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On tap this week:

  • Wickens in IndyCar?
  • Schumacher wins
  • Chilton not exactly showing F1 form
  • Staying warm thanks to F1 technology
  • Quote of the Week: Newgarden reacts to first IndyCar win
  • Why stop at two F1 engines?

Canadian racer Robert Wickens plans to be at the Indianapolis 500 in May, but only as a spectator — for now.

While the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) driver will take in the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" and cheer on fellow Canadian James Hinchcliffe next month, the Guelph, Ont. native would like nothing better than to join his good friend in the Indy 500 field one day.

"I don't think I have ever hid the fact that I would be open to going to IndyCar — it's just a matter of whether it's the right career move for me," Wickens said.

"I am not going to pass up something great that I have with Mercedes for a gamble on a career in North America when I am already really happy in Europe in DTM. Right now, I just want to cheer on a friend and take in the view and see if it actually is the best motor race in the world."

The 2011 World Series by Renault 3.5 Champion is no stranger to open wheel cars after racing them for seven seasons before joining the Mercedes squad in the highly competitive German touring car series in 2012.

Unfortunately, his Mercedes C-Coupé hasn't been consistently competitive since Wickens joined the manufacturer, and the 24-year-old has only managed two wins and two poles in 30 starts. In addition, several changes to the DTM format this year means Wickens needs to put the Indy 500 in the back of his mind and concentrate on the task at hand.

DTM will run doubleheaders this season beginning Saturday in Hockenheim where a 40-minute race with no mandatory pitstop will be followed by a 60-minute tilt on Sunday that must include at least one tire change. A new 20-minute qualifying format for each race will also be introduced this year. With only four sets of tires for the entire weekend, Wickens thinks things should get interesting in qualifying.

"It's going to take a lot of balls to try to save tires now," he said.

"Basically, the only way you can start one of the races with a new set of tires is if you only do one run in qualifying. It will be a huge risk and take lots of confidence."

Random thoughts

Mick Schumacher won a German Formula 4 race at the Oschersleben Circuit on Sunday, but barely. The 16-year-old son of seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher got some help from the safety car, which foiled rival Joseph Mawson's late challenge. Just as Mawson, who started fifth, was lining Schumacher up for a pass with two laps to go, another driver beached his car in the first corner and brought out the safety car. The race never went back to green. Schumacher is fifth overall with 27 points after the three-race season opener weekend and leads the rookie standings. Drivers get 25 points for a win.

By the numbers

It may be a long way from grand prix racing, but a quick look at the 2015 Indy Lights season puts Formula One's financial troubles clearly in perspective. Former F1 pay driver Max Chilton, who had a career best finish of 13th in 35 grands prix with the Marussia outfit, finally scored a podium finish in his fifth start in the development series. It's a sad commentary on the state of the sport when a two-year F1 veteran has no poles, wins or even fastest laps and sits fifth in points when racing against drivers who can only dream of starting a grand prix. To make matters worse, he's been trounced by his teammate and isn't even the top "rookie" driver in the series this year.

Technically speaking

You just may be a bit warmer next time you stroll through the cold food aisle of your local grocery store thanks to Formula One technology. Williams Advanced Engineering, and a U.K. start-up called Aerofoil Energy have adapted F1 aerodynamic wizardry to create a device that curves cold air around the shelves in open front refrigerators and keeps it inside, rather than letting it scatter in all directions. This means the aisle stays warmer and the store saves on energy costs. "Aerofoils help the airflow around Formula One cars and can improve their performance, and that's exactly how they help the fridges in our stores, by keeping the cold air in," said John Skelton head of refrigeration at U.K grocery chain Sainsbury's which is evaluating the technology.

Quote of the week "Dude, no joke, it's kind of crazy. I mean, you know, I told my dad, I was like, 'You know, regardless of what happens, we can look back and we won at least one race in IndyCar.' That's pretty cool. You win any race in IndyCar, it's a big deal."

— Carpenter Fisher Hartman Racing driver Josef Newgarden reacting to his first career IndyCar victory in Sunday's Grand Prix of Alabama.

The last word

Bernie Ecclestone's idea of having two engine specifications in Formula One is a good one, but it doesn't go far enough. The F1 commercial boss suggested that the sport should bring back normally aspirated engines alongside the turbo hybrid formula introduced in 2014. Different engine types were allowed in F1 until 1989, when turbos were banned. But why not simply adopt the World Endurance Championship (WEC) model where a combination of engine and fuel regulations have the top-3 Le Mans Prototype 1 manufacturers using three different hybrid types: Audi has a 4.0-litre, V-6 turbodiesel, Porsche runs a 2.0-litre, V-4 turbo, and Toyota's is a 3.7-litre, normally-aspirated V-8. This engine diversity is a huge reason why few fans complain about boring races in WEC.

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