Daniel Riccicardo keeps it classy, Guenther Steiner's cool shirts, and more from Zandvoort.
- Ricciardo: No Hard Feelings
- Ex-F1 Race Director Masi Gets New Gig
- F1 Support Series to Use Sustainable Fuels
- Sim Racer Turned Racer Gets Red Bull Role
- Steiner Shirts a Hit
- American Correa Claims Emotional Podium
Leftovers and pit notes from another Max Verstappen win include a classy Daniel Ricciardo, a new job for Michael Masi, and an emotional moment for a young American.
Autoweek rounds up some of the other talking points from the Dutch GP.
Daniel Ricciardo will be leaving McLaren at season’t end.
Vince Mignott/MB MediaGetty Images
Ricciardo: No Hard Feelings
Daniel Ricciardo’s on-track results have been dismal in recent races, but off-track he continues to exude class. Ricciardo has been replaced for 2023 by rookie compatriot Oscar Piastri, who is managed by fellow Australian Mark Webber, with a deal having been struck in early July. Ricciardo revealed post-race that he “obviously still likes Mark a lot and I respect him” and that he wishes Piastri well with McLaren.
“Obviously what we spoke about is private, but it doesn’t bother me saying it,” said Ricciardo. “I wanted to tell him there’s no hard feelings, because if there’s no communication, you never know what someone’s feeling or thinking. He’s a lot younger than me, so I don’t know maybe how he feels, if he’s nervous to reach out and see how I’m doing.
“Also I wanted to make sure that it was clear that I understand his position and absolutely no hard feelings. So yeah, that was good. I think it made him feel better, and I think the last thing he wanted was to have some weird tension between a few of the only Australians that have ever been in this sport, so I’m glad that we’ve done that.”
Michael Masi has landed a new racing role in Australia.
Bryn LennonGetty Images
Ex-F1 Race Director Masi Gets New Gig
Former Formula 1 race director Michael Masi has picked up a new role in his native Australia.
Masi has been confirmed as the new independent chair of the Supercars Commission, a championship with which he was previously affiliated. Masi served as the Super2 Series race director in 2015 before stepping up to becoming Supercars’ deputy race director in 2016. Masi spent four years in Formula 1, one year as deputy race director, before moving into the race director role from 2019-21 following the death of Charlie Whiting.
Masi was fired as race director for 2022 following the events surrounding the conclusion to the 2021 campaign and the controversial race decision that helped Max Verstappen to the win over Lewis Hamilton. The Australian remained at the FIA for several months until the governing body formally announced that he wished to seek a position elsewhere.
F1 Support Series to Use Sustainable Fuels
Formula 2 and Formula 3 will work with Formula 1’s global partner Aramco to use sustainable fuels in both championships in 2023.
Initially 55% of the fuel will be sustainable with the intention that this increases incrementally to 100% before the 2027 season.
“Sustainability is a top priority in today’s world, and we have been working on making our sport more sustainable for some time now,” said Formula 2 and Formula 3 CEO Bruno Michel. “The goal to switch to synthetic fuel can only be achieved through the partnership with a company of the scale of Aramco, which is determined to produce advanced sustainable fuel in the near future.
“It’s easier to implement such a significant change in F2 and in F3, as they are single-make categories with single suppliers.”
Sim Racer Turned Racer Gets Red Bull Role
Red Bull Racing has appointed Rudy van Buren to a simulator and development role with the team.
Van Buren won McLaren’s World’s Fastest Gamer competition in 2017 and has subsequently participated in real-life motorsport, most notably in F1 support series Porsche Supercup. He is also a member of the renowned virtual racing outfit Team Redline, which also counts Max Verstappen among its line-up.
“We basically built up a good bond, but he’s been doing it for a while unofficially, already in the simulator,” said Verstappen. “And yeah, we do talk about stuff. I explained my feelings of what I need from the car. And I think what is really good about Rudy is that… everyone has their own driving style in his simulator or in real life as well. But he can also put himself in someone else driving style and knows what that person particularly needs from the car. And I think that’s why he’s such a big value as well on the simulator.”
Guenther Steiner enjoys playing off the popularity of ’Drive to Survive’.
NurPhotoGetty Images
Steiner Shirts a Hit
Haas boss Guenther Steiner has become a cult hero in recent years, accelerated by Formula 1: Drive to Survive, and he can barely move in the paddock for selfie requests from fans.
Haas has understandably been keen to capitalize on Steiner’s popularity and has now launched a range of merchandise inspired by the Italian’s iconic quotes. One reads ‘We look like a bunch of legends’, and the other carries the ‘He does not fok smash my door’, in reference to the angry aftermath of the 2019 British Grand Prix, at which a furious Kevin Magnussen slammed his team boss’ door in the motorhome.
Unsurprisingly such was the demand that Haas’ website briefly crashed, but don’t expect Steiner himself to be wearing them any time soon.
Juan Manual Correa races to the podium at Zandvoort.
Joe Portlock – Formula 1Getty Images
American Correa Claims Emotional Podium
Juan Manuel Correa returned to the podium at a Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend for the first time since the horrific Formula 2 accident at Spa-Francorchamps in 2019 that claimed the life of Anthoine Hubert.
Correa, who suffered life-changing leg injuries in the awful accident, returned to racing in Formula 3 in 2021 and remained in the category this year. He has had to overcome further setbacks in 2022 after a foot fracture derailed the early stages of his season.
At Zandvoort Correa finished second in the Sprint Race to pick up his first silverware since 2019.
“It feels very special” said the Miami-based racer. “Of course, I would have loved for it to be a win. I think we were close. But (winner) Caio (Collet) had a little bit too much for us. But nonetheless, I think it’s a long time coming this year, we’ve been close, we’ve been a bit unlucky. The season was cut short by a fracture, so to come back and be competitive in the last few races was our goal. So I’m happy about it. Very emotional.”
Keyword: Monday Morning Pit Notes from Max Verstappen's F1 Dutch Grand Prix Win