Jordan's Track Talk

Author: jordanlhaynes

  • Round 18- Mexico Quali

    Well well well, it’s a 1-2 for Mercedes!!! Bottas grabs pole position with Lewis sitting in second place and Max Verstappen in third.

    I did not expect that today and it also seems that RB did not expect them at either, it definitely seemed going into qualifying that this was definitely Red Bulls but Mercedes turned it round in Q2 and Q3, both of the Mercs done amazing laps!

    The top 10 is as follows (before penalties) P1: Bottas, P2: Hamilton, P3: Verstappen, P4: Perez, P5: Gasly, P6: Sainz, P7: Ricciardo, P8: Leclerc, P9: Tsunoda, P10: Norris.

    Something we have to remember is Tsunoda, Ocon, Stroll and Norris are all starting at the back of the grid due to engine penalties and Russell has got a 5 place grid penalty due to a gear box change.

    Wasn’t a good day for Aston Martin, Stroll had a big shunt in Q1 which meant he wasn’t able to continue which isn’t what he wanted even though he would be starting at the back of the grid due to penalties he would of liked to be ahead of the other drivers who have penalties…

    Bit of a shock to see Alonso out in Q1 too, the Alpine does have pace so it should be getting into Q2 at least…

    Predictions-

    I have a feeling we will have a crazy race tomorrow, with strategy coming into play and the start of the race with a long straight we could see a different driver leading the race at Turn 1…

    My top five for predictions are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Bottas, P3: Verstappen, P4: Perez and P5: Gasly. So I don’t really see much changing apart from Hamilton and Bottas!

    Only 12 points between Max and Lewis now, will we see Lewis take the lead of the Championship again? Or can Max try and build that gap up again? Nobody knows but we have 71 laps to see how it goes…

  • China GP Extended

    It has been announced that the Chinese Grand Prix has come to a deal to extend their contract until 2025.

    Even though this is good news unfortunately it still won’t make an appearance on the record breaking 23-race calendar for 2022 due to the still on-going struggles with the pandemic…

    Our last visit to Shanghai was back in 2019 and F1 celebrated its 1000th race which saw Lewis Hamilton take the win ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel

    F1 made its debut at the Shanghai International Circuit back in 2004 and Michael Schumacher holds the lap record at 1:32.238

    Formula 1’s President and CEO Stefano Domenicali said: “This is great news for all of our fans in China and we are delighted to announce this agreement that will see us racing in Shanghai until 2025.”

    “Our partnership with the promoter Juss Sports is incredibly strong and we look forward to continuing our long term partnership. While we are all disappointed we could not include China on the 2022 calendar due to ongoing pandemic conditions, China will be restored to the calendar as soon as conditions allow and we look forward to being back with the fans as soon as we can.”

    My Opinion-

    It’s always nice to see a track we haven’t been at for 2 years to come back but the fact we have to wait until 2023 to be back on the calendar makes it all the better for when we do return!

    Overtaking is quite easy round the track so it’s guaranteed to make for a good weekend, they may possibly want to do a sprint race here if they continue to do them past the 2022 season

  • Mexico GP

    After two years we are returning to Mexico so we can start of our final triple header of the 2021 season! It is the home Grand Prix of Sergio Perez but will he be fortunate enough to win his own GP for the very first time? Or will the championship come into play…

    Could we see Max extending his lead or will disaster struck again in Mexico for the dutchman? All we know is this weekend could either go to Mercedes as Red Bull as both teams have done well here before…

    Who needs a good weekend?

    I think coming into the last 5 races its tougher to pick out who needs a good weekend, everybody will be wanting to score points and this is where DNF’s will come into play for the teams. But lets pick out a few!

    I’m thinking maybe Aston Martin, Vettel and Stroll are currently sitting P12 and P13 in the championship which puts the team in 7th overall, I feel like they need to score a good amount of points this weekend especially if they want to pick up a last minute fight in the constructors with Alpha Tauri who is currently sat in 6th and Alpine who are sat in 5th.

    Alpine will be looking to bounce back as having two DNF’s in COTA made them miss out on getting a good set of points, I have no doubt at least one of the Alpines will finish in the top 10 this weekend.

    The same goes for Gasly, he DNF in COTA too so he could do with a really good weekend in Mexico, hopefully he gets that as he has been consistent this year. Last time out in 2019, Pierre managed to finish 9th so he will be hoping to improve on that result.

    Predictions for Qualifying-

    My top five predictions are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Perez, P4: Bottas and P5: Leclerc.

    I think for qualifying we will get the same four teams in the top 10 at our last race weekend, Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari. Which only leaves two spots left, possibly an Alpha Tauri and Alpine?

    Grid penalties could come into play again this weekend which could shake up the order, none have officially been announced as of yet but I can imagine last minute decisions could be made!

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 5th- FP1: 17:30pm – 18:30pm (GMT), 18:30pm – 19:30pm (CET). FP2: 21:00pm – 22:00pm (GMT), 22:00pm – 23:00pm (CET).

    Saturday 6th- FP3: 17:00pm – 18:00pm (GMT), 18:00pm – 19:00pm (CET). Qualifying: 20:00pm – 21:00pm (GMT), 21:00pm – 22:00pm (CET).

    Sunday 7th- Race: 19:00pm (GMT), 20:00pm (CET).

  • Tyres for Mexico

    We are back for another race week and its that time again to look at the tyre allocation for Mexico.

    The tyres in which have been chosen are: C2 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C4 (Soft). This is the same selection when we last raced here in 2019 but a step harder than in 2018 due to the soft tyre being to aggressive for the circuit.

    It is also the same range which we had back in COTA two weeks ago, but with the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez it is a very different track. For one it is a lot smoother than two weeks ago, it also has a fast opening sector with a long start-finish straight playing a big part in it.

    The circuit itself-

    At roughly 2285 metres, the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez sits at the highest altitude of any track on the calendar (more than 1000 metres), this then affects the air as its very thin and with the car running high levels of downforce to generate aerodynamic grip through the corner, but it is actually extremely minimised which can then lead to some sliding.

    The circuit is one of the most historic circuits in Formula 1 which roots all the way back to the 1950’s. However it has since then been extremely updated before it returned to the calendar in 2015.

    The track hasn’t had a lot of running over the past few years, so the drivers should expect a slipper surface at first. The weather is unpredictable at this time of year in so if it does rain all the rubber will be worn away… At the time of this post the weather is clear skies so hopefully it stays that way for this weekend.

    Back in 2019, the top three finishers all went with a one-stop medium to hard which saw long stints on the hard. However Charles Leclerc done a two-stop that featured two medium stints and he managed to finish fourth, we could potentially see a mix of different strategies on Sunday.

  • Novalek in F2 2022

    The first driver announcement for 2022 has been announced! MP Motorsport has confirmed the signing of Formula 3 driver, Clément Novalak for the final two rounds of 2021 and the full 2022 season.

