In the round-up: Zhou Guanyu believes the progress he has made in his first season as a Formula 1 driver has been masked by Alfa Romeo’s loss of competitiveness.
In brief
Zhou confident he’s made “huge step” during rookie season
Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free
Zhou, Alfa Romeo’s rookie, says he has taken a “huge step” as a driver over his first 16 Formula 1 races.
Currently 17th in the drivers’ standings, Zhou scored the team’s first point in seven races at Monza. He feels his driving has improved since the start of the season, but Alfa Romeo’s slower development relative to rivals has prevented him from demonstrating that progress on the results sheet.
“It’s a little bit of a shame because I did a huge step during the season, I think from Montreal onwards,” Zhou said. “But then the other teams made bigger upgrades, so we fell behind in performance and couldn’t show it.
“If I’d made that step earlier in the season we might have scored more points for the team. Now I just have to give everything every weekend.”
Electric junior series offers free seat for 2023
ERA, the inaugural international electric-powered junior single-seater series, has launched a ‘Next Gen Racer’ competition that will award one driver a free seat for the series’ 2023 season.
After a delayed debut this year, when the series ran a single race at Zolder, ERA will stage several test days in November at Pau-Arnos in France. Drivers pay to enter the competition and are assessed both on and off track. The winner will receive a 2023 season contract covering the entire championship and pre-season testing.
Runners-up may be selected as reserve drivers for the series. ERA has not yet released its 2023 calendar.
F3 champion Victor Martins wants to stay with Art GP for F2 step
Formula 3 champion Victor Martins aims to move up to Formula 2 in 2023 with the Art Grand Prix team he won his F3 title with this year.
“I did what I had to do this year,” Martins said. “I made mistakes, but I’m the kind of driver who will improve straight away when I realise I haven’t done a good job.”
He added that he feels fully prepared for F2 and trusts the support he has received from Alpine, which placed him in the right team and category. Martins hopes Alpine will back his move to F2 with a top team, and he says Art GP would be his preferred destination.
“If I have the right mindset and do a good job over the winter, and then go into F2, I don’t see any reason why I wouldn’t be considered for an Alpine F1 seat in the future,” he said.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter andgo ad-free
Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free
Alonso will be ‘challenging’ for Aston Martin, says team boss Mike Krack (BBC)
Mike Krack says Fernando Alonso will be a strong challenger for Aston Martin after leaving Alpine, which couldn’t meet the terms he wanted to remain with the team.
Spa 24 Hours race prompted into date change due to F1 calendar (SRO)
SRO Motorsports Group adjusted its European calendars for 2023 after F1 scheduled the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps on 29–30 July, a date traditionally used by the 24 Hours of Spa.
Marcos Flack adds sixth racing programme of year with British F4 return (Formula Scout)
Fortec Motorsports returns to British F4 with two cars, adding Marcos Flack — who is also active in GB3, ADAC F4, Italian F4, Spanish F4 and Indy Pro 2000 — to its line-up.
S5000 rookies complete successful open test at The Bend (S5000)
A successful S5000 open test at The Bend saw 15 drivers complete over 350 laps on the West Circuit, introducing newcomers from various categories to the performance of S5000 cars.
Thrilling 2022 season propels upward trajectory for IndyCar (IndyCar)
IndyCar reported strong TV and streaming numbers in 2022, with half of the season’s races topping one million viewers and record streaming figures compared to 2021.
We endeavour to credit original sources. If you have a tip for a single-seater motorsport link to feature in the next RaceFans round-up please send it in via the contact form.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter andgo ad-free
Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
Add all 24 Formula 1 race dates for 2023 to your calendar with one tap here:https://t.co/qDEVw9EEhM#F1
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) September 20, 2022
The third round of the Chinese Formula 4 championship on the new Pingtan street circuit has been postponed from this weekend to November 4-6 as the inaugural Pingtan International Racing Festival did not gather all the permissions required to run on its planned date. pic.twitter.com/0RJUUbUzK0
— Formula Scout (@FormulaScout) September 20, 2022
It’s been an honor to work for Arrow McLaren SP for more than a decade. As I step away, I am most proud of growing this team into a powerhouse able to fight for championships and wins each week. I now look forward to spending time with my own growing family and whatever’s next! pic.twitter.com/CeJAsCY0Mo
— Taylor Kiel (@taylorkiel) September 20, 2022
Out on track 🤩
Putting the guys through their paces at Fiorano on day two 👌#FDA @ACI_Italia pic.twitter.com/TCxSbVOPAy
— Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy (@insideFDA) September 20, 2022
I’ve thought that a set number of fixed and rotating calendar dates would be a good way to alleviate F1’s calendar bloat, but then people pointed out, good luck getting some of these circuits and promoters to miss their biggest pay day every other year
— RJオコンネル 💙💜🩷 (@rjoconnell) September 20, 2022
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter andgo ad-free
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
The newly presented 2023 F1 calendar expands the world championship from 22 to 24 events. That growth adds pressure on costs and the durability of parts across a record-length season. Tyler suggests one rule change to ease the strain on teams and improve racing.
If this change finally tips the domino that increases the engine allocation from three to four, the teams will be able to run each engine measurably harder throughout the year. Instead of each engine needing to last 7.67 races, now they’d have to last just 6.0. That’s a healthy over-20% mileage reduction for each engine to handle.
Tyler S
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Nick!
On this day in motorsport
- 25 years ago today Jacques Villeneuve reduced Michael Schumacher’s points lead by winning the Austrian Grand Prix after surprise leader Jarno Trulli retired