F1
Leclerc has been robbed whilst attending a Richard Mille event. Whilst in a crowd, the robber was able to steal his $320,000 watch without him noticing. Charles is apparently fine, and has reported the incident to the police.
Sainz has signed with Ferrari for another two years beyond this one, this a smart move for all involved, as it gives the team a superb line up for the future, and will give Carlos some security after a tough weekend down under. The only risk is if team tensions start to build, although with how strong Charles is right now, it isn’t looking too likely.
There is a slight threat against the Miami Grand Prix next month, as a small group of local residents are lodging noise complaints about the race taking place. F1 cars are noisy, creating 97 decibels of noise, however, it may take proper evidence for this case to get any further.
There has been talk about the concessions and help that will be given to Audi and Porsche, on their arrival into F1, which is apparently very close to becoming a reality. The issue becomes further complicated, because it sounds as though Red Bull Powertrains are going to work with Porsche, so each needs to be treated differently, and arguably, Porsche shouldn’t need much help at all. Hopefully the current teams can come to some agreement, about how much dyno work and bench testing each company can do, to make sure they enter the series competitively, but not at an advantage.
Rumours are circulating, that potentially Mick Schumacher could be replaced by Piastri at the end of the year. Obviously, it is still early in the year, and to me, Mick has the pace to deserve a seat. Yes, he was way off in Bahrain, and crashed in Saudi, but his pace until the crash and in Australia has been pretty solid. Time will tell, and if he can’t keep up with Magnussen, then there is an argument for Oscar to come in.
IndyCar
Paretta Autosport is returning in 2022, but not at the Indy 500, instead the team will run 3 road course races, which should be a more manageable role for them. De Silvestro will return, and given her success on road courses, it could go well for them. They will be teaming up with ECR this time, running their third car, which Ed is using for the Indy 500.
In terms of the Indy 500 entry list, it is almost certain that there will be 33 cars, with one team having everything ready bar a chassis, which will be the 33rd entry. Top Gun Racing are also doing their best to return, but do have some hurdles to overcome if they are to do so.
During the first day of the Indy 500 open test, there were some concerning events involving the pit lane exit, and cars spinning out onto the track, which is a truly terrifying thought at IMS. IndyCar hopes to have the issue rectified quickly, with the suspected issue being the track sealer giving the cars less grip.
MotoGP
Miller is not against moving down to one of the customer Ducati teams for 2023, with both Martin and Bastiannini being linked with the factory team. As long as he gets a factory bike, there wouldn’t be much cause for complaint really, especially looking at how well both of the young riders are going.
-M
Meaning of Motorsport 