    Novalak will be replacing Lirim Zendeli after Lirim has had to pull out due to financial reasons taking place once again which is a big shame for him. Lirim is currently sat in 17th with 13 points.

    Novalak had a very good year in F3 this year, overall he finished 3rd in the driver’s championship and he helped Trident secure the Teams Championship which saw him score four podiums.

    Taking a look into his career he has excelled, he won the 2019 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship with Carlin and then moved up into Formula Three where he competed for two years with his first being with Carlin Buzz and his second with Trident.

    “I’m delighted to get my first taste of F2 as soon as at Jeddah and Yas Marina,” said Novalak. “This will only help me towards my ambitions for a first full season in F2 in 2022. I’m truly thankful to MP Motorsport for handing me this opportunity, and I fully intend to make the most of it. MP has been a race-winning outfit in F2 for the past two years, so I hope that teaming up with them will allow me to return to my winning ways. I can’t wait to get started!”

    MP Motorsport team manager Sander Dorsman added: ““We are very happy to welcome Clément in our F2 line-up for 2022, and are especially excited to give him his first runs in a Formula 2 car in the six 2021 races still coming up. He pulled together a very strong season in F3, and especially his late run of form that took him up from sixth to third in the standings was extremely impressive. We are aiming to capitalise on that momentum by putting him in one of our F2 cars in the two remaining rounds on the Arabian peninsula. For next year, I’m sure he will be among the outstanding rookies of the year.”

    My Opinion-

    I think this is great! I catched a few of the F3 races this year and saw how well Novalak was doing so I have no doubt he will do well next year. Also having the last two rounds this year to jump in on will give him a head start with the team and build a relationship which could be vital for next year.

    Now lets wait and see who else gets announced for the Formula 2 2022 Championship!

  • F3 Test Day 2 & 3

    We are back with the results from day 2 and 3 of the post season test in Valencia, lets see who tops the time of each session!

    Day 2 Morning-

    There was a number of different driver changes for the second day of testing with the main two being Paul Aron replacing Arthur Leclerc at PREMA Racing and Oliver Rasmussen switching to ART Grand Prix.

    David Vidales was the first to set the lead time with a 1:21.723 for Campos with Stanek setting an almost identical time shorty afterwards and Saucy set the top 3.

    Crawford was then a familiar name at the top during the final hour of the morning session as he went quickest with a 1:21.368 but shortly after there was a red-flag due to Johnathan Hoggard.

    The action then resumed but the order didnt really change with the top three being Crawford, Saucy and Stanek.

    The top 10 from Tuesday’s morning session:

    DriverTeamLaptime
    1Jak CrawfordPREMA Racing1:21.368
    2Grégoire SaucyART Grand Prix1:21.447
    3Roman StanekTrident1:21.453
    4Caio ColletMP Motorsport1:21.475
    5Jack DoohanVan Amersfoort Racing1:21.521
    6Oliver BearmanPREMA Racing1:21.593
    7Zane MaloneyTrident1:21.666
    8David VidalesCampos Racing1:21.723
    9Kaylen FrederickHiTech Grand Prix1:21.839
    10Reece UshijimaVan Amersfoort Racing1:21.889

    Afternoon-

    Three rookies set the standard for the afternoon session, with Colapinto leading Jenzer Motorsport duo Enzo Trulli and William Alatalo with a lap time of 1:22.757.

    Edgar then put in a 1:22.739 which put the 2021 Team Champion, Trident at the top of the leaderboard before Saucy brought the session to a halt with a red flag.

    Collet was the first to break the 1m 22s on this afternoon session after lapping a 1:21.843 which many drivers tried to beat and failed at doing so. But with only 15 minutes left of the session, Saucy decided to put on new tyres and to knock off the driver off P1 when he lapped a 1:21.789.

    The top 10 is as follows for Tuesday’s afternoon session:

    DriverTeamLaptime
    1Franco ColapintoMP Motorsport1:21.759
    2Grégoire SaucyART Grand Prix1:21.789
    3Caio ColletMP Motorsport1:21.843
    4Paul AronPREMA Racing1:21.857
    5Roman StanekTrident1:21.864
    6Kaylen FrederickHiTech Grand Prix1:21.913
    7Zane MaloneyTrident1:21.927
    8Jak CrawfordPREMA Racing1:21.941
    9David Vidales Campos Racing1:21.951
    10Oliver Bearman PREMA Racing1:21.979

    Day 3- Morning-

    The drivers didn’t hang about to get out on track this morning as soon as the lights went green the action started. We had Caio Collet set the early pace at 1:21.392 ahead of MP’s Colapinto and Ushijima.

    Smolyars return to Formula Three machinery didn’t last long as his VAR came to a stop in the first hour which paused the session. Once it resumed Saucy took P1 from Collet by only 0.092s there was then two further stoppages as Bearman came to a halt at Turn 12 and Marti stopped at Turn 4.

    Focus then went to data gathering in the second half of the morning and Saucy kept his place at the top of the leaderboard.

    The top 10 is as follows for the morning session:

    DriverTeamLaptime
    1Grégoire SaucyART Grand Prix1:21.300
    2Caio ColletMP Motorsport1:21.392
    3Jack DoohanVan Amersfoort Racing1:21.401
    4Roman StanekTrident1:21.422
    5Franco ColapintoMP Motorsport1:21.543
    6Zane MaloneyTrident1:21.597
    7Kaylen FrederickHiTech Grand Prix1:21.629
    8Jak CrawfordPREMA Racing1:21.767
    9Paul AronPREMA Racing1:21.835
    10Victor MartinsART Grand Prix1:21.873

    Afternoon-

    There was lots of long-runs in the afternoon stint until the last half an hour. Collet kept up his impressive work and set the time of 1:22.811 ahead of Edgar and Ushijima.

    Collet remained at the top for 2 hours and a half until Doohan pushed him off after there was a red flag due to Benavides stopping on track.

    Zak O’Sullivan managed to break into the top 10 after spending the first two days if testing in the latter half of leaderboard. He finished ahead of teammate Logan Sargeant.

    The top 10 is as follows for the final session of the 3 days:

    DriverTeamLaptime
    1Jack DoohanVan Amersfoort Racing1:22.354
    2Reece UshijimaCampos Racing1:22.545
    3Jonny EdgarTrident1:22.658
    4Alexander SmolyarVan Amersfoort Racing1:22.794
    5Filip UgranVan Amersfoort Racing1:22.801
    6Caio ColletMP Motorsport1:22.811
    7Hunter YeanyCampos Racing1:22.884
    8Zak O’SullivanCarlin Buzz Racing1:22.940
    9Logan SargeantCarlin Buzz Racing1:23.046
    10Isack HadjarHiTech Grand Prix1:23.011

    And this wraps up the post-season testing! Keep your eyes peeled for announcements on which drivers will be on track next year and when the testing calendar for 2022…

  • Logan Sargeant joins Williams

    During the US Grand Prix weekend, it got announced that American racer Logan Sargeant is now officially apart of the Williams’ Driver Academy

    This year, Logan led Charouz Racing System to their first victory in Formula 3. Also their highest ever points tally, with Logan finishing seventh in the Drivers’ Standings. With a total of four podiums, including his victory in Sochi he helped the team finish 5th in the Teams’ Championship.

