Formula E organisers have cancelled the upcoming pre-season test in Valencia following torrential flooding in the area which has left at least 158 people dead and will instead hold the event in Jarama.

The all-electric championship was due to hold four days of running for all 11 teams and the new Gen3 Evo machines between 4-7 November at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit.

But the Valencia region in eastern Spain was hit by a year’s worth of rainfall in the space of just eight hours on Tuesday, causing widespread devastation that has killed well over 100 people with many still missing.

The access roads in and out of the circuit have been completely swept away in the flash flooding, with Formula E organisers announcing on Wednesday that it was inaccessible by vehicle.

Although the Ricardo Tormo Circuit itself was undamaged, problems gaining access to the site as well as the wider logistical problems in the area have meant Formula E has cancelled the test.

Circuit Ricardo Tormo after flooding

Photo by: Paco Alcobendas

“We have all been monitoring the tragic situation in Valencia, where flash floods have devastated the region and claimed many lives,” said a Formula E statement released on Thursday.

“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by these terrible events and we at Formula E are looking at how we can practically support the region during this awful time.

“Following consultation with local authorities, the FIA and our colleagues at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, we have decided not to proceed with our pre-season test in Valencia, planned for 4-7 November.

“While it may have been possible to go ahead logistically, it is important not to create any distraction or use valuable resources that are much better served supporting the local community.

“We have a number of Formula E team members who have been working on the ground in Valencia over the past week, and we want to personally thank them for everything they’ve done, and continue to do, to support the area.”

The statement went on to add that a new venue in the form of the Circuito del Jarama would host the scheduled event – as well as the all-female test – which will run from 5-8 November.

It added: “The full event schedule will be confirmed in due course, as we navigate a number of logistical and operational challenges which will determine if it’s possible to move our test operations to Madrid within this timeframe.”

The Ricardo Tormo Circuit is currently due to host the conclusion of the 2024 MotoGP season the following week on 15-17 November, with organisers stating on Wednesday that the championship is “committed” to running the race but that its focus is on supporting those in the community.

Ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend, Marc Marquez claimed that “ethically speaking, I don’t think the Valencia Grand Prix should be held”, adding that it should only take place if all the proceeds are given to the families of victims.

Most recently, the 2023 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was cancelled by Formula 1 organisers after flooding in the area that resulted in two deaths.

Max Verstappen says he doesn’t listen to criticism about his Formula 1 racing conduct at the Mexican Grand Prix, asserting that “I know what I’m doing”.

The Red Bull driver faced numerous questions in the aftermath of the Mexico race, in which he was penalised twice for incidents involving title rival Lando Norris – ultimately adding up to a 20-second drop at his first pitstop.

Verstappen was accused of “Dick Dastardly stuff” by 1996 F1 champion Damon Hill on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Hill adding that the Dutchman had “let himself down” with his Mexico manoeuvres.

Asked if had any response to Hill’s comments, Verstappen tersely responded: “I don’t listen to those individuals. I just do my thing. I’m a three-time world champion, I think I know what I’m doing. I have my opinions, but I don’t need to share them.”

Explaining the situation from his perspective, Verstappen stated that it was simply a ‘win some, lose some’ incident and that he was simply attempting to ensure he kept hold of a good result.

“I think it’s just you win some, you lose some. That’s how it is in racing in general,” he said.

“I like to win. I don’t like to lose. I think not many people like to lose. I just tried to maximize the result and, like I said, some you win, some you lose.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Speaking on the subject of those whom he was willing to take advice from, Verstappen said that he had no problems with objectivity and people in the paddock who were not simply willing to stir things up.

He also elaborated on his feeling about the current racing rules situation, reiterating his standpoint that it was probably overregulated and that there would never be the perfect quantity of rules governing drivers’ etiquette on track.

“I think it’s not that straightforward, clearly even between how many seconds [of time penalties] that you get. Like I said before, sometimes they work for you, sometimes they work against you.  

“I think it’s never going to be perfect because even if you remove rules, then you get into a battle, then you want more rules because it’s not clear what is allowed or not. Then when you have too many rules, you want less rules. It just keeps on going left and right all the time. 

