In the round-up: Max Verstappen says he will continue to keep his off-track commitments to a minimum as Covid-19 restrictions relax in order to prioritize his race performances.
In letter
Off-track duties can “hurt your performance” – Verstappen
Verstappen says he intends to keep his focus on the track despite the increased attention he has received following his world championship win.
The Red Bull driver says he doesn’t plan to take on more off-track commitments “because I’m there to race, I’m not there to entertain the crowds.”
“I’ll entertain them by doing that on the track,” he told Reuters. “Otherwise you get upset, you don’t feel good and it’s going to hurt your performance.”
Traction still key around revised Albert Park layout – Ferrari
Ferrari’s head of vehicle concept, David Sanchez, says that the revised Albert Park circuit still retains its “underlying nature” despite the much quicker layout.
Many corners around the Melbourne circuit have been modified to make them more open with the overall lap speed much faster than previous occasions.
“The Albert Park track is fairly close to what we call an average downforce track in terms of aero efficiency,” said Sanchez. “It has a blend of low and high-speed corners with some relatively long straights. It is also a track where having good traction is critical.
“Although the layout is faster the underlying nature of the track remains the same. It is still a track which rewards good aero efficiency and traction. This allows us to look back into the data from the last few times we rushed there with a critical eye to ensure we consider all the key elements as we tackle free practice. We also spent a large amount of time running the new car in the simulator, so when it hits the ground in FP1 in Albert Park the car should hopefully feel pretty good from the drivers’ perspective.”
New Gran Turismo 7 update transforms controversial in-game economy
A new patch for Gran Turismo 7 has transformed the controversial in-game economy and allows users all new opportunities to earn millions of credits by playing.
After player outrage over the game’s limited reward system, the new v1.11 patch has rebalanced rewards for races and introduced multiple new events that offer much higher pay-outs than previously.
Drivers are now also rewarded for completing the Circuit Experience challenges, earning a possible reward of around 47,000,000 credits for achieving a gold ranking for every circuit.
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social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
Throwback Thursday, to the 2015 #AusGP, and a familiar-looking Grid Kid.
Hmm, wondering what he’s doing now. 
#AusGP #ThrowbackThursday pic.twitter.com/O99a1TlI2T
— BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) April 7, 2022
Thank you for your amazing support. It’s great to be back on track! Due to overwhelming demand, several ticket categories in the priority phase are already sold out. Bay and Padang Grandstands tickets in this priority phase are still available, but are selling fast! pic.twitter.com/SQG1pHTyGS
— SingaporeGP (@F1NightRace) April 7, 2022
Looks… ‘comfy’, @DanielRicciardo! 
It’s not everyday you get to take a seat in a McLaren F1 Lego Technic car. pic.twitter.com/9MzwAcNKu8
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) April 7, 2022
JUST IN: F1 and Twitter have announced they are expanding their content partnership to further amplify the sport’s digital coverage.
In 2021 alone, there were over 71M tweets on the platform pertaining to F1 — a 64% increase from 2020. pic.twitter.com/y5VDEkVfcM
— Boardroom (@boardroom) April 6, 2022
We don’t share this type stuff often- but this incredibly high tech/game changer did its job again- thanks again for incredible effort to all involved getting it done. #aeroscreen pic.twitter.com/UqL9ZDtDZ8
— Jay Frye (@JayRFrye) April 7, 2022
Sebastian Vettel showing his support for #Ukraine in the paddock at the #AustralianGP today.#F1 pic.twitter.com/UgTpjQvVbn
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) April 7, 2022
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Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday to Craig Woollard!
