Category: Auto Sport

Having spent his entire MotoGP career with Suzuki since making his debut in 2017, Rins switches to Honda with the LCR satellite squad for 2023 after Suzuki elected to end its involvement in the series last year.

Rins signed a two-year contract directly with LCR to replace Alex Marquez. The five-time MotoGP race winner will partner Takaaki Nakagami at the team.

As has been the case since 2018, LCR will run two different liveries for its two riders, with Rins’ revealed first by the team on Tuesday morning.

Rins’ LCR Honda will carry a largely similar livery to that raced by the team in 2022.

Rins’ former Suzuki team-mate Joan Mir has also moved to Honda for 2023, signing with the factory squad to partner Marc Marquez.

Former Suzuki technical chief Ken Kawauchi has also been brought in by Honda to spearhead development of the RC213V, replacing long-time HRC technical director Takeo Yokoyama.

Bike of Alex Rins, LCR Honda

Photo by: Team LCR

Honda has endured a torrid time in MotoGP over the past few years, with 2022 marking its second winless campaign in three.

Alex Marquez has departed for Ducati with the Gresini satellite squad, revealing after his first test on the Desmosedici in Valencia last November that he felt “immediately at home” after a difficult 2021 and 2022 with LCR.

LCR will unveil Nakagami’s bike livery at 11am GMT, with the Japanese rider once again racing under Idemitsu backing.

The Japanese was set to lose his place at LCR for 2023 as Honda looked like it was going to promote Ai Ogura from Moto2.

But the 2022 Moto2 runner-up declined to make the step to MotoGP this year and will remain in the intermediate class, offering Nakagami – who was set to become an HRC test rider – a reprieve.

Just two teams are yet to show off their 2023 colours, with Aprilia up next on Friday 10 March ahead of the final pre-season test of the year.

Aprilia’s satellite squad, RNF Racing, will uncover its new-look bikes on 16 March.

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The Italian squad had hoped to be able to lead the challenge against Red Bull in F1’s season opener last weekend. 

But despite pushing its rival hard in qualifying, worse tyre degradation in the race left it well adrift before Charles Leclerc suffered an engine problem while running third.

PLUS: The critical Red Bull tyre tactic Ferrari couldn’t copy in Bahrain GP

That left the door open for a hard-charging Fernando Alonso to swoop his Aston Martin past Carlos Sainz late on in the race and grab the final podium finish. 

With Mercedes, which finished just behind Sainz, already admitting it must change direction with its car philosophy if it is to get back to the front of F1, there is already some debate about whether or not Ferrari needs to consider the same thing. 

It has pursued an in-wash aero philosophy while the benefits of the downwash solution pioneered by Red Bull are clear to see – especially as Aston Martin’s copying of it has delivered such good results. 

When asked if Ferrari still had belief its concept could beat Red Bull, team principal Fred Vasseur said: “I’m completely convinced about this.  

“I never saw a car to match the pace of another one in quali and not to able to race. [So] then it’s a matter of set-up and some choices on the car. It’s not a matter of concept at all. So, we don’t have to go into this direction.” 

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB19

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Vasseur thinks Ferrari only needs to improve small details to get itself into a position to put Red Bull under pressure. 

“To summarise the situation, I would say on quali pace, we are there, we are matching Red Bull, at least in Bahrain. It was a positive point,” he said. 

“But now we have to be fully realistic. If we want to improve, we need to have a clear picture of the situation, and reliability is not at the level that we need.  

“If we want to win races, we need to have clean sheet on the weekend and not small details there and there.”

While Red Bull’s dominance in Bahrain has prompted suggestions the championship battle is all but over, Vasseur insists nothing is lost yet. 

“It’s never good to start with a DNF, and I would have preferred to finish for sure, but I want to stay consistent in my position,” he said. 

“I told the team before the test in Bahrain two weeks ago that the championship won’t be over in Bahrain, and it doesn’t matter the result in any case. 

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“It was true for the winter test, and it’s true for today. The team experienced a different situation in the past and the most important thing now is to be able to have a clear picture of the situation, see where we are failing and to do a proper analysis on this and to conduct a stronger response.” 

Engine investigation 

Ferrari has launched an investigation into what went wrong with the power unit in Leclerc’s car, after it shut down while he was running third. 

Vasseur said the problem had come out of the blue, as there had been no hint of an issue during winter dyno running nor pre-season testing. 

“We never expected to have something like this,” he said. “It is the first time that we had it. We didn’t face the same issue at all during the 6000-7000km that we did with the engine in the last week with the three teams [Ferrari and its two customer teams Alfa Romeo and Haas], and we didn’t develop the same issue on the dyno.” 

