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McLaren ‘Made Steps in terms of Performance’ during Bahrain Test – Andrea Stella

Andrea Stella feels the McLaren F1 Team are ‘ready to go racing’ this weekend in Bahrain despite a tough pre-season test for the team last week.

The final day of the test at the Bahrain International Circuit saw McLaren lose some more valuable track time as they looked to solve an issue surrounding its braking system, and the combination of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri completed the least number of laps across all ten teams.

Stella, who was appointed Team Principal of the Woking-based team during the off-season following Andreas Seidl’s departure to the Sauber F1 Team, says the issue that blighted them during pre-season should be solved before racing gets underway, and he was confident about the pace of the MCL60 going into the new season.

“The final day of pre-season has been challenging, as we had some downtime during the repair of a minor ongoing issue,” said Stella. “We are not concerned about the issue for the race but it required some attention today to ensure we could complete as much of our run plan as possible.

“Despite those small setbacks we could still get some good information about the car in representative night-time conditions. We were able to see that we have made some steps in terms of performance across the test, and we have some valuable information ahead of the race next weekend.

Lando Norris: “We’re in a reasonable place heading into race week”

Lando Norris believes there is potential with his MCL60 ahead of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season despite rumours of the contrary after pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Heading into his fifth season in Formula 1, the McLaren F1 Team driver was pleased to be back behind the wheel of a racing car last week, and he felt the 2023 car is in a ‘reasonable place’ heading into the opening round of the season this weekend in Bahrain.

Norris says everyone at McLaren will be going through the data they gathered during the three days of testing in order to maximise their potential heading into race number one, although he does admit that there is certainly work to be done in order to make the car truly competitive.

“A decent three days here in Bahrain,” said Norris.  “First of all it’s good to be back in a car. Second of all a big improvement from our test last year, getting so many laps under our belt, so the team have done a good job, a big thanks goes to them.

“We know there’s a few things we still need to improve on, but we’re in a reasonable place heading into race week. We’ve gathered a lot of data, which we’ll be analysing thoroughly ahead of next week.

Ganassi signs RJ Anderson, Amanda Sorensen for 2023 Extreme E

Chip Ganassi Racing will rock a new driver pairing for the 2023 Extreme E Championship as RJ Anderson, after being a substitute at the 2022 season finale, has been promoted to permanent driving duties alongside series newcomer Amanda Sorensen.

CGR had fielded the #99 for Kyle LeDuc and Sara Price since the inaugural season in 2021, and the duo scored their first win at the first Island X Prix in July 2022. Anderson filled in for LeDuc, both fellow short course Pro 4 racers, at the season-ending Energy X Prix due to scheduling conflicts, where he and Price finished sixth.

Anderson is one of the top faces in American off-road racing, having won title in both short course and desert competition as a four-time Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series champion and twice Baja 1000 victor.

“I got a small taste of Extreme E last season, and I can’t wait to be back behind the wheel of the GMC Hummer EV for 2023,” said Anderson. “I’m thrilled to head to Saudi Arabia with Amanda and the entire Chip Ganassi Racing team as we get to work and launch a successful season.”

At the age of twenty, Sorensen will be the youngest driver on the Extreme E grid. While she currently competes in Formula DRIFT, during which she became the youngest competitor when she débuted at sixteen in 2019, her roots were in short course. In 2016, she won the Lucas Oil Regional GMZ Unlimited UTV championship, after which she began pursuing drifting.

Aston Martin Missed Stroll’s Presence, Knowledge During Pre-Season Testing – Alonso

Fernando Alonso believes the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team lost out of some valuable information with its AMR23 due to Lance Stroll being absent from pre-season testing last week.

Stroll was injured in a cycling accident prior to the test at the Bahrain International Circuit, with his place in the car being taken by test driver Felipe Drugovich.  The exact details of Stroll’s injuries remain a mystery, whilst he still remains a doubt for the season opening race in Bahrain this weekend.

Alonso took responsibility for much of the testing, running solo on day two and taking the afternoon sessions on the other two days, but the veteran Spaniard believes the team would have had a better test had Stroll been present.

The Spaniard feels Stroll’s knowledge of Aston Martin’s previous cars would have been beneficial, particularly with Alonso having moved across from the BWT Alpine F1 Team for the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season.

