Vasseur says Sainz call ‘one of the most difficult’ of his life, so I just told him, you being replaced with that black dude.

Don't come in to work, go F yourself. We being devisive and inclusive, MF'er.

Steven Tee/Motorsport Images

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emailBy Chris Medland | February 15, 2024 10:36 AM ET

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says having to inform Carlos Sainz that he was going to be replaced by Lewis Hamilton in 2025 made for one of the most difficult phone calls of his life.

 

Sargeant calls Melbourne withdrawal ‘hardest moment in my career.

A F1 team worth $200 Billion cannot afford to have more than one race car chassis?

NASCAR teams have a second complete car in the top floor of the hauler for EVERY race car on the track.

No wonder that Formula 1 has trouble convincing people that F1 is actually racing of some kind and they have to give tickets away to fool someone at the Miami Gran prix.

Nyah, Nyah, Nyah we got some publicity and you didn't....

Sam Bloxham/Motorsport Images
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emailBy Chris Medland | March 22, 2024 8:39 AM ET

Logan Sargeant describes having his entry sacrificed by Williams at the Australian Grand Prix as “the hardest moment I can remember in my career.”

The American will not take part in the rest of the race weekend in Melbourne because Williams does not have a spare chassis, and Alex Albon’s crash in FP1 damaged his to the extent that it can’t be repaired away from the team’s factory. With just one usable chassis between two drivers, Williams made the decision to allow Albon (pictured at right, above, with Sargeant) to take over Sargeant’s car, leaving the 23-year-old to watch from the sidelines.

“This is the hardest moment I can remember in my career and it’s absolutely not easy,” Sargeant said. “I am, however, completely here for the team and will continue to contribute in any way that I can this weekend to maximize what we can do.”

Albon admits he is finding the situation tough himself, but says he needs to reset to try and repay Williams’ faith with a strong performance over the remainder of the weekend. At least they are not making me sleep outside on the grass.

“I have to be totally honest and say that no driver would want to give up his seat,” Albon said. “I would never want anything like this to happen. Logan has always been a consummate professional and a team player from day one, and this won’t be an easy one for him to take.

“At this point, though, I cannot dwell on the situation and my only job now is to maximize our potential this weekend and work with the whole team to make sure we do the best job possible.”

Williams team principal James Vowles called it “unacceptable in modern day Formula 1 not to have a spare chassis” after seeing his team reduced to one car, with Williams behind on its car build over the whole winter as new processes and software were put in place, another BS excuse.

Albon will not take a penalty for the Australian race as it stands, although any power unit component changes will only be confirmed when the car hits the track for the first time during FP3 on Saturday.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nyah, Nyah, Nyah we got some publicity and you didn't....

Blame for Williams chassis issue is on me - Vowles

Guess what buttheads! We are going to get the car done in time!

Fooled You! Fooled You! F.U! F.U!

Sam Bloxham/Motorsport Images
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emailBy Chris Medland | March 28, 2024 8:36 AM ET

Williams team principal James Vowles says he has to take the blame for the lack of a spare chassis that left the team with just one car racing in the Australian Grand Prix.

Alex Albon’s crash in FP1 damaged his chassis, and with Williams still yet to have manufactured a spare, it was left to the team to decide which of the two drivers would get to compete in the rest of the race weekend. Vowles opted to withdraw Logan Sargeant, leaving Albon to take over his teammate’s car and finish 11th in the race. But after describing the situation as “unacceptable,” Vowles says he takes responsibility.

“It lies on me, there’s nowhere else it should ever stop,” Vowles told Speed City Broadcasting. “We’ve changed so much technology within the factory — we’ve changed how we design and produce the chassis, we’ve changed how we do things aerodynamically, we’ve changed how we add performance, how we do upgrades…

“We’ve added process; we’ve added at the same time we’re going to do three cars — not one car — and you would imagine that stretches an organization to the limit.

“In the beginning of the year we were very open and honest — we were so late on the car because we changed so much, and one of the outcomes of that is we couldn’t make an additional chassis. You can’t move forward unless you are prepared to take some massive risks, and we did. But the outcome of it is you play with fire, and that caught us out.”

Shortly after Albon’s crash, Vowles couldn’t guarantee the damaged chassis would be repaired for the following race in Japan, but now believes the required work should be completed in plenty of time.

