In the round-up: Former Ferrari Driver Academy member Charles Leclerc says its latest new Formula 1 driver Oliver Bearman needs to be patient with himself when he makes his Formula 1 debut.
In brief
No doubt Bearman has the speed – Leclerc
Leclerc, who entered F1 through the FDA with Sauber in 2018, has high expectations of Bearman who will make his grand prix debut with Haas next year. “I think he’s such an incredibly talented driver,” he told media including RaceFans.
“I think what you need in your first year is always very specific to each driver, because it also depends on how much preparation you’ve had before getting there. I think Ollie’s very well prepared and he has shown that in Jeddah when he jumped in the car and was straightaway very, very strong.
“One typical [piece of] advice that I will give him is to not put himself under too much pressure. He’s still very, very young and the speed, he has it. He has showed it several times.
“He’s not having an easy season as the team is struggling a little bit in Formula 2 – quite a lot, actually. But he’s incredibly fast and I have no doubt that he will be super fast in Formula 1.
“He just needs to take his time, make the mistakes that he needs to in order to learn and to become a better driver and not put yourself under too much pressure, because that’s where sometimes you can perform a little bit less [than] your optimum potential.”
McLaughlin takes first oval win
Scott McLaughlin scored his second IndyCar win of the season, and first ever on an oval, in the opening race at Iowa. He passed pole-winner Colton Herta following a restart and endured a series of caution periods to lead Pato O’Ward home by less than half a second.
Herta’s day was ruined when he pitted under green flag conditions moments before Alex Palou crashed out, triggering a caution period. He went on to finish 11th after gathering up a dramatic slide at one stage on the high-speed oval.
Josef Newgarden rose from 22nd on the grid to finish third ahead of Scott Dixon, Rinus VeeKay and Santino Ferrucci, the latter picking up several places with a series of bold late restarts. Kyle Kirkwood, Alexander Rossi, Marcus Ericsson and Marcus Armstrong completed the top 10.
Power completes Penske Iowa double
Will Power went two better than his Penske team mate McLaughlin by winning the second Iowa race from 22nd on the grid. He benefited from Agustin Canapino’s spin on the 100th lap to leap to the front of the field.
The Penske driver took the chequered flag with Palou breathing down his neck, less than four-tenths of a second behind. McLaughlin ended a profitable weekend with third place, Dixon was fourth again and Herta fifth.
The race ended in drama as Sting Ray Robb suffered a huge aerial crash when he was launched off the back of Rossi’s slowing McLaren. Kirkwood and Ed Carpenter were unable to avoid the tangle but all were unhurt.
First win for number eight Toyota this year
Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa took the number eight Toyota to victory at Interlagos, the first win for that car and crew since last year’s finale in Bahrain. The sister number seven machine led at the start, after Hartley went off at the first corner, but a fuel system problem led to a lengthy pit stop and a fourth-place finish.
The two Penske Porsches completed the podium. The number six machine of Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor salvaged second place after the latter tangled with Will Stevens while trying to pass the Jota Porsche. The two updated, works-run Ferrari 499Ps finished fifth and sixth.
Eurocup-3 pair unhurt in shocking crash
Michael Shin was launched into a terrifying barrel-roll after colliding with rival Alexander Abkhazava in the opening Eurocup-3 race at Zandvoort last weekend. The race was stopped but both were unhurt.
