In the round-up: Esteban Ocon says he is excited to have the updated floor Alpine ran on Fernando Alonso’s car in Imola
In brief
Ocon “looking forward” to updated floor in Miami
Alonso received an updated floor in Imola, qualifying fifth on Friday and starting ninth in the grand prix, until damage from contact with Mick Schumacher led to his early retirement. Ocon says he keen to try the new specification floor himself this weekend.
“I look forward to testing this new performance part that Fernando had this weekend,” said Ocon. “I think it seems to be a good gain from what the team is looking at.
“I think it’s a missed opportunity for us [in Imola]. We were supposed to get good points and good performance from that. So yeah, it’s a shame, but we will bounce back and bounce back better.”
Formula E announces first race in Brazil
Formula E will add a new round in Brazil next year, the championship has announced. It has agreed a five-year deal to race in Sao Paulo.
Lucas di Grassi, the 2016-17 season champion who has participated in the series every year since its inception, said the opportunity to compete in a Formula E race at home was “music to my ears.”
“There is nothing like the pride and incredible energy of the Brazilian racing fans so it would be a dream come true for me to race in this game-changing championship in front of a home crowd.”
F1 “booming” in United States says Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton believes Formula 1 is enjoying popularity growth boom in the US ahead of the first ever Miami Grand Prix this weekend.
The seven-time world champion appeared on ABC television’s Good Morning America on Monday morning to promote this weekend’s race. Asked if F1 had now arrived in the US, Hamilton said “I think so, yeah.”
“I’ve been coming out here for a long, long time,” Hamilton continued, “but I never quite understood why people weren’t into Formula 1. Everyone knew NASCAR and obviously you’ve got such…