In the round-up: Esteban Ocon says that he would be “very happy” to race in Saudi Arabia again.
In brief
Ocon would be “very happy” to return to Saudi Arabia with safety assurances
Esteban Ocon says that he would be “very happy” to race in Saudi Arabia again in future if Formula 1 and the Saudi Arabian government can offer the same assurances about safety.Last month’s race in Jeddah was marred by a missile strike on a nearby oil plant during Friday practice which led to a meeting of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association over whether drivers would race. The drivers agreed to race after assurances the rest of the event would be secure.
“For Saudi Arabia, of course there were concerns, obviously,” said Ocon. “We discussed for a long time, with all the drivers but once we spoke to the authorities and Formula 1 they reassured us that there was no danger for us, and that we were all safe.
“So, we were definitely happy to race in the future. Of course, if that’s the same, very happy to go back to Jeddah and keep racing to the races of the calendar and trust FIA and Formula 1 for our safety.”
Young drivers ‘don’t need academies to shine’ – Michel
Young drivers in junior formulae do not have to be part of F1 driver academies to succeed, says Formula 2 and Formula 3 boss Bruno Michel.
A large proportion of the drivers in Formula 2 and Formula 3 belong to junior driver programmes of F1 teams. However, F2 championship leader Felipe Drugovich and third-placed Richard Verschoor are not.
“I think that shows one thing for sure is that you don’t need to be part of an academy to shine,” said Michel. “It’s not automatic and the reason why most of the time the drivers from the academies are shining is because the academies are trying to recruit the best drivers.
“If they are doing a proper job – and most of them are doing a very strong job – they have strong drivers in their academies for sure. Now, you have sometimes drivers that are not part of an academy and that are doing a very good job. I think it proves that you don’t need to be part of an academy to do a good job. You need to be strong. Is it going to be more an issue for them to go to Formula 1 in the future? That’s the real question that they need to ask themselves, because when you are part of an academy it’s quite automatic.”
Saucy fastest on first day of F3 test
The ART driver topped the times with a 1’32.247, almost two tenths of a second faster than Franco Colapinto for Van Amersfoort. Victor Martins was third fastest in the second of the three ART cars, with Trident’s Zane Maloney fourth fastest. Prema driver Arthur Leclerc, who lies second in the championship, was 14th.
The second and final day of testing will take place today, before Formula 3 joins F2 and Formula 1 at Imola next weekend for their third and fourth rounds of the championship.
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
Under construction in Northamptonshire, Aston Martin's new £200 million F1 factory is scheduled to open in 2023. The 400,000 sq ft campus will be the new home of the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ team. #UKmfg🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/Sr13ettcoW
— Jefferson (@Jefferson_MFG) April 15, 2022
Ahh yes, the $1000 a piece (before tax) family grandstand tickets!
For the price of a decent soft top 2000 Mazda Miata, you too could bring a family of 4 to the Miami GP! pic.twitter.com/f5eNv9Nnva
— Matt Wishart (@MatteAyce) April 15, 2022
Someone asked me about the Las Vegas circuit yesterday and I compared it to the old Hockenheim (it even has an Ostkurve), but in a city rather than a forest. And of course Alonso is the only active driver to have raced in a Grand Prix on the old Hockenheim :) https://t.co/rOEmyatWaE
— Sean Kelly (@virtualstatman) April 14, 2022
Three specialty liveries for this year’s #Indy500. 😏
Buckle in for 04.19.22. pic.twitter.com/IKqvMNMRS1
— Arrow McLaren SP (@ArrowMcLarenSP) April 15, 2022
Lookin' sharp, @Charles_Leclerc!
An early look at the championship leader in F1 Manager 2022 👀#F1 pic.twitter.com/CuBokD0bHs
— F1® Manager 2022 (@F1Manager) April 15, 2022
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Melbourne GP to open 2024 Formula One season (Herald Sun)
"While the schedule has not yet been finalised, Melbourne is in pole position to be the first city to hear F1’s engines roar in 2024."
Why F1 fears the two-headed VW beast (Motor Sport)
"There are so many questions so far unanswered. Will the Red Bull Powertrains project feature IP from the existing Honda-based PU? How much Porsche will be in any Red Bull Powertrains engine? Could the Audi and Porsche engines actually end up being essentially the same?"
Alex Albon's Personal Coach Breaks Down Incredible Drive To P10 In Australia (Balls.ie)
"Race day is probably the strongest part of his toolkit. So, when it comes to a Sunday, I’m never concerned about how it’s going to go. I know he’s a racer at heart, and we saw that in terms of his tyre management, in terms of his race strategy, in terms of just keeping his cool, particularly into that last lap."
Inside the making of Formula 1 Drive to Survive season 4 (Radio Times)
"I've got a friend with an 18-year-old daughter in Los Angeles. She hadn't even heard of Formula 1 and now she's transfixed by the show. If we knew what it was, we'd be really rich because we could basically do it over and over again."
F1 champ Lewis Hamilton sits on a stool in Malaysia causing a slew of memes (Malay Mail)
"Local social media feeds went into overdrive after a photo of Hamilton waving his hand while casually sitting on a regular kopitiam chair at a Petronas petrol station started circulating. Consequently, the photo has spawned multiple memes for Malaysian social media users, and now local companies have joined the bandwagon."
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Comment of the day
After Haas endured their first scoreless weekend in Australia, Nick T thinks the championship table after three races shows that the new 2022 technical regulations are succeeding…
It vindicates Ross Brawn’s aero strategy. Multiple teams used to be expected to go pointless for the season before this new generation. Now, except Aston Martin, they’ve all scored already after just 3 races.
