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Jack Doohan set for FP1 session at British GP ahead of critical test next week jack,doohan,set,for,fp,session,at,british,gp,ahead,of,critical,test,next,week,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one

On: July 3, 2024 By: admin

Alpine reserve driver Jack Doohan is set for his second FP1 session of the 2024 Formula 1 season this weekend, as he will get into the cockpit of Pierre Gasly’s A524 during FP1 at Silverstone on Friday.

The session is part of F1’s rookie driver program. Under current regulations each team must run a rookie in practice — defined as a driver with less than two Grand Prix starts in their career — twice over the course of a single F1 campaign.

Doohan last participated in FP1 back at the Canadian Grand Prix, but wet weather conditions limited the reserve driver to just three laps.

The news comes ahead of a critical test session for Doohan scheduled for next week. As part of Alpine’s Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) program he, along with Mercedes reserve and Alpine World Endurance Championship driver Mick Schumacher, will drive the A522 at a session at Circuit Paul Ricard.

“As part of our TPC program, we will test reserve driver Jack Doohan, in line with his 2024 schedule, as well as Mick Schumacher as part of his Alpine Endurance project next week at Circuit Paul Ricard,” an Alpine spokesperson said last week. “We look forward to continuing to use our Race Support Team and the A522 Formula 1 car during our TPC program.”

Both Doohan and Schumacher are considered among the favorites to replace Esteban Ocon for next season. Alpine and Ocon previously announced that the two would be parting ways at the end of the 2024 F1 campaign. While Doohan and Schumacher are under consideration for that seat, the team has made a push in recent weeks to lure Carlos Sainz Jr. to Alpine for next year.

Schumacher’s previous F1 experience with Haas could give him an edge when compared with Doohan, but it also makes him ineligible for practice sessions under F1’s rookie driver program.

That gives Doohan a chance of his own to impress both this week, and then next.

British Grand Prix: Williams to honor their entire organization with ‘Union Jack’ design british,grand,prix,williams,to,honor,their,entire,organization,with,union,jack,design,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one

On: July 2, 2024 By: admin

This weekend’s Formula 1 British Grand Prix is a home race for many teams, given that several factories are located near the historic Silverstone circuit. Williams is among those teams, as their Grove factory is just 41 miles down the A43 from Silverstone.

As such, Williams is going all out for this week’s race.

Among several activations the team has planned for the week is a London Fan Zone, right in the heart of Piccadilly Circus. But the most stunning plan the team has for the week is their theme livery for the British Grand Prix itself, a one-off “Union Jack” design that features not only the iconic flag of the United Kingdom but also the names of “all 1,005 team members” on the car itself:

According to the team’s official announcement, the FW46 will be “ … transformed to fly the flag in thanks and appreciation to everyone at the team’s Grove HQ, New York and London bases and at races who are working tirelessly on our mission to return the team to the front of the grid.”

“Silverstone is always one of the highlights of the year and I’m delighted we are thanking our staff as the centrepiece of our home race celebrations. Williams is transforming from top to bottom so we can fight our way back to the front, and our people and culture will be key to that success,” said Team Principal James Vowles. “It takes extraordinary effort from every individual at the factory and at track to race in Formula 1, and I’m especially proud of the resilience whilst under pressure we have demonstrated so far this year.”

Driver Logan Sargeant praised the design as the “perfect” tribute.

“I’ve always loved racing at Silverstone. The track has everything a driver wants with its quick and flowing nature,” said Sargeant. “I have fond memories of this place throughout my career, and it’s always been one that I’ve performed well at. Racing with the names of every single team member on the car is the perfect way to mark everyone’s hard work and a home race for Williams.”

PGA Tour: Jack Nicklaus’ tournament returns to old date pga,tour,jack,nicklaus,tournament,returns,to,old,date,sbnation,com,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 17, 2024 By: admin

The Memorial Tournament is returning to its original spot on the PGA Tour calendar.

After striking an agreement with the PGA Tour to stage its event the week before the U.S. Open in 2024, Jack Nicklaus announced Monday that his Memorial Tournament will take place during the first weekend of June.

That means the tournament will begin on Memorial Day Monday, two weeks before the U.S. Open.

“The relationship the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday has enjoyed with the PGA Tour is more like a partnership. The Tour has acted in the best interest of the Memorial Tournament, and we, in turn, have always supported the Tour and its initiatives. That is why a year ago when the Tour presented us its new business model, we were willing to work with them and move the 2024 date to a week before the U.S. Open,” Nicklaus said in a statement.

“Over recent months, we have had a number of conversations with Jay Monahan and his team—ones that have included our presenting sponsor Workday and Co-Founder and Executive Chair Aneel Bhusri—and together we determined that in the best interest of the Memorial Tournament, the Tour and its players, we would return to our traditional date and start Tournament week on the Memorial Day holiday.”

The Memorial Tournament presents a grueling test year in and year out, almost serving as a ‘Mini-major.’ This year’s edition certainly lived up to that billing, as Scottie Scheffler fought firm and fast conditions, as well as a charging Collin Morikawa, to win by a stroke at 8-under par. Scheffler even said it played like a U.S. Open, but it’s extremely difficult for both the mind and the body to play a U.S. Open-type course in back-to-back weeks.

Hence, at Pinehurst No. 2 this past week, Scheffler explained why he does not want to play the week before a major going forward.

“I think playing the week before, a lot of it depends on the golf course, but I think last week with the golf course the way it was, it probably was not the best prep work for me coming into another challenging event,” Scheffler said Sunday.

“I shot 5-under during the first round at the Memorial, which would have been the easiest day, and after that, I was 3-under from there on out. I mean, that’s pretty U.S. Open-like, and to play that many rounds, especially with what I’ve been dealing with the weeks leading up or the whole season, been playing a lot of good golf and being in contention, I think maybe my prep would have been a little bit better for this week if I was at home.”

Interestingly, Nicklaus, the 18-time major champion who has won more of them than anyone else, agreed with this sentiment.

“When I played, I rarely played a week before any major championship. So I’m asked to be part of putting on a golf tournament in a week that I would never play,” Nicklaus said before his tournament.

“From a sponsor’s standpoint, Memorial Day has been what our name is, and we were around Memorial Day. [Monday] is normally a huge day gallery-wise for us because it was Memorial Day, and we had maybe a thousand people here [this year on Monday].”

Now Nicklaus gets his wish, as his tournament will welcome the PGA Tour’s best players two weeks before Oakmont Country Club in Pittsburgh—another brutally tough course—will host the 2025 U.S. Open.

And best of all, Scheffler, now knowing that the 2025 Memorial aligns with his plans, will be there defending his title, too.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.