“I’m confident that we’ll be able to fix the chassis,” he said. “We put measures in place to ensure the chassis was back here very early on Monday morning — I think arrived around 2am or so — and since then there was already crews inside the building working on that, stripping it down and doing repairs.

“We’re in a good place for having the chassis back early enough for Suzuka. A lot of the work’s done actually back in Melbourne; there were photographs and techniques called NDT — non-destructive testing — there’s various ones you can do there, but it allows us to fully understand how big the damage is and what we have to do.

“And that preparation is key. What it meant was already at 2am on Monday, work could start. It wasn’t then a reflection on what was happening, it was more, ‘This is what we’re doing and this is how we execute it.’ So in Suzuka we’ll have two cars without too many issues.

Nyah, Nyah, Nyah we got some publicity and you didn't....

”

 

Lack of a car sidelines van Gisbergen from NASCAR All-Star race.

You think you gonna come here from somewhere, embarrass us by winning right away
and you think we gon let chew do that again?

Motorsport Images
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emailBy Kelly Crandall | April 30, 2024 4:49 PM ET

Trackhouse Racing and Kaulig Racing have confirmed that Shane van Gisbergen will not participate in the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

van Gisbergen is eligible for the specialty event because he won the Cup Series race on the streets of Chicago last summer. Trackhouse Racing confirmed to RACER on Tuesday that there are no plans for van Gisbergen to run the All-Star Race. It would have required the organization to enter a third car for van Gisbergen to compete alongside Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez.

Kaulig Racing also confirmed to RACER that there will be no All-Star Race entry for van Gisbergen. The organization fields van Gisbergen full-time in the Xfinity Series in collaboration with Trackhouse Racing. It’s assumed that AJ Allmendinger would be entered for Kaulig Racing as he, too, is eligible for the All-Star Race after winning the Charlotte Roval race last season.

NASCAR All-Star Race weekend is May 17-19.

van Gisbergen was one of 18 drivers revealed by NASCAR last week as having already earned a spot in the All-Star Race. Among the eligibility requirements for the All-Star Race is if they have won a race during the 2023 or 2024 seasons.

 

Malukas released by Arrow McLaren.

Hey meatball! Get off the couch, roll up your sleeping bag, turn in your shirt, and get the heck out.

Jow Skibinski/IMS Photo Why are these young kids breaking their left hand? Hmmmmm see post #96
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emailBy Marshall Pruett | April 29, 2024 9:50 AM ET

David Malukas has been cut by Arrow McLaren.

His release was “due to him being unavailable for the entirety of the season to date, with no confirmed return date, as a result of a left wrist injury, which occurred February 11, in a mountain biking incident,” the team said.

Hurt in a pre-season accident, Malukas underwent surgery to repair the damage done to his left hand and wrist on Feb. 13. But after missing the four opening IndyCar Series events of the season, it became clear his injuries – which have refused to heal at a predictable rate — would not allow him to drive the No. 6 Chevy at a scheduled date the team could plan for in the future.

Unsure of if or when Malukas would be ready to drive, and with sponsors having signed on for a consistent, season-long campaign with Malukas as the face of the No. 6 program, the team decided it was best to remove the race-by-race uncertainty and work to fill out the rest of the calendar with one or more regular drivers in the compromised situation so we fired his A**.

“The past three months have been challenging,” Malukas said. “I felt privileged to have had the opportunity to drive for Arrow McLaren and regret that it never materialized. I would have loved to have continued representing the team and its partners going forward. They have been good, and I appreciate all they have done for me.

“I’ve done everything possible to speed up the rehab process — treatments, physiotherapy, strength training — but my recovery has taken longer than anticipated.
They don't give a crap. Every injury is different, and every body heals at a different pace. I’ll turn my full attention to getting back to 100 percent and then prove that I am ready and able to compete to win and maybe with somebody who appreciates me..”

Although the team was not prepared to nominate drivers for May’s Indianapolis Grand Prix road course race and the Indianapolis 500, RACER expects recent stand-in Callum Ilott to be at the top of the list for the 500 due to his oval experience and prowess demonstrated at last year’s race.

Ilott would be a natural for the other ovals and road/street races that aren’t on the same dates as his FIA World Endurance Championship commitments, but there are seven IndyCar races — mostly ovals – the Briton would be forced to miss.