After topping FP2 and FP3, Alonso confirmed Aston Martin’s giant leap forward by qualifying fifth in the AMR23, just six tenths off polesitter Verstappen, with team-mate Lance Stroll qualifying eighth.

Speaking straight after qualifying, Alonso said his pace was almost “too good to be true” but felt that with Aston Martin’s historically stronger race pace he might be able to mount a podium challenge, attacking both Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz who are sharing the second row.

Leclerc expects Aston to “probably quicker than what they’ve shown in qualifying” and therefore agreed that keeping Alonso behind will present a tough challenge.

“They’ve shown a very promising race pace in FP2, but again, FP2, it’s very difficult to judge because you don’t know the fuel level they had in the car,” Leclerc said.

“But I think they will be strong in the race, probably quicker than what they’ve shown in qualifying, even though they were pretty close.”

Even if the rapid Red Bulls are likely out of reach, Verstappen was still wary of the threat posed by the Silverstone outfit.

“Yeah, for sure, they look very competitive,” he added.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19

Photo by: Erik Junius

“And I think already not only this year but last year. Their car was maybe not that amazing but I think in race pace, they were always quite strong compared to their competitors.

“They probably took that also into this year, so for sure, they will be very competitive in the race, but a bit difficult to tell.”

If Aston Martin’s race pace and tyre management has historically been one of its strong suits, then the opposite is true for Ferrari which struggled with tyre degradation throughout 2022.

Sainz, who as the fourth-placed starter is the closest target for Alonso, reckons his compatriot will be at least “level or lower on degradation” than the Ferraris, with Leclerc at least having the benefit of starting on a new set of tyres compared to scrubbed sets for Sainz and Alonso.

“It is true that we beat them in quali, but in the race we expect them to be level or lower on degradation than us so it’s going to be a tough Sunday,” Sainz thought. 

“But I always go into a race thinking we can win. I know how to fight [Alonso] well, but it will be good fun having him up there.”

When asked if Aston’s true pace was in any way a surprise after dominating paddock conversation since pre-season testing, Sainz said: “We knew. Honestly, we knew.

“There’s no secret nowadays in Formula 1 with GPS data and how everyone runs the car.

“We knew they were going to be quick.”

The 2020 champion suffered an injury to his left leg while snowboarding in Colorado, a Hendrick team statement said.

He was scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday night, and his length of recovery is currently unknown.

Elliott will be replaced by Xfinity Series regular Josh Berry, the 32-year-old a five-time race winner at the second tier of NASCAR competition.

He has only made two previous Cup Series starts, with best finish coming at Michigan with Spire Motorsports in 2021 when he finished 26th.

Berry finished fourth in the Xfinity standings last year with JR Motorsports, the team owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“Chase’s health is our primary concern,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports.

“He’s spoken with several members of our team and is understandably disappointed to miss time in the car.

“Of course, he has our full support, and we’ll provide any resources he needs. We hope to share another update later this weekend.”

Sunday’s race will be the first Elliott has missed since becoming a fulltime driver in the Cup Series in 2016. In 259 career starts, he has 18 wins.

He finished second to Kyle Busch in last weekend’s Fontana race after an early exit from the Daytona 500.

But missing races won’t necessarily derail Elliott’s 2023 title chances – Busch himself suffered a broken leg and foot at Daytona in 2015 but progressed to the playoffs on race wins and secured his first Cup title. 

Both Button and Hill have voiced the opinion that Hamilton could lose interest if he finds himself with an uncompetitive Mercedes for a second consecutive season.

Hamilton’s contract runs out this year and, inevitably, speculation about his long-term plans has already begun, even before the first race of the season.

When asked about the comments made by Button and Hill, Hamilton said: “Ultimately people creating rumours without facts, it’s never helpful.

“And you would have thought that they were both know by now. I’ve been with Mercedes since I was 13. Having [had] a difficult year [like] we had last year, I’m still here. Whether or not we have a difficult year this year, I’ll still be here.

“I’m a fighter, and we fight as a team. I love the challenge of finding solutions and I still believe that I’m able to put the car in places that perhaps others are not able to. And I love that challenge.

“Of course I wish to be starting the season with a great car. But it’s the journey I think that really counts. So there is no hold up with our contract.”

Simon Lazenby, Sky TV, Jenson Button, Sky TV, Damon Hill, Sky TV

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Hamilton insisted that he has plenty of time to agree a new deal.

“I’ve always been very, very relaxed. I don’t feel like I have to get it done right this second. I’m in a very fortunate position. It’ll get it done when we are ready.