    His role within the British team includes simulator work and helping with the car development. We will most likely see him at a lot of race weekends next year when his not racing. Even though it has not been announced what his plans are for 2022, they will be announced in ‘due course’.

    Logan joins Roy Nissany, Jack Aitken and Jamie Chadwick in the Academy. All of them looking to be the best…

    “I am delighted to be joining the Williams Racing Driver Academy,” said Sargeant. “It’s a team with not only a fantastic history, but a great track record of bringing young talent into Formula 1. I am really excited to begin working with the team and can’t wait to hit the ground running.”

    Williams CEO Jost Capito added: “I am incredibly pleased to welcome Logan to the Williams Racing Driver Academy. He’s demonstrated his talent in FIA Formula 3, consistently delivering strong results in an extremely competitive field. I’m proud that Williams will play a part in supporting the progression and growth of another talented young driver.”

    My Opinion-

    I think this is a good move from both sides, with now the backing of Williams for Logan, he will more than likely be in Formula 2 next year, hopefully it wont be too long until we get an announcement to see his plans. It will be interesting to see how he does next year, definitely one to watch.

  • F3 Post-Season Test Day 1

    Today we had the first day of post-season testing for Formula 3, it took place in Valencia. Testing takes place over three days, with an overall of 18 hours in total. Lets take a look on how things have ended today.

    Morning-

    To start the day off, we started in wet conditions with everyone being forced to head out on wet tyres, but it soon switched to blue skies.

    Rookie Franco Colapinto set the early pace with MP Motorsport lapping a 1:35.044 just ahead of team-mate Caio Collet. P1 then kept switching between the rookie duo, Zane Maloney and Grégoire Saucy before Jonny Edgar took the time below 1:30’s and took the lead.

    Then a switch to the slicks with an hour left on the clock produced some better lap times under 1m 26s. Caio Collet broke the 1m 24s barrier with only 15 minutes left, just before Doohan put the Dutch-based team, Van Amersfoort Racing in first.

    The top 10 from the morning session is as follows:

    DriverTeamLaptime
    1Jack DoohanVan Amersfoort Racing1:23.349
    2Victor MartinsART Grand Prix1:23.541
    3Kaylen FrederickHiTech Grand Prix1:23.546
    4Roman StanekTrident1:23.580
    5Jak CrawfordPREMA Racing1:23.668
    6Oliver RasmussenCharouz Racing System1:23.747
    7Arthur LeclercPREMA Racing1:23.765
    8Caio ColletMP Motorsport1:23.838
    9Franco ColapintoMP Motorsport1:23.847
    10Zane MaloneyTrident1:23.863

    Afternoon-

    For the afternoon session things warmed up, as MP Motorsport set the pace with Collet leading Colapinto with a lap time of 1:23.125. Kaylen Frederick then briefly replaced Colapinto in P2 before Martins drove into P1 being the first driver to break the 1m 23s today.

    With less than an hour to go on the clock, Doohan broke into the top two but still remained a hundredth of Martins time. During the final stages he managed to push Martins down to P2 after putting a 1:22.402 on the board.

    Saucy and Maloney led the rookies this afternoon where they placed third and fourth, ahead of Stanek. Rasmussen put in the most laps of the afternoon completing 60.

    The top 10 of afternoon session is as follows:

    DriverTeamLaptime
    1Jack DoohanVan Amersfoort Racing1:22.402
    2Victor MartinsART Grand Prix1:22.533
    3Grégoire SaucyART Grand Prix1:22.684
    4Zane MaloneyTrident1:22.708
    5Roman StanekTrident1:22.739
    6Lorenzo ColomboCharouz Racing System1:22.846
    7Arthur LeclercPREMA Racing1:22.893
    8Jak CrawfordPREMA Racing1:22.967
    9Oliver RasmussenCharouz Racing System1:23.071
    10Franco ColapintoMP Motorsport1:23.072

  • A look into the last 5 races

    Now we only have 5 races left this season so lets take a closer look into them and see what could potentially happen in the next 6 weeks and see who could come out on top at each track…

    Mexico:

    First up starting our triple header we have Mexico, this is a track which both Max and Lewis has won at twice each and Lewis being the last one to win their back in 2019. But that doesn’t mean its going to go his way as the Honda engine thrives in thinner air which favours the high-downforce nature of the car.

    Favourites to win: Red Bull.

    Brazil:

    Again like above it applies to the race at Sao Paulo. Last time we raced here in 2019, Red Bull dominated with Verstappen taking pole and the race win, and if Albon wasn’t hit RB would of took a 1-2.

    RB have a far more competitive car, compared to previous years and this appears to be one of Verstappen’s best tracks. But with the power of the Mercedes engine on what we saw at Austin it could make things interesting.

    We also have the last sprint race of the season here, so this could change things up and we could get a very different result…

    Favourites to win: Red Bull.

    Qatar:

    Now coming into races we have never raced and no past results to look at it makes it difficult to predict who will leave on top. All we can do is guess which car will suit the circuit layout more.

    Looking at it I am more leaning towards Mercedes, as they will gain a lot of time on the Red Bulls due to the 1km main straight and thats only the most possible overtaking spot. But it all depends on track position, qualifying will play a massive part of the Qatar weekend, and as well as this, set up’s, tyre strategy will also play a big part.

    Favourites to win: Mercedes.

    Saudi Arabia:

    Again, the Jeddah Street Circuit is unknown for F1 and the teams so we will be looking at the circuit itself.

    When the words street circuit you initially think of “Red Bull to dominate” but its a completley different circuit to what we are use to. It features some long straights and some high speed sweeping corners, which will benefit the Mercedes more.

    As well as this, Hamilton is known to thrive on street circuits (apart from Monaco this year), where as Verstappen’s aggressiveness has cost him (again apart from Monaco.)

    Favourites to win: Mercedes

    Abu Dhabi:

    Now onto the season finale, Mercedes have dominated here winning every race in the hybrid era, however that changed last year when Max won. But with that being said Mercedes, struggled with their car setups all weekend and had engine issues to add to the problem.

    With the changes coming to the circuit this year as well, making it possible for more overtakes it could change the race completely and we could see both Merc’s having a really good weekend especially if they figure out what set up is the best one.

    Favourites to win: Mercedes.

    I’m very much looking forward to these next 5 races, it will be entertaining to see who comes out on top and as well the fight between Ferrari and McLaren.

  • F2 & F3 points allocation

    More changes are coming to Formula Two and Three next year as they have announced new points allocation as they make changes to the Sporting Regulations.

