Mclaren f1 junior drivers

European F3 and FIA F2 champion Schumacher was dropped by the Haas F1 team at the end of 2022 owing to a brace of seven-figure car-splitting crashes that forced the team to abandon upgrades to meet its budgets. The German subsequently rekindled his Mercedes relationship, the manufacturer having backed his junior career, for 2023 with Schumacher serving as reserve driver. But Schumacher is now linked with an LMDh drive with Alpine in 2024. Motorsport.com understands that the French sportscar marque wants a big-name signing to lead its fledgling programme, although an announcement on the driver line-up is unlikely to land until October. Mercedes motorsport boss Wolff said that Schumacher signing for Alpine would not have to end his relationship with the team since he is “part of the family” and “will always have a home.” Wolff said: “Mick has a place here as our reserve driver and is part of the family. “We hope that he stays with us in that role. We will give him … [Read more...] about Schumacher can remain Mercedes F1 reserve amid Alpine WEC links

Top junior single-seater outfit Hitech GP is the latest team to declare their intention to join the Formula 1 grid in 2026 . Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free They doubled up yesterday’s announcement of their plans with news of major new investment in the team. But does that plus the team’s racing pedigree mark it out as being worthy of the coveted 11th slot on the grid? Founded by Oliver Oakes in 2015, it at least the third team to use the name ‘Hitech’. The former racer obtained permission to use the name from David Hayle, who launched the original Hitech Racing team in 2003 to race in British Formula 3, and knew Oakes as a World Karting Championship-winning youngster. Another Hitech squad raced in Brazilian F3, but Oakes brought the name back to European competition when he was just 27. Oakes’ entity was also launched with the intention of competing in F3, and made its first appearances in 2015 at the end of the European championship season. Right … [Read more...] about Hitech’s high hopes: The billionaire-backed F2 team planning a leap up to F1

Liam Lawson’s performances as a substitute for AlphaTauri may earn him a full-time seat in the future, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has said. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free However it may not result in a full-time seat for the start of next season at Red Bull’s junior team. Lawson made his F1 debut in the Dutch Grand Prix in place of Daniel Ricciardo , who broke his wrist during Friday practice. Horner said Lawson has “done an outstanding job” since getting the call-up at short notice. “He was dropped in, in the rain, in Zandvoort, that was a bit of an eye-opener for him, but I thought he did pretty well there,” said Horner. “And then a week later in Monza he was unlucky to miss out on a point.” In his third start at Marina Bay last weekend, a track he had not previously raced on, Lawson achieved AlphaTauri’s best result of the season to date with ninth place. “Seeing Singapore for the first time and scoring a couple of points, he’s … [Read more...] about Lawson ‘will be a grand prix driver but may have to wait’ – Horner

Four Formula 1 teams have chosen to replace one of their standard drivers with a ‘young driver’ for the first practice session at this weekend’s United States Grand Prix. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free A new-for-2022 regulation requires all teams to give up two practice sessions across the season to drivers with less than three F1 starts to their name. Both cars must be used for this purpose, rather than the same driver being replaced in both sessions. Every team bar Alpine has now run a ‘young driver’ in at least one session. They have a driver lined up who will participate in two of the three remaining events after the US GP. The Circuit of the Americas is an ideal venue to run an unfamiliar driver. It has a lot of run-off, reducing the risk of an inexperienced driver damaging a car. It is also one of the most important venues for F1 due to the scale of the event it holds and the access to the American market for media coverage and sponsorship that … [Read more...] about Who are this weekend’s four F1 newcomers – and could any be on the 2023 grid?

