In the round-up: Jenson Button says there will be no major races left he strongly wishes to compete in after he takes part in this weekend’s Daytona 24 Hours.
In brief
Nothing left that “stands out” for Button
Since retiring from Formula 1 with 15 grand prix wins and the 2009 world championship title, Button has raced in the Le Mans 24 Hours, Japan’s Super GT series, NASCAR Cup races, IMSA’s Petit Le Mans and more. He is due to contest the full WEC season this year and makes his debut in the Daytona 24 Hours this weekend.
The latter will be a watershed moment for him, he said. “I’ve been wanting to do this race for many years and been speaking to Wayne [Taylor] for many years,” Button told Daily Sportscar. “It just hasn’t worked out with timing and different things. But it did this year and I jumped into the WEC programme too.
“There’s nothing else [on the bucket list], nothing that stands out. It’s very special.”
Inthraphuvasak joins Formula 3 grid
PHM has confirmed the second of its drivers for the upcoming Formula 3 season. Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak will join the already-announced Joshua Dufek. Inthraphuvasak is already driving for the team in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship.McLaren pair encouraged by Diriyah showing
Sam Bird said he was encouraged by the pace his Nissan Formula E car showed in Diriyah last weekend despite crashing out of yesterday’s second race. “I am disappointed with the result today and it’s not what we wanted,” he admitted, but added he was “massively encouraged by the pace, speed and efficiency we have shown this weekend.”
Team mate Jake Hughes, who started sixth and finished fourth yesterday, was similarly upbeat. “I’m buzzing after that race, my best finish in Formula E so far,” he said. “It’s a track I really enjoy driving at, and after Sam’s P4 finish yesterday, I was really happy to back that up.”
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
The World's Most Valuable Sports Empires (Forbes)
'The aggregate value of Liberty’s ownership stakes in its sports assets fell 12%, to $18.2 billion but it still maintains the top spot on our list. Liberty, declined in value this year because it spun off the Atlanta Braves (current enterprise value: $2.6 billion) last July.'
Evan Giltaire joins ART Grand Prix for the new FREC season (ART)
'The 17-year-old French driver began his karting career at the age of eight, winning his first national title in the 2018 Cadet French Cup. After qualifying for the Rotax World Final in Brazil, the young Frenchman impressed by leading the majority of the race before he was forced to retire due to engine failure.'
The Euroformula Open builds up on its strong fundamentals for 2024 (Euroformula Open)
GT Sport CEO Jesus Pareja: 'We strongly believe in the good fundamentals of our proposition, from the car to tyres, calendar and event format. We will continue to build on those and to evolve as the single-seater formulae market enters a phase of transformation.'
Ivan Domingues sticks with VAR to compete in FREC (Formula Redgional)
'Ivan Domingues, who’s a familiar face to the team, will make his full-time debut in FREA this season after having competed in the final two rounds of the 2023 Championship with VAR.'
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Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
In its final form, the Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6 LMH Competizione is back from Clermont-Ferrand in France, where it passed the final control.
So, the Italian hypercar is finally homologated and ready to compete in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship.
_____#IsottaFraschini… pic.twitter.com/i3Cf45Bur5— Isotta Fraschini Milano Fabbrica Automobili (@IFautomobili) January 26, 2024
Briefly chatted with Guenther Steiner this morning in the Daytona garage. He said he's "doing well" and evaluating what he's going to do next. As for his tenure with Haas F1 ending, he said, "10 years was too long" but declined to elaborate further.
— Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) January 27, 2024
#IMSA: Devlin DeFrancesco’s golden retriever puppy was run over and killed in the motorhome lot.
— Jenna Fryer (@JennaFryer) January 27, 2024
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
Does Lando Norris really believe he can win a world championship at McLaren? DB-C90 isn’t convinced:
I really wonder whether McLaren’s rise in fortune last season was down to them or was it a matter of both Mercedes and Ferrari underperforming massively.
I’m hoping they’ll remain competitive but I just can’t see them returning to the top steps of the podium against the other big three any time soon.
Seems like young Lando has already given up on a WDC and will just see his time out being no doubt well paid at McLaren.
DB-C90 (@Dbradock)
There’s still time to join in this weekend’s Caption Competition here:
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Hoshi and Kingshark!
On this day in motorsport
S
28th January 2024, 5:35
CotD
Why not? Almost all F1 drivers have to accept that, because that’s exactly what modern F1 is.
You either have No.1 status in the fastest car and do all the winning, or you accept that you almost certainly won’t be champion and just rake in the enormous financial rewards while having some fun.
earthling (@34rthl1ng)
28th January 2024, 11:04
Off-the-record (sorry) question for Keith and/or the site webmaster. I am trying to upload a pic to my profile, I have tried different formats and sizes but nothing seems to work, please tell me, how can I do it ?
MacLeod (@macleod)
29th January 2024, 8:23
I get http error when adding a photo maybe that is the problem.
Don
28th January 2024, 14:52
What would really complete Button’s bucket list would be to run the Indy 500, but like so many drivers he’s scared to do so.
S
29th January 2024, 15:03
He wouldn’t be the first F1 driver to be apprehensive about high-speed ovals, if that’s what it is. The risk of serious injury (or worse) is far higher than it has been in F1 for many decades.
Still – if the guy says he’s not interested, then that’s his choice. I expect he’s being quite honest about it, considering he’s also said he’s not keen on racing at Bathurst – and nobody says that.
After all, he can do basically any racing, anywhere, that he feels like now.