Welcome to Sunday’s edition of the RaceFans round-up.
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Antonelli wrestles with expectations in testing rookie season (Financial Times)
‘I think he’s probably in the top three best drivers on the grid at the moment. He’s living his peak now. He has experience; he’s very quick. This season was probably his best season so far; he shows his consistency. So it’s been a challenge to go against that.’
ESPN finishes final Formula 1 season with all-time viewership record (ESPN)
‘The average race audience of 1.3 million viewers across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC for the 24-race season was the highest live telecast average in the championship’s history, breaking the record of 1.21 million that was set on ESPN Networks in 2022.’
International F4 championships reveal their 2026 calendars (Formula Scout)
‘The 2026 calendars for international Formula 4 championships F1 Academy, F4 South East Asia, French F4 and Nordic 4 have been revealed.’
As Sudan burns, the NBA’s embrace of the UAE shows how sport enables atrocity (The Guardian)
‘Despite substantial evidence to the contrary, the UAE continues to deny any role in the conflict, carrying on as though business were proceeding as usual. In the past few months, the UAE has staged the Asia Cup in cricket, NBA preseason matchups, a Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event, and Formula 1’s year-end race, which featured a performance by Katy Perry.’
Joseph Kosinski: ‘We as sound recorders were working on the other side of the production during the actual race. So anytime there was practice with all 20 cars, we were out there in the pits and out on the track trying to get material. Lewis said after each practice all of the cars pull up to the grid and they do practice. It was magical because I kept using takeoffs from the pit lane, and he could tell the difference and real F1 fans could as well. It was that kind of collaboration and cooperation that really took us to the next level.’
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Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Dermot Farrelly, Carlo Grlj and Majed Almadani!