In the round-up: Honda believes it enjoys an advantage over its power unit manufacturer rivals in the performance of its electrical systems.
In brief
Honda enjoying “clear advantage” in MGU-K
Honda Racing Corporation’s executive chief engineer and Formula 1 project leader Tetsushi Kakuda has explained how regulation changes and a development freeze have impacted how its latest powertrains for Red Bull and AlphaTauri have been developed.
“Last year, I believe all the power unit manufacturers prioritised performance in their development, and so did we,” said Kakuda. “We made every effort to recover the performance loss due to the E10 fuel introduced by the regulation change.
“But as a result, the internal load to the engine increased significantly compared to the previous year and so reliability was severely compromised. As a result, several problems surfaced during the 2022 season and we have been working to address those problems for this season.”
In addition to solving existing issues, Honda has been “preparing ourselves to have wider strategies by identifying the limits of each part and maximising its potential” at its research and development facility in Sakura, Japan.
“We deepened our understanding of our PU to further optimise the control and energy management,” Kakuda added. “We have also matured ourselves in the electrification technologies where we had a clear advantage last year, especially the MGU-K deployment.”
“We believe we are fully prepared for the pre-season tests starting this week.”
Cape Town expected to be a demanding track on energy consumption
Maserati’s racing director Jeremy Colancon says Formula E’s new Cape Town track, which it will race at this weekend, “is a very energy sensitive circuit, meaning that there will be a lot of energy saving during the race”, which is the fifth of the 2022-23 season.
“The track has a lot of high-speed corners, which make it more difficult to recover energy in an efficient way, but the key places for management will be in turns four, five, seven, and 11,” Colancon added.
It has been a difficult return to single-seater racing for Maserati, who dominated pre-season testing but have only scored three points in four races this season.
Sargeant “super-excited” for F1 pre-season testing
Williams’ rookie driver Logan Sargeant is full of anticipation for Formula 1 pre-season testing later this week, which he will drive in one-and-a-half days of as he shares the three days of track time with team mate Alex Albon.
“I’m super-excited for testing in Bahrain,” Sargeant said. “We already had a good feeling in the car at the rollout in Silverstone. I’m really looking forward to diving deeper into what the car is capable of and also getting more comfortable with it from my side.
“Bahrain is a track that I know well so that brings me confidence going into the test. Hopefully that’ll put us in a good spot ahead of the first race of the season. We’re going to try and make everyone’s efforts and hard work over the winter pay off.”
Mercedes add karter to junior team
Mercedes have revealed their line-up of F1 juniors for 2023, and the only new addition is a 12-year-old karter.
Kenzo Craigie was runner-up in the British Karting Championship’s Honda Cadet class in 2022, and won the Ultimate Karting Championship and the British Kartmasters Grand Prix.
The previous year he had been ninth in the British championship fourth in the grand prix, as well as making the final of the Rotax Grand Finals in the Micro class.
He brings Mercedes’ tally of juniors up to seven, joining Frederik Vesti (Formula 2), Paul Aron (Formula 3), Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Formula Regional) and fellow karters Yuanpu Cui, Luna Fluxa and Alex Powell.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
TOM’S adds Yuga Furutani and Enzo Trulli to Super Formula Lights line-up (Formula Scout)
‘TOM’S has named two more drivers in its SF Lights line-up for 2023, with Yuga Furutani and Enzo Trulli being its third and fourth signings for the season. Trulli, son of F1 grand prix winner Jarno, is going into his third season of single-seater racing and has already spent the first two competing at the Formula 3 level.’
Rosenqvist to carry onsemi backing for four events in 2023 (Racer)
‘Felix Rosenqvist heads into the first race of the IndyCar season with more clarity on which colors his car will carry throughout the year. Led with its gray design for semiconductor manufacturer onsemi, the Swede will represent the brand — one of three primary sponsors for the season – at the street races at Long Beach and Detroit, the iconic road course at Road America, and at the final oval race of the year.’
Reece Ushijima joins Jay Howard Driver Development’s USF Pro 2000 programme (RTD Media)
‘Ushijima competed in the Formula Regional Asian Championship before moving to the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2022. With the path to F1 a difficult one, Ushijima has now shifted his focus to North America as he looks to climb the ladder to the IndyCar Series.’
2023 season preview: Chip Ganassi Racing (IndyCar)
‘Keep an Eye on This: Palou’s 2022 season was clouded by a contractual dispute, but his results were stronger than history will likely remember. He had five top-three finishes on road courses before winning the season-ending race at Laguna Seca with a charge from the 11th starting position. Palou said he and the team have mended fences, so if he can drive as mentally free as he did in last year’s finale, a second series championship in three years could be in the cards.’
Carl Bennett joins GRS Team for Spanish F4 (GRS)
‘Carl will race with us on his first full year in European racing after making his debut in the United States. He has already been testing with the team, with a positive initial feeling together.’
Michael d’Orlando signs with Turn 3 Motorsport for USF Pro 2000 (USFP2000)
‘2022 USF2000 champion and scholarship winner Michael d’Orlando has signed with Turn 3 Motorsport for the 2023 USFP2000 season. The 20-year-old New York native won four races and five pole positions, and ultimately claimed the title in a USF2000 season that came down to a thrilling last race shootout.’
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