“I have a great relationship with Toto [Wolff] and with Mercedes. And we fully support each other. And I’m really excited to build the future together.

“I’m really proud of the work that we’re doing on and off the track, and the potential new things that we can do moving forward. So we’ll get there – unless something happens with our relationship and me and Toto get into the ring! Otherwise, we’re good.”

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Hamilton was also asked if he thought Red Bull rival Max Verstappen might lose motivation having already won two world championships.

“I can’t really comment on Max,” he said when reminded that in 2015 team-mate Nico Rosberg seized the initiative at Mercedes after Hamilton had clinched the title.

“I think it’s always possible as an athlete, of course, once you’ve had it sealed, the pressure does switch, and it’s different. You can sleep more, you don’t have to push in training as much, because you have different deliverables.

“But I think he will be very, very confident. I think they developed an amazing car last year, they blew away all the records on pretty much everything.

“And I don’t even think they were pushing at the end and still were way ahead. I don’t see that changing necessarily start of the season, so they can be quite relaxed hopefully.

“But hopefully, those that are just behind will continue to apply pressure, I think Ferrari have got a decent package, Aston have got a decent package and we are hunting too.”

Pushed on Verstappen, he added: “I don’t think he’ll slip up. He’s a world champion. And so I wouldn’t question his determination or his focus. I think he will be just as focussed as ever, and it’s our job to catch up.”

The DBX707 replaces the original DBX model that served for the 2021 and 2022 seasons, and it represents a significant upgrade in performance, with obvious benefits in terms of the response time and ability of the crew to reach an accident scene.

Aston Martin shares the FIA medical and safety car supply deal with Mercedes. Previously the choice of which marque was used at which track was largely determined by commercial and marketing considerations, but this year logistics will play more of a role in how the schedule is shared out for sustainability and transport cost reasons.

Over the past two seasons it’s been no secret that the original DBX was not as fast around a circuit as its Mercedes equivalent – currently the AMG GT 63 S 4MATIC+ model – but that has now changed.

Launched on the hotly-contested luxury SUV market last year, the standard DBX707 is officially capable of 0-60mph in 3.1 seconds, compared with 3.9 seconds for the previous model.

It has a top speed of 193mph, edging it ahead of rivals in its class such as the Lamborghini Urus Performante, Ferrari Purosangue, Bentley Bentayga and Maserati Levante Trofeo, and allowing the car to be known as the world’s fastest SUV.

The new model is propelled to that speed by a 697bhp version of the AMG-sourced 4-litre V8 engine, compared with the 542bhp of the original version, and the 649bhp of the equivalent Mercedes medical car.

Developed by Aston, the uprated engine features revised software, new turbos and a new induction system among its many modifications.

Outwardly the DBX707 has a revised spoiler and an aggressive new diffuser arrangement at the rear. The car features more carbon parts than the earlier model, including the driveshaft.

Aston Martin Medical Car

Photo by: Aston Martin

The medical car version has been developed with the help of Aston Martin racer and test driver Darren Turner and longtime FIA medical car driver Alan van der Merwe. The latter helped to fine tune the car in Bahrain last week.

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Essentially it is the same as the standard road model aside from some tweaking of the suspension, a different exhaust and the addition of the obvious necessary modifications for the job, such as the seats and harnesses, a roll cage, a roof light bar and safety equipment in the boot such as fire extinguishers.

As is standard practice Aston Martin has supplied two medical cars for the FIA’s use, with one kept in reserve. There are three safety cars used on rotation with two present at each event.

“DBX707 is the perfect vehicle for the critical role as an Official FIA Medical Car of F1,” said Aston Martin chief technical officer Roberto Fedeli.

“It provides the performance and punch required for the world’s greatest racing circuits, in addition to the flexibility and space required by the sport’s officials and medics.

“With the eyes of the world on our products, there is pressure to perform, but that intensity pushes us to constantly improve.

“Seeing our cars used in an official capacity at such prestigious events is something that everyone at Aston Martin is very proud of.”

Last year, many F1 teams struggled with excessive bouncing on the new ground effect cars, which led to lobbying to tweak the regulations for 2023 on safety grounds.

For 2023 the floor edges were raised by 15mm to prevent teams running their challengers as closely to the ground as last year and reduce the bouncing effect.

Few cars appeared to experience porpoising during the three-day test, with most cases explained by extreme set-ups as teams explored the limits of what they could get away with before the problem reared its head.

According to Haas driver Magnussen, the floor changes have had the desired outcome, albeit with the side effect that drivers will have to deal with cars that are more sensitive to wind.

Strong tailwinds dramatically reduce downforce by reducing the air speed over the cars, while crosswinds can unsettle the car balance in high-speed corners.

