
“I think it’s already very good news that he’s here and he will try,” Alonso said. “That shows his desire to win and his motivation to win with this team. So that’s a very good sign.
“In my case, yes, I broke few bones in both hands last year, so until August, I was not fully recovered. I had some pain, but we love driving.”
Low downforce circuits will suit Williams best again – Albon
Williams driver Alexander Albon says he believes the Williams FW45 will be at its strongest at high-speed, low-downforce circuits once again.Williams took five points finishes in 2022, including best finishes of eighth in Spa-Francorchamps and Monza. Albon says the team’s new car is very sensitive aerodynamically and will best be suited to those circuits this year.
“It was clear with the wind over the testing,” Albon said, “depending on the angle of the wind, it was very tricky for us in a couple of corners – the low-speed corners. If we can get the season better than we started, which we did last year, I’ll be happy.
“And of course, taking the moments we can – Monza, Spa – these kind of circuits will continue to be still quite good for us. We just want to be quicker and have the chance more often, basically.”
F3 driver fined before first practice
MP Motorsport Formula 3 driver Mari Boya and his driver coach, former F2 racer Facu Regalia, have both been fined €1,000 by the FIA before the first track action of the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend after they walked onto the Sakhir circuit while prohibited.
The duo were intending to complete a track walk together, jumping the turn 11 barrier onto the race track, 11 minutes prior to the circuit officially closing while the FIA medical car was completing a planned test run. The pair returned over the barriers but were summoned to the stewards, where they admitted their error. Both were fined €1,000 (£886) and will have their paddock credentials revoked if they commit any similar infractions.
Enter the 2023 RaceFans Predictions Championship
The RaceFans Predictions Championship is back for 2023! Test your knowledge, understanding and experience of Formula 1 and pit your predictions against your fellow RaceFans.
Regrettably, due to the increased complexity of sending packages and the rising costs involved, we have taken the decision not to offer prizes for this year’s competition. We will review this decision at a later stage, but for now this year’s Predictions Championship is all about bragging rights.
Enter here now:
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Read the all-new digital race programme (F1)
"Check out our all-new digital race programme for this weekend's Formula 1 Gulf Air Grand Prix 2023 in Sakhir, including features on pre-season testing, Max Verstappen's title defence, and the upcoming F2 and F3 campaigns - plus stats on all 10 teams..."
Piastri explains aim of rookie F1 season (Speedcafe)
"I obviously want to be up to speed as quickly as I can but also I’m aware that firstly, it’s not going to be an easy task. Lando has established himself as a very quick driver as well, so I think for the first part of the year, I don’t want to put a timeline on it too much."
IndyCar tech download: Decoding the data (Racer)
"In recent years, broadcasters have begun showing such overlays to help describe to fans what drivers are doing inside the car to try and extract as much lap time as possible. But while it may look like a series of squiggly lines to inexperienced eyes, data like this can actually offer valuable insight to drivers, engineers, and of course fans about the relative performance between two cars. A special thank you to McLaren for supplying this overlay from a test day at Sonoma a few seasons ago."
Russian ex-Haas driver Mazepin cleared to race in Europe (France24)
"The General Court ruled that Mazepin 'is in no way involved in the aggression suffered by Ukraine and does not exercise any activity in economic sectors which provide a substantial source of income' to Russia. 'He has always maintained a neutral position on the war as a professional athlete,' added the order."
Does Verstappen ever blink? (Red Bull via YouTube)
"How many times does a Formula 1 racing driver blink over one Oracle Virtual Lap?"
24 hours at F1 testing (Norris via YouTube)
Norris provides his vlog from last week's pre-season test in Bahrain.
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 Twitter, Instagram and more:
McLaren's dynamic on-car branding, which it introduced in practice at last year's #USGP, will appear on its cars during races for the first time this year, beginning this weekend.https://t.co/b9TRAaef1A #BahrainGP
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) March 2, 2023
#F1 has brought back the chat show-style press conferences it introduced at the beginning of 2020, then had to drop when the pandemic hit.#BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/H2e7PBGaI2
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) March 2, 2023
Back in my happy place ✨
Great to back in the mix this weekend for the #BahrainGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Ec8AO42SeK
— Claire Cottingham (@Cla_Cottingham) March 2, 2023
We have 22 drivers from 12 teams on SUZUKA official test entry list👀✨
SUPER FORMULA rookies will be BACK on SUZUKA track!!
Looking forward to it 😉@LiamLawson30 @RaoulHyman @cembolukbasi
#SUPERFORMULA #SFjp #SFormula #motorsports pic.twitter.com/U6GwDskgb3— SUPER FORMULA (@SUPERFORMULA_En) March 2, 2023
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
With Stroll confirmed to be racing this weekend while continuing to recover from injuring his hand, @ajpennypacker is disappointed that reserve driver and F2 champion Felipe Drugovich will not get an opportunity to make his F1 debut…
I admit I’m disappointed that we won’t get to see Drugovich do a race. It was a very legitimate chance to impress. It’s hard to be too impressed with testing, but Felipe seems to have done a great job testing. He’s clearly going to be in better condition to take the car on the first race.
