RaceFans Round-up: Sargeant's exit "brutal"

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In the round-up: Alexander Albon gave his support to departing team mate Logan Sargeant after Williams announced his replacement.

In brief

Sargeant’s exit “brutal” – Albon

Williams confirmed yesterday Franco Colapinto will replace Sargeant from this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix. Albon, who spent a year out of Formula 1 after losing his drive for Red Bull at the end of 2020, sympathised with his team mate of the last season and a half.

“I know first-hand how brutal this sport can be and it’s tough to see Logan leave the team mid-season,” said Albon. “You gave it your all brother and it’s been a pleasure being team mates with you. I know whatever you do next, you’ll be awesome.”

Palou “not 100% comfortable” for championship run-in

Alex Palou, who leads the IndyCar standings by 54 points with three races to go, admits his situation isn’t as comfortable as it might be as he has never raced at the oval courses where the final rounds will be held. Palou has also never won on an oval.

“I’m not 100% comfortable,” he said after finishing second to closest championship rival Will Power at Portland on Sunday. “I think we have a lot of work ahead of us to do.

“But it could be a lot worse. I could be with only one point of difference, then I would have to obviously beat him on those tracks or I could be sitting second or third.

“I like where we’re sitting. I like the opportunity we have in front of us. I felt really good at Milwaukee [in testing]. Maybe we can surprise Penske. Who knows, maybe we show up and suddenly nobody can catch us.”

Barnard gets McLaren Formula E drive

McLaren has confirmed Taylor Barnard will become one of its full-time Formula E drivers next season, joining Sam Bird. The season begins in Brazil in December.

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Links

Brundle on Dutch GP (Sky)

‘I know the track well from racing F1 there in the 1980s but the grip, speed and mass of the latest cars will challenge a few of those barriers with the wrong accident, and there are no service roads in places, making car recovery difficult.’

Why Antonelli’s boss has to match his maturity in realising his F1 dream (Formula Scout)

‘At the end of the day, and thankfully for all directly involved, Antonelli has adapted incredibly well to the on and off-track requirements of F2. Had he not, then it would have highlighted the error Mercedes made by overlooking its usual patience-led approach.’

Herta incident prompts rethink on IndyCar’s pitlane hybrid rules (Racer)

‘A change from giving up any positions gained by illegal self-starting to a harsher drive-through penalty would be an appropriate escalation that would discourage wanton ignoring of the rule. And if IndyCar were to go in the opposite direction next year — with a half-season of familiarity of the hybrids and their capabilities by pit crews — an allowance of self-starting could also be on the post-season docket for consideration by the series.’

Kubica on COTA: ‘We must target a top five finish’ (FIA WEC)

‘Weather will have a big effect and tyre degradation will be crucial. One thing we noticed on the test was quite a lot of marbles around the track and there were not many cars there, there were six Hypercars and one GT car. So, with the whole field it might be quite important to follow the lines. Of course, the traffic, which is the DNA of endurance races, will play an important role.’

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