F.1godfather

In brief

BBS becomes official F1 wheel rim supplier

Japanese wheel manufacturer BBS have been named as the “official wheel rim provider” to Formula 1 and will supply all ten teams with wheels starting from this season.

The deal was announced during the Tokyo Auto Salon car show. Previously, teams had been free to source wheels from suppliers, with brands including Oz and Enkei manufacturing wheels for various teams.

Formula 1 will move from 13-inch wheels used for many decades to new 18-inch, low-profile wheels in 2022. Tyre supplier Pirelli will continue to provide tyres to the world championship.

BBS will also supply standardised wheel rims to the NASCAR Cup Series as the American series also introduces a new car following an overhaul of technical regulations.

Honda unites car and motorcycle racing programmes under HRC banner

Honda have announced they will restructure their racing programmes in all motorsport in 2022, bringing their car racing activities under their existing ‘Honda Racing Corporation’ (HRC) division.

HRC has been the Japanese giant’s motorcycle racing wing for many decades now, running factory teams in MotoGP, World Superbike and MXGP motocross. Honda director, president and CEO, Toshihiro Mibe, says combining their car and motorcycle racing programmes in this way will help them “achieve mutual collaboration of the technologies and know-how” and make their motorsport operations more efficient.

“In order to fulfill the expectations of motorsports fans and Honda fans and customers all around the world, we will continue devoting our energy to motorsports, through the ‘new’ HRC that integrates our motorcycle and automobile racing activities,” Mibe says.

Honda will no longer act as official power unit supplier to Red Bull and AlphaTauri after announcing their departure from Formula 1 at the start of last season. However, Honda will provide direct support to Red Bull’s new Red Bull Powertrains division, which will use Honda designed technologies over the coming seasons.

Verstappen misses 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual pole by two thousandths

Max Verstappen missed out on pole position for the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual race by just 0.002 seconds during qualifying for today’s endurance sim race.

The current Formula 1 world champion’s final lap in qualifying in the Team Redline LMP class car was just two thousandths of a second slower than fellow Dutchman Jeffrey Reitveld in the sister Realteam Hydrogen Redline car.

Red Bull Esports number 111 Corvette took pole position in the GT class for the 24 hour race which begins at 1pm UK time.

Correa and Red Bull juniors Crawford and Edgar return to F3 for 2022

Juan Manuel Correa has announced he will contest a second consecutive season in Formula 3 following his return to the series last year.

The American driver made his return to racing in the series in 2021 after suffering serious injuries in a Formula 2 crash at Spa in 2019 which claimed the life of Anthoine Hubert. Correa finished 21st in the standings and later tested a Formula 2 car in Abu Dhabi at the end of the season.

Correa will again race for ART, joining rookie Gregoire Saucy. Red Bull juniors Jak Crawford and Jonny Edgar have also been confirmed for a second season each in this year’s Formula 3 championship.

Crawford will join Prema after racing for Hitech in his first season in the category last year, while Edgar will move from Carlin to Trident. Fellow Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar will also join the grid, racing with Hitech.

Confirmed drivers for 2022 Formula 3 championship

Team	Driver	Driver	Driver
Prema	Oliver Bearman	Arthur Leclerc	Jak Crawford
Trident	Jonny Edgar	TBA	TBA
ART	Gregoire Saucy	Juan Manuel Correa	TBA
Hitech	Isack Hadjar	TBA	TBA
HWA	TBA	TBA	TBA
MP	TBA	TBA	TBA
Campos	TBA	TBA	TBA
Carlin	TBA	TBA	TBA
Jenzer	TBA	TBA	TBA
Charouz	TBA	TBA	TBA

Links

Motor racing links of interest:

Official Statement (FIA)

“The FIA joins the organisers and participants of the Dakar Rally in sending all its thoughts to the family and friends of Quentin Lavalée and the PH Sport team.”

Matt Bishop on sexuality, social media and working with Sebastian Vettel (Ellie Does F1)

“Not only are they (Lewis and Seb) brilliant multiple world champions and super-successful on track, but off track, because they don’t just talk the talk, they walk the walk. They have taken onboard the mission of using their platform – the platform that Formula 1 gives them – to further and promote good causes that they think are very important to them.”

Michelle Gatting On Iron Dames, Karting, And Women In Motorsport (Formula Amelia)

“The project of Iron Dames is growing, and in the future, we are going to see women in Hypercars; we might see a woman in Formula 1 in the next five or ten years, and I hope that we can say that Iron Dames was a factor in that.”

Motorsport UK seeking applications for 2022 FIA Karting Academy (British Kart Championship)

“Motorsport UK is seeking applications to represent the nation in the 2022 FIA Karting Academy Trophy, a prestigious international championship for 12-14-year olds.”

F1 fans all make same Simpsons joke after Aston Martin hire Team Principal ‘Mike Krack’ (Daily Star)

“Unfortunately for new Aston Martin boss Krack, F1 fans have made a cheeky comparison between his name and the ones Moe usually yells out on the hit sitcom The Simpsons.”

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Happy birthday!

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