    This follows as announcement was made earlier that the weekend formats have changed for both F2 and F3 next year.

    For Formula 2 the top 8 who finish in the sprint race will be awarded points, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1.

    Whereas with Formula 3 the top 10 will be awarded points in the sprint race 10. 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 point.

    For F2 and F3 the feature race point allocation will not change which is the top 10 scoring points (the same as F1).

    Starting from 2022 aswell, only two points will be awarded for pole position in both championships. And in each race, one point will be allocated to the driver who has the fastest lap.

    My Opinion-

    With things changing in both categories it makes sense for the points allocation to change too. It gives the drivers more determination to want to score better and make there way up to the next level.

    I think we’re going to be in a real treat next year in both F2 and F3, with some bright talents coming through it’ll make for some exciting races!

  • Should GAS go back?

    So one of the main thing I feel like gets talked about in F1 whether there are spare seats or not, is whether Pierre Gasly will ever return to Red Bull?…

    Since Daniel Ricciardo left RB back in the 2018 season, its been no lie that the other Red Bull seat has been hard to fill with them now being on their third driver in three years.

    It started off with Pierre, but unfortunatley he only lasted 12 races, and Alex Albon got brought in for the rest of 2019 season and the full 2020 season. Sergio Perez is now the third driver to be in that seat for this year and then his got a contract extension till then end of the ’22 season.

    It’s no lie that Pierre thinks he should be in that second seat, even more so now that his got a win with Alpha Tauri, and he is putting consistent results in almost every weekend and pulling everything out of the Alpha Tauri.

    Gasly admitted that he felt over looked for 2022 promotion speaking to Canal Plus, he recently said: “I felt based on this year I could have deserved a better chance, but that is the decision, it doesn’t stop my motivation.”

    My Opinion-

    I feel like this is a tough one, Pierre obviously thinks a lot of Red Bull still even after everything so of course he is going to stay loyal to them. But theres a time when you say enough is enough.

    Pierre is still contracted to RB till the end of 2023, so I don’t know whether he waits till then to leave RB all together or wait and see if he gets a drive for Red Bull for the 2023 season, but he wont be the only one hoping for a drive then, Alex Albon wants to be a contender for the RB seat in 2023, and if you look into the feeder series, you’ve got RB juniors in there such as, Juri Vips, Liam Lawson, Dennis Hauger, Jack Doohan and many others who will be looking to fill that seat or the Alpha Tauri seats…

    I personally don’t see him going back to Red Bull, which is a shame but I do think he will be in a top car in the next few years, which I can’t wait to see!

  • Round 17- Austin Race

    WHAT. A. RACE! Wow… Max Verstappen WINS the US Grand Prix!! No-one knew how this race was going to go, but it did not disappoint!

    The battle between Max and Lewis was something else, first Lewis taking the lead and then the possibility of Red Bull stopping early but it seemed that Max looked after his tyres really really well! Both drivers drove amazing and definitely put on a show…

    The top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Perez, P4: Leclerc, P5: Ricciardo, P6: Bottas, P7: Sainz, P8: Norris, P9: Tsunoda and P10: Vettel. Fastest lap goes to Hamilton.

    The battles between McLaren and Ferrari this race was something else! It seemed like Leclerc just wanted to get away and he did! He didn’t really have many battles in the race but he fully deserved the 4th position!

    At one point, Alonso was providing us with the battles and when they eventually stopped we had Alpine and the FIA communicating about the second one and how it was not fair etc.

    Personally, I feel like Bottas didn’t do much. In his first stint I felt like it took a while for his tyres to kick in and then afterwards the gap was too big to other drivers and the only way he went up the grid was due to pit stops.

    We sadly had 3 retirements this race, first up being Pierre Gasly, and then both Alpine’s for different reasons.

    The championship…

    So Max now has a 12 point lead over Lewis, but things can change very quickly… Perez is now into P4 but only by one point so Lando will be looking to get back into that spot.

    The gap between Mercedes and Red Bull is only 23 points, so having Perez be in P3 for race really boosted them up higher!

    Now onto the next! Only 5 remaining now and the next time we are back we have a triple header…

    We’re starting in Mexico on the weekend of the 5th November, who will come out on top?

  • Round 17- Austin Quali

    Well well well… we have Max Verstappen starting on pole position for tomorrow’s race! With Lewis Hamilton lining up next to him on the grid.

    This is the 7th time the championship pair have been in the front row together this season… Who will come out on top after the first lap?

    The top 10 is as follows: P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Perez, P4: Bottas, P5: Leclerc, P6: Sainz, P7: Ricciardo, P8: Norris, P9: Gasly and P10: Tsunoda. Bottas will be starting P9, so Leclerc to Gasly all move up a place for tomorrow’s race!

    It’s good to see Tsunoda in Q3 for the second race weekend in a row! Could this be down to Alex Albon coaching him? This will really benefit Alpha Tauri with the constructors if he is able to score good points in these last few races…

    Both McLaren and Ferrari in top 10! I feel like whatever team comes on top tomorrow is due to strategy with when to pit. A downfall on Ferrari is that they have Sainz starting on the soft tyre which will see some degrading quite quickly compared to other tyres.

    Some drivers have a penalty for the race, which will see them start at the back of the grid: Russell, Alonso and Vettel. Bottas has a five place grid penalty…

    Predictions for tomorrow:

    My top five predictions are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Leclerc, P4: Perez and P5: Norris.

    I think Charles can do really well tomorrow, he finished P4 here in 2019 and he seems to have a lot of pace and confidence in his Ferrari today.

    Times-

    The times for tomorrow’s race is as follows: 20:00pm (BST), 21:00pm (CEST).

  • United States GP

    After a two year absence we are now back in the US and at the Circuit of the Americas. All eyes are looking at who will come out on top… Could Mercedes be dominant like last time out? Or will Red Bull be looking to bring their success on from Turkey?

    Who needs a good weekend?

    I feel like Sebastian needs a good weekend after what happened in Turkey, with going onto Mediums, hopefully the team and Seb can get good points to carry on the fight with Alpha Tauri as Aston Martin are currently sat behind them by 31 points in 7th…

    I think that Daniel will want to put on a show this weekend, not only because he loves the US but to make up for Turkey. Hopefully we see a masterclass from him this weekend.

    I’m quite looking forward to seeing what Yuki does, it’s a new track for him so either he will get the hang of it quickly or he will not have a good weekend and Alpha Tauri doesn’t need that if they want to fight Alpine for these final 6 races.

    Predictions for Qualifying-

    My top five predictions are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Bottas, P4: Norris and P5: Leclerc. (Before penalties applied)

    I’m hoping we see both Williams in top 10 but if we don’t I’m hoping at least one! We see the pace on the Williams in qualifying and it’s no longer a one off when they get into Q3.

    I hope we see Mick get into Q2 again, he is constantly tries to get everything out of the Haas and it feels like his finally getting some recognition for doing so!

