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EPIT + PADDOCK25 JULY 2019 AUTOSPORT.COM 7IN THE HEADLINES
ASTON READY FOR F1 ENGINE CALL
Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer says the
company is willing to revive its Formula 1
engine supply interest should Honda opt not
to commit beyond 2020 in its partnership
with Red Bull. Aston previously explored
the prospect of building an engine to F1’s
planned 2021 rules, but it was before Red
Bull’s switch from Renault to Honda power.BOTTAS TESTS TOYOTA YARIS WRC
Mercedes Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas
has raised speculation that he will compete
in a rally again in the near future after
testing a Toyota Yaris WRC. Bottas made
his competitive rally debut aboard a Ford
Fiesta WRC in January’s Arctic Lapland
Rally, finishing fifth overall. Toyota Gazoo
Racing said the outing, which was at the
team’s permanent test site, was for fun.MAX AND LANDO WIN VIRTUAL SPA
McLaren and Red Bull Formula 1 drivers
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen teamed
up and overcame late issues to win the
virtual 24 Hours of Spa on iRacing. They had
dominated the majority of the race from
pole, but drama struck when Verstappen’s
brakes failed on his sim racing rig with just
15 minutes to go. Norris emerged with a
comfortable lead, taking the win by 27.285s.GHIOTTO, NASR GET LMP1 BERTHS
Formula 2 race winner Luca Ghiotto was set
to be among the drivers who will pilot the
Ginetta LMP1 car in the World Endurance
Championship’s pre-season test this week.
He will be joined by 2003 Le Mans 24 Hours
winner Guy Smith at Barcelona, with four
further drivers split across the pair of
works Team LNT Ginetta-AER G60-LT-P1s.
Meanwhile, ex-Formula 1 driver Felipe
Nasr will test for the Rebellion LMP1 squad.RENAULT ZOE SET FOR ANDROS
Renault will provide manufacturer backing
to the DA Racing team in the top class of
the Andros Trophy, as the series switches
to electric power in 2019-20. The team will
field the Nouvelle ZOE model in what is
a three-year Renault deal for the squad.
Andros Trophy organisers trialled the
four-wheel-drive, four-wheel-steer, twin-
motor, 350bhp machines in early 2018.FORMULA EAndre Lotterer’s decision to sign for the
new Porsche ABB FIA Formula E squad
has kickstarted the post-2018-
championship silly season.
Lotterer will join Neel Jani in
Porsche’s line-up for its maiden
FE campaign after leaving the DS
Techeetah squad. The triple Le Mans
winner had remained a Porsche factory
driver after joining its LMP1 team
ahead of the 2017 season following
Audi’s decision to withdraw from
the World Endurance Championship,
despite Porsche then making its own
WEC exit at the end of that season.
“I wanted to stay in the group,
in the family, under the Volkswagen
group,” Lotterer explained to
Porsche’s in-house Inside E podcast.
“Unfortunately, we only had a year- so for me, it’s a bit [of] unfinished
business that I have.”
Jani was announced as Porsche’s
first driver for 2019-20 on the eve
of the most recent campaign getting
underway last December. This led to
much interest in the second seat, with
another former Porsche LMP1 star,
Brendon Hartley, helping Jani with the
early stages of Porsche’s 15-day private
testing programme. But the marque was
always understood to favour having at
least one driver with significant FE
experience – Jani entered two races
for Dragon at the start of the 2017-
season, while Hartley has no
competitive FE experience – which
is why choosing Lotterer makes sense.
He is also an experienced FE title
contender after his two seasons with
DS Techeetah, which is now searching
for a replacement. The team said it
had been “approached by multiple
high-level drivers” when announcing
Lotterer’s exit, and interest in his
vacant seat will be high. DS Techeetah
has won the past two drivers’ titles
with Jean-Eric Vergne, as well as
the teams’ prize in 2018-19.
Few FE line-ups beyond Porsche and
Audi are thought to be fully finalised
for 2019-20, which suggests an
intriguing summer for driver market
developments lies ahead.
In other FE-related news, six-time
World Rally champion Sebastien Ogier
(below) will advise the Extreme E
electric off-road SUV racing series
ahead of its 2021 launch, as well as test
and develop its ODYSSEY 21 base car.
ALEX KALINAUCKASPorsche signs Lotterer