As Spa approaches, Caterham hopes to make some big gains

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Formula 1’s summer shutdown is an important part of the sport’s structure and season. As frustrating as it may be to the fans, it does give all the teams and drivers a chance to refresh and refocus ahead of the run-in.

For Caterham, it also provides an opportunity to reflect on what has been a turbulent six week period. Following Tony Fernandes’ sale of the team, there have been a number of big changes.

A new consortium made up of Swiss and Middle Eastern investors has taken charge, introducing former F1 driver Christijan Albers as team principal. There have also been staff cuts, law suits, rebuttals… all rather crazy.

Ever since the new management came into force at Leafield, the focus always was on the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. This was intended to be the ‘hail mary’; the final roll of the dice to see if something could be salvaged from the 2014 season. The finance that has been put in place has been used to develop some upgrades for the car, which should see the removal of the ugly “alien” nose (as it was dubbed by former team boss Cyril Abiteboul). However, it should also see the gap to Marussia get cut.

Caterham needs to consider just what is possible over the final eight race stint of the 2014 season. The battles currently revolve around positions nine, ten and eleven in the constructors’ championship. Marussia sits ninth after Jules Bianchi scored its first ever points at the Monaco Grand Prix, but the team still lacks the pace of Sauber, which is tenth. If Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez can keep it on track, a race of attrition could play into their hands.

Frankly, for Caterham, even producing upgrades to get back ahead of Marussia may not be enough. Bianchi’s drive in Monaco was incredible, but without incidents ahead, he would never have finished ninth. Perhaps Caterham’s hopes lie with getting ahead of Marussia and seeing a similar race unfold.

Albers has remained tight-lipped about the chances of replacing either one of his drivers before the end of the season, meaning that the pressure is on both Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson ahead of F1’s return next weekend. Both will want to see out the season even if their hopes of going much further are slim.

With eight races to go, Caterham still has a lot to play for. Next Sunday’s race should give us some idea of just how much it can theoretically achieve before the season is out.

Beyond that? It is unclear just what will happen. Paddock speculation continues to suggest that the team could undergo a rebrand with Colin Kolles – who brokered the original deal – to become Forza Rossa, but in the short term, Caterham’s focus must lie with finishing tenth or higher in the constructors’.

Roger Penske discusses flying tire at Indy 500 with Dallara executives: ‘We’ve got to fix that’

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INDIANAPOLIS – Roger Penske spoke with Dallara executives Monday morning about the loose tire that went flying over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway catchfence and into a Turn 2 parking lot.

The left-rear wheel from Kyle Kirkwood’s No. 27 Dallara-Honda was sheared off in a collision at speed as Kirkwood tried to avoid the skidding No. 6 Dallara-Chevrolet of Felix Rosenqvist on Lap 183 of the 107th Indianapolis 500.

No one seriously was hurt in the incident (including Kirkwood, whose car went upside down and slid for several hundred feet), though an Indianapolis woman’s Chevy Cruze was struck by the tire. The Indy Star reported a fan was seen and released from the care center after sustaining minor injuries from flying debris in the crash.

During a photo shoot Monday morning with Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden at the IMS Yard of Bricks, Penske met with Dallara founder and owner Gian Paolo Dallara and Dallara USA CEO Stefano dePonti. The Italian company has been the exclusive supplier of the current DW12 chassis to the NTT IndyCar series for 11 years.

“The good news is we didn’t have real trouble with that tire going out (of the track),” Penske, who bought Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2020, told a few reporters shortly afterward. “I saw it hit. When it went out, I saw we were OK. I talked to the Dallara guys today. We’re going to look at that, but I guess the shear (force) from when (Rosenqvist’s) car was sitting, (Kirkwood’s car) went over and just that shear force tore that tether. Because we have tethers on there, and I’ve never seen a wheel come off.

“That to me was probably the scariest thing. We’ve got to fix that. We’ve got to fix that so that doesn’t happen again.”

Asked by NBC Sports if IndyCar would be able to address it before Sunday’s Detroit Grand Prix or before the next oval race at Iowa Speedway, Penske said, “The technical guys should look at it. I think the speed here, a couple of hundred (mph) when you hit it vs. 80 or 90 or whatever it might be, but that was a pinch point on the race.”

In a statement released Monday to WTHR and other media outlets, IndyCar said that it was “in possession of the tire in Sunday’s incident and found that the tether did not fail. This is an isolated incident, and the series is reviewing to make sure it does not happen again. IndyCar takes the safety of the drivers and fans very seriously. We are pleased and thankful that no one was hurt.”

IndyCar provided no further explanation for how the wheel was separated from the car without the tether failing.

IndyCar began mandating wheel suspension tethers using high-performance Zylon material after a flying tire killed three fans at Charlotte Motor Speedway during a May 1, 1999 race. Three fans also were struck and killed by a tire at Michigan International Speedway during a July 26, 1998 race.

The IndyCar tethers can withstand a force of more than 22,000 pounds, and the rear wheel tethers were strengthened before the 2023 season.