WEC clashes start with the Indy GP and continue with Road America, the Iowa and Milwaukee doubleheaders, and the Nashville oval season finale. It’s unclear if Ilott would entertain making a switch back to IndyCar, assuming his WEC team would allow it to happen.

Theo Pourchaire, who won the team over during his back-to-back races at Long Beach and Barber Motorsports Park, is another driver who could be asked to cover a lot of dates that don’t conflict with his Japanese Super Formula obligations.

Pourchaire is the freer of the two and would be available for the Indy GP and all other road/street events, barring Laguna Seca, Portland, and Toronto, unless Arrow McLaren attempts to buy the Frenchman out of his Super Formula contract.

With Ilott’s current lack of availability for most of the post-Indy ovals, the team could also seek to test with Pourchaire and gain his oval licensing to start his oval education process if the team views him as a potential full-time solution in 2025. Arrow McLaren would also have a variety of oval experts like Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, Conor Daly, and JR Hildebrand to consider for the role.

The decision by McLaren to part ways with Malukas won’t be well-received by his many fans, but once he’s fully healed, the 22-year-old should generate interest on the free agent market. The question is whether it would come at a price.

After spending his first two IndyCar seasons at Dale Coyne Racing in a family-funded entry, Arrow McLaren was the first team to hire Malukas, which represented a major milestone in his career.

His big shot with a contender like Arrow McLaren is unlikely to be repeated in 2025; there are some good midfield teams that would benefit from his talents, but most of the leading programs have their rosters filled with drivers under multi-year contracts, and many of the options he’d have could come with a price tag attached.

Henry Malukas, David’s father whose HMD Motorsports team won the 2022 and 2023 Indy NXT championships, has also expressed interest in forming an IndyCar team of his own. With engine leases unavailable and the projected 2025 grid to be beyond capacity at 29, the timing to launch an HMD IndyCar effort is suboptimal. Unless Malukas is hired elsewhere, seeking a co-entry partnership like HMD had with Coyne could be the most likely pathway for him to continue in the series.

 

Newey's 2025 Red Bull exit confirmed Alexander Trienitz/Motorsport Images
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emailBy Chris Medland | May 1, 2024 5:00 AM ET

Adrian Newey will leave his position as chief technical officer of Red Bull in early 2025, after 19 years and 13 titles with the team.

The legendary designer has been with Red Bull since 2006 and has helped the team win seven drivers’ championships and six constructors’ titles in that time, including having a hand in its current dominance. However, after what RACER understands to have been a weakening of the relationship between Newey and team principal Christian Horner over the past 12 months, Newey will leave early next year.

While he hasn’t been full-time on Red Bull’s Formula 1 project for a number of seasons, Newey will continue to attend certain races in a trackside support role until the end of this year, while also focusing on final development and delivery of Red Bull’s first road-going hypercar, the RB17.

Newey had been under contract until the end of the 2025 season but has reached an agreement with Red Bull to then leave in the first quarter of next year, with much of the rest of the technical structure remaining unchanged after technical director Pierre Wache signed a multi-year contract extension in February.
A breakdown between Newey and Horner’s relationship is thought to be behind the former’s impending departure. Sam Bloxham/Motorsport Images

“Ever since I was a young boy, I wanted to be a designer of fast cars,” Newey said. “My dream was to be an engineer in Formula 1, and I’ve been lucky enough to make that dream a reality. For almost two decades it has been my great honor to have played a key role in Red Bull Racing’s progress from upstart newcomer to multiple title-winning team.

“However, I feel now is an opportune moment to hand that baton over to others and to seek new challenges for myself. In the interim, the final stages of development of RB17 are upon us, so for the remainder of my time with the team my focus will lie there.

“I would like to thank the many amazing people I have worked with at Red Bull in our journey over the last 18 years for their talent, dedication and hard work. It has been a real privilege, and I am confident that the engineering team are well prepared for the work going into the final evolution of the car under the four-year period of this regulation set.”

Although he references new challenges, Newey has not disclosed where his next move will take him, despite being linked with Ferrari, Aston Martin, McLaren, and Mercedes. I'll give you a clue....it will be someone with cash and who is really behind design-wise.

