Vowles officially takes over as Williams team principal days before season starts · RaceFans

In brief

Vowles officially takes over as Williams team principal

New Williams team principal James Vowles has officially started his role at the team’s Grove factory after serving his notice period with Mercedes.

Vowles, former chief strategist at Mercedes, had originally been announced as the team’s new team principal in January, replacing Jost Capito, but could not join Wiliams officially until yesterday due to contractual factors with departing Mercedes.

“I really struggle to put into words just how much it means to me, how excited I am, and all the emotions that are bubbling inside me at the moment,” Vowles said in a video posted on social media. “I had the pleasure of meeting already a huge number within this organisation. I frankly can’t wait to meet the remainder over the next few days.

“In just a few days, we’ll be testing in Bahrain in earnest. It’s, for us, an opportunity to really understand where the car is and what we need to do from that baseline to move forwards.”

FIA holds race director, steward training programme with Wittich

The FIA has completed a three-day training programme created by its president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, for selected individuals to educate them in the disciplines of stewarding and race direction.

A group of 24 trainees from around the world attended a three-day High Performance Programme in Geneva, Switzerland. Formula 1 race director Niels Wittich was one of the mentors involved in the training.

“My leadership team inherited a number of challenges when we took office at the end of 2021,” said Ben Sulayem. “It has been well documented that one of those was Race Control management. We have made changes to the Race Control operation and we have devised the High Performance Programme to ensure that we have a pathway of talent coming through for the years ahead.”

Saudi Arabia wants “champion” driver

The chairman of the Saudi Automobile & Motorcycle Federation, Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, says Saudi Arabia want to see a home grown driver competing for major international motorsport championships in the coming decades.

Saudi Arabia is increasing its investment in motorsport, including Formula 1, with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix set to be held for the third time in just under a month. Prince Khalid Al-Faisal says the kingdom hopes to grow as a force in international motorsport.

“We would like a Saudi champion – a driver who is capable of winning an international racing competition,” he said.

“We are really enthusiastic about motorsport and have big plans and we want to contribute by having a big role in the future of the sport. Hopefully in 10 to 20 years from now you will see Saudi Arabia and Saudi companies and more people engaged globally with Formula 1.”

Links

Motor racing links of interest:

Max on high expectations: ‘It’s up to us to show it’ (Verstappen.com)

“Max Verstappen is scheduled to be behind the wheel on the first day of testing as well as on the Friday afternoon. On Friday morning and Saturday, his Oracle Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio Perez will take on driving duties.”

In Profile: James Vowles’ road to Williams Racing (Williams)

“In case you missed it at the time of the announcement, let’s take another look at James’ journey to this point. A journey that has brought huge success, a great number of titles and plenty of crucial learnings along the way. This is James Vowles’ road to Williams Racing.”

Melbourne Grand Prix activates turbo mode (Herald Sun)

“It will be the fastest race in Melbourne ever and that is a result of a number of things. You’ve got the evolution of the cars from last year, and they’ve obviously got better, and the fourth DRS zones means the cars will be quicker around the back of the circuit.”

What we learned from F2 and F3 pre-season testing (Formula Scout)

“F2 and F3 had three days of test action at Bahrain last week, and both will start their 2023 campaigns at the circuit in two weeks’ time. What do the test laptimes tell us about who could start the season on top?”

All-time greats light up the nominations for the 2023 Laureus World Sports Awards (Laureus Awards)

“The nominees for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award spent 2022 climbing to the very pinnacle of their sport. Max Verstappen joins Messi and Nadal as past winners of this Award on the 2023 shortlist after defending his Formula One world title.”

Comprehensive pre-event training contributes to all-round success of Hyderabad Eprix (FIA)

“Taking place over two-and-a-half days and comprising both theoretical and practical elements, these exercises were overseen by Head of Formula E Event Operations at the FIA, Javier Maffioli and FIA Formula E Deputy Race Director, Marek Hanaczewski. Around 300 local marshals participated, mostly young and the majority with minimal prior motor sport experience. In evidence of their passion and commitment, many travelled as far as three hours from their homes in order to be part of the event.”

This year, we’re eating our way through the Formula 1 calendar (Grand Prix Gastronomy)

“This project is pretty simple. As a complement to each race weekend, I’ll be cooking the national dish of that race’s host country and sharing information about the process and that dish’s history along the way in an effort to grow more deeply immersed in the local culture from my own home. If that sounds good to you, well — let’s get started!”

GT7 Update 1.29 includes PS VR2 upgrade, a race against superhuman AI, a classic GT track and 5 new cars (PlayStation)

The latest update to Gran Turismo 7 today features PSVR2 support, the return of Grand Valley Speedway, five new cars including the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix winning Honda RA

Announcing Photo Mode and Cinematics Upgrades (Studio 397)

“The final announcement of the 2023 Q1 update and content drop for rFactor 2 is here. We’ve had cars, tracks, physics, features and more this quarter, so now it’s time to shine a light on the visual aspect of the simulation, from how the replay and broadcast functionality works, to giving more power to the players when it comes to creating those awesome screenshots of the action on track. We’ve got lots of new things to consider here, so before we get started, let’s take a look at a few of the key features from this update.”

‘Drive to Survive’ producer reveals who will ‘replace’ Daniel Ricciardo on Netflix show (New York Post)

“For me, Gasly has always been in that role as well. The show’s been on this amazing journey with Pierre and I feel quite emotionally attached to him. We’ve seen him go through some incredible lows: the season where he was demoted and Anthoine (Hubert) died. So to see him finally get a chance again in a competitive car is going to be great.”

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