In the round-up: Lewis Hamilton reveals more of his plans for the forthcoming Formula 1 feature film he is working on with Brad Pitt and others.
In brief
Hamilton looking for diverse grid in his F1 film
Lewis Hamilton has provided an update about the Formula 1-themed film he is working on, in which Pitt will play the lead role of an driver towards the end of their F1 career.
“We’re going through a process right now of selecting the character that will be alongside Brad, which is exciting,” Hamilton told media including RaceFans at Mercedes’ 2023 F1 car launch.
“Basically that’s the process of watching them. They will send in a video. We have recordings of them doing certain scenes, and we go through it. I’ve sat in the office with Jerry [Bruckheimer, producer] and Joe [Kosinski, director] and Brad, and have been watching them and kind of giving our inputs and what we think.
“My job, and I think responsibility, is to make sure it is diverse. I want to make the movie in terms of like having diversity and representation, I want it to be as F1 should be in the future, or should be now, but will be in the future. So I want to see female mechanics. I would love to see a female driver.”
Pirelli nominate compounds for opening races
Pirelli has announced its tyre nominations for the first three grands prix of 2023, and its new compound will make its first appearance at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
The C1, C2 and C3 compounds will be taken to Bahrain, with the C1 being the new tyre to teams. The previous-spec C1 will now be known as the C0, but will not be used at any of the first three races.
For Jeddah, the C2, C3 and C4 will be used, and the same selection will be available in Melbourne. The softest compound in each instance (the C3 for Bahrain and C4 for the next two races) will be the qualifying tyre.
Kanaan announces IndyCar retirement
Tony Kanaan announced yesterday that this year’s Indianapolis 500 will be his final start in the race, and therefore his last race in IndyCar.
The 48-year-old was IndyCar champion in 2004, and his Indy 500 record includes pole position in 2005, victory in 2013 and four other podium finishes including with Chip Ganassi Racing last year.
For this year’s Indy 500 he will drive McLaren’s fourth car.
Verschoor and Saucy top second day of F2 and F3 testing
Formula 2 and Formula 3 continued their pre-season tests at Bahrain on Wednesday, with each getting two sessions.
F3 kicked off the day’s action, and ART’s Gregoire Saucy picked up from where he left off the day before by going fastest.
He headed Prema’s Dino Beganovic and Hitech GP’s new Alpine junior Gabriele Mini, who then went fastest in the afternoon by just 0.036 seconds to prevent Saucy from topping all four sessions that have been held in testing so far. Saucy also caused a red flag stoppage during the afternoon after his car stopped on track.
The F2 field occupied the track between the two F3 sessions. Prema’s Frederik Vesti dominated by going 1.947s faster than anyone else. Ralph Boschung only did a handful of laps but ended up second fastest, ahead of Arthur Leclerc and ART GP’s Theo Pourchaire, who brought out red flags with an on-track incident.
The pace was faster when F2 returned to track late in the day in cooler conditions, and Van Amersfoort Racing’s Richard Verschoor pipped Pourchaire’s team mate Victor Martins to the top spot by 0.08s.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Villeneuve Pironi: Racing’s Untold Tragedy official trailer (Sky)
Claire Williams OBE appointed as brand ambassador for WAE Technologies (WAE)
‘WAE Technologies has today announced Claire Williams OBE, former Williams F1 deputy team principal, as its first ever brand ambassador. Formerly known as Williams Advanced Engineering, WAE Technologies was established in 2010 to commercialise ground-breaking technology developed by Williams F1 and apply it to multiple sectors.’
Ford fights $8 billion cost deficit, aims to secure 8% EV margins (Reuters)
‘Ford Motor Co (F.N) has identified measures to secure 8% margins on its next-generation electric vehicles due at mid-decade, but could take years to close an overall cost disadvantage of up to $8 billion against competitors, executives said on Wednesday.’
The final solution for track limits (Lucas di Grassi)
‘Track limit problem plagues modern motorsport. What to do and how to police it? Currently the mainstream solution is either adding kerbs or video analysis by the regulators. This isn’t working well because of a clear problem: it needs to be processed and communicated by a human and the penalties happens way after it happened. Or in the case of kerbs, we have seen cars literally fly off the track like Monza or Spa. It is bad for the regulators, for the drivers and for the public. I’m here to suggest something totally different.’
American ace Bryce Aron joins to bid for the title with Motopark (Euroformula Open)
‘American driver Bryce Aron will contest this season’s Euroformula Open with Team Motopark, it was announced today. The Illinois-born 19-year-old ace steps up after a successful two-year spell in GB3, culminating in eight top ten finishes and three podiums. The former Team USA Scholarship winner is targeting the Euroformula crown despite being unfamiliar with the majority of circuits that he will be visiting in 2023.’
Prema Racing launches brand-new Karting operation (Prema)
‘Prema is proud and delighted to announce its entry into the world of kart racing. The team will join forces with Kart Republic for a high-level programme to provide young drivers with a full ladder from their first competitive experiences in racing to the doorstep of its pinnacle.’
Christian Ho completes Campos Racing’s driver line-up for 2023 Spanish F4 season (Campos Racing)
‘He stepped up to single-seater racing last year making his debut in the F4 Spain and made very solid, steady progress. In fact, after the halfway point of the season the Singaporean-Korean driver was a regular top five finisher.’
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