Weekly News Roundup - 9/29/23

Happy Friday, friends! Unfortunately no race this weekend…

Regardless, we’ve still had an eventful week of news to cover for you below. Let’s get into it!

News Roundup

• Tsunoda and Ricciardo to race for AlphaTauri in 2024

  • The Red Bull B team has announced former Red Bull A team driver, Daniel Ricciardo, as their pick to race alongside Yuki Tsunoda for 2024. This pairing promises an interesting dynamic, with a young and ambitious driver alongside an experienced, yet still competitive, Ricciardo. This seems a bit different than the Aston Martin or Mercedes team dynamic, but that may just be me hanging on to the view of Danny Ric as a young world-champ hopeful.

  • Don’t expect AT to be fighting for any World Championships, or very many points, for that matter. However, fans of the team can hopefully expect the car to be a bit more competitive - an experienced driver like Ricciardo may help with car development.

• Jessica Hawkins becomes first woman to test F1 car since 2018

  • Former W series driver Jessica Hawkins tested the AMR21 this past week becoming the first woman to test drive a Formula 1 car since Tatiana Calderon, a former IndyCar driver, did so with Sauber in 2018. Aston Martin team principal, Mike Krack, was pleased with Hawkins’ performance in the car.

  • More Formula 1 teams are including talented female drivers in their pool of potential future drivers. Former W series champion, Jamie Chadwick, has been apart of the Williams Development Academy since 2020.

• FIA rejects three applications for new F1 teams

  • There has been plenty of talk around the potential for new F1 teams to join the grid, given the sport’s growing popularity in various global markets. Although many potential teams with substantial financial backing are eager to compete in the pinnacle of motorsport, the FIA has been cautious in its approach. According to Stefano Domenicali, no team will join the grid unless they are absolutely sure it will bring additional value to the sport.

  • Most recently, the FIA has rejected Hitech, Rodin Carlin, and LKYSUNZ. Notably, Andretti Autosport has made it through this stage of the application process with the backing of Cadillac.

  • Driver diversity was a main point of differentiation, as Rodin Carlin promised to have W series champion, Jamie Chadwick, as one of their drivers and LKYSUNZ promised to include drivers from Africa and Southeast Asia in their talent pool to increase the reach of the sport. However, the rejected applications of those two teams show that there is much more needed to join the grid.

• Horner says it’s ‘only a matter of time’ before Lawson gets permanent F1 opportunity

  • Liam Lawson has continued to impress with his results during his short stint with the AlphaTauri team in wake of Daniel Ricciardo’s broke wrist. This has, obviously, brought about plenty of questions around the teams decision to extend the 2024 offer to Ricciardo.

  • Horner notes that Ricciardo will be a great asset to AlphaTauri with his experience and ability to help the team in a number of ways. Aside from car development, the eight time grand prix winner will be important in setting a performance benchmark for the younger Tsunoda as the Red Bull team continues to monitor his development.

  • Horner notes that the team will be looking into options for the 2025 Red Bull seat. Currently, speculation centers around Daniel Ricciardo taking over for the struggling Sergio Perez. However, Horner notes that that they will continue monitoring all three (Ricciardo, Tsunoda, Lawson) drivers over the next 12-18 months before any decision needs to be made.

• Formula 1 reverses social media gains amid lack of title fight

  • Social intelligence company, Buzz Radar, has released a study that shows evidence of Formula 1 losing its momentum it had in 2021 and 2022. The sport has recently boomed in popularity with things like Drive to Survive, the 2021 title fight, and new car regulations in 2022 attracting more fans. Overall social reach is estimated to be down over 60% compared to 2021 and 2022.

  • The study cites Red Bull dominance as the main reason for reduced popularity on social media. According to the data, the most popular seasons have been 2016 (Hamilton vs. Rosberg title fight down to the last race) and 2021 (Hamilton vs. Verstappen title fight down to the last race). Red Bull’s dominance is exacerbated by the fact that Verstappen has significantly outperformed his teammate in equal machinery. The last time this happened was in 2018, when Lewis Hamilton ran away with the Title with little competition.

  • As fans, it’s always more fun to see more drama around the fight for the title. Though we have some great battles (Mercedes vs Ferrari for 2nd, McLaren vs. Aston Martin for 3rd), it has not been enough to sustain growth. Here’s to hoping more teams can figure out a way to compete with Adrian Newey’s genius in 2024!

Podcast of the Week

F1 Beyond the Grid - Adrian Newey

Learn about the illustrious career of the man behind Red Bull’s current dominance. Adrian Newey’s 40-year career includes 12 World Championships with Williams, McLaren and Red Bull. This is a great listen about an incredible contributor to the world of motorsport.

Social Media Post of the Week

James Vowles has been consistent in his support of rookie driver, Logan Sargeant. Sargeant has struggled to get results all year, but the Williams team principal cites specific areas of improvement that the team has observed from the American. It’s sort of refreshing to see a team principal backing a driver when they are struggling (looking at you, Helmut Marko).

williamsracing

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Thanks for reading The Grandstand Gazette! No race this weekend, but hope everyone has some time to relax with friends and family. We will be back at you next week with our Weekly News Roundup to preview the Qatar Grand Prix.

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