In the F1 in brief section, F1Maximaal.nl keeps you informed of the latest news from the premier class of motorsport that does not qualify for an extensive mention, but is of course relevant to mention on the website.
De Vries appears to be switching to WEC for 2024 with a return to Toyota
Nyck de Vries appears to be racing in the World Endurance Championship for the Toyota team next year. Autosport sources report that the Dutch driver, who already drove for the team in 2022, will drive alongside Kamui Kobayashi, who also has Formula 1 experience, and Mike Conway. The driver was sidelined by AlphaTauri relatively early in the season this year. Toyota itself does not want to confirm anything about the possible return of De Vries.
Zhou starts from the pit lane in Singapore after an engine change
Zhou Guanyu will start from the pit lane during the Singapore Grand Prix. The Alfa Romeo driver was only faster during qualifying than Lance Stroll, who drove his car hard into the wall during Q1 and will not participate in the race, so the team decided to replace the engine in the rear of his car. This means that eighteen drivers will appear on the starting grid and that a difficult race for Zhou has been made even more difficult.
Mercedes teams up with NASA doctor to prevent jet lag
For the last races of the season, the Formula 1 circus exchanges the European circuits for adventures outside the home. For the sixteenth race weekend, the field left for Singapore, where it is no less than six hours later than in the Netherlands. This logically has consequences for the drivers’ sleep schedule, but Mercedes has come up with a solution. Team boss Toto Wolff revealed in conversation with oe24 that his team works with a doctor from NASA, who also compiles the sleep schedule of astronauts. ‘We work together with a NASA doctor, who also develops astronauts’ sleep plans. In space you live according to an artificially created sleep rhythm, and this weekend we are trying a similar technique in Singapore. The entire team is keeping to European time this weekend, so we don’t suffer from jet lag.’ But every advantage has its disadvantage, because as a result of this choice the team only sees three hours of daylight a day.
Verstappen surprised by Sargeant’s choice of drink: ‘Then I wish him a nice weekend’
Williams driver Logan Sargeant indicated during the press conference on Thursday that he will do without water during the race on Sunday. The young American says he finds it difficult to hydrate during a race, but this is now crucial in Singapore. ‘Because of the heat and humidity, we do intensive humidity training beforehand. I think dehydration during the race is the biggest problem. Personally, I don’t drink, so I just have to live with it.’ The Singapore Grand Prix is ​​known as one of the toughest on the calendar. A rider loses about two to three liters of fluid during the race. Hydration is crucial and so Verstappen wishes his colleague the best of luck. ‘He doesn’t drink anything? Well, then I wish him a nice weekend,” the world champion said in surprise. Verstappen will take a small liter of water on board his RB19 on Sunday. Although he is not exactly looking forward to soldiering on his water reserve. ‘The problem is that the water heats up very quickly. It turns out like tea and I don’t like that.’
Snooker champion: ‘Every sport needs a Verstappen’
Ronnie O’Sullivan, crowned snooker world champion for the seventh time last year, likes Max Verstappen’s dominance, while Formula 1 itself sometimes expresses dissatisfaction about the monotonous image. O’Sullivan hopes the same thing happens in snooker. ‘The sport is always more beautiful when one player dominates. Every sport needs someone like Verstappen,” said the English snooker icon at Eurosport. He wins everything, and people just wonder: is he going to lose today? People want to see dominant players, to see if there is anyone who can beat them. Snooker needs someone like that.’
More aggressive rain test with wheel covers coming
The full wets have hardly been used for years, because the spray on the circuit is too extreme when these tires are desired. The FIA ​​is therefore looking for a solution to ensure better visibility on a wet track. In July, mudguards were tested at Silverstone without much success, so a more extreme test with wheel covers is now being planned. “What we tested at Silverstone was perhaps too optimistic an experiment,” says Nikolas Tombazis, head of single seaters, at Motorsport.com. ‘In the next test we will test a fully covered wheel. Then we will decide which direction to take.’
Marko is tight-lipped in Singapore about Pérez statements
Helmut Marko will not talk about the statements he made about Sergio Pérez at ServusTV during the Grand Prix weekend in Singapore. The Red Bull Racing advisor said: ‘He is a South American, so he cannot focus as well as a Max Verstappen or Sebastian Vettel.’ The Austrian received a lot of criticism for his statements and has therefore apologized. The man from Graz does not want to say more about it. ‘If there are any questions about it, I won’t answer them. I will only talk about sporting matters,” said Marko at F1-Insider.
Viaplay is stopping annual subscriptions, only a more expensive monthly subscription is still an option
Viaplay has informed Streamwijzer that it will stop offering annual subscriptions. For the viewer, this means that there is only the option to take out a monthly subscription, which often means that the costs are somewhat higher. People who still have an annual subscription with the streaming service will keep this subscription until the twelve months are up. You will then automatically switch to a monthly subscription of €15.99.
