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.”

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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.

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.

Liam Lawson insists his attitude to racing in Formula 1 will not change and he does not believe the Red Bull hierarchy will call for him to alter his approach despite his incident with Sergio Perez at the Mexico Grand Prix.

Lawson, in his second race since his promotion to the RB team, apologised to Perez for showing him the middle finger during their intense battle in Mexico City.

The New Zealander came to blows with his rival on lap 19 at Turn 4 where, after being pushed wide as the Red Bull attempted an overtake, he kept his foot in and the pair then collided at the following right-hander.

While the Mexican managed to stay ahead for the rest of the lap, he eventually lost out as the RB breezed past him on the main straight.

In his frustration at the situation, Lawson showed Perez the finger as he overtook – a moment that was captured on television.

He may have apologised for the gesture, but Lawson is not about to change his aggressive nature when battling on the track.

“My attitude towards racing and how I approach races in Formula 1 won’t change, that’s how I’ll always be,” he said.

“But at the same time there’s things in there, if I make mistakes I’ll always learn from them, and clearly in Mexico I made a mistake, and I’ll learn from it. 

“Briefly we spoke after the race, but at the same time we left the track very early, immediately afterwards anyway. I think it was an on-track fight and I apologise obviously for what I did after the incident.

Liam Lawson, RB F1 Team VCARB 01, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“But in terms of the fight we had on track, it was, I guess, deemed as a racing incident and something that was an in-the-moment battle.

“I’ll learn from, maybe, mistakes that I made. But at the same time, I’ll take advice from everybody I can and my target is not to go out and make enemies with anybody, that’s not the goal obviously, but at the same time I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to win.” 

Speaking after the incident in Mexico, Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko said it was an “unnecessary collision” and that he saw “Lawson as being more to blame”.

Lawson could still find himself at the senior Red Bull team next year should they opt to drop an underperforming Perez.

He is certainly in contention should the shuffle occur, with current RB team-mate Yuki Tsunoda heading for his first drive of a Red Bull at the Abu Dhabi test while team principal Christian Horner has also hinted the team could be tempted to make a move for Franco Colapinto – who has impressed for Williams but currently does not have a race seat in 2025.

Asked if he had spoken to Marko and Horner since the scrap with Perez, Lawson replied: “I don’t think they want me to race differently.

“But obviously the target is not to make contact with another Red Bull car, and as I said at the time it wasn’t my intention in the moment, and looking back maybe I could have avoided it and clearly that would have been the right thing to do at the time.”