The three rookie drivers who will take their places on the grid for the 2023 F1 season arrive with differing expectations heaped upon them. Not only due to the different paths they’ve taken to reach F1, but also because of the teams they are joining. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The most experienced of the trio is AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries , who has one F1 start to his name courtesy of a last-minute call-up to replace the ill Alex Albon at Williams for last year’s Italian Grand Prix. His performance that weekend made him a target of multiple teams for 2023, and Red Bull’s interest won out over Williams’, so de Vries signed for its secondary AlphaTauri team for his long-awaited rookie F1 season. De Vries qualified 13th at Monza but started eighth due to others being penalised. He scored two points by finishing ninth in a car he had only driven in two practice sessions before his first run in qualifying. Team mate Nicholas Latifi came in 15th. … [Read more...] about De Vries vs Piastri vs Sargeant: Which rookie is best prepared for their F1 debut?

McLaren’s new driver Oscar Piastri will get as much track time as possible before testing to help prepare him for his rookie season, says team principal Andreas Seidl. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Piastri – formerly an Alpine junior driver – did not race this season after winning the 2021 Formula 2 championship. McLaren signed him for 2023 after the British Grand Prix in July, to replace Daniel Ricciardo . Piastri completed multiple test days in Alpine’s 2021-spec A521 over the course of the year. Alpine then allowed McLaren to give him a day’s running in one of their year-old cars at Paul Ricard , in order to prepare him to drive for his new team in the post-season tyre test day in Abu Dhabi. Following Piastri’s first experience of a 2022 car, Seidl says McLaren plan more outings for him before pre-season testing for 2023 begins. “I’m sure we will look also into giving him some mileage in the old car again in January or February,” Seidl said. … [Read more...] about McLaren to give Piastri more tests in new year

Max Verstappen and Red Bull winning Formula 1’s 2023 Japanese Grand Prix by a commanding 19.4-second margin might sound a very familiar tale, but this was coming one week on from their shock defeat in the Singapore race. There was therefore plenty of attention being paid to the potential true impact of the twin technical directives now in force covering flexing wings and floors. But Red Bull utterly rebuffed this intrigue with its RB19’s display back at a smooth, sweeping course where the car was designed to thrive. His usual advantage restored, Verstappen was devastatingly good, while team-mate Sergio Perez had another poor weekend. McLaren took up the chase, with Ferrari slipping back to third quickest but showing good progress in an important area. Then there were a few themes of the Singapore weekend cropping up again, plus the latest on Daniel Ricciardo ’s injury recovery, the final moves in the driver market and a bizarre Alpine team orders spat. All that … [Read more...] about 10 things we learned from the 2023 F1 Japanese Grand Prix

McLaren has agreed a two-year contract extension with Oscar Piastri which will keep the rookie at the team until the end of the 2026 season. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Last year McLaren wrested Piastri away from Alpine who originally announced him as their replacement for Fernando Alonso . After the Contract Recognition Board ruled in McLaren’s favour Piastri joined them as one of their race drivers for 2023 and ’24. “I am thrilled to be extending my partnership with McLaren for many years,” said Piastri. “I want to be fighting it out at the front of the grid with this team and I am excited by the vision and foundations that are already being laid to get us there,” said Piastri. After winning three consecutive junior single-seater titles between 2019 and 2021, Alpine placed Piastri in a reserve driver role last year. He said he was pleased by the commitment McLaren had shown to him since switching teams. “The welcome that I have received and … [Read more...] about Piastri gets new deal to stay at McLaren until 2026

Having just committed to extending his contract by another two years until the end of 2026, it is clear that McLaren sees a very bright future for the young Australian. But it is not just his raw speed that has stood out during his early spell at Woking, because there are aspects of his personality that have deeply impressed team management – and reminded them of some of F1's greats. Speaking at Suzuka on Thursday, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella suggested there were hints of both Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher's personalities that Piastri was displaying. "When McLaren so strongly wanted to sign Oscar, we looked at the results in the junior categories, and in the early days of the collaborating we could see what he achieved, there were good reasons for that to happen," explained Stella. "We could see these in the natural speed, which if you want is related to the talent. We even saw it the first day of the simulator. "The way he was kind of … [Read more...] about The Alonso and Schumacher F1 traits McLaren sees in Piastri