Welcome to Saturday’s edition of the RaceFans round-up.
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Practice recap (Haas)
Esteban Ocon: ‘It was hard for us as we’re still struggling, since Suzuka, with a little bouncing in the car. We’re lacking some top-speed as well, but we’ll keep working to find this for tomorrow.’
The debrief (Aston Martin)
Felipe Drugovich: ‘I felt a bit rusty because it’s been a while since I’ve been in these cars, but it’s always a pleasure and I really enjoyed myself.’
Hot first day of practice running in Bahrain (Williams)
‘The track and the car feel completely different to when we were here for testing, so we need to make a few adjustments to make sure that we hit the sweet spot tomorrow.’
Mohammed ben Sulayem: First Bahrain GP ‘paved the way’ for other Gulf countries to follow in F1 (The National)
success paved the way for its neighbouring countries to follow in its footsteps, and invest in the top level of motorsport. During this time, the region’s engagement with F1 has evolved from hosting races to fostering a passionate fan base and promoting inclusivity within the sport, something which is central to the FIA’s strategy for motorsport growth and development.’”]
Andretti junior Oliver Wheldon to start on pole for USF Juniors debut (Formula Scout)
‘Wheldon, the American-born son of 2005 IndyCar champion Dan, was signed by Andretti four years ago after impressing in micro karting. He then won the the USA Winter Series for X30 Mini karts in 2022, impressed in junior karting the year after and was 2024 champion in the Formula 4-spec Skip Barber Formula Race Series with nine wins from 14 races as a single-seater rookie.’
What’s next for AC Evo (Assetto Corsa Official via YouTube)
World first: McMurtry Speirling hypercar drives upside-down from stationary (McMurtry Automotive via YouTube)
Formula 1 announcing Barilla as its “official pasta partner” is not quite as random as it may sound – the company’s vice president Paolo Barilla entered 15 races for Minardi (now Racing Bulls), taking a best finish of 11th at his and the team’s home race at Imola in 1990.
#F1
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— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet.bsky.social) 11 April 2025 at 12:25
Bizarre scenes on the media centre TVs as they show FOM folk getting the podium and big screen ready; a huge ‘MAX SECOND WIN OF 2025’ graphic flashed across it. Do they know something we don’t?
— Stuart Codling (@CoddersF1) April 11, 2025
The ‘outer’ version of the Bahrain track they used five years ago was much more unusual and interesting than the standard one. If they really must race in Bahrain, use that instead, with the cut-through at turn one to make it really stand out from the rest of the calendar.
#F1 #BahrainGP #RaceFans
— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine.bsky.social) 11 April 2025 at 16:15
Welcome to the Sunshine State ☀️😜
Shakedown was a tad wet! 🌧️ FP1 is next 🔜#MiamiEPrix pic.twitter.com/pnRb9KMkxq
— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) April 11, 2025
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Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Amy, Ben Thomas and Kyle Puttifer!
On this day in motorsport
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