Motorsport News October 20, 2022

Imagine the disappointment. After joining Motorsport News as a staff member charged with covering national racing, I was sure that one of my first assignments – just three weeks after becoming a fully-fledged member of the team – was to be to head to Brands Hatch and cover the 1995 Formula Ford Festival. The UK season had been a belter between likeable Belgian Bas Leinders in his Swift and the works Van Diemen of the ebullient Kevin McGarrity. I had stocked up on notebooks and bought an extra Biro. This was my chance to shine. Except, it turned out, it wasn’t. The national racing news desk was a two-man partnership in those days, and my senior, in his wisdom, decided that the Formula Ford Festival would be his territory. Instead, I would be…

Red Bull and Aston Martin have both been found to have breached the budget cap regulations during the 2021 Formula 1 season, the FIA has reported. The sport’s governors determined that Red Bull exceeded the £114 million limit. The FIA said the team’s overspend was minor, which means that it was less than 5% of the cap (£6.49 million). While both Red Bull and Aston Martin were also found to have committed procedural breaches. The actions the FIA can take are now multiple, and they range from a deduction of points from the drivers’ and/or teams’ championship from the season in question, limitations on future aerodynamics or other testing and a further reduction of the teams’ cost cap. The FIA has yet to make it clear which path it will take, and says it…

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner says that he was certain his squad had not broken any cost-cap regulations during the 2021 campaign and he was waiting for the FIA to finish its investigations before admitting liability. The issue came to light at the recent Singapore Grand Prix and drew criticism from rival team bosses, but Horner was adamant that his operation was in the clear. He repeated those remarks to Radio 4 last week on the Today programme. “We’re very confident we’re within the cap and within those financial regulations,” he said. “So we’ve been shocked at the speculation and accusations that have been made by other teams. We wait for the FIA to conclude their process and we wait to see what comes out. Anything other than compliance we’ll be…

Formula 2 title-chaser Theo Pourchaire will make his maiden free practice outing in Formula 1 when he joins the Alfa Romeo team for the United States Grand Prix. The Frenchman, who is second in the F2 points with the ART Grand Prix team, has been co-opted onto the team’s driving strength and will be its test and reserve driver in 2023, taking over from Pole Robert Kubica. Pourchaire, 19, drove a 2019-specification Alfa in a private test at the Hungaroring last August. At the Circuit of the Americas, he will take over the C42 machine regularly driven by Valtteri Bottas. Pourchaire said: “It will be my second time behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, but in some ways, it will feel like it’s the first time, as this time it will…

Formula 1 drivers have proposed a new solution to check circuit conditions during pre-race downpours by introducing ‘information’ laps to help them assess how wet a circuit is. After delayed starts at the last two grands prix due to inclement weather, the Grand Prix Drivers’Association [GPDA] has said that the races should be allowed limited running on the circuit – be that behind a safety car of on their own – to make a judgement call on the track and report back to race control. It is thought this would be more relevant than a call from the safety car driver. The move, which has been drawn up by the racers and will be submitted to the FIA at the US Grand Prix in Austin this weekend, has been backed by GPDA…

Indycar race winner Pato O’Ward and Alex Palou will drive for McLaren in forthcoming Formula 1 free practice sessions Spaniard Palou, who won the 2021 IndyCar title for the Chip Ganassi Racing team, will handle Daniel Ricciardo’s MCL36 at the American Grand Prix this weekend while O’Ward will drive Norris’s machine in free practice 1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 17. Both racers have already undertaken mileage in an MC35M chassis as part of their driver development process. McLaren needs to field two younger drivers to fulfil the sporting regulations. Team principal Andreas Seidl said: “We’re pleased to give Alex and Pato the opportunity to take part in free practice sessions with McLaren. “With Alex’s great successes in IndyCar, it will be useful for the team to get his…