“Do I think it’s overregulated? Probably yes. In general, the rulebook is only getting bigger and bigger every single year. I don’t think that’s always the right way forward. 

“[I listen to] people that are objective and close to me and not just there to stir [things up]. Some people are just being very annoying. I know who these people are, although I don’t really pay a lot of attention to them anyway. 

“I think I’ve got to this stage in my career with the right people supporting me and making my own decisions.

“[These are] good people with a good heart from the outside. The most important thing is that I know [who they are]. Some people are just a bit biased and I mean, I get it, it’s fine.

“But it’s not my problem at the end of the day. I just continue with my life and I keep performing.”

Jenson Button, current Hertz Team JOTA WEC driver and former F1 World Champion shares never-before-heard details on his wild 2009 title run with Brawn, his final F1 race in Monaco while subbing in for Fernando Alonso, the terrifying truth about his malfunctioning helmet in 2004, and more.

Formula 1 teams and tyre supplier Pirelli have arrived at this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix braced for a more unpredictable weekend than normal.

While the track layout itself is unchanged from previous years, what is different is the asphalt – which has been completely resurfaced since last year’s event.

Newly laid tracks add a huge degree of uncertainty at grands prix, as teams are never sure about the impact it can have on grip levels.

At some venues in the past – perhaps most famously Turkey in 2020 – if the track has not been treated properly then it can trigger a massive drop in grip and cause huge headaches for drivers and teams.

At the other end of the spectrum, a new surface that offers some decent grip but has not been rubbered in can result in cars sliding a bit more, which has a negative impact on tyre degradation.

What Brazil will deliver is hard to be sure of right now, with the final answer only coming from the first practice session when drivers get to run out on track for the first time.

As Alpine‘s Esteban Ocon said: “This weekend there’s new challenges ahead, a lot of unknowns for everyone, looking at how the tarmac is and the degradation. How it can be and the grip level? We don’t know.”

Sets of Medium and Hard Pirelli tyres used by McLaren

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

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What the first data says

There are some early signs though of what to expect – and it points towards an especially exciting F1 weekend.

Early analysis from Pirelli’s engineers of the Brazil surface shows that there are no major alarm bells ringing over the grip on offer.

Motorsport.com has learned that the micro-roughness of the Interlagos surface shows a 46% drop compared to last year, with macro roughness indicating a 30% drop.

That would point towards the track in theory offering less grip than last year, which could result in more sliding and therefore higher tyre temperatures and more degradation.

But a deeper dive into the overall grip levels, based on the chemical adhesion interaction of the track/tyre, has shown that the situation is not actually too different to previous years.

Brazil has traditionally not been a venue that offers a lot of grip, and some of the data collected ahead of the weekend suggests that some corners may actually be an improvement on before.

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB19, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR23

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

The darker surface

This first snapshot of data points then towards the new surface maybe not leading to a dramatically different weekend.

However, there is another interesting element that has popped up and could actually have the biggest impact on how things turn out – and that is the colour of the new asphalt.

The new surface is very black, and that means that it will absorb the sun’s temperature much more than the old washed-out grey surface that was used up until last year.

Pirelli’s first analysis of the variation in temperature of the track surface has already pointed to things being quite dramatic – and the early afternoon on Thursday had already registered it nudging towards 60C.

Higher track temps have a direct impact on tyres temperatures, and can help amplify any thermal degradation – which is always a factor around the Interlagos track because of its layout.

The higher temps could then force teams to shift towards the harder compounds for both the sprint and the grand prix, but this choice is slightly complicated by the selections on offer this weekend.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W14, leads Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo C43

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

First of all, Pirelli has opted to shift its compounds one step softer than last year, so the 2023 soft is the 2024 medium.

Then secondly, with Brazil being a sprint weekend, the tyre allocation is different – with two sets of hards, four sets of mediums and six sets of softs available.

The likelihood is that the 2024 soft is not going to be a suitable race tyre – so is only really good for qualifying.

That then means teams are going to have to manage very carefully how they distribute their tyres across the sprint and the main grand prix – knowing full well that they cannot compromise what they need for Sunday.

