In the round-up: Aston Martin plan to carry the momentum from their strong start to the 2023 season into next year.
Aston Martin’s strong start to the 2023 season, including four podiums from the first five grands prix, has freed up to think about next year’s car earlier than usual.
The design and development of the chassis they create for next season is unlikely to start until after the team moves into its new factory, which is due to begin this month. The team’s technical director Dan Fallows says looking forward to continuing the development of this year’s Aston Martin AMR23 into its successor as soon as he can.
“We definitely want to start next’s year car as early as we possibly can. The game really for us is to make sure that we don’t sacrifice this year’s car,” he said.
“Inevitably it will be a form of evolution of this year’s car. So everything we can do to get data, to get updates on this year’s car will certainly inform it. But yes, we will be looking to start as early as possible.”
With no major rules changes confirmed yet for the 2024 season, the AMR23’s successor will be an “evolutionary step”, says Fallows. However he said the team “don’t want to be any less aggressive with the way we go about developing this car than we were going into this year.”
Virtuosi Racing’s Jack Doohan was fastest on the first day of Formula 2’s in-season test at Barcelona, which concludes this Friday.
The two Wednesday sessions marked the first time that drivers were able to experience the new configuration of the circuit which removes the final chicane. As a result, lap times were significantly faster than in previous years, and Alpine junior Doohan led the way by 0.447 seconds over Prema’s Ferrari junior Ollie Bearman.
Frederik Vesti (Prema), Enzo Fittipaldi (Rodin Carlin) and Amaury Cordeel (Virtuosi) filled the next positions. Sixth overall was Campos Racing’s Kush Maini, with the time which put him on top at the end of the morning session.
There were two red flag stoppages during the day, caused by MP Motorsport’s Dennis Hauger going into the gravel in the morning and Carlin’s Zane Maloney spinning in the afternoon.
The Formula 4-spec F1 Academy series followed up their races in Valencia last weekend by testing at the track this week.
Campos driver Nerea Marti who set the pace, lapping fastest in all four sessions. However she finished the test with a gap of just 0.018s to MP’s Hamda Al Qubaisi. ART Grand Prix’s Lena Buhler was third fastest, and Prema’s championship leader Marta Garcia was fifth having covered the most laps of anyone.
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Motor racing links of interest:
Miami GP organisers exploring future night race possibility (Racer)
'The organisers of the Miami Grand Prix have held tentative discussions about changing the event to a night race at some stage in future.'
Stroll explains ‘pissed off’ Miami GP weekend (Speedcafe)
'Stroll finished 12th, just two seconds outside of a points-paying top-ten finish. 'It’s great for the team but I’m pretty pissed off at my weekend,' said Stroll. 'I didn’t score points, I wanted more out of it.''
F1 drivers criticise Miami’s pre-race pomp. Vegas show may be bigger (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
'The stars of F1 stood under the hot Florida sun mingling with LL Cool J, the chosen A-list celebrity tasked with hosting an elaborate pre-race ceremony ahead of the Miami GP. The festivities in the 30 minutes leading up to the race featured a new single by Will.i.am created specifically for F1. It was all so very American. And it irked many of the F1 stars.'
G4 Racing fighting to keep Belov after team’s strong start in FREC (Formula Scout)
'Michael Belov made a surprise return to Formula Regional Europe at Imola with G4 Racing, which is working to run him in further races. Belov took two victories with G4 in a part-season in 2021, and team principal Patrick Gnos is seeking sponsorship to continue to run him after using 'our own money' to put him in the car for Imola.'
Marc Priestley's fan experience at Miami GP (Linkedin)
'As a trackside fan I found it frustrating not being able to see a screen clearly or hear commentary well with limited network coverage, my phone couldn’t help. The event could’ve definitely done a better job on that front.'
F1 23 brings the world's biggest motorsport back to PC VR this June (Upload VR)
'F1 23 will only support VR on PC.'
Oscar Piastri: Live from Miami (YouTube)
'The F1R The Girls podcast speaks with McLaren driver Oscar Piastri ahead of the Miami GP. Oscar talks about what it means to be racing in the USA for the first time, the advantages of being the youngest driver on the grid, his favourite track, and much more. Tune in to hear some rapid fire hot takes.'
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