The Austin Grand Prix kicks off with Free Practice starting later today. A lot has been going on in the F1 world in the lead up to the Circuit Of The Americas race, here is everything you need to catch up on.
There have been a few races during this season where the drivers have decided to wear a new helmet with mark the occasion, and the Austin GP is no different.
AlphaTauri driver, Pierre Gasly opted for a worn look, incorporating the colors of the American flag as well as the stars. Gasly has paid tribute to Austin with “The lone star state” printed on the top.
Have a look through the original article to see them all.
Lewis Hamilton showed CrowdStrike CEO, George Kurtz, how it’s done during a one-on-one racing lesson.
Watch as Hamilton and Kurtz race in some Mercedes AMG GTs before Kurtz takes Hamilton out for a race around the Circuit Of The Americas. Later on in the video, we see Kurtz briefly getting into a Formula 4 car to build himself up to handling a Formula 1 car.
We have all been eagerly waiting to see what the outcome of Red Bull’s breach of the cost cap would be. Although we still don’t know exactly what is going to happen, it was announced yesterday that the FIA has made an offer to Red Bull for the terms of an “accepted breach agreement”. BBC’s Andrew Benson posted to his Twitter:
Red Bull will be hosting a press conference about the situation today when we will hopefully receive some clarity on the situation.
Max Verstappen has kept very quiet about the cost cap drama that is going on for Red Bull at the moment and has tried to separate himself as much as possible.
With the repercussions hopefully being confirmed later today, Verstappen has recently spoken out about the situation. When asked about the issues by Sky Sports F1, Verstappen said:
“I mean, nothing has been confirmed yet. But as a team, we know what we have to deal with. And I think we were very clear on what we think was correct.
“So that’s why it’s still ongoing, and at the end of the day, it’s also not my job. It’s between the team and the FIA.
When asked about how he felt about the other teams reactions, Verstappen responded:
“I think it’s mainly because, of course, we have been doing well. They try to slow us down in any way possible.
“But at the end of the day, that’s how F1 works as well. Everyone is, at the end of the day, a bit hypocritical. I’m fine with that.”
Another driver speaking out about Red Bull’s cost cap breach is seven-time champion, Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton told the press:
“I do think the sport needs to do something about this,”
“Otherwise, if it’s quite relaxed, if they’re relaxed with these rules, then all the teams will just go over.
“And spending millions more and then only having a slap on the wrist is obviously not going to be great for the sport. They might as well not have a cost cap for the future [in that case].”
Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, has revealed that the team are bringing a number of upgrades to the cars for the Austin Grand Prix which should give them some guidance on how best to develop the cars for 2023.
With Mercedes having so many issues this year, they have not been in a position to be competitive at the front of the grid with Red Bull and Ferrari. So, they are of course looking ahead to improving thing for the 2023 season.
Alpine driver, Esteban Ocon, will also be receiving updates for this weekend, in the form of a new floor. However, the team revealed that his teammate Fernando Alonso will not be having any updates on his car.
Alpine are currently in a battle with McLaren to try and bag fourth place in the constructors championship so they will be hoping this will push them closer to securing that as well as helping them with 2023 developments.
It has been announced that Ferrari driver, Charles Leclerc, will be taking a 5-place grid penalty in the Austin GP as the team are replacing his F1-75’s engine.
It is reported that Leclerc will be testing a new engine that is planned to be used for the 2023 season, and they are planning to keep this engine in use for the remaining four races of this year.
Current 2022 Driver Standings
As per the F1 website, the driver standings are currently:
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull – 366 points
2.Sergio Perez, Red Bull – 253 points
3. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari – 252 points
4. George Russell, Mercedes – 207 points
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5. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari – 202 points
6. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes – 180 points
7.Lando Norris, McLaren – 101 points
8. Esteban Ocon, Alpine – 78 points
9 Fernando Alonso, Alpine – 65 points
10 Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo – 46 points
11. Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin – 32 points
12 Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren – 29 points
13.Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri – 23 points
14. Kevin Magnussen, Haas – 22 points
15. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin – 13 points
16. Mick Schumacher, Haas – 12 points
17.Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri – 11 points
18.Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo – 6 points
19. Alexander Albon, Williams – 4 points
20. Nicholas Latifi, Williams – 2 points
21. Nyck De Vries, Williams – 2 points
22. Nico Hulkenberg, Aston Martin – 0 points
Current 2022 Constructor Standings
According to the F1 website, the constructor standings are currently:
1. Red Bull – 619 points
2.Ferrari – 454 points
3.Mercedes – 387 points
4. Alpine – 143 points
5.McLaren -130 points
6. Alfa Romeo – 52 points
7. Aston Martin – 45 points
8. Haas – 34 points
9. AlphaTauri – 34 points
10.Williams – 8 points