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 22nd- FP1: 17:30pm – 18:30pm (BST), 18:30pm – 19:30pm (CEST). FP2: 21:00pm – 22:00pm (BST), 22:00pm – 23:00pm (CEST).

    Saturday 23rd- FP3: 19:00pm – 20:00pm (BST), 20:00pm – 21:00pm (CEST). Qualifying: 22:00pm – 23:00pm (BST), 23:00pm – 00:00am (CEST).

    Sunday 24th- 20:00pm (BST), 21:00pm (CEST).

  • Lundgaard joins IndyCar

    Christian Lundgaard has joined Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team in IndyCar full-time for 2022 onwards as he has signed a multi-year deal.

    Lundgaard made a big impression in his debut in August as he qualified 4th and finished 12th at Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

    Lundgaard who is apart of the Alpine academy is currently sitting 11th on 43 points in the drivers championship in F2, he still has a reaming six races left (2 rounds) before his focus switches to IndyCar.

    The 20 year old said: “I’m very excited to join Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in IndyCar. They are a fantastic team who made me feel very welcome earlier this year when I made my debut in the series. They are the perfect choice and I’m happy to join them on this next chapter in my career. I was very much open minded when I raced at Indianapolis in August and the experience then only grew my hunger to give it another go, so to have the opportunity as a full-time professional racing driver is a privilege.”

    “I can only thank Bobby, Piers and the team, as well as my investors and Alpine for putting it all together. I’m determined to repay that faith with on-track performances beginning when the season starts in February. For now, though, my focus is on finishing the Formula 2 Championship before fully committing to taking on IndyCar. I can’t wait for the experience to begin.”

    Bobby Rahal, the co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing said: “I’m very pleased that Christian will be joining us for the next several years. His performance on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway certainly surprised everybody. For him to do the job he did was tremendous and certainly beyond our expectations. With a little more time under his belt, I think the performance would have been even stronger. Everyone within the team was very pleased and it created a lot of excitement and positive reactions from the fans on social media and online as well as a positive buzz in the paddock.”

    My Opinion-

    This is a great move for Christian, he done very well in his debut, and i’m looking forward to see what he can do next year in IndyCar and future years after that. I won’t be surprised if other F2 drivers go this way in the future as their isn’t enough spots to facilitate all of the drivers who come through the feeder series.

  • Herta to F1?

    There is currently lots of gossip going round about the last seat available for next year in the Alfa Romeo and it seems now that IndyCar driver, Colton Herta is now a possibility…

    This comes as Michael Andretti is getting ready to purchase Alfa Romeo, and the link between Andretti and Herta is that Herta drives for his IndyCar team.

    Andretti hasn’t kept it a secret that if the ‘right opportunity’ came along to buy a team he would and that team is supposedly Alfa Romeo. Herta’s main sponsor Gainbridge would join Andretti Autosport to “take over” the F1 team, which pushes Herta in line for the seat even more.

    Who is Colton Herta?

    Looking back in Colton’s career he has won the Pacific Formula F1600 in 2013, in 2015 he finished 3rd in the MSA Formula Championship. 2016 was a year for him as he joined Carlin for the Euroformula Open Championship and finished 3rd, he also competed in the Spain Formula 3 Championship and finished 2nd.

    LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 26: IndyCar driver Colton Herta driving the #26 car, wins the 2021 Acura Grand Prix Of Long Beach on September 26, 2021 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Greg Doherty/Getty Images)

    In 2017 and 2018 he competed in Indy Lights and finished 3rd in 2017, 2018 he finished 2nd. Since 2018 he has been competing in IndyCar, with him finishing 3rd in 2020 and 5th this year. Colton is the youngest-ever winner in IndyCar history at the age of 18.

    Danica Patrick has said that now F1 is becoming more popular in the US, with having an American F1 team, and Netflix series Drive To Survive. There just missing an American driver. She thinks that having an driver like Herta would only make it more popular.

    Pato O’Ward also believes that Herta has ‘everything to be successful’ in Formula One. “He is a very talented, very fast individual, and I think he’ll have no problem. He’s going to be fighting up there, if he is given the right car. There’s no doubt in my mind. Not that it’s going to be a struggle, but everything has its path of learning, but given the right time, he’ll be just fine.” Pato said.

    The only thing stopping Colton Herta from having that f1 seat is his super licence, he needs at least 40 points and his currently got 32… Could this be a possible move for him in 2023? His only 21 so his still got a long way to go in his career…

  • Tyres for Austin

    We have F1 back on our screens this weekend and this means that Pirelli have announced their tyres for the weekend…

    The chosen ones are the middle of the compound C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium) and C4 (Soft). This nomination is the same as what it was two years ago when we last was at the track.

    At this time of year in Texas, the weather is quite unpredictable, with the chosen compounds they should be quite adaptable to a variety of temperatures, although this years race is being held earlier in the season compared to last time.

    The circuit has been resurfaced in a few places starting with the start/finish straight (including the pit lane exit) to the end of Turn 1. The exit of Turn 9 through to Turn 10, the exit of Turn 11 through to 12 and then Turn 15 through to Turn 19.

    The winning strategy back in 2019 was a two stopper medium-hard-medium from Valtteri Bottas, where as his team-mate Lewis finished second on a one stop medium-hard.

    With the track only being resurfaced last year and not much track action either, the track on Friday will be lowest grip, however with having Formula 4 and also W series so by Saturday we should have more rubber laid down.

  • F2, F3 announce ’22 calendar

    So with Formula One announcing their calendar for next season, Formula Two and Three have announced theirs!

    Formula Two will have a total of 14 rounds, which will see two races each round, so a total of 28 races, it will make the most sizeable calendar since the launch of the championship in 2017.

    The season will kick off in Bahrain on the weekend of 18th March and with it finishing on the weekend of 18th November in Abu Dhabi. F2 will be going to two new tracks which are Imola and Zandvoort.

    CEO Bruno Michel said: “I am pleased to present the largest calendar we have ever had in Formula 2, with 14 rounds and 28 races. This results from a strong will from our stakeholders to have F2 race alongside as many Formula 1 Grand Prix as possible.”

    F3 will have a total of nine rounds, which makes it an 18 race championship. Again F3 will start in Bahrain on the same weekend as F1, it will end on the weekend of 9th September in Monza, just like this year. Also F3 will be at two new circuits next year and they are Zakhir, Bahrain and Imola, Italy.

    CEO Bruno Michel said: “Our 2022 Formula 3 season will start at the Bahrain International Circuit, at the opening round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship and the new Formula 2 campaign. It will be very exciting to start all together.”

    My Opinion-

    I’m very much looking forward to both F2 and F3 next year, especially with both series racing at new tracks and both of them being on the same weekends as F1.

