In the round-up: Daniel Ricciardo believes AlphaTauri did not fulfil their potential in qualifying
In brief
AlphaTauri “definitely a lot faster” – Ricciardo
Ricciardo believes AlphaTauri had the pace to reach Q2 and potentially Q3 on Friday but failed to capitalise on their pace. He was knocked out of Q1 in 17th, one place behind team mate Yuki Tsunoda, but reckons he should have at least progressed into Q2 but for a mistake through the Senna esses.
“I think we were definitely a lot faster than the overall time showed,” he said. “Just that last lap, honestly I nearly had a spin in turn two. I just came in a bit hot into turn one, probably didn’t get the tyres in the right spot for the side of the lap, so we’d already lost a chunk in the first sector .
“Our first run, we were P5 or P6 at the time. So I don’t know we would’ve stayed there, but we were looking like definitely a chance at that point of advancing through Q2 and potentially Q3. But obviously that last lap, we didn’t get it right. So obviously frustrated with that.”
Norris and Hulkenberg “both contributed” to practice clash
The Brazilian Grand Prix stewards took no action against Lando Norris and Nico Hulkenberg after the pair made contact with each other in Friday’s practice session.Norris was on a push lap and attempting to pass Hulkenberg into the final braking zone of Juncao but appeared to miss the apex of the corner and the pair made minor contact, Hulkenberg’s left-front wheel clipping Norris’s rear-right.
After speaking to both drivers after the session, the stewards took no further action, deciding that “both drivers contributed to the contact and none of them is predominantly to blame for the incident.”
Haas later confirmed they changed Hulkenberg’s power unit between first practice and qualifying.
McLaren’s Ugochukwu moves to FREC
McLaren junior driver Ugo Ugochukwu will step up to the Formula Regional European Championship for 2024 after winning the Euro4 championship title this year.
The 16-year-old American driver has spent the last two years racing at F4 level, taking top three finishes in the British, Italian, and UAE F4 championship standings. Having raced with Prema throughout his F4 career, Ugochukwu will step up to the FREC next year with the team.
“After a successful year in Formula 4, I am happy to announce that I will move up to the Formula Regional European Championship next season with Prema,” Ugochukwu said. “I am looking forward to this new challenge in my career, and with the continued support of the McLaren Driver Development Programme I am confident we will have another positive year together.”
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Adrian Newey: Only 50% of my time goes into F1 – I’m also building a Red Bull submarine (Telegraph)
''It’s difficult to say exactly but I would say roughly 50 per cent. I suppose I’m a bit of a maverick in as much as… I’ve managed to get to a situation now where it (the F1 engineering team) can operate procedurally without me, which allows me to be spoilt enough to be able to get involved in any area I feel like.''
The Debrief: Sao Paulo GP (Aston Martin)
Tom McCullough: 'We have been competitive from the off and found a good balance with the car during the only practice session this morning. On this relatively short track, the margins are really tight across the whole grid, so it was important that we delivered strong laps across Q1, Q2 and Q3 and got the timing right. You have to be opportunistic, too, and, with rain approaching, both drivers knew that the first lap in Q3 would be the one that counted. Today's result leaves us well placed to race well on Sunday when we will be targeting a good return of points with both cars.'
'At a news conference, Ted Pappageorge, the union’s secretary-treasurer and chief contract negotiator, urged tourists and Formula 1 ticket-holders to support the workers if they go on strike by not coming to Las Vegas or crossing the picket lines. Pappageorge said the union and its members hope it doesn’t come to a strike but that ''workers are prepared, united and ready to strike if necessary.'''
F3 gets new medium tyre in 2024 after issues with 2023-spec compound (Formula Scout)
'We’re working on a new hard and new medium to fine-tune the compounds in order to have them in the proper positions in the range. We are fine tuning each compound and the plan is to have two new compounds next year.'
Abel looks ahead to IndyCar test debut with Coyne (Racer)
'Dale Coyne is a really cool team owner when it comes to young drivers, because he’s one of the only ones that truly pays attention to all the smaller series and all the younger drivers. So he was very familiar with me and all the driving I’ve done, which is refreshing because sometimes I get a little bit overshadowed by the team and everything they’re doing.'