What teams will need to understand quickly from practice is if the medium is going to hold on enough for the 24 laps of the sprint. Last year that tyre (which was the soft in 2023) did cope – but if degradation is worse this time around it could make things difficult. 

If the medium isn’t good enough, then that could make life extremely complicated for the race that is normally a two-stopper.

If teams need to run the hard in the sprint, then that would leave them short for the grand prix – so Saturday could be especially intriguing.

What this all means is an especially complicated race weekend and one where rain could yet throw extra uncertainty into the mix.

Last year, Netflix released its first season of “NASCAR: Full Speed,” a docuseries following the 2023 Cup Series. The film crew zeroed in on potential championship contenders, planning to shadow the eight drivers they expected to make it to the end. When Christopher Bell made the top eight, they brought him on screen almost randomly.

“I wasn’t in that plan, was I?” Bell asked.

“You were never in that plan,” they responded.

“Imagine that.”

Bell made NASCAR’s final four (formally called the Championship Four) in 2022, the year before Netflix filmed that scene. He made it again last year. This year, with one race left to qualify, Bell has a big cushion over the fifth-place elimination line. He’s led 1,002 laps so far this season, second only to one of the Cup Series’ biggest title threats, Kyle Larson.

The Netflix crew gave Bell the “quiet contender” storyline, and they weren’t wrong. But as he knows well, people notice the “quiet” part — but don’t pay enough attention to the “contender” half.

Christopher Bell in the No. 20 Toyota Camry

Photo by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images

“I’m definitely quiet,” Bell told Motorsport.com. “I’m quiet and reserved, and people will kind of take that as a weakness. I’m not one of the guys that’s going to be out there hooting and hollering, but I know that I’m every bit as capable as anyone else out there.

“It was interesting to me how the Netflix deal played out last year. They have to pick guys to follow throughout the year, and coming off of 2022, I was a championship contender. We made the final four, then they specifically chose not to follow me because they didn’t expect me to perform well. It made me happy that I proved them wrong and crashed their party.”

Bell, 29, drives the No. 20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing, one of the longtime powerhouse teams in the Cup Series. Modern NASCAR no longer tallies season-long points to decide the champion; these days, the title trophy shows up after a 10-race, 16-driver playoff format. Those drivers get eliminated in sets of four throughout the playoffs, until only four remain. When they get to the last race of the season, points no longer matter — whicheverChampionship Four driver finishes highest wins the title (even if a non-playoff driver wins the race).

This weekend, Bell enters the final race of the eight-driver round, which happens at Martinsville Speedway, in the third seed. The only two drivers above him are Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick, who both automatically qualified for the Championship Four by winning races earlier in this round.

“I know I can be as big of a threat
as anyone.”

“I feel cautiously optimistic,” Bell said. “That’s the words that I’ve been using this week, because while we do have a pretty good buffer, our competition is going to be fierce. They’re going to be fast, and they’re going to be racing for the win. It’s going to be very important for the 20 team to be right there with them, and if we do that, we could be staring at another Championship Four berth.”

Bell is 29 points above the elimination line. His next closest competitor, William Byron, is only seven above. Bell can either make the Championship Four this weekend on points or by winning the race, and the points look good: The fewest points a driver can score in a race is one, and the most is 60.

Bell has a cushion of nearly half that, but the standings change drastically throughout a playoff weekend as drivers accumulate mid-race stage points and climb or fall through the field. Bell will be calculating points in his head — and with his team — all race long.

“Going into Martinsville, we’re racing two cars: the 24 [of Byron] and the 5 [of Larson],” Bell said. “I’m sure I’m going to be asking where they’re at and what the points look like, but I’ll be keeping track of it pretty well. You just do the math in your head: where they’re running at the end of the stages, what points get scored, and how it’s playing out.”

The chop from eight drivers to four is cutthroat, and no one is eliminated until they turn their last lap at Martinsville. If there’s a race winner from below the cut line, they’ll automatically advance to Phoenix, taking a spot away from a driver who would’ve advanced on points. Bell did it from the seventh seed at Martinsville in 2022.