“There’s less porpoising,” Magnussen said during the Bahrain pre-season test. “One of the negative consequences that everyone’s facing is that it’s also a little bit more wind-sensitive. And it has been a bit windy here.

“So, there’s going to be a little bit more inconsistency from the cars, but that’s an issue that everyone has to tackle.”

Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

The raised floors are said to have cost teams around half a second in lap times, but F1’s unrelenting development race means most if not all teams have already clawed back the downforce losses from the rules tweak.

“I know exactly what, but I can’t obviously tell [you] that,” Magnussen said when asked if his car had lost downforce.

“Those rule changes put everyone back and then everyone’s been putting downforce back on. Some people would have gained, so they have a lot more than they did last year.

“The rules were better for downforce last year, but I think everyone will have made a good step.”

Esteban Ocon, Alpine A523

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Alpine’s Esteban Ocon said his car didn’t seem to have lost any downforce either.

“Well, if you take the regulations, we should have lost downforce. I don’t feel that’s been the case so that’s pretty good,” he said.

“If you want my opinion, I feel a lot of other different things between last year’s car and this year’s car in terms of how it handles, in terms of balance stability and braking stability as well which is improved.”

Ocon agreed that 2023 cars are perhaps more wind sensitive, although he cautioned that the windy conditions during the Bahrain test may have exacerbated the issue.

“This place is so strange, you know, every day you have different problems with the wind,” the Frenchman added. “[Saturday] morning there wasn’t any wind but it didn’t stay [that way] for long.

“There was again [more wind] in the afternoon, so it’s always sensitive to wind here. But maybe it’s more wind-sensitive this year.”

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The Cape Town track, specially laid out on public roads for this first E-Prix, was new to everyone. In addition to the work on the simulator, there was also a reconnaissance of the circuit on foot, a very instructive moment before the first test session where everyone was able to get a more precise idea of the layout and its demands.

“I had seen things in the simulator, such as the bumps, which are well reproduced, but there’s always an element of surprise,” said DS Penske driver Vergne. “And then in the simulator, when you take a corner too quickly and hit a wall, you start again.”

In the heart of the South African city, on the fastest urban track of the season where average speeds exceeded 150 km/h and the cars reached 230 km/h in top speed. Not bad for a city circuit with road signs and manhole covers!

Sebastien Buemi, Edoardo Mortara and Sam Bird would all pay the price of discovering it in a rather violent way. This was also the reason why some of the drivers were on the back foot during practice and before qualifying.

“I didn’t feel the car too much, so I preferred to be cautious,” Vergne said. “I really started to take risks in qualifying, where it was important to preserve the car.”

Jean-Eric-Vergne, DS Penske

Photo by: DPPI

In Group 1, the two Porsches leading the championship were also back in contention, but Antonio Felix Da Costa missed out on the final phase. Vergne did the job and found himself in the quarter-finals against Nissan’s Sacha Fenestraz who was in great form and duly went on to grab his maiden Formula E pole position.

In Group B, things did not go so well for Porsche and DS Penske, as the session ended under a red flag. Stoffel Vandoorne, who had just set the fastest time in the first sector, could have some regrets as he would only line up 12th with team-mate Vergne in 5th.

Experience is the mother of wisdom

On such a complex track, where every mistake can be very costly, it is above all the correct measurement of risks and the energy strategy that allows drivers to score points. In this respect, it was once again Vergne who was dominant, as was his former team-mate da Costa at the wheel of a factory Porsche. Since the start of the season, DS Penske has been the only team to have shown a response to the German manufacturer, and the battle expected in South Africa did indeed take place.

After taking the lead in the E-Prix, Vergne found himself with da Costa in his rear-view mirror, while the latter still had an attack mode to take. It was a game of cat and mouse for the last few laps of the race, in front of a crowd that had come in great numbers and was visibly delighted by the spectacle.

Da Costa, who was daring, finally managed to get away after a risky manoeuvre and in doing so took his first victory with Porsche after starting from the 13th place.

Jean-Eric-Vergne, DS Penske

Photo by: DPPI

Vergne’s strategy still paid off for second place and he also scored the fastest lap in the race.

“Of course, I would have preferred to win, but I’m happy with the result,” said the French driver. “Tonio was quite aggressive, and I chose to keep a cool head, especially as I didn’t see him in my mirrors when he started to overtake me.

“If I had pushed him closed to the wall, he could have hit it, bounced off, and put us both out of the game. I think if we didn’t both have a lot of experience in motorsport, it could have ended badly.”

