Franco Rol, F1 driver

The pair endured a difficult opening day of practice at Barcelona as Mercedes finally got some proper running of its new W14 upgrade package. 
The struggles even left Hamilton feeling that he would not make it through to Q3 in qualifying because the car was so difficult to drive. 
But a late-night simulator session for Schumacher back at Mercedes' Brackley factory on Friday helped ...

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While Formula 2 graduate Sargent has shown impressive speed, he has also endured a series of mishaps in the early races, his learning curve made harder by a run of tricky street or temporary venues.
He crashed in qualifying in Jeddah, collided with Nyck de Vries at the final restart in Australia, and then missed the sprint in Baku after another heavy accident in the shootout SQ1 session, having ...

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Fixes for the W14’s cockpit being placed too far forward relative to the front wheels, and the true impact of the technical switch of Mike Elliott and James Allison, likely will not be realised until 2024.
But after identifying design flaws with the car prior to Bahrain pre-season testing, a B-spec machine has been promised, with the first major upgrade set for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix ...

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The two drivers have enjoyed an obviously very friendly relationship this year.
During the Azerbaijan GP, Stroll told the team that he wouldn't attack Alonso while running behind him, and the Spaniard later passed on brake balance information that he thought would help his team-mate.
Alonso made it clear that he's helping Stroll because he believes that he represents the long-term future of ...

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Until his 2023 appointment at the helm of Williams, Vowles served two decades at Brackley, rising to the ranks of Mercedes chief strategist and latterly its motorsport strategy director.
Beyond influencing in-race strategy, Vowles co-managed the Mercedes' junior driver roster in his former position and steered the manufacturer's presence in other categories.
He was considered a contender to ...

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After finishing seventh in 2022, Aston Martin has made a major leap forward, holding second in the constructors' standings after three races by virtue of Fernando Alonso's three consecutive podiums.
It is the most significant year-on-year improvement for an F1 team in years, but Stroll's ambitions reach much further.
The Canadian billionaire has been assembling a team to fight for world ...

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Stroll was seventh into the first corner at the chaotic 'third' start, but he jumped up to third as Carlos Sainz tapped Fernando Alonso into a spin while Pierre Gasly and Sergio Perez both went wide.
However, he lost some momentum with a snap of oversteer exiting Turn 2, giving Sainz the opportunity to draw alongside heading into Turn 3. On the tighter inside line, Stroll locked up and sailed ...

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D’Ambrosio appeared in the Mercedes garage in Bahrain and is present in Jeddah this weekend wearing team kit for the first time.
He is involved in the team’s young driver programme, taking over one of the roles previously occupied by James Vowles before his switch to Williams, and working alongside longtime Mercedes driver management guru Gwen Lagrue.
Vowles was seen by Wolff as a future ...

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The Belgian, who raced for the Marussia Virgin team in 2011 as well as having a one-off outing with Lotus at the 2012 Italian Grand Prix, has been seen in the Mercedes pits on several occasions this year alongside boss Toto Wolff.
Up until now, Mercedes explained that d'Ambrosio's presence was purely on an informal basis, as he was good friends with the squad.
However, the team was clear ...

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Chester, who took over from James Allison as technical director at the Enstone team in 2013 when it was known as Lotus, remained in charge of the squad's technical operations until 2020.
Thereafter, he joined the Mercedes Formula E squad where he was part of the team's back-to-back drivers' titles in 2020-21 and 2021-22, and remained there for its initial transition to McLaren.
In Andretti's ...

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Three days before Bahrain's pre-season test, Aston Martin announced Stroll would miss testing after sustaining injuries during a training ride in Malaga the previous weekend. Those injuries were later revealed to include fractures in both wrists as well as a broken toe.
While reserve driver Felipe Drugovich took over Stroll's testing duties, the Canadian underwent surgery by famed MotoGP ...

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The Canadian was involved in a cycling incident in Spain while building up his fitness.
He "banged up" his left wrist, required surgery and a pin to be inserted by famed MotoGP doctor Xavier Mir in his right wrist, and sustained a broken toe.
As a result, Stroll was forced to miss pre-season testing in Bahrain, where reigning F2 champion and Aston Martin reserve Felipe Drugovich instead ...

