In the round-up: Ferrari will make a €1 million donation to support people in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy following the flooding that has affected the region in recent weeks.
In brief
Ferrari make €1m donation to flood rescue efforts
Intense rain in May has resulted in rivers bursting banks causing flooding through the region – including Imola, which was due to host a grand prix this weekend before the event was cancelled due to the impact of the flooding.
Ferrari announced on a post on social media that it will make a donation of €1,000,000 towards local efforts to help the community and emergency responders.
“Ferrari supports the flood-affected community and is donating one million Euros to the Emilia-Romagna Region’s Agency for Territorial Safety and Civil Protection, joining the regional fundraising campaign,” the team said.
De Vries stranded by flood waters
AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries has described how he was stranded in an Italian village due to the effects of the floods in the Emilia-Romagna region as he attempted to make his way in and around the team’s factory.
In a post on social media, De Vries explained how he was unable to reach his hotel on Tuesday evening while travelling to AlphaTauri’s Faenza factory and had to spend a night in a small village nearby due to roads being inaccessible due to flood waters.
“Fortunately McLaren got stranded there earlier and their front jack Frazer was kind enough to give me his room,” he recalled. “The following morning, the hotel lobby turned into an emergency shelter for people who were forced to escape their homes during the night.
“Post-F1 announcement, I only saw one potential option to get home, which was driving via Firenze. After an adventurous drive through the mountains, thanks to the help from local people and authorities in different villages, I finally got home safely. Thank you to every single person who has been kind enough to help me. It was truly heart-warming to see so many look out for each other.”
Ericsson keeps Ganassi on top at Indianapolis
Marcus Ericsson ensured Ganassi remained on top in the second day of Indianapolis 500 practice in which any running took place this week, lapping the oval at an average speed of 369.516kph (229.607mph). The defending winner also moved to the top of the day’s ‘no tow’ average speeds just over 10 minutes before the session finished.
FOM to direct Monaco Grand Prix TV coverage
TV coverage of the Monaco Grand Prix has long been produced by Tele Monte Carlo but has been regularly criticised for missing key racing moments and failing to capture the full spectacle of F1 cars racing around the notorious street circuit.
However, according to Motorsport Broadcasting, F1’s own production team will direct the world feed coverage for next weekend’s race around Monte Carlo.
The Monaco Grand Prix will be the next round on the calendar following the cancellation of this weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola.
IndyCar president open to more ovals on schedule
IndyCar president Jay Frye says that the series is open to introducing more oval races onto future calendars.
The current IndyCar season features six oval races across Texas, the Indianapolis 500, a double-header at Iowa and Gateway. Asked if he wanted to add more ovals onto the IndyCar schedule in future, Frye replied “absolutely”.
“There’s no intention to have one less oval than we’ve had historically, than we do right now,” he continued. “So that’s something we’re definitely looking at for the future.
“The mix is very important to us. The diversity of schedules are important to us. Ovals are very important to us – I love ovals, we all love ovals. What we saw in Texas was quite spectacular. We think the [Indy] 500 is going to be at least that and then some. So we’re excited about the future and what next oval could come up”
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Lewis Heads Back to School with Petronas (Mercedes)
“It was interesting to see first-hand how Petronas is working with Imperial College on co-developing some of tomorrow’s technologies and having the chance to speak with some of the Malaysian students about their experiences here in the UK.”
Turning Spain green: Putting the focus on fans at Fernando’s home GP (Aston Martin)
“If you’re able to get to Barcelona’s most famous street, the captivating Las Ramblas, during the week of the Spanish Grand Prix, be sure to visit the AMF1 x Kimoa pop-up store on Rambla De Mar. Located a stone’s throw away from the iconic, tree-lined, Las Ramblas boulevard, you’ll find an AMF1 car and have the opportunity to get kitted out in our latest teamwear and accessories in preparation for the race weekend. You may even bump into a member of the AMF1 driver squad while you’re there… “
IndyCar’s 2024 hybrid system could shine brightest on ovals (Jalopnik)
“The theory is that instead of easing off the throttle to stay tucked in the slipstream of a leading car, a following driver will feed the excess power into the hybrid system’s supercapacitor. The stored energy could then be deployed to make a difficult pass or defend from cars behind.”
Paddock popularity and scooter skills: Getting to know the real Jak Crawford (F2)
“I have quite a few friends around the paddock. Obviously, Isack Hadjar. Ollie Bearman and Arthur Leclerc were my teammates last year. I feel bad for leaving people out because I have quite a few friends here. Good friends with some of the Red Bull guys, Dennis Hauger and Ayumu Iwasa, we get along well. Roman Stanek I get along with as well, Clément Novalak. I feel bad if I’ve missed anyone else.”
XE Explains: storms and flooding in Italy (Extreme E)
“One cause has been the drought which has affected northern Italy since January 2022. Rainfall has been at less than a quarter of the normal level, and this caused rivers to dry up and thus the soil in the riverbed to become dry and cracked. The river Po, Italy’s greatest river, which flows close to where I reside, dried up almost completely. Then the rains came. May was a time of almost continuous rain, and the dried riverbeds absorbed vast quantities of water, which plugged the base of the rivers such that further rain led to a rapid growth of water level.”
Ricciardo’s return to Red Bull (Red Bull via YouTube)
Red Bull offer a behind-the-scenes look at Daniel Ricciardo’s first six months back at the team.
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