In the round-up: Kevin Magnussen says he is confident Haas can find more speed this season.
In brief
Haas have ‘broken status quo’ in search for performance – Magnussen
Haas driver Kevin Magnussen says he is confident that the team will be able to find more speed out of their car this season after a disappointing end to 2023 saw them finish last in the championship.
“We need a better car,” Magnussen admitted. “Last year we weren’t been able to find better performance even on the drawing board. So we need to break that, which I think we have already.
“Things are looking better back at the factory and kind of broke that status quo that we had for too big a part of the season. So I think things have already changed.”
Berger’s backing convinced Red Bull of Lawson’s talent
AlphaTauri CEO Peter Bayer says that retired F1 driver and multiple grand prix winner Gerhard Berger helped to convince Red Bull to give Liam Lawson an opportunity.
“Gerhard is a big fan of Liam’s racing style,” Bayer told Speedcafe. “He said, ‘He’s the one. He’s going for the gap, and he’s fast’.
“Helmut [Marko] was also very convinced by his natural speed but Franz [Tost] was initially a bit skeptical. He said, ‘Looking at his results, I’m not sure’. If you purely look at the results, he wouldn’t be a standout driver, but he has done a lot of racing, and in different categories, and again and again he was showing there was a spark. Helmut was 100 percent ‘that’s the guy’.”
De Mevius beats Sainz Snr as Dakar rally begins
The first stage of the annual Dakar Rally was surprisingly won by Toyota driver Guillaume de Mevius ahead of Audi’s Carlos Sainz Snr, who suffered multiple punctures over the almost 400km stage.
World rally raid champion Nasser Al-Attiyah and multiple WRC champion Sebastien Loeb suffered setbacks during the stage and are both outside of the top ten positions.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
‘We as a community got bamboozled, we got fooled’; Businesses ask Clark County, LVCVA, F1 for compensation for revenue losses (LVSportsBiz)
‘Businesses that lost millions of dollars in revenues because of the Formula 1 car race in the Strip corridor in November have banded together to ask Clark County government, the LVCVA public tourism agency and F1 for financial compensation for their losses. ”We don’t need the F1. The F1 needs us,” Jay’s Market owner Wade Bohn told LVSportsBiz.com on Wednesday. ”We want to be compensated for the losses that occurred due to everything F1, the county and the LVCVA did.”’
Send your message of support ahead of the 2024 season (Williams)
‘We know you always have our back, and the support we felt from everyone during the previous campaign was immense… and this is just the beginning. That’s why we’d love for you to send your own message to the team as we get set for the year ahead. Use the form below to leave a message, however long or short you’d like, and we’ll share some of our favourites very soon.’
Youth Karting: A Call for Change in Motorsport UK’s Approach (Alan Dove – Race Driver Performance Analyst)
‘Ethical considerations also come into play. Motorsport, like many other youth sports, relies on the financial contributions of children and their families. However, the question arises: is it ethical to hinge the sport’s financial sustainability on the spending habits of children and their families? The FA, by restricting major titles for young footballers, acknowledges the potential pitfalls of such an approach. Aligning with this model, Motorsport UK could foster a more ethical and inclusive karting environment, prioritizing the well-being of young participants over financial gains.’
F3’s Jonny Edgar and Indy Nxt’s Nolan Siegel team up for Daytona 24H (Formula Scout)
‘The pair have been signed by Sean Creech Motorsport to race a Ligier JS P217 in IMSA’s LMP2 class which they will share with Lance Willsey and three-time overall Daytona 24H winner and two-time IMSA champion Joao Barbosa.’
Doriane Pin | Sportscars next big thing? (Mora via YouTube)
YouTuber Mora chronicles the impressive racing career of Doriane Pin to date.
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Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Raginginferno, Akshay.It and Mole!
On this day in motorsport
30 years ago today the entries of new teams Pacific and Simtek were officially accepted for the new season.