In the round-up: Sergio Perez is confident his Red Bull seat is not at threat despite his ongoing slump in form.
In brief
Perez “not worried” about being dropped by Red Bull
Perez qualified 15th for last weekend’s British Grand Prix, marking a fifth successive failure to reach Q3, during which time team mate Max Verstappen has claimed five poles in a row. He recovered to finish sixth, while Verstappen took his eighth win of the season, but Perez said he wasn’t bothered by rumours over his future at the team.
“I couldn’t care less if I’m honest,” he told media including RaceFans on Sunday. “Being in Formula 1 13 years, I’ve seen it all, but I’m not worried about any of that. I’m mainly focussed on getting my season on-track and making sure I keep enjoying this.”
Perez insisted he has “full support” from team principal Christian Horner and Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko. “The whole team is fully backing me and they know what I can do, they know my potential and they’re fully behind me.”
Marko put public pressure on Nyck de Vries before sacking him from Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri yesterday, and replacing him with Red Bull’s reserve driver Daniel Ricciardo who received the news while testing for the team.
Pirelli’s prototype 2024 tyres get more testing
Several Formula 1 teams were in action at Silverstone on Tuesday for the first part of a two-day test evaluating tyres from Pirelli that are designed to be used without needing tyre blankets. A vote will take place this month on whether F1 should ban the use of blankets for 2024, and there have already been several tests of the rubber this year.
In addition to Red Bull’s Ricciardo, who went fastest with a 1’27.415 and completed 109 laps, Haas duo Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen were present – with the former driving in the morning and the latter doing the afternoon work – as well as Williams’ Alex Albon. Pietro Fittipaldi will drive for Haas on Wednesday, and Logan Sargeant will be in at Williams.
Retired four-times F1 champion Sebastian Vettel also appeared at the test, and was spotted in the garage of his former team Red Bull, ahead of his appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend.
Andretti calls Alonso “the complete driver”
Andretti Autosport boss Michael Andretti has called Aston Martin F1 driver Fernando Alonso “the complete driver”.
“He’s not only fast, but he’s very smart. He approaches things from a 50,000-foot level. I know when he drove for us at Indianapolis, I was very impressed with him,” said Andretti.
“He already felt confident in driving the car and the [engineering the] car part. But he was looking at all the other things that could catch you out, like how do you do the restart? What do you do on pit stops? All those little, little details he was really on top of. And I was really impressed with that. In terms of a driver, I think he’s as complete a driver as you could ever ask for.”
Andretti is convinced the 41-year-old is capable of winning the third title he has been seeking since 2007. “I think if he was in the right car he can,” said Andretti. “The age doesn’t mean a whole lot. It’s all still here, like how much you really want it in your heart. And you can see that for Fernando he’s still young at heart, I think he still has a few really good years of being competitive.”
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Toronto closing in on IndyCar contract extension (Racer)
‘Green Savoree Race Promotions, which operates four of the 17 IndyCar races, is close to formalising a new agreement that will keep its marquee Toronto street race on the calendar. This week’s Honda Indy Toronto is the final race under GSRP’s current contract with Penske Entertainment, but the event president says fans can look forward to making more visits to the track.’
Martins hopes he’s ‘opened the box’ with maiden F2 win (Formula Scout)
‘Victor Martins’ hard work and analysis finally paid off when the ART Grand Prix driver claimed his maiden Formula 2 win in the feature race at Silverstone.’
Howard Hughes Parkway extension near Strip could be dicey situation (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
‘Although it would be a relatively short extension, it would open up a new access point for multiple points of interest that are in varying stages of development. F1’s paddock building, the MSG Sphere and the Oakland Athletics’ planned 30,000-seat ballpark at the Tropicana would all be in the vicinity of various stretches of Howard Hughes Parkway.’
The best in the world; Thank you to UK motorsport’s volunteer community (Motorsport UK)
‘We are incredibly proud to extend our thanks and gratitude to our volunteer community for their commitment and dedication in delivering the 2023 British Grand Prix. The volunteer community in British motorsport sets the benchmark on the F1 calendar. Highly regarded internationally, every member of the 960 strong team this year epitomised the highest standards expected in support of the world’s best drivers.’
‘Neon has acquired distribution rights to Ferrari, the Michael Mann-directed epic film starring Adam Driver and Penélope Cruz. It will get a Christmas Day 2023 theatrical release. The movie is expected to make its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. It is one of the most eagerly awaited films of the movie-awards season, and Neon will be a strong driver for the picture.’
Planned $89 million renovation ‘a complete reimagination’ of IMS Museum experience (IndyStar)
‘For the first time in four decades, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, the home of the Racing Capital of the World’s 114 years of history, will close its doors for nearly 18 months as it undergoes an $89 million transformational renovation. When it reopens in April 2025, visitors will be greeted with a brand-new elevated mezzanine space overlooking its gallery of winning cars and experience a brand-new STEM learning centre featuring a racing simulator and tools equipped to put fans through a pitstop competition.’
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Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Abishek, Sohan and Speeder_76!
On this day in motorsport
- 25 years ago today Michael Schumacher won the British Grand Prix for Ferrari despite serving a drive-through penalty on the final lap