But I get why Lance is so keen to return. Reminds me a bit of Hamilton rushing his return after Russell impressed in Sakhir in 2020.
Good for Lance if he is properly fit. But it’s really hard to imagine a bone healing so fast, especially with screws in there, and then be able to endure the high G-forces of a fast circuit like Sakhir.
ajpennypacker
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Seaney_T!
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
3rd March 2023, 0:32
Where are the team PR people in the “chat show” press conference, anxiously hovering with a phone to record every word their driver says? If it’s the beginning of the end of that pathetic sight, then it’s a good thing.
Jere (@jerejj)
3rd March 2023, 6:15
@bullfrog Sitting among the journos & pundits as always. They’re never beside drivers in press conferences.
Darryn Smith (@darryn)
3rd March 2023, 1:16
This reminds me of the scene in Jaws when they are one upping each other with their scars. I was munching beaver 2 weeks after having pins in my jaw. No big deal for Stroll or Alonso to sit and drive around in a car.
ryanoceros (@ryanoceros)
3rd March 2023, 1:33
can someone pls just tell me how many times max blinked during that lap?
MacLeod (@macleod)
3rd March 2023, 8:02
Zero times as he did this years ago on Spa with his father showing Renault top model. Very impressive indeed.
MacLeod (@macleod)
3rd March 2023, 8:02
He did ALSO years ago (I forgot Also)
eljueta (@eljueta)
3rd March 2023, 12:05
Maybe his advantage is that he has extra wet eyes and doesn’t need to blink as often as other drivers?
UNeedAFinn2Win (@uneedafinn2win)
3rd March 2023, 5:22
Brabham BT-52, 1300 HP with a 550kg chassis and one of the cleanest liveries ever.
As a kid, this is what was embedded in my memory as what a Formula 1 car is.
It looks so tiny
anon
3rd March 2023, 7:51
@uneedafinn2win I have no idea where you are getting those power figures, because the BT52 never produced 1300bhp – you’re looking at more like 650bhp (i.e. half the value you quoted).
S
3rd March 2023, 8:06
BMW’s engines for the BT52 (the M12/13) were (and still are) widely reported (like, everywhere) to have run in qualifying trim at up to 1280hp, @anon.
Race spec was obviously different, for equally obvious reasons.
paulguitar (@paulguitar)
3rd March 2023, 9:35
Qualifying trim, anon.
The car did indeed push 1300 BHP as stated above.
UNeedAFinn2Win (@uneedafinn2win)
3rd March 2023, 12:43
@paulguitar indeed, famously so. There are dozens of sources to verify the figures, even a Youtube video of a group of engineers rebuilding the engine and present is the designer himself, Herr Rosche
here
I no longer bother responding or really even reading unregistered posts, they contribute nothing of value and should Racefans ever decide to upgrade the comment section to this century, blocks-ahoy…
Darryn Smith (@darryn)
3rd March 2023, 19:31
Youtube says so. This number keeps getting bigger and bigger as time goes on. It will be 2000hp soon. Kind of funny.
UNeedAFinn2Win (@uneedafinn2win)
3rd March 2023, 20:51
@darryn, no-one has touted 2000 hp.
It’s practically impossible for the BMW M12 straight 4-cylinder with its 1,5 liter displacement to produce such a number from environmental oxygen and the mixture of hydrocarbon, however exotic it was. More about that here.
…literally dozens of sources. Dozens. Verified. Period specific, and subsequent.
MacLeod (@macleod)
3rd March 2023, 8:03
Looks very draggy to me…..
GeeMac (@geemac)
3rd March 2023, 5:58
The BT52 is such a gorgeous looking machine. It is unbelievable to think that something so fantastic looking could have gone from a clean sheet of paper to race ready in just 6 weeks.
Jere (@jerejj)
3rd March 2023, 6:15
I initially thought the broken bones further into the season were from the pre-season bicycle accident rather than the Melbourne Q3 crash.
I also noted the sofa format from early-2020 yesterday & don’t mind its return.
While Lance’s return might seem somewhat rushed, I’m sure neither the team nor he would take risks with his health if they had any doubts about participating so soon after an injury-induced accident.
MacLeod (@macleod)
3rd March 2023, 8:06
While it’s never good to force things but if the breaks are clean or just a tear in the bone they could reinforce it with little harm as long his muscels connection points are not damaged.
Frasier (@frasier)
3rd March 2023, 8:27
Not in this update, but really great to hear from Jenny Gow on the BBC F1 site. Seems to be well on the road to recovery, brilliant news.
Qeki (@qeki)
3rd March 2023, 8:52
All the media focus is eather on Alonso or Aston Martin but nowhere near Stroll. I bet Stroll can win races if the advantage is big enough for the next fastest car but I wouldn’t count him out if Aston really is “in the mix” Stroll has some podiums and on a merit also.
In the end I hope it will be Alonso who gets those podiums.