Contents: Esteban Ocon says he would be “very happy” to race again in Saudi Arabia.
In short
Ocon would be ‘very happy’ to return to Saudi Arabia with security guarantees
Esteban Ocon said he would be “very happy” to race in Saudi Arabia again in the future if Formula 1 and the Saudi government could offer the same assurances on safety.
Last month’s race in Jeddah was marred by a missile strike on a nearby oil factory during Friday’s testing, leading to a meeting of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association over whether the pilots were running. The drivers agreed to race after being assured that the rest of the event would be safe.
“For Saudi Arabia, of course, there were concerns, obviously,” Ocon said. “We spoke at length with all the drivers but once we spoke to the authorities and Formula 1 they reassured us that there was no danger for us and that we were all safe.
“So we were really happy to race in the future. Of course, if it’s the same, I’m very happy to go back to Jeddah and to continue to participate in the races on the calendar and to trust the FIA and to Formula 1 for our safety.”
Young drivers ‘don’t need academies to shine’ – Michel
Young drivers in junior formulas don’t need to be part of F1 driver academies to succeed, says Formula 2 and Formula 3 boss Bruno Michel.
A large proportion of Formula 2 and Formula 3 drivers belong to junior driver programs of F1 teams. However, F2 championship leader Felipe Drugovich and third-placed Richard Verschoor are not.
“I think it shows one thing for sure, that you don’t need to be part of an academy to shine,” Michel said. “It’s not automatic and the reason most of the time the academy drivers shine is because the academies try to recruit the best drivers.
“If they’re doing a good job – and most of them are doing a very solid job – they certainly have good drivers in their academies. Now you sometimes have drivers who aren’t part of an academy and who do a very good job. I think it proves that you don’t have to be in an academy to do a good job. You have to be strong. Will it be more of a problem for them to going to Formula 1 in the future? That’s the real question they have to ask themselves, because when you’re part of an academy, it’s quite automatic.
Saucy fastest on day one of F3 test
FIA Formula 3 rookie Grégoire Saucy was fastest of all on day one of testing in Barcelona.
The ART driver set the best time in 1’32.247, almost two tenths of a second faster than Franco Colapinto for Van Amersfoort. Victor Martins was third fastest in the second of three ART cars, with Trident’s Zane Maloney fourth fastest. Prema driver Arthur Leclerc, second in the championship, finished 14th.
The second and final day of testing will take place today, before Formula 3 join F2 and Formula 1 at Imola next weekend for their third and fourth rounds of the championship.
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social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
Under construction in Northamptonshire, Aston Martin’s new £200m F1 factory is due to open in 2023. The 400,000 square foot campus will be the new home of the Aston team Martin Cognizant Formula One™. #UKmfg🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/Sr13ettcoW
—Jefferson (@Jefferson_MFG) April 15, 2022
Ahh yes, family grandstand tickets at $1,000 each (before taxes)!
For the price of a decent-topped 2000 Mazda Miata, you too could bring a family of 4 to the Miami GP! pic.twitter.com/f5eNv9Nnva
— Matt Wishart (@MatteAyce) April 15, 2022
Someone asked me about the Las Vegas circuit yesterday and I compared it to the old Hockenheimring (it even has an Ostkurve), but in a city rather than a forest. And of course Alonso is the only active driver to have raced in a Grand Prix on the old Hockenheimring 🙂 https://t.co/rOEmyatWaE
— Sean Kelly (@virtualstatman) April 14, 2022
Three special liveries for this year #Indy500. 😏
Buckle up for 19.04.22. pic.twitter.com/IKqvMNMRS1
— Arrow McLaren SP (@ArrowMcLarenSP) April 15, 2022
Lookin’ sharp, @Charles_Leclerc!
A first look at the championship leader in F1 Manager 2022 👀#F1 pic.twitter.com/CuBokD0bHs
– F1® 2022 Manager (@F1Manager) April 15, 2022
Connections
Interesting motorsport links:
The Melbourne GP will open the 2024 Formula 1 season (Herald Sun)
“Although the timetable has yet to be finalised, Melbourne is in pole position to be the first city to hear the engines of F1 roar in 2024.”
Why F1 fears the two-headed VW beast (Motor Sport)
“There are so many questions so far unanswered. Will the Red Bull Powertrains project feature the IP of the existing Honda-based PU? How many Porsches will there be in any Red Bull engine? Bull Powertrains? Could Audi and Porsche engines end up being essentially the same?”
Alex Albon’s personal trainer breaks down the incredible road to P10 in Australia (Balls.ie)
“Race day is probably the strongest part of his toolbox. So when it comes to a Sunday, I never worry about how it’s going to be. is a racer at heart, and we’ve seen that in terms of his tire management, in terms of race strategy, in terms of just keeping his cool, especially on that last lap.”
Behind the scenes of Formula 1 Drive to Survive season 4 (Radio Times)
“I have a friend with an 18-year-old daughter in Los Angeles. She hadn’t even heard of Formula 1 and now she is fascinated by the spectacle. If we knew what it was, we would be really rich because we could basically do it over and over.”
F1 champion Lewis Hamilton sits on a stool in Malaysia, prompting a slew of memes (Malay Mail)
“Local social media feeds surged after a photo of Hamilton waving his hand as he sat casually in a regular kopitiam chair at a Petronas gas station began circulating. As a result, the photo went viral. spawned several memes for Malaysian social media users, and now local businesses have joined the bandwagon.”
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