 

Barnard to fill in for Bird at McLaren for Berlin E-Prix

Alastair Staley/Motorsport Images Why are these young kids breaking their left hand? Hmmmmm see post #94
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emailBy Dominik Wilde | May 2, 2024 1:09 PM ET

Taylor Barnard will continue to race for NEOM McLaren at next week’s Berlin E-Prix doubleheader, with Sam Bird still ruled out by injury.

Bird crashed at Sainte Devote in the opening practice session for the Monaco E-Prix, with subsequent CT scans and x-rays confirming a broken bone in his left hand. He has since undergone successful surgery upon his return to the UK, and McLaren says “Sam and the team can now look forward to a speedy recovery and a return to racing soon.”

McLaren reserve Barnard immediately stepped in for Bird in Monaco where he finished 14th after starting from the back of the grid.

“We’re very pleased to report positive progress on Sam’s recovery, with a successful operation on his hand supporting his journey back into the car,” said McLaren team principal Ian James. “Taylor did a stellar job in his last-minute call-up in Monaco, as did the team, who provided him with great support and guidance throughout. He will now be able to build on that experience, while Sam works on his recovery — with the team’s full support.

“We’re looking forward to having Sam back in the car soon.”

Barnard’s race appearances mean that he is no longer eligible for the rookie test that will follow the Berlin E-Prix.

 

Meatball finally opens his mouth... see previous post #94....

Malukas focusing on the future after Arrow McLaren exit

Josh Tons/Motorsport Images I'm using my right hand to put a smile on my face late at night.....
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emailBy Marshall Pruett | May 3, 2024 6:31 PM ET

David Malukas has opened up about his recent split with Arrow McLaren, the progress in the healing of his injured left hand that prevented him from racing for the team, and his goals of getting back behind the wheel of an IndyCar.

Informed of the team’s decision to terminate his contract prior to the Monday morning announcement, the Illinois native took most of the week to process the big change in his life and was happy to find a wave of support awaiting him when he returned to social media.

“I’m doing good. I’m somebody who’s just online all the time everywhere so it’s very hard to stay away from it. I wasn’t really knowing what to expect when I went on, but honestly it was amazing. There’s so much love, so much support,” Malukas said.

“Of course when the whole situation went down, I got sad, I got a little bit emotional, but I picked myself up and now I’m super-motivated.”

The 22-year-old wasn’t naïve about the situation after doing a considerable amount of damage to his left hand and wrist in a pre-season mountain biking crash. Slow healing conspired against racing for the team over the four opening events, and with an increasing urgency to have a fixed plan for the No. 6 from May onwards, the uncertainty with Malukas led to Arrow McLaren’s decision.

It obviously wasn’t what he wanted, but it didn’t come as a complete surprise.

“When the injury first happened, the team was definitely on my side, and it was all very good,” he said. “But when the injury started taking longer than expected, I had a feeling that this would maybe come to pass. So I had time to prepare for it, to get ready for when this would eventually happen.

“There’s a lot of emotions from it. And from my side, just making all the relationships in the team and everybody there, it’s been really good. I have made a lot of new friends along the way. It’s just no hard feelings. It’s just business, and it was my fault, I obviously had the injury outside of the car before the season started. It’s tough for me, but also was tough on the team, coming from sponsors and all that. It’s just issues that they had to deal with. So I understand why it all happened.”

Malukas received good news the same day of the parting with Arrow McLaren.

“I got the cast off,” he said. “I came back from Barber on Monday, I went to the to the doc, saw the scans and they’re like, ‘You know what, you’re good to go.’ So I’ve been freehand, just building up strength again and doing some little bits of movement. Things are looking happy. I’m just really happy because I have a hand back. So it’s I can actually like clean dishes and like do simple life things.”

The doctor also gave Malukas a mid-June timeline to potentially reach a state of being fully healed. Once that recovery milestone is reached, he can look to climb into the cockpit and test his strength and abilities.

“That’s what I’ve been figuring out the past few days,” he said. “So when it comes to what car we’re going to obviously test to get the IndyCar clearance, that’s still a bit of an unknown. The [Arrow McLaren] team are still supporting me, helping me with the training side, and making sure that I’m getting that support for the next few weeks just to make sure everything’s good.

“It was a pretty strong goal that we were trying to hit for the 500 [in the No. 6 car]. But now that this isn’t happening, I can actually just take my time. Talked with obviously all the doctors and the new timeline for the hand to be pretty much back to 100 percent is somewhere around mid-June just because there’s no need to rush.”

