Adam Cooper F1

Could Franco Colapinto one day race in his home country?

A delegation from Argentina met with Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali at Interlagos on Friday with a view to the country hosting a race in the future.

Domenicali spoke to Daniel Scioli, the country’s secretary of tourism, environment and sports and a former vice-president, and Cesar Carman, the president of the Automovil Club Argentino.

Friday’s discussion was an exploratory chat, and at the moment it looks unlikely a slot will be available on the calendar in the near future, especially with a queue of prospective venues wanting to host races.

However the idea has some momentum as Franco Colapinto’s arrival at Williams has supercharged interest in the sport in his home country, with thousands of fans travelling to the Austin, Mexico City and Sao Paolo events.

Inevitably that has revived the idea of bringing back the Argentine GP after earlier attempts – which didn’t benefit from the presence of a local star on the grid – failed to materialise.

The plan is to return to the Autodromo de Buenos Aires, which was last used for F1 in 1995-’98. However the intention is to utilise a rebuilt version of the original and longer track that was used sporadically between 1953 and 1981, rather than the shorter nineties layout.

Despite the presence of a minister at Interlagos the event would be backed by the private sector, rather than by the central or local government.

“Stefano is a great man, and really we appreciate a lot this conversation,” former powerboat racer Scioli told me.

“It was very positive. What Franco is doing, not only in the circuit but outside, is great. We will study this very carefully. We will have private investment.”

Carman conceded that a lot of work would be required to bring the former GP venue up to modern standards.

“Stefano was very nice with us,” said the ACA boss. “He says that he would really like to have another Grand Prix, but it’s going to take a lot of work from us, and we need to start to start working. And we have to do a lot of things.

“We have to improve the racetrack. We have to take it to Grade I. As I said we have to do a lot of things, but we are very optimistic. I don’t want to give dates, because I don’t know, but I think 2027-‘28 is more realistic.”

Regarding the finances he said: “Daniel has already told me that he has the finance from the private sector.

“The current government says that the government doesn’t need to do what the private sector can do better!”

Carman confirmed that Colapinto has had a major impact in the short time that he has been on the F1 grid.

“I think that a lot of things are happening because of Franco,” he said. “Franco has a disruptive effect on us, on Argentina, and the Argentine fans are very enthusiastic about having Franco racing in Argentina. So everything is joined. Things are aligning. It’s like a dream.”

Ferrari scored two GP wins – and 96 points – across two weekends

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says that the team “did a very strong job” to win two Formula 1 races in eight days in Austin and Mexico City.

Vasseur says that the SF-24 showed good pace in the previous races in Baku and Singapore, but the team did execute as well as it could have done.

In contrast in the last two races everything has gone to plan, with Ferrari logging four podiums and scoring 96 points across the two weekends – enough to move the team ahead of Red Bull into second place in the World Championship.

“We had a good weekend,” said Vasseur when asked by this writer if he was proud of the team after the Mexican race.

“And I was a bit frustrated after Baku/Singapore, because I had the feeling that the pace was there, that the performance, we were able to fight for pole position and even more. And we didn’t execute the weekend pretty well.

“And if you want to perform first, you need to have a good car, but then you need to do a good job. And we struggled a little bit.

“We struggled a little bit also in the journey of the season, after Canada, or after Monaco. And when you have a look on the championship, you say, okay like this, we have to do a better job.

“In the last two or three weekends I have the feeling that it’s much more under control from the start, the pit stop, the strategy.

“For sure when the pace is there, it’s everything is much easier. The strategy it’s much easier when you are a bit faster than a bit slower. But overall, I think we did a very strong job this week.”

In recent races the team has focussed on honing the package that it introduced at the Italian GP.

“The fight is very, very tight,” he said. “It means that we are all a bit on the edge for one or two tenths, you can move from a very good weekend to a poor one, because the race, when you are not in clean air, it’s a completely different story.

“And sometimes when you bring something you need one or two weekends to be used to set up the car, and it’s probably what’s happened with us.

“The last time that we brought something, I think was Monza, the big one. But we were not sure, perhaps at the beginning we are thinking that perhaps it’s track related.