Nick T
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Andrewtanner, Solid, Braddersf1, Rumfresh and Cristian Ingles!
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
16th April 2022, 1:15
Last time out the assurances were an attack on Saturday where Saudi Arabia by killing a bunch of people bargained for a cease fire. I like the idea that Saudi could reuse that idea. Recycling is good for the planet.
some racing fan
16th April 2022, 3:52
First of all, the Saudi authorities will never be able to make any legitimate assurances. That is not possible, nor would that be high on their list of priorities. And second- the fact that F1 is even doing business with Saudi Arabia- a country with systemic corruption, draconian laws with medieval punishments and is currently committing a genocide in Yemen is totally appalling and wrong.
No one with a conscience should ever support any kind of business dealings with Saudi Arabia
GeeMac (@geemac)
18th April 2022, 8:24
Systematic corruption: Boris Johnson is still PM despite a flagrant breach of his own laws. Also, Donald Trump generally. Also, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney generally.
Draconian laws: Try having a read through Singapore’s list of “do’s and don’ts” and have a look at it’s standing in the “Democracy Index”.
Medieval punishments: Many US states still allow the death penalty.
Genocide: Have a wee look into Imperial Japanese and British Empire history and let me know how you think they performed on this front.
I am not blind to Saudi’s flaws, I live in the Middle East so I know them well. The best thing about Middle East countries is actually the fact that they know they aren’t perfect but they all strive to be the best they can be. The point I am making is that no country is perfect so be careful what you wish for if you start deciding race venues based on the moral incorruptibility of the host country.
some racing fan
16th April 2022, 3:54
First of all, the Saudi authorities will never be able to make any legitimate assurances. That is not possible, nor would that be high on their list of priorities. And second- the fact that F1 is even doing business with Saudi Arabia- a country with systemic corruption, draconian laws with medieval punishments and is currently committing war crimes in Yemen is totally appalling and wrong.
No one with a conscience should ever support any kind of business dealings with Saudi Arabia
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
16th April 2022, 13:23
What are you talking about? The US approves Saudi Arabia, they even get to bomb stuff for them.
Ucat33 (@ucat33)
16th April 2022, 16:29
You missed the part where he said “No one with a conscience should”. How does this relate to the US government?
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
16th April 2022, 23:40
@ucat33 read the comment again and open your eyes, no offense.
GeeMac (@geemac)
18th April 2022, 8:26
@peartree @ucat33 Well said. The US and UK cannot claim the moral high ground when they profit from Saudi’s war with Yemen by supplying them arms.
Tristan (@skipgamer)
16th April 2022, 5:06
It’s too early to call the new aero rules a success especially of such an inconclusive stat. Just 2 years ago all teams bar one scored points by the 3rd race of the season… Looking back it’s actually been quite rare for multiple teams to go pointless for the season.
Wiuth all the changes it will take some time for the order to settle, especially with such limited testing. Makes complete sense for the order to be a bit jumbled but I really don’t see that as such vindication for the regulations.
I mean really, if you look at it pragmatically, most of the overtakes have still been a result of DRS, you kind of still need to get up alongside with DRS, which is all well and good, but when the person in front is also close enough to get DRS and you have that train Alonso was talking about… Well I dunno, doesn’t seem like the regulations have been a magic bullet at all, far from it…
Red Andy (@red-andy)
16th April 2022, 7:25
“Reverse your decision not to race or you won’t be allowed to leave the country”? Those kinds of assurances?
Ucat33 (@ucat33)
16th April 2022, 16:30
I can’t believe that any driver would race there again after that threat. I guess money trumps all. I wonder where Seb will stand on this next year.
Jere (@jerejj)
16th April 2022, 8:59
I’m sure safety won’t get compromised in the future.
I share Bruno Michel’s view.
Opening the 2024 season in Melbourne is easier said than done as I just looked to find out Ramadan begins even earlier that year.
Next year’s opening day of 23.3 (or the preceding day’s sunset) means any early-season Middle East race has to occur on 19.3 at the very latest. This means 12.3 for the season-opener at the latest.
However, the 2024 opening is 11.3/10.3 sunset, so 3.3 is the latest possible day for any such early-season race. Therefore, since the 2024 season will already have to begin in February, placing Melbourne before both Bahrain & SA would mean at least 18.2 for the season-opener & this is with an AUS-BAH-SA triple-header, so seven days earlier for standalone. Nothing wrong with holding races in February per se.
Still super early, given how long has passed since the last time an F1 race occurred in February.
COTD has a valid point, but better to wait a bit more before making a definitive judgment.
Jere (@jerejj)
17th April 2022, 10:37
As a late addition, 2017 Bahrain GP’s 5th anniversary.
RandomMallard
16th April 2022, 9:03
Wow the F1 Manager game is looking stunning. They shared some nice screenshots of Baku a few days ago as well.
Starting to get quite excited for Indy now ngl. The 500 is usually great fun to watch.
Really hope to see Melbourne return to being Round 1.
Lots of birthdays today! Happy Birthday Andrewtanner, Solid, Braddersf1, Rumfresh and Cristian Ingles. And to Sir Frank. Still feels a little odd without him. Gone, but never forgotten.
Dex
16th April 2022, 11:08
Why is he happy about Saudi Arabia? I suggest he moves his family there, mother, sister and then I’ll ask him if he’s happy. I don’t expect political statement from drivers (I hate when they do that, saying “the right things” or not), but to be happy about that Hell on Earth… You can’t be against racing in Russia and for racing in Saudi Arabia.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
16th April 2022, 13:25
Of course you can. Us vs russia. G
You can’t go for both, like Ham v Max