In the round-up: Charles Leclerc publicly thanked Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto following the announcement he will step down from the team.
In brief
Leclerc thanks departing Binotto
Leclerc thanked Binotto in a post on social media yesterday after Ferrari announced the team principal had offered his resignation.
“Thanks for everything, Mattia,” said Leclerc, who joined Ferrari in 2019, Binotto’s first year in charge of the team.
“We spent four very intense years together, of great satisfaction and also, inevitably, of moments that put us to the test,” he continued.
“My esteem and respect for you have never failed, and we have always worked with all the dedication to achieve the same goals. Good luck for everything.”
Ocon says “it’s good” Alonso is moving on from Alpine
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon says he shouldered much more of the workload than his departing team mate this year.
In a recent interview with regional news outlet Ouest France, Esteban Ocon talked about his relationship with team mate Fernando Alonso and their contributions to the team.
The pair spent two seasons together at Alpine but Alonso is moving to Aston Martin for 2023. Alonso outscored his team mate last year, although Ocon picked up the team’s first win and became their higher-scoring driver this season.
Alonso’s time at the team ended with several tricky race weekends. He tangled with Ocon at the Brazilian Grand Prix following which Alonso said he was looking forward to leaving the team.
“Of course, I was disappointed by his comments in the press and not internally,” Ocon said to Ouest France. “We didn’t have any discussions about any of that. I will keep the respect I have for him.
“It’s good that he’s going to Aston Martin and that we’re going our separate ways. Honestly, the work was 98% on my back and 2% on his. I was overworked. I did all the development on the simulator, the marketing trips.”
F2 and F3 announce 2023 pre-season test date
The Formula 1-supporting Formula 2 and Formula 3 championships will get their 2023 track action underway on 14th-16th February next year with three days of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.
he track will be the venue of the opening round of both series just over two weeks later, and will mark the first official appearance in both series of the new PHM Racing by Charouz squad, formed by German Formula 4 team PHM Racing buying out the entry…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at RaceFans…