“And then we have two street circuits in a row with Baku and. Singapore, and it’s only in Austin that we came back to a more conventional circuit to draw conclusions. But it’s true that from Monza, we are in a much better place.”

Vasseur says it was key that the team took a step back on spec earlier in the season after updates didn’t bring the expected gains.

“It’s true that the reaction of the team was a very good one,” he said. “I don’t remember the sequence, but probably UK or Spain, when we struggled a little bit to be able to accept that we have to do a step back, and honestly we lost probably one or two weekends in terms of pure pace.

“But it was a good move and a good call, and then we were back into a decent pace at the end of July, in Spa or Budapest we were back, and it was a very good call from the team.”

In recent races the team has focussed on honing the package that it introduced at the Italian GP.

“The fight is very, very tight,” he said. “It means that we are all a bit on the edge for one or two tenths, you can move from a very good weekend to a poor one, because the race, when you are not in clean air, it’s a completely different story.

“And sometimes when you bring something you need one or two weekends to be used to set up the car, and it’s probably what’s happened with us.

“The last time that we brought something, I think was Monza, the big one. But we were not sure, perhaps at the beginning we are thinking that perhaps it’s track related.

“And then we have two street circuits in a row with Baku and. Singapore, and it’s only in Austin that we came back to a more conventional circuit to draw conclusions. But it’s true that from Monza, we are in a much better place.”

Vasseur insists that Ferrari has benefited from not thinking too much about the big picture of the constructors’ World Champion ship.”

“I think it’s important for us to have no distraction,” he said. “But we are clear for months now on this, to be focused on what we are doing, on the car, on the management of the team, to take the race, race after race, and not to think about the global picture. And I think it’s paying off today.”

Gasly earned a point after surviving lap one contact

Alpine Formula 1 driver Pierre Gasly admits that he had “a lucky escape” at the start of the Mexico City GP after emerging from the Yuki Tsunoda/Alex Albon incident intact.

Gasly made wheel-to-wheel contact with Albon just as the Williams driver was clipped by Tsunoda, who was launched into the wall on the left.

One of Tsunoda’s tyres became detached from its rim and bounced off Gasly’s front wing.

Gasly feared that he had picked up a puncture from the Albon contact, but while the other cars involved retired he was able to continue safely. He eventually bagged a valuable point for 10^th place.

“I asked if I had a puncture because I couldn’t really see Alex,” he said when asked by this writer about the crash.

“I felt the touch on the rear on braking, and usually at high-speed like that, it can easily create a puncture.

“So we had a quite lucky escape. It was quite hectic as well, like when I saw the tyre, didn’t expect that to fly right past the car. I think it touched my front left, actually. So it was quite impressive.”

Gasly said he was pleased to have finished 10^th from eighth on the grid, as simulations suggested that Sergio Perez would come through the field and demote him to 10^th.

“I’m happy,” he said. “Ahead of the race we knew it was going to be P11 if Perez could make it back, 10th if he doesn’t. So I think we clearly did the best we could. At the start, I kind of hoped that maybe I could hang on with the Haas.

“On medium, I wasn’t too far, but I could see them pulling away like a tenth or two. But then as we switched too hard, they were just way too competitive. And looking at [Kevin] Magnussen, where he finished, they’re definitely very strong on Sundays.”

He added: “I think we did a very strong job [in qualifying], which basically set us up for a strong race. We tried to hang on with the Haas when potentially other cars behind maybe had slightly more pace initially than us, and then after, tried to use the free air, no mistakes, and execute a strong strategy.

“So I think it was well-executed. But for sure, starting in that top 10 made our life a lot easier.”

The Mexican result was especially encouraging after Gasly tumbled out of the points in the US GP.

“On our side just happy we managed to learn from Austin,” he said. “Two Q3s in two weekends, P12 last week wasn’t a very strong race, and this weekend, we seem clearly seemed to have a bit better pace.

“So still some work to do, but at least I think the last point finished for us was in Zandvoort, so I’m happy for the team that we managed to get back in the top 10.”