In the round-up: Charles Leclerc says he suspects that Aston Martin will not be able to emulate their session-topping performance from Friday practice in today’s qualifying session
In brief
Aston Martin ‘quicker in practice than they will be in qualifying’ – Leclerc
Fernando Alonso ended Friday with the fastest time, ahead of both Red Bull drivers and Leclerc in fourth for Ferrari. However, Leclerc suspects that Aston Martin may not be able to maintain their impressive performance into qualifying.
“I maybe think that Aston is a bit quicker than what they will be [on Saturday],” Leclerc said. “But let’s wait and see. We don’t know, it’s just what I think for now.”
Pourchaire opens F2 season with crushing pole
Sauber junior driver Theo Pourchaire led an ART lockout of the front row for the first round of the F2 season in Sakhir.
Pourchaire stormed to pole by over seven tenths of a second in the opening qualifying session of the season to secure the top spot on the grid for Sunday’s first feature race of the season. Martins took second, with Richard Verschoor third for Van Amersfoort ahead of Dennis Hauger. Frederik Vesti qualified fifth but was later handed a three-place grid drop by the stewards for impeding Arthur Leclerc at turn four.
Ralph Boschung qualified 10th, meaning he will start from pole for today’s sprint race. Roman Stanek will line up alongside him and Leclerc will make his F2 debut from fourth on the grid.
Mini takes debut pole in FIA F3
Alpine junior Gabriele Mini made a strong impression on debut in the FIA F3 championship by taking pole position for the opening round of the season.
Mini, who won the Italian F4 championship in 2020 and finished runner up in last year’s Formula Regional European Championship, pipped Gabrielle Bortoleto by half a tenth to secure pole position for the feature race on Sunday. Gregoire Saucy was third for ART with Oliver Goethe fourth for Trident.
Williams junior driver Franco Colapinto, who qualified 12th, will start on reverse grid pole for today’s sprint race, with Pepe Marti alongside him.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Watching Formula 1 in India to get 3 times expensive in 2023 with F1TV (Times of India)
“In comparison, the Disney HotStar+ Super (basic) plan, which was the OTT platform to watch Formula 1 races in 2022, currently costs Rs 899 for a year. This means that watching F1 in India will get 3 times more expensive in 2023 with F1 TV Pro, the exclusive platform to stream all races throughout the season. Moreover, the Disney HotStar+ plan also offered additional services like movies, other live sports, TV, and more, while the F1 TV Pro subscription will limit you to the motorsport series.”
How Team Penske’s Will Power Can Join a Select IndyCar Club in 2023 (Autoweek)
“Hard as it may seem to believe, only two drivers in IndyCar history (the sanctioning body dates back to 1996) have been able to win back-to-back titles: Dario Franchitti (actually won three seasons in a row, 2009, 2010 and 2011) and Sam Hornish Jr. (2001 and 2002). Power would like to add his name to that exclusive short list.”
Formula 2 title favourite Pourchaire reveals 2024 plans amid links to Ferrari (Total Motorsport)
“At the moment I don’t know what I will do in 2024. I will focus on this year and will give my best because I know I have a great opportunity this season to do something really good and to change the future of my career. I think there are some great opportunities for 2024 and there might maybe be some space in the best championship in the world so let’s see.”
Maini aiming for clean Sprint Race to bag vital points on debut (F2)
“I’m super happy. I did some good laps. Both were good enough for P6 I think. We did a one-lap strategy on both sets, so we have good tyres for the races and I’m looking forward to it. Now that all the weight is off my shoulders, I feel a lot more confident. I always knew I could fight with the best in the world, so it felt good to be up there.”
Tech wars turning cycling into kind of Formula One (Japan Today)
“Before, they all had almost the same bikes. Today, there are big differences. The frame, the wheels, the tires… add everything up and you go from a tradesman’s two-wheeler to a rocket. Cycling has become like Formula 1”
IndyCar bullish on 2023 season, new docuseries (Sports Business Journal)
“Miles, the president and CEO of Penske Entertainment Corp., which owns IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, also said that his property is focused on schedule innovation and is in talks to add races in the Southern and Eastern regions of America. He said the series is in ongoing talks with three businesses that are interested in becoming race promoters in IndyCar, plus some keen on hosting an event overseas.”
McLaren Set For A Challenging Year (Channel 4 via YouTube)
“We head to the golf course with Lando Norris and Billy Monger as the McLaren driver prepares for the 2023 Formula 1 season opener in Bahrain. They talk through Lando’s expectations and targets for the year, what he got up to on his pre-season break and how it feels to no longer be the youngest driver on the team with the addition of Oscar Piastri.”
We always endeavour to credit original sources. If you have a tip for a link relating to single-seater motorsport to feature in the next RaceFans round-up please send it to us via the contact form.
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
First Friday . First race . Happy to see @lance_stroll back in the car . We will continue working and understanding the new car. @astonmartinf1 https://t.co/3Osa2OJxwV
— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) March 3, 2023
Food for thought: @AstonMartinF1‘s current aerodynamic development allocation is 50% higher than @redbullracing‘s…https://t.co/G2QxXxhoBO#F1
— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) March 3, 2023
On air for F1 2023!!
New production facilities at F1 MTC, are absolutely incredible. pic.twitter.com/qrv1CciEVs
— Alex Brundle (@AlexBrundle) March 3, 2023
Honoring our friend and teammate Jenny Harman on the cars this weekend, who sadly passed away last week.
Keeping your family and friends in our thoughts this weekend ❤️#HaasF1 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/vFSNQSNgcC
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) March 3, 2023
FFS. Another podcast!
DC and Eddie Jordan, Formula For Success… Ep 1 on all podcast platforms now#F1 #BahrainGP #Podcast pic.twitter.com/voU1dM1mL0— Whisper (@WeAreWhisperTV) March 3, 2023
Probably the first driver from my childhood karting club to make it to F1! https://t.co/wK8GwEkikr
— Emily Jones (@emree_ree) March 3, 2023
.@HunterMcElrea has been seen and released after this incident in practice 1. #INDYNXT // #GPStPete pic.twitter.com/8bBUCD9Jjz
— INDY NXT (@INDYNXT) March 3, 2023
Valtteri Bottas will be at the 2023 Adelaide Motorsport Festival on Sunday March 26! The Finnish Formula 1 race winner will take part in on-track demonstrations and meet fans in the event’s ‘Grand Marquee’ and in the corporate villas: https://t.co/SNA84uWaC5 #AMF #F1 #Adelaide pic.twitter.com/VPuav0CFLK
— Adelaide Motorsport Festival (@AdelMotorsFest) March 3, 2023
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