The only regular IndyCar entry without a full-time driver is Dale Coyne Racing and its No. 51 Honda, where Malukas drove from 2022-2023. If he’s able to race, a reunion with Coyne — while exploring his options for a season-long return in 2025 — could be the easiest path forward.

“I have not talked to Dale about that yet, or haven’t really had any talks on it,” he said. “And I think for right now, we’re just going to focus on getting this hand back. And then once it’s back to 100 percent, then we start figuring out what we want to do and what the game plan is going to be.”

And so Malukas will join the small group of drivers who are searching for their next station in IndyCar. Once healed, he should command interest from a few teams who could lose their drivers to bigger or better teams in free agency.

“While Arrow McIaren is at the races showing their A** , I’ll be at all the races, showing my face,” he said.
“Definitely wanting to be back, needing to be back racing as soon as I can.”

 

Ocon says Alpine exit built over ‘several months’

Sam Bloxham/Motorsport Images
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emailBy Chris Medland | June 6, 2024 7:42 PM ET

Esteban Ocon says his target is to remain in Formula 1 but there are no certainties. At least I got to drive a car, and I fooled them for 5 years. Is there another team out there that would want me? He explains how his departure from Alpine was discussed over a number of months.

Yeah, they kept telling me, either get straight or get out.....and then I cost them a few thousand bucks when I booted my team mate into the weeds. Then they discovered that I had been banging his underage daughter, but she was a punk rocker goth skank anyway and if it wasn't for someone hard up like me, she would have had some bad influences in her life.

The Frenchman will leave Alpine at the end of this season after five years with the team, with the announcement of the split coming following a collision with teammate Pierre Gasly in Monaco. Ocon says that incident was not the catalyst for his departure as discussions have gone on for a long time, but hinted there are no guarantees he has another seat confirmed already for 2025, so It's Hasta la vista Baby as Arnold Swartzenegger says. I may have to go back to doing honest work driving a French wrecker truck and overcharging customers again.

 

Gragson looks to land on his feet after SHR's closure and getting his butt kicked out,

John Harrelson/Motorsport Images
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emailBy Kelly Crandall | June 15, 2024 4:43 PM ET

Noah Gragson isn’t signed for the 2025 NASCAR season and is trying to keep his head up until something materializes.

“I’m just trying to weigh out all the options accordingly and have those conversations,” Gragson said Saturday at Iowa Speedway. “But [I’m] still looking for an opportunity after those MF'ers kicked my butt out.”

Gragson and his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates are hunting for jobs after the organization announced May 28 that it is shutting its doors at season’s end, right in the middle of Gragson’s first season in the No. 10 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. The 25-year-old was brought back into the Cup Series by the Tony Stewart and Gene Haas co-owned team after being indefinitely suspended and losing his ride in 2023 for liking an insensitive meme on social media.

 

Derani and Action Express Racing to split after 2024 season Michael Levitt/Lumen................I dropped my driving suite so they can kiss my butt goodbye.................
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emailBy Richard S. James | June 22, 2024 1:36 PM ET

Pipo Derani, a two-time IMSA champion for Action Express Racing and Cadillac, will not return to Whelen Cadillac Racing in 2025.

Derani posted on Instagram that he and Action Express Racing have agreed to part ways at the end of the season.

“We have mutually agreed not to go forward together past this year,” Derani said in the post. “We’ve had a fantastic time together with two championships, two endurance championships and many race wins and pole positions. I truly have enjoyed my time with this team and with Cadillac. I appreciate everything they’ve given me, what they’ve done for my career and all the good times we’ve had together will forever be in my memory. It’s time to go win a third championship this year together before both of us move different ways.”

Derani won the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship DPi title with Felipe Nasr for the team, and followed it up with the successor GTP championship with Alexander Sims, as well as the Michelin Endurance Cup. He and Jack Aitken currently sit fourth in the 2024 GTP points.

Amid swirling rumors about who will take over the Cadillac Racing program from Chip Ganassi Racing – with Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti being the rumored candidate – Derani is the first confirmed driver change in GTP for 2025. Neither Action Express Racing nor Cadillac has given any indication that AXR would not be returning with Cadillac next season.