    With F2 this year there has been pretty big gaps, the season started end of March and then the next race weekend was 20th May. And then again currently we are on our 4th week of a 10 week break until the season comes back for the last two rounds. So they have planned it well so there isn’t as big of breaks.

    With F3 they started quite late this year compared to next, they started in May where as next year they will be starting in March. They have been able to bring a couple more races in to make the season a bit longer without big gaps.

  • 2022 F1 Calendar

    Formula One has finally revealed the 2022 calendar, with a record-breaking 23 Grand Prix schedule.

    The season will begin in Bahrain on 20th March, for the second year in a row it is the season opener. The season will end in Abu Dhabi as usual but its been brought forward to the 20th November.

    With the ongoing pandemic conditions, China is not included in the 2022 calendar, however it will be restored to the calendar as soon as the conditions allow it to.

    “The 2022 season follows an unprecedented two years for Formula 1 in which the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in revised calendar of 17 races in 2020 and 22 races in 2021 – a huge achievement given the international nature of the sport,” said F1 in a statement.

    President and CEO of Formula 1 Stefano Domenicali (above) said: “We are excited to announce the 2022 calendar as we prepare to enter a new era for the sport with brand new regulations and cars for next year that are designed to create closer racing. This season has been incredible so far with great battles on the track, large audiences tuning in and fans returning to the races after the impact of the pandemic. We look forward to welcoming more fans back next season and hope 2022 feels more normal than the life we have all experienced in the past two years.”

    My Opinion-

    I’m looking forward to seeing how next season goes with the new changes etc, but also the new tracks which are being brought into F1 next year. It will be a tough season considering we are starting mid-March and finishing mid-November, but considering we are currently having a 22 race season, even though some of the races having a two week break, its still a long and hard season for everybody involved in the sport.

    I am sure there are many tracks waiting to jump in if some races are cancelled due to Covid e.g Turkey, Mugello and many others.

  • F3 reveal teams for 22-24

    Formula Three has announced 10 teams which have been selected for the 2022-2024 seasons. Nine out of the ten are the same outfits which competed in 2021, and the newcomers Van Amersfoort Racing have been chosen to join the F3 grid.

    The full chosen 10 are: ART Grand Prix, Campos Racing, Carlin, Charouz Racing System, HiTech Grand Prix, Jenzer Motorsport, MP Motorsport, PREMA Racing, Trident and Van Amersfoort Racing.

    As usual each team will enter three cars, making it a 30-car field as seen in previous years.

    FIA Formula 3 CEO Bruno Michel said: “For the next three-year cycle, we have decided to renew our trust in nine of our current teams. They have been with us for many years now, and they have proven their value, expertise, and professionalism. I would like to welcome Van Amersfoort Racing to the list of selected teams. Their success in other categories make them a nice addition to our grid. I am confident that they will adapt quickly to the demands and challenges of our championship.”

    “Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank HWA RACELAB for their commitment to Formula 3 for the past three seasons, during which they claimed four wins and 10 podiums.”

    The Netherlands based team has been running for over 40 years, throughout those years they have had Jos Verstappen, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Mick Schumacher, Dennis Hauger and many others come through VAR.

  • Round 16- Turkey Race

    And Valtteri Bottas WINS the Turkish Grand Prix, making it his 10th win in his career and his first since Russia in 2020! Joining him on the podium is both Bulls, Verstappen in P2 and Perez in P3.

    The rest of the top 10 are: P4: Leclerc, P5: Hamilton, P6: Gasly, P7: Norris, P8: Sainz, P9: Stroll and P10: Ocon. Fastest lap goes to VB as well.

    This means that Max is now back in the lead for the Championship, having a 6 point gap between him and Lewis, neither driver has led the championship for two weekends in a row in 7 races… This is getting closer and closer as we get to the last few races!

    Lap 1 in the wet wasn’t as chaotic as Hungary, but we did have Alonso spin. He started P5 and then went down to P16. Gasly got a 5 second penalty for causing the spin… Hamilton managed to gain two places in the first lap which put him up to P9, that was the start of the classy overtakes.

    ISTANBUL, TURKEY – OCTOBER 10: Yuki Tsunoda of Japan driving the (22) Scuderia AlphaTauri AT02 Honda leads Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W12 during the F1 Grand Prix of Turkey at Intercity Istanbul Park on October 10, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

    I’ve got to say and acknowledge, Yuki Tsunoda. It seemed like he put up a really good fight against the 7 time world champ, which not many other people did, he wasn’t afraid to defend from him.

    I think Mercedes had a tough choice with the strategy today, you don’t have to have a mandatory pit when on intermediates and Hamilton was very happy to stay on them tyres. But Mercedes decided to pit him with only 7 laps to go when he was running in the podium places…

    The fight between Perez and Hamilton was something else! My heart was in my mouth at one point just how close it was, but both drivers have massive respect for each other and left enough space so they didn’t touch. It shows a lot of people what Perez can do in the Red Bull when he is in that situation.

    Carlos Sainz. Wow, what a drive, started P19, finished P8. I think some people will overlook this as he isn’t in the best car, which is true but to get the Ferrari in the points after being on the back row is amazing, fully deserves driver of the day!

    I think Aston Martin might have had a bit of the moment sending Sebastian Vettel out on the Mediums… He lasted a lap on them and it quickly sent him down the order and then he pitted for Inters.

    So now onto a closer look at the championship! We have Max now leading Lewis by 6 points, Bottas, Norris and Perez all stay in the same places. Sainz still in 6th position from Leclerc but there is only a gap of 0.5 between the pair…

    In the constructors Mercedes are still in the lead and by 36 points! McLaren have managed to hold onto P3 and by only 8 points as Ferrari are now starting to close in on them.

    So we now have a two week break till the next race, but we will be returning to the Circuit of The Americas after two years for round 17, in this thrilling championship battle!

  • Round 16- Turkey Quali

    Well what a qualifying that was, it could of been anyones going into it… But Mercedes once again dominated qualifying just like they have dominated the rest of the weekend.

    LH was fastest overall in qualifying but due to his 10 place grid penalty it means pole position goes to his team-mate Valtteri Bottas. The top 10 after penalties is the following: P1: Bottas, P2: Verstappen, P3: Leclerc, P4: Gasly, P5: Alonso, P6: Perez, P7: Norris, P8: Stroll, P9: Tsunoda and P10: Vettel, Lewis will be starting P11.

    I feel like the top 10 is quite mixed up with the top 5 being from 5 different teams, in which we haven’t seen that happen much, unlike last race weekend we saw it being 4 different teams in the top 4.

    One person who I have to mention after a BEAUTIFUL lap in Q1 is Mick Schumacher! He said he wanted it to rain today and it did, which left the track wet for Qualifying and it made him get into Q2 for the second time in his F1 career!