Christopher Bell hoisting his lobster prize after winning in New Hampshire in June

Photo by: None

“This is certainly unique for us,” Bell said. “I look back at my previous Championship Four appearances, and last year, I was able to win at Homestead, lock myself in, and not have to worry about Martinsville. The year before, we went into Martinsville knowing the only thing that mattered was winning the race. We didn’t have to worry about getting stage points, or even really qualifying. We just had to worry about having the best race car possible.

“This time around, we have a ton of importance on qualifying, pit-box selection, and the stage points we accumulate throughout the race. Then, even after all of that, we still have to be performing at the end of the race and get points. We have to execute on all fronts.”

The NASCAR playoffs move quickly. If Bell qualifies for the Championship Four this weekend at Martinsville, he’ll have one week to prepare for the title race in Phoenix. Bell’s never won the Cup title; in 2022, he finished 10th in the race and third of the four championship drivers. In 2023, a blown brake rotor took him out of the race early.

This week, Bell told Motorsport he’s not even thinking about the title race until after Martinsville.

“We’ve definitely got to get there first,” Bell said. “That’s the advantage that Joey Logano has, and now Tyler Reddick. They can do that. But for us, we cannot turn that page yet.

“There’s a lot of stress that comes from [the playoff format], but I love it. I wouldn’t have it any other way. You dream of being a part of these moments and fighting for a championship. I’m sure Saturday night at Martinsville I’m not going to be sleeping very well, but the job’s going to be on.”

Bell has proven he’s more than just Netflix’s quiet contender — he’s also a playoff specialist. And not shy about it, either.

“I’m super confident in my abilities,” Bell said. “I think other people kind of take me as not much of a threat, but I know I can be as big of a threat as anyone.”

Factory Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi has insisted that Enea Bastianini will not be expected to help team-mate Francesco Bagnaia win the MotoGP riders’ championship over the final two weekends of the season.

While Bagnaia could certainly use support in his quest to overhaul a 17-point deficit to Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin, Bastianini is embroiled in a fight of his own for third place.

Italy’s Bastianini is currently fourth, 11 points behind Gresini Ducati’s Marc Marquez, as MotoGP prepares for this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix, the penultimate stop on the calendar.

“We haven’t spoken with Enea [about team orders],” said Tardozzi. “He is fighting with Marc for third place. There are no team orders and there is no discussion about this matter.

“So far each of them [Bagnaia and Bastianini] has been fighting for his own position in the championship – third is much better than fourth, obviously.”

Bastianini, who will move to KTM next season as Marquez takes over his ride at the Ducati factory team, added that he will ride for himself at Sepang and at the season finale.

“I’m competing freely,” said the British and Emilia Romagna Grand Prix winner. “I’ve also got something to contribute at the end of the season; I can bring that third place. I’m really close to it.

Enea Bastianini, Ducati Team, Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

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“Both Marc and I have committed some mistakes in the last period, losing time and points. I need to close that small gap to try to be able to fight at Valencia.”

Bastianini arrives at Sepang with both circuit and current form. He won last year’s Malaysian Grand Prix at the Kuala Lumpur venue and also won the sprint race last weekend in Thailand.

Meanwhile, Pramac team manager Gino Borsoi has reiterated that he considers the fight between Martin on the independent Ducati and Bagnaia on the factory machine to be completely free of any favouritism by the Italian manufacturer.

Despite Pramac switching to Yamaha machinery next season and Martin moving to Aprilia, Borsoi gave the media nothing to work with when he was questioned about the subject at a press conference alongside Tardozzi on Thursday.

“Next year is another story,” replied Borsoi. “Next year is the future. As I’ve said several times, Ducati has never fought against us in terms of giving us all the tools and support.

“They are the only team in the paddock that gives us the tools and the chance to fight for the championship. So far no factory team [has given the same kind of] support as Ducati.

“I don’t want to say anything more. It’s clear they are really beside us and helping us.”

Borsoi’s comments were followed shortly after by a warm embrace with Tardozzi.

Pramac won the teams’ championship in 2023, but the factory team wrapped up the 2024 title last weekend in Thailand.