Hamilton’s contract delay is a matter of ‘cleaning up trivia’ – Wolff

In brief

Only “trivial things” prevent Hamilton from signing a contract with Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton is technically a free agent at the end of the 2023 Formula 1 season, but Mercedes are confident he will soon sign a contract that will keep him with them for at least the next two seasons.

However, questions have been raised as to why his next contract has yet to be signed and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff recently responded.

“We are not talking about an ambassador after his retirement, nor is he part of the contract negotiations,” he said. “I think he has many years to go as a driver in this team and therefore it is only to clear things up in the contract.

“I know it seems a bit ‘why isn’t this done and dusted’, but it’s just minor things that just need to be cleaned up in the contracts and we need to find the time.

“He’s been a Mercedes driver since the beginning, when he was, god knows, eight or ten years old. He had the AMG crown, and then all these years through McLaren to the Mercedes family and then these ten or 11 years to the Mercedes works team.

“I think he is synonymous with Mercedes, which is synonymous with his career. We’ve been through so many ups and downs, so many situations that were difficult from a human side, from a professional side, and so many other extremely positive moments and I think it just made us stay together, trust each other, and be able to have tough love and the weird argument. I think there’s such a strong bond that makes him so loyal to us as well.”

Castroneves is open to doing more, not less racing by moving to part-time IndyCar

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves will return as a part-time IndyCar driver next year after two full seasons with Meyer Shank Racing, but the 48-year-old denies that means he is headed for retirement.

He has bought MSR and committed to racing for the team in the 2024 Indy 500, having won the race with them in 2021, as well as assisting Tom Blomqvist who will become MSR’s new full-time driver.

MSR is confident that Castroneves will remain in the cockpit for several years beyond this, possibly in their sports car racing endeavors.

“I want to be very clear: I’m not retiring, okay?” Castroneves said. “I just want to make sure people understand that. Actually, my [schedule] it is open now for other series. I can do Superstar Racing Experience, IMSA, NASCAR, stock cars in Brazil, whatever [opportunity].

“Obviously, the main focus is IndyCar in my role [with] different hats and also [the Indy 500]. I still have a lot of fire in me, a lot of energy that I want to burn. A great thing is the experience that I [bring] and built all these years.”

FIA to get involved in land speed record attempt

The FIA, the world governing body for car-based motorsport, announced it is teaming up with motorcycling counterpart the FIM this week in a bid to break a land speed record.

Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt lake, will be used to form a 24km course and it is hoped that this week’s runs will rival the famous Bonneville Salt Flats in the US.

Jim Knapp will drive a 3,500bhp car which he hopes will exceed 737,794km/h, which is the FIA-recognised top speed record achieved by a wheeled car (as opposed to jet records). . Higher speeds have been achieved, with the world record 776,744 km/h achieved at Bonneville in 2019, with a top speed of 810,034 km/h on the one-mile exit of a one-way track.

Connections

Racing links of motoring interest:

How we build the F1 campus of the future (Mercedes-AMG F1)

”Our focus is now moving to some of the outer regions. We will build a brand new building to house a gym, a restaurant and a general wellness center. At the front of the site, we’re going to build another new building that will house marketing, finance, commercial and create something that’s really impressive when you drive into the site.”

Antonelli and Stenshorne heat up FREC battle ahead of summer break (Formula Scout)

“There was an end-of-term feeling during the last FREC round at Paul Ricard. The baking weather ensured that the teams’ inflatable pools were in plenty of use as drivers tried to cool down between heated on-track battles. Normally it’s experienced drivers who race up front, but this year the spotlight is on the rookies.”

Just eight points separate Palos from his second IndyCar title (IndyCar)

Palou has a 101-point lead over Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon and is 105 points ahead of Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, who was hit by the car’s anvil multiple times last weekend.

If Palou gets ahead of both rivals at Gateway, it could be game over as all he needs is a 109-point lead to become a two-time IndyCar champion. A maximum of 108 are available in the penultimate race at Portland and the finale at Laguna Seca’

‘Australia’s Silverstone’: New facility opens at SMP (Speedcafe)

“The Australian Racing Drivers Club hopes Sydney Motorsport Park can become the home of the country’s racing and technology industries with the opening of the new Australian Motorsport Innovation Precinct, a $10 million development at the track that is part of a wider $32 million investment to SMP by the New South Wales Government’.

MK Technologies joins forces with FRegional Americas and US F4 (FRegional Americas)

“In the first year of a new partnership, MK Technologies has helped Formula Regional Americas and United States Formula 4 step up their inspection process on a weekly basis.

MK Technologies offers scale platforms to fit most motorsport vehicles, as well as a variety of scales, chassis alignment and pit equipment.

Debuting at NOLA Motorsports Park earlier this year, the new facility gives officials at both series flexibility in placing the car on the scale pads during scrutineering, leading to more efficient and accurate estimates.

August 16: Simona de Silvestro wins FATlantic GP3R 2009 (Pole Position)

“A flashback to when Switzerland’s Simona de Silvestro took Formula Atlantic victory 14 years ago today at Canada’s long-running Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières”.

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