After a very busy start to the season with rounds every fortnight since mid-January, the Formula E world championship teams have a month to prepare for the next round.

The championship will once again take them to an unknown circuit, this time in the city of Sao Paulo (Brazil), for round six on 25 March.

The electric off-road series will now hold ten races across its five meetings in 2023, after staging its first double-header round in Sardinia last season.

In a series of format tweaks designed to prioritise racing, single car qualifying time trials will be replaced with two rounds of two five-car qualifying heats. This follows the championship introducing a single round of heats last year.

The top five progress directly to the grand final, with the semi-final stage dropped, while the slowest five enter a redemption race. This replaces the ‘crazy race’, from which the winner would progress to the final to join the two fastest semi-finalists.

The Ganassi team became the first team to clinch victory after progressing from the crazy race when Sara Price and Kyle LeDuc inherited the first Island X-Prix in Sardinia following a penalty issued to Rosberg X Racing for Johan Kristoffersson’s clash with Carlos Sainz Sr.

If two teams are tied for points after the qualifying heats, then the squad with the fastest time in the Continental Traction Challenge – a designated sector on the lap, with the male and female drivers’ times added together – will progress to the final.

Extreme E founder and CEO Alejandro Agag said the new format and increased number of championship rounds would “improve the level of racing out on course” and will “only enhance our series”.

Alejandro Agag, CEO, Extreme E

Photo by: Colin McMaster / Motorsport Images

Chief championship officer James Taylor added: “For Season 3 we wanted to create something spectacular and we feel this new sporting format achieves that.

“At each round, there will be double the opportunity for points and podiums – meaning a lot more to play for at each race weekend, while drivers and teams will have to navigate that racing tightrope of risk and reward to ensure they achieve the maximum result.

“Having a 10 race championship should really close up those standings as the season progresses, meaning a thrilling Extreme E campaign should be in store for 2023 and we cannot wait for it to begin.”

As in 2022, points will be awarded based on the results of the heats, with bonus points on offer to the winner in each heat.

The championship commences in Saudi Arabia next month on 11-12 March before visiting the UK for the first time since its 2021 season decider, heading to Scotland on 13-14 May.

Extreme E will also take in trips to Sardinia on 8-9 July, rounding off the season with the United States or Amazon on 16-17 September and Chile on 2-3 December.

Stroll missed pre-season testing in Bahrain after sustaining injuries during a cycling incident while training in Spain.

Krack insisted that Stroll remains the Plan A and that no alternatives would be considered until it is clear that the Canadian can’t drive in next week’s Bahrain GP.

Official reserve driver Felipe Drugovich remains the obvious favourite to get the seat given that he tested the car in Bahrain this week.

However, should Stroll’s problems prove to be longer term and stretch to the second race in Saudi Arabia, Vettel would have more time to undertake proper preparations and, for example, try the AMR23 in the simulator. Vettel retired at the end of last season with 299 grand prix starts to his name.

Krack confirmed that he has spoken to the four-time world champion since news of Stroll’s cycling accident and wrist injury became public, although he declined to confirm whether or not the German showed an interest in returning to the cockpit.

“I have had a couple of phone calls with Sebastian,” said Krack when asked by Autosport if they had spoken in recent days. “But this has been also last year, and this will continue in the future.”

Asked if Vettel had indicated an interest in driving, he replied: “I will not tell you.”

Felipe Drugovich, Aston Martin AMR23

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

When asked if the longer lead time to the Saudi Arabian race would allow Vettel more preparation time, should Stroll not be fit, Krack appeared to leave the door open.

“I mean, this is very, very hypothetical,” he said. “First of all, our plan is to have Lance in the car. And then we continue to see because we have Bahrain first before we speak about Jeddah. We have not made the final decision. That’s the point.

“Don’t forget one thing. He had a very, very thorough plan in mind for his retirement. And, you know, I think this is also something that you have to respect. So let’s see what’s happening.”

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Krack admitted that Stroll’s situation remains unclear: “I honestly don’t know at this point. He’s our Plan A obviously, we want to have Lance back in the car, but we have to wait, what he says and what the doctors are saying in the right moment.

“There are certain delays or certain limits that you have to give to the FIA, and then we will respect this. We’ll have to see how the situation is developing over the next day. It’s like in football, you have players that are a little bit injured, and you wait for the last moment, and then you decide if they can play or not.

“The Plan B we have to decide. We have some Plan Bs, but we have to decide the Plan B when the Plan A not possible. It’s very simple. Can he drive or can he not drive?”

Krack confirmed said Stroll has not been in the Silverstone team’s simulator, but the plan is for him to try it: “Not yet, he will go. It’s the first step.”