“We are learning a lot about the car, I think this car is very different compared to last year,” Alonso is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. “We are changing a lot of things.

Max McLaughlin to make Xfinity debut with FRS

New NASCAR Xfinity Series team FRS Racing has hired their first driver, and it is someone who will also race in the series for the first time. On Tuesday, the team announced Max McLaughlin will drive the #96 Chevrolet Camaro at Watkins Glen International on 19 August.

McLaughlin raced in what is now the ARCA Menards Series East for Hattori Racing Enterprises in 2019, finishing fifth in points with a victory at Watkins Glen. Said win came in dominating fashion as he won the pole and led all thirty-four laps. After a COVID-abbreviated 2020 campaign, McLaughlin elected to return to his roots in dirt track racing; he made his NASCAR début at the 2018 Eldora Truck Series race on dirt and finished twelfth.

Despite being mainly a dirt driver nowadays, he occasionally returned to pavement in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, driving for Mike Curb. In nine career starts since 2020, he has four top tens with a best run of third. He will continue racing with backing from Curb for Gary Putnam Racing in 2023 as well as the Southern Modified Auto Racing Tour.

Nicknamed “Mad Max”, the 22-year-old is the son of former NASCAR driver Mike McLaughlin.

FRS Racing is a new operation led by former Brandonbilt Motorsports technical director Collin Fern. The #96 plans to run eight races in 2023 starting at Richmond Raceway on 1 April. Other drivers have not been revealed.

Leland Honeyman set for Xfinity debut at Phoenix

Leland Honeyman Jr. will make his NASCAR Xfinity Series début at Phoenix Raceway on 11 March, racing the #45 Chevrolet Camaro for Alpha Prime Racing with sponsorship from Klean Freak Body Wipes.

The 18-year-old Honeyman joined Alpha Prime for a part-time schedule in late December, coming off a third-place finish in the ARCA Menards Series East standings for Young’s Motorsports. He scored top tens in the first five of seven races, with the final two rounds—both combination races with the national ARCA Menards Series—being just shy in eleventh and a retirement. He also ran the 2022 Truck Series race at Bristol for Young’s and placed twenty-ninth.

“What Leland was able to do in ARCA East last year was really impressive,” said APR president Tommy Joe Martins at the time of his signing. “It’s even more impressive given his age. We see Leland as a young driver that can grow and develop with us not just this year but for years to come.”

Honeyman was a short track racer prior to entering NASCAR.

The Alpha Prime #45 was piloted by Stefan Parsons in the season opener at Daytona before Rajah Caruth took over at Fontana; the latter will also race at Las Vegas this weekend. Honeyman is scheduled for five races in the car while Sage Karam will run the bulk of the calendar. The team also fields the #43 for mainly Ryan Ellis and the #44 for Jeffrey Earnhardt.

Red Bull Can-Am fined for missed W2RC registration payment

To compete in the 2023 World Rally-Raid Championship, teams were given a deadline of 1 February to get their entry fee payments squared away. Red Bull didn’t seem to get the memo.

On Tuesday, the FIA announced Red Bull’s Can-Am programme, consisting of Red Bull Can-Am Factory Racing and the American Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team, has been given a €1,000 fine after they failed to pay the remaining balance for their season registration upon the deadline’s arrival. According to the FIA, constant notices to the team went unanswered and the payment was only made when a hearing took place on 25 February as the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge prepared to begin.

Under Article 3.3.1 of the FIA Cross-Country Rally Sporting Regulations, teams must register their entry for the W2RC before 11 December 2022 to be eligible for points, but can request for fifty percent of the required payments to be delayed to 1 February 2023 if they are fielding multiple cars in the same category. This proposition is particularly handy for teams who plan to race the W2RC but are focused on the season-opening Dakar Rally, which takes place in January between the two deadlines. Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team consists of the #301 and #302 for Austin Jones and Seth Quintero in T3, while Red Bull Can-Am Factory Racing fields the #304 T3 for Cristina Gutiérrez and #400 T4 for Rokas Baciuška; although T3 driver Mitch Guthrie is part of the former stable, he is not a Can-Am driver.

Scott Abraham, team principal of Red Bull Can-Am and ally South Racing Can-Am, was summoned by stewards for the hearing on Saturday. The FIA alleged Abraham had “been sent emails on more than one occasion with reminders that the obligations he had made had to be fulfilled, but ignored all the reminders he received. Just ignored, not answering absolutely any of the emails, not a single reminder.”

Once administrative checks for the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge began, the FIA’s Sporting Delegate attempted to visit the team about the matter but received “no feedback from the Competitor’s side” and therefore urged the stewards to look into it. During the hearing, Abraham changed his explanation multiple times, claiming he had already made a payment two days prior before adding he ordered the bank transfer of the remaining balance; when asked for evidence, Abraham said he did not have a wi-fi connection, to which the FIA noted it was at the same time that the Sporting Delegate noted the payment had not been received.

Charles Leclerc: Ferrari “made some good steps forward” on set-up during testing

After putting in just under 200 laps around Bahrain International Circuit, Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc feels that the team is in a solid position moving into the opening weekend of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

Leclerc said that the factory’s predictions for how SF-23 would run were generally quite accurate, which was an encouraging sign for the Scuderia going into the weekend of testing.

“We have three very intensive days of testing behind us. The first day was all about running big scans and trying to understand how well our data matches what we predicted at the factory. What we learned is that there is quite a good correlation.”

Set-up was a priority for the team and was a significant point of progress according to Leclerc, who was able to run a variety of set-ups in order to figure out how he felt most comfortable and confident in the car. 

“We focused a lot on set-up work this week and made some good steps forward. I also tried out some different driving styles to test what suits me best in this new car.”

2023 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge: Heat intensifies in Stage 2

The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is called that for a reason. While deserts are naturally very hot environments, temperatures in the United Arab Emirates have run especially high since the start of the rally and did not decline for Stage #2 as it climaxed at 40° C.

Nasser Al-Attiyah did not seem fazed by the heat in the slightest as he continued to dominate the T1 category with his third straight stage win and in even more convincing fashion than Monday, beating fellow Toyota Hilux Yazeed Al-Rajhi by over twelve minutes. While out of contention due to his Stage #1 retirement and subsequent fifty-hour time penalty for changing his engine between legs, Sébastien Loeb clocked in the second best time in a strong rebound as he hopes to salvage stage wins for the World Championship.

While Hiluxes occupied the top two for the second day in a row, Henk Lategan was unable to complete another podium sweep as a problem with his boost knocked him out.

After a roller coaster Sunday and Monday, Mattias Ekström finally hit his stride to win T3 for his second stage win of 2023 but first outside of a preliminary leg (he won the Prologue in T1 at the Dakar Rally). Ekström had to hold off the Red Bull Can-Ams of Seth Quintero and Austin Jones, the former of whom remains the overall leader in the class.

The Red Bulls had won T3 and T4 in the Prologue and Stage #1, but came up short on Tuesday. In T4, Rokas Baciuška was defeated by Mansour Al-Helei by nearly six minutes; Al-Helei is the second non-W2RC competitor to win a stage in Abu Dhabi after Tobias Ebster claimed the Rally2 Prologue.

Oscar Piastri: “I think we’re in reasonable shape for next week”

Oscar Piastri completed his first pre-season testing programme last week with the McLaren F1 Team, and the young Australian is now turning his attention to making his race debut this coming weekend in Bahrain.

Piastri, who replaces his countryman Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren alongside Lando Norris for the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, feels the team are in a ‘reasonable’ position heading into the new campaign, even if the vibes given off by the Woking-based team were not the best.

The former FIA Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3 champion did not have the smoothest of final days on board the MCL60, but despite this, he felt he was able to learn a lot throughout his three sessions in the car, and he is now eager to get back into racing for the first time since the end of 2021.

“Day three done,” Piastri said.  “It wasn’t the smoothest of mornings as we had a few issues with the car. I didn’t get as many laps in as we would have liked.

“But nonetheless we still got some good running, and I’m still learning all the time, which is good. I think we’re in reasonable shape for next week, some more laps would be lovely but that’s always the case.

Aston Martin’s Tom McCullough: “We are looking forward to getting the new season underway”

Tom McCullough, the Performance Director at Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team, was full of praise for everyone at the team both trackside and at the factory for their efforts after a strong performance during pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.

With Lance Stroll side-lined due to injury following a cycling accident, driving responsibilities fell to Fernando Alonso and test driver Felipe Drugovich, and both drivers performed well throughout the test in Sakhir last week.

McCullough says the team are still learning about the strengths and weaknesses of their AMR23, but they acquired a lot of data throughout the three days of testing that should benefit them going into the new FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, which begins this coming weekend in Bahrain.

“Day three is done and dusted,” said McCullough.  “We managed to complete our run plan and got a number of laps on the board with both drivers.

“Felipe did another strong job for us in the morning and Fernando continued in the afternoon. The car ran reliably and again we managed to gather a lot of data. We are still getting to understand the car and learning about various operational and procedural matters, but we have made good progress.

Fernando Alonso: “I think we are in a decent place heading into next week”

Fernando Alonso remains cautious about the potential of the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team heading into the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season despite a strong looking three days of pre-season testing last week at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Alonso, who joined Aston Martin in place of the retiring Sebastian Vettel ahead of the 2023 season, took responsibility for much of the team’s running across the three days as team-mate Lance Stroll was ruled out of testing following a cycling accident.

Alonso has high hopes for the 2023 campaign, but his feet remain firmly on the ground until they know exactly where they are compared to their rivals during the opening weekend of the season in Bahrain.

“It was a good day for us with lots of laps and we have learned a lot about the new car,” said Alonso.  “But it is only testing and we do not know what everyone else is doing so there are still many questions to answer.

“Overall, the car felt competitive across the three days, but we need to compare to the others next week. There is a lot of potential left for us to unlock and I think we are in a decent place heading into next week.

Felipe Drugovich: “I have really enjoyed my time behind the wheel of the AMR23”

Felipe Drugovich says there is a positive feeling within the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team heading into the first race of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season after a good three days of testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.

The Brazilian was drafted in at the last minute to drive in place of Lance Stroll, who was injured just prior to the test in a cycling accident, and he was given time behind the wheel of the AMR23 on days one and three.

Drugovich, the 2022 FIA Formula 2 champion, revealed that the feedback he was giving was very similar to that was being said by two-time Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso, and overall, it was an enjoyable test for the young Brazilian.

“I have really enjoyed my time behind the wheel of the AMR23 and I think we have made good progress across the three days of running,” said Drugovich.  

“It was great to get back in the car this morning and I am pleased with the set-up changes that have been made since my first day in the car; the team have done a really good job implementing the feedback Fernando and I have given.

“I feel comfortable that the car does what I say and not the other way around” – Nico Hülkenberg

Nico Hülkenberg was pleased to get significant mileage behind the wheel of his VF-23 during the pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit as he continued adjusting to life back in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship after three years away.

Hülkenberg was brought in by the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team to replace Mick Schumacher for the 2023 season and completed almost two hundred laps in Bahrain across the three days of the test.

He was pleased with the way Haas’ 2023 car was handling throughout the test, and he says they acquired a lot of information that should help them set the car up for the first race of the season next weekend.

“All in all, it’s been good,” said Hülkenberg.  “I’ve got mileage in the car and I think I got what I was personally looking for, to get off on a good foot with the car, and find a good connection and harmony.

“I feel comfortable that the car does what I say and not the other way around. We’ve collected huge amounts of data that the team will go through and analyze over the next few days, and it’s all information that’s important for a driver as well.”

“Good progress from last year so now we need to see where we stack-up” – Guenther Steiner

Guenther Steiner believes the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team will be a part of the midfield battle during the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, but whereabouts in the midfield is yet to be seen.

Haas enjoyed a productive pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit, with Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg both completing a significant number of laps, with the final day on Saturday seeing the duo complete one hundred and seventy-two laps.

This meant the team completed four hundred and fifteen laps across the three days, and Steiner, the Team Principal of Haas, says it was a very smooth test from start to finish with very few issues, and much better than in previous years where reliability was often a concern.

However, it is unclear to Steiner where Haas sit compared to their rivals, although he expects them to be involved in the scrap amid the midfield in 2023.

“It was a very good day today – more than 170 laps completed without an issue,” said Steiner.  “A lot of test program, race simulation with one completed and one almost completed, so a very good day.


RaceScene.com