    ISTANBUL, TURKEY – OCTOBER 09: Mick Schumacher of Germany driving the (47) Haas F1 Team VF-21 Ferrari during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Turkey at Intercity Istanbul Park on October 09, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Dan Istitene – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)

    Pierre done very well today, after only qualifying P12 at the last race, he is back to being up near the top, where he has been for the majority of the year. It always seems like his in the right place at the right time, it’s just a shame to not see him in a top car and then we could see what he really does after having a confidence boost since being at AlphaTauri…

    Charles done well too! Being on the second row is just what him and Ferrari need, especially with his team-mate being at the back and one of the McLaren’s being near at the back too which will benefit Charles tomorrow. Another thing I have to mention is Ferrari’s strategy! First up they had Carlos push Daniel out of Q1 so he couldn’t get into Q2 and then Carlos went ahead of his team-mate in Q2 to give Charles a lovely slip-stream to boost him into getting into Q3.

    Bit of a down day for Russell and Ricciardo, obviously Ricciardo being knocked out of Q1 which is a shame but we know he can capitalise on other peoples mistakes tomorrow in the race! And for Russell he was set to get into Q3 with a really good time until he made a tiny error on his flying lap which didn’t see him improve and knocked out. But his in a good position to score some points tomorrow and he gets free tyre choice!

    Predictions for tomorrow-

    I’d say the win will go to Lewis! I have a feeling Mercedes will get his strategy just right! P2: Leclerc, P3: Bottas, P4: Norris and P5: Gasly. I think fastest lap will go to Bottas.

    You can’t count out Leclerc, Norris and Gasly tomorrow. I feel like these three will have a battle on track, even though Norris is a couple places behind them, he normally gets a good start either maintaining position or gains positions.

  • Turkish GP

    And we are back this weekend racing in Turkey for Round 16 out of 22. We return to the track for the second year as it fills in for Japan.

    Could we see an amazing drive from the 7 time champ? Or will Max take away a victory from him? Can McLaren make it 3 good race weekends in a row? It’s all to play for this weekend!

    Who needs a good weekend?

    I think that Pierre and Yuki need a good weekend in Turkey, they both haven’t had a couple of weekends recently. Not to sure if its just a team thing etc with the strategy going wrong or they are just going through a rough period. For the last two races Pierre hasn’t scored any points, he had a DNF in Italy and the finished 13th in Russia. With Yuki the last three races haven’t been good a DNF in Netherlands, Italy was a DNS and Russia he finished 17th. With grid penalties set to play a role in this weekend hopefully they can capitalise on it.

    I’d say both Aston Martins too, obviously we all saw Lance’s pole lap last year so we know he can do well here and also Seb ended on the podium last year here with Ferrari so he likes the track too. So hopefully they can be strong in the AM to get a good amount of points.

    I’d also say Perez too, I feel like he hasn’t been there to back up Max much recently apart from Italy. He done well here last year too, as he finished on the podium but I feel like his lost a bit of his drive.

    Predictions for Quali-

    My top five for predictions are (before penalties): P1: Hamilton, P2: Norris, P3: Ricciardo, P4: Bottas, P5: Verstappen. If its meant to be a wet qualifying like predicted I could see both McLaren’s doing well.

    As well I think Russell would do well as he likes qualifying in the wet as he normally gets quite high up! Hopefully Latifi will make an appearance into Q3… Hopefully Charles will do well this weekend, as I feel he needs some luck thrown his way!

    Times for the weekend-

    Saturday 9th- FP3: 10:00am – 11:00am (BST), 11:00am – 12:00pm (CEST). Qualifying: 13:00pm – 14:00pm (BST), 14:00pm – 15:00pm (CEST).

    Sunday 10th- Race: 13:00pm (BST), 14:00pm (CEST).

    ISTANBUL, TURKEY – OCTOBER 08: George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Williams Racing FW43B Mercedes during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Turkey at Intercity Istanbul Park on October 08, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

  • Hamilton to take grid penalty

    Lewis Hamilton, who is currently leading the 2021 championship by only two points is receiving a 10 place grid penalty for Sundays Turkish Grand Prix.

    His W12 has been fitted with a new internal combustion engine (ICE) and exhaust but the driver has only exceeded his allocations of new ICEs.

    It was expected for this to happen before the weekend, as Turkey is a strong track for Mercedes and Lewis even though he has never been on pole here. There was lots of rumours going around that Mercedes would take a penalty in the next couple of races.

    His rival, Max Verstappen took a full new power unit at Sochi which saw him start 20th and then finish on the podium in 2nd.

    Last year, at the Turkish GP it saw Lewis starting sixth to then win the race, it wasn’t an easy race in the wet either.

    My Opinion-

    I didn’t really see them taking the penalty anywhere else to be honest, and its good the fact its not at the back of the grid either, so he does have some work to do but not as much as we expected. If Mercedes get there strategy right and the rain comes into play then this may be Mercedes and Lewis’ weekend…

  • Tyres for Turkey

    We are back racing this weekend and we are returning to Turkey for the second year in a row as this year it fills in for Japan.

    The tyres which have been chosen for this year is the middle of the range which are: C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium) and C4 (Soft). This is one step softer than last year when the Turkish GP was held in November.

    The decision to go one step softer was due to the data which was collected last year, the track demonstrated average levels of abrasion and low grip which resulted in an extremely slippery surface. The track was entirely re-asphalted just before the grand prix last year, since then the asphalt may have matured slightly as well its been completely cleaned with a high-pressure jet.

    The most well known corner at the Istanbul track is Turn 8, which is very long (640 metres) and it gets taken at high speed. We didn’t get to see full effect of Turn 8 last year due to the rain…

    Turkey, is quite a tough track for the tyres, with lots of force going through them, the cars run higher downforce here to help push the tyres ontp the ground. As well as this there are many corners which put demands on the tyres. Turn 1 is approached with a significant descent before heading uphill. The back straight also contains a swooping uphill kink which is nicknamed ‘Faux Rouge’.

    This years weather is a big question mark, the race is obviously being held a month earlier than last year, but with the rain dominating the weekend the teams don’t have much relevant tyre data.

    The winning tyre strategy last year which brought Lewis Hamiltons 7th title was one-stopped as he was on eight laps with the full wet tyres and then followed by 50 laps on the intermediate tyres. Lewis was one of only four drivers to pit once, the majority of the drivers stopped twice.

  • RB and AT to run special livery

    Red Bull and Alpha Tauri are set to run a special livery this weekend at the Turkish Grand Prix as a special tribute to Honda.

    If the Japanese GP was going ahead it would of been this weekend, which means Honda’s last home grand prix, unfortunately due to Covid-19 restrictions means that they will miss out.

    The RB16Bs of both Max and Sergio will run in a predominantly white livery which is inspired by the pain scheme of the Honda RA272 where Richie Ginther raced to victory at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix.

    Where as Pierre’s and Yuki’s AlphaTauri’s will feature the word ‘arigato’ which is the Japanese word for ‘thank-you’ this is aimed to be on the rear wings of the AT02.

