In the round-up: FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has changed his stance on Andretti’s bid to enter a team in Formula 1.
In brief
Ben Sulayem changes tack on Andretti
The FIA approved Andretti’s bid to enter Formula 1 as an 11th team last year, but its president Mohammed Ben Sulayem now says they should attempt to buy one of the existing 10 competitors.
“I would advise them to go and buy another team, not to come as the 11th team,” he told Reuters. “I feel that some teams need to be refreshed. What is better? To have 11 teams as a number or 10 and they are strong? I still believe we should have more teams but not any teams. The right teams.”
Formula One Management turned Andretti’s application down in January this year. No F1 teams are known to be up for sale however Haas owner Gene Haas has announced he is closing the NASCAR team he runs with Tony Stewart.
Sainz tests at Paul Ricard
Carlos Sainz Jnr covered 768 kilometres – more than two grand prix distances – in a test for Pirelli at Paul Ricard in France yesterday. The test was chiefly aimed at developing compounds which are more resistant to overtaking.
He did 138 laps, mostly on the layout used by F1 until 2022, and 17 on the short track. His team mate Charles Leclerc is due to take over today.
Newgarden’s Indy 500 win worth £3.3m
Josef Newgarden’s victory in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 netted him a total prize of £3.35 million ($4.28m), the series has confirmed. Pato O’Ward, who lost the lead to Newgarden on the final lap and finished second, won £820,000 ($1.05m). The total prize fund for the 33 drivers was a record £14,463,930 ($18,456,000).
“Enough is enough” in Gaza – Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton spoke out following the deaths of civilians in Rafah, where an air strike by Israeli forces is reported to have killed Palestinians on Sunday.
“These children lived in the Rafah tent camp that was massacred last night,” wrote Hamilton in a post on social media yesterday. “Enough is enough. We cannot continue to watch this tragedy unfold and not speak up.
“The trauma and terror [of] so many, but particularly innocent children, are experiencing is horrifying. This must stop – for the children, for their families, and for their lives.”
Hamilton previously called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war in March.
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