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Alexander Rossi sees benefits in the McLaren’s unique combination of Formula 1 and IndyCar programmes, having joined the latter operation for 2023. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free He arrives at McLaren after seven years at Andretti Autosport, which is seeking to emulate its rival team by adding an F1 entry alongside its existing IndyCar squad . McLaren go into their fourth season in IndyCar since their full-time return to the series this year. In that time they have won four races, all with Rossi’s team mate Pato O’Ward, and have also expanded to race in Extreme E and now Formula E. They added a third full-time IndyCar entry in order to field Rossi this year. “It’s been very cool to kind of watch them evolve and expand over the past couple of months,” their new driver said. “Obviously I don’t have a benchmark of what they were before, but certainly the commitment to kind of performance and results goes without saying. It’s apparent throughout every … [Read more...] about Rossi sees advantage for McLaren over rivals in unique F1-IndyCar team set-up · RaceFans

Mercedes’ new reserve driver Mick Schumacher will also be made available to their customer team Mclaren this year as part of a long-running arrangement between the two. Schumacher, the 2020 Formula 2 champion, raced in Formula 1 for Haas over the past two seasons and scored two times. He lost his drive at the end of 2022, as well as his place in the Ferrari Driver Academy, and was then signed by Mercedes. Mercedes’ previous reserve drivers have been shared with their engine customers – Aston Martin, McLaren and Williams – over the past few seasons, and last year Nyck de Vries was called up to race for Williams for a race as a result of this arrangement. “McLaren will be able to call on Mick as a reserve driver during the 2023 F1 season as part of our arrangement with Mercedes. Welcome to the family, Mick,” McLaren posted on social media. “Full circle. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella worked closely with Mick’s father, the legendary Michael Schumacher, as his performance … [Read more...] about Mick Schumacher to be reserve driver for McLaren too · RaceFans

Even before a single lap has been run in the 2023 Formula 1 season, never mind a race result decided, Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur has twice been asked to pin his colours to the mast – Charles Leclerc or Carlos Sainz. He went with neither, adamant it’s too early to back one driver over the other. “But,” he wrapped up the first time around, “if at one stage we have to take action, I will take action.” The second time, he ended with “and if at one stage I have to take action for Carlos or for Charles, I will do it.” It’s an action that, should it come, will have long-term consequences. Team-mates at Ferrari for the first time in 2021 it was widely-speculated that Leclerc could have the measure of Sainz, but that wasn’t to be with the Spaniard winning the first round – although only by 5.5 points. However, that was a season in which Ferrari were still trying to get their horse (powers) into order in the wake of their 2019 engine scandal. Once they’d sorted that out, … [Read more...] about Ferrari need to pick Charles Leclerc as No.1 driver, or risk losing him to a rival team

Listen to this article The Acura ARX-06, which won on its competition debut in last weekend's IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, will be confined to North America for 2023 with parent brand Honda yet to give the go-ahead for the car to be raced in the FIA World Endurance Championship. A spokesperson for Honda in Japan told Motorsport.com late last year that nothing had been decided about a potential WEC or Le Mans entry in 2024, while admitting such a venture was an "option for the future". Meyer Shank Racing driver Blomqvist believes that the competitiveness shown by the ARX-06 in Daytona could shift the dial for Honda's bosses. "I think it will give confidence to Honda and the decision-makers to give it a go," Blomqvist, who secured victory alongside Colin Braun , Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud , told Motorsport.com. "I think they were a bit nervous about going there and not being able to fight for victory, but they’ve got to pat … [Read more...] about Acura aces hope Rolex 24 1-2 changes Honda’s Le Mans outlook

Ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season, most of the teams will carry out at least one ‘filming day’ to shakedown their new machines. Haas became the first of the 10 teams to reveal their 2023 look earlier this week, with the American-based squad showing off the livery their VF-23 will race with. However, the VF-23 itself won’t be shown off until after the team have taken to the track with the car for the first time – Haas will hold a ‘shakedown’ of the car at Silverstone on February 11th. Most of the teams will elect to hold a shakedown of their new cars before the start of official pre-season testing in Bahrain in late February, as such shakedowns allow for any unforeseen mechanical or technical issues with the build of the new cars to be spotted and ironed out before the start of the critical three days of track testing. But how do these shakedowns fit into the current rules – how are teams able to carry out private track testing with a current car? F1 teams make use of an FIA … [Read more...] about What are F1 teams permitted to do with their cars on ‘filming day’ shakedowns?

