In the round-up: Seventh place in the Mexican Grand Prix has left Daniel Ricciardo upbeat about his prospects for the Brazilian Grand Prix.
In brief
Ricciardo “looking forward” to following up his Mexican GP result
Ricciardo says that starting fourth and finishing seventh in Mexico City has raised expectations for Interlagos this weekend. He described Mexico as “a great weekend from start to finish” and said he was very happy with the performance. “We had a good car and made the most of it,” he added.
He noted that this weekend is another sprint format after Austin and that he feels more confident in the team’s set-up approach. Having raced two weekends in a row since his return, Ricciardo said he is keen to tackle the sprint format at Interlagos. At the same time, he cautioned that it’s difficult to know how well the track will suit their car given the limited number of races he’s completed since his comeback.
Reflecting on Mexico, he said the team did better than expected, which gives them confidence heading into Brazil. “I’d hope we can have another Q3, top-10 car,” he said.
Formula E changes broadcast production company
Formula E will switch its English-language race production next season to British company Whisper. Co-founded by former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard, Whisper previously produced W Series broadcasts and has led Channel 4’s F1 coverage in the UK since 2016.
For Formula E, Whisper plans to expand pre-race coverage by starting broadcasts an hour before the lights go out, introduce a magazine-style show to air the night before race weekends, and provide enhanced coverage of practice and qualifying. A new UK broadcast partner has not been confirmed following the expiration of Channel 4’s television deal.
Football pundit Jermaine Jenas has been linked to joining the presenting team, which already includes former racing drivers Karun Chandhok, Dario Franchitti and Allan McNish.
MP Motorsport retain Dennis Hauger for 2024
MP Motorsport has confirmed Dennis Hauger for its 2024 FIA Formula 2 line-up. The 20-year-old, who won the FIA Formula 3 championship two years ago, made his F2 debut with Prema in 2022 and finished 10th in the standings as a rookie.
This season Hauger moved to MP, added two more wins to his record and retained his support from the Red Bull junior programme. He heads into the final round of the season in contention to finish fourth overall. For that weekend he will share the garage with his 2024 team-mate Franco Colapinto, who will step up to F2 to replace Jehan Daruvala, who is moving to Formula E.
Red Bull and Team Redline partner up
Esports rivals Red Bull and Team Redline have announced a multi-year partnership under which Redline will manage performance for Red Bull’s sim racing operation and establish a Red Bull Sim Racing performance facility at Redline’s headquarters.
The announcement also confirmed Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing’s 2024 plans. As the most successful team on the grid, they will retain their current driver and content creator roster and continue to pursue excellence on both virtual and real-world tracks. Redline already collaborates with Red Bull F1 driver Max Verstappen, who has competed for them in the Le Mans Virtual Series.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
‘We are preparing young drivers for F1‘: Pirelli on 2023 season and future of F3 tyre supply (FIA Formula 3)
“Last year, the medium compound was not degrading at the level expected and so we decided to develop a new compound with higher degradation, which we did. If I had to make a final judgement on the season, I would say that, in this case, we are now on the other side a bit too much and the tyre degrades a bit too much.”
FIA gives background to Formula E pre-season battery fire (Racecar Engineering)
The FIA has provided details on the battery fire that disrupted Formula E’s pre-season test in Valencia. The incident occurred during checks after Robert Shwartzman’s DS E-Tense FE23 stopped on track.
Gran Turismo 7 update with SPEC II 1.40 arrives – new cars, track and features (PlayStation Blog)
The SPEC II 1.40 update for Gran Turismo 7 introduces seven new cars and additional content, bringing fresh options for players and fans of the series.
A night in Tokyo with Mick Schumacher and a Mercedes 190E Evo II (Top Gear)
An account of driving through Tokyo’s vast and complex road network, featuring Mick Schumacher behind the wheel of a Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II.
Armstrong gains confidence in preparation for full season (IndyCar)
Armstrong enjoyed a consistent season with several top-half finishes and points-scoring races. His results reflect strong performance against an experienced and competitive field.
Rinicella, a year as a Spanish F4 protagonist and now FRegional with an F3 objective (Italiaracing)
Rinicella aims to compete at the top of FRegional and pursue a move to Formula 3 in 2025 when the series introduces a new car.
How the Ilott-JHR partnership ended in divorce (Racer)
An examination of the split between Juncos Hollinger Racing and Callum Ilott, exploring the reasons behind the separation and its implications for the parties involved.
Brawn: The impossible Formula 1 story | official trailer (YouTube)
The documentary charts the remarkable story of BrawnGP and its surprise Formula 1 title. The official trailer previews the film’s release.
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 to us via the contact form.
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Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
Delighted to confirm that I will be the lead commentator on Season 10 of FIA Formula E. It was a dream to work with the team in Rome and London for S9 and I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to tell you all the stories as they unfold in 2024!
— Tom Brooks (@TomBrooksComms) November 1, 2023
Join AJ Foyt and Christian Pedersen at the International Maintenance Conference, where they will present a RAP Talk on “The Importance of Asset Management and Teamwork in Indycar Racing”.
— IFS (@ifs) November 1, 2023
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
Verstappen matched four-time F1 champion Alain Prost’s tally of 51 wins at last weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix, reaching the mark in 11 fewer starts. A reader reflects on how Prost’s record includes many DNFs alongside his wins, highlighting the different eras and challenges each driver faced.
Not to take anything away from Max, but this really does show what a monster Prost was. Those 51 wins come alongside 52 DNFs versus ‘only’ 26 for Max. Prost was racing with world champions and future world champions as team mates too.
Mr Ed
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Narboza22, Rafael, G and Greggriffiths!
On this day in motorsport
- 15 years ago today Lewis Hamilton won his first world championship after an unforgettable final-lap climax in the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos