Autosport 28/10/21

It’s no longer a surprise when the 2021 Formula 1 season doesn’t play out to the form book. Mercedes hadn’t been beaten to pole at Austin since 2013 before last weekend, and Lewis Hamilton has five victories at the Circuit of The Americas. But Red Bull won the 2021 United States Grand Prix with Max Verstappen. The Red Bull RB16B and Mercedes W12 are close enough that small details can make the difference on any given weekend. The RB16B generally seems marginally the faster, but is clearly not an easy machine to get into the optimal set-up window, and Red Bull had to overturn a deficit to Mercedes in practice to take pole and victory. Alex Kalinauckas explains how the team did it in our report on page 16, which also indicates…

INDYCAR Formula 1 veteran Nico Hulkenberg is in the frame for a switch to the IndyCar Series with Arrow McLaren SP. The team insists that it’s unlikely to run a third car from the start of the 2022 season, but when it does – possibly in the summer – the German is a prime contender. The 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours winner, who won in every series he contested on his way to F1 but somehow never scored a podium in a grand prix, tested an IndyCar for the first time at Barber Motorsports Park on Monday. While he was one second off the pace in the five-car driver-evaluation test around the 2.38-mile course, he turned over 100 laps, and was satisfied. “Overall I think it was a good and successful day,” said…

FORMULA 1 Sydney is mulling over a bid to steal the Australian Grand Prix from rival city Melbourne, according to local reports. Seven Network’s local TV news in Sydney is reporting that the New South Wales government is assessing the bid, the centrepiece of which is reportedly a Monaco-style street circuit winding alongside the city’s famous harbour. According to the report, “sensitive, high-level talks are under way” as NSW looks to pump tens of millions of dollars into major events to accelerate the state’s COVID-19 recovery. Sydney and NSW have been particularly crippled by the virus, with the city – Australia’s largest – only emerging from a months-long lockdown in recent weeks. The earliest Sydney could host the Australian Grand Prix would be 2026, with the Australian Grand Prix Corporation in Melbourne holding a…

FORMULA 1 Highly rated American Logan Sargeant has joined the Williams Formula 1 driver academy on a long-term deal. Sargeant, 20, finished third in last year’s FIA Formula 3 Championship, but was unable to move up the ladder due to a lack of budget. That prompted a last-minute return to the series in 2021, where he finished seventh. Sargeant had been due to test in IndyCar for AJ Foyt Racing at Barber Motorsports Park this week, only for that to be called off when his deal with Williams emerged. “It’s a team with not only a fantastic history, but a great track record of bringing young talent into Formula 1,” said Sargeant. “I am really excited to begin working with the team and can’t wait to hit the ground running.” Sargeant is looked after…

LE MANS 24 HOURS Toyota has identified and solved the fuel-pressure issue that threatened to rip victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours out of its grasp. The fix will be in place for the resumption of the World Endurance Championship in Bahrain this weekend. The issue forced the Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe team to come up with what technical director Pascal Vasselon described as a“creative fix” to get its two Le Mans Hypercars to the finish in first and second positions at the French enduro in August. It has revealed that it was caused by a mix of grease and polyurethane particles blocking the fuel filter on each car. Toyota believed it was on top of the fuel problems that had hit the #8 GR010 HYBRID at the previous round of the…

WEC/IMSA Felipe Nasr looks bound for Porsche’s LMDh project. The news that Tristan Nunez will fill the seat the Brazilian occupies at Action Express Racing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for next year provides tacit confirmation that the ex-Sauber Formula 1 driver will be part of Penske Racing’s twin attacks on the North American series and the World Endurance Championship with Porsche in 2024. Nasr, IMSA champion in 2018 with Action Express, has been widely tipped to join Porsche and Penske along with Dane Cameron. The American was part of the Penske Acura set-up in IMSA in 2018-20, winning the title with Juan Pablo Montoya in 2019. No confirmation has been forthcoming from Porsche or Penske on any signings for the LMDh programme. Nasr and Cameron would be part of a roster…