In the round-up: Ferrari believe they can still salvage the runner-up spot in the constructors championship.
In brief
Sainz still thinks Ferrari can be runner-up in constructors’ standings
Carlos Sainz Jnr says it is still possible for Ferrari to match their 2022 championship position by finishing runner-up in the standings this year.
The team cut the gap to second-placed Mercedes from 54 down to 45 points at the Italian Grand Prix, while also jumping Aston Martin for third in the process. Sainz scored his first pole position and podium of the season at Monza.
“There’s still a constructors championship to fight with Mercedes and Aston Martin, which we still believe we can come out on top if we do a perfect job,” Sainz said at Monza.
“I think we’ve done a decent job in terms of development. I think if you look at the development race. I think we are up there in terms of cars that have developed the most,” he added. “Normally we’ve been lacking against Mercedes and Red Bull in the development fight and this year I don’t feel like we have.”
Norman Nato moves to Andretti in Formula E
Andretti Global has announced Norman Nato will replace Andre Lotterer in their Formula E line-up next season.
Andretti driver Jake Dennis won the FE title. His team mate Lotterer is leaving FE to focus on sports car racing.
Nato joined the FE grid with Venturi in 2021 and won the Berlin EPrix, but lost his seat the following year. He contested the 2022 Seoul EPrix for Jaguar, then secured a full-time return this year with Nissan. He came tenth in the standings with a podium, but lost that seat two weeks ago.
He said it’s “highly exciting to be given the opportunity to have a car capable of winning” in the series. “I’m looking forward to working with the team and contributing to the team’s long history of success.”
AlphaTauri to use digital branding on cars in 2024
AlphaTauri say they will become the second Formula 1 team to incorporate digital branding into a car livery next season.
McLaren became the first to use digital screen displays on their cars at last year’s United States Grand Prix, and have continued to do so through the 2023 campaign. They worked with a company called Seamless Digital to achieve the feat, and AlphaTauri have now teamed up with them to.
Successful and “extensive” testing of the digital display technology through this season has prompted AlphaTauri to incorporate it into their race car for 2024.
“With the technology being super lightweight and with zero aerodynamic degradation, our engineers have been impressed with Seamless Digital’s performance-led approach to meet the demands of competitive racing,” said Fabian Wrabetz, AlphaTauri’s director of marketing and communications.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Andretti close to Formula 1 license (AMuS)
‘Theoretically, Liberty could trip up Andretti by not including the team in the existing Concorde agreement or by charging a utopian entry fee in the next deal from 2026. Then the US racing team could take part, but would not participate in the prize money. But that would be a shot that could backfire for F1. In this case, Andretti would probably have his cars banned from being shown on television.’
Singapore Grand Prix pledges to halve energy emissions by 2028 (CNBC)
‘Organiers said they will halve energy emissions from the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix by 2028. Last year’s event generated 2,372 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, including set up and tear down. Energy use made up 96.1% of total emissions, while the remaining 3.9% came from transport, waste and water.’
Silly season update: Still seats to fill for 2024 (IndyCar)
‘The wildest of IndyCar races ended Sunday at Laguna Seca with so many drivers and teams preparing for change. Some of those moves for the 2024 season have been announced, others still need to be. IndyCar is using this space to take inventory of silly eason, providing a where-it-stands recap of drivers, teams, manufacturers – heck, anyone who figures to be part of next season.’
Hideki Noda speaks about Noda Racing’s Euroformula exit (Formula Scout)
‘Noda Racing withdrew from last weekend’s Euroformula round at the Red Bull Ring following a rule change that disadvantaged the team. The team and the series spoke to Formula Scout about what led to the decision to change the rule, and then Noda’s decision to leave.’
State leaves grand prix driver’s seat empty (The Age)
‘The public board responsible for promoting the Australian Grand Prix and next month’s MotoGP at Phillip Island is facing an exodus of directors following the Victorian government’s decision not to renew the term of outgoing chairman Paul Little. There has been no government announcement on who will replace Little, the chairman who along with former chief executive Andrew Westacott helped re-establish the two international motorsport weekends on Melbourne’s major events calendar after the disruptions of the Covid years.’
JHR, RLL biggest winners of fierce Leaders Circle battle at Laguna (Racer)
‘The last Leaders Circle contract was settled by duelling bouts of misfortune, and in the case of Andretti Autosport, rage and frustration. Credit the resilience of the RLL mechanics for repairing Juri Vips’ car after he was taken out in a lap one crash, and thanks to their efforts, the rookie returned to finish 24th — 24 laps down at the chequered flag — which was just enough to close the number 30’s season-long entrants’ account at 178 points.’
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
What a finale! ⁰⁰#INDYCAR // #FirestoneGP pic.twitter.com/MQikEjSjO1
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) September 12, 2023
Locked in for Season 10 🔒
We’re excited too, Norman 🔥 pic.twitter.com/xbs3PIR8ZL
— Andretti Formula E (@AndrettiFE) September 12, 2023
— 周冠宇 | Zhou Guanyu 🇨🇳 (@ZhouGuanyu24) September 12, 2023
6th in the @IndyCar championship for the 3rd year in a row ✅. Mess of a race. Gave my all out on track but ultimately a misjudged overtaking manoeuvre cost us a good finish. Very disappointing since the no8 car and crew was amazing! Congrats @scottdixon9 on the W👏🏻 #ME8 #INDYCAR pic.twitter.com/CSKTWqszoV
— Marcus Ericsson (@Ericsson_Marcus) September 12, 2023
With Scott Dixon’s win yesterday at Laguna Seca, he now owns the IndyCar record for wins at the most tracks.
Dixon has won at 27 different tracks.
Mario won at 26.
🐐 || #IndyCar pic.twitter.com/bZP0L5uX6p
— Bryan Friedrich (@500Indy1911) September 11, 2023
Hotel views are something else here 🥵 #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/mXNgyFEeXS
— Jonathan Wilcox (@Coxy847) September 12, 2023
It was a big weekend for Red Bull who ran some of their title-winning F1 cars at the Nurburgring Nordschleife with Sebastian Vettel, David Coulthard and Yuki Tsunoda alongside Gerhard Berger and Mattias Lauda in some classic Ferraris… pic.twitter.com/rD8l7gKZKC
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) September 12, 2023
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Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Frantz Guns, Jackysteeg and Nick!
