In the round-up: Aston Martin believe they can make useful gains by improving the efficiency of their DRS.
In brief
Aston Martin working to strengthen DRS
Aston Martin are focusing on trying to make their DRS more powerful and efficient with their upgrades to their AMR23 this season.
The team’s performance director, Tom McCullough, says that they have worked to try and emulate the strong DRS effect enjoyed by the dominant Red Bull team.
“That has been an area of focus for us,” he said. “We are working on that, every upgrade we bring to the car, targeting helping the efficiency of the DRS. So further steps on that all the time.”
Piastri will be “more comfortable” at familiar circuits
Over the eight grand prix weekends Piastri has had so far in his first season in Formula 1, he had never raced at three of the circuits before in his racing career – Melbourne, Miami and Montreal. Heading into a leg of European races including the Red Bull Ring, Silverstone, the Hungaroring and Spa-Francorchamps, Piastri says he is looking forward to returning to some familiar venues.
“We’ve got the next four circuits are all circuits I’ve been to – more than once as well,” he said. “So that’ll be nice.
“In saying that, Barcelona was a similar story and our pace was not very good. So it’s not a given that it’ll be better for me. Of course it’s a little bit more comfortable going into the weekend knowing these circuits a bit better. But it’s similar to what I said in Barcelona – everyone can get to the limit quicker and be right on it. So I have to do the same.”
Hamda Al Qubaisi closes F1 Academy gap to Garcia
After winning the first race of the F1 Academy weekend at Zandvoort, Hamda Al Qubaisi took her second in the final race to pull closer to championship leader Marta Garcia.
Carrie Schreiner took her first win in the series in race two, ahead of Garcia and Lena Buhler in third after pole sitter Amna Al Qubaisi crashed out of the lead. In the third and final race of the weekend, Hamda Al Qubaisi converted pole position into victory, taking the chequered flag ahead of MP Motorsport team mate Emely de Haus and Buhler third.
Garcia’s fourth place means that her lead in the championship falls to just five points, with Hamda Al Qubaisi now the clear closest challenger in second, 28 points ahead of third placed Buhler.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
F1 seeks marshals for Las Vegas Grand Prix (Las Vegas Review Journal)
‘Officials are looking for flagging and communication marshals, pit lane and grid marshals and intervention marshals (which help with on-track incidents and other tasks involving manual labour).’
Luft für Perez bei Red Bull wird dünner (ORF)
Helmut Marko: ”We will have Ricciardo in the car for three days after Silverstone during the tyre test and then you can evaluate where Ricciardo really stands.”
”I’ve said before, I definitely still have many years in Formula One. So I feel like I have some unfinished business in the sport but I don’t want to think about it too much.”
F1 supplier reveals off-the-shelf high-performance carbon road chassis for sale (Top Gear)
‘F1 supplier Dash-CAE has created a carbon-fibre monocoque chassis for high-performance road cars. The TR01 is an off-the-shelf solution and is set to debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. What’s more, the pricing for the TR01 starts at around £30,000 per unit, depending on the volumes ordered.’
‘PIR was as dressed up as its been for a major race, with myriad Formula E signage and plenty of luxury suites. The theme is green was evident throughout the event, down to the alternative-fueled parking shuttle buses. Organizers didn’t have an attendance figure, but the grandstands lining PIR’s front stretch were nearly sold out. From a fan base, the difference between Formula E, and NASCAR and IndyCar, is a greater percentage of international fans.’
GM didn’t win Le Mans, but it put motorsport on notice. Here’s how. (Robb Report)
GM Executive Vice President NA Rory Harvey: ”If you look at racing, people either like it or don’t; they’re either super enthusiastic about it, or maybe they could take it or leave it. If you’re successful at racing, it really underpins the durability of the vehicle.”
Jos finishes Ypres Rally in 13th: ‘Very difficult tests’ (Verstappen.com)
Jos Verstappen: ”I still managed to finish the rally, after suffering two punctures. A good classification was therefore not possible, so I didn’t take any risks on Saturday. The rally in Ypres is difficult, especially when you’re not from around here, like me. The tests are really tricky. But it got better and better, and I gained a lot of experience again.”
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