All the latest news from the racing world!
It has been a rather quiet week for news, so I waited a few days to get some F1 testing news to bulk it out a bit.
F1
Following the departure of Mazepin from Haas, Magnussen has been announced as his replacement. This is a superb move by the team, as not only does he have recent experience in F1, but also with that team, so he should be able to fit in rather quickly. This will also give everyone a chance to see just how good Mick is, as if he can beat Kevin, he could have a promising future ahead of him. In other Haas news, the plane they used to travel to the pre-season test in Bahrain was delayed, which caused them to miss some of testing, which is another painful blow for them.
Gasly is still focused on returning to Red Bull in the future, citing that his contract renewal ahead of the 2024 season might be the crucial moment. He is definitely a better driver than he was before he moved to Red Bull, and probably deserves a second chance, however, I cannot see Red Bull doing something like that, unless they are really out of options, they will never admit a mistake like that.
Mercedes have come out in testing with a radical new sidepod design, which still seems to be legal. They have pretty much got rid of the sidepods entirely, with a very small opening for air to enter the radiators, which have apparently been completely redesigned. This could well be another example of Mercedes innovating to stay at the front of the pack.
Overall, so far in testing, Ferrari continue to look fast and consistent, however, it is unclear where they fit in with Mercedes and Red Bull. McLaren have had major issues, both with Ricciardo feeling unwell, but also brake overheating, which is limiting their runs on track, the team believe it will be fixed by the first race, yet it will hurt their progress surely. Various other teams have had reliability issues during the test, whilst Alpha Tauri topped the running yesterday, and Haas, using the extra time they were given, did the same today.
IndyCar
The series has postponed its new hybrid engine era until 2024. Apparently, this decision was requested by Chevrolet, but it also gives a third manufacturer a chance to enter the sport at this point. The most likely candidate for this is Toyota, who have not ruled it out, and already have a presence in American Motorsport.
MotoGP
After the disaster at Qatar, Bagnaia says from now on he does not want to focus on developing the bike, he just wants to ride it, and get comfortable with it. He compared himself to what Bastiannini did, saying he was much more focused on development that Enea, which might be what hurt him in the first race. Electronics were to blame for Miller’s retirement, which was costing him power on track. He decided to retire, as he feared being run over by other riders on the straights.
Gardner was not happy with Binder, who apparently was still riding like he was in Moto3. This might take some adaption for the South African, although hopefully the experience of Dovizioso will help him along.
-M
Meaning of Motorsport 