    Red Bull’s partnership with Honda launched back in 2018, since then Honda have helped both Red Bull and AlphaTauri reach the top step of the podium, with Red Bull scoring 13 victories to date and AlphaTauri taking hone a memorable win on home turf in Italy 2020. In total Red Bull and Honda have together scored 35 podium finishes and 11 pole positions.

    Team Principle and CEO of Red Bull Racing Honda, Christian Horner said: “We had all been looking forward to giving Honda’s Japanese fans a chance to celebrate our extremely successful relationship in Formula One, on home soil at Suzuka. With the race falling victim to the pandemic, we just couldn’t let the weekend pass without paying tribute to Honda and its amazing home fans by bringing a little bit of its heritage to Istanbul. The livery chosen for our cars pays homage to Honda’s remarkable F1 journey and hopefully we can give fans another victory in those legendary colours this weekend.”

    My Opinion-

    It’s a lovely gesture from RB and AT however I cant comment too much on what it looks like as all we have is a little teaser video below, but from what I can see it looks good…

  • 2022 Calendar set for 23 races

    So with only 7 races left of this season, the talks for next season has started on how it will look calendar wise.

    For 2022 they are expecting and wanting to run a 23 race calendar, starting in mid March and finishing in mid November. Where as currently this season started end of March and finishing in mid December.

    Even though Covid-19 has changed the calendar quite a bit this year for the second year in the row, this years championship is still set for its longest ever season, with 22 races on the calendar and 15 already completed, F1 wants to go one better next year.

    The 2022 Calendar is set to revealed later this month. Some races have already confirmed when they will be holding their event, as newcomers Miami have confirmed the weekend of 6-8 May for their first F1 Race.

    “I can anticipate that, for sure, the calendar will be done with 23 races,” said Domenicali in an interview with Sky Sports “Of course we will be very respectful towards the Covid regulations issued around the world from the different governments. But that is our aim that F1 can give this sign of hope and to go to normal things to enjoy.”

    “The idea is to make sure there is the right rhythm to the calendar,” he said. “There are of course considerations related to periods to make sure logistically the flow has to be right. “One thing I can tell you, without discovering too many things is that next year the season will start in the middle of March and will finish in the middle of November.”

    This year F1 introduced the Sprint format, in three different weekends, the first being at Silverstone, the second in Monza and the third which is yet to come in Brazil. In Stefano Domenicali’s interview he has said that: “I can say we will not go everywhere with the Sprint format. It is something we want to keep for one third of the races more or less and to connect with a certain different way of giving rewards and points and to connect with specific circuits that as you know would make the difference.”

    So its looking roughly like about 7/8 race weekends next year with the Sprint format, after positive feedback from promoters.

    My Opinion-

    I’m 50/50 on the Sprint format, it gives you three full days of action which I and everyone loves but its not the traditional F1. Being at the first weekend they trialled it at was good, the atmosphere was amazing all weekend, and it was so busy, it definitely attracted more people to come for the full weekend!

    But with them adding it to 7/8 races next year i’m a bit sceptical about, I think personally they need to try it at either 3 different tracks next year, to see how it goes their. Or do it at Silverstone and Monza, then either one/two completely new ones as-well.

  • Norris announces own karting team

    During the week of last week it saw Lando Norris announce something very special, his own karting team. He has collaborated with the OTK Kart Group to launch his own kart, LN Racing Kart.

    Lando won a world championship on OTK’s FA Racing Kart back in 2014 and he was the youngest to ever do it, OTK and Lando have kept a good relationship since to then have his own kart to be used by them!

    The LN Racing Kart will soon be on track, making its debut in international competitions in 2022, under the direction of Ricky Flynn Motorsport. The drivers, not yet announced, will compete in all the WSK and FIA Karting international events. LN Racing Kart products, available for MINI, Junior/Senior single-speed and shifter categories, will soon be available in the official worldwide sale network.

    Lando took to his social media and said: “Karting is where it all started for me, I won my first world championship on OTK’s FA Racing Kart and I can’t wait for the day when someone wins their first championship on the LN Racing Kart. Bring on the future talent! Let’s do this @LNRacingKart, OTK & RFM.”

    I think this is such a good thing to do, not many F1 drivers can say they have their own kart especially with the people who they kart with when they were younger! It must feel special for him to do this as its going back to a part of his child hood! I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a few more things come from Lando in the future and I can’t wait to see what he does!

  • Qatar joins ‘21 Calendar

    We finally have confirmation on which track will be filling in for Australia this year and that is Qatar…

    Qatar is set to make an appearance on the weekend of the 19th of November, making it its first ever F1 Grand Prix!

    The Qatari circuit is most famous for its association with two wheel racing, with it having hosted the Moto GP since 2004.

    The race is the last of the triple header, with Mexico and Brazil before hand, it should be an exciting weekend considering no-one has raced there so it could go either way!

    It also got announced that Qatar will permanently be on our race calendar from 2023 for 10 years!

    A statement from F1 said: “There was a strong will from Qatar to be helpful to F1, and in the course of this process, the vision for a longer partnership was discussed and agreed for 10 years. The step from the gesture to be helpful to F1 in 2021 to a long term strategy was short and simple and the vision for F1 to be the showcase for Qatar after the FIFA World Cup in 2022 was the driving force behind this long term agreement.”

  • 2022 Race Format

    A change is coming to Formula 2 and 3 next year as over the weekend it got announced a new format is coming in 2022, for both Formula Two and Formula Three.

    The weekend will be made up of one sprint race and one feature race. Friday will stay the same with a free practice session and then qualifying later on. Saturday will have one sprint race and then on the Sunday the feature race which stays the same.

    Formula Three will join Formula Two when they race, which they will both be racing on the same weekend as F1! The number of events for F2 and F3 next year will be announced in due course.

    Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, said: “We are pleased to announce the changes to the weekend format for Formula 2 and 3 for next season and I am grateful to Bruno and the teams for their efforts to make this happen.”

    FIA Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3 CEO Bruno Michel commented: “In 2021, we introduced a new race weekend format and chose to have F2 and F3 race separately, mainly for costs reasons, and it proved to be quite efficient.”

    Why have they changed it?

    Bruno Michel said that there was too much time between each event. Which isn’t ideal for the teams, drivers and the fans.
    Which is true considering we are currently on a 10 week break from F2, and it doesn’t return until December. We saw what happened when F2 returned to Monza after a 8 week break from Silverstone, it was a crazy first sprint race!

    My Opinion-

    I think this is a good idea, the 2 sprint races and feature race are good but i feel as if that having one sprint and a feature is better because theres a lot more focus onto the feature. Having F2 and F3 on the same weekend is really good because it gives a lot of racing over the weekend and it gives F1 fans the chance to watch it too and potentially bring new fans to F2 and F3.

    I can imagine having both series with F1 they may look at putting more races on the calendar for both F2 and F3, even more so that the amount they race over the weekend would have gone down by one race.