A number of different F1 teams reportedly have “issues” with the leadership style of FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. Ben Sulayem took to Twitter last month to openly question a reported Saudi Arabian backed takeover bid of the sport which was rumoured to be around the $20 billion mark. The Emirati said “the FIA as custodians of motorsport” had concerns over the bid and also said the figure was “inflated”. It was the latter that drew the ire of Liberty Media, who reportedly sent a letter to the FIA in which they described the comments of Ben Sulayem as a “major overstep”. There were even rumours that sport’s commercial arm was seeking to have the 61-year-old replaced despite only being a little over a year into his four-year term as president. Sky Sports are reporting that the strained relationship has been patched up and said that “positive conversations” had taken place between the two parties but that a significant number of “high ranking individuals” at the teams … [Read more...] about F1 teams have ‘issues’ with ‘personal style of leadership of Mohammed Ben Sulayem’

Lewis Hamilton was quickest in first practice for the Monaco Grand Prix as lap times fell by over three seconds compared to last year. However the opening session at the Monte-Carlo circuit was cut short with two minutes left to run after Jenson Button’s car was struck by a flying drain cover. The McLaren driver was fortunate to escape uninjured after the cover was lifted by Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes at the exit of Sainte Devote. Rosberg sustained a puncture while Button’s front wing was shattered by the impact with the cover. Rosberg ended the session second-quickest behind his team mate. Just a tenth of a second separated the pair, who used the new ultra-soft tyres throughout the session. Sebastian Vettel left it until the end of the session before sampling the softest compound and got within half a second of the silver cars. Daniel Ricciardo, who at one point was seen gesticulating angrily at someone else on the circuit and swearing at them on his radio, was … [Read more...] about Hamilton heads shortened session as Button strikes drain cover · RaceFans

Daniel Ricciardo completed a successful day of running with Renault’s upgraded power unit by heading an eventful second practice session. The Red Bull driver lapped over six-tenths of a second quicker than Lewis Hamilton and well inside last year’s pole position time. Neither Mercedes driver appeared to manage a completely clean lap on the ultra-soft tyres. Nico Rosberg was almost four-tenths of a second slower than his team mate. Max Verstappen , still using the original engine (also branded TAG Heuer) in his car, was only a tenth of a second down on Rosberg. He had the two Toro Rossos for company as neither Ferrari driver figured in the top five. Both SF16-H drivers appeared to be struggling with their cars and Sebastian Vettel made contact with the barriers twice on his way to ninth place. First he went into the Mirabeau tyre wall backwards, damaging his rear wing, and shortly after returning to the track he broke a wheel rim at Sainte Devote. But he was far from … [Read more...] about Ricciardo heads Mercedes in incident-packed practice – F1 Fanatic

Listen to this article Alonso returned to F1 with Alpine in 2021 after taking a two-year break to race in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the Indy 500 and the Dakar Rally. Alonso's third stint at the Enstone outfit got off to a slow start but once he got back up to speed the Spaniard re-found his old form, frequently suggesting he was driving at his best-ever level in 2022, a season which was blighted by reliability issues. For 2023, Alonso jumped ship to Aston Martin, which struggled last year to finish seventh in the constructors' championship. While the team is a step down from Alpine in the short term, the Lawrence Stroll-led outfit managed to convince Alonso with its long-term project, answering to Alonso's desire to stay in F1 for years to come. And the 41-year-old says he wouldn't have accepted to continue if he didn't think he was still capable of performing at his peak, or if he wasn't convinced that Aston can close the gap while he is still around. … [Read more...] about Alonso “wouldn’t accept” continuing in F1 at less than 100%