Ritz-Carlton commissions artist Louis-Nicolas Darbon for travel poster series (Skift)
'The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company has expanded its partnership with artist Louis-Nicolas Darbon on a series of travel posters to celebrate the brand’s ongoing partnership with the Mercedes F1 team. The series features seven posters inspired by the cities featured in the 2022 Formula 1 season – including Miami, Montreal, Mexico City, Melbourne, Budapest, Singapore and Abu Dhabi – as well as special edition portraits of drivers Sir Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.'
We always endeavour to credit original sources. If you have a tip for a link relating to single-seater motorsport to feature in the next RaceFans round-up please send it to us via the contact form.
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Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
Muitos raios e relâmpagos em Interlagos. Teto da Arquibancada Porto Seguro CAIU. Tava lá se susto grande! pic.twitter.com/yi0WC8Y1h8
— Raldney Alves (@alvesraldney) November 3, 2023
“I’ve never had such a strange session in my life” 💨
Still good enough for P2 @charles_leclerc! 💪 #BrazilGP 🇧🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/KLc1WVws0K
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) November 3, 2023
We had the pace to be at the top but the yellow flag cost us everything, we've got the rhythm and we’ll push to improve this result – long weekend ahead.
Teníamos el ritmo para estar arriba pero la bandera amarilla nos costó todo. Vamos a empujar para mejorar este resultado,… pic.twitter.com/Qbc3NnH1Fz
— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) November 3, 2023
That was the closest i've been to getting caught in a tornado at a racetrack. Despite my stubbornness even I had to follow the orders of security to evacuate our area before Q3 was over. Local cell reception went out too. Like nothing I've ever seen at a Grand Prix #BrazilGP
— Sean Kelly (@virtualstatman) November 3, 2023
What a scary 10 minutes on track! A grandstand roof collapsed at the last corner and nearly got decapitated by falling debris! #F1 #Formula1 #BrazilianGP pic.twitter.com/dWvkpgVweO
— Andy Hone (@andyhone) November 3, 2023
A convite da CBA através do presidente Giovanni Guerra, estou do outro lado do balcão como Comissário Nacional FIA p/ o GP São Paulo Formula 1
I was invited to be part of FIA Steward team, of the F-1 Sao Paulo GP, with Dr. Gerd Ensser, Loïc Bacquelaine and Vitantonio Liuzzi pic.twitter.com/RJuWLQAAfa
— Luciano Burti (@LucianoBurti) November 3, 2023
Sadly, that's it for @TraxionGG.
We've all been made redundant and it's such a shame given our output over the last three years.
— Ross McGregor | Traxion.GG (@rossjmcgregor) November 3, 2023
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
With Formula 1 owners Liberty Media announcing increased income in the third quarter of 2023, Alan Dove would love to see some of that money trickle down to the lowest levels…
I’m somewhat bemused when I visit kart clubs, many of which played a crucial role in kickstarting the careers of several Formula 1 drivers, only to find them struggling. Whether it be with pure entry numbers or facilities. Not all, but enough. These clubs have been instrumental in shaping drivers who now hold immense value for entities like Liberty, yet they receive nothing in terms of grassroots funding. In contrast to other sports, which often have funding schemes in place, the disparity in support is striking.
I know Valtteri Bottas sold his car to help his club which is admirable. Michael Schumacher did a lot of Kerpen, etc. But other than that it’s incredible to think how little support the small clubs get considering the revenue being generated.
Personally, I actually strongly believe that F1 should have minimal involvement with karting as, in my opinion, it negatively affects the karting scene. I think its influence has really annihilated some of the best aspects of the sport. Nonetheless, if I put my pragmatic hat on for a moment, it’s perplexing how these discrepancies in revenue generation and investment in club karting are not discussed more.
Alan Dove
Happy birthday!
No RaceFans birthdays today
On this day in motorsport
- Jacques Villeneuve Snr, the uncle of 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who failed to qualify in all three of his Formula 1 grand prix appearances, was born today in 1953
Coventry Climax
4th November 2023, 11:27
So there goes the myth that Newey is the single brilliant mind behind the Red Bull car, with superior ground effect knowledge.
I think Claire Cottingham was quite right about things in her nice recent article here.
But I do have doubts about the size of the role people think Newey plays in it, with his magical ‘deep understanding of groundeffect’ advantage over other teams, as I explained in my comment there.
The speed with which articles appear here, especially when there’s many of them on the exact same subject (such as post race reports) makes for certain articles to get less attention than they deserve, and cutting worthwhile discussion of them short.