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Onboard TV footage showed the Aston Martin driver apparently resting his right hand at times and focussing on using his left to push the top of the steering wheel into the tight right-hander at Turn 1.
He was also seen using assistance from his mechanics to get out of the car during second practice. 
Stroll missed last week's three days of testing in Bahrain while recovering from his ...

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Last week Stroll suffered a bike accident while training in Spain, injuring both of his wrists.
While his left wrist was just "banged up", his right wrist suffered a fracture and had a pin inserted by famed MotoGP doctor Xavier Mir in Barcelona.
Reserve driver Felipe Drugovich deputised during last week's winter test, but Stroll will be back in the car this weekend despite his wrist ...

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The 20-strong group of cross-party MPs, notably including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and his shadow chancellor John McDonnell, has called for an independent inquiry into the championship and governing body’s activities in countries with “questionable human rights records”.
This comes ahead of the opening round of the 2023 campaign in Bahrain this weekend before the Saudi Arabian ...

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The Canadian was forced to miss last week's pre-season testing at the Sakhir circuit after injuring himself in an accident while training.
While there was great uncertainty about his physical state, and whether or not he could be fit in time for this weekend, his Silverstone-based team announced on Thursday that he had got the green light for a return.
Aston Martin had given reserve driver ...

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Stroll had to miss last week's Bahrain test due to a wrist injury, leaving Alonso and rookie Felipe Drugovich to undertake the initial sorting and development work on the new car.
Alonso admits that he doesn't have enough of a reference to properly analyse the behaviour of the AMR23 and compare it with its predecessor.
While the Spaniard drove last year's AMR22 in November's Abu Dhabi test ...

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The team says that it will give Stroll “every chance” to compete in the opening race of the season, which suggests that the decision could be left until the last-minute – and that the Canadian may possibly even drive the car in FP1 with the option of stepping out if he is unable to perform properly.
However, the first step will be for him to sample the Silverstone team’s simulator ...

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Lance Stroll was ruled out of this week's three-day test after a cycling incident left him with what team boss Mike Krack has now revealed is a wrist injury.
The team still doesn't know if Stroll will definitely be fit enough to take part in the Bahrain GP next week.
Felipe Drugovich took over the car for Thursday morning's session, although his running was compromised by an electrical issue ...

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The Italian outfit’s strategy calls came under the spotlight last year after a number of high-profile costly errors. 
This included bad pit calls at the Monaco Grand Prix that cost Charles Leclerc a potential victory, as well as a bizarre call that left the Monegasque driver as the only driver on intermediate tyres for the start of Q3 at the Brazilian Grand Prix. 
The team was ...

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F1's team boss merry-go-round started with Mattia Binotto leaving Ferrari at the end of November to be replaced by Alfa Romeo's Fred Vasseur.
Andreas Seidl left McLaren to become Alfa's CEO, with Andrea Stella replacing him at the Woking squad while Alessandro Alunni Bravi was appointed Alfa's team representative on F1 weekends.
In January, Mercedes strategy director James Vowles became the ...

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The team announced on Monday that Stroll had been injured in a cycling accident while training, and won't be able to take part in the three-day test.
Formula 2 champion Drugovich has been thus called up and will get an unexpected opportunity to try the new AMR23.
Fernando Alonso will drive the car on Thursday afternoon, but the team says it has not yet firmed up its schedule for the ...

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The team issued a brief statement on Monday afternoon announcing that the Canadian had been sidelined for the 23-25 February test as a result of a "minor accident" but that he likely faces a quick recovery.
Aston Martin says it will release a further update on Stroll's condition ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, the opening round of the season scheduled for 3-5 March.
"Whilst pre-season ...

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Roll hoops came under the spotlight after Alfa driver Zhou Guanyu's huge accident at the start of last year's British GP.
Alfa was the only team using the blade design permitted by the FIA, and in an unprecedented occurrence, its pointed top dug into the track and was eventually snapped off.
The incident prompted an investigation by the FIA, which included three meetings of the Technical ...

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Haas will unveil the livery for its 2023 car, the VF-23, on Tuesday, and has set its sights on a more consistent and stable season following an eventful 2022 campaign.
The team cut ties with driver Nikita Mazepin and title sponsor Uralkali on the eve of the new campaign following Russia's invasion of Ukraine but saw its on-track fortunes take an upturn as it rejoined the midfield ...

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