In the round-up: Esteban Ocon warns that drivers will face a new challenge judging gaps to the walls at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit because of larger wheels on this year’s F1 cars.
In brief
Driver visibility at Jeddah will be “tricky” with 18 inch wheels, says Ocon
F1 tyres have grown in overall height this season, increasing from 690mm to 720mm, and new regulations also add bodywork covering part of the tyre. Several drivers expect those changes to reduce visibility, an issue that becomes more relevant at street circuits such as Jeddah, which the championship visits for the first time this year.
Ocon says judging proximity to barriers will be more difficult. “It’s going to be tricky for sure,” he told RaceFans. “The first time we are going to be in real conditions and trying to get close to the rails it’s going to be a challenge, but we’re ready to take it.”
Promoters of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix have already carried out modifications to the circuit aimed at improving sight lines for the drivers.
- Jeddah defines track changes in response to drivers’ safety concerns
Chadwick retained at Williams Driver Academy for 2022 season
Two-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick will remain part of the Williams Driver Academy for the 2022 season, marking her fourth year with the programme.
Chadwick recently confirmed she will return to W Series for its third season after being unable to secure sufficient funding to compete in Formula 2 or FIA Formula 3. She will continue to work with Williams on simulator programmes designed to support her race preparation.
“I’m delighted to continue working with the Williams team,” Chadwick said. “I’ve had a lot of support from everyone there throughout the last three years and the simulator work I’ve done has been hugely valuable for my race preparation. I’m looking forward to continuing my programme throughout the 2022 season and I know that the team will be cheering me on during my upcoming 2022 W Series campaign; I’m really proud to continue representing the Williams name on the grid.”
Williams also confirmed that Jack Aitken will remain its reserve driver. Aitken, a Formula 2 race winner, made a one-off start for Williams at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix when he stepped in for George Russell. He missed time last year after a GT crash at Spa.
Vettel debriefed with Aston Martin from quarantine – Krack
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack revealed that Sebastian Vettel joined the team’s Bahrain Grand Prix debrief while recovering from Covid-19.
Vettel missed the season opener after testing positive for coronavirus and was replaced by Nico Hülkenberg. Krack said Vettel was involved remotely and appeared to be improving.
“He was participating in the debrief now,” Krack said. “He was sounding less rough than he was sounding a couple of days ago. But we don’t know. We need to see how he goes for the next days. We hope he will be back soon.”
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
No matter what is thrown at us, we will continue to do what we do best: push as hard as we can and never give up. Thanks for your incredible support, even in these tough situations. For now, we’re going to regroup, come back next week in Saudi and give it our best. Cheers.
— Zak Brown (@ZBrownCEO) March 21, 2022
Laura’s at the wheel! 👶#HaasF1 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/qWuzFbmBV1
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) March 21, 2022
Good hustling out there 👊🏻 @HulkHulkenberg
— Lance Stroll (@lance_stroll) March 21, 2022
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Five things we learned at the Bahrain Grand Prix (Williams)
“Alex was calm and collected throughout the race and he has had an excellent start to his Williams career. Qualifying and racing with a new team is never straightforward as there are so many procedures to learn and relationships to form. However, after solid simulator and winter testing programmes, he was able to acquit himself very well all weekend.”
Honda just built the world’s most advanced wind tunnel in Ohio (Ars Technica)
“Despite the sport’s well-funded emphasis on air flow, F1 is no longer the last word in rolling road wind tunnels. Now that honour belongs to Honda Automotive Laboratories of Ohio, where a new $124 million, 192 mph (310 kph) facility is about to commence operations.”
This Alpine A4810 concept is powered by hydrogen (Top Gear)
“The Alpine A4810 concept is a two-seater berlinette with aerodynamics heavily influenced by Formula 1 and afternoons spent doodling through double maths.”
(Video) George Russell replies to fans on the internet (British GQ)
“On this episode of Actually Me, F1 racer George Russell goes undercover on the Internet and replies to real comments from fans on Twitter, Instagram, Quora, Wikipedia, Reddit, YouTube and TikTok.”
We always endeavour to credit original sources. If you have a tip for a link relating to single-seater motorsport to feature in the next RaceFans round-up please send it via the contact form.
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Comment of the day
The 2022 F1 season is one race down, but how much can fans really read into the results? There’s plenty still to learn about the new order in Formula 1, says @sonnycrockett…
I’m delighted for Ferrari fans who must’ve woken this morning with a very warm glow!
Looking at the rest of the field, I can’t help thinking back to the first race of the V6 hybrid era, Australia 2014. Rosberg’s win hinted at what was to come from Mercedes but the rest of the results gave nothing away. McLaren came home second and third – albeit after Ricciardo was disqualified – a level of performance that they failed to match for a very long time.
Clearly Ferrari have a great car and Red Bull have some raw pace but the reality is that this new era of F1 will take some time to define itself. In the meantime my hope is that, like MotoGP, we get different teams taking podiums each weekend, depending on the type of circuit, and some great wheel-to-wheel racing throughout.
@sonnycrockett
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Hamilton Wc 09, Juan Pablo Heidfeld, Shaneb457, Chris and Mike Shefford!
On this day in motorsport
- 30 years ago today Nigel Mansell won in Mexico while Michael Schumacher took the first podium of his career