In the round-up: Russell praises the impact of his team mate in his first year at Mercedes and the F3 grid grows.
In brief
Hamilton’s team impact praised by Russell
George Russell has heaped praise on team mate Lewis Hamilton as he summarised how his first season at Mercedes went.
In an interview put out by the team, Russell was asked about the working relationship relationship he had established with Hamilton.
“The relationship has been harmonious,” he said. “What impressed me the most with Lewis is seeing how he works with the team, how he gets the most out of the people around him, how he continues to keep morale high when moments are tough and ultimately what I already knew is how damn fast he is and how much of a challenge it is being teammates with a guy like him.”
After an eight-year run of titles, Mercedes sank to third in the constructors’ standings this year. They were the only team to score points in every race, but were off the podium in eight out of 22 grands prix. Russell delivered the team’s only win at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Hunter Yeany moves teams in FIA F3
Hunter Yeany has signed with Carlin for the 2023 FIA Formula 3 season, as he aims to contest his first full season in the series.
The 17-year-old American had a strong rookie year in car racing, winning the United States Formula 4 championship and starring in two winter series, but endured a tricky 2021 as he stepped up to Formula Regional and Formula 3.
He did two rounds of the 2021 F3 season with Charouz Racing System, and six events in 2022 with Campos Racing but had to miss more than a third of the season after breaking his wrist in a race.
Alonso protege moves up the single-seater ladder
ART Grand Prix have announced Nikola Tsolov as one of their FIA F3 drivers for 2023.
The Bulgarian made his single-seater racing debut this year in the Spanish F4 championship, winning 13 races and the title. Tsolov raced as an Alpine Academy affiliate, and his move up to F3 should making him a full-blown F1 junior with Alpine.
His career is also supported by Fernando Alonso, who started managing him this year and previously had his ‘FA Racing’ branding adorn Tsolov’s overalls through his highly successful kart career.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Shwartzman set for Ganassi IndyCar test (Racer)
“Chip Ganassi Racing doesn’t have any driver openings at its NTT IndyCar Series team next season, but at least one seat should be vacant when 2024 arrives, and with the future in mind, the reigning Indianapolis 500 winners want to get a feel for the capabilities of Ferrari Formula 1 test driver Robert Shwartzman.”
Brown ‘could see’ Norris racing in Indianapolis 500 (Speedcafe)
‘McLaren boss Zak Brown could see one of his Formula 1 drivers, Lando Norris, racing in the Indy 500 in future.’
F1 returns to Long Beach as Historic Formula 1 Challenge set for 2023 GPLB (Vintage Motorsport)
‘The ever-popular historic run group at the GP of Long Beach will again make its presence known in 2023 – this time with historic F1 machines from the 1970s and 1980s screaming through the streets they inhabited decades ago.’
A day in the world of Top Gun: the maverick school training drivers for F4 (Formula Scout)
‘Launched in 2021 by former F1 star Giancarlo Fisichella, Top Gun by Pro Racing is a racing school helping drivers into F4. Italiaracing’s Mattia Tremolada joined one of its quarterly camps.’
Can Grosjean win Le Mans and Indy 500 in 2024? ‘It’s cool to do both!’ (Motorsport Magazine)
‘A Lamborghini for the top tier of endurance sports car racing? That’s got to be a sight for sore eyes. If nothing else, it’ll have to pass the teenage bedroom wall poster test. Don’t worry, Romain Grosjean assures as he considers the as-yet unseen and unnamed LMDh contender he can’t wait to drive. We won’t be disappointed.’
MSR co-owner Shank joins Road America board of directors (Motorsport Week)
‘Meyer Shank Racing co-owner Mike Shank has been appointed to the board of directors of Road America, the track announced Wednesday. Shank has been involved in motorsports for over 20 years, and is an accomplished owner for teams competing in IndyCar and IMSA.’
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 in via the contact form.
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
Future ⭐️’s 🤝 Present ⭐️’s#INDYNXT drivers tell us their favorite @INDYCAR driver.@firestoneracing // #INDYCAR pic.twitter.com/c7DdX8FPh3
— INDY NXT (@INDYNXT) December 18, 2022
1/2 Nick has had a lifelong passion for motorsport that’s seen him work with some of the world’s biggest names in #automotive and #motorsport on his way to #McLarenApplied, including that famous stint in @F1 with Brawn GP… pic.twitter.com/UZ2p6hSdVA
— McLaren Applied (@McLarenApplied) December 19, 2022
and here is the full poem (of course, because translated, it loses a lot of its finesse)
My first time as a fan
It was loud, it smelled of beer, sausages and sweat
Opposite of me was lush green, white lines
A sea of black, red and white
People jumping up and down— uselesstweets 🌻 (@Danke_Seb) December 18, 2022
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Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Ferrox Glideh!
On this day in motorsport
- 30 years ago today Ayrton Senna tested a Penske IndyCar at Firebird Raceway
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